M17X-R3 as replacement for M17X-R1

Hi everyone, due to chipset isuues they want to replace my current laptop with the following spec:

210-27828 Alienware M17x : Base Space Black 1 S
213-10557 Processor : Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300(2.53GHz,1066MHz,12MB L2 Cache) 1 S
230-10776 Display : 17in Wide UXGA (1920X1200) - Beyond HD (1200p) 1 S
340-18532 Resource DVD : Alienware M17x 1 S
340-18527 Ship Accessory : Italian Docs 1 S
370-15259 Memory : 4096MB (2x2048) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel 1 S
400-17576 Hard Drive : 1TB (2x500GB) Free Fall Sensor Raid 0 "Stripe"(7200RPM) Dual HDD 1 S
429-14135 Optical Drive : DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) Drive 1 S
450-13328 Power Supply : Alienware 240W AC Adapter 1 S
450-11559 Italian 220V AC Adapter Power Cord 1 S
451-11042 Battery : Primary 9-cell 85W/HR LI-ION 1 S
490-11454 Graphics : SLI Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 280M 1 S
555-12293 Wireless : Europe Dell Bluetooth 370 Card 1 S
555-12292 Wireless : European Dell Wireless 1510 (802.11 n) Half Mini Card 1 S
583-12947 Keyboard : Internal Italian Qwerty Keyboard 1 S
619-17193 Operating System : Italian Genuine Windows Vista SP1 Ultimate (64Bit) including Media 1 S
644-10000 Avatar : Alienhead 3D 1 S
645-10002 AutoMatic Updates : AutoMatic updates - On 1 S
646-10001 Window Style : Window Style - Default 1 S
647-10000 Power Plan : Balanced 1 S
648-10004 Wallpaper : Alien Schematic (Widescreen) 1 S
649-10001 MousePointers : Standard 1 S
650-12454 No Software Anti-Virus 1 S
654-10000 TimeZone : (GMT + 01.00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna 1 S
656-10001 AlienFX Colour : Quasar Blue 1 S
657-10001 Name Plate Engraving : Customised 1 S
754-11567 3Yr Premium Warranty Support 1 S
754-11564 1Yr Premium Warranty Support 1 S
755-10490 3Yr Accidental Damage Support 1 EX

with this one

Alienware M17xR3 : Base Stealth Black 0.00 0.00
Processor : Intel Core i7 Processor 2820QM (2.30Ghz, 6MB, 4C) 1
Display : 17.3in WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD 1
Camera : Integrated 3.0 Mega Pixel HD Camera 1
Resource DVD : Alienware M17xR3 1
Ship Accessory : Southern European Docs 1
Memory : 4096MB (2x2048) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel 1
Hard Drive : 1.5TB (2x750GB) SATA Raid 0 "Stripe" (7,200rpm) Dual HDD 1
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including software 1
Power Supply : Alienware 240W AC Adapter 1
Italian 220V AC Adapter Power Cord 1
Battery : Primary 9-cell 93W/HR LI-ION 1
Graphics : 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M w/ Optimus Technology 1
Bluetooth : European Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Card 1
Wireless : European Intel Wireless LAN 6300 3x3 (802.11a/b/g/n) Card 1
Keyboard : Internal Italian Qwerty Keyboard 1
Operating System : Italian Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate (64 BIT) 1
Software : Datasafe Local 2.0 Basic 1
Avatar : Alienhead 3D 1
AutoMatic Updates : AutoMatic updates - On 1
Sfondo : sfondo logo Alienware 1
No Software Anti-Virus 1
Fuso orario : (GMT + 01.00) Vienna, Amsterdam, Berlino, Stoccolma 1
AlienFX Colour : Quasar Blue 1
Name Plate Engraving : Generic 1
Standard Service - 1 year of Next Business Day coverage included with your
PC
1
2 Year Hardware Support - Next Business Day 1
2 years Accidental Damage Support 1

in your opinion should i ask for a 3D screen and a pair of glasses?

 

Yes if you are into 3D. I would ask for the ATI 6970 instead as it is much stronger card than the Nvidia 460m.

 

Sincerely i wouldn't replace my R1 for an R3 , maybe for an R2. It's your choice but if you can't get your hands on an R2 maybe you should wait for M18x. M17x R3 has 3D indeed and a few features like HDMI-in , but it has its problems as well, one of them being stuck with a single card.

 

Im not saying he should get it replaced but single cards arent that bad unless your doing something really graphic intensive but most games will handle fine on a single card

 

I honestly prefer single card configs. The diminishing returns on dual cards is pretty meh.

That's just me though

 

Prepare yourself for the onslaught of people who will demand that you only take an m18x as a replacement due to the 2x graphics card. Personally, I would follow mfractal's advice unless you really want to try for the m18x.

 

Thanks, for the replies, the replacement offer is valid only for 14 days, and i don't think it will be released so soon in europe especially in my country, and plus is a diffrent model from M18X i don't thonk they will be so generous. About R2 the problem is that they would offer me a screen with 1440*900 resolution, and i use also CAD programs with all the menus is too much low for work.

 

Go for the offer, but change your GPU to 6970m, this you will not regrete. I can say that I have the R2 and R3 and the 6970m sometimes performs much better then the Cf 5870m, though the R2 has a lower screen resolution. 3D is not my option, especially that you will have performance issues once is enabled in the 460m

 

just a guess, but im thinking dell wont give out m18x as a replacment for a 17inch system....it would be great, but lets not get too greedy lol...

 

unless you have the lower resolution screen on the R2 ( 1440.....) both R1 and R2 have screens up to 1920x 1200 (> 1920x1080)

 

Besides work i play WoW, i have read on this that the 460M is enough also in 3D, in your opinion is better if i do a call before accepting the offer.
In the mean time they made me a second offer with the 3D panel included.