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

Also the asus models have a downclocked 260m and proprietary reverse mxm 3.0b slot so no upgrade options for future cards

 

So the M15x came today at 9:30 am est

First impressions are..... holy crap! This thing has such a highly build quality over the older area-51 m15x.

I was curious about the cooling and looks like they really really improved that over the previous version. I am been playing Global Agenda for 6 hrs straight now and while it's not a taxing fps the temp never went above 68*C whereas when I was playing it on the area-51 m15x it was always around 80*C.

Only thing i have noticed with it so far is that there is some slight keyboard flex around the arrow keys, but it's really not bad, so i might just leave it.

I'll prolly do a review later on like i did with the area-51 M15x, but right now i just am in love with it If anyone is on the fence, definitely jump over.

 

sweet man, congrats. i did the same as you moving from the older version to newer version. and yeah its a much better build.

 

I've noticed more and more people getting their M15x recently suffering from the same flex in the same area. I remember reading that when the laptop gets warmer the flex is gone.

Which is interesting cause it's true. When first using the laptop for that day when it's nice and cold from not being used the flex is very apparent. Over time of being used throughout the day, however, it just ceases to exist. The heat must be expanding whatever part it is that is causing flex when the laptop is cool.

I also read someone just popped out the keyboard and bent a piece back into place to stop the flex. I would do the same if i saw some pictures or maybe a video (then again, i've never really bothered looking)

 

If you were thinking about an ASUS you should be looking at a G73jh
Also, the i3 2.13Ghz in the M15x is faster then the Core2 2.9Ghz. You really don't want to buy a Core2. You want i7 or at lest i5. The Core2 is out dated.

 

when will there be a gpu refresh ???

do you think any soon?

 

Yeah Ive had mine for 2 weeks now, used quite constantly and the flex is still there... Ordinarily it wouldnt concern me because i dont notice unless i keep on poking at it, but knowing other people dont have it does annoy me... lol

 

i think everyone has this problem to some extent, you can fix it if you want, or call dell for another keyboard. its just the way its designed. there are 2 way to fix it that i know of, one is the take it out and flex it the opposite direction and the other is to cut a pick of hard plastic the size of a credit card and shim it where it flexes. but honestly it doesn't really bother me enough to do the fix.

 

Ok. I want the M15X.

There's an open box for $1550, $300 savings. Think that's fine?

I looked at it; and it looks brand new.

 

Whats the specs??

 

Hi all.

I just got my M15x.

Without going into further details I would want to replace Win 7 on it with XP 64.

I spent hours searching the forums but found no definitive answer.

Will everything work (Alien FX, all devices, etc) on XP? I'd appreciate it if you guys could point me in the right direction.

Thanks for your help and time. Cheers!

 

i7, 260m. It's $1800 on alienware.com.

 

all the M15x drivers are for vista and win7, so i would guess you will have some issues. why do you want xp?
here is the closest thread i can find on the subject, its for M17x but with some work around it could work for M15x.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=441996

 

if your in US, you can get epp if your a student or work for the government. on epp you can get i7 720, 260m, 4gb ram and 250 hdd for $1574 brand new with 1 yr warranty.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=2236&l=en&oc=DKCWFW1&s=eep

 

Thanks for the help.

I mainly use my laptops for video editing. I run Adobe Premiere and use Grass Valley Procoder to convert MOV files from the Canon 5d to DV NTSC.

Prior to the AW purchase, I was using a Dell Precision 6400 (2.6Mhz, 4g RAM and a 512 Nvidia).

I got the M15X - faster on all specs (i7, 6g RAM, 1g Vcard) but slower on all the apps that matter to me. It's not as snappy in Premiere and I get a mere 30-50% conversion rate of the MOV to AVI. (before I was hitting 75%).

I paid for "faster" laptop so I was kinda expecting a faster laptop . I'm blaming the OS.

 

i'm on win 7 ultimate and using xp mode for all my older programs, if far it has been pretty sweet. maybe look into that first could work out you.

 

I think its a pretty awesome deal for $1500 if you cant get educational discounts as listed in previous posts..

 

I just got my M15x. I'm going t play around a bit but I just want to post my finding so far.

I also have 1024MB of Dedicated Video Memory for my 240M card

Build quality is good.

The default touchpad driver is crazy honorable. However, by just Uninstalling it with Device Manager then letting windows automatically install the working driver fixed it. Now touchpad is fine.

The Screen is looks Vary good. Vary good color and vary bright after turning up the brightness with the control panel. (I do have one dead pixel but it's extremely small on this 1080p screen so I don't care)

The keyboard is nice to type on. Feels good. (A few of the LED's are not working under the spacebar, windows key, Lalt, Ralt,... quite a few under the whole bottom row of keys. However, I am sure Dell will send a guy over to replace the keyboard. It looks ok anyway)

All the parts seems to line up right, nice and flush.

------
This is one BIG laptop for a 15". It looks like a 17". Not heavy though, ya has some heft but I would not say it is to heavy to carry. You just need a big bag. However, I knew that before I bought it.

I am vary satisfied. This laptop is one Super Powered Computer

 

Hey, I just formatted and it seems like Im missing a few drivers.

I installed all the ones with the checkmark; along with the command center.





Could anyone point me on what else to install? Thanks you.

 

command center should be the last thing you install. first thing is chipset than everything else with osd and command center last.

1. chipset
2. nvdia display driver
sata drivers
audio idt driver
touch pad
dvd driver
wireless
3. osd
4. command center last

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...D=ALW_LP_M15X&hidos=WV64&hidlang=en&TabIndex=

 

sweet man congrats!!! nice to see people happy and satisfied and congrats on the extra 512 video memory,lol

 

Thanks.

 

Hello,
I am still waaiting and I am not glad about it. In the last offer I got from Dell the delivery date was set to 12th or earlier ... I ordered the Notebook only five minutes later ... and in the order confirmation the delivery date was "corrected" to the 18th ...

Within the last week I wrote two e-Mail to the agent who sold me the Notebook but I get no answer at all! This morning I called Dell and complained about that kind of "service" ... and the service clerk to me, the only thing he can do is to cancel my order ....

No good start ...

Greetings,
Sascha

 

dell made me a delivery set in the future they are now keeping my m15x in storage for a week... i guess for funziez or sth so now i have to wait longer

 

What day did you order? Cause there estimated delivery date is a long shot if you ask me. I ordered mine on 1-26 w/ a build date of 2-9 and fed-ex delivered on 2-3. Hang tight its worth the wait

 

Hi,
I placed my order the 01. Feb. 2010 ... frustrating is that the moment I ordered the Notebook it should be delivered at the 12. Feb. ... and hours after my order it was "corrected" to the 18. Feb. ... now it is since one week in "Pre Production" State ... so I think it will take at least one more week until it is here ...

Greets,
Sascha

 

does anyone know when they will offer the I5-430m chip again?

 

Got everything set up.
This laptop is amazing! Can't wait to try Bad Company 2 on it.

 

My order makes me crazy. I tried to check the online order status and now I get only an error that they cannot give any informations and that I have to wait until I get an e-Mail with information? What the hell does that mean?

It was one week in "Pre Order State" and now this message ...

Greetings,
Sascha

 

don't worry so much, i'm pretty sure you'll get it on or before estimated delivery date, the website link almost never updates and most of the time is way off. if you want call customer support and ask about it, maybe you can get free stuff because your original date was changed.

 

Let me know how it goes, I'm kind of curious how this laptop handles it since I have the beta on my desktop atm.

 

this should help you figure out what stage your in : http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=457512

 

I only played for a short amount of time; but with the textures on high, the rest medium, 2xaa, 16xaf, hbao off, I get about 40fps constant.

I'll play some more tonight.

 

Dell is sending me a new laptop. They messed up on my order they sent me 3GB vs 4GB ddr3 1333. Instead of sending me a new ram stick they said we have to send you a whole new build and you need to send the one we just sent you 5 days ago back.

 

My M15X is running bios A01.

Should I flash it? Dell support has A02; but I guess there's an A03 version out there?

 

here is working version of a03
Latest A03 Bios That will not brick ur M15x
http://www.4shared.com/file/207617798/930c61f2/A03.html
Mirror
http://cid-fa82b2c95faa449d.skydrive...Public/A03.ISO
this is kuhanchi's link for a03 , so if works rep him

 

What does this unofficial A03 fix/improve?

 

supports for i3 and i5 cpu's. also suppose to fix iphone sync problems.

 

Just got the worst fps score ever on bioshock 1.. The hell is wrong with my M15x?

 

I'm downloading the lastest driver for my GTX 260, I was using the 186,47.

 

check stealth mode, bioshock maxed out is no problem for M15x.

 

*SoccerThierry smashes his head on the table about a hundred times*

Cant believe i am that stupid.

Lawl thanks.

 

baw anyway, is the latest update worth it?

 

stealth mode = make me look like an idiot button

the driver update doesn't hurt, but if current driver works fine then just leave it.

 

Regarding Nvidia drivers, I recommend sticking with 186.xx. The 195.xx drivers do not support audio over Displayport and I've also heard that 195 gets lower benchmark scores than 186.

And regarding the A03 bios, I've heard that the working release that's floating around only fixes the Enter key registering as NumPad Enter in games (see second post on this page: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=436150&page=8). I'm waiting for the official release unless I come across a game where the NumPad Enter thing is a problem (E.G. Need for Speed).

 

Hi all

Just had to mention that im sitting at home waiting for the UPS man with my M15X (does little dance).

Hope he comes soon!!

Kind of regretting agreeing to go to the cinema with the bf tonight as I want to spend all day installing stuff n playing.... God Im a geek!

A

 

Congrats, this laptop is amazing!

 

Alienware M15x Linux Compatibility
& second day impressions

(I am running Arch Linux)
This Laptop is Totally Linux compatible. Just plug and play.

For audio all I did was run alsaconf and it all works fantastically no problem with headphone not muting the speakers.

The synaptics touchpad driver is WAY better in Linux then windows. Super smooth and way better tracking then the best Windows driver. Like you could do CAD work with this touchpad in Linux.


WOW, this screen is amazing! I have it side by side with my elitebook right now and it makes the 1680x1050 CCLF backlight screen look like complete crap. The CCLF screen makes all the whites look yellow and it's totally dark. Aside from the LED backlight the 1920x1080 looks WAY better. Super crisp. Like WOW this M15x screen makes colors look super super rich and vivid.

This screen is so bright that you flat out can not see any reflection on the screen. Which is nice because if it was not so bright the reflection would have been a big problem.

Super Duper Fast i7-720QM. Like 4x faster then my Core2 p8400 2.26Ghz. The nVidia 240M 1GB video RAM can play all Linux games at High in full 1080p.

----------
This guy says he almost has a Linux AlienFX utility written in Java. The AlienFX has NO Driver. It is a TI TUSB3410. It is connected internally as a USB device and it is just a simple matter of sending commands to the device. To bad he is writing it in Java because I don't know Java that well but I am sure he will get at least a basic FX editor working soon.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1327261&page=6

The AlienFX lights DO work in Linux though you just can not change the colors. I have not tried it yet but sens it is just a USB device I am sure you could just pass the USB device to a VM of Windows and control it from there.

***Ok that is enough ranting for now

Owe, I think all lights are working on my keyboard after all. After further inspections, I now think that the keyboard circuitry is just thicker in some spots and blocking out the lights in some places on the space bar. The few other keys look like they have some connectors in the way.

 

This guy just released the first version of the app:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=458528

It such run on your linux as long as you can install the JRE + libusb and your linux is 64 bit. It will most likely fail on a 32 bit machine, because the libraries are 64 bit (at least thats what I think I compiled them too)

Also, only the if you want/need I can provide you the source code, so you can implement something in [insert favourite programming language here]. The most important part , the communication with the device, is written in C. Then you can use any language which offers calling functions from a different language. That would include: Ada, Java, C++, python, bash ....

 

will there be a gpu update soon????