*OFFICIAL* M11xR2 Owners Lounge - Part 1

Congrats! I love my i7, and I am sure you will love yours

 

Hello there !
I am about to order a Mx11 r2 for traveling, my question is can the i7 model run games, like lets say Prince of Persia forgotten sands?
Thanks

 

Question on Alienware Command Center.

On page 45, there was a link of the new Alienware Command Center

link

Drivers and Downloads

Which has been tested online by gizmodo and other sources as well as forum member to have boosted battery life by nearly an hour. I did download the file but when I proceed to install it, it prompted me to only repair current installation. Then I realize i did not uninstall my current command center.

However, when I went back to the Alienware M11x R2 driver download thread, I could not find the aforementioned link anywhere on the driver download page making me a little bit apprehensive to uninstall my current CC and install new ones.

Suggestions?

PS: Also..I have had 2 R1 and one R2 that I returned so i can get this new I7 cpu. Not sure if its me, but this one I received seem to have a screen that has better white/black and more vibrant screen overall. Is it just me or has anyone hard Dell changed LED vendors?

 

Hm not really sure what's wrong with your command center. You can always just go into command center and press the update button to update CC instead of downloading it. Update button is in the bottom right hand corner and the latest version is 2.5.54.0.

Also can you check which monitor you have? Device manager>monitor>generic pnp monitor properties>details tab and select hardware ID. As far as I know Dell is only using two types right now (AUO105 and I can't recall the other one).

 

There are 3 different panels reported for the M11x.

AUO105C - AU Optronics
SEC5441 - Samsung
LGD021E - LG

I can't find reliable specs on the LG panel, but Dell uses it in their other 11.6" models.

 

How do I find out which panel I have?

I suspect my last 2 were AOU ... while not too bad but colors were washed out...

 

Woohoo thanks! just did that and found out mine came with the most up to date fix..

 

amodar posted instructions 4 posts up.

 

WOOHOO! JACKPOT WITH THIS ONE!

All the software came updated

Hinge was tight and perfect

Keyboard does not touch the monitor

and it shows I have SEC5441 (SAMSUNG PANEL) I knew this one has much better color than ones I returned.

 

Is there a difference in the monitors? like which is usually better? and with the problem with the keyboard touching the screen...technically i dont like the keyboard imprints stuck on the screen, but is there a way to change it or have dell replace it?

 

Interesting. Mine is the Samsung one, too, and it also doesn't touch the keyboard (at least as far as I can tell--it doesn't leave marks on the screen at least).

My hinge seemed perfect for a month then started making a sound (only on the left side).

 

Yes..usually LG or Samung ones are superior to AOU screen. Not a drastic difference, just contrast and viewing angle is usually better with LG and Samsung ones. In MW2, on my previous R2, I kept wondering why the battlefield color , while not bad, seems to be washed out a bit......This one with Samsung is beautiful. I felt the difference before I know or realize any difference in LED maker.

If you wish to research, on Asus G73 thread has a dedicated discussion on AOU vs LG screen and LG was voted to be superior unanimously.

 

hmmm i see, is it possible actually switch it in for a more superior one and the screen to keyboard touching problem?

 

Not sure if Dell would honor you to request to order a specific screen or switch, just depend on your luck. As to screen touching Keyboard.. I have never had one like that so I can't say...

 

What do you guys recommend for an external dvd burner, I plan on netflixing the hell out of Farscape and burning myself some copies. Also, with the i7 do you think I could play any older games like the first STALKER game, I have been dying to play it for years. I'm kind of scared though since alot of older games are cpu intensive. Thanks.

 

STALKER is reported as running fine on the R1. Should be fine on the R2.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/502021-m11x-2-year-gaming-laptop-4.html#post6501622

 

I just got mine!

Downloading my steam games and installing Oblivion as we speak!

 

Have a question, my R2 runs perfectly but when I was browsing just now on bed I realized something.

I handed the laptop from my right hand to left hand and was holding it by the right front of the laptop with the back of laptop and screen raised. That angle + twisting motion in handing over the laptop induced a not so loud buzzing noise.

After some experiment, that buzzing noise seem to be from the hard drive, not fan and only happens when I either invert the laptop or move it around at a not flat (45 degrees + ) angle.

Should I be worried about hard drive failing or is it one of those mechanism that quickly move the hard drive reader away from the platter in case of fall to reduce damage?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148446 this is the hard drive installed from alienware.

Also..I been playing starcraft two and I realized that when game is loaded in progress and with MSN messenger and just a couple web page in the background, my ram usage was about just a little bit over 3 GB. I have 4 GB installed with 3.9 usable I believe.

Is there any benefit for me to upgrade to 8GB?

Howard

 

I'd pop the bottom cover off and make sure that the 3 screws that secure the HD aren't loose.

There's no need for 8GB for gaming and an application or two. Windows 7's memory management is very efficient. What you're seeing is what you should see.

 

Did that, and got off phone with alienware support. Nothing loose, not fan noise, even took off the hard drive just to make sure its not fan noise.

Verdict, its coming from hard drive, but not sure if its a bad hard drive or is it the mechanical arm moving by the free fall sensor. They are offering a replacement hard drive sent. Suggestions? Its running well so far, change it and reinstall everything or wait till there's problem then do it. Data back up is easy for me and I am in the habit of doing it all the time.

 

Is it a a higher pitched whine? If the latter, that is a regular sound, and replacign the hard drive won't help.

 

not high pitched cpu sound, its a fly or mosquito flew by kind of buzzing noise.

 

Hard Drive Recovery: How to detect the hard drive failure with sound ?

check this out guys...under Seagate Momentus which is what I have, not sure if my noise would constitute drilling noise.

 

I just received my m11x. I notice there is finger print and water mark on the screen....... Does yours come with water mark?

 

Yeah, that's what I meant. Pretty sure that's just the sound of the hard drive spinning. Mine makes the same sound. The faster the hd, the louder it can be. Since you have a 7200rpm hd (me too), it's louder than other laptops, since the standard is 5400 rpm. Some 10k rpm hds are nasty. One of the benefits of SSDs is no moving parts means no sound, implying there is always sound from mechanical hard drives.

thread on the topic: Anyone able to hear hard drive whine? [Archive] - AnandTech Forums
e.g.,

another: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...-hard-drive-high-pitch-whine.html#post2429395

etc.


clicking=mechanical failure, but whine=regular
Example of the clicking sound:
File:WD bad heads click of death.ogg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


All that said, if it worries you, since they already said they'd replace it, go for it. I don't think the new one won't have the sound, though, unless luck is involved.

 

Anybody has the same?

 

I just got mine and noticed the same thing Howard911s. I held it upside down to get the service tag number. I'm honestly not too concerned about it. The noise was barely audible.

 

Hey how do i turn battery bar on? Its not on the start menu nor does batterybar.exe even show up in search. I ask because it doesn't come on during start up anymore for some reason.

 

Right click on free space on the task bar, hover over "Toolbars", click on "Battery Bar".

 

Thanks bud.

 

I got the noise you were talking about too. It is from the speaker. All the dell laptop I had before make the noise. Bad grounded I guess.

 

Sorry bud.....I guess we are all talking about different noises. Got off phone with AW tech support, had to take my R2 apart (figuratively) unscrew bottom took out hard drive, power up computer do the same thing see if its fan, if its speaker. I understand it won't post without HD but they wanted to see if anything else would cause noise. Without HD but powered on, nothing makes any noises.

Put the HD back in voila, same buzzing noise started again, its quite noticeably actually not barely audible and can be consistently reproduced and is coming from HD.

AW support's verdict is bad hard drive...not broke now....but heading that way......

 

no mine came finger print water mark free. but i wouldnt worry about it so muhc. test the machine and make sure everything works fine. you should be good to go. dont forget indeed many people touch that machine to optimize it your way. good luck

 

This forum and all the information has been incredible, thank you all so much! I just received an Alienware M11x R2 -> i7 640um, 1GB GT 335M, 4GB DDR3 800, 500GB 7200rpm but it's smaller than I expected and the color is sort of washed out (it came with the auo105c) so I'm thinking about the 15x instead. Has anyone had both for comparison? The thread about 11x vs 15x has been idle since March and there have been a lot of updates. I'm planning to use the laptop for Second Life and other 3D virtual worlds (definitely need Nvidia vs. ATI) and for travel/presentations. The weight of the 15x sounds intimidating. With the 11x, is the tiny screen something you just get used to? I'd appreciate any advice.

 

If you are going to be traveling a lot than I don't really recommend the m15x as it's actually quite large even for a 15" laptop...it's actually the size of most regular 17" laptops.

If you think the 11" screen is too small (I got used to it pretty fast) than maybe you should look into either the MBP 13 or the Sony Vaio Z.

 

I'm thinking about getting an M11x mostly because I hear that it is pretty quiet when not playing games. I plan on using it for work. Most of the time, I'll be working with two or three browser windows open with multiple tabs along with Photoshop and/or Flash CS9. Will that bring the M11x's fans to blow dryer noise levels? Also, I'm thinking about getting the i5 version just to bring down the heat and therefore reduce fan noise. Would that actually make a difference? Should I get an i7 and underclock? Can the i7 on the M11x even be underclocked?

 

No it cannot be underclocked.
As for fan, it won't make any noise when doing regular work.
On occasion, it might go up a bit, but it's still pretty quiet, and I own an i7.

 

got auo105c display. keyboard touchingn the screen. no screen damage yet. should i rma the unit and get the display changed. it has been over a month that i have the unit though. if i want to change the screen is it going to be granted by dell any ideas?

 

A new LCD/lid assembly isn't likely to change the fact that your keys contact the screen. Contact has more to do with the way the hinge was designed and the keyboard itself. The hinge is low in the back (bad design) and certain keys (usually the WEASD area) are a bit higher than the rest of the keys due to the underlying support or lack thereof.

 

My keys are making marks on my screen almost all the way across. Can I call and get that repaired? If so is it the keys, screen, or both that gets replaced?

 

Can't hurt to call Dell and try a new keyboard out.

 

i actually dont mind keys touching the screen as long as it doesnt damage the scree. however, i wanted to get the screen replacement because as everybody knows the auo display colors are kind of washed out. samsung or lg wouldn't be bad but it is alot of work. send the unit back, get the replacement and there is no guarantee that i ll get samsung or lg instead. i ll have to wait for the unit and i ll have disassembled unit put together.

 

The screen has in front of it which the keys touch.
The concern is that over time they will mark the plastic rather than leave that oil left by your typing.
So the screen should be fine except with a scratched plastic front.

When out of warranty I suppose that the blemishes could be polished out. I would test on the edge (non-screen area) first.

 

i was planing on using the keyboard liner ( that thin and soft linen which goes between the keyboard and screen ) all the time eventhough it looks unprofessional and stupid. if there is no big difference in colors in samsung and auo displays then i can care less.

 

Have you played with the color correction settings in the Intel Control Panel? I have the Samsung screen, and it also had washed out colors until I changed some of those settings.

 

So I would have to send the laptop back? I am still in the return window. I was under the impression that they sent a tech to look at the laptop and if they deemed it possible to repair they would. I have the AUO screen and wouldn't mind a Samsung or Lg screen replace and keybaord change as it seems there is a led hot spot under my esc key on top of the fact that the keys are touching the screen all the way across the screen. I am just worried about the long haul as I bought this laptop to travel around alot with me.

 

The LED colors on the left hand side being off is normal and isn't grounds for replacing the keyboard. There are a number of threads on the subject here.

 

its not that it is off but just under the esc key its just brighter than all the other keys

 

I suspect that what you're seeing is something like that. Different colors will show that more than others. If it's something else then post a photo.

 

i ll try that today. if it fixes the color issue then i dont mind using the keyboard liner to protect the screen