Just bought an m15x, any advice?

Hey folks I just purchased my 2nd Alienware an M15x! I currently have an Aurora that I bought about 2 years ago, but I am studying abroad next semester and the shipping for the black monster would be like 1,200 bucks. So I just bought an M15x about 5 months before I leave in order to solve any issues that I have with it before I am out of the country. Any advice right away for this computer?

 

Be sure to test the dashboard for faults as it is becoming an all too common issue it seems. If you charge or run on your battery and notice a flickering volume control, welcome to the club.

I appear to be the only one here that has had problems with my touchpad, but since AW appears to use a mouse the entire time they are testing/benchmarking, you may want to put your touchpad through it's paces.

If you plan to be mobile, the smart bay battery is a must. You can purchase one of these with an empty smart bay hard drive enclosure for less than $100 shipped. Battery alone is less than $80 i believe.

oh yeah, I dig the Oregon Trail Avi. Good call.

 

Smart Bay battery is definitely necessary. Also just make sure your exrta careful opening and closing the m15x because of the known chassis issues and hinge problems.

 

update your drivers and get smart bay and buy the ram off newegg while ur in the states

 

haha definitely buy the ram off new egg. i wasted $400 by buying from alienware

 

Thanks guys! I ordered the Smart Bay Battery already for an extra $95.00 (Alien University 5% discount) when I ordered the machine. I also had a $40.00 gift cert. from my GF for Newegg.com (Isn't she the best?). I bought OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC6400 Memory. I wanted to go 8gb since I went with 64bit vista, but for 329.00 (being the cheapest) I opted out of that one. My guess is that they aren't shipping these with the "light pipe" anymore. WHY? Also is there any way to get a blu-ray smart bay drive cheaper than the 300-350 that they charge? thanks for everything! I'll post pics and a review when I get it! It's in phase 6 (integration) right now.
-Alex

 

how'd you arrive at that conclusion?

 

I keep seeing reviews from people who recently received their computers and there is no light pipe. Plus it used to say that the AlienFX controlled 7 different lighting zones, now it says 6. Just wondering if they totally axed it or not?

 

link please? oh and it's always been 6 zones.

 

Why don't you just go to the AW site and customize your own m15x, it'll just still have the alienFX option.

 

Alright well I called AW and talked to Alex (oddly enough the same guy I ordered it from 3 days ago! Plus we have the same name!) Alex says that it WILL have the lightpipe !
However,
Check out the youtube videos online alot of them have no light pipe.

Also see this as a possible culprit:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4243

Also go to AW site and see where they talk about AlienFX. Then click learn more. It says 7 there, and 6 on the previous page. Here is a list of the lighting zones that I am aware of:
1 - Keyboard
2 - Touchpad
3 - QuickTouch Controls
4 - Alien Power Button
5 - Alienware Lettering on Screen
6 - Alienware Head on Lid

Number 7 would be Lightpipe

-Alex
Check out Attached images for details

 

Also worth Mentioning:

OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM ALIENWARE:

Please note that Alienware has posted a downloadable fix for the light pipe surrounding the LCD on the Alienware.com's support site: http://aliendl.alienware.com/Mobile/m15x/m15x_LightPipePatchInstaller.exe.



To clarify: the light pipe was only activated on the pre-configured model that was available on the site, but it was not activated on the configurable models. Because we're working with extremely cutting-edge components from a number of vendors, we were unable to test the light pipe on every conceivable hardware configuration before the notebook was released. As a result, we temporarily deactivated the light pipe until we could validate the light on all configurations. We were planning to reactivate the light pipe on all existing notebooks via the patch at the upcoming launch of the $1,499 version of the notebook. We were also planning to ship all Area-51 m15x products with the light pipe activated from then on.



On these early units, as you know, we have a portion of our customer base that is very interested in being the first to have the latest and greatest from us. Getting the Area-51 m15x in their hands as quickly as possible was a top priority. Obviously, we underestimated how important this one feature would be to our customers, and we apologize for that as well as any inconvenience or confusion it may have caused.



Alienware is pleased to announce that, moving forward, all Alienware Area-51 m15x computers that ship from Alienware will have the light pipe around the LCD activated. Additionally, a downloadable fix to activate the feature for those who have already purchased the configurable version has been made available on the Alienware support site. Notifications for the fix have also been placed on the product site for the Area-51 m15x, the configuration page and the main page for notebooks on the site.



One thing your readers may note is that the picture of the Area-51 m15x on the Web site doesn't have the light pipe enabled. This will be fixed as soon as possible, but may take a little time to implement, although your readers can be assured if they buy a system right now it will have the light pipe activated.



Again, we apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this has caused our customers, and we are working diligently to remedy the situation.

 

mine works....

 

dude, you're bringing up oooooold stuff. forget all of that. the six/seven zones thingy is because the front and back AW heads always show the same color.

your m15x will have the light pipe, as do all others.

 

You do realize that you can turn off the light pipe too. Just because you don't see it in youtube means that Alienware took off the light pipe.

 

Well I appreciate all the great contributions guys! The light pipe thing was a great thing to clear up! I was wondering if I can obtain a Smart Bay Blu-Ray Burner from Alienware later if I want to? If yes, how much do you think it is?

 

yes you can...dunno $$

 

hey guys does anyone know how left 4 dead runs on a alienware m15x, please reply because thinking about getting one, thanks.

 

depending on the specs you order it with, either very good or perfectly

 

If you get the 9800 and 2.5GHz CPU, then you can expect to play it at MAX settings.

 

I've been getting a few PM's about what specs I got Here is the list Alienware E-mailed me---

1] Area-51® m15x
[1] Employee Purchase Program ; 5 % Instant Rebate
Design & Display: Silver Skullcap Design
Display: 15.4" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p)
AlienFX®: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Blue
Video/Graphics Card: 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 1024MB
System Drive: 320GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Keyboard Options: AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design
Mobile Essentials: Additional Battery – 6-cell Smart Bay Battery
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Onsite Service and 24/7 Toll-Free Phone Support
AlienRespawn: AlienRespawn v2.0 Recovery DVD – Windows Vista® Edition
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Personalized Nameplate
Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Protective Cloth Sleeve
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Keyboard Diagram Overlay
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Smooth Mylar Touchpad
Avatar: Alien Schematic
Window Style: Graphite Window Style
Mouse Pointers: Standard Mouse Pointers
Wallpaper: Alienhead 3D
Wallpaper: Alien Schematic
Wallpaper: Area-51 m9750
Power Plan: Standard Power Plan
Automatic Updates: Automatic Updates On
Sidebar Gadgets: CPU Meter
Sidebar Gadgets: Weather Forecast (default location)
Time Zones: (CST - 4.00) Central Time (US & Canada)



I already Ordered 4 GB OCZ RAM PC 6400 Newegg
Self Upgrading Blu-Ray (Possibly)

 

I just got the same setup, hard-drive, and the ocz ram as well

 

Do you have the computer already? or did u just order it?