Configuration help needed asap!

Hello,

After reading your forum, looking at reviews and chatting with Dell on live chat and phone, I decided to get an AW. As I need my machine for work and gaming to get the new AW 17.

I spoke with Dell and they agreed on top of the current discount, to give me another 10% due to my student status and my current industrial placement job as a developer in a well-known company.

I am narrowed down my choices into two configurations:
-4700MQ
-4800MQ with the 64Gbs cache and blu-ray.

I will update in either cases the graphics card to the 780m. After the discounts, the difference is £270. My question is, is the 4800MQ worth it over the 4700MQ? As CPU is the only non-upgradable part, I want to get this right the first place. At the moment I am using a MBP with a 2.2Ghz SandyBridge. Sometimes I get the CPU to its' limits, but not that often. I will add another SSD in the near future, but I would benefit from the cache as a temporary solution and later on, keep it as cache for my 2nd drive -possible, right? As for blu-ray, I got a really small collection, so it will be welcomed, but most of them come with a free digital version as well. So the mandatory "upgrades", while not critical may be handy eventually.

I will appreciate any help asap, as I have to give them a call in 12 hours with my decision, otherwise I may loose my discount.

Laptop will be used for Java and C# programming, photography and ofc gaming!

 

Hi there . If you are not going for CAD ar some other 'heavy' CPU intensive (super long assembly maybe?) stuff I think it will be just fine on the lower CPU. Gaming is just fine on all the i7's from what I read here, never even stress mine with gaming.

The CPU will be upgradable later anyway, dell have just decided to 'force' configurations, maybe to simplify production, maybe to squeeze the customer as much as possible in the move from the enthusiast market to the mainstream market

The disks you have are the best option for upgrading as you are correct, once you put in your own SSD the cache can remain on your original HD speeding that up considerably. But that forces the 4800 if I read you correctly so you may have to cough up just for simplicity of the disk upgrade and extra disk performance.

The main thing to remember is that any parts available for a particular version can be used by yourself aftermarket without any problems. The only caveat to that is when calling for support (hopefully never!) you may get asked to return it to the original config before you can get help. This is not usual for a HD-SSD replacement but can happen.

With all the changes and penny pinching going on I do worry that the only thing that dell have over the competition is the excellent support and it may start to suffer the same fate. But no evidence yet so let's assume they are still the same 'good guys'

Good luck

 

Hello,

Thank you fo the reply! Yep I guesses that they got them "locked" for logistics purposes. Unfortunately I can't wait, as I am about to sell my primary laptop and got to use my discount while I still can

I am running VMs frequently and image processing. I may use that extra 0.3Ghz. For better or the worse, Assembly is not that "resources" heavy. I mainly do Java and a bit of C#. Maybe in a year Unreal Engine programming.. Ahh choices choices!

Unfortunately I only heard bad things about Dell's aftersales support in the UK :/

 

Ah, I was only thinking back to how long a super long piece of code would take to disassemble and re-assemble but I would think Unreal 3 coding and image processing would push any CPU more than your 'average' user .

As for support, I've used dell in many countries and found the UK to be as good, if not a little better than the US. Of course all you will see here is complaints and attempts to get better service. I've had 1 x m18x, 1 x m17x R3 and this R4, all for the price of the original purchase. Yes I've had problems, but dell came through each time and now I have a good one (fingers crossed).

 

Haha it used to take ages! Now the biggest problem is the HDD, thus the SSDs or even fibre-connected disks instead of SATA in mainframes and servers. I did U3 a little bit two years ago and want to pick it up again. Not certain I will... I just hope the 4800 won't consume much more battery, as some benchmarks show. I am using battery a lot -yes I will buy a 2nd battery in due time as well I just worry if the extra 250-270 pounds are worth it, as I am getting mandatory upgrades I may not use.. If I could upgrade the CPU only for 100-150 pounds, I would for sure.

True. I had a terrible experience with Apple! They forgot to connect a microphone and then they forgot a part of their screwdriver inside my machine! Then again, they replaced my screen and logic board once, even if it was my own fault.. I guess it all goes "who is the person in the other side of the line"!

I am investing on an AW over an MSI mainly for the design and build materials... hope it goes well!

 

Yeah, getting good support is often down to how well you can 'work' the guy. I go for the sympathy and begging tactic, never rant even if they are not helpful, just hang up ('sorry, something has just come up, gotta go') and call back for a better experience, usually with a different tech, and I am calmer!

I wish you all the luck in the world, and oh yeah, in case you don't know, avoid the 120hz model. No iGPU connected so battery life is seriously compromised.

 

Thank you! I try usually a similar approach, until diplomacy is futile. Then I start speaking technical...

Really? Thanks! I had a few thoughts about it tbh

 

You're very welcome

/soapbox_on

Come on dell if you're reading this; make the 120hz option clear on battery life! Too many people discovering this after purchase

 

Haha true! They should mention it somewhere.

I will go with the 4800MQ model. I think it is better to pay extra now, than regret later Plus I can always sell it for extra xD

 

Cool, you will also get some pre-defined bios overclocking options so it will go further quite easily.

As long as it's not breaking the bank then the extra cost is also an investment in terms of warranty cover - bleeding-edge parts have bleeding-edge reliability (IMO).

Good luck with it - history says you will be more than happy

 

Haha thanks! I am thinking about getting the accidental warranty for a year... not sure if it is worth it! I am at the top of my budget (a tad more actually...)...

 

I did get it for a year, I drove over a previous one! Just remember that in the UK it cannot be renewed at the end, only the normal support. Seems 2 year old laptops have more accidents

 

Haha I will get it then. Next two months, I will eat rice and spaghetti, but at least game on a proper machine

 

That's the spirit - back in the day in the US it was the Ramen diet (pot-noodle) that kept many rigs at top spec :thumbsup:

 

Ofc I also got a stock o Pot-noodles but that is my "gourmet" option Especially if my MBP doesn't sell well.

I just got off the phone with Dell, the final price is 1995 for the 4800QM + 64SSD mSata and the 750Gbs HDD + BluRay or 1745 for the 4700QM and no cache no BluRay. Both comes with the 780m and 1 year accidental damage warranty... Starting to have 2nd thoughts for the 4800MQ due to the extra 250, which I can, but barely can afford now

I will have to decide soon, as the shipping date is going up.

 

Yeah, and an msata ssd for cache is not going to cost nearly that much - tough choice.

These things make pot noodle look like gourmet, but sooo cheap it's crazy! College Survival Guide Part I: 50 Amazing Ramen Noodle Recipes

Let me just check the magic 8 ball, will the lower spec be OK?... Prospects are good! That's the extent of my input, why do dell make this so hard

 

I know! I would prefer to spend that extra 250 pounds to get a 120Gbs Samsung SSD 840 Pro, if not two for RAID 0 xD

It is like 120-150 for the CPU upgrade and then 100 more for the bluray and the mSata....

Haha for the guide!

 

There is one other disk option just to throw it into the mix. Get a large msata SSD, partition it for a small cache as well as a boot drive and have both a fast boot ssd and an accelerated RAID. It's all possible according to intel: Chipset Software — Intel® Smart Response Technology User Guide

 

Yeah, I thought about it. But the mSata installation is much harder than the SSD and I have a tendency getting nervous with my own equipment

 

Yeah, the only reason I haven't added one myself - why can I rip other peoples computers to bits and repair them but my own, always goes pear shaped?!

It does not have to be in the msata port for a cache, it's just another drive bay (for SSD only) in effect, so an existing HD can still get a small cache to speed it up if you just add a 'normal' SSD

 

Yes I know what you mean... I tend to be overprotecting with my laptops. I even slapped my lecturer back when I was at Uni, when he touched my screen -.-''''

How many slots for SSDs do we have? Also does the system come with extra disk connectors? you know, those "connectors" for the disk to connect to laptops' sata ports.

 

The machine has 4 sata ports that can be used for SSD, three can be used for HD's as well but the msata port is designed for SSD only. I believe the latest models are the same. The ODD can be removed for the 4th HD/SSD bay and I have seen a 4 SSD RAID!

The empty drive bay used to always have the tray and connector (interposer) in it, but some people have said theirs is empty. For them a call to dell got a spare FOC.

 

Yep it can from what I read in the technical manual of the new model. However there are 2 disk bays (without the ODD), means one of the bays can have two drives? I am also "frustrated" and worried about mSata installation, to the point of justifying that 320 extra and get it with the mSata and 4800!

Good to know, I will ask them if I have to. I hope not.

 

Maybe I confused this with mentioning the ODD bay , each of the primary bays takes one disk.

Personally I wish I'd coughed up for an msata SSD originally so I don't have to rip it apart. If you can manage to afford it then you should seriously consider it, if only for ease and warranty assurance

 

It will cost me 320 more, as it will come with the 4800 and the bluay player... ahh choices! And will have to call the asap, as my order is already in production!

 

Going on others that wanted to change an order after hitting production dell do not make it easy. Often saying things like 'wait for delivery and refuse it'. Then you have to wait for the money to be refunded. Most common way I have seen is they simply cancel the order and start again - and you then have to get any discounts reapplied

 

And now Amazon Uk has in-stock an awesome deal for the MSI GT70, just 240 over my AW, but comes with 3x 128Gbs SSD in Raid 0! But I hate MSI's design :/ and the sound isn't that good... ! Probably if I ask them nicely -as I only ordered yesterday and got the confirmation a few hours ago, it won't be much of a problem to change my specs, just it is if it is worth it

 

I have no idea of MSI's after sales support, I've only ever purchased MB's from them. That would be an important factor for me - an expensive item needs to have good backup.

With all the changes going on at dell historical good support is not a good indcator right now. I'm watching the owners lounge as they re all arriving now - and seem to have a few video related issues - but with NV messing up their last 3 releases - 2 beta and a WHQL, I was concerned that this would happen. NV have gone totally quiet in their driver threads for about a week now so no news on just when they are going to get their act together. One thing for sure, if dell offered an AMD video on the new models it would fly out the door - so many very pi**ed off people.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/...-driver-feedback-thread-released-6-25-13-/61/

A lot of poor advice here and I'm sure a couple of trolls but you'll get the idea. You are looking for manuelG for official posts.

Maybe you should just go with the order, get some use out of it, and base benchmarks before looking at maybe a local PC shop to put in the msata SSD? Wouldn't think they would charge that much on such an easy (for them) machine to dismantle?

What disk(s) have you ordered?

 

Just the 70Gb and will get the 840 Po by Samsung. Yeah I am. I also hate nVidia, for their poor Linux support, but they offer the best performance atm. I guess in a couple of weeks a new driver will be released... plus the results most users get look "acceptable".

 

Yeah, just a couple of anomalies that seem driver related, and I'm sure a good working one will arrive soon. Just adds to the 'fun' of a new toy, (chants) think positive, think positive...

 

Yep... in one review of the 17, it showed worse benchmark performance in PCMark than MSI, but better performance in-game...

 

In-game is the only benchmark that is reliable to me. The driver authors got wise to benchmark programs and how important they are to sales a long time ago. Specific pieces of code are put in to give better results but those settings do nothing for gaming

 

Agree. A benchmark program can be easily adjusted to favor a system. They can be a reference, but not an absolute.

Still debating... your mSata argument put me into thoughts getting 4800 and get over with it!

 

Well you do have your dietary needs to consider as well , sorry to add to the confusion

Magic 8 ball time again?...

 

Yep xD I will create a quick randomize app in Java as well xD

 

Just had a thought (ouch!), if you do get a cached HD model then the upgrade to your own SSD is almost too easy to believe. Use the alienrespawn program to create an emergency recovery USB. Put in the SSD, change the boot order in the bios and then one-time boot to usb (F12). Restore to the new drive - job done. And you don't even need to touch the IRST stuff, the original cached drive will now be data and you just format it. Nice thing about this is that if it goes badly just put the boot order back and the machine is up and running again

 

It is 3-3 so far! and I am to... pissed of to press Run again!

 

Haha, it will focus your thoughts if it says your least favourite option though - maybe?

 

Yep, I had that in mind xD but if the performance of the mSata is not that great, I can install another small SSD in place of my optical drive...but then again I "miss" 4800!

 

Well, I have heard very good reports of the speed increase using the cache so you may well be good there. It may not be sataIII but when I did some side-by-side testing between sataII and sataIII on an SSD only the benchmark program could see it - maybe 2 seconds saving on win load?

 

I just got off the phone with Dell. I can't change the order, without cancelling it first.. and to cancel it I have to wait for the VIP sales person who placed the order for me to come in office first!

Interesting however, I was able to ask for a quote of upgrading my CPU in the existing order, without the mSata and the blu-ray!

 

Thought they might say that. At least the salesperson that thinks they have already landed a commission will be keener to assist.

Weird with the CPU upgrade, I can only assume this is one item the phone jockeys *can* change

 

Delete please, double post by accident

 

Well I asked my sales person yesterday, whenever she could do it and said that the system does not allow her to do so.

 

Didn't think it would. They want to tie down the configuration and stop the old way of just calling and ordering whatever you wanted - custom laptop builder? Not so much, it's all boiler plate now

 

Yep... I can understand why it is done, but then again, this was part of Alienware's "magic"! If I am allowed to get the upgrade tomorrow, without effecting my delivery day, I will. Otherwise I will just an SSD now and another one in the future...

 

My feelings exactly! It's kinda lost it's identity - hopefully big sales will keep some of it alive...

 

Personally I feel like Dell will sell Alienware, alongside with their consumers laptops/ computers division. IMO they should sell all their hardware, expect their businesses lines and Alienware and convert to a more "high price" company for hardware, while emphasizing on their services -like Apple does (instead of services, gadgets) or HP wanted to do or IBM did.