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I know this is a long dead request but I figured I'd answer it for anyone who comes across this looking for the answer. An mSATA SSD and a SATA SSD are identical. The interfaces have identical speed and you can even use RAID 0 across them to give you about 1.6x the performance (around 1000MB/s on good SSDs like the Samsung 860 mSATA and SATA drives). If you are looking to use one as a boot SSD and you have a choice, I'd go with the mSATA for an SSD as it leaves a full size HDD bay for future expansion whereas mSATA is limited in what you can install in it. Hope this helps anyone with the same question.

Has anyone unlocked the final bios release for the M14X R2 yet? I've been searching but can't seem to find anything. If not, would it be possible for someone to unlock it and add the unlocked VBIOS for those of us still enjoying these machines? File link below for simplicity (too large for me to attach). Thanks in advance! M14XR2 A15

Does anyone currently own an Alienware M11X R3 with the i7-2657m? I’d be really interested to know the model number of the motherboard since these appear to be the rarest configuration of all. I know they were common on review units and didn’t seem readily available at launch but I’ve stumbled across a for sale ad for an M11x R3 referencing the chip. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Any slot can be cleaned with the right tools. For ram slots I use a soft bristled brush that I wet with 99.6% isopropyl alcohol. I can’t see why the same solution wouldn’t work for an MXM slot as well. Let me know if you need any more information.

I think a lot of it has to do with the new BGA direction everything seems to be headed in. Modern mobile processors no longer have socket format versions and from a financial standpoint it makes more sense to use a BGA GPU rather than make the unit upgradeable thereby removing the incentive for people to upgrade. Instead of building larger and larger customizeable laptops, it looks like they are instead focusing on soldered units and their graphics amplifier. It all makes sense from a profitability standpoint but it totally sucks for savvy consumers who supported Alienware specifically because they catered to the user upgradeable market. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll come back to their roots down the road.

Out of curiosity have you considered running the 330W PSU instead of undervolting the GPU? Btw, which thermal pads are you planning to use for the GPU ram? I feel like your biggest concern is going to be extra heat on this build.

I recently scratch built a brand new M11X R3 with the following specs: i7 2637m w/ 2GB GT 540M 16GB DDR3 INTEL 7260 Wireless AC 512GB Samsung 860 Evo After learning about the M11X R3 I just had to have one and unfortunately there were none available used so I ended up picking up all the parts for it brand new online and assembled it myself. I absolutely love this laptop for its portability. I have an AW17 R4 and it sucks for use on the go so this seemed like a great laptop for dragging around with me all day. The factory screen was an absolute travesty so I ended up tracking down the best 11.6” I could find (AUO B116XAN03.0) and am currently waiting for it to arrive. For now I’m running the LCD out of the R1 which isn’t amazing but it’s 1000x better than what comes with the R3. Anybody else running this LCD?