*OFFICIAL* M17xR3 Owner's Lounge Thread - Part 1

C'mon, go easy on the kid. He is so far the only r3 owner that put actual gaming videos of 2d and 3d gameplay the same day he received it. Not everyone can be a good impromptu reviewer.

Personally I can do without unboxing videos, I want to see videos of function... not what it looks like coming out of a box. But thats just my opinion

 

Even now, on the eve of delivery, i still can't see a colour choice option. Just stealth black.

 

What are you talking about Mazzyrich? Did you order one and don't know what color you got? Or are you considering ordering and can't see an option to select a color.

 

200% I agree with you on that; he's reviews are goo enough.

 

Hey;

 

Click on 'Accessorise my Dell'

Receive colour nirvana.

 

Most likely yes. The screen sizes are generally the same physically it's the pixel dimensions that change. I've upgraded screens in a few dells previously.

 

Thanks for that. And that was my original hope, that the screen sizes were physically the same size, the only difference being the 16:10 as opposed to the 16:9. I may give it a shot. If it works, I'll make a video.

 

This has been covered before, the M17x r2 display is 17" and the r3 is 17.3". Plus a 16:10 screen by definition has more vertical space than a 16:9, so they have to be different sizes.

 

+1 rep for not capping on the poor guy. At least he put up a video of SC2, which I heartily enjoyed and found useful, even though I didn't order the 3D package. At least now I know that the r3 will destroy SC2

Also, for folks who haven't seen it yet. I started another thread strictly for 460M (3d or non-3d okay) users. Let's move all things concerning the 460M setup over there, for convenience/neatness. Thanks!

 

That power supply is ginormous.

Is that where AW saved weight with R3?

How much does that thing weigh?

 

Yeah can see it on US store but not on UK. Was just a wondering really as I ordered in black anyway...just found it strange.

 

Is it easy enough to upgrade the processor in this machine?

 

Should be as easy as it is on the m15x. which is easy enough for me, when I had no prior knowledge of computers pretty much. Just read the manual and watch the disassembly videos and you should be set.

 

Yep, Mandrake make a video on how to replace the GPU

YouTube - Alienware M17xR3 - GPU replacement(1/2)

The CPU heatsink is right beside the one he removes, very easy to do.

 

Thanks guys. Should really of ordered a different one than the 2630 but it's a bit of a test really as it's my first venture into a gaming laptop/pc so didn't want to get a better processor if I wasn't going to make use of it

 

The 2630 exceeds every prior high end extreme i7 at stock settings.

 

As I have ordered the standard package other than 3d set up and blu ray would you say that if I was to need to upgrade it would be component changes rather that new computer. I'm not greedy in what I expect of the computer and probably have no right having this laptop given that everyone here seems to know what they're talking about.

 

So im having an issue and i was wondering if anyone else is or if anyone knows a fix......i have the r3, 480, blah, blah....
when a boot the system all is well. but after a few minutes i cant browse anymore...to be specific anything like explorer or my computer or even folders on the desktop will not open....i can use programs from the start menu and use internet explorer, but anything that tries to browes the folders fails?????????? im guessing its some process that has the whole deal all hung up but i have not guesses.....i didnt do a full wipe when i got it (although i will if i cant fix this) i have installed a few games office 2010, norton 2010 itunes, winzip...jsut the standard crap. anyone have any ideas? i know it might be anything, but im hoping someone has an answer.

 

Is it Norton trying to scan everything before accessing or opening. You could try messing with your Norton settings. I quit using both McAfee and Norton for that reason and now use BitDefender Internet Suite and Malwarebytes (both paid versions) and have never again had anything hang on me.

 

Not sure. Before you wipe it or just reinstall windows try deleting norton. Bad experience similar in distant past.

 

First, everyone deserves what they have...we all were novices once and all bought our first gaming computer at some point in time...mine was called an Atari 2600 , then a Commodore 64 , etc. Took me till the age of 50 to own my first Alienware laptop!

In the future, you should be able to update the processor easily enough up to the 8620 at this point. Remains to be seen if BIOS supports higher. Same with next level video cards (GTX 485). BIOS has to support it. If history is any indicator, it will, just down the road a bit.

 

So how will my 2720 do? Is it overkill (i.e. waste of cash)? Or am I good for "future-proofing"?

This is funny post. Anywhoo, so is the R3 just like a desktop, in that we can upgrade this n that, and nothing soldered?

 

I doubt it. I've never upgraded a laptop, but have read many folks here that have. Pretty sure it's more complicated than desktop, but very doable. Seems there is paste and stuff that you never need when upgrading a desktop.

 

Based on Mandrake's videos it looks like the R3 is put together very similar to the M15x which was VERY easy to work on. I don't think it's any more complicated than working on a desktop. As others have mentioned though anytime you remove the heatsink from a CPU/GPU it's a good idea to replace at the very least the thermal paste and ideally the pads as well. I ordered mine from frozencpu.com and they have a little bit of everything available. The 4 pastes I recommend are: OCZ Freeze, MX-4, TX-4, or Shin-Etsu G751. As for pads I've never used anything but Fujupoly premium pads(various thickness) and had nothing but good results from them.

 

You will not be able to upgrade a 17.3" 16:9 screen with a 1600x900 to a 17" 16:10 screen with a 1920x1200.

The best you could upgrade to is a 17.3" 16:9 1920x1080 screen.


A 17.3" 16:9 screen is ~15" wide x 8.5" high.

A 17" 16:10 screen is ~14.4" wide x 9" high.


The screens are NOT physically the same size. Aspect ratios change screen sizes, resolutions do not.

 

Don't ever discount the ability or lengths one would go to to make something happen.

 

Someone without the understanding of simple geometry doesn't have the skill-set to make it happen.

Someone with the skill-set, understands that the simple geometry involved means that it won't happen.

 

So a few things:
can anyone verify for me that the R3 comes with the OS disk...im away from home for a few days and tech support swears that it does...i never opened any of the disk packages , so i cant remember. If i have to do a fresh install, i want to be sure the disks are waiting at home for me.

Next, i waited for the problem to happen again (it doesnt take long) and i reviewed process manager.

i saw two explorer.exe processes. one of them had used 0 CPU time so i killed that one and BOOM, every window i had tried to open popped open all at once. so it is defenetly explorer holding up the processes. i also verified that while i am having the problem, i can browse in dos with no issues. so it is defenetly a windows explorer thing.......anyone seen this? im going to jsut clean install windows install later this week after i get home if i cant figure this out....

on that note, i have a raid0 configured... the dell tech SWEARS that i dont need a raid driver to reinstall windows...hmmmm that is contrary to my past experiences...anyone have any comments on that...i cant seem to find a raid driver on the web site so......

on the bright side killing the faulting explorer.exe process should get me through the next few days while im on the road.

 

Probably won't come with an OS disk, most likely a reinstall disk with all the AW/Dell stuff included if anything. If you want to do a clean install/full wipe type of an install I'd recommend sourcing the version of Windows you ordered from somewhere else and then use the COA from the bottom of the computer.

 

According to my wife, i have a windows 7 disk and a resource disk ..whooo hoo. i dont think it is the respawn disk, i think its the real deal. i will find out on tuesday night when i get home cuz this not being able to open my explorer is getting old

 

Download another browser for now?

 

That would be freakin awesome if they're coming with full OS disks without having to pay again, I remember a my R1 having an OS disk but since then Dell/AW systems I've had have never come with one

 

not iexplorer.exe (internet explorer) explorer (windows explorer, think my computer)

i am trouble shooting still and think it may be related to AlienGUIse....i will let you all know what i find...

Are there any knowns issue out there? this is my first alienware, so i dont want to trouble shooting a known issue.

 

Both my R2's came with both a OS and a resource disk

 

ohh to add to all of the confusion....i enter my service tag on the alienware drivers site and download my video card drivers. it has 465 in the name of the file lol. Dell is so confused about the video card on the r3

 

Dell is confused on a little of everything, maybe a lot My R2 only came with AlienSpawn on the HDD and resource disks but never a OS only disk in the middle of 2010.

 

AlienGUIse is buggy. When I installed AutoCad any time I tried to run autocad I had lockups, and explorer restarts. The window sizing for autocad always seemed to cut off parts of the program. So I changed my settings in the control panel to display at 100%, instead of the 125% that I was using. This seemed to make it a bit more stable.....but it would still mess up from time to time, so I uninstalled AlienGUIse and this cleared up all my issues. However I haven't noticed any other issues with AlienGUIse.

Hope this helps...

 

ok...another oddity....i am noticing that sometimes my recovery partition is visable and sometimes its not???? in disk managament it does not have a drive letter but in explorer it shows up as the y:\? wth...

 

Why hasnt anyone who's already received their units commented on whether the OS disk is included or not? *Hint hint*

 

my wife says i have the disk sitting at home...i will be using it tuesday

 

So it came with the R3 for sure??

 

my wife read the title of the disk for me over the phone....im as sure as i can be without being at home

but on the bright side, since i messed around with alienguise, i havent had the explorer.exe issue. i will keep you all posted. it would be nice to not have to reinstall over that.

 

Say, what is AlienGUIse anyway? I clicked it during configuration since it was a free option. Is it that program that lets you customize the colors n stuff for the lights? And if yes, what else does it do besides the lighting?

 

Hey guys sorry if someone already asked this, but just out of curiosity, does anyone know why there is conflicting information on the m17r3 product details page and customization page?

Left is product details page and the right side is from the actual page before you buy. Both are from Dell/Alienware website. The most important changes are the processor and graphic card options. I wanted a 485m but was disappointed when I actually customized ;_;



There are also a lot more options in ram and display in the product details page, but are not options when customizing ;_;

edit: I would post the link but for some reason when I test the link it keeps redirecting to the customization page. Let me find a work around hold on ;D

Here is the link, but it still keeps redirecting me. Should I just make .pdf of the page?
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/alienware-m17x-r3?c=us&l=en

 

nope, it is the program that lets you add a "skin" over the way windows looks. for example my "start" button is an alien head, etc.

look for a program under dell folder called "my colors" if you have it installed. but perhaps you shouldnt lol, im not the only one who has had issues with it....

 

This has been discussed many times, and has been beaten to death on the forum. That page has also already been posted. No one knows for sure if the 485m will ever be available on the r3, and when that could happen. Anything to the contrary is purely speculation. The search feature on the forum is great, it can provide you with an answer to your question before posting .

 

Hopefully based on this the 485M will be supported out of the box

 

Off topic but i always wondered if the search feature has ever worked for anyone. Because ive been using this site on and off for 3-5 years and have never got anything out of searches.

 

Haha, now that you say it, I tend to have better luck with doing a NBR specific google search compared to the forum-based search.