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arcticstoat · 21st Dec 2010, 09:57

Owners of Alienware M17x gaming laptops are complaining of a serious performance glitch.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardwar...mance-glitch/1

liratheal · 21st Dec 2010, 10:11

Impressed that the flaw made it through QC/QA processes.

Clearly they don't graphically stress the machines as standard.

As for sorting the problem in a satisfactory way.. Not gonna happen. Some owners, somewhere, are going to remain pissy.

memeroot · 21st Dec 2010, 10:59

dell are pants for this sort of stuff

- though having said that my XPS is now charging again 'yay'

yanglu · 21st Dec 2010, 11:14

Quote:

This has led many sufferers to worry that the only solution in sight involves changing the hardware, with Dell either providing beefier power supplies or more energy-efficient GPUs.

Surely downclocking the GPU's slightly would solve the problem. Just drop the 280Ms by about 50Mhz each or something. It's not ideal but with that much graphics power, I doubt you'd notice any difference in most games.

Cerberus90 · 21st Dec 2010, 11:35

Alienware have gone downhill since Dell bought them.

The ones at uni have been nothing but trouble.

The fan control software seems to have a mind of its own, and some machines are just stuck at 100%, which makes them literally sound like a jet, its louder than the big AC unit in the room.
Random BSODs plague them too.

B1GBUD · 21st Dec 2010, 11:50

Gaming laptops..... an oxymoron if ever there was one

eddtox · 21st Dec 2010, 13:34

Ouch! How much do these things cost, again?

TheUn4seen · 21st Dec 2010, 14:03

Well, they kinda deserved it for thinking that any laptop can be suitable for gaming. I saw many people having problems with Alienware lately, which can be frustrating given their price - altough I bought an m11x and i love it so far, but I obviously don't play games on it. I bought it because it's heavy, bulky and I love the sharp-angled style, personally I'm sick and tired of the ubiquitous curvy, Apple "look at me, I'm gay" style most manufacturers try to copy.

borandi · 21st Dec 2010, 14:18

Gaming Laptop is an oxymoron - You don't expect anything to last with a QX and 280M SLI.

B1GBUD · 21st Dec 2010, 14:36

I expect the GPU and CPU shares the same heatpipe+fan..... when the GPU gets hot, the heat is transfered back to the CPU resulting in the CPU getting throttled.... design fail

tron · 21st Dec 2010, 14:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheUn4seen

Well, they kinda deserved it for thinking that any laptop can be suitable for gaming. I saw many people having problems with Alienware lately, which can be frustrating given their price - altough I bought an m11x and i love it so far, but I obviously don't play games on it. I bought it because it's heavy, bulky and I love the sharp-angled style, personally I'm sick and tired of the ubiquitous curvy, Apple "look at me, I'm gay" style most manufacturers try to copy.

Yeah, the Alienware laptop range make other laptops look like crap. I love their stylish matte look and aggresive angles and futuristic design compared to the common weak 'soft' look.

wuyanxu · 21st Dec 2010, 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by B1GBUD

Gaming laptops..... an oxymoron if ever there was one

i'll just quote this again for total agreement.

who would want to carry around a brick that can hardly play any game now, and the same brick that can't play any games 6 month down the line?

lamboman · 21st Dec 2010, 15:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuyanxu

i'll just quote this again for total agreement.

who would want to carry around a brick that can hardly play any game now, and the same brick that can't play any games 6 month down the line?

3rded here. The only line of "gaming laptops" that every really appealed to me were the old Dell XPS M1710s from 2006, and a couple of their models before that. A gaming laptop that was actually that, a laptop. Sure, it wasn't 100% portable, but you could occasionally move it, certainly nothing like the portly machines we are seeing today.

And even those, I wouldn't go near.

schmidtbag · 21st Dec 2010, 16:26

and once again dell proves to be a crappy company

bobwya · 21st Dec 2010, 16:31

Ahhh diddy poos... How sad :-)

Hustler · 21st Dec 2010, 16:49

Lol...natural justice.

A stupid fault finds it way to people who are stupid enough to buy an Alienware/Dell.....

Karma sucks.

thehippoz · 21st Dec 2010, 17:38

that ps that comes for the m17x puts out 11.8 amps @ 19.5v.. maybe if they can find something bigger online- would fix the problem.. how did that get by testing

this one might do it

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045XGHWI/...I&linkCode=asn

dec · 21st Dec 2010, 20:16

I like the look of the "gaming" laptops as well. Thanks Dell for continuing to prove to me that the only thing worth buying from you are monitors.

Anyone else think, "so it cant run crysis" from the title of this article?

Autti · 21st Dec 2010, 21:22

225W, how hot does the laptop get?

MSHunter · 21st Dec 2010, 23:31

the closest thing to a gaming laptop is a mini PC with a laptop TFT strapped to the side of the case.

21st Dec 2010, 09:57	#1
arcticstoat Who is the Milkman? Join Date: May 2004 Location: UK Posts: 913	Alienware M17x power glitch throttles CPU to 316MHz Owners of Alienware M17x gaming laptops are complaining of a serious performance glitch. http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardwar...mance-glitch/1 __________________ Ben Hardwidge Custom PC Editor www.russell-crow.com

21st Dec 2010, 10:11	#2
liratheal Sharing is caring Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lichfield, UK Posts: 6,954	Impressed that the flaw made it through QC/QA processes. Clearly they don't graphically stress the machines as standard. As for sorting the problem in a satisfactory way.. Not gonna happen. Some owners, somewhere, are going to remain pissy. __________________ Desktop: Asus Sabertooth X58, 12gb Corsair XMS3, i7 950, 2x XFX 6870 1gb's, Corsair 1kw Laptop: Alienware M15x, 5730 1gb, 8gb DDR3, i5 520M, Samsung 830 256gb, Seagate Momentus XT 500gb WHS: Gigabyte Z77-D3h, i3 2100, 16gb DDR3, 5xWD 1tb, 5x Seagate 1tb I game, Do you?

21st Dec 2010, 11:35	#5
Cerberus90 petrolhead Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Leicestershire Posts: 5,998	Alienware have gone downhill since Dell bought them. The ones at uni have been nothing but trouble. The fan control software seems to have a mind of its own, and some machines are just stuck at 100%, which makes them literally sound like a jet, its louder than the big AC unit in the room. Random BSODs plague them too. __________________ Steam: Cerberus90 \| Q6600 @ 3.2GHz \| Asus P5K Premium \| 4GiB Patriot 1000MHz \| 256GB Samsung 830 \| \| Gigabyte GTX460 @ 830/2000 \| Fractal Core 3000 \| 24" BenQ G2420HD \| GiffGaff

21st Dec 2010, 13:34	#7
eddtox Homo Interneticus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Maidstone, Kent Posts: 1,296	Ouch! How much do these things cost, again? __________________ Check out my big clearout sale - Now with added Kindle

21st Dec 2010, 20:16	#18
dec [blank space] Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 299	I like the look of the "gaming" laptops as well. Thanks Dell for continuing to prove to me that the only thing worth buying from you are monitors. Anyone else think, "so it cant run crysis" from the title of this article? __________________ Pure. Refreshing. Bacon.

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21st Dec 2010, 10:59	#3
memeroot aged and experianced Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,212	dell are pants for this sort of stuff - though having said that my XPS is now charging again 'yay'

21st Dec 2010, 14:03	#8
TheUn4seen Modder Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 68	Well, they kinda deserved it for thinking that any laptop can be suitable for gaming. I saw many people having problems with Alienware lately, which can be frustrating given their price - altough I bought an m11x and i love it so far, but I obviously don't play games on it. I bought it because it's heavy, bulky and I love the sharp-angled style, personally I'm sick and tired of the ubiquitous curvy, Apple "look at me, I'm gay" style most manufacturers try to copy.

21st Dec 2010, 14:18	#9
borandi Multimodder Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: London Posts: 127	Gaming Laptop is an oxymoron - You don't expect anything to last with a QX and 280M SLI.

21st Dec 2010, 16:26	#14
schmidtbag Supermodder Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 476	and once again dell proves to be a crappy company

21st Dec 2010, 16:31	#15
bobwya Custom PC Migrant Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 193	Ahhh diddy poos... How sad :-)

21st Dec 2010, 16:49	#16
Hustler Supermodder Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Dark Side Posts: 450	Lol...natural justice. A stupid fault finds it way to people who are stupid enough to buy an Alienware/Dell..... Karma sucks.

21st Dec 2010, 17:38	#17
thehippoz Banned Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 5,780	that ps that comes for the m17x puts out 11.8 amps @ 19.5v.. maybe if they can find something bigger online- would fix the problem.. how did that get by testing this one might do it http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045XGHWI/...I&linkCode=asn

21st Dec 2010, 21:22	#19
Autti Multimodder Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 152	225W, how hot does the laptop get? __________________ Zen and the Art of Modding: an Amateur Foray 2 days since last hospital visit

21st Dec 2010, 23:31	#20
MSHunter I am a Dremel Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Belfast Posts: 1,777	the closest thing to a gaming laptop is a mini PC with a laptop TFT strapped to the side of the case. __________________ PC: Silverstone TJ08B-E, 2500K, Corsair H80, 120GBVertex 3 MAX IOPS,GENE-Z , Corsair V. LP 16GB, Gigabyte 1.5GB GTX 580 Super Overclock. U2711 PC Audio: AKG 271 mk II + Samson Go mic. + Asus Xonar D2X Amp: DENON PMA510AE, Speakers: TANNOY MERCURY F1