Need advise on a new M17x purchase!

Hi guys. I already own a 1 year old M17x (T9600, Dual 280, 4GB, 320 GB in Raid 0) and thought I'd upgrade given the recent 20% off deal on Dell/Epp.

My questions are as follows:

1. Should I wait for any near future developments in the M17x (like the single/dual 480M)?

2. i7 720QM or 740QM: Is it worth the upgrade? I'm not willing to pay for the 840QM...

3. I'm virtually set on the XF 5870's, but does anyone have an argument whether the Dual 285's would be a better choice?

4. Simple question: 256GB SSD or 128GB X2 SSD in Raid 0?

Thanks to everyone in advance!

 

740 will be slightly faster due to the extra multiplier. Not sure it will be too noticable though. The 720 can be overclocked using SetFSB.

285's may have better driver support, but they are basically the same cards as the 280's and would be much slower than the 5870s.

256GB SSD. Then you can throw in a storage drive, and have a quick booting SSD drive to run programs off. You can put in a 640GB or 750GB HDD in the second slot. Not to mention in RAID configuration, TRIM isn't supported at the moment.

 

they're almost exactly the same, sans the cases where game optimizations for a specific brand take place.

no, it's not. There is no instance where 133mhz is going to make or break anything.

neither. Dell charges an outrageous amount for what are essentially low mid-grade samsung drives. Get the cheapest 250GB spinning drive option and buy your own SSD.

 

In that case, I have to admit that Civilization V plays its part in my wanting to upgrade Civ has always been configured for nVidia...

 

you also need to read up on pm55 4k performance problem with ssd's and decide whether you want to go that route right now or wait until a fix is found.

the list of advantages 285s have over 5870s is still pretty small. you get cuda,physx and a little more battery life. anything else is buying based on the name and maybe slightly better multi-gpu support. unless all you plan on playing is civ v, I would pick the 5870s. all the problems have been worked out, they have directx 11, they overclock better and they are cheaper. although we are all hoping Dell won't pull another r1 with these 285s there's always the chance they will until someone gets them in their hands.

bottom line, pick 5870s unless you just absoluetly need an nvidia card based on the before mentioned advantages.

 

Well, I guess one of the arguments for not waiting to upgrade is that with the power consumption and thermals of a possible 480 SLI solution Dell might not be inclined to jump on that just yet. But I would have been interested in a single 480...

 

power consumption isn't the problem, it's not really anymore than a 285 or 5870. it's the amount of heat it needs to get rid of. the way foxconn or Dell is applying their hsf right now it will not support 100w of heat. if they figure out that their application method is wrong and fix it I'm sure it could manage to keep some 480Ms pretty happy.

 

I'm leaning towards 2 combinations so far... Even though it may be true the SSD's are overpriced, I don't mind it for the convenience of having them installed for me (and without my opening the machine to install an SSD and possibly voiding warranty?).

So I can either go with the i7 720QM and a 256GB SSD, or the i7 840QM and a 500GB SATA II or 500GB in Raid 1.

What were those performance issues with the SSD drives, could I get a link on the thread? Been searching with no success... And also, any thoughts on Raid1?

 

IMO the Dell Samsung 256GB SSD is the best SSD as far as price/GB. I have two of them. True, it isn't the fastest performing SSD out there, but it's much faster than an HDD, and it's a decent price for the size.

As far as installing your own HDD, it won't void the warranty at all, but the installed HDD won't be warranted by Dell, however it will be warranted by the original manufacturer, Western Digital, ect. Food for though.

 

yup, which is why I suggested going aftermarket. The only SSD's that dont offer 3+ year warranties are the ones you won't be purchasing anyway.

 

Any thoughts on Raid 1? Worth the investment over the regular drive solution?

 

RAID 1 is for data protection and reliability. It mirrors your hdds data on both hdds. So for example if you had 2X 500gb you would essentially lose 500gb of space because the other hdd is mirroring your 1st one. Its more of a backup way to setup and use your hdds. Where as the RAID 0 option was for performance and speed.

If you don't need the space and really need the failsafe for all your data then yeh you can use it. Otherwise a single SSD with a 2nd larger hdd for storage would be your best bet.

Cheers.

 

Ok guys, settled on the following configuration:

i7 - 740QM
4GB
1TB - 500GB X 2 Raid 0
Dual 5870 XFire

Including an Orion case, it nets me 2500.27 after discount. Also had a 50$ coupon but I lost it...

 

@adyghost, are you planning on selling your old M17x? I'm in the market for one.

 

I am actually, do you want the specs?

 

Sure, I'm ready to buy it really soon (another deal just fell through).

 

Core2Duo T9600 (2.8Ghz)
4GB Ram (1066Mhz)
Dual 280M GTX SLi
320GB - 160GB X 2 Raid 0
44 days left on warranty

Let me know if you need any other info.

 

Does it have the WUXGA screen? (if so, everything looks good)

 

Yup, 1920X1200.

 

Great! How soon are you going to sell it?