*OFFICIAL* Alienware M17x Owners Lounge - Part 2

Well, you could always go to Nvidia's control panel and enable SLI Indicators. If you see a vertical green bar on the left of the screen while gaming, then you are using SLI. If not, then no.

I think you can check if profiles for games exist on the panel too. There is a list there with games that support SLI.

That's the easiest way I can think of.

 

No one really knows yet, as there aren't any proper benchmarks for the ATI cards yet..

 

Sweet, thanks guys! +Rep to you both.

 

What processor should I get, a T9600 or a Q9000 and why?

 

Depends what you intend to do with the laptop. you can also overclock the CPU as well to increase performance.

If gaming or word/internet/movies better to go with the T9600 because only a few games are optimised for quad core

If video/photo editing then go with the Q9000.

 

i was curious about the difference of the ati 4870 crossfire between usa and italy. in italy that option cost less than the 280s sli (crossfire 415 euros, sli 740 euros).
i visited every important european dell site (ger, fr,uk) and i saw that the crossfire sometimes was "gddr5", sometimes "gddr3". and everytime had the price of 415 euros.
so which is the solution???? i don't think that some countries have the gddr5 one, and some others the gddr3, and, above all, for the same price.

 

any other options? Get a P8600 then swap it for a P9700, T9900, x9100 or qx9300.

 

I just gotta tell someone that can actually appreciates it guys.
Its ordered!!


Order Number: ********** Estimated Delivery Date: 11/17/2009
Learn More

Item Number Quantity Item Description

224-5966 1 Red Metallic
317-0821 1 Intel Core2 Extreme Quad QX9300 2.53GHz (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
317-0858 1 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz 2 x 4096MB
320-8140 1 17.0in, WUXGA,LCD,ANW,M17X
320-0762 1 SLI Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce (NB10E-GTX1)
341-0010 1 512GB (256GB x 2) Solid State Drive - RAID 0
330-3924 1 Name Plate Engraving
421-0720 1 ALIENFX RED
421-1398 1 Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English
421-0376 1 Avatar 7
421-0389 1 Window Style, DFT
410-0173 1 ADOBE ACROBAT READER - Eng
313-8569 1 Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
421-1304 1 CyberLink PowerDVD 8.0 Software
421-1305 1 Nero 9 Media Burning Software
430-3558 1 Internal 300Mbps Dual-Band a/g/n 2x2 MIMO
421-0405 1 Automatic Updates ON
421-0398 1 Power Plan, BAL
421-0399 1 Time Zone, CENTRAL
410-0180 1 Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business-Eng QS
990-4633 1 Next Business Day In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis , 3 Year Extended
994-3660 1 Next Business Day In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis , Initial Year
994-3730 1 Warranty Support,Initial Year
990-4653 1 CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection, Inspiron Desktop, 4 Year
994-7017 1 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus At-Home Service, Initial Year
950-7447 1 4 Year Limited Warranty
990-4683 1 Warranty Support,3 Year Extended
421-1719 1 Soft Contracts,Consumer Complete Care,Alienware
994-6858 1 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus At-Home Service, Extended Year(s)
421-1724 1 Soft Contracts,Dell In Home,Alienware
330-0171 1 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
430-0628 1 Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
421-0358 1 Wallpapers, C06W
330-5087 1 RESPAWN DVD
421-0381 1 RSS Feeds,AW
330-5090 1 Thank You for Purchasing AlienWare

 

Congrats. They should add "kitchen sink" as one of your line items.

 

I know right? That option might have smoothed it over with the wife a bit. I might be eating Romain Noodles tonight.

You wouldn't know off hand what this is do ya?
330-0171 1 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
I don't recall ordering it... Guess I need to give them a call.

 

Probably promos. I'm guessing S and P is Sales and Promotion.

Edit: I googled Marcom and they are a marketing company.

 

i installed win7 and so far so good.

home premuim

 

Well you're partially right. I asked Dell about this too and that's just the promo cards and software demos they include. Basically all the marketing crap that you set in your trash pile as you are unboxing it.

Marcom is marketing industry shorthand for "marketing communications." I'm sure there is a company (probably many) with that name, but in this context it is referring to the purpose of the materials.

 

Are there any guides to configuring Windows 7 to secure it and get it optimized for gaming?

 

not that i am afraid of. it is almost the same as vista if you know how to tweak that.

 

wow Haltingpoint...that system is LOADED

Very nice and that should keep you QUITE happy

Congrats!

 

I didn't just post the specs...that's someone else. The replacement system they're giving me for my top-end 1730 is as follows:

T9600
280m SLI
4GB Ram
250GB HDD
DVD burner

Still an upgrade but not the quad core unfortunately.

 

Oh, I see, well whoevers sytem that was is ridiculous...lol

You are still going to get an awesome upgrade over your M1730 though, congrats all the same!

 

Not really along the lines of securing, but here are a couple of links which might be of interest to Win 7 folks:

The Complete Windows 7 Product Guide & eBook from Microsoft | Direct Download Link

BlackViper's Win 7 SuperTweaks
He last updated the page on 10/13 and I'm sure more updates will follow. BlackViper has had great OS tweak guides in the past (XP and Vista) - keep an eye on his site for more on Win 7.

 

I was personally a big fan of the Vista Quick Launch bar myself too, so here's how to add it back in Windows 7:
How to Add Quick Launch Icons to Windows 7 Task Bar

 

You mentioned big fan Marvie - well, I have to go on record and say in addition to the task bar change my #1 issue with W7 is the forced 'Fisher-Price' looking Start Menu. They tried to push it with XP but at least they included the classic view option. I like my Classic Start Menu. I still can't believe they refused to include the code for the classic menu with W7.

 

Ok...freaking out again about the graphics cards...

I just told the support rep that others had said that graphics card product number was for the dual 280m cards and he says no, it is for two 260m cards that are at 512Mb each adding up to one gig of memory.

Here are the specs of the system they quoted me. Am I crazy or is he wrong and those are dual 280m cards?

Qty Part # Description
--- -------- ---------------------------------------------
1 224-5967 Black Metallic
1 310-0173 Airborne Documentation, System Exchanges,Factory Install
1 313-7711 Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
1 317-0818 Intel Core2 Duo T9600 2.8GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
1 317-0856 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz 2 x 2048MB
1 320-0762 SLI Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce (NB10E-GTX1)
1 320-8140 17.0in, WUXGA,LCD,ANW,M17X
1 330-0171 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
1 330-3924 Name Plate Engraving
1 330-5414 Windows 7 Home Premium UpgradeCoupon, W0, ENG,SPN,FRE,GER
JPN
1 341-0011 250GB 7,200RPM (xMB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
1 410-0173 ADOBE ACROBAT READER - Eng
1 410-0178 Microsoft Office 2007 Basic-English
1 410-0203 MCAF,30DAY,MUI,ANW
1 420-3251 Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service
Pack 1
1 421-0360 Avatar1
1 421-0389 Window Style, DFT
1 421-0398 Power Plan, BAL
1 421-0399 Time Zone, CENTRAL
1 421-0405 Automatic Updates ON
1 421-0410 Wallpapers, C01W
1 421-0415 Mouse Pointers,STANDARD
1 421-0726 ALIENFX BLUE
1 421-1724 Soft Contracts,Dell In Home,Alienware
1 430-3558 Internal 300Mbps Dual-Band a/g/n 2x2 MIMO


It looks like the previous persons specs that got posted which I'm assuming had the dual 280m's since it was a kitchen sink configuration. But when I go to the alienware site to customize and add the two 280m's it gives me the following when I hit "print summary"

Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 280M, 2GB – SLI® Enabled GTX280D [320-0762]

It says 2GB there (whereas my specs only say 1GB) and my product code is (NB10E-GTX1) not this (GTX280D).

When I switch to the single 260m card that gives 1GB of vram it gives me this in the print summary:

Single NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 1GB GTX260S [320-0999]

Both of these instances the quantity is listed as one, same as for the specs Dell sent me for my replacement and same as the specs that the previous person here posted.

So I'm just really confused right now as to what cards I'm actually getting and how many I'm getting total....what is the most reliable piece of info?

 

My previous order had similar specs. Here is the break down. It had the 280's in SLI. The numbers match. I think your set. This is a copy of my purchase order that was emailed to me.

224-5967 1 Black Metallic
317-0820 1 Intel Core2 Quad Q9000 2.0GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
317-0859 1 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz 2 x 2048MB
421-0415 1 Mouse Pointers,STANDARD
320-8140 1 17.0in, WUXGA,LCD,ANW,M17X
320-0762 1 SLI Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce (NB10E-GTX1)
341-0012 1 1TB (500GB x 2) 7,200RPM (xMB Cache) - RAID 0
330-3924 1 Name Plate Engraving
421-0720 1 ALIENFX RED
420-3251 1 Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1
330-5414 1 Windows 7 Home Premium UpgradeCoupon, W0, ENG,SPN,FRE,GER JPN
421-0359 1 Avatar 6
421-0389 1 Window Style, DFT
410-0173 1 ADOBE ACROBAT READER - Eng
313-8445 1 Blu-ray Disc Burner (BD-R/RE, DVD+RW, CD-RW)
430-3558 1 Internal 300Mbps Dual-Band a/g/n 2x2 MIMO
421-0405 1 Automatic Updates ON
421-0398 1 Power Plan, BAL
421-0399 1 Time Zone, CENTRAL
994-7017 1 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
994-3660 1 Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year
988-7347 1 No Warranty beyond 1 year
990-8029 1 1 Year Limited Warranty and Next Business Day,Desktop
960-3249 1 Banctec Service Agreement
994-3730 1 Warranty Support,Initial Year
430-0628 1 Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
330-5087 1 RESPAWN DVD
421-0358 1 Wallpapers, C06W
421-0381 1 RSS Feeds,AW
330-5090 1 Thank You for Purchasing AlienWare

 

the distinction is mainly for overclocking. EE processors are the only ones with unlocked multipliers.

other than that, i'm not sure how big of a deal they are for core 2s. i know that for nehalems though, they make a BIG deal in how high you can overclock your memory.

 

Thanks scook9

I couldn't decide on what was best so I just added everything.

It gonna be a long torturing wait until ship date.....

 

I have the T9800 proc in my M17x and I was wondering if I could overclock it. If so what have people gone to safely?

 

Very nice find BatBoy. That BlackViper site is Awesome!

 

You should be able to change your FSB to 1200 and hit 3.3Ghz no problem. If you have 1333Mhz memory I would change that also to 1200.

 

When I go to the bios all i can do is look at it. Its all locked.

 

Change linked to unlinked.

Also if it fails to boot it will reset itself after the third failed boot.

 

Got my T9600 to 3 GHZ can it go any higher and stay stable?
Currently running at around 38 degrees celcius.

 

^^^^Nice!!! Maybe ill have the guts to OC mine when it arrives.

 

I've seen some at 3.5 I think. But definitely 3.4x

I got mine to 3.3x the first couple of days I got my computer just to see if it it could. You could get it higher. I'm just very inexperienced at it and will probably stay that way.

Edit: Just checked my notepad. I got it to 3.2x.

 

38?! You sure that's not the low? That's what my min is .

OC'ed my T9600 to 3.15 GHZ today (mobo and ram set to 1250 in BIOS). Orthos is 3 hours in and no issues. Temps are 77C max for system, 70C max for processors. Currently 70C system, 65C processors while sitting on my lap.

 

there is something about the cpu temps that's off. i think batboy explained it before.

 

Is anyone else getting this?



Ideas?

 

yes i did as well.


it is very confusing and nevre racking on why. but when i have my whitebook and have a newer verision of 7 installed it said the same thing.

what i am guessing is that 7 at least tells you what's up with your system un like any other operating systems.

i was confused as well but i didn't get the reason

that or it's a bug

but: nice arrow

 

Thanks. Rocking the new tools in the new MS Paint in W7

OK. If you got it too then everything is OK I guess. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

me to


the picture up above in the picture before this one was with my whitebook.

if that made sense lol.

 

Nope. Though I have my integrated graphics chip disabled via BIOS. I think that makes the difference.

 

Could be. I, of course, have it enabled. Let's see what else people say.

 

nnn very intresting. but it seems like you have vista installed.

 

*Nevermind.

 

what did you never mind?

 

If you wipe your computer, then do a clean install of windows 7, will the wireless internet still work? I am assuming that the Windows 7 disk has the latest driver for the broadcom right?

 

The default wireless driver that's installed works just fine. Check the M17x and Windows 7 thread. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5446513

 

big question of the day.
lets see what i get in benchmarks. shall we

 

You're running two different drivers? Would that cancel out SLI?

 

i don't know. i'm just playing with random stuff. but i have work in an hour.

it's the same driver but don't ask me how it installed to different names if it has the same device id?

 

Yep, You will see this if the integrated video card is enabled due to the shared ram.

Once you disable it, you will have just 4.0GB