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

Happy to help!

My BIOS has three options in the Wireless section. One of them is DMC (don't know what that means).



When I have more time I hope to find the location of the mSata 'drive' as well.

 

I thought my M17x R4 was perfect until I plugged in my Triple.fi 10 IEM just now. Is it normal for the M17x to have this much hiss?! It's way too much >_<

I have very little hiss on my Asus and zero on my phone. This is unacceptable...

 

Hello all,

I am new to this forum and I come in seek of help.

I just ordered the Alienware M17X R4 base model with Radeon 7970m and 1080 screen upgrades.

I was planning on installing 32GB of RAM because I will be using VMs but I realized that Windows 7 Home Premium does not support 32GB of RAM.

Now, my plan is to just install my copy of Windows 7 Professional so it will be able to take the 32GB physical memory.

My question is, will Windows 7 Professional 64-bit have all the necessary basic drivers to run the Alienware hardware? (I know that manufacturers tweak the OS to their liking/standards). Or do I need to install the Alienware drivers? What do the drivers come with exactly?

Any help is very much appreciated

 

@Mitchell2.24v
Thx for watching. I think there will be only an option availabe to see, if theres is a WiHD-adapter plugged in.
On Monday ill get my book. If i have enough time im calling the guy from Dell support. Is it ok to use your pic to show that slot?

 

Don't worry, people do clean installations of Windows all the time, your machine will run fine. It comes with a driver CD that contains all you need. Alternatively you can download the drivers from the Dell website. There is also a thread on here about clean installing Windows. I believe it is in the first post of this thread.

EDIT: yep, it is in the first post:

I am probably going to run Server 2008 R2 in my own R4 (next to a Windows 7 install for games). I did so on the XPS and on my previous R2 as well. That works great!

Sure, no problem. If there is anything else you need, just let me know!

 

This is not an uncommon problem with laptops and IEMs.

The hiss comes from a mismatch of the low impedance, high sensitivity IEMs with a crappy amplifier section in the laptop. If you plug in some full size headphones, they wont have the hiss due to their lower sensitivity and higher impedance.

The bummer is that the IEM hiss really isn't a correctible problem without purchasing an external amplifier.

If you want to go down that route, give this lifehacker article a quick look see for the budget route:

Unleash Your Headphones' Full Potential with a USB DAC and Amplifier

If you want to go for a premium solution, the Headamp Pico is more or less industry leading in the portable sphere and you can find that in both amp and dac/amp configurations here:

HeadAmp Audio Electronics (pico Amplifiers & DACs)

IMO, the Headamp would be my recommendation as it is very much worth the price premium it commands.

 

Thank you so much for your reply and it was really helpful. I apologize if I haven't looked before I asked.

I went through the guide and noticed a lot of "manual" procedures when installing Windows 7. Can I just do a normal install and put the Alienware drivers on top of it?

Thanks again!!

 

No problem! I think we've all been there.

Yes, that's basically how it works. You do a clean Windows 7 install, and then you add the drivers. The order in which you install the drivers is quite important, and that is where the guide comes in. Follow it (including all the reboots) and you'll be set.

As long as you're prepared to put a little time and effort in it, you will end up with a solid system.

 

i installed the 7900 MOD driver over the stock dell 7970m driver, and ran into bsod issues. i uninstalled all graphics drivers including intel. should i install the dell driver or the 7900 MOD driver, and should i install that before intel?

 

Thanks, I'll take a look. +rep

 

Hi guys,

Just got my first alienware m17x. I would like to enquire if it's a must to update the 7970 drivers upon receipt. If not, when should I make the judgement call to do so?

 

Removed: Question was off topic

 

Repost from here
This review Google Translate is a little bit weird. Looking at R3 review with 580M Review Alienware M17x R3 GTX 580M i7-2820QM Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews and comparing power consumption, temperature and noise I get that
R4 vs R3
108.6W/166.3W 162W/196W
34.2C/38.3C 30.9C/33.8C (correcting for room temp)
42dB/50.3dB 43dB/45.9dB

So R4 with 7970M uses 20%-50% less power under load, but is 4-5C hotter and has about the same noise level (or louder?).
I'm not sure how much sense it makes. Does it mean that Dell screwed up the cooling on R4?

 

To me, looking at the data you provided, yes, that appears to be the case...either that, or the R4 and 7970M might require a more robust cooling system than it already has.

 

Thanks for this!

The R4 I ordered comes with the Windows 7 Home Premium and I will be installing Windows 7 Professional over it. Will I be able to use the same drivers that came with the laptop (CD)?

 

Okay, so I've been thinking of getting the 3610qm over the 3720qm to save $$ for another aftermarket SSD, and I was wondering if anyone here with the 3610qm could perform successful Overclocks with a reasonable jump in performance? That's gonna help me a lot in figuring out if I have to shell out the extra $150 for the 3720qm!

Side note - I can do with the 3610qm, I just wanted to know about its OC abilities and compare that with the 3720qm. Thanks!

 

Hello,

I had the same concerns you have before I ordered my r4. I checked several discussion forums and test results and there is not much difference between the 3 processor models m17x offers. A lot of people were saying that for gaming and daily processes, you won't even notice a difference.

I went ahead and ordered the 3610QM and used my savings for a 256 crucial m4 and corsair vengeance 1600 4x8gb ddr

 

Check the dell website, its best to stick with there drivers as they are tweaked, If there is a new version on the dell site I advise installing it, as they often fix previous bugs etc.

 

Based on the review of several threads here for last week I couldn't find anyone with 3610QM that was able to overclock it. There were couple people with 3720QM/3820QM that did it. As it stands right now, I'd work under assumption that the overclock starts with 3720QM, unless someone with 3610QM can prove it wrong.

 

I don't have an alienware yet, but going off of other computers that I own I would say YES if you have the drivers & resources DVD I believe they should work as long as its the same kind of Windows ( Win7, 64bit ) .. (I don't think there are compatibility issues between say Home Premium and Professional or another 'flavor' of windows)

However you can always get it off the Dell site if you want that option! - Dell Drivers & Downloads..

Thanks for the heads up! As you know I'm probably going to do the same; I just wish there was a 3610qm user who might have performed the OC successfully (modified/different BIOS?). Anyway hope someone finds this and can answer the question for us.

Thanks man, appreciate that. +repd for clearing my doubts

I'm still on the lookout though, stubborn as ever! I totally hope someone can OC and get speeds nearing the 3720QM; if not then well time to figure out if I want to save the $$ or spend it

 

What are you talking about? Spending is always more fun than saving. Just ask my wife!

 

For my R4 I am getting the Notepal u3 cooler, Can you add more then the three fans it come with?

 

I think you're better off just raising the back up a little. Even overclocked, my 7970M maxes out at 70C while gaming. The CPU is in the low 70s.

 

@GTR, What are you using for monitoring your GPU temps?

 

does anyone know if the heatsink for the 560m would fit a 580m?

 

Yes, the 560M heat sink should work for the 580M just fine. Did you look at the parts list linked in the opening post to see if the part numbers are the same? Even if they are not, the heat sink may work fine as long as the temps are good.

I think this will answer your question. Get a cooler because you want one, not because they do a nice job of cooling. Simply stated, they don't. The U3 is as good or better than any other cooler. As GTRagnarok mentioned, raising the back of the laptop is effective. They do provide a nice looking stand and a decent ergonomic improvement.

 

yeay !
tmrw is the day when i get my m17x !
its in Newark, NJ now and it will come to Brooklyn, NY

tell me if there are any last minute advice before opening !
i will be openin it up tmrw, install the new RAMs and SSDs and apply better thermal paste (MX-2) !


toooo damn excited !

 

Gratz! Glad for you that's awesome

 

i remember this day, driving home from work hoping to god i wouldnt get pulled over because the ticket would be more then the laptop.. Congrats!

 

Same deal for me! Mine says Newark too and I'm in Manhattan. It should be a fun evening for both of us.

 

It is so nice to see that ppl are receiving their I need to wait another 3 weeks before I can put my hands on it :| I am counting on you guys for some first impressions

 

I should get mine in about a week. All I got was 1T raid 0, AMD 7970, 3610QM, 6GB RAM, & the blueray.

Basically default..

Should I still be satisfied?


I don't know much about computers but reading these forums have helped out a lot!

 

Yes you will be! Plus you can do after market updates on the laptop down the line

@Mr. Fox thanks +rep

 

Yay! I just got upgraded from 7 day shipping to next day for free haha. I was on the support chat asking a question and someone named "Narjeet_S" upgraded me.

Anyways.. I cannot wait. This is my first "gaming laptop." I'm sure my mind will be blown.

& I probably will do some RAM upgrades later in time:]

Thanks for the comfort lol

 

​

upgrade the screen, That would be expensive to do later

 

Upgrade it to what?

It's already at 1920 x 1080 60Hz. I dont like/want 3D so I didn't choose the 120Hz screen.

Is that what you were telling me to upgrade to? Or am I confused.

 

haha i think he might have been trolling or meant you should upgrade to a 1920x1080p, since it is already that, you cant upgrade, its a quality display so don't worry I can recommend you upgrade the ram and maybe add a SSD down the line

 

Thanks for the clarification:]

I plan on upgrading later on. I really wanna add a SSD. I wasnt familiar with that before reading the forums.. No laughing! Lol

 

investing in SSD is def a good idea - you will see the gain in performance over the standard (7200rpm) HDD. I have a samsung 830 128GB waiting for my R4 to arrive

 

Glad I could help lets us know when it arrives and how it is! Im anxiously awaiting mine! Its on its way from Canada.

 

MSI Afterburner for the GPU. Core Temp and OCCT for both the CPU and GPU.

 

You think MSI would work for my 6990m? I used it when I had my 460m installed, but I assumed it only worked with nvidia cards. Guess I was wrong lol.

 

It should work. You can use Sapphire TriXX too.

 

I already got triXX, I just like after burner better. +rep

 

Hey guys, I have a few questions regarding my M17x R4. I haven't even had it a week now and so far I'm loving it, but I do have a couple of concerns/issues that are irritating. Before I dive into that tho, here's my config: i7-3720qm, 8gb ddr3 1600mhz Ram, 500GB 7200RPM HDD, AMD Radeon HD 7970m, Blu-Ray Reader and the Intel 6250 2x2 wireless-N card.

My first issue (this one being the most annoying) involves the screen/game play. I've noticed this in a lot of the games I've played, but it seems to show up most when I'm playing Skyrim. When I'm playing the game on screen it seems to be...I don't know how to explain it; Stuttering? It's not the frame rate because with that I'm getting a solid 60+ fps on ultra with the built in V-Sync in Skyrim along with triple buffering enabled. I thought maybe this was a driver issue, so I express uninstalled the default amd driver, restarted, ran ccleaner, restarted, then re-installed the driver from dells website (clicked custom install and checked all the boxes) and the installation seemed to go well. I don't know what's causing it. It's almost like theres a lag/stutter, but I have high fps. I know it's not heat related either. This card runs really cool, even with Dells stock thermal paste job.

My second issue involves the screen. Overall I think it's a beautiful display and I really enjoy using it, but during dark/black scenes there appears to be some sort of lcd/led light leakage? I know this exists in some form or another on all lcd/led displays, but I was just wondering if anybody else has this issue? I can only see it during basically black backgrounds, so it's not that big a deal, but it's like a shiny sort of glow that goes down the middle of my display. Not sure if it's just the back light reflecting off of the the mirror glass, or what. Anyway, thanks for the help guys and I really hope you can help me fix the stuttering issue. It's driving me nuts.

 

i dont think the stuttering issue is related to ur GPU, most likely its because of the game optimization itself

 

Well mine has shipped and should be delivered in the next day or two. Unfortunately it's in Canada and is shipping to my brothers place. I'm still in the UK and don't fly out for 3 weeks... :-( hahaha!

 

anyone with R4 running raid on triple drive setup like is possible on M18xR2?

have 2x m4 128gb sata drives and thinking of getting a msata version of the m4 and running all 3 in raid 0.
only usefull if all 3 ports are true sata3 and they should be according tech specs.

should get me up to 1500mb read and 525mb write and make my R4 smoke..

nice a separate BT unit too, msata slot is under palmrest.

 

AhPek00 - Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it. What exactly does that mean? Sorry, I'm still learning all this :/. Is there anyway it can be fixed? I figured it was gpu related because the last laptop I had, before I got this one, had an Nvidia gpu and from what I can remember it didn't have this issue when I played Skyrim. This is my first AMD card set up since the M17x R2, so I figured maybe it was a driver issue or something. Anyway, thanks again and let me know when you can.

 

Its not using SATA 3 only SATA 2 for the msata spot. I took apart my R4 last week and installed a 256gb Samsung 830 into that slot. I also put 2 750gb drives in a Raid 0 for my games, files etc..