M14x Pre-Order Configuration Questions... Ask HERE (Part 2)

1. An SSD that's over 500 gb is going to cost you something over 400 bucks
2. A good SSD is the samsung 830 series. It's the most reliable SSD in the market
3. Just get the 3600s if you want the SSD. You are talking about 10-15% differences in performance. It's really not worth the extra 200 bucks

 

ok, just saw the cost of a 512 for £450
perhaps consider 256 instead...

 

yea do what I'm doing. Get a support bay thing for your 750 gb hard drive for backups and media and 256 should be plenty

 

sorry to be a pain in the ... ill be going to sleep after this comment until tomorrow

support bay?????

 

Newegg.ca - COOLMAX HD-250BK-U3 Aluminum 2.5" Black USB 3.0 External Enclosure

something like that. MAke sure it has usb 3.0 support

its okay, I love helping people out with tech stuff

 

i mean what does it do sorry??
and i appreciate all the time and effort you've invested in me... these forums are super cool!

 

It allows you to use it like a USB drive sort of.

Cuz you can't just simply connect a HDD using a USB wire without that support bay/caddy or whatever you call it.

 

Hi guys,

just wanted to confirm this is the sort of SSD id want?

256GB Samsung 830 SATA 6GB SSD 2.5in + Norton Ghost

Samsung 830 Series 256GB Solid State Hard Drive - 2.5" Drive With Laptop installation Kit With Norton Ghost 15.0 | MZ-7PC256N/EU

 

Definitely. Best SSD in the market. BTW Don't get ones with data transfer kits. They tend to bug out if you transfer data from a HDD, so start completely new on your SSD if you get it.

 

do any of those ones have data kits with them?
also just put in an order for mine from the USA...
just wanted to confirm that i can change all the settings from USA to UK and which settings these will be when you first get a laptop...
rather excited!

 

No, but if you ever choose to get the Crucial M4 ones, don't bother paying 10 bucks more for the data kits

The samsung 830 SSDs don't come with data kits.

The 'settings' can be changed with your operating system. The SSD is a nonfactor in terms of changing settings from USA to UK

 

my windows OS will from the states- i can change the settings on that or will i have to purchase windows OS from UK?

 

Doesnt matter where you buy it from

 

What is your final specs and how much money do you have to play with. Did you call in to negotiate or is someone else paying for this. I would look at samsung 830 or crucial m4 and use the base i7 processor. Use the money you save on cpu for a 3yr accidental warranty which should work worldwide. Pickup the ram and SSD aftermarket and get name brand. Intel is slashing SSD prices next month so if you can wait then you will get a slickdeal on intel ssd which is quality ssd.

 

samsung is more reliable though. Also, don't get the 3 yr warranty. It costs way too much. Just get the 1 year one for 50 bucks, because everything that could go wrong because of alienware's fault will happen within one year, and most failures are Hard drive failures anyways.

 

final specs are

i7 3720QM
6gb RAM
2gb nvidia graphics card
the wimax intel wireless card
1 year warranty (premium one which covers accident faults and can be transferred to UK)
500gb hard drive HDD

I havent yet, but most likely be purchasing the samsung 256gb 830 for £145 which is roughly $220 (thought that was a good deal)

and will buy either corsair or kingston 16gb ram when the laptop gets here.

My parents are buying me the laptop.

also 900p lcd

 

The SSD for $220 is a good deal since I know prices are a little higher over the pond. When they're on sale in the states we get them for $200.

Are you planning on hooking the laptop up to an external monitor that has a higher resolution than 1920x1080? If not then the 2 gb video card is probably a waste. I would get more RAM instead!

 

you cant get more RAM then 16gb
I will be installing the RAM myself as it works out cheaper to get it separately.
Does anyone know if the 500gb HD that i will be replacing will go for anything these days?
I won be hooking it up to an external monitor that has a higher res then 1080 but will be to one that has 1080.

Also i use it alot to connect to my tv which is HD

any chance of anyone taking a look at how much the samung SSD is in the states right now? if its cheaper, i will get the guy getting my laptop to also purchase the SSD

 

I would change the specs to 3610qm and 1gb video card and bump up the warranty to accidental to get 3yr worldwide coverage. If you choose standard warranty and purchase in USA to get discounts then once the system gets to you and you need service.....good luck. In 2.5 years if you have issues with your system and need a replacement then guess what m14x version you will get ....the latest one out at that time thanks to your dell warranty and the money you saved by getting it from the US store. Well the money your parents saved not you.....

 

Alternatively, could i not get the 1 year warranty for $50 which can be transferred to the UK (i have confirmed this with Dell)
and then purchase insurance on the laptop when it comes here for a lot less then the $418 that dell are asking for.
If something goes wrong with my laptop then insurance pays out the worth of the same laptop at that time.
I wont get the latest laptop, but i will get the money the latest laptop is worth

 

Point taken on the RAM, I would do the same! I'm just saying that you could get the 1 GB card and use the money you save to buy more RAM (not through dell). Your TV is 1920x1080, so that won't be taxing on the graphics card either. I would just suggest doing a little more research on 1 gb vs 2 gb, you'll find that there is a very negligible difference in performance at 1920x1080 and below.

 

PS faiz, how long have your m14x lasted you so far?
seeing that im spening around £1200, id want this to last for atleast 6 years

 

Do the conversion in math for exchange rate.



BuyDig.com - Samsung 830-Series MZ-7PC256D/AM 256GB 2.5" SATA III MLC Internal SSD Desktop Kit

Samsung 256GB 830 Series Internal 2.5" Solid MZ-7PC256B/WW

Samsung 256GB 830 Series SSD with Internal Laptop MZ-7PC256N/AM

Edit: M14x has lasted me 1 week since I got it.....they just got released like 1.5 months ago lolz

 

Hi, thanks for your comment bsmack

anyone have similar thoughts. i.e the 2gb isnt worth it?
does the 1gb support the full resolution of a 1080p screen? and if so what is the point of the 2gb card??
I would definitely appreciate saving $100 if you guys think its marginal.
My logic was if its double the gb then its double good (ofcourse im not a computer whizZ).

Also what are your guys take on the i7
i5 3210 is 3.1ghz
3610 is 3.3ghz
3720 is 3.6ghz
3820 is 3.7 ghz
difference between i5 and i7 is 0.2 ghz
i opted for the 3720 over 3610 because it is greater by 0.3 ghz (which is greater then the difference between the i5 and 3610) but the difference between 3720 and 3820 is only 0.1 ghz and didnt warrant an extra $200

what do you guys think
hope you followed my logic

they only got released 1.5 months agooo???
lool, i never knew!
hows it treating u for the week? loving it?

 

I love it so much that I might just have to get rid of the m18x down the road. I am still trying it out and for the little gaming I do it works fine for me. I am loving the battery life on just surfing the web. I am sitting in bed and my son is sleeping next to me. I am just buying games on steam and chatting with friends. 89% battery life with 6 hrs : 49 minutes left and originally at 100% it showed over 7:15 hrs. I have keyboard lights on, alieware head, and mouse light. Keyboard along with ALIENWARE logo is off and fans have only been on low setting. My brother picked one up from the outlet and has been extremely happy and glad to dump the macbook. He has been gaming on high and extreme on most of the games he plays. I would turn down shadows and put some stuff on medium to have the smoothest experience.

The i7 is a quadcore processor where the i5 is dualcore. Stop comparing raw clock speed and realize these processor can scale down to .8ghz up to 3.3ghz and higher for other processors. Get the 3610qm and it will be plenty and spend on other upgrades. The 1gb and 2gb have identical processor and make no difference in frames per second. The bottleneck of the gpu is the processor and not the ram. The 1gb card is plenty if you plan to use 1080p external monitor as the only monitor. If you want dual displays or want to have 900p on the laptop and 1080p on the external at the same time then I would get 2gb.


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Glad to hear you're loving your m14x experience... it makes me even more excited.
what is vt-d?

also, is the 1gb easily upgradable to 2gb if i later want it. (not to upgrade by me, but if i ask dell)

 

If you are thinking about upgrading then do it now. You will not be able to do it later since it is soldered on to the motherboard. You can upgrade the system ram and HDD/SSD but not the ram for the GPU/Video card. Did you compare the price in pounds to dollars. Also you can get this ram on sale for much lower than dell and be set for future.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10

Amazon.com: Komputerbay 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz SODIMM 204-Pin Laptop Memory 10-10-10-27 with Black Heatspreaders: Computers & Accessories

If you haven't bought a SSD yet get this sandisk extreme 240gb for $159

http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...k-extreme-240gb-ssd-sata-iii-159-shipped.html

 

would i be crazy to buy 16gb ram and stick it in my m14x?
will i really see an improved performance from 8gb to 16gb ram?

 

8 gb is more than sufficient for usual tasks/gaming. Really you will see no improvement at all.

 

Software & Services
PROCESSOR 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.6GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit edit
MEMORY 6GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s edit
VIDEO CARD 2 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with Optimus™ edit
LCD PANEL 14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight edit
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® Advanced-N WiFi Link 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology with WiMax and Bluetooth 4.0 edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) edit
My Software & Accessories
COLOR Nebula Red with Soft Touch Finish edit
PERSONALIZED PLATE Personalized Plate edit
ALIENFX COLOR Quasar Blue edit
WALLPAPER Alien Cyborg edit
My Accessories
SUPPORT 1 Year Advanced Plan edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE No Anti-Virus Software Selected edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Alienware M14X R2 Alienware M14X R2
Keyboard English Keyboard
Documentation Alienware Documentation
Shipping Material Shipping Material
Additional Software Additional Software
Primary Battery 63WHr 8-Cell Primary Battery
SOUND OPTIONS Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
WIRELESS HD None
AUTOMATIC UPDATES Alienware M14X 150W A/C Adapter
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader

faiz, i found out that an insurance company here will cover the costs for all damaged (accidental aswel) for £8 a month here which is about £96 a year here which is about $150. That is cheaper then the warrantly dell offered so i will be doing it that way.

 

Dell warranty is hands down awesome compared to insurance. Does insurance cover wear and tear or gpu getting to hot and have artifacts on the screen 1.5yr down the road. Also dell is likely to replace your laptop incase of issues and upgrade you where insurance will just cut you a check and you might have to pay a deductable. In the end you might not come out as nicely as if you had stuck with dell and they just replace you with the next best thing. I would atleast add the 1yr premium or 2 yr premium and 3yr if you can afford it. Bump down the processor and bump up your warranty. Put the rest of the money on SSD and RAM and you should be set for 2-3yrs. Here in the states we can go with squaretrade as a third party warranty but I still prefer to go with dell direct.

 

Hello, i'm a bit confused on how the ram works on my M14x

Electronics & PC Accessories | Dell UK

Above is the page I got for compatiable RAM. However theres 1 8GB one, and 4GB one. Is there a difference in using just a single 8GB over 4x2 GB? 8GB is more expensive though. D:

 

1 8 gig module will be better if you plan on adding another 8 gig stick later. I assume the m14x r2 still has only 2 slots. 2x4 should be better performance because it can run dual channel.
But it looks like the 8 gig stick is 1600mhz where as the 4 is 1333. The 1600mhz is faster, although probably not noticeably on this system. Personally I have 1600 mhz and the way I use my system I wouldn't go any lower. So if you are going to run max of 8 gigs I would look for two 1600 mhz 4 gig chips. If you think you may add another 8 in the near future, then get the 1 8 gig 1600mhz chip and plan on buying another chip later.

I assume you have the system already, if you do, don't buy the ram from dell. search these forums there are a lot of posts that people will say exactly what ram they bought and how good it worked. You can probably find a nice 2 x 4 gig 1600mhz set from new egg or tigerdirect for less than that 8 gig chip.

 

Hey everyone. Ever since I had an interest in computers, I have wanted to own an Alienware. So after much thought, I have decided that I want to buy an M14x. I am a dorm student, and having to bring my desktop back and forth on vacations last year was a pain. And the classes I am enrolled in require a laptop, so this seems to be the perfect balance of performance/portability.

After reading a lot of the topics here, I have decided that I am definitely upgrading to the 900p screen, and the i7 processor. However I'm on the fence on a few other things.

1. I was thinking about upgrading to the Killer wireless card, but is it worth it? I know it's only ~$30 more but every penny counts as I'm on a bit of a budget. The wireless in my dorm isn't the best and I'm curious if the upgrade would actually help or not.

2. How is their warranty service? I plan on getting the 1 year advanced. Will I be able to add on another year or two down the road?

3. How should I go about purchasing the laptop. I read a thread highly recommending to call reps and get quotes, however it was from 2010. Is this still the best option? And if so what's the best way to do this? Whether it's calling the number on dell.com or via email etc. I plan on buying the laptop in ~2 weeks. If contacting a rep is the way to go, should I wait closer to the time I'm going to buy it or start asap.

I apologize for the overload of questions, I'm just very excited to finally own one of these and want to make sure everything is perfect. Thank you in advance for any help given.

 

Hey mate good choice going with the m14x - i use it for very similar reasons (lots of travelling to and from Brisbane and use at uni) and it suits my need perfectly.

1) I got the Killer wireless card with mine but it was only an extra $20. Whether or not its actually better is arguable - according to some the software the killer card comes with is quite good

2) I used to have an m11x which needed its hinges replaced. They turned up within 2 days (at which time i was out) and even came to my uni to fix it so very good imo but i think this depends on your country (i live in Australia). You can add to your warranty (i only got 1 year) it will just be more expensive to add it later

3) I emailed the sales department (through a form on the alienware site) and they rang me a couple of hours later. They asked for me to save a cart with the build i wanted then email it to them. As i was a student i got 5% off and then they cut another $50 off of the price because i said i wouldnt be needing the on-site setup assistance. Also got some promotional Bose speakers thrown in. As to when is a good time there really is no way to know when they are going to be having promotions or sales on. I'm not sure what country your in but go to ur country's alienware page and see what's on at the moment

 

1)I would not get the killer wireless card, It acts up sometimes when you are heavily using bandwidth, Ive tried everything to try to fix it but it still does it. Other than some bugs with either the card or driver, the range is a lot better than my previous laptop and my wireless ping is anywhere from 5-20ms according to speedtest.net

2) the warranty is awesome, I love it. I recieved my laptop and two days later it started to act up, turns out it was the motherboard that was bad, Within 5 business days I had a brand new laptop sitting in front of me, no problems after that. I would recommend the advanced, and yes you can buy warranty later on, but it is a little more.

3) As for how to order, call them, dont email or chat, but call them. call and compare quotes from the different reps.

I was in the same boat as you, I always wanted an Alienware laptop and now that I am in college I was able to purchase my laptop and I am extremely happy, With all the promotions applied the laptop itself technically cost me 1200 w/o tax. Just keep calling, dont be in a rush and don't take the first quote they give you.

 

Thanks for the replies. I live in the US. Still on the fence about upgrading to the Killer wireless. I did read a post stating that if you have more upgrades on your system, a rep is more likely to help you out as far as giving you a lower quote. If this is true I'll probably get it.

 

pretty sure you can upgrade on your own, my man :]

 

I know. I meant that I read that a rep is more likely to give you a lower quote if you spend more on the laptop itself.

 

So I think it's finally time to retire my good old XPS m1730 and finally get something... portable... xD

At the moment I think about this setup.

Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM
Memory 6GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
Display Panels havent decided yey
Video Card 1 GB DDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with Optimus™
Hard Drive 750GB 7,200 RPM

sticking to basics on the ram/hdd I can change those quicker and cheaper myself - IF I'll ever need to do it.
I wont be using dual monitors or extreme resolutions so I dont think 2gb gpu is worth it. hell... I'm still playing on dual 8700gt's

the thing I'm worried the most is the screen, I have a great deal on 1366x768 resolution screen, but is it so much worse than 900p one?

 

really thinking of selling my desktop and M11x R1 and grabbing a best of both worlds laptop.

i love the battery life and portability of the M11x and the power of my desktop. so id hope to be some where in the middle. i could never see my self owning a 17" so i know i have to sacrifice some power in that respect.

1.what battery life are you guys seeing just browsing the web? (i dont ever really plan on gaming on battery power).

2.when gaming, do you find your self turning down the gfx setting a lot?

3.i plan to go with the i7-3610QM, 2Ggb 650m and the 720p screen. any reason you guys would suggest against that build?

thanks for any replies.

 

Hey i recently switched from an m11x r2 and the m14x r2 is leaps and bounds ahead in performance while still being quite portable. As for your questions:

1. This seems to vary between users but i can personally get up to 7 hours if i turn down all my settings. I use it at uni all day with no charger

2. Nope - in almost every game i play i have graphics maxed out (except SWOTR i turn Bloom off to get 60+ fps though if i could deal with a few less frames i could leave bloom on)

3. CPU - fine; GPU - fine (even the 1gb would suffice unless ur going to use multiple external monitors); LCD - I would go for the 900p personally especially if your going to be doing stuff that's not gaming. A higher resolution will just make ur life easier and look much nicer. If you have budget constraints, lower ur GPU and upgrade the screen

Hope this helps!

P.S. This is, of course, only my opinion. I know others will probably feel differently

 

1. About 7 hours and I never turn brightness all the way down so I could squeeze a little more out of it.

2. Nope, I max everything out.

3. 2GB on the video card isn't really necessary, I'd personally put that money towards a screen upgrade. I got the 720p screen and while it's OK (and not as bad as some people say it is IMO...but I'm not picky), I regret not upgrading. I only got the 720p screen because I was already over my budget .

 

I read through the thread here and did not see a discussion comparing the benefits of the 2x256gb ssd configuration against the single 512gb ssd. I believe I read the dual ssd's are 3gb/s the single ssd is 6gb/s. Does anyone know the model of the 512gb drive and how it performs vs the raid option?

 

thanks guys.

i was thinking smaller rez = higher fps @ native rez.

with that in mind you would still suggest the 1gb GFX card even for the higher rez pannel? i wouldnt be going multi monitor. worst case i may hook up to a 1080p TV and game on that when im home.

assuming the gfx is the bottelneck on these rigs have ppl noticed higher OCs on the 1Gb card VS the 2Gb?

thanks.

 

1&2: I haven't actually received my M14x yet, so I can't help you here. Most reviewers have battery tests, though.

3.
i7-3610QM is quite fine for a smaller "best of both worlds" machine for sure, if you're purely planning on gaming. If you intend to work it out for media, then the step up to the 3720QM is worthwhile. Otherwise keep the 3610QM.
As the last few posters offered, the 1GB GDDR5 GT650M should do the trick just fine. 2GB only matters if you're playing games at extreme resolutions on external (or multi-monitors), and even then the GT650M probably wouldn't be fast enough to push all those pixels. Few games these days are capable of utilizing more than a gigabyte of graphics memory, but there are examples such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Max Payne 3 that make me wish my GTX 560Ti had more than 1GB. Truth be told, large VRAM numbers are just marketing points nowadays. Look at how ignorant the average consumer is, I've had people thinking their 2GB HD5650 is more powerful than my GTX560Ti
Based on what I read around here, the 1366x768p panel option used by Alienware is of woeful quality, that belongs in a notebook a quarter the price. That alone, to me, is a meritable argument to avoid it. I also think having the 1600x900 resolution is better as the extra pixel density will be appreciable. I personally would have taken a 1080p option if there was one, but such notebook screens are rare. I wouldn't worry much about the extra pixels taxing the GT 650M. From what I've seen, it is apparently 15% faster in gaming than my existing MHD5870, which is driving a 1080p screen, acceptably, so the GT650M should have no trouble handling a 900p screen.

 

Hello guys

I currently have own M11X system with Samsung SSD PM800 2.5 2 and I am thinking of buying M14X.

I was hoping to swap the standard 500 GB Sata on M14X with SDD from M11X. I have contacted dell and the sales rep said it is not possible.

My question is if this actually true and if there is any way at all around this? Kind of a shame if I cannot use the SDD...

Thank you in advance.

PS: actually after unscrewing my laptop and checking hdd replace videos for M14X... the size and the plugin slots seems the same. I am really not sure why sales rep would say it is not possible..

 

The sales rep are dumb folks and all trained to extract every bit of your penny from you. They will always tell you nothing works and to buy everything brand new. THEY WORK ON COMMISSION...DUHHHHHHHH.

You can swap over your ssd since it is 2.5mm and will fit in the slot using sata hook ups. You might only have a sata II ssd and would benefit from a sata III due to speed but in reality even a sata II is 10x better than mechanical 500gb HD. I would move over the ssd and swap the hd over to m11x and MAKE SURE YOU DO A CLEAN INSTALL ON BOTH DRIVES. Dump the sales rep and find another one and make sure you get 10-15% off the price and 25% off after gift cards, discounts and freebies.

 

Hi Faiz

I really appreciate your answer, thanks for your help!

 

Hi all
i am new to this, i have just orderd my first alienware sytem and i am super excited!!
ii have the below configuration for £991.70, I would like your thoughts on the specs and the price... just let me know what you think, is there anything i need to do to make the system better (i.e install more update drivers, remove some unwanted programms) any how here we go:
Alienware M14x : Standard Base
Processor : Intel Core i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Display: 14.1in Widescreen High Definition + (1600x900) WLED with TrueLife
Free Flight Promotion. I approve Dell passing personal data to TLC Marketing
Camera : Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital microphones
LCD Back Cover : M14x Nebula Red
Placemats : Placemats (Eng, Fre, Ger, Ita, Dut)
Resource DVD : Alienware M14x
Ship Accessory : Western Europe Docs (EN, FR, IT, GER, DUT)
Memory : 8192MB (2x4096) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Hard Drive : 500GB 7,200rpm SATA 6Gb/s HDD
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including software
Power Supply : Alienware 150W AC Adapter
Power Cord : UK 220V
Battery : Primary 8-cell 63W/HR LI-ION
Graphics : 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
Sound Card : Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Wireless : Killer Wireless-N 1202
Keyboard : Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Operating System : English Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Software : Datasafe Local 2.0 Basic
Software : Dell Support Center 3.0
Avatar : Alienhead 3D
Wallpaper : Alienware 3D Wallpaper
Anti Virus : Not Included
TimeZone : (GMT + 00.00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
AlienFX Colour : Mars Red
No Warranty Upgrade
Standard Service - 1 year of Next Business Day coverage included with your PC
No Accidental Damage Protection
Alienware M14x Order
XPS- System Only