M17X R2 - Please Help!

Hello All,

This is my first post to any of the computer forums. Please forgive me if I miss something.

A few years ago I purchased an M17X R2. I am a military member and gone often. I figured if I paid good money I could get the best mobile gaming machine available. To put it lightly, I have never been happy with my laptop. Since the day I recieved it in the mail, this machine has been subpar. I was looking at buying another computer but I just can't justify it after spending over $3,000 on this one. I really need help getting this thing locked on. Often times I can only use one of the two graphics cards due to overheating. I only use this laptop for gaming. Nothing else. I have to put it on low settings and still get poor FPS. Initially, I called DELL and they said everything is fine with the laptop but it has never really worked well.

What can I do to make it better. I am not computer smart at all. I have spent a lot of time reading but rarely understand the terms. If I know exactly what to buy or what to download I can google and do the work myself. Thank you all for your time in advance.

Here is what I have:
224-8107 1 Space Black - Anodized Aluminum
317-3659 1 Intel Core i7 920XM 2.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
317-3663 1 4GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 2GB DDR3)
330-7841 1 Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
320-8856 1 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
320-8988 1 Crossfire 1GB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870
342-0668 1 500GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD
313-8569 1 Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
430-3739 1 Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology

Total: $3,271.33

NOTE: I recently did a clean install to see if that would work with no luck. I am currently running the A10 BIOS.

 

Uhh did you update your drivers? My M17x R2 with nearly the same specs can run nearly anything but BF3 and the newest newest shooters at decently high framerates.

 

Yes, via the DELL website. When I tried to update them outside of the website it caused more issues and had to go back to default.

 

First of all, make sure stealth mode is turned off. I would personally removed the Alien OSD stuff. I think that controls stealth mode. Don't remember since I removed it when I got my laptop and never installed it.

Also, you may want to repaste your GPUs. Take them out, remove the heatsink and apply new thermal paste. Also I would clean out your heatsink vents if you have not done so. Dust on the GPU heatsink fins can cause the system to not disipate heat properly and cause it to overheat.

 

Thank you. I will do that tonight. My wife is heading to best buy to pick up some RAM and thermal paste for me. Not sure the if the RAM will work but appears to be a cheap upgrade.

 

The Dell vBIOS issue causing ATI CCC BSOD has been over for awhile for me, ever since 12.x Catalyst, it has been fixed. I had a whole ton of issues with 11 series Catalyst drivers.

 

I ran all the tests. Upgraded the memory and cleaned the inside of the laptop. It does well for a while and then overheats causing terrible lag. Going to take it apart again and apply paste to see if that helps.

 

Be sure to clean off the old paste real well and while you have the heatsinks out, get them nice and clean. Be sure to get some new thermal pads as well for the VRAM on the GPUs as the old ones will probably fall apart when you take them off. Also when removing the GPU from the heatsink be real careful. The GPUs will likely be stuck on there pretty good with the old thermal paste. Even constant pressure. Be careful not to damage the GPUs.

 

Update: I took the laptop apart and cleaned the old thermal paste with rubbing alcohol. I added the new thermal paste and put everything back together. I ran into a little snag connecting the ribbons but figured it out. Right now, the laptop is running much better than it ever has. I downloaded.core temp 1.0 and still have issues in high traffic areas. The temp on each core can get up to around 95C max and my computer starts to lag. Are there any additional ways to keep the heat down? FYSA my office is kept very cold. Thank you again in advance.