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

Does the System automatically switch to Integrated graphics when not using the 7970?or do we need to disable it every time when not using it?

 

Thanks. I just couldn't pass up on the offer

 

So the MSATA port is only SATA 2 then from your pics, I would think that will drag down the whole Array speed??

 

will post some ssd benchmarks. run them now all 3 in raid 0 setup which works fine. have more profit on 3x write speed on SATA2 then the read would be running only 2 drives on SATA3.

 

Great to hear ,ultra settings ,never played a recent demanding game on ultra..

 

runs like buttah! for now i'll leave it on tripe drive raid0

WEI of my system:


ATTO:


AS SSD:

 

Hey,which drivers are you using on the graphic card to get that 7.9 score ?
Thanks.

 

xenn0x - amazing scores on the SSD!!! just a dream for me though... but I still have samsung 830 128GB as my boot drive LOL

 

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How did you get the 7.9 for graphics? Mine only has 7.3... :/

Awesome stats btw.

 

just go FN+F7 and switch to ati which disables the intel 4000 card.
all benchmarks with 7.3 are runned on intel card due ati enduro.

just played BF3 and this 7970M card smokes my previous 6990M totally..
this is some sick machine...

 

without a doubt Welcome to the dark side

 

argh, cannot wait to get this beast!.... another 17 days of slow and painful wait

BTW: Xenn0X - by any chance did you go for the anti glare screen protection?

 

BF 3, hmm... Tell us the settings that you had it on and the FPS? I'm not looking to play that game, but if it can chug out that game with relative ease it will slay most other games. I want to play Crysis..........honestly. I've had it for 3 years and never bother passing the first level. >.>

 

a 7970m will chew through Crysis

Expect 50+ fps at 1080p Ultra in BF3 (this has been confirmed by several people with 7970s...including me )

 

Baloneyfudgeandmustard! Are we talking with V-Sync on AND over 8x Anti-Aliasing? At 1080p? No overclocking?

 

1080p all settings ultra and 4x msaa gets 45+ in caspian border and in metro like 80+ when indoors.
the 6990m could only go ultra on 825/1100 clock with no msaa..
love the new ati, also i disabled the enduro stuff while i play games, reboot is only few seconds if i want to save power on battery mode.

 

Congrats on the new system!! wish I had the cash to throw at a new machine but my current one runs everything I need to reasonably fine so no reason to really upgrade.

 

It's that i got dell to replace my R3 for an R4, otherwise i would have waited too

 

I seem to be having a very strange problem with the M17X R4 fitted with a 7970M.

It's a great laptop in every other regard, but I don't seem to be able to enable v-sync in any games. I've been stress-testing Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2 in particular, with the v-sync option checked and un-checked, running at different resolution/refreshes, and maximising/minimising the window, but the results are always the same. There's always a constant tearing running down the screen where-ever I turn.

So naturally, the first thing I turned to was the Catalyst Control Panel, where I found the exe's for these games, and forced v-sync for each - but still no luck.

I've also tried reinstalling the AMD drivers (the only ones out right now are rev 8 .938.2 on the Dell website), and uninstalling the Intel HD graphics drivers - which didn't work out.

I'm just wondering if the disabled v-sync is a problem common to the 7970M GPU? My google powers aren't pulling through right now...has anyone found a solution?

 

Secion 9, 12.5 BETA drivers

You could try these and see if the problem is resolved.
Also I read somewhere that you should install the 7970M drivers first THEN the IGP/Intel ones.

 

at the default ultra Preset settings (4x)

EDIT: I'm running at a conservative 950/1400

 

Even so, that's still some kickass performance for a mobile card.

 

Hmm...I kinda figured the alien head on the back of the screen was lit up by the backlighting itself but that's not the case. Changing the screen brightness has no effect on the alien head.

 

Yeah and if the computer is set to stay awake when you close it, the display still turns off, yet the alienhead stays on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

guys what ssd do u guys recommend??

 

Crucial m4 or samsung 830!

 

No love for intel?

 

i dont like the intel price point

Crucial m4 is my pick

 

hehe m4 in my country now is 288usd......i noe i can ship it from us for a total price of 220usd max....but warranty is an issue and its not something i will risk for the savings.....wats the price of samsung 830 240gb btw?

btw what about plextor m3 pro?? how are they?? for me currently wat im looking for is a 256gb ssd which is fast and reliable....price wise looking around 300usd+

 

At Amazon: Samsung 830 Series 256GB SATA III SSD -- $262.16 USD. Amazon.com: SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC256B/WW: Computers & Accessories

 

I think the Corsair Force is as good as the Crucial M4 in terms of reasonably priced SSDs....
Corsair Force GT 240GB & Crucial M4 SSD Update - HotHardware

The price of this is comparable to the prices listed by the previous two posters (within a couple dollars)

 

i wouldn't touch a corsair force because of the 25nm nand memory and the sandforce controller.

The m3 is a kickass drive. It uses a server grade controller so it should be very stable. We tested 2x64gig M3's in raid-0 and they were fast!

 

dam im spoilt for choice.....ok since i noe the brands mentioned so far are reliable....does the speed diff of benchmarks make any diff in real life usage...

 

I'm not sure the Corsair Force 3 isn't reliable. Every article I've read has had high praises... I've also tried searching for "problems" related to it and not had much luck. However, if others want to provide links / examples, I'm definitely open to it.

 

look up Sandforce 2281, 25nm nand memory. bottom line, it ain't stable.

Sandforce 2281 plus 34nm nand on the other hand is much more stable. So drives like the OCZ Vertex 3 Max iops version, the patriot Wildfire, and the corsair pro versions etc are ok. But there is a price difference between these and their cheaper cousins

 

I've done multiple google searches involving "Sandforce 2281 and 25nm nand and problems" and variants thereof. I've not found anything.

I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but I can't seem to find it.

EDIT: Done more digging. Conceded SF-2281 had issues when initially released. Does not appear to be a problem now, though, and there was never a recall on the 240GB model (only the 120GB model had issues).

In addition, the new Sandforce drivers seem to have fixed any lingering issues:
http://www.ssdflashdrivereviews.com...Sandforce-SF-2281-BSOD-Performance-Issues.php

-=-=-

My Conclusion: I think there probably was a problem with the drivers at one point, for certain models. This lead to people selecting away from the Sandforce line in favour of Crucial M4 or Samsung 830. The result, is as some point out, forums like these are populated by those drives. The people using them then speak of why they chose that line in the first place, causing further selection bias / group think to occur. It's completely possible that the SSD I purchased will die - but none of the reviews I've read suggest that. Overwhelmingly it is praised as an outstanding SSD with better performance than the M4 or 830. Therefore, I have two choices. One, I could elect not to purchase the Corsair Force on the advice of people on this forum, most of whom have never owned that product and are going based on articles that have not been volunteered, or I can trust the wide array of articles that have compared the products and the complete absence of articles or reviews suggesting problems with the drive I'm looking at.

 

Can anyone check their R4 BIOS if there is an option to boot from USB? My BIOS only has first HDD, second HDD, CD/DVD, and Network, but it seems that there are no USB boot.

 

It only shows up when a USB stick is inserted.

 

Regarding the SSD discussion, this might help: SSD Buyers Guide

 

You can get one from buydig.com for $225 no tax and free shipping.

 

Corsair Performance Pro, Crucial M4, Plextor M3, Samsung 830, and Intel 520's.
All good drives really, out of the lot I believe the CPP is the fastest overall.

At least that's what most websites herald it as...the new speed king.

 

nice just burned a bd-25 iso in 40 minute with the bluray drive i builded into my R4.
next week testing bd-re 50Gb disks and trying to get my hands on bd-xl discs which hold 100GB on 4 layers. drive only costed 79 euro and it's pretty impressive.

 

so guys with this mean machines u need a mean mouse as well....wat are u guys carrying out??? currently using a razer orochi but feel its too small once a while.....

 

Rocking a Razer Mamba 2012 and loving it.

 

I have the orochi for when space is tight... but I much prefer my mamba. Much larger footprint with the receiver though. Its a little awkward to pack.

 

Just leave it wired if you can't take the base.

I can fit my m17x, power strip, mamba & receiver, and laptop cooler in my Orion backpack with room to spare.

 

mSata Samsung 830 60gb


Samsung 830 256gb x 2 in raid 0


Any suggestions? Pretty happy with the performance but curious what others are seeing.

 

Also after fresh install using 30% brightness, alienfx off, and tweaking settings to preserve battery I got 5.5-6 hours battery life today. This includes streaming movies from Hbogo, moving files, light web browsing, YouTube, etc. pretty happy with that!

 

Why run RAID 0 on double SSDs? The performance increase is marginal...

 

Because we can.