*OFFICIAL* M18x Owner's Lounge Thread

Oh all right, thanks for giving me an idea. I'm planning to buy an SSD and the 580M SLI

 

I disagree with saying that ssd will not help. With a game with heavy texture loads a SSD will absolutely improve performance. And I play BF3 on high settings NP.

 

When you play BF 3 what is your fps? Also include skyrim?

 

No need to create the "hidden partition" as Windows will do that on its own.

For ongoing discussion, this would be a more relevant thread than the Owner's Lounge:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...llation-questions-troubleshooting-thread.html

The opening post may be helpful for you, bro.

 

An SSD will help your load times while gaming, that's about it. But to the OP, if you want to be ale to play current gen and future games on High/Ultra, you'll definitely want to look into upgrading your video card or grabbing another 560M and an SLI cable. The 560M can pull it's own weight, but it's not going to do everything on the highest settings.

 

Agreed. More power is always better. I was just saying after spending 2k the upgrade could wait if needed. You can still enjoy the rig with the 460m/

 

unityole
I never had luck installing from the usb 3.0 port. i had to always install from a usb 2.0 port, because it will not load usb 3.0 drivers like windows xp wont install raid drivers, but windows 7 will... speculation of course.....

 

The biggest upgrade would be to get initially 1x 580m or a 6990m or a 675m in the next few months, if the budget is there before going with an ssd.

This will make sure your laptop will be more future proof say a year from now when bf4 is released you can be sure it will still play at medium settings at least as opposed to having a single 560m.

Upgradeability options as well when you'd need to go dual 580m or crossfire 6990m.

While going with an ssd will save you a few seconds loading time but will add 0 increase in fps which is more important in games.

Take note being in the philippines it'll be a bit harder to sell high end laptop parts, so take that into consideration

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk

 

Hello thanks for the replies. I'll take not of them all, it looks like I would have to empty my pockets again! HAHA! On the lighter side, my alienware m18x arrived today from the US to the Philippines. It looks amazing and really feels amazing! Although, i think my trackpad is a bit messed up? The left button on the track pad seems jammed compared to the right one. Is there a fix to this? If none its alright I can still use it. It just gets a bit annoying as how it is not the same level with the right button of the trackpad.


++EDIT++

I played Skyrim on High and it faired really well. It's very playable. Felt like I was playing from an xbox 360.

 

thanks a lot man ppreciate it !! i'll post there soon i'll just play around some more to see if i can get it to work lol, hope i dont break the bios by accident =/

yea, i got my asus g74sx to install from usb 3.0 no problem, which is weird lol, and it took about 5 mins cause im only using solid 3.. SLOOWWW. thanks for helping me though.

that aside, is m18x R2 gonna be out at end of april? cause i know ivy chips are shipped out at 29th of april

 

Congrats on the new system.

You can fix that issue with the button, or you can have Alienware send you a new palm rest assembly. The button does not line up most likely because the metal bracket on the underside is distorted. It seems they are send out a bunch of them with that messed up. There's information on that in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/653500-m18x-palm-rest-touchpad-fit.html

 

Thank you very much for the reply Mr. Fox I think i'll be the one to fix this. I don't want to bother sending my m18x back to US just to fix a very very small problem. You did say on the other thread that it can be fixed by removing the screws and manually placing the palm rest to fit properly.

 

True, it doesn't necessarily lead to more FPS, but it DOES have a huge impact on Load times for levels. This is especially true for large games that have huge environments with load-points that are not set in stone.

It makes every game perform a lot better in these ancillary areas, and can improve game-play by virtual of seamless transitions and loading.

 

Are you referring to the actual game loaded on the SSD itself or does it work the same if you load most of the game on the second HDD and and launch it from the SSD....hope the makes sense.

 

In game loading. Games typically have Gigs of data from textures right on through to the models and maps. Usually, each level is loaded into memory from the disk during game play.

That is why there is usually a pause between levels with a "loading" type screen. Some games with open environments will mask the loading points, but the are not always seamless, usually there is a short pause as you cross the "threshold" to the next segment.

Games with all of the files on the SSD will load considerably quicker between sections or levels. If your files are on a mechanical HD, they will load much slower. (And console ports where it stays on the disc are even slower to load)

Take Mass Effect 3. The wait between missions or areas on the PC with a Hard drive can be 5-20 seconds. On an SSD the wait is usually nothing to no more than 5-6 seconds.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

I can second that. When I got my M18x it came with the HDD (7200rpm) raid 0 config and I installed MW3 and BF3 on it. MW3 took forever to load and it was honestly a real put off waiting for it to load because everyone was already inside the map playing whilst I was still loading. BF3 was a mess when loading off HDD's; those things suck loading massive games, no joke 1 time I was so frustrated waiting that I actually exited and put a stop watch on from when I joined the server until I was actually in and it took me between 7-10 minutes to load the map on average.

Then I went out and bought a Intel 520 ssd 240gb and that just changed the whole M18x experience from to awesome. Games are loading 10 fold quicker, windows boots so fast maybe from alienware logo to actually using the desktop 20 seconds. Obviously ssd's aren't going to give you 2-5 more fps in gameplay but it's there so your in the game that much faster, more reliable and it should make your life more enjoyable if your using your computer often! Just a bit of advice for anyone looking to buy a M18x from dell don't buy their over priced ssd's, I live in Australia and when I ordered my set-up with a ssd I asked the customer service guys to send me a email for how much their ssd's are going to cost and they replied with 1 ssd sata 3gbps $800 aus raid 0 $1,550. I almost shat myself and said to myself I can go to my local store and get 2 Intel 520 ssd for the price of their 1 ssd

 

Hi, i've been reading some advices for getting a new m18x. I'd like you also to give me more advices about a new m18x.
My m18x would be for gaming and engineering software, also for programming, and simulation on physics. I've read that it's better to get dual gpu's instead of anthing alse, and everthing else can be upgraded later at a cheaper price.
I'm planning to get it bought by a frind at us because i don't find these laptops at my country's dealer. I thought there was an aid for non us costumers, but the thread was closed. That's why i ask this again
I think that's it, thank you very much for your advices.
Greetings

 

simulations of physics should be done on the gpu depending on how demanding they are.

you would probably be fine with a 2670 tbh. if you were an autocad/3d renderer (lightwave,3dmax, maya etc..) /video encoderthen 2960Xm all the way.

 

i need both features, i study both carreers and i'm really interested in simulations and mechanical design (solidworks, autocad). also elarning programming (c++, fortran) and math software (matlab, mathematica).

 

2960xm cpu + nvidia gpus + 8gb memory + 4 year complete care

to be honest id recommend getting a Sager/Clevo X7200

 

pretty sad that vertex 4 only has decent write speed, i was about to get two of those into my alienware and then read the review =(( probably best ssds atm are samsung 830, intel 520, kingstonhyperx and vertex 3 max iops lol. surprisingly older vertex and kingston still good.

anyway, thought i would ask it here someone might have answer to this.. is there anyway to delete the bluetooth thing permanently in m18x? same with webcam. out of the 5 years i owned my sony laptop, not once i used bluetooth nor webcam lol, i would like them deleted instead of seeing them in device manager =/

 

I know you can uninstall the webcam because the M18x comes with a webcam cd. As for the bluetooth, I'm not sure but I think bluetooth is so small that it shouldn't matter too much.

I personally have the Intel 520 ssd and the kingston hyperX both 240gb and I have to agree that they are the best and most reliable ssd's out there. Intel 520 ssd is in my M18x and my Kingston hyperX is in raid 0 in my desktop and they are both fantastic.

 

i found out that i can disable bluetooth in the bios lol, pretty weird.

also for tier 1 ssds, i think its vertex max iops and samsung 830, then kingston/intel 520. cant seem to find any slc ssd lol, those are super expensive.

 

If you are running low on space.. you can do a couple of things to free some up. You can Reduce the recycle bin's size.. and you can reduce or eliminate your page file too.

 

I thought I remembered reading with SSD's, they suggest to "remove files immediately when deleted". That's the way I set mine to. This should help with trim (not available yet (till rst 11.5) in raid) and garbage.

 

So for those who were aware of the back and forth I have had with Dell, it has culminated in the following email being sent to them:


I received a GTX 560m SLI machine today with a 2860qm cpu. After being told I would be given some upgrades to help compensate for the trouble - LOL.

Any one know any effective ways to escalate an issue and get a quick resolution out of Dell?

MOD NOTE: Do not post content from private correspondence, such as email or chat, within the forums.

 

i understand ur frustration mang, their quality check is just terrible. i bought a brand new laptop now that i think of it, they have given me a used/ refurbished one with bunch of problems, i didnt really cared much until my machine starts to make bunch of beeping noise and hangups/ freezes.

but one thing you have to be aware of is their policy, rather many companies policy. they will send u refurbished/used laptop as a "full replacement" if you had owned your original laptop for too long. even though we all purchased the new, they tend to give to the thought that it was you who broke the machine, since the operator over the phone doesnt do the quality check, thus they give you a new "used" one instead of a brand new.

ive seen this stories many times mate, i myself experienced this but fortunately i only had my machine for about a month and half, and during all that time they repaired a total of 5 times so i was able to get a brand new one.

one important thing to know though, always act fast, and act friendly even if you are extremely disappointed and frustrated. hide the hate and most likely you'll find someone nice enough to give you what you need.

edit: i just read it again and you said they would give you a brand new lol, i guess its their mistake. terribad.

 

PM sent your way with some info - hope it helps Bro....

 

I have been very kind and patient, since January. I gave them every chance in the world to succeed - they just fail to repeatedly on their own. In particular the guy I have been dealing with has disappeared leaving me guessing multiple times. That level of customer service from a level 2 tech not some call center in India was very disappointing. After the latest 2 week outage....I emailed him asking for a status update (asked kindly too) and he responded with "sorry I have been out of office for a few weeks, apparently it was approved and you should get it soon" meaning he was clueless in addition to always being gone (he already used the Jury Duty excuse once). I felt he could have at least given me a heads up he would be gone, or an alternate person to contact. I tried to be a patient considerate person but all of that culminating in a extremely subpar replacement has just pissed me off too much.

 

Man, i think my speakers are broke too. Hopefully this is the last bad thing that will happen to my Alienware. For some reason, my left speaker is somewhat broken. (Sorry, i do not really know the term.) It's like it got broken from playing loud music, which I do not really play sounds nor music loud. :/ Very annoying. Is there a way to order speakers from Dell?

 

Kyrius - see if the information in this post helps... http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/602696-8x-audio-popping-noise.html#post7882398. (Post #17 in the same thread has a screen shot.)

 

Sadly, it does not work for me

 

Update for me

Happy times! So despite the lower gpu and cpu specs, I am getting an upgraded wifi, windows (ultimate) and 16gb of 1600 ram. To fix the other things, they are sending GTX 580m SLI to me early next week and swapping the 2920xm from my current laptop into the replacement. I have to say that I will be a very happy customer

 

dell's magical service strikes again

 

That is why I keep coming back. They have a lot of bureaucracy in their system, but ultimately I have always been happy with them...

Finally got all of my family off of HPs and using Dell laptops now (each parent now uses a Precision workstation - JEALOUS OF DOCKING STATION)

 

Great news Scook! - its good to know that even though you had to endure a balls-up, Dell made good for you....happy days!

 

Yeah we are hoping for an Alien docking station integrated with a cooler...

 

Do Dell sell a M18x speaker? I would like to replace my left speaker because it is vibrating really bad when the sound is high. Very very annoying. :S

 

Kyrius, call Dell support, if your laptop is still under warranty, they'll replace the speakers.

 

I think everyone can agree that dell's customer service is really good. Although I must say that some of the time the person on the other end of the chat or phone are pretty useless when it's down to understanding what your talking about and they seem to think that you are making it up and it's not genuine! i wanted to get my computer fixed because I plugged the AC Adapter into the M18x it would switch between battery power and ac adapter and it would always switch; tried talking to them and it was like trying to explain rocket science to a 5 year old mmmm some of them are not helpful!

 

I agree... Alienware Support is very good, but mostly that is true for customers that are blessed with access to the US- and Costa Rica-based support teams. International customers that have no option but to go through India-based Dell Support or a third-party contractor are not so fortunate.

Those that are in the US or Canada should avoid contacting Dell Support and deal only with Alienware Support by calling 1-800-ALIENWARE. In my experience, there is a huge difference in the quality of support.

 

thats something i should take note of

 

Very true, you want to talk to the Alienware people and not the Dell people

 

My left speaker seems to rattle quite a bit too. Let me know how the replacement works out please.

 

Yeah! That is the term! Rattles! Well, I can't really send back my alienware m18x back to dell because it would be a great hassle. (Philippines to USA shipping will cost A LOT) I guess I have to bare with it and use the volume at the mid level. Nothing to worry too, I just bought a headset from Razer Tiamats!

 

Hmm.. I need to open up my chassis and take a look. Either the speaker has become loose in its housing, or it has a an issue with excursion. I'm a bit of a speaker nut, so this could be a good project.

 

Ha. Same, i'm an audiophile too. Let me know if you get to fix it by messing with the speakers' housing. I'll probably open up my m18x and do something with my messed up trackpad and speakers.

 

anyone knows FueledByFate?

 

Since I plan to upgrade to the 2960xm down the road sometime I went ahead and bought the double heat sink. If I install this now will I gain any benefit with my 2760 processor?