M17X R3 Wise Options?

Hey all,

I start uni in september and will not be able to bring my desktop gaming rig. As such I have decided on the m17x r3 to be my desktop replacement. I placed the order this morning, and as it is Sunday I have time to adjust my order.

This is the configuration I originally opted for:


Alienware M17x
Alienware M17x Soft-Touch Stealth Black, Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English $2,159.99 1 $2,159.99
System Color Alienware M17x Soft-Touch Stealth Black
[225-0827]
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
[317-6602]
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
[317-6118]
A/C Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
[331-1347]
Display Panel 17.3-inch WideHD+ 1600 x 900 60Hz WLED
[320-1935]
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M
[320-1939]
Hard Drive 1.5TB Raid 0 (2x 750GB 7,200RPM)
[342-2229]
Nameplate Standard Nameplate
[331-1349]
AlienFX Terra Green
[313-8797]
[421-4655]
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
[420-6436]
[420-9691]
[421-0092]
[421-5789]
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat Reader
[410-1883]
Optical Drives Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
[318-0395]
[421-4541]
Sound Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
[318-0424]
Wireless Wireless 802.11 g/n
[430-4019]
Security Software McAfee® Security Center – 30-Day Trial
[410-9452]
Service 1 Year Limited Warranty w/1 Year Next Business Day On-site Service
[939-0150]
[939-0170]
[950-9797]
[994-3730]
Pre-Installed Software Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
[421-1360]
OS Customization Alienhead Glow
[421-1572]
[421-1592]

Instant savings with your purchase. Offer Expires 8/19 at 5 am EST. - $210.00
Instant savings with your purchase. Offer Expires 8/19 at 6 am EST. - $100.00
Subtotal: $1,850.69
Shipping and Handling: $0.00
Environmental Disposal Fee: $0.70
PST: $0.00
GST/HST: $240.59
Total: $2,091.28

After considering further additional options, I am considering upgrading to the [17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED [add $150.00 or $4.00/month1]]
and the [Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW) [add $150.00 or $4.00/month1]]. My question is, are these worthwhile areas to spend extra? I am beginning to think that spending a little extra now, will prolong the notebooks usefulness period, and will improve the resale value down the road if I ever decide to sell it. Please let me know what you consider to be wise areas to upgrade in.

Thanks for the help!

 

Get the 1920x1080 screen and blu ray. Its definitely worth it

 

Get the 1920x1080***
Increase the warranty since this will be on campus (accidents happen).
Ditch the hard drive option inless its a free upgrade. Much cheaper to purchase larger, faster, or bigger hard drives from other sources than Dell.

I have the blu-ray player and its nice but not a huge need.

 

So thats a +1 for the 1920x1080 and blue ray.

And a +1 for the 1920x1080.

Thats a good point re: the warranty. The two 750gb drives are included in pricec so I might as well keep that. The 8gb of ram is included as well, so I cant save money there.

 

+1 1080.

580+ 120hz screen if you want 3d and or a superior screen and better performance

 

Meh 3d doesn't interest me. Nice 8 btw, do you have an accessport installed?

 

Is the 120hz screen better? I made a post about this earlier and most people said it's not worth the extra money. On Dells website it says 3d/120hz has better brightness but doesn't have anti-glare on it.

 

It does have extra brightness, 100 nits according to spec. This is to compensate for having to wear sunglasses while 3D gaming.

None of the screens have any kind of anti-glare, so I'm not sure why it says that in the specs. All are highly reflective and polished to a mirror finish.

I have seen no objective data or specifications that indicate that the 120 Hz screen is in any way superior or even different from the 60 Hz screen, besides refresh rate and brightness. Color gamut, contrast, and everything else is identical. I did a lot of research on this prior to purchasing my m17x, since I do imaging work and I wanted the best screen possible. I saw no worthwhile difference for me in the 120 Hz screen, since neither 3D nor the extra brightness was desirable in my case. I just calibrated mine and that takes the brightness down (~120 lumens) for proper color representation so it'd be silly to pay extra for brightness I don't use.

If I had to guess I'd say the panel itself is likely identical in both the 60 Hz and 120 Hz models, just with a different backlight and electronics capable of the higher refresh rate. The 1600x900 panel however is definitely inferior as you can see from Dell's specs.

Good luck!

 

Can you not get the 6990m?

 

Ok so the 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED is a lock then.

And yes I can get the 6990m Tapa, but from what I read the 90 did not noticeably outperform the 70. If it came down to either the blue ray drive or the 6990m, what would you choose?

 

Ah, maybe something has changed, but at first the 90 was only like $50 more than the 70. So, seems worthwhile if it's something like that still.

Bluray is tough to advise on, as it's a very subjective choice. I am not a fan of it, but you may be. I'm just over disc media in general. I have used my DVD drive maybe 3 times in the last 4 months...do you think you'll definitely use it? Plus I think $150 is way too high a price.

 

It says it on dells uk website :-

Dell - Help Me Choose: Display

Click on compare side-by-side.

 

-2720QM
-4GB RAM, upgrade yourself later.
-320 GB HDD, upgrade yourself later or buy add SSD later.
-FHD screen.
-6990m.
-Blu Ray player. Do look amazing!

Warrenty is up to you.

Best performance/price ratio if you ask me.

 

This specs are perferct, i am looking for them too.

 

Yes I realize it says that, but none of the screens actually have an anti-glare or matte finish. All are very glossy.

 

Okay so this is what I went with:



Item Description Unit Price Quantity Total Price

Alienware M17x
Alienware M17x Soft-Touch Stealth Black, Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English $2,249.99 1 $2,249.99
System Color Alienware M17x Soft-Touch Stealth Black
[225-0827]
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
[317-6114]
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
[317-6116]
A/C Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
[331-1347]
Display Panel 17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
[320-1933]
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990M
[320-2795]
Hard Drive 320GB 7,200RPM HDD
[342-2218]
Nameplate Standard Nameplate
[331-1349]
AlienFX Quasar Blue
[313-8792]
[421-4655]
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
[420-6436]
[420-9691]
[421-0092]
[421-5789]
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat Reader
[410-1883]
Optical Drives Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
[318-0395]
[421-4541]
Sound Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
[318-0424]
Wireless Wireless 802.11 g/n
[430-4019]
Security Software McAfee® Security Center – 30-Day Trial
[410-9452]
Service 1 Year Limited Warranty w/1 Year Next Business Day On-site Service
[939-0150]
[939-0170]
[950-9797]
[994-3730]
Pre-Installed Software Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
[421-1360]
OS Customization Alienhead Glow
[421-1572]
[421-1592]

Instant savings with your purchase. Offer Expires 8/19 at 6 am EST. - $100.00
Subtotal: $2,149.99
Shipping and Handling: $0.00
Environmental Disposal Fee: $0.70
PST: $0.00
GST/HST: $279.59
Total: $2,430.28

I added the 2720QM, 60Hz 1920x1080 screen and HD 6990M. Unfortunately I just couldn't sell myself on the Blue Ray player, I have a PS3 hooked up to a 55" HDTV at home should I find myself with a blue ray movie and I usually just watch .avi and .mkv files anyways. Thanks for the input guy!

 

Call a sales rep. for some more discount if you havent ordered already?

 

I'm talking to a sales rep now, if they can offer me any discounts I'll just cancel my earlier order.

 

No dice, the rep only offered me the $100 off I was already getting.

 

regarding the 120hz screen, i didnt mean the picture quality was better per se. just that when its in motion it looks.. silkier


and no access port yet no, not as easy to get them in the uk

 

Avoid the 1600X900 screen, AT ANY COST!

That's the worst model I have ever seen!

 

I completely agree with this. A friend of mine got the 1600x900 and I tried using it for 1 hour.


My eyes...will never be able to see clearly again :cry:

 

1920x1080 is a absolute MUST
ditch the blu ray player, its not worth it. You can retrofit a bluray BURNER for the same price from ebay. Get the 6990m, it IS worth it. processor isn't really a need unless you do CPU intensive tasks like Dolphin X64 or PCSX2. Certainly do not upgrade your memory and hdd from dell, its far cheaper to do so later on.

 

Okay, I'll probably grab one of these down the road anyways: Panasonic Blu-ray Player Burner BD-RE DVD Drive UJ-220 | eBay

 

Don't grab that. It's IDE

Will work with any Laptop/Notebook that confirms to the Blu-Ray Standard and has the correct IDE connection.
IDE/ATAPI interface


You need SATA

 

To get at the BD-ROM you have to take the machine apart. If you want blu-ray, I'd buy it up front. It is not easily accessible.

Cheers,

 

Good catch, just noticed that.