M6500 vs the Alienware M17x?

Has anayone debated between the two?
I dont game; but the Alienware is a wee bit less inexpensive (mainly because of the choice for getting the 1 year warranty; I can upgrade the warranty next year).

Both have WUXGA RGBLED; and I will be using the laptop for programming type work.

I gather the M17x has only 2 sodimm slots, compared to 4 in the M6500 --- any other issues I should eb aware of?

 

m6500 has 3hdd bays and is configurable with a mini pci-e ssd for 4hdd raid 0+1 operation. really unless you're using any programs written for workstation cards there's no reason to go for the m6500. it's totally overkill as a consumer laptop.

 

Don't know about the M6500, but I saw a M17x in Best Buy and that thing was HEAVY. Also, the whole business vs gaming graphics card thing like Lozz said. Unless you do autocad/solidworks etc. then it really doesn't matter though. I assume both are built like tanks. Check the alienware forums for people's findings regarding heat, battery life, etc. I think they look cooler though

 

2-3lbs weight diff betw the two, or about 25% more weight in the M17x. Height of 6500 is half the M17x. Tends to make the 6500 a more portable machine. But one card vs two - that's not to be discounted. And the M17x seems to have better cooling, and it's cheaper.

Don't know if the choice is as clear cut as it may seem on the outset. If the 6500 came with the Quadro 5000M it would be a pretty difficult choice.

 

Yeah, price is a bit crucial in my case!

 

If programming means coding you don't need a RGBLED display. The WLED display in the M6500 is just fine if colour calibration doesn't matter. It tends to be a bit blueish, but that's nothing to be worried about. On the other hand the RGBLED almost needs calibration to look good.

The M6500 only has 4 Slots if you order it with a Clarksfield CPU.

The M6500 has two regular HDD bays. You can add an SSD via mini-pci-e. That's where the 3rd "HDD" comes from. And you can swap the optical drive for a caddy with another HDD. Only in this configuration you'll have 4 drives.

The M6500 cooling system is more than sufficient even if you put heavy work on it.

 

True, I dont NEED RGBLED, but I want it

Hmm, I did think that 4 sodimm slots were not standard. Is this a change from the M6400 where 4 sodimm slots were standard?

How do I identify Clarksfield CPUs when ordering?

 

Afaik the M6400 had 4 slots too. When I ordered my M6500 I got it with only 2 slots. I called Dell and asked for a mainboard replacement. They sent two technicians with the wrong replacement board until it turned out that I actually had a Clarksfield while their DB said it would be an Arrandale.
The three technicians who visited me didn't even know until then that a two-slot-board existed and it seemed to me that the phone staff didn't know it either until they checked.

To make it easy (in the case of the M6500):
Dual Cores are Arrandales, Quad Cores are Clarksfields.