*OFFICIAL* M18x R1/R2 Owner's Lounge Thread

Nice pics electrosoft....+rep!

I'm guessing that the triple piped cpu heatsink would be backwards compatable with the R1, right?

 

@electrosoft
Thank you for the great pictures !

Did you buv an XM CPU pre-overclocked stock ? (I'm asking myself if non stock OC'd CPU have the 3 heatsink)

Another question, is it now possible to switch between IGPU and SLI/CFX without reboot pain ?

 

yes thats something id like to know as well!

and also guys, ive mentioned before which also included a link that most msata ports on most motherboard comes with sataII 3gbps, however heres another interesting find for msata.

donno if its just MSI or perhaps we have higher chance getting a msata on a 6gbps sata port or msata port itself supports speed beyond that of 3gbps. but anyway heres the review on the new laptop of MSI GT70 Review MSI GT70 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

now for most of you probably dont know the design of MSI's new laptop, they have a SINGLE HDD that is 9.5mm, and a raid 0 set of two msata SSDs. if you scroll down to crystal disk benchmark and you'll see the number for the raid 0 msata comes out to average around 800MB/s sequential. as we all know its impossible to have two SATAII SSds in raid 0 to go above 600 MB/s, so its obvious the msata drive itself and it's dual ports are over SataII 3gbps speed, which is probably a great news? and MAYBE alienware is a 6gbps msata porty.


edit: the only bad news is that MSI probably use both of its sataIII 6gbps port for the dual msata SSDs while the single HDD uses sataII speed, which in the end still limited by the motherboard and that is in this case the same as alienware. internal motherboard only has two SataIII port, and of course already used up in the tri ssd/hdd caddy.

basically, someone who bought R2 and a 6gbps msata ssd will have to confirm this, theres probably no other way around it.

 

I thought it would be the case that MSI have used the Sata III ports for the mSata's where as Dell used them for the HDD caddy - they are just utilising the same ports available to us but in a different configuration.....

 

So would it theoretically be possible for both the M18x R1 and R2 to have the same hard drive setup as the MSI?

I assume this could be achieved by using the two SataIII ports for dual mSATA drives with RAID0 and the other SataII port for a 2.5" HDD ( in the case of the M18x R1 the 2.5" third drive would have to occupy the optical drive bay ).

Please correct me if i've overlooked any details.

 

Yes, in theory. However, in practical application they would not be equivalent if the MSI 6GB/s ports are limited to mSATA. I would regard the 2 SATA 3.0 6gb/s ports being wasted on the mSATA form factor as a poor design on MSI's part. Somebody was asleep at the wheel on that decision. Having the mSATA ports is nice as long as they are extra ports and not the only option. The selection of available SATA 3.0 mSATA drives is limited and the pricing is asinine.

 

I certainly agree with that! thanks for your answer.

 

My M18x R2 is still in the production phase, and I'm beginning to second guess my choice of cpu. I went with the i7-3820QM (8MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0), and now I'm really wishing that I had gone with the xm. Is the one I'm getting overclockable? Should I try to get my order changed or is it too late for that? I'm spending nearly 5K on this laptop and don't want to be gimped right out of the gate. I know a lot more about desktop hardware than I do laptops, but looking at the short specs listed on the alienware site the only difference between the 2 appears to be 100Mhz clock. Thanks

Full specs below.

i7-3820QM (8MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)

16GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz

CrossfireX 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M

512GB Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s

Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming and Video and Bluetooth 4.0

Accidental Damage Service, 3 Years

 

I bought it non-overclocked. Besides a few differences and tweaks to the BIOS, the process is still the same for overclocking XM CPUs. It still has the same Level 1,2,3 (Here's the Level 3 settings):



The GPU/CPU heatsinks are interchangeable.

I checked my order, and while the CPU Heatsink physically says Dell P/N 00MXJ5:



The order says:

0MXJ5 1 Assembly, Heatsink, Central Processor Unit, QC XE, M18XR2

Just in case you get caught up on that extra leading zero.

You need an Extreme Edition (XM) CPU to use the overclocking functions of the BIOS.

So far, it has managed to run at 4.5ghz across all cores on the stock BIOS. That is something my 2920xm's or 2960xm's required the modded BIOS to have a shot at doing.

 

Might want to wait and see what Louis does with the 680M. He has plans...

 

Welcome back, bro! Hope the vacation was awesome and relaxing.

And, yeah, I can hardly wait to see what Louis does with the GTX 680M SLI. I have every expectation that it will be amazing. I envision performance equal or better than 7970M CF, plus Cuda, Digital Vibrance and all the other added value features.

The 7970M, despite the lack of adequate driver support, is an amazingly powerful beast of a GPU.

 

I'm always stoked to see the next greatest thing. The 7970M is a beast in single card mode. I'm already down to a single 7970M already (other was spoken for in my R2). Xfire at the moment? Ehhh.....

Somewhere, somehow, ever so quietly, I became team red and I'm not sure how it snuck up on me. Ball n Chain has an old Radeon 2600xt still plugging along. Daughter has a 5650m in her laptop, and my desktop = 7970 and laptops have 7970m and 5730m. I used to be team green across the board.......

Msata port and bottom of the r2:

 

is it possible to run some benchmark when u get an ssd to see if its sata 6gbps ? =D

 

Hope you had a great vacation Bill! - nice to see you back in action!

I wonder what Louis has "brewing"......the below statement sounds like a "Franken-monster" of epic gpu proportions could be inbound.....cant wait to see the results of his experiments.....

 

Thank you for all the photos.

Hmm... I wonder where that mSATA port is physically attached to the motherboard? It appears to be situated directly over the top of the CPU heatsink retention backplate, which might also indicate it is attached somewhere else on the motherboard through a cable connection.

 

it slides into the connect just like your wireless card does and then is mounted with a screw, that does not come with the screw unless you buy the card from dell...

 

Life is so strange, and yes... preferences do change with time.

What is so funny is that we traded places in the red and green camps. For years I owned reds in everything and was on the verge of being an ATI fanboy. The Blackcomb 6900M Series made me run away. I was pleasantly surprised with the 580M and it was one of those rare cases where the grass being greener was more than an overused cliché. This can change in a heartbeat and the thing I learned from it is that sticking with red or green "just because" is not very smart. It's best to watch, learn from the experience of others that employ less discretion, and choose wisely. It not unlike a sniper, waiting patiently for the head shot, versus running in with guns blazing. Both brands are both awesome and terrible at times.

 

Guys can you throw me a link on m18x R2 dissasembly guide. I just heard its harder to dissasembly than m17x R3 -_-

 

It's in the opening post of this thread. The M18x R2 Owner's Manual includes the teardown info. It's not a separate document like it used to be. It's not difficult, but different than the M17x R3.

 

Does anyone know the part number for the Killer-N 1103 3x3 MIMO?

 

So are the GPU's on the left and right fans and the CPU is the middle fan?

 

Yes, that's correct.

 

so what cooling systems come with which CPU's? Anyone have a list?

 

There's a few links on the first page, but:

X4KPF..........Single Pipe Heatsink..........M18x r1 Normal (Sandy) / M18x r2 Normal (Ivy)
HD9NJ..........Dual Pipe Heatsink............M18x r1 Extreme (Sandy 2920xm/2960xm)
0MXJ5..........Triple Pipe Heatsink..........M18x r2 Extreme (Ivy 3920xm)

 

Ooo fancy triple pipes and stuff xD

 

Any of you guys had pricing from Dell for the triple cpu heatsink?

 

I'm curious as well on pricing...

 

Hello to all. New to forum, but not Alienware. M18x just delivered an hour ago! Been awhile since I had an Alienware product(Areas 51m 7700- 8 years ago!) Listening to some of these horror stories has me worried. May need some assistance if GPU drivers aren't acting right! Lol. Ready to crack open my Diablo 3 package. Wish me the best..these are my specs

Black Alienware M18X R2 | i7 3920xm | Dual 2gb AMD Radeon 7970M in Crossfire | 16gb 1600mhz Ram | 256gb SSD | Killer 1130

 

Welcome to the forum, and fear not the dark tales of woe. That is a beast of a config.

 

welcome brother! and fear not the dark tales of the dark side.That is a beast of a config, you will be one of the most happy man in the world. have fun

 

Welcome to NBR Obi...

 

And 3820qm will be triple or double?

 

single Amigo

 

Thanks friend!

 

Hmmm. This new cooling system is nice. But I wonder when they are going to do the water cooling thing everyone was raving about a few months ago. Think it will be in the R3 next year or R4 2 years from now?

 

i dont really like the idea having water cooling, itd be nice to have it and see it run cool but theres just so much more stuff to do when disassembling. air cooling just fine at 4.5ghz

 

I'd love to have that also, but I think it is just a prototype from Asetek and I've never seen anything to suggest that Alienware is actually going to release it.

I'm good with it as well, but I live in a cool climate. Someone that lives in a hot environment is not going to have the kind of good results that you and I can enjoy.

 

Thanks for the greetings! Looking forward to listening and learning.

 

welcome sir to the forum

 

Hi guys, I'm a new (pending) owner myself. Came from a Clevo 170EM pre-order (Mythlogic). I was really happy with Mythlogic but not so happy with the availability of the 7970M with Clevo. So I sauntered over here and Alienware hooked me up with a good price. I'm excited to receive my huge boat anchor laptop.

Parts listed below (SSD/SSHD/RAM) are mine that I will install once I receive the M18x R2.

 

Awesome, sk3tch. Welcome to the Alienware M18x family. Nice setup you'll have there. I trust you will love yours as much as I do mine.

 

Thank you, sir. I'm excited to receive it. A bit concerned about quality control (had issues with my M14x order last year) but Dell has always made good on things.

 

never be afraid of change, especially this one. this is one hell of a laptop you wont be disappointed !

 

DELL australia finally got AMD HD7970M xfire so i made the order this morning. DELL rep was pretty helpful and got the defence %5 discount so it came to $3976.07. 3 weeks wait for it to be delivered hopefully AMD drivers are fixed otherwise i would cry for spending 4k on a laptop. funny thing choosing AMD 7970xfire was only $80 then nvida GTX675m SLI

specs
On order Alienware M18X R2 - IntelI7 3720QM, 16gb 1600Mhz DDR3, 64gb mSATA boot drive, 1TB 5400 storage drive, BR BD-ROM, AMD HD7970m crossfire, Killer wireless-n,

now to buy some HDD and raid this beast =)

 

HAHA yeh lol Funny stuffs!

The video card handles all graphics processing for your system. Increased video memory help delivers more detailed graphics, sharper images and smoother video.
NVIDIA® SLI® - 2GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 675M [Included in Price]
AMD Radeon™ HD 7970M 2GB GDDR5 CrossFireX™ [subtract $80.30]

Cheers.

 

I ordered mine yesterday with the 7970m xfire as well . 5% is the only discount they can muster atm. I just used the online coupon and ordered online instead of going through a rep. This was after chatting to a few of them and only being able to get faster delivery...Why did yours end up costing so much? did you get 3 year warranty?

 

ahh yeh forgot to mention i did go with the 3yr warranty plus the backpack. probably update to the next one before the 3yr warranty is up but it was only $100 more going from 2yrs to 3yrs.

 

i would have gotten the 3 or 4 years warranty, but im still unsure if i should be getting the advanced warranty or the basic. im generally pretty careful myself but i donno what advanced warranty covered. ive heard stories about advanced warranty and their liquid spill that it doesnt cover more than 8 OZ of liquid, which is kinda lame.

then again the above was from bestbuy warranty services, which are known to rip people off. i do not know how well alienware/dell is with their advance services though, but i am very pleased with their basic/inhome service plan.

 

What's the best between intel centrino wireless-N 2230 and the bigfoot killer 1103?

My m18x shipped today and I don't know if I could keep the intel centrino or put my killler 1103 inside when it arrives ?

 

intel 2230 has built in bluetooh 4.0 but is only 3x3:2 @ 300mbps
killer 1103 has 3x3:3 @ 450mbps

speed difference refer to tomshardware for review
Killer Wireless-N 1103 Review: Can Qualcomm Take On Centrino? : Killer Wireless: Is It Able To Usurp Intel's Centrino?