*OFFICIAL* "All Powerful" M17x-R2 Edition Owner's Lounge - Part 2

So you're keeping the 720qm + 4870CF system ?

 

My system currently has a single 5870, do you guys think its worth it to upgrade to xfire 5870s. While the xfire 5870 doesnt seem to have as much overclocking potential as most people expected stock doesn't it still offer a healthy boost over overclocked xfire 4870s.

 

Are you going to reorder a 4870x2 system Joker and stick with that?

 

Yup, I think Dell is prepared to offer me concessions to keep the 5870 XF configuration but I doubt I'll go for it after thinking it over and running more game tests vs the 4870s. Doesn't look like the 5870s are doing the job they should.

Fortunately I already have one. I just regret selling my 920xm now since I could've just stuck it in my 720 based system. Going to have to find an ES now.

 

You're right, I need to update the GPU Fan speed reading for some later ATI GPUs. Give me some time and I'll release a new Beta..

 

Do you need the 920xm for benching purposes ?

 

It's a boost over single 5870 for sure but it's not much faster than dual 4870s. I'd say in most games they're nearly the same speed. Clock for clock, I'd say the 4870s are doing more work which is not supposed to be the case since ATi made architectural changes to the 5870s to make them slightly more efficient. Dell nerfed them at the vbios/driver level, most likely to get them to work within the constraints of the M17x. Clevo was obviously not able to pull it off with their X8100 and had to create that mammoth X7200.

 

Yeah that and I just want it for some games that I play.

 

Since I'm coming from an R1 system, I'm definitely keeping this one. Besides, it runs every game I throw at it great.

 

Yeah any version of R2 is a big upgrade over the R1 failure. But the R2-5870 XF is not a worthy successor over the 4870s unfortunately.

 

So guess I should just go ahead and reorder my new system with 4870's then.. sure seems like the way to go from what your saying. Not updating the drivers and not being able to utilize the new ATI ones is a MAJOR drawback...

 

Can you use ATI Catalyst drivers on 4870CF systems ?

If WoW runs any better there, I'm thinking of asking for a "upgrade" to 4870CF.

 

Yeah after all this I canceled my order today. I'll wait and see what Alienware has in store over the next couple of months. If I am not pleased with anything, I'll just settle for the Clevo X7200 lunchbox.

 

No, you should get the 5870s. The 4870s are good for those of us that already have an R2. New owners should get the 5870s because they are a bit faster overall. The trade off is that you will be tied down to Dell driver support. How important that is to you is what can be the deciding factor. Personally I'm split on the issue. One on hand driver updates rarely ever matter unless they are fixing a game incompatibility. But if for some reason a game in the future isn't crossfire compatible and Dell moves on to the next best thing and stops updating drivers, well you're SOL.

Yes you can. I'm using 10.5's with my 4870XF setup right now.

Don't blame you. I was considering the lunchbox myself but then realized I can't stand Clevo's ugly plastic boxes, no matter what they stick in them. Plus I'm spoiled by RGB LED. At the end of the day, the Clevo will only be marginally faster than an R2 since the CPU isn't a huge factor in most games and the 480M's will only be marginally faster than 4870xf/5870xf in DX 10 (they will likely excel in tesselation but how many games really use that?). The only thing that Dell could offer at this point that would get me to keep the dual 5870m system is a 920xm upgrade for free. They sent me a botched system as it is so I've got very little incentive to keep it.

 

That is a shame about the 5870 Joker, I figured if anyone would find a compelling reason to keep it, it would be you. (although I agree with a new purchase, go for the best you can get).

On a side note, I was thinking about the new nVidia mobile chip. With heat being an issue, do any of you think it would be feasible to run a single card and with a new set of heat pipes, utilize the fan setup for crossfire (so having heat pipes like a dual card system, but cooling a single 2gig card)? Not being a huge ATI fan makes the prospect of the 480 card desirable.

 

Has anyone noticed... OK this is such a little detail ... the difference between left and right front grill, or to be precise the hexagonal pattern they put.

My left pattern looks like 90 degrees rotated right. This is how my left one looks like:



see hexagons on left-right of each are touching with angled side. And if you flip the picture 90 degrees, then the left-right neighbouring hexagons are touching with their vertical sides ^^

 

Wiki page has been updated with a quick guide to installing ATi drivers should they not be detected. Credit to Aranthira for first posting about it: http://alienwarem17x.wikia.com/wiki/Common_issues_&_resolution

 

can anyone tell me whether HDMI cable transmits audio as well as video ?
i am planning on buying a plasma screen (panasonic G20 series), and going to connect the beast via HDMI. Also, any issues i should expect ? Is it working 'out of the box' ?

 

Lol Unreal.

 

Mfractal. May I suggest trying to find a pioneer elite plasma instead? The panny's are nice but don't compare to the pioneers. I've owned both

 

Thanks for the suggestion, the Kuro is a little out of my price range. I am buying in Israel and they are very expensive here.
Sorry for the OT

 

Aren't you moving to Brazil soon? I'd head out there asap and get out of that volatile area. Also totally agree about the Kuro. I had a KRP-500M when I lived in Miami and it was the best TV I'd ever seen. Pretty depressed I had to sell it, it was too fragile to transport.

 

I am actually in Brazil right now, but just on a business trip.
I am here one or twice every year, but for now out homebase is Israel although we do want to move to Brazil one day. This country is just awesome!
Wish i could afford the Kuro, but i can't, so i am settling on Panasonic G20 unless anybody has any better suggestions.

 

I have been using the HDMI output on my R1 to pass 7.1 surround 1080p signal just this week

Going to a nice Denon receiver and then a sony bravia 52"

 

Yes, the HDMI transmits both high quality video and audio
And it does work "out of the box", only thing you might want to do is do some video levels adjustments, what I do is a put some of my favorite wallpapers in my R2 (which will also be showing in my TV) and I begin adjusting the advanced video settings in the TV itself until you get a close match to the colors and levels of your R2, you might need to also do some adjusting in CCC TV video output, not really hard at all, then just save those settings in both CCC and your TV. When I first was watching a movie this way, while all worked beautifully, the dark scenes where too dark in the TV, also the colors where not completely to my liking, but after a some adjustments, I got a picture I am very happy with, pretty damn good actually!
Enjoy your stay in Brazil! I heard many good things about it, would love to go sometime.

 

I've had a Pioneer Elite Pro-940HD plasma for several years. It's been and still is a great TV. Is the Kiro a successor to the Elite?

 

Rev- the 9th gen pioneers are either the kuro or the kuro elite. Difference being that the elite models have isf calibration capability. I bought the elite monitor (signature series) which doesn't come with any built in speakers, but the picture quality is the best.

Back on topic... I was curious whether the new m17x r2's come with the protective micro fiber sleeve in the box. Mine should be here tomorrow so I wanna make sure I'm getting everything that should come with a brand new m17x.

I really don't want to go thru what Joe went thru. But at least it would give me some firepower to get some upgrades...

Edit: isf not ifs, stupid ipad

 

Yes they do come with a protective sleeve.

 

Thanks crylo

 

It's the same sleeve as the one that comes with m11x (cheap one), just a bit bigger obviously.

 

Yeah. The sleeve sucks. You might as well put it in a cardboard box. They should totally include a cleaning cloth with all models.

By the way, thanks to the mods for fixing up the Alienware forums. They look and feel great this way, very organized.

 

I agree with the cleanliness of the form now as well.


Why does the sleeve suck? It's not the softest thing but it wont scratch my precious...will it?

 

I am glad I saved the cleaning cloth that my M1730 came with.

 

I use that sleeve to slip just over the screen portion. cuts down on getting crap on the glossy screen.

 

It's a pretty cheap sleeve, even for my standards (and that tells you something! ).

Anyway, I had this computer now for a few days and I don't think I'll be returning it. I'll probably be taking some good pictures during the weekend and writing a little review.

I agree with Joker's comparison m11x vs m17x, this (m17x) is a whole new level in terms of build quality. It's build like a tank.

 

Well good, cause if you try to leave the m17x owners club, you know what happens

we get and then you get

 

How you liking the i7 620M ?

 

Hope for us 5870 early adopters

 

Bluekorn, lol.


Well CPU is fine I guess. I haven't done any benchmark on CPU, but haven't seen it pass 72 C yet. The other 2 CPUs are too expensive for me atm. I'd rather go for SSD instead.

Games are most bound by graphic cards, and anything else I do on the laptop doesn't use that much of a CPU.

 

Sad to say but i just got off the phone and i've got my RMA on my 6 day old R2. Since both 5870's failed to engage consistently in any game and dell/ati dont seem to want to support these cards its hardly a hard decision.

Surprisingly the dell CS rep didn't even try to talk me out of returning it.

 

What does that mean "failed to engage consistently" ?

 

it means that i can fire up Crysis and only 1 card will appear to have any activity according to hwinfo32 and gpuz.

like 4 out of 5 times only 1 card will be running the game. The other card reported 0% utilization and temps were same as if no game was running.

So thats a big deal breaker for me. I dont want to keep a 3700.00 laptop thats not sure when to engage the second card. Like i said, once it a while it does so the card's not broken. I'm assuming somethings up with Dell's driver or firmware but since i cant update to 10.5 without BSOD all day im not sure which is the real issue.

And again for this kind of money i shouldn't have to think about it. It should just work, out of the box with 0 tweaking.

 

Hey, quick question.

Does the R2 use the same battery as the R1? I will probably be getting an R2 as a replacement and I have a spare battery for my R1, but I want to know if it will work with my R2.

Same goes for the R1's power adapter..will it work with the R2?

 

They should both be swappable between the 2 models

 

Fantastic, thanks dude.

 

Hello all.

I've been trying to decide whether to purchase an M17x or G73JH for weeks now. Usage would mostly be for coding, web, multimedia, and occasional gaming.

I very much prefer the style and ruggedness of Alienware, sounds like a good screen and keyboard, but I'm concerned about noise levels and reliability. Seems to be quite a few issue and returns on this forum, and I don't want to have an expensive new laptop patched up with used parts straight off the bat! I'm thinking the G73JH might be more reliable, but I'm dubious about the keyboard, and it kinda seems to be made like a toy in comparrison

 

Think of it this way. Of course your going to see a lot if issues here. Thats because this forum pops up and any issue related google search. Ask most users and they will tell you they found this site while googling a problem they had. Plus NBR users tend to be very knowledgeable and exploit issues with the systems. Especially the Alienware enthusists.

Don't the issues here dictate you opinion on the system. Use the info to make an informed decision. My guess is there are tons of users out there that are satisfied with thier system, and as a result, are not aware of NBR. As far as G73 vs Alienware, it may come down to price. G73 is a great laptop, but the Alienware is a phenomenal notebook.

Also, in my opinion, the warranty is much much better for the Alienware. You can always request an replacement or return the notebook within 21 days of invoice. Than reorder so as not to get refurbed parts.

But being that it is an Alienware forum, most members are going to say go for the Alienware. Others will say go for the G73, and the Alienware is all about hype and a name. But I would say if your going with a single GPU, stick with the G73 or M15x. If you want dual GPU's, then definately the M17x.

 

I've had both (with dual graphic cards and extreme CPU) and the battery and power adapter are interchangeable.

 

this is true I just got my R2 and it uses a flextronics adapter the same as my old R1.

 

Seconded - I've had mine since March and I haven't had 1 issue.

Out of the thousands that were sold, the issues you'll see only affect a small percentage - usually the whiney wankers that shouldn't have such a great machine anyway i'm kidding...

I'm just a little torqued that people already have dual 5870s and i waited 9 weeks to get mine with dual 4870s...

M'Fers...