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

It comes down to what you want out of things. For many of us, the Advanced Warranty is a small price to pay for everything to be covered. I can't afford to replace my new machine if I drop it, or if it gets stolen. I also plan on owning it for quite a while. I got the 2yr Advanced Warranty, but will be extending it before that term is up.

 

I probably get it before my current warranty expires on Aug 2013. I personally think it is worth considering the price you pay for and the services you get from Dell/ AW. Some people have their entire system replaced by Dell. In some cases, they got newer models. That is quite tempting.

The price can vary for different people. I think you should call AW sales rep and have a talk with them. I've heard some people were able to lower the price =P.

 

Hope you don't think the advanced warranty covers you if it gets stolen, you'll need home insurance for that

 

Oops. I'll make sure to drop it in the bathtub first then.

Thanks for the correction.

 

I will be ordering warranty for my laptop soon. I got the correct replacement so far. The GTX 680m is a beast all on its own! Very happy with my purchase. I'm now in the works of attempting to get Borderlands 2 installed and working properly to test it out

 

That 680m will eat Borderlands 2

 

Kyrius, thanks for the info! Ever since it came home, the only thing my cousin could say is, " I hate it.... So jelly " hahahahaha.....

 

"I remember Mr. Fox mentioning something about it and saying that it won't work." -bigtonyman

 

Does anyone know the cheapest/best place I can source a 1920x1080p panel/assembly for the R4? I see a bunch of them for the R3 and while some sellers state they are cross compatible others do not, leaving me wondering if they truly will work.
Dell is replacing my godawful XPS 17 L702x with an M17x R4, unfortunately the only one available as a 'match' for my XPS has the 900p screen, and I am very attached to my 1080p.

 

not sure, I see no reason why it won't work. Are the display's the same LCD display? That's what I think it would come down to.

 

No problem goku I don't know if I should get Borderlands 2 :S seems nice but never played Borderlands 1.

Question! I just want to set things straight. When people say turn off Enduro on our Alienware M17x R4 does that mean, switch to iGPU (intel HD 4000) then switch back to the 7970M? How do I know it's completely turned off? I opened my MSi Afterburner it tells me I'm on the 7970M. I assuming I have the enduro turned off right?

 

Sorry lads, probably asked already but...

I have a M17x R3 with a 580M want to buy a 680M it'll work right?

Thanks!

 

Everything i've read (and seen some that have done it) says that it's fine. No 3D though and it is still a bit choosy about which drivers work best. Looking into it myself but having an R4 now it's less of a 'risk' .

Check this out: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability.html

 

Try unplugging you AC and see if it still says 7970m running. The start of the thread explains it.

 

just received my new M17x R4 (which will replace my good friend M1730 after 4.5 years).

anyhow, I'm a little bit confused. My fresh out of the box R4 shows the Bios A08 but for my Service Tag the dell support site shows available Bios A05. did I missed something ? Okay, I'm sure I need to ramp up my knowledge for the new technology

cheers
tom

 

Turned it off and then it tells me to switch to optimal performance so the battery life will not be sacrificed. I guess I'm running on the 7970M then? Thanks ht_addict!

 

Congrats! That is strange. The R4 is at A05 and the R3 is A10 (a08 is the previous r3 BIOS on dell's site.). They didn't slip you an R3 did they - the A05 bios will not install?

 

That would be another part of the puzzle, no one seems to list the LCD panel part numbers just the generic Dell assembly part number. Which, from my experience, means the panels themselves could come from multiple different vendors (for example the L702x has a single 17.3 dell part number even though it was supplied by 3 very different manufacturers). Since I have only found the R3 part numbers and not the R4 ones, this makes it even more difficult to figure all this out.

Also from what I have read it is near impossible to separate the panel from the glass/bezel/frame assembly. Otherwise I could just find a nice panel and put it in the assembly myself. Anyone have any experience with that?

 

Well, I checked the delivery slip and what os build in the system. everything is as ordered 7 days ago.

 

^^ Could you please do a BIOS / ROM dump for me?

 

puuhh you hit me on the left feet.
I never did that before, can you guide me or is there a howto somewhere ?

 

Do you have linux? If not, try this utility: WinPhlash Version: 1.6.5.6

 

A08 on ivy bridge! It is the R4 so it looks like you have some as yet un-released BIOS.

 

And if I get the dump, I'll most likely 'release' it before Dell does at this rate... Looking forward to the new BIOS!

 

I have seen a few people do it, but it requires you to cut away the display assembly from the plexi glass and a lot of people that tried it ended up with broken plexi glass.

 

That will be interesting, although on past record all we'll get as far as info from dell goes is a vague statement as to the area it addresses. Wonder what it does

Good luck!

 

I'm pretty familiar with Linux. i'll PM you the dump asap.

 

Fantastic! Thanks a metric ton!

 

Thanks for that bud! Ordered one now!!

Cheers dude!

 

Yeah, I think I will pass on doing that. I would rather just get the entire correct assembly.

Does anyone know the Dell part number for the M17x R4's 1080p 60hz assembly? I have been unable thus far to locate it so I can compare between the R3 and R4.

 

assembly.

Does anyone know the Dell part number for the M17x R4's 1080p 60hz assembly? I have been unable thus far to locate it so I can compare between the R3 and R4.[/QUOTE]

Borderlands is fun, unless you're playing solo.... Solo is boring, usually I play with my two cousins on LAN. On LAN you have partners in crime destroying enemies, plus we get to argue on who gets loot and who's bauss when killing big monsters lol!

On a completely separate note, can anyone show me how to get the 3d working on my gtx 680m? I've tried to setup the Nvidia on some active glasses I had laying around (some set of Sony active glasses that just didn't work with the Nvidia). Any insight would be greatly appreciated! As I see there's the sensor in the bottom left corner, but the sensor is not picking up the Sony active glasses (once again, my apologies, I have come late into the 3d-game)!

 

I have just received my M17x R4, AMD 7970, 3740QM, Killer-N.

I still have the default GPU drivers. What sould I upgrade too?

Dell supplied vs Mod 9.001 September 4 vs the latest AMD.

A few options.

 

Borderlands is fun, unless you're playing solo.... Solo is boring, usually I play with my two cousins on LAN. On LAN you have partners in crime destroying enemies, plus we get to argue on who gets loot and who's bauss when killing big monsters lol!

On a completely separate note, can anyone show me how to get the 3d working on my gtx 680m? I've tried to setup the Nvidia on some active glasses I had laying around (some set of Sony active glasses that just didn't work with the Nvidia). Any insight would be greatly appreciated! As I see there's the sensor in the bottom left corner, but the sensor is not picking up the Sony active glasses (once again, my apologies, I have come late into the 3d-game)![/QUOTE]

You need the Nvidia 3D Vision 2 glasses. They should have came with your laptop if you ordered the 120 Hz 3D screen.

 

It unfortunately did not come with my laptop. I didn't order it, my laptop came as a replacement for a previous L702x. I guess only choice would be to purchase the Nvidia 3d Vision 2 glasses

Unless.... Are we suppose to get the glasses in the replacement?

 

I did with mine but it was a replacement for a 3d model. If you're sure you have the 120hz display then you can get the glasses separately on ebay. And the original glasses work just fine with V2 if you find some much cheaper - good luck.

 

Hello All,

In the past I stuck to desktops for gaming but last year I got a cheap HP with the AMD llano chip and found I enjoyed the mobility found gaming on a laptop.

Well the llano is a little champ but I craved more power so here I am. just placed an order for my first Alienware. Take a look and let me know how I did or if I missed anything.

Btw what are people getting for shipping times these days? Mine says it wont ship until around Oct. 11th!!!


I upgraded the ram (yes I know waste of $$$) but I need the extra ram for working with Virtual Machines at work and I needed to bump the cost up to $1999 to qualify for the $200 off promo. I got this for $1880.44 with tax and free shipping.



1
225-2945
Alienware M17X R4 with Soft Touch - Direct
1
317-9735
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
1
317-9892
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
1
331-6912
English Keyboard, 101 Key, M17X R4
1
320-3275
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
1
317-9747
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M
1
342-4424
750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
1
331-1350
Custom Nameplate
1
330-6106
Personalized Nameplate Trigger
1
331-6860
AlienFX Color, Terra Green
1
421-7439
Alienware Command Center Software, M17X
1
421-5789
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Service Pack 1, English, w/Media
1
318-2314
Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
1
410-0548
Adobe Acrobat Reader
1
318-2005
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
1
318-0424
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
1
430-4710
Intel 2230 Wireless-N
1
331-7193
Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
1
331-6865
Alienware Documentation
1
331-6868
Placement, M17X R4
1
331-6867
Shipping Material, M17X R4 - Black
1
461-8389
NO VIRUS PROTECTION REQUESTED
1
331-6909
Resource DVD, M17X R4
1
331-8045
Windows 7 OS Label, Alienware Notebooks
1
420-9691
DataSafe Local BackUp
1
420-9956
PC Restore
1
421-0092
DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1
421-3874
Camera Software 2.X, Factory Install
1
421-4289
Dell Support Center Software 3.0
1
421-7440
Quickset, M17X R4
1
421-4047
Dell Digital Delivery Client
1
421-9378
Windows 7 Browser Search for Alienware
1
312-1334
90WHr 9-Cell Primary Battery
1
421-8801
Microsoft Office trial
1
995-6083
Dell Hardware Warranty Plus On-Site Service, Initial Year
1
995-6103
In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis, Parts and Labor On-Site Response, Initial Year
1
950-3337
1 Year Limited Warranty
1
950-9797
No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
1
421-1723
Soft Contracts Dell In-Home Hardware Agreement for Alienware
1
994-3730
Warranty Support, Initial Year
1
330-5090
Thank You for Purchasing AlienWare

 

100% positive i should have the 120hz display, as it was what was listed on the shipping. Also, all 3d screens come with 120hz, right?

Thank you micky for the info! Like I said, I'm very new to the 3d world heh..... I thought one size fits all when it comes to active 3d glasses. (Kind of wished they were passive however).

 

I just got my new SSD in via UPS today (came quicker than expected) and so I'm prepping for the reinstall. I already updated Command Center once (and therefore the firmware) will there be any issues with using AlienRespawn to reinstall the OS?

 

Not bad.

I would of got the RAM aftermarket though since it's cheaper and used the extra to upgrade the processor or get the 680m instead but it's a nice setup.

 

I'd say you did well as you must have good haggling skills. I configure that to be $2149 b4 taxes including their $200 discount on the website, are you sure you got the 1080 screen (+150) and 7970m (+200)? Where do you pay 4.4% sales tax, Dakota's?

Enjoy the system bro!

 

You're very welcome. It's a world of pitfalls with bluetooth/wireless/IR glasses and different standards, although it's settling down now.

I asked about a 120 hz screen as you're correct (for nvidia 3d), this is the 3d model with the emitter built in.

Here's one useful thing you might be able to try. If you have access to a 3d TV then you can connect it and use the glasses that came with the TV. It will automatically use an nvidia component called 3dtvplay. This is a purchasable add on but free for 3d vision users. You will need a 1.4 HDMI cable and resolution is limited to the TV standard of 1080i (1920x1080) or 720p (1280x720). I found that in 1080 (24hz ) there was an unacceptable 'lag' but at 720 (50hz) it works great and I couldn't see any degradation in the picture quality - testing with Batman Arkham City.

You can also use passive 2 color glasses by selecting 3d vision DISCOVER as the display type. HTH.

 

Hi, I'm sure you will enjoy your new Alienware! You post says you are expecting the machine around Oct 11th. Remember you can check the status of your order online in case you want any updates.

 

Thank you mickyD for the extremely informative answer! I'm a bit dissapointed that these sony 3d glasses are not universal, especially since they were $100 a pair too! (not too shy off from the Nvidia ones!)

It's good to hear I can TRY to use the passive glasses with the 3d. However, just to clarify, is this 3d on the alienware laptop? or the TV that's a passive tv? Once again many thanks!

Also, the 2-color glasses are the blue/red glasses? I was hoping I could get away with the movie theatre passive glasses instead, as I don't have blue/red

 

I heard there were people bricked their AlienFX due to using older firmware from AlienRespawn. Best way is to do a clean install of W7 and then download the newest firmware from Dell website.

Another option is to use Norton Ghost or similar program to clone your disk.

 

I seemed to have no problem using Alien Respawn (from flash drive) to install the OS onto my Crucial M4.

 

Quick off-the-topic question for all y'all. Do our notebook-review forums logins work over at desktop-review forums? I got a desktop related question to post and am not sure if my login is supposed to work on the sister forum sites.

 

Nope doesn't appear to work. looks like you will have to register an account there.

 

Damn. Oh, well. Guess I gotta do it the hard way.

 

Yeah, they do seem to be a rip-off across the board ATM. My panasonic ones were £60 and the extra nv ones I bought (for showing off to friends ) a little more.

The 3d vision discover works on both the internal display and external displays or TV's without any special requirements like 120hz refresh.

The glasses are the anaglyph blue/red ones that you can pick up on ebay for around $5.00. I got some a long time ago for a desktop I was building. They are OK for seeing the effect and short gaming sessions but for me caused eye-strain. Try selecting 3d discover as the display type in the driver control panel ('stereoscopic 3d' section) and you should see a 'color shifted' image in the test app.

I always thought of the 3d as a gimick, especially as I had seen it a couple of years ago. But after getting this machine I am sold. It has come a long way. I've had a couple of games that it just does not work in but most are flawless. No going back for me - 3d is an awesome game enhancement in a LOT of the games I like, but remember YMMV, everyones eyes are slightly different

Lights-out, Dolby surround headset, 3d glasses - I'm there . Now if I could only afford one of those tilting, vibrating chairs thingies....

 

Bought a set of corsair 1500's a few weeks ago due to the praise you have been giving them and I've been blown away in every game I've used them with. They also work great for music. +rep when I get back on my laptop and I wouldn't have known about them without your recommendation.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix