Area-51 m15x Update from Alienware

Correction: AW is going above and beyond only for those customers who threaten to cancel their orders. They are completely ignoring those who have remained loyal to them by sticking with their orders through backordered parts and design flaws, and are not being proactive at all. Until they proactively compensate those customers in a likewise manner, they've FAILED.

 

well said.

 

hEy heY Wanks !! Sounds like your getting all the good CS while newfiejudd is getting left behind.. Guess you should inform Gladys next time she calls round, about newfiejudd's probs.. A little NBRmember-NBRmember help would be mucho appreciated I'm sure
Still hoping things work out for ya gophins and newfie..

 

I can't believe this- I guess u just solve my DC issues. I remove the cooler and lay flat on desk. Play crysis for 3hrs ++. No Downclock found. THIS IS SO WEIRD> I guess I be putting my NAC 1000 cooler on ebay. Served no purpose at all - not even 1C down.

THanks very much Mr Fro2000 - ur life saver ++rep

 

NICE! my mind is at ease.

 

i've unfortunately tested mine on a cooler and off a cooler (flat), and really saw no difference.

 

It does seem like different systems react totally differently. I'm still on x29b (haven't gotten around to updating to the official release), and I just tested my system for ~2.5 hours with ATITool and RivaTuner. Stable system temperature is 67 C. I had a single downclock for ~30 seconds in that time (just before it hit 89 C). In a perfect world, that wouldn't be happening, but I think I'll consider myself lucky.

I wish everyone else the best with their systems (it looks like my situation is about par for the course). It does look like I've been spared a lot of the issues that other people have had, but I look to be the exception there, not the norm.

 

sorry to hear fusicon... im baffled how different people are having different issues. if we all have the same bios, same graphics card and same drivers, why are the results so different? plus, different people have different idle and max temps... this is weird.

rexi, please email alienware (the m15x email) a pic of your cooler set up and the rivatuner results. let them know that you are having the same issue as me (mr_fro2000). i sent them an email yesterday...

they need to know that the bios update did not completely fix everyone's issues... if we 'accept' their solution by using our laptops on flat surfaces, who knows what problems will come up in the future? it needs to be completely FIXED and I think the solution lies i the 8800m's software/drivers.

btw, using atitool i had no downclocking at all (for 20 min) whether the system was propped up or not. i think you need sporadic gpu stresses you get from crysis and other games to make the downclocking happen.

 

haha i have the exact same thing goin on here. when using the zalman it runs the cpu and gpu way up, and eventually downclocks. without it, on a flat surface, those issues disappear. lol, couldnt be much weirder

 

are you guys running your zalman's air flow? i stopped doing that day 1 after i tested no noticable difference in temps, and just use it as a heat shield between my lap and the notebook.

 

another update, or lack of one. Alienware-Steve had pm'd me and stated that he would work with me if i sent my info to him. Well, its been several days, and nothing has happened on that front, and no alienware techs have called me about anything in fact since the 30 bios.

who isn't suprised?

 

Thanks Wraithers for looking out for fellow NBR members. I must admit today AW stepped up to the plate and have done enough to string me along just a bit further. Again thanks Wraithers.

On another note my system will downclock if I lay it on a flat surface. Both CPU and GPU. The only way I can play anything is with my Zalman 1000 cooler. And the only BIOS that works for me is the x29r bios. The latest downclocks like a yoyo.

 

newfie, your issues sound way beyond everyone else (well, you and fusicon)... the cpu going bad is a total anomaly. have you had your system sent in to them? if so, and you got it back still broken, I would INSIST on a) getting 'store credit' and getting another m15x or desktop system or b) getting a full refund. why are you messing around w/ them sending you parts and stuff? that's THEIR job!

im debating sending my lappy in. if i do and it gets returned to me w/ the same issues, i WILL get my money back or will ask to use my spent money on a desktop system. as i said before I DO NOT HAVE TIME to monkey around with all these problems.

 

My system is going in for repairs. They had promised me new components and an ONsite repair back in early March. And still nothing has been done about that. As this system is going back they have promised me a new system if they can't repair my downclocking components. So hopefully they can resolve my issues and take care of me finaly. I will admit to get any satisfaction I had to stay firm and voice my concerns repeatedly(going as far as asking for a complete refund. I just hope there wil be light at the end of the tunnel.

One thing I did notice about my CPU heatsink, was that it is much smaller then the CPU heatsink pictured in the Answers section online. My CPU heatsink only Covers about 2/3 of the CPU fan. I will get a pic and post it.

Here is a pic. It seems like my Fan and CPU heatsink are smaller.
http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc04084zz6.jpg

Here is the link for the Answers page.
http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/...TEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1tMTV4&p_li=&p_topview=1

 

I tested Call Of Duty 4 on 1440x900 and still no downclock (I wounder how it went up to 90 deg C once). BTW my GPU fan stays on high gear when gaming even though the heat released is not hot and the GPU temp was around 79 and 83 most of the times.

 

whaydon, if you are having similar issues, please send an email to [email protected].

mag13, have you tried playing w/ the back proped up a cm or two? its worth looking into...

 

Yeah I just did that mr_fro2000 and all I got is the same

 

ok will do...also, for those that have a smartbay hd, did it show up under my computer after popping it in? i can't find it..

 

looks like yours might be good

 

U got it.
Blast mail tommorrow

 

stand firm and claim what you pay for
wish you all best of luck, hope you guys will get some upgrade

 

We're all looking out for each other here.. You'll did by giving the rest of us your honest first opinions when you got your laptops

Hope things do get fixed, or they stay true to their word and hand you a new m15x.. Maybe with some goodies
Keep them spirits up !!

 

Fusioncon,

I referred your situation to a Critical Issues Team agent on Thursday, unfortunately he was off on Friday. You should be contacted soon by another agent who will take you through resolving your issue. i apologize for the inconvenience.

 

Hi Frank and Steve,

I'm concerned by comments from several users on this forum about the build quality of the M15x - people have reported that the chassis is not very sturdy and that it shows signs of buckling and even cracking after only a few months of use. I appreciate that you've been pretty busy fixing the downclocking/overheating issue (and the new bios seems to be a success, which is great news) but you mentioned earlier on this thread that you'd be looking into the chassis-cracking issue. Have you come to any conclusions in this respect yet? Will replacement chassis be covered by warranty for those who experience the cracking?

Thanks

 

I just ran a vista scanning tool to check if my system has problems and this came up.

Any idea on this?

 

If you games are running as they should be it's probably just reporting that a driver is not WHQL.

 

Well after a few emails, AW Critical Issues Team has offered me a VIP repair and if they can't get the system fixed, they said they will replace it. All I want is for the sytem to perform as it should. I do not care about the minor flaws and such, only the gaming performance. They mentioned that the bios has worked for most people. Obviously I have not been as lucky! We shall see how this goes.

 

ALright thanks for the info

 

What is VIP repair. They come to your house? or still send back. What the diff with normal repair? just curious

 

I downloaded the RivaTuner you guys said to download but it says my driver is unrecognized.

I dont think it is working quite right either because the hardware monitor numbers look completly different then the numbers in the screenshots I have seen posted. The temp seems off (low) and all the other numbers are way lower.

Is there something I need to do to get this to work so I can see if I am having these problems?

Oh yeah, I also downloaded ATI tool and after I ran it I got a BSOD.

Puh. How are these things supposed to work?

 

I commented in another thread that if no one had mentioned it, I would not have noticed the raise at all. I'm looking at the side of the m15x right now and I can't pick it out. I suppose if you wanted to fix it you could put a bit of glue underneath it although I neither endorse nor recommend that and take no responsibility for damages. I also suppose you could just . . . ignore it. I have been carrying around the m15x for the better part of two weeks and it has not had any build quality issues.

I have been keeping up to date with the GPU issues for as long as they've been around. It has become apparent to me that one member's machine that is still having the GPU issues after the BIOS update is not normal; its thermal system is acting erratically. It's pretty clear that something else is wrong with the laptop. Therefore, you can't say the BIOS update failed to fix that laptop because it obviously has other problems. It could very well be that the BIOS update would have fixed it if it was normal in the first place. My machine was not perfect when I got it, I got the underclocking issue easily. After the BIOS update mine has been fixed along with several other member's.

The problem is not being 'hidden' by throttling up the fan . . . the problem was in fact that the fan was not going fast enough in the first place. It was fixed by allowing the fans to spin faster. I was in constant contact with the engineers at Alienware and I know this.

 

They say that it's VIP but I'm still sending it to them for repair and they would pay for it anyway??? I don't think that theirs any difference. I think that they call it that because the Critical Issues Team person that I have been working with is going to look at it personally. That is was he said.

 

Dumb. I just realized I was in stealth mode. The card was downclocked. Ugh. I thought it had a status thingy that tells you it is in stealth mode? It must have been in stealth mode for weeks but I forgot. Duh. I suck.

 

There is a status thingy, if you figure out what the status thingy is (it took me a while to figure out what it meant). When you first boot into Vista), a little popup shows in your status bar which says that you're either hooked up via VGA (external) or VGA (integrated). The former means you're running the NVIDIA 8800M GTX, that latter the Intel X3100.

I love how clear the text is.

 

Seriously?!? Oh man. I thought there was something wrong with my laptop when I saw that VGA notification. I had no idea!

Now that I know, I feel a lot better. Thanks!

Edit: Oh and now that I got all this stuff working, I am happy to report there is no downclocking that I can see! That's a good thing I think.

 

is it just me or does the system pictured on the AW site also show the gap above the ethernet port?

The photo of the m15x on the Design tab and one from the Gallery tab

 

Yep, sure does.

 

its actually more noticable in the second picture. does this mean that thats how the case is suppose to be

 

Yes it is a gap I dont think your eyes are lieing to you.

 

ha thats funny

 

That's not funny....it's slightly worrying The fact that Aw didn't spot that is interesting. i just hope these new chassis we're all waiting on aren't like that!!!

 

Well noticed...now when you look at it it jumps out of the picture at you!

 

to me its funny just for the simple fact that they take so much time and effort when they take those pictures. It took us this long to finally find it, but on the other hand your right in the same fact that i'm worried that the case will crack like others here in the forum.

 

I actually looked at other people's photos mostly and didn't really look carefully at the photos on the site. i noticed this last week but i kinda pushed it off since i was so busy... just told myself it was my eyes trying to find more fault than anything and i assumed their system is flawless. After i read that Chaz's system started to show the gap also, i decided to look back on the AW site and it just jumped out to me that their system had the same problem.

Somewhat of a photographer myself, it's just ludicrous that their photographer didn't notice that gap there.

I'm motioning for an all new 201-point Quality Control Process

 

@ Chaz. Chaz, I think you are, without a doubt, one of those figures that we respect and trust! You seem very "professional", dedicated, helpful and mature enough to handle all this forum (and boy, sometimes you need maturity... ). The problem, the way I see it, is... reading around (After the Bios update), there are LOTS (not one individual machine) of people that have the downclock! If you push your machine to the limits (high environmental temperature, one fan fails one cycle, etc... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=233146&page=2), you are bound to, eventually, hit the point at which the GPU downclocks.
Anyway... I really want this laptop. I bought a M1530 and returned it when I found out about the M15x... But it just sounds like a really bad GPU/cooling system solution.
So... people like me, that didn't follow this story, will run to buy the laptop without having a clue about what's expecting them!

 

@milcs - I agree with you. It still seems that people are having problems with the downclocking. While some people may try to pass it off as "oh it only happens with crysis" or "it only happens after playing for 3 hours", that is still a HUGE deal for me. Why fork out $3000 for a system that isn't going to perform 100%. Well w/e.

@Whoever had the VIP Service - I sent my system back numerous times, and I really don't see anything different with VIP service. I think it is just a gimmick used to try to make you feel better. I sent my M5550 back and got "VIP service", I got it back and not only was it downclocking, but it had bluescreens.

 

Ok, now am concerned, yesterday i was playing for 3 hours with COD4, heat was reaching 86 then drop to 70s, but after 2 hours i noticed fan is always in full speed, so switched back to riva and noticed that it was waving from 85 to 87. and thats stayed for 30 min before i close the game, the heat didn't drop to 70s as it used too.

I will be playing today for 4 hours or more, and see will the TEMP buildup.

BTW, am still using zalman cooler, which most agreed it didn't reduce the heat, but i liked the way it raise the laptop from the back, which is more easy to play with.

 

Update on my situation:

I was contacted yesterday by a critical issues person, and the gist was that I would have to send the unit back in so they could "determine what was wrong with it". At the time of the call, I didn't have time to debate what my testing actually flushed out, that the notebook is fine as long as conditions are ideal, and they need to continue to focus on their cooling solution. I think they know that honestly, and have just bought time for themselves to really truly solve it.

so rather than get into the multi-round-trip return notebook with no resolution fiasco that I see happen here repeatedly, i've pulled the trigger on cancelling under the 30 day policy.

the call for that was not pleasant, with the cancellation agent unwilling to budge on the 15% restock fee, just parroting the same story, basically countering every point with just a simple opposing argument. i feel bad for the guy actually, he's probably not making all too much, and his performance on these calls is tied to his livelihood.

all the same, i have been more than willing to help with this issue, and i have put many of my personal hours into testing and logging results, corresponding with critical issues personnel at alienware, basically working for free to resolve what was clearly a design issue. sorry, basically paying alienware to work for them, is more accurate. I pointed out that the problem hasn't been resolved in the 30-day period either, did i pay for a functional unit or a shiny pretty brick that I have to keep parting with so they can apply non-specific "fix"?

but, to no avail, "keep it or get 85% back" were my two choices. so its getting sent back under the standard restocking terms because I don't want it in my hands a day longer

and its also gone to billing dispute with my credit card company, i'll have the full credit back to my account within 2 days from them, regardless of alienware's tactics, and we'll see how it goes from there.

 

Yeah NNugles it is a gap and I told them about it yet they have done nothing. The gap is not annoying though.