OFFICIAL: Alienware M17x R3 / R4 - Owners Lounge

[LaPioute]

Yep runs well. Overclocking is fun and tweaking it with Throttlestop on the go really brings out the capabilities of this machine.

Thank you very much widezu69.

you what vbios for your 680M?

What is your 3DMark11 score

[58elrond]

i gotta r4 very nice! =D i love this design not the new alienware laptop look, er, the one thing thats a bit annyoing is some of the mobility gpus aint optimized with ubisofts new games ) = ac4 and watch dogs, i hope im wrong but all evidence shows that they are not to keen on pc community (ubisoft that is) other than that im loveing it , fraviout colours are pure green .. Sexy.

[LaPioute]

Yep runs well. Overclocking is fun and tweaking it with Throttlestop on the go really brings out the capabilities of this machine.

Hi

Which are your adjustments 3940XM with throttlestop.

Thank you.

[domain234]

Que tal va el 3940xm en el Alienware, merecería la pena el cambio de i7-3840qm que tengo ahoramismo por este? Saludos

That such is the 3940xm in Alienware, be worth the i7-3840qm change that I have right now for this? regards

Pd: Sorry for my English

[svl7]

In case you want to overclock and benchmark go for the XM. If you only plan to do gaming the 3840QM is definitely sufficient.

[domain234]

Actualmente tengo oceado mi i7-3840qm a 4,1 desde la bios=enabled extreme edition. Tendré problemas en un futuro por no ser XM? Saludos

Currently I have my i7-3840qm oceado to 4.1 from extreme edition bios = enabled. I have problems in the future by not XM? Regards

[Robbo]

Actualmente tengo oceado mi i7-3840qm a 4,1 desde la bios=enabled extreme edition. Tendré problemas en un futuro por no ser XM? Saludos

Currently I have my i7-3840qm oceado to 4.1 from extreme edition bios = enabled. I have problems in the future by not XM? Regards

That 3840QM should be good for gaming for years; the GPU will be obsolete before you need to upgrade the CPU.

[domain234]

Ok, pues lo dejare como esta, creo que voy a actualizar solo la grafica. Gracias por aclarar las dudas que tenia, un saludo

Ok, so I'll leave it like this, I think I'll just upgrade the graphics. Thanks for clarifying the doubts he had, a greeting

[edrick022]

Just wondering...is it possible to run Alien GUISE in windows 8.1?

[Sergeant]

Hello,

I need a bag or case for the new AW17.

What is a good or the best bag/case for the new AW17?

[wizardjjr]

Hey guys, I just recently picked up an M17x R4 off Craigslist for $1200. The laptop included the following specs I7 3720m, GTX 680m, 16gb HyperX 1600 Ram, DVD Burner, 1600x900 display, 128gb Samsung 840 SSD, and 750gb Hybrid Drive. I also managed to score an I7 3940xm processor on ebay. I upgraded and repasted the cpu with IC Diamond. I really love this machine. It's so powerful.

For future upgrades I plan to add a 1080p 120hz display and a 480gb+ msata ssd once the warranty expires in march. But I have a question: Is the msata port on the R4 only sata2? Right now I am looking at the crucial m5 480gb msata ssd. But if it's only sata2 compliant, would it be a waste?

[Robbo]

Hey guys, I just recently picked up an M17x R4 off Craigslist for $1200. The laptop included the following specs I7 3720m, GTX 680m, 16gb HyperX 1600 Ram, DVD Burner, 1600x900 display, 128gb Samsung 840 SSD, and 750gb Hybrid Drive. I also managed to score an I7 3940xm processor on ebay. I upgraded and repasted the cpu with IC Diamond. I really love this machine. It's so powerful.

For future upgrades I plan to add a 1080p 120hz display and a 480gb+ msata ssd once the warranty expires in march. But I have a question: Is the msata port on the R4 only sata2? Right now I am looking at the crucial m5 480gb msata ssd. But if it's only sata2 compliant, would it be a waste?

I don't think an upgrade to 1080 120Hz will be worth it for a laptop that is starting to age. If I was you I'd probably enjoy it as is, and then use the money to go towards buying a new laptop in a couple of years with 120Hz - by this point GPU tech will have really moved on (Maxwell). And what's wrong with the 128GB Samsung 840, are you really gonna see much difference with the M5? Why did you bother with the 3940XM too? (That could have gone towards your next excellent laptop purchase). With the added cost of the 1080 120Hz screen, XM processor & 480GB M5, then you probably would have been more than half way to buying an excellent new laptop in a couple of years anyway, instead of adding almost no value to your already great laptop you bought off Craigslist!

[wizardjjr]

I plan on keeping this laptop for awhile which is why I am exploring my options. I went with Alienware because it has many paths to upgrade compared to other gaming laptops. I mainly got the XM because I really wanted to push the overclocking to the limits. I like tweaking and benching my rigs against my friends rigs. It was only a $200 upgrade after selling my 3720m. There isn't anything wrong with the Samsung 840 other than it's size. I play a lot of mmo's that run better on a SSD. So I feel like 128gb is a bit cramped. As for the 120hz screen, you may be right about that. But the 1600x900 screen it has now is so dull and washed out compared to the 1080p screen in my buddy's R3. I feel like I am missing out on some really beautiful graphics with this stock screen.

Any idea if the msata on the R4 is sata2 or sata3?

[Robbo]

I plan on keeping this laptop for awhile which is why I am exploring my options. I went with Alienware because it has many paths to upgrade compared to other gaming laptops. I mainly got the XM because I really wanted to push the overclocking to the limits. I like tweaking and benching my rigs against my friends rigs. It was only a $200 upgrade after selling my 3720m. There isn't anything wrong with the Samsung 840 other than it's size. I play a lot of mmo's that run better on a SSD. So I feel like 128gb is a bit cramped. As for the 120hz screen, you may be right about that. But the 1600x900 screen it has now is so dull and washed out compared to the 1080p screen in my buddy's R3. I feel like I am missing out on some really beautiful graphics with this stock screen.

Any idea if the msata on the R4 is sata2 or sata3?

Well, fair enough then, you got a good deal on the XM! I did a quick google on your msata question, and looks like msata is SATA 3:

mSATA port on MX17X R4 ..SATA II or III ? - Alienware Arena Forums

EDIT: Although there is some controversy over whether the mSATA port is SATA 2 or SATA 3, a lot of users are reporting it's only SATA 2. Strange that the Alienware Rep in the thread link above says it's SATA 3. I think you should do some more googling on the topic, it's not clear what the answer is to me.

[J95]

SATA 2 3GB/s.

[wizardjjr]

That sucks. Dell had it listed on their website as sata3. In that case, I may just replace my current SSD with a larger one around black friday/cyber monday or after christmas. But for now, I will take Rob's advice and be happy with what I have. Thanks for the info, J95.

Now I will try out overclocking. I have been googling it for the last week or so. There is some decent info out there, but I am still not 100%. I see that I can increase the multipliers, but it seems like the overclock doesn't really stick unless turbo is kicking in. Is there a definitive guide out there that might be of help? Anyone have any helpful links? Thanks in advance.

[Robbo]

That sucks. Dell had it listed on their website as sata3. In that case, I may just replace my current SSD with a larger one around black friday/cyber monday or after christmas. But for now, I will take Rob's advice and be happy with what I have. Thanks for the info, J95.

Now I will try out overclocking. I have been googling it for the last week or so. There is some decent info out there, but I am still not 100%. I see that I can increase the multipliers, but it seems like the overclock doesn't really stick unless turbo is kicking in. Is there a definitive guide out there that might be of help? Anyone have any helpful links? Thanks in advance.

I don't know if this applies to the R4 as well, but these are some good instructions for the R3:

[Guide] Overclocking the 2920XM/2960XM CPUs in the M17x R3 with/without Modded bios.

[Donkolle]

Hey guys,

i have a M17xR4 and i ask myself the following:

is the i7 3610qm the bottleneck of the hd7970m?

It seems like it doesnt have enough power for games like bf4.

Does anyone have a idea?

Thanks a lot.

[signex]

Can you turn HT off with the unlocked bios?

[signex]

Hey guys,

i have a M17xR4 and i ask myself the following:

is the i7 3610qm the bottleneck of the hd7970m?

It seems like it doesnt have enough power for games like bf4.

Does anyone have a idea?

Thanks a lot.

No it shouldn't, 3610QM is powlerful enough.

I have the same CPU and GPU, BF4 runs super smooth, do you have MSAA enabled? Disable it, it's a big fps hog.

Try to use SweetFX for it's SMAA.

[Robbo]

Hey guys,

i have a M17xR4 and i ask myself the following:

is the i7 3610qm the bottleneck of the hd7970m?

It seems like it doesnt have enough power for games like bf4.

Does anyone have a idea?

Thanks a lot.

Nope, pretty sure the CPU wouldn't be the bottleneck, it's a really good CPU (my CPU doesn't bottleneck any of mine), there might be a handful of games where it bottlenecks (like Planetside 2 I heard), but you've got eight logical cores on that thing, so if BF4 can use 8 threads (which I'm sure it can), then you won't be bottlenecking any GPU, even if it was a desktop GPU! Having said that, it's worth checking to make sure that your CPU is not throttling due to excessive heat or something of that nature. Monitor the CPU clocks while gaming to make sure it's not throttling.

[Donkolle]

No it shouldn't, 3610QM is powlerful enough.

I have the same CPU and GPU, BF4 runs super smooth, do you have MSAA enabled? Disable it, it's a big fps hog.

Try to use SweetFX for it's SMAA.

Thanks for your answer, i will try it!

Nope MSAA is off and only Post AA is on high - but it seems like there is no diffrence in fps if i switch it off.

My FPS are between 45-75 and sometimes it dropes from 70~ to 45 and thats a pretty ugly graphic lagg.

My HD 7970m runs at 925/1400 pretty stable (i will try to OC it later this day - last time it didn't worked^^)

[thop1544]

Can you turn HT off with the unlocked bios?

Yes, this is possible.

[link3rd]

Nope, pretty sure the CPU wouldn't be the bottleneck, it's a really good CPU (my CPU doesn't bottleneck any of mine), there might be a handful of games where it bottlenecks (like Planetside 2 I heard), but you've got eight logical cores on that thing, so if BF4 can use 8 threads (which I'm sure it can), then you won't be bottlenecking any GPU, even if it was a desktop GPU! Having said that, it's worth checking to make sure that your CPU is not throttling due to excessive heat or something of that nature. Monitor the CPU clocks while gaming to make sure it's not throttling.

Hey Robbo, I was doing some gaming on my laptop last night and I noticed that the cpu temperature was like 90-95C for 4 cores. It actually shut off my computer. I was like:

I think I will have to give the retention mod a go. I found the thread here: http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m17x-aw-17/24-m17x-retention-mod.html

I wanted to ask you. Initially, I don't want to overclock my CPU unless its absolutely necessary, but with stock clocks, what SHOULD a good temperature be? Idle is about 55C I believe, but when under load, WOAH!!! big increase. I was thinking I could do a good paste job then if that fails, I can give the retention mod a go, but under load, say 100% or whatever, what are good temps? What's your temps? I remember you said your cpu is overclocked, so I assume that a stock clocked cpu would be lower temp:59:

[Robbo]

Hey Robbo, I was doing some gaming on my laptop last night and I noticed that the cpu temperature was like 90-95C for 4 cores. It actually shut off my computer. I was like:

I think I will have to give the retention mod a go. I found the thread here: http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m17x-aw-17/24-m17x-retention-mod.html

I wanted to ask you. Initially, I don't want to overclock my CPU unless its absolutely necessary, but with stock clocks, what SHOULD a good temperature be? Idle is about 55C I believe, but when under load, WOAH!!! big increase. I was thinking I could do a good paste job then if that fails, I can give the retention mod a go, but under load, say 100% or whatever, what are good temps? What's your temps? I remember you said your cpu is overclocked, so I assume that a stock clocked cpu would be lower temp:59:

Yes, those CPU temperatures are a bit high, especially if just during gaming, where typically it won't stress your CPU to anywhere near 100% utilisation, so I'm pretty sure it's just not pasted up well. I'd redo the pasting, and leave the CPU retention mod to further on down the road if you decide to do overclocking. If there's nothing wrong with your CPU heatsink, and you paste it up well, then you should be able to keep you CPU nice & cool while gaming without the CPU retention mod. Apparently with the CPU retention mod it can damage your chip if you screw down the screws too tight, so I'd leave that for now.

My CPU isn't overclocked, it's just been modded with Throttlestop to allow full turbo boost up to 56W without any time limit associated with it. Normally you can only get the full turbo for a short duration of time, but with the mod I've done it can run at 56W & full turbo forever. Temperatures less than 83 degC when running Prime95 for 10 minutes. During gaming I don't think you should see temperatures higher than the high 70's, low 80's on your CPU as a guesstimate, but google around for other M17xR3 2920XM users temperatures if you want to compare.

I'd repaste your CPU if I was you.