Is the m17x right for me?

I feel like it's about time for me to get a laptop and possibly replace my old desktop and my 5 year old budget laptop. Recently, my desktop just gave out on me and stopped turning on. I don't want to be bothered to repair as it's pretty old and I feel the cost of repair would be better put on a new laptop. On top of that, I can't really play much games on my laptop...I'm even having a hard time playing regular flash games! Don't get me wrong, I love my laptop for basic things like typing papers and online browsing but that's it.

I am considering of getting an m17x r4 before the fall semester starts (around September). I'm just not sure if this is the right one for me. I was completely hooked when I heard of that I can plug a gaming console on it and play (via HDMI in if I'm correct). Let's also not forget that the behemoth of a laptop is really gorgeous and unique! I've never seen one outside of an electronics/computer store before.

My purposes for my new laptop:
1. It will replace my desktop and laptop
2. I'll be moving out to a dorm in a year. It be my "desktop" + my TV for playing consoles (PS3). I don't really watch traditional TV anymore.
3. I will play games but nothing very flashy like shooters. (Mostly Assassin's Creed type of games or RPGs or MMOs). I also run emulators.
4. This thing better last me at least 5 years. I'm not the type who has to update his tech every time something new is released. I'm the type to buy the top of the line whenever buying. I'm confident that the m17x would still be a decently powerful contender in the next 5 years.
5. I do make small videos (1-15min videos) but nothing very hardcore or fancy and this is very minor for me.
6. I want something cool, flashy, and bad :laugh:
7. I'll probably spend half the time I'm not playing games watching movies/anime/cartoons/videos (nothing inappropriate )

My concerns with this laptop
1. I heard it can get VERY NOISY! I, personally sill not be bothered by the noise. My problem is that others will get bugged by it. Will I get kicked out of a library for its noise?
2. I'm not a very tech oriented guy so if it breaks, that's like my savings down the drain (but this also applies to my other options). I'm not very sure about this laptop's reliability. I've been lurking around and saw several issues but I'm being optimistic and hope that the people that post are the ones with problems. (about $2500 budget)
3. I heard Dell and AW customer service (warranty and repairs and just straight up communication) is very poor and I EASILY get traumatized by these things. I fear that I'll ultimately steer clear of the brand after a terrible experience. However, I'm pretty sure I'll buy from a "reseller" like XOTICPC or someone similar.
4. It might not live up to my expectations...I highly doubt this but it's still a possibility.

Things I don't want to hear
1. "Get an m14x" is a no go for me. The m14x just doesn't feel proportional with its dimensions. In addition, a few hundred more $, I can get an m17 of the same spec of better.
2. "Get an m18x" is too expensive for me.
3. "Get a desktop". People in dorms should understand that space is very limited! I don't want to waste my space on a desktop (even the tiny AW desktop)
4. "If you're concerned with heat and noise, get an f'n cooling pad!" As of now, I won't get a cooling pad. My cooling pad = the bottle caps or erasers.

Questions:
1. What other options do I have? (Looks is pretty important for me, I accept both the strong looks of Alienware and the sophisticated looks of an Apple) My other options are rMBP and the Razer Blade. Please don't say the MSI GT70 or whatever that's called. I think it looks like a piece of...
2. I'd like to be able to watch as many things as possible to their full extent: is it worth getting the 3d? I'll get the Blu-ray for sure.
3. How hot does this thing physically get? Can bare skin handle it? Will repasting it help heaps with cooling down? Will repasting reduce fan noise?
4. Is it too much power for my purpose?

Right now, the most important options for me to add are: 3D display, GTX 680M, at least a 37X0QM processor, Blu-Ray, and a nice wireless card. I could care less about the RAM and the storage. I'm pretty sure I can do that myself, not to mention, they're cheaper outside.

Most importantly, is this the right laptop for me? Or are there others that will suit me better?

Sorry for the WALL OF TEXT but I'll probably add on more if I think up of any. Please enlighten me with information!

 

Answers to concerns:

1. Fan noise: Yes, it is noisy when playing games or using taxing applications, but it's quiet during browsing and word processing.
2. I haven't owned one for long enough to comment on reliability, but every vendor has issues, and Alienware sells many more laptops than its competitors. The "reliability" of a business laptop might be slightly better.
3. I would not buy an Alienware from XoticPC.
4. No comment.

Answers to questions:

1. I agree that the GT70 looks terrible. If you're set on the GTX 680m, the Clevo p150em/p170em is a decent alternative. I would not get a 7970m with any Clevo.
2. I would not get the 3D, but people who own the 3D can give you better feedback.
3. I would leave the laptop on a table. Repasting helps, but the temperatures are often good from the factory.
4. Think carefully.

Good luck.

 

Hi there! I can offer some advice on your questions.

Firstly dell support. I have found it excellent having had on-site repairs and even a complete new machine when it became obvious I had a 'Friday' machine . Purchasing from a reseller seems to be that you get the dell waranty anyway. Otherwise it's a return to base if they are supporting it themselves. I have seen warranty issues with reseller machines. The reseller 'upgrades' a base model with cheaper parts and there is then a mismatch between the config it was sold with (by dell) and the config you receive. They (dell) are within their rights to ask that the machine be returned to it's original config before providing warranty service.

Noise. When gaming the fans can get quite loud, would definitely annoy a person sitting next to you in a library, but so would just seeing you thrash around in a high quality game

They do seem to have quality control issues but it's difficult to say for sure since all you see here is problems.

3D. I love it, totally blew me away when I saw how good it was. Love showing it off to console jockeys, usual comment is 'how can you go back to 'normal' gaming after that?' Of course it's very subjective so YMMV

That's my 5C.

 

Hmm,

1: It isn't very loud just doing day to day web browsing etc. Yo uwould only get kicked out the library if you were randomly gaming on some intensive games, you could get away with less demanding games though.

2: get some extended warranty and accidental cover if you think you will need it.

3: dell is a big company, there service should be better than smaller brands, in house calls if you need repairs.
(Costco have a good offer btw, its in another thread on this site)

4: It lived up to my expectations and beyond, its something I always wanted and i finally got one.

1: A clevo is the only real alternative, but their styling is a bit more restrained.

2: 3D screen is higher refresh rate, but you lose the iGPU so battery life takes a hit as well. I got the normal screeen since battery life is important to me.

3: its not very hot unless your hand is at the exhaust of the fans (pointing backwards away from the laptop anyways, the bits you touch are pretty warm at most).

4. Power is king, it isn't too much power, since it will be able to keep up with games for a long time if you step up and buy the best GPu you can (680m or HD7970m ONLY, nothing else is really worth the money in my opinion).

Seems like your already set on one tbh, it will be a good mix of desktop power and portability.

 

I checked out the Clevo laptops and they seem to be a viable alternative to me but I still have a couple month or more till the big decision day comes.

I could care less about battery life. My phone has poor battery life, my PSP has less than expected battery life, my DS and 3DS have poor batter lives, my laptop has poor battery life. I'm used to it as long as they last 2 hours at what they do best, I'm happy. It helps me limit my time from playing games lol. Even the car I drive has battery issues (not mine). If the m17x 3d battery dies within 2 hours, it's a no-go for 3d.

About the heat thing, I'm concerned about the metal plate (where you laser engrave something). I fear that if I put it on my leg that it might get real hot and surprise and laptop goes off flying. Of course, that's in addition to the fan thing.

Yeah, it seems like I'm set on buying one. I'm actually trying to convince myself out of it so that I'm more fair when comparing it with alternatives.

Would you guys suggest on getting one from a reseller? I want to stay away buying directly from dell because I seem to get less for my money with Dell's configurator.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. Keep 'em coming!

 

The battery on mine goes between 2.5 to 3 hours on 'normal' use, a 680 is more efficient so it can only be better. Can't game on battery as the card goes into a low power mode - the battery cannot supply enough power. If you get a non-3D then the iGPU can game pretty well on battery but I have no idea of how long it will last?

Dell is more expensive but they have to pay for the dedicated support somehow - I have never spent more that 5 mins on hold calling them. Personally I just feel much better buying directly from the people that make them rather than introducing a middleman. In countries where the M17x is not sold they are the best (only) option.

Good luck with your decision

 

Yes, that is very true about middlemen. More places/people something goes through, bigger the risk. I would personally buy off Dell had it been a bit similar in pricing. If I can squeeze in the cash, I would definitely buy directly from Dell just for peace of mind.

I would be pretty disappointed if the battery life is less than 2 hours. Well, it's not like I'll have 3D enabled 100% of the time (unless, for some reason 3D can't be disabled which would be disappointing). BTW, I'm not trying to rationalize my decision here .

Off topic: why does the website log me out ALL the time just before I'm about to post something and force me to re-log in before I can post?

 

The 3D can simply be disabled in the driver or a hot-key combination (Ctrl-T). The loss of battery life is because you don't get the intel GPU (something like 35W against 100W for the 680) - I've seen claims of over 5 hours on non-3D models.

The display is wired differently on the 120hz model and bypasses the iGPU (which cannot drive a 120hz native display at boot).

Remember that dell are open to haggling. Just get your build in a quote and call. Ask how close they can get to it. I got a 10% discount which paid for the SSD

 

I ordered my M17x from Dell on April 20th with:

$1500
i7 3630QM,
AMD HD 7970M,
8gb RAM,
500gb 7200RPM HDD,
1080p screen,
Killer Wireless

The price as configured was $1950 but I used 2 coupons and haggled the price down a bit more. It should be arriving in the first week of May.

 

That is very good price, in Australia one would pay upwards of $3000 for that spec

To the op, the only posts here are from frustrated customers, dell sells 1000 times more laptops which don't have issues, I admit even me personally, I post negative comments when I get bad service, which has happened quite a lot but I have also had quite a few good services, which I have never posted about (makes me feel ashamed now ).

Overall for service and support, dell can't be beat, For looks dell can't be beat, dell might be a bit pricey than others but upto 5yrs accidental warranty, well it's worth it. Also don't forget if something does go wrong dell will offer to replace your system after certain number of repairs, this can be 4yrs and 360days after you bought the laptop(as long as warranty is active), and of course you get current config at that time. No other company does that, basically others try to repair and then tell you to bugger off.

- My m17xr4 lasts about 3hrs on battery, it's only loud when I game but at that time speakers are louder than fans anyhow.
- m17xr4 is quite reliable, mine has been running non stop from day one except few restarts for updates, I do have few issue but they were there from day one and dell is trying to get them fixed, just waiting for parts to arrive.
- Read above about warranty service, you will not find a company better at warranty support.
- I am sure it will surpass your expectations, unless you expect a 10/10 model jumping out of the box with the laptop, in which case you will be disappointed.

Final advice, leave the middleman, go straight to dell, you have a month to research deals and coupons and checking dell outlet daily and keep calling dell to get a better price, if one rep will not do it, next might.

 

Sorry for not replying. I was at a field trip. Anyway...

@Hellzhavoc: NICE! You slashed off almost 500 bucks! Must've talked to a generous person when haggling! That's like 25% OFF!!!

@vs3074: I know that most of the people who post are usually complainers OR people who encountered a problem of some sort and it's not fair for me to judge a company based on a sample that mostly represents negative people. Despite that, it still irks me how the complaints about Dell's service (it's not even the parts or the item) are usually the same thing. I'll admit, however, I haven't done my homework on Dell's or any other company's warranty terms and coverage.

I'm not asking for this laptop to be an insane freakazoid beast of a machine or some NASA supercomputer lol. All I want is something that will satisfy my needs (mentioned in the original post) without really having any major hiccups. Let's just say I don't want to drop down to below 25FPS on a non demanding game but it'd be understandable on the most current, extreme games on high setting.

I'll definitely leave the middleman if at least one of the two conditions are met: 1. I am able to get more $ by the time of my actual purchase and 2. I am able to slash off at least a few hundred dollars.

Thanks for the replies everyone especially for letting me know that haggling is possible. I truly appreciate them. Hopefully, next time I make a thread it'll be about picking the right options or even picking the right SSD, headset, bag, mouse, etc.

 

That's a really good price