Alienware M17 *OFFICIAL* Owner's Lounge

Wow... sorry to get us so far off topic. I really was not trying to start anything. I have dutifully slapped myself.

 

mine is quiet.

post the temp of cpu and gpus please.

 

sorry guys iwonte an m17 owner for much longer. the m17 is just not up to the task

 

what is your task?
how are you going to be not an owner? don't have you have to pay 15% minimum?

 

i dont have to pay cause its not that i just dont want it. there are tons of software issues random crashes blue screens lack of drivers crappy screen tapped up keyboard and bad performance. u only pay 15 percent if its just cause u dont like it.

 

wow, even i went through tons of problem dealing with the heat, I still didn't get single 1 blue screen.

Did you check the temp or ram error?

also, don't they force you to pay shipping to ship back or something if they don't charge 15%? and you ordered it in Canada, right?

 

yes and they better not or ill be doing some yelling. i honestly feel like im beta testing for 4500 for alienqueer.

 

update me on the cost of returning, thx.

 

haha your going to return yours too

 

well, i dont think so, but it's good to know.

 

Hi all,

I hope to be an M17 owner just as soon as Alienware can manage to build one and send it. We finally got them to straighten out our order on the 11th of November....and we have been waiting every since.

I've ordered the basic M17. the only upgrades I added were the dual ATI's in Crossfire, 64bit OS, and 4 gig of ram.

But, I do have some questions for those of you who currently own the box. I've been reading the reviews and issues from this forum with great interest.

1) Is anyone using 64bit Vista with more than 4 physical sticks of Ram?
I've been reading several articles, including a technote from MSN, that talk about an issue with this.

2) Is anyone using 4gig of ram or more safely? Any BSOD?
This may be more related to the 4 physical sticks of Ram, but, I'm just curious if anyone is using more than 4gig with any issues

3) Game support
Anyone utlilizing the box to play Everquest 1 or 2? Any of the major MMORGs? Any problems with Crossfire in games?

4) Heat issues
I've read where Fusion(?) had an issue with what appears to be platic left on the GPU's at assembly time, but, has anyone else had any heat issues? Unexplained system shutdown due to heat?

I'm not concerned about the systems weight or looks. I'm a gamer and I've purchased this to replace my current gaming notebook. The appeal of this box was the dual graphics and the strong processor. I would have liked to have gotten a Dell 1730, but, a matching Dell would have been almost double the price of the M17.

Thanks
Bob

 

1) yes 64 bit supports up to 8. but alienware doesnt support it

2) i dunno probably, not alienware void your warrenty when u do anything tinkering tampering ect it would work though but u wont need more then 4gbs... u wont even need more then 2 or 3 reallly unless u have 5676567656 programs running which then your cpu will be the bottleneck

3) yes many games have problems, to bad the 4000 sries isnt out there, xfire scaled real well, even with desktop the 3000 cards had issues. if you like nvidia based games DO NOT BUY THIS NOTEBOOK

4) this thing sounds like a jet on full load. and lol @ them only putting one exhaust vent on this gigantic notebook. also they put it on the side so u can really hear it :/


yah guess ill guess ill be kikin it on desktop review.com cause i will be ordereding a 730x from dell.ca
the 1 thing about dell is there support is amazing they dont give u the run around about installing drivers and ect.
like i said b4 only reason it ook back m1730 is august was because of build quality
also since im in canada it cause pretty much the same maybe 100-150 more to get an oem computer from dell.ca so this way i get a fing sweet case tech support ect.

ill still be round these parts a bit though helping peeps cause i have gained alot of knowledge of notebooks thanks to u guys

 

My m17 has two exhaust vents. One on the left for cpu and one on the back for GPU fan.

 

So fusionsenses,

Given what you know so far, are you still happy with the machine? I'm now back to debating if I want to move to the M17 and 64 bit, or go with the m17x at 32bit.

Again, for me its about the graphics and gaming. If the m17 can successfully handle the gaming I"m going to do, then fine.

But, it's been almost a month since we placed the order and it does not appear to be moving anywhere.

 

dcsobb go for the m17x if u wnt aw its overpriced but u will get much better performance out of the 9800gt's in sli

 

Depends if you can in Canada or States.
If you are in Canada, there isn't any other notebook has better performance/price ratio, even if the XF is under performing, it's still the good in Canada.
If you are in the states, there are deals that you can get similar or better performance/price ratio.

For gaming, my m17 can pretty much play anything I need to play; and I use 1440 resol lcd, because I care about gaming. So that might have something to do with my satisfaction.

On the other hand, my new m17 is still in phase 2 after 2 weeks. I am using my old m17 with hiccups that I don't bother to try to solve now, it could be from the overheat dmg before, or software problems. If AW tells me that the new m17 won't be coming until after dec 16th, then I might return this and cancel the order and wait for new stuff coming out.

 

OK... I may be chastized for putting this in this thread, but I am in the process (as we speak) of being a FORMER M17 owner. I am being told by the rep that AW has canceled its contract with a provider because of inferior products. They told me that the Command Center is not working with the illuminated keyboard, case cracking, etc etc etc. Long story short. They are NOT currently making this laptop for shipping. So anyone who is waiting for one will be waiting for it for a while. They have nothing in stock to complete it.

During this post, I have canceled the order, received a confirmation number that it was canceled, and started looking for a new rig. Any suggestions?

 

Does this apply to ALL their laptops or just the M17?

 

The only thing I know for sure... is that it applies to the M17. I don't want to speculate and get you fired up if you are waiting for something different.

 

what's your source?

Who is they? roswell or the normal outsource dudes?

 

Proof or i call BS on it.

My M17 arrived today, i was pushing what looked like a steady 40-50fps in Left4dead on high settings at 1920x1200.

Ill do more games before i finish my review.

 

My SLI 8800M GTXs gets much better than that in L4D ...

 

I called today to inquire about my order. Placed on the 11th and still in 4th stage. The guy beat around the bush after I told him that I was going to cancel the order. He told me that he could not process the order cancellation so he transferred me to a guy in the US (I am amusing Maimi.)

That guy told me about the problems that they are having with at least one vendor who makes parts for the M17. He then gave me some line of BS that AW did it for the consumer so that they dont end up with parts that do not meet the "strict quality that AW customers demand". I then told him that AW should have made sure that happened before they ever offered the product to the public in the first place. I then requested that he cancel my order. He tried to talk me out of it for almost 10 minutes.

I did not post this to start a rumor. This is what I was told by AW themselves. I just put it here so that other people would know too. You can call for yourself tomorrow and check your facts. That is a lot of money to spend on a rig to have S**T fail.

 

yep thats alienware 4u..... ;/

 

Two frustrated people won`t change my opinion untill I`ll check it myself. What`s so bad about missing parts? They did not expected that amount of orders, it happens to the best companies, the bigest companies. Don`t act like 2 yrs old. People will wait 1-2 weeks longer, maybe they`ll get gadget, discount, extra mug, whatever. That things happens, it`s not nice but it`s also not end of the world. Dell used to sell laptops that were overheating to open fire even. Since then noone ever should reccomend Dell to another and yet, they`re on the marked, in top list.

Just be more realistic not necesairly pesymistic.

 

Remember the 8800GTX SLI cost about 1000USD while the 3780HD XFire is 350USD

 

Wow dude.. did you even read my post? I am not trying to change your opinion at all. I don't care what you think! And my post was not at all about missing parts, it was about DEFECTIVE parts. So go back and read the freakin post before you flame on endlessly. My post about the subject was just to give people information. Information that I heard from Alienware, not that someobody told me. That is what a forum is for.

 

exactly. 8800m gtx sli is not THAT much better than XF 3780

 

I'm in the same position as Frog here. I'm inclined to believe that most of these reported issues are due more to broken expectations -- sky high ones at that -- than anything else.

As I speak, I'm writing this on a Dell Inspiron 8200 that I purchased six years ago. This rig has lasted six years of hard labour with no less than a dozen worn out keys replaced and at least one entire keyboard swapped out. It has been overclocked and upgraded to death, and it's still going strong.

Unless Dell's quality assurance has taken a nosedive these past few years, I have no reason to believe I'll receive an M17 I'll be dissatisfied with, mostly because my expectations are earth-based. Rest assured though that I'll be vigilant for any issues as I would following any major purchase, but I have no reason to believe I'll be disatisfied enough to want to return it.

- F

 

just so you know, if you are getting quad core, dont expect high score in 3dmark06.

 

You should Pick up the X9100 way better right now for 3D06

 

lol, just for 3D06, huh?

part of the cost for quad core contribute to bragging right at this moment.

 

Some pep only like to show off with the score

 

At this point, all I expect is that the laptop will perform better in all tasks than my Inspiron. That's it. When I push the laptop hard enough to care about benchmark results, that's when I'll address my increased expectations through overclocking and the like, but what I don't expect is that my hardware will perform beyond its capability. Besides, who sets the standard for what's considered acceptable performance in the M17's case?

- F

 

I ordered a Quad Core
Is it not worth it ?
should i change it, as i still have a chance yet

 

Missing/deffective - what`s the difference in this one particular case. My point is ' happens'. Always and for everyone, even for the best.

I just had the impression that you not only informed but moaned about how bad AW is and widely briefed how did you cancel your order...

BUT it was only my impression while reading it, if you did not mean it that way I`m sorry for missunderstanding, it wasn`t my intention to offend you or something like this. So once again, I apology.

 

Great point Flash, almost what I was thinking and with all the bells n whistles per drivers n updates it should only get better. Now if I was good at the waiting game what a wonderful world it would be.

 

What's with the frowny face? You ordered a futureproof quad core that's on par with the best dual cores if even through overclocking. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages here.

- F

 

why "not worth it"? you have twice as many cores as i do, and are therefore much better prepared for the (decidedly multi-threaded) future of computing.

 

Thxs Guys
fell much better now

I have a feel all will be fine &
will always be gettting New Alienware laptops
cant go wrong
Thxs again

 

Got It!!! :d

 

I ordered my M17 last Monday and have been on phase 3 every since(well phase 2 if you believe the website, 3 if you believe the AW rep; I'm and optimist so I choose to believe the latter). I have been calling and emailing AW and they told me that the reason for the hold up was some back ordered items(graphics cards and back-lights for keyboards to be exact). This was not a big deal to me until I was reading some forum posts by some guys who said that an AW rep told them that because of the faulty keyboard components they have canceled the contract with the vendor that supplies them and that no one will be getting their M17's until Jan 09. This had me very concerned so I called AW to verify and they told me that they have just received the graphics cards and the keyboard components and are beginning construction of my system today. Boy was I relieved.

 

Good to know, Rhyme. I placed my order a few days before November 19 and I've been stuck in Phase 2 up until today (credit card was charged on November 19). Checking my order status only a few moments ago, I noticed I've been bumped to Phase 3, so you're onto something there.

- F

 

I guess it just goes to show you that you can't trust everything you read on the interwebz. I'm still gonna keep calling AW daily and i'll let you know if they make good on their promise.

Also, I've been trying to decide what security software i'm gonna get to protect this thing. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Well, first error already

Everything is at it`s best, I like design, lcd, good quality of components, all thing s are good enough for me but...

I wanted to reset partitions all over, set a new windows once again, I did it, everythings went well till I inserted Alienware M17 support cd which turned out to be...blank I have empty CD No drivers whatsoever

I downloaded everything form net and works for now but can somebody who has this CD in good quality would be so nice to tell me what exactly is on this CD? Or maybe even upload image of this CD for me? That would be the best but I know it`ll be hard to find volunteer

 

Agnitum Outpost Pro, first and foremost. Best software firewall around, IMO.

- F

 

Is Agnitum very resource heavy. I don't want anything that's gonna bog my system down.

 

waiting for the canelation team to call an then i can order my 730x

 

It's fairly lightweight, far as I recall -- no hundred meg downloads or anything and it has a reasonable memory footprint for what it does.

- F

 

When they say this Dual 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 - CrossFireX it total together 1GB of Video Memory right?