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    Just got my m17x r3... what to do first

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by sanzoni, Dec 20, 2011.

  1. sanzoni

    sanzoni Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey everyone I just got my m17x r3, love it! But anyways this is my first alienware and wanted to know things I should do before I put it to use. A lot of people suggest clean install but seems like there is no bloatware on this. What is the best way to go about updating all my drivers too? Anything else you guys think I should do I would greatly appreciated the advice and tips. Thank You
     
    sanzoni, Dec 20, 2011
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  2. maxheap

    maxheap caparison horus :)

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    I didn't do any clean install no bloatware whatsoever :) I installed crysis 2 first and stared at awesomeness :) enjoy your new beast man!
     
    maxheap, Dec 20, 2011
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  3. sanzoni

    sanzoni Notebook Enthusiast

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    lol thanks bro it is a beast ... also what do you guys use for your power options meaning balanced, battery saver, performance, custom?
     
    sanzoni, Dec 20, 2011
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  4. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    Before installing anything on that computer or doing anything in general, you could always do an image backup of the entire drive. That way it is very easy to revert back to your out of box state. Especially in the case that you end up deleting your recovery partition (as is my case). The only drivers I've ever really updated are graphics and wifi. And yes, Alienware = bloatfree.
     
    khetik, Dec 20, 2011
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  5. sanzoni

    sanzoni Notebook Enthusiast

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    Okay and which way do you suggest doing the backup, I know a lot of people aren't too crazy about AlienRespawn or whatever its called. Also how should I set up my power options for being plugged in and unplugged and which plan?
     
    sanzoni, Dec 20, 2011
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  6. maxheap

    maxheap caparison horus :)

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    performance plugged in, balanced unplugged
     
    maxheap, Dec 20, 2011
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  7. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    You can use acronis or norton ghost
     
    khetik, Dec 20, 2011
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  8. sanzoni

    sanzoni Notebook Enthusiast

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    nothing free but better then respawn?
     
    sanzoni, Dec 20, 2011
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  9. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    What are your specs, Sanzoni?
     
    The Revelator, Dec 20, 2011
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  10. sanzoni

    sanzoni Notebook Enthusiast

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    Intel Core i7 2670QM 2.2GHz (3.1GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
    8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (4DIMMS)
    17.3-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 120Hz WLED w/ NVIDIA 3D Vision Bundle


    2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M


    500GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
     
    sanzoni, Dec 20, 2011
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  11. sanzoni

    sanzoni Notebook Enthusiast

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    didnt go too crazy with specs but its good enough to handle just about everything i can throw at it
     
    sanzoni, Dec 20, 2011
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  12. maxheap

    maxheap caparison horus :)

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    it is more than good enough trust me :) it will shred through anygame you want to play :)
     
    maxheap, Dec 20, 2011
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  13. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Very nice. Welcome to the club -- and the forum.

    Alienware Respawn works fine and is used widely. I prefer Acronis True Image because I would rather store the backup media on a HDD or flash drive for convenience and the size of my image/backup is larger because I wait until Office and other major programs and utilities are installed before creating the backup. Either works well, so the choice is simply personal preference.
     
    The Revelator, Dec 20, 2011
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  14. edm11

    edm11 Notebook Enthusiast

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    nice!!

    make sure no throttling on your cpu and gpu cards! :)

    Enjoy ur beast!!!
     
    edm11, Dec 21, 2011
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  15. sdt777

    sdt777 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I've just joined the m17x R3 club (ordered last night, wait is gonna kill me :( )
    Sure looking forward to some gaming on this beast!
     
    sdt777, Dec 21, 2011
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  16. bigtonyman

    bigtonyman Desktop Powa!!!

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    Congrats, I'm sure you will be impressed with it ;)
     
    bigtonyman, Dec 21, 2011
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  17. sdt777

    sdt777 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks, sig now up
     
    sdt777, Dec 21, 2011
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  18. negyuh

    negyuh Notebook Consultant

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    I always do a clean installation of Windows 7 on it, i think i will make a small tutorial on how to make an up-to-date windows installation disk based on the alienware respawn disk so i won't elaborate on it now...
     
    negyuh, Dec 21, 2011
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  19. alienwolf

    alienwolf Notebook Deity

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    I recommend doing a AlienRespawn right out of the box so you can always put it back to factory spec's great for resale. Then do a backup on the app of your choice or eve AlienRespawn after everything is how you like it. That way you can recover both ways. And yes welcome to the forum and enjoy the Beast! :cool:
     
    alienwolf, Dec 21, 2011
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  20. Stormbreaker

    Stormbreaker Notebook Enthusiast

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    First thing I did was play with the pretty lights :D Got a nice rainbow fade theme across the keyboard
     
    Stormbreaker, Dec 22, 2011
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  21. qohelet

    qohelet Senior Member

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    You can also use windows 7 built in back up utility. Works well for me too.
     
    qohelet, Dec 22, 2011
    #21