Running Linux on Alienware M17

Hi,

I bought a Alienware m17 6877 (link here: http://www.amazon.com/Alienware-ALW17-6877sLV-17-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B00F4MEGBI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1393472713&sr=8-8&keywords=alienware+m17x) from Amazon. The specs are listed there. 

The primary purpose was to use it for CUDA programming on Linux . I have been struggling to get Linux up and running on this machine, with the primary problem being the display drivers.

I was able to install Ubuntu 13.10 [with nomodeset turned on, Unity desktop manager] and the first boot I was able to enter the login screen. I got the desktop, but the performance was very slow, due to the absence of hardware specific drivers. 

Now, whenever I install the latest NVIDIA display drivers [either from NVIDIA site or from the repository] and restart, I get the login screen. However, once I login, I just get a blank screen. Unable to proceed further. 

Can someone help me in this regard? Else, its gonna become the most expensive paper weight. Most of my code is on Linux and porting it to Windows is not an option.