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

hey i just got my new alienware m18x today and i was just curious during windows installation / boot up the fans dont spin up o.o is this normal will it only spin up at high temps? i had a clevo p170 previously and on boot fans would spin on the alienware no spin could my m18x be faulty?

 

If the system is not warm enough to need it, the fans don't just arbitrarily spin up. That is by design. Unless you are having problems with temps, (which would be extremely unlikely because the M18x has a superior cooling system,) there is no cause for concern.

That does not work. From what I understand, that slot is a USB port and not a SATA port. A couple of NBR members tried it and a contact I have in Level 3 tried it without success.

 

Gents, I'm having trouble getting over 60 fps on 'Angry Birds'.

Is this a driver problem?

 

Hmm... maybe it's the wrong game to be playing with an Alienware. What are your FPS playing a real game, like Crysis 2, BF3, Diablo3, etc.

JK - On a more serious note, it sounds like vsynch is working properly.

 

I'd just put it down to allergies and try Skyrim...

OB

 

Glad that I'm not the only one...

 

need benches on some of the new game! can't wait for crysis3 i wanna see how it will perform on this gen's card as well as next gen release

 

Hello all I just got my Alienware m18x (crossfire 7970 / i7-3820) last Tuesday and since then I have been reading up on all the forums for things I should look out for. This is an awesome, beautiful laptop, the finest one I've had! I'm using stock drivers right now and have had no problems with Borderlands 2 and all my 2d/3d multimedia programs until I installed Far Cry 2, then it BSOD'd on me! I'm a total noob when it comes to laptops and cossfire setups (those in the forums saying they are noobs, they are eons ahead of me) so any help , any links , would be greatly appreciated! I have version 8.934.2.1000 for my 7970m's and ccc 2012.0402.2221.38086 if that would help. Thanks a lot!

 

I'd assume you played then it BSOD right? tbh could be numerous reason, but with all the issue with 7970m around, its probably driver issue, or card issue. I do not own a pair of 7970m but there are people here do own them. best bet is to wait for their reply!

also congrat on your new system, best machine ever!

 

I tried opening it for the first time when it BSOD, never got to see the game. When I disabled crossfire via ccc though , it was able to run even on ultra settings! It was thanks to the numerous, helpful posts here that I was able to avoid having a mini heart attack when it BSOD haha. I'll wait for other replies from other 7970m owners before I try doing something that might make this worse

Thanks unityole, it really is an awesome laptop!

 

^^ try to install the newest driver from here : AMD Catalyst

I have great result with the 12.9 beta (w/ 12.9 cap 1). Not sure about about Far Cry 2 though, but everything plays fine with for me with those.

 

Hi,
just bought Guild Wars 2 - I am a little dissapointed about the performance, as I can't max. graphic settings without getting down to 30fps.
As I can play Crysis 2 HD Pack with 50 fps and The witcher 2 HD as well my question is - is it a driver issue or is Guild Wars 2 simple poor programmed??
My system is one with 680M SLI.

 

thanks for the link. I'll be sure to try it out!

 

I'm curious as to why there are two different types of packaging for the same laptop. Also, how do I get the "bigger" box, with the leather manual, hat, etc? Is it completely random?

Box 1:

Spoiler

Box 2:

Spoiler

I spent a lot of money, I'd like the fancy manual and lame hat, just because it adds to the experience!

 

I asked the same question to the re-seller where I bought my laptop from and they told me Dell stopped making the leather manual to be more environment-friendly. Not sure about the box and the hat though.
Update: I replaced my drivers with the one on the link xmadror provided and I can play FarCry 2 with crossfire now! Some sky flickering at the start but eventually stops after a few minutes. It even fixed the problems I had with my 3D programs! Thanks thanks thanks a lot!

 

That is unfortunate.

 

I'm not sure how not producing a leather manual is "environment friendly" LOL. Maybe they meant something about using paper. I doubt it is true, though. Probably has more to do with keeping costs down. I hope they're not drinking the tree-hugger Kool-Aid at the expense of customer experience. I prefer electronic distribution for everything (downloads versus CD, PDF versus paper) purely as a matter of selfish convenience. I don't want to have to go grab anything off a shelf... just clicking and opening the folder is a lot faster and easier.

 

If you're a cow, its friendly LOL

 

LOL Mine was written in "recycled paper" according to a disclaimer on the back so it probably is a "2-birds-one-stone" thing with the cost cutting and being environmentally friendly I think. But really, as long as they keep improving customer support and get those AMD drivers to be better, they could just upload all that on their site for all I care hehe

 

hey was wondering if you guys could help me resolve an issue. When i run discrete graphics the screen is fine no green distortion line thingy everything works fine tested 3d mark etc 3hrs on crysis 2 unigine furmark, but when i switch to the intel integrated graphics i get these weird green small lines thingy i was wondering if there is a way to resolve this and if so how ? i don't really wanna have to send it back due to the onboard graphics everything else works fine pls help thx also when im running onboard graphics the performance of the intel gpu is fine it just has the annoying green lines seems like a signal problem or something oh and on white backgrounds its not that noticeable o.o

link to photos

http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt27/mooshiebu/20121015_195157_zpsbec90123.jpg

http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt27/mooshiebu/20121015_195249_zpse5e2f6f2.jpg

 

That looks suspiciously like one of your gpu's is shorting out on the back plate. What gpu's do you have, by the way? - system spec's can help a lot in diagnosing problems - maybe you can edit your signature by clicking your NBR username at the top of the website page. Anyway, in the meantime, have a look at the following...it's very similar to what you are experiencing and may very well be the culprit.

Just a wise word of warning, you really don't need to run Furmark to stress your gpu's - if you do use it, make sure you watch temperatures like a hawk and don't run it for long.....it will end up killing your expensive graphics cards eventually.

[Guide] Curing Shorted Support Plate - GTX 580M (Error Code 43 - Revision FF error)

 

thx for your reply / tip im running a pair of hd 6990m crossfired 2820qm 8gb 1600mhz the thing is its not the dedicated hd 6990m gpu causing those weird green lines the dedicated gpu's both run fine its the integrated solution causing me troubles =/ im not really bothered by it since im not keen on using the intel graphics got a netbook for on the go

 

My apologies. I mis-read your post and got it the other way around LOL. As a starting point, you could check to make sure you have the latest up to date HM67 Cougar Point chipset drivers and driver for the HD3000 iGFX installed. As the Intel graphics are embedded into the cpu, it's a possibility (I imagine) that it could be a problem with the chip or the mobo, if drivers don't sort it out.

 

oh hey so is the onboard graphics hd3000 on the cpu or on the motherboard i plan on upgrading my cpu anyways later down the road to one of those XM one's and if the onboard chip was on the cpu i guess it might help fix my problem but if it's on the motherboard ill probably just get dell to fix it at the moment i really dont wanna send my laptop away if a cpu upgrade can fix this i'll just upgrade down the road let me know thx for your assistance

 

The HD3000 is part of the cpu. If the problem IS the cpu, changing it may very well eliminate the issue. I guess you would find out pretty much right away if you dropped a new chip into the mobo. If the problem still exists, chances are that it could be a problem with the board. I'd still be tempted to try out drivers first, although Dell have a HD3000 driver on the downloads page for the M18x R1, it is quite old and there is a more recent version over on the Intel website that might help. Select your operating system and download from below. If you do try it, don't forget to uninstall the current iGFX driver 1st and then install the newer one. You will probably have to be in integrated mode to install, otherwise it will throw a message about no compatible hardware found, more than likely. Create a restore point first, if you want - that way, you can always go back to before you messed with things.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...+Processors+with+Intel®+HD+Graphics+3000/2000

 

Having problems logging in with IE, had to use chrome. Been having problems with this site for awhile now. ....

GW2 has some driver performance issues and really shouldn't have been released as early as it was. It's pretty intensive graphically but driver version definitely matters as well as your default settings.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/bill-freist-talks-optimization-and-performance/

Guild Wars 2: Your Graphics Card And CPU Performance Guide : Guild Wars 2 Is Here. How Does It Run?

I have two 580's and I found running them at max performance was less than pleasurable. Lately the game has been giving me more performance issues but I think they will eventually figure it out. I would run GW2 at default settings. GW2 is still in its infancy and is a work in progress.

You enjoying the game?

 

For anyone who doesn't have these games amazon has a crazy deal this week. They'll be coming back in stock with keys if you want these games don't hesitate when the keys come back in stock. They're having some type of database problem with the keys right now but it'll be resolved.

Amazon.com: Absolutely Great Square Pack [Download]: Video Games Square Enix bundle

Absolutely Great Square Pack includes the following games:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Augmented Edition
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link DLC
Hitman: Blood Money
Just Cause 2
Just Cause
Supreme Commander 2
The Last Remnant
Quantum Conundrum

Requires Steam Client to activate.

9.99 plus tax where applicable, enjoy

 

The packaging changes have been a real downer for those who got it and were expecting the extras with the larger presentation. Those with these boxes, including me will tell you that you're simply not missing out on anything special. However as a premium product I can understand your disappointment especially after seeing the product unboxed with those extras and expecting them to be included.

I agree with Mr. Fox, I doubt any environmental issue was the source of this cut, rather it was some economic factor that the decision was based on.

As for me all the extras just stayed in the box, the manual I access on an IPad or galaxy s2 as it's easier to navigate.

 

Hi,
I have to say that performance increased with the new Nvidia 306.97 WHQL drivers. Running at 50 fps now with all max except Supersampling. But sometimes framerate still drops but only when there is a new area loading.
I just played for a few hours, have two charakters and so far I have only one issue which is that I can't steer the character with the mouse but only the keys. Which is kind of stupid in my opinion. Besides that, it is my 2nd MMORPG after Star Wars TOR and I like it better. Graphics and world are amazing as well as races and professions.

 

I'm excited either way, this system will be awesome.

 

Hi All, I mainly play world of warcraft and since the expansion mists of pandaria came out my performance in game on 1080p ultra settings has dropped from smooth 60 fps to fluctuating between 35-60 fps. This wouldn't be so bad if it didn't include stuttering in game. When moving around the world I can see stuttering behavior even when the fps is reported as 60 fps. I've tried all the drivers and CAPs even dropping down to non xfire. Also tried radeon pro etc but still no joy.
Does anyone have any experience of running WOW with 7970m xfire or 680m SLI that they can share? Is the performance smooth at 60fps under 1080p ultra settings? Need a solution for my problem and any future games I might play. Any information would be much appreciated, thanks!

 

Which AMD GPUs have you currently?

 

Since he mentions xfire I would assume he has AMD at the moment.

 

Upgrading is an option if you are hungry for more performance. 7970M and 680M are both compatible with your M18x R1. Even just one of those GPUs will be as powerful as your 6970M/6990M Crossfire configuration. You will be very happy with the enhanced performance.

Since you indicate having tried all available drivers and CAP files and have the same behavior with all of them, that must not be the problem.

If you are considering an upgrade only because of this issue, that's not a good reason. What you have should play those games without a problem. What idle and load temps are you seeing with your video cards? How long has it been seen you cleaned out the GPU and CPU fans and heat sink radiators? If you cards are getting hotter than they should, this can cause your performance decline. If they are too warm and everything is clean, you may need to re-paste.

If your temps are too high, or you are not sure, visit this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ners-my-cpu-gpu-temps-ok-thread-ask-here.html

 

Yes, but 6970s? 6990s? etc?

 

Quick question for you guys. If I order some SSD's to replace my HDD will I be able to use the disc that came with my system to install everything or will I need to buy a copy of Windows and do a full reinstall?

Well I guess I could just do a backup and work from that

 

You will be fine with what Dell provided you with. You can also download Windows Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO Image Downloads.

I would say reinstalling everything from scratch from a Windows disk would be best. If you are going to try to use the back up image already on the hard drive you might not get the best performance out of your ssds coming from a hard drive image.

I'm sure someone else will post a better description why.

Your cd key for Windows is under the battery, that is all you would need.

 

Sorry forgot to mention, I am using AMD 6990m currently in xfire. Did some more testing last night and DX9 runs smoothly albeit at much lower fps ~30, DX11 is much higher 40-60 fps but for an unknown reason it appears to stutter or lag such that it looks like the graphics are trying to catch up. So when you are on a flight path and you see objects passing down the screen they will randomly skip so that they appear to pass between 2 points without travelling the space in between. This can be seen even when flying in other non Pandaria zones.

 

Idle temps are about 50 degrees, loaded in game about 70 degrees. My laptops has been through multiple component swapouts in the last 2 weeks, these include the motherboard, cpu, gpu, heatsinks and fans so heat isn't an issue right now. I also have the triple heatpipe heatsink on the cpu and max temps with prime95 and 4 cores loaded is 88 degrees.
I am considering the upgrade due to lack of performance used to hit 60 fps smooth at all times before they upgraded WoW to MoP but ever since then they have added more graphical effects and increased viewing distance etc so a more powerful gpu is needed to have all the effects turned on. I watched the same game playing on the M18x R2 with 680m SLI and it was smooth though still not quite hitting 60 fps all the time between 50 - 60 fps on 1080p ultra settings.
Right now I am unsure if this is a general AMD issue with drivers or if only 6990m are affected so uncertain if I want to try 7970m or 680m as an upgrade. It's nice to be able to load up a game and hit the highest settings without worrying about performance issues or having to tune down the game to suit the hardware

 

Well My 2 256 gig Samsung 830's arrived via UPS just a few minutes ago. Got 2 of the Laptop PC install kits so hopefully this should be fairly easy.

 

Well I ordered my 18x on the 9th with a estimated delervery date for the 23rd. I checked it again today and now it 11-2-12 for a total of 24 days since ordering!?!?!

That seems a bit long and to extend the delervery time within 3 days of the previous recieved date.... very dissappointed

Anyone else have that happen or had to wait a month the get thier computer after ordering????

 

on both USA and Canada alienware sites both showing 3940xm overclock to 1150 and 1250 respectively. I dont like where this is going.. they are changing the BIOS so sl7 is unable to get new unlocked bios to flash and we can no longer overclock ourselves..

 

Now to add to my previous post I called alienware to inquire about my order to see if anything could be done about this big delay in my order that was sprung on me 3 days before the estimated delivery date. I planned my vacation from work around the delivery date and also had my old laptop on ebay planned to end a few days after the delivery date. Anyway I was told since my order was purchased using an advantage account there was no one I could talk to about ANYTHING to do with my order till monday..... wowza... figured a company as big as dell and the amount of money these computers cost there would be someone available.. ive been using dells and alienware for years and years and have always been more than satisfied with the products and service till now..... guess ill have to wait till Monday. Hoping something can be done about this....

 

Same thing happened to me, Tyx. I actually cancelled my order because it was delayed more than 30 days. I'll just hold on to my money until next month when black Friday comes around or something...there's gotta be another sale coming up. I didn't get that great of a deal anyway. We'll see what happens. If I get a good deal, I'm in again.

 

They let you cancel even when its "in production"? Can I cancel or return the computer once it gets to me if ever without paying anything other than shipping costs?

Im thinking of doing so and just buying another computer else where or just waiting a bit like you. Im not getting any kind deal either....

Im torn in this... ive always loved alienware....

 

Yes you can cancel at anytime. If it makes you feel any better I had to wait over 40 days to get mine. And yes if you feel like returning your Alienware you don't have to worry about shipping either it goes both ways free for the first 21 days

Sent from my XT910S using Tapatalk

 

The order cancel and return policy on the website state differently?

 

I did hear that they did change things recently. Please link the page to me so that I may read it.

 

Dell Terms of Sale, License Agreements & Policies | Dell

Says you are to pay shipping up to 15% restocking fees plus applicable taxes unless its defective.... or am I reading this wrong?

 

Dell has an "easy Returns" program going on. Directly from the Alienware site here, it says 30 days to return, free return shipping and no restocking fees.