Guide to my new M17XR3

I've been combing through a number of threads and have assembled the guides that I'm going to use to "prep" my machine for use. I have purchased a Vertex 3 240GB and 16GB of HyperX 1866mhz RAM to go inside as well. I'm just looking for suggestions of things that should be done that might have been missed.

First, per this thread always perform the AlienRespawn as the first thing you do after opening the box:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...datasafe-software-respawn-faq-discussion.html

I'm going to burn in my laptop for 24 hours before starting any major installation.

Next, I'm going to swap out the RAM. Since I have 16GB to install, I'll use the video provided in this thread to help:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/561700-m17x-r3-ram-swapping-guide.html

Swapping the RAM out proved to be pretty tricky. My first tip is for removing the media bar and keyboard panel. I had a much easier time doing it from the bottom up. I pulled it out from the area underneath the space key and worked my way up. This was really easy.

Next, the keyboard cables are not connectors. They are held in place and you need to flip open their holders. There is a black piece that you just flip up for both of them.

I'm also going to change the BIOS and use this thread's suggestions in adjusting for the RAM:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/560044-m17x-r3-overclocking-sort.html

I had to switch Overclocking features to On and you get access to the RAM menus. Since I have 1866mhz HyperX, I switched it to 1866.

Let the laptop burn in for 24 hours and then swap the SSD into port 1. People have been having issues with Vertex 3 and I'm using this thread to smooth out the process:

Lesson #1: Do not just move the original HDD into Port 0. Format over the OS because Windows kept booting from the original installation.
Lesson #2: Using my Dell Windows 7 Installation Disk, No network drivers were installed. I had to download them on another machine and use a USB drive through the USB 2.0 inputs. The USB 3.0 slots were not working yet.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/572337-any-r3-owners-have-vertex-3-stories-share.html

I'll be performing a clean install of Windows 7 and using this thread to reinstall the drivers and the Alienware look:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html

After installation is complete, I'll use these threads to optimize the SSD:

The SSD Optimization Guide | The SSD Review
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/474521-installing-ssd-tips-tricks-benchmarks.html

Anyone see anything I missed?

Edit:

I'm also purchasing one of these!

 

First of all: Congrats on the new machine!

Second: I never quite understood why some people want other people to give them a list of things to do with their new computers once they arrive... I mean its your computer. Do with it what you feel you need to do with it to make you happy.

In my opinion, it takes the fun out of configuring your new computer if you need other people to tell you how to do it. Just my opinon

 

If you can't tell, I've had a lot of fun learning how to configure the new machine. I only started to think about this after reading the respawn discussion that I'm using as my first step. I probably would have done the clean install without doing the first step and lost my ability to utilize respawn.

My intent was more about not missing anything critical that newbies tend to overlook. I also thought it might be helpful to others that didn't go through as many threads as I did to find these answers.

 

Things I personally did on day one:

- Pull my jaw up off the desk and clean up drool
- Fix battery wobble.. this drove me crazy. Battery had a lot of play in it when installed and rattled around. So i shimmed it by placing a few strips of gorilla tape under the battery to allow it to fit tightly.
- Install antivirus software and configure
- check that windows firewall is enabled
- Copy over pictures, documents, itunes files
- Check/Install latest video driver from dells website
- Configure video card settings
- Configure power management settings (balanced; no hibernate or hard disk timeout period)
- Disable page file usage (assuming you have enough ram)
- Disable "hide inactive icons" from taskbar
- Install games

 

Nice organization. It's good to have a plan laid out beforehand. Not really sure what Ryan's point was...

I don't really know how necessary the respawn is, considering it comes with Windows and drivers discs (At least mine did).

 

There wasn't really a point. It was just an opinion of mine that I usually prefer setting up my computer on my own and figuring things out for myself.

Personal preference...

 

Whatever you do, stick with your first step no matter what!!!!

 

This is taking me back to my childhood and what it was like on Christmas Eve waiting for Christmas to arrive. I've waited a looooooooong time to get an Alienware and am so excited to finally have one!

I understood what Ryan was saying. I would usually just do it myself but just wanted to make sure I wasn't making any critical errors. This high performance product seems to be a bit finicky if the tweaks are done incorrectly from everything I've read.

I'm just doing this because I will be doing a fresh install and the only time the respawn can be done is with the original hard drive restore partition in place. As I'm planning on using it as my data drive, I thought it better to be safe then sorry.

 

I think it's a great idea to have a plan. I also used most of these same references to set my machine up after I got it. These are very useful sources of valuable information and you have done a great job putting them all in one place.

I think this list will be helpful to many new R3 owners! +rep!

I also LOVE ryan_calif new machine day one step one! LOVE it! I had to do the same thing!

 

As of bios A04, 1600 c7 ram is no longer possible (xmp2 + manually setting 1600). Just set the ram to xmp2 and you'll be good.

 

You are missing the steps where you repaste and add new thermal pads

 

I don't know if it was just mine, or they all come this way.

I had to change my settings to 120hz. It was set at 60.

I thought that was strange indeed. It was set at the proper resolution though.

 

hahahha.....Isn't that more of a LUXURY then a critical installation technique?

Guess it depends on how perfect I want everything to be!

I'm going to try the xmp2 + manual setting at 1866 since I have 1866 HyperX coming. The upgrade from 1600 was cosmetic at best from everything I read. I just couldn't put 1600 in when 1866 was available though could I?

 

xmp2 + anything = xmp2
1600 c9

 

Passive aggressive much?

 

Optimizing is always fun. Peace of mind too.

 

Sorry about this I'm a total nub what does laptop burn mean? This is the first time I've heard that phrase.

 

This is a actually a more generic term and is typically stated as "Burn in", it refers to the act of running new electronic equipment of any sort for an extended period of time under load to validate proper functionality.

In electronic manufacturing of all sorts, new circuit boards would be connected to power and testing systems to exercise their functionality then placed into a "Hot room" with the temps set to anywhere from 100 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and then "Burned in" for 24 to 48 hours. Faulty circuits are frequently identified during these periods of stressful operation.

Dell most likely performs some sort of burn in on all new machines before sending to the customer, but it sure doesn't seem like it with all of the issues folks seem to have. I suspect many of the issues are software and configuration related rather than actual hardware failures.

* My comments are made from my own personal experience as an Electronic and Software Engineer working in many different organizations for over thirty years.

 

Azureal has a better answer then I would have given about "burn". I'm being particularly careful to make sure there are no hardware issues before starting because of issues I've read about all over these threads. I'm also trying to establish that everything is ok before I install the Vertex 3. OCZ isn't known to be the most reliable company but I wanted to take the chance that I would get the benefits of the speed of the drive. I wouldn't normally be this cautious with hardware and windows re-installation but I'm trying to minimize the number of times that I will have to troubleshoot issues along the way.

 

This is a great post for some newbies like me. Thanks! Really appreciated the time you put to organize it!

 

Laptop is preparing to ship and should be here 2 weeks early! Now, if only Kingston and OCZ would cooperate with my plans. Unfortunately, both my HyperX and Vertex 3 have been backordered. I guess this laptop will be getting a much longer burn in then anticipated!

 

Laptop is now here and I'll begin unpacking. Have a 16gb USB drive here to do the respawn on. Vertex 3 should be arriving in a couple of days. RAM won't be here for another couple of weeks though.

Thanks to all the NBR crew for the excellent information provided in the many threads I've gone through. It has made this process so much easier!

Now let's just hope I don't regret the Vertex 3 over Intel 510 decision I made.

 

if you run into issues with the AMD and Intel drivers during your clean install, take a look here -
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/577473-m17xr3-graphics-card-driver-issues.html

 

As a side note, I'd grown increasingly worried about possible build quality issues that many have suffered. So, I checked extra carefully for dirt under the screen, the media bar coming out, and for scratches. At this point, the only thing I can say I've seen is the mushiness that others have reported in the keyboard. The laptops in my sig are only a small sampling of the number of laptops I go through and see. What I can say is that it's pretty unusual to say the least. Of course, the only time you can really notice it is if you push on it fairly hard. I don't push keys very hard since I'm used to mechanical keyboards. If you type like me, it's not noticeable. I do know many people that push keys pretty hard when they type and it would be really noticeable then.

Other then that, my laptop is beautiful! I thought there were some marks but they were from me grabbing it and rubbed right off! My laptop did not come with the sheet covering the keyboard nor with the sticky covering the Alienware logo on the lid. I've seen other people make mention of that fact as well. However, both my box and laptop smell like fresh paint and as far as I can tell my hat doesn't smell used like the one dookie got.

 

This is hilarious LOLZ. Thx for the shoutout

Yah, I'm really bothered that Dell didn't ship everyone a sheet or something for our kbs, cuz lots of people have kbs that touch the screen when the lappy is closed. I'm gonna be hunting for fabric this weekend for my backpack padding mod, so I'm gonna save a sheet big enough to put between the screen and kb. Everyone should hit up walmart this weekend

 

Dookie, you should purchase a Shaggy Mac. Follow link here:

Laptop Screen Protector : ShaggyMac, Laptop Screen Protector & Keyboard Cover, Laptop Cleaner & Accessories

This is what I plan on purchasing for my M17x.

 

dookie, I learned a lot reading through the many threads you've contributed to. Since your questions are so specific and numerous, they've shortened my research time greatly. Gotta give credit where it is due!

remedy, that is a great find! I'm thinking I might have to pick me up one of those things.

 

Thanks for that link, that's exactly what I've been looking for. I've been using a large sheet of paper since I got my M17x.

 

Do you know which size we should be getting?

Hahah. I was actually thinking of sewing together a bunch of my eyeglass wipes together hahaha

 

I got the one for a 17.3" laptop. I'll let you know how well it fits when it arrives.

 

Just got my Shaggy Mac screen protector. The 17.3" version fits over the entire keyboard, power button, media keys, and touchpad. It doesn't cover completely to the edge but it's pretty close.

 

Could you let us know how thick it is compared to a U.S. quarter? Try to take a picture if you have some time Thx mang!

 

dookie,

Here's a pic showing how the 17.3" looks on the keyboard:



Here's a pic with a quarter on top:

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to fulfill my funny request Good stuff

Now, what exactly does the sheet feel like? Is it more like felt? Velvet? Leather? Shammy(chamois)? Microfiber? Eyeglass wipe? Etc?

 

It feels like a cross between suede and an eyeglass wipe. It's pretty soft and seems to do a very nice job of covering things up and providing some proctection.

On a side note, I put in my HyperX 1866 RAM and it bumped the WEI score to 7.9. I can't believe the 2820 is the limiter at 7.5 with the 6970 receiving a 7.6.

 

That's hilarious.

Out of curiosity, what kinda hardware gets a 7.9 on the WEI score? Crossfire/SLI stuff? The -XM cpus? SSDs?

 

My Vertex 3 SSD gets a 7.9 and the HyperX 1866 gets a 7.9. I would assume that a desktop GTX 590 or Radeon 6990 would get a 7.9. From the processor side of things, I'm betting an i7 980x or 990x could get a 7.9.

Anyone have first hand experience with this?

 

I'm still very proud at the fact that I have 7.6 on everything except the CPU and HDD. 7.6/7.9 = 96% = WOWZA! I'm coming from a dinodesktop which has 4.3, 5.1, 3.6, 3.6, and 4.1, and a dinolaptop which probably has around the same or lower, lol. Tis a dream come true

 

I'm also going with a Slappa PTAC 18" sleeve for extra protection.

My sister is teasing me saying the Shaggy Mac screen protector is my baby's blanket and the Slappa is it's onesy pajamas!

 

I have recently clean installed my M17x r3 and im just wondering do i need to install BIOS for my system? Or its still in there? ( i didnt replace my harddrive)I've already downloaded and installed the VBIOS for my graph card....