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    Help with choosing which M17x?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by ginomerino, Aug 7, 2011.

  1. ginomerino

    ginomerino Newbie

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    Hey guys, I sold my desktop and purchasing a used M17x I cannot afford a new one sadly, I have found (2) different M17x's but I am not sure which would perform better? as far as specs go which one would be better for gaming and just all around speed.. i play BFBC2 on max settings would these be able to handle it?


    First:
    note* I am not sure nor is the seller if this is the R1/R2/R3 model?

    Intel Core i7 940XM @ 2.13GHZ-3.33GHZ TURBO
    NVIDIA 285M GTX VIDEO ADAPTER W/ 1024MB VIDEO RAM
    4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM
    250GB HARD DRIVE
    BLU-RAY / DVD+RW / CD+RW


    Second:

    M17x R2
    Intel Core i7-20QM Processor -- 1.6GHz
    8GB RAM 2x4
    2x500GB HDD
    ATI Radeon 5870 Graphics Card

    So what I would like to know is which processor is better in these two and which GPU is better 285M GTX or the Radeon 5870?
    I'm guessing the 940XM is better but does having 4 more GB of ram and 250GB of space worth taking the the 20QM? over the 940?
    lastly is it possible to upgrade the ram and hd on the 940?
    any reply would be appreciated!! thanks in advance everyone!!
     
  2. alienair

    alienair Notebook Enthusiast

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    The first option is a R2 because, that's the only model which has a chipset that can support the i7-940xm. Regarding the 2nd, you'll need to get the actual processor model number because I don't think there is a i7-20QM processor, it has to be something along the lines of 720qm, 820qm etc. Going by the clock speed it seems to be a i7-720QM.

    For gaming either processor should be fine as most games are not heavily CPU dependent nowadays. I think the 5870 is the better GPU but, it might depend on the particular games you'll be playing. having more RAM and Hard Drive space is an advantage though.
     
  3. pudgzilla

    pudgzilla Notebook Enthusiast

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    What are the prices for each?
     
  4. ASCI_Blue

    ASCI_Blue Notebook Consultant

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    edge to second computer, more hd space and I'm a slightly bigger fan of ATI than nVidia.
     
  5. ginomerino

    ginomerino Newbie

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    The first one is $850.00 USD

    Second one is $800.00 USD
     
  6. ginomerino

    ginomerino Newbie

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    I found it the second one is the an i7-720QM sorry for the confusion, this won't be entirely for gaming I only play 2 games, Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 2, in the near future BF3, but I also just want it to be snappy, smooth no lag doing normal task. Which one would you recommend better processor or better gpu/ram/hd their is only a $50 price difference between the two.
     
  7. Mangrovelol

    Mangrovelol Newbie

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    I'd go for the second one.