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

The RAM looks good, however why'd you pick that particular SSD? I picked the one I chose because of the read write speeds, which are faster than the Samsung. I thought that's what you base an SSD on?

 

I agree, I had a gift cad for amazon so I went for the 1866MHz.

I have always had great luck and dependability with it and its a 7mm drive so you can easily fit 3 of these or 1 and 2 2.5s in the M18x. not saying there is anything wrong with the OCZ Vertex 4. Can't go wrong with either.

 

Guys, we are talking peanuts difference in terms of cost between 1600 & 1866.....I can see the logic if it were a huge cost markup to go for 1866, but it isnt.....so why not have the fastest....

The Samsung drive is proven to be a superb all round SSD - the Vertex 4 is somewhat an unknown quantity right now until figures/performance are unveiled with OCZ's intended firmware update for the Vertex 4.

 

The Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz is Auto-overclocking too.

 

Ha, yeah if that's the case, then fine - but for me, I wanted to have 32GB so I had to go with the 1600MHz otherwise I would not have 8GBx4.

 

Well, yes and no. You could get 8gb Sodimms at 1866 from Samsung, but they are ridiculously overpriced: BuySamsungParts.Com - M471B1G73BH0-CMA - Samsung 8GB PC3-14900 DDR3-1866MHz non-ECC Unbuffered CL13 204-Pin SoDimm Dual Rank Memory Module Mfr P/N M471B1G73BH0-CMA - Samsung

Alternatively, why not just buy cheap 8gb modules and then overclock it up to over 2133mhz: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...fficial-m18x-r1-running-memory-2133-mhz.html#

 

Well, that's why - because I do not believe "overclocked" RAM adds much value to performance. So I bought Corsair Vengeance 8GBx2 kits (2 of them) to get 32GB of quality 1600MHz RAM for a good price ($280 total). I can probably still OC when I get bored.

 

I agree with you there...

Still, ram is ram...I know if I coulda got cheap ram to perform at those speeds before I bought my HyperX (which wasnt that expensive anyway) I would have experimented in OC'ing it to 2133mhz+ - afterall, that's what the basics of OC'ing is all about, right? - getting the very most performance out of your components with the smallest cash outlay possible - half the fun is being able to say "heck, here's my system BUT look what I MADE it do!!!!"

 

Warranty?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

heres my m18x specs
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
750GB 7,200 RPM + 32GB mSATA Caching SSD
Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 7970M - CrossFireX™ Enabled
Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 4.0
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

grand total is
$2,929.00
minus the 15% off all GPU comes toooo
and discounts
Subtotal # $2,797.50
Taxtotal # $230.78
Shippingcharges # $0.00
TotalPrice # $3,028.28

+200$ gift card, and 5% dell advantage? (im not sure on what it is exactly)

hmmm. really high

dude says hes giving me a good deal

 

Just so you know, you can haggle like 20% off by calling them. There's a thread in the alienware section that helps out with that.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

heres my m18x specs, i went and change it up when i talk to the guy on phone

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
750GB 7,200 RPM + 32GB mSATA Caching SSD
Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 7970M - CrossFireX™ Enabled
Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 4.0
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

grand total is
$2,929.00
minus the 15% off all GPU comes toooo
comes to again..
$2,846.50
then another discount...he tells me
Subtotal # $2,797.50
Taxtotal # $230.78
Shippingcharges # $0.00
TotalPrice # $3,028.28

+200$ gift card, and 5% dell advantage? (im not sure on what it is exactly)

hmmm. really high

ALSOO, i see on ebay this...then again ebay >_>
base base base m18x dual 7970m....for taxless

Dell Alienware M18X R2 2.30-3.30GHz i7-3610QM 6GB 500GB AMD Radeon HD 7970M CFX | eBay

 

Dell Alienware M18X R2 2.90-3.80GHz i7-3920XM 16GB 500GB AMD Radeon HD 7970M CFX | eBay

he also has more...laptops


also has
i7-3820QM 16GB 500GB AMD Radeon HD 7970M CFX
for less than for $2850

here
Dell Alienware M18X R2 2.70-3.70GHz i7-3820QM 16GB 500GB AMD Radeon HD 7970M CFX | eBay

 

open box

 

what about it though?

 

Not 100% sure but there might be a rule against actual amounts correct me if im wrong. But I am also interested as I am looking at the m18x

Edit: never-mind read the rules again I was wrong.

 

Ive payed way to much after my recent upgrade.

$2400 at purchase.
+ 1250 New warranty and Dual GPU upgrade
+ 350 For SSD and Memory Upgrade

Total $4000.00

If I could spend that again, Id have PRO SPECS across the board

 

Hey guys,

Yesterday night I have been testing my M18xr2 with different games.
Diablo 3 had absolutely no problem, zero glitch. Dx9 game are ok even with immature gpu driver.
Skyrim too was working on ultra setting and it was very smooth.
However, strong warning for new users: if you don t update your direct x drivers to the latest version you will get blue artifacts all over the screen in game like crysis 2 at ultra settings.
Don t believe factory settings, update everything.
I saw comments on internet of people saying their 7970m were damaged: update directx.
After the update there is still a few glitches but nothing to worry.
Glitches will be ironed out in coming updates from amd.
Driver is really not mature so I will try many games and post solutions.
Trust me a damaged gpu put artifacts even for dx9 games, don t put your gpu in the oven for early driver issues. Trust my years of gpu desktop custom watercooling.
Also for crossfire don t forget the amd latest profile download, it makes things really easier.
Bonus: the witcher 2 on ultra without ssao is going very well, gpu temps are mid 70 which is very good in my book.
Tonight I will try to start heavy benches prime95+furmark.
my crossfire seems to be working but i will try to compare single vs cfx results tonight.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

would you send me a download for new drivers and profile?

 

Hey guys! I just ordered M18X R2 with i7-3720QM, 2x AMD 7970M, 8GB RAM, and 750GB HDD in Australia. Will take them 3 weeks to build it. Should be a beast!

I have a couple of questions, which I hoped you could answer.

I already have 128GB Crucial M4 SSD and another 750GB HDD.
-Is it possible to use my SSD at SATA 3 speed and 2 HDDs in RAID1?

Do I need to buy anything like additional screws or HDD caddies?

-Is it possible to switch stock DVD-ROM to additional Hard drive? Do you know a place that sells such equipment?

-Just found out about Micro Stuttering while reading this article Micro Stuttering with SLI or CrossFire - Notebookcheck.net Tech is it really that bad on M18X? If I knew about such problem before not sure that I would have ordered the notebook.

-Is it possible to disable one of the GPU's by software or maybe by removing it?
-Does M18X R2 support Enduro?

 

-raid 1 for 2 hdd answer should be yes

-no you dont need additional screws or HDD caddies, assuming dell doesnt screw up on quality check, should be included in the unit

-only those picky people would care about microstutter, u wont notice a difference when u play game really, unless youre a perfectionist. most of the time i play competitive gaming and when u into it, it probably does not matter much. if you want an example of what micro stutter looks like, watch this Battlefield 3 MAXED - 2X GTX 580's SLI Config - Ultra Setting 1920X1080 -Jet Carrier Start- - YouTube and notice the little pause/skips which is noticeable but not anything major.

-yes it is possible to disable one of the GPU by either registry or software that came with nvidia/AMD

-i have no idea what enduro means

 

Thank you for very much for your answers, unityole. I play competitive too, unfortunately the micro stuttering in the video is quiet noticeable for me. I guess if it will bother me too much I'll just disable one of the GPUs.
Enduro is a GPU switching technology by ATI. It's similiar to Nvidia's Optimus, which saves battery life by disabling discrete GPU when not needed. Unfortunately Enduro at the current stage decrease performance (WTH ATI?!). You can read more about it here Review Alienware M17x R4 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

One more question, is R2's chassis identical to R1's?

 

When did you order? I ordered Friday May 25th and got an EDD of 6/11, it still says 6/11 but I dearly hope to have it by 6/8 for the Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event!

 

Actually there are drive height issues with 3 drives I believe. I don't think you can use 3 9.5mm drives.

 

It says right in my sig and has said in my sig since my post.

 

Damn, I hope they move mine up also...

Edit: nevermind I found the sig options, maybe they required a minimum amount of posts...

 

I looked closer at my order status just now - it appears someone bumped me from 2 day shipping to overnight shipping...so that's why my date moved from 6/11 (Monday) to 6/8 (Friday). I ordered via my (former) companies employee purchase plan so I think it's Dell business or something like that...maybe that makes a difference. Shrug.

 

I called and asked to upgrade to next day shipping but they told me I couldn't change anything about my order (even shipping) since it was "in production".

 

Could you tell me more please? What are you talking about? I know nothing about M18x, I've never considered buying Alienware before, I ordered it in rage at Mythlogic, preordered laptop with 7970M a month ago and they still have none in stock.

 

My understanding is there is a rack inside the laptop that holds the 3 drives, there is room for 2 9.5mm drives and 1 7mm drive so you couldnt run 3 9.5mm drives.

 

you can fit 3 9.5mm but you won't be able to put the back on it (unless you feel like pushing pretty hard). You can fit two 9.5 and a 7mm in the middle. Or you can go the way I went, two 7mm SSD's and a 7mm mechanical. Lots of room for heat dissipation. Bear in mind that 7mm mechanical's are single platter meaning 500 GB or less.

 

Would the HDD caddy fit a RAID 0 array of Seagate Momentus XT's in the top 2 bays with a standard SSD at the bottom? I'd think, after looking at the caddy, that it just might fit but would be a little snug for 2 HDD's and possibly cause cooling issues.

If cooling was okay, that would be the ideal storage arrangement for me and would make me want an M18x that much more

 

I have 2 western digital scorpio black 750GB and a 128GB M4 but the 7mm and it works perfect if you put 3X9.5mm the caddy don't fit all the way down in the space and you cant close the cover because the HDD's have an extra belly

I believe you can fit a 9.5mm SSD and 2X9.5mm HDD's but you need to put the SSD on the bottom slot close to the palmrest

 

I plan to purchase a 512Gb M4 and I see that I can choose between 7mm or 9.5, I'm asking myself and you too if there's any perfs difference ?

Concerning the m18x R2, it's a great laptop but so many wanted things are not here, rhaaa perhaps I got it anyway, perhaps I wait for the R3 but it's possible I go away from D/AW ... I pray for Bill news about next gen.
I feel so angry when I read news about little smartphones screen with better resolution and quality than the one in th m18x beast !

 

yeah, like how a certain apple product has 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution on 9.7 inch display.

 

looking to see what r1/r2 people dished out on an m18x system.

also what if i wanted to upgrade 7970ms cf in the future....

 

This thread was also started and moved to the Official Owners Lounge yesterday. Please post your needs in that thread.

Official Owners Lounge

Thanks!

 

I bought mine in March and dished out around $3100 for my setup-sli 580m's and 1 year warranty. Stupidly did not get a warranty until after the fact which cost me an additional $600 adding that after I had purchased it for an additional 2 years, making it 3 total basic warranty.

So in the end I spent around $3800 with basic 3 year warranty

 

what was full specs? and u bought directly from dell/alienware?
warranty worth it? because thats...alot for warranty o_o
it should last if u take care of it... (i dont buy warranties on my laptops, i take of my laptops)

 

there is no hardware difference between them only the size I think the 7mm is more future proof

 

Yeah, I was hesitant to buy a warranty as well, but if I had to redo it, I would have purchased the advanced warranty because that covers accidental drops, spilled liquids, etc. Those are mistakes that we can easily make with normal travel and use. The basic warranty covers if the hardware goes bad, and I don't want to dish out hundreds to get it replaced, especially when the video card alone costs $300..so I would say the warranty is worth it, either basic or advanced.

Here are the specs of it:

i7-2760qm 2.4ghz processor
6gb RAM (I updated to 8gb) - only like $50
gtx 580M sli (amaaaazing)
750gb hd
intel-centrino n wireless card or whatever it was called

I really love it. Make sure you look online for coupons as well.

 

I'm with speedy, I'd go with 7mm just for future uses or adding additional drives.

 

i cant find where to buy samsung msata or micro c400 msata drive.. i only see muskin atlas drive on newegg.. this is sad

 

Thank you very much for this clear answer.

 

Both the Samsung and Crucial/Micron mSata drives are only available to OEM's right now: Samsung's mSATA PM830 is eight grams of pure SSD -- Engadget & http://www.storagereview.com/micron_realssd_c400_msata_ssd_review

Pretty sure that they will all roll out as retail at some point....

 

u mean OEM as in for laptop builders only? like clevo sagers asus dell etc? thats lame!! considering dell charges 400 for a samsung 830 SSD where i could find it online for 249 lol

 

Yeah, I meant laptop manufacturers. But I am sure that the drive manufacturers themselves will want to launch them as retail drives to make more money....if you can find a Sammy mSata online to buy, goes to show that they do get slowly released to the public to buy.....just a shame it takes time.

 

The mSata drive is separate from the regular 3 Hard Drives right? What is it for? Is it just a 4th HDD with a different connector or is it used for caching or something in particular?

 

It can be used for a small, expensive, and (typically) slower SSD (due to the mSATA port being mSATAII) for the full OS or it can be used as a caching drive with Intel Smart Response Technology in conjunction with a traditional HDD, more here:

Intel Smart Response Technology Explained | Hardware Secrets

 

Any of you guys have noticed default HDD that come with M18x R2, like in UK they advertises SATA at 6Gb/s, but actually they ship system with 3Gb/s HDD :S