Imp queries regarding Alienware M17xR2 (NEED HELP)

Hello every one. There is a long list below and i am sort of frustrated with things not going the right way. Please understand my desperation and help me out as much as possible. Its sad because i am not able to use my laptop to its full potential considering how expensive and powerful this notebook is.
I need advise/suggestions to some queries and issues i have. My config is an Alienware M17xR2- i7 820qm cpu, 6gb ram, 500gb 7200rpm hrdrive, full HD screen, dual ATI HD 5870 CF.

1) I want essential softwares or tweak tips (for bios and windows) for the M17xR2 which will make my machine run to its optimum level in terms of graphics and general performance. I just want to enjoy playing games in the best possible way without any stutter, lag or damaging my internal components.

2) With the above question it reminds me to ask if i should keep the virtual memory for Windows as 12gb since my system memory is 6gb total. This is what was recommended by an Alienware tech support guy.

3) I want to upgrade my hard drive to a good SSD. Unfortunately in India, Dell do not have the SSD upgrade option for the M17xR2.
a) Will i void my warranty if i buy one and install it on my own?
b) Which SSD brand will be best compatible for the M17xR2? I dont want to end up ruining my system. I will need minimum 120gb SSD.
c) What is TRIM?
d) Is there a spare hard disk bay in the M17xR2 in which i can install an SSD?
UPDATE: I came across the following three threads recently and it seems there are issues using SSD drives in the M17xR2. Slow 4k read and write speeds. So now what do i do?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/508736-ssd-recommended-m17xr2-5.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/508052-m17x-r2-bios-a07-discussion-thread.html

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19340601.aspx?PageIndex=2

3) Which is a good user friendly calibration software to calibrate the colors of the M17xR2 RGB screen? I have noticed that by default the colors are very vivid. example (pink is very pink and red is also very disturbing)

4) There is so much of confusion regarding the beta AMD display drivers and flashing the bios etc under the M17xR2 driver section. I haven't tried any fancy update or bios flash except for the official A07 bioas update. I seriously don't have the stamina to format and reinstall windows and other data again and again if things go wrong with the update. Do i wait for the official display drivers from Dell or is there another way?

Mobility Radeon drivers are meant for laptops which have AMD ATI graphics card, so then why is it that even the official display drivers from AMD site dont get installed in the M17xR2 laptop? I find this totally ridiculous.

5) The trackpad is very laggy and choppy. Is there a fix for this?

6) Should i format and reinstall Windows without the actual factory content which came loaded in the laptop during first use?

7) I uninstalled the older display drivers (used most popular uninstall softwares also) but cant get rid of the preinstalled ATI catalyst install manager (v3.0.782.0) from the add/remove list in Win7. I get error "windows cannot find c:\Program Files\ATI\CIM\BIN64\InstallManagerApp.exe"

For now this is all i can think of. If i have any other issues i will let u all know.
Please let me know all your suggestions on the above points. Would really appreciate all the help.

 

As it's your first post - welcome to the forums.

There is plenty of information here from knowledgeable members who are generally very helpful. However, many of your questions can be answered by you spending a bit of time reading the forums and searching - several threads that address your questions are actually on the first page of the Alienware Forum at the moment.

Unless you have any immediate issues, I personally think that the m17x is fairly impressive out of the box and should be able to run whatever you throw at it at very high graphical settings. That said, there are always going to be a multitude of things you can do to tweak your system and people will recommend different options based on their preferences. Again, I suggest you spend time browsing the forum.

I've spent time attempting to provide some direction to your questions but I encourage you to use the SEARCH function and read through the threads specific to those subjects as there are people more knowledgeable than me with good advice to offer. (If using the search function it may help you to 'search entire posts' from the combobox and show results as 'posts')

Are you experiencing stutter or lag currently? While the 5870CF cards are beasts they're not going to be able to run something like Crysis with everything completely maxed out so keep in mind that there are limitations to what the hardware can do. Fiddling with the in-game graphical settings can make a huge difference to performance - dropping shadows down a notch or two works wonders sometimes.

I've never seen any reason to change this personally. Some people do turn it off though. You could keep task manager open for a couple of weeks and monitor your memory usage both with/without and make a decision for yourself.

Good job of researching. I daresay you'll still experience improved speeds with an SSD even with the slow 4k read speeds. What you should do is decide for yourself. There are threads on SSD performance and you can compare to your current drive's performance but you need to make up your own mind.

a) My understanding is that you will not void your warranty should you choose to install yourself. You might want to call Dell and confirm if you have concerns. If you break something during installation then that would not be covered under warranty. m17x Tear Down vid here.

b) Different brands will appeal to different people based on performance, price etc. Intel and Vertex seem to be quite popular, I chose Intel.

c) GOOGLE: What is TRIM?

d) Yes, there are two drive bays in the m17x. If you have a raid setup you'll need to remove one for an SSD which leave you with one 500GB drive and the SSD of your choice.​

There are a couple of threads for this already. Please use the search function.
Here is one to get you started.

If you're not confident doing this then I definitely recommend waiting until Dell uploads a final packaged version. Currently, the VBIOS for the 5870s is a beta and comes with a 'use at your own risk.' Additionally, there is a very minor chance that you can brick your cards, especially if you don't understand what you are doing or do not follow the instructions - as some people have already experienced.

As do we all. Dell modifies the ATI drivers for use with Alienware systems. Read through the 8.763/Beta VBIOS thread. In the very first post erawneila (Brian) states that it is an eventual goal that we are able to use official reference drivers that do not need to be modified by Dell.

Again, there is an entire thread for this - also currently on the first page of the forums. It seems that BIOS A08 alleviates the issue but I recommend you also read the thread associated with the A08 bios as well.

Not unless you want to, but I'm not sure what you want to get rid of. Alienware systems do not seem to come with any (?) bloatware. I only reformatted mine when I purchased an SSD and needed to reinstall the OS on it.

There are instructions on the recommended/best method of removing the video drivers, check out the the 8.763/Beta VBIOS thread or search the forums.


We all start off somewhere so I have tried to help you as much as I can however the best piece of advice I can give you is to SEARCH and read.

 

Hi Killiandros. I am truly grateful to you for replying to my thread and guiding me. God bless you.
Many things are clear now. Just gonna throw a few more questions at ya.

The only thing at this point i want to know is whether i should wait for next gen SSD hard drives if the wait is not too far or you can say i am good to go with the current available SSD brands? The Vertex2 will fit in good? Should i install the SSD in the empty bay or vice-versa? I plan to put Win7 and games on the SSD and all other data in my 500gb. Will i really notice that much of a big difference in performance when i install the SSD?

On a side note. Which laptop do u have? Do you hear any noise from the machine (M17xR2) when its in sleep mode or getting charged while its off with and without the battery? I dont hear fans noise just something like a wheezing sound (not loud).
One Dell engineer had come to check the sound issue in my laptop and all he did was disconnect the system fan, cmos battery and the hardrive which later he connected everything back, but after all this it caused a black screen to appear every time on windows startup on the login area. I could only see and move my mouse cursor. When i booted it in safe mode i could see my login screen. I had to format and load windows again which fixed the problem. Any ideas why such a thing happened? Bcoz if i happen to put an SSD in the spare slot then i hope i don't encounter such a problem again.

In the youtube vid of M17x tear down, what is that blue band the guy is wearing for? and where can i buy one? Is it for avoiding static charge to components?

I bugged u enough already. Will leave it at that. Please let me know your views/suggestions. Thanks.

 

Sure thing.

Sorry, I can't comment on whether you should wait for next gen SSD's as I haven't looked at what the revised/next gen models offer over the current versions.

Ultimately, and as I mentioned in my previous post, you need to do your research and decide for yourself. Did I notice a difference in performance after purchasing/installing an SSD? Yes. There are screenshots of CrystalDiskMark results as well as windows boot times that are indicative of performance from users around on the forums - you can also download and run CrystalDiskMark on your current system to compare what other users have posted. Use Google and look at reviews on sites like Tom's Hardware for SSD's as well.

I'm not sure if it makes a difference if installed in primary/secondary bay but I installed mine in the 1st. Yes, a 2.5" Vertex SSD should fit with no issues.

m17x R2. I haven't noticed any noises personally but there is a thread on "m17x noise" - use the search function and you'll see it.

Bingo. It's called an anti-static wrist band/strap, they're relatively inexpensive and you can find them in Electronics stores, eBay etc (and I think I even saw a guide for making your own on the web).

No worries.

 

@Killiandros
Top advices matey.fortunate for us all for having dude like you on this forum.
Rep+ to you.

 

Yes indeed Very helpful person. I never thought one guy would answer to so many questions of mine. No one else has replied to my queries apart from him. I Salute you Killiandros.

 

this should be the next m17x R2 FAQ thread

 

hahahaha :laugh: Sounds great

 

Very well thought out answers to the OP, well done. Only thing I could add on the SSD, get a small one 64 or 128 gig SSD. Put the OS on it and anything you use alot and want to load fast. Then put a big one like 500g 7200 rpm for your games and all the other stuff. That way you get the speed of an SSD and yet keep the expense down for now. Good Luck!

 

Installing games on the 128gb SSD is fine if i want to load them faster?
There are so many sandforce based SSDs in the market right now. But what do u think will be best to go with the M17xR2.

 

ive always used OCZ ssds, they seem to perform well. even with the 4k w/r issue, you will see an increase over the 7200 rpm drive.
another option is the Momentus XT hybrid drive, which is about 75% faster than a standard 7200rpm Hdd, and about 1/3 the cost. it offers an upgrade in performance and the ability to afford higher capacities.

 

I was trying to rollback bios from A10 to A09 on my M17xR2, then an accident happened of power failure , now my system has no power at all , battery is fully charged, charger is working but nothing work on my laptop , no light no fan nothing at all . i have tried power drain , took the cmos battery out and power drain trick, even pull all parts apart and reassemble the next day , nothing shows up , i am 100% sure there is something happen to the mainboard . please help.

 

Holy thread resurrection batman!

This may have been better as a new thread perhaps.

Regardless though, it sounds like you have been pretty thorough already. Unless someone else here can suggest a course of action, I would recommend giving Dell a call and having them troubleshoot over the phone and/or have a Tech come out to take a look.

 

Since you have a R2 which DOES NOT support SATA 6GB/s connection, it is not necessary to wait for the new gen SSDs. I have researched a lot about SSDs, and currently you may want to avoid OCZ Vertex 2 due to its 25nm issue recently. This has been discussed a lot in our forum.

For my own situation, I had been debating between Vertex 2 and X25M for quite a while. Eventually, I went for Intel because of its reliability. I am willing to give up a bit speed for that. Plus, I heard that OCZ's Vertex 2 SSDs recently changed from 34nm to 25nm which is slower. Also, some users noticed OCZ's performance decreases significantly after 3-4 months even with TRIM. Im not sure about that but I just went with Intel to keep my mind free.

You might wanna take a look at OCZ SSDs' reviews/feedbacks. These are for the old version 34nm. There are so many people saying their drives are either DOA or after couple of months. Totally unacceptable if that's true.

OCZ Vertex 2 120GB

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: OCZ Technology 120 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (SSD) OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G

That's the old 34nm Vertex 2. Now, for the NEW 25nm Vertex 2 which was just released weeks ago, please visit this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/555242-ocz-shipping-25nm-ssds-customers-not-happy-over-lack-change-2.html

MY SUGGESTION: either buy a INTEL GEN 2 SSD (X25-M) or CRUCIAL C300 REALSSD. STAY AWAY from OCZ Vertex 2


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Yeah, this was like hijacking a ghost thread. This needs to be discussed in the A10 thread that already exists.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ugged-not-charging-fix-discussion-thread.html
OR
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/404987-how-recover-bad-bios-flash.html

Was Torai's post really delayed or was it truly posted today, 5 months later? Looks like this thread is screwy.