*OFFICIAL* M14x R2 Owner's Lounge Thread - READ BEFORE POSTING

Okay

My M14x will arrive at the end of this week or in the first few days of next week, so you can expect to see pictures at the end of next week

 

Strangely enough I walked into Best Buy last week and bought one off the shelf. I am pleased with my purchase!

 

I strongly advise anyone who wants to buy a new Dell or Alienware laptop to call a sales rep and buy through them. Its amazing how much money they can save you off the listed price.

 

Shipped today while I was out!
Never got an email, the site wasn't updated, but I called the automatic order service line and they gave me my tracking info. Should be here tomorrow by 3PM!
So happy to get it before the 4th!

Hit 2 days before EDD so I wasn't one of the lucky ones. I did get an upgrade to overnight shipping though

 

bought my m14xr2 yesterday and its in production
EDD 20-7

 

mwahahaahahhah....you have no clue. The have brand new for sale in the outlet. With so many tricks available in the outlet that even if you get a refurb lets just say you can get them to ship you a brand new one down the road. With the 20% off coupon code along with $100 off $599 from amex sync along with the already 20%-30% discount from retail. On top of that if you ever have issues or want to return dell will easily offer your $50-$150 to keep the unit. So yeah go ahead and spend retail while I get laptops for half price with full warranty.

 

I ordered an m14x r2 from the outlet last night, it shipped today and should have it on Thursday!

I've had an m11x r2, m17x r2, m18x r1, and now I can say an m14x too. The only one I skipped was the m15x

 

So tempted to pick this laptop up. Also if you check outlet they have 3 BRAND NEW units in the outlet all around $1060-$1150 after 20% code. With the outlet I can get amex $100 tweet credit and just called to cancel the original order and guess what dell offered me $110 to keep it. Now I am tempted to pick up this unit in the outlet and with all the credits and such It should end up around $1069-20% = $855 - $100 amex and if have to modify/cancel you get some sort of credit between $50-$125.


$1069 - 20% = $855 -$100 AMEX - $75 DELL Customer care = $680

Processor Processor: Intel Core 3rd Generation Processor i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Base Alienware M14x R2
Hard Disk Drive 32GB mSATA caching SSD
500 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Memory 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
Media Bay 8X DVD +/- RW Drive
Video 1 GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForceGT 650M using NVIDIA Optimus technology
System Color Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Laptop Screen 14.0inch High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight, WLAN DMC, Red

Original order $1329 - 20% = $1063 -$100 AMEX - 110 DELL customer care = 853

Processor Processor: Intel Core 3rd Generation Processor i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Base Alienware M14x R2
Hard Disk Drive 750GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Memory 12 GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
Media Bay 8X DVD +/- RW Drive
KILLER WIRELESS N
Video 2 GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForceGT 650M using NVIDIA Optimus technology
System Color Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Laptop Screen 14.0inch High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight, WLAN DMC, Red

 

I just received my R2 today. Been downloading drivers and updates for it for at least an hour!

 

Definitely a great price for the r2. Your "original order" is essentially what I have, plus a 64GB mSATA 3Gbps drive I added. I throw a lot of stuff at it, and it seems to hover around 70c core temp max. Very snappy, and I have yet to take it all the way w/ 6Gbps SSDs in both the primary bay and mSATA slot. Should be stupid fast at that point.

 

Could you please tell me what are the AMEX and the Dell customer care discounts and where can I find info on them? Buying an M14x R2 from the outlet with these discounts seems to be a great idea indeed.

 

Here is the info on the Amex sync and tweet credit but you need an AMEX card

https://sync.americanexpress.com/twitter/offerterms/F121700001

I called to cancel my brothers order to order a different spec and they offered me $50 to keep it and then $90 and finally offered $100 + tax as last resort. I took the $100+ tax credit and kept the original order. If you ever want to return or cancel your order they will offer a credit of $50-$125 depending on purchase price as a credit.

The 20% code is dead for now but comes back every other week and look up on giftcards. You can get 10% off prepaid gift cards and also get $75 free gift card when you buy $400 gift card.

http://slickdeals.net/f/4706406-DELL-BOGO-Give-a-400-eGift-card-Get-a-75-Promo-eGift-Card

http://slickdeals.net/f/4816596-Dell-gift-card-deal-takes-some-work-DEAD

 

Okay, thanks for the info. Guess I'll wait for a 20% code then and see if I find a nice model in the Outlet then. +rep

 

When the 20% off comes back, can you please tell us where to get it because I have searched for it last night and I could not find one.

 

I would be checking these links for coupons

Dell Twitter

www.twitter.com/@delloutlet

http://forum.notebookreview.com/notebook-tech-bargains/636641-dell-2012-outlet-coupons-6.html

 

Dang. Should've used my AMEX card! Oh well, Dell credit has 6 month special financing w/o interest, and if I sell my m11x after repairing it, I should take about 40% off my m14x's bill. (I hope!)

 

I kinda want to chime in on the 1gb vs 2gb 650 debate. I think if you're buying the upgrade to satisfy a current or relatively-close-to-release piece of software or game, that will actually use it effectively, or if its a good price, or if you have money to burn, then its worth it. If you're thought process is to be future proof, it's a little bit of a crap shoot.

Perfect example is my m17x r1. I have 2x1gb 260's in SLI and it still does just fine with most things that I throw at it. However, its crazy how fast vram has progressed in just the last 3 years. VDDR3 vs VDDR5, am I using all 2 gigs of the sli cards? Sure. Are the speeds any faster because it's 2 gigs? Only because its SLI. These 650m's (correct me if Im wrong, just from what I have read) have the same speeds, pipe sizes, etc regardless of if they are 1gb, 2 gb, over 9000gb.

It's kind of like putting the max amount of RAM into a machine, if you're looking for speed. It's only going to go so fast. You have more space to put things, but it can only leave the pipes so fast. So 3 years from now is your FPS going to be faster because of 2 gigs instead of 1? Maybe. Is it going to keep up with a 2gb ddr7 (wishful thinking haha) card in 3 years? No way.

I think for graphic design software, video rendering kind of applications the upgrade my have some worth, if you're even going to push it that far. Or if your pushing 2 external monitors and not just using them as extra desktop space. For pushing as many frames per second as possible, the pipe is only so big. Put a 100gb card on the thing, it can only push out so much so fast.

 

Some do it to compensate for their e_peen short comings......

 

Wouldn't it be useful for very high quality texture pack mods for games? (I'm no expert, just asking )

 

Guys, my M14xR2's GT650M drops its clock speed after it hits 65C which is a big problem for me since I am in a tropical region (Malaysia, 30C+ all year long). I dont think the maximum temps for the GT650M is so low but the throttling is locked in the vBIOS so can anything be done about it?

 

officially a m14x r2 owner awesome laptop.

 

not more throttling! noooo

will be v curious to hear the verdict. i think this is what dogged me for 5 months w my r1. v frustrating to be performing and also battling performance issues!

 

Awesome... Did u actually receive it and where do u live.

My brother just got his from the dell outlet but keyboard back light was dead on arrival. They have a tech coming out this week to swap it out and gave my brother an additional 12% back on his Amex to keep the unit and take the repair. I am getting my unit on wednesday and mine is factory fresh build delievered 10 days early. Post up your specs...

 

When the GT650M exceeds 65C, the clocks will slowly drop to maintain it at less than 70C, usually around 67-68C. Core clock drops to around 600MHz usually.

 

Yeah just today, i7 3610, 1 gb graphics card, killer n, 6 gb ram, 900p. New, I'm in the us. The trackpad is smaller than I anticipated but otherwise it's a great laptop.

 

Here are a few pictures I took of my new M14xR2

I'm not a good photographer at all but I did really enjoy doing a photoshoot ^^

Spoiler

I hope you enjoyed

 

Been playing a fresh Skyrim install/new character on mine, had it since July 3rd. It really performs well! I did throttle down the antialiasing and anisotropic filtering to give me a boost in frame rate.

 

My M14xR2. Looks much better in real life than in pictures. It actually looks quite understated if the lights are configured nicely. Good keyboard and touchpad, decent screen, great peformance, and quite portable. I like it alot. Only negative is the rubber coated plastic gets greasy easily, and I specced the wrong HDD option (single 5400rpm HDD instead of 720GB + mSATA 32GB SSD).

Spoiler

 

Congratulations on your m14x!

All technology seems way different when you first get it then when you see it in pictures. I used to think Alienware's were ugly until I saw one in store.

Just over a month till I get my hands on mine!

 

I cant wait to get one of these.. hopefully I will order tomorrow

 

I'm getting mine on the 20th... Hopefully! Can't wait...

Spec'd mine for:
6gb ram, 750gb hdd only, I7-3720, killer n network card, 1gb card

But gonna buy 256 gb samsung 830 ssd and use a case for the 750 gb hdd as a backup drive, and get 16 gb (2x8gb) of corsair vengeance ram to really pimp it out

Any of yall try out the screen protector? Is it hard to put on? Is it worth it? Unsure if it's worth the trouble

 

I got an anti glare one from ebay, it was not that hard to apply, took me about 5mins I think.

 

Well I bought a R2 today! Got it used off of another forum for $1000, Its only a month old tho so all I'm really missing out on is the original packaging.

Here are the specs:
-- 14.0inch High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
-- 8X DVD +/- RW Drive
-- Processor: Intel Core 3rd Generation i7-3610QM Processor (2.3GHz up to 3.3GHz,6MB Cache,w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
-- Killer Wireless-N 1202 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO for Gaming and Video and Bluetooth 4.0
-- 750 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
-- 1 GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForceGT 650M using NVIDIA Optimus technology
-- 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz

I asked on the other M14x owners thread because I was thinking of picking up a R1 but ill ask here again. How does dell do with transferring warranties? If I have a problem with this laptop are they going to make a big deal over the fact that I am not the original owner?

 

Just got mine earlier this week and I absolutely love it. Perfect Performer and size.

 

Got mine today. This thing is absolutely beautiful. the pics online made it look a lil thick for my taste but seeing it in person its perfect. so sexy. now to get windows on this SSD and start gaming

 

First off, congrats, you will love that bad boy. Secondly, I believe the original owner needs to transfer the service tag to your name. Other than that, you should still be covered under his warranty as long as its transferred. Enjoy bro. You dont need no stinkin' original packaging.

 

Official a M14X R2 owner!!!!!!! And man, this beast really rocks!!!!!

 

Oh yeah I do. Put my ssd in it and man it's fast. Played secret world on ultra for a few hours last night and never hit 60 gpu or above 75 CPU. Good enough for my laptop since I'll only game on it when I'm not around my desktop. Yeah who cares about packaging but I would have liked to have a custom name plate and the little felt bag thing so I don't have to worry about it on my backpack. But for the price I'm not complaining

 

I've been playing some Elder Scrolls 3-5 on mine lately. Morrowind looks absolutely horrible, but I'm the process of modding the tar out of it. I wish there was a proper widescreen mod for ES3! I should install DosBox and try Arena/Daggerfall later. I picked up Metro 2033 on the Steam summer sale, that ought to be fun.

 

So I am now the proud owner of a new m14x r2 and I was wondering if there are any drivers I should install to help with the performance of my machine or should I just leave it as it? The audio on my computer also seems to randomly go out and I have to restart it to get it back. Any ideas on whats the deal with that? Thanks for any help guys!

 

Got my M14x R2 yesterday. Very happy, already have my ssd installed. Can't wait to test Guild Wars 2 with it this weekend.

 

Still need to move over the new SSD I picked up. Too lazy now since Intel is planning on slashing their SSD prices next month. I might wait and pick up a new SSD to move into laptops and make both laptop SSD as External SSD ....drooooolz.

 

That's awesome faiz23, is it Intel in general or any specific site like Newegg? I may have to grab one and slap it in my m11x while I rebuild. I could increase the resell value. The main reason I don't install it in my m14x is b/c I need the HD's increased size for games. I would buy a 1TB SATA drive if they had a 9mm z-clearance for 7200RPM drives. But I guess that's like asking an SUV to go as fast as a Porsche.

 

Intel slashing its SSD prices starting next month | ZDNet

 

Mine just showed up

First thing I thought was "wow, this thing is huge!"

But, coming from having m11xs, last laptop before my m11x was a black and white IBM thinkpad .

Colors are bright and vivid.

 

Colors are junk on the lcd and I am using the m14x icc and then modified setting in intel graphics as follows

Brightness: 0
Contrast: 44
GAMMA: 1
HUE: 0
SATURATION: -3

 

Quick question, do the USB ports eventually loose their kungfu grip on my usb plugs?

These are some of the tightest fitting ports I have ever used!

 

Hi guys, I just received my M14x R2 almost 5 hours ago. I just have a question regarding partitioning it's HDD. I ordered it with a 750GB HDD with the 32GB mSATA SSD. I checked it on the bootup settings and says it's on RAID 0.

My question is, will this setup be affected if I partitioned my 750GB HDD into 2 partitions and cause my system to slow down?

 

I totally reinstalled the OS/drivers when I got my r2. I bought my own 64GB mSATA ssd and installed the OS on that. Then I used a utility to delete the AW partition on the 750GB drive and formatted it as a single storage partition. I don't see how RAID applies to your setup, but maybe they need to do that for the SSD/HDD combo to work?

 

I used to buy all my electronics at bestbuy, but you can find better prices online now a days. How much did you get your R2 from bestbuy for?