*OFFICIAL* Alienware M17x Owners Lounge - Part 2

LOL! You just made my day with the image of a cocky satisfied smirk on your face as the laptop overheats on your privates hahaha!

 

After skimming all of the pages here in part 2, I can't believe all of the XPS 1730's being swapped for 17x's. One thing I can say about Alienware, is the build quality is first rate compared to the plasticky 1730, and it runs way cooler too.

 

I am one of those replacement recievers and the M17x is a definite step up in quality.

But damn this thing is loud, like wind turbine loud....

 

That is reassuring to hear. I have the fall protect drive on the 1730 but I always felt like if it fell even a couple inches that would be the least of my worries. Damn thing feels so plasticy that it would likely shatter on impact.

Also great to hear about the heat. I can deal with noise...I typically run my laptop next to my alienware desktop and it is loud as hell so won't be an issue. I just want a machine that won't die on me a year and a half later due to design flaws.

Now if Dell could actually ship my damn system...

In other news, does anybody know if there is a backorder on extra batteries? They had to place that order as a separate dispatch and I've heard there are delays...

 

Why not just get the best available now and sell it off when the next one comes out? Dell would love everyone to do that.

 

they will eventually run the g5 memory, but like i mentioned way back when...don't go holding your breath for it. and when it comes...it comes.

humm, wonder if clevo is getting locked in with nvidia or can't cope with the drivers or vbios needed to make the ati cards shine like they should... (speculation of course)

 

This is the best idea honestly... I have been debating all day ordering another since the coupon i have and the EPP 10% brings me over $300 in savings.. heck of deal for sure.. Now if i can just stomach the screen again id be ok ..

 

external monitor for gaming?

 

Already have a desktop for that .. I like to use my machines without external additions when if possible.. I like it being mobile and to me a monitor Totally defeats the purpose of a notebook.. but this is just me and i know others dont feel that way..

 

Hmmmmm, I feel like I have already done this with the W90...... and it feels like I am still waiting on the 'next one'. Right now, the M17x FEELS like just another W90 with a much higher price tag. I'll feel better about the purchase, with at least a new i7 onboard......

 

yeah, go on a head and get that next machine quad! you know your over there board as hell....lol

 

Speaking of screens... sorry about that. I'll check into the issue with the screen you had with my folks in engineering since I've got their ears, but can't until tomorrow. It's late in the day here in Austin.

 

Lol well i still have my M17 and its serving me very well but i may just dump it cheap if i grab this .. I hate making hasty decisions but that $100 off coupon expires tomorrow lol so time is not on my side...

 

Hi there,

I will be ordering M17x today. I wanted to get the 4870x2 but have the ati drivers matured since the W90vp time? Should I be safe and go with the GTX 280M SLI instead? Also, any of you guys have those $100 off EPP coupons lying around?

Thank you

 

Thank you John .. This issue drove me crazy from the moment i powered on my first M17x and i know it has bugged quite a few people as well.. Many learn to live with it but im not one of those people sadly...

 

Very true. I haven't owned a desktop myself in years.

So why didn't you keep the W90?

 

Well for gaming i7 is going to offer you 0 based on the fact the GPUs are currently bottlenecked by the CPUs they offer now... So unless you plan on doing some heavy encoding on your laptop then i would not wait ..

i7 will also offer 0 battery life with 2 GPUs and i know you have said more then a few times you feel people dont care about this but i like the idea of being unplugged and falling back on an IGP... Great idea even if the execution is not perfect...

 

Don't worry about what happened with the W90. That situation is extremely isolated.

 

GEEZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, have you read the post? I went through three of them, finally selling the last one I RMA'ed..... and all RMA's related to the 4870 cards.

Nightmare, I tell you..... a nightmare!

 

There dont seem to be any issues with the 4870s in these machines -=$tR|k3r=- so i would not worry about that one bit.. Id say do like Mandrake says and order one now and then when the time comes (whenever that may be) sell it and grab something new.. Otherwise you may be waiting for quite sometime im afraid ..

 

no gaming rig with dual cards is going to last running at full speed. i think it has to do with the battery not giving enough voltage to sustain a full (example: 1:30 minute run without it just shutting off in mid game)(the fx gateways did this) or they will down clock gpus and screens to drop the voltage used by the machine. just to have enough power to stay running the whole time. (only tested with nvidia cards though...not sure about ati's)

 

No you are correct and thats why they were smart(maybe ) with running the 9400m for when it kicks into battery mode.. Tons of battery life while the discrete GPUs just sit there doing nothing instead of trying to bring down the clocks and give you decent time unplugged which never works as seen even by the M15x or the new Clevo i7s , those are only single card machines .. forget about 2 cards lol...

 

I actually followed your thread in the beginning. Then it was the same thing over and over so I got bored.

Edit: BTW, it also helped me decide not to bother with it.

 

Are the ATI's louder than the GeForces? Or does it only get loud during gaming?

 

Getting the M17x with ATI's tomorrow. After I put my SSD in and overclock the CPU what benchies should i run? and does crossfire work in 9.10 (finaly?)

Time to clog up this thread with some ATI info?

 

Start an M17x ATI owners lounge.

 

well...generally speaking...about 90 percent of the time...your near an outlet. so you would generally want to be plugged in. not to mention more and more people are playing online games (most people can finish a game in a few days or weeks others take a few months.) verse just in story mode. so one wants to be near the internet as well.

and gamers want full power...mobile gamer or not... so just because it can play on battery...most (most, not all)have it connected to the wall. and if you travel..last time i checked..hotels/motels had both(for the most part) and on the plane...well..unless your flying to a different country or first class..you can forget about powering up at your coach seat. lmao! (most of us anyway) let alone getting it to fit on that little airplane tray and trying to game !..lmao

that was a task on one of them small planes.

 

there is a few hours that I am watching your conversation and I began to ask me questions about my order 4870.I wonder if this is the right choice?

 

I like moving around my place with out carrying a power brick myself .. Now i guess i could invest into 4 bricks but ... Nah i think i like battery life lol...

I dont always just game on my machine and sometimes i just like to chill with it and surf the web etc.. No need to be plugged in for those occasions ..

 

Yeah i've been thinking that has to be the way to go so that the information can be centralized, sounds like dell offers old drivers too for video...

 

It most certainly is the right choice.. Enjoy your new machine.. We are just talking but that does not mean the machine is not still awesome with GDDR3 over GDDR5.. Just not as fast, but still great nonetheless..

 

im with you Quad! To me, spending even more cash for an external monitor on top of the already uber coin I spent paying for an M17x kind of defeats the purpose of wanting to have a gaming laptop/notebook in general.

 

yes...that's why i mentioned most and not all. this leaves room for the people that don't .
i too like to use without being plugged up, but then i dont just game with a machine. that machine is used to fix other machines..

you dont have an extra monitor laying around?

 

t most certainly is the right choice.. Enjoy your new machine.. We are just talking but that does not mean the machine is not still awesome with GDDR3 over GDDR5.. Just not as fast but still great..



Thank you I feel a little better

 

Good idea thanks Mandrake!!!

 

They were behind with the nvidia drivers also but they keep releasing new ones.

 

Any idea why my M17x still crashes (white flickering screen) occasionally after logging in at start up (Vista 64)? I put the clocks back to stock.

 

graphics driver?

 

Have you run the Dell diagnostics yet?

 

So my m17x has been ordered Sunday and should be here in 2 weeks or so. Can anyone tell me...

Did i make a huge mistake by getting the 1440x900 as apposed to 1920x1200 because it was just outta my price range. i got the dual gtx 260 so i know that they can push the higher res screen but is it that noticable? I guess i just want to feel better seeing how there is nothing i can do about it but i can handle the truth.

Also, if the 900p screen is i got is crap i was thinking about picking up a 24 inch external monitor that would have either 1920x1080 res or 1920x1200. When i hook up the m17x with 1440x900 to an external monitor with a higher res (1920x1200) using HDMI will the display be at this higher res or at the native laptop resolution and be crappy quality? In other words does the laptop act much like a desktop where you can buy any monitor and it will be displayed at that resolution and be powered by the dual gtx260's? Also i am new to this site really great threads; any help would be appreciated

My current laptop is a lenovo thinkpad POS for work and ive never owned any laptop that could remotely touch the m17x so i cant wait to get it

 

Since you called the Thinkpad a POS you're on my list.

See if you like it when it comes in. If not return it for the higher res screen. the only thing you will have wasted is time.

Yes the 260s can push higher resolutions.

 

I'm confused. The upgrade to 1200p was out of your price range, but you can afford a 24 inch external monitor???

 

The message that i'm getting from all this , is that a refresh is on the way, so m17x is going to be done with in the near future. Newer design AW laptop that will accomodate the new GDDR5 GPU.

On a side note: JohnBatDell " says " it's invoicing error. I don't think so. lol Dell Tech said it is GDDR5 and Sales Rep says GDDR5 , AW Tech is clueless and we say GDDR3 !! lets move on.....to the greener planet. WHEN IS THE NEXT INVASION?

 

Probably not for quite a few months so enjoy what you have ..

 

so.....how is the over clocking going?

 

Thats a good point, what i meant by out of my price range was that i figured having 1200p compared to 900p was frivolous. It wasnt until i made the order that i (stupidly enough) decided to research screen resolutions. In my head, because i know tv's pretty well, i feel it is pointless to have 1080 on a tv less than 40 inches so i thought with a 17 inch laptop monitor it is ridiculous to pay 150 more for something i cant even tell with my naked eye. BUT apparently 1080 in a tv and with a monitor is different but i still dont really get why except you sit back farther i guess?

Anyone know the answer to my second question of... When i hook up the m17x with 1440x900 res to an external monitor with a higher res (1920x1200) using HDMI will the display be at this higher res or at the native laptop resolution and be crappy quality? In other words does the laptop act much like a desktop where you can buy any monitor and it will be displayed at that resolution and be powered by the dual gtx260's?

 

ALSO my laptop is a POS bc i work in the financial industry and FINRA has more firewalls and blockers on this comp than the pentagon so it randomly locks up...

When and if i return this laptop after i get it dont i have to pay restocking fees and shipping or nothing at all?

 

The HDMI output higher resolution than whats on your laptop, thats because it's directly from the video card. Example: my Sony Vaio has 1200 x 800 , but I hook it up to my 52" XBR via HDMI at 1080P.

 

i can't go higher than 625/900 ... after this point the laptop overheat after 15min of gameplay, fan at maximum then computer freeze. Seems like they are good overclocker, but bad design make them unoverclockable at all

 

Generally the 4870's are fairly silent, but once the gaming starts the fans get really loud. There is considerably more noise than the 280's. Called Dell yesterday and AW tech support told me the 4870 mobility does not come with GDDR5 which this forum picked up right away. It did run Cyrsis well. Very slight stuttering with the settings maxed out. Kudos there! However, I noticed many of my games exhibit video glitches, even on Civilization 4 which doesn't appear to require a lot of processing power. So I dont know if these cards were released too soon and the bugs haven't been worked out.

After playing with the ATI's for about a week, I did not see that much or any improvement over the 280m's. In fact the 4870's were just causing me too many headaches and never appeared to run smoothly. Called my sales rep and decided to go with the the 280's and upgrade the processor to QX9300.