Just ordered a m17x and have some noobish ?'s

Hi all!

So, is there anyway I can tell if I'm getting an R1 or R2? Its still in production so I dont have it in hand quite yet. I'm thinking its an R1 because I found a coupon code that only worked on a specific...what do they call them..E-value code? I figured they posted that coupon to try to deplete stock of old inventory. Anyway with that coupon and the 20% off sale they were having it worked out to a pretty decent deal.

Specs are:

Intel® Core™2 Quad Q9000 2.0GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz 2 x 4096MB
1GB Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M - SLI Enabled
1TB (500GB x 2) 7,200RPM (xMB Cache) - RAID 0
17.0in. WXGA+,LCD,ANW,M17X
8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive,QuickSilver
Internal 300Mbps Dual-Band a/g/n 2x2 MIMO
Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR

All for just over $1900 with tax and shipping.

What I'm wondering is:

1. R1 or R2, can you tell from the spec?
2. How upgradeable is this? Can I change out the processor in the future to an i5 or i7?
3. Can I upgrade the video cards at a later date and can I switch to ATI if I wanted?
4. If 2 and/or 3 can happen will the PSU need to be upgraded...is that even possible in a laptop?
5. Any pointers to overclocking this rig, I'm new to that too!


I'm really not to familiar with laptop stuff and this is my first laptop gaming rig. My ancient Inspiron 1501 will so NOT run FFXI let alone FFXIV so its time for it to retire-I think it would implode if I tried anything more than WOW on the lowest settings and I find myself in more need of a portable gaming option.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice/tips!

 

1. r1
2. the best cpu you can use is the QX9300, the R2 has a different MB and the chipset is different.
3. ou can upgrade to the 4870s cards, it would cost around $500
4. depends which psu you got if its the 240 watt one then it wont be and if its the 150w then you should ge tthe 240w anyway.
5. theres a OC ing thread, it will provide you with R1 ocing.

FWIW,$1900 is too much for an R1 you shoud cancel the order, you can get a better specd R2 for the same price, and it will be a better performing machine, and you can get the RGB, and yes it does matter i didnt think it really would , but now that i have it i really dont think i will ever get rid of this laptop

 

Maybe if the coupon code I used to get $400 off this one worked on the R2...

I spec'ed an R2 or what ever is currently the default m17x on the site with all the minium options other than the RGB LED panel:

Intel® Core™ i5 520M 2.4GHz (2.93GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache)
4GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 2GB DDR3)
17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870
250GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD
Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card

With tax and shipping comes to a little over $2100. This would seriously perform better than the above? I admit its probably more open to upgrading, CPU wise anyway...

 

yes, this will be a better machine in the long run. and one 5870>than two 260s. you should be able to find a better deal than that though there are some R2's in the market place i just bought one for $1600 a week back for a friend with beeter specs than what you posted iin a n un opened box.
there is this one, i would pm him and maybe you can work out a deal but this has x-fire 5870s and a better warranty
http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...re-m17x-r2-w-5870-crossfire-4gb-ram-more.html

the key is looking around and having a little patience and youll get a great deal, but $1900 is just too much to pay for the configuration you posted in my opinion.

 

RGB WUXGA is a must in my opinion.

Try dell outlet also.

 

Mmmm...I'm not 100% comfortable with getting a refurb from the outlet, or any second hand system for that matter.

I did find out that I'm able to get a laptop thru Dell's EPP system. I got this spec for a grand total of $2218 after tax (stupid tax!) and shipping:

Intel® Core™ i5 520M 2.4GHz (2.93GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache)
6GB Memory (1x 2GB, 1x 4GB DDR3)
17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870
320GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD

I can always add more memory, hdd space, etc eventually I suppose. How hard are these things to add/replace parts on? I have never in my life cracked open a laptop but I've done a few pretty standard hdd, memory and video card upgrades to my desktops in the past.

Edit to add: Wow, just watched the m17x teardown videos on youtube. That's a lot of work to get to the CPU. That may be an upgrade of last resort! I could possibly see myself putting in another vid card somewhere down the line tho.

And is the 5870 a dual GPU on a single card or is that only the 59xx's?

 

The 5870 are 2 single cards joined together using the crossfire cable.

It can look quite daunting on the videos and the 1st time you try to open up the notebook. However I've done it about 15 times now in the last week LOL and its super easy now. I can replace a CPU in under 5 mins.

 

Thanks!

I didnt get the crossfire 5870's, so I know its only one card. Which leaves me room to add another later on if I so wish. If I can find one to buy. Didnt realize mobility cards are so hard to get a hold of...basically there's just ebay if I'm lucky or direct thru dell?

 

Yeh their quite hard to get a hold of atm. Especially the 5870s. There was a problem with them where people were having trouble booting up their systems with a 2nd card installed. Dell has since got in a new batch of cards which will now work for spare parts and upgrade situations. Perhaps further down the line they will become much more easily accessible and cheaper as well. At the moment people are still waiting and finding it quite hard to purchase them through Dell or Ebay.

Apart from getting into the CPU section of the notebook replacing the rest of the parts are pretty easy. The GPUs are located just directly under the keyboard.

Cheers.

 

I would drop down to 4gb of ram and buy more later only if you need it (unlikely). Use that money to get the 2nd 5870 up front, this will spare you a lot of headache.

The 2 main things are dual 5870s and the RGBLED. Everything else you can do yourself after buying. If there was a barebones of the M17x with those 2 things, I would be in heaven lol

 

Even dropping the ram down to 4GB and the HDD to the cheapest option, the dual 5870's put me way over budget. The current config is a bit over budget but eh, I'll deal with it somehow.

If I decide to add a 2nd 5870, will I also have to get the heavier duty power adaptor? I thought I saw somewhere in the invoice that it wasnt the 240w one they were sending but now for the life of me I cant find it.

Also, I'm currently using a Belkin Cushtop ( F8N044 Belkin CushTop) as a laptop pad. I'm wondering if I should get a laptop fan thingie to put between the laptop and Cushtop as it has an irregular surface and I'm thinking it may block some airflow from the bottom fans?

Edit: Found it. The invoice shows a Alienware M17x 150W A/C Adapter.

 

Yeh you will need the 240v ac adapter if you get the 2nd 5870.
Ultimately just decide what you want and can afford. You can take on board the recommendations, have a think. Its all good.

Yeh a notebook cooling fan would be good, not necessary but would be good. Probably wouldn't recommend running the notebook on the cushion thingy. Better to run the notebook on a hard even surface for best air flow and cooling.

Cheers.

 

You have to get an extreme cpu OR dual cards to get the bigger power supply

And that will be a BIG problem if you upgrade to 2 cards down the road as the 240W is barely sufficient for them, the 150 will absolutely not be enough

 

Blarg my delivery date has been pushed back from 9/13 to 9/17. So disappointed but I emailed the rep who processed my 2nd order and he is going to try to expedite the build. Still not getting my hopes up but hopefully 9/17 is the latest they push it back.

In the mean time I've been looking at some laptop coolers. Anyone use the Cooler Master Notepal U3? NotePal U3 - Cooler Master

I like how the fans are positionable but will the m17x fit on it? Says its for 17-19 inch laptops, but I would still love to hear some personal opinions.

 

I believe the nzxt cyro lx is by far, the best cooler for the m17x. Should look into that.

 

I read that that has some super sharp edges and is powered thru a wall socket? I still plan to try putting a cooler on top of my cushtop and running this beast on my lap while sitting on the couch mainly. So something that wont tear up my cushtop and is powered thru USB would be preferred.

 

My next recommendation would be the nc3000u or nc3000s by Zalman.

 

Awesome! Thanks I'll look into those too.

 

I found a great deal on Zalman nc3000s so let me know you ever decide to go that route and I'll let you know.

 

I was trying to figure out the difference between the two while looking them up on Amazon. The nc3000s has one less USB port on the hub in back? Is that the only difference?

 

I've got the U2 (2 fan) version, and as far as design goes it's not too bad. It's not really designed for use on legs, as the bar at the back is a little too rectangular and feels hard after a while. Other than that it's just fine.

The size of the U3 should be pretty much fine for the M17x. The only thing to check will be if the left and right fans can be placed wide enough to sit under the graphics cards. There's no way to adjust the length of wire going to the fans, so if it's too short then there's nothing you can do (short of hacking in some longer wires yourself).

 

The nc3000u has an external ac/dc power out(the adapter is sold separately for $15 shipped) so you don't have to connect it to your machine via usb. It can be used as a stand alone cooler whereas the "s" version only accepts usb as its power source. Get the nc3000s and save yourself some money.

 

Yup, I think you are right. I definetly want something powered thru USB. Having one cord to deal with (to power the laptop) is enough. Can you send me that info on the nc3000s?

 

Check your pm.

 

+rep

Thanks!

 

The Cryo LX can also be powered solely via usb......the fans just go about 5% faster with the ac adapter being used.