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

and that 2 tb drive has how much free space. out of curiosity?


and yes you CAN use msata for caching.

 

Yes, and it is highly recommend you do so. Check out the post I made above with a link to a great caching mSata SSD.

Here is a tutorial on how to set it up using Intel RST: How to: Set up Intel Smart Response Technology (SSD caching).

Good luck.

 

Right now I use about 1.2TB. I just want to be future proof, because it definitely will fill up slowly...

Great, thanks for clarifying this (happy dance lol). So which size mSata drive should I use for the 2 TB Raid 0 drives?

 

Here you go.

 

So 120 is enough? Or should I go with the 240GB, same model?

 

120 is enough. 240 may be overkill, but I would do it.

 

Personally....64 to 128. and considering your raid will not be running that much stuff from it, only storage. and the raid it self will run an average of 180 to 200 mb it's self.
burst rate of anywhere between 2000 to 6000 mb and a 12 to 15 ms access time.

 

Thanks, and order placed. I'm going with:

- Mushkin Direct Atlas Deluxe 240GB mSATA for caching
- Plextor M5P Series PX-512M5P 2.5" 512GB SATA III for OS
- 2 x Western Digital WD AV-25 WD10JUCT 1TB 5400 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s for Raid 0

Thank you all so much for your help!
Can't wait

 

ummm, i would reconsider those 5400 rpm drives. thats if you can find some in 9.5 size and 7200 rpm 32 meg cache would be ideal

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/HGST...n=googlebase&gclid=CNfAwcX3uLQCFSOnPAodKQQA3Q
something like that.

 

Oooh! Thanks! Just in time, was able to cancel the Western Digitals and will go with those!

 

damn, might have to grab one of those as a backup drive. lol

 

I finally figured out the +1 rep thingy here. To both of you +1 rep! Thanks again

 

glad we could help out some.

 

i was looking at the optical bay and maybe a velociraptor could fit, the 15mm 1tb version lol gonna go try that out..

 

The Samsung 840 Pro Series SSD's are for sale on Amazon, only $223.99 with free shipping. It also comes with a free copy of Assassins Creed III. Just bought two myself.

Edit: Sale over now...

 

Quick question. Does anyone know what the dell part number is for the i7-3940xm? Thanks.

 

Pretty illusive, so it seems. I couldn't find ANY info on the D/PN.....best I could come up with was SR0US - Have you thought of asking Chris Mixon?

 

Are they the 6-digit numbers on the order next to the description?

 

No, not yet.

Yes, that should be it.

 

Is it possible to have M18X R2 with sandy bridge CPU + fermi GPU(M18X r1 component) with warranty covered by Dell?
I got email from this weirdo from craiglist which I assume scammer. he said he got m18x with 2670qm + 560m with warranty til 11/2013
and I asked screen shot for his warranty on dell product service page and it showed 10/5/2014 with M18X R2(which i assume someone else's screen shot from google) written on it. so I claimed it was very suspicious and potential scammer, but later on he claimed he extended warranty on October (i assume he saw 10/5/2014 but which means May 10th). and I said it's not possible to have sandy bridge CPU and fermi GPU on M18X R2 but he called me dumb who knows nothing, and claim there is such thing as M18X R2 with i7-2670QM with GTX 560M covered by Dell warranty?

is this true?
I thought it's not possible because M18X R2 comes with ivy bridge and keplar GPU or 7000 series unless it was modified which void warranty?

-------------------
he is also a distant seller who claim there was no one to buy in his region and selling via shipment

 

That is a 100% scam dude. Dont bite.

 

1. That scenario definitely seems like a scam for multiple reasons... I would not touch that "deal" with a 10 foot pole, LOL.
   
   .​
2. Alienware does not sell that configuration. However, it absolutely is possible, and actually not all that unusual, to see that kind of modified hardware configuration. The system I am posting my reply with is an M18x R1 with an M18 R2 motherboard and associated components with a Sandy Bridge 2920XM (Ivy Bridge is backward compatible, but Sandy Bridge is not forward compatible) and GTX 680M SLI. Before installing the M18x R2 motherboard, I had 680M SLI installed with the M18x R1 motherboard, and 7970M CrossFire in the R1 before the 680M SLI. Alienware laptops are the most upgradeable laptops you can buy. That is one of the reasons they are so awesome. Another reason they are awesome is because the warranty is not voided when major hardware changes to the system are implemented, such as the case is with almost any other brand. The warranty does not cover any aftermarket parts and does not cover any user-induced damage that might accidentally be caused by the installation of aftermarket parts. My system is covered under warranty until August of 2014. My aftermarket parts are excluded from coverage under that warranty.

 

Thanks for your kind advices!

 

My curiosity would have gotten the better of me. I would have said, "Let me check it out. Meet me at the police station so I can verify the serial number" If all is good, I'll take it off your hands.
There are a lot of people (not just scammer's) that don't know what they are really selling. Some times going through the right channels can indeed be the better move and get a nice product in return.

 

YEEEEEEESSSSS!!!! *stoked*

 

well as you can see, he is located in different craigslist region and posted in my area saying market is low in his region or something like that.
trip will take almost 2hour + extra for back and forth. so meeting locally is impossible. It was a good deal and I would have made the deal if it was close by face to face. so I decided not to buy it (due to many suspicion)

 

Ok, so need some help. I am a bit behind the power curve on these systems and would like some advice on where to go from my present ordered setup as it pertains to hard drives. I ordered the system with only 1 256 SSD SATA 6gbs/s. I don't think this will be enough, where do I go from here? Do I add a second one and maybe a msata? Suggestions appreciated!

 

get 840 pro, two of them in raid 0! the fastest msata drive aren't that fast, not recommended in raid

 

Guy came from San Diego in mid day traffic to buy my Asus laptop. 2 hr plus trip. I have made the same or longer trips for purchases, but if you can't afford to make these trips for things you want. That's fine. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Ok, I got my new baby, typing from it right now and running Respawn to back everything up in the background.

I played with AlienFX and I noticed that the blue color on the media buttons is not working. When I set everything to blue, it shows in a light pink instead of blue. I tried to reset it in AlienFX but to now avail. Can it be that there's just a cable connection lose or something like that? I would hate to send it back for that... I have to open it next week anyway when I get all the drives to install them.

 

Try a fresh install first. Do not use the disc for anything except the ethernet driver / wireless driver. Get the rest from the website, including Alienware Command Center. Install Chipset drivers first along with Alienware OSD (for button commands), the command center should be last. You will need to use "FN + F7" to install the Intel HD Graphics. You can install the latest GPU driver after you hit FN + F7 again and reboot.

Hope that works, if not, send it back.

 

which model Asus did buy?

 

G73JH with 920 XM OEM.

 

Doing the fresh install now. Wish me luck...

 

It's weird how the lights weren't working out of the box, that's usually a sign of faulty hardware. Mine were all working upon first boot.

I hope this works for you. I did notice that the ACC (command center) does have a few bugs depending on what version is installed. For example, part of my keyboard was lit up after I did a restore, and part of it wasn't. I had feared the worst, but then updated the ACC and it worked just fine after a system restart.

Good luck, let me know.

 

ooh ok brother J.

 

Yeah, it's been a while Brother Bumbo2. That was around July of 2011. August of 2011, M18x R1.

 

Thanks Unity! This was my first inclination too. So, I just ordered 2 - 840 pros which will make a total of 3 in the system. Seems like I will Raid 0 two of them and use the other for storage. Thanks for the reply!
Alienware M18X R2 - Direct
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3740QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
32GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
(2) CrossfireX 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M's
(3) 256GB Solid State Drive's SATA 6Gb/s

 

This is the number that was on my order: 319-1667 :thumbsup:

 

Does it have a 6 character id next to that? If not there, it should show in your account.
should look something like this.
TKFKF1__________Processor, I7-2960XM, 2.7, SNB, 4C, D2, P

 

I don't see anything like that. I sent you a PM with a link to my order details.

 

Checking now

 

I did a clean Windows 7 install and reinstalled all the latest drivers, including the latest bersion of AlienFX. Still the same problem. So I guess it's a hardware issue with that one blue light.
Can I open the case and see if it is a cable connection issue? Maybe it's just a loose cable?

 

You don't need to open the case, all you have to do is take 4 or 5 screws out and pop the keyboard bezel off.

 

It very well could be. Go ahead and check it out. Good luck!

 

nice system man, 32gb of ram is crazy I should upgrade mine soon still thinking 16gb at 2133 or 32gb at 1866. for your 7970m crossfire, I would recommend you to try out several version of drivers before making a backup image only because AMD got issues. the newer driver should be fine but get one that work best for you (for your movie player, codecs, games, looks and feel etc)

 

for whatever it's worth, noticed on my order it reflects as item number 319-1453 but believe the actual dell/alienware part number might be PDTJ3 (3940XM)

since you've updated the bios and performed a fresh os install, it's worth a shot - always good to get comfortable with your new system too, especially considering the nice upgrades you've got coming!~

 

Probably different because I ordered the overclocked one, the regular one wasn't available at the time.

 

The "PDTJ3" looks like an actual Dell/Alienware part number. The other is not a part number. I believe it is an invoice pick number, but they should be able to be cross-referenced against part numbers. The CPU part number would the same whether overclocked or not.

 

Just to clear it up, I was referring to the item number, not the part number. The item number is used for reference in order status details.

But yes, you are correct. The part number is likely the same, I don't see why it wouldn't be.