NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Alienware Notebook Forums › Alienware Area-51 and Aurora Notebooks › MJ-12® m5500i laptop - ordered and benchmarks to follow
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

MJ-12® m5500i laptop - ordered and benchmarks to follow - Page 2

post #21 of 52
1/14/06 at 6:10pm
Thread Starter 

guts

Reply
Reply
post #22 of 52
1/15/06 at 2:34pm
a buddy of mine just (i mean just) got one of these. He is really happy with it so far, but then again coming from a dell celeron, you could go to anything and be happy, i think my cell phone did better than that POS.

Anyways, after he saw my old Area51m (5630D) he decided to get one.
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 52
1/15/06 at 3:36pm
Thread Starter 
I got the instant-on feature to work. I ended up having to uninstall it and reinstall it.

Just installed Photoshop last night and the response time is pretty impressive. Especially compared to my old notebook. I have not tried any video editing as of yet. I also need to try and cut a few DVDs, but I want to update Nero, and there's an odd quirk when I try to uninstall the old version... it also removes all of the Alienware items from startup... the touchpad, the wifi monitor, the audio enhancement program, etc. I wrote both Ahead and Alienware on that one.

You think that old Dell was bad, you should of seen my old HP!

I'm going to try a few games on it this coming week to see how it runs under pressure. What's the best ones that would task it the hardest?
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 52
1/15/06 at 4:15pm
Run some Age of Empires 3 on the highest details.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 52
1/15/06 at 8:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by simtech
I got the instant-on feature to work. I ended up having to uninstall it and reinstall it.

Just installed Photoshop last night and the response time is pretty impressive. Especially compared to my old notebook. I have not tried any video editing as of yet. I also need to try and cut a few DVDs, but I want to update Nero, and there's an odd quirk when I try to uninstall the old version... it also removes all of the Alienware items from startup... the touchpad, the wifi monitor, the audio enhancement program, etc. I wrote both Ahead and Alienware on that one
I just received my A51-M 5500 and it also did not have the Instant-On software installed. I had to install it myself. I ordered my system with exactly the same "options" you got except I got Windows XP MCE (I already have a laptop with XP Pro) and a 60GB 7200 RPM hard drive. I also ordered my system with only 256MB, but got upgraded to 512MB for free. A bit of a waste as I removed both SIMMs and installed two 2x1GB Kingston's KVR533D2S4/1G 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) which I bought from newegg for $75.99 each.

Like you, I already applied all available MS Windows Updates. I noticed that you're about to update some of the pre-installed software that shipped with the system. Which versions are you installing? I was about to do the same thing with my M5500, but I think I'll wait for your results. I see that you're trying to remove Nero before updating it. Why?. I noticed that Nero and some of the other applications come with a "Check For Updates" button. Why aren't you using that option? I'll be honest, I have not bothered to check the AW site for downloadable updates for my M5500. Have you found some updates there that are applicable for such a recently shipped system?

My system shipped with the versions listed on the left below. After clicking the update button and checking the Intel site I found the updates listed on the right.

Nero OEM 6.6.0.13 -> Update available 6.6.0.18
Nero Digital 3.1.0.7 -> Update available 3.1.0.21
InCD 4.3.14.1 -> Update available 4.3.20.1

PowerDVD Ver 6.0 -> Pressing Upgrade shows PowerDVD deluxe and other options.

Intel PROSet 9.0.0.0 -> (v10.01 is available in the Intel site)

Has anyone tested any of the updates above?

Before I continue with any updates/upgrades and application installations, I need to find an Antivirus program that works well with Windows XP MCE 2005. I wanted to continue using Symantec's Antivirus, but I read that it does not "FULLY" support MCE. Does anyone up there have a recommendation for an antivirus program that supports MCE?

Another thing, does anyone know of a way to stop the blinking of the blue stand-by light? Can it be turn off? I'm about to put a piece of black tape over it. Is a little bit too bright for the bedroom.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 52
1/16/06 at 3:06am
Why is it bugging the crap out of you?
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 52
1/16/06 at 6:40am
Thread Starter 
I'm running into issues when I try and uninstall Nero.

I was an old Norton AV fan, but they turned into huge resource hogs and I've been playing with AVG lately and was impressed.

All other updates went by without a hitch, but when I tried uninstalling Nero I lost pretty much everything in msconfig that loads during startup. All the software was there, it just would not load during a boot. I tried it several different ways and have not found a solution yet. Thank goodness for system restore. I wish they would provide something higher than Nero 6 with a brand new system. Nero's well over version 7.0.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be ordering a 1gig memory strip. Perhaps the Kingston? You got a good deal on the strips, they are now $82 each.

Hmmm - I don't have Age of Empires... I do have Call of Duty 2, San Andreas, Civ 4 (I had Quake 4 but it was not impressive so I got rid of it), and they sent me a Fear-First enounter assult recon DVD that I have not loaded yet. Empires 3 does look cool though... will have to check out the price at the store tomorrow.

I was doing some Photoshop editing and it's as good as my desktop.

You'll notice with the Instant-On that the default volume contols no longer work. That part was kind of funky. They assign all new keys for the sound.
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 52
1/17/06 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by simtech
I was an old Norton AV fan, but they turned into huge resource hogs and I've been playing with AVG lately and was impressed.

All other updates went by without a hitch, but when I tried uninstalling Nero I lost pretty much everything in msconfig that loads during startup. All the software was there, it just would not load during a boot. I tried it several different ways and have not found a solution yet. Thank goodness for system restore. I wish they would provide something higher than Nero 6 with a brand new system. Nero's well over version 7.0.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be ordering a 1gig memory strip. Perhaps the Kingston? You got a good deal on the strips, they are now $82 each.

You'll notice with the Instant-On that the default volume contols no longer work. That part was kind of funky. They assign all new keys for the sound.
Let us know how you fair with AVG.

I looked around the Alienware Support site and I found out that there is file called Nero-CleanTool.zip that helps uninstall Nero. Maybe it can help you. Btw, I'm not familiar with Nero, can you tell me what features are available in Nero 7.0 Ultra/Premium edition that are not available in the Express edition that came pre-installed in our laptops? Did you get a discount for upgrading from Express or did you pay full price $79.99?


I can't figure out what version of InstantOn came in the CD that shipped with the computer, but the download section of the AW site has InstantOn 2.11.15.0. Do you know if this is the version that shipped in the CD?

$82 is still not a bad deal for the these sticks. Call newegg and ask them to give you the old price. If not, ask them to give you a break on shipping. Nothing to loose. Some times speaking to a live person has its advantages. I ordered my memory on the same date I ordered my m5500 12/30. I cried to them about paying twice for shipping on the SIMMs and the rep gave me a break.
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 52
1/17/06 at 2:27am
Thread Starter 
I've been using AVG for a couple of months now. Usually I've always installed the free version on any PC that I've worked on. Once my Norton subscription runs out on my home PC I'll be throwing it on here as well. NAV2005 is just too much of a hog these days. So far so good.

The Instant on software looks like it's version 1.07 and the PDF file is dated June 14, 2005. Looks like I need to do some serious updates!

The Nero version I got as a Christmas gift, and have not installed it to the point where I can fiddle with it.

I checked at the local electronics store (Best Buy, Circuit City) and 1 gig of Kingston ran about $169! So I already ordered a stick from newegg today. I should have it by Friday and I'll run new benchmarks this weekend. I never have tried calling up newegg when I place an order... from now on I think that I will. They get 10-15 orders a year from me, so maybe it can save me a few bucks... thanks!
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 52
1/17/06 at 4:53am
simtech: wonderful, wonderful posts! very informative, im glad to have you part of the team!
Reply
Reply
post #31 of 52
1/18/06 at 4:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ideas
Run some Age of Empires 3 on the highest details.
Thanks for the recommended game for benchmarks, here's the latest updates.

First of all, I wanted to double check the battery life. So I played a game with 100% charge. This was to double-check my earlier readings. I played Civ-4 from a 100% charged unit until the PC shut itself off. Total battery life...

90 minutes.


Now on to Age of Empires III:

I can only have this game on my PC for a couple of days, I did not buy it but I borrowed a friend's CD. Now, please don't get into the legal mumbojumbo... it's just on there until I can get some good benchmarks and then I'll delete it. If I were a software thief I never would have mentioned any of this... besides, I could justify purchasing the game since I didn't like playing it.

Anyway,

AOE3 at the laptop's highest setting was horrible. Step - wait - step - wait - step. The highest settings that the game ran smoothly was as follows:
1024X768
Bit depth 32
refresh 60
v-sync - yes
anti-alias quality - H
shader and shaow quality high
water effect on
bloom effect on
partice quality - normal
all textures set to - high

These settings were with 512mb of memory. My Newegg 1gig strip is due here Thursday so I'll re-run the game and post the results by Friday. After that I need to delete the game from this PC.

Again I state: a full game playing on battery alone on this unit is only 90 minutes. The system cannot handle full res settings on Civ-4 or Age of Empires 3, or even Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. I did bump the settings down about 30% on all of these games, and they played as nice as my desktop with has a 3Gig pentium 4 with 1gig of memory. ATI X800 video board.

This PC humbled several of my friend's units as far as game play. I'm glad that I did NOT by the Sager and that I purchased the Alienware... even though they just emailed me a special that offered the unit at $200 off!
Reply
Reply
post #32 of 52
1/18/06 at 4:24am
You trying to run these games a full res on battery? They will run better on AC, for your info.
Reply
Reply
post #33 of 52
1/18/06 at 4:31am
Thread Starter 
The AOE3 was on AC. I got chased away from my hiding spot at work and decided to play Civ3 on battery (was also originally playing it on AC power). Readings for all games mentioned in prior posts was on AC power.

The 90 minute timeline was for a game that was opened while on AC power, and then I switched to battery life during play to check the duration.
Reply
Reply
post #34 of 52
1/19/06 at 4:06am
Thread Starter 
Just a side note...
I visited the Alienware website today and saw where the MJ12 was no longer available. Man, that has to have been the shortest lived version! I did write them a formal letter explaining their tech specs were way off base. Maybe they're just updating things.

The 1g Kingston is due tomorrow, I'll run all benchmarks all over again so we can compare what changes.
Reply
Reply
post #35 of 52
1/21/06 at 2:05am
Thread Starter 
As expected, the 3Dmark05 tests didn't really change after I put in the 1 gig memory. Some of the games ran a little easier, but that was it.

New tests results were (with AC) 2705
GT1 thru GT3 were about the same, as well as the CPU tests.

I did find another bug that I'll have to look into. When using the instant-on media player it appears there may be some sort of screen saver mode that kicks in. After about 10 minutes of viewing a DVD the screen goes dim, and if you press any key it brightens back up.

And another issue that really irked me was the battery life of watching a DVD... roughly 90-100 minutes (with the video card in set in high mode... if that makes much of a difference when you boot up under the instant-on media).
Reply
Reply
post #36 of 52
2/2/06 at 4:01pm
Thread Starter 
Tried "Brothers in Arms" game and it worked fine in lower settings.

GTA SanAndreas video bogged down with using special items (such as night vision glasses) or during a lot of activity, such as when it would rain or if there was a lot of smoke.

I just sent Alienware a 2nd email regarding the bug in the instant-on. I also asked about the weight factor and batty life issue. They never responded on my last inquiry.
Reply
Reply
post #37 of 52
2/13/06 at 3:20am
Thread Starter 
Update on specs...

I just ran the unit on low-graphics mode and did nothing but light text file editing. The unit does not last 4 hours like the ad states. Total battery life was right at 2 hours and 40-45 minutes. That was going from 100% down to less than 10%.
Reply
Reply
post #38 of 52
2/13/06 at 3:24am
Well that sux, I was hoping for at least 3 hours... Sentia here I come..
Reply
Reply
post #39 of 52
2/13/06 at 3:35am
Thread Starter 
Crap - I just researched out the battery they sent me with my unit. It's only a 6 cell puppy @4400mAh.

p/n: 255-3s4400-g1p1
Reply
Reply
post #40 of 52
2/13/06 at 3:53am
how long can battery life be extended if you get a bigger battery? like how many cells are the max available for this thing? 9 cells? more?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Alienware Notebook Forums › Alienware Area-51 and Aurora Notebooks › MJ-12® m5500i laptop - ordered and benchmarks to follow