*OFFICIAL* "All Powerful" M15x Owners Lounge, *Part 3*

Sorry for the stupid question..how do I turbo boost the i7 from 1.6 to 2.8 like they advertised? Just choose EXTREME in the power option?

 

Heh sweet, I called dell and they bumped me up to next day delivery for free, just hope it doesn't get damaged.

 

Its automatic. If the app needs the juice it will boot it.

 

Hey has anyone had issues running the diagnostics from either the DVD or through F12? When I try it through the DVD it hangs at: IDE disk detected. At first I thought it was a BIOS setting however so far no luck.
And when selecting F12 i freezes on the preboot diags at the rainbow display test.
On top of that I'm not seeing any way of D/Ling them off of support.dell.com

 

I tried this aftenoon to change my delivery and I got shut down. They were unable to change my order at all. I was a little bummed. I may ty again in the morning.

 

I told them I will be going on vaction and might miss the package, and wanted to change the delivery method.

 

Wow....good news, thanks!

 

Can't wait Dell said mine will be here on 12/12 but I'll be in Vegas by then. Good thing Fedex tracking said 12/10 so i'll get mine tomorrow. I ordered on 11/27 so less than two weeks from order to deliver.

Now time to look for a nice bag or backpak. what are you guys using? I need something that will carry the m15x and either envy13 or dell e6400. Two mouse, Belkin nostrom n52te and the power brick.

 

So I was doing some exploring with my replacement M15X and the one I'm sending back to Dell. I found some interesting differences:

Old system's CPU cooling fan:




New system's CPU cooling fan:




Take a look at the CFM. Not a huge difference but with how hot these processor's run, every little bit of CFM counts.

 

It's a MMD0E56G5MXP-0VB MLC. Supposedly Samsung is going to add TRIM to these eventually.

 

What happened to ur old system? Also are there any other differences?
I just got a m15x, and boy am I a bit annoyed with somethings. Im trying to make it work but its difficult lol.
The touchpad is driving me nuts.. The SXPS I have to choose between seems nicer on that front.

 

The old system is going back, I replaced it with one that has an SSD + better warranty. The only other major difference I noted was that the old system used Samsung ram and the new one uses Elpida. Uninstall the synaptics drivers and use the default Windows 7 driver. That should make your touchpad much more bearable.

Edit: Forgot to mention the new system came with a TSST dvd drive which is noticeably quieter than the Sony Optiarc, especially during boot. The Sony drive makes a loud grinding noise during boot while the TSST is nearly silent. The same is true when playing a DVD as well, the TSST is quieter.

 

5150Joker
Did you stress test the new one?

 

Yep, same results.

 

Any quality issues with the new one Joker? I am trying to decide if I should order another one.

 

Now that the Bing Cashback deal is gone, I don't see the M15x's being a deal anymore

 

I live in Canada!

 

None so far, the new machine showed up in perfect condition. No dead pixels, no dirt under the screen, quieter dvd player (the new one is a TSST vs the older one with a louder Sony Optiarc), and apparently superior cooling fan. Oh and the SSD makes a HUGE difference! It feels like a completely different system. Windows 7 loads in about 7 seconds and games/applications open instantly.

P.S. Buy the system in my sig, its brand new I've also got another one with an 820QM + 500 GB drive that arrived today too.

Edit: Pic of the new system and old one together (for the last time..sniff):



GF's SXPS 16 and the AW:

 

Those ssd drives are amazing. I know if I order another one, I will upgrade to a ssd.
I'm sure you won't have any difficulty selling that notebook. For most international buyers that is a great deal.

 

I'll be upgradig to SSD in Jan. What's the boot time diffence between your 2 lappys Joker?

 

Can't do it. One of my favorite aspects of my M15x was the gorgeous 1080p display. I know it might not be "optimal" for gaming but for coding it was amazing. I was kinda scared of that resolution after the G51J debacle but my fears were quickly put to rest.

 

I've got a 2nd system that I'll be selling to international buyers too:

1 224-6812 BASE,NBK,ANW,BLK,M15X
1 317-2398 Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
1 317-2404 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz 2 x 2048MB
1 320-0936 15.6-inch Wide FHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED
1 341-9754 500GB SATAII 7,200RPM


BTW my gf's XPS 16 has a 1080p display, its way too small on my eyes for a 15.6".

 

I have a desktop PC if anyone wanna buy

Core i7 920 2.66 ghz
6GB DDR 3 1333 mhz
ATI 5870
X FI Xtreme
Hitachi 640GB HD
Win 7 HP 64 bits
Antec 902 case

 

How much for the 5870?

 

Hey joker

do you collect alienware laptop´s

good to hear that the new one is perfect, congrats, hope you keep it...

by the way: we have some IT tech´s in the office and it took me a while to stop them first from shouting out loud phrases of excitment which i´m not allowed to post and second stopping them from trying to take my new toy apart to see, what causes the throttle issue, they also mentioned, that this can be fixed by bios, so let´s see

another thing, whats the firmware on your new ssd ? because mandrake mentioned something about every firm over 18 something supports GC

cheers

 

Just to clarify the 1.6 -> 2.8 Ghz issue.

This was a move by Intel to encourage people buying quad core CPU's with lower a lower clock frequency than the current Dual Cores. If a program is well designed + multi threaded (e.g pipelined, 4 pipes), the quad core will beat the dualcore as you can basically add up 4X1.6 (~ 6Ghz) compared to 2x2.5 ( ~ 5 Ghz ) in theory. In practice the is also other stuff going on like caches (which the i7core has bigger once as far as I know).

So, this seems like a total win, but what happens if your program uses only 1 thread, or multiple threads but in a way that only 1 is actively computing things? (just like a program with a GUI). Then if you open up the task manager (in windows) or do a ps on linux, youll see that only 25% of the CPU utilized. That would put the quadcore at a huge disadvantage, as it would only be able to work at 1.6 Ghz compared to the dual cores 2.5Ghz. And thats exactly when turbo mode kicks in, it overclocks only 1 core but not all.

So as you can see its a bit of bending the truth with the turbo mode. Most modern triple AAA titles will be multi threaded (note, Xbox has 3 cores with the ability of running 6 threads, and the PS3 has about 6 cores I think, but I dont know as I never programmed for a PS3). Looking at the fact that most games are crossplatform (pc platform is a really dying ) it is natural for PC games to be multithreaded. So unless you are using older programs turbo mode might not never be actually triggered.

 

Mine is expected to arrive today. Besides uninstalling the touchpad drivers, are there any other recommended "optimizations" I should do?

 

What's the stepping on the i7?

I would be interested in the CPU, X-Fi, & 5870

 

Hmmmm, I don't think a single thing you stated here i correct.

 

Ill correct my statement. You can only get up to maximum Frequency with a single core, yet turbo mode also works on multiple cores, but with less frequency:




[source: http://hothardware.com/Articles/Intel-Core-i7-Mobile-Processor-Launch-Review/?page=3 ]
So, as you can see, you only get about 10% of added power in Turbo mode if all 4 cores are active. The point however still remains, dont think that the cpu overclocks all 4 active cores to the maximum value.

Sorry for the confusion ^^

 

The fellas in the SSD thread have proven that the new firmware Dell is distributing with the new drives is proprietary to Dell and does not support GC. Do not buy an SSD from Dell or any OEM.

 

I was looking at one of these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260521095185&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Went to samsung and this is the newest version of thier ssd drive. Slated for Q3-4 09

Tried to get my shipping changed ....... grr told me mine is being boxed and they can not do anything at this time Should have went with 2 day for the 40 bucks

 

Well I have been moved from In Production to Shipped.
No tracking info yet. Hopefully in my hands next week.

 

That's the drive I have.

 

you gave me the info last night : )

I do think the model number you gave me was a bit differant.

I showed the model you gave me was Q01 /09 but never the less

250 / 200 MPS transfers rawk. I looked real hard at getting it. but again money got in the way.

This was the only place I could find it. These are considerd Enterprise class drives. So getting then from Newegg or similar places is hard.

 

I would really appreciate if anyone could please upload photos of M15x in Nebula Red and Lunar Silver. The photos on alienware website doesnt do justice to the colors.

Thanks.

 

Is the email that Dell sends out when your system goes from "In Production" to "Shipped" instant or does it take a day or two?

 

I remeber someone asking were these are from.

I am showing on my shipping my M15x was picked up from Nashville TN.

So parts are probably made in China and assembled in Nashville for the Aliens I am guessing.

Wow shipping weight 19lbs/8.6kg hehe

 

That's what I had heard originally but I had read or saw it somewhere that Dell had closed most of it's plants in the US including the one in TN this year. But then again they may only be in the process of doing so.
Also to add to that I heard from a very reliable source on the inside that the CEO of Dell was looking to file for Bankruptcy after he tried to purchase or build the most expensive house in America.

 

12/15 will not come soon enough 5 days and counting till I finally get my steaming pile of M15x : )

I can't wait .... freaking 46 and I feel like it is Xmas morning. Good ole D800 finally getting replaced after 5 years of reliable usage.

 

@Nailgunn
Tell me about it, 12/29 isn't coming nearly fast enough. Hopefully it'll get shipped out sooner so I can have it for X-mas.

 

Mine was EST 12/28/09 I had 5-7 shipping. You may see yours change Friday .. Fingers crossed for ya bud

 

Dont worry, the estimated date at the beginning is usually the worst case scenario. Mine was supposed to come in January yet it comes next Week!

 

Nice!! Now I can finally go mouse shopping. Thinking about getting a Razer Naga, alienware Orion bag, then getting a SSD Jan. 1st. Speaking of which...
Once I get a SSD, does the M15x come with the Windows 7 disk to install it?

 

That would be a question for someone that has got one already but I believe Yes it has a reinstall disk and your Key is on the bottom of the lappy.

I have a Win 7 Ultmate Key I will be reloading mine with once I get it.
If I wanted to get smacked in the back of the head I could get a new ssd. Getting this was pushing it for now : )

Mouse wise I love my Logitech G9

 

Yup.......

 

I thought most people knew that already? To add to that here are the clocks per core with turbo mode:

i7-720:
4 Cores - 1.6 turbos to 1.73
3 Cores - 1.73
2 Cores - 2.4
1 Core - 2.8

i7-820
4 Cores - 1.73 turbos to 2.0
3 Cores - 2.0
2 Cores - 2.8
1 Core - 3.06

i7920
same as pic

 

Yes my order is shipping, sweet. order on 12/02 with eod of 12/18......oh man can't wait to get my hand on it.

 

In my case I received the e-mail that my system shipped 24 hours after getting it. Apparently Dell is now using wormholes through time to deliver your system before it ships. Classy.

 

Grr I re-ordered mine on the 1st and it still haven't shipped, you'll probably get your tomorrow, I'll have to wait till monday