Just bought from the outlet

I think I did okay?

i7 2860QM 2.5GHz (3.6GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache)
2GB 6990M
8GB 1600MHz RAM
2x500GB 7200
17.3 inch Wide FHD (1920 x 1080 60Hz) WLED Display
WirelessHD Transmitter
Bluetooth

Total Amount: $1,353.71 after 25% off coupon

My only wish is it was black instead of red and maybe the 580m instead of 6990m. Pretty good deal I think though.

 

Very nice pickup. Wish I had your luck.

 

$1350? You did amazing!!

 

It took a lot of pressing f5 and disappointing moments when I saw the one I wanted and couldn't get it into my cart fast enough.

I almost settled on a 2.0ghz 6990m 8GB RAM 320GB 7200 for $1035 after coupon. Great price but I wanted the higher res screen and it had 1600x900.

 

you take what you can get great buy btw

 

what a deal!

 

wow, that's an even better deal than I got. All the worst parts of my soul are reaching out to twist your fate Gratz

 

That was shipped with tax too. I'm starting to pinch myself. Whynot black though to complete the dream. I hope the red grows on me.

 

You can always get a vinyl skin from amazon or ebay to put over it if red doesn't grow on you. Either way man grats on raping the outlet center like that.

 

Thanks.


What do I need for the WirelessHD? I assume I need to scoop up a receiver at some point.

 

Yep, you need a wireless receiver that connects to your display device of choice.

 

why you people from US are always better treated by any company, for example, there is not such a thing like 25% off coupons in UK, sometimes they give 15%, but on new systems, and you must spend ALOT to use it - DELL UK SUCKS

 

wow, the best performance/price ratio ever, I got mine for a little over 2400...

 

What? around 1300? I paid like 1450 for my m14x because I didn't want a base m17x instead, would rather have one like yours. That's very amazing. You paid 150 less than the base price, and got a great gaming card, 8 gigs of ram, and a raid, oh and a much better CPU. Basically, it would have been a great deal even without the 6990.

 

very very nice deal!!!!!

 

I started with a m14x. I bought it 2 weeks ago with the i7 2630, 6GB, 500GB, 900p from the outlet with the same 25% off for $835 shipped. It ran crazy hot. I could hit 95c with just Prime95 on the cpu and no GFX test running. So I called support and they took it back for a repaste. I got it back and it was better low 80s if I recall. With Furmark and Prime95 I still hit 98c. I decided to send it back to wait for the R2 since the GPU seemed under powered just a touch. Then I found the m17xR3.

 

I got my laptop today and am running it thru my usual tests. So far it seems to run nice and cool I think. Pushing the GPU hits 82ish, idol mid 50s although it still cooling off I think. The CPU is mainly 60s gaming so I think we are good there. The m14x I returned was like boiling water.... I can't wait to get some more games on here. Im restoring steam backups now.

The hard drives came configured without RAID. I am debating throwing on RAID 0 or just waiting and replacing the boot drive with SSD. I may even have one I can scoop from another laptop if I want to steal from my w510 thinkpad.

I am disappointed in Dell's "Certified Refurbished" from the outlet. I would think that this laptop should have been listed "Scratch and Dent" being it has a tiny chunk out of the right bottom corner soft touch, light scuffs on the lid top, and another minor mark. Overall not terrible at all but very far from someone bought this and returned it in 30 days doa and repaired. I essentially bought a used laptop with warranty in my opinion. They also didn't even bother to clean it up. It was in the box in stirofoam sides without a bag and completely dusty. Dell needs to order something refurbished from Apple and see how its down. Their refurbs all get new shells and batteries.

Speaking of, the battery is listed with 89690 total capacity where the designed capacity states 93240, thus 3.81% wear. The tool I am checking this could be wrong if anyone can comment. It's from Batterycare.net. Maybe I should complain and get a new battery? IMO I should get a $100 back for the cosmetics and not listing as scratch and dent.

Oh and finally testing everything out I cannot dim the display using the fn keys. The overlay comes up stating I am dimming it but it does not. Same if I unplug, it will dim itself but I can't raise it. Is this normal?

 

The dimming should work once you install newer video card drivers. That's how mine was.

 

Just a thought, you seem to need to reinstall the Alienware On screen display.

MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT INSTALL AN EARLIER VERSION OF OSD.

I don't know how to check the current version off the top of my head, but i'm sure someone else can help you with that. Just be careful which alienware osd you install.

 

Thanks, as soon as Dell's driver site is back up from maintenance I will give it a go.

I did some more testing. Wow what gaming performance!!!! So far I am loving it in Crysis1, BFBC2, LotRO, and STO all set at highest and 4 or 8x AA with 1080p. The GPU and CPU run cool, 70s. It only hits 81 with Furmark. When gaming, the fan is just a touch above who cares and a notch below this sucks so not too bad LOL

 

And to think I got the GXT560 1x500GB HD for $1599 new haha. Nice catch! though I did get 16GB DDR3 1600 for free

 

Unshaven - At least it was new. Think of it as I bought a used laptop for over $1300. It was a dusty mess but at least it does have a warranty.

 

The dell site is not giving me downloads still. Does it work for anyone else that could post the OSD app/driver somewhere?

I restored the system to dell factory and that didnt fix it. I have the feeling I will be swapping this system.

 

A few things about the dell site. To download the drivers, I found that I "have" to use Internet Explorer, even though I hate that browser. Try that if it still won't let you download.

Also, you may consider doing a clean install, that way you know for sure there is no mistakes or anything missing. Check this thread out by Batboy, and good luck.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html

 

mbob,

I too bought an M17x (R1 model though) from the outlet with a coupon and ended up arguing with Dell and ultimately sending it back. The machine was full of dust and had gotten so hot in it's prior life that that the plastic piece on the LCD lid was warped and could not be persuaded to fit properly no matter what. It still ran hot when tested and add to that a plethora of dents and scratches that I would not expect on a refurb meant I was not going to keep it.

I got them to waive the return charge by arguing that the machine didn't meet the standards of a certified refurbished since they clearly never opened it up or addressed the original problem (heat) that it was returned for. They ultimately agreed (after a lot of arguing) but attemted to bribe me into keeping it by offering a $75 refund....I said no way of course.

I ended up getting a nice one-owner M17x R2 with fairly high specs off of ebay and a Dell warranty through 2014, even though it cost me a lot more than the discounted refurb did. It was worth it though for the peace of mind and the massive improvement in hardware specifications the R2 had over the refurb R1.

Chris

 

Chris - sounds like you got a dud. I am going to try and work thru the issues with this one because the CPU / GPU / price ratio is just too good. I thought about going the ebay route and may just do that if I cannot get this unit nice and sound.

 

*Update*

I got the OSD app working! Dell's driver site is still down but I was able to open a google cache of the page from last week. Using it I was able to grab the OSD util but that did not resolve the issue. I grabbed the version of the 6990M driver there and that fixed it. It must be different then the driver in my factory image as it also now states its a 6900 series rather then 6970 before. The BIOS ID matches the 6990 btw, I checked that when I was on the other driver.

 

Today's update -

I was able to clean the scuffs off the lid! I used a magic eraser sponge and a paper towel with warm water soft soap. Turns out they were some kind of dirt or grease. This also worked along with a blow dryer to get the ugly refurb sticker off the bottom cleanly, no residue.

All that is left from this being perfect is the small ding in the soft-touch by the grill (see pic) along with the seam there being slighty off and another really tiny dimple on the bottom red that lines with the front grill.

Minus those cosmetics, the battery reports 3.8% wear. What doesn't make sense is it's CPU, the 2860QM just came out in Sept right? So how could the battery wear that quickly? Maybe the tool I am using isn't reporting right, any idea's on what to use?

It is also possible they used a new CPU in an older laptop I suppose. That would be crazy though. They definately refurbished something because when I removed the battery to install my 160GB SSD I discovered one of the lid screws wasn't all the way in. It caused a really hard time getting the battery out from the pressure but it's fine now. What a terrible refurb job they did lol. Oh and I don't have a name plate at all. It's empty so I am going to attempt to get one from them. I read a couple people have but it's a longshot. I don't have to have my name. Just give me something.

Oh yeah the mouse buttons are gapped lower than the pad also ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/625997-touchpad-buttons-picture-normal.html) but that seems to be a feature of all r3s from what I hear.

 

You could try a red marker (like a sharpie) to hide that mark in the soft touch. I had a few tiny scuffs in mine (thankfully not in noticeable places) and found that a red sharpie hid them rather well.

 

Hats off to Dell / Alienware for stellar customer service. I am very happy and satisfied as today they credited me $100 for the scratch & dent portion and even are sending me out an Alienware nametag since it was missing. $1,253.71 total shipped now.

I think with this good fortune I may re-invest it back to them on extending the warranty. Can you get the $199 extra year after purchase?

 

man, soon they are going to reimburse you for 2 million and name the new CEO, seriously where the hell you are getting this luck