Alienware M17x Graphics Fix

[mrnatale]

i bought this laptop almost a year ago now. im not sure why, but my bios setup is different from the one your video shows. i have a whole new catagory called "power" and i couldnt find the option for graphic settings anywhere. is there another way to enable hybrid graphics?

[chaklong]

I run two 5870s on my Alienware R2, and over an entire year, I've never gotten great performance on any game other than old games and TF2...

I can barely run Crysis on low, can barely run BF3 on low, can barely run Metro 2033 on low...

My video cards show up in the device manager, and I can't get to the BIOS submenu in the video...

[longoe1]

Hey man was just wondering if you had a solution to the problem im having. Everytime i try to download the latest drivers for the GTX260M graphics card in my laptop, the drivers will download but when i try to instal them it says the drivers are incompatible with my machine, i triple checked to make sure i was downloading the right ones but im not having any luck.

any suggestions would be great, thanks :)

[seabass12able]

i think my computer is slowing down because i used to play games on high graphics and now it lags on low

i dont know whats going on

[305abnormal]

Can i change the video card on an alienware m17x r3????? Plzzz awnser

[N0T0RIUSBURRIT0]

will this work on m11x r2?

[MjoelH]

HOMEFRONT RUNS QUICKER. THANK YOU! I had no idea had more than one graphics card.

[beludsden]

I have the EXACT same problem, i started it up hitting F1 the other night, and i cant see my other display adapter, but the only thing that is different is that i am using windows 7. and since enabling that piece of the bios only works for vista, i cant really enable it haha. do you have another "fit it" for windows 7? thanks in advance!

[beludsden]

@beludsden "fix it"* haha

[Christind321321]

Thank you :)

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@Christind321321 glad to help!

[jegkanlidepizza]

@wwwgeekdotcom i think you are pretty wrong .. u need to disable the intergrrated graphic.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@jegkanlidepizza This was correct at the time. The BIOS has been updated in the past year though, so maybe something was changed?

[jegkanlidepizza]

@wwwgeekdotcom yeah i think..

[itsurdaddy456]

@wwwgeekdotcom i have a question on the r3. if it comes with a 2630qm i7 processor... do you think i should upgrade to the 2720qm? will i see a big difference when surfing the web and all that?

[ThunderSar]

Whenever I try to boot it with both Hybrid and Integrated enabled, I only get a black screen (with cursor) after logging in. Any help?

[KouichiKimura341]

Your video helped me! I was pissed when all I was showing was my 9400 M. I was able to play FF XIV because of your fix!

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@KouichiKimura341 awesome! thanks for the comment.

[Shimeyy]

I wish it worked for my m17x :(

I got this last year, and when I tried playing games like Sims 3 it lagged majorly. I just installed Assassin's Creed 2 for the pc and it's just like sims 3. When I found this a bit ago I was so happy that I might have found the fix..... but it still lags like crazy :(

(Even at low settings, small resolution on AC2!)

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@Shimeyy have you upgraded your drivers? reinstalled the OS?

[Shimeyy]

@wwwgeekdotcom I actually figured it out! I don't know why I didn't do this when I first got my alienware. :( I had to do the 'Boost Performance' option.... bah. Sorry for wasting your time, haha. :)

[jegkanlidepizza]

@Shimeyy @Shimeyy i know your problem i think it was the same as mine.. U need to restart your computer press f2 when trying to startup.. then ur going to the advanved then graphic then disable the integrated graphics. Its because in your alienware m17x u got two graphic cards. and im thinking that you are using the bad one like me . so when i just changed that i could play all games on high

[wprocks95]

DOES THIS APPLY WITH ALIENWARE M11X.>?? PLZ RESPOND..!!!!

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@wprocks95 No. This is for M17x and M15x with older BIOS revisions

[buwg]

this is a problem for many ppl at start

[replayinghighlights]

Shows a black screen when I restart, I really need help, running windows 7, bios a01. Any suggestions?

[Okanehira]

I have steam powered laptop at the moment haha, I am not super computer savy but would this alienware laptop run the upcoming Civ5 easily? I'm looking at a new laptop and this one looks amazing, thanks.

[killershi]

when i login my screen just turn black can any1 try help my

[Three60Crusader]

Oh jeez I owned this thing for about 8 months and been playing this whole time on integrated. I only played Aion which always ran fine..till I did FF14 benchmark and got poor scores..now I know what the problem was. thanks a lot for posting this video.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@Three60Crusader eek! glad it's fixed though

[tsnaruto]

@Three60Crusader, haha, well, atleast you know you have a reliable backup! ;)

[MYMAnarchy]

@Three60Crusader LOL :)) That must be a big blow I gotta say.

How is FF14 looking?? Just checked out it's system requirements and I have to say it's freaking heavy for a MMO

[Three60Crusader]

@MYMAnarchy lol, yeah it was a surprise but my games I played always worked good till then. As far as FF14 the game looks great probably one the best looking mmo's out there. I been playing the open beta recently game still needs quite a bit of fixing though. Idk what settings I'm set too their isn't a graphics options in the beta but it looks good at any rate.

[MYMAnarchy]

@Three60Crusader How much did you spend for your Alienware M17x, what is the specs ???

[Three60Crusader]

@MYMAnarchy About 2k its a pretty much default model. duo 2.4's, 260 gtx, 4 gb of ram. and its last years model. so 09 the 2010 models have better specs then what I have for the same price. but i'd recommend a desktop you get more for your money.

[AlexB1001]

Oh my God, thank you SO MUCH. I was about to cry when I realised that may favourite games could now be barely run. I watched this, turned on hybrid, and now enjoy games at the MAX SETTINGS. I love you.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@AlexB1001 Glad this helped! I know it can be a pain.

[Born222kill]

So in the end you still have to plug it lol :P

[Questionl0gic]

Any recommendations on what to do about horrible video lag with dual HD 4870s, 6gb ddr3-1066, and intel core 2 quad qx9300? I haven't found any solutions and most games run fine with the exception of occasional framerate drops of 35+ fps.

Anything? they won't replace it, they won't even acknowledge they sent me a faulty product, if i didn't have records of ordering it, they probably would try to say that's a lie too.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@Questionl0gic completely wipe the graphics drivers and reinstall. uninstall the old ones and do it properly. have you tried reinstalling windows? report back please.

[XxXCssCRazYXxX]

Is the m17x sensitive to scratches?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@XxXCssCRazYXxX its anodized aluminum, so no. i didn't see any scratches. other people should chime in though

[maxquintx]

cool, thx

[ryand0000]

can someone tell me what the discrete graphics are and what integrated are?? i still don't know which is which and it would be very helpful...thanks

[wwwgeekdotcom]

Basically discrete means you have a graphics card, integrated means you don't have a "discrete" (you know, like separate) solution. Integrated graphics are not powerful and they are not for gaming.

[ryand0000]

okay okay thanks, oh and can you answer one more thing for me...i am looking at the m17x with i7 processor now. But they have made some updates where the Ati Radeon graphics are the only ones you can purchase and not Nvidia anymore, Ati Radeons are still very dependable right?

[fritti]

I need help, my alienware m17x shutsdown my discriet grphics even when the adapter is turned it. even if its plugged in it will still run on the 9400m thing,, i use two ADI 4870, please help me! Certain games i cannot play while the 9400m is being used

[uncfunk19]

are the graphic cards dedicated or can i upgrade mine by myself ?

[Turbinieris]

Hey man. Many of us ( m17x owners ) would like to change the systems ram. Can you make a video showing us how to do it safely.

Cheers

[streetracer84]

i changed the setting on my alienware laptop to hybrid and then the games were working great then the laptop started crashing saying hardware fail and i got another lap top but the games are slow again like when i first started out

[wwwgeekdotcom]

well, not exactly. at the bios screen (first time you boot with it unplugged) you can choose if you want to run the 9400m or your full graphics

[durfster1]

your glasses are bous!

[soj117]

hi

just asking

what do i do when windows freaks out like what happened in your lighting overview video??

do i just off something

i need to know exactly what to do i don't want to spoil my m17x

[wwwgeekdotcom]

not sure I follow your problem. Windows is crashing when you change your lighting? Can you be more specific?

[soj117]

i sent you a personal message

go see

[soj117]

Hi thanks for posting this video

It helped a lot of people

If u hadn't posted this video, many people would waste their money on a technician

i will make sure that the graphics are discrete when i bought my M17x

Thanks for your help

[starfoxfire2006]

does the m17x have a web cam on it???

[wwwgeekdotcom]

yup, right above the display.

[starfoxfire2006]

k good then im getting 1 (happy face)

[scrpity]

this is great! THANK YOU

[seekerend]

I was so disapointed when my m17x could only run crysis on medium until I found this video and realized I had yet to use my graphics cards :D it now run at 16aa all settings to very high at 60 fps...basically thanks

[wwwgeekdotcom]

glad to help!

[felix3322]

I am planning on playing that game when my m17x arrives (Counting down the days). I am so glad I found this video as I would have been SOOO sad when it did not play on high. I assume this is a common problem as most of us hit the power button strait out of the box without plugging it in right away. Lol

[scrpity]

cooleo dude

[kryptonian55]

Great video! Question though? I just bought an M17x with alienwares new ATI CrossFireX Dual 1GB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4870 option. I noticed that in your video in the bios it says that hybrid graphics are only enabled with nivdia cards (or something to that effect) Can you confirm or deny weather I can do this with the ATI cards? Thanks!

[mypassmark1]

Thank you for uploading this video. My M17x recently had the same problem, and now I don't have to hire a technician :)

[wwwgeekdotcom]

Awesome man, glad to help. I wasn't sure if anyone else was running into the same thing, but I figured some people might.