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

the new video driver 195.39 for Win7 is available for GeForce mobile cards at the NVidia site:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_winvista_win7_x64_195.39_beta.html

 

yes, but the 9 cell is a lot less bulky than most.
It is not a netbook and still less bulky than a 17 laptop. Took mine t a meeting yesterday and the extra weight /size is not really an issue and certainly a good trade given the performance.

 

Wait is almost over ... just need to busy myself with the work week. Trying to figure out what I will do on it first. Have the bulk of my newer games for the PS3 and need to look into picking up some new PC games.

 

Question on sound...does the M15x have an actual sound card or is its' 5.1 produced with software? Follow up question...would a headset with sound out/mic in connectors or a USB headset give better quality sound? Not really asking for brand recommendations, just trying to figure out which way to connect will produce better sound....thanks!

 

It is an integrated sound card that is 5.1 "compatible". So it will vitrualize a 5.1 sound through software. There are two stereo analogue input jacks and one mic input jack. True 5.1 usually has a stereo/front speakers jack, rear speakers jack, and center/sub jack.

 

iam getting a refund for my old area 51-m15x. they said i can either have the new one with the following config:

Alienware M15x Lunar Silver
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 820QM (1.73Ghz, 8MB L3 cache)/ old one was c2d x9000 @2.8ghz
1 year of coverage included with your PC
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
No Accidental Damage Support
15.6-inch Wide Full HD Display (1920x1080)/ old- 1920x1200
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]/ old-same but 667mhz
320GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive/old- 500gb
1GB NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX260M graphics card/old-9800m gt
DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) Slot Load Drive/old-same
6-cell 56Whr Lithium Ion battery

OR

the money( after deduction depreciation for 8months ie -500 pounds = 1900 pounds)

any ways i have already sent my system and they have it since friday 30th.

any ways how long does it normally take to get a refund?? as in cash? coz after they release the funds it usually takes a week or two for the same to show up in my account. BTW i still have time to decide if I need the cash or a new machine.

 

Greetings Alienware m15x folks. 1st time I have posted here.

Yesterday (Friday, Oct 30, 2009) I ordered the system listed in my signature. I ordered directly from Dell. Received a university "premium" discount.

Today I saw at Costco.com an attractively priced less expensive Alienware m15x with configuration slightly lesser powered than what I ordered.

Comments on the difference would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Correct me if i'm wrong but the only difference I see are the 4gb ram vs 6 gb(1333) and 720 vs 820QM.

Depending on what you save the 720vs 820 performance vs cost is not worth it imo. I mean if you have the money sure why not, but aside from benchmarking you probably wont notice a difference.

as for the 6gb (1333) vs 4gb 1033

the 1333 is supposed to provide better perfomace since the i7 has no FSB but i personally havnt seen any real world number about this yet. On a second note 4gb ram is plenty for any gaming/daily usage.

I personally chose to go with the 720qm simply becuase of cost vs performance. As for the memory .. if you save enough you can always upgrade down the line.. Ram is one of the cheapest/simplest upgrades.

 

I agree with Stormwatch342 ...

The only upside I could see about keeping your order is knowing the one you get from Dell was built for you and not just settling for the specs offered on the one from cosco.

If you are okay with a step down in the CPU and dropping to 4gb 1066 then I would say cancel your order and go pick it up at cosco.

I personally ordered mine with the 720 and 4gb of the 1066 because of the same reasons Stormwatch342 mentioned so I think either way you will be happy with your machine and it is not like it will be hard to upgrade the RAM down the road.

 

Aside from the cache, there is almost no difference between the 720 and 820. You may notice a slight speed up, but that is only with number crunching applications. Personally, between those two, I'd go for the 920 for its unlocked multipliers given that it is an extreme processor, however it is rather steeply priced.

As Stormwatch342 said, the 1333 might give a slight speed up, not to keen however on how much this is. I also wouldn't go as far as getting 6gb ram since 4 is more than enough for games. Most games even have 2gb as recommended system ram. Also remember that buying ram and replacing it yourself is cheaper than getting it initially for the laptop. However, I doubt you will be needing to upgrade the ram anytime soon.

 

Wow, the laptop is quite big! Damn, this is making it a hard choice. Anyone happen to have both the new M15x and the Dell XPS M1730? If you do, some comparo shots would be awesome!

 

one thing. anyone who has done a clean install have an issue with the media buttons not working?

i have 2 things still listed under the device manager and i've installed every driver available from dell and still no media keys and those 2 items in the device manager...

 

M1730 is almost 2lbs heavier with a bigger PSU.

 

Is your web cam listed?

 

got the drivers straight.

just found a dead pixel...

 

I talked to a dell rep that works at the AAFES depo., he told me you can track the status of your order once you have a PO#

so once you have that number just log onto dell.com, scroll to the bottom right and click order status, in the step 1 drop down select PO Number and in the step 2 drop down select zip code which will be 75266 if you ordered with AAFES.

if i find anymore info I'll let you know.

 

Thanks vek2001glm for keeping me posted I'm probably going to buy through AAFES since I save soo much more money with like pretty much MAX configs

What about you The Shirt did they provide you with PO# and zip code so you know your production state?

 

i cant seem to get my bios upgraded from a00 to a01. I tryed burning the bios update from dells site to a disc but it still says i have a00.

Anyboddy else experienced this? Or am i downloading from the wrong page?

 

Did you get a PO# on anything during the order process, or did you have to contact AAFES to get this number?

 

From vek2001hlm's message, I think anyone would use the AAFES zip code. I haven't found a PO# on anything yet, but that may be something that has to come from AAFES outside of the normal ordering process. I am probably waiting through this week for any updates before seeing about getting a PO# from them.

 

How more battery life is everyone getting? How much on the 6 cell and how much on the 9 cell?

 

It's the same for me. I think you need to actually go into your bios to see if it worked. Going by the Dell driver site the bios download is version A00 with EC 0.92 and when I go into my bios it says I have EC 0.92.

 

A quick bit off feedback on the gaming performance of the M15x. I've been setting up some games and initially I was disappointed in how slow they ran. However I found I only needed to change 1 setting in the Nvidia control panel. I changed "Conformant Texture Clamp" from "Hardware" to "OpenGL" and now everything (Grid, Fallout 3) will run perfectly on the highest graphics settings

 

take the replacement laptop: worth far more than 500 pounds!

 

that happened with my install of win7 too: the driver for the OSD fixed it after re-boot.

 

well its not a dead pixel. theres actually a piece of trash behind the E2E display cover.

they said they would have a service tech call me and come out to replace the display and look at the issue i was talking about behind the glass.

i'm already taking it apart now to see if i can deal with it myself as i don't trust some random tech not to make the situation even worse.

on a side note i just noticed theres no bluetooth card installed. i went and checked my build config and no where is bluetooth listed that i can see nor is it an option when you go to build one(US site).i never looked as i assumed it was standard on a $2500 laptop.

any other US owners that can confirm that they have bluetooth ?

 

Now that is odd
Every benchmark software reports my Nvidia GT240M as 1Gig of memory.
But it should only have 512???
Any ideas?

 

@lgsshedden
Dude it's actually 1900 pounds. They deducted 500 pounds from my original price(for previous lappy). Sorry for being vague. But serously how long does it usually take for the refund??

 

Out of curiosity I did a few 3DMark Vantage benchmarks. I have not changed any of the default settings in the battery power modes, oddly I got a better score on power saver mode than on Balanced...

Normal (mains power) = GPU: 4870, CPU: 12345

Stealth Mode (mains power) = GPU: 1973, CPU: 4307

Power Saver (battery) = GPU: 1940, CPU: 3557

Balanced Power (battery) = GPU: 1935, CPU: 2945

 

and for the not faint of heart here is my M15x less than 24 hours after unboxing. if anyone wants shots of anything else nows the time to ask!



look ma, no bluetooth!

 

ordered mine in uk and i have the printout in front of me and it europe dell bluetooth 370 card and it was not an added extra

 

yeah i noticed the uk crowd showed them but its not on the list for mine and its clearly not there

can you give me the dell part number for the BT card so i can order one.

thanks!

 

Dumb question - where does the memory stick located in those pictures that you've uploaded? and in your opinion, is it hard to change the ram on a M15x? XD

 

the 2 ram slots are on the bottom. take out the battery, take out 2 screws and the bottom panel slides off.

there are 2 screws holding the memory protector on on and thats it. easy peasy.

 

this is the number beside all the parts on my itinery 86297786 all listed as same number sorry

 

Thanks Shadow ^_^

 

Dell
2.4 GHz Wireless 370 Bluetooth 2.1 Mini-Card for Select Dell Latitude / Studio / Alienware Laptops / Precision Mobile WorkStations
Usually Ships Within 24 Hours
Manufacturer Part# C816H
Dell Part# 430-3342
got this from u.s site just searching for bluetooth

 

np. anyone else wants a specific pic just ask.

i also have to say that the icons on the FHD are perfectly readable for me. i like it so far. my desktop reso is 2560x1600 and from 3 feet away its much harder to read.

 

Thank you all for your advice.

My application is GIS, which is number crunching. Not games. See here and here.

Following up, I contacted the Costo stores "nearby" and was told they do not have the Alienware laptop in stock. It is an Internet item, with a delivery time euqal to that directly quoted to me by Dell. Costco's configuration purchased from Costco saves $75, versus the same configuration purchased directly from Dell .

 

1 R73V3 MODULE..., CARD (CIRCUIT)..., NETWORK..., 370, FOXCONN..., ANW, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
1 9PWNF SERVICE CHARGE..., APPLICATIONS..., WIRELESS..., BLUETOOTH..., DW370, ANW
1 N022G LABEL..., REGULATORY..., WIRELESS..., BLUETOOTH..., 370, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
1 P560G Card, Wireless, Bluetooth, 370 FXCN, 5DB, No Bios

my system information lists the above bluetooth components as standard

 

Is any one having an M15x facing the same problem as here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=430598
please share your thoughts.

 

hi there, am a university student in a dorm room, quite worried for my preciouss that's gonna arrive in about 2 weeks time

2 quick questions:

(1) does the security lock fit all notebook locks?
was thinking of something like
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-K6...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1257103809&sr=1-3

kensington combosaver portable notebook

(2) anyone bought a notebook cooler? is it necessary?

TIA =)

 

1. No idea
2. I asked the same question in one of my earlier posts and people told me its not necessary to have a notebook cooler =O

 

Fellow M15X owners, the dell site updated today and has FINALLY marked my laptop as "Shipped". I should be enjoying my new machine by Thursday!

 

Awesome ~! =D

 

can anyone lend any insight on the battery life on a 9-cell battery in powersaving mode?

 

I downloaded the manual and service guide from dell.com The cooling design seems much improved over my present laptop. Still, heat is the enemy of mechanical longevity. I have a cooler, coolers are inexpensive, so I will continue to use a cooler.

My current laptop's heat cracked a glass coffee table top. Only then did I learn my lesson and buy a cooler.

 

I have never owned a cooler and will probably continue to not own one unless this laptop proves to get to hot. I have been lucky enough to not own a laptop that has a heat issue.

 

Hi there,

I'm looking to order a M15x in the next couple of weeks to replace my good old xps 1530. I was just wondering if any of you chaps play Fallen Earth and if so how dose it run...

 

US or UK? its not listed anywhere in my config nor is it available on the US site as an option.

i ordered the 370 module that was previously posted as i have an orochi coming that i want to use.

hope the service tech isnt mad i already did half his/her job