*OFFICIAL* M17x R3 Owner's Lounge Thread - Part 3

Okay, how do I go about obtaining an unlocked A08 Bios flash? And what program/tools do you use to write it? Also, I'd like to backup A09 incase things don't go right.

 

You don't need the unlocked A08 to regain SATA III bandwidth, just download the official one and follow the steps, it's pretty straight forward.

Also, you don't have to backup your current version, it's available on Dell's site as well.

A08 sBIOS:
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers...ctCode=alienware-m17x-r3&urlProductCode=False

A09 sBIOS:
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers...ctCode=alienware-m17x-r3&urlProductCode=False

Unlocked A08 sBIOS:
http://www.mediafire.com/?2vw45vmgsk2vt7l

 

According to the notes on what it fixes for A09 BIOS... It says it fixes a SSD compatibility issue...

Any idea on what the issue was before? I don't want to flash this bios and then have my SSD not work right?

EDIT/UPDATE: One more thing I noted when I booted into my BIOS settings for A09, the SATA interface is currently set to RAID mode. I imagine I will want to change that as the second hard drive I ordered just for storage which ISN'T an SSD. I don't want to RAID them together as RAID 0. They can just be seperate. Guess I'll take screenshots of my current BIOS settings as I don't know what A08 will change everything to.

 

Dell's "fix" for SSD compatibility was to downclock to SATA II. So A08 is the way to go. if its in RAID now its gonna need to be the same when you update the bios so the computer will boot into windows. It's a weird setting, but it doesn't actually RAID your drives.

 

omg... You have got to be kidding me.. when I removed the ssd with its bracket off from the bay 2, a small piece of tiny washer from beneath the screw fell off soo easily and is now hidden within the damned chasis!! NO!!!!

If I turn it on now, im sure I'll have a short and bye bye m17x r3...
Now I need to completely disassemble this laptop... This was not how I wanted my day to turn out..

Is there any detailed videos on how to get the black chasis part off beneath the laptop to see the whole mobo?? *cries*

EDIT/UPDATE: Okay... I got the damn washer finally out after strategically shifting my alienware from side to side and got it to slide out from underneath the black chasis cover... omg.. That was luck!

Now, do I really need that tiny little washer on the screw ? It won't stay on if I place it, it keeps falling off... I don't want it to fall inside the mobo again somewhere!

Well, I got it all reassembled again.. it booted up fine.. BIOS settings look proper. The SSD is in the middle bay instead of Bay 1/0.

In the BIOS it says my SSD in in Bay 2, tho its supposed to be bay 1? Cause 0 is the one thats not consistent with SATA 3?

Here is a CrystalDisk Mark test now with A08 and SSD in middle Bay 2(still shows it as SATA/300, but these rates are higher than my previous benchmarks I posted):

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1 x64 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

Sequential Read : 451.713 MB/s
Sequential Write : 400.679 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 297.062 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 392.105 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 14.041 MB/s [ 3428.0 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 45.938 MB/s [ 11215.5 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 292.673 MB/s [ 71453.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 146.766 MB/s [ 35831.6 IOPS]

Test : 1000 MB [C: 28.0% (130.8/466.7 GB)] (x5)
Date : 2012/04/19 12:37:06
OS : Windows 7 Home Premium Edition SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)

Compared to previous benchmark with A09:

 

You are now running SATA3...anything over 375 MB/S is SATA3

So all is good

 

Nice... ^_^

Nevertheless, I'm glad I didn't short it out.. i can't fathom the thought if I didn't recover the mini washer under the hood.. lol..

Now the only question that remains from me for now..(which got drowned in other replies and never answered)..

How can I get the cursor speed from the trackpad to how I specified it in the control panel?? Everytime I set it and then go to logoff or reboot, it reverts back to the default slow movement speed..

 

Have you tried changing it under the app in alieware command center? That might be part of the problem.

Btw, Congrats on the new SSD

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using tapatalk 2

 

The only settings within Alien Command Center that I can change for the touchpad is the pressure sensitivity and accidental contact, plus scroll speed for scrolling in general.. but NOTHING for actual mouse speed on screen.. >_<

 

well I tried to go into the mouse area in command center and got an error. Re installing some drivers to see if I can get them to work.

 

You know Ive never looked at my speeds. Do these look ok? Crucial M4 256GB

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

Sequential Read : 471.553 MB/s
Sequential Write : 268.590 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 391.012 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 259.531 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 19.992 MB/s [ 4880.8 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 53.904 MB/s [ 13160.2 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 192.067 MB/s [ 46891.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 226.351 MB/s [ 55261.6 IOPS]

Test : 1000 MB [C: 37.9% (90.4/238.4 GB)] (x5)
Date : 2012/04/19 23:55:11
OS : Windows 7 Home Premium Edition SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)

 

Hi all,

I just received my M17xR3 last night (first ever alienware! hooray!)...

Here are the specs:

i7-2760QM Processor (2.4GHz)
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM(4x4GB)
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6990M
750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive

I'm a bit of a noob so you'll have to forgive me if I ask ignorant questions =)

1.) I tried updating the video card driver from the AMD support site but I got the message "AMD Catalyst Mobility cannot be downloaded due to incompatible hardware/software" I looked through a couple of threads but I wasn't clear on how I go about doing this. (sorry)

2.) Do I need to flash my bios? not sure what BIOS I have since I am at work.. I can check later if needed

3.) Any tips on what I need to install/check out of the box?

 

What video player do you guys generally use for viewing XviD, x264 encoded movies?? I used to always use CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack) + Media Player Classic HD Cinema.

However, I installed it and received some error about Direct3D not being up to date.. Videos play, however.. they all look very fuzzy pixelated in fullscreen mode, compared to my other alienware desktop that also runs at 1920x1080 rez tho its 32-bit windows..

I'm compared the same videos on both, and the vids look horrible on my m17x r3..

EDIT/UPDATE: Hmm, my videos look better/crisper on Windows Media Player(default player included with Windows 7)..

 

I personally use VLC... everyone I know uses VLC actually =p

 

I used VLC for many years.. until matroska came out with more stylized subtitles for animes(which it wouldn't display properly)..

 

Hey guys. For those of you who have SSD as main drive, how much did Windows 7 rate your primary disk?

I currently have 750GB 7200rpm HD and it's only rated by Windows 7 at 5.9. I know upgrading to SSD will increase the rating since the rating for HD is determined by speed. And also what SSD are you guys using?

 

Crucial M4, 7.9

 

7.8 (before I downgraded bios to run at Sata III speed. Haven't tested since)

 

All magnetic drives get a maximum rating of 5.9 in Windows 7.

 

Wow! Thanks guys. I guess I'll order the Crucial M4 in my cart then Thanks.

 

First off congratz on the new toy!

Download the full package instead of the amd download manager.

http://www2.ati.com/drivers/mobile/12-3_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc.exe

 

Do you guys normally get the extended warranty for your SSD? I am looking at Crucial M4 128GB from Newegg.

 

IMO its not necessary since it already has 3 years covered.

 

it already comes with a 3 yr warranty...how much more do you need lol...your laptop won't last that long

EDIT: damn, Long beat me to it lol

 

Oh ok. I guess I misread the limited warranty offered by Newegg. I thought I only have 30 days but I guess its for the return policy only. I will check the 3 yrs again.

Thanks again guys! You're the best!

Edit: Found it. I should have looked in Crucial's site

Another question, do I need to buy the one that has the 3.5" adapter bracket that comes with it? Sorry for the noob questions guys.

 

You don't need the bracket as you are installing it into a small 2.5" SSD caddy bay.. Just need the drive itself.

Also, my SSD transfer speed at SATA2 was rated 7.7 per Windows Experience, now that I downgraded the BIOS to A08 and have it running as SATA3, its rated at 7.9 now in Windows Experience. Yay!

 

That's nice. Thanks. I ordered and hope to get it soon.

 

Should be easy to install and nice choice of SSD.

Glad to see its working great for you.

 

Ok. Got an issue. For some reason my laptop no longer sees my integrated graphics card. It only sees and is using the geforce 560gtx now.

I just had a tech come out and install my new old screen because of the gap issue I had. Yes, "new old" because the new one came cracked and he realized the gap issue was solvable, so we used my old screen and new bezel, which I had no problem with. He had initially plugged it up into the 3D screen port at first and the screen was all white. I mentioned to him about the 3D port, so he saw there was another port next to it and plugged it into there instead. Could him plugging it into the 3D port for one boot up, somehow have disabled my integrated card, even though I'm now plugged into the correct one?

How do I fix this? I honestly wouldn't care if I didn't use the WiDi feature every now and then.

Thanks for any help.

 

So I just got a refurbished M17x R3 last week for only $1200. I'm loving it so far. Upgraded from a M15x R1. Much faster!

Specs:
i7 2670 QM 2.2GHz
nVidia GTX 560m
8GB Corsair DDR3-1600
2x500GB Seagate 7200rpm drives

Been running folding@home on it, usually averaging 20k ppd

 

Just thinking about this. Are you sure it is now in the correct port? I believe the 3d port simply bypasses the integrated chip so I'm wondering if for some reason during the rebuild your integrated graphics went bust n now you are using the other one? Not sure of all the technicalities around these ports so just a guess.

 

I'm honeslty not sure. I would think you couldn't use the 3D port with a regular 60hz screen and that is why we were getting the white screen. I may go ahead and take it apart this weekend and check out the two ports myself and also take a look at a m17x r3 tear down and see which port she was using in the video so I know If the left or right port is correct.

 

Just a shot in the dark. I was reading a thread recently about a guy wanting to replace his 60hz with a 120 and was told he would need a different cable. I assumed the connector was different but if it fits either then maybe the 60hz will work in the 3d but without integrated. But like I said, I don't know enough, just like trying to figure these things out . Good luck!

 

Thank you!!

 

I just assumed it wouldn't be that easy to disable that whole Optimus feature since I see some complain about it. I would have thought the 3D port would be a different connector so that you couldn't accidentally use the wrong one. Maybe we found an easy way to disable Optimus after all without flashing the bios. lol

I'm going to pull the battery and hold the power button down for 30 seconds and see if that resets the bios.

 

Post deleted.
Moved/cut/paste to other thread.

 

That might do it.

I did manage to brick my BIOS by some combination of settings when I thought I had a problem with the IG. That is when I was told that the 120hz screen is physically not connected to the IG so no chance of optimus issues.

I had laready prepared a USB witgh a copy of the BIOS on it and did the eSata port recovery

 

glad to see you got it fixed.

 

Is there any Canadian Dell outlet stores for refurbished Alienware m17x r3's?? (Cannot find a refurbished models page on their website, other than USA) I'm thinking of getting one for my brother too, but not at the full price I paid..

I'm willing to go a little lower spec'd for my bro with the opportunity to upgrade in mind. Thanks!

 

Thanks!

That multiple beeps and no post is a real sick feeling of 'oh no, I screwed it!'. Thanks to the stickies here for a quick recovery...

I'm told this is it DFSDirect.ca but no alienware at the mo...

 

So eBay it is?? I don't like buying from there unless its a 100% trust-able seller

 

I have a weird little problem I experience after a while of Windows 7 running on my m17x r3.. Not that the computer is slower, but at the start there is no lag when I right-click on my desktop or any icon to get the context menu to pop up quickly, its instantaneous.

However, after a while of having a few apps open and having played a game or whatever.. I close everything again.. and then When I go to right-click anywhere on my desktop, there is like a 1 1/2 second delay before a context menu will open.. I even see the little blue wheel icon spinning, even when right-clicking desktop icons..

Almost seems like explorer starts to lag some.. I hope this isn't turning into a major problem down the road..

To fix this issue, I keep rebooting my system, and then everything works almost instantaneous since im using an SSD at SATA3.

I also checked the resource monitor for any memory hogs, or cpu time being used up. There is no increased activity when it lags like this.

Its just disappointing to see this, since my older Alienware desktop which is an old Core 2 Duo with only 4GB of Ram and windows 7 32-bit is faster in explorer and navigating menus than my new m17x r3...

And I leave my Alienware 51 desktop on all the time, barely EVER having to reboot. And explorer is always fast and responsive to my mouse clicks for context menus.

 

For some of you guys who play graphic intensive games on your R3, how can you last long when the palm rest on the left of the track pad is heating up? My left hand, the one that I normally used for directions (WASD) feels like its slowly being cooked

The exact place just under the Ctrl, Fn and Window keys on left of the pad is where the other storage drive is located right? Is that heat coming from the drive?

I know the CPU is a bit further up so it must be from the drive. Anyone experiencing this?

 

I just purchased the m17x r4 with the 7970, its the first computer i have had with an amd/ati card. i got the second configuration with the accidental damage and the back pack. Dell threw in tax free, free expedite shipping and a 5% cash back gift card all for $2009. Not Bad now to wait to Ivy in the next day and change the order.

 

Grats on the new system

 

Hopefully it doesnt take long to get to me. As much as I love the M14x the power of the M17x will allow me to play everything on high-ultra without a hiccup.

 

Did the motherboard change to a higher spec with the m17x r4's release?? Compared to m17x r3?

 

From what I have read, they upgraded the PCI from 3.0 to 3.1

 

So, is the m17x r3 a lesser system than m17x r4?

What I mean to say, should I have waited before buying my current m17xr3? Or does the m17xr3 have the same upgrade potential for components like the m17xr4?

Like will I be able to throw in the same higher spec videocards(GTX 665/675m), RAM up to 32GB and a Ivy Bridge CPU?

 

The R3 will accept the same GPUs and RAM. I will be putting a 7970M into my R3 and I can choose to have 32GB of RAM, but 8GB of 1866Mhz HyperX is more than enough for me.

A Sandy Bridge XM (2920XM or 2960XM) will beat all Ivy Bridge QMs, but will lose to the XM Ivy Bridge. BUT we don't know if the R4 will be able to change the multipliers in the 3920XM (meaning that if the Ivy Bridge XM stays at stock the Sandy Bridge XM will beat it because the multipliers can be changed, and overclocked well beyond the stock clocks of the Ivy)

Afaik the R3 will not take Ivy Bridge CPUs unless we get a BIOS update - that is very unlikely, but still possible. Is it a lesser system? God no.