Alienware M17x R4 Pre-Order Configuration Questions... Ask HERE

Hey guys , I'm not very savvy with computers and after researching quite a while about what I want , I choose this laptop and decided to go with the new 3d bundle from reading this thread :

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/664179-wondering-if-r4-comes-3dv2-3.html

I choose to go with these specs : M17x-R4 | 3820QM | GTX 675M | 250gb SSD/1Tb HD | 120 Hz 3d Vision | Killer Wireless-N 1103 | Win 7 Pro

I took these specs from the member : MickyD1234 , from the thread above^

What I am asking is are these the right specs for a person who wants to use it for school , media and games or is it too much ?

Thanks loads

Hey guys , I'm not very savvy with computers and after researching quite a while about what I want , I choose this laptop and decided to go with the new 3d bundle from reading this thread :

Wondering if the R4 comes with 3dV2?

I choose to go with these specs : M17x-R4 | 3820QM | GTX 675M | 250gb SSD/1Tb HD | 120 Hz 3d Vision | Killer Wireless-N 1103 | Win 7 Pro

I took these specs from the member : MickyD1234 , from the thread above^

What I am asking is are these the right specs for a person who wants to use it for school , media and games or is it too much ?

Thanks loads

 

you could've post in this thread instead:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-order-configuration-questions-ask-here.html

 

I would change the 3820QM to the 3610QM and the GTX 675M to 680M.

 

hey guys, I'm a noob in building laptops , can you guys tell me if this is a good spec and can you try to save me some money because this is too much. Thanks and btw I'm getting the premium win 7 because I can change it later free at home.

Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM processor
8GB Dual
GeForce® GTX 680M
1TB 5,400 RPM SATA 3Gb/s
17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 120Hz NVIDIA 3D Vision Bundle
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0
Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Edit: I want the 3d bundle with it , I was just wondering if the 680 is needed.

 

Hmm, I'm a noob too, however, I think you might want a 7200 RPM hard drive to say the least. I think 5400RPM is reallly old or something. Also If you want to save money you can get the stock ram, and upgrade by buying cheaper memory from newegg.com. Im not so sure about how the processors stack up against each other though so I cannot give any input on that.

-Also how can you get the upgrade on your OS?

 

[QUE=xtremeguy;8711865]hey guys, I'm a noob in building laptops , can you guys tell me if this is a good spec and can you try to save me some money because this is too much. Thanks and btw I'm getting the premium win 7 because I can change it later free at home.

Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
3rd Generation Intel® Core

 

Do not get a GTX 675M because it is basically a GTX 580M. Get a GTX 680M if you have your heart set on Nvidia. But dont ever get a 660m because it almost defeats the purpose of owning an alienware...

 

Anyways this is what it was spose to be

 

^agreed.

the 675m is last gen technology and about HALF the power of the 7970m and costs MORE (according to Alienware). If you have your heart set on 3D go with the 680m, I know its pricey but you are futureproof. If you go with the 675 you are already behind and this is with a brand new laptop. If you can get over the 3D thing and want it to affordable with top of the line performance get the 7970m.

 

+1 ...I agree that the 680 is a better investment.

 

yes the r4 120Hz screen supports 3dv2/lightboost

and i would change your cpu/gpu to 3720qm and 680m... like mine

 

+1 to this as well. The 680m will future proof your system a lot more than the processor upgrade.

 

I need the 3d bundle with it

 

depends on how long you want the system to last as well as what you are going to be doing with it. If you doing intense 3d gaming, I'd get the 680m at all costs as it is the best card you can get in for that. I personally would just get the stock 500gb hard drive as its faster and you can always add another hard drive as the computer has an empty bay and caddy. I would also drop the system down to 6gb of ram as 8gb is not really necessary for gaming. Hope this helps

 

Thanks for helping , but would 6 gb ram be enough for all the 3d movies and gaming ? I know i can add more later.

 

is an mSata necessary? Is it just cashe?

 

I think it depends on the size mSATA drive you get and also how it is setup.

Yes that should be enough as far as I know. I haven't had any issues with any of the games I play and I only have 4gb.

 

Hi, The msata port is simply another sata drive interface - designed around the small size of ssd's. AW use it for a caching ssd if you purchase one (this is in the RAID firmware and is not drive dependent). So it can be used for any msata SSD either as a caching drive in combination with a mechanical drive or a standalone ssd drive.
In effect you could (and I have seen someone that has) have 3 SSD's in a single RAID0 drive.
Be aware though that the msata port is sata 2 so runs a little slower - not really that noticable (when I was 'fixing' my R3) in use.

 

It's a good spec, however I HIGHLY recommend getting the 680m, the 675m is the worst of the card options. Reduce your processor to the 3720QM, and hard drive size a bit... do whatever you must to budget the 680m. You will not regret it.

And yes, it does come with 3D Vision 2

The mSATA cache means your Hard Drive is a Hybrid HDD... meaning after some use it speeds up a lot by caching your most used files. If you can't get an SSD and have to stick with a Hard Drive I would highly suggest you get it with the mSATA cache doesn't cost much more but you'll appreciate the performance.

6GB RAM is definitely enough, 3D movies is not a problem for RAM, and no games utilize more than 4GB of RAM... If you are going to be multi-tasking WHILE gaming, then I would suggest more RAM.

But do that later, the main concern is getting the best GPU... RAM upgrades come super cheap and easy later.

680m DEFINITELY. That is one solid spec you got there.

But do NOT get a 5,400 rpm hard drive. Those are from the stone age.

SSD > Hybrid HDD > 10,000rpm HDD > 7,200rpm HDD > 5,400rpm HDD

It barely costs anything to get a 7,200rpm (and do you really even need 1TB?)
If possible, I would suggest getting a 7,200rpm Hybrid HDD (with the mSATA cache) Those come as a relatively cheap but valuable upgrade. But depends on budget, minimum get a 7,200rpm Hard Drive.

 

Mine is going to have the 7200rpm 500g / 32g caching drive in it....

I'd second that if you want 120htz 3d then you must grab the 680m. You'll want to be running the games as fast as possible at the highest details and the other cards won't do it as well as the 680m.

I have another week or so to wait for my delivery but while i do i'm going to be looking into the chance of getting it running on my optoma HD65 projector, hopefully without the 3dxl add on.

I'll keep you all posted.....

 

Hi guys, I know this has been asked before. What's the best ram for the laptop again? Might want to upgrade after I get the laptop. Appreciate a specific brand recommendation, thanks. Corsair Vengeance? (2 x 8GB) ?

 

My opinion...

I am ordering from Hidevolution.com

My 2 options:
1866MHz 16GB Kingston HyperX (4DIMMS) aka. 4x4GB sticks
1600MHz 16GB Corsair Vengeance (2DIMMS) aka. 2x8GB sticks

As far as I know, the Intel CPU's don't natively support 1866MHz RAM... and there's zero noticeable difference between 1600 and 1866. Therefore I would choose 1600MHz.
I read that using 2DIMM slots (2 sticks) is more stable and easier for the CPU memory controller than 4DIMM slots (4 sticks).

So in conclusion I would suggest you get 1600MHz RAM... and as few DIMM slots as possible. So if you are planning on 16GB, get 2x8GB 1600MHz.

And Corsair Vengeance is a bit cheaper than HyperX I think. No performance difference between RAMs though. Pick according to budget, but 1600Mhz is good, and the fewer sticks it takes to get that, the better.

 

is raid 0 necessary? i was gonna get a ssd boot drive and then a hybrid for storage

 

Should work just fine.

 

Sweet, thanks for that. Just made the order for CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10 DDR3. I'll probably sell the RAM that comes with the machine once I get it.

 

Not necessary at all, and I suggest against it. SSDs use this thing called TRIM, I'm not sure exactly what it is. But they are unable to use TRIM when in Raid 0 which as far as I've read cause the SSDs to lose some performance over time.

Just keep them separate, both are excellent drives.

 

so i read up on it and i think it makes all your data more secure, and maybe adds to the reading performance however writing performance is decreased

 

Nope Raid 1 makes your data more secure, as it practically duplicates your files so if one hard drive fails the other one is safe with your data.

Raid 0 does the opposite, as by splitting your data between the two.. if one fails, you lose your stuff.

It does make speeds a lot faster in some cases as it can simultaneously fetch half of something from one drive, and the other half from the other drive. However with SSDs you lose TRIM (whatever it is.. google it), which results in decreased performance after some time.

So for SSDs, it is best to just keep them separate for more security, maintaing drive speed and functionality.

 

ohh okay i get it. yeah i wont be getting the raid0. i also think im going with the AMD 7970. i just realized i live about 3 minutes away from their headquarters LOL. but i read many reviews that said the 7970 is on par with the 680m. i dont think an extra $300 is worth the extra battery life ect...

 

680m is newer just wait til awesome Nvidia drivers come out.. But yeah if you don't want 3D then the 7970m is great.

 

Hi,
i was wondering if anyone saw this and could help me with this?

Regards Sam

 

Thanks for helping me everyone!

 

TRIM support is dependent on the driver of the RAID controller, but generally speaking, TRIM is supported in RAID, now. Intel controllers absolutely support RAID TRIM.

It is garbage collection. Data on magnetic drives can simply be overwritten, but data on SSDs must first be deleted before new data can be written. TRIM physically deletes data during idle time. By waiting, performance is improved under load.

 

any clue when the 7990 is coming out?
would it be the drivers that determine the benchmarks?

 

Don't think 7990m or 690m are coming out for a long time. And new drivers often if not always improve performance at least by a bit.

Are you entirely sure about that. Just did a quick google and I'm unsure if it would work with all SSDs or just Intel?
SSDs are already fast enough there are no real world benefits with using Raid 0.. and if one drive fails, you lose everything

RAID 0 of SSDs: Two Kingston HyperX 120 GB SSDs vs. Kingston HyperX 240 GB SSD. Page 4 - X-bit labs

Could you please link me with something to get more information on SSD Raid 0?

 

Well, it was supposed to come in Q2 2012...but I'm having trouble finding a download for it.

Intel adding TRIM support for SSDs in RAID 0 with RST 11.5 - TechSpot News

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Inte...o-SSDs-with-RST-11-5-11-6-Driver-249504.shtml


Well...this link is from 2010 and says it was enabled in 9.6.

http://www.techpowerup.com/118152/New_Intel_Chipset_Drivers_Bring_TRIM_Support_for_RAID_Setups.html

Looky here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ology-11-1-0-1006-ssd-raid0-trim-support.html

And here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...llation-questions-troubleshooting-thread.html

Members of this forum currently running RAID 0 with TRIM. I personally plan to stick with AHCI, one SSD and one HDD, but it can be done.

 

Any discounts out there ?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/456885-aw-dell-ordering-advice-how-save.html

 

Thank-you!

 

Read the first page, then read the last few pages of the thread, it should give you a good idea of what to expect and who to contact for reps.

 

+1, Follow up replies!

 

Gents,

About to order an m17x r4 and I'm undecided which gpu to order with it...

Just looking for a bit of advice, I mainly play cod, bf3 and crysis 2' sky rim at the moment...

Just can't make my mind up which will give me the best performance..

Thanks alot

Ian

 

Best performance -> 680m, better price/value -> 7970m. And the difference in performance is not that big, like 5900 to 6300 in 3DMark11 stock (no OC).

 

680M is marginally better, but costs a fair bit more. 7970M has some...ahem driver issues right now. Once the driver issue gets ironed out the difference in most games in indistinguishable. Again 7970M is a much better value for the money.

 

Also 3D on the 680m...
Price difference though is shocking compared with performance.

 

i have yet to found any problems due to drivers on any game with my 7970m. unless you're in CF mode (not an option for m17x), or you're trying to overclock and even overvolt, then again i heard Dell locks the 680m overclocking ability.
so in the end 680m would be more problematic to OC.

also i almost believe that ppl are destined to use either amd or nvidia but not both lol. why? because i've got 2 fried nvidia desktop cards which are the only 2 i ever bought (expensive too), while i have fully intact and still up and running ati/amd cards (6 in total now including the 7970m)
a friend of mine mostly crash and burned most of his ati/amd cards and swear by nvidia.
so whats your destined card? lol

 

Hey so now I have a question

Could somebody with an M17x and 120Hz 3D Vision please answer this..

What effect does the 120hz screen have on non-3D gameplay. Every where I read it says that it makes it more smooth, especially at 120fps, and its overall just amazing. And I know this is true,

But I would like an m17x user's opinion and experience with the 120hz screen appreciate it

 

Kinda difficult to say from the 'other' perspective of only having had 120hz models! I think it looks very smooth but there's so many factors. Downside is tying into nvidia but I like it

 

I have no problem tying into Nvidia

Just know that since it's refreshing 120 times per second, instead of 60, the image should look SUPER smooth at 120fps. But it also apparently makes even 40fps look smoother than it would on a 60hz screen because it is refreshing each frame 3 times, creating a sort of illusion of more smoothness, and reducing chances of a frame not showing on the screen especially if its at 70fps for example.

I hear it is fantastic in fast paced FPS games, so I'd like to hear how much of an improvement it has been for people, how is the response time, and does it help games that run at lower fps.

 

Yup, all the math says it should be better but then again the video boffins say that people can't possibly see a difference between 60hz and 120hz
FPS in some older games does peg out at 120hz , super smooth - but since this must be because nothing is being 'stressed' it's difficult to judge.

MP3 on max settings runs around the 40 mark and is very smooth but you'll need to find someone that has the same hardware config that has tried both displays for a good comparison - it's all very subjective without...

Good luck with whatever you choose