Buy an M17x R3 or wait until the R4

Hey guys a couple a of months ago I asked all of you, if I should take the jump for a R3. Unfortunately some stuff happened in my personal life and I didn't order the Alienware. However now details are surfacing about the R4. What do u guys think I should do ? Just finally order the laptop or be a bit patient and wait for ivy bridge and a gtx 680??

 

I don't believe in waiting for new technology (unless it is right around the corner), otherwise you'll always be waiting and not enjoying hardware. Unless we have a hard date of when the R4 will be arriving, it's vaporware, IMO.

Get the R3 and when the R4 release date is verified as approaching, sell the R3 to fund your purchase of the R4.

 

go ahead and buy the r3. you can sell but you probably won't get near what you paid for it so it may not be worth selling after you buy unless you get a good deal from the dell outlet. you should be very happy with your r3.

 

Waiting for the M17x R4 is a total waste of time. Ivy Bridge has been delayed, and even when it releases it will not be perceptibly faster, maybe 5-10%, the only way to tell will be with benchmarks.

To make matters worse, the new mobile graphics cards are just re-badges. The new 675m, which will be the top-end card in the R4 is just a re-branded 580m, it literally has the exact same specs. If you need a computer, do yourself a favor and stop waiting.

 

I agree, get a loaded-to-the-gills R3 from Dell Outlet, better if it has an extended warranty. I'm so enjoying my R3.

If and when the R4 comes and it's compelling, sell the R3 for little loss. There'll be lots of scrambling R1 and R2 owners.

BTW: RAM, CPU and HDD/SSD upgrades from the OEM are always much more expensive than to buy your own elsewhere and install yourself. Just make sure you get the screen, optical drive, LAN/Wifi/Bluetooth and graphics (AMD/Nvidia) options of your choice.

 

lets wait and see...i'm not convinced yet about the 675m being a complete rebrand/rename of the 580m. THis will be a major fail for nvidia. I know the 78xx/79xx from amd will be new parts.

 

Nvidia does this all the time with new cards. A lot of the time the new version is slightly higher clocked but used the exact same base.

About Ivy brigde. The executive vice-president of intel has told the financial times it will be delayed until june. Mobile processors probably will be delayed even further..

source

 

I too read that AMD and Nvidia were going to do the rebrand thing this year. It was something to do with the next semiconductor line width not being production ready until late in the year. They are retooling but the yields are very bad still. Therefor both companies are playing the name game. What I read only referred to the midrange and low end cards. I think I saw that on Toms Hardware. I will try to find the article.

Edit: I saw it on Anandtech. http://www.anandtech.com/show/5200/...-7000m-and-nvidias-geforce-600m-mobile-gpus/2 This is one of the reasons I went ahead with my R3 purchase last month instead of waiting for the R4.

 

Go for the R3, it is an awesome machine!

 

Well Nvidia is confirmed for all rebrands except for the 680m, which they haven't even given a release window yet, but will most likely be like the last 4 months of this year.

AMD will have more new chips, but we know the 78XXm are based off the 77XX Desktop chips, and the desktop chips don't come close to the 580m, so the new mobile ones won't either. The 79xxm is going to use 78xx desktop, and MAY beat the 580m, or it might not, either way it isn't exactly close to release and it won't be revolutionary in any sense.

At this point, people are looking at 4-6 months of waiting minimum (just for Ivy Bridge), and chances are at launch the new R4 will have parts that are exactly the same or slower than the current R3. Late this year the R4 will get some nice upgraded parts, but who wants to wait up to a whole year for maybe a 30% improvement?

It is also worth noting that Nvidia wouldn't do rebrands unless it was confident they would compete. My guess is that Nvidia feels extremely confident that the new chips that AMD is releasing to compete with the 675m simply won't beat it, or not by much, and then Nvidia will release the 680m later once AMD also brings out the big guns (7990m).

 

I highly doubt that, R2 owners have dual cards some with 6990's I own both and I still use my R2 much more significantly then I use my R3. Dual GPU, Metal, RGB-LED. More then likely I'll pick up an R4 as well in the near future and guess what? Yea I'll still be using my R2 system .

 

You have probably considered it by the M18x is really the laptop designed for your segment of the market. The M17x was redesigned with the R3 to be a lot more portable, Optimus, 5+ hours battery, surprisingly light and thin. The only reason I purchased an M17x R3 was because of the redesign, the R2 held no interest to me at all.

The M18x is really the R2's successor, metal chassis, duel GPUs, etc. It sounds to me like you don't really want what the new M17x is offering, you want what the M18x offers.

 

He should be able to get at *least* half of what he paid for his R3 to upgrade to his next machine. Computers typically aren't good investments anyways...no one should be looking at recouping 100% of what they spent on initial purchase (although I've seen some Macs selling at absurd prices).

 

Interestingly enough, I just sold my 2 year old M11x on eBay for $650. I bought it at launch with discounts and spent less than $1000 total shipped with tax. I just sold it 2 years later for more than half what I bought it for.

Alienware seems to hold its value pretty well.

 

I guess having a well-sorted out AW after 2 years is highly valued compared to playing Russian roulette with the reliability of a brand new one - you could have a winner or a complete dud. lol

 

The true question would be to buy a M18x or a M17X R3.

Wait to a R4 is not a option.

 

I just ordered an M17x R3 on Sunday and now selling my M14x. I don't believe in waiting for the next best thing as there will always be a next best thing.

Here's to hoping my new M17x will last at least 2 years

 

If dual video cards are important to you, get an M18x; otherwise, an M17xR3 will serve most people best.

 

Thx for all the replies guys. The general concensssus is to to buy now makes sense. I'm wondering if any1 knows a way to get a discount through a rep. I live in Canada. I would definitely considering M17R3 vs M18 but with taxes it comes out costing a lot more

 

I have an m11x R1 sitting on the coffee table right now. I need to put that sucker on eBay. I only paid $550 for it at Christmas in 2010. I put more RAM and a bigger hard drive in it but I still don't think I have more than $700 in it.

 

@Loofalien, if you're going to purchase through Dell Outlet (where inventories of R3s appear to have dried out for now anyway) or otherwise buying a refurb from any number of eBay vendors, just set up a free account at the closest Kinek border location to you; have it shipped there and pick it up yourself if you're not located too far away.

 

That's because you can compare M17x R3 with M18x or even M11x with M14x, but there is no point to compare M14x with M17x R3.

 

@Superdave643 that sounds like a plan thx. I was thinking or ordering through alienware.ca. I thought it was possible to haggle a bit. Which might influence my decision between the M17xR3 and an M18. The truth is I might be way to greedy right now and should stick to the M17x R3

 

I wasn't trying to compare the M14x with the M17x. I was simply stating that I did not want to wait for the R4 so I chose the R3 now . I just included the bit about the M14x because I'm selling it to help offset the cost of the M17x.