M17x questions before purchase.

Hey guys,

Obviously alot of knowledge around here, and also opinions. I understand that this is an opinionated question, but I hope posting here I'll get some straight answers. I am about to pull the trigger on the R3 (~$2300) and wanted to get some insight from you guys about the system and manufacturer. Main thing for me is the upgrade-ability and the longevity of the system. Is 2300 on this machine the best money spent? Or after owning Alienware systems, is there somewhere else the money is better spent, ie. Sager or something like that. I really dig what this machine has to offer and also it's looks. Also, what warranty would you guys recommend if I pull the trigger. I don't want to spend 400 bucks on a warranty I'll never use, but for you guys that have used the warranties, if you could shed some light I would appreciate it. Appreciate the insight and responses as always.

Thanks!

 

First..... be sure to get the 3 year (at least) warranty with in-home repair and (if you can swing it) accidental damage protection (especially since you say you want this to last).

Chances are good that you will need to use the warranty at some point and for something this expensive you want to be covered.

As for upgrade ability, it depends on your initial configuration.
At some point, a better vid. card will probably be available which you could buy and pop in and if you did not get the top of the line processor that is something you could do later as well.
Hard drives are an easy and cheap way to upgrade (even SSD's are getting lower in price and like they say...... once you go SSD you never go back)

Other than that.... its all up to you since it is your $$

D.

 

Thanks for the response debaucher. For the warranty, and accidental, I mean from the sounds of it at year 3 you could just throw it out a car window and send it in for a replacement. How does that work? Basically with the warranty your good for the system you purchase and in 3 years good for a new one? Not sure how they make money offering that type of warranty. No I'm not crooked and going to just start beating on the machine to get a replacement, but I'm curious.

I was going to do the $150 upgrade to the 2720 processor. Good idea?

 

I would recommend the following:

- 2720 processor
- 6970M if you do not want 3D
- 460M if you want 3D
- Standard RAM and buy the 8GB off Newegg for $99. Newegg RAM for R3. Check out there was a newegg promo code for RAM earlier.
- Buy a Vertex 2 SSD off Amazon or Newegg


You will save a lot of money doing everything this way and have one of the best systems currently available.

 

I just ordered today, what does a SSD do for you preformance wise? Does it increase fps?

 

your hard drive has the data for the programs, ssd drives allow for more data to be pushed through faster then the standard mech drives. It is considered one of the easier to upgrade bottle necks for people looking to push their computers faster.

ssds also offer a few advantages, in lower power consumption, quiet, no moving parts, quicker read/write speeds, which leads to a bit faster boots, program loading, data loads

standard hdd are cheaper per GB then SSDs by loads.

SSDs arent super new, but they arent so widely well known and accepted that the prices are remaining higher then they should but expect them to continue to drop.

 

Would you recommend the Vertex 2 SSD or a SATA III SSD?

 

The only reason to not own an SSD is the $/GB ratio. They are superior to mechanical hard drives in every other way.

 

well then there is also the ssd/hdd hybrids. I have heard some good things about them, but I dont have any long term experience with them to really make an informed comment at this time.

 

In regard to the hybrids, they aren't putting up the numbers to compete with SSD. In the end, you're still writing to, and reading from a mechanical drive.

 

Man, all I've got to say is: Ballin'. You can downpayment a good car with 2G's. Glad my brother's in the Navy, otherwise I would've gotten an Envy14/3820TG or G53 at most.

 

Hi all. I have a question about graphics card replacement. I tried to found it in manual, but without success. Is it possible to buy another graphics card and run them both, or replace 6970 with something newer in the future?

 

In a nutshell, yes. Ppl said that you can, as long as it matches/fits the "MxM" or something. Dunno if that's helpful to you though Sorry.