alienware laptop question/advice

bagaante

bagaante

bagaante

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Joined
23 Jan 2012
Posts
278
hi there, i recently purchased an alienware laptop with the specs:
Components
1 Alienware M17x : Standard Base
1 Processor : 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost
2.0)
1 Display : 17.3" WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
1 Camera : Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital microphones
1 LCD Back Cover : Soft Touch - Nebula Red
1 Memory : 6144MB (1x2048 + 1x4096) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
1 Hard Drive : 500GB 7,200 RPM + 32GB mSATA Caching SSD 1 SR
1 Optical Drive : BluRay Combo (Blu-ray read only, DVD, CD read & write)
1 Power Cord : UK 250V
1 Power Supply : Alienware 240W AC Adapter
1 Battery : Primary 9-cell 93W/HR LI-ION
1 Graphics : 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M
1 Sound Card : Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
1 Wireless : Intel 2230 Wireless Card + BT
1 Keyboard : Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard


should be a massive upgrade on the inspiron 17r we have had the past few years, but i had some questions

im not very good with technology etc, but i remember reading that its not that hard to change ram etc on a laptop, but ive had no experience of doing so

does ram for a laptop have to be certain ram? if so what ram would people recommend (its coming with 6gb i think), i think i would like more, how difficult is it to change the ram on these types of laptop (and is there anything special i have to do in the settings etc after to make this register or does it automatically detect it ?)


the other question is regarding a ssd for the laptop, i got a pc recently and im loving the fast boot up times on my crucial m4ssd, again does the drive have to be a certain size to fit , im not really sure what size i want yet, or indeed what make etc

btw i read an article yesterday and in the comments someone was saying that that particular graphics card was full of all sorts of problems with drivers etc and you had to select it rather than the onboard (im assuming on the cpu?) graphics then you had to restart it with the 7970m selected, is this issue likely to be resolved with a fix anytime soon?

thanks all for your help in advanced, im genuinely well excited to get my new toy (always wanted an alienware laptop, i hope i wont be dissapointed)
 
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Memory is easy enough to change on the M17x, just buy matching to what you've already purchased, 8GB is more then enough for playing games and general usage.. Problem is, two slots are under the keyboard so you need to lift the keyboard out to get to these slots...

you can fit any type of SSD, some even fit an mSATA SSD which you can use to install the O/S and then have two SATA drives on the M17x.

As for the 7970M issues, pressing Fn F7 disables the switchable graphics. Its meant to be fixed in latest CAT releases, but i run mine with switchable graphics disable, its personal preference for me but I tried switchable graphics, wasn't that much of a change between games I tried with or without it TBH.
 
I'm not really sure what type of memory comes with it tbh, I think I've got Samsung green in my desktop , was going to get something like that or crucial stuff for laptop (assuming it would fit)

Btw I've got a one year warranty with this, is it right if I don't extend it between now and when it runs out that dell might offer me it At a reduced rate? (I'm not really sure how much it would have been, but I spent too much on laptop to be able to afford warranty at same time)
 
You'll need -

Memory Type: DDR3 PC3-12800, DDR3 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 32GB
Slots: 4

Any will do provided its to that spec, Crucial or kingston are good for laptop memory upgrades. OCUK do laptop memory upgrades.

You can purchase Dell ext warranty whenever you like, even if its expired I believe..
 
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML16GX3M2A1600C10) [CML16GX3M2A1600C10]

was looking through whats on offer right now and found that, will that do? (or link some that you would recommend please?

ive no intention of overclocking the ram or anything, i just want some decent reliable ram to speed things up when i need it
 
Ok guys thanks again for the advice,went with the corsair 16gb ram (hope it fits) crucial 256 SSd , and a cooler master u3 cooler from here, all ordered

Now I need a cheap gaming mouse (I think you get a mouse mat with it, don't know if its decent or not) , by cheap I mean under 25-30 (but as low as possible as I've just spent nearly 2 grand on laptop and accessories )
 
the mouse pad that comes with the M17x is superb. So don't buy another one.

you want either a Logitech G400 or G500, G400 £26 ish, G500 £36 ish..

Cheap and very good mouse that just work and no stupid gimmicks and great for fps, I've got both and find them equally superb.

The U3 cooler is also a good buy, I've got a coolmaster cooler, the one with the USB ports and two large fans, does the job, and helps elevate the laptop.

And all alienware M17x owners think – wow spent 2K nearly, wife will KILL me..!! lol Actually my missus was ok, but said for 2K you’d better not ask for a new laptop for YEARS..!! lol
 
For graphics card, dont be an idiot and install DESKTOP drivers like myself then moan. Make sure youve got the mobility ones. 13.1 mobility works like a charm!

The mouse mat it comes with, I think is better than the Corsair MM200 and some old razer one i had when they first came out as a company. It is really smooth and precise.

As for mice, I would go with Logitec G400.
 
TommyV said:
Damn you bagaante, I've now just purchased one having seen this post and the realisation that it's got a couple of quid off. :p
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Very good little rodent, its just one of those items you buy and use and it does what its meant to. The DPI on the fly switching is very nice, you can control the DPI whilst playing a game which is really good and the mouse doesn't have endless features, some of which you'd never use...

I use one on my M17x R4, fits into the side pocket of a laptop ruck sack as well, and doesn't have a braided cable, so its good for porting around with you.
 
I understand it's the next-gen MX518? I used them for years, which appear to be discontinued. Saw one on the rainforest site for £100 last week, crikey!
 
TommyV said:
I understand it's the next-gen MX518? I used them for years, which appear to be discontinued. Saw one on the rainforest site for £100 last week, crikey!
Click to expand...

Its meant to be the spiritual successor to the MX518, I never had the MX518, instead had a MS wireless Desktop 6000 which IMO was an utter turd of an excuse for a mouse.

Never, and I mean this never go wireless on mouse or keyboard if you game or want accuracy.

Anyhow, the G400 has higher DPI and its something like around 1000hz polling rate which is quite high for a mouse, so overall it’s a good dependable mouse.

The Alienware Tactx mouse and keyboards are just rebranded Logitech, I’ve got the Tactx Keyboard, excellent bit of kit. Very responsive and works brilliantly even if you press multiple keys and you can turn off that darn Windows Key.

You both need the Alienware Tactx Orion Laptop rucksack, now that is one bag that you can fit not only your behemoth of a laptop in, but also a second laptop, yes its got room for two laptops, or failing this, a keyboard, mouse, external drives, power adaptors, usb sticks, portable games console, mobile phone charges, pens, cables and all sorts of stuff into one bag.

I literally have a mobile man cave lol missus reckons its my man bag, she has her hand bag, I’ve got my man bag but mines more interesting.. Being able to lug my laptop to a friends, whip out a keyboard, mouse, harddisk, phone and tether up and game with Steam or watch movies either with my external HD or streaming or blu ray is simply amazing..

Yes the bag also has room for a DVD case with 50 DVD’s… lol I’m a geek.!!
 
iv-tecman said:
Its meant to be the spiritual successor to the MX518, I never had the MX518, instead had a MS wireless Desktop 6000 which IMO was an utter turd of an excuse for a mouse.

Never, and I mean this never go wireless on mouse or keyboard if you game or want accuracy.

Anyhow, the G400 has higher DPI and its something like around 1000hz polling rate which is quite high for a mouse, so overall it’s a good dependable mouse.

The Alienware Tactx mouse and keyboards are just rebranded Logitech, I’ve got the Tactx Keyboard, excellent bit of kit. Very responsive and works brilliantly even if you press multiple keys and you can turn off that darn Windows Key.

You both need the Alienware Tactx Orion Laptop rucksack, now that is one bag that you can fit not only your behemoth of a laptop in, but also a second laptop, yes its got room for two laptops, or failing this, a keyboard, mouse, external drives, power adaptors, usb sticks, portable games console, mobile phone charges, pens, cables and all sorts of stuff into one bag.

I literally have a mobile man cave lol missus reckons its my man bag, she has her hand bag, I’ve got my man bag but mines more interesting.. Being able to lug my laptop to a friends, whip out a keyboard, mouse, harddisk, phone and tether up and game with Steam or watch movies either with my external HD or streaming or blu ray is simply amazing..

Yes the bag also has room for a DVD case with 50 DVD’s… lol I’m a geek.!!
Click to expand...


I got the messenger style Orion bag, came last week, looks very good quality indeed, my laptops due to be delivered this week , hopefully will fit!

Given my laptops due to be delivered I hope you wonderful people on here are on standby for when I try to clone the op system etc into the m4 SSd I got, then help me sort out bios so that the cache is still connected to the ordinary 500gb harddrive . (I'm bricking myself, never done anything like this before ESP not to something this expensive ) , I think I will be able to fit SSd drive ok, think I will be able to install cloned stuff ok , hopefully will be no errors , but its the linking up the ordinary harddrive to the 32gb cache drive that I will struggle with (bios etc)
 
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