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

This has to do with the M17x R1 - not the R2.

 

Interesting, mine works like a charm. Simply copying files over went from 28-30 MB/s, to 70MB/s. Also cut down my image creation time in half. The bottle neck in mine now is the HDD write speed of the drive. That is also without the additional power to the drive. Didn't see a need to use it.
The drivers to use are the NEC USB3.0/EXE/RENESAS-USB3-Host-Driver-20200-setup. Run that and it should work. Worked for me anyhow first time off the bat. Definately worth the $20 for the card, and $28 for the enclosure. I wonder how fast it would be with an SSD in it.



Also I just installed my 1TB HDD in my system, and I think it added about 6 sec to my boot time, and I'm guessing maybe because it is a slower drive? I'm going to re-imagemy system tommorrow with an image that on average started in 12.5sec-13.5sec and see what I get on that. Then I'll run tests. I'm hoping it's not the 1TB, because 13sec boot times were nice Although I think I can live with 19.5 sec.

 

guys, can any1 tell how long does R2 last on battery w/o charger? (i mean the ATI CF version on 920-940 xm CPU)

 

40mins with everything set to high performance.

 

Temp question, I am running coretemp to monitor my CPU temps and when I am gamming hard its about 65-69 celcius per core

what ya all seeing ?

 

do those speeds prove express card slot on M17X is version 2.0? damn i ordered mine before all of you and i am still waiting for it. I installed this nec usb 3.0 driver already because i got my external 1.5TB USB 3.0 HDD (Goflex 2.5 inch). the cable is usb 3.0 but its different only from the hdd side. the other side fits usb 2.0 (it didnt know it ould) so i can use it even now

As for external case well i have some usb 2.0 cases so i just ordered a usb 3.0 to 2.5 inch sata adapter. i can use the cases and this adapter

i can confirm that. not gaming of course, just high performance

 

Not sure if it's 2.0 or not. But I looked at a few external enclosures, and the one I got has teh USB 2.0 type connection on both ends. So it essentially looks like a standard USB 2.0 connection, except it's blue. It works with both a USB 2.0 cord as well as the blue USB 3.0 cord that came with it. I was thinking it might offer some flexibility since it was the 3.0 type plug. Not sure if it will or not. But yea it's nice to have, especially when moving large files.

 

Anyone else glad they kept their FASTER R2s instead of buying an R3 with only 1 GPU? I mean 3D would be nice, but losing performance just so your other stuff is in 3D? I dunno. Maybe for movies. I would def watch a ton of 3D movies (Which there aren't too many of anyway), but that's about it.

 

Well, we all know the M18x will be the real "R3" to the M17x R2, but I have not seen anywhere mentioned if the M18x will also have 3D!? If it does, its gonna be one heck of a killer machine, a must have! Actually, I imagine they just have to give a 3D display option in configuration ......

KJ

 

I do not agree the R2 is faster, faster what ? GPU or CPU ?, youre only looking at one aspect of the system.....it depends on what is important to you, I am seriousely considering selling one of my R2's for a R3. I dont need 2 vid cards, but a FASTER, to use your terms, CPU and more memory would make a big difference to me.

Again, its opnion here, faster GPU or faster CPU and more memory......whats important to you. In the end, the R3 may fit my needs better If I can sell one of my systems for a good % of the cost of a R3...its a done deal for me

for me, the ability to run more VM's at the same time (16G memory) is a big win, must admit the 1900x1080 is a bummer compared to the 1900x1200 (but it would match my external monitor...) I have now.

 

Also remember the quicksync feature of the SB cpus that destroys even GPUs in video encoding. That will be huge to alot of multi media people

I have to concede, if I could get it for less with the options I wanted I would be very interested in an R3.

 

I think if I were to go the R3 route I would do this:

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Intel® Core™ i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS) <<-- to be replaced later with aftermarket
1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M
1.5TB Raid 0 (2x 750GB 7,200RPM) *
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

and 2 of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=8g_laptop_memory-_-20-231-342-_-Product for 16G memory

Maby break the raid and replace the primnary 750G drive with my ssd..maby not...donno

Then sell one of my R2's to make up some of the cost.

 

@wwoods, i think you'll miss the RGB screen and the 1200p.. i consider it a downgrade..
do you really need more than 8GB of memory ?
Even with 3VMs running simultaneously i am fine with 8GB.

 

i didnt notice any difference even going from 4gb to 8gb. Thus going for M17X R3 while M18x rumours exist its an action that he will soon regret. CF 5870 of R2 is the best graphics solution even with the R3. Dell-Alienware promotes new graphics card just because this is the way market works but sometimes you have to think carefully

 

I donno...thats a debate I am having with myself at the moment....I dont know if I will miss the RGB that much, the 1200 will hurt though, screen real estate is a precious commodity to me.

as for the VM's, its a rough call, one of the VM's has 4G it needs (and its the one I have up primarially for work) , 2 others have 3 (which is is low for what I want/do) and I have 3 more I run at times with 2 each. So yea, I can use over 8 easy.

Gonna go in a wait and see mode, but I will be honest its damm tempting.

 

You may not have noticed any difference gping from 4G to 8G, it depends on what you use the system for....I, on the other hand, would notice it a lot when I use the system for work.

Maby I will reget it, but I dont think so. The dual graphics card solution is a nicety, but not a deal breaker for me. Maby I just dont fit the standard profile of a Alienware user....I am not a power gamer....I dont look at the M17 as "just" a gamming system, I also use it for work, and I need to consider that aspect.

I am also pretty informed on how "the market works", thanks though

Also, I dont own a CF 5870..I have CF 4870's and almost never push the cards hard enough to justify them. While I do push my system CPU and memory hard. (Yes I have run my mem hard enough to where I had almost none of the 8G free and I have watched my proc max out).

LIke I said in the above post, I am gonna wait and see, but the R3 is really tempting to me for my needs right now.

 

from all the above you said i can understand that R2 doesnt fit your work needs due to the ram? going from R2 to R3 without being a gamer (or even being one) is without any meaning for me. Thus if you want just more ram there are much cheaper portable solutions. Sorry but what you say seems contradictionary. Its your choice and your money anyway.

 

There is more to it besides RAM, also, if you can find "much cheaper portable solution" (your exact words) that holds 16G and has the same proc and same screen resolution...feel free to post it here. You might also try reading my post again, and the one above it.

I said I do game, but not at the level that requires 2 vid cards....and the system is dual purpose for me, work AND play, I challenge you to find a system that satasfies both of those requirements...I have looked, and the M17-R2's that I own (note I own 2 of them) was, maby still is, the best solution.

I am just entertaining the fact that the R3 may be a better solution for MY needs, time will tell. Why do you insist that the R3 is a "downgrade"......you need to understand people use their computers for different things.

Just because something does not fit YOUR requirements, that is not to say it may not be the perfect solution for someone else. I am willing to entertain that possibility.

And in the end, you are right, its my money and my choice.

 

Well, given the demographic for the Alienware, Games as a focus, I would say, yes, faster in terms of games.

1 GPU vs 2 GPUs working in tandem. Even if the new chip is slightly faster than 1 GPU the 2nd will more than make up for that for sure.

Otherwise, I really don't VM on my Alienware as I am not using it for a Windows Server or something crazy. If I were to do that, the Dell E6500 would have sufficed for that job. No need for the lights and extra graphics cards.

Sandybridge brings several benefits, but performance wise, it needs a 2nd GPU for me to even consider it. So yes, I am glad I kept my R2 and I am interested in seeing what an M18x does spec/performance wise IN GAMES. Forget Windows Server 2003-2008/Mac OS/Linux/Your Favorite Alternative OS here VMs.

 

I agree with that, because while a single GPU may offer more video RAM, two GPUs gives you 2 GPU cores, which is pretty important.

 

If 2 GPU cores is a priority then...sure I agree. If

 

If GAMES are all thats important to you, thats fine......but dont suggest that thats is the only focus others may have, if youre strictly speaking games...ok you win, its "faster"

I am not useing it as a windows server or "something crazy" either....just becaue someone does what you dont or cant, why must you religate it as crazy ?

Also, I missed the Dell E6500 with the 17' screen...where exactly was that ? ......thought so

 

Regardless, IF you bought an M17xR2 with 2 GPUs and were looking to buy the newest M17x (the R3) and then you looked at the benchmark for the new single gpu offered by Alienware on the M17xR3, I am pretty sure that you would notice the Crossfire system would have at least a 18% gain over the brand new single GPU system.

What I think would be a BETTER system and an UPGRADE that may very well meet Mr. Woods' needs would be the rumored M18x being that it has support for Sandybridge AND will hopefully allow dual video cards...not to mention apparently a larger screen size (hopefully it keeps the 1920x1200 rez with rgb) and USB 3.0 support.

Quite a proper upgrade to the M17x line of Alienware laptops.

To conclude M17xR3 = No Thanks, keepin my R2. M18x = YES PLEASE! What's an M17xR2? Never knew those existed. lol

 

hey everyone.

Ok so first off, Xfire 5870s will give you anywhere from 35%-80% in some instances .. but this percentage varries greatly depending on game/driver ... but either way xfire 5870s will outperform both the 6870 n 460m by a long shot...

then theres the cpu. Ok so right now our options are only up to the i7 2820... btu even when the 2920xm becomes available... because the current 940xm is overclockable via throttlestop... and can basically double its performance from stock... we're dealing with some serious power... and untill unclwebb is able to update TS for the new gen cpus (if thats even possible).... the 940xm will be much faster... and then when and if Dell offers that cpu for the m17x-r3.... they're probably saving it for the m18x (which at this point... HAS TO COME OUT) .. because they've stepped down their m17x-r3 so much performance wise to take over the ASUS g73 market...

One gpu in a 17'' laptop always screamed epic fail in my books... with all that space wasted... no wonder it has better battry life...

 

For those considering the USB 3.0 express card, Here is a link to where I purchased my card. USB 3.0 Express card,

Here is a link to drivers for the USB 3.0 Express Card so you don't have to mess with the disk ( Link to Updated drivers-Version 2.0.32.0 Drivers on Disk are older ).

I ran some CDM benches on my drive. The drive is a 640GB Western Digital 5400RPM Drive in a USB 3.0 Enclosure. I connected it on the first bench to a USB 2.0 port and ran the test. I choose 2000MB for the test because that is what I mainly use the drive for, moving images and such, and one of the reasons I got the USB 3.0 card. The second CDM bench is the USB 3.0 Enclosure pluged into the USB 3.0 card. Again 2000MB. My third bench, was to bench the 3.0 Enclosure/HDD off the USB 3.0 card, but also have the enclosure power through a second USB 2.0 cable for extra juice. I just wanted to see if the extra power affected the transfer speed. Obviously it had ZERO affect on speed. The last bench is with a 320GB 7200 RPM Western Digital Scorpio Black, used in the USB 3.0 Expresscard port, and the results were better. The 7200RPM Drive performed a little better than the 5400RPM drive. I had to wipe the drive first as well since I had an old OS on the drive. I also had to use the power plug on the 7200RPM drive when connected to the USB 3.0 Expresscard.

Express Card Pic

Spoiler

Express Card Side view - Bottom of ports bent for tighter plug.

Spoiler

M17x Top view of card

Spoiler

USB 3.0 cord plugged into card

Spoiler

USB 3.0 Enclosure 5400RPM Drive --> USB 2.0 port


USB 3.0 Enclosure 5400RPM Drive --> USB 3.0 Expresscard


USB 3.0 Enclosure 5400RPM Drive --> USB 3.0 Expresscard With USB 2.0 Power cord






USB 3.0 Enclosure 7200RPM Drive --> USB 3.0 Expresscard With USB 2.0 Power cord



Even with the faster speed of the 7200RPM Drive, I'll stick to keeping the 640GB 5400RPM drive. I don't like the fact that to use the 7200RPM Drive I need an aditional USB power cord.

 

nice config, but what about SSD? No? I'm asking you since I see in your other system you have a nice SSD drive, so its not important here? I've been asking around here since I am having a hard time understanding this desire/lust if I may say, for SSD, which now with this config you seem not to care about...so yeah, you'd be the person the ask about it..Thanks in advance.

KJ

 

Hey everyone. i know the hot topic now is the r3 ... btu think anyone can help me out?

I did a fresh install and when i go into device manage i get a ! .. and have no idea what it could be... anyone know what this could be? I installed everything that i can think of... i don't get it... except for the intel turbo boost driver/widget ... because it says this when i try to run it (screenshot below). Anyone know what the heck is going on?

 

I Have the same drive (WD6400bevt?) as my storage disk in my R1 so I can run CDM on it so you can compare to a native sata interface

 

I would sell one of my systems and move the SSD to the R3 if I bought it or just buy a ssd from somewhere else

 

Oh boy, ....in other words, you find the SSD that helpful.....I wonder if Best Buy or CompUSA has a laptop with an SSD drive I can try out. You guys have really got my curiosity up now... Like I said, I have kept an open mind...now I need to try it out and see if it feels as good as everyone says.... Thanks. Sorry to be off topic. Nuff about me and SSD.

KJ

 

Check out MicroCenter. They have a 64GB SandForce drive for $100. I got 3 haha (2 in desktop one in HTPC). Good drive (price and size) for trying out SSDs

 

The current rev there is 2.0.32.0, you've linked 2.0.30.0. .32 has a date of a month ago. did you try those?

 

free-fall accelerometer?

 

Sounds good, Should be interesting. Here is a 1TB 5200 RPM drive. I went with WD even though it was a slightly slower drive 5200RPM vs 5400RPM because I've always had good luck with WD. This is the numbers I got for a 2000MB bench.

 

I think you need to edit your CDM picture title/headers....

 

i'll give it a shot... but it still doesn't explain why intel turbo boost won't install..

 

Good call, changed the appropriate ones to 7200RPM. ON another note I opened AS SSD Bench, and it shows the 320GB 7200RPM drive as having bad alignment. Not sure how that could have happened, but may explain what I've been seeing. I might just wipe it and try again. Although it was my benching drive for the M11x.

 

What CPU do you have (hint: most people have their config in their signature)?

I think Turbo Boost will only install on Extreme CPUs but could be talking out of my hat on that....

 

NP. Originally formatted on XP? What's the starting sector? 63 is the typical (MBR + 1 technique) old-school alignment...

 

While I appreciate your thoughtfullness in reccomending the M18, I think I said in a earlier post, that I dont even come close to useing the full power of a dual vid card system (yes I know I own 2 of them...go figure), although the bigger screen and keeping the 1920x1200 would be nice, of course, assuming it can match the RAM expandability of the R3...always a give and take...we will see how it plays out, price wise also.

 

Good call on the driver version. I'll change that, and I just wiped the drive, results should be up shortly. Oh and I guess I typed it wrong, I do have .32 installed.

EDIT: Here is the 7200RPM 320GB Western Digital drive after I wiped it. Much better results. Still having to use a USB power cord on it is enough for me to stick to the 640GB 5400RPM drive. Original post updated to reflect the new bench.

 

Looks better.

I just looked at my 7200rpm drives, they all need .7 amps. I don't have any 5x00 rpm drives anymore (sold them all) but they were all <.5 amps. A USB port puts out 500 mA, so that's why you need the extra power cable.

 

Good info, +1

Yea the drive would turn on shut ff turn on an shut off again. Finally it stayed on so I figured well maybe it will work on usb power. But when I went to run CDM, it would give me a "write error" when it went to write because it could not fully power the drive. Basically the reason I'm sticking to 5400RPM. Guess now I'll move my 750GB 5400RPM drive into the enclosure to make more room for more images. I like just using one USB cable because it keeps things neater Plus I have a uDAC 2 in one USB port, and my Logitech mouse dongle in another.

 

After a long 40 days of travelling, I'm back!

 

Yay! Hope you had a good trip, was beginning to wonder about you. Did the M17x fair the traveling well? Did you take it with you and if so, how was lugging that thing around?

 

Thanks it was awesome.. and god no I couldn't lug it the way I was travelling. 40 days, through 8 countries and 11 cities.. it would have been impossible lol. (as it was I was already carrying 7 kilos on my back while going through flights.. an m17x would leave me unable to travel lol).

Im in India now visiting family for another month, so no M17x till then (boo) but least I have NBR access!

 

Yeah, been there, done that... If you had to, you could use the mouse's USB port as a power port (using the pass-thru connector on your Y-cable if it has one - if it doesn't get one). I don't know the current req. of the UDAC but since it has an amp, I'd leave it alone.

You do know that the ESATA port is also a USB port too, don't you? I.e., there are really 5 USB ports on the R2...

 

Hey guys, I made a post in the m17x general forum but just thought i'd poke my head in here.

First time dell/alienware buyer as I wasn't overly impressed by my G73jw-a1 I opted to try this out now. Fingers crossed! I got the 1200p screen and the 57870s cf'd! Rest bare bone and hope to upgrade the rest with ease.

Just wondered if any of you had some pointers for what I can expect when I receive this powerful machine.

What are the programs I absolutely MUST have , things like Radeon Pro etc that I hear about.

What will i expect to tinker with until my game performance is peaked for what my machine can offer.
1. Get rid of Dell bloatware(is it extensive?)
2. Dl this OC program and a good OC for the GPU is X

... stuff like this... i can look up the how to's if they are on NBR np, just which are the most relevant i'd appreciate.

And how easy will it be for me to upgrade CPU (got the base i5 atm), HD etc?
I built my own desktop but never fooled around with a laptop and its parts before other than ram.

Any advice and input relevant to me is appreciated. There's tons of threads, some about noise etc, and not sure if those will be relevant to me as i'd hope Dell has kinked out some of the issues in the R2 , being released for so long now.

I get my machine January 30th, hopefully I made the right choice with the R2.

 

Upgrading the CPU is a somewhat involved process but very doable. Ram and HDDs are very easy.

Dell does not put any bloatware on the alienwares fortunately so it will be pretty much good to go out of the box.

You should be very happy with your new laptop

 

Were those CDM runs done with wPrime running? I ask because with no wPrime on my laptop (wPrime would put me at 25% usage since only a QX9300 ) I am getting 77 MB/s sequential read/write which is somewhat slower than you were getting