M11x Optimization Thread

THANK YOU for that guide! I haven't seen it before.

My video looks much better on my HDTV, now!

Directions for installing are as follow:
1. Download and run the file: http://downloads.guru3d.com/Media-Player-Classic-Home-Cinema-(GPU-accelerated)-download-2174.html
2. Open the extracted folder, rename the x64 folder to MPC
3. Move the newly renamed MPC folder to your Program Files folder
4. Double-click the executable to launch the program.

Directions for optimizing are as follow:
1. View --> Options --> Player --> Check Launch files in fullscreen --> Press OK

2. View --> Options --> Playback --> Output --> Mark EVR Custom Pres.

3. Play --> Shaders --> Combine Shaders --> Add "sharpen complex 2" and "16-235 -> 0-255 [SD][HD]" --> If you watch a lot of interlaced videos, add deinterlace, too.

 

Nice that u summarized the whole thing thts written in that link..
Initially i didnt notice anythin ...then pressed Ctrl+P ... wow its cool!

 

Sorry for the dumb question... If I use the media player classic from guru3d, will I still need something like the k-lite codec pack to get divx, rm, and qt files to play in media player classic?

 

thanks BatBoy for that link I'll try it out now.. so this is basically what coreavc does in terms of GPU playback? Is MPC a good option over VLC then to be a dedicated video player?

Now, what is a good program that uses GPU to ENCODE video? Say video recorded from camcorder to be converted to another format or compressed? Thanks.

 

No, you shouldn't. The only one I needed to install was xvid.

See which one works best for you and roll with it.

As for encoding, you'll just have to go with trial and error - again, see which works best for your needs and go with it.

 

I have iTunes and Quicktime installed on my M11x.
Is it a good idea to have it turned off at stratup through msconfig?
I don't have too much experience with the startup menu, but after taking the advice regarding turning Alienfx off through msconfig, should this apply to iTunes and quicktime?
Will I see any benefits in turning them off. Btw I use iTunes only a couple times in a week.
Thank you!

 

Both of those can be disabled at startup - no reason for them launching when you boot up.

 

Not only do you want to disable iTunes, Quicktime, and anything else Apple related in start up, you also want to disable anything with the world Adobe or Google.

If it says Intel, NVIDIA, RAID, or anything you're not familiar with, leave it alone.

(Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> Run --> msconfig --> OK)

 

^^ Thank you so much!
bye bye apple startup stuffs!

 

Careful. If you disable Bonjour and Apple Device w/e you'll have trouble syncing your itouch if you have one.

if you do disable those startup stuff you have to enable those services again when you plug an itouch in via services manager.. well i won't go in to details unless you ask lol but I don't think you own an ipod touch?

 

Is there any alienware feedback site or something like that??
maybe we guys can spam them so that they ll work on the new version of the software.

 

lol thanks, but I do not own an iPod touch, I got an iPod classic but thats all.
Any problems I should forsee?
Thanks!

 

Well for itouchs' they need apple device manager and maybe bonjour services running when you try and sync using itunes.. could be for any ipods.. but i'm not sure.
If you do go and decide to not start those up during startup and you aren't able to sync your ipod with itunes because of it..

In the start menu type 'view local services' and you can enable those two services to sync with your ipod.

 

I'm pretty sure the ONLY thing that bonjour does is auto-start iTunes when you plug an itouch/iphone/ipod in. If you open itunes and THEN plug your device in it should be fine, as this is how I've always done it with my iPhone.

The Apple Devices Manager thing will launch when you run itunes.

 

I don't get it. Everytime I try and download a driver it makes me install the driver manager. I run the driver manager and it says there are no files in it. Yet, I can't download any files because all it does is wanna download the damn manager. am I doing wrong here?

 

Just wondering, does enabling/disabling PhysX really effect gaming performance? And how? (Sorry if this is a stupid question .)

 

Use this link - forget the favorites link as I'm not sure where that is sending you...

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...764&osl=en&catid=&impid=&SystemID=ALW_LP_M11X

Now, when you see a driver you want to download and install, do not use the 'download manager', select the option to download via http: instead.

If you no longer see this option, clear your browser's cookies, exit the browser, relaunch the browser and go back to the page - you should now have that option when selecting download.

The driver will be downloaded to your downloads folder or desktop - you decide where it needs to be saved. Once the driver is downloaded, launch the driver .exe (example: R240771) and the .exe will automatically decompress the driver files to a directory here:

C:\dell\drivers

Once the driver files have been extracted, in most cases, the driver installer will automatically launch.

No stupid or noob questions in my book. What I have found is PhysX should only be enabled if your game supports PhysX. When PhysX is enabled and the game title supports it, the GPU will handle this - meaning part of the GPU is dedicated to PhysX instructions. Some have found a slight FPS drop when enabling PhysX. With PhysX turned off/disabled via the NV CP, you are not allocating part of the GPU for PhysX. Bottom line, if your games do not support PhysX - kill it.

 

I had a question about my battery, I get about 6 hours and have the 160gb hard drive from dell. I was wondering if the 8 hour battery life advertised on Dell's website is with a SSD and if anyone is getting that much battery life?

 

what antivirus/malware software do u guys recommend ive always used avg free and cc cleaner with great results thanx

 

I have been very happy with Microsoft security essentials.

 

thanx 4 advice joeelmex ill ck it out

 

can we get 2 finger scrolling on our m11x touchpad with offical synpatics drivers? or do we need to install modded drivers?

 

they are official synaptics drivers. I just got the multi gesture suite through scrybe though, uninstalled scrybe but left the synaptics drivers installed.

 

Noice! Thanks dude

 

np, if you want to adjust settings, just to go control panel -> hardware -> mouse and then settings tab.

 

Anyone have a theory as to why Alienware just didn't include the 2 finger stuff and etc off the bat? Does it have an impact on battery life?

 

it's not Dell's thing really, it's just whether or not they wanted to include Synaptic's latest suite drivers on there or not. Now as for them not advertising it is a multi-touch capable touchpad is a different story..

 

Bonjour is apple's name for what's known as muticast dns. I believe microsoft's implimentation is called zero configuration networking. It pretty much advertises and looks for network services. In OS X this includes file servers, shared printers, shared itunes libraries, bonjour chat services, and a few other programs. I know windows uses it for itunes library sharing and some other vendors, such as adobe, also use it (although I'm not sure what they use it for). The actual program runs as mDNSResponder.exe.

The program that starts itunes when you plugin an itunes compatible player is ituneshelper.exe.

 

Is the new Nvidia driver for the GT335M a good download? Sometimes these new drivers are buggy.

Release date was 2/9/10. My driver is showing as being one from last year.

 

You have to insure you have the power setting on "Power Saver" option, have the graphics on integrated, if you don't need them go dark on the lights, etc. I have been getting 6-7 hours with wireless on and Power Saver, 8-9 hours with wireless off and using word, media player, and visual studio.

Wireless is really the biggest drain, but this laptop can definitely get 8 hours.

 

188.55 is a very old driver, it is the newest one for the 335M, but very old overall. It is fine, honestly, I am thinking about hacking mine together to get the new 195+ drivers, they add a lot.

 

You'll need to incorporate the Intel into the mix with the current NV releases from their site. The Dell driver is the first NV/Intel Hybrid and 195+ does not include this as far as I know. IMO, for the time being, its best to stick with the Dell driver.

 

I just hope Dell doesn't balk on support for updated drivers, or at least offers a way to install official nvidia ones. I'm ok with 188.55 for now. I'm using 186.81 on my Sager, and seems to be the most stable and performs well. But I know with newer games released, updated drivers will help quite a bit.

 

It's the driver that's on Dell's site. Wasn't going to go to Nvidia's website for it.

 

The hardware heaven review of the m11x used newer hacked nvidia drivers... Reading the review sounds like the GPU switching was still working. Furthermore the AVC codec with GPU CUDA decoding was working bang on.

 

Has anyone tried undervolting the cpu using RMClock?

 

Are you using Internet Explorer? For this type of thing, you need to.

Disabling PhysX will free up processing power on your graphics card while disabling some of the flashier physics-involving dust particles, water particles, etc. You won't be missing too much and you shouldn't enable PhysX on the m11x's GPU.

MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS

Don't even think about AVG.

 

Weird. I installed the new drivers, then restarted. When I switched to the Nvidia card, it reinstalled the old drivers. Oh well.

 

maybe I'm wrong, but to install non-dell drivers (i.e. not set up to recognize the dual gpus we have) you may want to enter the bios and disable switchable graphics cards (set to discrete i think).

Then install the nvidia driver, and re-enable the switchable graphics in the bios.

Otherwise the nvidia installer wont "see" the gpu since its turned off.

 

can anyone confirm that will work :O

ADVICE: Turn on Multicore Rendering when you're playing a game that has that feature.

and I also want to know what Banctec Service Agreement is..
can I disable any of these in startup? :

Intel Common User Interface
RAID event monitor
FATrayMon
MUI StartMenu Application (if i'm still using facial recog can i turn this off?

and can anyone figure out how to make two finger right click??

 

Bantec is the company which Dell dispatches out for on-site repair work in your area.

-------------------------

For pinch-zooming,

1. Open up the Mouse Properties Control Panel
2. Click on the Device Settings tab for the Synaptics touchpad
3. Click the Settings button
4. Under Scrolling, you will find the settings for Pinch Zoom

-------------------------

MUI is for Cyberlink - leave it alone

-------------------------

FATrayMon startup item is for the FastAccess Facial Recognition App (AlienSense). If you have it disabled via the Command Center ---> AlienSense - then yes, by all means disable the startup entry for it. Also remember, with AlienSense - there is also a Service which runs at startup. FAService. This can also be disabled if you are not using AlienSense. Be sure to open up Services by typing 'Services' into the Search box on the Start Menu (you'll see the Services entry with a gear icon, click on it).

-------------------------

Intel Common User Interface
RAID event monitor

Intel Common UI is for the integrated Intel GPU:
While you can disable Intel Common UI, I suggest just leaving it alone. Its not going to do much in the way of resource savings anyway.

RAID Event Monitor is part of the Intel Matrix Storage Manager:
For the Intel Matrix Storage Manager side, I suggest leaving it alone as well. Its part of the Storage Manager driver and while we do not have RAID in the M11x its best not to mess with it.

 

lol i didn't mean pinch zooming.. I meant like in macbooks you can right click by tapping with two fingers.. is there a way to make that work with this touchpad since it's also a synaptic pad

 

I used some of the tweaks in this thread. Idle CPU utilization has gone down 10%.

 

I actually know how to do this, and have talked to others who say switching still works, but at the moment I tend to agree with you. The current drivers do what I want and if I used the newer drivers I would have to go through other problems like test mode or some boot loader like ReadyDriver.

Here is hoping whoever is responsible gets the drivers officially updated in a timely manner, so I don't have to mess with it.

 

So what zlog suggested isn't plausible?

 

Why can't u just use the second mouse button below the touch pad. It's a PC not a mac. The mac the entire mousepad is a button but it isn't on the m11x

 

I dont have mine yet, but it SHOULD be possible.

At the very least, you could disable switching so that you always use the 335 and use the latest nvidia driver if you're mostly going to be using ac.

 

yea just that it would make it more convenient with that though imo. I know it's not a mac but they are both using a synaptic touchpad.. both have multi gesture.. i guess the drivers just don't have that option.. T_+ i wish i was a wizz and i'd edit that driver and make it myself ><

@Zlog

True true, but I use it for class too.. so saving battery would be great..

 

Which process is it to set the Dell Online Backup thing to Manual? Can't find it in services.msc I know it's called Toaster.exe but in Services where is it?

 

Question if i may?

1. Does the SIM card slot work? Has anyone used their phones sim card to access the internet on the go?..And how does it perform?

Im a truck driver on the road alot and this would be extremely helpful.

2. Is Wow playable on this little beast?

Thank you.