What to expect while expecting an R2

Afternoon folks,

I will be the very proud owner of an M11x R2 i5, 8GB RAM, 320GB HDD in a few short days. I've been a console gamer all my life, so this is truly my first foray into PC gaming. This machine will probably end up being my new all around everyday workhorse, with my 5 year old HP being relegated to media warehouse - which is about all it's good for, hence the M11x This board in large part helped my make my decision. So thanks to all.

I'm really only interested in games like Civ 5, The Witcher, KOTOR, Amnesia etc.; strategy and adventure/RPG games almost exclusively. That's why I think this machine is a good choice for me. I won't be going to any LAN parties or running Crysis or the inevitable Modern Warefare 8, but it nice knowing I can if I wanted to.

My question is, are there steps I should be taking initially in preparation? I'm aware of Throttlestop and immediate overclocking, but aside from that, are there any sort of pre-steps to get my machine game ready, so to speak, or is it more of a case by case basis?

Sorry for the long windedness, but I'm completely new to this universe and very excited for this machine!

Thanks for all the help you all have to this point unwittingly provided, and I look forward to being a part of this community!

 

throttlestop and overclocking are not necesary. I just got my m11xr2 with 8gb ram and 500gb HDD about 5 days ago. Just make sure to update your graphics card drivers thru nvidia, dells support page doesnt have the most updated. I havent even bothered overclocking anything yet. Ive only played bc2 and cod4 but they both run very good. Bc2 on med settings still looks great and runs about 35fps for me, while cod4 on the native settings fetches me 35-70fps depending on the map and action going on. both those stats are from multiplayer only.

Idk how this thing will run Civ5, i still need to download it, Im currently downloading Rift.

As i said, all you "need" to do is update your nvidia drivers asap thru their website. download a anti virus software like avast or microsoft security essentials. And make sure to "whitelist" any game you are going to play. Just search or google how and heres the vid i used YouTube - Nvidia Optimus Feature on the Alienware M11x- R2

Overall if you're content with your machines performance then there is no reason to overclock or mess with it. Id wait and see how it handles what you want before you go into anything like that.

 

i would suggest turning some unused windows services off, saves a bit of ram. =) and maybe try a program called game booster, helps a bit with gaming

 

Agreed-

Obviously your excited.. good to hear! This is a great little machine.. definitely for me the best laptop I have owned as its perfect for me in so many ways- sounds like you made a good choice on your needs too... I would say take it easy at first and give it a break in time (almost like a car.. lol) get used to what it can do and its quirks with the dual GPU, and get a good baseline to start...

If you need to push it a little harder it can definitely go stronger with tools like throttlestop and GPU OC'ing.. but I have found its just fine stock in a lot of cases..

Might consider dumping the loaded antivirus.. I thought it would be worth trying as its actually a pretty long term subscription for a built in AV, but hits the performance pretty hard and is sub par unfortunately..

...well ok to be fair I'm running at 160+mhz OC'd almost all the time.. so hey have at it just watch your temps-

 

Good to know. Thanks for the input.

I run AVG now and have been pretty pleased, but I've heard good things about MSE.

 

Definitely OC the cpu from the get go. I keep my i5 OC'ed to 90% of its stable potential and throttle stop turned on constantly. Zippy as crazy!

 

Uninstall Bloatware(only program I kept is the AlienFX), change AV, update programs/drivers, you're set.

 

Every post above mines has it covered. I replaced the AV program it came with MSE and have it overclocked to 166 and do not have TS installed. Be prepared to do a bit of fiddling around with the settings of games you play to find that sweet spot. Updating the videocard drivers is a double-edged sword at the moment because the latest set does break some of the graphics in L4D 1 and 2. Hopefully it won't screw up the games that you'll be running.

 

Excellent. Really appreciate the input, everyone. I'm chomping at the bit for it to arrive!

 

i just got mine....good thread, lots of good info. Few things i was wondering. You will probably ask these yourself.

I downloaded the lastest nvidia driver, however, was having issues with optimus and the 335 not kicking in. Even if i white listed it. I had to go back to the Dell drivers for it to work. Maybe a setting, dunno.

I was looking over one of the R2 threads and noticed they have chipset drivers. I tried to download them, but the link is dead. Even tried a google search. I downloaded the ones from dells site, anyone else got a link to them?

Updated to A04 bios, as i saw A05 had some issues for people. So far soo good.

The screen is also INSANELY reflective. Be aware...bright-well lite areas, well you get the idea.

Go ahead and buy a USB hub right away, even if you dont need it. You are going to at some point. Same with a external DVD, bought the Asus myself from egg...39$ or so.

 

I know this thread is a few days old, and this isn't the most useful comment but...

Did anyone else notice this thread because "What to expect when you're expecting" is the name of a book that everyone told me to buy my girlfriend when she got pregnant with our daughter?

Just though it was kind of funny, seeing as how my m11x is my new baby. (The old one is smart and has a lot of processing power, but lacks in the gaming department - lol)

 

I noticed the thread because I also was "expecting" to pull the trigger on a new M11x R2 myself in a few days ... which I finally did last night. I was interested to see what other people had to say about being a new R2 owner. I'll be travelling with this "baby" in mid-April, so hopefully it won't take too long to clean up, load up and stabilize. I'm expecting the i7 version to arrive on the 31st of March. I've checked a lot of the threads already, but any further advice would be appreciated.

 

It was entirely purposeful as we had our third child (first girl) on Feb 28th. I understandably have baby on the brain. I'm glad someone got it!

Anywho, received the machine yesterday and am still getting into the swing of things. Love it so far even though I haven't really done anything outside of day-to-day and trying to find the sweet spot of optimization.

I need to find a game to test this thing out with, but I can't make up my mind. I actually bought this with the intention of some Civilization V, but the horror stories I've been reading are making me think twice. Maybe the new Back to the Future or the original Witcher. KOTOR is on the list as well.

Decisions, decisions...

 

I loaded up steam and installed a couple games that I think I will remove. I'm almost always at home and have a total monster desktop.

I prefer this thing for browsing around in the bedroom, watching movies, and playing warcraft or smaller games on the go. If I free up the HDD space, I won't even need to buy a larger one.

Love this thing though. (r1)

 

I recommend while the laptop is fresh and new in your hands go in and clean up the settings. Check your power settings, review the installed programs and services, upgrade your browser, and install your windows and driver updates. Always use a clean install of drivers.

There is so much potential for the laptop, but the builders were sloppy.