Alienware M17x Build specs help.

I'm trying to make an Alienware at the cost of $1899.99.
However I'm not a genius when it comes to laptops or computers.
Here are my questions, does it matter if I get the upgrade from i7-3630 3.4 GHz to i7-3740 3.7 GHz and have 8GB Ram with Killer N Wireless but downside is I'll only have 500GB Hard Drive.
Or should I keep it to i7-3630 3.4GHz get the regular Intel Centrino Wireless and have 1TB Hard Drive and 12 GB Ram and sacrifice the Wireless and downgrade the i7 processor? Keep in mind they'll both still be $1899.99 after, so far I'm leaning towards the 1TB Hard Drive and 12 GB Ram but I want an experts or someone that knows about computer's opinion.

Thanks in advance.

 

What graphics card and screen options do you have? I personally would go upgrade those as much as possible since those two options are the most important parts of a gaming laptop. Pretty much everything else can be purchased after market. (RAM, Hard Drives, Processors, and the killer card etc.)

 

Well... I'm trying to stay as low as possible due to budget, so I'm sticking with the Nvidia 660m and I upgraded the screen options to 1920x1080 which they are both the same, the only difference is just the GHz, Wireless connections, Hard Drive and Ram. Is Hard Drive and Ram more important than the 0.3 GHz upgrade and the extra Wireless connections card? Is it worth it to upgrade the Intel Centrino wireless card into a Killer Wireless card or does it not make much of a difference with WiFi?

 

Your gonna want to get the 7970m if you can over everything else minus the screen. It is wayyyy more powerful than the 660m so your machine will last a lot longer and be able to play games at max settings. As to RAM, you shouldn't need more than 6-8 gigs for gaming/normal usage (games usually can't use more than 4 gigs anyway). The stock processor is more than powerful (my paltry base sandy bridge CPU still does pretty well, and the 3630qm is quite a bit more powerful). Hard Drive space comes down to personal need/preference. When it comes to the wireless card, the killer card is definitely a nice card to have, but not a game changer. Hope this helps!!

 

As Bigtony said, the most important parts are the video card and display screen. If you're planning on using the computer for gaming then you will likely not be happy with the 660m nor will you be happy with 1600 X 900 resolution display. I'd bypass any other upgrades to get those and then as funds permit buy the other items and upgrade down the road.

 

Alright, thank you very much for your replies, btw if I were to upgrade my Alienware laptop, do I have to send to Dell? Or can I do it at any other place that does computer upgrades?

 

Also what about the Nvidia GTX 675m? Since it's $50.00 more and is the upgrade to 7970 for $200 worth it?

 

the 675m is a decent card, but its a rebrand from the last gen. The 7970m is quite a bit faster than that card as well, but if you can't afford it, you can't afford it.

 

Well I made a few changes and managed to fit in a 7970m thanks to your advice! Dropped back down to 500GB Hard Drive and 8 GB Ram. However I do have room to change to a 675m but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra $50, I don't mind spending an extra $50 but if the 7970m better somehow I'd rather save the money. But so far, thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

The 675 is a rebranded 580 I believe, and the 7970m is roughly as powerful as 2 of the 580's in SLI mode so I would say that's the route you want to go for sure.

 

Thank you so much, I'm glad I'm part of Notebook Review, you two have been so helpful so far.
If I have any more questions I'll definitely ask for help!

 

675m is basically the flagship card from the 500 series (gtx 580m). here is a comparison I found between the two cards. The 7970m is much much faster despite being cheaper.

675M vs 7970M

Edit: and welcome to the alienware club

 

This is a great place to learn believe me. I know next to nothing compared to a lot of the folks around here and most of what I do know I learned the hard way. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and just learn to ignore the "do a search" comments that you'll surely end up getting when you do ask some questions.

Another option you may want to consider is the marketplace here on NBR. There are some great deals to be had, for instance I'm picking up am M17 from a member with the 680m and 3d screen for far less than I could get it new from Dell.

 

Quick question i'm looking at getting a 680m is it really worth it price wise over the 7970 tests show them pretty closely matched .
Thanks!

 

In my experience, if you can afford it then it's worth it just for the ease of driver updates. That being said, once you have stable drivers installed, the AMD video cards run neck and neck with the Nvidia cards from a performance perspective. Any game you can play on the 680 will play equally well on the 7970, it's all in whether you have the patience, time, and knowledge to work with the AMD drivers to get them working properly. A lot of folks on here with that knowledge that will help you if you need it.

 

Thanks Slim ! I kind of knew just wanted reassurance on what i had read i guess seems a crazy premium just for easy drivers lol... but considering screen , GPU , CPU are the 3 main things im upgrading as i buy seems ok !