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

Yeah, Joker is indeed awesome. It's rare there's someone I look up to when it comes to tech stuff, but he's...awesome :-D

And yeah, I was wondering about the i7 820 too, as that's the one I'd probably get. (I guess I'd be choosing between the faster clocked but dual core 620, the 720, or the 820, but I bet I'd go for the 820).

Okay...very cool! It's not the price that worries me so much as the compatibility issues

It's a 210 watt PSU, right?

ARGH! It says the thing wouldn't ship until a month from now anyway. I guess the 5870s I'd have to wait even longer

I'm just not comfortable buying a system like that with a known problem. It's SOOOO weird Dell hasn't fixed it given it seems like a pretty easy BIOS fix. Not comfortable having to rely on those programs as hacks to get it working

Dang it, if not for that, I would have bought an M15x MONTHS ago, rather than drifting from system to system and discovering it has a yet worse problem

 

i did alot of research on this and the 4870's seem to be by all accounts a very powerful gpu. I dont think the extra delay plus the added charge (probably outrageous since dell will do the charging) is worth the slight preformance increase. Then again i dont care about benchmarking and i dont think DX11 is going to be fully embraced for years. All those things make the 5870 a non factor for me. If im wrong about dx11 well the m17 is fantastic because its one of the few notebooks where you can actually upgrade the gpu yourself, atleast at that point down the road the 5870's will be cheaper.

 

TRoof^^

 

If it's blindingly bright with insane off-axis viewing angles (vertical and horizontal), then it's RGBLED. It's pretty obvious when you see it.

240W

 

Oh crud...so the spare PSU Dell sells for it is wrong? (It's only a 210...maybe it's for the first revision M17x?)

 

no. The r1 is 240w as well.

 

Huh. So I wonder if the part listed on Dell:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...9&category_id=2999&mfgpid=202796&chassisid=-1

Is listed wrong, or is the wrong part?

And I forgot to ask, but does the M17x-R2 have the USB/iPod/iPhone problems the M15x has? Apparently some of the newer Asus laptops have fixed them.

 

Quick question about the hard drive mountings. If I order the system with only 1 hard drive and want to add a 2nd afterwards, is that going to be problem? Specifically worried about not having a bracket or mount necessary to hold the 2nd drive.

Thanks.

 

On this same note. I though i was gonna be ready to go when mine got here to add the second and get it raided first thing but.... I noticed the drivers i had from a previous link were for the NVIDA chipset. Where would i find the drivers to use for raid when installing windows? Is it the intel chipset drivers on the tech support page listed for the M17x-r2? Thanks

Or can i use the raid drivers that came with the other chipset file i have... there is a folder labeled raid there but not on the r2 intel chipset folder....

 

Has anyone "tuned" or "calibrated" their battery on this thing...if so, how ?

 

I got 2 M17x's with extra brackets inside the machine, even though I ordered the machines with 1 HDD. I am in EU, don't know what they configure for US or other countries. They were made in China though.

I have a few brackets extra now, including interposers & screws. If someone wants to have 1 extra, PM me and we can sort something out. For free ofcourse, just pay for stamps/postal charges.

 

For my R2 I bought one hard drive but only got one bracket with it. The inventory specifically said it came with a 2nd bracket, so I called the Alienware support number on the Alienware site (not the Dell number) and told them I didn't get the 2nd one. They agreed I should have got it and shipped it out right away. I got it the next day via FedEx...that was fast service!

But my original M17x-R1 did have two brackets when I bought it with only one HDD.

 

I've got a little problem with my ATI drivers.. I tried to install the 10.2 drivers. So I downloaded it, unzipped it in ATI/Support, then got the Mobility Modder to mod the files, uninstalled my previous drivers. Then, when installing, it installs the Catalyst, and then, when it comes time for the drivers, my screens starts flashing, then turn black, and stay black.. I tried 2 times, and both times it did the same thing... any help on that ?? What could I have done wrong ?

 

Anyone have that link to the 10.3 beta drivers again ?

 

Yep, got the same problem here. When it wakes up, only a black screen with the mouse cursor. Logging in blind doesn't help. When I press the power button again to put it into sleep, I momentarily see the Windows desktop, then it switches off. Usually it works again when I power it on again after that.

But yeah. Strange stuff...

 

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PWCP4AZN

 

It also happens here, when I hibernate the system

 

Anyone have it on rapidshare...mega is giving me fits

 

You might want to check out the N61Jq or the N71Jq (17-inch screen difference only) too. They both come with i7 processors, ATI Mobility™ Radeon® HD 5730 (with DirectX 11 support) and 1 USB 3.0 port. I was doing my shopping today as well and phoned Asus in Malaysia asking about the G73jh. They didn't have that in stock but they recommended me the N61Jq which is available next week here (they are testing locally at the moment after the stock was brought in from Taiwan). I am really surprised that it comes with USB 3.0 so if Dell doesn't release the Radeon HD 5870 for M17x-R2 next week, the N61Jq is definitely in my radar.

 

Hey I am just about to order my system!

Just wondering what you guys think should I get 6gb of ram and a blueray writer or 8gb of ram and a blueray reader?

Thanks

 

My advice wait another week or two.ATI HD5870 is expected within next two weeks.

 

id get the extra ram and the reader...most blu rays would be tough to burn i imagine. Anyway the 5870's are a consideration BUT you will have to pay extra for it. If you have a budget dont hesitate on the 4870's the preformance is great. Really the 5870's will only provide marginally better real world preformance over the 4870's. Not worth the wait or the cost imo. If it happens to become a problem down the road you can upgrade to a better gpu.

 

Go with 4 or 8 GB of RAM, not 6. 6GB runs in single channel mode and is thus slower. If you can tolerate only having 4 gigs, go with that for now. Going to 8 is ridiculously expensive right now and it will be cheaper to upgrade on your own down the road.

 

4 is all it makes sense to get

 

My philosophy is if you have to ask then get the cheaper of the 2

 

Can anyone confirm that 6gb runs only in single channel mode?

 

I was under the impression it was dual channel with 3gb each

 

nope. the manual shows 6 gb configs with a 2gb stick and a 4gb stick. in single channel mode. afaik, they don't even make 3gb sticks. systems that come with multiples of 3 these days normally have triple channel memory, with 3 dimm slots. some clevos come like that, and lots of desktop systems.

 

Yah I think you're right, I recall seeing that somewhere too

 

looked it up: r2 manual, page 37.

 

10.2 cannot be modded as yet, just used the beta 10.3 they are much better and are made to run on mobile.

 

Has anyone successfully synced an iPod touch/iPhone with the R2?

Thanks...yeah, I've looked at those, although none of them (in the U.S. at least) have Blu Ray, and I'm not sure how that part performs. On paper it doesn't SOUND bad-400 of ATi's cores should be (on paper) similar to 112 of Nvidia's, although in practice people act like the current Nvidia parts are a lot faster, so I'm wondering if they're more chopped down than that.

Otherwise they're nice looking systems at a nice price though, and a real consideration since ATi is starting to support their GPUs next month.

Whoa...the 5870 could be a week or two away? That's cool... Just the fact they're built on a smaller process is cool.

And I have to agree with the go for 4 or 8 thing. Honestly...I thinking about 8, even though 4 is actually overkill for me today...but I can't help it :-D I figure as long as I'm going all out...

 

Yah I was able to before I sent mine back, why do you ask?

 

So it worked reliably with a touch/iPhone? There seem to be major issues with some usb devices (including the iPhone) with the Core i7 chipsets. The newer Asus models seem to have fixed them, but the older ones did, as does the M15x as far as I know, so it's good to hear if they've fixed that for the R2.

Oh, and how come you had to send it back?

 

Yah it worked fine with my iphone. Some led's had burned out after only a day of usage and the keyboard wasn't fitted right in the right corner and was protruding a little. I didn't want someone coming to tear it down after just getting it to replace the light board so I returned it.

I have to admit though I'm going through withdrawal....

 

Why is that? please elaborate? Soley for Games? what about 3D work?

 

Depends how intensive the work is. Will you be using programs like autocad or photoshop?

 

Cinema 4D, Photoshop, After FX & Premiere
I wanted to Go 8gig. but figured I could upgrade later for cheaper. Figured Dual 4870M was more important as my primary use is gaming of course!

 

You're exactly right, just wait for memory prices to drop. Your current set up is more than enough for gaming and should be adequate for most of your 3d work.

 

I know what you're saying about the iPhone and i7. My wife's studio 17 had that issue until dell issued a bios fix. R2 doesn't seem to have that problem. A quick look at the status.plist file for my most recent backup shows a successful sync.

 

What do you mean made to run on mobile ?? no modder needed ??

 

10.3 has support for hte mobile cards from ATI. No modding needed.

 

Yea, I've been using the 10.3 beta without any problems. Good to see ATI is getting with the program on mobile GPUs.

 

Yup, same here, have the 10.3 betas no issues at all

 

Thanks guys! That's great news that these companies fixed the issue (Though like many things, I have to wonder how a chipset/system was released without testing it WITH AN iPOD

Yeah, it's great news. Because I need Blu Ray, these systems weren't an option until this came along

All of this should have been done back in 2000...but at least it's finally happening.

 

There's some that have asked about the operating temperatures of the 920xm. I think my heatsink doesn't make 100% contact with the CPU (even with a thick application of paste) so I've initiated a system exchange. However, the latest application of MX-3 paste is giving at least 90-95% coverage which should give an idea of how the system cools a 920xm with a 5% bios OC in place.

System: Alienware M17x Quicksilver

• CPU: i920xm with 5% bios OC (no voltage change)
• Thermal paste: Arctic MX-3
• Video: 2 x 1GB ATi 4870m
• Ram: 4 GB DDR 3 1333 mhz
• Wireless: Intel 6300
• HDD1: Intel 160 GB G2
• HDD2: Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM
• Display: RGB LED 1200p

 

so CPU is knocking 80c at stock voltage

They definitely are warmer than the QX9300s but nothing unmanageable

 

its alot warmer. i had my 17x in winter so it hasnt gone threw summer heat yet but thats high.

 

Does anyone have GPU benchmark comparison between stock dell drivers, modded 9.12(I think that's the number but not sure since I do not have a system yet so have not ever messed with it) , and beta 10.3. It would be interesting to see if synthetic or in-game numbers changed at all.

 

Don is your man for a driver comparison haha