My M17x Configuration

One of the NBR members sent me a PM asking me to detail my system configuration since I am one no longer seeing the issues described as Stuttering on the M17x.

I put together the following and decided to post it here as reference in case others were interested in how I have my system configured and wanted to compare it to their own config.

So, without further delay... here we go:

Hybrid Graphics/Integrated Graphics:

Both the Integrated Graphics and Hybrid Graphics option are disabled in the BIOS. The only time they are enabled is for Display driver installs or when I know I will be on battery power for an extended period of time.

Overclocking:

CPU @ stock clocks, stock voltage

GPUs @ stock clocks

OS Choice:

Vista 64 w/Service Pack 2. All current updates installed with the exception of IE 8 (I hate it).

Drivers/BIOS Installed:

BIOS A02

Current Version of Command Center

Current Version of Alienware's OSD

All other drivers are installed - versions are the same as I have listed on the Vista 64 driver page.

Services Disabled (see this page for more detail on this):

Alienware Fusion Service

Certificate Propagation

FAService

Internet Connection Sharing

Net TCP Port Sharing

Net Logon

Remote Registry

Routing and Remote Access

Smart Card

Smart Card Removal Policy

Tablet PC Input Service

Windows Media Extender Service

Windows Search

Startup Items currently enabled (all others are disabled, again see this page for more info):

Launch_CC (Launch_CC.exe) - Part of Alienware's Onscreen Display software

OSD (Launch.exe) - Part of Alienware's Onscreen Display software

SysTrayApp (sttray64.exe) - IDT Audio Driver Related

SynTPenh - (SynTPEnh.exe) - Synaptics Touchpad Releated

NVCplDaemon - NVIDIA Control Panel component

Misc. Items:

Windows Sidebar - Completely turned off. This thing was a memory/resource hog in Vista and I'm sure the same is true for Windows 7.

NVIDIA Display Driver 186.82 installed. PhysX is disabled. No Overclocking. Using my latest SLI profile batch updater. No issues to speak of when gaming. L4D2 is typically hitting 130+ FPS on average.

NVIDIA StereoVision 3D Vision is uninstalled.

NVIDIA System Tools is not installed.

nHancer is not installed.

AlienFX (along with Fusion & AlienSense) is disabled at startup. I can tell you this, if I enable these items, I instantly start having audio popping issues when playing back MP3s. I am almost certain they are a factor in the issue. Shut them down and if you need to edit your keyboard lights, open the AlienFX Controller service via a shortcut or the Start Menu item, edit the lights and then close and exit out of the app (make sure its still not running in the task tray). NOTE: My AlienFX is currently set to a two color pattern basic theme - no advanced theme and no animation. Info on AlienFX, Sense and Fusion and why they are disabled can be found here.

Windows Media Player is being used for mp3 playback. Visualizations are disabled in WMP. Disabling Visualizations in your Media Playback app is critical as this leads to issues with audio popping. This was also observed and used as a temp fix on the Dell XPS M1730.

PowerDVD 8 is being used for DVD and BluRay playback.

Hardware changes I have made:

Installed HP OEM QX9300 CPU - used Arctic Cooling's MX-3 thermal compound on both CPU cores and the MCP79 chipset using the "rice grain method"

Discrete GPUs were not altered (stock thermal pads)

Removed DVD Drive and installed Dell Optiarc BC-5600S BluRay Player

Vista Power Profile:
OS Power Profile, High Performance Selected - Customized Settings as follows:

AlienFX
Battery: Off
AC: On

Hard Disk:
Battery: Turn Off after 10 Min
AC: Never

Wireless Adapter Performance:
Battery: Max Performance
AC: Max Performance

Sleep:
Battery: Never
AC: Never

USB Selective Suspend:
Battery: Never
AC: Never

PCI Express Link State:
Battery: Off
AC: Off

Processor Power Management:
Min Processor State -
Battery: 5%
AC: 100%

Max Processor State -
Battery: 100%
AC: 100%

Search & Indexing:
Battery: Power Saver
AC: Max Performance

Display -

Auto Dim:
Battery: Off
AC: Off

Turn Off Display After:
Battery: 3 min
AC: 3 min

Adaptive Display:
Battery: Off
AC: Off

Dim Value:
Battery: 1 1-10
AC: 8 1-10

Display Brightness:
Battery: 50%
AC: 100%

Graphics Processor:
Battery: Balanced Mode
AC: Max Performance

Battery:

Battery is left in the system - even when on AC Power.

Well, that is it in a nutshell. This works for me. Will it work for you? I really don't know and for that, I am sorry. I know if I had major issues and could not resolve them on my own (especially with a new system) I would be irate beyond belief. That "new system" would either be on its way back to Dell for replacement or going up on eBay.

Hope this helps/sheds some light folks.