Alienware Aurora m7700

Hi all,

It's been awhile since I last posted - apologies to all.

Overall Satisfaction:

Notebook details:

[1] Aurora™ m7700

Display: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 Display with Built-in Camera - Conspiracy Blue
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional UK with SP2 - English
Warranty: AlienCare Free Phone 1-Year 24/7 Warranty
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
Processor: AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-60 Processor with HyperTransport and Dual Core Technology
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR SO-DIMM at 400MHz - 2x1024MB
Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900GTX with 256MB of DDR3 memory
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 100GB 7200 RPM SATA
Optical Drive One: DVD-Burner: 8x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24x CD-RW Combo w/Software
Sound Card: High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Keypad: Mobile Keypad - English
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Wireless Network Card: Internal Wireless 802.11a/b/g miniPCI Card
Floppy Drive: USB Floppy Drive
Mobile Transport: Alienware® Odyssey Backpack
Security Software: Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal Professional - English
AlienInspection: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - £50 Value - FREE!
Free T-Shirt: Alienware® T-Shirt - Black - XL - Black - XL
Free Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Free Alienware Mousepad : Free Custom Alienware® fUnc Mousepad

Ok,

First off - Order status.

First, I ordered the M9700 back in Aug'06, thinking that it would:

1 - satisfy my gaming requirements.
2 - be upto the many jobs that i put my laptop through.

However, since the introduction of 'Dual Core', I became concerned that the multi-tasking capabilities of the Turion 64 ML-44 Processor may not have been upto the tasks that i daily put my machine through.

So I decided to go for the M7700a.

The order took approximately 8 weeks from start to finish (arrival at my door).

No complaints with the service/delivery.

WOW factor = In the Heavens - WHAT A BEAST!!!

A problem did occur after 2 months, when the Laptop refused to boot into POST/Windows at all (even though power was on).

I had to send the system back to Alienware - who advised me after 2 weeks that there were no issues and that it booted up fine for them on first startup.

Must have been a loose cable internally.....

Pics - don't have them at the moment!! Will post when I do!

ok - the machine is great - mulitasks like anything!!!

Now and again, the system freezes on start up, but i think that that is more to do with NIS 2006 than anything else.

By the way, for those interested in upgrading their graphics card - you can!!

Your M7700A must have already been installed with the 7800GTX/7900GTX as the power requirements are different to previous cards.

My system came with the 256mb 7900GTX Card, and although great, in intense situations (gameplay) the graphics did slow down.

So to counter this, I ordered the 512mb 7950GTX Card from http://www.rjtech.com and simply uninstalled the original card and installed the new card (it looks exactly the same as the 7800 & 7900 cards).

I then (after the system recognised the hardware) downloaded and installed the 8.6.1.4 driver for it and it works great.

Anyone interested in the driver, e-mail me at Wolfmaster@Blueyonder.co.uk

Tested out the C&C3 Demo on high for all graphical options and at 1920x1200 res and hardly any slow downs at all.

Question for those who maybe able to help:

I installed 3DMark06 TO Test out the graphics, and for some reason, the FX-60 Processor is showing at 999mhz?

Someone advised that it may be due to the Cool'n'Quiet BIOS setting being enabled.

Unfortunately, i cannot locate this setting in the BIOS!!

Plus, for such a powerful graphics system, i only got 3662 Marks!!

Anyone know of how to resolve this.

Also, I am interested in Overclocking the Processor and Graphics Card - any help is appreciated.

As soon as I am able to find my Pics from when i first received my Beast, I will post them for viewing.

Regards to all!