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

I believe that Alienware fills the bottom DIMM's first, and leaves the top ones(under the keyboard) open. That's how my system is at least.

 

@AncientBarb. Hi My name is Luis and I work for Alienware, I see that you have a lot of questions about your new machine, let me answer them very quickly, You will need a Phillips Screwdriver, the Ram is located: 2 Slots on the bottom and 2 under the keyboard so you will need to disassemble it and last I will recommend you the Dell upgrade even if it is a bit more expensive since it will be also covered by the computer's warranty, this means that if something happens to the system, in the case that you added the RAM from somewhere else you will need to put the laptop back to the original configuration that we shipped it with but if you do it with DELL we will be able to replace it with no problem. If you have any other questions about upgrades on this computer or any other Alienware system you can send us an e-mail to [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible. #IWork4AW

 

Well, I just received an email from a representative!

If they'd offered a 15% discount I'd have place the order right away. I live in the UK!

EDIT : I hope I can say that on the forum! If not, I'll edit my comment!

 

Thanks for your reply Luis. I understand that the there are 2 slots on the bottom and 2 slots under keyboard. But where do you guys put your dell memory when you build the laptop? Is the ram located on the bottom or under keyboard?

 

I believe they fill the slots on the bottom first.

 

That will save me alot of trouble. Hurray!

Edit: If I were to go from 6gb to 8gb RAM, do you just take the installed RAM out and just plug in the 8 gb RAM? Do I have to mess around with bios or anything?

 

someone feel free to correct me if im wrong, but it should just be plug and play.

 

its plug and play. But going from 6gigs of ram to 8 gigs is virtually useless for most people. The average gamer won't even use 6gigs of ram

 

Good to know! Thanks

I plan on doing a ram upgrade later in time just for experience. I also want to be familiar with the inside of my machine!

I'm not to techy advanced...

 

hey jared, you can look at either my CPU guide or 7970m guide for an idea how to pull the battery out and the back plastic panel off.

The back ram slots will be near the middle of the laptop. Very easy to get to. All you need is a screw driver, remove the battery, remove 2 screws, slide the back panel towards you. It will literally take you 2 mins to see the ram.

i think it's a great idea to get familiar with your laptop. have fun with it

 

Yup, same with me. I could've spent some extra money and had them take care of everything but I wanted to gain some experience in dealing with these "techy" stuff too

@SlickDude80
I'm reading through your guide right now and its very very helpful!

 

ancient, you did the right thing. Dell charges a ridiculous amount for ram and HDD/SSD upgrades. It is much more economical to buy the ram yourself and install it.

if you don't want to mess with the keyboard removal, i would just buy 2 x 8gig sticks and install them in the back slots and be done with it

 

Check your PM, I sent you something nice

 

I keep hearing how powerful this machine and GPU are... However, Crysis detects that setting all settings to 'high' at 1080P is as much as it can push. As soon as I put AA on x4 I can detect definite framerate dropping - this is coming from a habitual console gamer used to 30fps... Am I expecting too much or is there something up? Feel underwhelmed...

Forgot to add; definitely running the 7970m at stock clocks.

I've read that the 7970m can run most games at ultimate specification so any idea what is up - hopefully something is not right and I'm not just expecting too much (I should be organising my replacement system tomorrow).

 

If by chance the Dell decides the install the RAM under the keyboard, don't I have to remove that first and then install my fresh 8gb RAM? Or were you assuming they'd already put it in the back? I probably won't even bother opening up my keyboard if I don't have to yet.

 

Dj, are you talking about crysis 1? You have to be realistic about that too. Crysis 1 is one of the most demanding games ever...and running in ultra 1080p with 4xAA is tough for all but the very top end vidcards (i'm talking desktop 680's and 7970s)

PS...i'm running Metro 2033 in DX10 with everything pumped up

In Crysis 2 with high res textures installed, I can run that in ultra 1080p. The two test levels i played ran very smooth at these settings

My assumption is that dell installed the ram in the back and not under the keyboard. This is what they normally do.

IF dell did install the 6 gigs of ram under the keyboard, you would be forced to get at it, yes. But in that case, I would buy a 2gig stick, and a 4gig stick, pair your new sticks with the existing ram (i.e., keep the 2x2gigs together and 2x4gigs together so you remain in dual channel) for a total of 12 gigs of ram

 

M17xR4 7970M Notebookcheck.com German

Around the middle of the article it shows what settings they used and what to expect.

Though Crysis 1 isn't on the list, you still get the general idea of how powerful the card is.

Like seriously stronger than a GTX 560 and close to a GTX 570 desktop GPU.
That's really insane if you think about it

 

Yeah I know Crysis 1 isn't greatly optimised... :/ so what sort of performance should I be expecting, realistically? I'm no longer very techy - consoles ruined me in that sense, so I'm attempting to catch up.

Your card is overclocked too, right? What sort of performance is realistic at 108p on stock clocks?

PS. You're extremely helpful, it is appreciated.

 

@SlickDude80
Good advice. If I'm forced to open up my keyboard, I may as well make more use out of it by doing what you said. But yea, I'll probably just end up doing the simple plug in and play for now. I really appreciate your help!

 

Wow! Thanks for the link! I couldn't find anything like that!

 

np bro

Although i benchmark at much higher mhz, my card runs 950/1400 everyday for games. So performance wise, it is on par with a desktop nvidia GTX 570

if you want an idea of what a stock 7970m is capable of, look at benchmarks of the desktop 7870 and then minus 17%. A 7970m is just an underclocked desktop 7870.

The card really scales well though to overclocking. The ram really should be at 1350 minimum

 

Without *ahem* advising me...would you say that the card is easily and safely overclocked to your level (I know all cards vary slightly) without the fear of total meltdown? As I said, my house is small so I have no special way to keep it cool other than on my lap lol!

Even with stock clocks then, is this thing the beast it is propogated as through reviews and its pricetag?

 

Hey guys I just came across this video:
Defective 7970m Alienware M17x R4 - YouTube

Its a guy with a defective m17x. When he contacted the CS about his defective GPU, he was told that there were many people with same problems. I was just wondering if any of you guys faced the same problem? Or can I just assume this was just some unfortunately rare defect that every product has?

 

I think that's just a rare isolated case. And I feel sorry for the guy. If I were him, I would try to reseat the GPU first before contacting support for warranty.

 

DJ, this card can most definitely be overclocked safely. Just don't increase the voltage and you are golden. The worse that happens is you will freeze or bsod. Then you set the overclock lower and that's that. 28nm construction and cold temps is just screaming for an overclock

PS...the card is a beast stock, but it really scales well when overclocked. THe memory really should be at 1350 min. You will see improvements in fps.

Ancient, Alienware has the best warranty in the business. They will take care of you in the event something goes wrong with the hardware. Just enjoy your computer

 

At your safe overclocks, would you be able to bench Crysis (or BF3 - since it is more demanding I think) in order to test the best FPS at top settings, please? If that is not asking too much.

Just ordered my new M17x R4 and my old one is being collected on Friday.

 

sure I can give you a conservative estimate from what we have seen

7970m stock 850/1200:

BF3 1080p Ultra preset FXAA 50+fps
Crysis 2 1080p DX11 Ultra 45+fps

7970m @ 950/1400

BF3 1080p Ultra 4x msaa 50+fps
Crysis 2 1080p DX11 Ultra 50+fps

 

Do you have the tessellation pack for crysis 2? (sorry if that is miss-spelt have no idea how to )

 

you mean high res texture pack? Yes it is installed

 

lol yes thats it, couldn't remember what it was lol been without a Gaming PC tooooo long

 

Both games play very smooth on the 7970m which essentially puts desktop performance in a laptop. I'm very pleased so far.

 

Anyone got any guesses on how many months it'll be before the i7-3920xm falls to $500ish?

 

a year from now, maybe.

 

considering the sandy bridge 2920xm(from what I just saw on ebay) is still above $500 it's gonna be a while.

Edit: Long beat me to it

 

Wonder how much difference it would make using a 2920xm instead of a 3920xm in the R4. Remember that the R4 started out with Sandy Bridge CPU's. The SB chip uses more power, but the R4 seems to have plenty to spare.

 

Maybe I'll get the 3920xm in the fall then if it'll be a year anyway.

 

Is there big diffrence when it comes to portability between m17x R4 to the m18x ?
I have an m18x with 699m CF , funny thing is that one 7970m outperforms my 6990m CF... so was thinking on making my life easier , selling the 5.4kg m18x and getting an m17x with 1 7970m inside , bad choice ?

 

Does the M18X R1 support CF 7970m? It's got an Intel Mobility HM67 chip right?

 

yes it can support 7970m CF. but how much power can one needs ? i mean i got the m18x caus im a performance freak , but from what I understand the 7970m is more than enough power...?

 

Yeah, I guess... It just seems like it's cheaper to get CF 7970m than go with a single 7970m in a new R4.

 

i will probably end up selling the m18x , however 1 7970m card will cost here ( israel) around 1000$ minimum...

 

Guyd need some guides..so on the day I receive my laptop firstly am going to install a ssd...mine is with the 750gb hdd and 32gb msata cache...so do I replace the current slot with my ssd or install it into the empty slot...whic is the main hdd bay with sata 3? Next after installing the hdd, I would want a fresh install...do I just reformat the 750gb ssd is there any important recovery partition on it? How do I fresh install on my ssd???by disc or by any recovery partition if there is?

 

take out the HDD and put the SSD in that slot, then the HDD in the second slot. Your m17x will come in the box with the HDD in slot 0 i believe. Just do that and then pop in your windows disc and do a fresh install, after then load the drivers off your driver disc. Thats what i did.

 

Both drive bays are sata3.

 

Unnecessary as both are SATA III.

 

true, but OCD i guess for me, i need my main drive in slot 0 lol

 

Install the SSD into the 2nd drive bay, Format your HDD and reinstall windows on your SSD if you want that as your primary drive.

 

Fair, I guess, just seems like a waste of time and effort.

Not to mention the risk of damaging something inadvertently for absolutely zero real world benefit.

 

Yes in R4 both 2.5 inch slots are SATA3, only the MSata is SATA2.

 

want to see what people have in there systems and how much you dished out.