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    m17x r3 strange noise and low frame rate

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by kpurd, Oct 24, 2011.

  1. kpurd

    kpurd Notebook Enthusiast

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    specs:
    i7 2670QM
    4GB RAM
    6990m 2gb
    2x 300gb in raid 0

    I recently received my m17x r3 from dell less than a week ago. Upon the initial bootup there was a boot prompt telling me windows and had not been shut down properly. I didn't think much of it and when on to install all the games and programs I would normally have. I started to notice some strange locking issues in and out of game where a loud buzz and about 3 seconds of hang time would occur. I found a few posts of different m17x's having similar issues but no one with my specs and all solutions involved updating out of date drivers for parts I don't even have.

    I've now recovered the laptop back to factory default which seems to have significantly improved my lockup issues although it still does happen but for about half a second now and very rarely(once every few hours). I've noticed now though that in games I am getting much lower frame rate than is to be expected(30-40fps in SC2 @ high settings).

    The drivers on the dell site for the 6990m are very old (from early july) so i'm wondering if installing 3rd party drivers might fix all this or maybe I should just send the laptop back and get a replacement before my first 30 days are up.

    Any advice or help is greatly appreciated! :)
     
  2. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    First thing...you should update the drivers to at least the official Cat 11.9's. That should make things a bit better

    I wouldn't feel good if my laptop wasn't perfect when delivered. The thing is brand new. If it doesn't get resolved soon, i'd definitely call dell up and see what they can do. It would not sit well in my stomach if a brand new laptop didn't come perfect

    if you harddrives were making that loud buzz, that's a serious issue
     
  3. Stelio

    Stelio Notebook Evangelist

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    I have to agree.

    If it did not arrive perfect, I would call for a replacement!
     
  4. kpurd

    kpurd Notebook Enthusiast

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  5. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    wow that sucks!

    Whatever happens, don't let dell start replacing vid cards and motherboards etc. If a vid card driver update doesn't solve it, get a new machine. The dell techs are often quite rough with the machines and can damage other things when servicing

    Just say no and get a new machine in that case