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OFFICIAL: Alienware M18x Owners Lounge


Brian

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Hm well I got fans running at 30% (which is I think 2K RPM) - and that's the low frequency sound that one can hear. I usually have volume a bit up when watching movies so I don't hear it. But if it's quiet enough, I see how it would matter. I hear it when I am browsing web or something like that.

I'll try to see if I can make the M17x running with lower RPM with the cooling mod and the fan control option in HWInfo32 that's posted on this forum.

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From what I can see of the M18x photos it's going to have a rubber palm rest and the rest will be aluminum--very nice design decision by Dell. The soft touch palm rest feels really good once you try it. I loved it on the M17x-R3 an I'm sure it will be just as good on the M18x. My biggest complaint of the R3 has been addressed with M18x: Aluminum lid + chasis. This combines the best features into one product. Just wish it had IGP support but I'll deal. Hmm I see the following config in my near future:

Nebula Red Avenger

2720QM (can't afford 2920xm yet)

4 GB 1333 mhz ram (gonna upgrade to aftermarket 8-16 GB 1600 mhz)

2 x 500 gb seagate momentus xt

intel wireless

Blu ray rom

AMD 6970M Crossfire

My first red Alienware, I never tried it before and frankly didn't really like it but I figured I'll try something different this time since all I've purchased in the past is black. Wish they had kept silver.

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I think one of my fans may be going as it occasionally on start up sounds louder, with almost a grinding or whining sound. A shutdown and restart usually makes it go away. Need to get that looked at soon.

Off topic:

How are you guys getting such long sigs? I tried copying mine over from NBR and it told me I could only have 2 lines which I had, indicatign that one of the lines might be auto wrapping.

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I think one of my fans may be going as it occasionally on start up sounds louder, with almost a grinding or whining sound. A shutdown and restart usually makes it go away. Need to get that looked at soon.

Off topic:

How are you guys getting such long sigs? I tried copying mine over from NBR and it told me I could only have 2 lines which I had, indicatign that one of the lines might be auto wrapping.

If the fan makes grinding noise all the time, then you need to get it replaced. As for sigs, I just raised the limit to 5 lines and 1500 words without BB code and 1000 words with BB code. Give it a shot. My sig is longer/different than everyone else because admins get different privileges :)

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M18x has switchable graphics! FN+F7 is on the keyboard and Intel 3000 is listed as a graphics option in the manual (yes its up).

Computer Information

Processor

Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition • (second generation)

Intel Core i7 and i5 (second generation)•

L2 cache

256 KB

L3 cache

up to 8 MB

Bus clock

100 MHz

System chipset

Mobile Intel HM67 Express Chipset

SDRAM bus width

one or two 64-bit channels of DDR3 memory up to 1600 MHz

Processor address bus width

32 bits

Processor data width

64 bits

BIOS SPI Flash Memory

32 Mbit

Graphics bus

PCIe x16 Gen2

Video

Video controller

Integrated

Intel HD Graphics 3000

Discrete

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M•

AMD Radeon HD 6970M

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So, when will it be released?

Welcome to T|I's forum. We weren't given a release date, only "May". So it's anybody's guess right now and mine is around 5-24.

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Nebula Red Avenger

2720QM (can't afford 2920xm yet)

4 GB 1333 mhz ram (gonna upgrade to aftermarket 8-16 GB 1600 mhz)

2 x 500 gb seagate momentus xt

intel wireless

Blu ray rom

AMD 6970M Crossfire

My first red Alienware, I never tried it before and frankly didn't really like it but I figured I'll try something different this time since all I've purchased in the past is black. Wish they had kept silver.

Brian- I think you nailed the "sweet spot" with this config., that should hike it up to around $3200. I am still leaning towards black but have to admit the red/green does look sic. Also, congrats on getting banned from the biggest AW event this century. +1 rep

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Welcome to T|I's forum. We weren't given a release date, only "May". So it's anybody's guess right now and mine is around 5-24.

Thanks! I've been stalking this beast even before Eric G. announced it. I'm so addicted to it, I've been going through all kinds of reviews of anything that is Alienware. This beast will be replacing my 6 years old AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 4600/ATI 1950 xtx desktop, and it will be my first laptop ever.

Actually, I've been planning on buying an Alienware ever since I've started watching unboxing videos of it on YouTube 9 months ago, which led me to watch a comparison video of yours regarding 5870m vs 4870m. Yes, I'm THAT much hooked.

On a side note, I'm really happy about the IGP, but I'm not sure how I feel about the screen. My own 4 years old 24 inch LCD suffers from washed out colors and LOTS of backlight bleeding. I hope it's nothing less than gorgeous.

Since I'll be replacing my desktop, I don't care about size or weight as long as it's somewhat portable, so I'm hoping they won't downclock anything for the sake of a 240 watt power brick. However, I really hope heat isn't an issue, as I will be going with 2x 6970m.

Also, I've seen one too many processors benchmarks to know that the 2920xm is overrated; 2720 offers amazing performance, which is almost comparable to the 2920, for a lot less $.

Last but not least, I hope purchasing an M18x R1 won't make me a lab genuine pig for a way better M18x R2.

Edited by Reginal
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Don't worry about temperatures, the cooling is sufficient plus the PSU is 330W (not 240) since you go with the 6970s. As far as 2720QM vs 2920XM simply there is no comparison, because when unlocked the XM will destroy anything on its way... moreover you don't pay $1K+ for an XM CPU to keep it stock... for stock clocks and lower budget the QM series are the way to go.

The laptop's screen will probably be better than your old LCD as well so don't worry about that either.

Now about the M18x R1 vs R2... we are all hoping that the history won't repeat itself but given that the R3 hasn't suffered any sever problems so far I don't see it happening to the M18x either.

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Nicely said Stam, I will say the same. The 2920XM is unlocked and overclockable, if you don't plan to overclock don't buy it. That's why it's around $1000 for one... So if your not overclocking buy a normal sanybridge they are priced knowing they are not adjustable. Check reviews and benches on 2920xm. They found that it far surpasses the 980x six core in a couple of benches and extremely threaded ones the 980x wins.

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From what I can see of the M18x photos it's going to have a rubber palm rest and the rest will be aluminum--very nice design decision by Dell. The soft touch palm rest feels really good once you try it. I loved it on the M17x-R3 an I'm sure it will be just as good on the M18x. My biggest complaint of the R3 has been addressed with M18x: Aluminum lid + chasis. This combines the best features into one product. Just wish it had IGP support but I'll deal. Hmm I see the following config in my near future:

Nebula Red Avenger

2720QM (can't afford 2920xm yet)

4 GB 1333 mhz ram (gonna upgrade to aftermarket 8-16 GB 1600 mhz)

2 x 500 gb seagate momentus xt

intel wireless

Blu ray rom

AMD 6970M Crossfire

My first red Alienware, I never tried it before and frankly didn't really like it but I figured I'll try something different this time since all I've purchased in the past is black. Wish they had kept silver.

Brian- Who would have thought we would be looking at a $4500 price tag for your config. OUCH!!! I still want a gaming laptop with a lighted keyboard (not Asus) :(

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With Throttle Stop 99Watts TDP and 97Amps TDC should be available for the 2920XM and should produce nice results thanks to Unclewebb working with a M17X R3 user that has a 2920XM.

Edit: I made a mistake in my post Throttlestop probably wont work in the M18 but the Bios should have the aforementioned adjustments because the bios should be the same as the M17x R3.

Edited by mw86
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Brian- Just want to know your thoughts on going with the BD for $150+? I really want to get the longest warranty I can afford, and will only be able to do that by cutting corners. I think the most important options are CPU, GPU CF or SLI, HD hybrid 500GB, wireless, and wireless video streaming with receiver and finally warranty.

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Brian- Just want to know your thoughts on going with the BD for $150+? I really want to get the longest warranty I can afford, and will only be able to do that by cutting corners. I think the most important options are CPU, GPU CF or SLI, HD hybrid 500GB, wireless, and wireless video streaming with receiver and finally warranty.

If you are comfortable with opening up your M18x and installing a BD rom, then get it via eBay for a cheaper price. If not, then grab it from Dell with full warranty. However, I'd personally put more emphasis on a better CPU + Crossfire/SLi before the bd rom.

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Will I be the only one buying a 2920XM through dell? Also their factory 4ghz overclock... Is there any worth to that? Does anybody know anything more than Dell has said about that? Is it something everyone can set with a 2920XM? Such as if a user bought it configured like that... and posted how it is set here... then everyone could just copy the same settings and go from there for $75 dollars less?

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