*OFFICIAL* "All Powerful" M15x Owner's Lounge, *Part 2*

Hi Jtrain

sorry for the late reply i´m not always online
the ssd is the one from DELL, samsung PJ, and i can´t tell you why my score is like this
on the other hand, i wouldnt rely on this, you got a 7.1 on a 720CPU and i got 7.2 on a 820, so there should be a higher difference or am i wrong

 

Anyone know how long it takes dell to send the refund money back to discover card If i decided to cancel it? My current order is in production atm.

 

Ordered last night my estimate built date is Dec 14..wonder how real that is..hopefully they can crank it out fast...

 

is anyone noticing any improved performance with the SSD's vs. the regular HDD's ? and if so what whats been the best or biggest improvement ?

 

Iam tracking my order now and apparently it is coming from eindhoven(Netherlands). Now in transit to brussels.

 

Same here oneabove My new EDD is dec 1st

 

I ordered on Nov 17 and my EDD is Dec 11.

 

Hmmm I guess its taking a while for them to crank these out...I guess u have to wait for good stuff. I paid 39 bucks for 2 day shipping , estimate built is Dec 14 Delivery is 16th..hopefully I'll get it sooner than that...

PS: Nothing in Bing cashback acct yet, but I didn't expect it to show this early, just check and let you guys know.

 

yea mine was to be delivered on 2nd as of yesterday but now it is 1st... ;-)

 

For the most part they've been beating the initial EDD by around 5 days unless you get the dreaded delay email/phone call. I just hope mine ships early next week :/

 

They should be shipping most of the orders next week

 

improvement ? its unbelievable, the speed is awesome in any cases, opening app´s, boot, everything, its definitely worth the money

@J-train
i think my score on the ssd is high, because i disabled indexing, writing cache, defragmentation, page file, system restore, hibernate and i tuned superfetch

 

Ok so the bing cashback + dell DPA keeps getting rejected. I called Dell and got a hold of this cocky US rep. that claimed it wasn't going through because the configuration was "illegal" and below Dell's base price. He then went on to tell me that Dell wouldn't honor any kind of discounts, be it Bing or otherwise and tried to push a configuration on me that he was setting up. I replied saying I'd wait for a better deal and he said, "I can assure you sir, we never give discounts on AW systems, its a premium brand". So I queried, "why then did I get a 10% + 187 discount on my M15x and so did a bunch of other people that I know?". Of course he had some b.s. excuse and again pushed me to buy from him.

I told him no thanks again and said I'd wait and then he'd keep insisting that there's no way I'd find a better deal anytime soon. So I said that's fine I'll keep waiting. LOL. He STILL wouldn't give up, he then said, "sir you won't find a better deal..unless you would like an inspiron model like the sxps 16, i can set that up". So I said, "no thanks i've had that machine before, it runs too hot" and asked him if he's ever used one. So he replied, "yes each day and everyday" to which I replied, "then I'm sure you know it gets hot at the base because of the south bridge".

At that point you'd think the rep would get tired of bickering with me but he kept going. He replied, "Well all laptops get hot that have gaming cards in them" so I said, "my m15x certainly doesn't". I think that finally irked him so he said, "well sir if you'd like, I can put microsoft on a conference call with us and they will tell you that we don't have to honor any Bing cash back discounts and in fact we'll likely be canceling all the orders that have gone through so far. Don't follow any of those discount sites like fatwallet.com etc, I've worked here 3 years and I eventually end up speaking with people from that site whose orders have been canceled because of fraudulent coupons etc".

So AGAIN I said, "I understand, well thanks for your help, I'll just keep waiting" and what does he do? "Ok sir I'm going to call MS so we can have a conference call" LMAO..I just hung up at that point. Be warned guys, you may not get the cash back so if you're ordering a new M15x or whatever now, don't depend on the CB to be able to afford it. Dell is actively canceling these orders (4 of mine have been rejected) so there's a good chance that they won't honor your cash back even if it gets shipped.

 

so are you using the default windows one now?

 

Yep, they work great.

 

IMO they definitely work much better than synaptics, but still not as great as they could. The pointer still "jitters" when you move it fast across the screen.

As I've already said several times, it works smooth in ubuntu, so it is not as good as it gets (sry, I'm a perfectionist on some points).

You can try comparing it to an external mouse to see the difference and to see what I mean. It's as if the touchpad needs to update its touchsensors more often.

 

Thanks for the heads up Joker. Some things are just too good to be true.

 

It's not as smooth as a mouse and never will be since a good mouse samples at a much higher rate. It's as good as most touchpads on other notebooks with the MS driver, at least it is for me.

 

are you getting an extra discount with your DPA? So would the order go through at full price or would it get canceled. How are you checking this?

 

I've only used DPA so far. If you want to try it with just the 20% using a credit card, give it a shot and let us know if it gets through. I posted an update in the APA group making people aware that it may end up being canceled or not honored based on my own experience and conversation I had with the Dell rep.

 

I'm not sure how to check to see if it is not going through with bing. But on the account page it doesn't show anything on there yet. The funny thing is that I placed an order for 1 m15x this morning and 2 went through. Its still in order processing stage, I called in to dell to tell them about the mistake and I need one canceled and the girl there was like how about I give you $100 off would you kept it.

 

Haha you should've kept the order with the $100 and then called again to cancel the other one.

 

$100 isn't worth it. If it doesn't work I don't want it because you can use epp and other ways to get it cheaper. I can prolly call in and get them to reopen my old order and just say they canceled it by mistake or something.

 

How are you checking to see that it was canceled? From the dell order status page? My order still show order processing all day and yours got canceled 4 times already? I see your getting and extra 3% from the DPA. I paid with my dell DPA also but I didn't get 3% off or anything did you have to use a coupon code for it?

 

Once 2 of them went into order processing, I checked the DPA account and the charges weren't reflected yet (which is still normal). I then called DFA to check if the 3% applied and that's when I was informed that they were canceled due to a "technical error". I tried submitting 2 more orders and again called to confirm and was told they were automatically canceled. Finally after being transferred around, I talked to that US rep that confirmed they were actively blocking them. Shrug..maybe he was b.s.'ing to get a sale because he was very pushy. So I'm not 100% sure if they are indeed being canceled or my DPA is just screwy. Either way, just be aware of the possibility.

 

Mine still say order processing and my DPA still shows I have all my credit line. Last month when I placed an order for the xps16, a day later my order was canceled for no reason. The order page just said to call dell when I called in the guy just said I didn't enter my mother maiden name and my SSN in that is asked each time you use DPA which I did because if i didn't how would I placed the order. He was like don't worry i'll take care of it and after about 10min on the phone with him the order was placed and his name was on the order. I think on large $$$ some of them are canceling it because we order using the web page and they are not making commission from it.

One thing I know for sure is if you placed an order wait a day and call in to cancel it. They most likely off you $100 to keep the order.

 

Any current coupons or other promotions going on that I might be able to use to get the M15x a little cheaper?

I know about the $200 off Alienware posted this morning on the M15x.

Thanks
Randy

 

Coupons wont stack, i tried using an 20$ coupon it took off the 200, I'm going to call them and tell them to cancel my order to try to get a cheaper price

 

Yeah call in and said you want to cancel and they will try to give you $100 to keep it.

 

So the Bing cashback isn't working with the Alienware? I was ready to put in an order. The $200 is great as it is, but the 20% makes it unbelievable.

 

Those pricks made me wait 20 mins just to tell me the department is closed and i would need to wait until monday

If my order isn't sent out by late monday im ordering to cancel

 

Lol Lockdown you just ordered it 4 days ago? Have some patience you're in for a littel bit of a wait still

 

just got my alienware.

i7 720qm
260m gtx
4gb ram
320gb hdd

 

Please provide a tutorial on how to do this to my SSD please.

 

Did they move your EDD out, or did you get a delay email?

If not, you probably need to do what the rest of us did and try hard to be somewhat patient.

There's no line jumping method I'm afraid, despite how many CSR's you eventually get to tell you they will 'expedite' the order. The machines are built to order and personally I was rather happy to just leave them to it rather than adding stress into the life of an already overworked hourly paid minion. Last thing I wanted was an M15X with a bunch of problems due to rushed workmanship.

If you have absolutely desperately must have an M15 as soon as humanly possible, you might want to take a look at ordering from Best Buy online, or from Microcenter.

 

Excellent, congratulations and welcome.

 

Hmmmmmm from what Joker said, the bing cashback won't work, that's discouraging. If anyone saw my config few pages ago it was about 1740 dollars with i7 1.6 ghz 4 gb ddr 3 320gb HD gtx 260 1600 x 900 LED and 6 cell battery. I just came across this, if the bing cashback is no go, probably better deal to just order this,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Amazon one has 9 cell battery and coincidentally, is exactly 100 more than the one I configured (9 cell option is 100 for dell) so it's not cheaper than dell but at least on par with my 3% DPA account + the 200 dollars off . upgrade discount. However, with Amazon, there is no waiting, free shipping no tax 1849 shipped to me, no waiting 3 weeks and get it right away.

Thoughts?

 

Don't get discouraged from using it just because they repeatedly canceled my orders. Some people on slickdeals.net are reporting that their CB notifications reached them and one of them had ordered an AW desktop.

 

Anyone know if dell works on weekends, I've been matching out my order config with the same config on dell site and i was charged $90 extra

 

Remember your entire order has to be paid with DPA to get the 3%. If you use a split purchase (IE DPA + Credit Card), the 3% is technically non-applicable.

To me, cashback is hit or miss and if it hits, great. If it misses, I don't lean on it (just like a mail in rebate) as written in stone.

And my M15x showed up missing the BT card, lol. A few quick emails and one was sent out overnight and very, very, VERY easy to install. In addition, for some who have some give/flex in the palm rest, doing the install lets you also really make sure your palm rest is as secure as possible and cuts down on any over excessive flex.

The fact I can use this thing on my lap when needed for surfing, WoW and such and it runs cool on the bottom and top with a 920xm in it no less is just astounding. This thing definitely does NOT need a laptop cooler and is beyond quiet even for WoW'ing.

 

@Jtrain
there you go it worked for me, finally its your decision !

Disable indexing
Description: Indexing creates and maintains a database of file attributes. This can lead to multiple small writes when creating/deleting/modifying files. Searching for files will still work.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Services and Applications -> Services - > Right-Click Windows Search -> Startup type: Disabled -> OK

Disable defragmentation
Description: Defragmenting a hard disk's used space is only useful on mechanical disks with multi-millisecond latencies. Free-space defragmentation may be useful to SSDs, but this feature is not available in the default Windows Defragmenter.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Services and Applications -> Services - > Right-Click Disk Defragmenter -> Startup type: Disabled -> OK

Disable Write Caching
There are conflicting reports on whether this gains speed or not.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager -> Disk drives -> Right-Click STEC PATA -> Properties -> Policies Tab -> Uncheck Enable write caching -> OK

Configure Superfetch
Open regedit.exe and browse down to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters

Find the EnablePrefetcher key on the right-hand pane, and change the value to one of these:

Disable Caching: 0
Cache Applications Only: 1
Cache Boot Files Only: 2
Cache Everything (default): 3

A restart is required before this takes any effect

Free up extra drive space
Disable the Page File
Description: Eliminate writing memory to the SSD, free over 2GB of disk space.
Warning - If you run out of memory the program you're using will crash.

Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Settings (Performance) -> Advanced Tab -> Change -> Uncheck Automatically manage -> No paging file -> Set -> OK -> Restart your computer
Alternatively, if you want to play it safer, you can set a custom size of 200MB min and max.

Disable System Restore
Description: Don't write backup copies of files when installing new programs or making system changes. Can free up between a few hundred MB to a couple GB.
Warning - Although unlikely, if a driver installation corrupts your system, there won't be an automatic way to recover.

Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> System Protection Tab -> Configure -> Turn off system protection -> Delete -> OK

Disable Hibernate
Description: You may free up 1GB of space on the SSD if you have 1GB of memory, 2GB of space if you have 2GB memory. You will lose the hibernation feature which allows the equivalent of quick boots and shutdowns.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Type cmd -> Right-Click the cmd Icon -> Run as Administrator -> Type powercfg -h off -> Type exit

 

Damn joker you go through notebooks to fast i guess your never satisfied. The market does update to quickly these days at certain times of the year especially now. I would just keep the machine with the 7200rpm instead of having to resend it back after using it and loose the 15 percent restocking fee.... Alienware sales and services are just way to annoying at times, way to pushy. My friend kept advising me to get an xps 1640 but i know that machine just runs way to hot. I have a 1340 so i know how that one goes at times. I would like to have another system with rgb led but oh well the precision is awesome. The M15x was just to expensive so i ordered the toshiba qusiomo x505, got it for 1,400 no tax or shipping from j and r. No tax when you ship out of the state. Only thing i am pissed at is that acer has a led backlit 18.4 and yet toshiba doesn't man that sucks. I eventually will get one in the outlet whenever it is there.

 

I'm not getting rid of the M15x, I'm trying to get in on the Bing deal to get the 23% off. It would save me about $350 off what I paid and I've already arranged it with my rep to where there would be no restocking fee involved.

 

So..the bing cb works?

 

Wish I knew..I'm just taking a gamble at this point to see if it does or not. The Dell rep I talked to claims it won't but then there's some people on SD that claim they've received bing CB notifications.

 

Nvm =P

10 char

 

YAHH I unistalled the preinstalled driver and am now using the standard Windows one alot better by about 80%

At the moment I have 186.47 preinstalled I can see that there are 186.61 on Nvidias website. Anyone have any problems with the latest drivers?

Just quickly what verion drivers is everyone using?

Thanks again guys

 

Hey JOker, what number did you call Dell at? My order still shows processing and not cancelled by them, but I do wanna call and see if they have anything to say about it. It can't just be a technical error if Bing is still showing alienware with 20% cashback.

 

I use to have 186.61 but now i switch to the 195.39 beta. I got 12345 on 3dmark06 with it.

 

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