*OFFICIAL* "All Powerful" M17xR2 Edition Owner's Lounge - Part 3

Wait, you said it has anything to do with AMD cards?
Don't tell me that HD5870M is defective.

 

It seems that NateN34 is offering some assumptions about what happened to rubyboy's laptop rather than insinuating that the AMD cards are defectively designed. Rubyboy's M17x is an older generation with the ATI 4870, so it may have seen a lot of heavy use. I don't see CrossFireX as having any design flaws or problems per se, so unless he explains what that means we cannot respond to the statement "Crossfire are the problems" or even know what that is supposed to mean.

I can tell you that the M17x cooling system is more than adequate and there are no inherent heat problems unless something was not assembled correctly (i.e. no paste on heatsink, etc.). Alienware laptops are famous for having good cooling systems. The AMD MXM GPU modules are solid, but electronics are no different than anything else. Sometimes parts fail for reason's that cannot be explained without deeper investigation. Sometimes things wear out from heavy use. If a CPU or GPU is improperly OC'd it can hose them as well, but that usually occurs over time and with repeated abuse. Another thing that can adversely affect electronics is "dirty power" and in some places around the world, stability in electrical current can be an issue. If we go on the assumption that they are dying as he suspects, the possibilities are endless as to the reasons rubyboy's 4870 CFX system is going TU.

 

Great explanation Mr. Fox!
+rep for that.

 

Thanks! I appreciate it, buddy.

 

For those of you with AMD CFX and issues with Aero crashing, I have created a package with modded INF, drivers and instructions. Aero is now rock-solid on my system (with the factory Alienware OS installation) and it appears to me that on AMD systems, CCC is the culprit. I find it very difficult to crash Aero on purpose and it has not spontaneously crashed on me with the installation tweak I am using. For those that have been following along, this is a slight variation and way less tweaking than what I previously posted on the M18x Owner's Lounge and m18x and windows aero threads.

I would appreciate your feedback on the documents and (for those willing) testing on your systems.

For instructions only (no drivers) click this link: DOWNLOAD 19k

For full download (instructions and drivers) click this link: DOWNLOAD 116MB


These benchmarks are using the tweak above and those that have followed my scores will recognize they are as good or better than running unmodded Dell and AMD Catalyst packages.

Vantage: P22764 | 3DMark06: 22425 | 3DMark11 P6700
| | ​

 

sorry for late reply, my gpu/gpus got worse overnight and i had strips of green pixels all over the alienhead on boot and could only boot on safe mode. now using a spare computer

i called dell and they offered me this 1 year parts and services coverage deal which is 850 dollars sgd. i was actually thinking of switching to a desktop but 850 dollars dint seem to bad since 1 graphics card costs 700 dollars from dell so i took the deal. would have loved to pay abit more for 5870s but they couldnt give me a quote so i just went ahead with the original deal.

as to enquiries on how my cards died, i have no idea actually. i was playing wow and suddenly got artifacts. i received my system in end april 10 so its only been a year and few months.

i dont oc my cards much only occasionally to do some benchmarking and the temps never went above 78 degrees. i even recently opened the thing up to remove the dust on the graphics card fans etc. the only component that wasnt in the 'good temp range' was the processor which usually peaked at 90 degrees. recently it got up to 99 degrees on all 4 cores. not sure if the heat from the processor could have damaged the cards.

anyway, dells sending someone over tomorrow to replace the cards and apply thermal paste/change thermal pads on my cpu so ill see how it goes. the only bad thing about the 1 year 'warranty' is that the parts they supply are gona be all refurbs which in my previous experiences, almost always dont work out

 

hey guys i'm having problem with my M17x R2. i cant get its screen to work when i turns my lap on. it just doesn't show nothing at all, even the BIOS screen at start up. I think everything else in my lap works fine, the AlienFX does comes up, and the little alien head that indicates processors' status flashes as it usually does. But the screen really makes me sad just doesn't work
Any idea guys or anyone having the same problem as me? please help. thanks in advance.

 

Is it under warranty? I'd call it in. Sounds like you might just have to disassemble and reconnect the cables to me.

If your system never beeps I doubt its the video card.

 

Cesar1999, I would call Dell and have them do a check on it. In my experience with Alienware computers, disconnecting cables and reconnecting usually does the trick. You may also have a bad screen but that usually can be determined when you reseat the cables. At any rate good luck.

 

Thanks Tweak155 and captain008, I did the check up with the video cards, disconnecting and reconnecting the cables, but things stay the same.
So according to captain008, I have problems with the screen? If so how can I check it myself ?
My warranty ended about a month ago.

 

try connecting your system to an external monitor and see if there is output. if there isnt even any output on the external, issue could probably be with something else eg: the graphics cards.

when you say 'everything else in my lap works fine, the AlienFX does comes up, and the little alien head that indicates processors' status flashes as it usually does'

does that mean it can still boot to windows(with windows startup sounds etc)

look at the service manual on how to remove and reconnect screen cables.

 

So.. I've been having problems with crossfire recently or rather for a while now because I'm just getting around to try and solve it. Whenever crossfire is enabled I get major flickering issues which I'm sure is nothing new around here. It's where the screen get distorted, part of the screen is scrolling up or down over and over, doesn't happen all the time but it is consistent. I don't have the flickering problem when i disable crossfire though.

I already tried amd drivers and stock dell drivers but to no avail. I am still using whatever bios came on the cards and even reseated the crossfire cable, or at least one end of it. Do I need to get the cards replaced you think?

 

Try flashing Dell's updated vBIOS and see if that helps. If it does not, it could be a bad card. How are the temps? Are you still under warranty?

 

I'll try flashing thanks and not sure on the temps but I still have 2 years on warranty.

 

looks like I already had the new vbios flashed because the version number didn't change and I'm still getting flickering. Looks like i gotta call dell.

 

whats a good price for a system with the 6990, fullhd screen and base everything else? It's my first alienware and when I called in, the rep gave me a quote of $2,138.21, about 81 bucks off or roughly 3.6% and told me that alienware systems are too high end to offer me anything more substantial

 

Are you talking about M18x? The M17xR2, this thread's topic does not have the option to configure the system with 6990m's nor are they even for sale anymore except through dell outlet (refurbs). Although I just found out you can install your own 6970m's and probably 6990m's in a M17xR2.

 

sorry i was thinking of the r3, i didnt see this was for the r2

 

So, Im on the phone with Alienware tech support to get my 5870s replaced and what does he say? " They probably won't offer a system exchange but want to replace your gpu's. I see you have accidental damage. If in the future there was an accident, like you spilled something on it, then there would be a system exchange no questions asked." then later goes on to say as a side remark "you have the information on how to get a system exchange." wow is all I can say.

Now he told me if I had an accident, and called back and said that, It would help for a system exchange, he that went on to call that a valuable tip. I told him that the system won't boot. With the slave in it won't. Slave is dead. But over the phone he said id have to go into the system to trouble shoot. He frankly said "techs just seaport parts, they don't know how to trouble shoot. Thier not very good. So my options for next business day warranty are, trouble shooting myself (Im to lazy to sit on the phone for all that. Or even to fake doing that) or send it to the depot for all that. He also said he can't enter that I had an accident himself, but to call back. Talk about shady text support but it made me laugh.


Anyhow all I want is my system to have dual guys and do some gaming. This system is my only piece of entertainment.

The one thing I didn't say to him was one gpu is good. I doubt want to send it off because at the moment Im in a new apt since i just moved. I have no chairs no tables no tv. Just dress suits for work an air mattress and my android. This place is totally bare till my wife gets here in a week and a half. Gotta have something to occupy my time.

If this made no sense its because Im typing on my phone while on the phone with Alienware tech support. I have no internet and the earliest they could install cable was Aug 15t. Good thing I called on Jul 25th.

 

You have the 6970's, do you plan on selling the 5870's or something or keeping for warranty purposes?

 

Keeping for warranty purposes. But having to RMA the 6970s because one will cause a.bsod when it hits 3D clocks. So will ive had an unlucky streak. Two sets of card and with javelin a bad gpu.

 

ouch sorry to hear..

What are the latest modified drivers for the 5870's everyone is using? been looking around but no luck yet.

 

Theres a couple of new sets out.

The proper 11.7 AMD GPU set and the Preview 11.8 AMD set.

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonmob_win7-64.aspx

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/Catalyst118DriverPreview.aspx

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=2760

+ don't forget to update and install the latest CAP profiles http://www.rage3d.com/cap/

Cheers.

 

I was using 11.7.

And to send the 6970s back is going to cost $140. Because i didn't realize the was a suspense date. I missed it.

 

Cancel the RMA chief! Go for a set of 6990Ms

Tell them you'll pay the difference or whatever

Cheers.

 

Oh man!!! Major Bummer!
OUCH!

On a side note one of my R2s may be outbound.
I may also have a 920XM ES and a set of 5870s + R2 Mobo up for grabs in the near future.

Cheers.

 

I asked. Can't do that

 

DR650SE, is dell allowing you to install the replacement 5870's or are they sending a tech to replace it? I need to get mine replaced too because the flickering won't stop. I tried dell drivers, latest drivers, older drivers, flashed to latest vbios, flashed to A10 bios (was using A06 this whole time) etc.. and still get flickering with crossfire enabled.

 

Anyone else notice when changing the AlienFX to white, there is an almost peachy or light pink color instead of a TRUE white? I see it mentioned a lot over on the M11X forum. I figured when I first got the machine, that it was just the way it looked, but now Im curious if its something I should get checked out. Its not a huge deal, but I would defiantly prefer a real white color if its possible.

For referance:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m133/hawaiidood/IMAG0112.jpg

Oh wow I get this same flickering. Again its not a HUGE deal but If it can be fixed, that would be great. Is it something with the cards themselves or a driver issue? Is it really that common and is it protected under the warranty?

 

Ouch DR650...that is horrible. I'm still waiting for my RMA to be processed so I can get my new set of cards. Should happen in the near future, thankfully I do have my 4870's that are working right now, so not a complete wait.

 

I hear it can be a driver issue but I never had this problem in the past. It only started to develop after a tech replaced my motherboard. I'm not sure if it was because of something the tech did but it did not flicker before that point. Although I do remember it working fine until I updated drivers at some point past the tech visit so who knows and it is covered under warranty.

Oh you might want to make your image re-sizable instead, it screwed up the formatting of the page.

 

Edited. Sorry, didnt realize how big it posted. Ive had the flicker pretty much since I recieved the laptop. And its not SUPER often but when I play a game, it tends to pop up randomly and only lasts for a few seconds. Its honestly not a HUGE deal but does bother me from time to time. And the interesting part is that it only happens when I play a game. It never flickers when watching a movie, or browsing the internet or any other time, which leads me to believe its a cross fire problem. Anyway I might give dell a call this week and see what it all involves.

 

Yea. Looks like i May be S.O.L. My second 5870 isn't working now Now Im stuck with nothing but an ipod nano and a driod. No tv, no internet, Nothing till my wife gets here on the 13th. Looking forward till the weekend so i can drink my sorrows away

 

I can get it to flicker in games by looking in a certain direction. If I look away the flickering stops, as soon as I look in the direction the flickering occurs, it happens non-stop until I look in any other direction the flickering doesn't occur.

 

reposting this:

DR650SE, is dell allowing you to install the replacement 5870's or are they sending a tech to replace it? I need to get mine replaced too because the flickering won't stop. I tried dell drivers, latest drivers, older drivers, flashed to latest vbios, flashed to A10 bios (was using A06 this whole time) etc.. and still get flickering with crossfire enabled.

 

I Havent gone that far yet. Gave up on bothering with that call.

 

Time to begin the long process of reverting my system back to stock. Its going to the depot. gotta swap cpu, ram, hdds, internal optical hdd bay. Thinking I May keep my personalized plate.

 

This is a long shot but try this:
-Create a new user
-Reboot Windows and log into new user just created
-Try to run what you had and gave you the flickering.

Please reply back and post if it makes any difference.

 

DR650SE:
Man it sucks whats going on with your system. I have been reading a lot about the ATI cards either going out or something jacks up with the Xfire. Did they tell you what was wrong, or are they just going to tinker or ship a new one? Have no fear about entertainment, you have an android. I'm rocking the Evo 3d and I can spend hours on it. If your phone is "special", *cough*, rooted, *cough*, you can have loads of fun. I hope everything works out ok.

 

Yea, lol, been meaning to reasearch rooting it (Samsung Captivate). I need to back up everything first though. Not quite sure what happened with the cards, I think the system got some moisture in it, because I think now both cards are bad, and the mobo. So well see what dell decides. R2 or 18x, I'm good either way. So long as it meets the specs I had all around. I sent it back to the Depot. There the'll look at at and fix it if possible, or issue a replacement. Well see.

 

Thanks but it still flickers. Why do you think that would have worked ?

 

Is there anyone who can help me with backup dvds for my Alienware M17x R2. I currently have windows Home Premium and am looking for backup dvds.

Will pay for dvd charges + P&P.

Would appreciate the help.
Cheers

 

Hey friend, I assume you are referring to an installation disc rather than a backup. (An actual backup would include someone else's software apps and data, so that would not be appropriate.)

You can create your own Windows 7 installation media for free. Look at this thread. I used the ISO version for my clean install. And, the ABR software works flawlessly.

 

What games? Have you tried playing around with various in-game video adjustments. Changing the AA settings almost always corrects flickering for me.

Crysis flickers something fierce on CFX--did on my R2 and does on my M18x-- but setting 2XAA stops it or reduces it a lot for me in most games. You may need to turn off AA in CCC or set it to let the application control AA.

 

Thanks but it still flickers with AA off and it happens in any game I play, mount and blade, magicka, bc2. There is also this thin vertical black line that appears along with it, although not necessarily at the same time, on the left side of the screen but only in crossfire mode. The odd thing is I can run the heaven benchmark without any flickering but the thin black line still appears.

 

Sounds like you've possibly got some dying AMD cards. Are you still under warranty, or able to extend?

 

i got this with my 5870s . i never found the reason even i searched on the net but my personal assumption is even that there is a static charge or micro differences on voltage between the cards. did you try them one by one? i am pretty sure you wont get flickering.

 

I've had this flickering problem in the past and by restoring, I was able to get rid of it. I think my problem was too many stagnant files got left behind from experimenting and causing some conflict.

 

Flickering is one thing, but the other issue suggests something more serious is wrong. If still under warranty, the cards probably need to be replaced. If not, and not able to extend warranty, then it's probably time to install a pair of Clevo 6970 cards.

 

Hei guys,

I experience some wiered issues latelly...my m17x R2 with 2 x 5870 hd doesn't run games as smooth as it used to (i did nothing to change the configuration). Now this is not a dramatic fall in performance just enought to feel it. For example in BFBC2 i have just a bit of lag when moving mouse for example and i can feel it it's not smooth as it used to be.

So i restalled the official dell drivers ... still the same. Then i disabled crossfire and voila ... BFBC2 runs excelent just like before.

I saved some 3dmark performance tests from when i bought the unit and all the benchmarks that i run now are identical to the old ones with crossfire enabled (aparently no drop in performance benchmark wise).

Another thing i have noticed is the fans don't run as fast as before when crossire activated ... they never go to maximum except when i have crossfire disabled.

As i said...drivers were reinstalled (dell official ones) and no change ... should i reinstall windows ?!