Alienware 17 Pre-Purchase Questions

I am about to purchase an Alienware 17 and had a couple quick questions before I pull the trigger.

1) Is there any reason NOT to order from Amazon? Shipping is much quicker and the price is similar. I just don't want to bite myself on support or warranty.

2) 5400 rpm hybrid drive vs. 7200 rpm drive - I've read TONS of articles, but wanted to get one last opinion. I may add an SSD myself down the road, but my price point doesn't allow me to have Dell add it at this time (I'm going a lower-end on the 17 line). Is there any significant performance or power consumption differences I should be aware of?

3) I am looking to take this machine to board meetings on occasion (I know, I know), and it seems that I could turn flip over to integrated graphics easily to conserver battery power. Is that a fair assessment? Any other ways extend the battery life a bit? I am well aware that this is not a portable, high battery life machine. I'm just hoping it will function adequately rather than need to purchase a second machine.

4) Does anyone have any experience with a port replicator or dock for the 17s? My primary location allows for an external monitor, mouse/keyboard, hard wired LAN. Ideally, I'd like to make that dock/undock process as simple as possible. That is pretty low priority, but since I was typing, I thought I'd ask.

5) I'm struggling with terminology... are m17x and 17 basically the same at a high level? I've seen R1, R2, etc. How to those come into play? Are accessories (batteries, power supplies, etc.) compatible will the entire "17" lineup? It's hard for me to tell what applies to the new machine that I would be getting vs. the older models.

Thanks in advance for your assistance. I'm getting quite pumped for my new purchase!

 

For future reference: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...estions-order-status-discussion-part-5-a.html

1. No, it's fine. The warranty starts from the date of purchase through Amazon.

2. Power consumption will be similar between the two. You should go for the 750GB + 80GB Cache SSD combo.

3. You should be able to get a good 4-5 hours on the iGPU (while working). You can also disable all of the lights during meetings to avoid distractions, as much as possible with such a machine. Either way, you will attract attention. The new Alienware machines stand out no matter what you do.

4. Not sure what you're referring to for this question. You will be able to run external peripherals, up to 2 external monitors when utilizing the mini-display port. There are USB adapters that allow you to connect monitors, but I've never used them before. All of the USB ports are 3.0 SuperSpeed ports. The HDMI is an "IN/OUT" port.

5. The system you're looking to buy is known as the Alienware 17 - there's no "m" or "x" in this new lineup. The R1/R2 stands for "Release 1, Release 2" etc. The previous generation components (with the exception of the GPU and some other minor components) will not work as this generation was completely redesigned. But the design should be the same for at least two more years, so you can expect upgradeability to be a breeze. The Alienware 17 is the first release of this new refreshed generation, so technically it's the "Alienware 17 R1" - still no "m" or "x", though.

 

Thanks Dre! And thanks for not making fun of me for planning to bring this tank to an off-site meeting

For question 4, I was talking about a device that I could plug all my peripherals into and then plug a single connection into at USB3 port or similar. I know Dell doesn't make a dedicated docking station for these, but I thought there might be someone with experience with a third party device that worked well. I'm just trying to avoid plugging/unplugging a bunch of loose connections every time I wanted to move the unit. It's a complete vanity request

 

A comment to question 2. The 5400rpm hd from dell has 32mb cache. Most laptop hard drives have 8-16mb. So theoretically the 32mb is faster, even if 5400rpm.

 

We don't have any specific ones for the Alienware 17 but you can search online for a peripheral that would fulfill your needs.