M11x Optimization Thread

Abnormal Brain requested it, so here it is. Share your optimization tips and suggestions on tweaking the OS and other components of the M11x.

Please remember the forum rules at all times...

Thanks.

EDIT:
Please be aware that some of these 'optimizations' may be outdated. Note the date of this thread - questions, post.

 

First -

"Fan Fix" -

Start -> type in "msconfig" in Search program and files box.

Click Startup tab.

Find the "Alienware AlienFX" Startup item - UNCHECK it.

Reboot - done.

EDIT: you should notice that the WMIPrvSE.exe process that was consuming 8-10% CPU previously no longer is running (or it's running with a LOT less CPU utilization). Props to AbnormalBrain in figuring out which task program was causing the issue and forcing me to test until I got it to stop loading..

 

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping to create a useful post the will serve as the go-to thread for everyone that ownes the Alienware M11X laptop and

wants to get the absolute best user experience.


Topics covered:

1. Removing unused software

2. Disabling unused features of installed applications

3. Optimizing settings for Max performance, Max battery or Optimal settings

4. Tips for customizing the system for best user experience

5. Known Issues and solutions / workarounds



There has been too much information posted in various threads so if some of this has been posted before just let me know

and I'll give props to whoever..



1) Removing unused Software:

Removing unused software is one of the best ways of optimizing you computer. Not only do programs take up valuable hard disk space, but some applications contain memory resident programs that comsume both RAM and CPU cycles. The less CPU cycles you have at idle, the more that are available when performing intense CPU operations (i.e. gaming, transcoding, benchmarking etc..) and these CPU cycles actually decrease battery life and may even generate extra heat.

Items you definately want to consider removing:

a) Dell Online Backup


2) Disabling unused "features" of installed applications

OK, once you've removed all of those useless applications, there is often features installed applications that you are

not using that are again taking up valuable resources (Disk space, RAM, CPU cycles, battery life)

** Items you definately want to consider disabling:

a) Alienware Facial Recognition - May be a cool "gimmik" but it's a massive resource hog. Also fairly easy to trick. I

highly recommend disabling it.

-To disable it it follow the steps posted here (Props to BatBoy):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5946400&postcount=4


3) Optimizing settings for Max performance, Max battery or Optimal settings

a) CPU Overclock - CPU Overclocking will (in most cases) improve overall system performance generally at the expense of extra heat, lower battery life and possibly reduce system stability. CPU overclocking the M11X is easy and can be configured in the BIOS.

b) GPU Overclock - GPU Overclocking will (in most cases) improve gaming performance at the expense of extra heat, lower battery life and possibly reduce system stability.

-The preferred tool for overclocking the GPU is EVGA's Precision utility http://www.evga.com/PRecision/


4) Tips for customizing the system for best user experience

a) Synaptics touchpad supports multitouch!

-To enable it simply download the latest touchpad drivers directly from Synaptics!

It supports lots of multitouch gestures including:
1) Two Finger Scrolling
2) Pinch and Zoom


5) Known Issues:

Known issue solutions / workarounds will be covered in the next post, this one is getting too big!

1. 8-12% CPU usage at idle. High CPU usage causes extra heat and fan to come on excessively (confirmed - workaround available) Props to myself for discovering the source of the issue, the AlienFX tray icon.

- Easiest to implement workaround (props to JSGIV):
Start -> type in "msconfig" in Search program and files box.
Click Startup tab.
Find the "Alienware AlienFX" Startup item - UNCHECK it.
Reboot

2. After switching from integrated graphics to discrete graphics then switching back to integrated graphics, the discrete graphics card remains powered on. Also causes extra heat and fan to come on excessively (confirmed - workaround available)

- Easiest to implement workaround
After switching back to integrated graphics, reboot!


3. CPU Multiplier set to fixed value (x6) when overclocked. Also CPU voltage "Lower" while overclocked (Confirmed - Possibly designed that way?)

4. Changing the AlienFX power button color taking a very long time to change in AlienFX editor and in general use (may not change color at all until next reboot (confirmed - no workaround available)

5. Fan profile not optimized (confirmed - no workaround) - Please review Know Issues #1 and #2 which greatly impact the acoustic and battery performance of the laptop.

Sorry if the post is still a bit messy... I don't have as much time as I would like for this type of stuff!

 

EDIT: It is not necessary on the M11x to disable the startup item or service. You can move the slider in the AlienSense screen of CC all the way to the left and it will disable it.

If you wish to take it one step further....

----------------------------------------------------------------

If you do not use AlienSense (Facial Recognition), it is very easy to disable and will free up some resources @ startup. Here is the process:

1. Disable the following startup item (use CCleaner's Startup Items module for fast access or use MSCONFIG):

FATrayMon.exe - this is your AlienSense Facial Recognition startup item. It displays the little icon in the task tray for quick launch of settings. Not necessary.

Note: You will also see a startup item titled "FAStartup" - do not worry about this. You cannot disable it or remove it from the list. It has no impact since you will be disabling the service (see below).

2. Disable the following Services (Note: When editing services, always access the services console by typing 'Services.msc' into the Run Command):

FAService - This service is required for AlienSense (Facial Recognition). Since it's a resource hog, kill this one as well (needs to be killed since you have already disabled its startup tasktray item).

Open up FAService's Properties and 'Stop' the service. On the 'Startup Type' pulldown, select 'Disabled'.

-----------------------

An additional Service which I always shut down:

Windows Search - This one is totally unnecessary. This is a component of the OS and responsible for indexing your hard drive to provide faster file searches. If you don't use CTRL-F to locate files on your hard drive, kill this one. Most of us know where are doc, music and pictures are anyway.

 

you are a life saver!

 

Is anyone able to get 1080p files to play using coreAVC to work properly?

I have downloaded and installed the Combined Community Codec Pack and CoreAVC, but when I play my 1080p test movie, CPU usage is pegged at 100%, hardware heavens review showed their CPU usage 15 like 20% lol.

 

Could you give more details about benefits from doing so ?

 

wasn't this answered in the other thread? something about sharky007 plugin needs to be downloaded or something.

 

Thanks! Made the suggested changes

 

Disabling indexing will also in some cases improve battery life as it will lower the amount of background scanning file paths. It will cause searches to take a bit longer, but if you don't ever use windows search then you'll be fine.

Right click on the C: drive in My Computer, go to properties, uncheck file indexing.

This will also put a stop to some of the random "what on earth is windows doing?" HDD grind sessions.

 

do you remember in what thread it was?

I'm not really big pc gamer and one of the selling points for me was being able to watch 1080 video and the hdmi output. im really starting to to get frustrated i can get coreavc to work.

Im not a big tech guy so if anybody that knows how to get it to work and would like to give me a brief tutorial, it would be greatly appreciated

thanks in advance.

 

^this IS an optimize thread so having the information posted here would be appropriate I think, and I'm also interested in having this ability and using the GPU, so lets get the info reposted please.

 

Actually, you need to disable the Windows Search service - that is the service responsible for 'Indexing'.

Unchecking the box is fine, however the service will still run.

 

Yeah, same here. It may reduce used system resources, but what exactly is it turning off?

 

AlienFXController.exe - this startup item is responsible for your system lighting. You can still access it by launching the AlienFX Controller via the start menu ---> Programs ---> Alienware. Once you have made your lighting changes be sure to shut it down again by right-clicking on the alienhead and choosing EXIT.

Also, any games which support AlienFX will not do their light dance unless it is running - so, again, launch the process manually.

 

Well - it turns off the little AlienFX Head in the task menu - specifically, from what I can tell.

What does it do? From what I can tell - it enables you to either turn on/off the AlienFX effects via the "Alien FX" key - along with all the other capabilities enabled by the tray application.

By monitoring the service - it constantly consumes anywhere from 8-10%. As for the root cause of the fan issue.. I'm beginning to think a little differently now that I've played around with the machine some more this evening.

BatBoy asked for this in a different thread - I think - but basically - when you startup with IGP - and don't swap to discrete - the fan doesn't kick on (typically).

When you go to discrete - the fan kicks on (expected) - and you can play games, etc.

However, when you swap back to the IGP... the fan still stays on.. What's interesting - is that in HWMonitor - after you've swapped back to IGP - it still shows the NVidia card readings being monitored, etc. It's as though it hasn't come out of Discrete mode - even though it actually has.

I've provided 3 snapshots - One right after playing a game (Shows Discrete w/GPUZ) (Fan going constantly).

Second - after Swap back to IGP (Still shows Discrete graphics card - system forced shutdown of GPUZ) - (Fan starting / stopping)

Finally - A third Screenshot with HWMonitor after a reboot - again - IGP only - but note the Discrete card has disappeared..

So - my *theory* is - when you swap to discrete and then back to IGP - the machine still, for some reason, thinks the discrete is still active - thus it's continually firing off the fan to cool it down. If you reboot - you don't experience the fan throttle anymore (or perhaps a bit - until the system gets cooled down)..

With regards to the application - I'm no longer sold that it's the root of the problem - however, I'm also wary of any application that continually takes up 8-10% CPU for no apparent reason..

 

Thanks for the useful tips!

But the Synaptics driver from their site ( http://drivers.synaptics.com/Synaptics_v14_0_3_C_XP64_Vista64_Win7-64_Signed_default.exe) refuses to run because the driver we have installed is newer. What do we need to do?

 

Thanks for reading my post! I hope it helps others...

Go to the "Uninstall a Program" option in the Windows Control Panel and remove the old Synaptics software first, then install the latest version downloaded from Synaptics website.

After installing the "better" driver, I'd recommend configuring the Synaptics options under the Mouse settings in the Control Panel. I really don't like any of the "One Finger Scrolling" options so I disabled all those options.

If this works for you let me know or if you need a more detailed explanation and I'll update my post with this information.

 

Do you guys know how to disable front alien head?

 

Disable it as in the LEDs? If yes, you have to alter the .xml coding for your current AlienFX theme. you can also choose the 'Go Dark' option from the AlienHead in the tasktray (AlienFXController.exe). You will need to check the 'disable status zones on go dark'.

 

Anyone know how to get cuda working on playing back 720/1080 videos? I bought coreavc, but found out that it only works on some container formats and not wmv's and such. Was thinking about buying CorePlayer, but not willing to just dump another 20$ into a hopeful program. I gotta admit though, that coreavc does work wonders when it works on media. So if some of us could get our heads together to get cuda rolling on most media formats that'd be sweet. I've been doing my own research, but not definitive way to get most formats down.

 

While I don't have an M11x, I CAN give some useful tips for optimisation.

These are pretty basic tips for beginners, but even advanced users may find the software suggested useful.

Tip 1: Hard drive users: Use Smart Defrag

This handy piece of freeware is available here.

I'd highly recommend it. It isn't just any defrag tool; it reorganises the files on your hard drive, moving the more frequently used files to the outer edges of the disk, speeding up access of the more used files.

It's very quick too. It can be set to defragment (either just a regular defragment or defragment with file optimisation) on a schedule, and also to defragment in the background while the system is idle. It uses very little resources in doing so.

It goes without saying that you should keep your M11x, or any computer for that matter, well defragmented. A fragmented hard drive will cause massive slowdowns, and they WILL become fragmented over time.

NOTE: Solid State Drive users should NOT defragment their drive under ANY circumstance. It will NOT speed it up, and will instead wear the drive down.

Tip 2: Optimise running programs and startup

Some people will notice their system will take longer, and longer, and longer to start up over time. This may be because of a fragmented disk, but is most likely due to having too many programs running at startup.

Only set your necessary items to start upon Windows startup, such as your antivirus. Every single item you add on to start at startup will increase how long it takes to boot up.

There are many free programs that can optimise startup for you, just do a google search.

Tip 3: Keep your registry clean

A registry full of errors will only slow down your system. There are many registry optimisers on the Internet, just do a search for them.

 

@NSXRRMANIAC= as far as I know, CoreAVC only use CUDA acceleration for H264/AVC format, so if your MKV envelopped media is not under this format CUDA will not work. This said, other formats are not as demanding as the H264 encoder.

 

the alienhead in the front is powered by back lighting from your monitor. only way to disable it would be to turn off your screen . you can dim it by making your screen dimmer.

 

Ahhhh... I thought he was talking about the Power Button/AlienHead?

 

One good tweak that I always use with my laptops, is to use the memory tweaker utility called memset that these guys over at www.Tweakers.fr have created. Works really well. You cannot change the cas value from windows, but the rest you can. Beware that probing around memory settings can lock any computer hard. Will need to hold the off button a while to get the M11x to shut down. I went over 7k in 3dmark06 with it and the gpu clocks tweaked. Also windows' performance indicator went up 2 points from 5.3 to 5.5. There is no harm running your memory at different settings(unless your machine is unstable of course), but there is no extra heat or higher frequency dangers, so once you find safe settings just have the little util apply it at startup and voila! Extra speed. I have two 8gig Samsungs that tweak quite nicely in my M11X.

Here are a couple screenies...

stock for my memory
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/spiresspires/mem1.jpg

This is just my first hasty settings, I will play more until there is no more to gain. Should be using Sisoft to check the gains really..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/spiresspires/mem2.jpg

Here is my 7k run..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/spiresspires/7k1.png

 

Go Dark option doesn't seem affect it.

 

Thanks! I got it working

 

i see that in msconfig i have the ff_protection.exe running, which appears to be the accelerometer process for free fall protection. but i have the SSD.....so that seems unnecessary

 

Did you uncheck the 'Keep Status Zones On during Go Dark'?

Again, this is for the Power Button and not the Alien Head on the back of the display.

 

I positively have a sample of MKV under format H264, yet it doesn't work.
The MKV file works with CUDA on my friend laptop that installed CoreAVC, but it does not give the same result to my m11x.

 

why not just install the K Lite Codec pack. i use it on my m11x and it works with mkvs

 

For .mkv take a look at this:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/accelerate-x264-1080p-movies-over-the-gpu-guide/

Its a bit old, but it works fine on the M17x and I used this on the Dell XPS M1730 as well.

 

I want my GPU to work, not CPU x_x

 

Could the fix talked about on page 2 for the MKV / CUDA issue please be posted here? This is driving me nuts.

 

Works like magic, Thanks :]
Now my CPU runs at 30-40% when I play 1080p MKV and doing some small tasks.

 

No problem Cronny. CODEC paks are always a 'NO thanks' IMO. I prefer other workarounds.

VLC ( http://www.videolan.org/) is also very handy.

 

How does one "Wear Down" as SSD? Its Solid State....just curious.

 

it has to do with the flash cells. they can only be written to a finite amount of times. every time you write to the cell, you're 'wearing' it down.

 

According to SSD theory and Tom's Hardware, SSD hard drives do not really delete data saved to them even though you may have commanded your computer to delete it. Thus what you think is deleted or defragged in this case is just marked as empty space on your drive and actually still has the data on it. Thus by defragging a SSD you are essentially ghosting your data multiple times throughout your drive and unfortunately this causes slowdown or 'wear'. Also solid state memory has a finite number of times its memory state can be modified. This means that eventually your SSD will die and no longer be able to save anything. HOWEVER, from what I understand this theorhetical limit is roughly the same as a magnetic hard drive so no big worries there. Also regarding the trash data beign spread out across your SSD, there is something called TRIM which should be activated on your m11x if you are running Win7 and a supported SSD. TRIM cleans up after your actions to prevent drive performance deterioration. However, since SSDs are relatively new tech we will all see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves in.

So to keep this post on topic, DONT DEFRAG YOUR SSD.

Also, mods please correct any of what is above if less than factual, I just reiterated what I think I learned from various SSD articles.

 

CCCP + CoreAVC has always served me well on my HTPC (Vista Ultimate 32-bit). Here, I couldn't get it to work with M11X's 64-bit Media Center (no DTS audio; other players worked fine). So I settled for Shark007 pack (have to get 32-bit and 64-bit versions). Works perfectly in combination with CoreAVC.

Really, the only things missing now are some sort of fan control program and ability to utilize CUDA (Flash 10.1, CoreAVC, etc.). Has anyone on the main thread figured out CUDA part yet?

 

thanks I was curious about the FA stuff, I closed out the stuff on the processes but now fully disabled from startup and services as well. =)

 

If your CPU is in that range then you need to play with the settings. Check the guide again - when set up correctly, the load will handled by the GPU.

 

Another place worth checking into on Win7 is the new Task Scheduler. It comes with quite a bit of useless programs that will run. They include, but are not limited to:

- WinSAT.exe - a program that runs at 1am every Sunday and benchmarks (it's under Maintenance)
- Customer Experience Program
- Autochk

etc...

Just go here and snoop around, I already disabled quite a lot of default programs.

They are here:

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/606/96966584.jpg

 

just wanted to thank you guys for starting this thread it was greatly needed

 

I'm now going with straight Media Player Classic, using DXVA, which is essentially what BatBoy has lead us to above. getting my 1080p .mkv vids to ~15-20% cpu usage. Coreavc would get similar results, I'm sure. Will try outputting HDMI to 1080p tv later

 

Thanks for the info...I learned something new!

 

.....So people with windows 7 should be going in and completely disabling the background disk defragmenting process and schedules.... something that AW probably doesn't do.

 

There have been driver updates! You can download them through the support link included by Alienware in your favorites.
I downloaded the following drivers:
1. Synaptics mouse driver -- I'm not sure if this one was actually an update. I had to completely uninstall and reinstall to get rid of Scrybe.
2. Bluetooth -- While the update was successful, it gave two error messages about hardware not being plugged in. (That is not unusual for the installation of a Bluetooth stack.)
3. Card reader -- The update was successful.
4. Sound card drivers -- The update was successful.
5. Alienware Command Center -- The update was not successful on its own --> Installation asked me to insert the Command Center disc into the drive and press next. Obviously, there is no disc for the m11x drivers. I found the files it was looking for in C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\Temp\{5FF8B3A2-E8D9-4E6B-8CAF-947E60F9D185}. Your files may be located in a similarly named folder.

If you experience this error, Go to Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> Run --> %temp% --> Look for a similarly named folder --> Look for Command Center.msi. Once you find the folder, copy its address and paste it into the location box in the installer.

 

does that updated command center still take 10% cpu?