Area-51 m15x Update from Alienware

As an update to the statements made recently regarding reported overheating issues with Alienware's Area-51 m15x notebooks, we are continuing our efforts to isolate the root cause of the issue that some users are experiencing. Among the thousands of m15x notebooks that have shipped, we have only received a few direct reports to Alienware of any specific issues regarding overheating. Despite the limited number of reported cases this is currently Alienware’s top priority to resolve and we will do so as soon as possible.

There have also been reports of a small gap on the chassis near the LAN port. Again, we have received a minimal number of direct reports in relation to this. All units go through quality assurance testing and multiple visual inspections before they ship therefore in addition to any potential engineering issues that may be contributing to this effect we are also assessing external factors such as packing materials, shipping procedures, carrier handling, etc.

Customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to Alienware. We will continue to investigate the issues, identify their root cause and will not rest until we find the appropriate resolution. Once we determine a resolution, we will let our customer service technicians know immediately so they can begin working with those customers affected. We will continue to update the Alienware forums and respond to other postings with updates. In the meantime, we have setup a unique e-mail address for these m15x related issues to be reported to. Customers experiencing these issues are encouraged to email our support team at [email protected], please include account information, order number and a description of the issue.

Thank you for your support,
Frank Azor
VP, Product Group, Alienware

 

ok thank you sir. i will be calling tech support later tonight.

 

Thanks for the update Frank.

 

thanks, frank

 

Alienware-Frank, I guess we'll just have to see if you can keep up to your word. If you can't...let's just say that a lot of people will make sure to not recommend Alienware anymore.

 

@Everyone - I think that we all did a good job notifying Alienware of this problem. I think that if we just all called 1 by one, messages would never get through like we intended. Like I said before, the problems with the M5550 were never once resolved by the company, and I know of a lot of people who had issue after issue with it. I think that by getting the word around Alienware is stepping up to the plate which I think is a very good move if they want to keep their integrity as a quality brand.

Thank you Frank for coming here. Lets hope these issues are fixed

 

at last!dear Frank Azor,please go through the threads about m15x and see what people are saying about their notebooks!

 

He provided the link there... it would a lot easier to just email him with your specific problem(s) if you want your system to get the attention it deserves. I know i wouldn't make it through all these threads.

 

No - rep button... pff

 

Thanks a lot Frank, I know myself and other forum members appreciate you taking the time to respond to us.

 

Frank

The main reason that not all 15x owners compliance of the heat is that not all of them having 8800m GTX, and not all of them will install and test the heat+GPU speed as we do, i never do , until i read about one who did and found this, so we all did and we all did have the heat downclock or fan speed problem.

So am sure if all 8800m GTX owners will test the heat and GPU speed, they will notice the problem.

 

I agree. I also believe that this problem is not from performance strain, since the overheating is sometimes on Crysis, sometimes on COD4, sometimes on FEAR, sometimes on HL2, depending on which customer you are talking to. I believe the GPU is overheating from just basic (but constant) use, not just when it's put to the test, like on Crysis. I also believe and am hopeful that this is just a thermal paste problem.

 

I have not seen the GPU temperature rise above 61*C in normal usage; I take it normal usage is not doing 3D.

 

As a read lot about it here..i can point that if we can speed the fan when heat reach 80, then we will not face downclock at 85+

 

What I meant by "constant use" is playing games that do not completely tax/test the strength of the GPU(games that are not Crysis) and 3D programs. Sorry!

 

Thank you frank for the update.

I'm assuming the results of the '200 point test' are shown on the invoice that is put onto each of our systems. Maybe the reason this problem was 'missed' was because the tests don't take place over a prolonged period of time.

My comp didn't seem to downclock when I first got it. In addition, even now, it doesnt start downclocking until 30 min to 1hr of playing time (crysis).

I dunno, just a theory.

 

We do burn-in the systems for extended periods of time and we record the benchmark scores which are cross-referenced against a database to ensure the system meets minimum performance standards before it leaves the building. What we haven't done in the past that we are now working to implement as a result of these recent learnings, is performing a single run of the benchmark as a base and then comparing multiple benchmark loops to that base to measure performance differences like those being reported lately.
Thank you for the constructive feedback. It's greatly appreciated by both Alienware and its customers.

 

We appreciate you being here Alienware-Frank. It gives some needed comfort to many that have been affected by the fault systems. It is good to see that Alienware is taking the initiative to correct the mistakes and keep the customers happy. It is also good that you chose to bring the news to us to prevent panic and chaos. I believe it is always good to keep people informed. Again I thank you for being here. I wish you a great day and good luck.

 

sending a response with supporting data now

 

It is nice seeing Alienware here on this forum. Thanks Frank

 

Frank,
Did not have a overheating/downclocking problem at first either. After i had my M15X for about 3 weeks start playing games like Crysis and that's when the problem started. My rig has the extreme CPU and 8800 MGTX GPU

 

Thanks Frank
Another major issue I guess is the touch sensitive controls. They stop responding, once it comes out of sleep.
And the stealth icon that appears when you touch the stealth control, it should state if you are turning the stealth mode on or off.

 

copying my email here:

This is a response to a thread posted by Frank Azor, VP Product Group, Alienware, who stated: Customers experiencing these issues are encouraged to email our support team at [email protected], please include account information, order number and a description of the issue

Account Number: xxxxxxxx
Order Number: xxxxxxxx

I would first like to thank you for taking the time to hear these complaints and examine them. I will assist if I can with providing more information, or running tests in support of scenarios that you may want to attempt. I truly hope that these issues can be solved, as I would like to keep this product, but it is very difficult for me to justify the premium price paid in light of these defects.

Initially I will state that this unit is "out of the box", I have not modified any drivers, or tweaked any settings for hardware. I have installed multiple monitoring tools such as cpuZ, gpuZ, Everest, Riva Tuner, and unlock the additoinal Nvidia Control Panel options, for the purpose of monitoring the first of these issues.

I will also state that none of the issues I am experiencing are unique to the notebookreview.com community, there are several people experiences similar to or worse than I am.

Issue #1: GPU Downclocks under load to 50% Core and Memory Frequencies, seemingly related to GPU Core heat

I have attached a screenshot of a Riva Tuner capture detailing a session of COD4 in which this occurred. You can see that i have marked the graph prior to each drop to show the highest heat level that was reached, which in this session varied between 86, 87 and 88 deg C. I will note that while Riva is reading the wrong stock frequencies (showing an 8% overclock), that is similar to what other tools have reported (Everest for one) and is apparantly due to the newness of the 8800M GTX card, and does not lead me to call into question or discount the fact that the drop in frequencies is genuine. I have also monitored the drop in frequencies from other tools, and noticed general drops in framerate measurements within games for the short periods of time which seem to correlate to the graphs.

Issue #2: Display and Lid make creaking, groaning, snapping and pinging noises when handled in different ways.

The lid of the laptop feels extremely fragile and flexy, and I am very concerned that it is going to break, especially in light of the case cracking issues that have been posted by other owners. I had hoped to include an audio file of these sounds, but I have no recording equipment to that will capture them usefully. Suffice to say that I am surrounded by notebooks whose lids I am not at all afraid to grasp firmly, but the m15x lid protests if do so.

Issue #3: Keyboard keys are unresponsive at times, especially when performing rapid repeated keystrokes, seemingly related to the amount of pressure is being used.

Nothing more to add to this other than I have to consciously use a light touch to avoid having the backspace key not respond, which is of course counterintuitive, you usually want to push harder the next time after something doesn't respond.

Issue #4: Touch Controls are difficult to use consistently, all appear to have a slightly different method of operation

For example, the Bluetooth control responds quickly at all times. The Control Panel button seems to require a couple of seconds of contact to use. The Stealth Mode seems to require several seconds of contact before it activates. The Volume controls continue to fluster me, really can't make heads of tails out of their proper operation, and have just given up trying, and use the software volume controls from the OS.

Issue #5: Web Camera software (YouCam) crashes when trying to capture snapshots, capture only black screen when trying to capture movies, and I can no other way to access the built-in camera.

I have honestly not spent any time with this, because it just has not been a priority, but its still an issue.


Thank you for your time and attention to this, and I sincerely hope that resolutions to each of these issues can be found, not only for myself but all of the owners of what should be the best notebook on the market.

Take Care,

xxxxxxxxxx

fusioncon on notebookreview.com

 

@Frank

It has been asked in another thread but for us european customers do you know if the new tests are implemented in the European process too? So far nobody from europe got the m15x so... i talked to the CS and they knew nothing of the problems. Thanks!

 

@fusion: if AW does not find your email helpful and convincing, i don't know what will short of many plane tickets purchased to Florida.

good job

 

Kudos Fusion, polite and direct.

 

and full of typos now that had time to re-read it

 

Haha. Copy + paste into MSword ftw. Or just use Firefox ya know

 

So after there is news on Engadget, finally Alienware steps up and do something about it. I wish they have do this before they public complaint, since he said:

Alienware-Frank,

I have some points that you guys may miss with those statistics. Be sure to read this.

1)
I think all of these are known issues. There is no way that all NBR forum members are the ones who only gets faulty/underclock GPU. No way. It's not like every NBR forum member register after they order their system m15x. Some of us here are regular and share experience from unboxing their m15x (that means its not like all those who gets faulty systems gather in forums). So my point to Alienware, fix these issues. Don't just "swap" them.

2)
Also, I doubt there are THOUSANDS 8800m gtx are shipped up to date. Alienware sell the 2149usd config with GPU sets at GPU 8600m gt as default. Out of thousands shipped, maybe just quarter of it have 8800m gtx. So maybe you (Alienware) doesn't get much complain for that GPU (with a cooling system that built for 8800m gtx, of course there is no problem to handle 8600m gt). Point here is these known underclock whatever issue could only happen to ONLY system with 8800m gtx (since it produces more heat perhaps?)

I am not trying to convince m15x is faulty or what not, but I just want to point out thing that Alienware might miss, so this will narrow down the source of problems, thus increasing the chance of fixing them.

Anyway, I am happy Alienware steps up. We can't do much with what have happened, so let's hope we'll see improvements in both products quality and support. Hope this helps.

ps: Anyone here tried the Rivatuner auto fan settings before? Like when it reached 50 C sets up fan to 50%, 60 to 60% and say something like 80 C to 100%? I don't know if you could do that with 8800m gtx, but you certainly can with 8800 gt (desktop tho). Let me know if this have not tried before, maybe I should post the how-to here, see if this help.

 

The GPU fan is a Board Option fan not directly to the GPU itself. I believe some one else has tried but it will not give you the option to control the fan speeds.

 

Fusioncon,

Very well said. All those problems mentioned are exactly the ones that I have.

U kind of said all my feelings ...

WELL DONE !!

+ rep. (I gave u 3)

EDIT: I try to give u 3 points but system say "u cant give pts twice".

SO here is it:
1 point for saying all that I wanna say
1 Point for constructive sentence
1 Point for taking the time to write this properly.
Total 3

 

Sheesh wish someone would rep me some as easily. I been posting insider info and yet nothing =(

 

insider info is illegal, so i'd have to rep. u to the police just kidding

 

no worries, i already +1 rep to fusion too

 

about the issue 5, I think it's normal to capture a black screen when you're trying to capture a snap shot

you can notice, that if you stop the movie and paste the snapshot, you will see the image of the movie @ the moment you stop it. if you close the window (of the movie) you will see a black snapshot.

I found a way to take a snapshot correctly, if I remember well, try nero recode, there is a specific function to capture snapshot from a movie

 

Thanks for the time that took you to write this impressive letter.

+ rep

 

A reputation counter is so hollow and superficial when people make such a fuss out of giving and receiving it. It's like an insecure derranged post-count

 

I can't understand why they don't release the 8700/8600 GPU option in europe! I think it will not have the overheat issue! so why are they waiting!? 8700GT would be the best video card for a 15.4" however!

moreover I hope they release this damn black ripley with all these issues fixed
I think it's useless to launch a notebook like these month before other brands, and then release it so late! it's true it is away from feb, but with all these problems, maybe they must have waited a little bit more...

 

hey WLFie, thanks for the tips. when i try capture a snapshot in youcam, it simply crashes. when i capture a movie, it captures a movie, and i can select and "play" it back (pops up a new window for playback), but its just all black (no audio either). the display area in youcam has never shown anything other than a logo.

out of the box with this behavior i have to say either youcam is flawed software, but can't fathom why alienware would they install it in that state, so then i have to lean towards the camera being faulty.

 

follow-up on issue #5 re webcam

I played around with Nero Vision. It appears to me that the camera is not responding to resolutions that it is supposedly capable of. Its supposed to be a 2MP camera, is that right? Yet Nero is reporting the highest available resolution at 176x144. My phone can do better than that.

So I reiterate, either something about the software is faulty, not sure why it would ship in that non-functional state, or this unit has a bad camera.

Eventually I'll get around to working with Tech support on this specific issue, but its just another problem on an item i paid premium money for, that now i have spend my time to resolve.

 

tinkering with it right now and did some other tests check this out Fusion
i messed with the lil screen thing here and got this its at resolution 800x600 which ruffly translates to 1.3MP. No where close to 2.0MP
To get what i got go into picture 3 of your post. Clicky on the TV looking thing with a check in it. Start messing with those settings until you get what i get see how high you can go. Option 1600x1200 should be there.

 

I think the webcam is 2.0Mpixels for photos, not for video!
however 176x144 is low.
don't know how to help you

 

is ok WLFie, i appreciate your help. Its alienware's responsibility, not anyone's on these forums.

 

WLF i was thinking that too maybe its just for photos, but it states on the AW site that and i qoute "Broadcast across the Web with a 2 megapixel webcam and microphone array allowing for richer voice and chat capabilities." Maybe our posts should be moved as these findings dont really go with update from alienware...

 

yes, but every brand advertise his webcam with the max resolution capability... but generally you can use max res advertised only for photos. i.e. my webcam is 1,3 Mpixels (1280x1024), but if I run a video, max res is 640x480, so 0.3Mpixels

 

Alienware-Frank

Are the overheating/underclocking and chassis cracking issues being investigated in the alienware UK branches or only the US branch? I want to know because I have ordered my m15x from the UK site (live in London).

 

perhaps it's 2MPixels interpolated (some companies advertise them with this value as it's better for marketing purpose)

 

update regarding my particular email: i got a response back from a "Critical Issues Team Lead" basically thanking me for my email, assuring me my experience was not the normal one, and pledging to get to the bottom of it. Doesn't really state that I will be contacted, so I will have to follow up in a few days.

 

Being investigated worldwide.

 

My webcam will not focus. It works but it just stays blurry all the time.