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    I need some help software recommendations for an m15x/similar notebook

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by Riebart, Apr 29, 2008.

  1. Riebart

    Riebart Notebook Enthusiast

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    So, I've been drooling over an m15x for about two months now, and I finally hit the order button...This is gonna be a tough three weeks of waiting. Hah

    I have been browsing these forums and others reading various reactions to it, and problems people have had and solutions, likes, dislikes...basically everything about the computer I could get my hands on. So now that it's been ordered, I've got a question:

    What does everyone here consider essential software on their m15x/notebook like it?

    I've currently got a Compaq R4000 (Served me well, but lacks the punch I miss oh so badly) and I consider things like DUMetre, RMClock, and BatteryMon (third party battery monitoring tool) essential. I love RMClock for controlling the CPU power profiles (I force it into a minimal P-State when on abtter, probably similar to what stealth mode does).

    For the m15x though, I'm not so sure. Perhaps ClockGen (Has anyone tried overclocking with Clockgen on the m15x)? What does everyone use to monitor the clocks of the processor and GPU, CPU voltages, temperatures and load percentagers? I ask about the clocks so I can keep an eye on any down-clocking that may be going on.

    Also, I only bought the 1Gb of RAM from alienware (since the upgrades are priced ridiculously high) and intend to buy 4Gb of RAM elsewhere. Thing is, I'm in Canada and most of the RAM available to me online for the sub $100 range has CAS latency 5. Any suggestions? I've been considering buying some Kingston Value Ram off of eBay but thought I'd get some opinions from here first.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
     
  2. GRB

    GRB Notebook Deity

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    The m15x comes pre-equipped with a thermal monitoring program called ThermoFan which gives you temperatures and fan RPMs. As for the other elements (CPU clocks, voltages, GPU clocks, etc), you could look up various programs like CPU-Z, everest, GPU-Z and RivaTuner. Some of those programs show more than others, but all have their advantages.

    Also, have you checked tigerdirect.ca? Ever since CompuSmart went under as a retailer they are the first place I check for cutting-edge tech here in Canada.