New M14x Setup Questions

Just ordered an m14x and I'm super excited to get my hands on it! Since I hope to hit the ground running, is there anything you guys can share on setting it up properly/optimizations? i.e. deleting/disabling certain useless bloatware or processes

Also, cooler-wise what would be better for the m14x: Notepal U3 or Zalman NC2000?

After the Black Friday sales, I'm sure your answers will help a lot of us noobs so many thanks in advance!

 

one thing I love about alienware is the lack of bloatware that comes with the machine. you shouldn't have to uninstall anything

 

id definitely overclock the gpu with MSI Afterburner

annnnnnd skyrim

 

I really want to like the elder scrolls series, but they're just not my cup of tea. More of a bioware fan.

Thanks for the tips so far, keep 'em coming!

 

well if you are an old school console fan this machine emulates ps2 and gamecube amazing

also make sure you have turbo boost off in the bios, much lower temps, and if you really feel like squeezing the most power out of this machine i suggest this: [Mod] Voltage increase Nvidia GT 555M - Page 7 but thats for the brave and its possible it voids the warranty

 

If you got an i7 processor, cooler is almost a must lol, you'd thank yourself if you did. There isn't really much to do as far as tuning. Maybe a registry clean, stop some msconfig start up items, and see if you have the latest drivers which would probably will. For a nice cooler, i use the targus chill mat works really great and you can use it on a desk or lap, but others are good, and a nice gaming mouse, and you'd be set. Umm the nc2000 wouldn't look like it would cover the rear cpu fan. So i think the u3 would be better.

 

I didn't have to uninstall anything because, as already pointed out, there is no bloatware on there.

Again, as already mentioned, it would be worth running msconfig as it does boot up with a lot of programs running. Currently, I only have my anti-virus (NOD32) and something called SugarSync that starts on bootup.

I also went and bought a laptop cooler - the notepal U2. It has a couple of fans on the underside that can be moved. It also sits quite nicely on my lap.

 

Thanks. So msconfig and notepal u3 it is then. Kind of a shame about the overheating though...how bad is it? Does it have any actual ramifications, or is it mostly a problem for overclockers? Wondering if I should've bought a m17x or sager instead...

 

It doesn't have an overheating issue, just an excessive heat issue, mainly from the i7 sandy bridge. It wont shut down, harm the computer, or anything, although it may make the battery wear down a bit faster. The m17x would be a better value, but you're paying for portability with the m14x. The m17x is huge compared, and the sager, would be the best value, but its truly ugly IMO.

 

That's good to know niko. As long as it doesn't harm the machine, I'm not too worried.

 

1)For hardware information and temperature monitoring get HWinfo64
2)For GPU overclocking get MSI afterburner
to reduce boot time, use Soluto- its relative small and efficient software.
3)Laptop cooler is for you to decide. you can certainly live without it if you disable turbo boost.
4)If possible get Kingston Hyperx 1600Mhz DDR3 modules.
5) avoid CPU overclocking as Bios basically locked the multiplier. so its less of performance boost and more heat.


DONT FORGET TO MAKE A RECOVERY DISC USING ALIEN RESPAWN. Do it the first thing, when you get your machine.It will help you setup your machine back to factory setting incase you wanna have fresh windows installation or some shiz went wrong.

and last...enjoy this beast!

 

i second that, i just had to restore mine and i lost a few apps that i cant seem to retrieve like the webcam one, make that recovery disc!!!

 

Thanks again for the tips!

Quick question: Does turbo boost noticeably improve performance, or are the slight differences not worth the extra heat output?

 

yeah, I'd be interested in the answer to this and how you actually go about doing it. Is it as simple as booting into BIOS and selecting the option?

 

I just received my m14x (with the i7) on Saturday. I've been running a couple minor Steam games (Portal 2, L4D2, TF2) and I also do audio production with it. I haven't bought a cooler yet (didn't expect to receive this so soon! was supposed to arrive the 14th, got here the 3rd!), but am eyeing the CoolerMaster U2. However, when running my biggest, most resource hogging mix sessions in Cubase, I still haven't gone over 60C on the CPU. I haven't pushed my m14x to the max on anything yet, but I have thrown quite a bit at it at one time and it has handled it like a champ with absolutely no heat issues whatsoever.

According to the Dell rep I spoke to, the heat issues were an Intel problem with the chipset and has been rectified over the past three or four months. I'll be sure to post if I see any heat issues, but I highly doubt I'll see anything over 70C any time soon.

 

Thanks RubberCrow, bit less concerned about the heat now. Hopefully I get a unit like yours.

Anyone on the turbo boost question?

 

Well from looking around, it sounds like the turbo boost doesn't effect performance by much, but adds quite a bit to the heat. Off it goes I guess.

Also keep hearing about R2 and new GPUs coming out soon...hope the laptop I ordered doesn't become outdated before I even get my hands on it. Any idea on Dell's return policy on alienwares?

 

you have 21 days to return the machine. I wouldn't worry about it being outdated because the the newer 600 series card isn't gonna be much faster than whats in there now.

 

Good to know thanks bigtonyman!

 

hmm i think i skip the making recovery disk when i jus got my new AW m14x. how do i manually start it?

 

a few questions:

I did not make a recovery disc when I first got mine, and it is now two months old. How do I create one with the fresh factory settings? Why create one? I think we could run alien respawn at startup to restore to factory settings if something goes wrong?

How do we disable turbo boost?

How do we turn off some startup items to make it start faster?

Also, any other tips to keep the machine running smooth and fast? like defrag?

sorry, I am a noob

 

Dont worry, we all starting as n00b and that why forums like NBR exist to help those in need of help, and it's a good place to find info and to spread info too.

I did not make a recovery disc when I first got mine, and it is now two months old. How do I create one with the fresh factory settings? Why create one? I think we could run alien respawn at startup to restore to factory settings if something goes wrong?

Creating the recovery disc is important because if you accidentally delete or intentionally delete the Recover Drive, then if something happen like system crash or BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), then you'll be to use the recovery disc to fix the problem by restore it to the point when you create the disc, and another thing is that when you reinstall or fresh/clean install your Windows, the AlienRespawn program will also be deleted, and you cannot download it in the Dell driver and download page, it's like an emergency rescue for your laptop should it doesnt want to start.

For "how to" you can follow this link here: HOW TO: Preserve AlienRespawn - stock drive to aftermarket drive / AlienRespawn Q&A If you have more question about the AlienRespawn you can ask in that thread. And I've also make a back setup file for the AlienRespawn program and can be download by follow this link AlienRespawn Basic or browse the link on my sig for more drivers/goodies

However, if you have delete the Recovery drive, then the AlienRespawn program will be useless it will not work without the recovery drive.

How do we disable turbo boost?

You can turn it off in the BIOS, I think press F8 at system startup (when you see the alien head logo) and then it will flash the BIOS for you, follow this link to see where the Turbo Boost option is:

How do we turn off some startup items to make it start faster?

You can turn off those startup item why typing "msconfig" (Without quote) in the start menu, and press enter, then it will bring up the System Configuration for you to make adjustment, the startup item can be found in the "Startup" tab, in there you can disable some or all item, the reason it will make your computer run faster is that, when you PC is first running, it will run all of the program list in that tab, and that slow your computer down when you turn on your computer.

For me I disable the program like Yahoo Messenger, iTune, Roxio, Steam, Winamp Agent etc... because I felt those program doesnt need to start at startup, and if you want to know what the different, you can temporary disable all item and restart your laptop, then you'll see your laptop will start (after the logon screen) really fast because there's no program running at that time. However I do not recommend disable those important programs like the Antivirus programs because if you disable that item, it mean that it will not run until you manually start it up.

Also, any other tips to keep the machine running smooth and fast? like defrag?

Yeah, there are others too, follow this link below to find out more, you can also googling for more tips:

Optimize Windows 7 for better performance

Increase PC Speed: Optimize your computer, help your computer run faster

Hope that help.

 

Thank you so much for your help! I will try all of the above when I get home tonight.

+rep

 

Try SOLUTO. its an awesome software. On its first boot, it clocks exactly how much time every single software/driver takes to load on startup. It then presents you with a list showing each software/driver and time it takes. all you need to do is to click on software and select whether to stop it from loading at boot or delay startup.

You will see a significant decrease in startup time. Do check it out!


Here to help!

Most of the benefit you get to see from turbo boost will be with single threaded applications where CPU can be overclocked to 2.9Ghz on one core.
But truth be told, there is hardly any CPU intensive app that uses one core so i fail to find any boost in performance. most of the current softwares are optimized to utilize atleast 2 cores or more. Hence overclocking limits to 2.6Ghz or something. but this constant overclocking does add heat to system. but performance wise, i guess there would be a mere 3-5% difference.