M17x R3 RELAUNCHED! (w/460M/6870M/6970M)

wow thats it. man thats sucks. i was planning on
2820
6970
1080p
750 hdd
blu-ray
4 yrs. advanced warranty

on the build screen its 3k, hoping for a little discount.
can't justify 3k without an xm chip, baawwww

 

Yeah, he said because its new and they are expecting large amounts of orders they aren't giving much of a discount... I don't know if he was BSing me or what but it might work in your favor to wait a month and see if they'll give more of a discount when sales die down.

ooooorr you could find an army / navy buddy and order through them, I think its still 30% off (??)

All my army buddies are in Afghanistan (just left this week) and all my navy buddies are unreachable at the Naval Academy here in Annapolis

...Anyone know where I can good a good messenger bag for this thing? I know there is a backpack thread but the conclusion was pretty much that the Alienware bag sucks and then they just went off talking about actual backpacks and not cases

 

if you guys want a real discount on buying the R3, follow my piece of advice: order however you can, call back the next day to Order Modification Department, complain about you having not figured out your budget and wanting to cancel the r3 order, see what happens.
to my concern, Indian reps are not allowed to drop off price too much (especially since r3 release), think (IMO) max they can do for you is a $100, where as order modification department exists in most manufacturing companies to make sure customer does not cancel his order / stays happy with his purchase.
if any1 wanna be guinea pig on this one, lemme know, I'm curious on your guys results. basically they did offer me a 15% discount on a refurbd system right away, maybe some1 gets luck on the r3.

 

Worth a try, I feel bad doing anything beyond this as I've said I'm committed to an order but I want my $100!

I'll do it tomorrow as I'm off all day.. I'll make a thread about it or post here if this thread is still going.

 

Nice!
I mean, this could help some people to also get some cuts on their prices. In case you don't get offered a discount, try more complaining, and if the OMD rep is stubborn (which is usually not the case) you can always tell you'll think about it more, hang up, call back again and try other rep
lemme know how it worked for ya.

 

I am planning on gettingt the r3 and need some help.Here is the system i have configured. It comes to about US$2150 before taxes.
Could someone give me an idea how much will it cost after taxes. I am guessing around 2300$. Correct me if i am wrong.
System Color Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Stealth Black
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
Display Panel 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M
Hard Drive 750GB 7,200RPM HDD
Here is how i plan on upgrading the system- I want to add a 120gb ssd for the OS and keep the 750gb one for other stuff. I will also Upgrade the ram to 8gb(at least). Here are my questions-
1) When i add the SSD, how do install the OS on it, i mean will i get my Win 7 installation disk along or just a recovery disk. If I order only one HDD will i be able to install the other one int the 2d bay without any additional stuff. Also i know that the computer comes loaded with some software and themes exclusive to alienware(alienwarefx), i wanted to confirm that if i would get those along in the utilities DVD. I saw a thread here on how to restore alienware look and feel should i follow that, will it help me get to exactly how it was.
2) Another question about the ssd, should i get an ssd or go for two hdds in raid0, it would really save me money but how much will be the performance difference.
3) About upgrading the ram- i want to upgrade to 8gb, should i just remove the existing 4gb ram and replace it with the 8gb(2x4gb) one or should i add the new ram ind addition to the existing ram, but i read somewhere on this forum that i should not mix and match ram and it would be advisable to replace existing ram with the identical ones. What does that mean?
4) I know that AMD does not have automatic switching but according to the LaptopMag review the R3 has some kind of automatic switching-. Can anyone with the 6870M clarify that. This is what they say-" While it lacks Nvidia's Optimus technology (which automatically switches between a discrete and integrated GPU based on the app being used) the M17x does automatically switch between its AMD GPU and a power-saving integrated Intel HD GPU when it's unplugged. "
5) Should i upgrade the processor will there going to be a performance difference even though i will be getting an ssd and the better GPU. If i do upgrade the CPU i will have to loose the blu ray drive coz this thing is really exceeding my budget. Do you think it is a good upgrade.
6)If i do upgrade the CPU, should i also get 1666mhz ram instead of 1333, hw much of a difference will it make.
7) I am deciding to go with OCZ Vertex 2 or Agility 2 SSD, what are the differences between the two. Also should i consider getting an Intel SSD or is OCZ better.
8) I will go with Corsair ram if i get 1333mz and Kingston hyperX if 1666mhz. Do you have any other suggestions.
9)What is the difference between thw wireless cards-
1501 1x1 AG MIMO
Intel® 3x3AGN MIMO
Intel® 2x2AGN MIMO / WiMax combo card
Should i upgrade from the base one.
10) Just one last thing is it worth going for 3d and sacrificing the better GPU and battery life.
Thanks in advance. My main problem is that i started with a budget of 2000$ and now it has exceeded to 2600$(with the ram and the SSD). I am sorry for so many n00b questions but I am really nervous coz i never really have bought such an expensive Laptop.

 

just ordered the base with upgraded lcd. just came back to wow and the m11x isnt cutting it with the screen size

now all i have to do when it arrives is swap the ssd and 8gb from my little alienware to the big one and life is peachy.

 

I configured my build but won't order until I can hear about hd streaming. It's a pretty $1500 cheaper than my current config ($3520 cdn vs $2007 usd)

Current:
460/3d 120hz
2820
256 ssd
Intel 6300
Bluray

New config :

2720
6970 2gb
4gb ram (will buy 8gb XMp)
320gb hdd (will buy 2 intel SSd)
Intel 6300


I can't really believe with the savings I'm the price of a whole r3 less. I'm going to be excited to put in my own 1600mhz memory and dual ssds in raid afterwards.

 

Karant: For boot SSD follow this guide

How to: Setup SSD boot drive with secondary Hard disc optimization - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

Best option is to go 7200rpm of whatever HDD you want and install your own SSD later. They DO come with the second bracket even if second bay is left empty.

RAM: Kingston 1600mhz for $90 Newegg, remove all 4 Alienware sent and keep for a few days to be sure the kingston is stable then ebay for $$$ (I didnt do this because I'm paying dell preferred account so I'm already in debt.. I'd rather just get it all done at once place)

Upgrade processor to 2720, definitely worth it.

For the 3D: TEST IT YOURSELF. I used to work in Bestbuy (Geeksquad).. Either go there and test the 3D on one of their TVs or go to a home theatre store with a nice setup and test there.. Its free and you can decide for yourself. Me personally.. It worked and nothing felt bad (no nausea or something like people claim) BUT I wasn't really blown away by it.. In some points I had to kind of search for the areas they did 3D in. The extra cost, sacrifice of GPU power, and lower FPS when 3D is running just wasn't worth it to me.

 

Also something I noticed... My shipping says "Guaranteed 5 day" or something along those lines, my rep never said anything about it. Is this standard (I thought ground was standard?) or did he upgrade it? Anyone else want to check their order?

 

Everything he said is awesome advice, I will tell you though the crap they carry at best buy is nowhere near as good as the R3 is when it comes to 3D. It will give you an idea as to if it will make you sick, give you a headache, etc but the quality is much better. I personally think 3D tv's are gimmicky crap but love the 3D on my R3 with the right game and right settings.

 

For when you're playing Dragon Age 2 in the back of a humvee speeding through death valley? :lol:

 

Mine says 3-5 day delivery. So yeah...

 

I am wondering how much Dell is going to charge for the wireless HD streaming setup. I know the receiver is $229.99. I am wondering how much the chip that is built in will cost. I tried configuring the R3 to what Laptopmag had their's configured and they must have some kind of discount because when I selected what they had on the Alienware website there is only $110 left to equal their $3300 machine.

 

Where is the 2920XM? And a blu ray burner? The wireless HD streaming? Come on alienware....... -__-

 

All I'm hoping is that I can add it later as it really, truly is a cool feature.

 

Out of curiousity, how big of a difference is the 60 ghz screen compared to the 120 ghz screen? I may get an m17x one day, and when that happens, I want to to know at least if the 3d ready screen is better.

 

120hz does 3D, 60hz doesn't.

Quality should be the same unless otherwise advertised, 120hz lets you "see" 120 frames per second where 60 can only DISPLAY 60 frames per second, even if its getting more FPS than that.

I had the 120hz AW2310 with my desktop for a while and it was worth it even though I only used the 3D once or twice... If you play FAST paced FPS games (Quake, TF2 to an extent, CS, Unreal Tournament, etc) it does feel "buttery smooth".

If you aren't using 3D 120hz is sort of a big luxury that you don't really need (or want) until you try it and judge for yourself... IMO Unless you plan to be the next big pro gamer in one of the games I listed or are going for 3D you're best investing the money somewhere else.

 

Seriously... who doesn't plan on being the next pro gamer? I do.

 

Regarding the ssd optimization link, do you enable or disable superfetch?

 

So i jsut reordered an R3....following specs:
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
Hard Drive: 1.5TB Raid 0 (2x 750GB 7,200RPM)
Video Card: 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M
Optical Drive: Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

i already have 8 more gb of after market ram, i got the nicer (60hz) screen at the higher rez....And yes i know i didnt get bluray...i jsut dont watch (non-ripped) movies on my system. Like everyone else, i would have loved a 485 but the 6970 is almost as good and way better then the 460. I didnt get the 3d this time as that i wasnt really using it on my old r3. too much eye strain. plus i wanted the ATI card this go-round.
I called in and use my last order as a template for a discount so my pre-tax price including next day shipping is $1999. About 200 in discounts. Calling in to place your order is still the way to go. If i didnt have my previous order to go off of, getting the discounts would have been harder...they seem to be playing hardball today lol ESD of 3/24 i hope it moves up a bit but it generaly does.

 

*droool*

Oh wait I already have one. I can't wait to see some reviews of 3d on the laptop.

 

I've seen mixed results depending on brand and revision, I have mine disabled but have seen some(Crucial is what I seem to remember specifically) that you lose some major 4k speed without it.

When did you get an R3 blue? What are the specs?

 

What he has said is a 100% percent logic deduction. The IGP is physically disabled in 3d models. So dont spread misinformation and tell people its ok to get the 3D now and change to Amd card later...

 

That may not be true. We do not know if its physically killed permanently. Dropping in an AMD GPU might be just fine.

We simply do not have that information since nobody here has been able to test this. I'm sure there must be a reason why it was not offered (AMD + 120Hz option) outside of the 3D functionality. The 120Hz display is a + regardless of GPU.

 

That's disappointing to hear Intel's video does anything in any of the systems. I don't like the added complexity Optimus or the like brings to the table.

 

Guess I'll wait a bit to see if anyone can use switchable gfx with the ATI and the 120Hz screen. The $275 discount makes the 3d model sound like a better deal to me in my barebones config. 3D model also includes bluray.

Is it hard to put in your own blueray drive after the fact? I know this isn't hard on Clevo.

 

Way better is kind of an overstatement, it's around 20-35% better in most cases

 

See for yourself...

Documentation

 

I was comparing it to the benchmarks i saw that had it at about 33% better... I would call that " WAY" better. That is a very big leap imo. For a single card solution, you really want every inch of performance you can get. And 33% is a lot of inches lol.. IMO dual card systems, while offering the most performance possible, comes with a lot of baggage in the form of driver issues etc.

When i got my first r3 i was moving from a asus g73 with a 5870. the 460 was at best a side grade really. I feel a lot better going to the 6970, like i am truely getting an upgrade this time.

 

So here's my question, and this really is looking in the long run. If i get the 3D bundle now with the 460m and the 120Hz screen, what are the chances in the future i'll be able to upgrade the card, i KNOW any answers would be pure speculation but i'm buying this laptop for my fiance (yes not myself im waiting for the (hopefully) M18x) and i don't want to have to sacrifice performance now unless in the future i can upgrade it to a better GPU for her. She's plays WoW alot and who knows what in the future (just got her into gaming and she's taking off like a rocket). I just can't properly weigh the options on GPU's here because i'm quite a bit less versed in laptops as i am desktops.

 

Protip: NEVER buy a laptop expecting to upgrade the GPU. RAM+HDD is basically all you upgrade, a few enterprising individuals upgrade processors here but there's no point if you're using it to game, it's benchmarking. GPU's are much harder to find and upgrade and they cost 500+ for something better than a 460m. 485m currently costs around $800 and nobody knows if it works or not, it has to be coded in the bios, and why would it be in there if AW doesn't have 485m as an option?

 

So what your saying is AW screwed everyone who wanted performance and long term use out of the 3D bundle? i know the 460m isn't a bad card but what happens say 3 years from now? pretty sure the AMD card will still be viable (hopefully) but will the single 460m?

 

Also i'd like to know what kind of deals i could get over the phone instead of online, i've been reading about alot of people who get deals and i was just curious if they have some kind of special deals they give over the phone.

 

6970m is slightly less powerful than the 485m, for half the cost. Yes, it's a very powerful card and is 'future proof' in the sense that current games will run on max and probably near future games. Nothing is 'future' proof, you always are going to have to turn down your settings as new games come out, Dell is screwing you either way, it costs them the same to buy 460m's and 6970m's and they still charge you an extra $175 for the 6970m. It all depends on how badly you really want 3d, I see 3d being up-played in here a lot and think this might be a little overblown, I know I personally get headaches from shutter glasses and that's a large turnoff for the new 3D AW's. Then again there aren't any other 3D laptops without glasses until the new G53 comes out sometime.

 

thats why u get a m17x r2 from a fellow NBR'er

i dunno, i mean, ive upgraded GPU's on my own in my older desktops and such... but ive never done it in a laptop

 

Heh sorry demons not taking the bait, also i know there isn't any such thing as future proofing, but i just want her to be happy as long as possible with the laptop, she's really excited just don't want to let her down you know, she was a-ok with not having the 3D so maybe ill just get the 6970m and when the 18x comes if they have 3D i'll get it then, also i actually get headaches from 3D movies but i thought it would be cool to try and see if it doesn't hurt me in a laptop.

 

he does have a good point. to be honest, if u want the best, get a 6970 and be done with it. then you will not have to upgrade, and if u still want to upgrade down the road, you have avery long time on this card before you even have to.

 

I'm not much for playing the "what if, maybe" game with technology. Anyways, I'm replacing my tired M1730 (as you can see in my sig) with a brand spankin' new M17x.

Intel Core i7 2820QM 2.3GHz
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M
750GB 7,200RPM HDD
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3
4 Year Advanced Warranty

$3157.04

This is purely a gaming system so Blu-Ray wasn't a must for me and I'm fine with a single disk drive. Although, I am considering changing it to a RAID. Not too shabby considering what I paid for my M1730 4 years ago. I'm looking forward to it.

 

tbh if u get headaches from 3d movies i reckon it be worse with games as there is alot more happenin most of the time then there is in movies.

I would prolly prefer to have the 3d on a larger screen tho 17" doesnt sound like much to work with 3d wise.

 

boo yeahh...i just joined the club..my configuration:
Intel Core i7 2720QM 2.2GHz
MOD,DIMM,4GB,1333MHZ,DDR3,2X2G
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M
320GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD
Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
intel 6300 wifi card

$2,069.00 with free next business day shipping XD

EDD 03/25/2011

 

Congrats!
No warranty?

 

opps..1 year basic plan..I'd like to extend it, but due to a limited student budget..so i will extend it later on even though it's going to be more expensive..

 

How many RAM slots are available in this thing? I am hoping to use 4x4 GB for a total of 16GB.

 

Heh I got the same computer except:

3 years of warranty + Accidental Warrenty
$2253

 

Cancelled my Sager NP8170 and went for this instead. Mainly 'cause I wanted a 6970M.

 

Definitely can. it has 4 bays expandable up to 24gb ram

 

you guys made me want to return my brand new R2 for the R3. I dont need dual GPUs at all. Lol. Sandy Bridge is so promising.

 

I want the exactly same thing as you ordered. Could you PM me about that deal?

 

Well you are in luck, it does support 4x4gb