radji

The m14x R2's SSD is an mSATA SSD. It is replaceable/upgradeable. And you can load Windows onto it if you want. The way the mSATA SSD is configured from factory is as a cache drive. That means the SSD will act as a kind of RAM to boost the speed of your regular installed hard drive. You can change this setting to make the cache drive into a regular partitioned drive, but I wouldn't advise it on an mSATA as small as 32GB. You can always remove the stock SSD and install a bigger one. The mSATA SSD is located under the battery, just to the left of the WiFi card. Here is an example of a larger capacity mSATA SSD; it has more than enough room for windows to be installed on it. Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD3 mSATA 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Nah, I'm just a dumb diesel mechanic. Better at fabrication and mechanical stuff than electronics. This is just my hobby.

I'm going to shut up now. I only have a basic knowledge of VFDs, Soft Starts, etc. Just enough to be dangerous and install and troubleshoot them. imsolidstate obviously is far beyond my level...probably an electrical engineer of sorts, yes?

Really? I would think that a straight DC load would be harder on a diode than an AC current since it doesn't alternate the current between the two lead, leaving all heat on one side of the rectifier all the time. But then again, I'm not that savvy with DC power. I was working with 3 phase power, where the current load was distributed across 3 lines.

Ehh, I wouldn't trust those diode bridges to balance the load. Had one of the bigger ones in a Variable-frequency motor drive, kept having to replace the diodes since they don't balance the load, its like a see saw more than a bridge. If one side draws more than the other for too long, it will keep taking on more of the load until it reaches the overload point.

Well, at least that's one less place that can bottleneck and blow. I'm still concerned something won't be able to handle the increased wattage.

Exactly my point. We know the MXM slots have to be able to handle the 200W or else Alienware would not have put them into the m18x line. I only worry about the motherboard voltage regulators. Putting that much more wattage thru them is bound to have consequences.

I am not sure what the power draw of a single 5870m is, but here's what I've gathered. The new 7970m cards have a TDP of 100W. The mobile manual of our R2's state the total power budget for the graphics cards to be 150W. Therefore, the TDP of two 5870m cards can be no more than 75W each (assuming each card draws equal power when in crossfire mode). Now,, two 7970m cards in crossfire can have a total draw of 200W when at max load, therefore our R2s with their 240W PSUs will be short 50W . This doesn't mean the cards will not work, far from it. It just means to run at full steam ahead, two 7970m cards will need 50W more power than our R2s can provide with their standard 240W power supply. I've explained it to others that this is the reason the 7970m cards will initially work, but once you start stressing them and the 7970ms need more power, your system will shutdown because it has no more to give. Hence, the need for a 300W PSU. PS: TDP is not the total draw of power for these cards. It should actually be a little higher. EDIT: Here is where I am getting my information from. This is just one review that gives a crossfire specs profile of the 7970m: AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire - Notebookcheck.net Tech

There is an option in the BIOS for the m14xs that enable or disable battery charging. Fn+F2 will tell you if the battery is enabled or disabled.

For those who are wondering: Mobility Catalyst 12.10 was posted on AMD's driver website yesterday evening. AMD Catalyst PS: Still have to download the look-and-see tool to get the actual CCC package.

The R4's heatsink should be able to handle the 680m's heat output. Kev, were you able to update the Clevo 680m's drivers with the Nvidia WHQL package after you initially installed the Dell 680m drivers, or is the Clevo card stuck with only using the modded driver files?

Very cool imsolidstate. Your methods are much easier to do than some of the other suggestions out there. I will let my cousin know. She's been wanting to upgrade her crossfire setup for some time now but doesn't want to go to a single card setup. I will still advise her to wait on going crossfire with two 7970ms. I have serious reservations about our m17x's using more than 240w of juice for extended periods of time without something burning out or catching fire. I'm not saying that WILL happen, but in my experience (working on industrial motors and their controls...i.e. 3P, 480V), if you have a machine that's designed for a certain amount of power, and then you give it 37% more power, you don't know if the internal components will be able to handle that much an increase since they were only designed and tested for original limits. But that's just my two cents.

I would think the R3 is locked to the switchable graphics mode. Personally, I would not want to deal with Optimus or Enduro. I know Optimus works way better than Enduro, but I just prefer to manually switch GPUs when I need to and not have the OS decide for me without telling me.