A Friendly Request for Alienware to PLEASE give us new drivers

AW, I know you read the forums and I appreciate the quick responses for the heating issues and the lighting issues. I wouldn't expect you guys to constantly answer every minute request a forum member has. HOWEVER, our m15x's are in dire need of new drivers. FEAR doesn't even run more than 20 something frames a second and crysis is a mess. This laptop was touted as a "are you ready for crysis" laptop and we need drivers to get this game playing somewhat decently.

A good set of AW drivers would really be appreciated and is desperately needed. It has been awhile since the m15x has been out and I think we are ready for new drivers!

 

I second that motion! good job dave getting the word out

 

What's the version number for the m15x driver and the latest released nVidia driver?

 

Yep new video drivers would be good. And after that send us the laptops we ordered back in the beginning of February!

 

Try this:

[email protected]

I emailed them just a couple days before regarding drivers for the go7600 on the m5550 and they just released 2 new "BETA" drivers yesterday on the support site.

 

and by the way.... get 64bit driver ready ! its 2008

 

There is no guarantee that AW techs will read this thread:

They have a separate email concerning drivers

[email protected]

 

It would only make sense because they offer 4gb of ram in the M15x....so its either highway robbery or make the driver....i second this big time!

 

thanks for the link that is good to know...+1 repped!

 

this isn't all on AW, its largely NVIDIA. in fact, if you go to nvidias home page and try to get driver's with any notebook that has an 8800M in it, via their autodetect applet, it tells you that you have to get the drivers directly from alienware.

alienware obviously relies on nvidia for this and nvidia isn't even up to speed on whose laptop have their products installed.

 

There's no need to create new threads for this stuff...

The information concerning the drivers in this thread still applies. They can't get you a better driver. Similarly, the information concerning 64-bit drivers in this thread and this thread still apply as well.

 

Actually, not true. The ball is in the notebook manufacturers' respective courts when it comes to releasing notebook graphic drivers, as they're the ones who test and approve drivers for release. If they decide it's not worth investing that effort, then no new drivers get released for whatever laptop's in question. Seriously - it's not like NVIDIA's not releasing new drivers for anybody. They're still moving on ahead with fixes and optimizations.

 

well, i don't see any other notebooks with 8800M's running any different driver than 167.43 or 167.44, and that tells me that nvidia is the primary holdup.

i'd love to be proved wrong on this point, so have at it

edit: and the part about nvidia's home page being inaccurate as to who to get your drivers from if you have an 8800M is absolutely true. screenshot taken using a non-alienware laptop with an 8800M

 

Dell has 174.something drivers from Nvidia. Just saying...

 

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/

They did wonders for my laptop.

 

I'm not aware of any manufacturer having formally requested a newer driver for an 8800M... but even if they have, I'm not exactly in the position to break an NDA to tell you even if I did know. Although, it's somewhat like trying to prove there are no black sheep: it's very difficult to prove a negative.

Besides of which, afaik, there are only three manufacturers who have 8800Ms in their systems (Alienware/Quanta, Clevo, Dell), so that's not exactly a huge statistical base to work from.

 

or you could try that

 

crysis and FSX are a joke on this laptop but the 8800m gtx is not ever going to handle this, i think.

 

Well there are some serious issues with how this 8800m GTX uses powermizer. As I am assuming that is the culprit here with the downclocking issues(Drivers only not heat issues). Sogarth you have been a great help in trying to sort these issues out with Nvidia and the 8800m GTX and we all appreciate your input.

Although I must admit to release a product and to update drivers as often as they have and to not include fixes for a Premium Notebook GPU is somewhat dropping the ball in Nvidia's court. AND I MEAN BIG TIME BALL DROPPING.

I agree that AW will eventually have to review and ensure the driver will function correctly with thier hardware. But in the end to move all the ways from 167.55 to 174.70 driver set, and supposedly some in between were specifically meant for mobile solutions. Well let's just say Nvidia needs to get it's butt in gear and get working on a fix. And AW should be pushing Nvidia in our corner aswell. Jointly they have pushed the hardware onto us.

I have posted about this on the AW website and the only response I have gotten was that it was all Nvidia's fault. Same old same old. But serioulsy these drivers are terrible. They have had known issues since day one. Come on Nvidia step up or quit selling the hardware.

 

For what it's worth (and I think I've probably worn out my welcome in this thread, anyways), the GPU in the m15x wasn't implemented on the motherboard the way the developers expected it would be (I can't/won't go into the details on this). They made an assumption that they believed was true (which I believe is true on the other 8800M GTX systems, although I don't know that for a fact), tested that it worked internally (which it did), and continued shipping driver releases. If you've ever worked on software or hardware, you know that people are going to use things in ways different than what you intended/expected, and that sometimes as a result, things may not work out.

So take it however you like. Last post in this thread, in any case.

 

Sogarth,

Nobody here was bashing you and I assure you we have all appreciated your input.

My opinion on this that standard operating and implementation procedure were obviously not released to manufacturers. So they obvioulsy didn't follow any set protocol.

Sogarth do you feel they will work on a fix, or will they continue to ship system that are not compatible with newer drivers.

 

@Sogarth
Even if I don`t own a m15x I have read a lot on this forum and I think everyone on this board is happy that someone from NV has a close look at the discussion and is helping as much as you are.

I guess the software/hardware issue on the m15x you are relating to is the Binary Graphics feature which is causing some trouble.

Eventually the companies featuring the 8800M GTX in their laptops are going to request a driver-update from NV. I even believe that people at NV are already working on a new driver. (Sorgath spoke of a driver-glitch that was beeing worked on atm, if I am remembering correctly)

@topic
Ionly can say that we all have to keep the pressure up via our posts on this website. Eventually it will be noticed and than the ball gets rolling if it isn`t already.

AW/Clevo/DELL, make NVIDIA work on a DRIVERUPDATE for the 8800M GTX please!

Paendrag

 

nah, soggy, don't go, this is an interesting discussion.

all above said, i'm fine with the driver performance anyway. then again i'm not playin crysis, so...

 

I don't think that anybody is trying to get to you with a sledge hammer, we really appreciate professional input.My guess is that Alienware has to solve this problem and get some fixes. But the nvidia drivers are no state of the art either. Games aside, if you look at some recent stuff that appeared you'd see that...

"That huge bundle of damning emails and documents Microsoft produced as part of the Vista-capable lawsuit is full of fascinating information about how the company developed, planned, and launched Vista, but the latest juicy nugget to come out if it suggests that a lot of problems faced by the troubled operating system are actually NVIDIA's fault -- nearly 30% of logged Vista crashes were due to NVIDIA driver problems, according to a Microsoft data included in the bundle. That's some 479,326 hung systems, if you're keeping score at home, and it's in first place by a large margin -- Microsoft clocks in at number two at 17.9 percent, and ATI is fourth with 9.3 percent."

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/27/nvidia-drivers-responsible-for-nearly-30-of-vista-crashes-in-20/

This probably has nothing to do with poor performance of the m15x in certain situations but it does show that both AW/dell/etc and nvidia should work on the problems, and not only because some stupid game doesn't work .

 

A friend of mine had an issue with his LG monitor with the m15x and was told on the phone by LG it was a driver problem. So he called Alienware and asked what they could do and told him that the beta driver for the m15x with the 8800m GTX is coming out very soon. So this is good news for you all.

What I don't understand is why nVidia doesn't release drivers for their notebook cards. They support the desktop cards, but the average desktop is below $1000. I know there is a large amount of consumers that buy the top of the line gaming cards, but I think there are just as many laptop users with 8600s, 8400s, ect... Most of the laptops I see people use have a dedicated graphics card from nVidia or ATI so I would assume they sell just as many or more Notebook cards than Desktop cards. The average laptop is more expensive than a desktop. Why do they offer more support then for desktops when they should provide both. I understand that the m15x has unique features, like stealth mode, that make it hard to provide a driver, but Alienware should be the one fixing it for their computer after the driver is released for the generic card on nVidia's site or through communication elsewhere. Is it that notebook cards work so differently from desktop cards? Is it that the motherboard comes into play as to how the driver works on a notebook card?

 

Gateway? If you're that tied into Nvidia wouldn't you know that?

 

This is taken from AnandTech's recent Gateway P-6831FX review:

"NVIDIA is working to rectify this situation with their "rapid driver update" program. Yes, we did indeed use the word "rapid", and in speaking with NVIDIA they are fully aware that their mobile driver updates have been anything but. Think of it more as a goal rather than a current state, and hopefully you won't get too upset about lack of driver updates for your current gaming notebook. The plan is for NVIDIA to release updated mobile drivers quarterly. The next update is scheduled for late April 2008 (give or take a couple weeks), and we should see a fair number of supported gaming laptops."

Let's hope that April bit is true!

 

isn't the one in the gateway an 8800GTS?

 

yes it is...

 

makes me think we all could have got that one and saved 2 grand.

 

Sorry for being a little of topic, but I just played with that Gateway 17" at Bestbuy yesterday and IT IS NICE!!! I played around with the notebook itself and it's not too thick, and it's fast even with a weak 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo CPU.

By the way, has anybody tried emailing to the address I posted earlier about newer drivers for the m15x yet? That's more guaranteed to be read than posting here in the forum.

 

I'd like to bump this simply for the point that I personally believe that new drivers would be a huge boon to performance on the m15x.

 

New graphic drivers for the 8700 would be nice.

 

AW just came out with new XP BETA drivers for the 7600 go last week, which is for the discontinued 15.4" m5550.

So I wouldn't be surprised if the same happened for the 8700M GT and 8800M GTX soon. Just a heads up...

 

At least there is a chance of getting new drivers when they release the m17x or maybe Im being a bit too optimistic

 

Getting new drivers should be one of their most important priorities. They advertise it with crysis and the game still does not run like they make it seem. Please aw do something! If I have to call and email everyday I will, something needs to be done.

 

Good news guys about new drivers take a look (I copied this straight from the Alienware official support site)

: Good afternoon,

I have just locked 3 different threads talking about the same thing with some of the same people posting throughout the 3 threads so to keep everything organized please use this thread only from now on.

As a long time gamer I understand the frustration of having 1 or 2 year old drivers for your machine so please let me start by apologizing for that long delay.

I previously worked solely on Alienware desktop systems for which you could grab any driver of the web and use it so this problem was pretty much non-existant. Now I have taken it upon myself to find official updated drivers for all Alienware mobile systems; even if these drivers are BETAs.

Just last week I posted 2 new Windows XP drivers for the 7600go video card with another Windows Vista driver possibly going up on our support site later this week.

As soon as I am done with the 7600go I will focus solely on the 7900GS.

In the meantime please use BETA driver 167.46.

The driver is for the 7950GTX but the 7900GS is on the list of supported video cards.

I would appreciate any feedback you may have about driver 167.46 as well as letting me know what games you are currently having issues with so I can play; I mean test newer drivers on some of the most commonly suggested games.

Thank you for your patience,
Mauricio Liscano
Product Service Engineer
Software and Gaming
Alienware Corporation

 

but its not for the 8800gtx

 

I'm pretty sure that after the 7900GS, the 8800M GTX will be next Have some faith at least...

There are other AW customers who own older systems and are running drivers from as back as 2006. We must not forget about those people as well.

I think that the driver for the m15x is a pretty recent one from Nvidia, if I'm not mistaken. That may be the reason why Alienware hasn't released a newer one for the m15x.

 

Umm us M9750 owners only have 2 drivers. The first driver was to enable SLi but sucked, and the second driver (beta) didn't offer enough resolutions when playing games at non-native resolutions. We had to find our own

 

You didn't read this.. The driver is for the 7950GTX but the 7900GS is on the list of supported video cards So, it should work for the 7950GTX as well

 

LOL... too busy in a lawsuit with Microsoft trying to cover their butts... nVidia had to pull engineers form driver creation to do leg work for the Attourneys

ON TOPIC:

Guys, Nvidia is scrambling to get an 8800m SLI driver out, it is due out about the middle of this month. then the m15x might get some love, but right not, the Sager 9xxx, Dell 1703, and m17x are on hold because these SLI drivers are missing... after the 8800m SLI drivers appear... then we will see m15x driver improvements.

Just like Vista, as is the m15x. (as is Sever 2008 so is the m17x???) Upon release it blew... hard. but with the development of the more advanced technology (m17x/Server 2008) it got better. Now Server2008 is out, Vista is also rockin.

I fortell that after the m17x is out, the m15x will also start rockin.

 

Exiled I hope your right. Cause right now I have a 4k paper weight.

I am back to using my M90, that old thing never lets me down.