Rate my M16X please!

Could you not just get around having to take the battery out by using smart battery software?

 

1. As the others have said, taking out the battery when on AC power does help in prolonging the battery's lifespan. I would advise you to check out the notebook battery guide.

2. I asked about changing RAM before I did it, and the AW rep told me that chaging both RAM and Hard Drive won't void your warranty.

3. For the problems you mentioned. I have never had any issue with overheating. Touch controls were unresponsive when I got my m15x, though that was solved by the x34 BIOS which new systems would have.

The keyboard lag is sometimes there, but very rarely happens on mine. Been using it for about a month now, and I've only experienced it once. Though i believe AW is working on this issue now. Creaky hinges are still here though, you have to use both hands when lifting it up to get minimize the creaking sound

 

Hows x34 working for you btw, cha? Ever have any major issues like audio popping? Or is it all good for you?

 

Audio seems to be the same as during the old BIOS, Ennea. I don't really crank up the volume when on speakers though. Usually increase the volume when I'm wearing a headset.

But some observations I had with the BIOS:

1. Fans do kick in to high gear more often
2. Way more responsive touch controls

 

1. I do that all the time. By taking the battery out you can make it last longer because there are 2 things that make battery life shorter. Those are time and heat. By taking heat out of one of the factors the battery will last longer. Your cells will begin to die with time regardless. You will just be able to extend your battery's life.

2. Changing ram does not void your warranty since i have already done it.

3. It is still too early to tell.

4. Which major are you going into for computer classes. Computer Science or Computer Engineering?

 

As with most battery operated electronics, if you're not going to use the battery source, remove it until you do.

 

Hey guys hows everybody doin?

I was just wondering I made an order change on Monday Aug 25th and was told that the order change should go through by the end of today, and they are waiting for the 8800 Video Card to arrive which should be latest on Friday... Was just curious how long you guys think I would receive my laptop.

I know its an annoying question but my cpu at home is dying and I need to know how long it usually takes... thanks for your time

 

It depends on if the order change screws up your phases. Assuming they get the 8800 on Friday and nothing else is backordered, your system may ship by the following Friday. It really depends though. If you pick a configuration for the m15x with no components on backorder on alienware.com right now, it says estimated ship date of exactly a week. Also, someone else in the forum posted that their order shipped a couple days early, so who knows? Maybe yours will ship as early as next Wednesday?

Just be patient. I'm not sure what phase you are in, but if you are in phase 4, don't freak out and make 100 threads if your order jumps backwards to phase 3. This is a bug in the phase page. This is actually a good sign, as it means you will soon be advanced to phase 5.

 

I would suggest including a course in C/C++ if you are planning to go into software development. Visual C++ and Visual.NET are prgramming languages in widespread use in the software industry.

 

thanks for the reply , BTW you have the absolute best avatar i have ever seen LMFAO!! you got served

 

i tried learning c++ by myself its so boring...

i wish i had an exact ship date for my laptop... this cpu is killin me

 

I ordered the Ripley design and im currently in phase 6. I already made 2 changes to my order and I was told since I am upgrading to the 8800 Nvidia card that they are waiting for the delivery of them which should be on Friday the latest. Lets say I want the skullcap design, do you think it will delay the order even more ? What do you think?
Also if anyone has high def images of both the Ripley and Skullcap in silver please let me know... Ripley is amazing but Skullcap looks pretty **** crazy...

 

shake:
at the risk of sounding rude, with all of your postings, why did you not ask all these questions prior to placing an order?

 

I read alot about how bad the touchpad is, people went as far as saying its almost impossible to use... I ordered my laptop late August and was wondering if anybody knows if this issue was fixed? Maybe Alienware got a few complaints and changed it... Im just curious, thanks for any info.

 

AW includes a sheet that you can put over which makes it easier to use. You can also get a thin foil strip which helps as well (I forget what user did this).

 

Any idea how much longer for the laptop to ship lol? Im in Phase 6 and i think they are just receiving the 8800 tommarow... I hope I can get to phase 7 soon...

 

I really don't find it to be that bad actually. I've used a many worse touch pads before. I've heard people say they can't tell when it begins or ends, but the light pipe makes it feel pretty obvious, IMO. I use the mouse like 80% of the time but the only qualm I have really with the touch pad is that it doesn't have a scroll bar. I kind of like having that in a touch pad. Personal perference though, of course.

 

Oh, it does have a scroll bar actually. Try scrolling by sliding your finger up and down on the right part (but not too far right) of the touch pad.

 

what i do to find the touch bar is look on the bottom right of the synaptics driver icon next to the time. i touch around the right side or bottom side of the touchpad and watch to see there is a blue dot on the synaptics driver icon. that lets you know you are on the scroll bar. the green dot on the synaptics driver lets you know you are moving the mouse.

 

Awesome. Thanks guys. Now I really can't find much of a problem with the touch pad.