New Alienware Owner: RAID, Ordering, Support

Well, I feel lucky to have stumbled across this forum, as it seems to be the most knowledgeable community available regarding Alienware in general and the m17x.

I just ordered a m17x from the Outlet store and am patiently awaiting its arrival. I consider myself very computer literate, but by no means an expert. I have been on a Mac for the last 2 years and wanted to get reintroduced to the PC community and gaming. Anyhow, the configuration I ordered comes with two 500 gig 7,200 drives in a RAID 0 array. After doing some research, it seems to me that the RAID 0 array is basically pointless for my use. It may help a bit in games I suppose, but I will not be doing any heavy image or video work that would make better use of it. Essentially, I have two options as I see it: Attempt to uninstall the RAID 0 array and have the two drives as two independent disks, which I would prefer, or simply keep the RAID 0 and back it up weekly to an external drive.

I am nervous to remove the RAID 0 array. First, I have never done it. Second, I'll be honest, the more I read about the m17x, the more worried I become. It seems that they break randomly, have continuous errors, and the thought of having to wipe clean and start over makes me nervous. I have heard of people who reinstall come to find AlienFX no longer works. Basically, it seems like something could easily go wrong. What do you all think? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, I ordered Friday, and it is now Tuesday and it has not shipped. It was predicted to arrive this Friday. What's the hold up? I know I am impatient, but hell, I am excited!

Also.... I ordered the laptop on the 9th, which coincided with a 20% a m17x coupon code from outlet store that expired that day, but unfortunately I discovered it on the 10th! I have tried to get Dell to retroactively apply the code, but have been constantly send around the world to deal with people who barely understand what I mean. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am making a large purchase and opened a credit account with them - it seems like they should be able to work with me.

For anyone interested, here are the specs:

Intel Core i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz
1920x1200 RGB LED Screen
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
6 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM 1333 MHZ
1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5870
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability

$1,779

(I figure I can add another 5870 later if I really really need to.)

Thanks for the help.

 

Nice setup and nice price. Welcome to the forum and welcome to the Alienware community.

As far as the RAID, You can set it up in RAID 1 which,when you save something, it's saved on both disks. Offers more security so if one drive goes down, you have the other. But this cuts your storage in half, but it's like having an automatic backup.

So thats another option for ya. To start over and wipe the drive really isn't difficult. Just start with the Win 7 disk, and boot off that. You'd start by going into the BIOS, turning off RAID 0 and changing it to AHCI, then you can set to boot of the disk drive first. Next reboot off the disk and follow the instructions. Reformat, and Install. Then start loading all the drivers and such. If you run into any problems, thats what the forum is for. There is plenty of knowledge here to guide you through it. The best way to learn, is to dive in head first when the system is new and not totally loaded with you files. Or if you have a recent back up. But, in messing something up, you always learn about the system. And you have us to fall back on should you get lost or encounter a problem. So since it's new, I'd say go for it and set it up exactly how you want it and what best fits your needs.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I've thought about RAID 1, but I already have an external backup drive at the ready, and I would like to utilize the total 1TB space.

I don't necessarily doubt my ability to format and reinstall Windows, but it seems like a good number of people who have done that come here and post that their AlienFX or Command Center no longer works afterwards. That would be a true bummer to have to send the computer in for who knows how long. Is this not really a concern?

 

Nope, not that I know of. I know it was for the M15x where the drivers disk qould fry the AlienFX controller, but I havn't read such problems for the M17x. Then again I was home on leave for 3.5 weeks and outta the loop.

 

Just leave the raid o intact and back up every week I have had my rig for about 3 months now and have had no problems with my raid 0.As far as the bricking of the cc or alienfx just make sure you dont install an older version.

 

FWIW, the last three M17xR2's I just got from the Outlet that were supposedly RAID 0, were not. They were set for just AHCI, not RAID. So, maybe yours will not be RAID 0 afterall.

It's odd it hasn't shipped. All mine ship the same day. You might consider cancelling and reordering, as there is a new 20% coupon today. You can get this:

Alienware M17x Laptop
Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
640 GB SATA II Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
Slot Load Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW & BD-ROM)
1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5870

Price is $1889 - 20% = $1511. Add your own 2nd drive for cheaper than what Dell charges, and get 8GB of RAM and a Blue-ray player as a bonus, and still save about $300 from what you paid!

Good luck and enjoy whatever you wind up with!

 

That's actually precisely what I did, and I was looking at that exact laptop you have there. Unfortunately that one came in Nebula Red, which while I understand many love it, I think it is hideous.

Thanks for the help fellas (and gals).

 

Well, the Nebula red is classier than any pictures can show. Unless you completely despise red, I wouldn't discount it too quickly. But, I suppose, if everything in your life isn't red already, the color could tend to wear on you after time!

I just picked up another M17xR2 from the Outlet this morning. Too good a deal (I think) to pass up. I can probably resell it and make a few $$$. Basically, it's an i7-540M, RGBLED 1920x1200, 6GB RAM, Crossfire 4870's plus the usual stuff for $1247. Not bad, I thought.

So, did you what did you wind up buying to replace the other order?