Confirmed! Single HD5870 M17x has CF connector!

Yes! I received my M17x yesterday. And it is as mouthwatering as expected. I think many owners would agree that the photos online just does not do justice to how the real thing looks!

Anyways after spending about 1/2 an hour gently removing its skin with sweaty palms I'm happy to report that yes, the single HD5870 does have a Cross Fire connector at the same location as the HD4870.

Sorry no photos attached, i have already left some minor scars un-skinning my vixen. So please do not expect me to open it up again anytime soon for photos.

So i do not understand the delay for releasing HD5870 CF for M17x. Probably a BIOS or supply issue.

Will try to put in some bench results in the coming days.

 

Awesome! Congratz

 

Excellent news. +rep for being first.

 

sick. laugh @ all those who said it wouldnt. its crazy how sometimes they take their own opinion as fact.

 

Awesome, thanks for taking the time to find this out. I'm sure this means there will be a cheap upgrade path to the xfire 5870s. You don't know how happy you've made me.

 

This is great news as I await the arrival of my M17x R2 with single 5870... I'm assuming to upgrade to CF down the road, us single 5870 card holders only need to purchase and additional card and the CF cable?

 

Are you going to upgrade sometime?

 

Is the cable to connect them the same as the 4870's?

 

Even the Dell guys I regularly speak with didn't think there was a connector on there. I'd really like to see photos or proof of said connectors first. Also, to the OP: which bios version does your system have?

 

Just goes to show, everything is just speculation till proven.

 

It's still unproven, there is no visual proof.

No offense to the OP.

 

Lets get a picture of that baby please !!!

I might get rid of my baby m15x !!!

 

I must say, maybe I got a little too excited at first. You were so hesitant to open it up, you left minor scars, and nothing to show for it??? Not a single pic. You should have known the rules here... You can't make claims like that without visual proof. You know how skeptical we all are lol. Still, I for one believe you.. Well, I really WANT to believe you

 

If they do have the crossfire connector then that should mean crossfire 5870's will be an available option soon, would be stupid otherwise. @ OP, if you took your laptop apart to see if the 5870 did have the crossfire connector, why didn't you take a picture right then?

In a way I want 5870 cross fire NOW. But part of me doesn't want it for a while, only because I'm waiting on my M17x with dual 4870's. Regardless, I will have 5870's as soon as their available.

 

If you purchased an R2 with a single 5870, then upgrade to CF later, will the dual cards and CF cable be covered under Dell's warranty? I'm assuming yes if you purchase the card and cable from Dell..

 

Of course, unless you break something during the installation.

 

This is good news...if it's true. As people pointed out earlier, we tend to be a bit sceptical in this forum. Until I see a picture of the CF connector or until someone else confirms this, I'll hold my excitement.
I hope that by the end of the week more peole will receive their systems and will be able to confirm the existance of the connectors.

 

Dude i am not saying your not lying or anything, but why didn't you take pictures of the connectors when you first off took your machine apart? DUH!! Even if you have a crappy camera you could of edited it in photoshop anyway and uploaded it. We want facts.

 

Woohoo! This is good news since I ordered mine today

 

Chill out guys, more people will be getting their m17x with 5870s soon and there will be photos. Just think of this as info to tie you down for the time being. I doubt he has any reason to lie to us, and its better than the regular speculation we always get.

 

now if only they would release it with CF.... sigh and why in the world would you open up your sweet laptop and not take pictures?!!

 

@OP:

If your post is honest, I hope you can understand why people are skeptic. Even a decent cell phone photo would do. I expected to see the photo, why open a new thread otherwise...

 

The OP has 8 posts, most of those have to do with this very order I suspect. So he probably didn't realize until too late that photo's are a must around here. He has obviously gone to some effort and we should thank him rather than criticize him.

Msashi, just so you know it's not that people think you are lying, I suspect, but they want to be absolutely sure you haven't misidentified something else as a CF connector. That is the sort of thing that could happen to anyone (well probably not Joker, scook, mandrake, the moo etc...). I guess if there was a photo then we could all judge for ourselves. Don't stress though, others will receive their 5870 in a the coming days and pictures will appear eventually. Thanks for taking the time to check.

 

We just may know soon enough.. My R2 replacement with 5870 has been shipped.. Shipping date says 05/10, shipping method is next business day which means it "should" be here 05/11 although I have an estimated arrival date of 05/12. Order was placed 05/06... If I do get it on the 11th or 12th that's still VERY impressive.. 6 days from order to doorstep would be some kinda Dell record eh?

 

Wow that is fast, mine was ordered 5/4, currently still in production(boxing stage). In that case you can be the first to provide pictures.

 

Yessss indeed!!! Although, when I take her out of the box, I may get cold feet when I see her in all of her Lunar Silver glory!

 

I am quite sure the card has a CF connector. There would be no point in manufacturing 2 different 5870's cards, one with a connector and the other one without.

 

Yay Guys! Thanks for the rep points!

Anyways i didn't take photos coz i left my cam in the office... One of those stupid things you do when excitement overtakes sense. It was not my intention to open up my brand new M17, but i promised Desertf0x9 i will post the connector status today as he was anxious. Well promise made, promised kept.

Anyway like Vradev said above, I'm sure there are more of you that will receive yr M17 in the next few days. Perhaps one of you guys can post a pic.

Advise to remove the center console cover-
1)Insert medium sized flathead screwdriver about 3-4milimeters right above F1 key. (dun forget to remove the 2 screws at the bottom beforehand)
2)Brace the shaft of the screwdriver against the side of the laptop beside the ESC key and lift the cover gently until the cover pops out.
3) Lift the cover, do not twist the screwdriver.
4)Repeat at numberpad keys.
This way you will not scratch the keypad base or squash one of the keys like i did. My F3 key is slightly bent

And no, i do not intend to upgrade to CF later as my work mostly involves 3D modeling. I just thought Alienware offered me a better deal for its price compared to Dell Precision mobile workstations.

 

the most difficult decision is to open it the first time. not the second


no offense but i still dont believe it. photos please...

 

Msashi,
I definitely appreciate the effort you took in opening up your machine. It sucks that you scratched up your machine in the process. If theres no picture confirmation by the time I receive mine I will open it up and take some, but I know theres people who will get theirs ahead of me.

 

@ Aristotelhs2060 - Aaaarrrrgggghhh! You push me too much! Okay, will post pictures tomorrow. I expect at least 10 rep point for my "second opening"! (and bent F3 key)

@ Twitchy_Eye - I do not believe the connector could be anything else as i have compared it with the photos in the service manual. Its in the right place and looks the part.

@ Desertf0x9 & WaR - Thanks for your support!

@ 5150Joker - Will check the BIOS ver and post tomorrow.

 

Is there by any chance a DIY thread on how to open an Alienware with pics so this doesnt happen to others?

 

@ Mikoyan UK - yes you can download the Service Manual in pdf. Its quite comprehensive with clear photos on how to dismantle your M17. You can get it at M17x "All Powerful" General Information Thread

 

Yeah, I didn't really think you got it wrong, I was just pointing out that people weren't accusing you as much as suspecting a mistake.

I too appreciate your efforts.

 

SERVICE MANUAL:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/M17x/en/SM/sm_en.zip

the most difficult part when you open it for first time is to remove the touch panel. the screen must have specific angle (around 45 degress angle). then i would suggest a blue plastic thing like this i have too:

believe me. rep points is the last thing that you are doing this for.

 

@ Aristotelhs2060 - Its not the rep points bro, that was just a joke. I just received my first rep point for this post and its quite pleasant to be appreciated.

I just did not expect to get so involved with this forum. I started reading just to know what issues/defects i might expect when i received my M17. I didn't even have any intention to dismantle a brand new virgin laptop which in Malaysia costs about 3x my monthly income.

Then i realized there are many who are in need of this info quite urgently and i just happen to be the few lucky ones to receive an HD5870m so quickly. So I'm doing my best to inform those of what they should expect.

I will post photos tomorrow.

As to all other rubbernecking skeptics, please be kind. I am in no way obligated to provide any 'proof of life'. I'm providing this info with much trouble on my part. My M17 will probably be worthless 3 yrs from now, but right now I'm very attached to it.

 

Msashi, no rush and don't break your laptop. Thanks for the information, it's appreciated. About the bent key, call Dell and just ask for a replacement keyboard. Let me know when you find out the bios version, I know more than a few people here are curious about it.

 

Everyone pressuring the guy for pics needs to relax

Btw, will these cards work on the R1? And is it possible to buy these on their own yet?

Cheers

 

Msashi must be right...

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

I don't have confirmation of this issue but I thought I'd share my current situation:

I have in my hands the config in my signature, but it has the issues with CF jitter and Dell is replacing it. My replacement is being sent out soon, but I asked my Dell rep, who is not just a sales person, but a corp rep who handled a sticky situation with my original ordering process, if I could get dual 5870's instead of another set of 4870's. At first she told me that she would have to look into it.

Then the other day, I was told that the 5870 was not a "dual card" as she put it. I sent links and corrected the terminology, but I have still not received absolute confirmation that they will send it with two. I anticipate that later this morning I should have more info on this, as I told her that the driver and the cards should allow it, and that if the BIOS didn't I didn't care, I just wanted it all installed now. I strongly suspect that we may hear that the 5870 won't be supported in CF due to some BIOS issue or some power supply issue. I'm hoping that this does not end up being the case, but if it is, I'm likely to just tell them to send me the 4870's for now.

As this is a replacement pending, and not an order, I may be one of the first to receive the actual hardware with two 5870's. You can bet I'll be posting not only pictures, but full benches as well. I'll be using Vantage, Heaven, Arkham Asylum, and we'll see about what else.

I would love to have gone 920 instead of 820, but I have a desktop being ordered which will have the 980x, so I won't feel so left out of the CPU race.

More as I hear it.

--
M17x-R2 - 820QM - 8GB 1333mhz - LED Screen - DVD Burner - 2 4870's - Intel 3x3 - in Black.

 

Bios version would be nice.

 

Did your rep suggest they'd be released soon? Did she give any indication about how much extra you'd have to pay to get them?

 

I won't pay extra if they will send 5870's, but I don't know for sure that they will. So far, they are quite cooperative about this replacement, but there is some confusion about the CF issue.

I'll be calling the rep in a couple of hours, when she is is at work.

 

DellChris already stated in the other thread that there is a crossfire connector on the single card and gave the part number for the crossfire kit that will be going in the m17x.

 

Yeah, that's what I told the rep, but we all know how Dell is . . . I had two sales reps for a while there. ; )

 

So you're asking for a free upgrade from 4870s to 5870s in a warranty replacement?

 

Why the smirk? based on the pricing, it's really not that much different, if at all, and as this is the second time I've had to replace the machine since the original order months ago, yeah, it's not unreasonable to assume that some upgrade or freebies are in order. I've had the machine only a couple of weeks worth out of a few months.

When I did stuff like this with Apple, I not only got refreshes, but bumps as well. You just have to negotiate.

 

hey guys that are waiting on the 5870's in CF check out my US Rep on facebook thread... i got an idea that could save us all some $$$

 

OK, I have to agree with the OP. Opening up a m17x isn't fun nor is it entirely easy, in fact it's among the hardest amonst all laptops that I've opened up. I've worked on only dell laptops and a few HP's. But this laptop (m17x) has about five maybe four different screw types not to mention the average price of one is 2,500 dollars easily. I just had to do a Drive replacement from a Standard sLot load to a Blu RAy Slot load, and that was easily the MOST difficult Disk Drive install that I have ever encountered. My laptop is working perfectly now, but I had to open and reopen about 4 times to get it exactly how I wanted it, and even then I don't doubt I lost like 2-3 screws or forgot where those go. The keyboard screws are tiny as $hit, and there are just a ton of possible ways to break this. If you don't have the confidence to open this system up you shouldn't, so for those who want pics and have never opened up a m17x, I say CHILL OUT, you don't know half what you're asking.