well, i tried by dismantle one of the cards and turn on. it appears that the main graphics card is not running at all, as there is no display. tried fit in the secondary graphics card and removed the main, there is display. then i tried install both, and works like charm again.

But we dont need 128gb for gaming only.

i think 20% boost from 780M, and of course lower TDP, means less heat generated compare to 780M.

i'd like that too.
but i hope its possible (or if i never heard of it).

planning to 'songlap' R4 once the price drops to 3k-4k

well, best that if i can find one with 3630QM or 3740QM with GTX660M, then i will buy a GTX880M (or maybe GTX980M) and fit it into the beast.
last time i heard of someone mentioning direct factory units but not sure is it possible to get any of it.

easy to say, either your graphics card is overheating or it is damaged. you can try repaste the thermal paste, clean the fans and heatsink, see how it goes.

my client's case is different from yours. your case is excessive artifacts on screen while my client's case is black colour showed up as thin blue vertical lines.

yeah, you can upgrade. just a problem that the cards arent available locally.
you can eventually upgrade to dual HD7970M.

read this.

should solve most of your FAQs.

now, time its my time to save up money and buy a M17x R4 for research and gaming purposes.

This post has been edited by raymondtong94: Apr 18 2014, 11:57 AM

that was when the bangla promoters annoyed me.
its a long time ago.

not sure about that.
i just speak what comes into my mind.

da fuq? i was told that the Vindicator 17 sold at Dell's store priced at RM299, best RM249!

if you have a thick wallet or platinum credit cards, the AW 18 is for you, otherwise it can leave a very large hole in your wallet.

if you have a strong GPU, the CPU will hardly to bottleneck but if the temperature control is poor, chances of bottleneck is high but its a rare case in AW 17 and 18 because both have a very good cooling system.

however, i'd strongly recommend you not to OC as OC a laptop CPU wont have much performance gain, and it also results in overheating, rise of your electric bill and CPU damaging risk.

EDIT : but just one thing, do you really think SLI can really help you improve the performance of majority of the games? i'd say no. go for single GPU as possible.

This post has been edited by raymondtong94: Apr 27 2014, 12:47 AM

about 0.5% of Mahresia's population?

When it comes to repairing, im a total noob.
But when it comes to cleaning and upgrading, im just like a dragon awakes.

Need find time to learn from sifu putochip.

no, the SLI potential is not wasted. its true that AW18 lineup's monitor has a max refresh rate of 60Hz (or 60fps) only but the refresh rate determines the smoothness when moving in games, its not like it will limit your GPU processing power. however, the 120Hz monitor on the AW17 is able to run in 3D mode, as it need to produce two images so it can virtualize the 3D effects into the 3D spectacles.

the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz is the smoothness and fluidity but its very hard to be identified with naked eye. i dont know how the guy called Linus (LinusTechTips is his channel on Youtube) able to identified the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz unless he cheats. you can watch the video at here

do note, you need a strong GPU to take advantage of 120Hz.

tomorrow are you free?
wanna ask you to become my sifu.

i stay at seri kembangan, so i guess your location is pretty near to mine?

that was a long way to go man, and i will be working that time.
never mind, will give you a ring when i have the time.

when the laptop arrived at your doorstep, post some pictures.

i added you to the owner list.

do you know, one day i could use to rob you if i found you!
you are the most expensive Alienware owner at this thread, including upgrades and such!

take note before buying cards with GTX800M cards. as stated by putochip123, he stated that current GT800M cards are still based on Kepler architecture, which could be a tuned up variant of previous generation cards. performance increase is around 20% more than previous generation card. if you are dying for latest architecture, please wait and if urgent to get a laptop, just get now.

jeng jeng jeng, newly refreshed AW 17 looks tasty. but still, R4 nerd here.