Help enabling SLi on Alienware m17x R1

Hello,

yesterday I bought a Alienware m17x R1 laptop. I have been trying all day to update the system, but had no luck.
Finally I followed some guides witch I found here (thank you for that) and I was able to install the latest nVidia 320.49 driver.
But I can't get SLi to work I tried everything I can think of (and read on the web)..

I disabled Hybrid and Integrated Graphics from BIOS (witch I flashed to A07).
I disabled the other 2 options in the same BIOS menu as well (can't recall what exactly they were - PCI something.. I think), but I read on several places they should be disabled as well..

When I go to the nVidia Control Panel I see this:


My config is:
Core 2 Quad Q9000
GeForce 9400M (disabled)
2x GTX 280M

Please, help me! I really don't know what to do! Is there something that I'm not doing correct or I should install some other driver version to have SLI enabled?

P.S. Lovely community!

 

Hi, congrats on your purchase and welcome to the community!

If you scroll the tab on right hand side all the way to the bottom, you should see an "Apply" tab. No need to worry, your system can detect the secondary card. Otherwise the"Enable SLI button" would not be there. If this doesn't work, report back and we will try to find another solution.

 

Jesus, I have been banging my head in a brick wall for more than 6 hours.. installing, reinstalling.. deleting. I had to config BIOS, used driver cleaning apps under Safe Mode.. managed to properly (I hope so) install the driver..
And the thing that I missed is scrolling down and clicking Apply

Seriously, Deepdarkness, I am forever in you debt! I wish I could buy you a beer!
I almost felt sorry I bought the Alienware, but now I'm very, very happy!
Thank you!

P.S. I can't seem to get the volume up/down touch keys to work. Any opinion on that problem?
P.P.S. Just to make sure we are on the same page for the future - all options in Gprahics under BIOS should be disabled, yes?

 

No problem, I'm glad your issue is solved.

From personal experience the Alienware M17X R1 And R2 actually have a hard time detecting pressure from fingers on the application buttons. - First, if you haven't - Try installing the Alienware OnScreen Display Application listed from the following link: Drivers for Alienware M17x
labelled: Alienware OSD Application, v.2.21, A03 - This application will notify you of when the keys have been pressed, displaying a popup in the center of your screen whenever you attempt to use any of the special keys in the top right corner. - Showing percentages of volume, pause, wireless, ejecting CD etc.

Try applying quite a bit more force to the buttons on the LED plate and you may find they actually work if installing the drivers did not rectify your issue. It's a design flaw that unfortunately not much can be done about.

I would leave the bios settings at stock.

 

Good advice!! + rep when I get back to my alien.

P.S. welcome to the NBR forums OP.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

It was the best advice out there (here). No tutorial will actually tell you "look if you clicked Apply"!

This just might be the best laptop I've ever seen (and this is coming from a Mac user..)!

I check the BIOS and the menu has:

Hybrid - disabled
Integrated - disabled
(I understand they have to be, because no support in 3xx nVidia drivers)

PCIE Gen2 - enabled
ASPM (L0s/L1) - disabled
(this is by default; should I disable the PCIE thing? I really have no idea what does it do, but I read on several occasions and from several users from this community that it is better to disable it.)


Deepdarkness, you we right for the volume keys as well - I just don't push them hard enough.. all seems to be working now. I have install every driver/program from the resource DVD.. and yes I know probably most of them are out dated, but the rig seems stable and I plan on using it this way..)
Thanks once more! No time for some gaming

P.S. How can I give +rep? Sorry, I'm new.

 

I would leave everything as it was on stock for the meantime unless otherwise needed.

Thank you both for the reputation.

I'm Glad I could help, if you have any issues down the track feel free to use the forums again, it's an extremely resourceful place.

Good luck with your machine

 

Welcome to the forums you got some great help there..Rep to you Deepdarkness. :thumbsup:

 

Hey, guys, I have a new question.

Today I ran some test with HWMonitor and I got these results:

Primary GPU Temp: lowest 44C (idle), average 48-50C (internet and movie), highest 83C (after 1h of gaming Diablo 3 Highest settings)
Secondary GPU Temp: lowest 42C (idle), average 46-47C (internet and movie), highest 76C (after 1h of gaming Diablo 3 Highest settings)
CPU Cores: lowest 44-46C (idle), average 49-51C (internet and movie), highest 69-70C (after 1h of gaming Diablo 3 Highest settings)

Are these any good? And what is the maximum save temperature that my GPU and CPU can take?
I'm concerned because the laptop is rather old and I'm no sure if I have to change thermal paste and try to clean it up.
Fans kick in as soon as I hit more than 51-52C (basically 1-2mins after I start a game).

Keyboard is rather hot to the touch, but not uncomfortable.
I tried to look around in the forum but didn't find anything that helped me.
Thank you in advance!

 

It's ok, you could re-paste the GPU to lower down the temps a bit but it does not seem like overheating.

 

Thank you! I prefer not to open it, because I don't have the required skills and probably I'll just break something.
Good thing to know that temperatures are normal and it's not overheating..