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

Too bad it's not true. It doesn't work for me at stock settings, it's flickerville in my favorite game. Games run fine as long as I disable turbo mode but then it pisses me off that I spent $1000 on a CPU that can't be used at stock settings.

 

That's the problem though scook. Alienware should be catering to the overclockers and the people that push beyond the design limit. Where's the 1.25 factor of safety??

 

... if you pushed it beyond the limit thats your choice and no they should not cater to that need.

 

Maybe Alienware needs to start marketing an NBR edition 300W PSU for an extra 100 bucks. lol

 

...Its sad when you feel like you need to take apart your system to find a PLL instead of sleeping when you know you have a test in the morning ....

i think i have reached the point of sheer insanity

its 2:30 am and i want to take it apart ....

 

Good luck man.

 

Ok the "fix" or rather bandaid for us 920xm users is ridiculously easy. Go into power settings, switch minimum processor power to 80% and max processor power to 80%. Then turn throttlestop on and checkmark both clock/chipset modulation to 100%. If the GPU clocks refuse to go above 2D (sometimes they get stuck), use rivatuner to set them back at default. I played frontlines fuel of war at smooth 60+ framerates 1200p max everything.

 

Nice. No RMA then

 

still not acceptable

 

It just blows my mind that they can release something like that without having tested it.

My friends/family think i'm crazy now because I've had nothing but issues and stress working with my big cool laptops. They said, Dell can't be releasing stuff that doesnt work. You shouldn't need to tweak. I agree with them, but it got to the point where I wasnt even telling htem what I was up to any longer with my laptop for fear of loss of respect

Anyway. I truly hope Dell takes care of the 920xm chip..

 

Oh man I lol'ed hard on this one. Yeah Dell really needs to clean up their act and do more extensive testing before selling these things, the stuttering with the R1 and now this with the extreme chips is really unacceptable.

 

Isn't it still DELL/ALIENWARE? (so there still should be an AW heart somewhere).
I have no knowledge of the testing extent of AW pre the Dell take-over. Was it so much better?

 

FYI, the Cat 9.12 driver exacerbates the problem.

 

Which driver are you on now?

 

If there is no way to really fix it, is anyone then considering getting an ES 920 based on Witcher's reports?

 

I'm using the oem driver. The difference is the oem driver flickers but my fps only drops during the flicker. When it flickers with the Cat 9.12 drivers it only flickers once but the FPS goes way down an never recovers. Eventually the system locks up.

No. I don't buy ES procs. I'll be more than happy to test them but refuse to buy them.

 

But I used to get throttling with 820qm in M15x. I know it has the less powerful psu but it also just had one gfx card(260gtx in my case). Are u guys sure 820qm won't throttle in M17x??

 

That solution your giving really works ?? Thank you very much !! After reading all those pages about that 920xm problems, I was getting real scared! I am a computer/electronic fan, but I ain't an electrical engineer. I can replace most components in a desktop, but I never opened a laptop, and all your playing around with different drivers and , that I don't really do it. I normally just go to the site of my component and download the latest "tested" driver.

So when I saw you all computer munchkins having difficulties with the 920xm, I got really scared. But let me ask something, your "solution" is in fact to tell your computer to work below it's supposed "power" right ? so we stilll end up having paid for a top machine wich can work at "top" power right ? And how do you know if your stuck to 2D ??

 

hmm.. my post seem to have been deleted or dint get through..

how does this throttling/flickering issue compare to the r1 stuttering and dpc latency issue?

does it look more 'uncurable' than the stutter/chipset flaw?

also does it hinder gaming more than the stutters?

i still havent understood what kind of flickers you guys are getting.. is it like screen tearing kind of flicker(some parts of the screen only) or the whole screen going black and then back again kind of flicker

 

There are 2 videos of it, by Joker and Mandrake. Look in this thread or the one that says "Nothing but issues with 4870's and R2" or something.

 

This is really disturbing to read all of the problems with M17XR2 with the i7920...I was ready to order one. What is more problematic is issues with m17x keep repeating themselves over and over (sli, stuttering, etc). I understand how technology works...but come on! Does dell even test their products before release!

 

Ummmm hate to bust your jump to the wagon but this isn't the same kind of problem as before ....

And there Is already a temp fix.

ALSO some members don't have it

 

Hey, good news! The pressure's off. You don't have to buy one if you don't want to.

 

Is that new for Alienware. This is gonna be my first time owning an Alienware ( didn't had that kind of money before ) and I never personnaly known anyone owning 1 either, but I've always been told and always thought you couln't get a better computer than an Alienware, and I am not talking only about power, but QUALITY !!!

 

Not always the case with aw but the current lineup is awsome

They can substitute as a sheild to!

 

Moo, your Holsteins are going to be jealous of Spider-Cow.

 

these issues with the 920XM have me paranoid as heck. i was just about to call and cancel the order and get the 820qm instead.

instead im going to wait it out until it gets it here and then see if i have any problems then.

 

I'm keeping the faith. I won’t be able to order until March anyway, assuming it is on the business end by then. The NBR army will certainly have AW all straightened out by then

 

Someone just put this in another thread, dunno if it helps with the current problem as I can't try it cuz I still wait after my computer, but might be worth a try...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=457162

 

For all the complainer that has not placed their order...

I ordered a Tricked out m17x-R2 because I wanted stuttering, throttling and high temps of CPU. I already knew what I was getting into.

So if you are afraid of those features, dont bother touching a high end laptop by AW, cause there won't be any laptop out there that will suit you. Thanks for coming..

 

I do like this (dispite the new owners their disapointment) but I am not complaining and would still like to have a 920XM.

But I just can't blow €1050 on only a proc from Dell.

I would like to

Maybe swap it on the way like I did with my R1!

 

You just got to man up and accept the challenges . Alienware is not for the lame, panty waist poseurs. LOL.

 

I have a quick question and if it has already been addressed please post the forum link. I am looking through Notebook Check and the 4870 x-fire get a much lower fps in Crysis than GTX 280M. The GPU bench for the 4870 x-fire got 27.5 and the 280M got 45. In fact in nearly every game they have the 280M is far ahead of the x-fire solution. Since I intend this computer as a gaming, not benchmarking, machine is this really how it plays out in the real world?

HD-4870 X2

GTX 280M

Edit: After looking more closely it seems the 4870 x-fire used in testing contained a total of 1GB video memory as opposed to the m17x-r2 which contains 2GB. Just want to make sure that is correct?

 

Notebookcheck isn't the most reliable source for benchmarks.

Members here would serve you better

 

Hello,

some people mentioned a power supply issue as the cause for the flickering/throttling and the 920xm processor. I was wondering if anyone tried turning things off such as turning the notebook display off and using an external monitor, removing the CD-rom, removing one of the HDDs etc to see if that shows any improvement.

 

Yes, turning things off works. Mainly turbo mode or one of the 4870s.

 

Ok...news update

Dell Precision M6500 gets upgraded with USB 3.0, Core i5 options

I think we can expect USB 3.0 with next M17x revision.

BTW is it possible to order M17x with lower end corei7 & later swap it to higher end 920XE without voiding warranty? Coz I can buy 920XE ES(Final stepping) for £380

 

yes you can just switch it out

 

Thanks! I'm going to buy the ES chip tomorrow & wait till AW upgrade M17x with HD5XXX. I can use saved money to buy 2nd SSD.

 

Not sure if you have seen my post, about the RGB monitor being withdrawn in the UK/europe Market?

is there any way that this is linked?

has any body with a non rgb monitir have this problem?

 

Sounds like a power issue. One thing though is that turning crossfire off could still mean that it's a crossfire issue and turning turbo mode off could still mean that that it was an 920xm issue/chipset issue. That's why I suggested turning off the monitor, HDD and other sort of irrelevant devices so that we know the main components are not at fault and it's indeed a power supply issue.

What puzzles me though is that there are some reports that people with the same components do not have these problems. If we narrow it down to the power supply we could then look at the power supplies/power drain of people who do not have issues and see how they differ from those who have issues.

I have no real evidence but I speculate (emphasis on speculate) that some component is operating out of its design specifications and it could be the power supply.

 

I don't think any other part besides the LED would make enough of an impact. I don't have an external monitor any longer to test.

 

Everyone was ordering the RGBLED with R2. Going to be difficult to find someone without the RGBLED but still has the i7-920XM and dual 4870s.

 

Its just the wording of the emails i receivved saying the RGB had been withdrawn from the euro market.

didnt seem that it was a stock issue.

i was reading some online articles about flicker in laptop screens and external lcd monitors due to a earthing problem

 

Well, anyone having the R2 can plug it in a HDTV or something and see if the flicker is still there while turning the monitor off ??

 

If the laptop can run on its power adapter alone, removing the battery or having the battery fully charged might shave off some watts due to the charging circuit being off.

If anyone with a problematic m17x R2 has a power meter they could test and see the power drain of the system under a full load and especially when it flickers.

The power supply is rated for 240W (if I am not mistaken) and I am pretty sure it is not an 80 plus (80% efficiency one) one. The maximum power drain it can handle should be lower than 240W. I am willing to bet at full load the system runs pretty close to 240W.

Power meter:

 

How about searching?

Joker already did some tests with a kill a watt....

 

It's been tested though not with the battery out I don't think.

 

Great info by Joker