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

lol u want a bloody disco laptop

next thing is ppl demaning a pop out discoball ;p

 

AlienFX + Winamp or WMP LOLZ. It's a trip

Back to seriousness:
Remember back in the day, I made a complaint about the "squishiness" of the side panels (where our ports and jacks, etc) are? Is there any way to make 'em (safely) stick to teh case? I'm pretty sure by now there's lots of dirt/dust in my machine cuz of the gaps.

 

How big a gap u have? I have a very very small gap that I can barely seen light out of

 

guys, better than i made a new thread, I think I will ask in here...

mine using R3. Does anyone have problem if you play a video with extension .flv, .mkv, .3gp if you're using IntelHD gpu ???

WMP or even codec media player looks terrible during played, unless I switch into my Ati GPU...

it's because the screen resolution ??

 

Well hello fellow alien owner's , of which I will be one soon

Just ordered


Alienware M17x Stealth Black
1
£1,473.90
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 2720QM (2.20Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
1
English Genuine Windows® 7 Professional (64 BIT)
1
1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M
1
8192MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x4096]
1
640GB (2x320GB) SATA Raid 0 "Stripe" (7,200rpm) Dual HDD
1
17.3" (44 cm) 120Hz w/ 3D Bundle WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
1
Blu-Ray ROM Combo (Blu-ray read only, DVD, CD read and write) Drive
1
Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 - EUR
1
Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Card - EUR
1
Primary 9 cell Li-Ion Default Base Battery
1
No Antivirus Software
1
1Yr Next Day Hardware Support included with your PC
1
1 year Accidental Damage Protection
1
N08W7V04
1
Alienware M17x R3 Order - UK
1
English Documentation
1
Alienware Resource DVD
1
240W AC Adaptor
1
Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
1
One free Dell Expert call to help with your PC queries within 60 days of purchase
1
1 year Next Business Day Hardware Support included with your PC
1
Generic Name Plate Engraving
1
No Carrying Case
1
AutoMatic updates - On
1
No speakers required
1
Integrated 3.0 Mega Pixel HD Camera
1
UK 2M 250V Power Cord
1
Terra Green
1
Alienware 3D Wallpaper
1
Alienhead Glow
1
Steam® Client and Portal™ Game - Factory Installed
1

 

The gaps are negligible. Maybe like less than 0.5mm? Well, equivalent to the thickness of a sheet of copy paper? It just feels unsafe that they have these gaps, and dirt and crap can get in. Should I be worried?

 

hey guys,

I have a very noobish question. I have been using XP system up until now, and received my r3 just two days ago and today when I installed programs on it everytime I lauch .exe file the screen flickers when popping up that small window asking you if you really want to go through with it. Its probably something that is build into W7, but since I was on XP its new to me, and I just want to confirm that its normal (better safe than sorry). If so is there any way to get rid of that, I just dont like it.

anyway here is a short video that I recorder to showcase the issue:

screen flickering - YouTube

thanks a bunch!

 

That is normal. You can turn off UAC (User Account Control) to bypass it. It was created to help people not get viruses, etc.

 

Yah, just keep it on. It's nice, cuz sometimes a program will try to install on your computer on its own (Java updates), and you get that nice window to tell you. Also, I like it, cuz if I dl a file from say, a forum, or something, I wanna see the company that made the file, cuz you can't really tell what setup.exe is, right?

 

Pretty long thread, so I'll ask directly. I'm curios about those of you with ATI cards, what are the max temps on the system?
And nvidia, for that matter, I'm curios how it handles the heat.

Thanks

 

thank you both guys!

 

Since i didn't get Killer n with my r3 anyone know how much of a boost is it when using killer n hopefully not alot anyone?

 

It does not make much of a difference.

 

Stock wireless card is fast enough. With timewarner cable, I can torrent files at 1.5mb/sec. Pretty damn fast if you ask me.

 

got a really weird and very annoying problem with my r3. Basically almost every single game I play has this issue. I'll be getting 60FPS (v-sync on), yet the game seems like its lagging/stuttering and when it drops to around 40fps its practically unplayable (like im getting 20fps or something). I have tried both the dell drivers and nvidia's latest (with a modded inf), done a fresh install, the video card and motherboard have been replaced (as the gpu died about a week ago) and this problem still persists. Anyone else experienced this or have any idea whats going on? Thanks

 

Dang, I wish lappies had that Lucid (or watever its called) chip that allows SLI/CF hybrid btw an ATI and a NV card lolz. That way I could possibly help ya. I feel bad that I cant

 

lol what card have you got in yours? I have the gtx 560m, games run without stutter on yours? one of my mates suggested it could possibly be my HDD, since I took it out of my previous laptop...

 

Check your power plan. Also if stealth mode still exists make sure it is off. Since you have Nvidia it could also be a problem with optimus, can you turn it off?

 

I've got it set to high performance and I did wonder if it had anything to do with the graphics switching as from what I understand, even when the nvidia card is rendering, it goes through the intel graphics to the display. however there doesnt seem to be a way to disable the intel graphics without a bios hack, disabling the intel graphics in device manager just results in a black screen

also probably wishful thinking, but seeing as the r3s that come with 3d dont use optimus, I wonder if inside the laptop theres another connection to hook the display up to the nvidia card, therby disabling the intel one, may have a look tomorrow.

 

For those of you who ordered with the 750gb hdd, is the drive 9.5mm thick or 12.5mm thick?

I have ordered with 750gb and when I get the lappy I will take out the 750gb and put an ssd and wd scorpio black 750gb instead.

So I am looking for an enclosure for the 750gb drive that will come in the m17x and thus I need to know the specifications.

Looking at this enclosure to be exact

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001XHBNN2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

I can confirm it's 9.5mm.

 

Thank you!

Is the performance of the drive as good as WD Scorpio Black? Or is the difference really big?

 

Wish I'd tested the stock drives, I have a Scorpio Black as my storage drive but don't really know how they compare.

 

If anyone has compared the stock to Scorpio Black let us all know please!

 

I would not expect a huge difference in the two drives

here is what is in my m17 shipped from dell

2x Seagate ST9750420AS

 

Does anybody know where I could find a color space diagram of 3D panel in the M17x R3? Or does anyone know to which the 3D panel covers sRGB color space? Also measurements for contrast and brightness would be interesting for me.

When I choose the 6990M does it still support switching to the IGP?

 

Yes, you will be able to use the iGP, in that case.
Only with the 3D panel you won't be able to switch to it as the iGP doesn't support 120Hz panels.
Sorry for not answering your first question but i don't have a M17x R3.

Cheers

 

Both the 1080p 60 Hz and 120 Hz panels have the same sRGB gamut coverage of 72%, per Dell's specs.

Dell - Help Me Choose: Display

Contrast is 500:1 for both. Brightness per spec is 400 nits for the 120 Hz display and 300 nits for the 60 Hz display. This is the only stated difference between the two other than refresh rate. The truelife/antiglare is BS/meaningless as far as I can tell. All the screens are extremely glossy with no discernable anti-glare properties.

You can't get the 6990M with the 3D panel. Dell only supports it with the nvidia cards. With those, as you know, optimus is disabled if you have the 120 Hz display since the chipset can't power it.

 

New m17x R3 owner here. Specs: i7-2820QM,FHD,GTX 580M,8GB Ram,750GB HDD, Killer Wireless-N.
Paid $1350 from the Dell outlet after coupon,deal was too good to pass ! Going to sell my m14x now.
This thing is a beast!!
I was surprised how "lap friendly" this thing is. Always assumed that you couldnt keep these laptops on your lap or carry them around easily but it's def not the case.
Only gets uncomfortable when playing games.
Problem I'm having since I got the laptop is I'm hearing a crackling noise fon the front left speaker when turning volume up, but dell is sending a technician (havent read m17x forum yet so I dont know if it's a known problem)

Very pleased with it so far!

 

wow that's a killer deal!
Congrats

 

I'm new to the M17x family and had a few questions. I ordered one with the base i7, 6870m, Blu-ray, 6GB of ram, and 900p screen when they had 25% off a little while back and got it all for a little over a grand after tax. The first thing I noticed was that the screen looks pretty decent. I was wondering why everyone said the 900p screen looks like crap. The screen looks 1000x better than the screen on my M11x. I soon realized that they actually gave me the 1080p screen instead of the 900p. So I'm very happy. On to my questions...

1. I can only change the screen brightness when using the integrated graphics. Is this normal? When I change the brightness and switch back to the 6870m, the brightness stays the same as well.

2. Am I able to turn off the alien head light on the back of the screen? I don't see an option in AlienFX. On my M11x, it uses the backlight from the lcd, so it turns off when the screen is off. I noticed with the M17x it stays on even when the screen is off.

3. When I push down on the media control buttons, it makes the panel flex down. Is that normal? I haven't opened it up yet to see if the panel isn't snapped in correctly yet.

4. My 1080p screen has a small particle of dust behind the edge to edge cover. If I have Dell replace the screen, do you think that they would force me to replace it with a 900p screen since that is what I was supposed to have? The dust isn't noticeable unless you are looking for it, so it doesn't bother me much, I'm just curious in case it gets worse or more dust happened to find its way under the front.

I'm sure these questions were answered before, I just don't have time at the moment to search for them. I will search tonight if I don't get any replies. Thanks

Edit: One more question for now. I didn't receive a drivers and software dvd with the laptop, just the Windows 7 disc. I want to do a clean install but don't want to lose the PowerDVD player for Blu-ray playback. Is PowerDVD on the software disc? Should I have received a drivers and software disc with it?

 

I too am curious about the software, it seems that Dell doesn't offer any options other than phone support for alienware products? I was looking for a way to simply email them with a list of things they forgot with this refurb unit.

I received an alienware m17xR3 machine as a replacement for the one that's in my signature. I Don't feel like it's a fair exchange, especially for the hell I went through in order to get a replacement.

I went through the guide and did a clean reinstall and used stock drivers for now. Reverted to the alienware look and feel using that awesome guide. TY Batboy!

I did go to that software site ( https://smartsource.dell.com) but it seems that only roxio and some other software was available there.

I'm still missing the OS, driver disk and the following software:

FPGC7 PowerDVD 9.5
T1WKW Fast Access Facial Recognition 3.0
WC3YD Dell Webcam Central 2.0
W7NRW Adobe Premier Elements 8
CTTHN Adobe Elements 8

Additionally my refurb didn't even come with the nameplate, it came with this little plastic cover. I read previously that machines can't get custom nameplates unless that was done when ordered, is that still true?

So far not so impressed with this machine. Tempted to just toss it up on ebay and be rid of dell hell for good.

I can't believe they sent me just a laptop and power brick. Had to use my own win pro 7 dvd on the infernal machine.

At least it fit into my tom bihn sleeve/bag =)

 

Here is my setup

Intel Core i7 2760QM 2.4GHz
8GB Dual Channel DDR3
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990M
750GB 7,200RPM HDD Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Service Pack 1, English, Media Slot-Load Dual Layer dvd/rw

I am currently playing Deus Ex. Not exactly a game that requires much hardware fire power. Anyway, I am getting about 60 fps throughout and occasionally dropping to high 30-40 for a second or two. My temps for the CPU throughout a 3-4 hr gaming session average in the HIGH 40F- low 50. The gpu temps right after I exit the game is in the high 50F. The highest the gpu temp was 60F. So are these numbers decent or do they represent some danger signs?

 

Hi, I'm not a M17x owner but I hope you guys could answer my questions. I ve decided to get a laptop with the following configuration:
i7 1630qm, 6970m and 120 SSD. I know this system is similar to the m17x so how do you reckon the perfoance will be compared to M15x i7 820qm and 5850?? Thanks

 

I don't think those are fairenheit temps but celcius. Low 70's are normal excellent for that card with hard gaming. 80s the norm and up to 90 still acceptalbe. There is a good 6990m temp thread here, fyi.

 

if you cant use the function keys to change brightness, flash your bios and then update to the latest ati drivers. you cant use the standard download off ati site though or it will say hardware isnt compatable...use this:
http://www2.ati.com/drivers/mobile/11-8_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc_ocl.exe

 

Does anyone run a vertex 2e in the m17xr3?

Im only gettin 199.4mb read and 51.10 write on the crystaldisk mark with this, ive tried both hard drive ports and get similar speeds on both.

 

is this the most up to date driver for the 6970m? I heard AMD is launching a new driver for BF3, and would want to install it before testing it out.

 

[AIO] AMD Catalyst 11.10 Preview (8.901.0) Win7.7z

is the mobility modded catalyst 11.10 (aka BF3 driver)

 

what file format is .7z ?

anyone else experience the [AIO] driver?

EDIT: Forgot we had a driver thread, reading it all now =]

 

.7z is a 7zip archive file.

 

I have an M17x R3 CPU 2760 Home Premium 16 GB ram GTX58M 1.5 Raid 0-can someone tell me how much better the Raid 0 is-than if I just keep one 750 GB HD as just extra storage-I haven't set the Raid ) up yet, and is this a good configuation?

Oh yeah Wireless card 6250, and 17.3 inch WideFHD 1920 x1080 60Hz WLED?

 

hi guys
i was searching on the web for a new bottom cover and found this Working Pull Door (11KR8) Alienware M17xR3 Bottom Access Panel Door Cover - ...
but i realised that this one doesnt have a vent grill next to the name plate as mine, is that normal?

 

Can you take a pic of yours? Looks right to me.

 

That's from an early version of the R3. The third (small) vent was added later, possibly in anticipation of the addition of the 6990M and 580M options. IIRC, it just appeared this summer, without announcement or explanation.

 

Dang, it'd sure be nice to have that vent hole in the middle, cuz the ram always gets hot there. Anyone know if the new bottom plate is available yet?

 

I just bought an m17x r3. I was debating on getting this or a Sager NP8170 but since I got a good deal on the m17x r3 I opted for it instead. I configured it with the Gtx 580m but I just read there is a throttling problem. Is this common to all 580m or just the within Alienware models? If it's the latter I will cancel my order and buy the Sager.

 

You shouldve gone with ATI/AMD. There's far fewer issues here.

 

Maybe I should have. What is done is done.

 

Agreed completely. You made a choice based on what information you had. Luckily if you have issues, dell has great customer service and I'm sure they'll get you taken care of!