*OFFICIAL* M18x Owner's Lounge Thread

Well, it should run cooler for sure

 

That should be a given. Is there actually a program that can record the temperatures during tests like benching. That way I could compare the results of before and after?

 

Yeah, plenty of programs that can monitor your cpu. You could try any of the following - HWiNFO seems to be popular along with HWMonitor and also RealTemp.

Mr.Fox set up a nice thread about monitoring cpu/gpu temps whilst in-game etc and you may wish to implement that to help.

 

I don't want to monitor...I want to record it...

 

HWiNFO64 has a logging button for you to record stats - check the spoiler - I have circled the button at the bottom.

Spoiler

 

Awesome!!!! Rep giving...

 

Actually, I think that all of the programs I linked have some way of logging the stats - have a read through those links to be sure.

 

It was your wording that gave me the wrong message. Plus I keep seeing HWiNFO64 every where; so that will be the program I go with.

Once I get the results, should I start a seperate thread or add to a current one?

 

If its to post up your comparisons between your cpu temps using stock single pipe HS vs. Dual Pipe HS, I imagine you would be ok to create a thread as it may well be informative for other users with non-xm cpu's (they may wish to do the same as you). Alternatively, you would be ok to post here or maybe over at the benchmarking thread (as its numbers you are comparing) - either way, ask a moderator if you are unsure as a newly created thread may just get merged into another existing thread....I am sure Mr. Fox would be able to tell you .....

 

Here I thought you were a MOD....MODS make him a MOD...

Steve, you know your stuff or at least do the proper research!

 

Hahaha (+rep for the compliment!) - thanks for the kind words Bro! - TBH, most of the stuff I know has come from the last 2yrs of owning an Alienware system and from being a regular here on NBR, reading & researching as much as I could to learn! - There is still a vast amount that I don't know, but knowledge only comes with making an effort to find out, right?

 

May I ask how old you are?

That is one of the best statements that I've seen that is actually true.

 

I'm 38 years young LOL

 

I don't feel so bad...I'm 18 with 18 years of experiance...

 

That's the good thing about computers - age isnt really a barrier to enjoying them. The only real barrier is cost - I find it quite amusing to think that whislt Alienware is predominantly aimed at gamers, normally to afford one you would have to NOT be a teenager AND have a great salary to own one - the TWO things that would generally rule out alot of younger "gaming" folk from owning one! LOL - (I guess the smaller/less spec'd systems help out there though....)

 

Actually age has to do with everything. Older you get the more you hait change from what I can tell, and change is everything. Nothing but one big circle.

 

True. I think change can scare people if they become to comfortable with things but life would be pretty boring without change....just gotta embrace it and get on with life and enjoy things the best you can. At 38, I never thought I would start getting into gaming - now there's a change LOL !!

 

Never too Old to have fun! (Not that 38 is old.. trust me on that one..)

I bought my M18X to start having fun again.. Life was getting a bit too serious.. Everyone needs a small break from reality.. Games are a good, inexpensive way to do that.

 

Totally agree, yep reality lol.

 

The whole M18x forum is always really slow during the day. I have to keep creeping over in the Alienware General and M17x Forums to keep from getting bored. lol

 

The only folks that own them sleep during the day.. Its because we are up all-night playing games and generally having a better time than most humans.

 

Long live the aliens!

BTW: I'm 68 young and still kicking!

 

SOS4DELL, Really funny i knew it was an alien. hahaha

 

Just got my M18x, really impressed with the build quality but unfortunately the keyboard trim/media cover is really close to the space bar and D-pad keys, so everytime I press the spacebar is chafes and makes a clattering sound. Sometimes the spacebar doesnt really spring back up properly as it rubs against the media bar.

I have tried taking out the keyboard trim and reseating it but unfortunately no matter how hard I try I cannot remove the top part of it (where the power buttons and media buttons are) so I only 'half' take it out. But no matter what I do it still rubs against the spacebar. Thought I could live with it but after an hour its starting to annoy me.
Part of the media cover is also bulging out, this just under the D-Pad and the clip that is supposed to clip in doesn't. In fact I can remove the bottom part of the keyboard trim without having to remove any screws.

Anyone else got this problem?

 

Sometimes, when putting the media panel back on, you need to make sure that it "snaps" into place all the way around the keyboard itself. There are clips all the way around the media panel which click into place to make it flush around the KB - I have experienced this "chaffing" a few times too - after reassembly - what cured it for me (and was simply me being too gentle in the first place) was to push down firmly on the media panel around the spacebar - with sufficient pressure & slightly toward the space bar itself, you may well just hear or feel it "snap" back into place.....other than that, you need to contact Dell and get a replacement media panel which should sort it out, as yours may have had a few clips broken during assembly by the sound of it.

 

its simple, call dell up and have them sent a out tech and replace the keyboard for you lol.

when i first got mine, the top row keys get stuck, mainly ESC, f2 f4, 5 6 8 11 etcetc gets stuck when pressed down. the key simply doesnt come back up.

 

Hm.. I've had 5 tech visits, 1 depot, and 1 replacement -- this M18x.

I bet Dell are sick of hearing my voice complaining about the problems I am having. Do they even have quality control at that Chinese factory of theirs!?

 

prank1 - I don't have that problem. My keyboard fits great and so does the bezel. I've had both out probably a dozen times tinkering and they fit as perfectly as they did the day I unboxed the beast. Not sure why yours is any different unless something is not assembled properly, or something is deformed or broken by the folks in China that assembled it.

Guys, I'm 49. I work 10 to 12 hours a day or more, manage to game and bench until midnight, then it's up and at 'em at 5:00AM every day. Nobody should be sleeping during the day, LOL... unless they work a graveyard shift.

 

Thanks pal! ( and I love Brooklyn, NY land of the most special terrestrial aliens!)

 

prank1 - get a replacement computer, see if you could get them to do it. having it fixed so many times, it should qualify for replacement lol.

fox - study shows little sleep results in memory loss and other serious illness if you're unlucky lol. the longest guy went without sleep was 11 days back couple decades ago. the guy is now 70ish or 80 im not sure which but he has some serious problems to deal with.

 

Lol this M18x is the replacement, but I've emailed Dell about it now

 

i hope the replacement is a brand new machine lol, did you check for any scratches or anything similar? they tend to give a refurbished one as replacement.

 

Hm.. well it came in a brand new box with all the acessories (manual, cap, mousemat, etc) and Dell did spend a week building it. But there doesn't seem to be any signs of use, just a little shoddy workmanship

 

Im thinking to purchase this laptop and have question about noise.How loud it is at idle on when just browsing the net? I don't care if it's loud when gaming because it's normal for gaming laptop.

 

It's silent at idle.

I moved your thread into the M18x Owner's Lounge. If you have any more questions about the M18x, this is the best thread to ask them in.

 

I've notice following behavior with idle temps with 6990xfire with the A05 Bios was wondering if other people's cards behave the similar way too... the fans usually stay 1800-2000RPM until temps drops until about 42-46C then fan turns off until GPU hits approx 62C then same cycle

 

How old is current laptop body design? Are they planning to build new one?

 

Sounds perfectly normal idle behaviour to me. As long as the temps arent exceeding 62-63c (unless under full gaming load of course) that's fine. The fans do take "turns" , if you like, to heat up and then cool down. You may well notice while your primary hits 62c, your secondary is quite cool at maybe mid 40c's - when the fan kicks in for the primary, that temp will drop to mid 40c's and the secondary will then reach 62c before its fans kick in....this pattern repeats and repeats. Perfectly normal.

The current M18x build is around 12 months old. There should be a revision in the near future but no details of exactly when - also, this does not necessarily mean a whole new laptop - could be a few design tweaks and some newer hardware - possibly IvyBridge cpu's and new gpu options.

 

yeah man you good. mine do the same thing but it turns off all the fan until temps reach 60c then fan turns on until temps drops to 50c.

 

Mine isn't. It's not terribly loud but I can hear it. Fan at 30% from boot up.

 

AMD GPU? My 580M SLI setup has no fan noise at idle on A04. The exception is when streaming video, like youtube, as that loads the GPU system enough that the fans ramp up a little bit. They are not loud, but you can hear them if there is no other noise in the room. On A05 my 580M SLI setup has the erratic fan behavior that is needed for some systems with AMD 6990M CrossFire in order to prevent GPU overheating and thermal shutdown. You can hear the fans most of the time on A05 BIOS, but it's still not very loud and not a big problem.

 

^ I don't think AMD Xfire setup makes a lot of noise. Mine is Xfire and it's mostly quiet. I can hear it when I play games but it's not very disturbing. And this is coming from a guy who has sensitive hearing.

 

^I think you may have misunderstood my comment, or maybe I worded it poorly. I am not saying 6990M CrossFire is noisy. The fans are more audible with A05 regardless of which GPU setup you are running because A05 runs the fans more. This was necessary because some AMD 6990M CrossFire owners where having serious issues with overheating and thermal shutdown because their fans were not turning on. That was the only reason I asked if he had AMD. If he had NVIDIA, I was going to suggest dropping back to A04 for less erratic fan activity. Regardless of which video system it has, unless you manually force the fans to 100%, the M18x is a quiet system.

 

my is 2670/4gb/dual 560sli/ssd

 

uh m18x r2 is end of this month? or early june?

 

Yes it is CF 6990. It doesn't bother me really.

 

No one know brother. And there is a tread for that kinda a question.

 

Yeah I guess I misunderstood it. I guess I'm rather fortunate that my system runs cool considering the heat in my place.

 

Hey guys, quick question:

My M18x lid-Alienhead does not have the independent lighting board; it gets its light directly from the LCD back-light.

However my M17xR3 has the independent lighting board. Can I remove it from the M17xR3 and put it into the M18x?

 

Not sure how you would connect it up to the mobo to get the power to the FX lights/board working as there is no empty connection on the M18x mobo to support a lit lid logo.....maybe you could hook it up to the LED Logo-board (the "lit up" Alienware logo on the bottom of the display) with a bit of cut'n'splicing of some wires.......could work then so you may be able to control the colour via Command Centre - whatever colour you set for the logo would be the same as the lid. Not sure which wires from the logo-board you would have to splice and join together but its something to ponder over as it would be really cool if you could get it working.

Maybe someone else has a better suggestion, I dunno!