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

Probably right there with it having a different CPU revision (ivy bridge) but as long as you make sure you have a way to revert it if it bricks then you could try. I've mot seen anything about the RAID rom so I don't even know how you get to it

 

I thought it had the wrong drivers installed so I went to Nvidia to find some and there are none. I used the resource CD and installed the 296.39 (maybe it was already on there) and did the video test, everything passed. Now I've been reading that people cannot even play Diablo 3 on the 660 m or 675 m since there is no drivers from Nvidia? I don't understand how you can sell a "Diablo 3 edition" m17x R4 with the main card selected being the Nvidia gtx 675m and it doesn't even play the game. I am installing D3 right now but if it does not run the game this will be very disappointing and quite confusing.

The only reason I bought the computer, besides the awesome power, was to get a computer that could run Diablo 3. This really can't be true,

GTX 660M has NO DRIVER UPDATES - NVIDIA Forums

Second post down the guy states he can't even play D3.

 

zsw

I agree, it can't be right. I'd be checking that it is running on the Nvidia card and not the iGpu but since I have the 120hz model i don't have this problem - haven't checked out the earlier post as i don't have Diablo 3 to test.

Ed: checked out the thread n Dell have published a driver, the same one you have so it's Nvidia that hasn't added in the chip ID's to their drivers - yet. The Dell ones should be just fine until a game comes out that nvidia optimise in a driver update.

 

How can I make sure its running off the GTX675 m? Even after I installed the 296.39 its still saying its the intel card under video card in the alien autopsy. Although D3 does run and everything is set to high I want it on the GTX 675m since I am going to go install Everquest 2 tonight set everything to full and head for the nearest city to see how it does.

 

Now we have to wait for someone else to step in . My only suggestion, try FN F7 and a reboot maybe? I have the 120hz 3D model so the internal GPU is not connected at all - and i don't get the problems it causes, just the poor battery life

 

use the guide in my sig to whitelist the games .exe and you should be good to go.

 

It's weird, no matter how many times I refresh the configuration page, the 680m doesn't show up as an option yet!

 

Thanks!

I'm also having a little trouble with the hard drive setup. I have the 750 gig regular sata hd and also the 32 gig SSD drive (with "cache"). Did Alienware install the OS on the SSD and leave me the regular hard drive for everything else? It does boot up kinda fast..

When I go to the My computer it just shows one hard drive with ~650 gigs left on it and nothing else. Both hard drives pop up in the AlienAutopsy and I have tested both, both passed.

ed: Quick update on the D3 situation, I followed the whitelist procedure and the card does function and shows it is running while D3 is going but the FPS is horrible, the game is so slow you can't even play it. It runs just fine off the intel card but that is just quite ridiculous. I can't even use the card I bought on a game? It must be a driver issue.. Is this going to be the same way with ALL the games I play until I can get a driver from Nvidia? This is quite weird/disappointing. I'm going to set the card back to the Intel one for D3 for the moment and try some other games with the Nvidia.

 

Hope you have better luck.

I'm a bit pissed at Nvidia about not having the 675m on their driver list. Even their auto-detect hangs. Since it's only a rebadged 580m there is no reason in the world for them not to include it. They are saying this is normal for new mobile chips and they will eventually add it. Not good enough for me - if you sell the hardware, release a 'green' driver.

I do want a 300 series driver as it improved my games on the 580 and had a bunch of new features that I liked, but as the machine is new I'm not ready to go down the path of finding a modded inf to allow it to install

 

ed: I just went back to Dell's website to reference, the "Diablo 3" edition is gone and the middle option now has a Radeon card as the default.. the only 675m gpu you can buy is the 3D version.

I miss when Alienware was run by Alienware.

Both Everquest 2 (high quality and even extreme quality) and CS 1.6 ran good. It seems like D3 just has problems with the new card, but why dell would put that card as the default card in the "Diablo 3 edition" blows my mind. If someone would of told me I would of just took the Radeon for now and upgraded the card later when their was driver support. I really don't blame anyone at this point and I really don't want to return the laptop, I guess you live and learn. I really like Nvidia, always have, but they need to remove their heads from their asses immediately.

 

hi guys
i´ve been testing my cpu capabilities with the intel xtu and i realised that at a blck speed of 100.4 mhz the cpu works at 78 to 80 C degrees at playing gta iv is that normal, because hwinfo says that my gpu is only at 65 degrees as the highest temp i get? my cpu is the 2630qm

 

There's just a lot of stupid stuff happening right now with games and new cards.

First the Nvidia site told me my 580 was 'below the recommended spec' for MP3, clearly wrong since I played the game fine with everything pretty much maxed out. Then I turn on 3D vision to see that they have included a profile with a 'not recommended' status! Weird for a game that has in-game 3D vision options! This usually rates a '3D ready' status. I cant imagine Rockstar are too happy with that since they are paying to advertise the game in the recent driver releases.

Anyhow 3D works great, only need to turn off shadows for a perfect experience

 

disappointing paint job


u can see the lid of the laptop is not align to the base when closed and at the base the left side can u see how big the gap of the red case and the actual grill compare it to the other side

you can compare the gap to this....and the lid is also protruding out.....very disappointing.....have asked for replacement

 

So how is 3D in general on the M17x? I am planning to get the 3D kit as well with the 680m when it comes out. I was not sure how it would be with a relatively small screen (compared to my 27" monitor or my projector) but figured that you sit close enough to a laptop that it would make it immersive enough.

Do you think it is worth it to get the 3D package?

Is the screen nice and bright still with 3D on?

Is there any ghosting?

Are you able to run at 1080P at 60Hz in 3D mode?

I'm pretty impressed if you can run Max Payne in 3D with settings pretty much maxed on the 675M considering it has to double render everything.

Cheers!

 

I don't have the 3D M17x BUT... people MASSIVELY exaggerate that 3D is wasted on smaller screens: the size is only relative to the distance from the screen.

I have a 32 inch Panasonic DT30 3D TV and the 3D on it is amazing and immersive. Go for it if you want 3D dude, you don't want to think "what if?" if you don't get it, do you?

 

Hi.

Yeah, on your lap is the best distance, your right 'there'.

1. Yes, I like it and it works good for me. I've shown people who then say 'how can you go back to normal gaming!'

2. Yes, with the v2 I don't need to up the gamma in games as I did on the old one.

3. Some games have ghosting and some are just great. Any ghosting can usually be fixed by figuring out what setting is triggering it. MP3 plays great at max settings in 3D (no AA though) but put on shadows and you'll get a weird effect that is disorientating.

4. Yes, no problems (120 hz selected in most games). Frame rates drop by up to 50% but since that is each eye alternatively I don't 'see' any real performance hit.

I'm impressed too. The only game that really 'hurts' when switching on 3D is Assassins Creed Revelations. A mild OC to 720 fixes that and it is just stunningly beautiful. I just wonder around calling in the assasins and watching the mayhem

 

I got my m17x today with 675m.When ever i try to run a game(it's cricket game.Used to run fine in my m15x with nvidia 260m) always crashes on launch with error
Fault Module Name: nvd3dum.dll
Fault Module Version: 8.17.12.9639

Can anybody help me with this.It is driving me nuts.Dont know what the issue is

I have 3820m with 16gb ram

 

Which game is this specifically? It might not support the newer drivers if it is a slightly older game. Also, are you sure you are runnig the game on your 675m and not the HD4000 iGPU?

 

It's called Ashes Cricket 2009.It used to play fine on 1080p settings my m15x with 260m card which i sold a month ago.How do i check i am not using i4000.The dll error seems to be coming from nvidia.I checked online where several people with nvidia gpu at various times have the issue but no one seems to have solution.The game plays fine on my desktop ati 5870 also.There is only one dell driver for this 296.39.I could not find any driver on nvidia site also for 675m.Is there any other modded driver i can try

 

I have to admit that I am spoiled, my first experience with Home 3D is with a 92" screen from my projector. I wasn't that worried about 3D until I played some PC games on that and now I am very aware of the "what if" factor, especially if I am going to spend between $2500 to $3000 on this laptop!

Sounds perfect to me. Thanks so much for the great insight. Have you ever tried using the Tridef software instead of 3D vision? There is a 15 day free trial. I use it on my setup and find it is nice to try as an option besides Nvidia. Was curious if it would work with a 3D vision kit such as this.

 

Sorry for the random post, I'm trying to figure out why I haven't been able to get to the last page in this thread since yesterday afternoon?

 

I think the forum has just been buggy lately. I've been having issues lately as well.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX Using Tapatalk 2

 

I had that game, its very badly supported, I could never get it to run smoothly and it frequently crashed on my desktop 5870 xfire setup.

I had the same problem

Does anybody know when AMD will release the official drivers for the 7970m?

 

You're very welcome
I had a quick look and I think it uses a 3d tv and it's glasses (and the main 3D TV formats). The resolution won't be as good since I believe 3D TV is 720P? I don't have a 3D tv

Anyway Nvidia have a similar piece of software - 3DTVPlay. It's free if you have the vision kit and is available as a purchasable download (with a free trial I believe). I had a look for it and from what I read it's built into the driver and just needs licensing. If I look in 'licenses' in my driver I see 3D TVPlay so I guess all I'd need to do is hook up a 3D TV

Edit Tridef say it works with Nvidia 3D vision: 'Also compatible with Intel’s second gen core 3D, AMD’s Radeon HD 3D and Nvidia’s 3D Vision processors.' http://www.ddd.com/tridef-products/tridef-experience/

Thanks man, it was just this thread for me but I cleared down the cache and it's back

 

I take back what I said earlier... my ethernet connection for my m17xr3 is also doing this so called 'chattering' now... This is VERY annoying..

I wonder if its driver related? Or some fine-tweaking i need to do for both my wifi and ethernet ?? Maybe I have some settings turned on i don't need..

I have these interfaces:

Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6250 AGN
Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20)

 

Yeah I use 3DTV play as well. It pretty much is used to give 3D Vision support to 3D TV's and Projectors using their own glasses. But the only problem with it is that it is using the HDMI cable which will only support 1080p 3D at 24Hz (HDMI spec limitation). For computers with dual link DVI monitors and I'm guessing the M17x's internal connection with it's 3D display, it can support 1080p at 60Hz in 3D.

The thing I like about Tridef is that you have the option to use Side-by-Side format to kind of cheat and stay at 1080p 60Hz (although it is actually splitting the resolution of the two 3D images to 960x1080) which works nice for my 3D projector setup. A friend of mine is able to use Tridef at full 1080p 3D with his Nvidia kit and monitor (using DVI not HDMI) so it makes sense that it will work with the M17x, just wanted to see if you had tried it.

All that being said, I was having trouble using Tridef with Max Payne 3 last night so I used a 720p resolution with 3DTVPlay and it looked amazing. That game is a lot of fun and a nice change of pace from Diablo 3 every so often.

 

Thanks, you obviously know much more about it than I do . I was told that I can only use the miniport connector for 60/120 hz output, and to make sure that the TV input is true 120hz and not internally 'bumped' up.

I'm in a 'don't frig with it' frame of mind right now having gone through multiple HW failures and 3 clean windows installs in the last three months before I got this machine 2 days ago. But it's on my list to check out when I feel a little braver.

MP3 is very pretty in 3D though - do you see shadows 'out of phase'?

There isn't a setting you can mess that I know of that would cause this. Slow your connection down to a crawl maybe but not every device. It's going to be some rogue software 'talking' like a DDOS Trojan, or flaky hardware.

I'd start by disabling each and testing the other. Driver is the next. Remove the device via device manager and select the option to delete the driver. This will remover it from the windows cache and make the reinstall get a fresh copy. Of course, make sure you have the extracted driver files first.

Shame you are not using a killer wireless, their app shows you trafic by application and woudl probably help - don't know of any utilities since I stopped network Tech a few years ago...

Oh yeah, forgot add I have seen emule do this (and I have a fix PM) but you already said no torrents or anything

 

I don't think that you will find too many TV's that are natively 120Hz, most of them use frame interpolation to make it work. It should work for dedicated 120Hz monitors that you can buy though.

It looks like the 3DTVPlay profile for MP3 automatically disables shadows so I haven't seen it. Shadows seem to be one of the trickiest things for 3D to incorporate. I've had to disable them on a few games to make it work for 3D.

 

I am just ing upset right now, first Dell tries to pull a fast one by running Diablo 3 off the Intel motherboard GPU so I have to manually input the games I want to run off the gtx 675m (D3 Run's choppy and SLOW fps off the nvidia gtx 675m with Dell's drivers). Then I find out that Nvidia doesn't even have a driver for my card, nor do they have a driver for the older 660m, and now they JUST released the 680m which probably doesn't have drivers either. Seriously I really don't know what to think, Dell is screwing Alienware's name into the ground. Everyone comes on here with problems, an earlier post reveals that they didn't align his screen with the chassey and did the poorest paint job I've ever seen. It goes from white to light pink to the actual red it is supposed to be. SIGH.

Now I turn on my laptop and get an error message that say's Nvidia's settings have stopped working. I took a picture of the error message and also clicked details and copied the files they were reffering too.

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Users\Username(hidden)\AppData\Local\Temp\WEREB67.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
C:\Users\Username(hidden)\AppData\Local\Temp\WER500.tmp.appcompat.txt
C:\Users\Username(hidden)\AppData\Local\Temp\WER61A.tmp.hdmp

Really? I got 30 days to decide if I'm returning this thing, seriously I really liked the fact that it was built by a "reputable" company and there was a warranty and came with these cool options like the lights and Alienware name. Now I just feel like Dell just doesn't care. I love how the reps can come on this forum and talk about sales all day but I've yet to see one post in here about the problems their having. This better be solved soon or I'm getting my money back and I'll go another route, stop ruining the amazing brand called Alienware I bought ten years ago and stamping it with your crap Dell tag. You have more returns and warranty problems than you do satisfied customers, doesn't that say something?

I'll be calling you on Monday Dell after I calm down a little. Considering I spent over 4k dollars after the computer, accesories, and even my friends ordered a 850$ monitor through you. I put faith in your company and so far, I am one unhappy customer.

On another note, when I bought my first alienware, Nvidia geforce fx 5950 ultra, P4 3.0 ghz proc, 1 gig ram. I was so pleased I still use the computer to this day after replacing a power supply with an original REFURBISHED 25 dollar power supply. Yup thats right I just put in the SN into google, found one for 25 dollars + shipping and its the same exact part that came with the computer. Its been months since I bought that and the computer still fires up like its brand new, and every part in the computer still works. It's been a week and I already have problems, I'd like to see this thing last five years, sigh again. Alienware needs to be owned by ALIENWARE.

 

The reason you think they have more returns and warranty problems than satisfied customers is the fact that people that have problems come onto the forum to discuss them. You're not going to find threads about how satisfied people are with their system. If you read between the bad posts, you will see just as many, if not more, posts of people saying how satisfied they are and that their system hasn't had any issues.

It's a shame that people do have systems that require the warranty service. Just give them a call and get your system fixed/replaced. Once you get it working, you'll love it. It shouldn't be that way, but sometimes faulty systems slip through the cracks. It's just like that when something is massed produced. Granted, I wish they did have better Quality Care, but at the same time, I think the fact that a lot of us call and hassle our reps to get our systems quicker that during the QC process, they may tend to rush it (just my thoughts on that).

And the reps on this site are amazing. They go out of their way to get you the help you need. I haven't been on any forums (besides the official Dell forums) that have this many reps willing to help out.

Now the issue about the GPU not switching over is not Dells fault. It is with Nvidia and Optimus. I was having that issue a while back with my 580M. The fix for me was a modded BIOS to disable the IGPU. That wont help in your situation since you have an R4. You should white list your games in Nvidia Control Panel. That should fix that problem. As far as drivers go, I believe the one you want is 301.42 WHQL. See if you're able to install that one.

 

I understand where your coming from, just a few things I'd like to point out.

I feel like they rushed the build, it was done in less than a week and half. Honestly I was telling myself their better not be anything wrong with this PC because I'd rather wait longer than have to send it back just to get it fixed. My first Alienware took weeks to build, came with a nice printout of all the stress tests and how it performed. Dell sent me this laptop with the PC and a power cord. I never asked for it to be rushed, never called in to see the status, let me say again I would of rather waited a month to get the PC so that I knew the technicians took their time and wasn't rushed. It seems like their pumping these things out and things are being over looked.

As for the GPU problem, I really don't blame Dell for Nvidia not bringing out drivers, thats Nvidia's screw up. What I don't like is that Dell will continue to put in these cards knowing that they won't run the game their offering with the PC. A couple weeks ago I could select the M17X R4 and there were 4 options. The cheap one, the one with the Radeon card, the Diablo 3 Edition with the Nvidia GTX 675M (already selected), and the 3D version which was the most expensive option. So I chose the D3 Edition, I bought the computer to play Diablo 3 with the Nvidia card so I could have the utmost performance and NO graphics lag. I didn't buy the PC so I could have them trick me and run it off the Intel card. Who buys a PC and selects an awesome graphics card just to have the system run the motherboard card? Thats just insane. Honestly it's not about Nvidia being dumb it's about Dell feeding you BS and making you think your Nvidia card is powering everything.

What if you didn't know a lick about PC's? You'd buy this Diablo 3 edition PC and run the game all day long thinking your Nvidia graphics card is powering everything all the while it's not. I'm just glad I know a little about computers to know when I'm getting screwed. No one should have to go through file folders to find .exe's just to have the graphics card they selected being used for that game. I chose Nvidia for a reason, I've always liked them and the original card I bought still works!

And yes I have the game's whitelisted but honestly do you think thats right? You get a brand new PC and you have to come on here and post questions and wait for replies just to learn how to whitelist your games. Yes I did already, yes people on here are very helpful and I figured it out and it runs CS 1.6 like a master and runs Everquest 2 on very high quality without skipping a beat, but it's a gaming PC not a PC you built yourself. If I wanted to do that I'd just learn to put a laptop together myself, not go to a computer company and have them trick me or make me do it myself.

Obviously things have changed in the last ten years, for the worse as far as I can tell.

 

That's just the way technology goes. More likely than not, the average consumer who doesn't know anything will at the least try to google something. Hopefully they'll run across a thread or blog that'll help them find their answers. Dell will always try to put the best parts in their system. That is what the consumer demands and that is what their competition is doing. If they would sit back and wait until the drivers are all up to date and everything runs at 100%, they will be left in the dust because their competitors will already have the new tech in their systems and shipped out to their customers. Possibly by the time drivers and such get released, the next round of GPUs will start to make the rumor rounds, then people will just sit and wait for those to get release, further causing Dell to lose out on potential customers and money. Bottom line, it's all about the money.

It does seem that they are rushing these systems out, but if you follow some of the threads here, you'll notice people threatening to cancel their orders because they aren't receiving their systems within 1-2 weeks. They also demand some sort of compensation because their EDD changed a few days out. It's impatient people like that that may be causing systems to get rushed out and QC to skip some steps. That could also be the case why customer care can be lacking at times. I waited 5 weeks for my system. My original EDD changed 3 or 4 times. My concern was the fact I was moving out of the country and wanted to make sure my system would reach me before I left. Thankfully, it got to me a week and a half before I moved. Most of the calls I made to customer service were great. Although they couldn't give me any answers (as their systems only show so much), they were polite and respectful. A couple times I was getting the run around, not a big deal, but was frustrating.

I feel for you, I really do. I feel bad for anyone that spent this much on a great system that just comes in faulty. Just try to keep things as positive as possible. If it's driver issues you're dealing with, just ask around on the forum. There are some great people working on modded drivers to get you going. If there isn't one out for your GPU, I can assure you someone will jump in and help to make one for you.

 

I very much agree with you, although it's best to voice it on the AW review website for others to see..and on the call.
I bought mine, R3 for 2.3k and the laptop can't game out of the box. Atm it's performing very well except occasional throttle(workroundable), but it's a disgrace initially. I had to apply the power throttle fix, temperature throttle workround, repaste gpu and cpu and lift the back. But guess we're not entitled to use such gaming laptop out of the box, huh?
Most importantly, I find experiences such as yours important to future buyers.

 

can this be related to fubar systemboard?


My first week of R4 it worked fine but then strange happend.
freezing, crashes so on.

dell diag failed on cpu and ram.

now with 32GB it says only that 9.11 gb is available.
when i randomly remove 1 of 4 dimms i have full 24 GB.
remove 2 and have full 16GB.
place all 4 back and have 9.22 gb.

tested all dimms together and dell diag fails on ram and cpu.
when i test all dimms seperatly there all ok and system tests fine.
tested all dimms with memtest and all dimms are fine.

somehow my system goes loco when all dimms are inserted for 32GB. and steals 21GB.
looks to me like my systemboard is borked.
not even specific to one dimm socket either, just when all dimms are inserted.

dell is going to replace my whole R4 for new one cause replacing the systemboard is taking a month.. no parts in netherlands..
already waiting a week when they told me the systemboard will be here sometime around end of june lol..

 

That's what I heard so I never went any further with looking for a TV/Monitor combo.

For MP3, that would make sense, I expected the driver profile to tell me to do that as in other games but it says 'not reccomended', not even 'unrated'

Just one more question, do the options to adjust depth in-game-options work on that system? Thanks.

 

Now that you put it that way it makes sense, I can see how consumers are now and I can't believe people would try and rush out a gaming system, thats just asking for trouble. I can see Dell is under a lot of pressure and I'll just put these minor issues asside and press on since I really love this laptop, since the minute I pulled it out of the box I fell in love actually. Thanks for your replies and insight into whats going on nowadays with these laptops.

I will get on AW's review website immediately and start posting my reviews and service record with Dell. So far there has really only been minor issues but I will definately try to inform the future buyer especially the ones trying to rush out the system, that really boils me up since now the rest of us are suffering.

 

Ouch, sorry to hear about the system failing.

I hope they get you squared away soon with your new system.


Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX Using Tapatalk 2

 

Yeah I'm not sure why it shows up as "not recommended" either. I find that it looks amazing with the shadows turned off and I am able to adjust the depth in the Max Payne settings menu. I think I have it set around 55 depth. I do find that I usually have to turn the 3D Vision on and off in the Max Payne menu sometimes to get the 3D effect to turn on but then it's all good

 

Thanks, If I were Rockstar I think I'd be pretty pissed with Nvidia right now. First their 'are you ready for?' app tells me that my 580 is below the recommended specs', the 675 I have now doesn't even register as a valid card, and then to top it all Rockstar make the effort to put in 3D vision options and it gets rated as 'not recommended'! All this when Rockstar have paid Nvidia to advertise the product in their driver installs

LOL Rockstar auto correct 'jockstrap', well it hasn't exactly been a smooth release

 

to 1866mhz hyper X or not, that is the question... does my laptop even support it?

 

Sounds to me like it could be faulty Ram as well, or a faulty slot. Have you tried experimenting with the different dimms and slots to see what might be the issues? And it sucks what you're having to go through, hope you get that sorted out man. Good you touched base with them so they know of your situation, hope you get a replacement soon

 

Xennox, what version of windows do you have?? The Home Premium only supports upto 16gigs of ram. You need ultimate or pro to use the full 32gigs

 

SO got my new R4:

3820QM Processor
7970M GPU
750GB HDD
8GB RAM

What should I do so that my rig is fully operational? Such as bios updates and driver updates? Where should I locate them from (one on Dell's website seem outdated...) and in what order should I update them in.

Anybody used SlimDrivers? Any good/reliable at obtaining the correct drivers?

Everyone using MSI Afterburner to overclock their card?

I'm a n00b.

 

It can't be faulty ram as he tried the each ram chip in a different slot as he said in an earlier post and it worked, this is far fetched, but what are the chances of a slacking connection in one of the slots?

 

First thing i would do is click FN+F7 and go dedicated GPU

Then i would run some benches like 3dmark11 and Vantage just to make sure that your numbers are in the ballpark with everyone else's

Then...if its good. You may dabble in overclocking.

Your CPU will overclock in the bios:
Just go to Advanced Menu, enable overclocking, enable turbo overclocking, then enable Extreme Mode and set your multiplier to 41,40,39,39.

As far as MSI Afterburner, you can look at my 7970 guide

oh...and don't forget...install fav game, set slider to ultra, enjoy game

 

Okay I shall do as you command oh Dude of Slickness hehe! What about drivers though? What's the best way to update them? Unless you use Dell's (seemingly) dated and unhelpful menu, you need to be 'in the loop', so to speak, in order to correctly update to better drivers.

And what of Bios updates? I've heard stuff like Ao8 being banded around, my AlienAutopsy gives a figure of Ao2...

Thanks Slick one.

 

Can you only do the overclock with the 3720 and 3820?

 

LOL...

as far as drivers go, i would stick to the stock ones for the time being. If you really want, you can switch to the dedicated GPU and then install the modded 12.5 beta's (link in my guide)...but you will lose integrated graphics which actually might not be a bad thing until they figure out that Enduro

A08 is strictly for the m17x R3, so it isn't applicable for your R4

yes that is correct. The 3610qm doesn't support that feature. You could also overclock with the XM processor like the 3920xm which is fully unlocked, but it is very expensive

 

I've ordered a similar config (only change would be 16GB RAM), and have similar questions. Do you guys use the default Dell video card drivers (I'm talking about ATI users), or do you use AMD's drivers? Which driver is advisable for the 7970M? The latest 12.4 driver or the newer 12.6 beta driver? Is there something else I don't know about?

 

the best driver for the 7970m currently is the 12.5 modded beta's. Link is in my guide. To install it, you have to go wtih the dedicated GPU (with FN+F7), then the 12.5's will install