Considering buying one

Hi guys. I'm considering buying one of these just in time for my vacation in mid-July. Just wondering if you know of any new release (R4) on the horizon? If they're going to release a new one soon I might wait a bit for the upgraded components. From what I can gather, there's no roadmap showing a timeline for new releases but I figured I'd ask you guys just in case.

My second question is about build quality/reliability. I've never owned an Alienware. People always say Alienware is 'overpriced' but frankly, with this particular purchase I'm willing to pay extra if it means I'll have fewer headaches to deal with. I used to enjoy tinkering with and fixing computers before but I haven't got the time these days. I'd rather just buy something that'll work right out of the box and keep on working if I take good care of it. Do you guys have a lot of issues with your m17x?

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi Fountaincap,

I'm new to this forum but I recently purchased an alienware m17x r3. I doubt that a release of r4 is going to be anytime soon as they just released the m18x and the r3 is still pretty new. My question for you would be what you are going to be using the notebook for. In my case, I purchased it for a portable replacement of my desktop for gaming but I am having trouble playing games such as Crysis (1) on medium and even Starcraft II or HoN on their highest settings. This is the stock r3, I haven't upgraded or overclocked anything.

If you are purchasing the r3 for gaming, I would recommend to upgrade the gpu however on the canadian alienware site there was little room to upgrade gpu (only 460m and 6870 available).

I'm not completely sure that this is how laptop should be performing but thats just what ive experienced so far.

What I can say is that the r3 isn't that heavy and has excellent cooling. It's also very quiet for a gaming rig.

Here is a screenshot of a 3dmark06 benchmark that I ran:
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m17x r3 specs: i7 2720 | 6gb 1333 | 1080p 120hz Screen | 1.5gb Nvidia 460m GTX |

 

I just ordered a M17x today from Canada site. If you want a good video card you can either chat or call dell and they can set you up with a 6970M ATI card

 

I guess the sales rep I was talking to is either stupid or doesn't want to make more money. Oh wait, stupid applies to the second statement too.

When you get your laptop can u run a benchmark test and see how well some games run on ur 6970 compared to my 460m

 

You bet, except you might be waiting awhile. I ordered it today and it is posted that it could take as long as July 11 to arrive ;(

I only found out about this option by the thread on this board http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/562430-any-eta-canada-amd-radeon-hd-6970m-2gb-gddr5.html

I am sure other ppl that use these boards can comment on how well this card performs but be happy to share my expierience when I get it.

 

I'd be using it for gaming of course, but not as a desktop replacement. I'm on the road a lot and I'd use it to play games like WoW, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Mass Effect, Empire: Total War, etc. but also leaving room for some future generation games that I might want to play.

 

I will only say this: If you want the 3D Vision support and don't want to deal around with some of the problems relating to Optimus, then the 3D/460M option may be the way to go. I've thrown a few of my compatible games into 3D mode and it doesn't run that bad. I've always been able to maintain a playable frame-rate.

If you want the faster graphics solution, than the 6970M may be the way to go. I myself am waiting for a 485M option to appear.

 

dont expect an r4 till ivy bridge gets released, not to mention after the SB updates of 2930, 2830, 2730. As well as next gen graphics, m17x is getting gpu updates this year so i estimate a mid to late 2013 (possible 2014?) release for an r4. for the rest of us we are going to be upgrading our CPUs and GPUs once support comes available.

 

So any thoughts on the quality in general of the m17x? Can I rest assured it will work right out of the box without much hassle? I've owned plenty of Dells and they've been very reliable over the years. I'm just in no mood to be sending replacements back and forth and I'm hoping there's less of a chance of that with Alienware vs. lesser known companies.

 

The first one I got was near-perfect. I say "near", because the media bar was raised up slightly on one side. Frankly, I never even noticed it until I read about the issue here and checked mine. I wasn't concerned about it at all.

I ended up returning, though, ONLY so that I could reorder and get a free xbox (and upgrade the screen to 1080p).

I got the second one two days ago, and it's absolutely perfect. No raised media bar, no marks on it, everything is fine.

So in my experience, build quality is superb.

 

Hey fountaincap, reliability is all on luck I think haha. My first R3 straight from the factory and right out of the box didnt work. i turned it on and a white screen and 8 beeps followed. They came to replace the gpu, gpu heatsink, keyboard, and motherboard and did the same thing after they replaced all that. Alot of calling and complaining, especially because I'm on orders to Okinawa, Japan and needed my laptop before leavig. They finally sent a replacement R3.

My replacement R3 has been awesome! I couldnt be happier. Its not refurbished or used. It was brand new from the factory. I've played ALOT of games on it, and I mean alot. Well I should say I bought alot of games for it and played a few mins of most of them just to get the graphics down, but played a few other alot like crysis, witcher 2 (which was awesome), red faction armaggeddon and guerilla, all the FEAR games in cluding the new one.
I love it. I can max out the graphics on most of the games and on games I cant I over clock to get the settings where I want. Never had a problem with it yet other than when I put it asleep and wake it, it awakes to a BSOD. No clue why, but never BSOD any other time and no other problems.

I say go for it. Its the best laptop I ever owned and the best $3500 I ever spent.
(yea $3500 is alot but I maxed out every option and have a 4 yr advance warranty)

 

Thanks for the input so far guys. Another question: Do you know if the models change in price when the components are updated? For example, I'm leaning towards the m17x with a GTX 460m and I'm happy with the price. When the GTX 560M comes out on the m17x, would the price of the whole machine drop or rise?

 

More than likely it will rise, but not too much. New card, new set price which is always higher than an older model its replacing. I wouldnt worry about it.