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    Pulled the trigger, best things to do on arrival?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by esteve, Jul 15, 2011.

  1. esteve

    esteve Notebook Geek

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    I finally did it.. I Made the purchase today at 11 for my first alienware!

    Calling over the phone got me another $50 off and a request to expedite the order and get it a week or so earlier.Not bad for only calling one person (and not wanting to spend any more time on the phone).

    Now I'm curious are there some things that one should do when the laptop arrives to ensure I didn't get a lemon?
    Obviously i'll check the exterior and make sure theres no problems with it, and run memtest if I'm worried about the memory that was shipped, is there any equivalent test for checking that the GPU is performming as expected?

    What updates (and order) should be performed on arrival?

    I feel like christmas at the end of July! (Except I had to pay for it :( haha)
     
    esteve, Jul 15, 2011
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  2. Ajbeagles

    Ajbeagles Notebook Evangelist

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    run 3dmark or heaven benchmarks and make sure its up to code with that stuff, btw what kind of system was it and what kind of specs?
     
    Ajbeagles, Jul 15, 2011
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  3. Lanscaper

    Lanscaper Notebook Consultant

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    What specs did ya get? Just curious, not gonna say ya shoulda got something else when ya share ;)
     
    Lanscaper, Jul 15, 2011
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  4. Simplified

    Simplified The Most Awesome

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    Congrats on your purchase :)

    1) There is not much of a testing you need to do. Run some benchmarks and compare your score to other M17x laptops.

    2) There are no updates needed when the computer arrives. All drivers are usually the latest at the date of arrival.

    Just out of curiosity, did you go for the red? ;)
     
    Simplified, Jul 15, 2011
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  5. esteve

    esteve Notebook Geek

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    Thanks for all the information guys!

    I bought a nebula red Alienware M17x / 2720QM/ ATI 6990 / 1080p Monitor / 3 Years accident coverage / 4GB Ram /320 GB HDD

    I'm Going to upgrade the RAM and HDD myself after my bank account recovers.Also got a 50 gift card and 360 thrown in because of the student promo. After taxes and all that jazz, final price was 2131.22

    Simplified, yes I got red and the deciding factor was actually the pics sent. I'll write up a little review whenever it arrives :)
     
    esteve, Jul 15, 2011
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  6. Jas71

    Jas71 Notebook Evangelist

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    Great choice! Congratulations on the new machine. I would do some benchmarks like others have mentioned and also try some gaming if that's what you bought it for. See if the gaming performance is up to par with other R3s with similar specifications.
     
    Jas71, Jul 16, 2011
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  7. Simplified

    Simplified The Most Awesome

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    Im glad to hear that my photos helped you in your choice :D
    The red is even better looking in person than on the pics, you wont be dissapointed :)
     
    Simplified, Jul 16, 2011
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  8. eldub0844

    eldub0844 Notebook Consultant

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    Very nice, I'm totally stoked for ya :p
     
    eldub0844, Jul 16, 2011
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  9. d2c

    d2c Notebook Consultant

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    nice buy, smart move on the warranty wouldnt want a spilled coke to ruin your baby.
     
    d2c, Jul 16, 2011
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  10. esteve

    esteve Notebook Geek

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    So true. My last laptop was the victim of a hyper-active puppy who jumped on my keyboard and broke my MB underneath!

    Won't let that happen to this one obviously, but if it does.. I'm covered!
     
    esteve, Jul 16, 2011
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  11. UrbanP

    UrbanP Notebook Enthusiast

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    Congrats! I would boot with clonezilla to create a disk image and keep that for later. ;)
     
    UrbanP, Jul 16, 2011
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  12. esteve

    esteve Notebook Geek

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    Sounds like a great idea. Whats the simplest process to do this, a blank DVD & a USB boot of clonezilla? Is it a painless procedure?
     
    esteve, Jul 16, 2011
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