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

First post with my new NBR account. I am now a member of the M17xR4 owners' lounge. (Formerly Dell-Bill_B)

 

Gratz dude!! and welcome to the Alienware brotherhood :hi2:

 

LOL.... Ohh trust me, it is in no way the same generic build LOL! The solder points are all weird, some come in arrays of 3, some 4, some have the array in the back, and some come with sockets that are scattered all underneath. It IS doable to retrofit, don't get me wrong, but it is a whole lot harder to get the jack to sit in place, hehehe .

You're definitely right about MOST desoldering MickyD, in MOST applications (with long legged solder components) you can desilder with a vacuum, but I've done this with different types of desoldering vacuums, the one where u solder, put the suction vacuum on, and push the button (spring loaded):

HB-017: JAMECO BENCHPRO: Test, Tools & Supplies

I've also tried desoldering bulbs, like here:

http://store.curiousinventor.com/media/images/how_to_solder/desoldering_tools.jpg?1248413796

I haven't had the honor of trying something like this, however:

Weller 0051317299 Miscellaneous Weller 0051317299

It's a bit pricey =\ I don't think it would do any justice anyways lol! Anywho, as a computer technician/repairman (or ex technician/repairman), you get use to doing the job after 10-15 times .

No difference, 90 degree 3.5mm jacks are 90 degree 3.5mm jacks. I'm glad you've found a better link! Maybe share it with the forums, in case anyone else is in the same bind .

I don't believe in gold plated components when it comes to something soo irrelevent like a 3.5mm jack... lol, then again I haven't witnessed a very good 3.5mm jack produce GREAT sounds like some people have told me .

 

For all you of your cable and adapter needs.

HTML:

3.5mm right angle

 

Wow, did you just purchase one? Or was it inherited from Dell?

Thanks for taking care of me Bill, you and Mourin are AMAZING! I'm all the more happier you're apart of the M17x owner's lounge now. I've yet to find a flaw in this awesome laptop!

Thank CryoBolt!

 

Thanks man. You'd think Dell would use something they could multi-source on a component as 'standard' as a audio jack .

I'm so far behind the curve on this stuff. When I started my career an oscilloscope was commonly used

I do remember trying out one of those bulbs and gave it to the cat (after cleaning out all the mess!) but that Weller looks very cool - definitely a professional price

Great to see you back! Also a thanks for all your help

 

hello everyone, I bought the r4 last month and its my first alienware laptop and I am loving it!!! However, I have a problem-very occassionaly when I listen to music and watch movies, the sound suddenly becomes distorted for a few seconds and returns to normal. I'm really worried about this...it is mostly in music though

I have never noticed this happening in games though.

ps. is there anything else I should know about the laptop to use it to its fullest potential......

 

Anyone find when they are using bluetooth headphones or headset that the audio will sometimes get out of sync? If it happens during a game, I can usually alt+tab out and back in to the game and it will fix it. For TV shows that I have on my computer I often have to close and reopen my media player to correct it. I am using a BlueAnt Q1 earpiece.

 

I still dont know the key principles of how to use an oscilloscope lol..... I remember learning about it in physics class, but that's about it! I'm a noob when it comes to oscilloscopes and voltmeter readings.... Only thing I use my Voltmeter for is modifying LEDs by reading and measuring voltage draws and amperage draws (to prevent fuse blows).

Your speakers ar blown, contact Dell for a replacement I know because my first m17x had that problem, my second one came and problem solved!

Man, I need to get with the program! I forgot the m17x comes with bluetooth lol.... I've yet to find an answer to that I've googled for a good while too, sorry.

 

Thanks for googling for me, I was feeling lazy when I posted and just thought I would ask There's probably a good chance that my earpiece and the M17x just don't like to play nice all the time but unfortunately I don't have another set of bluetooth headphones to test with. Doesn't happen with a hardwired set.

 

Hello guys,


I have been reading here and throughout the forum for the last couple of months in anticipation for the purchase of a new notebook and have learned A LOT (thx)! In the aftermath of purchasing an Alienware M17x R4-notebook, I would like to publish my first post on this NBR discussion thread.

Besides becoming a proud owner of a M17x, I also bought a Corsair Vengeance 2x8 GB RAM-kit, a Samsung 830 Series 512GB SSD and a Seagate 750 GB 7.200 RPM HDD to upgrade the rather basic setup of my notebook (I originally only took the 1080p screen, the Killer Wireless N 1103 card and 3 years NBD). I installed everything (first time I did such a thing and it has been quite an adventure ... without hickups though ) based on my very elaborate research I did beforehand.
Everything works like a charm. However I have 2 minor issues I came across and I'm sure the forum-members here will know how to fix those:

1. The Killer Network Manager keeps giving me a pop-up asking me to perform an embedded speedtest (which looks like the exact same thing as the test one can execute via speedtest.net). However the map where you can select a server to perform the test with/on doesn't actually show up. Therefore I cannot perform the embedded test and the pop-up consequently keeps re-appearing everytime I boot up my notebook. Is there anyway to disable the pop-up with the embedded speedtest (I can perform the speedtest via Google Chrome on speedtest.net just fine and I know which the down- and uploadspeed my provider is giving me)? From some research I have done on the net, I understand that I do not need to do the embedded speedtest seeing it doesn't actually change anything in the KNM settings.

2. I use a Western Digital My Book Essential 3.0 external HDD to back-up my personal data. When finalizing my install of the M17x I wanted to copy the contents of the My Book to my M17x.
When copying larger amounts of data I noticed that the My Book sort of disconnected and immediately reconnected during the file transferring proces. This proces was interrupted each time and I kept getting the regular Windows Explorer pop-up as if a device just had been connected to one of the USB-ports. This occured with intervals of a couple of minutes and both during copying to the My Book via Windows Explorer or with Total Commander. These little disconnections were not that bad seeing I could "repeat" the copy of those files within Total Commander where the transfer got interrupted. After completing the whole copying of my personal data, I managed to open the concerned files without any problem.
I never had this issue when backing up to the My Book from my former notebook, a HP dv6-1350 (with only USB 2.0-ports). I have already checked if the filenames were not too long, I tried using different USB-ports, I (re)installed the SES driver for the My Book and have updated the firmware. I am out of ideas to resolve this issue.

Can anyone help? I'm sorry for this long post (but I wanted to be as complete as possible).

P.S.: English is only my 3rd language so bear with me on vocabulary, grammar and spelling.

 

Hi, Issue 1. You can just disable application control in the killer network manager. If your not using multiple internet connected apps at the same time it won't matter.

2. All I can say is that I have seen others with exactly this issue in USB 3 external drives. It seems some makes work and others do this - sorry not better info

 

I get the same thing with my 1tb my passport drive from western digital drive it only happens with the 3.0 cable but it seems that the drive is just as fast using a normal micro USB cable I have yet to figure out what causes it my friends 3.0 drive never disconnects from my computer so I don't know what the heck is going on I did search a bit on the internet and it was suggested to try a different 3.0 cable but I have yet to try it

Sent From My Rooted E3D

 

I saw a thread a while back on having transfer issues with the m17x r4, but I haven't seen it in a while. Not sure what anyone came up with either other than discussing the problem.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

Here is one thread about an issue with USB 3 connection: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/675401-alienware-m17x-r4-usb-3-0-problem-18.html The last post mentions a possible issue with the Western Digital SES driver. Is it possible to uninstall the device from device manager and see if a default windows driver works better?

 

Hello guys!

I`m new "owner" of Alienware m17x R4. I had several problems in past 2 years with Asus G73, than Asus G74 3D...so I ordered Alienware m17x R4. Why i wrote "owner"...hm...because new Alienware comes and it didn`t work...DOA -> 8 beeps and it doesnt start. Now Im waiting for new one which come to my country (around 3 weeks)...I REALLY HOPE IT FINALLY WORKS!? Because i have enough with this problems with portable pcs. :/

Although this, I was very satisfied with Dell help center! They helped me and in short time we solved the problem and new one was ordered and the old one was returned back to factory.

I ordred it without SSD...and now im looking fo a SSD. Im looking for OCZ Vertex 4, 128 GB, SATA III. It have 5 years of guaranty and with new software 1.5 goes like a flash!? It will be ok, or you advice me somthing better or similar at max 128gb?

Tnx for all help!

PS:sory for my bad English!

Bye

 

That's Bad Luck :/
Don't know how that happened, they should have checked to make sure everything worked before boxing it and shipping it off.

 

Omen123* I ordered the same configuration as you have. I`m also looking for Cooler Master Notepal U3. Is any difference with or without it on Alienwares hardware temperature? Any tests with or without it?

 

Yeah, it's great. Probably get around 6-7C cooler idle on the gpu, so about 44/45 when maxed out. And 5C cooler on the cpu when idle, so about 49/50C when the fans are also maxed out.

It really improves the feel of using the laptop since it's raised.

Also I'd recommend getting a decent gaming mouse + mouse mat if you don't already have one.

Make sure you have a microfiber cloth, they're great for cleaning + you can dampen it a little bit if you want.

Also make sure you position the 2 fans where the air vents are towards the bottom of the laptop - 2 towards the gpu, and one for the cpu.

Enjoy your laptop, hope you don't have to wait much longer!

 

Tnx for all advices!!! I asked becasue i really want a good cooler! U have it with 3 fans? I cannot find it with 3 fans in my country there are only with 2 fans. U think will be any difference with 2 or 3 fans?

I think that they dont tested it before send to me.

 

I uninstalled the SES driver with Ccleaner and reconnected the device. It made no difference: same disconnections during copying.

I also tried copying a large amount of data with the M17x to and from my media player (a Western Digital Elements Play). The transfer speed was slower (because the media player only supports USB 2.0) but I had no disconnects whatsoever.

This makes me think it's kind off an incomptability of the M17x and the My Book. This sucks because it seems to me that they both are quite common (and rather expensive) devices which should be able to be used together without any problems and at full speed.

Perhaps if I find a suitable USB 2.0-cable for the My Book Essential 3.0? Do these even exist?

 

There will be a difference with only 2 fans. Can't you find a 3 fan version on amazon / ebay?

 

Does anyone have issues with really crappy shadow quality in Skyrim?

Video of what I see early on: Skyrim Shadow Flickers - YouTube

 

#1) I think disabling it like the below comments is fine

#2) I can't guarantee this is the problem, but in the XPS 17 owner's section, they've had numerous problems with the USB 3.0, if you are still under warranty I'd give it a call in, as the daughterboard may be a defect. But like they also said below, any WD configurations may be your problem. For me, my seagate 3TB Drive (with a WD drive) has absolutely no problems with the M17x, it had a problem with my XPS 17, with a call and a replacement board, everything was A-OKAY again.

I'm currently on my OCZ Vertex 4, 128GB, SATA III, with the new indilinx chip. VERY quirky compared to my other OCZ Solid 3 (Sandforce chip), 120GB, and SATA III also.

I would totally reccomend the OCZ Vertex 4 model, as I've had no complaints!

Hmm, have you tried the comment below at that youtube video? I've yet to try Skyrim yet.... How addicting is it?

 

Yea I have. I asked a couple of people at work and I'm not alone. Research shows that it seems the game is using the CPU to create a shadow bitmap and that part can't get AA on it which is why it looks so bad. Maybe if someone can hack in a way to replace the CPU created shadow maps to GPU created ones that get AA applied to them... May be beyond the engine capabilities though. The Engine is a modified version of the one that Oblivion had.

It's ok but I wanted to play it and see how it handles. They had to enable vsync by default to prevent the physics from getting wacky so now I have it at 60FPS most of the time with sudden and unexplained dips into the mid 20s but if I turn off vsync (via configs) it's above 80FPS all the time but then I get weird issues with physics and stuff due to it.

 

nice

i didn't wanna play skyrim because i heard of all the possibilities with skill maps and adventure time etc. etc.

I heard the whole story is endless and it takes i believe a couple months of straight playing to beat the game!

 

So I will buy OCZ. Tnx for advice!


Omen123* Yes i find it...but will be around 70€ with delivery to my country and it is too expensive for a cooler!? For this money i will do it myself with profi stand and all!? Hehehehe

 

Just prop up the back of the laptop and you should be fine.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

Hey folks, this is my first time owning an AW (or Dell for that matter) and I'm so far blown away with my new M17xR4!

Just some minor issues / room for improvement:

I like the keyboard, it has a solid-soft touch, but not used to the upper right row of keys i.e. Delete. I still prefer the Thinkpad keyboard for typing as it feels more natural and easier to use; also miss the page back/fwd buttons around the arrow keys that is present on the Lenovo, those really help.

The bottom part of my left hand/thumb often hits the touch pad when typing and causes the mouse to jump/click elsewhere on the screen - minor annoyance, probably just me though and need to get used to the size of the track pad.

The 120hz screen is very nice but the vertical viewing angle could be improved.

A little tricky to handle/carry the laptop around with ease as it is rather heavy.

The AC adapter is huge, hopefully a more mobile version comes out - I'd definitely buy as I need a 2nd one anyways.

Overall, very happy with AW - fun times.

 

If you open the Command Center, go to AlienTouch and open the Sensitivity tab, there is an option to let you avoid accidental contact with the trackpad.

The AC adapter is huge but it is necessary to operate both CPU and dedicated GPU. I heard some people use a smaller AC adapter to power the CPU and integrated graphics...

 

I agree on the keys being a bit different, but that's what differentiates every laptop, so we gotta get use to it

What I do to resolve this problem (because it often overclicks what i'm typing) is disable tap-clicking, that way the mousepad can move all it wants and not bother me much.

Honestly I haven't met a laptop where it has as good a viewing angle like this laptop (so far), so I'm overall happy If I need to adjust viewing, I just simply move the laptop to my preference.

And yes, the laptop is heavy, in my laptop bag, i get a shoulder ache from carrying it so long (I have to walk about 1-2 miles a day going from one end of school campus to the other and back).

No way to resolve the smaller AC adapter problem, be glad it's huge, it honestly doesn't heat up at all! If it were any smaller it'd have to be overworked and thus heating up like crazy. Either way, the power supply is ~240w, so unfortunately a smaller model is not available. I could however, try out a spare XPS 17 charger, which is flatter and a quarter the size of the AW laptop charger and let you know how that pans out .

 

If you use a smaller adapter, make sure to put your laptop into power saver mode. That way it can disable the dedicated GPU and use HD4000. Otherwise, it will eat up your battery because of insufficient power provided.

 

Thank you leeshjnn - I remember now seeing that before, it didn't cross my mind to adjust this....

Agreed, makes sense...I guess that's the downside of having portable power vs size. Thanks, no worries - don't want you to take any undue risks using a diff adapter!

 

Which side is the GPU and the CPU? I have the U3 and direct two fans to the right side of the m17x and one to the left side (screen facing me).

Just found out that the gpu stays on the right side of the m17x. I luckily placed the two fans correctly .

 

Thanks, man! I've been having a blast gaming away on it since I got laid off. Time on my hands.

Obtained on the up and up, of course. I was happy to help out. Mourin is awesome. She took the time to write me a thank you card and get me a Starbucks gift card on my last day.

Glad to be here. I have to kind of tread lightly for a while. My exit included an NDA.

I will say this about USB 3.0 external drives- Dell doesn't qualify every drive model. They leave it up to the manufacturer to develop firmware for their drives that work with their ports. I'm under the impression that all OEM/ODM's do it this way due to the impractical cost of testing and qualifying so many drives. They kind of respond to the drive makers, "If you want your drive to work with our box, you need to request engineering samples or buy one off the website and do your own testing." It sometimes seems like a crap shoot as a customer, but it's generally best to Google around for the drives that don't seem to have a problem with your ports before you start shopping for drives.

 

Sorry to hear that you got laid off but at least you do have your new toy to keep you distracted. I guess Dell has had a bit of a tough time as of late. Thanks for setting up that Sales Thread, I managed to get a good deal, not sure if they still have much power left now though. Welcome to the other side!

 

Sorry to hear you got laid off dude. Hope you find a new job soon.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

That sucks man hope you find something suitable v soon .

Been down that NDA path a couple of years ago, I still get 'threatening' letters occasionally - framed and hung for all to see

 

At least it isn't the 330w power supply the m18x has. The power brick is literally that. A brick lol.

 

The 2 fan's will be fine. When using the laptop on a desk the laptop cooler makes a HUGE difference. It's so much nicer to use when it's raised up from the back. So just get the coolermaster u3 with 2 fans

 

Hey guys, for some reason there's no "Unknown" devices category for my HD 4000 or 5000 (I forgot which edition this laptop has), Currently.... GTX 680m, 8GB ram, 2x500hdd, 3d.

Anyone know what happeend to my Intel setup? As I'd like to use the Intel for power savings later on.

Or is it because the 3d is on this laptop that the Intel video card is disabled? Thanks guys!

 

Hi. It is. No intel in the 3d (120hz) model. It's not connected. You also cannot install any card other than an Nvidia. Just a restriction of the 120hz display

 

bigtonyman asked me to post some pics of my vinyl once I got it installed so here they are. The skin was purchased at Decalrus.com and is a full skin. It covers the lid, the edge around the screen, palmrest, the 2 mouse buttons, and the mouse pad. I should let you know that there is a piece of skin on the lid that would cover the alienware logo. That part should be removed before installing as that spot may serve as an alignment point (we used it).

Top: http://imageshack.us/a/img856/6664/1000664n.jpg

Screen: http://imageshack.us/a/img189/2701/1000663ib.jpg

Palmrest: http://imageshack.us/a/img833/5672/1000662m.jpg

The palmrest having the vinyl on top is kinda of tacky. My finger can't run across it smoothly at all. It may get removed at a later date. Yes, we removed the i7 and Windows 7 stickers off the palmrest and reapplied them on the vinyl.

EDIT: Replaced the images with the thumbnail versions and linked to the original image after seeing the forum didn't have an auto-resize for embedding in the pages.

EDIT 2: No Thumbnails Now I just did links due to resolution.

 

That's a relief to hear!

I honestly have no complaints as I went 3+ hours streaming videos, surfing net, and listening to music while settling with customers at my shop. It ran out of batteries maybe 15 minutes before work ended haha!

These laptops are amazing with the battery life they've got so far!!

Looks good so far! I'm still shopping for a anti-glare overlay, as I'm completely not satisfied with the results of the glare

 

looks cool dude!! and +rep for taking the effort to take pics.

 

Look pretty good. I have Nebula Red so I probably not in the market for this LOL.

Why would you want to install a vinyl skin? They wear out over time and it will look kinda dirty. Hope yours doesn't leave any residues when you remove it.

 

Well I got the black and I've done vinyl skins in the past. The ones I usually get don't tend to leave any residue. If anything after a while they get to a point where removing them will destroy it but the laptop comes out clean. I had one on a prior laptop and was able to remove it prior to selling the unit however it wasn't salvageable. The skin provides a more unique look especially when I got co-workers with a m15x and a m17x r2.

 

Yeah, the battery life is pretty nice. Much better than my VAIO F11 was.

Have you looked at this anti glare overlay?
AG2 Anti-Glare screen Protector for Dell Alienware M17x R3/R4 | Green Onions Supply

It says for r3, but works for r4 as well. There's a different version for the 3D displays though.

 

I think I may have mentioned this earlier but I did try the Green Onion anti-glare screen protector and I would say that if you do a lot of usage in daylight or reflective areas it may be worth it. It does reduce the glare I would say around 40%. You can still see reflections but they are more muted. I did find that it made whites look very grainy and yellowish. I have taken mine off and for my usage which is majority inside or at night, I much prefer it without the protector.

 

I think you may have been the reason I ever heard of this protector. I'm glad to have your usage feedback on it, too. Well over 90% of my usage is indoors w/ little to no glare at all. The times that I'll be using this in a high glare environment are so few and far between that I think I'm going to hold off on it for now.