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

I need to buy new thermopads for gpu cooler (5870m)
0.5mm is ok?

 

does this seem legit?
Intel q9200 QAVR 2.4-3.0ghz Core 2 Quad Core Socket P Laptop CPU!! ~qx9300 ~QAJF | eBay

 

The price is right for a ES CPU but can't vouch for the seller.

Some folks were able to get decent frequencies out of a Q9200 and some wouldn't even pass 2,7Ghz. Luck of the draw with these chips.
The OEM QX9300 are beasts on the other hand but it's getting harder to find them anymore.

 

how do i play bf3 on both screens one being exteernal and the other being my laptop display? my cards are gtx 260m sli and 9400

 

Two screens are not ideal for gaming, especially FPS since your character/crosshair will be between the bezels.

 

i understand that, this is what i am going to do if one of my monitors at my house will allow it Removing (Stripping) the Bezel from a Monitor - YouTube

once that is done how would i use my Nvidia gtx 260m and 9400 to play across both screens

so i should buy it right?

 

Hi everyone. I have been lurking around these forums for a while now because of research and etc but decided to join the forums today since i bought my first alienware today. Its a ,m17x R2 with the following specs:


I7-820qm
6gb ram
dual 4870M
2x320gb hdds
nebula red.

I was just wondering if it was a good deal for 700 euros, since this is replacing my old deskie which had a ati 4650 and a damm old dual core amd cpu?


Regards Joel

 

700 Euros!?! Is it a used system or refurbished? Regardless, that's an awesome price for an R2. Dell outlet doesn't sell them for less that US$1000.

 

Its a refurbished model. I was just wondering how much difference is there between 5870s and 4870s. And btw is 820qm a good CPU?

 

Its a noticeable difference. That may be something you want to upgrade in the future...depending on if/how much gaming you plan to use you system for. I would STRONGLY suggest you upgrade your RAM to 8GB. 6GB of memory is rumored to cause problems.

The i7-820QM is third from the top for processors that can be installed in the R2. To upgrade you would need to get an Extreme 920XM or 940XM. Those are the only two more powerful CPU's than what you have.

 

Okay guys


Thanks for the help. Hope i get the system by monday, fingers crossed.

 

Why do I get the feelling that my laptop is going to die soon? lol

I got an error message today (the one were the Capslock is lit up and the other two are flashing) so its ether the GPU or lcd cable...I turned it off and turned it back on and it went away though. Although, there are moments were my laptop kinda pauses for a second or two (even with a SSD). Didnt start doing that until a day or two ago

Hopefully I have just be paranoid

 

That's what started the rash of problems that I've just had with my R2...Don't want to scare you, but hopefully you are still under warranty. I had the 285m SLI's...But sent the R2 to depot, problems were solved for a couple weeks, and then they started cropping up again...Crazy, because it is really only an 18 month old computer.

 

any idea on how to play BF3 on two monitors with nvidia like you can using eyefinity on ati

 

I have a (mostly) dead computer right now. It seems that in the past week or so, some driver stuff has been happening with AMD/ATI. In the meantime my video started acting really funky with a lot of bsod's. I redid the drivers, with sweeping, and it stopped bsoding but started having video flickers that would bring up a warning window saying that there was some graphical error, and windows had to recover, but it wouldn't crash. But then it started crashing. Now, the screen won't come on. I turn it on, and the screen is just blank, no bios screen no nothing. Even the camera light hasn't come on. But all of the AlienFX lighting does, just like it normally would. What should I do from here?

Not under warranty:

I7-620M, 2.66 GB
HD4870X2
8GB RAM

M17X R2

 

Hey, wonder if anyone here could help me @ http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/675153-major-lag-after-formating-m17x-r1.html

Having problem with my M17x-R1

 

Hi everyone,

I haven't got an official word, yet, but I am making the assumption that one (or more) of the GPU's on my M17X R2 is dead. It is in the shop getting diagnostics, hopefully I will know soon. I figure that this might be a good time for an upgrade. I have been reading on the forum about how to do an upgrade for an M17X R2 to a 6970/6990, but I don't really need to do that. I don't play FPS's and I have no desire to have a screaming system, I just want the non-graphically intensive/older games that I play (i.e. Silent Hunter III and Crusader Kings II) to run smoothly.

I figure that I could upgrade from the 4870X2 I currently have to a 5870 of some sort be it a 2GB or a 2 X 1 GB (or even a single card seems to be comparable to a 4870 X2) configuration in order to do what I need. The question I have, is what part numbers or specific cards should I be looking for. I have found the part number for my system listed as NRTT8 (and I am having trouble finding this part #). So just to be clear, this was a refurb to replace my other computer. When I got it, it originally had a 1 GB 5870 listed as NRTT8. I had them switch it out with the 4870x2 set up b/c at the time the 2 GPU's outperformed the one 5870.

So I guess the bottom line is, what specific cards should I be looking for to support my system. If in response you could point to a couple of specific examples I might be able to pick it up and run from there. I have been looking on ebay, etc. but I am not quite sure what I am looking at.

Thanx in advance and have a great day!

 

Go with (2) ATI 5870M crossfires. It will be a somewhat noticeable difference. Going with a 6990M or 7970M will definitely be noticeable, but you run the risk of having operational issues like the system won't sleep or standby correctly, and you lose some functionality with the HDMI and Display ports. The choice is yours.

 

Single 7970!!!!!!!

 

God I love this system, GPU choices out of the wazoo. I will have to agree with Douse if your gonna splurge for a new card my as well go with an upgrade.

Also for Katalin and others that helped me on my USB Bugcode BSOD I found out it was the driver to my mouse. I have a Logitech G5 laser mouse and it does not play well with the stock USB driver from windows. The mouse seems to have this problem with Win Vista and 7 OS, but the problem was fixed with a hot fix from Logitech. So far almost 3 weeks and no BSOD, I even left the system on for 7 days straight with no issues. So again thanks to all that helped.

 

I want to upgrade to a pair of 7970Ms REAL BADLY but I have just worried that my R2 will crap out on me soon. ugh


EDIT: Those lockups I have been facing....could if be one of my gfx cards going out? If it is not the mobo or the cpu, I will just spring for the 7970Ms then. Of course that means I would have to buy some thermal pads and paste (any recommendations?) and a 330w psu from Dell.


EDIT 2: I ran several test with that AleinAutopsy software and everything seems fine. Although, I don't know how reliable that is.

 

Dang, looks like my SSD where I had all my games on it died. It was an Intel G2 160GB Sata II. I'll have to call Intel on Monday to have it RMAed. I havn't gamed in months so I didn't even realize it was dead. Doesn't show up in the bios or anything. Doesn't show up in device manager. Looks like it just died one day and I didn't notice till yesterday when I was going to start gaming. oh well.

 

Ouch, that sucks least it is still under warranty! And it could have had important data on it as well!

 

Very true. Now I just need to find time to start the RMA process. Unfortunately Intels customer service hours are only during normal busniness hours which is when I work. lol. Glad it wasn't my OS drive, though I have images of it so that is good. Try and update my images once a week or every two weeks for my storage drive, and OS drive.

 

Wow, that is dedication. I should do the same. Although I don't mind having to restore to Vanilla OS as then I get another clean slate to install the newest drivers

I should backup my profile though...

 

hey guys, ran into quite a problem with dell recently. my 4870s starting flickering and after 4 service attempts(they kept replacing refurbs and they were all faulty as well), they put 5870s into my system.

im not sure if they are refurbs but i seem to be having problems with them as well.

tried 12.6,12.4 and dell drivers, cap 12.7.

i seem to be lagging ridiculously in every single game. from street fighter 4 to wow. my 4870s could handle them really well so i dont think 5870s should have a problem with them.

i checked with gpuz and noticed that the card clocks do not upclock properly when a game is launched. they either stay at idle or some mid range clocks (300 core 400 mem) or they switch between full clocks and idle clocks like once every few seconds(logged by gpu z logging tool)

do you guys think its driver problem or a hardware problem? any advice?

 

Check to see if Stealth Mode isn't activated first.

 

Nope its not

 

I know this is always the fall back answer, but have you tried a fresh install of Windows?

Being that the problem has persisted with multiple cards\drivers etc, perhaps it is software related?

 

Booo way to ruin my week Dell. I got a call from them on the 17th saying my laptops would ship out on the 18th. I thought it was awesome til the 18th came and went and no shipping. Then wake up this morning with a we're sorry email and a new date of the 26th.

 

I've been having lock up issues as well. Any ideas?

 

I am so excited! I got my 7970m card on the way. I just need to decide on these upgrades:

-16gb RAM
-external/internal Blu-ray drive
-red chassis

I need a new palmrest too as the plastic screw holes have all broken off (how? idk).

Also, what's the big deal with that Killer cards that some people have in their R2s?

When does it lock up?

 

Hi all!

Need some probably FAQs .... been reading a bunch of threads, and finding partial answers.

I've an R1 for a ... long time, dual sli 280's, quad core, nvidia 258.96 drivers. Comp has been my main comp and gaming rig for a long time, through three moves and a job involving 50% hotel time. Been nice to be able to game anywhere.

1) I used to have the stuttering / power problem, after various configurations of various drivers, I haven't stuttered in over 10 months. Did we ever figure out exactly what configuration / caused this issue? I want to clean install windows, and don't want to have the old problem reoccur ...

2) Anyone got a summary / recommendation for video drivers? or quick descriptions? Seems like 258 288 296 and 301 all seem to be commonly used. Do the new 301 "work" better than the older 257s?

3) I have a problem, I can't get my displayport to display, I've got a diplayport to HDMI adapter, and an HDMI cable. Works fine out the HDMI port, can't get anything out the display port.

4) Ettiquette ..... if I have a problem like (3) should I put it in this thread, or separate "diplayport problem" thread?

5) Anyone got easy solutions with the R1 to use an external TV as a monitor? I.e. how to get 4:4:4 sampling on say, a 32 inch TV? I've tried a HDMI to DVI to DVI to HDMI adapters, and tried turning the HDMI sound off in the 258 nvidia drivers ...

OK what am I talking about? IF you're using a TV as a monitor, check out this link http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy352/floatpoo/444_faq/tint-blue-rgb-1080p.png If the magenta is really clear as the other colors, you're good, if its "blurry" you don't have 4:4:4 ... this could be because the TV doesn't support it, OR, you're comp isn't set up right. This thread has more than you want to know on the topic: Official 4:4:4 / Chroma Subsampling Thread

5a) OK, so why am I asking this here? Well, the most common way to enable 4:4:4 is to use a DVI port directly, we don't have one, OR .... to hack / edit the nvidia drivers to disable HDMI sound ... ... ... and I am WAY leery of trying to modify my 258 drivers ... and I have a suspicion that the display port would fix this issue same as DVI, as I don't think displayport does sound either ...

6) Is there a R1 "best practices" thread somewhere? One thread on here had someone used a chipset driver from a different comp to update the chipset driver on the R1 since the stock one is old ... any other stuff like that?

7) Fans. Mine are loud. Some times, they are louder than at other times, and ... BUZZZ. Do I need to buy new ones, if so where, OR, is this a warranty issue that Dell would send new fans? Are there aftermarket "better" fans folks are using?

8) Faster external drive solutions? This is my only comp. I want to transfer lots of music, video etc. to external drives. Is getting a USB3 card going to do me any good? Anyone found a use for the external esata?

9) One thing I do NOT have is a bluray drive ... is it possible to grab one off ebay and install it?

Feel free to tell me to start new topics for each issue.

Thanks!

 

Hey guys. Just dropping in to say hey to the gang. Havn't been around much. Life is getting in the way. Wife is due with our first born in about 3 weeks and I took a job promotion that has me working a lot more with a lot larger workload. Hope all is well!

 

Hey Doc congrats all the way around I have a 4 month old and its a joy everyday. Get your sleep and enjoy it as much as you can.

 

Hello guys, just bought an Intel 330 SSD and i've just reinstalled windows. Could someone please point me in a link with the latest and the more stable crossfire AMD drivers for my dual HD 5870 video cards...cap profiles too ? Thanks alot in advance.

 

Hi everyone,

I just installed a 2nd HD 5870 GPU in my M17x-R2. I am getting an error saying that my CrossFire bridge is not properly connected. I have looked around to troubleshoot, and I have managed to determine that this error may be a result of two different vbios on my video cards. One is listed as 012.020.000.027.037640 (113-B96101-104) the other as 012.019.000.006.036284 (113-B96101-101). I can't seem to find an up to date step by step guide on what to do to either give them the most up to date bios, or at least make them the same. Could some one start me in the right direction?

Thanx in advance.

 

Hello, rudewarrior, here's what you need to do:
Grab a USB stick and download the latest vBIOS for the Mobility 5870 from Dell.
Follow this guide to make that USB stick bootable:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...sh-aw-bios-updates-under-dos.html#post7076619

After that:
- Extract the downloaded vbios update file, "R281544.exe" file using WinRAR. You will get a file called "Setup.exe".
- Extract "Setup.exe" using WinRAR again.
- In the extracted folder there is another folder called "IMAGE"
- Copy all files from the IMAGE folder to your bootable flash drive. If you are prompted to overwrite command.com select " No".
- Boot your pc and press F12 to select boot device. Select USB.
- Follow prompts. Wait till its completed.

Done!

Now compare your vBIOS versions again in Windows with GPU-Z and see if you have 012.020.000.027.037640 for both.

 

Hi katalin,

It worked and thank you very much, but...

in the midst of repasting the other card, I think I managed to kill it.

I suspect that I will be able to get another card from the same seller on ebay, so I suspect that it will have the old vBIOS as well. So the only question I have is:

Does this procedure flash the vBIOS on both video cards at once, or only the one in the primary slot?

Again, thank you for your help.

I like your avatar. Have you ever seen these t-shirts?

Teach the Controversy - Intelligently designed t-shirts urging you to show both sides of every story, even the really, really dumb sides. by Jeremy Kalgreen

and

Science! ~ T-Shirts on the edge of forever. by Jeremy Kalgreen

I have two of them, and I'm guessing by your logo, you might like them, too.

 

been kicking my self for not getting the qx9300 while it was at a lower price on ebay, now is the q9200 as good as the qx9300 in terms of real world speed (noticeable speed)

 

Hey guys, just got home from the hospital and will be off work this week. My wife was induced and gave birth to our first born on Sat 8/11/12 at 2:31am. 7 lbs 9 oz. Posted more about it here.

Thought I'd let you know why I haven't been around.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/off-topic/682862-fruit-my-loins-p.html

 

do you know why my backlighting on my M17xR2 keyboard just turns off when I start playing Battlefield 3 ?

 

congratulations DR!!!! One day my time will come to be a father.....GAME OVER

 

Hello, Riri, that's because Battlefield 3 has AlienFX support. If you don't want the game to interact with AlienFX you can just right click the alien head in system tray and deselect the Enable 3rd Party AlienFX Access option.

 

Congrats man!! I was just saying to myself "Where's DR been"...and now I know

 

Congrats Doc on your new addition, don't let the others fool you. You can still game and be a daddy, you just have to get used to the pause button!

 

Thanks guys. Yea I took a promotion at work which has really increased my work load, and my son was just born so things are crazy. I still ♥ NBR and want to spend more time here. Just doesn't look like it will be as much as I'd like. But I will be around lol. I will learn to use the pause button. Even though I'm married I've ignored that button hahaha.

 

Well, I just sent one of my Intel X-25M 160GB SSDs into Intel for RMA. Can't wait to get it back. It was my gaming drive so when I get it I can put my gaming drive image on it and get some gaming in Plus always nice to have some new drives

 

DR
Congrats man

 

Hi there!

Unfortunately I am dealing with high temperatures while playing D3/Dota2 so I decided to order a Cooler Master NotePal U3 to set it under the laptop. Ive been reading about it and something came up about not placing the fans right underneath the exhaust fan because it will be useless. Thing is I did not quite understand what an exhaust fan is so I am looking for advice on how to properly place the three fans. Ive been thinking about placing two of them right under the two fans located on both sides of the laptop (gpu fans?) and the one Ive got left covering the middle part of the laptop where the HDDs, CPU fan and so on are situated.

You guys think it is a proper assembly to get the most out of it? Thanks and sorry for the dumb question