M17x R2 vs R3 Price difference?

I am have been trying to figure out why the M17x R3 is so much cheaper than the R2 I bought. Maybe I am just not familiar with specifications but it seems to offer a lot more for a lot less.

I am aware of how much computer prices change over time but this should actually be working against what I have observed.

About 6 months ago I orded a $3800 M17x R2 with a Q740 processor, 6GB of ram, and Dual 5870 graphics cards. I purchased a 4 year warranty, 256 SSD, and the RGB screen.

The M17x R3 can be sold for $3000 with 6GB of ram, a GTX 460, and their 2630 QM processor with 2.0 GHz vs the 1.73 GHz of my 740.

Now when I bought mine the 5870's were on their way out, and I knew this, but that only serves to make me wonder more. Why did I pay more for a laptop at the end of its life while this new design can be bought for $800 cheaper.

I know the fact that mine has the crossfire cards plays into that, but even adding another card does not account for the $800 cheaper difference from NEW hardware compared to my older hardware at purchase.

Am I missing something here?

Also, is there any way I could get Dell to upgrade what I have? I would even be willing to exchange systems (unless I shouldn't?) even though mine costs more.

 

Well, since I don't own either machine at this point (R3 is coming eventually), my input may not be of much use. However, I have been reading a lot about both of these machines for the past 6 weeks or so.

From everything I have read, the R2 is an awesome machine with an incredible build quality, high powered dual graphics capabilities, support for extreme i7 processors, a killer 16:10 RGB 1920x1200 screen option.

So, all things considered, here is what cost you extra:

RGB screen
Dual ATI 5870 video cards (faster than a single 460M)
SSD
4 year warranty
Sturdy Aluminum case.

By the time I upgrade mine to be similar to yours, I'll be at $3400 and I can never have the beautiful RGB screen or the Aluminum shell or a second video card.

I would say you made out pretty well...

 

I made sure to pick all the same options on the R3 and it still only comes to $3000 CAD. So every option on this R3 I have built out is either the same or an improvement for $800 less. I would even go out on a limb and say I would rather have a single GTX 460 than two 5870's. Two may be faster in theory but I've not noticed a big difference between having one or both running on most games.

Also I obviously don't own and R3 but I've heard it runs a lot quieter. I know the fans are designed to keep this machine working but wow do they ever make a lot of noise at full speed.

 

With regarding to the noise, the R2 will of course be louder, it does have an extra fan. I looked on notebook check, the noise of the R2 reaches 52Db, and the R3 reaches 48Db. But right now you have a machine better than the R3 IMO.

I would wait until Joker finishes his review on Tech|Inferno. He's a lot more educated on the R3 and the R2 than I am. and it looks like he's going to compare them both.

 

Sandybridge is a big leap forward. I believe the 2630 is also a dual core. With the leap forward, SB is also cheaper than previous generations, which adds to its success and appeal. Also the 460 is the lower end card for the R3.

 

2630qm is a quadcore, not to be confused with the 2620qm which is a dualcore ^^

And yeah, to the OP, the premium that you paid for your R2 comes in the form of:

- RGB 1200p screen (I would say this is at least a $300+ value)
- Aluminum casing as opposed to the rubber/plastic casing in the R3 (another $200 value)
- Support for dual-GPU. Even though 2x 5870m's don't equate to the current gen GPU's, it's still dual-GPU's. And I would say considering Dell charges a heavy "labor fee" on every component added, it's safe to say that the choice of adding another 5870 to your order increased the price by about $200.

So in total, you're getting around the same market value on your R2, as people are getting on the R3 today, since they are not getting all the "bonuses" that the R2 had when you bought yours.

Plus, as other people mentioned, it might seem like you're losing out on a lot more, in terms of processor/GPU speed; but for example, the Sandy Bridge line-up is supposed to replace the last-gen CPU's for the same price, while offering even better performance. So technically, you are losing some performance for each dollar you spend, but that's obviously true when buying any kind of technology. In fact, the R3 that I just bought will probably seem like it's "not worth it" when the new Ivy Bridge processors come out in 1/2 a year or so.

Bottom line: be happy with your purchase! It was worth it when you bought it, so there's really no need to compare it to new technology and new price points. Dell's still charging the same $$$ for everything they sell.

 

Ok, was confused since i haven't paid much attention to SB.

Also remember that the R3 is more an M15x replacement than a m17x replacement.

 

Oh thank you, I wasn't aware the screen was lower quality or that it was not available in aluminium. I just assumed all of their 17inch screen laptops would have the same case.

 

your 5870 CF will beat the current best performing GPU in the r3 (6970) by about 10-30% in most games..some are no difference. SB is nice due to the onboard GPU but use throttlestop on an extreme 920xm that you can upgrade to and you are running a BEAST

 

You are right about the 5870M CF being 10-30% faster. I got to see an R3(6970M) running Crysis 2 1.0 at native res(1920 x 1080) with fraps running in hardcore mode. The FPS were all over the place. low 20 to 25 to 40.

Since the flickering issue was resolved my R2 fluctuates from 40 to 60 FPS at 1200P in Crysis 2(DX9).

 

The R3 is much faster. Get a 2820qm and it'll out perform the 920xm by a lot. Also cpu intensive games will benefit greatly from sandy bridge processors. Switchable graphics if you value portability. It is a laptop after all. If it's going to just sit on your desk might as well get a $600 desktop that'll beat an R2 system with 5870m CF.

5870m CF is a downgrade from the 6970m pure and simple. With dual gpus you have microstuttering, driver issues, and inconsistent fps. Crossfire doesn't work sometimes for certain games and that'll give you only single 5870m performance. It's always better to get one powerful GPU over two weaker gpus. We all know this.

As far as the aluminum option...I fail to see how someone factored that as a $200 upgrade.

 

The 6970M is NO upgrade from a 5870M CF configuration. It would be safe to say that in some situations they perform almost the same with the 5870M CF ahead by a small margin. The only real advantage that the 6970M has when it comes to gaming is, that as of late developers(EA) have neglected to add CF support. You also referenced the differences in CPU's available for both models. Taking that into account regarding actual gameplay then that margin may be even greater in the favor of the 5870M CF.

In the past I've heard of micro stuttering with CF/SLI but from what I actually experienced on these games



and some others in my Steam library I have yet to see micro stuttering. Maybe I am just late to the game and these issues have been resolved with driver updates.......who knows.

Do you actually own a M17x R2 or a M17x R3?
I've actually seen both of these systems running games and at present I have enough money to buy the M18x in the near future and probably will. Just because....therefore in the end it really doesn't make a difference which is better to me.

I'm just posting because of what I actually witnessed with my own eyes.

 

Perhaps this should stay on topic about the PRICE difference. Else the mods from above will see this as another veiled r2 vs r3 thread.

 

I disassembled the entire R3 and I've yet to find anything metallic about it other than the media buttons.

I think plastic has to account for a portion of the price difference. Where is this magnesium everyone's talking about?

 

Man, if people start talking about specs alone, they get heated fast.

Anyways, maybe it's to compete directly with cheaper similar spec'ed notebooks like the Asus G series. I imagine the series must have put a sizable dent on Alienware's sales. Not everyone has money for five maxed out Alienwares in a row.