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

Glad it worked. That test mode business gets triggered occasionally when you install a program with an unsigned driver over the MS warning. Can install dozens without incident, then all of a sudden the next one causes it. No one seems to know why.

 

These 10.6 drivers are running like a dream so far. No driver crashes and no big cursor.

 

glad to see that the driver update is working out for you

 

My M15x does a strange noise from time to time, I'm afraid my fan is moving or something..

 

Thanks. I'm not going to proclaim it entirely fixed until I go a day or two without issues, but things are definitely looking promising.

 

Sweet, thanks for responding guys.

So, what I'm getting back seems to be that (with core i7s) the 6 cell is getting ~2 hrs of battery life, and the 9 cell is getting ~3 hours. Therefore, with the i5, like I plan to get, maybe I can squeeze a little more battery life out of it.

Regardless, I think even if I just get a single 9 cell, or if I get a 6 cell/additional 9 cell (the $90 upgrade to the 9 cell alone isn't worth it IMHO, as an additional 9 cell costs $180), then I'll have ~2+3 hours of internet/word/onenote battery. This should be plenty for college classes im guessing.

 

It is good, considering the machine it is. I'm still not sure I would buy for school, though. Personally I would prefer a laptop with more battery power for that, simply because it gives you more freedom (I mean you don't have to always sit near an outlet).

 

I use it for school, because I'm in engineering and I need the power. But I don't think I would take it to class and I don't really need to. Perhaps if I was in a different major where I needed to type my notes in class, then I would choose something smaller with better battery life.

 

Yeah, that's something else. I studied chemistry, so no need for all the raw power. But you raise a good point, if you do need the power for your studies, you've got the perfect excuse to get one of these babies!

 

Man tested the10.6 and it was lame. Benches sucked, lol. Sup harry

 

Hey bro! Enjoying my new found freedom, ha ha ha! Just some small jobs on the side, but that's all.
Weird how the 10.3 seems to remain the best even though new versions are basically flying ot, isn't it?

 

yeah seems that way. back on it right now. and so far not even getting close to the 10k gpu mark yet.
hopefully if your free tonite we can do some gaming.

 

Yeah, I'm free tonight, Inap! Are you still at work?

 

Yeah still at work. Probably go home right after this bench. I'll look out for you on steam. Finally some game time,lol

 

I just logged into Steam. Had some problems logging on cause internet is a bit slow. I'm not too worried about benching right now as I am already top of my class

 

hahahaha, well that is true. just beat my best 06 bench by alittle bit, still behind mandrake and wattos on that one.

 

well its a 50% increase in battery life. Its worth it as with two 9 cells you get 2 hours more than with two 6 cells if you have the money for do it.

 

Damn, let me check it out! I haven't seen Mandrake's result yet. I guess I expected to see them in this thread. My bad!

By the way, Steam is updating, so I'm waiting for it to do so and be logged in again.

 

K, starting to head home, should be back online within an hour.

 

Not necessarily through, Tuenkamen. I had a nine cell on try last week and it only gave me an average of 2 hours 32 minutes on the same setting as the 6 cell (high performance). Battery is about 2 months old, so broken in yet not worn out either. So, in all honesty, I don't think it's worth getting 2 9 cells. Better to save some money for another nice toy (btw - i didn't buy the battery in the end. Not enough gain).

 

All righty! I should still be awake by that time, ha ha ha!

 

I still think its worth it for school. If you find any part of my thinking illogical, or, from your experience, impractical, than please disagree and tell me why.

But I guess I'm confused as to where 5+ hours of battery life means I have to sit near a power outlet.

I am saying, to buy a 6 cell battery (~2 hours) inside the laptop, and to get an additional 9 cell battery (+ ~3 hours). I'm double-majoring in Biochemistry and Spanish (Medical school looming in 3-4 years) and my classes will last from 50 minutes to 75 minutes max. Therefore, one battery will for sure last me through at least 1-2 classes (the 9 cell through 2-3 classes). This is essentially, 5 hours of battery life with a quick power down and boot up 2 hours in. In class, I'll mostly use microsoft onenote, with a wacom pad for note-taking and word. The labs the university provides computers and software for, so no need to worry about it there.

Therefore, from my calculations (correct me if I'm wrong), but I'll be able to get enough battery life to last me through 3-4 classes per day, without being outlet-tied. Battery life at the library and coffee shops is no problem, as I'll just sit next to an outlet then. And then I'll have an awesome gaming rig at my dorm room.

Anyone think I can (or can't) pull this off during my next 3-4 years in college? This is provided of course, I even need a laptop in my classes, lol. Harry said Chemistry doesn't need power usage in class, so I'm guessing it holds the same for Biochemistry.

 

Ha ha ha! Don't worry, bro. You're thinking is completely normal and practical. I read over the part that you'll take both batteries to school, and.... my chemistry lessons were somewhat longer than 50 minutes, they were a whopping 8 hours! (Hence sitting near an outlet). But hey, any excuse to buy an M15x is valid in my book, bro! Believe me, you can pull it off, you're gonna love it and everybody else will envy you!

Cheers, mate!


By the way, if you ever need help with your Spanish, just let me know. I used to be a Spanish teacher and I write Spanish courses.

 

ZOMG WHAT??!!

8 HRS??!!!

Lol. Wow.

Maybe I overlooked something, haha. Anything I should know?

I'm gonna call Madison to triple check, but I for sure called the Chem Dep and they only said 50 minutes per class, 3-4 hours per lab, with computer equipment provided. Was this for Undergrad Harry? How long ago, etc?

From my 50 min per class, 3-4 classes per day calculation, the batteries should last, but from the 8 hr class calculation, what laptop will last that long?

 

hey krazmych, i'm in a similar situation (i just finished high school, off to uni next year), so all the info you got is helpful to me too.
I have my M15x already, but with an i7-720QM and 260m GTX and 900p screen. I get predicted 2h 30m to 3h on the 9 cell, i haven't tried with the 6 cell much tho. I haven't used the computer off battery long enough to see if it can get to 3 hours tho, but with your specs it shouldn't be an issue.
The major issue is the weight, the laptop is pretty bad with additional battery + charger. However with engineering textbooks and things as well, it could get heavy.

 

I have the six cell and same specs as penguin except with the 5850 and 6 gb of ram. Prediction windows gives is 1:45, which is really about an hour and half.

 

who's down for some tf2?

 

That was a Toshiba Satellite. The reason for lasting that long was, of course, the outlet!

By the way, this was in the Netherlands, and it was my only major. 5 days a week (3,5 days of practice, 1,5 theory)

 

I would, if i owned the game

 

sorry bro gave out my last copy to harry. next time there is a sell i will stock up again.

 

That's fine dw. Did you get them dirt cheap or something? TF2 is 20$ US on the steam store now...

 

Oh ok, that makes a little more sense. I never heard of anyone lasting through 8 hours of classes here in the States, lol. Europeans must be that much tougher than Americans I guess

(I'm European-born, American-raised, so I get the best of both worlds, hehe)

Also, madpenguin, care to share why you went with the i7 rather than the i5? Just curious. I bet it'll help you with engineering. I see no reason to upgrade to it, as I've only got Biochemistry classes to worry about, meaning no crazy engineering programs, and current games, from what I believe, are not crazily affected by the i5 vs the i7. Any specific reason why you went i7 over the i5?

EDIT- $20 is more than warranted for TF2. It is the most amazing game I have ever played, hands down. Its worth a full $50 if you ask me.

 

Yeah I got much more than my moneys worth with tf2. But I bought like 10 accounts when they were on sell for like $3. And yeah difinetly worth $50 or more, one of the best games ever imo.

 

Hm. I just had a display driver crash... but it's still much better, that's only once in the past ten hours; it used to happen all the time.

 

I got an i7 cos i wanted a powerful computer that would last me longer. At times i regret not getting the 620m, thats a dual core beast of a cpu...

As for games for 50$, i just bought MW2 for 60$. it's too expensive, but it's not torrent-able and I really wanted to play it online. It's been stuck in chinese customs for about 3 or 4 weeks now (I've lost count), they seem to think i'm smuggling drugs or something dumb like that...

edit: I just found reason why quad is just as good: I was playing just cause 2, friend wants to play borderlands. Ok then, minimize just cause 2 to the taskbar and whip out borderlands and the computer doesn't even realise it's running 2 games at once

 

Is it like popping noises?

 

Nice, from what I've heard, the i5 should be plenty nice for games with the 5850. I don't think I need the power of the i7, or can afford it, haha.

 

well it means you really should call dell and get your gpu replaced. I would do that asap

 

i5 or i3 is fine to play games but certain ones will not play as smooth due to cpu limitations but the i5 is fine on a budget.

 

I dunno... It's working much better, and I don't really want to deal with tech support if it's fine (for the most part).

I'll probably give it a couple more days and see how bad or good it is before I decide.

 

Hey Jubbing where did you get your i7 940xm from? I'm interested of getting one too. thank!!

 

the i5 will be perfectly fine. and the 5850 is better than my 260m anyways so no issues there.

 

PM sent, although for the M15x, I've heard of heat issues.

 

More like a clacking noise!

 

That doesn't sound good, are you sure its the fans?
Probably getting some extra stuff for my lappy. Getting an i3 and an extra 6 cell battery also a bottom plate, gonna try out some new stuff to get better cooling, let you know how it goes.

 

I have noticed a similar sound coming from the GPU fan on the right side...under full-load that is. It usually only happens when the fans kick-in at max-speed.

 

going backward inap?

 

i had that the first few weeks the fan eventually got replaced as it was really bad in terms of db. These fans are quite for how fast they run but some are not right with the bearing being off balance and causing noise.

 

hahahha yeah, it too powerful at the moment, need to downgrade,lol. naw just doing some testing. haven't seen an i3 5870 combo yet, and since it was so cheap, may as well gave it a go.

 

awesome. thanks for testing an unknown config on your own dime.