Are Alienware M14x R1's outdated?

Hello!

This is my first post on the forums (although I've been reading posts for a while ). Anyway, I have a question about the m14x Alienware.
I've been looking at prices for the m14x R2's.. And they're all really high. $1000+.. So I was considering buying an R1. Here are the specs I worked out I'd want:

i5 2410M
GT 555M 1.5gb
4gb of DDR3 1330Mhz
900p HD Screen
500gb HDD

This is in fact the absolute most basic you can get an m14x R1, with the exception of the screen.

Now I have two possible problems...

Will this computer be under-powered? I'm not going to be doing heavy-duty gaming. I play WoT and a few MMORPG's similar to WoW (Allods Online if anyone here's heard of it). This will be my main computer and I really want to keep my temps down as low as possible, that's why I went for the i5. I also can upgrade my RAM and HDD at a future time if I want. The only thing that I really wanted to upgrade was the 900p screen.

So! should these specs be able to play a few MMORPG's and WoT?

One last thing.. I've been looking around for an Alienware with these specs and I've yet to find one. Is there anywhere anyone knows that I could find one these? I'm trying to get in the $600-$700 range.

Any advice would be awesome!

 

the only problem is finding a good balance between the gpu strength and game settings. if you're driving 900p, it will be harder on the gpu than 768p. the gt555m is not a good gpu, but it can probably play your stuff fine. the i5 keeps the core temps cooler, so maybe you wouldn't see those nightmares... tbh i would buy the r2 at the Outlet and get the best specs you can afford. base model for the r2 should be the 3610QM, 8GB RAM, and 1GB gt650m, as well as the 900p screen. that is a beautiful combo of hardware, much superior to the r1.

 

Hi, for you to have a better idea of the differences between the M14xR1 and R2, I'll leave you this article. Maybe it can help you make up your mind.

 

+1 on this. Bought my R2 from the Outlet and I've been extremely pleased. There's always coupons floating around the internet. You can easily get what you want under 1K.

 

For my opionion (as a R1 user), Yes, the R1 is outdated long since the release of the R2 however it is not because of the CPU or anything but because of the GT555M as the GT650M proven to be a "GTX 560M renamed" as well as the temperature and features that offer on the GT650M compare to the GT555M that's available on the M14x series.

 

is gt650m that powerful...

 

it is actually close to a 660m according to some overclockers...

 

a very late response, butttt a response nonetheless! I've decided I might just want to go for an m15x. They can upgrade the GPUs which is something the m14x can't do and they have a slightly better cooling system then the m14x from what I hear.

Thanks for all your replies and advice though, it was very helpful.

 

Outdated processor though. Mobile GPUs alone cost a decent amount of money too. Seems counter productive to get an old machine just to upgrade. I thought about the M15X as well, but in the long run your only spending money to update to where you could've been from the start.

Just my $0.02...I'm curious to know how it goes though

 

Yes, I got a friend who has the R2 and his GT650M basically beat my GT555M at everything, and because of the R2 version is a GDDR5 version, the R1's DDR3 would be nothing compare to the R2's. Not only that, it also run cooler and able to OC at much higher clockspeed not to mention its already high default clockspeed.

 

How would an m15x's cooling compare to that of an m14x R2?

 

I'm not sure, but it would definitely benefit from a repaste and cleaning.

 

On the one hand the M15x has MUCH better cooling, but on the other hand it also needs it due to hotter CPUs and GPUs. Overall the M15x is better in this respect.

But I owned the M15x, and I just had to sell it because it did not suit my needs. It is so much larger and heavier than the M14x, that it did not fit most of my backpacks. It killed my back after a day in school. Stock M15x is slower than the M14xR2, and if you consider upgrading the CPU and GPU you end up spending hundreds of dollars to bring it up to the M14xR2 performance.

Also, my particular M15x had a BIOS bug that would start up the fans at 100% and would never turn them off. In my case it was happening every third or fourth reboot. Not sure if Dell fixed this issue since...

So if you already have an M15x, then keep it and upgrade it. Otherwise get an M14xR2, even though it's a bit more expensive. I bought mine on kijiji for CAD$1100, i7 3610qm, GT650m 2Gb, 8Gb RAM, 750Gb hdd, 280 days warranty left. I never saw an M15x for less than CAD$800 on kijiji...

 

The m15x's cooling will be "better" likely, as well as the performance.. But I recommend against getting the M15x right now, unless budget absolutely permits it. The M15x is basically the same size as the current M17x r3/r4. So when you buy the m15x, youre really getting a 17 inch laptop with a smaller screen.

Example of size comparisons

Sized Up: m17x r3 vs M15X vs m14x (1) (I would hit top view for the best comparison)


M14x r1 is outdated at this point, and still probably just as expensive as a refurbished R2, so I wouldn't recommend that either. I would look for a good M17x R3 if I were you, as itll be the same size as the m15x and will have much better specifications, as well as upgradable if you wish.

The benefit of the m15x would be that it can probably be found very cheap, which in that case, I'd go for it if you find one really cheap. Just be aware of the large size differences.

 

Size is a big deal for me.. If the m15x is really close in size to the m17x, it probably isn't the computer for me! A friend of mine has the m17x R3 and I think it's pretty big. I'm going to be carrying it around with me at school and I really don't want to have something that takes up 60% of my backpack. I understand your point though about the m17x being upgradable.. That's probably what frustrates me the most about the m14x at this point, I really want that size and yet I want something that can be upgradable. :cry:

So at this point the concensus is that the m14x R2 really blows the m14x R1 out of the water, correct? In terms of pricing, The cheapest m14x R1 I've seen is $600 and I can think get a refurb m14x R2 with the 25% discount that comes around every few months or so for about $700+tax. What is it about Alienwares retaining their value?! A $100 difference between a used R1 model and a refurb R2 model is pretty amazing....

 

Yes, the r2 is more relevant by FAR now... It seems to have fewer problems with getting max performance out of the core, GPU, and SATA ports. The r1 has known issues with HIGH core temps, a weak GPU (I had to leave AA off at all times), poor thermal paste (same as everyone...) and gimped SATA speeds (no official mSATA slot, primary bay is limited to SATA II unless you want to mess with endless custom firmwares).

Alienwares do not really retain their value... I have always been able to readily sell my used notebooks (was an Apple user) and expected similar results. But I could not even sell my brand new 3610 r2 for $1000 after owning it for two weeks. Most people really don't know what AW is, not sure why. Thankfully, I held onto it and did the rebuild instead. There is no other notebook out there that can deliver this power in this form factor.

I estimated that a refurb r1 with 2760QM, 4GB RAM, 1.5GB 555m, and 500GB HDD should be selling for no more than $800, but now I would revise that down to $700. The r2 is actually worth at least $1000 in a similar config, because it performs to the advertised spec :]

tldr; Buy the m14x r2!

 

I know that every few months Dell Outlet puts it's Alienwares on sale. I think I could get an R2 with the 900p screen for about $750ish.

At this point the only upgrade I'd want on either the R1 or the R2 would be the 900p screen, the rest of the base specs I'm pretty happy with. Is there another spec you think would be an important upgrade?

 

I made sure to get the 2GB VRAM, despite all the haters. But I do lots of high res work on multiple external displays, which might actually benefit...

For the average person, I would suggest to start with: 900p, 3610QM, 8GB, boot drive = mSATA SSD, storage drive = 750GB 7200RPM HDD. Killer way to use this thing.

 

For the affordable path, get the i5, 6GB, 768p, 500GB HDD. This should still be pretty slick for gaming, as the 650m is a pretty good mobile GPU in any config.

 

You can't expect to get more than what someone is able to get it for from the Outlet.

 

You do know that Dell/Alienware has a 21-30 day full refund and paid return shipping right? Unless you bought yours from a 3rd party or from a store tht does not accept returns for refund.

 

It took several months to understand the mysterious slowdowns that plagued my VJing, and the window was closed by then. That's why I had to strongarm them into admitting fault.

Corporations will lie until they are caught red-handed, and AW is no different.

 

Oh ok didn't know and I thought you said you had it for 2 weeks.

 

I upgraded to an r2 and tried to sell it right away to see if i could switch to Clevo. But no one was buying at $1000 :[ So I kept it and rebuilt it in the hopes that it would finally behave like a high-end notebook. It worked

 

So at this point I think I've decided to save up for an m14x R2 and upgrade the screen only. An i5 should be fine for my needs.. I've been using an E6750 for the last 4 years and it's held up like a trooper for the games I've been playing, it's always the GPU that gets me!

I was curious about the 1Gb vs 2Gb of VRAM debate though? From what I've seen I should really get the 1Gb since the most I'd ever be using is one 1080p external tv/monitor screen (at the moment I'm still using a 1440 by 900 ). Does everyone agree that 1Gb should be good for a single 1080p screen?

 

For 1080P I would get 2GB, especially if you OC. 1 gig is good for 900p or less.

 

Hehe... the debate continues. I would try to buy the 2GB when you order ont he phone and see if they will take any money off. Esp if you get any accessories. The VRAM and GPU and soldered on, so youcan't change them later, while you can upgrade just about everything else. So if you can swing the 2GB, you'll know you have the max possible power on that front. You could slowly upgrade everything else to max specs :] The r2 is pretty flexible with upgrading. Literally the only major problem is the iGPU. Check out some reviews for the new 2012 MacBook Pro and see what Apple did. Everything is soldered/glued in, including RAM!

 

No computer should have soldered RAM unless that's the max RAM for the mobo!

I'll see about trying to get the 2Gb of VRAM. My other problem right now is a certain woman in the house... She finds computers over $500 dollars to be too expensive! So I'm going to have to do some major bargain hunting (and coercion ) to get it down as low as I can.

Thanks for the advice though! :thumbsup:

 

Bought my m14x R1 when it was first released, starting to regret buying it