*OFFICIAL* M18x Owner's Lounge Thread

Someone posted something about the Registry Tweak on the Crucial M4 to prevent hang ups. I cannot find that post or anything on google about it...Anyone know what I'm talking about?

 

here ya go
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-m4-xps-17-l702x-blue-screen.html#post7493901

 

Did you get the shipping status yet ?

 

I ordered a config without the wirelessHD to save some $ and maybe to upgrade later. However apparently its a pain cause you need a number of parts to do it.

I have been waiting for 11 days to the order to arrive, and now I am getting buyers remorse over this darn upgrade.

In short, is it worth it?

 

It can be, but with your intel wifi card you can also broadcast full HD via WiDi, but it does have latency. Does not matter if you are broadcasting a movie or something that can handle SLIGHT latency.

 

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB Max IOPS SATA 3 SSD Review – The Vertex 3 and V3 Max IOPS Compared | The SSD Review

Reconsidering the Intel 510 for the IOPS Vertex?

 

You have to be running on the integrated video.

 

Thanks for that interesting link. Most of the review was way over my head but I think they are saying that the Max IOPS should have a 20% longer life and its performance is about the same as the non-max IOPS which is the best of all SSD's. I think they were also saying that the performance of the 120GB is not much worse than that of the 256GB which is also remarkable.

I love for anyone with much more experience with SSD's to read the link and see if I interpreted it correctly. I was going to get and Intel 510 but if I understood the review correctly, this Max IOPs Vertex 3 is about twice as fast and should last longer. It doesn't cost much more even though it si much more expensive to make.

Edit- At Newegg I just read several reviews of this drive and some have had problems with instability and freezing. Others rave about it. Do you feel lucky?

 

My first post using the M18x

 

So nu!? Tell us how it feels!

 

Much nicer than your previous post

 

OK ... NYC Drifter and MatrixHacker, you guys need to have a Bench-Off. Drifter is about as pimped as can be, Matrix you are stock with 6970 CF right ??? I would really like to see how much of a difference you get for that ... what 2k ?

 

just some games at ultra and high .... how many Fps

 

For those who received their systems, can you confirm that the BIOS is on the Resource Disc? If so, can you please upload it? I'd like to take a look.

Thanks in advance. PM me the link or post here.

 

Honestly? I don't think so. Here is why.

Even I order it with my M18x-R1 after careful consideration I arrived to the conclusion that in order fo us to fully stream you will have to have the receiver on the other end, and unless you forked the 289 dollars for that upgrade one will still have to buy the receiver for the TV, and for what I can see they only currently sell them in pairs, Receiver and transmitter.

So even that my M18x-R1 has this on board I will have nowhere to send the signal to, and I am not about to go and buy a 200 dollar piece just for the pleasure to see it in my flat screen, after all the m18 has a 18.4 screen.

hope it helps.

 

Gaming Benchmarks up!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...are-m18x-benchmark-thread-12.html#post7516870

 

You can post here for more discussions on WirelessHD:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...18x-wireless-hd-sibeam-discussion-thread.html

I think it really depends on your situation if it's worth it. If you never use it, then sure, it won't be useful. Like wireless networking around the house, you could technically always be plugged in and it'll be faster and more secure too so wireless access points could be viewed as useless as well.

Anyhow, if you had to show pictures to family when they are visiting, instead of crowding around your 18", you can send it to your 65" TV for easier viewing. Could you just plug into your large TV? Sure, but wireless makes it more convenient and has a certain "cool" factor in it (and no one would trip over a cable). For certain setups, I would think some folks would want to get rid of as many wires as possible for aesthetic reasons.

It's true you have to buy the receiver separate, but Amazon has it normally for 199.99 and I'm hoping with a sale after a little bit, it should drop by at least 25% I'd guess. TV manufacturers may also build it into their sets so you wouldn't have to buy anything at that point. It's new so prices are more firm at this point.

I also see another WirelessHD receiver (ASUS) on Amazon which I've seen for as low as 99.99. I'm not sure if it's compatible with the M18x, but price points should drop as the technology is more common...

 

Maynard
You stayed up late to do this Good to see that the system has possessed you

 

I don't mean to go off topic, but can anyone with both an M17x R2 and a M18x (with the 330w PSU) test to see if that power supply works in the R2? I would be very appreciative of this information.

 

Both of these statements are not True.

1. The WiHD has nothing to do with Intel WiFi. It's it's own Sibeam chipset WiHD with it's own antenna and it operates in the 60ghz range.

2. You do not have to use integrated video. You can use either it does not matter.

3. After using the WiHD chip and gaming for hours I have not noticed one hiccup or problem and the latency is so low you don't even notice it. I know it's there because the spec sheet tells me but when gaming at 60fps in most games I do not have any problems with lag / latency running wirelessly to a Pioneer Elite Tuner and then to a Epson 8500ub projector.

Not trying to be harsh but the info given out on this is very inaccurate.

 

See post above on this as well. Intel WiDi is a totally different standard with much more latency than WiHD which is what the M18x uses. You can use your xfire's and stream wirelessly with almost no latency.

 

In theory if you didn't get the wirelessHD the chipset the chipset should be able to still do WiDi, which is what both of us were commenting on. Not sure if it actually works though.

 

Well I am finally doing a fresh install on my beast. Ironically I was not even able to boot the factory disk for whatever reason.....I do not know if the fact that I had changed the memory, hdds, and wifi mattered. I was also booting it from eSata. It got to the screen with the backsplash but did not progress, it just showed some scripts that tried to execute than failed.

No worries though, fresh install en route

 

That makes a little more sense but when you read the posts you guys comment directly after someone asking about WiHD. Just want to make sure it's clear about what can and can't be accomplished with both. Debate is probably better served in the WiDi Sibeam thread.

 

Spot on. Follow-up posts there please...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...m17xr3-m18x-intel-widi-discussion-thread.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...18x-wireless-hd-sibeam-discussion-thread.html

Thanks

 

Well I upgraded the memory to 16GB I have to say removing the keyboard bezel is a bit nerve wracking, but not really that difficult. I just went really slow as I didn't want to hurt my precious i cringed with every noise as I pried it off after removing the screws holding it in place.

 

Those sort of things are really hard the first time and a breeze after that, was the same on my R1

 

I didn't even bother removing the ribbon cables from the bezel or keyboard. The bezel folded up onto the screen and the keyboard down onto the wrist rest. As an FYI if you are just putting in the memory you probably don't need to remove the first screw on the left hand side of the keyboard. That just gold the programmable keys in place,

 

I am also interested in this... You could even try it with an R1.

 

Just tried the graphics switch. It worked, but I get a catalyst error every time i boot up on the integrated. That is kind of annoying.

Going to have to look into pro grammatically controlling the power profiles, should be a way to have Windows automatically set the profile based on which video card it detects I would think.

 

How did it work out Scook? I will doing much the same at the end of the week. Going to follow Bat Boy's protocol for restoring the look and feel of the Alienware also. I am a bit concerned that you were not able to install your after market parts including the SSD and simply pop in the DVD and run it to reinstall your hardware systems to working order.

 

I did not spend much time trying to figure it out as it is mostly not important to me. The fresh install is working properly right now.

 

glad it is working

 

Just opened up my box (the one on the outside looked pristine, but the one on the inside looked a bit weathered on the edges, oddly)

My m18x doesn't boot 8-beep POST error code. Anyone familiar with the POST codes for this mobo?

I called dell, they can't make a warranty account under my name today because the new accounts team works mon-fri. So the support guy suggested I open 'er up and reset the BIOS via pulling the battery for 10 minutes since I sounded like I knew what I was doing. After asking him to properly note things for warranty purposes that I was opening it up under their advice etc. etc. I did so and upon the next boot attempt the POST error changed to 5 beeps instead of 8.. power cycled again and back to 8. Whee!

 

sounds like your one or both your 6970s might be bad

 

Just a weird question for everyone. I found my service tag via the invoice section of the site (should be coming tomorrow). However when putting it in, its invalid - anyone else have that issue?

"Please ensure the service tag entered is valid."

 

I've seen this before. Warranty registration is normally with a 3rd party company and can take up to a week to be processed and in the system. If after a week you don't see it I would contact Dell.

 

Can someone please run moninfo or astra and post the screen model number?

 

Already done.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...g-thoughts-etc-share-away-11.html#post7501215

 

Lol, totally missed that one. Thanks!

 

Tee-hee, this is fun!

So after attempting the CMOS battery replacement I talked to the dell reps again this morning, apparently the warranty registration dept. hasn't assigned the service tag on my box to anything yet, so I can't receive any warranty service. The dept is open mon-fri and the rep said it was closed (monday @ 9AM PST/12PM EST) and had no idea why it was closed, suggested I call back in 3 hours. Told me it sometimes takes as long as a week to get the service tag assigned and that i'd just have to wait. WHEE.

So, I opened the sucker up and attempted to diagnose the issue myself. When I got down to the motherboard and started rebuilding everything, I noticed no obvious physical damage until re-seating the video card, there was a bit of the thermal pad stuck in the slot, that had also gotten stuck to the video card itself. This stuff should be electrically non-conductive, but I think it may have shorted out several pins by smashing them together. I cleaned the contacts up and reassembled anyway, no change to the 8-beep error code. I see an m17x-r3 owner had this problem, had a tech come out and replace all sorts of stuffs and not fix it. So hopefully I can at least register with the warranty dept. to start that stuff rolling some time soon

 

man that sucks Da G. I knew Dell took a week on warranty stuff to be in their system since they use a 3rd party warranty company to provide on site support.

 

Batboy could you repost the links to wipe a SSD and reload it with my new M18x HDD files please? I have searched for over a half hour looking for a post with the links.

 

You mean this?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...k-drive-aftermarket-drive-alienrespawn-q.html

 

Sorry. I should have been more descriptive. I meant to wipe the SSD for a AlenRespawn install.

I think it was one of the regular posters that built the walk-through, but I thought you had it stickied somewhere.

Or maybe it is not all that important to do a secure erase if i did not have sensitive information on the drive? Just delete all files and start the AlienRespawn?

 

Sorry to ask here, but can I clone to an 256 SSD from a 300 GB HDD?

 

as long as there is less than about 240GB of used space on the HDD then yes it will work

 

Can you? With the right software I don't see why not. Should you? I will let those who actually use SSDs cover that as I believe there are alignment issues, but I think there are ways around them.

 

My black one arrived today, doing a fresh instal on my Kingston SSD, swapped out wireless card, put in hyper ram, added 750GB Scorpio. Can't wait to try Dirt 3 tomorrow.

 

To elaborate on the "Invalid Service Tag" issue mentioned by Smooth_J and The1TruJoker a few posts back,

I just got off the phone with dell CS for the third time today, and was given some information that I really wish they had told me Sunday when I first called, but somehow neglected to..

Their backend DB has apparently been down since Weds. May 18 (see this post and following ones)

I was told that no actions can be taken on anything involving a service tag (warranty replacement, repair, etc. etc.) until this system is back online. They also mentioned that there are 2 backup systems, but they only contain the information from before things went down, so my service tag isn't in there.

I was given an ETA of Thursday for the system to be repaired. I asked if there was any way I could initiate a replacement order now, since waiting til Thursday essentially means I'll be adding a full week onto the replacement system EDD. Told there's nothing they can do without the service tag in the system, and no way to add it to the system.

Sweet! Not only did I get a DOA m18x, I get to sit here and look at it for the rest of the week while I hope they restore their system by their ETA of Thursday. Argh. Well at least the lights turn on, if the BIOS didn't make extremely loud diagnostic beeps constantly it would make a nice power-efficient night light