*OFFICIAL* M17xR3 Owner's Lounge Thread - Part 2

Thanks. I was reading too much into the kunekaden telling ruderthanyou to put his Vertex 3 into port 1.

 

Both are supposed to be sata3 ports, but according to numerous users, BIOS only allows sata3 (6gb/s) if the device is plugged into port 1.
I wouldn't know as I do not use any sata3 devices, just passing along what I have read.

 

If you install in AHCI then can only boot if RAID, something's going wrong with the install (like something is telling it to use the RAID controller instead of AHCI controller). I'd try again with no SP1.

Anyway, I'm not surprised. OCZ gen2 drives have extreme compatibility problems with the HM67 chipset. I was curious to see if these problems carried forward to gen 3.

 

How could I test for that to see if it is set to run at 6gbps?

 

At the end of the day, I did get it to work in RAID (not sure how reliable it is yet though). But what really bugged me is not getting it to work in the 6Gbps mode; didn't even think about moving it to port 1.

For me it was obvious after running CrystalDiskMark, but I installed RST 10.1 just to be sure. Don't know if you can verify it another way.

 

Hey guys,
I'm using a crucial c300 SATA III SSD and I have it in RAID mode (and my secondary drive is the stock 320 GB HDD) and installed Windows on that. Should I reinstall everything with settings on AHCI or is there no difference? I'm getting lower numbers almost everywhere than what other people have been getting and was wondering if it could be because my pc is set to Raid despite the drives not being identical (as opposed to AHCI). What are your opinions?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/564395-ssd-issues.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/564395-ssd-issues-2.html#post7291404

 

Thank you. So it seems what I need to do is switch the drives?

 

According to that guy's experience, yes.

 

Thanks for the info kunekaden. I've got my Vertex 3 running at 6Gbps on port 1. Still had to start the install on AHCI and switch to RAID after first reboot, but looks like things are working so far; even waking from sleep is working.

Too lazy to try install w/o SP1 to see if I can figure out AHCI problem.

Again thanks for the tip.

 

so I dropped by a local hardware/geek store on lunch today to pick up some mx-4 in anticipation of getting my replacement r3

Decided to browse their laptop ram, and what do I see?
2x 8gb Kingston set of DDR3 1066 so-dimms ( CL 7 ) for a surprisingly reasonable price - roughly triple what I paid for a 2x4gb set of hyperx

I know they're still quite rare at this point in time, so if anyone needs/wants (okay, no one NEEDS them) 8gb dimms I'll be happy to ship them out.

And yes, the m17x-r3 DOES support 32gb ram - even though the specs say otherwise. How do I know? Head geek at the store just happened to be the owner of an r3, so we tried it out!

 

I placed my R3 order on the 14th. I logged in today to see the laptop has shipped, with an EDD of 1/1/2070.

I'll let you guys know what I think of the system if I'm still alive when it arrives.

...

But seriously, there's nothing quite like the feeling of waiting for a new gaming laptop to arrive. I can't wait to bench on it a little bit, fire up Rift and watch it decimate that game like a joke.

I could only pull 30fps on medium settings on my Envy, this is gonna be such a nice experience.

 

Hey quick question.
What do you guys from Canada do in order to purchase the m17x r3 with the 6970m? Do I call dell and ask for a U.S. sales rep? Won't they be like why do you need a U.S. rep if your shipment needs to go to Canada?

Also could anyone PM me a coupon code that could take 100-200$ off the price?

Thanks =]

 

Call in and ask to purchase an m17x-r3. When they start asking if you want this or that, just say "Hey, I want this CPU, this screen....and an AMD HD 6970M." There should be no problem as they can add it to your order manually. I'll pm you a sales rep extension that gives nice discounts almost without question.

 

Hey kune, i would be getting my replacement r3 tom. How about yours?

 

I hope at the time of posting, tomorrow = Thursday or you live in a primarily non-Christian country (isn't Friday of this week a holiday in most countries?)

Mine's still showing "In Production", so your guess is unfortunately as good as mine at this point.

 

Like the others say order by telephone and tell the sales rep that another rep was able to configure the 6970M manually. I am from Canada and I am getting it.

As for the 100-200$ off no such luck there is one for 50$ off somewhere on the forums. To get more you will have to haggle.

 

When I spoke with a Rep from India last night he said the M17x R3 is built in the USA is that true?

 

No. It is built in China according to every Dell employee I have asked and the "Made in China" engraved on the bottom cover of every r3
Most likely in a Compal facility I would imagine.

 

That is what I thought. When I asked once it is finished being built in China in 48-72 hours it should be shipped? He said no no its built in the USA. Guess you always have to take what they say with a grain of salt.

 

It is boxed and packaged in the USA (cds, manual, hat, sticker) and then shipped.

 

That does make sense. I am wondering if mine is in China or the USA right now because he said it is in the final stages of production and should be complete with 48-72 hours last night. Here's hoping its in the USA being boxed!

 

Its still in China, when it ships from the production facility in China you will get a tracking number and can track it. Count on a day or 2 for customs entering the US.

 

On newegg there is a non XMP DDR3-1600 8GB HyperX kit. Think this will run at 1600 properly on the R3? (and upcoming M18x). Or do you think the XMP profile is needed for operating at that high of a speed?

 

From what I read here, the R3 users had to use the XMP profile to make them run @1600Mhz for the 2620 which (from its data sheet) supports frequencies only up to 1333.
My guess is that they are being read at that speed but limited by the CPU(2620qm) ?!

Maybe DaneGRClose can refresh my memory as he tried my sticks with his R3

 

If you have the Intel Core i7 2720 or the 2820 you can run the HyperX at 1600Mhz. If you only have the 2620 it will only run at 1333.

 

I had the Dell tech come out 2 times. The first time he replaced my motherboard because the intel chip issue. After that I noticed the control panel was slightly bowed and the tech came back out to fix it but Dell sent hime a new keyboard instead. Turns out the bezel is held in place by 5 screws that are screwed into brass anchors and those anchors became detached from the bezel. I am now waiting for a new bezel/control panel.
I guess that is what it is called

 

Has anyone sent their M17xR3 to the Dell Repair Depot? Dell wanted me to send it in for repairs because I have called so many times. They sent me a box and label but I am affraid that they will mess something else up. I have read some horror stories of other people sending in their systems to the repair depot.

 

this?

Those both have the same Kingston product code, so I wonder if they're really any different. Newegg seems to forget to enter info (like supports xmp) all the time.

Kingston's site doesn't list a non-xmp version, either

They'll probably just jack the price on one or the other to boost profit.

 

They are actually different kits, look at the kingston part numbers, one ends in X the other does not. X denotes XMP

Kingston is normally a long ways behind on their own website compared to what they are offering in retail, that was the case for my current ram as well.

 

Does anyone know if the R3's HDD is running on SATA 3? I went with the 750GB.

 

oh wow I didn't even notice the x
Good eye!

The only way to get 1600mhz with less than a 2720QM is via XMP.

 

So the higher end ones can run it without using XMP? Is that speculation or has it been done?

And the HDD slots should both be Sata 3 although it is completely irrelevant with any magnetic disk on the market right now.

 

memory controller on 2720, 2820, and 2920 all natively support ram @1600 according to ark.intel - no speculation required.

 

Guys I' having a real problem with my wireless on my machine, all other computers in the house are fine. but I have the 6300 best wireless setup, and every 10 sec or so in game I jump to about 1200 ping, and cant move for about 3-4 seconds... so I usually die, its not good, any ideas on wireless disruption issues with this machine?

 

Try getting a program that prioritizes your IP stack. There is a FireFox plugin that does this well (same way that the Killer BareFoot NICs work)

 

Then it just is just an issue of BIOS support.

 

Considering bios has the option to manually set control to 1600, I don't see that it would be a problem.

 

Did not know that. Very interesting!

Now I have to figure out which one I want for my future M18x....

 

Here's some shots of a few of the options

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/taruku/IMG_1521.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/taruku/IMG_1522.jpg


Also, setting DIMM profile to "Custom" opens up the full timing tables with any RAM

 

^^
This is how Dane managed to get them recognized @1600 with the 2620.

 

Received my R3 today at work!!!:wub:

Can't tell you what an awesome feeling this was today. I really love the machine and quite honestly, prefer the build quality of the R3 to the R2. I know that sounds bizarre since anodized aluminum is so sexy, but this laptop is so much lighter and so much more comfortable to hold and use off a desk.

The trackpad and mouse buttons are also greatly improved, and the keyboard also feels a bit better. I'm really loving this machine. The only negative for me is the screen which just does NOT compare whatsoever to the RGB of the R2. I will miss it dearly.

 

How necessary do you guys think it is to do any kind of cooling modification to the R3? I'm noticing 60-ish* C idle temperatures, which has me somewhat uneasy.

I don't think I have the confidence to do a teardown and paste mod, but I have a buddy who's a computer engineer who I know could do it quite easily for me. Do you think it's absolutely necessary? I get really nervous at the thought of opening my brand new baby up.

 

I live in Cali, and I'm not afraid of temps. Gaming has only gotten me a peak of 76C or something (SC2 on ultra).

 

Any word on the official disassembly guides being out?

 

Same here. While playing Borderlands on the highest settings, my temps never exceed 76C.

 

Just use the one on Youtube - it does the trick!

 

Alright will do, thanks!

 

I have not seen greater than 65c and that was playing crysis 2 on 3D, no issues at all, never heard the fans come on.

 

My g73 idles at around 62 celcius. its totally safe.