M11X R03 BIOS Released

@Steve, I ran 3DMark06. First time in a few months. I didn't really find the numbers any differant with the A03 BIOS. Was hoping it would help. Ran both stock and Beta drivers. stock drivers were a few points higher on average.


Has anyone had any luck reflashing back to A01??

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/484782-m11x-r03-bios-released-2.html#post6263176

Unreal25 described the steps that you have to take in order to flash to A01.
Functions without any problems.

 

Wow, how did I miss that? Thanks, thats exactly what I needed. +1 to you and unreal25

 

Everest is showing me a 1066 for DRAM, but then again, it's also showing me a 1.73 for the CPU overclock vs the 1.6 that CPUz shows.

 

tears, is there anyway that you can flash back to A01 and run the same test? Maybe CPU-Z is glitched all the way around? Can you put up some screenshot thumbnails?

 

2. BUG FIXED (PPR/Other):
[SYS]
1.> Fix [DF364154] SMBIOS Type 10h shows incorrect maximum capacity of memory.
2.> Fix [DF365341] Alienware M11x BIOS can flash on other platform via Winflash.
3.> Fix memory frequency can't raise to 1066MHz when CPU is overclocked.

This is listed in the release notes as a A01 bug fix, but the one below it is the A01 bug fix table. Typo? Should the change log under A03 say A02? If so, would you say that they have rolled A02 changes into A03, even if A02 was not released? Looks like they have fixed the RAM OC to 1066MHz at some point...

 

I can't believe they still haven't fixed the overclocking issue. I guess I'm going to have to take the risk of having some Dell repair man messing around with the innards of mine to get it fixed.

 

Don't do it just yet, erawneila has very kindly offered to check with AW engineering to see if their is any news regarding this issue. Thus await a response.

 

How long ago was that? I look forward to knowing because I've been patiently waiting for a fix and will be very disappointed if there isn't one forthcoming - my M11x overclocked fine until an engineer replaced the motherboard

 

Thanks.

Just to add more explanation. I found out when I tried to roll back to A01 using a BIOS.bak (backup) file - that didn't work. Indeed, I got the same error as a guy (sorry forgot the name ) on the previous page, saying that battery is below 10%... it didn't reflash BIOS to A01 (as you would expect from a BACKUP file) but it was still A03.

I had to download A01, manually uncheck the option in the flasher app and then it worked.

 

Wish I knew how to decompile the bios code and change that 266 mhz at oc to something bit higher.. Also up the vcore as well. Anyone want to boot up that program into the matrix --> How to decompile bios code and How to update bios code...

StevenX

 

I would also like to know when this was asked? As am in the same boat as Duffking.... However my m11x has never OC'ed from the beginning and was bought from BB. However the 14day period is up and I couldnt take it back due to being out of country... would dell still cover replacing the motherboard even though it wasn't bought directly from them? I REALLY hoped the bios update would address this issue. However all it seems to of done is made the fan start at lower temps which negatively impacts battery life when running in IGP mode.

 

I have to agree 100%! I went back to the old Version! Thank you for your help! +1 Rep!

With 1.03 the fan is running two times more than before ... really !
OK, lower Temps are better ... but if you have to work in a quiet location this is really crap. It seems I have to live with 1.01 and sell this one ...

Regards,
Sascha

 

i have to revert back to A01 cause A03 is causing issue to my m11x..graphic start to screw up and i saw artifact or glitches on my game like crysis, need for speed and dawn of war which play perfectly fine before the upgrade..

in one of the forum they mention tat the RAM speed will be reduce if the bios detect GPU heating up in the new bios..donno true or not..

anyway dissapointed in A03 ...DELL please do more QC before release a bios...tq..

 

Hmm, I've not had any problems here. I noticed the fan did stay on longer, but after turning on the integrated graphics and doing the sleep/wake thing, the fan quieted down. Of course, I had been playing Hitman: Blood Money for an hour or so, so I'll have to do more tests...

 

No problems with the BIOS update for me. Alles klar, Herr Kommissar.

 

Asked yesterday, and whiles a response may come along shortly, it doesn't necessarily mean they (if at all) will fix the issue. And even if they do, I suspect we will be looking at months before a release of somekind.

In hope in speeding up the process a little, PM erawneila with your specs especially ram make and model nums, as well as when your M11x to bluescreens (playing games, sitting at desktop or straight away after enabling overclock inc timescales).

Myself im going to wait a response, and work from there.

As for a motherboard replacement organisedrhyme, check with your supplier first. But i think dell should be able to do it as the warrently is usually under them. You can check your warrently status here: http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/topic.aspx/emea/shared/support/my_systems_info/en/details?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml

 

Anyone else seeing artifacting or other GPU related issues? If so, reverting back to A01 resolve them?

Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2 are fine - no issues.

 

Fallout 3, Just Cause 2, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age all run fine with no anomalies under A03 for me...

 

hi batboy yes it is true reverting to bios A01 from A03 solve my graphic issue on the following game:-

1. dawn of war II
2. crysis MW
3. NFS Shift

seriously not recommending this A03 to anyone else...

 

thanks for the reply post - can anyone else confirm these titles?

 

BIOS A03 made the fan running 90% of the time. Reverted back to A01, the fan does not run at all when the system is idle. Silence is golden.

 

I am running a03 for several days without gpu switching, driver 197.57. Fan runs quietly at idle and is fine during games... I dont think it is very loud. If you think it is, please dont ever consider a m17x. My old m17 sounded like planes taking off. (I loved it though).

Take Care,

StevenX

 

Will someone definitively say whether this BIOS update actually causes the fan to run more often?

 

Fan definatly runs more often but I haven't had any graphical issues with any of my steam games as well as some of my non-steam (WoW, Aion, Star Trek Online, and Borderlands.) Also runs a bit cooler. I haven't noticed the boot time, mine still boots as fast as it always did.

 

I messed with it a bit more. It seems to be about ~5 degrees Celsius cooler under a load.

 

Seems like there is room to OC this thing more...wish AW/Dell would uncripple the bios we could squeeze a bit more out of the proc.

 

I hope they do unlock the BIOS so we can overclock more. My concern is that with the Core i3/i5/i7 coming that support for the Core 2 chips will disappear quickly. So we will have to live with whatever they give us after the new Core chips are available.

 

So Is it worth the upgrade????? I am still running A01

 

YES! ... or ... NO! ... actually, it's a bit of both just as it is with almost every BIOS refresh or GPU driver refresh.

In the case of the R03 BIOS I can confirm that the fan runs all the time in the Nvidia GPU mode and either runs quieter (or not as much) in the Intel integrated graphics mode.

However, the big thing to focus on here is that everyone (including our test lab) is reporting lower system temperatures using the new BIOS.

Heat kills laptops. Period. In the case of Nvidia-based systems, there have been quite a few mobile and desktop GPUs that have suffered major problems due to heat. My general recommendation is that all current M11x users update to the R03 BIOS if they are comfortable doing the update.

A cooler notebook is a healthier notebook.

That said, the fan does run constantly (though at a slightly lower setting) and some people are reporting problems in a few games (though none of the games that I play have had any problems. So if you hate the sound of a constantly running fan and prefer a fan that only sometimes kicks on but runs louder, then you want to keep the original BIOS.

My M11x with an upgraded 200GB SSD isn't any slower during start up, just in case anyone was curious about my system start up time after the update to R03.

 

Jerry, you make some good points, I think ultimately it comes down to personal preference on the fan issue. Excessive heat has not been a problem with the M11x, to my knowledge, or at least my system.

Here would be another question, with a fan running more often, what is the effect on battery life? 5*C vs fan? Hmm...

 

I doubt battery life changes at all. Running the fan constantly at low levels is going to use the same amount of power as running it a high levels every few minutes.

 

Anybody up for a battery benchmark comparison with the two different bios?

 

I have noticed no difference in battery life whatsoever. I am keeping my cooler laptop.

 

Not if the fan runs all the time on A03, like on my system, obviously.

 

Played Crysis with CPU OC via HDMI to Sony HDTV for about four hours.
I stopped playing and then thought, Oh my gosh, I've probably turned my inter-galactic friend into a toaster. Turned him over and touched his wee bottom and he was only slightly warm, no over heating at all.
On my M11x, Crysis runs at approx 60% CPU OC'd.

Have a Tosh that runs so hot it burns my lap. 10 years later and it still burns my lap. Don't think over heating on the M11x is an issue, even OC'd

Looking at the BIOS update features I don't see a reason (for myself) to update at this point. Just switched from discrete to integrated GPU (Using Dells latest beta driver) and the fan hasn't come on since.

Nice that the battery charging can now be left disabled on system restart.

If it's possible, a greater rate of Over-clocking would be nice....somebody?

Just noted you can look right through the fan and see the 'coloured' keyboard above. It's sooo purty

 

WAZZUP (or erawneila...). Any news on this yet? Is there going to be another BIOS release? Is anything being worked on? Some sort of official announcement would be appreciated by all the (stuck in a rut) UK owners.

 

Not as yet, probably expect a response this week. Will post when info comes in.

 

Same here. System runs fine no fan issues that I can tell. Will wait for next release to see what comes our way.

 

A03 installed, that slight tweak to the fan is nice. before on high speed there was just a touch of whine, and it has been eliminated, just the faint whoosh of air.

Very pleased so far.

 

Hey guys, I just ordered the bestbuy 899 one, because BING cashback is shutting down and they are spending all remaining money now. For bestbuy they are giving 20% cashback at all purchase at Bestbuy right now!!! I configred the new AW M11x with core i7 cpu and everything else similar to the bestbuy one. After 20% cashback, bestbuy come out to be 500 bucks cheaper.

I was wary about the fan noise cause I returned one before due to the fan STUCK on super high RPM phenomenon when it first came out and I could not stand it. But due to the 180 dollars cashback I can get this is heck of a deal.

I will go pick it up tomorrow but just wanna get you guys take on this.

So Do I try out the new beta nvidia driver listed on support side and see how the fan behave on integrated video? Fan on high on dedicated video is no problem I understand heat kills, but my last lappy was stuck on high RPM even on integrated video.

AND if the Nvidia driver dont work or dont work as DRGOODVIBESs laptop works then I proceed to update to the A03 bios?

TIA on any feedback.

 

I use the beta drivers from Dell website and they work just fine. That's in combination with their stock BIOS, whatever the revision is, I guess A02?

 

Could anyone help me with this problem? When trying too flash the Bios I repeatedly get the same errror message:

BCPSYS block signature was not found.
Error code: -100

 

This BIOS is for the M11xR1 - not the R2.

Closing thread as its an old thread and A04 is the current version for R1.

Current version for R2 is A01.