*OFFICIAL* M18x Owner's Lounge Thread

1 & 2, You won't hear it. Its a big machine and has a lot of cooling capacity.
On 3, the fans will kick in, but its not bad at all, my HP ProBook Work PC is about as loud with its fans on.

 

OK, I do ask because I read in a German test that the fans will kick in very early and fast and without "low" and "medium" ... so even with games like Civilization they are running on full speed.

So: Is that not true? That would be great.

 

Maybe its different with 6990Ms, but i don't really ever notice them, even playing high-end games.

 

I have 560m sli and I play with civ5 maxed running on a 27" monitor and it they don't get above 65c so the fans are running around 1k rpm... which I don't notice... you might but I can't hear with the music off...

you can change when the fans kick on if you want to but I normally keep my stock unless I am playing something that needs more cooling...

 

The M18X is totally quiet, silent, when it is in idle or when you ar not playing games.

 

When gaming mine gets pretty loud, but no louder than any game I happen to be running. Sitting idle on high performance sometimes the fans kick in, but to be fair my desk is cramped and cluttered. On integrated graphics, it's always silent.

 

I managed to get the following spec:

M18x /w Q2670 QM
16GB Ram
1 TB Raid 0 (2x 500gb)
2x HD 6990ms in CF
2 year accidental coverage
Rest is standard fair

For about 2900$ including Tax (I live in Canada... 12% tax )

Based on the price point.. You guys think it's worth taking the plunge? With new hardware coming out in a few months, and other options (Sager/Clevo)... I really wanted to get some more opinions about this laptop.

Any help would be appreciated guys.

 

It's all up to you and how patient you are man. With the way technology is advancing these days there is always something better "just around the corner." Two 6990m's will last you quite a while in my opinion, I am running two 6990m's and I can play anything on max settings with no issues going under 60 fps, except for ubersampling on The Witcher 2. If I were to give you advice though, I would suggest going with the lowest price hdd and ram as it seems like Dell overprices quite a bit for things that are easily upgraded from newegg or another comparable site. Get the best processor and graphics option you can as these are far more expensive and time consuming to upgrade then ram or a hdd.

 

Most odd part: The price for the lowest end model with a crossfire 6990m (4gb ram and 500gb hard drive) comes out to be more expensive than this config.

I got no problem waiting, but I'll probably end up paying more down the road? Is how I feel atm.

 

that's a great config, go on man.

well I play skyrim avery day so I never noticed the fan.

 

I'm playing a fair bit of Skyrim too (no gpu OC/cpu lvl3) - I do notice the fans but they only crank up to the middle setting and tends to be in blizzards etc...playing with all ultra & DX11 HRTP and AO set to quality (global power mgmnt set to prefer max performance & not set to adaptive). Game never dips below 45fps and often runs close to 100fps. Max temps 71c... Great graphics, great game....I love this beast!

 

Hurray!!!! My M18X has finally shipped. I should have it by Monday so I can put in my 16GB RAM and the Seagate Momentus XT 500GB

I'm still conflicted if I should take it apart and apply some Arctic Silver 5 over the standard thermal grease Alienware/Dell uses.

Any opinions ?

 

Hi,

Just to chip in.....

If you do want to strip it and put AS5 on, make sure its a clean application and not 'over the standard thermal grease'

Also, its probably not a bad idea to see how well the factory thermal interface is working prior to any stripping etc.

Regards,

Dave.

 

Tomorrow never comes and there will always be newer technology. If you're ever on the cutting edge, blink twice and it's over. That's a great config. Don't settle for a Sager/Clevo. They are inferior in almost every way, including warranty support and build quality.

 

While I can't speak for build quality, the warranty I am positive is a good bet. I know some of the techs that called to your house are full of fail at times, but the accidental coverage is just... Necessary for a 3k investment.

Here's to hoping I don't make the wrong decision.

 

I picked up a M18X from the Dell Outlet. I called them after seeing the 15% off on the site specials Ads and it said to call in for offline availability. I picked up a black unit with 2960XM with level 1 OC, Dual 500GB drives, 16 MB of 1600 ram, Blueray, Killer WiFi, 580M SLI, Win7 Ulitimate, and Soundblaster software. All for under $2500. I was going to wait for the new Sager but after the delays and some reading up I decided to go with an Alienware if the price was right. I think it was.

 

Most definitely, I would use the same method of application that I do with my desktop CPU/GPUs.

And you do make a good point to see how well the factory TIM holds up before putting myself through all that work.

 

Congrats and welcome to NBR!! That's one serious beast of a computer!! I know you'll be happier with Alienware. The community here is pretty good for the most part. If you have any questions PM me or give the forum a shot.

I also recommend participating in this thread, in and outside of NBR. Everyone there is "Elite" and a "Friend for Life". Don't pass it up.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-m18x-steam-origin-friends-conglomerate.html

 

That is one heck of a system!!!! It beats the one I have on order up pretty easily.

 

The build quality of the M18x is second to none. The chassis is aluminum and it has a durable anodized color coating that looks like a million bucks. The thought of buying a plastic chassis laptop makes me feel ill after owning an M17x R2 and M18x. Fit and finish are impeccable. There is simply no match for the M18x in quality, performance and price.

Many of the outsourced third-party techs are incompetent and do much harm. Many are excellent and very competent. You will find that scenario in any business. The warranty is unmatched, but the best option to avoid the fallout of incompetence is to do any repairs yourself (unless you're accident prone and tend to break things you try to fix). In the event you need to use the warranty for part replacement, talk with your Alienware Support rep about "Parts Only" dispatch. If they resist, ask to have your case escalated to a manager for further discussion. (Level 1 Support often balks at POS, but managers and Level 2/3 reps are usually a little more open minded and caring.)

Awesome machine... congratulations, and welcome to the "M18x Club" bro.

 

wow man enjoy it!

 

Hi Guys. I apologize if this is a noob question, or if it has been discussed at length and I have missed it.

I have a M18x on the way. I can't wait! I'm a little unsure about something I would like to do though. The M18x I'm getting has a standard DVD drive in it, and I would like to put a Blu-Ray drive in there instead.

Currently, I have a M17x R3 that has a Blu-Ray drive, and I want to do a drive swap between the two machines. I've looked around on Google for instructions on how to do this and I came across the service manuals for both machines that show the instructions on how to go about it.

My question is if this is going to be as difficult as it looks? I've disassembled laptops before, so that part doesn't worry me too much. What does concern me a little bit is it seems I may have to tear down these machines more than I would like to simply swap optical drives. I'm fearful I may get in over my head and not be able to put it back together.

Any help any of you could provide would be appreciated.

 

Well, that's interesting. If I tried to do any repairs myself, wouldn't that void the warranty?

For instance, I REALLY want to put some IC Diamond 7 on the GPU. Or I really want to install an SSD as a boot drive. If I do either of the above by myself, wouldn't that void the warranty? Is there anyway to get this done without voiding said warranty? (Oh and grats on that redic. outlet deal!)

 

REALLY getting excited about ordering one of these for myself.. a few new questions.

I want something that will last me for a while as far as basic gaming goes, i'm huge into MMORPGS like guild wars 2 and tera and WoW but also play new titles like BF3 from time to time. Now, I know the M18X can run any of these maxxed out at 1920x1080 but how will it deal with games in say 2-3 years?

Basically I want to be future proof if i'm spending upwards of 3000$ at least for 3 years. I don't care about graphics, so would i be able to play new gen games in the future at low settings 1920x1080 with no frame problems? how would the m18x work as far as recording and doing youtube commentaries on new releases?

i've literally watched every video of unboxing for the m18x and reviews on it on youtube and pretty much know what i'm getting but i want opinions.

also, the new R2 coming out in april or so. would it be safer to wait and get that and will the new GPUs be better then the current by a fair amount?

 

I've never done one this complicated either. I printed the manuals out, yes, you have to actually remove the screen also, quite a bit to it. The connectors for keyboard, drives, etc all slide out, so don't panic if they slide out or if putting it back together, your keyboard no longer works (speaking from experience), you'll just tear it apart again and insert the keyboard connector (looks like a thin electrical tape/connector/circuit board to me). I separated the screws for every part (or every step according to the service manual), there are a couple videos but the manual pretty much says it all but you'll understand once you dive in. Keep a couple cloths around to protect the screen etc. A nice big table helps or plenty of room to separate components. Hardest part for me was the what I think was the i/o board you have to disconnect to get the dvd drive out. Btw, your don't need a torx wrench either....(yes, I tried that, those have nothing to do with disassembling the laptop)

 

The M18x is built to be user serviceable. If you got the advanced warranty you can quite literally drop it down the stairs and they'll fix it. If you want, you can re-read the warranty agreement but there's not much you can do to void the warranty. A good chunk of people on this board (myself included) have repasted their CPUs and GPUs and had warranty work done

 

Well this is promising. I do have the advanced warranty, but when I talked to the sales associate over the phone he told me that if you open it up yourself you void the warranty.

So, I don't know what to think about this.

 

I think you're just talking to the wrong person and getting bad information. (Ask the person that told you that to show you where such verbiage can be found in the Alienware warranty.) I have done my own repairs with Dell/Alienware blessing numerous times. Alienware computers are made for enthusiasts, and real enthusiasts take their systems apart, if for no reason other than simple maintenance. I prefer POS over a tech dispatch and Dell/Alienware has been very accommodating with that.

Now, if you were to break something due to carelessness or inexperience trying to take apart the M18x, that damage would be a different story and most likely would not be covered under the warranty provisions for defects in the system.

The other thing is, unless you are having unusual problems with overheating, there is no good reason to take apart the M18x to re-paste anything. The factory thermal interface material (TIM) works just fine, even in overclocked systems. The M18x has an awesome cooling system and there is nothing to be gained unless the factory TIM was incorrectly applied. Doing so in the absence of an overheating issue would be a waste of time and money.

It's not difficult, although it can be a little intimidating if you don't have a lot of experience working on laptops. Unless you are accident prone, take it slow and follow the service manual instructions and things will turn out fine. After you've done it once or twice it's a piece of cake. The most challenging part is removing the bezel that surrounds the keyboard. Be gentle with and nothing will get broken. After you've removed and installed it a couple of times it will come on and off without a lot of effort.

 

I can attest to this. I was a little too rough the first time and now it doesn't quite sit flush on the screen hinges.

 

Another question I was wondering about.

Am I able to add an SSD, or something like that to the computer of my own volition? Or can I only add components purchased from Dell themselves?

 

You may buy stuff from any where you like and install it without any problems. If we had to buy everything from Dell I would be broke.

 

you'r absolutely right mr. fox, the dell thermal paste is good enough. unless you are having unusual problems with overheating, there is no good reason to take apart the M18x to re-paste anything.

 

homank76 is correct. You can do all kinds of things to the m18x... upgrade SSD, RAM, CPU, etc. As long as what you do does not break something, there's really no issue. Understandably, Dell/Alienware will only provide a warranty on what they sell you. It's pretty simple if you look at it this way. If you want the legendary Dell warranty to cover SSD drives, Extreme CPU, etc, then you need to buy an M18x with all of the goodies installed from the factory.

Thanks for the affirmation. +1 rep.

 

Ah right, I wouldn't expect them to replace or fix things that were not on the laptop when I first had it built.

Just wondering, is there any number I can call that would allow me to talk to someone who is more experienced with the warranty than a sales associate? It appears I've been getting QUITE a bit of misinformation here.

 

k guys i might need quite a bit of advice here as i am completely stuck.. =/, anyone thats good in this area please help me out.

currently im trying to make my m18x dual boot with win7 and xp, my xp is cracked and worked on my OLD OLD desktop, and installed on my 5 year old sony laptop just fine, so the dvd/installation works, but whenever i use it on my m18x when it loads to window or reads partition c: d: (i make a separate partition for window xp) etc, it blue screen.

thats the first step i have to get through before actual installation happens, and 2nd of all, after i installed xp on my Sony laptop to test it out i realized the drivers dont work, its meant for vista, not XP. so then i searched through the web to look for drivers for my model to downgrade, and no luck. so is there m18x drivers for window xp users out there? cause i will most likely need the wireless driver for wireless internet, sound driver, and graphics driver the 3 main ones, oh and chipset..

 

Not meaning to be rude, but read it yourself. It's a long read to be sure, but it's good to have knowledge of it and have your bases covered.

 

I just had to replace motherboard again recently and motherboard was in some sort of engineering mode and when first turning on the Alienhead didn't show and had engineering mode - level 47 in Yellow DOS text. will post a screenshot later. Just thought it was interesting. but now i again have SATA3 dropping to sata2 issue again! such a wierd issue as some motherboards work???

 

There is no support or discussion for cracked/pirated software on this forum. Please refer to forum rules. You'll need to first get a legal copy of XP and if it does not work correctly, then we can have discussion about how to make it work properly.

How strange. I'd like to see that screen shot. Did you flash the BIOS to A04 or A05 to see if that corrects the problem. I have seen more than one mobo with A00 and you need A04 or higher for proper GTX 580M support.

 

here we are Fox (ignore quit.app dialog as it was a screen shot of a frame of video on iphone4 as it flashed on the screen at boot really fast) the Fn + X returned it to normal

 

so my friend just lent me his xp cd, which is a legit copy, and i still get blue screen.
do i have to take the harddrive out and put it into my other old desktop/laptop and install xp on it, then put the drive back into m18x and boot it to XP, then install drivers?

 

Hi,

Sounds like XP doesnt like the m18x - the m18x is about 3 generations above XP though - so you may be getting BS due to this ?

If you really need XP why not run it virtually ? Ive had good results using Virtualbox with XP/ubuntu/Hackintosh before. Will save messing around with partitions too

HTH,

Dave.

 

im using home premium so no virtual machine for win7 home premium edition.. =/

 

Before i start,
I have the Soundblaster add-on sound I bought as an option on my 18x

Question 1:

Is there a way when I am inside a game, or any otehr full screen application

to Turn Up and down the sound ?

I tried hitting the top right lighted buttons, and apart from turning OFF my wireless adapter , could not get tehsound to go up/down.

Question 2:

At 100% sound level, playing Youtube it's not very high volume wise/ Its still factory fresh, is there anything I am missing

Question 3:

I have 2 750MB Drices inside, and it shows as 1285 MB free; is RAID -o working, and what is RAID-O effect wise compared to a normal laptop with 1-2 drives standard?

thx all

Lovely machine, any tips/tricks appreciated!!

take care all!

jean-M

 

In order:

1. I notice that sometimes the keys will work, and sometimes they won't. In BF3 they work fine in-game, but in Skyrim they don't. Hopefully someone else has a fix they can share.

2. Might just be the youtube video. You can open up the Sound Mixer by clicking the "Mixer" button on the volume control and make sure the levels for your browser are turned up as well.

3. Seems like all is well. If it's in RAID-0 it should all be showing up as one volume with about 1.36TB of free space if it's totally empty.

Be sure to browse this handy thread if you have any issues: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...source-index-links-helpful-threads-posts.html

 

Question 1 Followup:
So it is the keys, on the top right hand then ?

the game affected is SWTOR, a new MMO.

Question 2 Followup:
In relation to 2, yes I wa smaxxed on both at 100% and the volume is quite low ? how do I fix this ?

Thx ina dvance
JM

 

XP sometimes has an issue on newer laptops. I hate to say it.. but it might just be time to go with Win 7..

 

For better sound type IDT in the search box then select it now change the presets to movie it works wonders Also make sure the volume is all the way up on YouTube. Hope this helps

 

Okay guys, need your opinion on something. I currently own a M17x r3, but I've got a great deal on a M18x.

My M17x r3:
- i7-2860QM
- NVIDIA GTX 580M
- 8GB 1600MHz RAM
- 1920x1080 120Hz 3D screen /w 3D glasses
- Killer Wireless-N 1103
- Blu-Ray Reader
- 750GB 7200RPM HDD

The proposed M18x:
- i7-2630QM
- Dual AMD 6990M Crossfire
- 4GB 1600MHz RAM
- 1920x1080 60Hz screen
- Intel Advanced-N 6200
- DVD-RW drive
- 500GB 7200RPM HDD

The 256 M4 SSD I have listed in my signature will stay with me either way. I've worked it out so that if I sell my M17x, it'll give me just enough if not a little more money than what the M18x will cost. So what do you guys think? I'm nervous about AMD, but 2 cards is better than one right?

 

I would stick with the M17x. The only upgrade there is the video cards, but do you really need the 6990 Xfire setup?

 

lol i am using win7, but i wanna be able to dual boot and have xp for some old program and old games i use.