Jeff's M17x review

Hello,

I got a new M17x R3. I've had it for just about a week.

SPECS:
M17X-R3 l i7 2820QM | 120hz | 460 l 8GB DDR3 l 1920X1080 l BLURAY l OCZ Solid 3 120GB + Seagate 750 GB 7200 RPM

I replaced the 320 GB HD with a 120 GB SSD + 750 GB 7200 RPM. Fresh Win 7 install.

ORDER:
I ordered off of the dell outlet and purchased it for about $1750 (including tax). I had the $250 coupon off, I think it's a pretty good deal (this does not include my 120 GB SSD + 750 GB HD). All together I spent about $2000.

My main concern was the LCD quality and resolution. This is why I went with the 120hz panel because I wanted the best available option. Also, I don't game that much on the PC, I make games though (not AAA titles), so I didn't need the top of the line video card. Frankly the 460 is an amazing card for me.

LCD:
I couldn't be happier. The colors seem pretty vibrant to me. Is it possible I got a different LCD model that perhaps is better than others? I have an older M1730 and to me it's actually better. It's definitely brighter and the colors seem great. Also, the white color is really bright white! My other screen is a little bit yellowish tint to it. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison just in case it is worse, I don't care to know. I'm very happy with the colors and brightness.

I'm a programmer so I need the 1200 pixels height wise, but I'm making due, it's actually not that bad either. At work, I work on 1080 screens so I'm already use to it.

INSTALL:
When I first installed the SSD, I installed windows 7 and was installing the drivers and programs together in bunches, I must have installed too much at once because after that point every time I rebooted I got BSOD. I had to reformat and start over. The second time, I installed drivers one by one and that seemed better. No BSOD yet (knock on wood). Speeds are amazing.

OVERALL:
Very satisfied. This is my 3rd dell (XPS Gen 2, XPS M1730, M17x R3). They are all built solid and I hope this laptop lasts me until the next generation of laptops!

If you have any questions ask away!

Thanks
Jeff.

 

Your media strip/bar, is it level with the keyboard?
I'm asking because my new R3's media strip won't stay down.
It's like a bad fit or something.

 

I didn't notice any issue, but I'll check tonight!

 

If you like the GTX 460 you would have loved the AMD 6970m.

I perfer Nvidia over AMD but I'm gonna go with the best card availanle. Kinda dissapointed that the R3 didnt have an option for the GTX485. Would have been sick!!

 

Joey,

I probably would have loved the 6970, but I honestly probably would not notice the difference since I don't play the high end games that would benefit from that card. I do however, love the 3d. I also really love my SSD drive. My computer is soo damn fast!

eleven,

It seems pretty flush with the keyboard, I don't really notice any weirdness with my media buttons other than I have to press them really hard to get them to hit the connector below. I thought they were touch sensitive at first (probably should have been that way).

Jeff.

 

Does command center pops up immedialty after pushing the button? With stoch drive I have to wait about 3-4 seconds which bugs me.

 

The program is slow as hell. It only opens fast on my SSD which still takes about 2 seconds.

 

Well then you made the right choice! I would have liked the 3d but I have a samsung 7000 series led 3d HDTV, and never use the feature and it has a 2d to 3d conversion for anything.

I think a 3d feature with the gtx 485m would have been an awesome selling point for the r3. I would have jumped all over that.

 

Thanks for the review webjeff. Unbiased stuff like this helps future buyers more than the magazine and website reviews in my opinion.