*OFFICIAL* Alienware M17x Owners Lounge - Part 2

That's no good for gaming, though.

 

I was surprised earlier, I was playing counter strike on the 9400 and doing just fine with it.. lol

 

I have some questions about the Alienware m17x and was hoping you guys could help me out:

I am hoping to buy either a low-powered or broken m17x and then slowly work to making it very powerful. I do have some experience in computer hardware (desktop pc building) but am not experienced in soldering.

Is it possible to buy the base Alienware m17x, for $1849 (w/ high-res display), and upgrade it to the TOP specs that Alienware offers by replacing parts.

Is the motherboard the same regardless of what processor is picked, so if I get the base processor now (P8600) I can put in an Intel Quad Core Extreme Mobile X9300 later?

Is the number of RAM slots the same on all m17x's that ship, so I can upgrade from the base 4GB 1066MHz to 8GB 1333MHz by just opening the bottom and changing out the sticks of RAM?

Can I buy the laptop with a single GTX 260M and later put in two GTX 280M's?

Can the hard drives and optical drives be changed by me after it is purchased. I am looking to initially buy the cheapest HDD (250GB) and cheapest optical drive (DVD burner) but soon upgrade to dual SSD's and a blu-ray burner.

Thanks for any help!

 

you can upgrade everything yourself but it will cost more to do some things than it would to just order the machine

getting a hold of the video cards and SLI cable will be especially difficult

 

Thanks for the fast reply scook9, I found these links and was hoping you could check them out and see if they are what you were talking about.

SLi Cable

Single GTX 280m

Dual GTX 260m's

Thanks

 

the 2 links for the video cards should work. The GTX 280m comes with an SLI cable. The cable you have linked is for the old version m17x, very different from the new one

 

Sounds good. Thanks for all the help man! So basically what I'm hearing from you is that the motherboard on the Alienware m17x is the exact same regardless of configuration. Correct me if I'm wrong. thanks.

 

yes, that is correct

 

Great thanks! I guess I'll look and see if I can find one for sale here on the marketplace or I will buy one from Alienware with the lowest specs except for 1200p screen.

 

Update:
I called Alienware Tech support, and they finally came out with an ETA for my graphics cards - 10 days..! Basically January.. The tech I was talking too wouldn't switch me into Nvidia's. He said that I need a new motherboard to use them. I asked him to escalate and i'm waiting for an escalation manager to call me back (apparently these guys are on holiday 24/7.) So, apparently the users with ATI Graphics have a slightly different motherboard than the ones with NVIDIA Graphics. I'm not sure if this is true but he says its because of hybrid SLIs, the Nvidias require a slightly revised motherboard to run. He also suggested, once he realized I've opened up the system like 10 times, while I'm waiting for the part to be in stock I can switch the slave card to the master one if I find the master is the card with the issue. I just need to switch the heat sink on the card. I've taken this into my own hands and removed my 2nd crossfire card. So far i'm getting way better behavior. It might have been the slave card after all acting up, in which case I can still game fine and i'll be happy to wait.. will test tonight when WoW servers are back up that the issue is gone

He also said that once the parts are in stock he can overnight ship them to me directly and let me do the installation. I much prefer this option and if I can get just one of the 4870s working in good shape for my gaming session in New York end of the month, I'll be happy. Between my possibly working Master 4870, if that proves to be damaged, I can also suss it out with my slave 4870.

Laptops = headaches!

 

That is total bs about the motherboards by the way

 

yeah a revision to the original motherboard to allow the original video cards is kinda funny.

If anything, a revision would have been done to allow the ATi cards.

 

Yeah he said a revision was done on the motherboard to allow Ati crossfire. I also agree that this is suspicious.

 

its false. They told me the same thing when I ordered a wuxga screen. The guy said it wouldnt fit my motherboard. I then asked if he could provide me the model numbers of the supposed two different motherboards, and of course he couldn't.

Just escalate till you find someone that can relate to your situation. For the most part these employees think we are retarted.

 

They told me the same thing about the x9000 for my system. I told him I was going to buy an x9000 to stick in my XPS in place of the t8300, and he told me my system was built for the t8300, and the motherboard would have to be drastically altered to allow a new processor. = BS

 

I've decided to just drop it and let it go. I'm happy to run on a single HD 4870 until they get stock of the ATI's instead of fighting in fierce winds for a video card downgrade and, between the two cards and my screwdriver I can probably swing that, game with slightly less FPS end of December.

 

Wow no movement here!

Ok check it out. Did a bit of troubleshooting myself, and put the 2nd GPU into the 1st GPU's heat sink, and replaced it as the primary card, no Crossfire.

The issue is still there. Obviously its unlikely both GPUS have problems at the same time. I think the GPU's are fine, and alienware is going to replace my motherboard.

I hate that we have to gut the machine but tonight I'll be preparing it for the tech (he will have a bare motherboard ready to go when he comes over). I will also buy arctic silver from Maplin and clean the CPU's and apply the paste to both GPUs tonight in preparation. Alienware is also replacing my touch strip and left GPU fan. Hopefully this sorts me out for my trip

 

nickbarbs beware Dell sent a tech to replace my motherboard due to a bad FX controller. Dell sent a refurbished motherboard. I really don't know what was worse the tech or motherboard. All said and done it was in worse shape after that. Dell ended up replacing the computer and now all is right in the world. I hope it all works out for you.

 

Yeah, when I spoke with him this morning, I was pushing for a whole new replacement computer. He said that he couldnt do that until they try to replace at least one part, and in this case that would be the motherboard. He mentioned if I still have problems with my laptop after this exchange he will replace the whole thing no questions asked.

I'm going with this for now because I'd like to have a working computer for a trip i'm going on very soon. If this fixes it, so be it, if not, they'll send me a new one. I'm not too fussed either way but the Bad tech risk will be reduced because tomorrow when he comes he'll see a stripped down machine waiting for him to simply deliver the part and put the (clean) cpu and clean components into it, he wont do any of the cleaning himself and if I dont like what he's doing he'll watch me install it myself.

 

Nick - as long as you're comfortable doing it, go for it. The few times I had a tech come to my house (I always made up some hilarious excuse as to why I was unable to receive someone so I had parts-only-services dispatch - I work late nights; I'm not home; I have social anxiety disorder; etc.), I met the guy at the driveway, told him I only needed the part and I can do everything else myself ("I work in a computer repair shop, I think I'll manage" - I don't), and exchanged my part for the new one.

The only problem with this is if you screw it up, the techie might go and call Dell and tell them YOU were the one to do it, somehow voiding the warranty. Dell is very inconsistent on this POV: sometimes replacing a GPU or motherboard was okay for me to do, other times a techie had to come over and do it so the warranty wasn't voided. In any event, what you're doing is fine, and just make sure you offer your techie something warm to drink like hot cocoa ('tis FREEZING HERE IN NY!), and make sure he realizes he is the one whom the burden falls on after all is said and done at your house. They're subcontracted by Dell, and if the computer does not work, Dell will simply replace your computer, not blame him OR you, and everything wraps up nicely.

 

If you have a complete care warranty I am pretty sure you can get away with anything shy of obvious sabotage

I just tell them I have horrible hours as a student and can handle doing it myself

 

I'm not worried, I've already stripped the laptop to the bone once. I will let him unscrew the mainboard and screw in the new one. Everything else will be already removed and cleaned

 

I call BS. Mine came with two 4870s which were faulty and replaced with two 280m GTXs. Same mobo.

 

I have three year complete care. Since my M17x had already been repaired once, is it likely I would get a new one if my rig borks out again?

If they exchange, can I request a better CPU and pay the diff?

 

No. Dell's policies are very screwy, but trades or paying differences is simply not something they will even bother acknowledging. You have a CPU now...you will have to pay full price for an upgrade.

 

They have told me in the past that a reorder has to be exactly the same as the original order.

 

nick.
I just replaced my screen and dell let me do it myself. I just told the support guy that I wanted to do it myself because I do not trust the tecs in my area. They sent me that screen and I swapped it out no problems. I love the screw less design for replacing the LCD so bad

 

Hey there Fellas.
First off since it seems like you are all on the topic, I've got a hardware problem, a small one, but a problem none the less.
Turns out my Z button likes to stick, and when I say stick, I mean STICK .
Even if I just barely lightly tap the Z button, it gets stuck real bad, and I have to HIT either the Shift button or X to get it to pop back out.
I bought a can of compressed air and lifted the key (without removing it) and sprayed a bunch inside, also tried pushing down the keys around it and doing the same thing and it doesn't seem to make a difference.
I know for a fact I have never spilled anything on the computer and it was doing this right out of the box.
Anybody else having a similar problem ?
Anybody know what I should do to resolved this ?

I'm also wondering if anybody knows if the HDMI port on the M17X can do input. We all know it does output (and very well I might add) but I'm wondering if I plug my PS3/360 into it can I use it as a monitor ?
This question could be answered very easily by doing so myself... Buuut I'm at work.. and sometimes I'm impatient

Thanks guys

 

Call Dell and have them replace the keyboard.

Easy as pie

 

If by easy as pie you mean I don't have to be without my laptop for more than an hour than yes, that is easy as pie.

Seriously though, If I have to send the thing back, I'll just hang onto it with a busted Z button.
Screw sending it in.

 

no they should just send you the keyboard to replace yourself

 

Dell called me at 6 PM (obviously now all offices are closed.) can't make the service call tomorrow because of an indicator part on backorder?

The alienware tech confirmed all parts were in stock. I planned tomorrow around this. Now they dont even know if they'll make Friday and I'm livid.

 

Maybe if you took a minute to review your warranty, you'd see why I said easy as pie

 

Reading is overrated

I will call today if This is true

 

My M17x occasionally crashes (white stuttering screen) after I log in at start up. I usually can put it to sleep and wake it back up and it works, but why is it crashing in the first place? Everything is at stock, Vista.

 

A lot of times this is because no tech can come out to do work. Happened to me once. Keep contacting Dell (I used chat function) and ask to have them check on the status. Inform them that you can do it yourself if they just send over the parts. They might just go for it...

 

Question. By mistake I disabled the HDMI High Definition Audio Device. How do I get it back? It was on this window.



I put "Do not use this device" and now it is not on the list anymore. Any idea? I use it to send sound via HDMI. It had an icon of a black box or something.

Thanks.

 

Yes indeed very simple just call dell they will overnight you the parts I had scratched the keyboard and media bar they sent me the parts and booyaa back in with a

 

I'm not in front of my system right now but if I remember correctly you need to right click somewhere within the box and check display disabled devices. I can double check later if your still having this issue.

 

That did it. Thanks a lot Mandrake.

 

Hey guys !
I got my Z button fixed.. Well ok, my roomate fixed it. But it`s fixed and that`s all that matters.
I guess he knows how to use compressed air better than I do
Just wondering if you guys know if it`s possible for any of the display ports to do input ?
I tried my PS3 on the HDMI and that did not work haha.
Just wondering, it would be pretty cool to have.
Later

 

HDMI has source, repeater and sink. Source would be like blu-ray players, game consoles or PC video cards. Repeaters are A/V receivers, HDMI switches etc... And Sinks are displays (TVs / monitors) and HDMI capture cards. Only Repeaters and Sinks can receive HDMI input. Since the HDMI port on the M17x is the video cards HDMI out you won't be able to do anything with it for input.

HDMI capture cards are available, but more suited for desktop. You can get something like the Matrox MX02 Laptop kit which comes with a Express Card + external box. Supposedly it's actually pretty good but a little expensive for just attaching a PS3 to a laptop screen :/

 

All the video ports on the laptop are one way. They are hard wired this way and no amount of software magic can change it. Sorry

 

Ok, Check It,

A Dell Tech came by (He was awesome by the way, I lucked out and got a really good guy that respected the machine and worked delicately and thoroughly around it. Great job.) and replaced my motherboard and 2 fans.

1.) We power on and everything's hunky dory, but come time for him to run the Dell utilities that update the service tag on the new motherboard to my service tag, it failed. We tried for 1 hour using different tools and on the phone with alienware, and it failed. (if anyone knows about a similar issue or has experienced this please PM me with your solution). He suggested I might need yet another motherboard replacement but the senior Alienware tech at the call center already said that if this hardware call failed he'd send me out a new machine. So that's all I'll accept as a next step. It doesn't bother me that the serial number in my BIOS is the wrong one but Dell's own words are they need to fix this, so its up to them but I won't go through another week of messing up work and trying to line up service calls for hardware replacements.

2.) The fans they gave me are SIGNIFICANTLY LOUDER than my previous ones and seem to be drawing more air. ALso they sound very loud and harsh when powering on the computer, but after that they're fine. Tech left me behind the old fans incase I want to mess around with them (again, nice chap) and use my old ones which were not as loud.

all in all though, it was a good experience, I dont know whats up with my motherboard not accepting my service tag but it was not a refurb, it was a new part.

 

Regarding #1 definitely get that fixed. You don't want it to screw up your warranty AND resale value. Look up sleey0, he's talked about using a program in the past for changing service tag numbers in the bios so I'm assuming he has experience in this.

 

svctag.exe is probably what the tech was using.

When Dell sends mobo's out, it comes with a service technician cd with the apps on it.

It seems, from reading his post, that he was trying to flash the old service tag to the new mobo with no success.

I wouldn't worry as he is getting a new machine anyway.

 

speak of the devil.

 

I'm not getting a new machine yet, they want to see if they can update the service tag. THe tool was indeed svctag.exe and it was saying that the system was incompatible with the program. It simply wouldn't update the service tag. Ever heard of this problem?

 

Probably a Dell program and it finds an Alienware mobo and cries.

 

I have a question regarding the task manager in my m17x, computer seems to be running a little slow so opened task manager and noticed that I have dozens of programs running under services tab and 30 or so in the processes tab and on the bottom of the screen its reading a process of 78 and cpu usage of 57 and physical memory of 52%. My question is does anyone know what I can stop from running or delete or get rid of to pick things up. Thanks for all the great help along the way....