The Official m15x Owners Lounge

Thanks for the pictures guys - turns out I have the exact same heatsink, right down to what's written on the labels. See attached.

Well, I guess something else must be messed up. I can't think of anything else other than the thermal paste, I'm going to see if I can get a hold of some so I can re-apply it and see if it fixes anything.

 

If it is the exact same heatsink as the other guy's, then it could be a bad application of thermal paste.

 

i love that you posted that ten minutes after chaz confirmed he had the same one. lol.

 

roflmao. Anyways, chaz - if you happen to find out that the problem is fixable - let us know.

 

the next step would be to take out the heat sink very gently and examine the thermal paste application. then you will need to apply some AS5. surely there must be an electronic store like frys, tiger direct or micro center near you that you can run out and buy a small tube?

 

Which older one Michael? Was the older one confirmed to be an 8800GTX on an eariler M15x design? Has anyone with overheat problems confirmed theirs look like this sandwich arrangement?

EDIT: Whoops thought I was on the last page when I wasn't. So we're back to the thermal paste now then hehe.

 

Alienware wont be open until monday so unfortunately I don't think Chaz will be able to get in contact with them until then. Fortunately though, I do believe Chaz will be able to talk to them and inquire about the issue and hopefully get an answer. Chaz is one smart dude and when he calls up telling them he had heating issues with his test unit... I bet they will Have to put someone on the phone who will talk to him about the issue.

I guess we can only wait and see ;(

 

Ha Fusioncon i just noticed you got Gksill Ram to inside your m15x. Funny how ill be taking a picture of my laptop inside soon and we will see pretty much the same thing (i hope) from what im understanding Rev A seems to be the more reliable heat sink.

 

WOW..... That's great !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

AHA! Screwdriver FTW

 

not at all ... chaz has the same heatsink. I could have had the same heatsink... and my whole system was a lemon. We have determined that the heatsink is not causing this. So there really isn't a more "reliable" one ... there is no "faulty" one either.

 

has anyone checked the initials of their "Builder" on their alienware info sheet? would be interesting to find that all the bad ones were by the same initials, but not "RR" since that's who did mine

ps - isnt it time to rename this thread "offical m15x emergency room", feels more like that than a lounge sadly.

 

damn all these problems are making me worried. I seriously started to think of canceling my order :-/

 

I've been thinking that too, but I figure if I get one with any or all these problems, I'll return it. If they give me grief over returning it, I'll call the credit card company.

N

 

Thanks Nyceis. I was thinking to wait for it and test it...

BTW the bad part is that 5,200 m15x orders were delayed and now are all in production (that's what I was told when I talked to them on phone) this will put the builders under pressure.

 

credit insurance ftw! lol

but actually you guys shouldn't feel down... it seems like theres a lot but in truth the problems are very few and being taken care of as we speak so that future owners like you don't have to deal with them. Of the 4 troubled systems we know of (GRB, hemlok, mine, Chaz) 3 of them are in alienware's hands at the moment being repaired while the 4th belongs to a notebookreview.com staff member! nobody will get their attention like chaz, but honestly as a customer i've been treated very well thus far and i feel like they are giving my system the urgent attention that it deserves. I wouldn't give up hope at this point, because otherwise the systems are great and i can't wait to get my baby back in my hands again.

 

There's been quite a lot of people with the over heating issue. A lot of people do not have m15x's yet which is probably why you don't see more *NEW* people with the issue - simply because AW is not shipping systems.

 

We'll see if they are on the ball. I should be getting mine this week. I still don't think i will but they assured me last week that they are on schedule. So we'll see. They claim that the only thing that is delayed on my system right now is the smart bay batt which will arrive at their warehouse in 3 weeks. If i get it in i'll run some test, take some photos, etc. If i don't, it's ok too... maybe they're fixing those problems for me.

 

Well I hit 93* tonight I guess my luck of 80 is over. THat is a HUGE jump. That is 199 degrees F! So do I call alienware to talk about this? What is the verdict for people that are getting temperatures this high??!!!

 

Wow my nameplate is practically burnt to a crisp!!! It is severely oxidized looking (if that is the right term). Wow..i am pretty upset.

 

Got a pic of that?

N

 

unfortunately I just moved and am nowhere near a digital camera. I am frusturated to say the least though. Ironically, I wasn't gaming that long. The past few days I have spend much much more time gaming and it didn't exceed 80 degrees. I gamed for about an hour tonight and looked to see it at 93 degrees. There is just no reason this should be that hot after an hour of gaming. The oxidized nameplate I can live with as I am sure it isn't because it reached 93 degrees. I am sure most systems will eventually show similar "wear and tear" as the nameplate is located on the bottom of a very hot machine. But we paid too much coin to have this thing be a permanent fertility killer.

 

Wow Dave... it burned your nameplate? Holy cow.... if the thing was sitting on your lap you might have burned a whole str8 through your pants lol! I'm so sorry to hear you're having problems. If it hasn't been 30 days you can always return it (worst case scenario). Call them up and complain.. There's no reason a system should be so hot your name plate gets burned to a crisp!

 

i was suprised to see how puny and disapointing the nameplate was after all. i thought it would larger/ thicker metal. not too impressive.

 

damn all this is getting nothing but worse

 

I where going to place my order on 03/19. 80000+ views on this thread, 1400 replies.. When does Alienware reply to this thread? They know it's here. They dont care? Or did their computers overheat so they can't reply..?

I WHERE going to place my order on 03/19..

Beam us some answers Alienware...! Are you going to fix this machine or just keep making refunds and watch orders get canceled all day?

Off topic: Have anyone seen a picture with the dvd drive opened?

 

Whatever you do, don't cover the fan while using ATITool to get a max of something with a 15 minute heat up phase. I made it hit 105. >.>

 

Did your nameplate mysteriously change looks after it hit 105? ;p

 

this is unfortunate to say the least. i really hope alienware can clean up their act once and for all, though that may be a little too optimistic based on their track record. they are so close to having hands down the best products and designs, but cannot make it that way--close to flawless; customer service could use some serious help as well.

also can someone tell me if these screenshots look right for x7900 2.8ghz and 8800gtx?

thanks

 

This overheating problem only when gaming, I'm assuming, correct? I plan on gaming only casually so am I going to have to worry about this overheating problem???

 

@whaydon



EDIT: Your actually on stealth mode. Your GPU and CPU downclocks to that when you activate stealth mode. Make sure stealth mode is off before gaming.

 

@Jelly Belly

Yes its gaming, mostly on demanding games. You won't have to worry about if you don't game much. But if you plan to game, you might aswell wait for alienware to fix this problem to avoid any problems.

 

cpu-z and gpu-z are both flaky with this notebook (for my anyway). they give me whacky readings while other apps like everest and ntune give me solid and more appropriate readings.

gpu-z : go to sensors tab and you will see different information

cpu-z : for me (penryn) the multiplier and core speed will flip between full and half seemingly randomly

so i would say you are probably not running in stealth. get everest from lavalys and ntune from nvidia.

actually now that i think of it some builds of everest arent 100% with the m15x either, a later build couldnt even see the 8800 at all, but an earlier build seems fine.

 

paid too much coin for the nameplate to start rotting within a week that's for sure. i'd sure as heck love to see a pic of that.

you got two mirrors? maybe you can rig something up using the internal camera

seriously, sorry to hear that yours is starting to exhibit the problems.

eep, i'm next?

 

hopefully not, fusioncon. When does yours arrive again?

 

this is a little frustrating. when mine comes in, i will give them 2 days of testing. If it overheats, i'll send it in for one fix... if that still doesn't work, refund it is and i seriously doubt i'll ever buy an alienware again.

 

Shame on alienware. They are loosing hundreds of their costumers due to this Gaming Laptop Not being able to game any longer than 1 hour.

Since when did the m15x look like this:

 

All of this negative talk about the overheating issues with the m15x has dampened my enthusiasm for my soon-to-be-shipped m15x. I sure hope they identify the design flaw and remedy it ASAP.

 

I sure hope your m15x will be great mysterio. I hope alienware fixes this problem with heating when they build yours I reported the heat issue, with the 8800M GTX and they will look into it ASAP.

 

Evidently, production on my system hasn't even started, yet, since the chasis has been on backorder. I let AW know I was disappointed in them for not informing me of this. I don't mind delays in production, as long as I'm kept informed. My original estimated ship date was 3/13; now it's 3/17-19. Given this design flaw, I'm happy that my system has not yet entered production.

 

i have mine, that was in reference to the few folks saying "mine doesn't overheat" getting whittled down to even fewer folks now...

 

i spoke with AW support and got absolutely nowhere after 45 minutes of running 3dmark06 and having them monitor my temps. They would like me to open up the system and check to make sure everything is appropriately placed...yawn. I am in the tail end of my graduate program and the downtime I have I would rather be playing games then spending an hour getting nowhere with AW. They won't send anyone to my house because "on site is only for replacement parts." I guess I understand that but I don't understand them wanting me to make sure the GPU is seated properly. Of course it is. The damn system just doesn't have adequate cooling. That is the bottom line. Whether it is crappy thermal paste application, not enough fan power or just plain crappy design, those are the likely scenarios. Me opening the case will do nothing to help the situation other than having to apply AC5. They should send out a person to apply the AC5 for me and everyone else with these laptops.

I understand that there are issues inherent with every technology purchase. However, when you are spending 3k+ on a flipping laptop, then you should expect to be treated extremely well when trying to resolve these issues. There are problems with many cars but do you think Aston Martin buyers are going to be treated like your chevy buyers in the service department? No.

So why does AW continually give people the runaround, different answers and inconsistent information? For example, on my call today, the rep Daniel (who was pretty nice) said: "Well the system should shut down after 90*." I stated that I haven't heard that and that other people in the forums have had over 90 degree temps. His response implied, innocently as it may have been, that I was lying. He then tried to state that the readings from the programs could be inconsistent or not true readings. I remember that another AW rep said that "90 is high but won't cause damage." So which is it? "90 shuts down the system" or "90 is high but wont kill your 3k purchase"?

I have been a defender of AW and have been a repeat buyer but I am not going to take this lightly. I am a busy person as many of us on here are and I don't have the time or the patience to be on forums troubleshooting all day, on the phone with AW or taking pictures of my machine or opening my machine for alienware to "try" to fix it. They need to send the appropriate people to fix this. They need to address this to the forums. They need to treat us like the buyers we are. Without us they would be nothing. They need people that will be willing to spend 3k on a computer. People that buy a lexus get treated like they bought a lexus. I feel like I am getting treated like I bought a used yugo.

 

Wow mine is in phase 6 and I am not that excited of getting it anymore.



Can somebody please post something good, please?

 

dude calm down, this is the best laptop on the market. (the xps 1720 is good too) buts thats it. you have to understand that everything can never be perfect. people just use forums to complain, im guilty of it too. but the fact is this laptop can play 99% of games maxed and downclocking or not, i never had a problem. sure there are other small flaws (i dont have any but people tell me they do) but is anything perfect?

 

alienware/user, what temps have you been getting? What kind of cooler are you using? I am about to go buy one tonight as I am not going to keep risking having these high temps. I do have a notepal coolermaster but that really scratched up my older xps lappy so I am looking for something that wont scratch the front of the system.

 

i would also like to add that while my recent posts are upset i have praised the system overall. This system is beautiful and does play todays games really well (sans crysis). I would just like to figure out quickly if there is a significant design flaw that can or cant be remedied before my return period is up. That is all.

 

totally agree with you dude. I haven't had many problems but of course I don't push mine that hard. On the other side I can't get my stinking burner to go over 2.4x but hopefully the new drive there sending me works. I also agree with dave we deserve some of the best CS out there but instead we get shafted and they don't care. I've been treated better @ a gas station after buying a piece of gum

 

here is something good

I reported this heat issue to alienware, twice, and added links to this lounge, i will be waiting for a response and will post ASAP

 

i dont use a cooler. that would be too loud, which is one of the reasons i got a laptop. i try not investigate tempertures and such. all i know is i can play basically every game maxed, even crysis with the triple pack mod. do you have the penrynn? my laptop always feels cool, with heavy gaming it heats up but nothing to start worrying about.

 

Wow, i called alienware yesterday about this issue, and she said "We have to place you on hold for 10 minutes" and i said" ok sure " and i was on hold for 17 minutes, then heard the beep noise when the person hangs up. and im like wth? I could be treated better on a bus with criminals