*OFFICIAL* M15x Owners Lounge - Part 5 (see post #1 for links)

Hi Guys,

Wondering if anyone has experienced this..

I've been getting random system freezes on the odd occasion for a while. Not sure exactly when this started. I'd say in the last 2 or 3 months maybe. I think the first time it happened I was watching a youtube video and the system froze...no key pressing or mouse clicking did anything..and then it suddenly popped up a BSOD. But since then when it happens i just get the system freeze and no BSOD just a frozen system. It only seems to happen when watching either a video clip online, or some flash content or like last night when for the first time it did it when watching a dvd. I reckon it happens a couple of times a month. so not exactly a regular occurence but i get the feeling it's becoming more frequent.

i'm guessing its a video card problem. i've tried a couple of different driver versions but have experienced the problem with both. i'm currently using the latest from dell: 257.38.

any ideas?

 

When it only happens with flash content try whether disabling the hardware acceleration helps. And make sure you have the latest version of flash player installed.

 

thanks svl7, i'll give that a go for the flash. i tend to feel it is mainly with flash video that it happens. i have got the latest flash player though. seems strange why it's generally fine and then it just freaks out a couple of times a month. intermittent problems...don't you just luv em!

 

oh yeah guys r3 is due to arrive tomorrow, can't wait finally can play some tf2 again, hahahah

let me know if you guys want me to check anything out.

 

Yeah, great! I really hope you can enjoy your M15x+2r3 I'm really curious about your opinion of the 6970m... let us know when you got a nice bench, hehe.

 

yeah i'll keep you guys posted on the 2720/6970 performance.i rather post all my stuff here then the M17x threads, hahah

 

I'm glad we can never get rid of you =D

I wouldn't mind seeing the performance of your system instead of digging around the M17x forums

 

hopefully i get it early tomorrow, so i can install all of the extra parts i got and do a clean install on my ssd. then i will do a couple of stock benches fo you guys.

 

looks like this could be the end of the M15x.

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http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/561511-alienware-m14x.html

 

Aww... that's sad. You're probably right, this seems to be the beginning of the end.
I'm wondering about the specs... I don't expect a 1080p screen, and the GPU... hmm. I really like the M15x, size, performance, design...

We will probably see some specs soon enough, I'm pretty curious.

 

Should we take some wagers on the possible specs?
I'm gonna say: i7 2620m or 2630qm with 540m graphics. Dell managed to put the 740qm in the xps 14 (I think) so why not a quad here? I also speculate the 540m rather than 555m the reason being is that I think dell will reserve the higher graphics with the R3 and even so I don't think we'll even see a 555m in the laptop. Still though. Would be pretty amazing if this baby was kitted with a 555m gt and a quad SB. Could get this for my little brother.
I am also sad for the M15x. However, this is good because all of us can safely say that we own the fastest 15 incher Dell have ever released

 

Poor M15x =(

Looks i may just have to upgrade to an M17x down the line. Just curious how much more worth it is the 6970 over the 5850/5870. I haven't bothered to look at benches because the system is still a bit new. I always wait a bit for people to break in their system before i check out benches.

 

single 6970 performance is around on par with cf 5870. but let wait for official aw numbers.

 

^^^ really? thats hard to believe ...

 

hey guys
anyone know how to edit the alienfx theme? not using command centre method

 

hhahaha yeah i know, thats why i said to wait for official aw numbers, really doubt it.

 

Looking at the Notebook check benchmarks as a very rough guideline, I'd say inap is right.

Whilst the aren't the most accurate or representative, they can be used as a rough approximation of performance.

Metro 2033 runs at 18 fps in ultra settings in both single 6970M & crossfire 5870M

 

their benchmarks are always sketchy and rarely accurate... so i would hold my breath to wtv they say...

id says the 6970 is like 3/4 that of xf 5870s... but thats just a guess..

 

yeah at the time he ask me about the performance i had really nothing to go by other then those reviews. ok got some official 6970 numbers. stock drivers and clocks. no added cooling max benching temps was around 80c.

 

Inap can you brief me about your upcoming laptop I'm kinda curious
As for the M14x, I think it is an interesting idea. I find the M15x a little heavy and I would use some more portability.

 

yeah the r3 is a little lighter then the r2, but is heavier then the M15x. it just barely fits into my old swiss gear pegasus. so i think M14x was made for you.

anything else you wanna know about the r3.

 

How's the overall feeling of it?!
Besides, have you heard of Harry lately?

 

Hmmm. Can't wait to see this card pushed to it's limits =D

 

haven't heard anything from harry. i did try to pm him a few months ago but got nothing.

i only had it a few days, and most of the time is just reformatting. but overall the r3 build is pretty nice, although not as good as the M15x or r2. keyboard has a little flex like all current build so your used to it. the keyboard feel different like its soft touch too. the touchpad feels great, should have been like this for the M15x. screen is pretty much the same just a lil bigger.

the buttons on top and the power button i feel is a down grade, it feels cheap and doesn't feel like its going to last. could be just a defect on my unit.

dane and mandrake have a more detailed review of the unit in the 17x threads.

 

The soft-touch finish actually concerns me. I'm not sure how durable it will be. Someone with an M11x-R2 had some peeling around the corners of his. Hope that isn't a trend because it looks like AW is going soft-touch for all the new laptops.

 

How does this soft touch finish feel compared to the rubber coating on ThinkPads?

 

Hi all, This thread has been going on quite awhile I see. I'm interested in upgrading my Clevo d901C. now i have SLi 8800m gtx, I was wondering if I could stick a 480m in there with a GPU upgrade also to the i7? are either possible? if so can you direct me to a guide?

 

judging by your current specs, the answer is a no, your current chipset will not support the 480m nor an i7 cpu. time to get a new laptop.

 

Sorry mate, you are in the wrong section. There are sections for Clevo PC's. But us folk here are all able to help. Newer cards out use the MXM III type b Slot which unfortunately your laptop does not have. I think the highest you can go are SLi 280m GTX's. Also i7's must be on a PM55 chipset motherboard, which your D901c also does not have. Unfortunately you are a bit stuck.

 

Damn, well I guess it is time then. damn mobile platforms. Thanks for your input.

 

I have to thank ya'all for helping me do my own upgrade..my M15x was bought in april of 2010..I got the cheap i3 core with 4 gb memory. everything else was the best they had to offer at the time nvidia 260 and the 1080p.
so I found my i7 core 820 QM on ebay. and I installed it on my own..wouldn't have had the guts to tear my M15x apart without the knowledge base you've got in here.. my gaming rig is fast and no freeze ups on my fallout 3 with all the addons...thanks again.. I'm glad I joined this lounge.. I've been a video gamer for many years ( since pong in the 70s)..

 

Just got my 5850 from ArchNemesis and put it in, seems to work fine so far

I'm pretty new to this card, but according to you guys it can be pretty powerful (especially compared to my old 260m)... so I'm eager to see how it really performs, but first I need to find some sleep, already 3 am, lol and I need to get up soon.

Quick question: I run a quick test run (gaming a bit) and the memory temp is always in the hight 80s... (according to Everest) what are your memory temps for this card?

I guess I need to reseat the thermal pads, and get some new ones, I don't have any left.

Hope the card will serve me well (until the 6970m works, hehe XD, *dreaming* ... can't wait to hear the results from Rogue and Inap)

 

my rig came with 5850, the average memtemps were between 79 to 85 (gaming), after mx-4 and some premium thermal pads i never hit 78 (gaming), after flashing vbios from 625/1000/1.00v to 700/1000/1.05v(which is what the clock r for the 5870) the mem max temp is 81... and on average the other gpu related temps run about 5 to 12 degrees cooler than mem. remember your moving from gddr3 to gddr5 which is more demanding on the mem... and when benching gpu on furmark for 5 min i hit about 84 on mem...
hope this gives u some insight

 

Quick question for anyone that has a 460M GTX. I just bought one and installed but I have a small problem (or maybe not who knows). GPUZ is showing the Mem clock at 625Mhz whereas in the Nvidia performance tool it is showing the correct Mem clock of 1250Mhz. Does anyone else have this problem? Is it just a bug? Image below:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Yeah it is common. GPUz reads it as single channel. Both are correct. I have the same.

 

Sweet, that's was I was thinking but just wanted to be sure. Now to sell my 5850.

 

May be this is a daft question but, if I order a 460M from Eurocom will it run ok with my M15x? What difference (if any) does it make if the card is Dell, Clevo, Sager, etc?

Oh and get this... The card itself is $303 and the shipping to Africa is (drum-roll please) $259...... Can't help but feel like I'm getting shafted here but I can't seem to find them anywhere else. I would get one from Dell but you can't order online and I have no way of actually calling them to arrange purchase. Aside from that, I simply HATE speaking to anyone from Dell via phone or email. I'm pretty sure all employees have their humanity surgically removed when they enter Dells employment. I'm guessing it makes them better at cold-blooded sales tactics.

 

It will run perfectly fine. Sometimes the ones from dell are a little more tweaked, for example the 5850. However for this card i haven't read of any difference. What is also interesting is that if you look at the pic i post in my previous posts the subvendor on GPUz is Dell...

 

Yeah the Dell ones sometimes have better build quality but they have lower default clocks. Not that that really makes any difference if you overclock. Beware when buying from the eurocom website though...it lies. On if it is on eBay then it should be no problem.

 

It lies?!



White lies, or big fat take-all-your-cash-and-send-you-an-empty-box lies?

Haven't seen one of these on Ebay in over a week... All I can find are laptops with the card installed. I've almost given up on Ebay at this point!

 

You just have to wait, upgradeyourlaptop is eurocom's eBay name. By lies I mean they sometimes post things that they don't have in stock and they don't remove things that they no longer have in stock. I'm not saying they are fraudulent I'm just saying that people have had bad experiences buying parts from eurocom. I have heard good things about their eBay page though.

 

I can only speak for the ebay page, which is where I bought my card from and so far I am very happy with it.

 

Ahhhh, I see. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

You can also check here: Laptop Video Cards - R&J Technology, Clevo Barebone Notebook kits, Laptop and desktop system builder

Shipping options: Shipping - R&J Technology, Clevo Barebone Notebook kits, Laptop and desktop system builder

 

Here's hoping the 6970 works =D

As for your temps, are you using the default thermal pads? My mem temps are always the highest but I think my highest temp game is 79. This is at 5870 clocks btw. The card can be pushed much higher than that.

 

Wow!!! They've got them! Although it does say " For Clevo W86xCU/W87xCU only. MXM 3.0 type-B, Including Heasink.", do you think this would be an issue?

Rep ahoy as soon as I'm restocked!

Edit: Daaamn, they're i7's are outrageously expensive! ~$1200 for the XM! That will definately be an Ebay purchase. Seen plenty flying around there.

 

No, they will work. There may be issues with audio through DP, I'm not sure...

Yeah, 920/40xm OEM chips usually are outrageously expensive... ES is a great deal imo.

Yes, I didn't have any others left. I already ordered some and may be able to lower the temps a bit next week. The core is ok so far. And anyway, I'm not quite sure how accurate those values are anyway...

The card works great so far, I did a little run on 3dMark Vantage, was able to push it to about 805 on the core without crashing the driver. Maybe I'll try it again when I find some more time.

Haven't gamed a lot with it so far, but I can already tell it's quite a difference to the 260m, hehe.

 

DP?

:s

Does anyone know the correct thickness for the thermal pads on the GPU? After getting a quick look at them during my clumsy removal of the heatsink I'm guessing the thinner ones are 1mm or 2mm and the thicker ones are more like 5mm or 6mm. Anybody got a definitive thickness? And is it an option to just stack 1mm tabs to achieve the desired depth?

 

Sorry, DP = DisplayPort

1mm should be just right. All cards should have about the same height profile because it's defined by the MXM standard... but in the end it may vary a little.

It's not very advisable to stack to pads on each other... there's always the risk you get little air bubbles between them. But if done properly it sould work. Actually Dell does this... at least it was like this in my M15x.

 

I just watched a movie through the DisplayPort on my TV and video/audio worked just fine, so no need to worry about that.