M17x "All Powerful" General Information Thread

Hahaha....Yeah, I will miss this heat-monster. I have a hunch the new machine will be about the same, hopefully with some better heat-management.

 

After reading up more on the M17x, I'm starting to be unsure. Reason for this is that I've read that a lot of them have been defective out of the box, and Dell's customer service isn't exactly an exemplary example. Which is why I'm now also looking at the Sager 9850/Clevo M980NU (or whatever it is at Clevo)

Now, I understand that there are also people who have had good experience from Dell's customer service.

I'm in Canada, however, I was thinking of buying it from the US Dell site, having them ship it over to my cousin at New Jersey so I can just pick it up, saving me a bit of money from taxes alone. Then of course, I'll take it back over to Canada.

Now, my new question is, does anyone know an estimate percentage of the defective systems that are out, and how the warranty on it will be in my situation if I don't buy any extended warranties on it?

 

Dell's warranty support is the best in the business.

AS far as DOA units, well that could happen with a Clevo just as easily.

I haven't heard of too many DOA's... Maybe a few have been reported around here. Besides, if it does arrive DOA, call Dell and they'll send a completely new system.

 

It's not just the DOA's that I'm worried about, it's also the defective parts, and the techies coming over to replace them with refurbished ones.

The other things I'm worried about are other problems that have been brought up, coupled with poor service on the Dell forums: http://en.community.dell.com/forums/3746.aspx. Problems ranging from parts not working, stuff dying, Dell weaseling their way out of the 30-day replacement/refund period and so on. Not to mention the time it seems to take to ship these things, though from what I've read in the order status thread here, it's pretty random, though that shouldn't be the case.

The thing that's holding be back from the Sager is more on I've never heard of them before.

 

the M17x is extremely successful....you are hearing all these bad things because that is why people come to this forum, they have a problem

When soemthing works you never hear about it, when it breaks, it becomes a crisis and everyone hears about it

Remember that of the people here with an M17x, I would have to say we probably make up 5% at most of the M17x users - and we don't even all have problems

I have been extremely happy with mine so far

 

My M17x just shipped. I am just wondering, can one uninstall McAfee trial just like any other program or does one have to reinstall windows to get rid of it. I believe some other people were reinstalling windows when their laptops arrived, should I do that? Or is it not necessary and I can just go straight to installing games?

 

Mcafee is a program like any other. Just uninstall it when you get the system.

 

I see, so guess the other thing to ask is if they're still shipping the M17x randomly or are the new ones that get ordered ship on time.

 

Very little bloatware, go ahead and start gaming!
McAfee just uninstalls unlike Nortons ect.

 

Awesome : ) Thanks for the info, I am hoping it will arrive before I get Section 8, but I doubt it. I should have it well before Majesty 2 releases though, and then the games start coming and coming and coming... : D

 

well mine was 12 days from ordering to my doorstep....but I think I was lucky haha

 

Thanks for the nice compilation of links.
This made me buy one

 

Where can I find the protection film for the m17x? I just need it to cover my screen....

 

http://buyviewguard.com/

 

Hey folks I've been combing the threads linked from the first page of this thread but haven't been able to find a comprehensive guide out there yet, so if there has been one (or a post in another thread detailing instructions) could someone please point me in the direction of a walk through on how to set up a RAID 0 array from installing the new HDD all the way through to configuring BIOS and such? I finally had all my parts shipped in (QX9300, OCZ Freeze, Caddy, and HDD) so now I want to do one surgery and kill all my birds with one stone, so to speak.

Thanks!

 

go into BIOS then advanced

then HD mode

drop down menu select raid

then under the newly opened menu

enable sata port 0 and 3

then reboot

 

And this will necessitate a re-install of the OS, correct? Will the former (single) HDD have to be completely wiped of ALL partitions, or will I be able to save any- specifically the Alien Respawn partition on the original HDD?

 

it should be all gone ...

i dont like raid i just know how to use it

 

I see the raid the way most view SLI on a desktop, it is always better to have a single faster unit than 2 slower ones working together and introducing more fault points

 

On laptops, RAID is a good addition for performance.

Even laptop 7200 RPM drives are slower than their desktop counterparts, so any help in speed is welcome, IMO.

Guess it doesn't matter as the transition to SSD has begun and they just destroy traditional HDD's in performance....

 

so performance-wise it is better to have a raid setup?

Alex

 

Its always better performance-wise but if you want to keep your data safe, its kind of risky since if one drive fails, you lose the data on both.

 

Hard drive failure rates are pretty low, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I have been RAID'ing system for a long time and have yet to have a bad disk.

Just make sure you backup any important data and your good to go....

 

Okay, so CPU swap went more than fine, QX9300 is completely wicked.

BUT

Need some help getting my second HDD installed and working. Got it mounted in the bracket and attached, but when I tried to boot it wouldn't get past the alienware head screen and couldn't get into BIOS or setup. I don't want to set up a RAID config just yet, would just like to have the second drive as just another drive in the system, so what would be the steps to get it to function as that? Right now I have three options in SATA Operation in the BIOS (it booted up fine once I took the newly added drive out)- AHCI, ATA, and RAID, and it's set in AHCI. Should I swap it over to ATA to get it to recognize the second drive or what?

Thanks for the help folks, and sorry for the pestering....

 

i haven't logged in for a while, but this thread expanded like weeds with 3 months of rain !

so what's the take on the updated m17x ? how are ppl liking it ? any hardware issues ?

 

Mine is fantastic.

It's funny because I had ordered an M17x when it first came out. When I got it I felt some of the features were half-baked and not ready for primetime (ie touch panel, alienfx, etc).


Now that I have a new system with updated software and a darn good BIOS, this thing now feels VERY ultra-premium Everything is flawless and I have had only a few minor hiccups.

 

glad to see that the QX9300 is working well for you Praetorian77

 

Scook- yep, it's fantastic.

Everyone- allright, I am totally at a loss for what to do to get this damned second drive working- have tried everything from switching the slots their in (new one in HDD0 and old one in HDD1 and vice versa) to fiddling with the BIOS to no end and I still can't seem to get it to work- all I would like is a set-up similar to Moo's with the extra drive being nothing more than storage, but every time I try to boot with two drives in it it doesn't get past the initial screen, I can't get into BIOS or Boot Menus, and it just emits a low beep about every second until I manually power off. Any and all assistance is more than welcome folks- I've exhausted my own ability and I'm sure I'm just missing something really, really easy here....

 

Here's what I would do, assuming that it will boot with the original drive as HDD0.

Using an external dock, preferably eSATA, I'd clone the original to the new drive. Then I'd remove old drive and install new as HDD0, leaving HDD1 empty.

If that works, cool. If not, there's possibly summink wrong with your new drive.

If it does work I'd reformat the old drive (again using the external dock), ensuring it's non-bootable. Then I'd stick that in as HDD1.

If that don't work - I'm flummoxed.

 

Have you upgraded to BIOS A02?

I had a slightly different issue. Everything was running beautifully, but after a couple of weeks I noticed that the my 2nd hard drive was not detected in My Computer. Called up Dell support. Checked the BIOS and it wasn't showing up there either. Reseated the second hard drive. No go. So they were going to send a engineer down to check the motherboard connection.

Anyway, following the recommendations on the forum I upgraded to A02. 2nd drive detected on reboot. Everything is good in the world.

I feel like Sleey. With all the updated software, it's a wonderful piece of gear.

 

just finish uploading a video on youtube about size comparisons between M17x and w90vp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPMWNGGd2So

 

wow the W90vp is massive!!!

Alex

 

Okay, this is ridiculous, proc swap going perfectly, takes half an hour, no problems at all, but now I can't get this damned hard drive to work for the life of me and I've been on it for a week now....

So ordered it, brand-new, from Amazon.de, had it get here, unboxed it, strapped it into the second caddy, stuffed it in, tried to boot it up. Freezes at first screen, can't enter BIOS, can't enter Boot Menu, nothing, just get a low, constant beeping sound from the laptop. Figure, okay, maybe it's just the Alienware and something isn't set up right. So I swap it into my old Dell Inpsiron 9400, which only has one HDD bay, and pop a Win 7 setup disc in so I can format it and and stuff. Except that after loading, when asked where I want to install the OS to, it can't find ANYTHING. Go into BIOS on the Dell (it works) and it says that there is no hard disk drive installed. Pop it into a port....still nothing. Am starting to really think I have a bum hard drive here....which would suck. The only conceivable thing I can think of is that there is some little switch on the little blighter somewhere that I have to push or flip or something before it works....it's a Seagate Momentus 7200.4, if any are curious.

If anyone has any strokes of genius I would be eternally grateful, for now I'm just going to look into ordering another one and hope that the same thing doesn't happen all over again.....

 

There is no switch . It sounds like you need to bury it

 

I think it is RMA time. For what it is worth.....newegg reviews are not in favor of the 7200.4 model (part of why I am avoiding it)

 

The 500GB 7200.4 that is in my M17x is running flawlessly.

It's fast, quiet, and overall just a great drive.

 

I don't doubt it runs well, but if newegg is any indication, there seems to be about a 15% failure rate which is more than I am willing to chance personally

 

Newegg reviews aren't always the greatest.

Plus, some of the issues are old and have been addressed since those reviews were written.

I am usually a big Hitachi travelstar fan because I have had probably around 20 thru the years and not one went bad. Those drives are SOLID.

But, I have to say, that the seagates are good as well.

 

I see. I am just planning on RAID 0 with 2 WD3200BEKT I think when Windows 7 becomes official

 

Well, I'm thinking what you all are thinking.

There will be a short service later this afternoon.

Anyway, will probably grab a pair of WD's like you Scook after Win 7 is officially and set 'em up in a nice RAID....for now one HDD should be fine. Thanks for the help folks!

 

So far I'm on a 50% failure rate. Luckily the first one died slowly, so I didn't lose any data. Still waiting for them to come and pick up the old drive. Don't know why they want it - must cost them more to ship it than they pay for them new.

 

Because Dell will send it back to Seagate. Dell won't get screwed for a faulty drive that is near-new.

 

Hey guys. Been enjoying my Alienware m17x and it pretty much works flawlessly.

except for this:

Whenever the machine switches to the 9400m gpu if i try to change it back to dual SLI, it will show @ resolution screen that its running with the dual 260ms but it's not real, since from performance in games you can tell its still running in the 9400m mode. the only way ive found that i can fix this is uninstalling the graphic drivers and reinstalling them again... and make sure it just runs in Dual sli all the time. Im kind of figuring out this is a driver issue but i'm not sure. You guy experience this, or is there a fix?

Thanks ^_^

 

tiduspr- As far as I know, going from discrete to the 9400m can be done while the computer is running, but to change it back to SLI mode requires a restart. Have you tried switching the 260's back on and then rebooting to see if it takes effect at start up, or does it still use the 9400m?

 

yeah, even if i restart it i still stays in 9400m mode even though it shows as being in SLI. Usually as soon as I reinstall the drivers, the first few times i try to switch frim 9400m to sli the machine itself asks to be rebooted and does the switch correctly, but once the "glitch" happens , the screen just blinks for a sec. when trying to switch from one mode to the other, yet it doesnt really switch to SLI, even if i reboot and although the icon shows it as being in dual 260ms.

 

Mine works fine with a single 260M, but I keep the onboard disabled in the BIOS unless I know I'm going to need battery for awhile, which is almost never. hehehe. If I need battery, I get the wife's Dell. LoL!

I wouldn't mind having a spare battery, though, for extra travel juice in the airports that I can't find A/C in.

 

M15x is an exact clone (exterior) of M17x...it is on the website!

 

NOT true. Pay close attention to details. To clone is to make an exact replica in every aspect.

 

You can get the 4870's in xfire now, are these more powerful than the gtx 280m's in sli????

 

maybe, but we do not know yet since no one has them at the moment

wait and see!