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

yep I bumped the recon 3di thread the other day. The sound out of this laptop is so powerful.

 

On my R3, once I switched the bios to AHCI it went away. Not sure if you will need to reinstall windows though, I did it as part of a reinstall. If win BSOD's during the load just change it back in the bios.
Good luck

 

You can tweak it with a registry edit, if you really want to move to AHCI. I did it with my R3, but it caused more problems for me than it was worth.

Personally, I don't see much of a reason to run AHCI in a laptop other than to just avoiding the Raid Array screen.

Edit: You switched to AHCI in the BIOS and didn't get a BSOD?

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX Using Tapatalk 2

 

I have noticed that my CPU runs hotter than my gpu is that normal? From what I seen on here the gpu usaly runs hotter

Sent From My Rooted E3D

 

Like I said, I never found out as I reinstalled windows straight after changing it. Booted from DVD and formatted the drive as part of a clean install.

I do know that if the bios was 'defaulted' for any reason then it would go back to RAID and BSOD.

 

Yeah, it shouldn't after a fresh install as long as it installs the correct driver. That's pretty much what the registry edit does on an existing install.

I'm confused as to what's going on in ryan's case, in particular. I didn't see it posted whether he/she is on the factory image or a clean install.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX Using Tapatalk 2

 

So, I finally received my m17x today... unfortunately the left hand side USB's did not work. When I called tech support they told me they would have to send someone out to replace the motherboard (refurb'd). Is this serious enough that you would return the computer and order a new one? Or would you let them replace it?

I love the laptop, but we aren't off to a good start...

 

Did they run you through changing drivers or anything like that? I would be tempted to try reinstalling the chipset drivers or maybe even try a fresh install of Windows and use Windows update for some of the drivers before messing with the mobo.

I would guess that your system should have the latest BIOS but if not an update of that might help too. If it is the mobo, I would expect a brand new one since the system is brand new and even then there's a good chance the tech may leave some marks having to take everything apart.

I'm still waiting for my order to stop being delayed so have a hard time recommending pushing for a new laptop unless you have some spare time.

 

No they didn't try that... only some diagnostics. I think the problem is that USB ports feel a little loose (at least to me). When you "jiggle" them a little my Ext. HD will connect for a few seconds, but then disconnect again.

That is why I told them I wanted a new mobo, but they told me they only do refurb'd parts. If the tech did scratch anything up on replacement... I'd def. return the whole thing.

I hate to go through the wait time again, but when I spend $3300... I expect it to be perfect!!

 

Oh ok, that does sound like more of a hardware issue then. If they are going to force you to take a refurb mobo, I would take some pictures before he works on it so you have proof if he does any damage. Maybe you can wangle some more warranty out of them since it will no longer be all new parts

 

I think its displayed only in RAID mode. In AHCI its disabled as I remember

 

My M17X just arrived, and my God, it is amazing! I love it! I prefer this more than the heavy M18X which I previously owned. Im just speechless. I can't wait to try out the games I had on my M18X and compare it to my M17X. Question though, what's the best application to use when it comes to Overclocking GPUs? I know the risks and consequences just answer it I also bought a Samsung 830 128GB SSD. I'll install it soon. Right now, I am just enjoying every bit of it as it is such an amazing laptop.

 

MSI Afterburner should serve you well! Remember to read up a guide or two online though..

 

Are there new drivers available to download for my HD 7970M?

 

You can try this driver.

 

Sorry if I'm not seeing it but what's the differance from the 12.7 betas on amds website?

Sent From My Rooted E3D

 

Changelog from official (was on the same page, you just had to read):

 

Just got off the phone with Dell, and order is processing.

I was going to wait, but didn't want to miss out on the 5/10/15% off promotion. They pulled the promo for a spell yesterday, and I was really bummed as just upgrading the GPU and HD alone brought it to almost what I paid for this configuration.

I configured just enough to get the 15% $400 discount to go along with the member discount and advantage 2 day shipping.



Alienware M17X R4 Alienware M17X R4 with Soft Touch
Operating System Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.6GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (2DIMMS)
Keyboard English Keyboard
Display Panels 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M
Hard Drive 750GB 7,200 RPM + 32GB mSATA Caching SSD
Nameplate Personalized Plate (Drunken1)
AlienFX Astral Aqua
Hinge Up Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader
Optical Driver Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Audio Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Wireless Networking Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 4.0
Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
Documentation Alienware Documentation
Shipping Material Shipping Material - Black
Security Software No Anti-Virus Software Selected
Additional Software Additional Software
Primary Battery 90WHr 9-Cell Primary Battery
Hardware Support Services 1 Year Basic Plan
Factory Installed Software Steam Factory Installed and Steam Extra Content
Alien Wallpaper Alienhead 3D
Standard Nameplate Trigger Thank you for Purchasing Alienware

 

Hi im new to the forums. My m17x is will be here soon and am just looking for some constructive criticism on the specs to my laptop. I did my research before building my alienware with dell but im hoping your criticism will strengthen what i know already and give me ideas of stuff i dont know already. Below is all the spec

Order placed on 7/19/12
Status: In Production


System
Alienware M17x R4
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M
32GB mSATA caching SSD + 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Service Pack 1, English
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming and Video and Bluetooth 4.0
Internal Wireless Bluetooth 4.0
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED

I also bought Astro a40s (white) + the chat cable to use on pc. A razer deathadder infared gaming mouse and a targus lap chill mat to help the heat.
Hoping it gets here soon

 

I just noticed you got the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M and only have the 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED. Should have went with the 120Hz and the 3D screen to maximize the GTX 680M ability to play 3D games.

Overall though, such an amazing setup Great specs my friend!

 

Sounds good to me. I have almost the same configuration. Only difference is I opted for the 8gb memory and CPU upgrade over the 16gb memory. Very nice headset, mouse and cooler as well!

Just checked my order status, and it is processed and in production with an estimated delivery date of 8/9.

edit** I did get the blu ray trying to come as close to $2699 to get the 15% over the 10% discount.

 

I now have a new one. got it 2 days ago. Great so far, however the 660m is kinda sluggish on the games I wanna play. That and the color profiles (the screen is very washed out) no matter what one I use (windows or nvidia) even with different drivers, won't stay put. Anyone have the same issues?

 

How much did you get your M17X R4 with a 660M?

 

Has anyone had a problem with the hdmi port? I can get it to work but it is very touchy, I almost have to hold it in place or i get artifacts all over my TV screen. I've tried 2 different cables and the exact same problem. The cable is in tight but I only get a clear signal if I lift up slightly where it is plugged into the laptop

 

I have no problems with the hdmi- although changing resolutions causes the machine to go haywire for a few seconds. Once it syncs up it is smooth sailing for hours at a time. Also have had no problems with the mini display port either.

 

Haven't tried using the display port yet. I can get audio to my receiver but no video if I turn the TV on but if I plug it in directly to the TV I can get video. Do you know if the display port routes audio? I may go buy an HDMI adapter and try that instead.

 

I just received my m17x yesterday and purchased and installed BF3 today. When I try and launch the game it goes to a black screen and does nothing forcing me to end the process. Is this something to do with my computer? The way I installed the game? Or is it the game having issues right now? Any help or links would be appreciated. Im new to PC gaming (started today!) so lamen advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance

 

Hey what 5/10/15 discount? If you could elaborate I'd greatly appreciate it. May I also ask what you paid for your system with tax?

Thanks!!

 

Update on my HDMI problem:
After changing my 680m driver to the official Dell and newer 304 a few times for benchmarking, the HDMI seems to have sorted itself out. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is playing 3D on the laptop screen while using HDMI for audio. Nvidia wants to treat my receiver as a 60Hz display and defaults my laptop screen to that as well. If I turn the second display off, then it no longer outputs audio.

I'm just glad I got the main problem sorted out, I'll just run a digital cable off the recon if I have to for 3D gaming.

 

ok so i just got my m17x r4. checked around and realised that there is some flex at the top of the screen between the web cam and the rubber, is it normal? i can actually push it quite abit.

 

Not in my case beef.

 

I have checked the HDMI out in both mine and my wifes laptops now. Could the length of a cord really be an issue for this laptop to display its info on an external monitor? I didnt think it would be since I use that same cord to hook my Galaxy Nexus up to the TV.

 

We're you using the correct video card?

 

Taking your advice I downloaded and installed 3dmark11.

First run all stock clocks: P6115

Then I used MSI Overclock program and put max gpu core 894 with boost or whatever it is and made the mem 1125. Score: P6528


Then I ramped up mem just a tad more to 1177 and scored a bit less: P6512.

High temp for gpu was 65. That ok?

Can I push the mem higher? I'm also using a cooling pad

 

I didnt check, good point. I got frustrated and watched football instead lol. I'll definitely check that out when I get home. Thanks for the reply

 

Mine doesn't move at all, totally solid feeling.

 

I have quite a bit of flex too on my R4, at some points on the keyboard, around the screen and mostly between the keyboard and the touchpad!

 

not bad temp wise, not bad at all compared to the 580m, which ran a lot hotter. not sure how it really compares to the other 680m's or the 7970m though.

 

My 7970m got a 5600ish in 3dmark11 and runs slighly hotter than that haha idle 62-65C and max I have seen so far has been 70C

Sent From My Rooted E3D

 

Should I be worried then?

 

on the M17x and a couple other Alienware systems, they are currently offering this promotion.
For the M17x if you configure a system to :

$1799 = 5% discount
$2299 = !0% discount
$2699 = 15% discount

My bill came out to $2,265.92 plus tax from a $2700+ config. Also applied were Member discount and Advantage free 2 day shipping with future gift card promotion.

 

I uPdated the drivers for my graphics card and the game works like a dream! Whaduyaknow! I found it strange that the driver I updated to from dell site was released a couple weeks before I ordered the laptop

 

So I keep getting DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE blue screen errors... 0x0000009f. Running an r4 with 3610 and 7970. 830 msata and 2x256 830 raid. Pretty sure that it is driver related... but I am not that knowledgeable in these things. Did get into msconfig and have disabled most services and startup options... but still have steam, centrino drivers, and blue tooth services enabled and still getting the blue screens every few days. I called alienware and the tech suggested that I turn off the turbo of the cpu in the bios. ( forget what it is called )

Is anyone else having/or had similar issues? Its kind of driving me crazy. Seems to happen watching movies, playing games, or even just browsing the internet. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I read this one thread I found with a google search of your error and it was actually a faulty DVD drive that was causing the issue. I know it's a long shot but maybe you could try disabling the DVD drive in device manager and see what happens. I would recommend trying to even physically disconnect the power to the drive but I think that is a big process with the M17x R4.

 

Worth a shot- thanks- would have never thought of that... Will let you know.

 

Does anybody know where I can find a UK Power Adapter for my R4? Dell charges £85 or so, which seems rather high.

 

need urgent help!!

wondering if this SSD is good for my R3.

Newegg.ca - Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

It is, but you can get a better deal on a Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 which seem to be getting a lot of positive feedback from the community.

 

it becomes $90 after the mail in rebate. I'm just interested in better load times over my current raid set up. know where I could get such a deal on either of those? id be willing to go $1/gb

 

You can get a 256gb M4 for about $180 on Amazon from time to time.