*OFFICIAL* "All Powerful" M15x Owners Lounge - Part 4

Here are the links to the previous lounges:
Owner's Lounge Part 3

Owner's Lounge Part 2

Owner's Lounge Part 1

Official M15x Benchmark thread can be found here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455438

Official Order Status Discussion:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=468767

Enjoy

 

Woot! New thread.

Anyway, do you guys know if there is any way to have my current (dead) unit sent to Dell now whilst I'm waiting for my replacement? I think I'm supposed to send it once I receive the replacement but it's just collecting dust right now and I'd like to send it back ASAP.

 

Try this Java program to set your AlienFX lights. If this doesn't work then ya it must be a hardware problem or a problem with the firmware in the AlienFX controller.


I bet it will work though.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=458528

 

RE: Overclocking (curious about the hardware I await)

I7-720QM: A couple of thoughts on i7- any way to force turbo even with all cores active? If the CPU doesn't overheat, what would be the harm to activate all cores at full speed? Since the M15x cooling sounds great, surely we can push the little 720QM quite some way? (I hope!).

I noticed Throttlestop has a few related functions, can it be used to force the processor to a 24x multiplier (for example)??

260M: Anyone pushed this card yet? I imagine it has some decent headroom (especially clocking the shaders) = My 8600GS shaders clocked from 1000 to 1500 without artifacts, is there a thread here about this?

From other 260M overclocking threads I've seen that mostly 600 (core) 1500 (shader) and 900 (memory) is a safe overclock. Does anyone know the stock M15x clocks for the 260M?

BIOS: Since it's a phoenix Bios we should be able to extract the video bios, change the clocks and pop it "back in" to change the boot up values - anyone tried this?

 

I'm thinking of sending my M15x Back and getting the M17x R2. This one has given me a lot of problems.

1. First the keyboard flex, they replaced the keyboard,
2. new keyboard lights (esp white) do not match the rest of the laptop
3. Then this whole AlienFX thingy bricking my system

I didn't pay 1.6K to get an incomplete model and wait for dell to release the patch. I'll try to send my M15x back.

 

I run mine at 650/1600/1100 stable. Max temp is 73, that only when i play crysis. Any other game max is 65-70.

 

Thanks for the info!

Minor detail - should we really follow the 1:2.5 rule? i never did with other cards, does it make a difference? If so then your config should be 640/1600/1100

I'm looking forward to seeing how far to push it!

Does the M15x come with any CPU throttling software (apart from OS standard options?) I'm thinking of trying RMClock although it's a bit old now.

==========

The battery life is meant to be a real pig on this machine, I was wondering, if you cap the CPU and GPU to low power modes and reduce screen brightness, turn off wifi and the alienfx lights, can we expect decent battery life?

2:30 is the max I've heard reported (h:MM) with a 9-cell.. Any thoughts on that?

Also, I hear that Battery mode auto throttles everything, but if the battery life is so short, I'd like to max the performance if possible. I mean, if I'm going to get 1hr of retarded performance gaming I'd rather have 45 minutes of maxed out performance

=========

For example if it's a rendering job on the train or something - from experience, higher performance get's more done in the same time and offsets the lower performance ratios..

Halving the speed of the CPU means that the render takes twice as long, but then the battery doesn't last twice as long, so actually higher clocks means more done within the limited life of the battery..

Sorry, I guess I'm just excited to receive my superbly marketed boy toy

 

oh snap, 4th thread! :O
vzxyz; I'm really sorry for all the problems you are experiencing, I had no problem whatsoever with my M15x, I really looove it!
Sure the m17x r2 is probably even better, but dont think the m15x are mediocre!
To everyone else; I have 100$ to spend on newegg, what should I buy?

 

@ Mr Pras.... I've managed to get about 2:08 with a 6 cell battery...doing some light browsing on the net...and with microsoft word open typing up a paper... I've never tried how long my M15x would last full pin on performance mode though... nor do i care, because when i game, i'm always plugged in..

but at the same time i did notice i lose roughly about 1% per minute on high performance on the battery.. (screen bightness maxed, everything maxed).. so i'm guessing it'll always hover around 60mins... So seeing as i got more than double that time throttling down everything if you will, i really doubt you can get more done in half the time loll... unless your encoding video of course... ( which will no doubt take forever on the cap i set my cpu at for when using the battery : 35%)

Download batteryCare it's an awesome lightweight app thats better than the included windows battery app... You can get it here :

http://batterycare.bkspot.com/en/index.html

it has some nice features including one that automatically switches off the windows 7 aero theme when on battery, which is known to take up some gpu power...

 

Thanks, that's good to know.. So perhaps with a 9-Cell (I assume 33% bonus) I might be able to squeeze 3 hours if I tune everything down..

Thanks for the app also Trying it now..

 

hey echoblack... what do you do for a living? judging from the lingo you use i'd say you know your stuff!! lol... you in something related to computers? IT maybe? lol

 

I also had a question about battery life, does the i5 processor give a more significant amount of battery life?

 

it hurt me to see this bad boy with an i5 and a 240m.lol yeah that combination should gave you better battery life but we have no actually post of how long battery last yet.

 

hey guy asking again, a forum member named ingrater is working on a winamp plugin, to make your lights work with music. if you would like to help out with testing pm me and i will send you a link for the test. come on people this will be pretty sweet and we can have this faster if a few more people would test. and please rep ingrater for his hard work in this. so far only one other person has step up and did some testing. "signus" thanks
thanks

 

Is it possible to get back my alienware backgrounds/icons after I do a clean install? It seems the resource CD did not have any of these.

 

just back those images up, if not i have a copy of all of them if you wish i can send a link for them.

 

I loved my M15x but I just couldn't resist the temptation so I'm having it replaced with the M17x R2 I did get lucky though, having a stuck pixel saves me a restocking fee.

 

Not yet I'm still learning.

I am a few months away from getting RHCE and RHCSS. Once Linux+ is open in late march I'll go get that too. It's only $250 + I can just walk in off the street and get that no problem. I am in school right now. By the time I get out I'll have a CCNA too. It's easy to learn Linux because it is free but learning Cisco is a bit harder. The best way to learn that stuff is to actually have a bunch of the new Cisco hardware. I don't plan on getting CISSP for awhile. I have a lot on my plate right now. I haven't looked into what is on the CISSP test too much but the 7 inch thick study book scares me. I'll probably get the Security+ this summer though.

---------
RHCSS Red Hat Certified Security Specialist
RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer
CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate
CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional

 

wow, great stuff. glad to have you as a member of the forum. good luck with your studies.

 

hi guys, have a quick question if anyone can help me... i recently applied some updates to my windows and ended having a system unresponsive and had to reinstall my OS again. now i have doubts as to wether i should turn the updates off or leave them as they are. could you guys recomend anything? thnx in advance!

 

That sucks but ya you have to get the updates.

 

I'm planning on ordering an M15x this coming week. I only have one problem, and that is which colour should I get?

I can't seem to be able to find detailed pics of what the colours actually look like in real life.

Is anyone able to please take some pictures of theirs so I can see how they look?

I heard the colours change from AU to US, so the ones we have available are:

Metallic Space Black
Metallic Nebula Red
Metallic Shadow Gray.

Thanks.

Oh and also, any idea why theres now a 3week wait for M15x's? That wait is going to drive me crazy haha.

 

I have always thought laptops should be all flat black. I also think it is a good choice for this laptop because it looks good no matter what color lights you have going. You know I bet getting it black will keep the resale value higher. No one has a problem with a black laptop, maybe they would prefer red but some people don't like red laptop however everyone likes black laptops.

Well that is what "I" think.

--------

Most people get there laptop long before the Estimated Shipping date.

 

Mine is Nebula Red. It's kind of a metallic dark red. It doesn't stand out as much as the website makes it look like it does. I think it's a nice balance between being so flashy that every eye within visual distance is drawn to it like a beacon of holy light and being subdued enough so you can take it out and about with feeling like an obnoxious show-off. I like it.

 

im finding it very hard to find a bag that will fix my m15x.

http://rushfaster.com.au/listing.php?pLaptopBrand=Dell&pLaptop=1653&pSubcategory=0&pLongest=&pMid=&pShortest=&pCategory=LAPTOP_BAG&FindBags=Continue

I've looked at the above site and you get very few options using the nifty 'Search by Laptop Model' option.

Anyone got any recommendations? Criteria is it just needs to fit the laptop well, be well padded and preferably have the 'Messenger' design (over shoulder).

 

Finally the answer to getting a 7.9 on the HDD section of the Windows Experience score. The answer::::::

2 Intel SSD X-25E in RAID 0.

 

Does anyone had any experience with tech guys in UK. I've got a tech comming down on tuesday to replace the hinge because it was creaking(loud) , the keyboard (flex issue) and thnx to inappropriatename_3 who discovered the screen goes in when u press on the top right corner. He'll probably have a look at that as well. I'll take pictures of my m15x before he comes down and use blanket for no scratches (again recommendations by inappropriatename_3). Do you guys have any more recommendations.

 

Do you need a backpack or a sleeve. The laptop fits in Belkin Slim 15.4 Backpack.. Its quite compact as well. Some of the forum users have tried that as well. Orion backpack for alienware is good as well but its expensive. Some of the users have also opted for Targus XL and it is big enough to accomodate 2 m15x in it.

 

I got the black, but from what I have seen the red looks REALLY nice! It probably shows less fingerprints than the black too.

 

My WEI for my gpu went down by updating my driver for the GTX 260M
I now I have 6.7

 

don't worry about the wei score, its not a reliable benchmark.

 

Yeah mine did to. I also don't think it is reliable. I have the same specs as you except I have 4g memory. My processor is 7.1, memory 7.3, graphics 6.7 and HDD 5.9.

 

my newest wei score

 

I was thinking of getting the M15x now since I have read that multiple users are having issues with the M17x as well as long delays.

Any outstanding issues, such as the DPC latency, or Flickering with the i7-920xm like the M17x on the 15?

 

there is a throttling issue on the M15x, but mostly in synthetic testing, but there is a fix for it, using throttle stop and riva tuner. i myself have not seen any throttling in any games or apps, so i have not use it. but no dpc latency or flickering of any kind.

 

Hi everyone
I was just wondering if the hinges on the original m15x "creak" and whats better 3870 or 8800m gtx? thanks

 

Anything I should be careful of if I reformat and clean install?

 

I wasn't even aware of my own brands bag because Dell Australia dont stock them! I googled and found one better...the Alienware Orion Messenger Bag which seems to be perfect! It will fit the m15x fine and apparently is a very sturdy and roomy bag.

Of course i had to use Amazon and a US forwarding service so i could get the bloody thing (the pricks never allow international shipping on GOOD items!). It will take 2 weeks and cost $150 AU which i think (considering all the middle men involved) is a pretty decent deal.

Thanks thewhitewizard for the magic keyword of 'Orion'! +1 rep for you

 

Ordered Feb 23, EDD isn't until march 29...... .

I tried talking to a dell rep but they're just garbage. I doubt it really takes that long to build a system and ship it.

 

Just be careful with driver install order, make sure to install chipfirst and everything else with osD and command ceneter last

 

:< How come your ram gets 7.4?
I have 6gb @ 1333Mhz, it shouldnt be lower then yours...

 

Just spent 43 mins on the customer support line to hear that their system is down and I should call after 2-3 hours. Is there a direct number to call to ask for replacement of the whole laptop?

 

like i said the wei score is not very reliable but also my ssd brings up the ram score.

 

sending an email would be quicker, maybe?

 

thanks, couldn't rep again so soon

 

anyone planning on buying Bad Company 2 ? I tried the first beta and it was terrible.. your thoughts ?

 

Since you have 6 Gb, you have asymmetric ram. Thus it will not run in Dual Channel mode. Therefore you get a lower rating. My RAM rates at 7.5 in WEI

 

Errr, so that doesnt mean my Ram is slower than 4gb? :O

 

don't feel bad, I have a replacement system originally ordered January 19, re-ordered February 23 because of "supply problems", that has now an estimated ship date of April 8.