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

THIS or THE RETAIL BOX version

 

It will eventually lose it's performance unless you unraid it and use third party firmware. The new firmware will more than likely void the warranty on the drives OR patiently wait for Dell to release an updated firmware for the drives. Many people think it will eventually come.

 

1. thx, great work, but this is too complicated for me (or i am too lazy )
i think i will look for friends who has someone in US and would help me to buy (with 10% discount?) and send it to Poland for some $$$

2. ok, so (for gaming) the best idea is to buy SSD (which one?), not from Dell and second HDD the biggest 7200rpm (now 500GB)?
or maybe 2 x 256GB SSD but not with RAID option?

3. do you think that there are accesssories worth buying with M17x order?

 

Look 2 posts up for SSD recommendation.

 

I got an update on the AAFES ordering. What they had me do was go to Dells home web site, configure the laptop the way I wanted it, put it in the cart, and then email the cart to them. They will take that and come up with a price match with the EPP discount. Then I can buy that exact configuration through them and get it without paying tax. I am waiting for their answer on how much it will cost. I sent them a configuration with the RGB LED display, 920XM, dual ATI cards, 320GB drive, 4GB 1333 memory, 6300 WiFi, etc. It takes a day or two and I will let you know how much of a discount I get so you can get an idea of what to expect.

 

just order my M17X R2 today

 

lol, how many people does it take to order a system?

 

forget about this post thanks

 

Hello All,

While reading, learned a lot, thanks to you guys. My only question – is it really worth getting dual gfx cards for gaming? Some say there is a decent gain in performance especially if gaming at high resolution. Some say that downside is a driver performance. I would appreciate any opinion/comment. I’m not looking into benching, just gaming. Thanks in advance =)

 

As long as you got a decent to good CPU, you will get an appreciable boost from dual gpus (usually around or higher than 80% improvement)

 

Yeah its worth it without question... Also if you buy the system with only a single then want to add another card down the road it will cost you quite abit more + the hassle of just getting the card/fan/Crossfire cable etc..

 

Looks like they updated my order with a actual delivery date, although I find that odd since I ordered just yesterday and it just went into production today. Supposed to arrive by 2/10, so they say

 

don't fight it lol

 

I chose the raid option 1 terra for two 500 gig harddrive can I change that after receiving my laptop or do I have to call dell before?

 

Its probably a BIOS setting, that you can change after. BUT if you change it you will need to reload the system, as switching from raid to non-raid will wipe the partition table and all that

 

You shouldn't have to reload the system if it's RAID 1. RAID 1 is what I would do because you can pull one drive and have the original image.

 

True, I was assuming he ordered in a Raid0 setup.....

I know, that old addage about assuming....guess I should have read his post closer....

 

Can't wait to hear some comments about the RGBLED

 

The first one was already made:

 

Wow no TAX, how does that work?

 

In addition to all that, I like the idea of just having a second card in case one craps out, at least you can do something temporarily until you can get it replaced.

 

Thanks Mandrake!

 

Guys what kind of info do the reps provide regarding the status of your builds?is it worth the time to ask about it?

 

I wonder why Dell isn't offering 1333 mhz memory on the US site for the R2? I noticed they have it for the UK and other places. I asked a chat rep. right now for the reason but of course they were clueless as usual.

 

I think they just ran out of it. It's not a compatibility issue as some here claim reps told them since I and others ordered it.

 

Thanks u so much for your help, unfortunatly it s raid 0 so i will reload immediatly my system when I will receive it

 

or if you have an extra drive and an enclosure you can image it over

 

Well what's strange is you can still order it with the Core 2 version so there's definitely something going on. I hope they aren't having issues with crossfire + 1333 mhz memory using the PM55 chipset.

 

hmmmm.. that does smell bad.

 

I hope theres no issue either, since I have 8GB sitting in my drawer eager to get to work.

 

Well from reading some of yalls post I can see there is money to be given with discounts so this is my first attempt. Tried to order mine and the rep said his manager could only do 50 bucks off I told them no way and I was going to call another rep till I get what I want. trying again.

 

If you're certain you don't work for a company or are a student, I am not sure what you can do but call up each day and check for a "manager's special"... opening a Dell Preferred account as I learned only today IF you say you will pay with your own card first will net you 3% off at least if you use Dell's financing. It's 18 months no interest (if you pay it off), so it's not a bad deal.

 

Joker, does the 1333 mhz memory have issues if the bus is just set down to 1066? I would think that the systems would ship with the FSB set to 1066... and the memory at 1333 is just available for overclocking's sake... why would it interfere with the x-fire cards you think?

 

I don't know why they would omit the 1333 mhz memory, the x-fire was just an idea. I PM'd nagshead so hopefully he can clear things up.

 

ok getting closer got 50 off, first it was there are no discounts EVER for this then I started rambling off discounts people have revived and they are like were are you getting this info? HA, so after saying there has never been any discounts on this laptop the come back with well there was one promotion with 160 off but it is gone so we can do this give you 110 off and free shipping getting closer to what I want off..

 

I can pay it off now but I want the money off I am tired of people say there has never been a promotion for these and then come to find out wait we did have one after I tell them I will pass. I have brought up the money off with the dell preferred account and they say we don't have anything.
PS.
I am in the MILITARY and they still say no to the EPP..

 

There's plenty of talk of Dell's RGB LED in the Dell Precision M6500 section:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=439109&page=96

It is good for gamers but is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Some still prefer the WLED option.

 

Let us know what ya find.

 

I wish I didn't read that.. Delays from the factory in Poland... and this is the same RGB LED we're getting? lol

 

You know, my rep said something about friends and family getting a discount... I wonder if you could use an EPP code from one of us? I will ping my rep and see what he says and let you know (assuming he responds in a timely fashion).

 

I'll order the RGB still, but since I'm not going to order till the 5870's come out, if I here its not that great, I'll just order the WLED. Guess I'll have to hear what the reviews are when they start to ship. Patience is a virtue, but waiting sucks.

 

Dude thanks that is very kind of you..

 

Dodge,

here is a copy from my online conversation with an EPP rep...

alienware will have an automatics 10% discount
6:01:02 PM Customer Jeffrey Taylor
reallly?!
6:01:05 PM Customer Jeffrey Taylor
wow...
6:01:06 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
yes
6:01:25 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
the discount is already applied as well
6:01:31 PM Customer Jeffrey Taylor
how do they get that? I couldnt do that through mine, I'm not in the military...
6:01:45 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
military is the same
6:01:59 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
actually discounts are fixed for all levels and members
6:02:06 PM Customer Jeffrey Taylor
the 10% is for the military... mine was only 7%.... : (
6:02:15 PM Customer Jeffrey Taylor
odd
6:02:42 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
actually the 10% discount only applies to alienware systems

Sounds to me like you should be getting a 10% bonus there!

Here's more:

welcome
6:05:44 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
anything else for me?
6:06:16 PM Customer Jeffrey Taylor
I guess, for someone in the military, how do they use the EPP program then? the one person I knows isn't sure how
6:07:00 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
for the military you can use the regular epp site
6:07:20 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
but if you will be shipping the computer to an apo/ fpo address we have here a different epp division for that
6:07:46 PM Agent BE_EPP_Rep_Jose_R
you can login the epp site, then select department of defense

I hope this helps! the site is www.dell.com/EPP --- You will need a "Member ID" that you should be able to get from somebody in your chain of command...

Good luck mate, let us know how it turns out!

 

You are military? You might want to double check that. I have been working with AAFES and right now they don't have the new configurations up on their site yet, but Dell told me they will eventually. It may take a couple of weeks though. I was told by AAFES that if I didn't want to wait, I could order it from Dell and tell them I am military and they should give me the EPP discount. She believed the discount was 7%. The only things is if I buy it straight from Dell rather than wait until AAFES gets them on their site I will have to pay tax. So I think I will wait a couple weeks and hope it shows up with AAFES.

 

does the epp program work for australians too ?

i just found there is no discount for alienwares in australia atm

when i went into a dell kiosk i got my m17x 10% off anyways :\

 

Hmmm...maybe for this system it is 10% instead of 7%. Even better!
Dodge,
I would still wait and try ordering it through the AAFES online store. I am retired military and ordered my original M17x there. The big advantage there is you pay NO tax. If you order through Dell's site even using the Department of Defense area you may still have to pay the tax and that is a big savings by itself. All you need to do to create an account on AAFES is have the right info to prove you are military. It will guide you through it and it's easy. Once logged on you can order it. But like I said...may be a couple weeks before the R2 shows but will be worth it.

 

just so everything clear you don't have to be active military to sign up AAFES and buy the M17x and you don't pay taxes. My Father is retired military I don't know if he knows about this.

it would be awesome to get 10% off + 3% off for using dell credit card and pay no tax. that would be $500 to $600 dollars off depending on config maybe even $700

 

I ordered through AAFES and my discount seemed to be much higher than 10%. The only problem is, when ordering through AAFES I don't believe you can use the Dell card. I don't remember seeing an option to do that, unless the Dell card is a Visa/MC/AMEX. I believe AAFES actually makes the payment to Dell and you pay AAFES. I'm also considering upgrading to the M17x but I'll have to see the price when AAFES site gets updated. Hopefully it happens soon

 

Our systems don't come from Poland. Our part supply is independent of what Europe gets.

 

nagshead got back to me and he said there's no compatibility issues with the 1333 mhz ram and the M17x-R2.