Buying M17 tonight and need help plz

Hi,
Unfortunatley my M9750 died today and I'M getting deployed in about a month so I don't have time to try and fix it.

So......I am ording a new M17 from the military exchange sight tonight and have a couple of questions.

Here is what I'm getting:

M17 Skullcap
HD 3870's in crossfire
X9100 @ 3.06
4 Gigs ram (I'll add)
Raid 0 (I'll be installing my two SSD's from my M9750)
Illuminated keyboard
a/b/g/n w/mimo
TV Tuner
Vista 64 bit

1. Has 64 bit worked out well for anyone?
2. Does anyone have the t.v. tuner and which one?
3. I can't wait for the 4870's so should I just get a single 3870 till the better cards come out?
4. I also want to dual boot with XP Pro, has this been a problem?

Thanks for any input,

Rob41

 

1. I use Vista 64 Bit, its flawless no problems so far.
2. Dunno, sry!
3. If you're certain of replacing it with the 4870's then yea buy one 3870.
4. I know there's a thread about XP, lemme find it...

Here it is: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=353113

 

Thanks,
Now all I have to do is try to fix my M9750.

Rob41

 

What happened to it?

 

Everything looks good. Get it. Remember the Ram is not the same as the 9750.

What happened to your 9750? Mine is still humming along without a problem.

NM I just read your other thread. Sounds like mobo problem.

 

Check out my thread "M9750 just died andmaybe you might have an idea. It just stopped, when I press the power button the blue lights light up but nothing ever appearson the screen. The processor gets hot so I think the m.b. is o.k.

I think the primary GPU (7950GTX) went. If it didn't crap out I'd be happy to keep it longer.

Rob41

 

If its just the GPU, shouldn't the comp boot fine though?

 

i think that you should get crossfire regardless if you are swtiching or not. we dont know the ral status of the new cards, so just play it safe and get crossfire. the performance gain is big.

 

I just placed the order from the military exchange and did get the dual ati cards. The only money saved was the shipping and tax which I'm happy with.

Rob41

 

Glad to see you got crossfire.

 

Keep us informed about your purchase with the exchange. You're like the first person I heard of going with AAFES so it would be nice to see if that is a pain free process.

 

I will,
Hopefully I'll get an A.W. order number tomorrow. So far all I have is the AAFESorder number.

I ended up ordering the M17 with:
X9100 @ 3.06Ghz
4 gigs of ram
HD 3870's Crossfire
Vista 64 (willdo a dual boot w/ XP Pro
TV tuner
a/b/g/n with mimo
dual 160's in Raid 0 (will replace with my two OCZ slc SSD's)
Illuminated keyboard
Respawn
3 year warranty
Power optimized for performance

While I was building it at the AAFES "version" of the A.W. site the expected delivery date was March 23rd so we'll see. I did save almost $200.00 by not having to pay tax or shipping. The total was a whopping $3207.79.

I will post the progress of going through the exchange system. It would be cool if A.W. gives a little priority to the service men and women and it actually arrives on time. I guess I'm like an expecting father; as long as it arrives healthy, that's all that matters.

Rob41

 

I can only speak for the eu "way" they are, but normaly you get one after 2 weeks (but sometimes they have to wait for some parts ...)

Good luck!

Greetings
Julian

 

I'd be real happy if I get it in two weeks. I got the tv tuner but didn't get the one with remote cause it said if you're in a hurry get something else.

Just wish they had spec's on the parts they use so I could compare tv tuners or ssd's.

Rob41

 

why don't you consider an OCZ whitebook? maybe it's cheaper. Though with a low config with 1gb ram or so and 1x160gb disk maybe AW is cheaper. But I see you want a Q9100. you known if you overclock you lose your warranty... overclock is locked by AW bios.

1. Has 64 bit worked out well for anyone?
for me it's fine.
2. Does anyone have the t.v. tuner and which one?
I have an usb one. I think you want a pci one...
3. I can't wait for the 4870's so should I just get a single 3870 till the better cards come out?
I've bought it with a single 3870. it's a waste of money buying 2.
4. I also want to dual boot with XP Pro, has this been a problem?
I've xp pro. some minor issues with some drivers but it works well for my needs.

 

whitebook isn't being sold anymore, and AW is going to release an overclocking tool soon.

 

Oh, boy, I'm glad I saw this - was just about to order my M17 tomorrow, and completely forgot I could get it through the exchange! Went through the exchange site, and it's about $300 difference...

Anyway, yeah - yell if you have any issues with the exchange, and I'll do the same. My first time trying this, so I'm hopeful, but worried... (Looks like the exchange site will ship directly to me, though, so I won't have to go get it from them...)

 

Yeah, I saved almost $300.00 too. I did notice that I didn't get the cool build sheet at the end and also didn't get an A.W. order number to check the progress. I'll make some calls tomorrow to try to get that.

To whizzo: That sounds great, I hope it comes out soon. I was also looking for Intels XTU (extreme overclocking utility) but was unable to find it. Same for their XMU. I paid the extra $300.00 for the extended warranty which I don't want to void........yet!

Rob41

 

I just received an e-mail from AAFES alerting me that : Status: Order received by supplier. Shipping in process

Obviously shipping is not in progress but the order was given to A.W
Just tried to use the AAFES supplied order number at the A.W. site and it doesn't work. I'll call A.W. tomorrow and try to get their order number.


Rob41

 

But nothing from AW yet huh? Maybe you will on Monday.

 

Yeah, I expect I will hear from them via e-mail, otherwise by the afternoon I'll contact them.

Then again it's almost like torture waiting for the phase changes.lol

Rob41

 

Well since you have a M9750, you should be use to AW's phase game.

You should let AW surprise you and have the FedEx guy startle you as he shoves a big black box in your chest.

You: "I wonder what this could be?"

 

Why Raid 0?

Couldn't you just set up your own SSDs in Raid 0 previously and save the few bucks going without the 2nd 160 GB?


OT: Avatar is 0.50 mounted with night sights?

Also OT: you'll need to resize your signature.

 

i think he said that he was going to switch them.

 

Exactly. If so, why bother getting dual HDDs in the first place? I figured he could save, albeit not very much, by going with a single HDD. Unless he intends to RAID 0 the 160GBs in his M9750?

 

He would've also saved if he bought the bulk of his RAM from newegg but I think it's more of a pain changing your order with AAFES then if he went directly from AW.

It's probably too late now. So maybe he can ebay the drives when he gets them

Personally I wouldn't touch the M17 to try and fix the M9750. Who knows, the M9750 could be a little moody and likes nothing better then to fry GPUs.

 

64 bit works amazingly for me! if thats even a word.

 

Yeah,
like I could even muster up 1% of the patience needed to wait!

I will be switching the HDD's for my SSD's.
Was also thinking about switching the hi-res screen off the M9750 for the lower res I got on the m17 but.........well my grandsons can read text on the hi-res better than me so I think I'll keep the screen as is on the M17. Yes, us old coots like new fangled gadgets too!

Rob41

 

You don't look old enough to have grandsons.

Nah, just wondering why order twin HDDS if you're going to be switching them out? Why not just order a single HDD, unless you mean to RAID the HDDS in your M9750 later?

That's the part that threw me off, not very relevant anyway, since you already ordered, just curious.

 

The ram too, since I thought you were gonna get Ram offa newegg.

 

Ooohh, yea. Was too fixated on the HDD bit.

 

I expect to get the M9750 working at some point so I'll use the old fashioned HDD's in there.

The closest store to get memory is a few hours away and I wanted to use my military star card for the purchase cause I have 6 months interest free.

If the problem with the M9750 is the primary video card I'll see about installing the 3870's in there when new options are available for the M17. If that will even work.

Rob41

 

The 3870s have been tested and known to work in the M9750. Contact ichime for more details.

 

Thanks,
At least I'll be able to find out if it's the video card in my M9750 before I throw down more cash.

If they work then it may be possible to go even higher, say 4870+++

Just imagine the lifespan increase without having to buy a whole new rig.

-I just read ichime's awesome post about this. When the 4870's comeout (A.W. rep just told me a few weeks yet) I'll get them for my M17 and stick the 3870's in my M9750. Woo-hoo!

Although I'm a bit of an Nvidia fan boy so a couple of 280M's would be sweet in the M17.

 

i dont think the m17 can fit dual nvidia differnt slots. can fit one though

 

it'll fit one, but now two. the m17 only has one hybrid MXM slot.

 

Depending on the performance of an upcoming single card I might consider it. I'd still have the two 3870's for my M9750.

Rob41