*OFFICIAL* Alienware M17x R3/R4 Owner's Lounge Thread

Welcome to the Owner's Lounge for the Alienware M17x R3 and M17x R4!

(M17x R3 OL part 1 is here, part 2 can be found here and part 3 is here) initial M17x R4 discussion can be found here

Manuals, Teardown, Drivers, etc.

System Teardown
*To be added once/if Dell adds it to their official youtube channel.

Manuals (Owners Manual and Service Manual)
M17x R3 - Documentation
M17x R4 - Documentation

Drivers straight from Dell support
Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

Dell Released Parts List for M17xR3 -
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/550787-m17xr3-part-number-list-reference-thread.html

Dell GPU-Specific Parts List for M17x R3

• VDV04 N11E-GS GeForce 460m
• 87XRJ N11E-GS GeForce 460m Kit (Video card VDV04 + Thermal Assemblies J9H7X)
• YT99J N12E-GS GeForce 560m
• 8H4G6 N12E-GS GeForce 560m Kit (Video card YT99J + Thermal Assemblies J9H7X)
• 3MF8R N12E-GTX2 GeForce GTX580m
• RFYN9 N12E-GTX2 GeForce GTX580m Kit (Video card 3MF8R + Thermal Assemblies V1K2G) (For the throttling at 78C°)
• V9XKH AMD Blackcomb XT 6970m
• WFWCW AMD Blackcomb XT 6970m (Video card V9XKH + Thermal Assemblies YHP1P)
• V5TGF AMD Granville Pro 6870m
• 5MKH5 AMD Granville Pro 6870m Kit (Video card V5TGF + Thermal Assemblies VH0YK)
• RDRGR AMD Blackcomb XTX 6990m
• CK7HW AMD Blackcomb XTX 6990m Kit (Video Card RDRGR + Thermal Assemblies YHP1P)

Dell GPU-Specific Parts List for M17x R4
(subject to availability based on manufacturer supply)

• HXD3N N13E-GS1 GeForce GTX675m
• C0XGT N13E-GS1 GeForce GTX675m Kit (Video card HXD3N + Support Plate 3MHHT)
• M3XJV NV13E-GE GeForce GTX660m
• 5H5NC NV13E-GE GeForce GTX660m Kit (Video card M3XJV + Support Plate 3MHHT)
• 747M2 AMD Wimbledon XT 7970m
• 8DG8P AMD Wimbledon XT 7970m Kit (Video card 747M2 + Support Plate 3PVGK)

Benchmarking, Overclocking etc.

Overclocking
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/560044-m17x-r3-overclocking-sort.html

Benchmarks Discussion and Result Sharing
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/455435-official-m17x-benchmark-thread-part-3-a.html

GPU Related Items
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...idia-geforce-460m-580m-560m-see-post-1-a.html

Misc. Links

Owner Answered FAQ/etc.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-order-configuration-questions-ask-here.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ntly-asked-questions-read-before-posting.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/561599-m17x-r3-cpu-gpu-re-pasting-guide-w-pics.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...alling-new-cpu-m17x-r3-illustrated-guide.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/569484-m17x-r3-6970m-re-pasting-video-guide.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/585805-m17x-rx-m18x.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/496156-alienfx-problems-questions-thread.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...are-diagnostics-your-m17xr3-resource-dvd.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/594890-wifi-card-best-m17x-r3.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/559613-best-aftermarket-ram-m17x-rx.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/616590-m17x-ram-questions.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-ssd-mem-optical-performance-screenshots.html

BIOS Recovery in case you brick your M17x R3

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/683080-m17x-r4-bricked-bios-recovery-not-vbios.html

LCD DeadPixel Test

Order Status Discussion
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/630192-m17x-order-status-discussion-part-4-a.html

3D Capability/Discussion
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...3-r4-3d-discussion-questions-tips-thread.html

Bags, Backpacks, Cases & Sleeves
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ags-backpacks-cases-sleeves-discuss-here.html

Clean Windows Install
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ook-feel-after-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

***IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE PERFORMING A CLEAN INSTALL WITH AMD GPU***

•For M17xR3 with AMD, install the AMD Display Driver first. Once done, the Intel Driver must be installed when in Integrated Mode. You will need to use the FN+F7 to switch over to Intel. A reboot may be necessary. Once done, install the Intel HD driver. Once installed, switch back over to your AMD GPU.

Alienware Videos

Alienware Channel

 

I ordered this via phone (got a lil but discount of around $50 and a $105 Gift Card)..... they said i will be gettin it by May 22 !!

Really excited !!!!

Alienware M17x ($2,346.28) ---- Including $191.26 tax !!!!!
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM
6GB DDR3 at 1600MHz (2DIMMS)
750GB 7,200 RPM
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 7970M
17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz
Intel® Advanced-N WiFi Link 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology with WiMax and Bluetooth 4.0
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

i also ordered a Samsung 830 GB SSD and will order 8GB 1600MHz Corsair Vengeance RAM and the mamba.

My First Alienware System


so i will have two hds...but this lefts me wondering, wat can i do with the empty mSATA slot ? any ideas ?

btw if u guys think i cud have gotten the laptop at lower price than this, let me know

 

Finally, after all the obstacles, here it is!

 

With my r4 I asked dell if i can upgrade to SSDs in the future and they said no? Is that true?

 

Yes, you can. Buy the drives yourself, follow the disassembly instructions and install them.

 

Can you recomend me a drive?

 

everyone has their personal preferences, so you will probably get a ton of recommendations, but so far my crucial m4 has been running great and is the drive I would get if I needed another SSD.

 

@bigtonyman great thanks!

 

no prob, feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

 

i saw a 256 gig m4 on sale recently for $197. You can't beat that kind of price/performance. What makes it even better is that the M4 is rock solid and reliable

 

Reposting from old thread:

Had a few quick questions about my M17x R4:

- The Blu Ray drive sometimes makes a quick noise every once in a while, like once every hour or two, wondering if this is normal? No I'm not using it at the time.

- I used HWID to check temps: using a HD3 Gaming Chill Mat with 1 out of 2 of the USB's for power, and the fan settings on the highest for that one USB; getting high 40's-50's C for idle temps, 60's for load on CPU. 47-54 C or so for the 7970M on idle, 60 max on load. These sound right? Stock Paste(s).

- Had a weird issue the other day when trying to play BF3: kept starting the game and it always seemed like the 7970M wasn't kicking in, I know it wasn't because I was getting horrid framerates. After a few reboots, it seemed that the 7970M was now getting used, and everything was smooth. What gives..?

Thanks! Loving the system so far. Is it necessary to do any bios updates or anything like that to get the most out of it? Or? Haven't touched much. Also any better drivers out there other than the 12.4's?


Other note:

Also noticing some sound stuttering, when listening to music or watching video. Sometimes when playing games as well. Tried making firefox run in high-performance mode and it seems to have fixed it, but not entirely sure. Haven't noticed the stutters once I tried that 'fix'.

Anyone know how many sound channels the onboard sound is capable of? I have the Sound Blaster Recon 3Di in my laptop, but can't find any information on it. Curious about this since I saw the option in the Diablo 3 sound options menu. Has choices between 16, 32, 64, and 128 sound channels.

Thanks all.

 

Do you have a link to that?

 

For those interested, watch this thread for deals on the M4 drives

http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...l-ssd-6gb-s-ct256m4ssd2-price-war-thread.html

 

128GB, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive, upgrades for Alienware M17xR4 Laptop/Notebook, CT3089629 from Crucial.com is that the drive you are referring to?
thanks

 

yup that's the same exact SSD that am using as a boot drive.

 

@BiH115 those temps look fine anything under 75-80 should be fine, once it gets hotter then that watch out As for the bluray drive I'm not 100% sure but my DVD drive on my desktop does the same and have had it for 4 years, so I assume it should be okay

Great thanks! add rep to u, slick and katalin

 

Not sure if this has been posted, but they added a third Wifi option, of course when mine is in production.

 

@BiH115 how were you able to get the 7970m to show in HWmonitor? I did a clean install of drivers for it and it still will not show even when games are running on it and the fan is at what sounds like 100%.

I'm also trying to figure out a good 256ish GB SSD to throw in for a primary drive and move the 750gb HDD to secondary.

 

Look at the crucial m4s if your looking at getting an ssd. There is a deal listed for 256gb crucial m4 listed by katalin a few posts back. You might wanna check it out.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using Tapatalk 2

 

Anyone having issues on the R4 with the laptop defaulting to integrated graphics? My games won't recognize the 7970 on steam.

 

Is there a guide to completely overhauling windows 7, were all the folders on the start menu are linked to the storage drive vs ssd? I.E. the downloads, pictures, and videos link. I want it were if i click on them it brings me to a folder on the HDD

 

Is there an option to disable the intergrated gpu in the intel software? I wont ever need the intergrated gpu. just want the amd card running

 

i know this is a long shot, cause no one is passing up on the 7970m, but i was wondering if the r4 can do optimus with the 120hz screen.

anyone have a 3d r4?

 

I heard the r4 BIOS has a lot more options similar to the r3 unlocked BIOS. Is it possible to shut the igpu off from there?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using Tapatalk 2

 

I think you can set this up using the AMD software. I'll hjave a look tonight when I get homne from work.

I don't have a 3D R4, but apparently it is impossible due to the needed hardware connection. The 3D screen physically bypases the IGPU. So that would not be possible as there is no connection between the IGPU and the screen.

I think I saw something yesterday, but am not sure. I will have a look tonight.

 

@Mitchell2.24v great thanks let us know

 

Are you talking about when you go into a game, or? If you right click on your desktop and go to graphics properties, it should give you a bunch of programs that you've recently used, or are using at the moment. You can then click and change them from 'high-performance' to 'power-saver' or vice versa.

To be honest, I can't give you a good answer to this. Sometimes it pops up there and lets me see the temp (have it set up to also show temps in task bar), but other times, it doesn't really recognize it, even though I know it's working over-time to power my games.

 

@BiH115 sounds like a driver issue, have u tried a reinstall? Of the drivers.

 

I believe I'm using the 12.4 Mobility drivers posted by Fox a week or so back, from Benchmark Guru. These are ok and stable, yeah? If so, I supposed I could give re-installing a shot.

Something completely unrelated, but when I set Firefox to be a 'high-performance' task under my graphics options, upon watching a video, I got a BSOD. Not sure if that's related to the high-performance, but it hasn't happened since (I put it back to power-saver fyi). Not sure if that's driver related as well.

 

Good to see that the community is still going strong. Thanks for your hard work over the years, Kat and Bat

 

@BiH115 okay, I had similer issues with my desktop 5870s and it did turn out to be driver issues. i just never had the browser problem you mentioned. but maybe try a driver reinstall from the dell or amd site. hope you come right! let us know if it continues.

 

Will do, as soon as I get home tonight.

My main gripe the other day was the sound-static issue I've been having. I can't remember if I've just gotten used to it or not, but I haven't heard any sound-related issues the past two days. It's as if they don't exist anymore. Everyone sounds clear now on mumble, games aren't stuttering sound-wise. Odd.

The only other thing that I find to be sort of annoying is the Blu-ray slot, it keeps making a little noise every once in a while. I only seem to notice it when my headphones are off, so I'm not sure if it's making noise when I'm deep into my games. I usually only notice it when I'm using Firefox too... What the hell is with Firefox and it tying into everything I'm having small issues with haha.

 

@BiH115 Yeah the bluray thing must be annoying but I dont think its a problem.

 

Will this solid state drive fit into my alienware R4?
OCZ Petrol 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
• SATA III 6-Gbps • 2.5" form factor • Read up to 185MB/s • Write up to 95MB/s • Boot time reduction optimization • TRIM support
Thanks

 

Will this solid state drive fit into my alienware R4?
OCZ Petrol 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
• SATA III 6-Gbps • 2.5" form factor • Read up to 185MB/s • Write up to 95MB/s • Boot time reduction optimization • TRIM support
Thanks

 

in an r3 the igpu is bypassed as there are two connections on the motherboard for the monitor. as i understand it, someone correct me if im wrong, its becasue the hd 3000 is not powerful enought to handle the 120hz or 3d. the r4 has hd4000 igpu so thats why i was wondering if it now supports optimus. it would mean that the motherboard has been changed from the r3 to the r4

edit: after a bit of research it may be that the r3 motherboard doesnt have enough bandwith to support 120hz on the igpu.

 

Dunno if this helps, but someone was asking maybe a week or so ago if they could use the A09 BIOS for the R3 on their R4...answer was 'no, because the R4 motherboard is different', or something to that effect.

EDIT: Link is here.

 

So, i just got my alienware m17x r4 yesterday and after getting it all set up i installed world of tanks and was only getting like 40 FPS which seems kinda slow for my system. I have an AMD 7970 which should be way more powerful. So i thought i should go update my drivers. So, i went to AMD's website and the damned thing didnt work at all. It couldnt detect my OS or whatever . So...

1. What the heck is with AW/Dell and Amd drivers?
2. should i just go down the list @ Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States] and download every driver that applies to my hardware?
3. If this isn't why my performence stinks, please explain what else i should do.

Im sorry for being an idiot but im new to this stuff and i keep reading stuff i dont understand about AMD drivers and AW

 

AMD Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

Try these. Also when you're on the desktop, right click it, go to graphics properties, and make sure that the program you want to run, is set to 'High-Performance' mode, if it's not already (usually most default to 'Power-Saver').

 

Yeah it sounds like you are using the Intel HD gpu there do what BiH115 says, that should work, P.S what amd drivers are currently installed ?

 

here are the dell drivers for your gpu: Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

and its this driver: Dell-Driver
Gfx_AMD_A00_8.934.2_F9X96_setup_ZPE.exe

 

In game it runs off the 7970 but when the game loads up initially and detects settings it goes off the IGPU and sets everything to low and then I have to change it.

 

Hello again all, So i downloaded the driver and WoT FPS still drops in the
30's Should i start downloading all of the other drivers on the dell website that match up with my hardware?

 

Play around with the AMD drivers and I'm sure some where you can select that all programs open with the AMD gpu, my current gigabyte p2532n with the Nvidia GPU has that option in the driver panel.

 

Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]
Dell-Driver
Gfx_AMD_A00_8.934.2_F9X96_setup_ZPE.exe
Try that Driver as well as.
Dell-Driver
Video_Intel_W74_G2Y7T_A00-Setup_ZPE.exe Thats the CPU driver.

and this is the Management driver, under CHIPSET
Dell-Driver
MEI_Intel_VFP83_A00-Setup_ZPE.exe (39MB)

 

ok thanks for your help

 

Is the screen/laptop thicker with the 120MHz screen?
Some kind of notice popped up when configuring so I would like to know if the laptop becomes heavier with a 3D screen.

 

No problem, lets us know if you come right

 

From what I know its exactly the same in terms of thickness.

 

could someone explain what the heck the folks on this page are talking about. Is that what I should do?

*GUIDE* Proper AMD/ATI Driver Install - Alienware Arena Forums river-install/