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

Back in the saddle again! Ordered my 680M SLI rig today.

EDIT: interesting: 240W AC adapter by default with 680M SLI. If you change to 7970M CFX - you're back to 330W AC adapter. I have two 330W's here - I won't have any problems using them, will I?

 

That is interesting and I would guess some sort of error in the specs? I would expect SLI 680M's would require as much power as SLI anything else and use the 330W.

But, to answer your question, I do believe the 240W adapter and the 330W adapter have a slightly different connector to the computer. The 330W is larger in diameter and won't fit into the jack meant for a 240W adapter. I know this because I tried to use my 330W adapter on a M17xR2 and it won't fit in. The M17xr2 uses a 240W adapter.

I'd check with Dell tech support and see if that is really the case.

oh, and don't be shy...share your new R2's specs with us!

 

Standard practice is that if you order with either SLI or CF or an XM cpu (or both) you get a 330w psu. 240w is for non-Sli/CF and non-XM machines. The jacks on both psu's should fit the M18x as it is configurable with a non XM and a single gpu and M18x's configured as such only ship with a 240w brick.

Must be just an error on paper on Dell's part...

 

Ha, it's in my sig. But the actual order specs are:


Estimated Delivery Date: 07/10/2012

3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3720QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.6GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
18.4 inch (467.36 mm) WLED WideFHD (1080p) display (1920 X 1080)
Dual 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M - SLI Enabled
1TB RAID 0 (2x 500GB) 7200RPM
Nebula Red Anodized Aluminum
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming and Video and Bluetooth 4.0
Alienware M18x 240W A/C Adapter
3 year advance warranty
Overnight shipping

There was some problem with placing orders with the "basic" config so he moved me to the mid-tier one and went from there. That's why I have 8GB and 2x500GB HDD.

It could just be that Kepler is that much more efficient than AMD's Pitcarn. It's true on the desktop side. If you go to Alienware.com and use the configurator it does change from 330W to 240W if you move from 7970M CFX to 680M SLI. But I guess I will find out based on what arrives.

 

Hi steve.. i think thats it, i didnt save& exit somehow.. yes the mem is clocking at 1600 on xmp 1 and clocking at 1867 at xmp profile 2.....

I have both, as i ordered a spare... One is big and one is small, doesnt mention 240 or 330 but the amps are diff approx amps are16 amps and 12 amps respectively... Connectors are the same. Personally the small ac adapter is lighter so better for me..

 

a beast machine i must say, im just crossing my finger right now and hopefully 685m and 7990m would be out

 

Thanks! +rep. I suppose I can use the 240W when I travel or something. Seems "off" that an SLI rig would only have that...but Kepler and Ivy are more power efficient...hmmm.

I'm done playing that game. I'll upgrade when the next gen cards come out...not for incremental updates.

 

Maybe true. Just that in the past, any system with dual gpu's / xm / both have shipped with 330w psu....guess you will find out soon enough! - beastly order btw!

Glad you got it figured out, thought it would be something simples!

 

Just received my Alienware M18x R2 with Dual AMD Crossfire yesterday.

Alienware M18x R2 downside the package and ship with single box. There is no more double box. It is much thiner, inner size: L561 x W413 x H111 mm.
or L 23 x w 4.5 x H 17 inch. It's almost same size with HP 17 notebook.

 

I am in the same boat. I just ordered the R2 with 680M SLI's. When I called the tech support they said it comes with the 240W AC adapter. Should I be ok?

Can any Alienware reps here confirm?

 

Well I just returned my m18x r2 with the 7970's. Had enough of the amd drivers. Got my new one on order should be here July 13th. 3920xm and 680m sli. I hope I have better luck with this one.

 

that doesnt make sense, they are those level 1 tech which means they donno anything except whats giving to them on paper. 7970m is apparently 75 watts TDP on wiki, but 100 watts TDP on notebookcheck, but as for 680m its 100 watts TDP for both sites.

although watts TDP is different from how much power it needs, but you can expect a 240 watt AC will definitly not be enough, and on top of that to OC them, yea right

 

they are both 100 watt cards.

 

I don't know. I sent a message to an Alienware rep on here to see what he says. I can't imagine Alienware would send out a laptop with a power supply which is not sufficient to support the machine.

 

You just need a better imagination. They sent out 7970M Crossfire cards with drivers that are not sufficient (as many members have pointed out here)! I wouldn't put it past them (at least as a mistake, and since the SKU says 240W that's what will be shipped and, of course, they won't be right.)

Fortunately, sk3tch has plenty of 330W power supplies! (inside humor...)

 

That has nothing to do with the power draw between the cards. Each card has unique properties in that arena.

Hehe...forgot to thank you, btw! Much appreciated.

 

Really. Here are the few things I've heard from the tech support so far. Ready?

"The 330W PSU is not available for the NA region"
"The only laptop comes with a 330W is the m17x R3"(He said he got the information from an expert"
"Yes, your computer comes with a 330W PSU"
"Your computer comes with a 240W PSU"

Who to beileve? This is ridiculous! How can I trust this company?

 

The 2nd one is true, to some extent. I bought a M17xR3 from the Outlet and it showed it included a 330W PSU. Indeed, when it arrived, it had a 330W adapter. In the end, I wound up sending it back (long story I won't bore anyone with). I was surprised that a single GPU-capable notebook would include a 330W beast of a PSU!

 

I ask the sales rep about the 240 watt psu instead of the 330 when i placed my order today. He said he talked to tech support and that is the correct on for the 680m sli. He also said the if there is any issues with the 240 they can ship the 330 to me. This does not seem right to me.

 

Kinda odd. I was under the impression that all dual-gpu systems needed the 330W power brick.

 

Another strange thing is when you configure your system with 675m sli, it gives you a 330 watt psu

 

why would you trust THE person you spoke to? like everyone said, their customer service isnt the best, and their level 1 tech dont know anything and heck i have a rep trying to sell me 675m sli over the 7970m cfx cause he said 675m was "more powerful".

just think a little, these high powered laptop will either be REALLY SLOW, or shutdown when theres not enough power given to the machine and thats final. A 240w brick may work, but only to an extend. when doing benchmark or high cpu/gpu stressed scenarios ie encoding, you'll start to see things happening.

my advice to you is, if you are unable to get them to give you a 330 brick, wait a little while then purchase the machine again. dell quality check sux and this isnt just their machine check. on their config site they would even price 675m sli higher than 7970m cfx.

this is another reason i wait before i purchase my machine =/

 

I don't trust them. I gave up trusting them a while ago to be honest. So many answers from them which don't make sense. Anyway, that's why I'm here trying get help because I know most of the guys here have more knowledge.

Thanks for the advice. I'll cancel my order tomorrow(hope it won't be too late to cancel) and try to get the 330W with the computer. If not, then receive the laptop then have them replace the PSU maybe? What do you think?

 

didn't know i was answering you...
since this is what i was referring too.

don't care if they have 500 unique properties, it's still a 100 watt card. period.
and they can both draw anywhere between 1 to 110 watts, so what's your point? i can make these cards draw less than yours. it's still a 100 watt card at the end of the day. if i over clock the 7970 to the outer limits...it's still a 100 watt card...not sure what your trying to get at....surfing the internet can be done off of onboard graphics and not using any of them 100 watts the card has to offer.

 

When I pulled apart my M18X R2 and put new thermal paste on, I noticed a white tag on one of the 7970Ms that said "100 watt."

 

did i say anything about surfing net? the only reason i posted what i did was to provide some proof to people who seems confused, and they may want to call off their purchase and that was my point. btw, 100 watt card or not, thats by nvidia/amd testing standard, and they call it 100 watts and it may or may not use more or less than 100 watts, and obviously you wouldnt know of it unless you work for those companies.

ontop of that, a card uses 100 watts doesnt mean the samething as 100 TDP which was the original point of posting those statements. if people wanted to, they could do a search up on notebookcheck or wiki themselves.

 

100W is just the "size" - it doesn't mean it will actually draw that.

 

Yes, but doesnt it also indicate that it COULD draw that....potentially.

 

hey wiki, teach me how to over clock my cards and cpus as well.
your funny.

and tdp =watts.

at stock...neither card will draw that, but that's why some over clocking head room is built in...neither will the 6990m/580m at stock...

hey brother stevie. you were on the amd 6990m/nvidia 580m conference call with dell weren't you? when Luis explained all this too us?

 

so you start off by quoting me and ask me what my point was, and your point is to start something? i never once said i believe wiki cause i do believe anyone could change and update wiki. [EDITED], and 2nd i dont tend to believe much of the stuff on internet unless i absolutely have no choice, i dont like to put my money and time into someone else's hand and have them make the choice for me, unless of course someone as trust worthy as mr fox, it maybe a different story.

if you know so much, why not show some links and prove me wrong so i can add you to one of the most knowledgeable person on my list? from my experience, how much power of any hardware draws varies between usage and of course, comparing to TDP is another story.

no need to point everyone out and argue over such little things =) i dont need to stay it, but you're acting childish and heck i am only 19. chill out mang

annnd so in the end, back to the original point, if you say its a 100 watts card, tell these people they need to put a hold on their purchase and wait for dell to fix until 330 brick comes with 680m sli.

 

Bottom line is no one knows enough about the 680M to assume a 330W adapter is required. Everyone has their EE hat on and they assume Dell is wrong with 240W. Maybe so, maybe not. No one has had experience with the cards on this board to state whether it's true or no. Either way, I have two 330W adapters here at the house waiting for my 680M SLI M18x R2.

 

as to the original question...you will in fact need a 330 watt power adapter.
you need to give them the correct number for it.
331-2428 AW M18x 330W A/C Adapter
and it's mandatory that a 330 psu goes out with every sli/crossfire setup, but i would make sure that code is on my invoice.

 

Received M18x r2 from Dell with x-fire, it's ship with 330 W power adapter.

421-7437 1 AW Command Center M18XR2
421-5830 1 Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit Service Pack 1, English, w/Media
318-2318 1 Space Black Anodized Aluminum
410-0548 1 Adobe Acrobat Reader
318-2003 1 Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
421-5106 1 Power DVD 9.6, 3D
318-0770 1 Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
430-4709 1 Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming and Video and Bluetooth 4.0
430-4704 1 Internal Wireless Bluetooth 4.0
331-6854 1 Alienware M18x 330W A/C Adapter
331-6865 1 Alienware Documentation
331-6858 1 Placement, M18X R2
331-6915 1 Shipping Material, M18X R2


on the back of power supply has
DELL P/N :XM3C3
Ref.No:ADP-330AB B
MODEL : DA330PM111
INPUT :100-240V-4.4A 50-60Hz
OUT PUT : 19.5V - 16.9A

 

hummm, wonder what the difference is between the two 330 adapters....

 

@johnksss
it may SOUND like im correcting you before but infact i wasnt, and now i am correcting you lulz

whats your cpu and gpu ? and congrats on your purchase. this maybe unrelated but is there that much difference between windows ultimate edition and home premium other than it allows up to 32gb of memory?

32gb is good cause i can use huge space for my ramdisk but other than that probably not gonna touch more than 4gb of ram.

 

I got i7-3820QM and CrossfireX 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M.

I was waiting for Sager NP 9270 the it was cancel due to the issued, and has only option to buy Alienware, glad that i did.

 

actually you're not.
kind of why i posted this...
hummm, wonder what the difference is between the two 330 adapters....
implies that i already seen his number for the psu. but you keep trying young buck-a-roo.

 

naw bra what i meant was i corrected you that you stating "i was correcting you" in which i wasnt ^_^
another question regarding to the power bricks, ive heard for the R2 dell no longer produce server grade (thicker wires) compare to R1, is this true? the old power brick is heavy with its wires and all but just makes me feel so secure with its toughness.

if you had went for np9270, with its full upgrade you'll probably need two power brick =D

 

lol. ok.
well, you could try to get the first part number then...that one comes with the heavy gauge wire...but to be honest....you're fine with regular...i use the thin stuff when benching and it seems to work just as good as the thick...but that's only a personal experience/opinion though.

 

if you had went for np9270, with its full upgrade you'll probably need two power brick =D[/QUOTE]

That is true for 2 power brick [optional spending more $$].

I wonder it will be wise if up grade from CrossfireX 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M to Nvidia 680m sli.

I still have option to return back to dell.

p/s yesterday I post that Alienware now ship with single box and much smaller size. [HP laptop size box]

 

Just spoke with dell Canada and they said it should not be a 240w ac adaptor. They are canceling my order and reordering it with the 330 watt psu for the 680 sli. They said they have to change the sku numbers online. Will have a answer by the end of the day.

 

Nice. I'm not messing with my order. I'll just call after the fact and I'll likely get to keep the 240W while waiting for a 330W replacement. I have two here, anyway so I'm not worried. I just want my 680M SLI ASAP! July 10 estimate...

 

I sent my rep an email to ask about the ac adapter still waiting for him to reply as it shows mine is coming with the 240w.

 

Just check at the Alienware site and try to configulation of M18x r2

If you check out with Nvidia 680 single card or SLI the computer will AUTOMATIC UPDATES Alienware M18x 240W A/C Adapter [/COLOR]right after you click Review and check out link.

Then if you configulation with Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 7970M - CrossFireX
AUTOMATIC UPDATES Alienware M18x 330W A/C Adapter at the Review and check out link

try for yourself and find out.

 

Yes, this was posted earlier. We still don't have a definitive answer on this. Hopefully a Dell rep will post here and let us know what is right.

 

I am think about to upgrade to Nvidia 680 sli from the 7970 CrossFireX, do you think it will worth to spending an extra $$$. How about the Driver and support from Nvidia will be better than AMD.

Thanks

 

Worth it? Maybe i'm guilty of "peering over the gates to see how the other half live" by following these new owner threads, but I think there are insane amounts of money spent on these machines already, for the sole purpose of playing games, like somehow you just can't play and enjoy games with dual 7970M's (or even single or lesser)...you need those few extra fps at the expense of $550, when in fact, you'll spend that extra $$$, and STILL have some issues (no doubt)!

Will the SLI 680M be twice as fast at Crossfire 7970M's, because Dell's charging twice as much for the SLI 680M. Seems the CF 7970 is a screamin' deal if you're just patient (or the SLI 680M will come way down after a month or so...). If you need to spend $1100 on the video cards just to get stable performance, then something is wrong.

Me? I just sit back with my $1499 screamin' R1 from the Outlet, knowing darn well that in a couple months, when the R2's arrive at the Outlet and a killer coupon shows up, that I'll then have a screamin' R2 with SLI 680M for under $2K. (with Intel Extreme, of course!)

I'm just cheap, I guess.

 

On hold with tech support now as I have had zero luck with sale reps. They know the 240watt psu is not enough for the sli 680m. They are trying to fix my order instead of shipping one out latter. I told them if they can't send the right ac adapter the first time I'll cancel my order.

The main reason in switching to nividia over amd is the lack of driver support issues I've had with my 5870's ,6970's,6990's and 7970's. All had driver issues. Waiting a month or more after a game is release for good drivers is not acceptable in my book.

 

Understood, but needing an $1100 graphics adapter for reasons you just stated is not acceptable in my book either!

 

Well just got off the phone with tech support and they will send me the 330 watt ac adapter as soon as the system ships with the 240w unit. Then I'll have to send back the 240. Lot of running around but I'll have my 330 watt psu.