Buying a M17X R3 HELP!

Hey everyone, this is the first time i'v done anything on here, s sorry if i break any rules or anything Anyway, im currently looking at buying a m17x r3 from the USA and having my dad pick it up from my cousins when he goes there next week.

btw, my budget is around $2000, give or take a bit.

So i need to know a few things:

1. Is a SSD really worth it?

2. Which processor should i get if i want the laptop to last me at least 3+ years?

3. Is the radeon 6990m much better than the gtx 560m?

4. Do I need the HD screen update

5. How much ram do i really need?

6. Is their anyway that I can get a decent discount on this laptop?

7. What is the usual shipping time?

I will be using this laptop for games (BF3, Skyrim, Borderlands 2 and ME3 when they are released) and i want to able to max them out with above average frame-rates. I will also be doing basic school work.

Thanks for the help

 

2000$ is a lot of money

everything depends on what you need/want.

SSD really speeds things up, great bang for the buck.

Graphics card, screen, and ram depend on what you need. The 6990 is great and highly recommended to be more "future proof" even though the 560 would still play most games great, especially if you saved money and opt to not get the HD screen

Are you looking to buy new or used? Can get great laptops used or refurbed from the dell outlet.

 

an ssd is definetly worth the money but i wouldn't get it through dell. you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere. really the cheapest I7 should do fine. the gtx 580 is having throttling issues right now so if you don't want the 3d screen i would go with the 6990. you can get the cheapest ram and upgrade by buying more from somewhere else. be cheaper that way.

 

Well i wouldn't mind getting one from an outlet as long as its in very good condition, but my dads going over to the us (im from australia so its like $500 cheaper) next week, and there doesn't seem to be any in stock

 

it will probably take more than a week for them to build it and ship it out. the inventory on the outlet changes constantly during the day so i would keep an eye on that.

 

Responses in bold. Good luck with your contemplated R3.

 

1. Yes, it is worth it, though I think Dell is using PM810 drives again, so you will be better to buy your own SSD, since the PM810 is really not worth the cost Dell charges for the upgrade. I would sacrifice a LOT to get an SSD, it just makes such a massive difference.

2. There really isn't much difference in real world performance. The 2760QM has a few extra features which might make it worth it (VT-D). However, even the lowest CPU will do fine, the difference between the fastest and slowest CPU is extremely minor and games are not CPU dependent anyway. Certainly not worth the cost of the upgrade if you don't need the extra features, and the highest end processor is basically never worth it.

3. Yes, it is MUCH better, it is an entire class above. If you want this to last 3 years you NEED to get the 6990m or the 580m for your GPU. The 580m is out of stock right now, but will probably be back in a few weeks, if you want Optimus or prefer Nvidia you may want to wait for it.

4. It is a bit personal preference, but I would say yes, absolutely, the screen is how you view everything on your laptop. You want the best possible to reduce eyestrain and give you a better experience.

5. This depends a bit, 8 gigs is fine. Right now they are having a sale to get 16gig for the price of 8, so I would just do it. $200 for 16 gigs of fast ram is a reasonable price, and installing ram in the 3rd and 4th DIMM is kind of a hassle (you have to remove the keyboard) so it likely wouldn't be worth it to try to do it yourself. With 16 gigs, especially if you get an SSD, you can completely disable page file which is very nice.

However, if you can't afford the $200 right now you could get the basic 4 gigs, then later add in another 8 gigs since you still have 2 free DIMMS. This would give you 12 gigs total which should be enough for 3 years easy and you could still disable page file safely.

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

Also, there is a constant $50 off coupon: BHW1L0MX0D?MCX

Finally, as I already mentioned Alienware is doing 16 gigs or ram for the price of 8, so that is an effective $200 off their normal prices if you take advantage of it.

7. It varies, you can see the current lead time while you are ordering (they give you an estimated ship date).

For your uses the 580m or 6990m are a must, the GPU is the biggest thing. You probably don't need VT-D, so just get the base CPU. You can decide on the ram situation, I would get the 16 gig offer. I would get the base HDD and then add an SSD for your main drive (the M17x supports 2 drives, so add your SSD to the middle slot and keep the drive they give you for extra storage when speed doesn't matter). An SSD has a monumental effect on performance and I can't recommend it enough.

A system with those specs should easily last 2-4 years playing most games at high settings.

 

SSD's are coming down, I recommend a crucial m4 or samsung, but intel 520's are the best. I bought a corsair force series gt 180gb for 220. Its not the best, not the fastest, and people are iffy about the sand force controller, but it has never failed me, never glitches, and its the better value ssd. Hell, with an m17x, id get a raid with 128 gb's. They wouldn't have to be the fastest, just reliable.

Could get one or two of those, (separate ssd and hdd or raid two ssds)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Or one of this, which still has the rebate deal i got a month ago.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233211

Ssd's are really worth it. But you have to use one for a while, then go use a hard drive computer, to realize the gain. Not only are my boot times under 15 seconds, but everything loads much faster, especially maps in games. BF3 would take about 45-60 seconds for my hard drive (7200 rpm). Now it takes less than 10-20 seconds, first choice of vehicles. I just wish my m14x had dual hard drive bays so i can raid another ssd with it.

Buy your ram on new egg for like 40 or less. For an 8gb.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220577

For the processor, even the base 2670qm would be enough to not bottleneck anything. If you can't afford a gpu upgrade and a cpu upgrade together, settle with only the gpu upgrade. And the 1080p screen is a must. But if you get a gtx 560 instead of a 6990 or 580, it'll run better fps at 1600x900 than the 1080p screen. In other words, gpu upgrades and screen upgrades go together.

So to cut costs, get ram on new egg for 40 bucks, stick with the base processor (can upgrade if you want), get a 6990 or a gtx 580 (id stick with the 6990 personally), and a 1080p screen. Can always get ssd's later, they're going to come down in price a lot more.

 

Excellent advice +1

 

Keep checking the alienware outlet.
was a sweet r3 with 1080p, 580m, 1600mhz ram, 750GB hdd. was 1690$

I thought great deal and would've snagged it up if looking.
You can find goods deals there, just check right at 6pm est as that is when it seems to be updated