*OFFICIAL* Alienware M17x R1/R2 Owner's Lounge Thread - Part 1

I can't modify the multiplier anywhere past 24x on my 920XM without the computer seizing up on me. Not to mention my temps are causing the CPU to throttle when I push to 3.2GHz on all four cores.

I hit around 95*C when my CPU goes into passive mode and I can change that, but I'm wondering if my CPU heatsink has gone bad. I've got a new one sitting at the house, from factory with the stock TIM on the contact plate even. But the real question I'm wondering about is, what temps do you get? I'm seeing around 80-84*C across the CPU when I'm pushing 2.53GHz across all cores. It's about 266MHz faster than what the stock boost is but I've only got one GPU, the 6970M, and I want to have a CPU that's faster than this. It's an XM CPU for a reason.

I use Throttlestop 4.1 for my CPU overclocking and I've got the TPL at 90/75 for when I push a bit higher.

 

hi guys i know this may have been done a million times before but ive only just got my self a alienware laptop.

will any of these cards work with the current heatsink and bios i have i.e plug and play

i have A09 bios

and will any clevo ones work of these also thanks guys

580m gtx
670m gtx
675m gtx

 

go either 7970m or 680m

 

Good morning guys, I'm having a problem with my alienware.
replace my video card for two 7970m and also my 330W psu for m18x id I just cut the cable to the notebook recognizes him, but he did not exits of stealth mode, and I can not use two cards in crossfire, he is no battery, and when I press the button it just says that you can not disable the stealth mode in low power, it appears neither the dialog box saying whether or not you want to disable
when I turn on my 240w psu works perfectly
anyone have any solutions to the problem?
would uninstall this stealth mode?
thanks to all!

 

You can't get rid of the Stealth Mode. If it's enabled, it means that your system doesn't accept the 330W PSU so it switches to battery power.

I haven't done this myself so i can't guide you further.

 

cutting cable doesn't do the trick alone. I'm on v10 mod bios idk if this has anything to do on how i got the 330w psu on my laptop but im still using same set up with my 6990 CF after almost year .

make sure setting are all in MAX for "while plugged in mode" under CCC and window settings.

1. you need to have the piece ID cable coming from the power brick touching or connected to the silver wires inside black cable (black cable cannot be cut).
2. keep battery off laptop while using 330 psu.
3. connect to laptop then turn on once logd in restart laptop. you will need to do this every time the psu is connected to laptop if you turn laptop off with psu plugd into it then you dont need a restart next time.
4. working 330w psu hopefully

 

Hey Katalin you helped me a few months ago with installing the 301.42 drivers to my m17x r1 with 2 gtx 280M. Do you or anyone else have the modified 304.79 beta drivers that are compatible with my older 280Ms? Ive searched online but with no luck at all. Much appreciation to anyone who could help me out! Any driver new than the 301.42 will be helpful!

 

Hello, bck56, can you download the latest 306.02, let them extract but stop the installation process.
Download the file i attached and extract it on your Desktop, copy it and go to where the driver extracted (C:\NVIDIA\Display.Driver\306.02\Win8_WinVista_Win7_64\International\Display.Driver), paste the file and replace the original one.

Now, go back to International folder and run setup.exe.

Let me know if it installed, not sure it will since i don't have 280M to test on.

View attachment 306.02_INF.zip

 

Hello,
I confirm upgrading to 16 GB RAM on the M17x R2 is working although 8 GB is officially the maximum amount.

I used G.Skill SO-DIMM DDR3 16GB (2X8) F3-10666CL9D-16GBSQ and while the BIOS indicates 0 GB of RAM, Windows 7 64 uses all 16 GB as expected.

DDR3-1333
PC3-10666
CL9-9-9-24
Lifetime warranty

 

Hello guys, I have an Alienware M17x the 2010 version with a core2duo cpu, I installed a OCZ Vertex 2 90 GB Drive and I get the advertized speeds 270 read and 250 write, I bought a new OCZ Vertex 3 and I installed it in my laptop and I get 139 Read speed and 135 write, but the advertized speed is 540 Read and 500 write. I bought 2 of this drives to run them in Rade 0 and the performance is doubled in raid so is 250 read and 240 write. I took one of this HDD and i instlled them in my M14x and i got speed of 270 Read and 250 write and is still not near 500. Some people on the internet got speeds of 500 with this drives.
Why is the speed diference between my M17x and my M14x? Remember that my old OCZ vertex 2 is running faster than Vertex 3 on my M17x and same performance is on my M14x.
Can someone solve my dilema?
Thank you guys

 

ok how do i force my screen to brighten and dim, windows just isn't doing so

 

Have you tried the key combinations? (Fn+F...something)

 

Having a hard time deciding, which RAM set would be better for my M17x R1?

1066 with 7 latency
Newegg.com - Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 Laptop Memory Model KVR1066D3SOK2/8GR

1600 with 9 latency
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G

1st? 2nd? Or the same? Thanks.

 

I love my R2!! Love the RGB.

 

Hi guys

Well I'm new to the forum, but I have my M17x R1 since 10/2009. I didn't know that there was any Alienware forum (neither a M17 R1 one) so just wanted to say Hi!

Also I have a couple of questions, my first memory card have been giving me some problems, it keeps getting to non-raid... I deleted the RAID and created again, then it did it again, now I'm going to stay with Windows Vista Ultimate to see if that solves the problem (I have the CD for windows 7 Ultimate) What do you guys recommend? I can give any information you want/need just ask and tell me where to find it :thumbsup:

Thanks (I don't know to much about computers)

 

yes i have

 

M17x R1 GTX 280M SLI .. will the GTX 660M work in this notebook? As I understand it, the 660M uses less power than the 280M, and I thought it was a power issue keeping us from the 400M and 500M series .....

Thanks!

 

Where is the best place to sell my R1? I really don't like giving 15% of the sale price to EBay, so Craigslist? How much should I be asking for a M17XR1, with 8Gig ram, dual 260M's, 2 HDD's 320 & 500gig, 2 AC Chargers, and laptop bag? Comes from a non smoking home and only used on weekends when traveling, it's in immaculate shape.

 

If there's no warranty left on it i would say ~650-700$ for the whole package.

You could advertise it in the NBR Marketplace after reaching 20 quality posts.

Also, don't forget reading http://forum.notebookreview.com/mar...les-regulations-must-read-before-posting.html and http://forum.notebookreview.com/mar...3-buy-sell-trade-form-you-must-fill-form.html before listing it.

 

So here's a question for you R1 owners. Do you think at this point the R1 is still a relatively usable machine for today's games (realizing too that I'm in the M17x forum)? I'm interested since I'd really like to get back to an M17x and I've got a decent (low) deal on an R1-- but I really had an R2 in mind (RGB, processor, newer gfx cards) or even an R3 but I like the R2 design much more. This would be a gaming machine and also a coding machine (s/w development), as well as general surfing, mail, videos, music, etc.

This particular R1 does have some advantages:
- Dell just recently (last week) replaced under warranty the 2x260m's and heat sink as well as the BD drive and entire outer case and 9-cell battery.
- It's a fairly decent spec processor (2.93 C2D).
- has 8GB RAM (shipped originally w/4GB).
- has a BD combo drive.
- has a 1200p screen.
- has a 256GB SSD (originally shipped with a 128GB SSD).

One issue is that the R1's warranty expires shortly (days). Would it be worth it to attempt to play the likes of WoW, Battlefield, Diablo3, etc. on an R1 or would it most likely prove to be more trouble than just going for something like the R2 or even R3?

TIA for any replies.

 

My guess is dual 260M sill be fine for wow and D3, might need "high" instead of "ultra" settings.

1) I have a R1 GTX dual 280ms. These run the current WOW 5.0+ patch at 40 to 60 FPS just fine, at 1080P and ultra detail. They also run D3 at ultra just fine. My understanding (I do NOT have BF3) is that Battlefield 3 needs WAY more powerful graphics chips to run at full resolution and highest detail, but, is playable at less than highest detail.

2) You can check notebookcheck.com to see how much slower the 260M might be compared to my 280's.

3) I did ask above (no answer yet ) if anyone thought we could drop a 660M into the R1, it has lower power and should run those games just fine.

I'm not sure on the speed of the 260M's, but, in general, the R1 with 8 GB ram, SSD, bluray, etc. is still a very good machine capable of good gaming, with the SSD, it will still feel "fast" in most applications.

What's "low"? An asus G75VW from best buy with a 660M will be much quieter and faster (if you put an ssd in) than the R1 you talk about and runs about $1200. (has usb3, sata3, its just newer, new warranty).


So, I'd want any used R1 to be substantially lower than that, I consider that the current "entry level overall gaming machine", at $1200.


Good luck!

 

any idea on why this is happening?
OK, I am watching a live game on ESPN3 but when i close the lid on my r1 the visual quality goes down and it has to rebuffer for some odd reason. 260m sli hooked to tv via hdmi.

 

OK, so I have been silently watching this forum for a while now and I have had my M17x R2 for about 2.5 years now. I finally took the plunge and upgraded my processor to i7 920, installed 16GB of RAM, A10 bios, USB 3.0 and Killer wireless. Everything appeared to have gone well but now I am having issues with my games locking up.

In particular TF2. It loads fine, starts and I find a server. I start the game and then after playing for a few seconds to minutes the game locks. I can hit esc and that works but in game my guy will not move for over 10 seconds. Then he breaks free and after a few more seconds he locks again. I am able to quit the game just fine.

Any ideas? Everything was just fine till the upgrade and everything else seems to be working just fine.

Any help is greatly appreciated as I would have never had the guts to do all these upgrades without the data you guys have provided.

thomas

Nebula Red Alienware M17X R2 | i7 920XM | AMD Crossfire 4870M | BIOS A10 MOD | 2x 500 GB Internal HDD Drives | 16GB 1333MHz | Killer 1103 | USB 3.0 | Win 7 Ult |

 

Hi guys! I'm new to posting and would like to seek your help.

I'd like to ask for some advice regarding an M17x R2 "loose thread" screw problem (placed way too tight) I have with one of the screws holding down the panel that covers the motherboard. I don't really know what the correct terminology is for this part, but it's the one that covers the motherboard. Kindly help me out with the correct part name if you will.

Anyway, the particular screw that is giving me this problem is the upper left screw just bellow the 2 screen left hinge screws, holding down the panel. I just recently got this and it's a second one so no warranty claims can be made for this one. I was actually just looking for an M15x as I know these "M17x-R2s" are much harder to come by. But through a bit of luck was able to get this at about the same price as an M15x goes for here.

I've been able to open several different laptops in the past and don't have problems in doing so. At least not until this one due to the screw or being screwed by the person who last bolted on this screw. LOL! I Understand the patience, a personal system for arrange parts and care needed in disassembling these wonderful machines and putting them back together again. There is a tell tale sign that this has been opened before not too carefully, as there is a very small mark on the left side of the bottom base cover next to where the it meets the "Center Control Power Button Cover". This isn't such a big issue for me. What bugs me a lot is that whom ever opened this laptop before did a very bad job of putting on the now problematic screw way too tight that caused it to be damaged.

Cosmetically, it's in very good shape aside from that little mark mentioned. The keyboard looks to have already been replaced as it looks new and the lights are just a tad bit brighter than the other zones. The only other issues aside from my big problem are: 1) temps are a bit high on the 740QM so I'd like to re-paste and adjust to see if the heatsink is still okay, 2) It came with Catalyst 12.6 installed and already has the A10 BIOS. However, the VBIOS is still the original one that has sleep problems. So I'll have to flash this into the later one. And lastly, 3) it didn't come with a battery. But this isn't such a big thing as I will be using this as a permanent DTR than anything else.

I hope some of you can help me out by giving me some advice on how you would handle this problem that I'm currently having. I plan to take this to a good laptop repair guy I've heard about here but it would also help me a lot if some of you could give me some input on what you think the best course of action should be to avoid damaging anything while getting to remove this problem screw.

Thanks in advance and I hope that some of you can help me out. xD

 

Hey Guys, just wanted to add that I did pick up an R1 and it's quite nice. A little different config than I put up before, the main difference being a Q9100 proc and Intel 160GB SSD, along with a (I suppose flashed) single 285M GPU. Just reloaded it with Win7 Ultimate and went through the process of loading drivers so it's finally ready to go. Now just to put it through some games to see how it really handles.

@none1 thx for the help too!

 

R1, GTX 285M, SSD, 8 gig ram, AND cheap. Sounds good to go!

Let us know how it performs. I know SLI helps a bunch in the games you mentioned, but I also know 285M >> 260M, so will be interesting to see how it performs.

 

Yeah I can hardly complain. I figured this one with the quad core proc (and 12MB cache) along with the beefier, although single, GPU might be the better idea. I figure I can add another 285 card later if I want to and with the x-25 SSD it actually flies right now. So with this one I lost the BD drive and the hi-res screen but that's not too bad. I did get the original 7.2k 250GB drive too so I'll put that in once I get a caddy for it.

 

Well, ladies, and gents. Time has come. I traded my R2 I am sad to see it go. Shipping it out today. The thing was gorgeous. But I cut the specs down a bit before I traded it, so I could keep my SSDs. It's been traded for the system below in my sig. I have RAM on the way and a Killer 1103. The X7200 is coming with a 256 GB SSD. I'm thinking about taking it out and sticking it in my wifes computer, and putting a second 1TB drive in the X7200, for a total of 2+ TB of space. I'll need to see how this thing works in RAID 0 first. I may do a RAID 0 setup, + 256 GB Gaming SSD, + 1TB Storage. My other option is 1 160GB SSD for OS, 1 160GB SSD for Games, and 2x1TB HDD for storage. The storage drives may be mirrored for redundency. Havn't decided. I need to learn what all the differant RAIDs are. But I love the idea of having 4 HDDs, and keeping my Intel SSDs.

But as sad as I was to see the R2 go, I'm equally as excited to get my hands on the 980x. The thing is a monster, and I know my F@H stats will benefit greatly from it, as well as the 485M's. Plus I do a lot of video encoding as of late, and the 980x will smoke the 940XM.

I'll miss my beloved RGB, but at least the X7200 has the upgraded LG panel at 90% gamut. I'll be missing 1200P too.

No worries, I plan to spend most of my NBR time here in the Alienware section. The Clevo section isn't nearly as cool, nor as active. At least with X7200 owners.


Good bye old friend...
Candy White Alienware M17X R2 | i7 940XM | AMD Crossfire 6990M | BIOS A10 MOD | 320GB Intel X-25M RAID 0 | 1TB Internal HDD Drive | 16GB 1333MHz | 1900x1200 RGB LED | Killer 1103 | USB 3.0 | Win 7 Ult | Linux Mint | NuForce uDAC-2 Audio | Blu-ray Burner (Converted to External) | Vantage: 25399 | 3DMark06: 23720 | 3DMark11: 7939

 

Still have mine!! One of the few original R2 owners left. I think I am just going to keep this and buy an 18R2 now that it's out.

 

Wow Doc got rid of his R2, but I don't blame you the 980x is tempting. Have fun with that new beast the prelim bench score on it are amazing, not to mention it seems like parts are abundant for your mods.

 

I haven't heard about this panel. Could you please write full symbol of this LG.

 

Here is what I got. I think it was used on the Studio 17 notebooks as well.

1 Y060P Module,Liquid Crystal Display,17.3,Full High Definition,White Light Emitted Diode,90%,Au Optronics Corp

 

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

I know ... I felt the same way... but...but...980X! Going to be great for folding and video encoding Not to mention 4 HDDS. Also it looks like some people are working on getting 680M SLI working so it'll be nice to have those for F@h and not have PSU issues. Ultimately though it was the 980X that I wanted.

 

Well man, congrats on the new beast! Sure glad you're planning to stick around here with all the cool kids though

 

Please check it in hwinfo.

 

Congrats on your new X7200 "Beast" with the 980X Hexacore!!! :smile:Those 4 HDD bays sure look exciting for video encoding that you do.

I was very surprised to read this. But I guess that as sad as the thought may be for a lot of those, including me, who are used to seeing that " Candy White M17x R2" signature as being a mainstay in the M17xR2 the threads, change does come and it's nice to see " Candy White R2" :hi2:exchanged for an equally good machine.

 

Thanks. Yea, definately wasn't an easy decision. In the end, I think I just wanted a change to tinker with something new. I may pick up another R2 in the future to toy around with though.

As for the four HDDs, I'm the kinda guy who wants it all. Speed (SSDs) and storage, mass storage. I'm a paranoid guy so I have image back ups of everything.

No worries however, M17x Forum is my NBR home, and I'll be here the majority of my NBR time. Clevo/Sager forums are just not as active.

The one good thing, is that 680M SLI looks promising for the X7200. It will be nice to be able to upgrade with out PSU issues, as I'l already be using a dual PSU.

Which brings me to another point. I may disassemble the dual PSU adaptor, to get pics of the inside for those here wanting to go the dual PSU route. May be useful.

Will do.

 

The end of an era!

 

Here is the HWInfo on the monitor. Gotta say, this screen is not bad at all. Bright, and the colors are vibrant. It's almost as good as the RGB LED of the M17x R2. I'm pleasantly surprised!!!

 

Cool Dude!:hi2: Can't wait to see some benches and more importantly you back up and Folding!!! :thumbsup:

Cheers.

 

Thanks, running some benches right now. Stock it's getting about Just over 6K on 3DMark11. For some reason I can't get Vantage to run the last physics test. Oh well. Also running about 5.2sec stock for wPrime 32. This CPU is a monster!

Going to see if I can get it folding before I go to sleep.

It was nice I ran the "Sysprep" on my M17x R2 SSD. That basically removes all drivers and sets your system up like your doing a new fresh install. Except it saves all your user data. So when I plugged the SSD into the X7200, it loaded all the windows drivers, and I was up and running in a matter of min. Then since it told me my Win 7 need activation, I put the Win 7 Ultimate key in from the guy i got the system from. My M17x R2 had Win 7 Ult, and the X7200 came with a Win 7 Ult upgrade disc and product key so I had to type in the product key, it activate and off I went.

So it was soooo simple.

My Intel 40GB X25-V SSD though is still "not genuine Win 7". It has the Win 7 Home install from my M11x, but since it's a Clevo, it tells me its not genuine. Whatever, I don't need it to be genuine since it's my benchmarking drive. lol

 

HAHA Brilliant!!! That Sysprep sounds like something worth using. I'll remember that for next time. :thumbsup:

Cool I wonder what kind of PPD and WU + the credit points you will get for the 485M's.
Like the AMD GPUs seem to only get the same WU each time which is worth 1835 Credits.

Upload some pics if you get some time before going to bed

Monster 980X - Just what Folding ordered!!! HAHA.

Cheers.

 

Yea, i read about it here not too long ago and figured why not try it. Thing was a life saver! I didn't have to reinstall anything except switch from AMD to Nvidia drivers.

Here is what I got with some overclocking. I can't OC the CPU much since it needs more voltage, but here is stock CPU with a GPU overclock. This thing smokes 5870s. And this is with tessellation on. With tessellation off, I scored something like 6300 with 5870s.

 

WOW Nice!!! Pretty awesome temps too it looks like.

Time for some folding pics ey HAHA!!!! :thumbsup:

Cheers.

 

Totally off-topic question: I got a notification that someone want to 'friend' me via the forums? I didn't realize our Facebook accounts were linked to our NBR accounts. I'll friend this guy but is there a way to separate our Facebook from NBR files?

 

The forum actually has a friend feature. Its not integrated with your Facebook. Its strictly a forum thing. You should check it in your forum profile.

Sent from my Samsung Captivate/ICS CM9 via Tapatalk.

 

Guys, I was wondering, will this work for my alien ware m17x r4?? I really need wimax to work
Brand New Intel 6250 622ANXHMW Advanced N + WiMAX Wireless Half Mini WLAN Card | eBay

 

Did and done, thank you for the clarification. I officially have 1 friend in the forum.

Goldenic: that's a great price for that card. I am not sure if the card will work perfectly, but you will at least get the WiFi part working. I know the R4 is setup to handle a dual WiFi/Bluetooth card, with the WiFi being on the PCIe side and the Bluetooth on the USB side of the card. That is how the 6250 is setup (WiFi on PCIe and WiMax on USB). I can confirm that I got the 6250 working on my R2, both WiFi and WiMax.

EDIT: to get the WiMax working, you would download the 6250 WiMax drivers for the R3. Once you get the Wimax drivers installed and that working, you can update to the latest WiMax drivers from the Intel site.

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers...?driverId=TYT33&osCode=W764&fileId=2960745070

 

Well I am in a slight dilemma with my R2. I priced all the upgrades that I want to do with the system and it turns out to be about $1100-1500 smackers to upgrade my R2 (specs in sig). I want a 920XM (ES/QS), 16GB Ram, and either single 7990m or 6990m in XFire. What the conundrum is the price for outlet m18x R2 is about $2000-$2300 for comparable specs to the upgrades I want to do. And there is my issue, so I ask the think tank, do I upgrade or splurge on a m18x? Any thoughts?