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

Noted. Thanks

 

Okay...after doing windows updates, my WEI is currently:

Processor 7.7
Memory (RAM) 7.8
Graphics 5.5
Gaming Graphics 6.7
Primary Hard Disk 5.9

Since switching to the 7970M I get:

7.7
7.8
7.3
7.3
5.9.

On my old machine the 2 graphics scores (business and gaming) were 7.9 on WEI and the processor (3820QM) also got 7.9 - the machine was exactly the same spec. I know WEI isn't a great benchmarking tool, but what's up? And a 5.9 for a 7200rpm HDD?

Anyone got their WEIs?

Anyone

 

Run 3dmark11...forget about wei for the time being. lets just make sure your 7970m is ok

 

WEI = Random Number Generator. Period.

 

My WEI scores (for the specs in my sig) are:

Processor: 7.6
RAM: 7.9
Graphics: 7.7
Gaming Graphics: 7.7
HDD: 5.9

My HDD is a 750GB 7200rpm. 5.9 is as high a score it'll get. If you want higher, get a 10000rpm HDD or go with a SSD.

As far as your graphics score goes, perhaps you need a driver update, or do a slight OC if the numbers matter to you.

 

Okay I have that downloading right this second, how do I know WHICH GPU is running at which time?

Edit: 1) My WEI score is lower on the 7970M than Intel 4000...

2) I can only run the basic 720p 3DMARK!11


FANTASTIC http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3640223

Memory Modules are only 800mhz too? Are you serious? Aren't Each 4GB stick supposed to be 1600mhz? Nanya branded? Are they some cheap brand? I though Dell/Alienware used Dell branded or Samsung RAM modules?

The 3DMark Test didn't even complete for Intel 4000 although it ran miles better until it failed...

I'm so angry, I feel like I've been sold a fake piece of hardware that isn't fit for purpose. Again. I'm ill from work so all I can do is play games currently...yet because of this I have absolutely nothing to do all day.

 

Whatever you have the fn+f7 set on right now, change it to the other one

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

Read up bro ^ I edited it. When I pressed the F7 key, it goes to intel 4000 graphics but the test doesn't finish...

Is my machine fake? A dud? Faulty? What? I feel like smashing the thing man...

 

We usually only run 3dmark in performance mode...smash your laptop if u wish, but I think it's fine

I wonder if your results have something to do with your messed up recovery disc situation..

Can you reinstall the amd driver that came with your laptop...on the resource driver disc
Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

I realise you're frustrated but you need to chill out. Your ram is showing as 800mhz because it's dual channel. Thats how it's supposed to be.

 

Fair does bruv, I've chilled. I'm not usually this heated and whiney lmao... >.> Just two Alienware systems in a row seemed to have kinks that shouldn't need to be ironed out. If I was the average joe customer, I don't know what I'd do without this place and you guys.

 

power settings can effect WEI settings too.
but then again like most "power" users will tell you, WEI is just a given number.

people gonna freak in windows 8, there my raid0 ssd gets 9.9 rating.
yes you wei loving monkeys start drooling! haha.

run a freakin proper benchmark, intel 4000 gives high wei gaming score, try to run bf3 on it and i beg the differ

if you red the whole post i tested all dimms seperate with memtest and all dimms pass. and tested all slots on systemboard, all work.
except when i put in all dimms together it goes loco.
but i dropped this, system semi works properly with 16GB ram and dell is sending me an new R4.

 

What program is the best for measuring temps? Every time I download GPU-Z it installs but whenever I use it, it hangs. I've tried this on 4 different machines, too.

 

Try Everest. It has a handy desktop gadget too!

 

Hey guys, thinking about picking up one of these Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD).

It seems to be just the drive. What else do I need to get to be able to install it into my R3? I've opened up the bottom and I do have the blank caddy and adapter. Will the SSD fit into the caddy, or is it there just to hold up space?

Edit: Well it seems they have discontinued the promo for the SSD. Apparently they ran out of funds for it, at least that's what the chat rep said. He's going to email me if they get more funds.

 

Its a 24hour sale with the coupon... weird...

But yeah all you need is the drive as long as you have the little caddy/cage in your drive bay

 

I know, I guess they ran out of funds to support it after 4 hours. You would think that the code would be valid until they ran out of units. Guess they don't work that way.

 

msi afterburner and speccy

 

Any news for mainboard swap to r4 version?

 

don't think you can...

 

Cheers dude. I will get speccy then

I saw your vids on BF3 - thanks for that.

30 - 80 fps when not recording everything on ultra? Is that 'recording' or just using FRAPS at all?

Because when playing Crysis (1) with everything on Ultra High and AA x 4 the Fraps counter usually ranges in the region of 25 - 35 fps: seems weak in comparison to some reports on here and cross referencing it to other 'benchmarks' of more intensive games on places such as notebookcheck. That goes out to everyone: will even 'counting' the FPS in the corner of the screen using Fraps cause lower FPS?

Soul Witcher, did you OC your card to get up to 80 FPS on BF3 all maxed out? NBC says average FPS is 34 fps.

 

Hi! I've been lurking many years ago since I got my first gaming laptop (ASUS G51-A1)..

I just recently bought/acquired an Alienware M17X R4 last May 31
configuration:
Intel Core i7 2920XM (OEM) << 3920XM is so expensive, so I just opted for this
AMD Radeon 7970M
16GB DDR3-1600 G.Skill
120 Corsair Force GT
750GB Seagate Momentus XT
Intel Wireless Ultimate-N 6300 a/b/g/n

I was surprise that you can change many things in the BIOS (even RAM and CPU settings) unlike in my previous gaming laptops (see sig).

very happy ever since then.. =)

 

I did not OC my card, And yes i get 30-80FPS all maxed out 4xAA included i rarely drop below 35FPS that only happens when recording, I mostly sit at 45-60FPS.
Crysis 1 fps drops because its unsupported, My friend lags with his gtx590 and crashes etc. I have no idea why this is..

I think at the moment because there are no official drivers, the 7970m is performing up and down for different users, as well has some games not been supported (crysis 1) when the drivers come out that are not beta or scraped together by Dell, Im sure there will be performance increases
And I do average over 34 fps in bf3

Does any 1 no if the m17x r4 touchpad is multitouch ? as windows 8 apparently is gesture heavy etc. And i dont wana miss out!

 

You just use Fraps to see your FPS on BF3, right?

Oh and speccy doesn't show me my GPU temp. :/

 

Definitely better on 3DMark11 - 7970 scores around 5700p - 6000p on stock clocks by looking at the averages.

 

I'd like to know this as well...

 

Per notebookcheck.net review, sounds like it is turned off by default but is available:

Touchpad

We liked the version 7.4 Synaptics touch pad a lot, and it can be deactivated. One of the greatest advantages is the extremely smooth surface. The finger feel and ease of gliding are excellent. Inputs are accepted smoothly and accurately. With an area of 100 x 55 millimeters (3.9 x 2.2 inches), its usage is very comfortable.

Multi-touch and horizontal or vertical scrolling were not activated by default on our test unit, but had to be enabled using the Synaptics driver or Alienware's command center. Our experience with gestures was excellent. Thanks to its illumination and slightly receded position, the touch pad was always easy to recognize in total darkness. The two mouse buttons convince with their soft response and quiet click sound.

Does anyone have any pictures of their unit that they want to share? I know that there is some videos and pics out there but I would love some more "real-life" shots. Need something to hold me over lol! Cheers!

 

Just got my M17x R4 today, no issues and this thing is a beauty! I threw up a quick unboxing, but will follow up with a proper review in a week once I get to put this thing to the test!

Alienware M17x R4 Unboxing - YouTube

 

That is one seriously sick machine - wish I could have one!

 

Has anyone here owned an R2 and R4? I have the R2 which is in my sig, and contemplatiing getting dual 7970s to work in it. But right now I also have a new In Box un opened R4 that I ordered, but not really sure I want. Been thinking about selling it and not even opening it. Think it may sell for more as unopened. It's the R4 in my sig.

How do you like the R4 compared to the R2?

 

congratulations!!!!
wish i got mine already, dell delayed mine =(

 

I was just curious if anyone that had paid for an upgrade to 8gb of memory was able to request that it was installed in the DIMMs under the keyboard? I'm sure that it isn't that hard to install yourself but I'm happy to not have to take that all apart if I don't need to.

 

^its not hard to install SODIMMs under the keyboard, just remove the screws mark with I at the bottom of the case and CAREFULLY pry keyboard bezel, remove the screws of the keyboard and the cable attached to it, after that you will see a somewhat-looking-heatsink that is marked as "..3 & 4, use quad core CPU ony...), remove the cover's screw amd there you go, you can now install the SODIMM..

here's a quick link
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ssd-mem-optical-performance-screenshots.html#

 

Guys, I've just received my new M17x and my first Alienware computer. So far, I am very pleased. However, I have a few questions. I may have more but I'll post them as they come up. A thorough review is coming very soon..

1. I pressed Fn+F7 and switched to dedicated graphics, but when the system restarted, I was greeted with "No compatible drivers installed" and a low screen resolution. I switched back.

2. My old laptop came with a windows desktop gadget from Intel that showed me the CPU clock and how it's scaling up/down the various available steps. Where can I fetch that?

3. I purchased this machine with a single 750GB 7200RPM HDD. I noticed in the BIOS that it is still configured in RAID. Now I understand that RAID is for multiple hard drive configurations and that to change that option would mean having to reinstall the OS, which would not be an issue. Since I've always been used to having a single HDD and never used RAID, I'd like to ask if there are any gains in using it with this configuration over AHCI at all? Anything else I should know about?

4. I'm a flash savvy kinda guy. Is there any newer firmware/BIOS I can flash onto this notebook to get the most out of it? In any case, where online are the firmwares for Alienware located?

5. I don't see any screws underneath the machine. How can I access the internal parts if I wanted to clean my laptop during maintenance, say to clear out the vents?

 

hey prasad as we bought at the same time....can you check regarding the black screen issue presented in the forum.

 

Could you tell me more about it?

 

See in this forum you can find the thread....can't link it cause am on mobile

 

2. Install Core temp and its corresponding gadget. Great stuff.

3. AHCI better if not using raid even if just for avoiding the raid configuration menu when booting up.

5. Screws under battery. 2 very little ones and you can slide the panel off.

1. Just look around a bit here, not sure. 4. Don't think there's a BIOS yet but don't quote me. Dell's site- support, drivers.

Most of your questions are pretty searchable or google-able, by the way.

 

Thanks! How is AHCI better in this case?

EDIT: Also, I noticed at the battery, there's the unlock slider and a button that's lights up. What's that button?

 

Its used to check how much charge you have left in the battery.

 

I stated how it's better already. You will skip the RAID screen when starting up. Saves you like 3 seconds.

It really only matters if you choose AHCI over RAID if you have an SSD though. 3 seconds when booting on an old, slow hard drive is not a lot. 3 seconds on an SSD are huge

 

OK, So it's currently RAID and I should stick to it, you say. Alright. Besides that, I take it there are no other differences between AHCI and RAID for a single drive?

 

I think there is with SSDs - like NCQ and TRIM and stuff? I'm no expert, but I did read somewhere that there is some goody missing if you use RAID over AHCI with a SSD.

Not important with a normal drive.

But speaking of, why the hell don't ya have an SSD? Is that just a later plan? Having this machine with no SSD in it is a definite shame.

 

Later plan, yes. Don't see much of a need for it yet.... Seems to me like just a luxury to have! I don't see a huge benefit in faster loading times, given my PC will on almost all the time, much like a server. Also, I wouldn't know what to prioritize on the SSD vs the HDD.

 

Just a follow up to this.

I get an email about an hour after chatting with a rep at Newegg stating that they have reissued the promo and to head over to the site to make my purchase. I head over and find out that they are out of stock, but when I was browsing the site about 30 min prior, they were still in stock for the normal price. Figured it was just a coincidence and I missed my chance. Then I check today, and they magically got more back in stock. Seems pretty fishy to me. Looks like they didn't want to back up their promo and just ended it because they were going to lose money. What was the point of even having that promo anyways?

It's a shame, I really like shopping at Newegg, and will probably continue doing so. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me wonder how many more times this will happen.

 

Yeah, Newegg is hit and miss. More often hit though, so I still do business with them when I have to. Shame - used to be sucha great company. Luckily, Amazon has more and more computer part deals nowadays.

 

Yeah, I really like Newegg and I agree that they are usually more hit than miss. This incident wont stop me from purchasing from them again, but I will definitely be looking around at other sites before settling with them. I was so close to finally joining the SSD club. I may still be in, I just gotta see if my wife will let me splurge a little more and get some RAM with it. Fingers crossed, lol.

 

LOL. Piece of advice from an old married man, figure out your maximum splurg. take away 10% and splurge that on wife - roll the dice

 

If you are looking for an SSD for $120, whats wrong with this? Amazon.com: SanDisk Extreme SSD 120GB GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s2.5-Inch Solid State Drive- SDSSDX-120G-G25: Computers & Accessories
Maybe I just do not understand the hype about Samsung SSDs?

 

Samsung are pretty much best on market. Fast and reliable.

Just wait it out, Sky. Watch Slickdeals.net for the next SSD deal - they are popping up every day.