Atrociously lousy R4 specs - what are my options?

Heh so I was contemplating replacing my R3 with an R4 considering the mSATA port and all, and I realised that if I were to upgrade it would pretty much be a downgrade looking at the available options:

New! Alienware M17x Full HD 3D Gaming Laptop Details | Dell Singapore

HDD - max 5400rpm (like )
No 3D
No customised nameplate
etc.

Now really should my laptop fail for some reason and Dell choose to replace with a new laptop, wouldn't I be stuck? (the m18x is NOT available here and so it is impossible to haggle a replacement 'upgrade' by moving to the 18x)

Any thoughts?

 

Strange, I see this for HDD

Display

Customisable

It's here: http://www.dell.com/sg/p/alienware-m17x-r4/pd in tech specs

 

660M beats out 460/560M, in fact faster than older 480M.

But wow 3600 USD for M17xR4..

 

That's the Singapore site, you nut... The entire world ain't inside the US!

Ontopic: I found Dell India offers to be disgusting and opted for the option of having an Alienware M17x ordered from Dell USA (shipped by PowerNotebooks) and it turned out to be much much cheaper and more powerful than anything remotely available here.. @OP, Perhaps you too could consider this alternative.

 

Hmm I meant inside the configuration, did you click to configure? The options are all gone once you enter the configurator :/

Actually I wasn't referring to the purchase of a new one, more what happens IF mine were to spoil... which I kinda see happening sooner or later given the lack of incidents for a whole year on this one :|

My luck, you know, has never been too good with these stuff... ALL my hard disks fail within 1-2 years, my previous alienware had a HDD that died while I was freaking overseas, and after they changed that HDD (and turned it on without wiping the replacement HDD) the old command center fried my lightboard... and then when they replaced my mobo well things started happening and finally they gave me my current 17x. I paid for the 3D.

 

The configurator seems to have a basic selected option of the 750GB 7200rpm drive. I see no option for 3D although the 1080p screen is a standard. You can get a nameplate by calling in, I'm pretty sure of that. All you have to do is give them your service tag.

As for getting a bad unit... well you can get lucky or unlucky with any electronic product for that matter. It would be stupid to say Dell / Alienware specifically makes it part of their agenda to inconvenience customers, lol. If anything, Dell has a better support system in Southern Asia compared to say India for that matter since it is a bigger market. If you get a DOA unit, which is very unlikely, Dell is obligated to replace it for you. Give them hell for the inconvenience, maybe they'll give you a backpack or something to appease you But that said, why would you have trouble? If you are so concerned about this, it would be better not to go for it if you think you will regret it.

That said, $3700 is ridiculously high for this machine. Try to source it from the US or Europe even, or look for a good reseller // websites like powernotebooks or HIDevolution.

EDIT: Also XoticPC (I know Prasad will recommend this ) but I don't know if they ship to Singapore. Take a look at your options.

 

They ship worldwide.. And Justin is extremely helpful at finding you the best possible shipping option via UPS.

 

I faced the lack of a nameplate issue with my 15x, there was nothing they could do about it. The nameplate functionality came about with the R3 but now they have removed it once more.

Actually 3700 is in SGD, would be around 2900 USD. I popped around xoticPC, their prices come around the 2.8k mark, and factoring into account the 7% import tax we levy here AND the shipping, may not exactly be worth it... :/

Any idea of the costs roughtly? I remember having a hell high shipping cost just for shipping books. Also, is the shipping by ship or air? (have a really bad experience with shipping, got something shipped and it took 8 freaking weeks to arrive :/)

 

From what I have seen the builds are country specific (or at least there are serious inconsistencies with the Dell sites) so if you can find the option to purchase in the US this will be the best way to go.

Dell seem to be trying to cut costs on the AW brand and IMO are ruining the 'credo'. The nameplate customization was never available in the UK and now they have changed the wording on it removing the 'built for' bit. Also they dropped the hat, spongy alienhead sticker, and SPDIF convertor in the R4 that I got with the R3. Not a big issue and Dell probably think that nobody will notice but it's the little things that make AW special

 

Aww no, that S/PDIF converter was, if i remember correctly, the source of hell for many of us here. But yeah I concur with all the niceties. Even better was the leather jacketed instruction manual that came with the 15/17x R2s.

 

It would vary greatly from location to location. Perhaps you should contact XoticPC and get a quotation..

 

Wasn't aware of that but from what I saw it was about the thing not switching correctly? It's still there but they make you purchase a dongle aftermarket if you want to output optical

Yeah, I got one of those bound manuals with an MX18, very purdy

 

@ denogun Can you post the specs of the system you're looking to purchase, so we can run a comparison of prices here and decide what's best for you?