Alienware Sales Assistance (Live) for US and Canada. Upgrade and New system purchases.

[steviejones133]

Hi Allan and welcome to NBR - it's great to have yet another representative on board looking out for us all!

I have a question for you, one that I am hoping with all your experience you will be able to answer, with a view to helping out another forum member who is experiencing some problems.

I was hoping that you could give a definitive answer to the following question:

"Does an M18x, when configured with a SINGLE Nvidia 560m gpu, have the ability to manually switch over to the Integrated HD3000 Graphics via a Fn & F7 switch call?" - I know that a reboot is required, as Optimus is not supported for "on the fly" graphics switching, but the member I speak of is getting told (and I presume its by some unknowledgable tech) that his configuration will NOT be able to switch AT ALL to the iGFX (HD3000) that his cpu offers.

Its my simple understanding that he should be able to do that, even though he has a single 560m, via Fn & F7 and a reboot.

Hoping you can pass a senior comment on the subject and hopefully help out to get the official stance on this.

Again, welcome on board and look forward to your reply when you can!

[Allan @ Alienware]

Steviejones133 I was told by one of our level 3s that you asked them this question and they will be giving you the answer in the support thread. I would be more than happy to investigate further more but they dont want me to cross post or change the main idea of this thread. Email me if they do not respond to your inquiry in a timely manner and then I will step up to investigate your answer.

[scook9]

Good to see more representation on here Allan!

Welcome to the forums and perhaps we will do some business down the road

[Mr. Fox]

Excited to have you here, Allan! It's great to have two Costa Rican Alienware reps in our Community. Sales and Level 3 Support... AWESOME! +1 Rep for joining us.

[Canious]

I would love to see some stable reliable liquid cooling on future m18x laptops

[Mr. Fox]

Sorry, but this item is no longer available for purchase online. Please contact your sales representative for details on how to order.

Allan - does this mean the M18x.R2 is about to launch? If so, are you permitted to let us know on details on launch date, specs and anticipated pricing?

[steviejones133]

Looks like people hoping for big news in the M18x R2 are in for a big disappointment: Alienware refreshes M14x, M17x and M18x with new graphics, same old processors -- Engadget

[Mr. Fox]

That's actually not a bad thing. This has extended the service life of the M17x R3 and M18x and will help them retain their value. Ivy Bridge doesn't really offer a lot to Sandy Bridge owners anyhow, so sticking with the same CPU and chipset should help keep prices more affordable. Maybe Dell/Alienware plan to let their competitors be the guinea pigs on latent defects this time around and make sure there are no last minute Intel recalls, LOL. The new GPU offerings are also not earthshattering upgrades. There seems to be no compelling reason for an existing M17x R3 or M18x R1 owner to spend money on a system upgrade.

[Comrade Ynot]

Allan it looks like its the end of life for the MX11, my wife loves her MX11 R2 and has a 3 year accidental coverage on it, what happens if something happens to it, will parts be available or will she be forced to go to an M14x or XPS?

I am also curious about the blu ray drive offered for the M14x, I currently own a M14x for myself and the only lacking feature for me is the blu ray drive. Is that something a customer should look into ordering/upgrading from dell since the size of the drive makes it extremely hard to find an outside source for an upgrade to the blu ray in 2.5.

[scook9]

Looks like people hoping for big news in the M18x R2 are in for a big disappointment: Alienware refreshes M14x, M17x and M18x with new graphics, same old processors -- Engadget

Not so fast

They mention PCIe 3.0 and mSATA

While these are not in the current design, this tells me that what is likely happening is we will have a new motherboard with an intel 70 series chipset just using the SB CPUs for now since IB is not out yet. remember, the chipset is already out, just not the CPUs yet

Certainly will save them time once they are allowed to offer IB CPUs

update: So I researched the GTX 675m some more and what a complete load of BS from nvidia....they are up the same old rebranding crap. It is IDENTICAL to a GTX 580m (although like $350 cheaper for SLI so that is something....) same core, same clocks, same card - I feel much better now about my brand new GTX 580m SLI (I mean GTX 675m SLI?)