New M15x Owner Information

Quick question...just picked up one from the outlet...said it had an ATI 5730 in it..invoice said Module,Card,Graphics,5670,Parker and now the device manager says 5770...whats going on here? 5770 is a decent card...

 

theres the 5730m, and the 5850m available as ATI cards for the M15x... Not sure why its listed as 5770... probably just an entry mistake.

 

The device manager talked about the 5770, you might want to use that at your advantage and grind dell until they give you a 5850

 

Looks like a reinstall of the OS has it back to a 5730....oh well...was nice while it lasted...

 

Hi folks. I've finally decided to buy an m15 as my first laptop.
I know I want the 5850 graphics card, but I'm having a harder time deciding on the following:

CPU: 540m or 740qm
screen: 900p or 1080p
hard drive: are the Dell-offered SSDs worth their upgrade prices? Or best to go with the std HDD and upgrade after market (if self-upgrading is relatively easy) if I decide to go the SSD route?
BluRay or not?
6cell vs 9cell battery? Have a feeling I'll use AC much of the time, so 9cell might be overkill?

I'm not a huge gamer, but I do like to play Order of War, and CoH as well as the various flavours of Call of Duty. I also poke around in Second Life every once in a while. Also thinking of looking into playing Arma2.

I'm not sure if I'll watch movies on my m15. But if I do, I'm wondering if that's where the value of the 1080p screen and the Blu-ray drive become clear?? Or perhaps the 1080p is an obviously better screen from the get-go?

Thanks for any and all advice!!

 

Well.... those are the GOLDEN questions every new buyer asks .. Most of them depend on:

1. The size of your wallet.
2. Personal Preference


Lets start with CPU:

540m vs 740m?

the 540 is a dual core, and will give slight performance improvements in most games and programs that do not fully utilize multi-cores. But, as more and more games and programs are being designed to take full advantage of multi-core systems... the 740 is the better option for long-term usage, as it is more "future-proof".

That being said, if i had to order an alienware today, i would've gotten the cheapest i3 available, and then buy an ES 920xm for 350-400$ on ebay

Screen:

I would go for the 1080p if you like having several windows open at once (handy for school as you can have the question listed on one half, and word opened on the other half of your screen)... as you have more screen real-estate (space) since things can be made smaller. No doubt 1080p movies will look amazing, and re-sale value will be higher (the screen isn't something you can upgrade later like the ram, cpu or gpu... well you can but can be extremely difficult to find, costly and not worth it in the end). All that being said, the 900p screen looks just as amazing, with everything a little bigger and a little less space. If your blind, this will be your option. Also, the gpu will have to work less hard on 900p than 1080p, therefore you'll get a couple extra FPS on 900p. However, the 5850m doesn't have a problem AT ALL pushing 1080p resolutions... and the difference in performance is minimal...

Harddrive:

Dell's SSD's are samsungs. They are definately faster than HDDs, but amoung the SSD world, are not nearly as quick as other brands such as OCZ and CRUCIAL, and INTEL.... So i'd stick with a cheapo hdd for now (250gb to save $$$) and use that saved dough to buy an aftermarket SSD. To most people though, the difference between those aftermarket ssd's, and the samsung, will be hardly noticeable.

Installation isn't that difficult and there are many threads in these forums that have detailed instructions on how to go about doing a swap... So i wouldn't worry too much about that.

Bluray:

up to you. Really have to question how many times you will actually watch a blu-ray on your laptop vs your big screen tv... Either way, upgrading later can probably also save some $$$. (everything is overpriced on Dell)

6cell-9cell:

Take it from a guy who went with the 6cell initially....GET THE 9 CELL. A 9-cell not only gives you about an hour more battery life, but also increases ventilation as it lifts the back of the laptop up where the fans are, resulting in cooler temperatures for your CPU+GPU.... Especially important if you plan to OC (even if you don't). Also put your laptop at a nice angle great for typing.

Making the upgrade later on is EXPENSIVE. Dell charges $250+ for the 9 cell afterwards... and i think the upgrade at the time of configuration is only 100-150$ more?? So even if your almost always pugged.. i'd suggest to GET THE 9 CELL.


again, it really depends on what you perfer/value most... and how much money your willing to spend. The only plus of going with components with DELL right off the bat, and not upgrading afterwards, is that everything will be covered under Dell's warranty...

Hope this helped...

 

Regarding such ventilation, it will cool the laptop via natural convection, right? If I use an aftermarket notebook cooler, the cooler will cool the laptop better than using 9-cell battery. Am I right about this?

 

notebook coolers are good for keeping your laptop cool on any soft surface, such as a couch, pillow or bed... or anything that blocks the fans when the laptop is placed on that particular surface.. Although most people think that they provide "extra" cooling and make their laptop run cooler... i don't think this is really the case. Yes, with a 6cell, i think the cooler will bring down temps, primarily because the laptop is given additional airflow underneath, to feed fresh air into the fan vents. However, a 9cell does this passively as the laptop is raised about half an inch, allowing fresh air to flow underneath the laptop.

Now most people would say, ok but the cooler "blows air" into the fans. Yes that is true, however, sometimes that isn't always a good thing. Sometimes the high rpm of the cooler fans blowing air into the slower rpm laptop fans (or vice-versa) can prove to be inefficient, and sometimes disrupt the rpm of the laptop fans, possibly causing the fans to fail as it is being forced. Although extremely unlikely that this will in fact happen (your fan motors frying), my point is that the inefficiency of this combination of fans speeds, usually won't give you a very ASTONISHING drop in temperatures like those laptop cooler companies want you to believe. What they will do however, assuming a laptop is placed on a desk in both situations, one on a cooler and one not (with a 6cell) is maybe lower temps by 3-5*C MAX MAX ... While the 9cell will lower temps perhaps by 2-4*C...

Basically what i'm trying to say is... the difference in temperature between my M15x with a 6 cell on a laptop cooler, and my M15x with a 9 cell without a cooler, is minimal. Sure the cooler will make it cooler than the 9cell, but by barely enough to notice or really care about. This is why i think coolers (assuming you have a GOOD one... i use the Targus AWE55US Lap Chill Mat voted in the top 5 laptop coolers, sometimes 1st) are really only useful for laptop with 1. poor cooling to begin with and 2. for use on soft surfaces. The cooling system of the M15x, paired with a 9cell battery, is phenomenal and a cooler won't make things all THAT MUCH cooler, to justify the 30-60$ you will be paying to get that extra 1-2*C...

Just my take

 

Jstarnino

Thanks for your clarification. Some of those laptop cooler companies have nothing other than profits in their mind, and they would try to deceive the customers by overstating the performance of these products.

Anyway, since I only have 6-cell battery, I just tilt the laptop by placing a book below the battery. Then again, the bottom surface of the M15x (opposing end from the battery) feels hot. Is it normal? I am not using any laptop cooling pad, nor do I overclock the laptop.

Yeah, as you said, the cooling system of the M15x is awesome, but I am not expecting the bottom surface is cool. I am expecting it to be lukewarm. The reality that it is kind of hot. Is it normal?

 

Yea the good ol' book . Just as effective . About the front of the laptop... Yea surprisingly enough that's the area that gets the warmest to the touch after extended use ... And while it might feel really hot...don't worry its normal... It's just your harddrive ... But if you would run hwinfo32 or any temperature monitoring software, you'll see that your hdd is probably only 45*C or so... Which is fine really

 

Hi Everyone!!!Well I got my replacement Alienware M15X yesterday....it was to replace the one I had with the ATI 5730 because Dell gave me the free update to the ATI 5850 for Free,which they offered on their website last week..I think the free update is still available on there..I am returning the other one today...So far Dell has really been great to call me about the progress of the order,emails,etc...maybe things are looking up in their customer service department?....I love this computer so far, but of course I have a question....Where is the very lastest driver for the... ATI Radeon 1 GB GDDR5 Mobility HD 5850 card...probably on the dell website,right? Should I follow the directions that the REV gave to install it ?I have never installed anykind of a card driver before so I am a complete noobie....I know this question has been asked alot but I am scared to death to download the wrong thing after reading so many posts on here about issues with thier system after downloading the wrong drivers....I would greatly appreciated any help on this....the people on this forum are so tecnically knowledgeable and it's great to know there are kind people willing to help...thanks again....Honeycomb

 

If you want the most stability go with the latest Dell driver which is HERE. If you want the best performance then download the AMD/ATi 10.10 Drivers which are HERE.

 

Hi Dane! Thank you so much for the info on the drivers I will not be doing alot of gaming but will be watching movies and possibly streaming movies and usual internet surfing..so I guess I would probably want the driver with the best stability or performance.?..I do have another question for someone who might know this,though..I haven't installed Alienspawn yet....I was wondering if I should install it before or after the driver upgrade?I did not install the 2 the 2 cd disks sent with the system such as the resourse disk or the window 7 disk since of course windows 7 was already installed in the computer at the factory..I know I really sound dense about all of this but I just don't want to make any mistakes...thanks so much in advance.....Honeycomb

 

To the best of my knowledge you can't reinstall Alienspawn, it's on the original HDD when in original form only. If I'm wrong somebody speak up, if you're looking for a factory install utility try out Dell Datasafe HERE

 

HI Dane! What happens is I have this message from alienware spawn that I need to create a recovery media..when I go to start menu and click alienwarespawn an install window comes up and it tells me that the file is on the harddrive of this computer and it's from Dell...ever since I set the keyboard up I have been having an alien head at the bottom right of the taskbar telling me to create a recovery media...it's very annoying because it won't go away...however, after I installed some updates of windows the alienhead got bigger and I was able to read the whole message about creating a recovery media??I guess I should go ahead and do as the message says and create a recovery media by running the file....I just hope that it doesn't mess up the driver installation process....and I sure hope it gets rid of the annoying alienhead at the bottom of my taskbar...anyone have any suggestions about this?I would really appreciate it...thanks....Honeycomb

 

I would install the driver first, it shouldn't mess up the install. Then run the recovery media creation file, it should ask for discs or maybe a thumb/flash drive to create the media.

 

Thanks Dane!I really appreciate all your fast replys!I am going to try doing as you suggested but I better go buy some blank disks because I don't have any...will let you know what happens.....Honeycomb

 

For the one downloaded from AMD website, does it require the "WorkaroundInstall=true" modification to be successfully installed? Is any stability problem resulting from this driver that we should know?

 

10.10 doesn't need the workaround and is pretty stable.

 

hi
everyone
1
i have a question about installing windows on my m15x alienware....since the Alienware already came with windows installed do I need to reinstall it using thecd that came with the laptop?...I still need to install my new 5850 graphics driver update and also do the aleinware respawn to create a recovery media....Dane told me to do the driver first andthen the respawn create a recovery media but I forgot to ask if at any time if and when I need to reinstall windows with the cd that was sent with the system...all hlp is so much appreciated...later....Honeycomb

 

Hello! I just received my new m15x 2 days ago and was wondering if I need to update the Bios already?By the way,where are the Bios? I noticed in the manual it tells you a little about them but I am still not sure where they are...when I got this new M15x 2 days ago it has an updated ATI mobility radeon ddr5 card updated from an ATI Mobility ddr3 5730 card s0 do I still need to update to the new 5850 driver and the new bios 8 since I just got this laptop?Also, what about the CC cleaner...what is that and when do I use it?Dane told me to upgrade the driver first and then the alienware respawn create a recovery media thing because I was getting a message about doing the create recovery media at the bottom of the screen and it didn't go away.. but I fogot to ask him if i need to update bios or reinstall window with the provided cd that came with the system or whatever steps before or after that I need to do...I am new to all of this updating process and don't mean to be a pain in the###but I sure don't want to mess up this expensive keyboard and I know that there are some great people on here who know so much about all of these things and unfortunetly I don't so, I would greatly appreciate answers from kind people on this forum.....thank you so very much.....Honeycomb

 

@honeycomb

to find your bios version, just spam f2 when booting up. you should be already up to date since you just received it. the latest version is A08. if its not then we can help you update it.

as for your windows. for now do not install window from the disk, if you want to use the recovery method. you have to use the dell data safe program.

 

Hi all,

Just waiting for my M15x. The anticipation is killing me. System specs: i7-740QM, 1080p WLED display, 6GB 1333MHz RAM, 500BG 7200rpm HD, 5850 Radeon.

I've read the new owners post and can't wait to get my laptop, and trick it all out .

Possibly because I'm in Australia, but my EDD isnt until 2nd December, which I'm not too happy about.

Either way, it'll give me more time to read all these helpful posts.

Take care.

Vel.

 

honeycomb
Just do what Dane and inap said. Update the drivers first. What is your graphics card? Radeon 5730 or 5850? Choose the driver according to your graphics card.

Then, you create the AlienRespawn recovery media from AlienRespawn. Be aware that the recovery media should be created before you try to format your Windows. You can choose to format your Windows, or leave it as it is if you want to.

The problem I have is that I have formatted my Windows and I am unable to download AlienRespawn. Well, this software is not available in online Dell Driver Download. From http://alwchecker.alienrespawn.com/alwchecker-en.html, I have downloaded the DSLCheck.exe. Then again, when I ran it, it states that my laptop does not have Windows Recovery Environment, thus I can't download AlienRespawn software. Again, I did not mess with Recovery partition. Thus, how should I download AlienRespawn software?

 

Can anyone speak with experience about reinstalling Windows 7 using the disc Alienware provide (Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit).

Is there any difference between the disc provided by Alienware and the full Windows 7 retail version?

 

Yes but the differences other than the bloatware Dell sends are minimal, biggest thing I noticed is stuff like the AW branded wallpapers/user icons/etc which can be added after. If you're looking for a fresh install to minimalize some of the crap that came with it when new do the retail disc, if you want it factory fresh then do the AW disc, just remember to do drivers and programs from the website not the driver disc.

 

actually i don't see any difference between the 2 disk. i like the alienware more because it doesn't ask for the serial number. also make sure to download only the new drivers and command center, using your resource disk for drivers and command center may brick your mobo.

the only things you can use on resource disk is nero, youcam and the diagnostic tool.

 

Hi! This is Honeycomb...I have not been able to log in today...I can see at the top where my log in name is that it says I am logged in yet I keep getting a message at the bottom that I am not logged in and to refresh the page and try again??? but after 4 attemps to post I haven't been able to log in...finally I clicked something at the top of the page and it took me here...hope this message gets on the form because I couldn't find where the moderator was located to tell him...thanks!! ..honeycomb

 

I'm planning to buy an m15x soon however I don't have that much money to spare/"go for it" on every aspects

Just wanted to get some feedback on the following specifications and if it's more than enough for gaming:

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7 740QM Quad Core Processor, 1.73GHz (2.93GHz Turbo Mode, 6M Cache
1GB DDR3 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5730
15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED
6GB Memory (1x 2GB, 1x 4GB DDR3)
500GB SATAII 7,200RPM
Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Primary - 6-cell (56Watt) Lithium-Ion Battery
Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card

I'm not much of a tech expert but everything looks fine. Maybe a better GPU I suppose? Comments are welcome!

 

If you can go for the ATi 5850, if you're tight on money cut the 6gb back to 4gb and the 500gb hdd to a 320 or 250gb. The Ram isn't needed for most people and the hdd can be upgraded later for cheap. Other than that it looks like a great machine! If you're not worried about the laptop being brand new you may want to check out the outlet and use a coupon too!

 

Thanks for your input. Although I know the ATi 5850 would be a better choice, how would you describe the performance capability of the 5730?

 

LOL, in comparison to what? Maybe an unneeded gap in Dell/AW gpu's for the m15x lol. It's not much cheaper than the 5850 but lacks in performance by a decent amount. Comparing the GT240m(basic, no extra charge) and the 5730 doesn't give you much increase other than DX11 support and adds money. I don't know why anyone would choose the 5730 if they had another choice. Now if the 5730 is all you can get it's not a bad card, but again if you have another choice there are better ways to go.

 

dx11 on a 5730 would be a bid fail anyways. lolz

 

^^^^^Ditto! Sometimes the 5850 has a hard time with DX11 let alone the 5730.

 

don't get the 5730 if you plan to play games... unless solitaire and pacman are your games of choice .

I would go for 4gb ram, 250 or 320 hdd, and the 5850m like dane said

 

Yeah, 4GB ram and 5850 sounds good. Also, how well does the 5850 compare to the upcoming 460m? The 460M supports DX11 better? Though I would like to order the system soon since Dell is currently holding a discount.

 

honestly i see little difference when playing dx11 compared to dx10. just looks slightly better with a huge decrease in fps. i still play on dx10 on most games.

 

I don't use DX11 on any games but I'm sure the time is coming where DX11 will be more frequently used than DX9/10 so it's nice to have.

 

Hi Everyone...I received my M15x last week and really love it except for one thing...videos freezing up and skipping....this doesn't do this on utube very much but mainly on Stem's game videos.demos....Do I need A new driver?My current set up is i7 quad core 740, 4GB,500HDD,1GB ATI Radeon ddr5 5850 graphics card...I have the 08 Bios already.. and the current driver is the 8.683.2.0 version with a driver date of 12/17/09...I have never installed a driver before but I will try and follow the great advise I was given here before...to recap should I run a CC Cleaner and then install the driver? Also,I have the Alienwarerespawn file so should I do the respawn before or after all of the other stuff?Thanks to anyone who can help...I really love the keyboard but sure don't like the skipping on the videos,which is mostly on the Steam site and occasionally other vides...thanks again....Honecomb

 

If you insist, just uninstall the drivers, run CCleaner, reboot and then install the driver downloaded from Dell website. Your driver seems to be outdated and is the same as Driver DVD. Thus, try to install the latest one from Dell website.

Regarding AlienRespawn, you can create AlienRespawn recovery discs anytime you want. Just make sure that the discs are created before you attempt to format and reinstall Windows. Updating drivers will have no effect on AlienRespawn, since AlienRespawn creates the discs based on factory image, not your current Windows file.

Perhaps, other more experienced experts can advise you better.

 

It's probably not the video drivers, I've seen it a few times that it has something to do with video card acceleration and flash player. I'll do a search and see if I can find it again for you honeycomb.

 

Honeycomb-Try this:

turn off hardware acceleration. right click the video, click settings, go to the tab on the left and uncheck hardware acceleration.

Also make sure you are running the latest version of Flash player. Steam, and each of your web browsers you use typically use a different version so manually update each of them.

 

I wish we could add a 2nd hard drive to AW m15x like in asus g53

 

Like it says in the first page, you could always replace the optical drive with a hard drive.

 

^^^ There is the optical drive caddy replacement option and if you ocasionally use your optical drive you could use an external ODD. Now if you frequently use your optical drive or don't feel like making that kind of swap another option you would have is using an external pESATA(powered ESATA) case, most people who have used these cases report speeds from the HDD of nearly what an internal drive would give with very little difference. Hope this helps you ibravehart.

 

M15x Laptop backpack + 9cell for sale in Marketplace

 

Thanks bro
but something build in makes a hell of a difference
it does not have to be in Raid option

maybe in there next R3 or4 version they will wise up

 

the mod dane talked about is an internal mod. but you will have to lose the optical drive to do it. its a good mod if you don't it the optical alot.
and yeah i don't see a second hdd in an M15x anytime soon.

 

Thanks guys for the iput
i hope they make one lighter soon

 

Hi, please tell me how long does this lappy work from battery? On one and on another
6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery - Primary, Additional
9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery - Primary, Additional
In office work / movie viewing / internet surfing with wifi on.
Also how different videocards affect time?

Does this laptop support optimus on these processors?
Intel® CoreTM i5 540M (2.53GHz/3MB cache)
Intel® CoreTM i3 370M (2.4GHz/3MB cache)