*OFFICIAL* "All Powerful" M17x-R2 Edition Owners Lounge!

yeah man, trust these guys, they'll bend you over to upgrade that screen later.

 

Specifically they will bend you over for $950. Another user posted a few days ago that he asked dell to upgrade is C2D m17x and thats what they quoted him. I really doubt it would be hard to change your order.

 

No idea about a second small graphic card like first version of M17x (9400m) in the M17X-R2?

Thanks for your answers.

 

Cancel now! They will charge crazy $$$ for that screen if done later on. Cancel and re-order

 

by reading the manual on both M17x core 2 and M17x i5 i7. I do not see the i5 i7 have a intergraded 9400 gpu. But the core 2 dose. The manuals are on dell.com Support/Drivers and on the side product support and you see manual. There two differnt ones.

 

Yes, system board is completely different. The 9400M was part of the nVidia chipset and the new system board is nVidia free.

 

the core 2 duo comes with the 9400m in its chipset.

the core i5s and the core i7-620 are arrandale CPUs with on-package GPUs(intel gpus fyi).

anyone heard any reports of being able to switch the integrated graphics yet?

also, what about the chipsets? does pm55 support the integrated and/or switchable graphics? will lynnfields be compatible with h55/57 mobos?

 

according to scook PM55 does not support switchable graphics. This is supposed to have PM55.

 

All the facts of the mobile Intel Pm55 http://www.intel.com/Products/Notebook/Chipsets/PM55/PM55-overview.htm

 

you must be freaking kidding me...you've ruined my whole semester lol.

has this been confirmed with any tech reps?

do you think they will eventually offer a mobo with a h55/57 chipset?

EDIT: intel hd graphics needs FDI to work?

EDIT2: so, m15x owners must be in the same boat....any of them with arrandale setups yet?

 

THE ONLY BRAGGING RIGHTS that us Core2Duo/Quad users will continue to have is that the Five times per year where we can use battery life since the giant beast is being moved from the house, we will score 3 hours of battery life.

WHAT UP!!!!

 

hahaha, true, although I never used the 9400 or the battery. Anytime I used the M17X R1 was when I had it plugged in. Although...that may be due to the fact that I had battery issues. One of the reasons I returned it. If my power cable came out the whole laptop just shut down cold. And wouldn't boot on battery. Although it was wierd because a few times it did switch to batteries. I pretty much only use the battery if I'm moving from the bed/couch to the desk. As long as I have 10 min. of battery power I'm good

 

As sad as it is i agree

 

well i'd prefer to have this feature even i don't use it every day. because of my job i sometimes need to have powerful machine without power cord to view/edit 100mb engineering drawings - so the best way is to take laptop with me

 

same here I travel, it would be nice to know I can turn the beast on in at the Airport and use it for more than 10 min.

 

I know you guys are exaggerating saying 10 minutes of battery life but there are a slew of power settings you have control of within Windows that will help extend the battery life. With the right settings and the help of your ATI profile I'm sure you can get at least 1.5 hours of battery life surfing the web or doing something like word processing.

 

Yeah it won't be 10 mins but it will barely be an hour in my opinion, especially with dual GPUs running and a Core i7 (extreme is even worse). I'm predicting 1 hour 10 mins avg

 

I guess we will find soon once a few of these new laptops get in the hands of user and we see some test results

 

come on Dell, work fast and ship em!!

 

I think it would be 55 Mins. Like my old Pro star laptop haha I think they should have it downclock one gpu and turn off the other gpu to save power and move the laptop in single or dual core cpu. mode at low speed.

 

Remember you don't HAVE to use dual GPUs all the time and devices like CPU, GPU and LCD can be throttled down to save power.

 

So does the current m17x have this chipset ( Mobile Intel® PM55 Express Chipset ) or is it about to come? As I couldn't find details on the chipset on alienware's tech spec.

And does anyone know when the ATI Mobility 5870 is coming out?

Thanks!

 

Right. I know but unless Dellienware implements some quick key to do all that in one go it's not going to be a viable solution to ask people to go back and forth when they plug/unplug. Would be interested to see how they implement.

 

Nope, it has the nVidia MCP79.

The rumor on the 5870s is late March. So expect April deliveries.

 

There are a bunch of options in ATI CCC including a way to manage profiles. Technically all you are doing is unchecking Crossfire there. The switch over is simple.

 

Total fustration for me. Tried to purchase M17X R2 to replace my Dell M1730. Spoke to 2 different people at EPP. Both informed me that I cannot place R2 order using EPP discount. Tried to explain that intro to M17X on EPP website shows i7 available but both confirmed that EPP discount not available yet for M17X R2. As a result, I'm having to wait until the website shows that it is available.

Does anyone know how long it takes for Dell/Alienware to update the websites to reflect up to date options for their machines. Is there a secret to getting the EPP discount. I work on a military base overseas at a FPO address.

 

Normally it would be updated by now. It's been almost a week.

 

I don't think you will see M17x-R2 on EPP until they work out their new package plan. The 10% deal is pretty much over. I think some of us just lucked out in getting it.

 

Try calling and get a differant rep. Sometimes others are willing to work with you. I suggest continue calling and getting differant reps till you get the answer you want

 

You mention a rep Joker, do you order through a special account of some kind?

 

When you order via EPP, you get assigned a rep. that handles your order. I've found it's much easier dealing with EPP than the headaches associated with Dell Home.

 

Understood but disabling crossfire doesn't disable the second card, I'm pretty sure it just sits there waiting to join the Primary adapter for crossfire (and suckin down juice)

 

but it will suck down less juice if it is not processing

 

Considering buying this laptop...
I've still got old games using EAX 4, and I wonder if the X-Fi MB software will be usable with the integrated chipset. Is this still the same IDT 92HD73C1 chipset on the m17x-R2 ?
I'd also wish the RGB screen came with a non-glossy option...

 

The screens will all be glossy due to the plastic cover over the actual LCD (edge to edge)

The arrandale IGPs will most likely never be useable in the M17x R2 because the H55/H57 chipsets cannot support a multi GPU setup like the PM55 can. So Alienware would have to choose between having binary graphics or Crossfire (maybe SLI down the road?)

Further evidence that there will not be the ability to use any integrated GPU is the absence of the I/D GFX function on fn+F7 in the R2 version

 

Looks like the Driver Downloads are now almost complete. The only thing I really see missing are the Camera and Command Center:

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&ServiceTag=&SystemID=ALW_M17XR2&os=W764&osl=EN

 

Since you are military (or are you?), have you ever ordered through the AAFES web site? I am not sure if they ship overseas or not but it is worth checking. I am retired military and I ordered my M17x the end of December and got the AAFES EPP. I also didn't have to pay tax since it was AAFES. Of course I sent it back for a full refund due to the problems.

FYI, as of this minute they do not show the M17x-R2 options through AAFES, but I talked to them and they had me send a sceenshot of the configuration I wanted from Dells main site. Then they will update theirs to show the new options available for the M17x-R2. Once they do that we will be able to order it through them, get the EPP discount, and save the tax to boot.

They told me it only takes them a day to make the changes so hopefully by the time I get home from work it will be there. Then I make my order.

 

Looking into this also, the question I have is this, useally when I purchase a system, it comes pre loaded with bunch of crapware, trials and such. I normally just format the drive with my own copy of win7. Is that nessary with this system ? If so, can I download all the drivers/software I need or do they ship a "OS" CD and a "driver" CD or DVD ?

 

Alienware will send both an OS and a Resource (driver) cd. There will also be a recovery partition on the primary hard drive to recover the factory image.

I was actually pretty impressed with how LITTLE bloatware there was on my M17x (R1) when I got it. Pretty much was just the trial for MS office and a trial for norton.

 

This is excellent. I got my M15x through AAFES at a great discount (which no tax helps a lot). Waiting to see if a similar amount can be saved on the new M17x, then deciding whether to keep the M15x or move up and find the M15x a new home!

 

That is great to hear......feeling better and better about this all the time, now to either get them to accept my EPP or find a nice discount coupon.

 

I'm a little confused as to why it's crappy? Additionally - isn't the auto dim just an app? I have a 4 year old Inspiron 9300 that I'm finally replacing. Everything still works perfectly....no dead pixles. CPU is main problem (slow 1.6gHz P4M). Truty ol' CCFL still going strong, but contrast ratio sucks.

LED's scare me a bit... Reported dead pixles, sticky pixels, etc. I went with the CCFL 1200p on my 17x R2.

Who manufactures the CCFL and what model is it? Contrast ratio?

 

It is a samsung panel made just for dell. The autodimm is in the panel firmware and cannot be stopped

 

Small world, I went through 2 M17x's and now am waiting on the R2 to replace my 4 year old Inspiron 9300. Trust me the 1920x1200 LCD on the 9300 is much better the auto dim one. For example when going to my wow guild forums which use a dark theme, purple on black is really hard to see since the screen dims so much. It auto dims based on how much black is on the screen at the time, like how some LCD TVs work to trick people into thinking they are seeing a true black. Fine for TV, just not for a laptop.

I dropped the extra $250 for the RGB LED and I know I won't regret it at all.

 

Hi there

Thought I'd pose the question here in this forum.

I very recently went to apply for a Dell Prefered account which I was accepted for a 3000 dollar credit limit. With that, I was thinking about purchasing an Alienware M17x with a Core i7 processor.

The configuration (from the top of my head) would look something like this..

Core i7 820QM
Dual Radeon 4870 cards
4GB DDR3 1333 Mhz Ram
DVDRW Drive
and a Standard 1 year warranty

eh... something around that configuration would cost me 2,899 dollars. Which would amount to about 90 dollars per month. To me that seems affordable enough.

I guess my quesiton is, is it worth it to get this machine now? Or wait until they hopefully do a refresh of the graphic cards? Im a little dissappointed to have seen they only offered 4870 cards. Not that I dont like ATI, but having options for Nvidia cards or better yet... a 5 series mobile GPU solution would be nice what with DX11 and all that.

I ended up cancelling the Dell Prefered account but was told I could still accept within 30 days. So while I kind of want to do it... I kind of would like some opinions since you all are buying these laptops if its a good deal, or better to just wait?

 

Wow! Yeah, small world. I went thru one 17x, then waited for the i7 release. I never really got a chance to use my 17x as it was DOA. I hope the display isn't as bad as people say. I can't really do a re-order because I got a killer EPP discount. If I re-order I doubt they'll do it again. I got 12% off!

I guess I'll wait and see. If the display is too bad I'll return it.

My 9300 screen is ok. The contrast ratio sucks! Blacks are grey.

What happened with your 2 17x's?

 

The first one would not post after the first day and after hours of diags I got it replaced with a new one 2 weeks later. That one would constantly hang for 3-15min randomly. The hard drive light would stay solid the whole time. Again more hours of diags and after a replaced the hdd with a new one it locked up on a clean load of Win7 going to the desktop for the first time and before I could load any drivers. So I returned it for a full refund and once the R2 was available I placed the order.

And yes the black levels on the 9300 aren't the best but that auto dim was driving me crazy at at times. If it could be disabled it would be a great screen. A lot of web pages that I frequent ended up dimming too dark and became uncomfortable to read. And since a bunch of those are also for work it was going to end up being a problem and I was thinking about returning it just for the LCD if I didn't have the other problems I had.

Try it out and see if you like it, it doesn't seem to bother everyone. But then again I am one of those freaks out there that can see scan lines up to 70Hz and I also notice color issues really easily so it was bothering me quite a bit. Just give it a good workout over 10-14 days so if you find you don't like it you can return it before you're 21 day limit is up and reorder. If you press the issue you might be able to get them to build you a replacement and just add the RGB LED instead.

 

Do you have your info backwards or am I just tired?

 

Performance chipsets
Mobile Intel® PM55 Express Chipset

Like the Sager NP8760-Clevo W870CU has.


Mainstream chipsets
Mobile Intel® HM55 Express Chipset
Mobile Intel® HM57 Express Chipset

http://www.intel.com/products/laptop/chipsets/index.htm?iid=chipsets_body+nb_performance

 

The question is which one supports the Arrandale integrated GPU.

Edit: I found the answer which is they all do except for PM55.