even with the complaints i went with......

so guys i just finished placing my order for my M17x R2

even with all the problems people have reported about driver support and bios i decided to go with crossfirex HD5870's...i hope that it doesn't turn around and bite me on the bum.

heres the main specs

*Nebula Red Base
*Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor (1.73GHz, 4Core/8Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 6M cache)
*6GB (1 x 2GB + 1 x 4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
*CrossFireX™ Dual 1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5870
*1TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive (500GBx2)(Raid 0)
*Slot Load Fixed Blu-ray BD-ROM / DVD + /-RW Combo Drive
*17.0" UltraSharp™ WUXGA (1920x1200) RGBLED Display with TrueLife

so now the wait, 12 days and counting............oh i really hope the crossfirex doesnt ruin it for me.

 

dell has a new driver otw that should be out soon, after that it won't be much of a problem for a short while, a year after that though when you're still on 10.8's because the sandy bridge refresh is out you might be reconsidering your content nature however.


where did you order a 740 btw?

 

i ordered my machine from alienware.aus, in Australia, its the entry cpu......i wish ATI would support mobile gpu's.

 

You stole my config!

Agreed that ATi should support their mobile GPUs better, especially at the high-end. There aren't that many manufacturers that use the 5870, so it shouldn't be that hard to get a machine from each and make the reference drivers just work.

 

Good. I did the same when it came to ordering my M17x-R2 with X-Fire 4870s. Read about all of the complaints/issues and got one anyway. It has been worth it. I even had to replace some parts, but in the end the machine has been great.

Don't always listen to the cynics.

Congrats and hope you enjoy your Alienware. It's a great laptop.

 

ati does suport thier mobile GPU only alienware chose to put a diferent device ID on the card so that ati driver's won't install

 

great minds think alike.......

thanks mate, that's reassuring to hear, and bottom line im sure there are always some hicups with all newish machines, only thing for me is my NP8662 has been trouble free from day one......anyway i have the three year premium care warranty so i should be safe any way.

oh im sorry i was mis-informed then, i was told/led to believe that ATI dont release any Mobile gpu drivers at all, and people have to mod desktop drivers to work on the mobile gpu's, etc etc.......

 

The device ID can be circumvented by using the workaround=true method. However, the powerplay settings that Dell use make the drivers unstable.