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

M18x-R1 + BF3 + 680M SLI = ownage Alienware M18x + nVidia 680M SLI - Battlefield 3 TDM - YouTube

 

read this post.. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...cussion-alienware-m18x-r3-17.html#post8962017

I briefly explained USB 3.0 rated at 5 gbps but only to disapoint with max 180-200MB/s read/write compare to EsataII at 3gbps can easily go to 250MB/s read/write. I linked a tomhardware article in that post explains fully with USB 3.0 losing speed and how to gain the lost speed.

 

Ok I have asked this question in the AMD thread with no luck does anyone know if a clevo 7970m will work in an R2 ? I read somewhere hdmi won't work and you need to use hwinfo for fan control ? Couldn't you just flash the Dell vbios ?

 

OCZ's new SSD.. OCZ Vector 256GB SSD Review :: TweakTown USA Edition aww yeah two 512gb in raid0 for storage OHHH YAHHH

 

I just received the M18x messenger bag and Alienware TactX keyboard from FedEx. The damn bag is huge! I can't wait to see the system, I'm used to 15" laptops...this is going to be insane.

 

Hahaha - prepare yourself for a monster of a machine to land....

 

whats are the internal measurements? for main and secondary?

 

The bag is pretty big and seems to be built quite well, I like it. It also looks awesome. From what I can see, the measurements are as follows, I haven't measured it myself.



If I do a review of the system, I'll include a quick review of the bag and show how the laptop fits in it. :thumbsup:

 

I got the backpack. After I packed the laptop and power supply im damn glad I got the back pack lol. Its not gonna kill you but its heavy.

 

Yeah, I would have gotten the backpack but I already wear a backpack for school, or prefer not to wear anything of the sort when traveling - it wouldn't work out for me. No need to worry though, I won't be taking it everywhere. I did buy it to replace a desktop!

 

damn that 17.5" im hoping to get this bag to see if it fits my 20inch laptop.. 18.7" x 13.4" x 2.3" thats the size of it.
if i can stretch by just 1 more inch it'll be good

 

I received the messenger bag as well about two weeks ago. The main reason why I picked it instead of the backpack is it has the capibility to slide over a handle of a rolling suitcase, or in my case my camera bag. Much easier to carry around the airport that way.

 

Hi

Any Guru Please Help

I'm Going to get an M18X with GTX 675 SLI, 3610 CPU, 32G Ram, SDD and HDD Mix, Etc, Etc(Im not to worried about the Side Orders Just the GPU and CPU.

Can someone who has/had this config tell me your experience.

Many Thanks

 

You're better off getting a single 7970 or 680.

 

Thanks for the Info

 

And buying your ram and ssd yourself. If you wanna over clock get the 3840 or 3740. You cant over clock a 3610. Is this a new system? Thought 3630 was base now?

 

He would actually be better off getting dual 7970M's in Crossfire.

 

Hmm J Dre I read a post from Mr. Fox saying to go green over red for Gpu's, because whilst the 7970 is beastly, it doesn't always work right. From your posted system specs, you went green also..maybe I'm just trying to reinforce what I did....which is...

Just ordered an m18x R2!!!! I'm in pharmacy school and going home for x-mas. Must have starcraft 2 over break!!
Home PC I built is what I usually use. for $1200 I built it with the following specs:
i5 2500k w/stock cooler, 8gb ddr1600 "sniper" RAM *whatever that means.., Cougar PSU (nice..), Biostar mb (whatevers), WD Black 6gb/s 500gb main, 2 500gb's ripped from old externals for 2nd+3rd internal storage drives, standard dvd/rw drive, and nVidia 560Ti 1gb.
Oh and roswell wireless lan card, all in a roswell challenger case. Also..2.1 Klipsch speakers and a 30" vizio 1080p lcd tv as a monitor (mounted to the wall). Add a microsoft sidewinder keyboard, a razer death adder mouse, and I'm in starcraft 2 heaven.

Now the m18x...for the road...didn't go too nuts, hate spending so much on a computer knowing the value diff b/w homebuilt desktop and such. But I've had an alienware m15x for years and love it. LOVE AW. Hate Dell..oh well..on to the specs I ordered it with.
-standard 3630 i7 Ivy bridge
-8gb ddr1600 RAM
-750gb 7200rpm hdd (wish I had the $ for ssd's, but honestly, I don't have ADD that bad, so I can wait a min for load time n not be mad)
-bluray drive
-2gb nVidia 680m (sprung for it..had ati cards in home built rigs in past, like nVidia cards better. also reading about 7970 issues..)

I really want to upgrade in future: 8gb 1600 xx -->16gb 1800 (though I wonder if the extra 200mhz will make much diff)
single 680 2gb --> dual 680's in sli (just because this thing has the space to add it...)
750gb hdd --> + 2 512gb ssd's in raid 0 and reinstall win 7 to them, make them primary

CANNOT WAIT FOR IT TO ARRIVE! I it being shipped home, when I fly home for break, it will be waiting for me!!!!

 

I cannot wait for mine to arrive either...the wait is horrible.

Considering his budget restraint, I suggested he go with dual 7970M's because it will provide him with an easier upgrade for the future if he would decide to get the 680M's, or another card. Having the dual graphics to begin with will make the upgrade simpler. If you order a single GPU in the M18x, it does not come with three fans (it only has two from what I heard), it does not come with two triple-pipe heat sinks, and obviously does not come with a second GPU - all of which you must purchase and install yourself. Some of us don't have the knowledge or willingness to do so, it can be very difficult and time consuming. And if done improperly, you're risking a flaming laptop - the whole thing may be destroyed and will not be covered under warranty because you did this aftermarket.

Edit/Note: The things you hear about the 7970M are related directly to their drivers and support for the drivers. Drivers are crucial to graphics operations during game-play. If you find the right driver, you'll love the 7970's - they're cheap and relatively powerful. If your budget it tight, I would rather you go with them than a single GPU in the M18x because of what I said above, unless of course you know exactly what you're doing, I personally don't. The 680M is a great card, but in the end it's up to you. I'm speaking from personal preference.

---

With that being said, a single 680M is going to be great, and will be able to handle every game for the next two years. You should be happy with your system! About the memory, it will not make a noticeable difference to upgrade. People do this mainly for benching. I ordered my M18x with stock 6GB (1 x 2GB and 1x 4GB) and plan to upgrade the ram myself - it'll save me money and only takes about 10 minutes to do so. I also did not order SSD's through Alienware because they are overpriced. Their current configuration offers the Samsung 830's for $250, of which I can purchase for $100 less on Amazon or eBay, brand new.

You should stick with your plans to upgrade, it will be great. I'm sure you'll love your new Alienware, as I will mine. Good luck and enjoy!

 

Ordered my Alienware M18x R2 after a long, long wait for a refurbed one... pretty basic config with a 3720QM processor, GTX 680 SLI setup, 500gb hdd, 6gb RAM, Killer card etc. However half the fun is upgrading such a beast yourself was pretty lucky as well since I managed to snag a Nebula Red one, now the hardest part - waiting!

P.S. - total cost is around $3250, but since I'm not from the US, I guess it's still a good deal

 

Is the GTX 680m that much better than the 675m? I know I need something better than the 660m but I am not sure about the extra $300.

I play mostly basic games once in a while. Nothing hard core. I have tried other laptops in store with the 660m and it seemed to lag and stutter.

 

Yes it is, very much so. In fact, dual 675M's in SLI would not outperform a single 680M.

You're better off getting the 7970M's in Crossfire if money is tight. You can always upgrade later.

 

Its not that money is tight, I'm just a bit frugal with my money.

I have no problem spending if it is worth it and it seems to be so.

Is the dual 7970M better than the single 680M?

 

Yes, they will perform better than a single 680M. However, you will run into a lot more problems with the 7970M cards than the 680M, specifically due to the drivers.

Edit: That doesn't mean these cards are bad by any means, I actually considered getting them myself...but decided to go all out.

 

Thanks J. You've completed one decision for me. Now all I gotta do is figure out about the keyboard.

I hate most laptop keyboards but figured since this is 18" that is should be a bit better than the smaller cramped type laptops.

Thanks again!

 

I believe with the latest drivers from AMD they have resolved all their issues.

 

J Dre thanks for your input. I have still been obsessing all damn day about whether to cancel my order and place a new order for a system with dual 7970's over the single 680m. AHHH!!! I will always be pissed that one card cost as much as 2 in crossfire that are more powerful! WHAT TO DO!!

"Far Cry 3 release 38% boost for 680M owners" (due to new driver updates)...pretty much seals it for me...And if you do an internet search for 7970m and Far Cry 3, people are seeing artifacts and having to downgrade to Dx9 to get them to go away..no thank you!

I'm going to take delivery on my single 680m. if it stutters at ALL in Far Cry 3 I'm returning it for full refund within 21 days, dell will even pay my return shipping. I will then place a new order for a dual 680 setup, or 680mx setup, if that card is out by then. DONE.

 

Yeah, no problem bud. I'm sure you'll love it.

 

you could always install another 680m card yourself later... however, being miserly comes to bite you back from time to time. I preferred spending a little extra to ensure peace of mind, than ending up ruing my decision and changing my laptop a year later, as happened with the one I currently have in my sig

 

Two issues with instslling a second gpu. Its more money and its not covered under warranty. I say get s 3840 cpu and sli if you want it and can afford it now.

I have a base cpu and single 680m. It runs all my games at max settings with no issues fwiw.

 

Dell Australia tell me that if buy an additional card its covered under warranty as long as the laptop has warranty.

 

how can single 680m be more powerful than 2x 7970m? even with 2x 680m barely beats 7970m with AMD's new driver, you're looking at max 10% performance difference, at peak.

 

I think he misunderstood what I said.

 

if AMD currently have good drivers, it doesn't mean you're covered for the future. the amount of complaints I've read ever since the release of the 7970 card are unbelievable... go Nvidia if you can afford it, there's a reason why you're paying a premium for the 680 cards

 

both Nvidia and AMD have driver and cards issue in the past, no point of judging last years cards issue or past issues at all for current cards. if current cards sucks, defect or have driver issue, then it sucks NOW and only now. only way it'd carried over would be using same driver, but driver never the same right?

 

He is talking about the 7970 and the latest driver AMD have released, he's not talking about any other generation card other than the latest, no one has ever mentioned previous generation cards.

 

exactly my point, two or three drivers were used on 7970m, first one choked, while newer ones are just fine. hes saying 7970m with latest driver sucked which I think is false.

 

I don't think that's exactly what he's saying, his point is with all the trouble AMD has had with their driver stuff ups it's better to go with Nvidia, which I would tend to agree with.

 

exactly... performance-wise both cards are similar and have their pros and cons. With their latest driver, AMD are enjoying some stability at least (talking about 7970m only). but what about later releases, when new games come out and this current driver becomes outdated? and it wasn't newer "ones" - rather, newer "one". the others were flops. if you have an AMD setup and you're perfectly happy, good for you. however if someone were to ask me whether they'd go red or green, I'd definitely go for green, based on past experience and members' opinions on this forum.

actually I'm hoping that AMD don't scratch their play and opt out from the graphics card market because of economic problems - I hate any kind of monopolies.

 

Has anyone had any problems with their order status before? Mine doesn't seem to be updating itself.

 

i get where you come from and for the record, i am still using 11.8 for my graphic driver. I updated it and some of my video players can't seem to work right with latest BIOS and EC changes. if you're looking for the best performance at the time Nvidia seems to be a better choice, with exception spending twice as much. As for current cards 7970m and 680m there is probably no real reason to go for 680m unless you dont think 600 dollar is worth a lot which imo it is. but do note 8970m and 780m and 9970m and 880m will eventually come out and will probably be compatible with your machine and at that time driver may or may not be relevant cause its entirely different card.

 

Hey guys,

I am thinking about buying a new M18x R2 around Christmas this year, and I wanted some thoughts on the build. I am going to spend about $3k max on it (maybe lower if the rep is nice lol).

So I am conflicted between the GTX 675M SLI and the single GTX 680M chip. What would you guys recommend on it? I am leaning towards the GTX 680M single card setup, but im thinking having the extra fan, heatsink and SLI cable from the 675M SLI setup would be nice for future upgrades. I really don't want to go with the AMD cards because I just don't like their drivers. I have used many AMD cards in the past, and Nvidia has always been better for me.

Also, I have been reading about the new GTX 680MX and 675MX cards. Should I wait for these to be available, if its coming out soon? Also, how is a single GTX 675M? I was considering that option as well and upping the CPU to the 3740QM.

The rest of the system is spec'd:

i7 3630QM
256GB SSD
6GB RAM 1600MHz (will upgrade this myself in a few months)
Killer 1103
Bluray Drive
W7 Home Premium

Any input is appreciated.

 

It is, without question, the most powerful and best build quality available in a gaming laptop. Everything else available for purchase is inferior in performance and build quality. If anyone tells you something different, they are misinformed. The thought of paying money for a laptop--even a low budget system--with a plastic chassis makes me feel ill, LOL.

One GTX 680M (or one 7970M) offers roughly the same performance as a dual-GPU 580M/675M SLI or 6990M CF setup. If you are satisfied with "very good" rather than "outstanding" performance, you will be very happy with GTX 675M SLI. It is the next best thing to owning GTX 680M SLI. After having owned a number of systems with AMD and NVIDIA graphics, I totally agree that NVIDIA is the better choice of the two. NVIDIA costs more, but in my view it is worth the extra expense to avoid the potential for unresolved issues.

 

Thanks for the reply!

I think I will go with the GTX 675M SLI since dual video cards seems to be main differing factor (other than screen size) between the M17x and M18x. That way I don't have to purchase the heatsink and fan for the second card when it comes time to upgrade. Also, the games I play are not super intense on the GPU. I would like the GTX 680M SLI, but $1100 for that upgrade is a lot for me.

Is the CPU worth upgrading from the 3630QM to the 3740QM? Any main difference between them besides the clock speed for the extra $$$?

And are there any significant issues I should be aware of in these laptops? I used to own an M17x R2 and that was a nightmare and a half. lol.

 

If you cannot afford the 3920XM/3940XM processor, go with the 3740QM. It has partially unlocked multipliers and can be overclocked an extra 400MHz. The 3630QM CPU is a good processor, but it is not as powerful and not overclockable.

Any time you go with a high performance gaming laptop there is a potential for issues. Quality control is sometimes an issue. I recommend buying an extended advanced warranty for at least 3 years. This has served me and many others extremely well. As a general rule, those that are against it have never needed to use it. It will cost 2 to 3 times more to extend the warranty on a system after purchase, so words to the wise are to buy the extended warranty when ordering the system.

Last but not least, don't purchase online. Buy from a sales rep here at NBR or negotiate by phone for a better price. In some cases you can get a higher spec machine with a 2 or 3 year extended warranty for the same or less than a basic configuration and basic warranty online.

If you haven't already done so, read the information in these threads:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/456885-aw-dell-ordering-advice-how-save.html

 

Awesome. Yea I was not planning on purchasing online. I usually call a rep (also have EPP through work). I will check those threads out too.

Thanks again for the replies, helped a great deal!

 

So, I believe I finally resolved my order issues - had to reorder the damn system. Anyway, I wanted to ask if anyone knew if the system comes with a free upgrade to Windows 8 still, or has that offer passed?

Thanks.

 

If not, this is as close to free as you can get ($15)... Windows Upgrade Offer - Landing Page

 

My order is incoming, finally. All issues were resolved with Dell.

 

I just got my M18x today. I've spent the day getting it set up, transferring all my files from externals, installing my games, updating drivers, etc. I got far cry 3 working off a torrent download...just fyi if you haven't seen my previous posts, I ordered mine with: 8gb ram, standard 3630 i7, single 680m and blu ray. Feedback is...

HOLY CRAP. This thing is like a manhole cover. It's HUGE but in a good way. It isn't a laptop, it's a mobile command center!! The experience using it is no different than my mega desktop setup at home. Huge screen, super performance, unbelievable. The only thing I'm upset about is thinking how much I spent on it (after tax, $2800). The fans are LOUD during gaming but through habituation and the awesome klipsch speakers you tune them out.
Seriously I feel guilty for having such a sick and incredibly AWESOME computer when people in the world are jobless and starving...but what the hell right? Holy crap this laptop is INSANE. Far Cry 3 max settings is silk. Starcraft 2 ultra extreme everything is a joke to this computer. Even the wireless is all jacked up. My wireless router shows 2 bars on every other device in this room, but 5 bars on the M18x, like it's all hopped up on wi-fi meth or something. M18x for the DOMINATING win!!!

Sorry I'm sippin good beer and watching the World is Not Enough on blu ray on my M18x...gotta go!

The fedex guy delivering it said "I bet you've been waiting for this!! (box has alienware all over it). After I signed for it he was all hesitant to give it up, gave me an eye contacting look of jealousy...damn...And in the airport on the way home, my m15x was inspected by the TSA, and the TSA agent said "man you gotta nice laptop here, this here's a hardcore gaming laptop!"

I'm just all "yeah..thank you..thank you.." So tight!!

Mr. Fox is right..no other laptop comes close to the quality. All the markup and extra cost is you paying for the chassis, which honestly is worth it because it's metal and tank-ish. The brand recognition and bragging rights are nice too. You have the best laptop money can buy, literally...