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    Which Alien FX is safe to install on M17x R1?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by joon82, Mar 30, 2011.

  1. joon82

    joon82 Notebook Consultant

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    I've read some version will make your alien fx non functional and only fix is to replace board.
    Which one is safe to install?
    I have one non functioning R1 and just got another one for my bro.
    Installed fresh windows 7 and starting to install drivers.

    Also question about installing programs on SSD.
    I'm running 80gb SSD with 500gb harddrive.
    Should I install all programs and games on 500 harddrive?
     
  2. laststop311

    laststop311 Notebook Deity

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    You are correct about certain drivers destroying the motherboard with certain bios versions. I remember these discussions on the early days of the m17x's birth but the specifics elude me.

    As for the SSD/HDD question, Well anything you install on the 500GB HDD will not get the speed benefits of the SSD drive. If you want your apps and games to load faster and run quicker then you will have to install them on the SSD and if you want the OS to boot up faster and run things quicker it needs to be on the SSD. Basically all you productivity apps, all your games, and any other program you use often as well as the OS of course should all go on the SSD. Usually people use the HDD to hold all thier media files like movies music and things like that then they use the SSD for all the programs they use like messenger, email, fire fox, games, word, etc etc etc.

    And if you plan on storing high bit rate uncompressed 1080p video on the HDD make sure it is a 7200RPM the 5400RPM drives can sometimes have a sustainable transfer speed lower then the bit rate of an uncompressed super large 1080p video. And if that happens the video becomes choppy since it cant read enough data fast enough. Butn this will only happen on 5400 rpm drives and only with insanely high quality video. Don't know why im rambling on this tangent, yook a few too many puffs of smoke if ya know what i mean
     
  3. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    This is the same for both R1 and R2 models:
    Never install an older version than the one previously installed (as this flashes the keyboard chip). I recommend you keep a backup of all drivers(usb key, CD/DVD..your choice) so you'll never have to install off of the resource DVD that shipped with the system ( drivers are outdated).

    Cheers