Wow! Fireworks!!!

...so I am on my M17x R2 just checking out news and updates on Steam and decide I wanna try playing some TF2 just to pass the time. I load up the main screen and just start looking at what items, etc, I have with my character. After reviewing my items, I try to see what servers are available and then I choose a server to join. As soon as I choose the server and start to load the map.....the entire laptop turns off.

I thought, "No big deal, remove the battery, plug it back in and power it back on.". The laptop doesn't turn on.

I notice the power brick light on the end that plugs into the laptop is off....?....I unplug the power brick from the power outlet and plug it back in....LED turns blue and I plug it back into the laptop....LED turns right back OFF.

...now I realize there is a problem....

I call support and they have me remove the bios battery connector, HDD, RAM, and battery and then plug the power cord into the laptop...LED turns off again...

Getting a new motherboard and two 4870HDs sent under warranty now.

After I am told that, the guy tells me to put the ram and hdd back in and then plug the bios battery back in. I do all of those AND plug the battery back into the laptop.....

....while I plug the battery in, I see a light through the grille of the secondary ATI card...the light gets BRIGHTER....then turns off and I smell a burning smell......

What a way to end an already rough week of being "on-call" for my company...

Anyone witness this before? The light alone leads me to believe that something was grounding out. That's why the LED on the power brick kept turning off when I plugged it into the laptop.

Either way, no worries....I have a desktop and two other laptops..so I am not out of email or even gaming......still worried because I love my R2 and don't want a flimsy plastic R3 if after parts are replaced my machine doesn't work in crossfire mode or other issues arise, etc.

The system was already replaced once for issues with Crossfire when I first recieved the laptop....so...I dunno...I am just taking things a step at a time.


Anyone else here experience the same thing where the laptop just turned off and the LED on the power brick turned off?

 

had that same issue buddy.
a motherboard and graphics card replacement should do the trick, don't worry

 

Yeah. Mostly, I am just worried about scratches and crossfire not working again. Otherwise, I am set. I plan to keep this R2 and then buy the M18x if it comes out.

 

you mean when it comes out

 

......annnndddd the tech has finished installing the parts in 15mins time. Unfortunately, I am not at my computer. Had my roommate supervise the install. I will find out when I get home.

The tech did power the machine on after the install, but he couldn't login because of my "visual" password.

I will be testing crossfire for sure tonite. Just glad to know that it is powering back up and booting to windows after what had happened.

 

Sure, "when" it comes out. lol

 

Ok, laptop was fixed and working wonderfully. Ran furmark tests and no issues whatsoever with flickering/etc in crossfire mode.

I even ran some of my favorite games and noticed they played well. One other thing I noticed was the cpu whine was almost completely gone. Whenever I would run Futuremark tests I would get nasty CPU whine while running some of the tests. This time around I barely heard a noise and the fans had not kicked in yet to cool off the CPU.

Something that is confusing is that Windows and the Catalyst Control Center are telling me that I have Dual "5800 Series" AMD cards. I will search the forums for how to REALLY tell what graphics card you have in your M17xR2.

All in all I am quite happy. Noticed my games play well. The tech that repaired my system was a professional.

He took everything apart and put it back together in a total of like 15-20 mins. I didn't find a single scratch on the casing at all. Pretty amazing.

 

Did they actually put 2 new 4870 Video cards in? I know that when mine went out the upgraded them to the 5870's. Just curious if i got lucky at the time or if they where just out when the replaced mine.

 

download gpuz and whatever that tells you is definatly the card you have

 

^^^^^ I will be doing this

 

here is a 5870 gpuz screen shot:



notice that direct computer 5.0 is checked. on 4870's it won't be.

also where it says DirectX Support DX 11.0/SM 5.0 that = 5870. 4870 will say DX 10.0

 

cool man... you got a big upgrade from 4870s.

 

Two brand new 5870HD cards. The guy ripped open the newly sealed bags for all 3 components (two video cards, one motherboard). Gonna run GPU-Z now to find out if they were actually 5870HDs. That would be a nice upgrade, but somehow I am not so sure he gave me 5870HDs. brb.

 

...annnnnd it's confirmed. Dual 5870s. GPU-Z shows 5800 series. Yay, now I can turn on dx11 stuff on this laptop. Just gotta go pick up Crysis2, NFS Shift Unleashed 2, etc etc....already have Starcraft 2. Very stoked.....



I do admit I have been considering getting an Origin laptop tho. You can get desktop hardware in a laptop case...we will see what the M18x offers. Then I will decide then. Otherwise I cannot go back to Asus and the other laptops. No comparison to Alienware and their support.

 

nfs shift 2 runs like crap currently btw. and apparently so does crysis 2. and crysis 2 is only dx 9 anyway.

 

Crysis 2 ran pretty good on my machine. So good I would sit and play 4 hours almost every time on the multiplayer demo. lol.

Shame about shift 2 though. I think EA doesn't bother optimizing much for PCs for whatever reason. It's ok though, I will vote with my wallet. Screw a console, my money is paying for the PC version. EA will realize it if more people quit buying console games and buy for PC games.

For the time being, let the sheep all get consoles. They really could care less anyway. They are all trying to save a buck (or steal one) anyway.

 

M18x is on the horizon! Can't wait to see some reviews of it. Return to Aluminum!! So glad. I was worried Dell was going to keep it on the cheap.