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

Yea sometimes I dnt want the extra bulk when I dnt need battery power like at school... There's literally more power outlets than chairs at my university lol... So I'm never on battery neways...

And Ocz freeze is the way to go... Inap will tell u the same ... Works the best and is the cheapest... Go figure..

 

AHHHHHHHHHHH>>>>>>ITS HERE ALL I GOTTA DO IS OPEN IT ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

LoL, Congratz The question is do you have the restraint to set up the camera first for the unboxing

 

im going to answer that with a no since im already using it.....i think im in love.....its so ...so ....so (starts sobing) just so beautiful....like a double rainbow.. (if you dont get it go youtube double rainbow)

 

Ha, yes it's kinda funny that with with such a beast the first thing most of us do is play with the lights I still regret that I took my first pictures before changing the color scheme...

 

ahhh all this 840qm and 5850 goodness...ahhhh i may not go to school for awhile

 

changing my video driver everything is so big!!!

 

Once you go alienware, you never go back congratz man... I remember getting my M15x like it was yesterday... It was so awesome

 

ugh ati drivers...and how the hell do i tell if stealth mode is on??
also my ff14 benchmark keeps crashing...geez so many problems just starting out.....then again my other dell was like
then again maybe its because i dont have my software installed that i use..

 

what drivers you using?

stealth mode is a little hard to tell if its on or not... press the speedometer touch button ( the last one towards the right) and itll either light up ( means its now on) or fade/dim out ( means its off) easier to press it a couple times to see the diffrence then set it off.

 

You could try Watto's stealth mode indicator:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/463382-stealth-mode-indicator-9.html#post6589020

 

So what is a typical 3dmark for these? I know that they are all different but I benchmarked mine last night and got a little over 10,000. Are there different drivers I should be using for the 5850 that work better than the stock drivers? Any other tweaks you all would recommend?

 

i used the 10.6 drivers got my apps installed ready to go... =) ahhh i got 3500 on ff14 im so stoked

 

now im off to install so games and see how the go!!! bye forum!!!

 

congrats on the ssd!! the speeds are great. you'll never want to use a regular hdd ever again,lol. for paste ocz is what i'm using now.
there is a couple of rainbow themes around here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/487800-m15x-alienfx-themes.html

and this one is mine:

Download new cycle morph.ath from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

oh, i got ya. yeah i have a spare 6 cell that i use for backup. not sure if i want to sell it though, sorry bro.

me too loving the 9 cell.

congrats man, now go pown some noobies,lol.

 

thanks inap

 

Hi guys! How is everyone?
It's been a while, I know, but I have been (and still am) extremely busy and due to the record breaking super high season we are going through right now, internet is extremely slow, taking all the fun out of surfing the net.
The good news, though, is that my baby is up and running again and working better than ever. Everything that was fried has been replaced at no cost even though it was not covered by warranty (it was caused by a power surge). The only thing that is different is that my start up screen is now the Windows 7 one instead of the Alienware one, but otherwise the machine is simply a dream. Great work from the tech who did everything without charging me for it.

Congrats to all new AW owners! You won't ever regret taking this step, I can assure you that much.

I'll need a bit of time to read up on everything but I'll be back soon.

 

Wow Harry that sucks a lot how long did you have to wait before it was a fixed up?

 

It took a couple of weeks but that's all right though. The tech had to replace the video card some cables, the power supply input and some other things. Because it wasn't covered by warranty he got me everything over timne, so it took him a bit. I'm not sure how he did it but he didn't charge me a dime in the end, so I am quite greatful for all he did.

 

If it was a reinstall theres a few threads saying how to get your login screen back. However, if you go to desktop ---> personalize, there should be a "alienware" theme. That brings your login screen back.

 

Thanks for the tip, Brian. I knew it was here somewhere in the thread, so I was going to look for it.
Not that it is that important but it just gives more of an Alienware feel.

 

Let me know when you need the log in screen fix, a have the link for it.

 

I think it's fixed but I haven't tried it yet, so if you want, you can send it to me, bro. Always useful to have!

 

here is the login fix: just run the little exe. then choose whatever picture you want, then rename it and put in it the right folder, everything is expllained better in the link.

How To Change Windows 7 Logon Screen Easily [Without Using Hacks & Tools]

the wallpapers and avatars are in the dell driver download page.
your a pro but just wanted to update you on it, hehheheh

 

Ha ha ah! Thanks bro! I already got everything back. The start up screen was the last thing. I just didn't have time to go looking for it.

 

How much does a 3- year advanced warranty cost? If it's under 300 dollars I'm good to go.

 

$300 would be sweet but i think they are gonna charge you much more then that.

 

Hmm... 330$ dollars for a new M15x. Can't be much more than that.

350 is the absolute tops for me.

 

i think 2 year CC upgrade was 550 CAD? lost my booklet with the numbers i wrote down... expensive tho.

 

So finally finished Dragon Age: Origins. Probably one of the best RPGs out there. Had to play it at easy though, since kept dying in normal . I doubt I'll play awakening, since I want a change of pace.

Thinking of playing Arkham Asylum. Have a two weeks break before uni starts so need to spend the time efficiently. . Any recommendations for a good game? Before Dragon Age, I finished Mass Effect 2, otherwise that would have been next in line.

 

Batman Arkham Asylum is certainly an awesome game. I loved every moment of it.

Here are some other games to choose from:

Bioshock 1 & 2 - Really awesome first person shooter
Borderlands - Good first person shooter / RPG (with coop)
Call of Duty : MW 1 & MW 2 - Good military FPS
GTA IV - Awesome 3rd person sand box game
Halflife 1 & 2 - The best first person shooter ever created. HL 1 is dated, but the game is still awesome
Just cause 2 - Another awesome sandbox game
Left 4 dead 1 & 2 - Best online coop shooter ever made
Portal - really cool First person game (not much shooting). Quite short and sometimes free
Splinter Cell Conviction - Cool thrid person stealth game
Starcraft 2 - The RTS


These games shoul easily fill 2 weeks

 

Hi guys,

I am not sure how to upgrade the processor on my M15x. This is what I know:

1) Remove the base cover.
2) Remove the memory module cover.
3) Remove the screws of the heat sink and fan plus disconnect the cable.
4) Remove the black screw in front of the processor.

Is it straight forward after that? Also is it hard to apply the thermal paste/grease?

If its not too much work can someone post or give me a link to a guide.

Currently using the i7 720qm, will go for 940xm.

 

you need to remove the back grill as far as I know. For this you need to remove the media touch panel. Its a similar process to accessing the GPU. There is a video in the new owners info page

 

Hi,
thanks

Got it. Also is there any risk of damaging the CPU when using thermal paste/grease ie over-using or something similar?

Any other precaution I need to take?

 

if the paste is conductive or capacitative, then yes you may damage the cpu. People recommend the MX-3 paste which is neither so you should be on the safe side. If you are new to this, apply the paste check how it looks and then reapply. Note that the efectivity of the paste drops once you detach the heatsink and its recommended that you repaste the chip after toy have detached the heatsink.

Another thing to take care of is static electricity. You may want to touch something which is grounded to discharge any static electricity which might have build up.

 

Thanks

I just carried out the whole process. Went pretty smoothly. Sure I am gonna get the MX-3 and the anti-static wrist band soon. You video was great.

 

Mx-3 is solid.... so is ocz feeze... and shin-etsu is surprisingly solid also... put that on my 5870m and the beast it idles around ~41*C and gaming temps are even cooler than my 260m... maxing out at around 70*C after hours of gameplay.

 

Dunno if anyone you guys have seen this but check it out. Free protection for your laptop and mobile phone. I'm into Andriods and have a Nexus One and use this on it.

Track down your stolen laptop – Prey

 

Yea theres quite a few programs like that one. I have Cylay installed on my iphone 4 which is a background app that allows me to track my phone via gps, and remotely control it from a website. i can lock the phone, remotely wipe it, make a loud alarm sound that won't shut off till i make it stop, take pictures, backup the phone to the server, track recent calls/messages, prevent shutdowns, and receive live gps updates to track it down, then use google street view to see exactly where it is.. pretty neat... whoever has an iphone i'd really recommend downloading it... its called Cylay

EDIT:

So the Dell Technician just called me (god i can't stand them)... and he told me he just received my parts, and is available to work till 5pm. I told him i get home from work at 3:45 today so he could come then... and when he reviewed what has to be done on my laptop (change the LCD ~ 20mins, change the palmrest ~5mins = ~30mins MAX) he told me... " Oh no you have an ALienware M15x, those systems are extremely complexe and difficult to work on it'll take at least 2-2.5 hours for that job to be done". I started laughing in his face, saying he wasn't touching my laptop anyways, as I know exactly how to do the replacements and can have it done in 30mins flat, and i just need him to bring the pieces to me, and ill do the replacement for him no problem. He then said ohh no well i'm not going to take the responsiblity of you possibly breaking something.... and i laughed at him again...I then told him that the last techician told me he knew what to do over the phone, and then i ended up doing the replacement for him and showed him what to do, because when he got to my house he came clean and said its the first time he saw an AW system. He then said he's going to have to review the notes on how to do the replacement on the AW and that he might not be able to do the replacement today. He also DEMANDED very arogantly not to touch my laptop and dismantle it for him or he wouldnt work on it, when i told him i've done it many times before... and aren't your average consumer who doesn't know squat. Either way Theres no way i'm letting him work on it, so my plan is to dismantle everything, and when he walks in, he'll see the laptop in pieces, won't want to touch it, and will have no choice but to leave it to me to do

I cannot STAND these DELL techs that THINK they know everything, when in fact don't know ____ all. Gets me angry and agrevated. Now i have to wait till tomorrow for nothing for him to review notes on what to do, when in reality he won't be needing them anyways.... Alienware should have their own special team of Techs... not the same batch of know-nothing techs that are called in to upgrade ram and change batteries on Toshiba and HP laptops....

 

They should give em a clever name too. Like... the Martians...
nevermind

 

well, there are always two sides to the equation.

Jstarnino, I know tyhat the dell techs can be complete incompetent fools. Other techs can be quite fantastic and do the job really well. It all seems who you get.

This is usually what I do. The first indication of whether a tech is skilled or not is the usage of an anti static wrist band. If the tech does not even think of using one, I would stop the tech at that moment and demand a different tech. ANY engineer who works with computers knows that static electricity can kill any component in split seconds. Not using one of these is no excuse. For regular home users, grounding yourself is usually enough, but it is their job to know this stuff. Therefore if they dont know the basiscs, they are not qualified to work on the machine.

I also like to give these guys a chance and give them a break. It is really hard to know all the details of every laptop dell has to offer (and also it might be some time ago the tech was trained on a particular laptop). Therefore, I supervise the techs when they do repairs and indicating any mistakes they are about to do. So what happened last time, the tech came to exchange the GPU. He removed the service cover and started making his way to unscrewing the fans, where I told him at that point, that he actually forgot to remove the touch panel, which he then remembered he needed to do. Additionally he wanted to use a screwdriver to pry the touch panel open, where I reminded him that this would only damage the plastic and you can actually do it by hand.

It is actually their job to do the replacement, but it is your job to supervise them (if you are adept at this stuff), so they dont make mistakes. I think this process also speeds up the replacement. Keep everything under control.

I also know that dissembling the laptop before actually speeds up the replacement process, but you also have to look at it from dells and the techs perspective. If you damage (accidentally or not) a component while dissembling the laptop, nor dell nor the tech have any way of knowing who is at fault. You might also be denied the further warranty replacements as you this kind of damage does not fit into the warranty agreement.

The tech is also right in his statement that he takes full responsibility for the laptop when the repairs are being done. If he damages the system, he might face the consequences (whether he actually does is unknown to me).

Lastly, I think that if you supervise the tech accordingly (e.g. stop the tech from doing stupid stuff before he actually does it) the replacement will go smooth. Moreover, if the tech messes up the replacement (e.g. causes cosmetic damages) then dell will replace any parts which got the damage and you shouldnt have any problems with that. If the tech completely screws up, you will get a new system, so there isnt much of a problem here either. Just make sure you take a pciture of the laptop (with a news page displaying the news with a date on it) before the repair, so you can indeed prove that the damage was done by the rep.

EDIT: On a side note, I actually talked to these techs who came over. One of them said that they were trained on the actual machine which dell provided. The other tech said that he also got the machine to play with, but in most cases you actual can do an "online course" which shows you all the stuff (probably just shows you the service manual " and then you need to take an online exam on how to repair the item to get certified. Thats all there is to it. Obviously passing the online exam (most likely with the service manual at hand) is a lot easier than actually doing that stuff.

 

the last few tech i've gotten have been really good, even though i still do all the stuff myself. they even called dell demanding a replacement for me. also you can call them and let them know you want to replace it yourself and they will just send you the part, well at least with unisys anyways.

also a good idea to keep a printed manual ready.

 

IMA GOOOD TECHY!!!! ive fixed many computers and game consoles...
but now certification though =( nobody wants to higher a 17 year old...
i can troubleshoot and everything (just not edit reg..) anyway..so where do i post my benches in the forum??

 

post your benches here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/455438-official-m15x-benchmark-thread.html

 

I understand completely where your coming from. But if i choose and wish to take on the full responsibility of doing the swap myself and possibly damaging components, i should have the right to do so.

the first indication that thsi guy doesn't know what he's talkign about.... is the time estimation of doing the swap. I'm sorry but in 2-2.5hrs time i can build a desktop computer form scratch, and install windows 7 on it too. Then he told me he has to review the notes, and didn't sound too sure of himself either. Thats another indication.

I understand Dell's perspective of it all, completely. And i know that if they screw up they'll replace the system, but that's the kind of down-time i want to avoid. And i understand he'll be responsible for the damages done to it if i screw something up and then he works on it... but i'm not suggesting to do half the job. I will be doing the full entire job from start to finish, without him ever touching the system, thereby taking on full responsibility. I know that Dell does in fact approve of this since they sent me the cpu heastsink by mail for me to replace on my own. So i don't approve of this techs Arogance, and i shouldn't have to wait a couple extra days because he doesn't know how to do the replacement, when i am fully capable of doing so myself.

Untill Dell gets some better qualified techs, i will not trust them. The last tech told me i can become certified tech for dell on the net in less than an hour. All i needed to do is pay and write the online exam, and they sent u the certification diploma by mail. I'm sorry but that is crap.

 

wow looks awesome downloading it now. thanks for the tip.

 

inap your s god rep+

 

Hi guys, I used to own an M11x R2 but now I own an M15x.

I traded with a fellow member on these boards and now I proudly own an M15x w/ a 5870 in it. I'm pretty excited and installing windows on it atm!

I liked the M11x but I just didn't need something so portable since I only take it to work. I take it in a bag only from the car to the house or building so it's not a problem to carry something heavier that's more powerful. No doubt I might get the 11 again if I do something more travel demanding.

 

overall how did you feel about the M11x, how is the build? any problems?
thinking of getting one, when i go traveling.

and welcome to the M15x family man, really awesome machine, congrats.

 

Well, I totally agree with you .

Another problem you may face, is that you might receive a product which is DOA. If you are unlucky, Dell might actually refuse to replace the part because you were not certified to do the job. It would be a shame to see that happen

You might be perfectly qualified to do the job (in contrast to people who are certified but not qualified). But again, its not important what you know, but what you can actually proof.

well, I hoe that the tech who comes over wont be a complete jack and allows you to do the swap and wont be a about it.