A Time To Buy

I have been watching the 14X since it came out and have followed the threads. I am also aware that the 14X R2 (if it is even in planning) is not on my radar. If I jackup the 14x options I usually come out with a total of $2100-2300 for a cost. My question is a two parter. Does anyone see a price reduction on the 14X by July 4th? Is it possible a money saving coupon is around the corner? A bonus question, what number can I start calling to see if sales could give me a better deal. I am ready to pull the trigger but want to make sure I have done my homework and waited for the best time. Thanks in advance for all the comments and answers.

Gabe

 

Please post the config for those specs and that price... cause whoa 2300 is a lot for an M14x. Are you in the US?!?!

 

He said he was jacking up the specs...2820QM, 8gb's RAM, and the 256gb SSD will get you there fast.

 

I have removed some of the frilly stuff that makes no difference anyway. Its from the EPP site, from Borders.


Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache)
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
Display Panel 14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
Video Card 3.0GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology
Hard Drive 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
Optical Drive 8x SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
Audio Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled
Wireless Intel® Advanced-N WiFi Link 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology with WiMax
Hardware Support Services 1 Year Advanced Plan
Factory Installed Games Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
WirelessHD Internal 60GHz WirelessHD Transmitter and VIZIO XWH200 Universal Wireless HD Video and Audio Kit
Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth 3.0

TOTAL: $2,335.34

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I would say save some money and drop the RAM and HDD to the base spec and buy an SSD and 3rd party RAM from newegg. With the money you are putting into those options from Dell you can buy yourself some legit items from newegg.

Also from my research the 3.0GB GPU is kinda overkill. There was a thread about it but I can try and look it up.

Nevertheless what are you using this computer for? You can build one hell of a desktop with this kind of money.

 

You can find aftermarket ram thats better and cheaper,

The hard drive you can also find aftermarket probably better and cheaper. SSD highly recommended.

Do you really need 3.0 GB video card? unless you are using something like autocad on resolution higher than 1080P then I understand.

 

Nice job repeating everything I said lol

But perhaps he is using this as a desktop replacement and is hooking it up to an external monitor. In that case, decking it out seems viable. Yet it doesn't deter from the fact that a desktop will prove to be better in all aspects other than portability.

 

I agree, dropping the RAM and HD would save money. And I also have seen lots of threads that seem to point to the fact that the 1.5GB GPU is a max point. I have concerns of changing the configuration and then having to call on the support plan. Am I too paranoid? Would tech support fail to fix my unit it is was found to be different than originally purchased? If there is no danger I will drop all three options to a min.
This laptop wil be for two major uses, VM's and Gamming. I want this laptop to rock with what ever I push to it. I prefer going mobile than going DT. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Well if you do go with the base option and go with 3rd party items, when you do need to call in support you can always switch the original items back in before they come in for a repair. Also I don't think any warranties are voided by changing the RAM or HDD yourself. The only thing I can think of is that, that specific part's warranty is voided.

Anyways if you are paranoid just switch stock items back in before getting it checked out by Dell and you should be fine.

And seeing how you are going with the VM gaming route, then 1.5 GB should suffice and the CPU is more than enough to handle anything thrown at it for the next couple of months.

 

Thanks the replies. I really like the idea of rolling back the laptop to stock when servicing. I don't want to lose track of this thread but has anyone proven any benefits of the 3.0 GPU? I have found more information in these last few replies than the whole threads themselves dedicated to the GPU wars.

Plus I am still thinking the Alienware prices droping soon might be soon. Can't help but think a coupon is also due...

 

Agreed. I've got the 2820 with the 1.5GB 555M GT and I run VM's and game and overall I'm impressed with it's performance. One thing I did however as you(and others) have suggested is to upgrade RAM via Newegg. I have the Kingston HyperX 1600 and I also bought a Crucial C300 128GB SSD. With the exception of the SSD benchmarks this system does indeed rock out.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/571665-1-5gb-3gb-upgrade-25-30-better.html

Here is the thread discussing the 3GB option.

Here is another

Gt 555m 1.5GB and Gt 555m 3GB.... - GameSpot Forums - PC Hardware Discussion....
To Those Who Need Evidence... 1.5 vs 3.0 gb Nvidia 555mGT - Page 2

 

There is no information about 3gb being better. There is a tremendous amount of information about it offering no benefit whatsoever. In fact, it is likely to increase power consumption and temperatures, possibly lowering performance.

Swapping out things like ram and HD do not affect your warranty (other than the aftermarket ram and HD obviously aren't going to be covered by dell, but rather by the manufacturer). You don't even reallt need to "roll it back" for servicing unless they're doing something big like replacing the motherboard. Even then they should put back what was there.