New m15x OWNERS Please READ

Ok there seems to be alot of confusion and miss information regarding the M15x and Downclocking. (Amongst other things)

First of all the DOWCLOCKING of the GPU with using anything other then STOCK AW 167.55 Nvidia Drivers for the 8800gtx, has hopefully been solved by using the latest 175.61 drivers from. (Big thanks to SOGARTH for giving us the heads up)
http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18537

The original system that were shipped back in Feb of 2008 had contained the original BIOS. This BIOS was identified as the problem for the downclocking, due to overheating Issues of the 8800m GTX. (Again this is seperate from the driver downclocking associated with any other Nvidia Drivers) When issue were discovered by user of this forum AW released Beta BIOS update (29b). Again this BIOS didn't repair the downclcoking and a newer BIOS was Relaese(x30 RC1). With partial success.

In a nut shell it increase the Fan speed of the GPU and CPU allowing greater cooling. Eventually BIOS X32 RC1 was released not too long ago, and many USERS have reported their overheating and Downcloking Issues ressolved.(I can't verify this as my system is still being repaired)

All newer Systems coming off the Assembly line should have the newer BIOS installed. If not please follow the links to your "MY HIVE".
http://support.alienware.com/Support_Pages/Support_Area.aspx

If you haev not registered you will have to use the White card that CAME with your M15x to register.

Again if you are unsure how to follow the step take the time to call AW tech support (US 1 866 287 6727) and let them talk you through the process.

Download the Bios UPDATE "System BIOS X32 RC1" and the manul as well. You can use Nero to burn the ISO on your M15x, or you can use a very simple program called burn at once.
One point I would like to make. Is that many poeple have reported that Nero preinstalled on your system doesn't work well. The quick fix is to uninstall and reinstall using the Nero disk that came with your system. Voila Nero should now work just fine for you.

http://www.burnatonce.net/downloads/

Burn the ISO and Follow the isntructions provided in the manual.

Again guys I hope this helps alot of new comers to the forum and sets your mind at ease on what the actual downclcoking was. What caused it and what corrects it.

If I have missed something or if you feel something should be added, please let me know and I will update accordingly. Enjoy those system guys and get fraggin.

 

thanks so much for the info newfiejudd.
when i spoke to TS they said not to download the new bios as it was still in the beta stage.
ive just finished playing half life 2 and didnt notice any downclocking. actually saying that, i wouldnt know if it downclocked or not.

 

nice infos newfiejudd. have a rep.

 

it recommended to burn the bios as 8x but the lowest my burner will go is 10x is that ok?

 

Packer I haev burnt my 29 bios at 10x and it worked fine.

 

Hello, I'm new to the forum. How do I know if I need this update? What is the problem caused by the original graphics driver?

 

Thanks for this info. Yes there is quite a bit of confusion going around about the m15x and whether it has been fixed or not. Hopefully this will clear things up.

 

Packer, your laptop is perfect and never downclocked, so you don't need the new bios.

 

Xlack. The Alienware Drivers have known issue and are not giving owners of the M15x, a true representation of what the card can do.

There was a thermal profile problem in the orignal SYSTEM BIOS that caused the System to overheat, and downclocked the GPU to ensure the system would not cook itself. This will happen with just about all Processors and graphics cards if they reach they're thermal Max.

 

ya i know but it does get pretty hot so im hoping it might help with that a bit.

 

Okay seems like I'll have to update as well.. Do I have to consult with AW before patching my BIOS just as the instructions say? I don't wanna void my warranty...

 

Never a bad idea. Although AW reps here have stated that it won't void your warranty.

 

Hi guys, I have the X30 version of the BIOS installed and dont have any downclocking issues even after 3-4 hour Crysis/Oblivion gaming sessions. I have decided not to upgrade to the latest BIOS yet since it is a beta and Im not having any issues. I will upgrade when the final version is out since it seems to lower average and load temps by a few degrees which is healthier for the laptop in general.

I just wanted to ask if it is ok to upgrade to the new graphics drivers newfiejudd mentioned with the x30 BIOS ? Or do I need to upgrade the BIOS for the Drivers to work?

 

is it safe to install the new drivers now?

 

yes its fine as stated in orriginal post.

 

all i have to do is install the driver and then replace the inf file with the modded inf file?

or do i just install the driver.

sorry be being a noob >>....this is my first laptop...

 

you have to do both aparantly exiled. also uninstall the old driver.

 

/bump +rep im sure alot of guys here will find these informations helpfull.

 

Hi there, just two quick questions...what kind of performance increase is there from the new grafics card drivers mentioned in the original post, i.e does it speed up games and get more out of the graphics card? Also, by downloading this would this be going against alienware's gaurentees + what is the likelihood of alienware coming out with updated drivers from their site in the near future? ....Thanks.

 

bios version has nothing to do with driver updates so it is alright to go ahead and update the driver

 

just install the newest driver.l

ROP Domain: 216
Shader Domain: 432
Memory Clock: 601

the driver still downclocks :/

EDIT this is the graph that i got

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/darkdragon298/driver175graph.jpg

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/darkdragon298/driver175v2.jpg

yea...so for me it goes up and down

 

Mine doesnt downclock but its gaming performance is lower compared to the earlier driver.

 

From the looks of this, the new driver isn't worth changing to.

 

If I understand the situation correctly, there are two issues to it?

1) The original factory installed BIOS x30 has a downclocking problem

2) The stock graphics driver 167.55 works just fine while all other graphics drivers will not work correctly because AW will run in stealth mode.

1a) The newly released BIOS x32 fixed the downclocking problem

2a) The latest release 175.63 will work just fine, no downclocking issues.

Am I right? I'm kinda confused still... and do I need x32 before installing the newer 175.63?

Thank you. (and AW unresponsive keyboard is really getting on my nerves)

 

it seems to be working for me now. i had to reinstall the driver using the original inf files.

 

The downclocking from the BIOS and drivers are two different issues...

BIOS issues - The BIOS regulates the thermal profiles. With the X30, when temps reached a certain threshold then the GPU would just downclock in the middle of a game to cool itself down. This is fixed with the X32 BIOS. Fans work properly and the GPU doesn't downclock anymore. However some people with the X30 BIOS do not have the downclocking problems at all.

Drivers issues - Until the newest drivers 175.63 was released, All prior drivers would make the GPU stay at a downclocked level regardless of heat levels. Only the original Alienware graphic drivers enabled the 8800 to run at its full clocked performance.

 

thank you! now that clear things up

 

no, problem Just glad to help you out. A lot of people still don't understand what's going on.

 

I just installed the new driver, and I can confirm the performance does seem a bit weaker, but not a huge hit to my 3DMark scores (9500-ish down to 9300-ish?). It does however, have the nice effect that when not in use, the GPU will downclock (Similar to what it will do in stealth mode). I have yet to see how effective this is at controlling the temperature when at idle, but it seems like it'll sit pretty in the low fifties for me.

The clocks idle at Core/Shader/Memory = 300/100/150.43 and after about 5 minutes of idling after 3DMark06, it's down to a pretty 51C.

I like these drivers!

 

So I browsed the forums a bit looking for information on the infamous problems with the M15X. I'm seeing that most of the issues have been resolved, those of course being, the crack above the LAN port and the overheating with the 8800GTX card. However I couldn't find any extremely recent posts regarding the M15x's current status. I would like to know if the recently shipped M15x's have all the problems fixed; And if so are you satisfied with the price to performance ratio?

EDIT: Didn't read enough XD I see that the overheating issue is pretty much fixed with a bios update. But I'm still curious to know about the cost to performance ratio and the case issues if anyone can provide me with information.

 

you reeeeeeaaaaaaalllly have to look around more. There was a thread made to clear all this up.

overheating and downlocking has been fixed. Build quality has aparantly been improved, touch controls have been fixed and delivery time has returned to normal.

everyone here most likely has an m15x (might aswell rename this forum the m15x forum)

Of course its slightly over priced, but it a one of a kind laptop.
highest spec parts on the market in a 15.4inch factor, has cool lights and has some of the best power saving option available on any laptop. Its still made of plastic, but thats also keeps the weight down to a maneagable 7 1/2 pounds

 

Please verify for me. Mine was delivered in March. I have a 8700. Do I need the new BIOS? ,,,, Or is x32 only needed on 8800 cards?.

 

x32 only affects the 8800 cards so if you have the 8700 there is no point install x32

 

ThanX, until your reply nothing I read cleared that up.

 

I also hear that the X32 also helps fixes some problems with keyboard responsiveness and touch button issues. Just wait for the final version of the BIOS to be released.

 

Mine was delivered on Monday and it has AN X32 BIOS. Not sure if it is the one on MyHive, but it is an X32-era BIOS.

 

no it didn't, my keyboard remains VERY unresponsive. The new BIOS didn't fix it.. and it's extremely frustrating. I hope AW comes out with a real fix soon. The good side is that's the only bad thing about my m15x. A major bad thing too.

 

that's not a bad thing for me as i don't type very fast at all... i just had other major issues.

 

the graph you get doesn't necessary show downclocking. As said before, new drivers automaticaly downclock the card while it's power is not needed. This is the graph I got while opening and closing some programs.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/6228/60603361gx7.jpg

Try running games, I get a nice straight line while doing so

EDIT: and guys I have a question too. When I instaled the new drivers I didn't uninstal the old ones. Is that bad?

 

thats pretty interesting to know. ill try it out again once alienware sends me a new 8800. i can only run on the 3100 at the moment.

 

Just be careful if you order guys and know what you're getting into. Build quality has not been addressed as of the m15x I received 2 weeks ago. Still too much plastic and still wobbly and malleable. The ethernet port stress cracks might have been addressed though but I only had mine 2 weeks. However, there were no cracks before I sent it back. People are still experiencing CPU dc'ing if you monitor some of the other threads and keyboard lag is still very much present and affecting a good many users though AW has stated they are working on the issue and aware of it.

 

Still there's problems? Wasn't this laptop out for a while, now? I'm waiting on a black version of the m15x and the price to go a bit down, so hopefully the issues will be resolved by then.

 

so far the cpu downclocking is only happening with extreme cards so far. we havent seen a person downclock with the regular ones yet.

 

No one has posted any test results on the regular cpus

 

Exactly, at the moment it looks to be only the x9000 users and also appears to be thermal related but as taco said, I'm saying that only because the x9000 users have been complaining and I haven't seen a non-x9000 user stress test the cpu yet.

Updated: Confirmed to be happening on T9300 also.

 

I still can't believe I figured out my CPU was downclocking because I was playing WoW. LMAO. You would figure the M15x should smoke that game. I did a full write up on this when I furst got my M15x, funny how we all got so immersed in the GPU that we forgot about the other half of the equation. THE CPU. I guess we aren't as tech savvy as we all hoped for.

Well guys let's hope we can get a fix and get it fast. I've had my system since Feb and it's only been in my house for 3 weeks. Extremely extremly dissapointed with it so far. But still trying to be an optimist

 

That means it's probably on all the CPUs?

 

I have only seen one case (newfiejudd) of CPU downclocking so far. The unit I tested had no problems with the CPU, the machine was able to cool it no problem.

 

Crizzler has reported downclocking with the 9300 too

 

So has Lessaj7, and Taco.