Advice - M17x R3

Hiya! I'm a soon-to-be owner of a M17x R3. I'm just looking for some input on something.

Now, I can afford two configuration options. A 6970m with 900p Screen and everything on stock. My other configuration option is a 6870m with a 1080p screen and Bluray drive.

The 6970m appeals to me because I'd like to be able to max out future games as well as current ones. The only downside is the screen. The 6870m should be good too, right? If I'm not mistaken, it's just a 5870 with slower clocks, or something like that. The 1080p screen would be sweet and the bluray player would be great too. I'd be able to make good use with the HDMI-In with that 1080p screen.

The games that I'll be playing on this are: Vindictus, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Guild Wars 2, Battlefield 3
Stuff like that. I know that you guys can't give me a definite answer on Skyrim, GW2, or BF3, but I'd like your opinion on running that.

I'm sure the 6970m can blow those(Excuse the unreleased ones) games out of the water. Will the 6870m do that too?

Still can't decide whether to buy the 6970m w/ stock stuff or buy the 6870m with all those other goodies.

Any and all input on this will greatly be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

6970M+900P Screen seems like a waste of money to me because 6970m will be overkill

You can upgrade the optical drive later on but replacing 6870m with 6970m will be expensive unlike just adding a Bluray

So i say Get m17xr3+6970m+1080p screen and leave the Bluray for a future upgrade since it's easily changed unlike the card or the screen

6970m is the main point of m17xr3 if you want 6870m many other laptops can handle it.

Battlefield 3 will be very demanding game maxed out and remember 6970m is twice as fast as single 6870m according to anandtech review

plus if you got other bluray players you can use the HDMI In to watch bluray on your laptop but i myself prefer to watch 1080p movies on my big HDTV

You will be happy with 6970m+1080p screen (killer combo) and if you call Dell they usually drop 100$ easily when you upgrade your laptop over basic configuration

if you plan to play with maxed out settings and 1080p this chart will give you an idea about 6870 vs 6970m (6870 is a little bit slower than GTX460 but almost identical)


As you see battlefield 2 already demand a lot of GPU power to play it maxed out in 1080p and Battlefield 3 looks much better visually so you will need that 6970m

 

Thanks for the fast reply. I think I'll give Dell a call a bit later and see if I can get any discounts with the 6970m and 1080p combo. It'd be sweet if I could. Thanks again for the reply!

 

6970m is actually a downclocked desktop 6850 1gb. Games will probably dip into the 30s at times on newer games maxed out, but certainly playable and still smooth overall.

 

Basically think about the things that are easily user upgradeable such as HDD, optical drive, ram and then think about the things that arent so easy to upgrade after and cost ALOT more (such as the screen)

If you went for the 6970m and paired it with the low res 900 screen, I think you wouldnt be doing yourself ANY favours.

Keep the system as stock as possible but ensure you get the better screen when you buy. If you can stretch to the 6970m and the 1080p screen then thats what I would be going for.

If you cant afford that config atm, I would hold off and save up a bit more....

Get the basics right at the start and you can then upgrade the optical drive, ram and HDD after you have the system and have saved up to do them....they will work out alot cheaper than Dell prices to buy at the outset.

Just my two pennies.....