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

Anyone notice the latest promo emails from Alienware showing the M17x R3 picture but describing an M15x? They are incredibly ignorant of their own products in marketing it seems haha

 

Could you PM me once you do? Thx

 

I disagree, pictures are a perfectly legit request...how do they know (and dont get me wrong, I am not saying you are) you are not lyeing. Do you honestly expect to be able to say, hey its broke, give me aneother without ANY proof ?

 

Dell would send an RMA to return the product and inspect it to confirm faulty nature and send a replacment or refund. "The customer is always right" may no longer be the custom in business but shoot first and ask questions later is unacceptable.

 

Eh...ok whatever, we disagree....

 

I thought R3 was pulled using MY LINK i am still able to order the R3 and add to my cart...no way i am checking out since i have no use for it and EDD is 2/22 but never the less someone else might find it useful

Edit: Link is now dead hope all who wanted a R3 were able to order in time =(

 

lets move the discussion related to the SB issue and Dell's response here -
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...sandy-bridge-issue-what-does-mean-m17xr3.html

thanks.

 

Blast. This makes too much sense. I wonder why Dell keeps saying the screen is 17.3"?...oh well. Hmmm. Back to 1080p. I'd prefer to upgrade it myself without sending it back to Dell...need to get my hands dirty. I can't find any m17x R3 1080p screens as of yet, of course...are any XPS 17.3" screens compatible in the m17x as long as they're LED?

 

17.3 is the diagonal measurement, lower left to upper right (or upper left to lower right)...

 

M17xR3 in hands More to come later tonight...

 

congrats, and look forward to the review!

 

+1! Lots of pics too plz! Specs?

 

congrats, and look forward to the review, .
try metro 2033 maxout

 

BAH. Where's my lappy :'(

 

oh boy, you're making me feel as excited as you probably are xD
im looking forward to your review as i patiently wait for my r3

 

Ok guys got everything installed on my SSD now, I can confirm that my Samsung SSD has absolutely no issues with the Intel RST drivers I'm gonna get ahold of a mod tonight or tomorrow to see if they want me to post a seperate review thread or how they want me to take care of it. I won't be throwing it up tonight but expect a full review from me tomorrow night.

 

Of course Dane... look forward to it. Have fun!

-Dont forget, we still need a couple of threads (although it might be better to wait until the SB issue blows over and is resolved)

EXAMPLES:

1. M17xR3 Overclocking Guide
2. M17xR3 3D Discussion & Tips Thread
3. M17xR3 Tweaks Guide

 

Sounds good Batboy, thanks for the quick response! Man I didn't even have to contact you this time! I'll be sure to do a full review including pics, benchmarks, HDD replacement, paste/pads replacement with results, etc. If anyone has any specific requests on something they'd like to see shoot me a PM, don't post it here as there's no need to clog the thread Will also be looking into fixing the keyboard flex and probably some tweaks and overclocking later this week. Good thing I'm at the tail end of being sick and not the start lol.

 

DaneGR- Look forward to your take on the R3. This thread has been very helpful to all. Thanks

 

I know I saw one of you guys say you were having trouble playing Blu-Rays on your R3. I am having the same problem it just refuses to play them for some reason, did you find a fix?
Thanks

 

update on chipset issue
source: Re: Intel recall, I7 Gen 2 chipset - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community

* For customers whose order has been received, we are offering two options:
1. Customers can contact Dell within the applicable return period and arrange for a full refund and return shipment of the product
2. Customers may continue using their systems. Once new production material is available from Intel, we will be working with customers to determine the replacement steps for their motherboards if they choose to keep their system

For any customer that has experienced a service event on their system, the two points above still apply.

When will new inventory be available that does not contain this issue? Intel expects to begin initial deliveries of the updated chipsets in late February and expects full volume recovery in April.

nice to know that dell is covering those who have already received their systems, and there is no need to return the products. hopefully they will be able to send engineers down to replace the mobo.

 

post#1 has been updated, please keep this discussion confined to this thread so we aren't crossposting - thanks.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...sandy-bridge-issue-what-does-mean-m17xr3.html

 

A fairly comprehensive R3 review here:

Alienware M17x R3 - 3D Vision Gaming Laptop Review - Introduction

(sorry if this has already been listed)

 

I always enjoy the reviews from Hardware Heaven.

 

I won't see you for about 5 days straight, but I am so excited for your review!

 

I need a girlfriend with the same attitude!

Lucky.......

 

Wife, you need a wife with the same attitude! The 3D on the R3 is awesome! I couldn't believe it! I have astigmatism and I can see it just fine without getting sick or anything.

 

Well, girlfriend of 4 years so far. Working on the wife conversion

I am excited hearing all the positive attitude towards the 3D. I had written it off as a gimmick but may have to go and get a new receiver and gpu for my htpc to do 3D on my 60" TV haha

 

Just got my R3 today and when I first booted it brought me to the screen saying it was not shutdown correctly and gives me options with the question do I want to start windows normally. Got into Windows and things were going good then about 1 min after windows loaded the system froze, both mouse and keyboard didn't work. Rebooted, and same thing.
Called Alienware for tech support and I get an operator that tells me Alienware tech support is not available at this time and I'll need to call back tomorrow. Is this a Joke??? Alienware tech support should be put on the terrorist watch list as this is the worst kind of torture.

Any idea's besides tech support?

 

Geeeze!? Bummer man.. try this.

Shutdown. Pull Battery out. Unplug.

Then hold down the power button for 20 secs. Put battery back + plug, and boot it back up.

This my friend, will be your secret weapon, and is the first thing you should do when you have awkward things going on with your laptop.

Ahhh the power of the Bios Reset/Power Drain

Hope this helps.

 

I canceled my order today. Won't be getting an r3 anytime soon.

 

I canceled my order as well.The whole keyboard thing turned me off. Going with the Sager NP8170 instead.

 

Safe mode?

 

Guys you're freaking out over nothing, if you look at my initial response to the keyboard flex you'll see that I too was a little bugged out by it. I can guarantee you the keyboard flex is nowhere near as bad as it looks, it does not in any way affect daily typing. As Mandrake stated you have to push pretty hard to get it to move maybe 1-2mm if that.

Did you call the Alienware support line directly and choose the tech support option or did you contact them on the Dell line and a Dell operator told you that?

I've still kind of confused about the whole 3D thing, I've watched 3D on a tv before and it's ridiculously gimicky, but gaming in 3D on this laptop is awesome. I will warn you that it took me a few minutes to get used to what I was looking at, at first I thought nothing was different but once I adjusted my eyes and started to focus a bit better it was cool. I also had the idea set that the 3D was the gimicky coming out of the screen type of a look, this in most images/games is different it's more of a "looking through a window" depth beyond the initial plain type of a 3D.

 

Got mine in today with a 2 issues:

1. ordered, paid for, and did not receive the 3D package - any part of it.
2. no SD card place holder

Optimus does not seem to be doing very much for my battery. I'm maxing out at 3 hours in balanced mode (according to windows battery).
I will not be sending the unit back as I've required a replacement laptop for around 2 months now. Borrowing from others is not enjoyable. I wonder what dell/alienware will tell me.

EDIT: Regarding keyboard flex - it is 100% not an issue. Mandrake must be pretty strong, because I'm 6'3" 205lbs and can't flex my keyboard half as much as he can! Can't notice the flex at all unless I completely lay into the thing.
EDIT2: Just rewatched the video and can say with 100% certainty that my keyboard does not flex anywhere near as much as his.

 

That sucks about the 3D package, i'm sure dell will send it to you free of charge. you can get a replacement mobo anytime within your warranty, they will most likely just send a tech over to you house. As for the flex, yeah from what I've seen and heard mandrake has the worst flex, not to mention he's a professional photographer so that may have made it look worse lol

 

I don't know if it's really a strength or size issue kunekaden, I think it's probably just the angle or some sort of an illusion, maybe it's the nicer cameras he's using as mine doesn't flex nearly that much either. The best way I can describe the keyboard is it kind of "floats" it's not as stiff as some computers I've had but in no way does it flex as much as the video Drake shot of it makes it look like. I'd call and complain about the 3D package situation, I'd raise absolute kain, and push for parts otherwise you may have to wait until after the chipset fiasco to get one

 

I'll call in and speak with the reps, but from what the nvidia architect posted, I highly doubt a sub-contracted tech will be able to install a 3D screen.

 

It shouldn't be any more complicated than a standard screen, Mandrake posted that he had seen himself that the screen wasn't wired straight to the gpu so I'd imagine that it's just standard connectors like the R2. Either way they are supposed to be trained to do anything and everything required in replacing parts on a system.

 

Oh, ok. I was assuming it'd be directly soldered to the gpu.

So am I the first one posting here with optimus?
I just took at look at the AMD gpu thread, and that guy's discreet battery life is better than my optimus battery life (I haven't even had the discreet turn on even once yet - been busy).

Here's the thread I'm talking about

 

You do realise, that has the same SB chipset right ? and will be subject to the same wait.

 

NO luck with safe mode and no luck by removing battery+unplug+hold pw for 20sec and then reinstall battery and plug in.

Window will load but a "SYSTEM PREPARATION TOOL 3.14" program pops up first then the alienware them change and steam program but still responds to input for <1min then mouse and keyboard are unresponsive. Fan continues to run but that it.

 

Hopefully there are other options, but you can always just reinstall the OS. Before doing so, I'm sure someone here could give you a list of downloads to pick up and the order to install your drivers.

 

Have you tried just doing a reinstall with the discs provided? May have some sort of a corruption within the Windows install.

 

Check out the date on my HD Graphics 3000 driver


I wonder if I'll be able to update to the newer version ( http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19761&ProdId=3319&lang=eng ) when I do my SSD image tomorrow. I'll have to make an optimus inf, too ugh...

 

There is no optimus with 120hz panel.

 

Thanks bro.
I don't have a 120hz panel (that's what "...did not receive the 3D package" meant), which is why I was whining like a little girl in that post.

Look at my screen shot above. I obviously have optimus.

 

Oh haha...Didn't see that post. I thought you meant you didn't get the glasses with it

That sucks

Ask for a refund of $200 for the inconvenience

 

Stupid Dell csr didn't email me back with any news. What the hell is wrong with these people?

Also, anyone who ordered the 460M Optimus-capable setup receive theirs yet?

EDIT: Also, upon reading that dell page, it says someone's supposed to contact me about the issue. Noone has contacted me yet. Do you think there might be some kind of miscommunication error or something due to me ordering from AAFES?

 

Optimus battery life.
100% default values for power plan. Nothing overclocked.
2630, default 320gb hdd, 460m (obviously), 4gb default ram, AlienFX on, etc...

I'm not sure what's up. This is lower than the AMD GPU battery life. That guy with AMD posted 5+ hours on IGP

EDIT: After dimming alienFX, while on battery


EDIT 2: same as above, with wireless turned off