Received a New M18x-R2 my impressions so far.

So after all this time Dell took care of me.. They sent me a new M18x-R2 and Im very satisfied with it..


When I opened the box and pulled the computer out the middle of the keyboard towards the bottom is slightly raised (reseating doesnt help..) and I think this is just the way it is..
The rubber on the bottom of the screen on the back side is raised a little..(seems to be the norm)..
also the shift keys dont really work.. (dont know what thats about but I just tried using it as i type this and nothing..)yea if i hold shift and hit any key right around the ? key i have to first hit one shift key then the key I want then the other shift key and release the second shift key then it will work lol..
The Specs they sent me are

M18x-r2
500gb HDD
3610qm
sli 680s.
8gb 1600mhz ram
killer 1103
bluetooth 4.0

So the low end of things except for the video cards.. and Im perfectly happy with this.. it works..(way better than what I had..)

So a couple of questions..

1. I want to swap out the 3610 with my 2960xm.. and I wanted to know how this will effect the performance of the 680s

2. by swapping out the cpus.. and going with the unlocked bios.. will the 2960 be supported and recognized ?


and any links to the stuff for the 680s would be great.. thanks

also when trying to flash the bios I get this error..

 

congratulations on the new system! i cannot give you any info about the 2960xm although i believe it'll work without a problem, i can tell you that those 680m's you got are going to knock your socks off, very very capable cards... out of the box and overclocked

 

well i get some errors in game but the frame rate is out of this world.. and the clarity OMG ive never had nvidia before.. and i was taken back at how every thing looks.. its so clear and vibrant.. in the game war thunder i artifact flashing and im assuming thats drivers.. so i need to know what version is the best as of right now..

 

i'm using 306.02 and im really happy with these drivers, some people have a mixed bag of results but honestly its no where near as bad as anything that 7970's had to offer so i'd say go with the 306.02 beta drivers and some Vbios for some overclocking in my opinion, but i'd use the system at stock clocks until you feel a need cause honestly its such overkill most of the time, getting 160fps in BF3 is kinda overkill

 

Hi DumbDumb. Already replied to you via PM (though my first PM did not go through - your inbox was full). The 2960XM will work perfect in this system, I had one in mine and I can say that I did not see any performance decrees, contrary you will be able to overclock it and get some boost out of that beast.

For flashing the bios, I recommend to do a blind flash; there is a thread here around on how to do that (I forgot which file you have to save and rename it in certain way), save it on a USB disk and while holding the END button (while the battery is removed) insert the power cord and wait for a bit until it boots from the USB and will flash the bios. Here you go (make sure you use the right bios made for the R2 http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...overy-process-all-m18x-case-corrupt-bios.html

For driver, I use 302.77, I found it the most stable so far (you can google for this driver you may be getting it from guru3d if I am not mistaken).

 

I found this... QBR10EC.fd will this process work on the r2.. if i rename the file?

 

Nice review, bro. That's a fine machine. Dell/Alienware definitely did you right. I'm sure you're about as happy as a can be to not have any more AMD GPUs right about now. When I switched from 6990M CF to 580M SLI the difference in graphic quality of what I saw on my screen was really amazing. I'm sure that is what you are experiencing right now. It's almost like needing eyeglasses and never having them, then when you finally get them it's like a "whoa, what have I been missing" kind of thing. Sharper image, brighter colors... things seem to have an extra sparkle to them in games and watching movies. When I switched from 580M SLI to 7970M CF at the end of May, the slightly lower grade image quality was immediately apparent to me. Going from an older AMD GPU to 7970M CF probably would have been an improvement in visual quality, but it definitely wasn't for me with 580M to 7970M CF.

To do the flash in Windows, you need to run it with admin rights. Right-click and select "Run as Administrator" or just disable that cotton-picking UAC garbage and it should run without an error. There is also a DOS "Flash it.exe" with the M18x R2 BIOS updates. You can boot to a USB thumb drive and flash it with that instead of doing the blind flash way if you want to.

Edit: LOL, had to insert a space between sh_it in the file name because the language filter thought I was posting something naughty and deleted some letters.

 

ok UAC disabled.. ran with admin right and I get the same error..
Could you link me what your talking about I want to back this bios up.. and flash the unlocked one..
Do you have any links to that?
also this having to hit both damn shift keys to get them to work for the (>?:" symbles) is a pain in the butt.. they seem to work normal except for those keys.. this is the combo I have to do.. (left shift, right shift, then I hit the ?symble and i release the right shift and it works.. so im kinda stumped on that)

but yea any links to the bios stuff would be great and any links to the nvidia flasher would be awesome..

Oh before I forget.. after installing the 2960xm the machine makes no note of any pci 3.0 cards read a max of 2.0 doesnt say like the 7970s did that they report being able to run at 3.0 but are running at 2.0.. here look..

 

That is on the Dell Support page for the BIOS update on the M18x R2. [ LINK] The DOS flash file is included in what you download from Dell. They do not provide that with the M18x R1 BIOS updates and I wish they did. I would prefer to flash in DOS rather than Windows.

 

you should be able to hit the blue question mark next to the pci-e box and run a small render test to get the card to run at full speed, it should pop right up to 3.0

 

Yes, dropping down to 1.1 is by design. It's one of those idiotic power saving things we would be happy not to have to put up with. It's common on all laptops with discreet graphics. I wish there was a way to disable that completely so the M18x R1 would stay at 2.0 and the M18x R2 at 3.0 all the time. I've played around with BIOS settings related to that and it's not something I can find a way to disable. But, NiNoDuKEz is correct, run that test and you will see it change to 3.0. On the M18x R1 running that test makes it change to 2.0. Be sure to select the option for full screen testing.

 

ok how do i mod this to put in slv7s bios.. the dos one runs under windows...so im confused lol

 

i'm using the latest version of Nvflash, and i created a folder named Nvflash at c:\Nvflash and unzipped nvflash's files directly the folder i created along with the modded VBIO's you can rename them something easier for flash purposes like OCBIOS.rom after they are in the nvflash folder and you basically do the following

Start button.
Run and type CMD
Right Click CMD and Run as Admin
once there direct yourself to your nvflash folder (if your unfamilier with this the command is CD C:\ then CD Nvflash) this is presuming you followed my instructions of where the folder is i created and unzipped too.
once there use the following command
-f -5 -6 OCBIOS.rom (or whatever you named your bios in the nvflash folder)
hit enter, you'll be prompted yes or no...
Hit Y it'll begin flashing and after it flashes your first card it'll ask you yes or no again, hit Y again...
then it'll say No other matches found or something of the likes, simply reboot and your flashed.

i forgot the command to backup your current bios which is a good idea i'm sure someone else can chime in on that command. but otherwise i have the original bios incase you need them.

 

ok Do i need to say which card to flash? and if so how? also an update to the pci 3.0 thing and the Bios update..

1. installing the 2960xm seems to disable pci 3.0 completly.. cards will not go past 2.0 at all..

2. Mr. Fox ive tried to do the dos flash for the bios and i got it running and I get the same error. Is it possible that this new A07 Doesnt let you go backwards?

3. how to I dump this Bios to put at tech inferno?

 

Yeah actually that was a really smart move going with the cheapest CPU and just picking up a 2960xm (it is forward compatible) and its respective heat-sink. It is probably going to be less expensive in the end and contrary to the expectation that it may be less powerful than the 3920 it may actually run a bit faster. I had an M18x R1 with a 2960 and it was stable at 4.4 Ghz, whereas I cannot push my 3920 above 4.2 (reliably in gaming, it survived a Vantage run at 44,44,44,44).

Yeah dude, 680 SLI is the ticket, wait until you play Skyrim with an ENB and no stutter! Im still on the supplied/official driver as quite a few people are reporting BSOD loops etc. Waiting for official 306 if ever.

I think you should be good now, I heard about your horror stories with the Dell Technicians wanting to rappel through your windows, drop flash grenades and make off with your M18x R1 .

Some things to consider if you haven't already, especially if you are public with your ware:

Advanced Warranty (can purchase after receivership of unit)

Lo-Jack for laptops (permanently embeds itself in BIOS)

 

Hope you dont void your warranty perfoming those upgrades.. GRATS on your new toy bro!

 

HAHAH lol yea well they would have a thing or two coming if they tried to get into my place that way lol..
I was looking into the low jack for laptops.. does it work..
and my warranty looks all weird now.. look...


SO before when i had issues.. my warranty disapeared..lol then reappeared kinda how this looks.. when before it read like 1600-2000 some odd days of each then all of a sudden it split into this sort of thing.. make no sence to me as to why my warranty should be 3 of the same thing running at the same time..

 

Yeah the warranty demarcation thing is bizarre, I am pretty certain that you have the three years that you purchased though, you could always double-check.

Yeah dude Lo-Jack works, a lot of thieves think that if they steal a laptop that all they need to do is wipe the data drives clean or just remove altogether to defeat anti-theft software but Lo-Jack goes right in the BIOS and never comes out. Soon as you report as stolen Lo-Jack, working in conjunction with L.E. look out for it and if it EVER connects to the internet it broadcasts its location.

Then a special Cyborg Bounty Hunter Team is dispatched from NORAD via horseback and using satellite data and dogs that shoot bees from their mouths they triangulate the location of your poor laptop.

The dogs go in first, shoot the thieves with the bees and then the Cyborgs ride in and lasso them up and drag them back to NORAD to be used as spare parts....and you get your laptop back.

(Just kidding with last two paragraphs above if its not obvious)

(Dogs that shoot bees from their mouths were what guarded Mr. Burns mansion, if you remember the episode when Bart rescues his dog, Santa)

 

ahahah.. Can you really put lo jacks on laptop? I'' be interested with this. Something like "wheres my iphone" features would rock!

 

The instructions for saving the vBIOS and flashing with NVFLASH are exactly the same on all NVIDIA GPUs, so the 580M instructions posted throughout the forum apply to the 680M as well. To save you from having to hunt them down, I have attached a text file for you.

View attachment Using NVFLASH.txt

 

Is it possible that pci 3.0 requires a 3rd generation cpu?

cpu benchmark dot net:
2960: 8507
3610: 8409

 

any ideas as to why the bios wont flash for the system? I cant get the unlocked bios to take.. in windows or dos bootable..

 

The A07 thing is pretty strange. Try putting the original Ivy Bridge CPU back in and see (1) if the BIOS version changes to A03 and (2) if the BIOS flash will succeed with the correct CPU. If all goes well, you can drop the 2960XM back in again. You might even leave it partially disassembled while doing this.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/680624-lo-jack-laptops.html

 

As I already mentioned earlier, the easy way is the blind flash way. But in my opinion, knowing that you have gone through so much of pain in the past with your system not working the way it should be, I think you should stop meddling with it and start enjoying, playing games, movies etc. etc.

 

Is A07 already posted? Let me piggyback off dumbdumbs thread (I'm sure he doesn't mind) and say they replaced me with an R2 too as well happyyyyyy!!!!

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

 

Dumb dont flash I would keep A07.

 

Very odd.... the dell support site lists the latest bios as of 7-18-2012 is A03. Where did A07 come from? My mx18r2 that I received 2 weeks ago came with A03.

 

Maybe dell updated the actual motherboard hardware in some way. DUmbdumb check if your boost is working in that bios (ie at stock clocks in gaming if clocks are hitting 754mhz)

 

From what I been reading you won't get past 2.1 with a sandy bridge processor because intel decided to put the pcie controller on the CPU. So if you want to use the older CPU you are going to be stuck with 2.0. Intel and their great ideas.

 

As much as I love an XM, I think the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0 might be an important performance advantage.

Bench it stock and with your highest stable overclock with each CPU installed and compare benchmarks. Decide which is best after you see the numbers with the higher PCIe 3.0 bandwidth. I would keep an eye open for a 3920XM QS until you can get one for a reasonable price on eBay. In the meanwhile, game the daylights out your new beast and enjoy having a system that performs well with no problems.

Hmm, that is quite interesting, jlyons. Thanks for posting that info. If true, (and I have no reason to believe it is anything less than accurate,) that may explain why BCLK cannot be tweaked in your R2 BIOS. It might lead to instability if the PCIe controller is on the CPU. PCIe sometimes does not deal well with the bus being overclocked.

 

Yea my multipliers go to 127x for each core then they start going into negative numbers.. Ive never seen that before.. (yea lets limit OC ability but lets leave the multipliers wide open so if you dont know what your doing you can smoke you system lol)

Reasoning? i need the extra option to play with my cpu.. i have to say.. my cpu is faster on the R2 if that makes sense.. it like the data doesnt get bottle necked and is allowed to run wide open..

 

glad its working out for you DumbDumb, i read and followed your posts and i truely felt for you, i'm happy alienware put forth the effort and got you taken care of... take some time to enjoy the system before worrying too much and getting obsessive over some bios or settings, let the system win you over

 

Congratz on the new system my friend!

1: You can't run 3.0 pcie with any sandy bridge cpu's
2: Your gpus aren't going to run any faster even if you were running on 3.0. That's been proven in the benching thread. So you are alright there.
3: If you have access to tdp or tdc, you may be able to run without an unlocked bios, considering a locked chip is capable of about 400 mhz over clock.

 

you up for a team view session tomorrow night? lol give me a call if you are!

LULZ im a fanatic lol.. I want the best bang for the buck.. and the reason I need to know now about these settings is because I want to be sure im going to keep my 2960xm or bite the bullet and save for a ivry xm cpu..

 

You bet. I was installing stuff on my drives and forgot to check back here. lol

 

ok then.. ill get the basics installed..

Oh i forgot to mention this! but I ran the diag test for the machine and the the highest fan RPM reported for me was 4500 rpm.. so a slight increase over the r1.

 

DumbDumb, can you drop the bottom cover off and check the part number label on the fans for comparison to the M18x R1 fans? If they are different fans, please make note of the new part numbers and/or take photos.

 

I'll race ya to it... that will be the first thing I do tonight when I get home.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

 

Center CPU fan is 0J77H4.
Primary GPU is a forcecon - 0P0DG8

Is it the same part? I Dont know what the old p/n's are...

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

 

Is it possible to get the secondary GPU fan P/N too? Unless they're the same, never paid too much attention to them lol.

 

Sorry, maybe Dumbdumb can get the 2nd GPU fan... They sent me a R2 w/ a 660m... I slapped in the 7970m's myself with a different order...

Is it the same p/n???

 

doing it now.. will update this post in a second..

 

Had to clean out the fans, so might as well

CPU: 0RTRCG
Primary: 0P0DG8
Secondary: 0XHW5W

 

ok here is a pic of the cpu fan which reported a max rpm of 4500.. of maybe that as high as it spun up.. anywho.. here ya go..
R2 cpu fan..

 

DumbDumb can you post screenshot of gpu-z on home screen and also showing max clocks and voltage that you hit when in a game?