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    *OFFICIAL* Alienware M17x Owners Lounge - Part 2

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Charles P. Jefferies, Oct 5, 2009.

  1. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    when you boot from e-sata it shows as just another hard drive, sata is sata as far as the chipset and BIOS are concerned
     
  2. Aristotelhs2060

    Aristotelhs2060 Notebook Virtuoso

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    perfect i go for it. cheers.
     
  3. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    Ok found the problem. My command centre was buggy, wouldn't open up fushion and the multimedia key for stealth mode wouldnt work. Somehow my computer got stuck in stealth mode. I also got a virus from BT that I am sure screwed up my comp a bit as well. Anyway the pros? I reset my comp to factory settings in a last ditch effort, because of this clean install I found the problem and my computer has had a good scrubbin out. Sigh...I did try and see if stealth mode was on but couldnt figure out how to do it if my fusion wasnt working and the media button wasnt responding...
     
  4. hankaaron57

    hankaaron57 Go BIG or go HOME

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    Well, I finally got around to unpacking my m17x I've had in the box for a week now, and wow. It exceeded my expectations. It's so solid, heavy, and cold to the touch. It's so sleek and streamlined. It makes my old xps look like child's play.

    Now all I got to do is get W7 Ultimate (I have premium) and dual-boot XP Pro 64.
     
  5. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    Why on earth did you wait so long?! :eek:
     
  6. hankaaron57

    hankaaron57 Go BIG or go HOME

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    Just squeezing out every last moment I can out of my XPS computer. Bang for the buck. I almost always wait an extra month or two before sending back parts that are being 'replaced' just to keep Dell on their toes and sweating. And in this case, I figured I didn't wanna' open the box the first day because it was during the week, and I'm busy and stressed then. I wanted adequate time to open it up, and just gawk. I in fact did that today, haha. The freebie box was the coolest part, haha. I was like a kid in a candy store (if I didn't have Diabetes). The AW mouse pad looks fantastic, but I wonder if its hard surface will play well with my G9 mouse feet.
     
  7. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    Fair enough =). I am using the mousepad with a RapierV2 which is similar (I think) to the G9 and it works brilliantly. Best mousepad I have ever used imho.
     
  8. raoul1985

    raoul1985 Newbie

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    I got my M17x a few days ago and its one great piece of tech, I think its every-bit the big load of cash i dropped for it. Really enjoying, am playing Dragon Age:Origins, which is a great game btw
     
  9. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    How are you enjoying the nebula red chasis?
     
  10. hankaaron57

    hankaaron57 Go BIG or go HOME

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    Yeah I am also curious as to the red chassis. What is so special about it that it's an extra $100???
     
  11. fastlappy

    fastlappy Notebook Evangelist

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    just to add....I had a silver m17x that I sold and upgraded to the red....The red really is spectacular! Nice dark metallic color. Very rich looking and worth the extra bean! Plus it really makes this laptop scream that its a monster!
     
  12. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    I went from black to red and I prefer the black.
     
  13. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    Hey if anyone is having trouble getting their media player buttons to work with Itunes go to this link http://rapidshare.com/files/189459872/mmKeys.dll and download the key then install it here for:

    xp - C:\Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\AppleComputer\iTunes\iTunes Plug-ins

    Vista - C:\Users\(username)\App Data\Roaming\AppleComputer\iTunes\iTunes Plug-ins

    I didnt have the iTunes Plug-ins folder for some reason so I just created it and put the MM key in it and it works fine. Also for W7 the filepath is the same as on Vista. Enjoy if you need!
     
  14. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    we should trade then. I have black. ;)
     
  15. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    yeah i'm super happy with the black, would not change it for anything.
     
  16. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    If we were out of warranty I'd be with you on that. I may buy the black that way I can switch at anytime. It really doesn't matter much because while using it I can barely see any red. Only where the ports are on the side.

    Also you can see fingerprints on the red just like the black. The black may bring it out more but you can still see it on the red.
     
  17. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    ManDRAKE, question for you!

    I am thinking of buying the HyperX 4gb DDR3 kit from Newegg in about a month for pick up, as I'm doing my yearly week long trip back home to the states from the UK.

    I'm happy to spend 100 bucks on this upgrade if it means some type of performance boost. Do you think its worth it or should I stay with the Dell-Supplied 1333mhz DDR3 Ram? My timings are higher on the Dell one for sure. I looked at the sticks and they're Samsung.

    What are the main benefits of the HyperX RAM timings and performance?
     
  18. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    That's actually big topic. I'd be shocked if there wasn't a thread already talking about this in the hardware mod section but I'll give you my unproven thought about it. The Dell memory is already two clock cycles slower than the Kingston memory. I honestly believe when over clocking both the FSB and memory your going to get greater stability from the faster memory. With that said there are so many other factors that play into that it's very hard to prove. If people want to know what difference they will actually see the answer is none. If you want to benchmark (plus over-clock) or just have to have the fastest possible memory then I would recommended the HyperX memory.

    I say all this after testing the Dell 1333, 1066 and the Kingston 1066 CAS7, Kingston 1066 CAS5 and the Kingston 1333 CAS7 memory.
     
  19. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    Well I definitely do overclock, so I figure why not. Of course I want the faster memory too.

    I'll probably just order it, it's got heat spreaders :p
     
  20. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    you an OC the ram furthur then 1333 :)

    if you do buy black let me know mandrake ;) i want red
     
  21. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    The Kingston HyperX 1333 Cas 7 kit is pertty nice, I was the first here to get it and have been loving it - the best you can get on a laptop to date

    And the with my silver you have to angle it so the lights hits it just right to see if there are even any fingerprints - which there never are :D
     
  22. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    You know silver is for sager wannabes don't ya?
     
  23. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    not when it is aluminum :)
     
  24. Aristotelhs2060

    Aristotelhs2060 Notebook Virtuoso

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    i ordered silver and i knew why i did it. its spacy look doesnt compare with classic black (which only makes it look smaller) or red (which i like only on ferrari and not a notebook (only my tiny netbook is red because its like a toy) The combination of black parts with silver and the whole design of the notebook makes it look really alien designed. just my point of view.
     
  25. Lord_Zath

    Lord_Zath Notebook Deity

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    Really? No one?!
     
  26. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    sorry dude, if its on my lap its probably on battery otherwise, desk
     
  27. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I under stand your pain. It happened to me twice since I owned it. But I like it because I know that the cord it self isn't going to break the little piece in side the manchine.
     
  28. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    Not I my friend...
     
  29. cheeseborger

    cheeseborger Notebook Consultant

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    just going to ask this again in hopes of a reply. Has anyone figured out a working fix for audio stuttering/fps drop? it is starting to get very annoying and i would really appreciate some feedback.
     
  30. hankaaron57

    hankaaron57 Go BIG or go HOME

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    http://m17x.blogspot.com/

    It's no surprise to me that the alienware junkware software would cause FPS drops. When I first turned my computer on out of the box, the memory being used was 1.35 GB's, and the pagefile was nearly half of that. It was ridiculous. 73 processes?

    I can't wait to get my W7 ultimate disk and do a fresh install.
     
  31. Aristotelhs2060

    Aristotelhs2060 Notebook Virtuoso

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    yes this guide is very very good. However i have to ask. Bat boy you dont have any stuttering at all now on vista?


    thus is there any way to restore the f10 function (Alienware Respawn) after a clean win7 install ? (not upgrade)
     
  32. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I have absolutely no perceivable stuttering/FPS drop off or audio playback issues. This includes mp3 audio, bluray/DVD or other movie formats. I am running Vista 64 and have no desire to change to W7 at this time. Everything is running nice and smooth and if its one thing I've learned over the years is when things are running at their peak - image the drive and don't change anything... ;)

    To your 'restore AW Respawn' after a clean install of W7 - why would you want to keep it? The respawn partition on the HDD is your Vista install.
     
  33. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    What sort are you getting my friend?
     
  34. Mazdaspeed_6

    Mazdaspeed_6 Notebook Evangelist

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    has anyone tried to run 2 external LCD with the M17x? is it possible to run 2 external and the M17x LCD screen simultaneously?
     
  35. WaR

    WaR Notebook Virtuoso

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    It's possible but not with the out-of-the-box hardware the M17x has. You need to buy a Matrox device or something similar. You can only use 1 external monitor and the M17x's screen simultaneously.
     
  36. cheeseborger

    cheeseborger Notebook Consultant

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    well i did what batboy suggested but am still getting the audio stutter. it does however seem to be less. i am however using windows 7 and his fix was for vista, which i never seemed to have an issue with in the first place.
     
  37. Elisium

    Elisium Notebook Consultant

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    So are you just getting audio stutter in games, WMP, Itunes...which program? Or is it just across the board?
     
  38. cheeseborger

    cheeseborger Notebook Consultant

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    pretty well everything
     
  39. wordtothawise

    wordtothawise Notebook Geek

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    I was having some nasty stuttering in Dragon Age Origins and other games in Win 7, but a combination of the 187.66 drivers from laptopvideo2go, force alternate frame rendering 2 and a program called autoruns has eliminated all issues.

    Autoruns is a free program that disables startup programs. It can cause major issues if you use it to disable windows services, but I just used it to disable 3rd party software and i am completely issue free.

    I'm not sure which program was causing the problem, I just disabled everything and reinstalled my video driver and I must say I am finally extremely happy with this laptop!

    I uploaded a version of the above nvidia driver that allows for blu ray playback in the Win 7 forum.
     
  40. GreaseMonkey90

    GreaseMonkey90 Notebook Evangelist

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    @WAR - could u send me the invasion alienhead for me?
     
  41. WaR

    WaR Notebook Virtuoso

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    You mean the wallpaper?

    :confused:
     
  42. Mazdaspeed_6

    Mazdaspeed_6 Notebook Evangelist

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    anyone know what type of CD drive connection the m17x has? sata? smart bay?
     
  43. hankaaron57

    hankaaron57 Go BIG or go HOME

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    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    From the Comprehensive Specs/Service Manual datasheets.
     
  44. hankaaron57

    hankaaron57 Go BIG or go HOME

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    God I wish Photobucket's resizing software wasn't such absolute garbage and I had just resized it in paint.net lol. It's SATA.
     
  45. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    mini sata to be exact
     
  46. hankaaron57

    hankaaron57 Go BIG or go HOME

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    Does that require a special adapter? Or are there things built with mini-sata form factor plugs?
     
  47. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    the power portion of the adapter is smaller, the sata data portion is the same as usual however. There are adapters that you end up with a 4 pin molex power and a sata data connection though, for uses like a sff pc
     
  48. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    of course laptop motherboards have the correct connection already and need no adapter
     
  49. GreaseMonkey90

    GreaseMonkey90 Notebook Evangelist

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    yeap...yer wallpaper. been lookin for those heads for a long time
     
  50. Mazdaspeed_6

    Mazdaspeed_6 Notebook Evangelist

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    wow. that means buying a internal blu ray buner is going to be expensive. i'll have to settle for a external blu ray burner. thanks hank.
     
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