M17x "All Powerful" General Information Thread

Now I remember this. This issue was being discussed when I first moved over from XPS to AW. From what I recall, its the the LCD. Nothing can be done about it.

I think Witcher even went so far as to purchase another make of LCD and try to solder the connections or something along those lines. Scook, you should remember that one. That was some time back.

 

My Samsung B8000 LED edge lit TV does the same thing. Its their 'dynamic contrast' BS, its how they get to advertise contrast ratios in the millions.

 

Then why some people including me (I have Samsung LCD as well) don't have this issue? Why did it disappear in my R1 after switching to 4870s and was never present in the R2?

 

I formatted my R1 and re-installed Windows 7 with the CD Dell gave me but it's a different windows 7. I don't have the Alienware fonts, icons, etc... Where do I get that?

 

I do remember witcher trying it out, still annoying though

One of my few remaining complaints about my R1

 

Exactly, I work in web development and photoshop a lot and I need my colors to be unchanging depending on the lighting. It's REALLY annoying.

 

Anyone can help me???

 

If you really need that stuff that much, - there's a couple of threads in this forum about restoring the custom AW icons, startup screens, logos etc. And I'm just too tired to search for them. Gimme a min...


<<<< Hopefully this thread helps

 

Question, if I order today with a single 4870, when 5870's come out will I be able to get 2 to CX them?

 

in theory yes, in actuality, it will be a huge pain and cost alot more than ordering with them installed

 

Well who knows when they will come out, but I supposed its not worth it to order the 4870 CF when 5870's are looming.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

There's no 100% guarantee that 5870s will ever make it to M17X.
Eventually something will be here, when and what?!.. 2X4870 will slice through every game accompanied by an OC'ed quad-core CPU, so don't worry.

 

Hi, I'm considering the M17x-R2 build with:

o Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English
o Intel® Core™ i7 920XM 2.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
o 4 Year Advanced Service Plan
o Dual 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 in CrossfireX™
o 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
o 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
o 512GB Raid 0 (2x 256GB Solid State HDDs)
o Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Burner (BR-R, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

I'd like to put a Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP as a second monitor. It has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 and I think it requires Dual-DVI to get to that resolution.

I called Dell to ask if that setup would work to the full resolution and couldn't get an answer that made me feel comforable. More like they were trying to sell me.

Does anyone have a similar setup? Or, does anyone know if these two will work to maximum? If not, any recommendations for the largest and best monitor for Photoshop-ing to hook up to the M17X?

Thank you in advance!!

 

If that's a must condition for you, - be careful.
Let's see if others have similar setups, but I really doubt you could use it in a flawless way. I heard about some issues even with a single DVI setups and lower rez. So don't rush yet.

 

I was wondering is this is a good deal? Please let me know what everyone thinks I appreciate it greatly (Also does the specs look good for a heavy gamer like myself? )
I did ask about the ATI 5870, she did not see anything in any notes...

I got 10% with my EPP discount, I told the rep I would like 20% off (based off fellow NBR's ), she put me on hold and talked to her "boss", shes returns and tells me Alienware locks that pricing. I told her I understand, and call me back tomorrow if she can get a better deal, because I am looking at a Asus G73JH-A1 also. 5 mins later she calls me back and offers me another $100.00 off making this deal $2,428.10, that's great, but see what you can do to get me to 20%, she said she will call tomorrow and try to work out something. She also offered free 2 two shipping.

Starting price no discounts: $2,809.00

224-8107 1 Space Black - Anodized Aluminum $2,528.10 $2,528.10
317-3656 1 Intel Core i7 620M 2.66 GHz (3.33GHz Turbo Mode, 4MB Cache)
317-3660 1 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
330-7841 1 Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
320-8856 1 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
320-8858 1 Dual 1GB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4870 in CrossfireX
342-0678 1 1TB Raid 0 (2x 500GB 7,200RPM HDDs)
330-3924 1 Name Plate Engraving
330-6106 1 Personalized Nameplate Trigger
313-8792 1 AlienFX Color, Quasar Blue
421-2261 1 Alienware Command Center, M17x
421-1400 1 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
420-9691 1 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
420-6436 1 PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
421-1572 1 Alienhead Glow
421-1592 1 Alienhead Glow
410-1883 1 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
313-8569 1 Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
421-1304 1 CyberLink PowerDVD 8.0 Software
421-1305 1 Nero 9 Media Burning Software
313-8944 1 5.1 Channel Audio
430-3739 1 Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology
330-6348 1 Automatic Updates: On
950-3337 1 1 Year Limited Warranty
908-2207 1 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus On-Site Service, Initial Year
922-3410 1 Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year
950-9797 1 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
421-1721 1 Soft Contracts,Banktec Care,Alienware
994-3730 1 Warranty Support,Initial Year
430-0628 1 Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
421-1360 1 Steam and Portal Factory Installed
330-5090 1 Thank You for Purchasing AlienWare
* -DISCOUNT/COUPON APPL
* AW:INLIKE




Subtotal: $2,528.10
Shipping & Handling: $19.00
Tax: $32.39
Environmental Disposal Fee:
$0.00

Total Price w/Discounts: $2,579.49

 

I would take that deal.....lol

 

I don't know, it looks expensive. A barebone W870CU + 920xm is still cheaper by quite a bit.

 

It's ok, but yes, for the same price you could score a similar config with i7-920XM.
Plus, the outlet sells the refurb (aka used) systems and their warranty is usually short term.

 

yes cheaper....and weaker performing and uglier (if you care about the looks) and less warrantied, and lower quality screen

 

Outlets seldom offer long term warranties.
Weaker performing - maybe, but not by a huge margin if you're not OC'ing.
Though you should say here: "If you're not OC'ing and benching, you don't deserve to have a laptop!" Right?

 

Dual 4870s still spank a single 5870 pretty well

that is the performance I was referring to

 

Well I just ordered my AW tonight, glad to join the ranks on this thread

 

Update that sig!

 

Can't argue with this

Welcome aboard! Ahoy m8!

 

Sig updated , I can't believe I spent so much on a lappy, oh well, I can't wait.

 

You better get used to it in the gaming world

 

Get used to it, I have been in it for over 35 years , Game On!

 

Lol, I didn't mean to upset your gaming soul! I say get used to spending tons of $ on gaming notebooks

 

lol, yep, your right, I have to wait a month for it now. I bought a 2010 Camaro and waited 6 months for it, I guess I am used to waiting for Cool things

 

My next notebook is probably gonna be a workstation, not a gaming rig. Well, technically, will be gaming all the same . But I find no need for SLI/CF configs with my gaming level. I can't see much of a difference between high and very high settings in all my favorite games

 

I agree, my SLI setup is more than I need, but it was fun building it

 

And here the only fun is to finally get it after so much anticipation. There's only one thing you'll be constantly building in this machine - dust!

 

Yeah i also have been thinking about getting one of those new hp 17 inch with USB 3.0 and the new ATI graphics card based off the 5870 GDDR5! I want all of those things, i will miss the backlit keyboard and the 5.1 sour rand sound best sound card ever! The single gtx 260 is awesome, but i have it for now and i just haven't been gaming much due to school and now joining Civil Air Patrol.

 

So guys please help me to think that my brain is not that screw @__@ .... i want all the way to get the M17x R1 with SLI GTX 280M (yeah R1 version becauses i am kinda fan of NVIDIA).. but some people is telling me that the R1 version has some issues... like stuttering or something like that... so everybody is telling me to get the new Asus G73JH which kick all the way.. but as i said i want to stay with NVIDIA, besides the Alienware look is awesome, the backlight, and building.. and everything about it looks great.

I dont want any Sager/Clevo, becauses their look sucks.... they seems to be outdated in the look..

I really love NVIDIA but i hate them too becauses they are stuck!!! Fermi seems to be a disaster, hence we are not going to see anything new in the mobile world (G92b=9800M GTX=GTX 280M core will be renamed now as GTX 380M iguess ... X__X).

So please some one tell me that SLI GTX 280M is a good choice ( by the way i am under 2300 dollars world!, so refurbished alienware are welcome)

 

I would trade you my M17X for the chance to live in Chile....
....do you like living there?? My dream is to start a Landscape Architecture firm there with my girlfriend, who is studying viticulture (wine/vineyard management)...
.... god dammit College!!!!

Anyway, I cannot speak for the ATI owners but I can play Bad Company 2 on all highs, with all the bells and whistles on. Makes me happy that I can do this on a laptop! I'm happy with my 280s, and after Dell's new beta driver release Im not having any problems.
Also if you plan on having any battery life whatsoever, the R1 is the way to go, of course it's not as new and doesn't have the RGB LED screen which I hear is nice. But honestly, I'm very pleased with my simple LCD screen.
As far as the GPUs go, the 4870s are about 10% more powerful in most games than the 280s, of course it varryies though. And alot of ppl are hoping the 5870s will be released soon, so if you can wait and want to switch to ATI, this is the way to go.

Just go with whatever makes you happy and comfortable man, if you love NVIDIA just get it. just my 2 cents though...

 

I'm with you on that one!
That lappie is a beast. M7820 is probably even stronger than FX3800M. But screw the GPU, have you seen the screen?

 

Yeah, Chile is a nice country to live.. the bad thing is you have to pay like the double of the price of a computer (compared what you pay in USA) thats why i buy everything in eBay ... and then you have the earthquakes ... but they happen each 50 years i guess hahaha...

About the M17x, well i thing i am going to do whats make me happy, and that is to get the M17x with the SLI GTX 280M, and i dont care about the CPU, becauses i can change it later, they are not that expensive as the SLI gpu are. I really want to stay with NVIDIA.. but i don´t want to become in to a stupid blind fan, as long as the SLI GTX 280M >> Mobility Radeon HD 5870.. it will be a good deal.

 

Keep in mind that you can only upgrade to the C2D, C2Qs later on, i-cores aren't compatible with Montevina. In addition the latency is a huge problem (hopefully fixed by now).

 

Yeah i know about that... i think the best CPU i can get is the Intel QX9300.. but i was thinking in buy the M17x with a "slow" cpu, lets sais a C2D @ 2.4 GHz and then buy a Core 2 Quad Q9100 or something.. they are not that expensive ~250 dollars... but there is my other question, can i upgrade without any problem? going from a dual core to a cuad core, becauses cooling system, TDP, and heat, etc..

I remenber there was a problem with the Asus G71GX upgrading from a dual core to a quad core, a problem with the cooling system. Besides i have a big trauma becauses i fried my motherboard (XPS M1530) when i change the CPU (to an Extreme CPU). I dont want to do that again

And as long as i know the difference in games between the old Core 2 Quad and the Core i7 is not a really big diffenrence, but only in games, other tasks the i7 will always win.... is that true?

 

Yes, you can upgrade without questions, don't worry about heatsinks.
As for the i7s, if you get a QX9300 eventually, you will be beating most i5s/i7s for a while, till HT is supported by more apps/games.

 

how are the new intel i7 cpus? which of those is a good choice?

 

Any of those
I vote for 620M

 

To me the best bang for buck i7 is the Core i7 720QM, is quad core with HyperThreading @ 1.6GHz and has the nice Turbo Boost to become in to a dual core cpu @2.8 GHz, so it can be a fast dual core or an amazing CPU running 8 threads at the same time.

 

If you ever need more than 4 threads, - yes. But by that time you'll probably have Sandy Bridge knocking on your doors.
620M on the other hand can run @3GHz with 2 cores and 3.3Ghz with a single core, 0.5GHz higher than 720QM.
For most games out there it's going to rock.

 

i7 720QM
1.60GHz Base
1.73GHz Quad Core Turbo
2.40GHz Dual CoreTurbo
2.80GHz Single Core Turbo

i7 620M is like this:

2.66GHz Base
3.06GHz Dual Core Turbo
3.33GHz Single Core Turbo
Go for the i7 620M

 

Yeah you are right, i really meant.. the Core i7 720QM "acts" as a fast dual core becauses the HT, but it is really one core with 2 threads. The fact is i remember reading about benchmarks where you can see that the Turbo option doesn't really help so much in games, in some cases you could see a frames drop. So i am not really impressed with the Turbo Boost. But maybe i need to see a game's benchmark comparative between 720QM vs 620M

 

Turbo boost seems like a neat idea, but I would still rather have a truely faster cpu via overclocking

no guessing on your speeds and cores then hehe

 

Good old QX9300
No matter how hard they try, only 920QM is capable of beating it (by a narrow margin).

 

and they get a voltage boost, I am operating BELOW intel spec hehe (Intel spec is 1.175 - we only get 1.1625)

I am still avidly waiting for an unlocked voltage so I can throw up some 20k+ 06 scores to quiet them R2 boys