Alienware M17 *OFFICIAL* Owner's Lounge

300$ shound get you an extra 2 years, for the complete 3 year warranty. I think. Can't remember exactly, might be a bit more expensive as it's aftermarket.

The M17 was only really out for a year, because it was an 'emergency action' for Alienware. The old m17x was highly overpriced for last generation technology, even when it was released-so presumably didn't sell well. So presumably they had to bring in a newer, better laptop and fast-and that laptop was the M17.

The 4850s should handle Crysis on high easily, unless you've got it cranked up to 1920x1200. If you do have it on 1920x1200, you might want to try playing it on DirectX9 if you aren't already-DirectX10 just kills the framerate on my 3870s at least, plus it offers little visual quality and for me at least half the foliage is flickering in DX10, but not in DX9. (Seriously, my framerate went up from 20 to 32 looking at one spot, between DX10 and DX9, and there really is very little noticeable improvement-could make the difference between medium and high)

 

Who do we call now for warranties and repair info on our M17s?? I suspect its still Alienware but it could prove awkward as the site no longer exists.

Im thinking about contacting Dell or Alienware to get a definitive answer on the 4850s......Its worth finding out officially that its no longer possible to upgrade.

 

What do you mean the site no longer exists? Are you referring to the Support Area? Because its still there.
http://support.alienware.com/Support_Pages/Support_Area.aspx

And you can still purchase an M17 here:
http://www.alienware.com/customize/M17-notebook.aspx?SysCode=PC-LT-M17&Subcode=SKU-DEFAULT

 

Hi marvie,

Yeah thanks....I see now that support for us guys is still there on the Alienware site so thats good.

I think you can only purchase the M17 in the US and I suspect that wont last much longer.

Ive already sent an E-mail to Alienware support regarding confirmation that the 4850s are no longer available.
We will see what response I get. I would like to approach somebody higher really but dont have any contact info.
I dont think we should just give up on the 4850 upgrade without a fight.

 

Ahhh, well it didn't even dawn on me to check the UK support site, but now I see what you mean. UK Support takes you to Dell, so definately worth asking the question now.

 

I see some of you jocks (an I mean that with respect) have your Q9300 oc'd up to 2.5 (EvilCorsair). Can you give a newbie at overclocking some tips on what to do and how to test, etc?

 

Here is some help from moo

 

I was told by an alienware tech "Matthew", that the 4850's were not available due to an overheating problem. Another tech by the name of "james" told me it was a compatablility issue. I did settle for the dual 3870's but wasnt very excited due to the 4850 hype. I placed my order for my m17 on
9-23-09. Also 2 days later they pulled the m17 of their laptop selection and posted it in the recertified computer link. I hope they dont send me a refurb. I didnt pay 2500 for a refurbished system. Honestly though how would I tell if parts if not all my system were a refurb?

 

it is recertified not refurnished for one, they are different, the Area 51 m15x is refurbished

It will be new, they just dont want the M17 taking sales from their new shiny all powerful line is all

 

They Lie! After I put my wifes 4850's in my M17 everything runs awesome.

 

Looks like the m17 is getting the boot, so how can I order the 4870s for my m17?

 

You probably wont be able to. The 4870s the M17x will be using are MXM3 (Aka the newer standard for high powered cards), the 4850s in the M17 were MXM2.1.

My personal belief is that the AW 4850s were a limited run of cards used to get fulfil and order made by AW, but were unable to be made into MXM2.1 4870 mobile cards due to the bankruptcy of Qimonda and the shortages of GDDR5, and to help clear stocks of the M17. They use a different BIOS (and possibly more rushed variant, due to the lack of things like overdrive support) compared to the MSI 4850s.
When they couldnt package the cards with GDDR5, I believe its quite possible they resorted to more widely available GDDR3 and a quick BIOS to make the chips usable, with the lack of forthcoming GDDR5 supply, so they weren't wasted, and so the contract for cards could be fulfilled.

As Elpida have since bought out Qimonda, they have likely been able to get new orders for GDDR5 underway or at least pre-orderable, hence the availability of the new 4870s imminently for the M17x.

Whether this is true I dont know, but due to the appearance of a rushed BIOS, and the very small stocking of these cards (possibly limited run); I wouldnt be surprised.

 

yeah, i only wish that i could get ahold of 4870s gddr5 to put in my m17, but they are mxm3.0 and m17 is 2.1 like Alex said

 

how is your 3870x2 is playing games right now?

prototype, batman, etc.

 

its strange but since I installed the X9100 my gaming has improved no end and I never see any stuttering or stalling and everything runs smooth.
I always play at max resolution but with no AAA or maybe 2x

Think Im gunna try crancking some settings up to see how it goes.....Im playing Wolfenstein at the minute and the M17 is caning it.

 

Ive got Prototype but havent really played it yet Don......I could see it struggling on high though from the 5 mins I played it for.

Have not got Batman,

 

Hmm, I got Prototype and was playing everything on high. Bad thing is I can't get past that one lady, Green something in the middle of the street

 

mmmm. That weird that you can't max out prototype. My single 9800m gtx could of done it stock.

what dricers are you using.

I know the 512vram is killing it but it shouldn't effect you unless you at 2500*1500....
let me know what happens.

 

Oh hang about guys.....I was just making an assumption really from a couple of minutes gameplay!
I just thought it looked very good graphically and my 3870s may struggle....however after my last post yesterday I maxxed out Wolfenstein which is also very good in a graphics sense and it played very well with just an initial unnoticeable bit of ghosting when I turned around.....after a minute or 2 it was fine.
Im using CC 9.9 but Ive heard 9.8 with hotfix gives better performance......having said that I did score my highest score yet(as in my sig) with 9.9 giving me an extra 100 points in 3DMark06.

 

If anyone wants an idea of how it runs Batman Arkham Asylum seeing as it's been asked, I ran it on my M17 maxed out @ 1440x900 and never noticed any slowdowns so I'm presuming it was almost constantly at/above 60fps.

 

I'm playing Batman on my M17 under Win 7 x64 Ultimate with the ATI 9.9 Beta drivers and I did the benchmark test from within the game and I got 61FPS at 1920x1200 maxed out.

Very impressive game indeed.

 

can any one tell me the size of the vista install in GB. a fresh install with only required drivers for m17 ? ..... thank you

 

Hey guys, I need some help. I ordered my M17 last night to the tune of $1449. Tonight (roughly 24 hours later), I discovered the Alienware University discount of 5%, AND the fact that they lowered the actual price of the M17 by $200. My laptop JUST entered the production phase late this evening.

Between ordering last night and ordering tonight, I would have saved roughly $280 by ordering tonight. What are my options? I plan to call Alienware in the morning, but I don't know what they do in these types of situations. I either want a credit back, or be allowed to use the $280 to upgrade my processor.

 

Just call AW and tell them that you need to re-config your system with the discounts. They should be able to re-config the system for you since it has not been shipped yet. Take action before your order is shipped.

 

^^^What he said, make sure you CALL though. I had the same issue, but due to time differences I emailed them and they didn't "receive" my email until after it shipped so by that point it was too late to receive the discount.

 

well the same happened to me and I was told "so what" more or less.....they said prices can change anytime and it was too late. I left it at just that first E-mail but others on this forum persisted and rightfully were able to get the discount.

 

can any one tell me the size of the vista install in GB. a fresh install with only required drivers for m17 ? ..... thank you

 

didnt you already post this somewhere....please dont clutter the forum with repeat posts

 

So, I called Alienware today and they said that they can only offer me either the price drop or the student discount, so I took the price drop credit of $214. I'm satisfied.

Also, Alienware was really fast to build and ship out my computer. I ordered it Wednesday night at around midnight, and they shipped it out at 5pm on Friday, thats so fast! Fedex unfortunately estimates a Thursday delivery date, which I think is an overestimate seeing how its only going from FL to RI.

Wed Oct 30 - Phase 1
Thu Sept 1 - Phase 2-5
Fri Sept 2 - Phase 6-9

 

I've been trying to sell my M17 for a good two months now (owned since February) Would post it in the market place but don't have the correct post count

 

can any one tell me the size of the vista install in GB. a fresh install with only required drivers for m17 ? ..... thank you

 

IIRC it was about 15GB

 

15gb sounds about right

 

FYI- The M17 starts at $799 now.

An incredible deal.
Whoever wants a powerful system for cheap, thats something
to hop onto...

 

Good luck to anyone trying to sell their rig for anything CLOSE to what they paid for it...

 

i'm preatty sure my 4850s would make it's price goes through the roof ;p but to bad i'm not selling mine

 

Yeah i actually like my M17 more then my M17x because of the screen i put in it Id love a set of 4850s but i doubt it will ever happen at this point.. Such is life though. Maybe ill find someone selling theres one day in the future and ill scoop it up for a fair price..

 

glad to see you back quadzilla.......what sort of screen did you put in your M17?

I know Im having fun gaming as of late with my M17 but am having to plan my move for the M17X.......the next purchase has to definitely last so Im thinking of holding off until around christmas in the hope that I7 processors will be available along with the 4870s.
Does anybody have any good Dell contact E-mail addresses in one last ditch attempt to persuade them to try and sell us long suffering M17 owners the 4850s??

Ive already sent a couple of E-mails to Alienware but they did not even bother responding! its time to try their superiors at DELL.

 

I put an LG TLA2 screen in mine a month or 2 ago and its such a beauty ..

Bright with awesome colors . Could not be happier honestly . Aside from Crysis i can play everything maxxed out pretty much at 1920x1200 but i just want the 4850s so badly until they put an LED screen and i7 in the M17x then ill switch back to that machine im sure . The Qx9300 though helps me quite abit if the games take advantage of Quads and i have only the rare occasional stutter issue . If i could buy a M17 right now with 4850s i would in a heart beat but im not willing to pay some crazy price for one seeing as the machine is EOL and buying a used one will leave you with 0 warranty as well.

 

This thread is very large and can slow down forum performance, so I started a part 2:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5376899
Thanks guys.