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    *Official Alienware M18x AMD CrossFire Discussion Thread (re: Dell/AW Conference Call)*

    Discussion in 'Alienware 18 and M18x' started by Mr. Fox, Oct 29, 2011.

  1. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    Hey guys and dolls. What's up? Me? Just hanging out, working, emailing, listening to my man Ricardo's Google+ hangout about the Vostro V131 from last night. It's posted on YouTube. If you're into ultra-portable small business class laptops, check it out.

    Anyway....
    Check this out.

    BIOS :D :D :eek: :)

    Edit: See explanation for irregular file posting.
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #951
  2. Yeti575

    Yeti575 Notebook Consultant

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    ​
    NICE ! and you had me going for a second there. Off to check it out
     
    Yeti575, Dec 2, 2011
    #952
  3. steviejones133

    steviejones133 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Ha - I wonder if flashing my replacement with that will fix it.......just turned it on today and its proving to be a complete lemon.....again.....check it out if you like Bill http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/629085-advice-help-needed-my-new-replacement.html
     
    steviejones133, Dec 2, 2011
    #953
  4. Yeti575

    Yeti575 Notebook Consultant

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    FYI: on 3 tries couldn't download via browser (IE) but successful download via Dells download manager
     
    Yeti575, Dec 2, 2011
    #954
  5. skygunner27

    skygunner27 A Genuine Child of Zion

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    Nice....way to go Bill!
     
    skygunner27, Dec 2, 2011
    #955
  6. SOS4DELL

    SOS4DELL A Notebook Philosopher

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    Nice!
    Just...:
     

    Attached Files:

    SOS4DELL, Dec 2, 2011
    #956
  7. steviejones133

    steviejones133 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    IE download doesnt work, Dell Download Manager did though.
     
    steviejones133, Dec 2, 2011
    #957
  8. MaynardLD50

    MaynardLD50 Notebook Consultant

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    on the first day God created bios.
     
    MaynardLD50, Dec 2, 2011
    #958
  9. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

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    yes....but does it work?
     
    Johnksss, Dec 2, 2011
    #959
  10. Yeti575

    Yeti575 Notebook Consultant

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    I've successfully updated to A05. Picture:

    http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc362/Yeti_575/A05.png


    Although I didn't have the cold-boot issue after a Mobo replacement (yup) I still notice a change in the way fan RPM is reported. I attach links to 'before mobo replacement' and 'after mobo replacement AND with A05' pictures.


    http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc362/Yeti_575/Capture_BeforeA05.png

    http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc362/Yeti_575/Capture_AFTER_A05.png

    (edit 1>due to picture not linking)
    (edit 2: added picture proof of updating)
     
    Yeti575, Dec 2, 2011
    #960
  11. VortexHowler

    VortexHowler Newbie

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    Managed to download using Download manager & successfully unpacked to C:/Dell....

    On running the application it returns an error "The requested operation requires elevation"

    Anyone else getting this ?
     
    VortexHowler, Dec 2, 2011
    #961
  12. Yeti575

    Yeti575 Notebook Consultant

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    I did as well. Right-click the extracted file and choose to 'run as administrator'
     
    Yeti575, Dec 2, 2011
    #962
  13. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    Emailed Stan and his boss. Also cc'd a director from the quality engineering org and a higher up in Alienware for visibility. I suggested mobo replacement. If you talk to Stan, tell him you want parts only...unless mobo replacement on a brand new system is not kosher for you.

    And those are some strange symptoms. I'd be tempted to just keep it like that if it booted to Windows and ran fine. Would be an excellent conversation piece. "Look what my lappy can do!"

    Yeah. I left off the explanation for the wonkiness of the driver site. Will expand on that a bit in a separate post.

    Almost made me spit coffee on my keyboard. Hilarious.

    Not sure, but I know for a fact it doesn't blend.
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #963
  14. VortexHowler

    VortexHowler Newbie

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    Worked nicely - many thanks
     
    VortexHowler, Dec 2, 2011
    #964
  15. MAITAI

    MAITAI Notebook Geek

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    Hello everyone; It has bee a few weeks since i posted here... I currently have 6990's and the system is dead (8 beep, no boot). This is the 4th attempt to fix i.e. send new cards and a motherboard. Due to the issues; They decided to send me a new system with 580's.
    Should I be happy or concerned? Can someone please tell me your honest experience moving from 6990's to 580's... Thanks Mai
     
    MAITAI, Dec 2, 2011
    #965
  16. skygunner27

    skygunner27 A Genuine Child of Zion

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    Congrats on your upgrade to 580M SLI. Some people here have said that it's next to impossible to get Dell to upgrade to 580M SLI. You should be happy. IMO I feel that the drivers, hardware, features(PhysX, & Cuda) & performance out outclass the 6990M CF solution.
     
    skygunner27, Dec 2, 2011
    #966
  17. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

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    and now with the lower price.
    650.00 for sli
    500.00 for crossfire

    it's now well worth the upgrade.
    at 1200.00 was just not feasible for most.

    the biggest argument was price /performance where amd was holding the crown...now...that' pretty much a thing of the past this round. nvidia listened for a change and took advantage and price marked accordingly...
     
    Johnksss, Dec 2, 2011
    #967
  18. Zero989

    Zero989 Notebook Virtuoso

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    it's still $1200 everywhere else in the world : p.
     
    Zero989, Dec 2, 2011
    #968
  19. Shiandy

    Shiandy Notebook Consultant

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    Just installed the A05 Bios update, and I can confirm my thermal shutdown issues from cold boot are "FIXED".

    Thank you all so much for your effort's, and a big thanks to Dell-Bill.
     
    Shiandy, Dec 2, 2011
    #969
  20. MAITAI

    MAITAI Notebook Geek

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    Thanks Snoop
     
    MAITAI, Dec 2, 2011
    #970
  21. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

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    might be time for you to move then.... :D :D

    thanks for this!
     
    Johnksss, Dec 2, 2011
    #971
  22. SOS4DELL

    SOS4DELL A Notebook Philosopher

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    That's the idea...
    Maybe somealien want to volunteer to rebuild that Bios ( specially the part of the ongoing process of human self-destruction?)? ;)

    Thanks in advance!
     
    SOS4DELL, Dec 2, 2011
    #972
  23. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    As promised, a detailed explanation for the irregularities in the file posting:

    We are migrating our internal project management platform and are working through new processes to upload files to the Drivers and Downloads page. As of now we are temporarily unable to upload updated drivers and files to the site by appropriate platform. As a workaround, we are uploading the files to the site without tying them to the product page. We should have the migration complete and files in the appropriate places soon. In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding.

    As to the specific issues with this BIOS posting- date, missing platform under Compatibility, etc., those are one-off oversights that have nothing to do with the migration issues. Someone just overlooked a couple of fields. Hopefully we can correct that issue sooner rather than later.
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #973
  24. vzachari

    vzachari Notebook Evangelist

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    Thank you for the updates and thank you to Dell for the support. For me both bios A05 and the recent Dell video drivers are working great (with the exception of brightness control).

    Do you have any updates on this question:

     
    vzachari, Dec 2, 2011
    #974
  25. SOS4DELL

    SOS4DELL A Notebook Philosopher

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    Thanks you Bill for your communicativeness and receptiveness and to all the involved staff at Dellienware thanks for your efforts. Dell's rocks pal! ;)
     
    SOS4DELL, Dec 2, 2011
    #975
  26. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    No answers on AMD reference drivers. I know this is a big concern of Alienware Major Domo #2, Frank A., but as of yet we have nothing definitive to report.

    I have my opinions, which professional prudence suggests I keep to myself. ;)
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #976
  27. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    You are most welcome.
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #977
  28. ACHlLLES

    ACHlLLES Notebook Virtuoso

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    So every system should update to this BIOS regardless of having thermal shutdown?
     
    ACHlLLES, Dec 2, 2011
    #978
  29. FredFlint_

    FredFlint_ Notebook Consultant

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    Have just updated to A05 and ran FurMark after a cold boot and the fans are on which is a good sign :)
    Just ran Heaven and score is about the same. The fans are not as loud as they were before.
     
    FredFlint_, Dec 2, 2011
    #979
  30. Shaden

    Shaden Notebook Deity

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    Any answer for my PM Bill ... about sleep/recovery issues ?
     
    Shaden, Dec 2, 2011
    #980
  31. residualvoltage

    residualvoltage Notebook Deity

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    I see John, I didn't realize Speedfan did the Dell Ec too or even first for that matter. For those who used or wanted to try Hwinfo for manual and automatic custom fan control we can now use the Dell EC or Compal EC (previously the only method in Hwinfo).

    For the new method Dell EC check SW SMI in Hwinfo Config and uncheck LPC & EC Support + EC-ACPI Synchronization. Or vice versa leave SW SMI unchecked and check LPC & EC Support + EC-ACPI Synchronization to use the Compal EC.

    For mobile systems like these make sure to uncheck GPU I2C... Both are checked by default and pertain only to desktop video cards. The new beta is now available at HWinfo.com now and a possible feature that may be added soon is Hysteresis... Which is as follows. You can set 55c trigger point for medium fan speed and fans of below that... to prevent constant on and off with a feature like Hysteresis one can set like 5c so 55c would trigger medium fan but to make sure system stayed cool for longer the fan would stay at medium till temp dropped full 5 degrees to 50c... So therefore preventing constant fan on and off... Kind of like heaters work... This feature is not added yet but is a future possibility.
     
    residualvoltage, Dec 2, 2011
    #981
  32. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

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    ok RV, will give it a try.
     
    Johnksss, Dec 2, 2011
    #982
  33. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    Should? Not necessarily. If it ain't broke...

    Lame initial reply sent. If there is a thread specific to this issue, please link me to it or start a new one if you don't mind.
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #983
  34. alienwolf

    alienwolf Notebook Deity

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    All Hail the great Bill B and his Team for doing what customer service could not.
    FIX my system, the A05 worked great thanks had just got off the phone with CS and refused to send it back, glade I did ..thanks again. :D
     
    alienwolf, Dec 2, 2011
    #984
  35. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    hahah. I had very little to do with the actual work. I'm just the communicator. But thanks for the kind sentiment. :)
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #985
  36. [Nikos]

    [Nikos] Notebook Evangelist

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    Good Job Bill! Thank you so much! For people like you it is worth to pay 4000€ for a laptop. :)
     
    [Nikos], Dec 2, 2011
    #986
  37. chillbill

    chillbill Notebook Enthusiast

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    Im sad i sent mine back on monday
     
    chillbill, Dec 2, 2011
    #987
  38. iPhantomhives

    iPhantomhives Click the image to change your avatar.

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    Thanks dell for those driver & bios A05 :D
     
    iPhantomhives, Dec 2, 2011
    #988
  39. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    As with all major updates which address a specific issue, I've created a sticky for A05. Please use it for feedback/any new issues - this will make it easier for Dell to track/access (better than having to sort through this very long thread...)

    The sticky thread is up and currently locked. Once the BIOS has pushed out on the support site, I'll add the link.

    Any additional info for post#1 of the sticky thread, PM me.

    Thanks.
     
    BatBoy, Dec 2, 2011
    #989
  40. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    It's pushed. It is just not in the correct place due to migrating off of iDrive and onto Agile. We have not worked through some issues with posting files. Heck, until like a week ago, we couldn't post anything. This is the best workaround we can come up with for now.

    Repeating to be perfectly clear: The BIOS I linked to is the official Dell BIOS A05 for M18x.
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #990
  41. nuroo

    nuroo Notebook Consultant

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    Thx to Dell. Bill and Louis.


    Has anyone with 580m sli tried A05 bios? Will it hurt nvidia systems?
     
    nuroo, Dec 2, 2011
    #991
  42. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    BatBoy, Dec 2, 2011
    #992
  43. Dell-Bill_B

    Dell-Bill_B Guest

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    It's not so much the site. It's the backend tools Product Group uses to post files. But it's easy to see how the site overhaul and our tools issues could be seen as one in the same. It wasn't the change to the site that borked the process. It is dealing with the migration to Agile from iDrive and TeamTrack. Seems there is a little more rigor and steps to posting a file that we are trying to make work. We'll get it sorted soon, though.

    I kinda like the new site. Beats that old slow Java box. I get to the drivers much faster now. Well, the old drivers since we can't get the new ones uploaded. :(
     
    Dell-Bill_B, Dec 2, 2011
    #993
  44. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    It appears to be cured! YAY!!!!

    The opening post for this thread has been updated with a link to BatBoy's thread for the A05 BIOS update.
     
    Mr. Fox, Dec 3, 2011
    #994
  45. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    Well, this thread has served its purpose extremely well. Special thanks to Bill and Louis and the Team Red Panel for the partnership. It has been awesome and the fact that a solid fix has been released less than a month after the call is an exceptional outcome.

    The opening post has been updated with all the information any AMD 6990M powered M18x owner could want or need with regard to the issues with fan malfunction, overheating, thermal shutdown and known problems related to AMD drivers. If you haven't read the opening post, please do so before creating a new thread to resurrect old issues.

    Further discussion that is specific to the AMD-based M18x should be posted on this thread:

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...s-performance-problems-discussion-thread.html

    We are looking forward to ongoing communication with Dell-Bill_B... I know I speak for many by expressing my sentiments that Bill is awesome.
     
    Mr. Fox, Dec 3, 2011
    #995
  46. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    Blank Space ;)
     
    Mr. Fox, Dec 9, 2011
    #996
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