Building a new M18x R2 from scratch

Intel GPU isn't soldered it's built into the cpu. The cpu and gpus are all removable

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

True, I eventually figured this out as I didn't see any inbuilt GPU on M18x R2 motherboards.

 

Update:

Motherboard and Battery ordered.

Here is what I have received so far:-

 

A bit slow lately fellas but ordered the following parts:

1- Battery
2. 330W Power Adapter
3. Blu-Ray drive
4. L+R Speakers
5. Subwoofer
6. CPU Fan

To be ordered today from Amazon:
7. Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866 MHz (PC3 15000) Laptop Memory CMSX16GX3M2A1866C10
8. Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Single Unit Version Internal Solid State Drive MZ-7TE250BW
9. HGST Travelstar 2.5-Inch 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache Mobile retail kit (X 2)

Anything I should know about items 7 to 9? or will they be a good add-on?

 

Hey fellas,

Does anyone know what happened to "dandan112988"? Waiting to get a reply for the LCD screen to make some progress

Also, where is a good place to get the ribbon cables & HDD caddy? How many in ribbon cables in total, I can think of LCD, HDD and Blu Ray player (leaving GPU out for now).

Received Blu Ray player and 330W adapter this week (damn thing is so huge).

Waiting on Motherboard, SSD and 2 HDD, speakers, subwoofer, cpu fan and battery.

To be ordered this weekend are cpu heatsink and ram.

 

If you bought the R2 MOBO then you could get both the HDD caddy and cable from Dell. If they don't ship to you maybe you have someone in USA who can help you with that? If you bought the R1 then ebay will have both items at very low prices.

For the rest of the cables I have no idea, sorry.

 

Yeah I bought the R2 MB. Everything for that is over the top pricey. I have someone in CA who can help out but just to get an idea what are some of the prices for the cables? or how can I search them on Dell website?

 

I have spare brand new media buttons PCB with media board flex cable connector, no Idea how much they go for (no plastic trim/keyboard bezel though) but parts are brand new.

Also power button PCB with connector, and numlock/caps/scrl lck LED board with connector, all brand new.

 

I always ask for the price with the Dell chat system. Sometimes I even buy the item that way too.

 

I can't get past "Service Tag or Express Service Code"

 

From what you have mentioned, apart from Media board cable the rest came with the palm rest and keyboard bezel. Can you post the just the media button cable to Oz?

 

Btw, what is a reasonable price to pay for CPU triple core heatsink and Dell Alienware M18x R2 HDD Caddy / Adapter?

I'm seeing $40 for heatsink and $60 for HDD cable on PCHUB website. Any difference between M18x R1 and R2 heatsink?

 

I think that you are not entering the correct address. Dell - Welcome to Dell Sales Chat | Dell

 

have 3 pipe brand new heatsink for m18xR2, I could sell you one, and with the connector together combined postage may not be the worst.

PM me your address and I will get you an estimate.

Thanks

 

Yep! That link worked and managed to order both hinges, LCD ribbon cable and that back cover rubber handle to someone in CA who will re-post it to Melbourne. Hope the US postage is fair price

 

Hey fellas,

No update lately because having waited on getting some parts to be sent from people (which didn't happen) I missed out from the suppliers so have to wait until the suppliers re-stock.

Ordered these parts from Dell:
Dell Alienware M18X Multimedia Board Cable - 0GG7V9 GG7V9
LED Logo Board, W/Cable - 98X52
Coin Battery, W/Cable - D0N00
HDD Bracket - XVNKP
7VKT9 ODD Bracket + Cable
6MGMN Processor Back Plate

Can someone please tell me if I need the CPU Back Plate?

Now all that is left is LCD assembly, HDD cable and CPU Heatsink and I should be ready to build it.

 

No, that should come with a new motherboard. You would only need it if the original part had the heat sink screw threads stripped out or something like that.

Can you share with us what the prices were from Dell on those items?

 

I'm guessing this is the cpu plate? its on the opposite side of the motherboard to where the cpu is?

Prices:
GG7V9 1 Assembly,Cable,Wire,Media,M18X $1.99
98X52 1 Printed Wiring Assy,Controller,Logo,Alienware,M18X $12.99
D0N00 1 Assembly,Battery,COIN,Real Time Clock,W/CBL,M18X $7.99
XVNKP 1 Assembly,Bracket,HDD,M18XR2 $3.99

 

Yes, that is the CPU plate.

Did you get the 7VKT9 ODD Bracket + Cable new from Dell? If so, what was the price and did it come with the tiny screws that attach the bracket to the ODD?

Thanks for the other prices.

 

Sweet, thanks!

ODD Bracket and Cable were refurbished and cost $11.99 but did not include the screws. I actually didn't even think the Optical Drive had any bracket or cable until I saw it on a M18x tear down video on youtube...I think it was yours

 

Alright fellas, its been a while. I've been waiting for Parts-People to get a LCD assembly in stock for weeks and they finally got a brand new one in stock which I purchased. Next Dell was being a about not only shipping within US but also the credit card holder must be residing in the US as well

Anyway, I managed to order the nitty-gritty stuff through Dell to someone in CA. Now I have put a quick list together of all the parts I have bought so far and was wondering if someone with an eagle eye can see if I have all the necessary parts to start putting the system together. Reason being I want to make sure I don't have to order any other small part through Dell as atm my parts are still in CA so once I'm sure I have all the parts, I'll get them sent over.

Also, I have bothered with GPU yet due to budget.

This is my parts list:

Motherboard (PGA989 GRP9C 0GRP9C)
CPU
CPU Fan (XHW5W 0XHW5W)
RAM
HDD
HDD Bracket (XVNKP)
HDD Cable (M9T51)
Wifi/BT Card
BluRay Optical Drive
BluRay Optical Drive Bracket (7VKT9)
Coin Battery (D0N00)
Daughter Board (USB ports etc) + Cable

Palm Pad w/Touch Pad/Speaker LED/NumLock/Power Button
Keyboard + Bezel
Macro Keyboard
Media Button + Cable

Webcam
LCD Assembly w/Antenna Cables ( WJWWC)
LCD Hinges R+L
LCD Back Cover
LCD Cable
Alienware Logo PCB (98X52)
LCD Rear Grip
Battery
AC Power Adaptor
Battery Cover
Bottom Chassis
Speakers + Subwoofer
Screw Kit


Still Need to Purchase:
CPU Heat Sink

Also do I need this:
GG7V9 Daughter Board

and...does this part number (7VKT9 - Assembly,Bracket,Optical Device Drive,M18X) include the cable as well? or just the ODD bracket? as in the M18x R2 Thread it mentions that part number + cable?

Thanks guys...can't wait to finish this as its been too long now

 

Anyone care to take a look?

 

How's it going?

 

Alright guys, finally put the system back together and hit problems straight away.

- Initially my CPU fan was wrong so I got another sent to me but in the meantime I tried to turn the laptop on quickly to see if it powers up. So it did power up to a black screen and 7 annoying beeps.

- I then waited until my CPU fan arrived, plugged it in and same 7 beeps again. The keyboard and lcd bezel light up, nothing else.

- I looked it up and people suggested CPU or MB failure or RAM not seating properly. I tried the power drain method by removing Battery, CMOS battery and unplugging it. Now after reconnecting the CMOS battery, the laptop will not power up AT ALL.

- When the charger is plugged in, its green light is on but nothing on the laptop glows. I tried turning the laptop on using AC adaptor only and then Battery only and then both but no success. Then I tried the other method of removing CMOS and Laptop battery, power drain, remove RAM and then power on via AC but again nothing is getting any sort of power.

I really, Really, REALLY would be gutted if the MB or CPU is bricked or faulty as I purchased both second hand. I have gone over all connections but the fact that the motherboard isn't receiving any sort of power might be telling something...

BTW, I don't have any GPU at the moment and using the two RAM slots on the underside of the laptop, if that makes any difference?

 

I was in a believe that you were buying all parts new... now mobo or cpu can possibly be defective too especially when they're second hand, or maybe both... if CPU is some sort of nasty culprit for the problem, it may have shorted out/fried the PCB... hard call

Usually when starting up reassembled m18xR2 you get them series of beeps but all you got to do is to hold down power button to force power off while beeping, and then just start again without doing anything extra and should all be good. Unless there are other problems... ram/LCD,some loose parts rattling inside shorting random things... hard to guess

 

I tried turning OFF/ON during beeping but no joy. The fans didn't spin either.

The CPU and MB are the only two used parts. When looking for a MB I only came across used ones. I didn't try Dell though. With the CPU I wanted to test water first before spending big bucks on something more powerful.

The fact that no power whatsoever reaches the laptop could mean that something is cooked? Bad CPU should still allow laptop to turn on at least.

 

never had toast alien so cant tell for sure, but in many cases to my personal experience when CPU is bust laptops tend to show no signs of life for whatever reason. Did you fasten the locking nut of the CPU socket after installing the CPU? Did you have all the heatsink screws of the CPU fastened OK?

Now to my understanding youre just trying a bare mobo with CPU and power adapter plugged in? I hope not..

 

I stripped everything down again and when removing the CPU noticed the cpu needed another 1/4 turn to be locked in the first place, i.e. I didn't fully lock it initially, I think (so maybe that's why the 7-beep code was alarming?) Then I reconnected everything back in and still the same, there is no power reaching the MB.

Is there any built in fuse on the MB near the jack point? and how would the heatsink screws affect this?

This only happened after I tried the power drain methods, before that it would at least power up.
Looks like my Xmas has come early this year

 

Time for an update!

After moving to CA and biting the bullet, I decided to order a new Motherboard and daughter board directly from Dell. I was under the assumption that Dell sells new parts but was told the parts are from unsold/returned units that weren't used.

Anyway, got the two boards and set about putting the Alienware M18x R2 back together (for the 50th time, lol). I did notice that the one of the two locking clip for the macro keys is broken on one side, so is it worth sending the board back to Dell? The macro keys don't work or light up at the moment even though the ribbon cables are plugged and locked in...but this was also happening with the old motherboard since I connected and disconnected it so many times. I'm thinking of ordering a new macro keys and trying that to avoid dismantling the whole laptop again and sending it off and waiting and rebuilding it....what do you guys suggest?

So, after installing everything back together, I fired it up and what do you know, same bloody error messages. I was "this" close to going " that German keyboard kid style" on it. But I stepped back a bit and worked around it. I did a power drain, removed memory cards and tried one RAM at a time and it WORKED!!! I saw the AW boot screen and my gosh was I HAPPY!

Apparently the 2 RAM sticks had to be installed on opposite sides of the motherboard for it to work, weird. Anyway, it worked and I loaded up Windows 7 64 on it and set about installing AlienFX and drivers. I haven't been able to make the SD card reader or BR-rom work, haven't tried the HDMI yet either. But its a work in progress unit with glitches so hoping to iron them out over time but I'm absolutely wrapped with this laptop, well worth the 12 months of waiting, spending countless $$$ and headaches.

Next purchase will be a GPU kit.

So, few questions so far:
1. Is it worth sending the MB back or should I try a new Macro Key set first?
2. Where can I get drivers for SD Card Reader since the once from Dell fails to install?
3. My current wireless card has spot for 2 wires but AW M18x R2 has 3 antenna wires, is it worth buying a new card with 3 connections?

 

Congratulations man! I know that first boot feeling too!

About the mobo, I would try other macro keys since you said that it didn't work with your other mobo. Then if all works and the broken clip bothers you send it back to Dell. Mine have the HDD clip broken too and I have never had any issue with it.

 

Thanks mate I was desperate to see that Alien head boot screen show up and all the efforts finally paid off.

Just replacing the macro keys for now seems logical and easier so ordering one now. As long as it works, I'm happy not to send off the MB and judging by your HDD clip, it seems like it should still work with a broken clip.

 

What GPU's are you planning on putting in your AW? Also you taught me something new.. Never knew about these marco keys on the M18x lol..

 

I'll need some help deciding on the GPU's. It will be Nvidia for sure but which one...I'm still working out and deciding on the budget.
Something tried and tested without and messing about to BIOS or drivers would be ideal for me. Between 680, 780 and 880 (not sure about 980) and ideally new.

the macro keys do look good on the side of the keyboard (when they work, lol)

 

Only 680M SLI will work properly without driver inf mod... 780M SLI are the best options according to @Mr.Fox and this would be what I would recommend... It's not too difficult to mod inf and @j95 does this over at techinferno forum..

 

Thanks! Seems like 680 SLI is a neat option for me without mucking around.

Since my last post my M18x has been in storage and not used for a good month as I relocated again. Now that I use it I get a 'Power surge on USB port" message and none of my USB ports work after that. Once I restart it, the ports work but then the messages comes up again. I unchecked the power management option from Device Manager but the problem persists. Anyone had similar issues?

 

I do not know if I can put it here but I am selling my SLI GTX680M with slv7 vBIOS already flashed on them so they are ready to OC. Just PM if someone is interested on them we can get to an arrangment talking about the price.

 

Unforentualy there isn't no way to future proof anything when it comes to electronics and computers it's so difficult. All you can really do is just enjoy your machine and overclock within comfortable levels per dollar price ratio. I hope you got the sli gtx 780s, the extreme processors, look for deals for a good boot drive ssd on newegg, and also get yourself 16 gigs of corsair vengeance ddr3 2133mhz it will run on 1800mhz, look into the WD Black Series 2 Hybrid ssd and hard drive always look to get the best storage and extra speed as possible those drives go for 139 each.