TS, the FAQ section regarding the nameplate is no longer correct.
Mine arrived today with my customised nameplate.

Yup, got it directly via online order.

I did. The only noticeable fix is that every time I press the Stealth or WiFi button, it no longer presses the "w" key.
If you have A08 BIOS, try this. Open Notepad, then press the Stealth key. A letter 'w' will appear in Notepad.

1. The bottom row of keys are darker, but only very slightly. Have to look at it very closely to notice it.

2. This is normal as the fan not not controlled by the GPU's BIOS but the mobo's. GPU-Z reads the fan speed via the GPU's BIOS.

This post has been edited by bluhound: Feb 6 2011, 02:09 AM

Especially the Frozen Crypts level.
Heart pounding all the way...

Yup, I thought FEAR was scary. This is even worse.
Lights off + headphones + Turn off AlienFX (kinda messes up the scare factor.. xD)
= NIGHTMARES!!

This post has been edited by bluhound: Feb 10 2011, 08:55 PM

My opinion:
For that amount you can get another manufacturer model with better specifications. As of today, Core 2 CPUs are dated. Still usable for everyday office use but not so future proof.

The 160GB 5400rpm HDD is definitely outdated as most new laptops come with a 7200rpm drive. Even my 2007 XPS M1530 already comes with a 160GB 7200 HDD. You'll be surprised that the laptop feels snappier with a 7200 drive.

Nowadays, 2GB RAM is also the bare minimum for day to day computer usage. 4GB is the safe bet for smooth computing.

Anyway, the Core 2 Duo model is suitable for day to day office use but for gaming, well you can still play it at decent settings but maybe after a year you'll feel the hardware limitation.

Unless you insist on getting an Alienware, then....

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Added on February 14, 2011, 9:08 pm+1 !

This post has been edited by bluhound: Feb 14 2011, 09:08 PM

You guys are lucky. Mine took almost 3 weeks to arrive..

@vicks: What model is your Bluetooth mouse?
My Dell Bluetooth mouse is too small for me. Need to get a bigger one..heh
Yours has the right size.

+1. Not to forget charge capacity too.
Current laptop batteries (Li-ion) get damaged under high heat and constant full charge.

This post has been edited by bluhound: Feb 16 2011, 07:11 PM

Yes, it will stop charging once its full. Since the battery is non removable, try to keep the notebook as cool as possible. Air conditioned and dust free room with a powerful laptop cooler usually does the trick.

Then every few months drain the battery to around 40% then charge it again with the laptop off. My 4 years old laptop's battery is still working well following this method, it can still last 2 hours, comparing to the original 3 hrs when it was still new.

This post has been edited by bluhound: Feb 16 2011, 07:36 PM

Power is always taken from the AC cord. When plugged in, the power block provides power to both the laptop itself and a separate battery charging circuit.

That is why when you intensively use your laptop while the battery is below 80% and charging, the power block gets hotter than usual as it is powering both circuits at full power.

Err..icons?
You need to have Alienware OSD installed to see the blue icons when you touch the quicktouch panel. There are sometimes where even with the OSD installed, it occasionally does not show up (this happened to me). Reboot the computer and it should be fine.

Sure, you can definitely update to A09. Just follow the instructions and it should be all fine.

I had that problem before. The Graphics driver is too old. 259 if I'm not mistaken. Downloaded and installed the latest one from NVIDIA (you need to mod the infs to get it to install though) and all is fine. Only drawback is that the brightness control no longer works.

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Added on February 24, 2011, 11:25 amWhy not get a discrete bag like Pierre Cardin, Samsonite etc.?
I have an Orion bag but felt uncomfortable as everybody were staring at me with menacing black bag. Not to mention the alien head bobbing around too...

I do recommend the Pierre Cardin ones, about the same price as the Orion and it looks classy with attracting unwanted "negative" attention.

This post has been edited by bluhound: Feb 24 2011, 11:25 AM

I use 266.58

Not exactly. Mine got delivered via NCT Shipping.

Check the laptopvideo2go forums. There are guides in there.

No prob. Just to let you know that you can do this same method for any future drivers released.

I am using one which I bought from eBay.

3 ANTI-GLARE Screen Protector LCD 15.6" inch Widescreen - eBay

Here it is on my screen.

When the protector was first installed, the screen was extra grainy but after a few weeks the graininess became less.

At least your taped-on-screen-protector still works the way you want it to be...

Neh, I am using a Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 set and a Logitech N110 to prop the laptop up.

Er.. There is. I just looked at it a few mins ago..