M17X-R1 model confusion and cpu/gfx support

Currently there are some very nice offers of "new" M17x-R1 barebones which include a 17" 1920x1200 display and would be an awesome upgrade to my acer 6930g but i have a few questions.

I'm looking at the following offer eBay.be: New Alienware Area 51-M M17x-R1 Full Complete Barebones (object 190522196452 eindtijd 11-mei-11 19:32:46 CEST)

Which laptop is this? Seems there are lots of different models and i'm very uncertain about what it'll support and what it wont.

- Will my E8435 work in this laptop? It's a mac specific not-unlocked X9100 which works in my (if not all) laptop, couldn't find anyone using/trying this combo (or a simular E8*35)

- Can i use my 9600M untill i get a beter gfx card? (currently does not fit in my budget)

And something to talk about, is this a good idea? Currently using a 3ghz c2d - 9600M 4gb - 16" 1366x768 acer 6930g which has some thermal issues because of the 55 watt e8435. I could get this M17x-R1 +- free if i sell this acer empty, would mean an upgrade to 1920x1200 and the possibility to use a much more powerfull gfx card in the future (gtx 280 still beats current mid-level gfx cards)

 

I think it's really an M17, not an M17x. But I dont know for sure.

From what I have read about the m17, the E8435 should work.

I am pretty sure the heatsink wont fit the 9600m. Though the seller on ebay doesn't even mention if the heatsinks are included.

Those heatsinks would cost you around $100 to get on ebay (from what I can see). Plus you will need a battery and power supply. Not sure what else is missing.

At one point I thought about getting that barebones, but the seller doesn't seem to post images of the actual barebones to show what's included...

 

It's really confusing, i think everything is wrong.

Send a message to the seller to ask about the details, hope the heatsink are included else i'll have to pass.

All these models are quite confusing to me, if i'm correct it's one of these:

- M17x R1 with 9400M and 2xgtx 280 possibility

- M17 with 2x4850


Best case scenario is an M17x R1 so i can use the 9400M untill i grab something else. But i'd survive buying a compatible card if it turns out to be a M17. I'll update if i get some more info.

 

it just got even more confusing. I think they offer the following barebone

Test Alienware Area-51 m17x Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

Which does not support my e8435 (800mhz only) and seems i only find very expensive gfx cards. I still hope they made mistake with the picture.

 

I wonder if a lenovo FX 3700m would work in any of those, because it can be overclocked very well (700mhz) and will be about the same as a 280m except hotter. That card is pretty cheap BTW. HP 3700m is good too, but doesn't overclock well (600mhz if you're lucky).

I would worry about the cooling system though.

You might also be able to get SLI to work (without the SLI cable) if you flash the correct vbios onto the cards.
You can find the info about the SLI vbios here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...ea-51-m17x-dual-gtx280m-project-thread-9.html

 

That was the original idea but if it's one of those area 51 m17x and not a m17x R1 i'm not sure if it's possible to upgrade.

seems it uses modules like this

eBay.be: M17X Alienware Nvidia 8700M-GT 512MB Master Video Card (object 180650036234 eindtijd 06-mei-11 15:33:19 CEST)

alienware_graphics Image / Picture

While they look MXM i haven't found anyone who installed another card in a laptop like this.


Edit:

Hmmm seems those modules are compatible with both m15x and m17x and m15x have been upgraded to the gtx 280! http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...tems/384642-area-51-m15x-nvidia-gtx-280m.html

There might still be some hope.

 

If you are able to get an SLI fx 3700m setup working that would really be something, that would still be able to keep up with the latest games.

And the M17x in those pics looks pretty good IMO.

 

Unless this turns out to be an M17x R1 it's no deal for me, i can't afford to buy the area 51 m17x, a gpu heatsink , a new cpu , a battery + charger + fx 3700 and hope it works!

I'd be nice if it workd though, could get a very decent machine for 800$ with a p9500 4gb 2x gtx280m and 2x hdd raid (or ssd + hdd)

 

The machine shown in the pictures in the eBay listing look just like my Area 51 m17x. That matches what the seller claims. These machines are pre-Dell. To make it really confusing, the Area 51 m17x's have a plate on the back that says "m17x-R1", but it is the older machine with MXM III v 2.1 slots. I don't think anyone has gotten a card more advanced than the 9800M GT to work in SLI. usmc1488 is trying to get the v2.1 version of the gtx280m to work in SLI, but it hasn't yet. The best CPU it can take is the X9000 2.8 GHz. So, I don't think this machine is what you want.

 

Oh it's true! He's trying to run it in a area 51, not an alienware/dell m17x.

I just remembered i had a T5550 pulled from a dead laptop somewhere, foud it and tried it. Think my 9600M GS would work with this laptop? The 8700M GT heatsink should be compatible or very easy to make it compatible anyway.

 

if it's mxm pray the m17x don't cheq the brand of the card and it should work

 

8700m GT = mxm 2.1 type III (AFAIK)
9600m GS = mxm 2.1 type II

So the screw holes will be in different places, wont line up.

 

I own this thing for almost 3 years now, its mxm slot is 2.1 type HE
PM965 chipset so only up to X9000
don't think gtx 280m will work on this thing, officially it supports 8600m/8700m/8800m gtx/9800m gt sli

 

they even run in sli if you are in DIY

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...area-51-m17x-dual-gtx280m-project-thread.html

 

Pulled the trigger on one of those unites! What i ordered

Barebone
Cpu heatsink
Charger 130 watt- no sli so it should be fine
8700/8800m heatsink
fx 3700m
4965N wifi

480 euros

what i have

T5550 - 2gb ddr2

I can overclock the cpu if i'm right? Should be a decent cpu since it does 1.86ghz at 0.987 volts.

This should bring me what i want! 1920x1200 and wow on med-high. Can't wait untill i get all the parts!

 

Bump, any updates?

Right now I'm interested in getting the same notebook, did yours come with the heatsinks?

Does it have switchable graphics (9400m)?

Did it come with a battery?

 

no, no, no...


I had one from a diffrent seller, you will NOT find the battery cover no matter where you look. heatsinks can be had for $30ish each(1cpu 2 GPU), nor will you find a DVD drive for it(smartbay)

 

Alright, thanks.

Though I personally don't need a dvd drive, could live without a battery, but getting heatsinks sounds like a pain (cant even find them on ebay right now).

Too bad, seemed like an interesting notebook to own.

 

Ive got a bare bones to sell, no battery, 1900 screen. Its what I used to perfect my dual GTX280M project. Works great!