*OFFICIAL* M17xR3 Owner's Lounge Thread - Part 1

Done!

10char

 

Excellent.

Also, add a question, which will be self explanatory and deter folks from ever asking anything related to the igp about: battery life while using the igp (hd 3000)

Thanks for making this list. But when will it move to its own thread?

 

That should be covered by this question:

"How is battery life affected when the discrete graphics are turned on (with Optimus) vs entirely off? "

Well, BatBoy mentioned whoever gets the first R3 should start a thread about it with pictures and their review. I'll post our list of questions there and then BatBoy can use the answers to feed the FAQ he discussed.

 

Ah--- makes sense So in 2 weeks we should start seeing reviews, right? Do you know for how long the $1699 "bundle" will be around?

 

I'd prefer we wait until the first unit is received by one of the NBR members. This prevents the thread going from a FAQ thread to 100+ pages of non-stop questions/speculation/back and forth debates/etc. before the system is even received.

 

Ordered:

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Hard Drive: 750GB 7,200RPM HDD
Video Card: 1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M
Optical Drive: Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader
and a 1 year advanced warranty

Price: $1992.00 with tax (around 1860 without)

did I get a decent deal?
I thought it was good with the epp 2% plus $75.

 

What is this "good" Dell/AW warranty thing? Building it on the site shows only 1 year warranty in the cart... Or do you folks mean BUYING the warranty? ASUS offers 2 year and 1 year accidental.

 

People are referring to the actual level of service you will receive from AW vs. ASUS. I can tell you from experience with both Dell and ASUS that Dell has hands down better tech support. They will overnight parts to a tech (sometimes even to you) and have them installed within a day or two at your home. The phone agents are usually very willing to set up tech appointments and send out parts, and seem more interested in general to see that your problem is resolved. My experience with ASUS- long hold times, long turn arounds (must send notebook in), impolite techs.

 

No idea when we will see reviews or when that bundle will run up. I am in no way connected with Alienware other than I have ordered 1 laptop from them in the past.

 

Any opinions on the value/worth/necessity of including 2/3 years 'complete care' when ordering an Alienware system, as opposed to the standard 1 year?

 

Ah man, this is a long discussion..

With gaming laptops I almost always recommend extending the warranty if you can afford it. There is just so much that can go wrong and model to model they seem to be major hits or major misses. Sometimes you get huge duds like my m15x and end up with physical defects.

That being said, the M17x R2 seemed to be pretty rock solid after a few software problems were ironed out. Based off that I'd say the extended warranty isn't necessary on the R3.. But then I remember they may have completely re-done the case and everything with the R3 so its anyones gamble on whether it will be good or not.

Basically, as I first said, if you can afford it its probably not a bad idea.

I think there is also an option to extend your warranty within a certain period of time after ordering the laptop. Maybe you can extend it within the first year? Not sure...

 

Appreciate the advice bud... cheers. I just wouldn't like to sacrifice system components in order to to pay for a warranty... tough choice

 

Further to that post... were R2 issues more software rather than hardware related?

If so, that would seem encouraging, as I'd imagine that these are issues that could be resolved by download and install procedures, rather than having to rely on Dell technical assistance (maybe I'm being naive regarding the complexity of the probs that arose).

 

They were mainly software issues like drivers for the Xfire 5870 setup and the Bios for trackpad polling and Extreme CPU throttling, so yes they were software but software that had to come from Dell :S

 

The dell salesperson I talked to set me up with the 2 year including accidental (I think its called advanced) warranty for $150. I'd ask about that if your interested in an extended warranty but don't want to pay the $300 for the 3 yr standard.

 

Might do if I was in the US bud... As I'm in Ireland the warranty prices are (taking 1 year 'next-day' home 'in-service'... lowest possible... as the base):

2 years 'next-day' home 'in-service': add €188 ($255.96)
3 years 'next-day' home 'in-service': add €360 ($490.14)

Quite steep...

 

If you order with Amex, you get +1 year warranty automatically. Not sure how the redemption process works, but its guaranteed, if that helps

 

nm bus intr. MEM. Core Shader MEM. Pixel Texture Ban- MEM. Bus- Direct-X Open Processor Wattage RANK
MB. CLK CLK CLK MHz GFL's Gt's Width Type Width GL G-FLOPS

Radeon HD 6870M 40 PCIe x16 2.1 1024 675 1000 10.8 27 64 GDDR5 128 11 4.1 1080 50 #3
Radeon HD 6970M 40 PCIe x16 2.1 2048 680 900 21.76 32.64 115.2 GDDR5 256 11 4.1 1305.6 #1
Radeon HD 5850 40 PCIe x16 2.1 1024 625 1000 10 25 64 GDDR5 128 11 4.0 1000 39 #4
GeForce GTX 460M 40 PCIe x16 2.0 1536 675 1350 2500 16.2 21.6 60 GDDR5 192 11 4.1 518.4 45-50 #2
GeForce GT 335M 40 PCIe x16 2.0 1024 450 1080 1600 3.6 10.8 25.6 GDDR3 128 10.1 3.3 233 28 #5
GeForce GT 240M 40 PCIe x16 2.0 1024 550 1210 1600 4.4 8.8 25.6 GDDR3 128 10.1 3.3 174 23 #6

Referances: Comparison of Nvidia graphics processing units - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Comparison of AMD graphics processing units - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

M17xR3 has dropped in price in New Zealand from NZD4899 to NZD4499
Prior to that the M17xR3 was well over NZD5000

NZD4499 is ~USD3400

The same spec'd New Zealand M17xR3 in US would cost USD3100

 

Statistically, experts say that any purchased good has little chance of failing during an extended warranty period. It should either last long, or fail soon (within the first year). That being said, I agree that a gaming laptop stresses its components more than a regular computer and an extended warranty could be worth it.

In fact, I once had a DELL 9400 (E1700 for the us if I recall) with 7900 GO GS. The GPU failed during that year 2-3 period. It was replaced, worked correctly for a week and then failed again. At the time, since the top of the line inspiron GPU had become the 8600, I ended with a XPS M1730. That one paid for itself a lot. This time I decided to stick with the base 1 year, doubled with my VISA to 2 years.

Here is what I ordered:
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Hard Drive: 1.0 TB RAID (2x500 GB hybrid drive) (175$ uppgrade over base 320 gb)
Video Card: 1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M/w 3D bundle
Optical Drive: Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader

Price: $2200 with orion backpack. (before taxes)

I skipped on MIMO wireless because I ignored it was necessary for Sibeam. I tried adding it afterwards, but the agent would not let me cancel the order and take a new one, and said she could not apply the discounts I had managed to get (13% EPP discount without warranty purchase, plus 80$ tax-in discount). I did not really intend to purchase an additionnal device to receive wireless HDMI anyways...

But I am still concerned whether or not the base wireless card will allow my PS3 to stream adequately through DLNA some AVCHD content (1080P video files). Also, is the base wireless card 5GHz capable?

Is the RAID setting user defined? Let's say I eventually need space and decide to sacrifice the RAID performance to get an additionnal 500 gb. I guess it can easily be changed in BIOS? (or not?)

In any case, since the hybrid drive is not an option any more, I am stickin with my original order. I should be getting a nice Valentine day present...

Congrats to all future owners

 

For those that are curious about how SB holds up during extended usage with all 4 cores, this person tested Prime 95 on his 2630 (Asus G73SW): http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...-asus-g73sw-owners-lounge-15.html#post7080403

He thinks it's throttling but that's just TB 2.0 scaling back the processor due to it's TDP constraints. A multiplier of 23x with full load is quite good, faster than a stock 920xm (though far behind a TDP unlocked 920xm). I can't wait till some seasoned NBR people get a hold of the R3 and put mobile SB through it's paces.

 

I dont know if this helps anybody I couldn't understand the translations

Google Translate

 

So you can call and get a 2 year plan? That would be perfect.

I wanted to extend the warranty but I do not want to pay for 3 years nor do I need 3 years. I think 2 years is perfect as thats all I expect this laptop to last for me.

Yikes! Only 2.5 hours with SB and the 6970m. LOL. I guess thats to be expected. I wonder how much Optimus will really increase that, though?

Its actually kinda concerning that SB is supposed to be a lot more power efficient, but going from a quad core with 2 video cards to a quad core SB with 1 video card and you only gain 44 minutes battery life? Doesn't seem right...

 

Thanks Allzonecars. This makes very good sense (and is why I've always tended to avoid extended warranties). However, this being my first high-spec gaming notebook purchase, I have concerns (an issue that you addressed).

If anybody else has useful opinions regarding Dell warranties, I'd appreciate hearing these also.

Thank you in advance

 

R3 made the "current" R2 obsolete, Single 6970 beat 5870 CF in gaming and the CPU beat 940x extreme by a huge difference (before anyone jumps in we get it 940 can be overclocked and lets just say it will be as good as sandy bridge), it's not the first site to benchmark 6970, i wonder now if i should wait for 6970 for my m17x r3 or just get it with gtx460 (because i want optimus)

It's not like alienware gonna keep R2 with the old tech for long, sooner or later M17X R2 and m15x will get updated sandy bridge platform and better cards, M17X r2 will be a beast with dual 6970 and extreme edition for sandy bridge (since extreme edition is not available for R3 meh)

 

The R2 is probably going to be phased out and all the rumors are pointing to it being replaced by an M18x, 18" most likely dual card laptop.

See thread about it here.

Makes sense. Working as a computer tech I see all the little points of failure of laptops and it just makes me very paranoid. I plan to spend over $2300 on this laptop and that paired with the paranoia makes me really want to buy an extended warranty.

 

Very glad to have the ear of a computer technician…

If I may ask, what do make of the following extended warranty offers (these are for the R3 on the Dell/Alienware Ireland site)?

I’d appreciate any opinions…

• 1Yr Next Day Hardware Support included with your PC [Included in Price]
• 2Yr Next Day Hardware Support [add € 157.02] ($213.88)
• 3Yr Next Day Hardware Support [add € 314.05] ($427.77)
• 4Yr Next Day Hardware Support [add € 471.07] ($641.64)

Thank you

 

Well my ideal warranty is 2 years for a few reasons. First, problems seem to develop overtime sometimes. For instance, the hinges on my m15x took 12-13 months to fully break which surpassed my default warranty period.

I'm a hardcore gamer, I usually play 3-4 hours a day a lot of days. In 2 years, I will no longer be able to play games at the level I want and will begin looking at new laptops at that point anyways. In addition, by then I will really know this laptop and any potential failure places so there won't be anymore surprises. Surprises are really what I buy a warranty for.

Also, after 2 years, theres usually an abundance of spare parts for laptops from ones that have died and been parted out, and theres refurbished, upgraded, or new parts from 3rd party suppliers at this point so anything that could potentially break is, generally, easier and much cheaper to replace. Another point, after 2 years, all the software quirks and BIOS issues will be ironed out and the only issues at that point should be hardware related (if there are any). In my opinion, by 2 years, you'll either be sick of sending your machine in for warranties so much that you'll want to replace the machine, sick of lowering game settings, or you'll have a perfectly fine machine that you're glad you didn't spend an extra $200+ on another year of warranty for.

3 Years is probably fine for a lot of people if thats how long you plan to keep your laptop as your main machine. Just know that, by that point, there will be a lack of updated drivers for a lot of your components and you will be putting games on lowest settings (most likely) just to be able to play them.

4 years is not recommended. Way too long in my opinion. By then your laptop is pretty much irrelevant and its value is probably not worth the extra $200+ you put in for the additional year of warranty. About the only benefit I can see is for those people that hope that it will break/die and be replaced by a new current model laptop for free.

 

Seems like everyone in that thread is calling b.s. on the tests the OP posted.

 

This is an excellent response. Many thanks for the time and effort (Rep points +1) (although, when I tried to award a rep point to another contributor yesterday, it didn’t appear to go through, so… hopefully…).

Anyway, unlike yourself, I’m not an avid gamer. I do enjoy gaming, but not to the same extent. Therefore, I’d anticipate that my R3 (at this point, 99% sure that I’ll be purchasing ) will last me for at least five years (unless it breeds, within me, an expectation of high frame-rates and a hatred for anything less than optimum performance… entirely possible… when you become accustomed to luxury, it can be difficult to return to necessity ). Anyway…

Your point about ‘surprises’ (potential failures) is well taken. I had previously agreed with a very good posting from Allzonecars that, “Statistically, experts say that any purchased good has little chance of failing during an extended warranty period. It should either last long, or fail soon (within the first year)”. However, your statement regarding spare parts (how these may only start to become available after a 2 year window) also makes good sense. Also, regarding a likely failure in the first year, if failure is going to occur… first year/second year… I suppose that components don’t follow calendars…

For the price differential involved, the 2 year warranty may be the sensible option.

Your posting has given food for thought. Much appreciated…Cheers

 

Maybe it's but this is the third review that says 6970m is as good as 5870 CF


Test AMD Radeon HD 6970M Grafikkarte - Notebookcheck.com Tests

 

Facts are that these machines break down over time. So the old addage that anything that can go wrong will go wrong in the first year is simply incorrect for these kinds of machines. Statistics saying nothing goes wrong in years 2, 3 or 4 are countered by the literal thousands of threads in the NBR forums on machines that have broken just past the warranty. Do a search or two. It will be an education.

Buy a warranty for as long as you expect your notebook to last, after which you would be willing to spend the money all over again to buy a new machine. Ebay has lots of parts, but if a particular part turns out to be a cash cow (because a lot of those parts have died on machines a few years old) they charge quite sizeable prices for those parts. And then you get into the "machine is fully not working and I have to replace a part at a time until I get it to function" kinds of issues.

I agree it's a pricey thing to consider. And I have sympathy for budgets, believe me. But be very considerate that you may well be tossing thousands of dollars out the door after your 1 or 2 year period is up. Enough cascading parts can go wrong when things go really badly, that the cost has meant that many folks give up and throw the machine away or discard it for parts on Ebay.

And the "your machine will be irrelevant in 4 years" isn't quite correct either. To replace my almost 5 year old machine with equivalents I'd have to spend at least $750. Spending that when the extra year of warranty cost me 165 seems silly. And yes, I have had it repaired, at my home or work, 3x now, 2 for graphic cards and this last one (during year 5 mind you) they replaced everything including the lower shell.

Get enough years of warranty such that if the machine dies immediately after the warranty ends, you won't mind spending the money to buy a new machine all over again. Given what these machines cost in the first place, I don't think I'd go with less than 3 years. And remember the warranty can be transferred if you should sell the machine in less than that time. Having a still functional warranty at resale helps the value a bit as well.

 

Thats a really good point that I had not considered.

 

Difficult to find fault with any of the logic here... sensible advice...

...and, therefore, difficult to weigh up budgetary/warranty issues. I suppose that, in a sense, every purchase represents a risk of sorts (including insurance/warranty purchases), and that it comes down to good risk assessment and judgement… and… the greater the investment, the greater the risk.

Much consideration required I think. Thanks FXi... it's added to my pre-purchase head-ache, but for all the right reasons

 

I wonder since the 2720QM have a similar TDP would it throttle back to 23x as well? the temperature looks good on the J73 so it shouldnt matter if the R3 has better cooling.

Although 2720QM have a maximum quad turbo of 3.0ghz vs 2.6 for the 2630qm....

 

Actually, what I did with both of my systems is wait till I had 3 months left on the one year, then call for a second......and I will do that for a 3rd assuming I keep it that long

 

Is there any limitations on doing that? Like, will they still extend your warranty if you've had repairs done under warranty?

And you can buy it all the way until your 1yr warranty expires?

 

Did mine and I had both vid cards replaced on mine within the 1st year. and I dont know, I dident wait till day of expiration....

 

The 6970 will be a monster card for the r3. The question is wether or not it will be available with the 120hz lcd. I think those who are familiar with sli since the beginning will agree that the value in sli/Xfire over the years has almost been a myth. Usually, the 2 card combo is the best with the latest gpu. those who can afford sli/Xfire will enjoy the benefits in the newest systems. Over the years magazines have always preached that you get the card you can afford and later add a 2nd for a great improvement. The problem was by the time new games come out and you grab a 2nd cars there's a new gen of cards out where a single new gen kicks the nutts off an older gen sli/Xfire setup. I know this is true because I've been buying sli boards and cards ever since the first sli board ever came out.

IMO a 6970 or 485 is a way better investment going forward and that's why I think alienware dropped dual cards.

 

Question for folks regarding warranty:

Several of you have mentioned that you can purchase additional warranty at the end of the warranty purchased with the system, what kind of prices can we expect for the extended warranty purchased on its own?

 

I gave my R1 to my brother and he extended the warranty. He paid $550.00 for one extra year of full coverage + accidental.

 

ouch, thats a lot for a old system. but it will pay off if it all goes wrong and dell offers him a new M17xR2/3 system

 

His results are a bit way out but other more reliable sources such as the one linked above clearly show that in most games the 6970M is on par or faster than stock crossfire 5870M.

On top of that sandy bridge seems to be an amazing evolution for laptops. The 2820QM being faster than a stock 940XM by quite some margin.

That's just awesome.

 

The prices will always be quite a bit higher to extend the warranty any time after purchase, especially right at the end of the warranty. We're talking 2-3x as much and sometimes more. If memory serves me right they jacked the extension prices on the R1's even worse due to the replacement/failure rate with the issues they had for a long time. Either way if you plan on keeping your system for longer than a year extending the warranty at purchase(if possible) is always the cheapest way to go

 

Plus those new cards are 100watt, the R2 can not support 2x 100watt cards as far as i know

Generally cards been 50watt/75watt for a while because the MXM standard was maximum of 75watt but now we are seeing 100watt cards (gtx480/etc)

2x50watt is easily achievable
2x75watt is pushing it but works
2x100watt wont work for power issues with the current R2

Maybe that's why alienware went with single card (up to 100watt) since the manual clearly mention 6970m by name and it share the same power of R2, there is also rumor about m18x that will use 330watt power adapter which will be needed if alienware wanna offer dual gtx485 and extreme cpu.

Also lets not forget next year (and maybe the end of this year according to nvidia) we will see new complete architecture from nvidia plus the move to 28nm chips after being stuck with 40nm cards for so long, so 585 (if that was its name) will be on par if not faster than GTX485 in sli, (Nvidia claim their next architecture will offer more than 4x the performance not only double but i call BS on that)



Kepler's will be based on a 28nm fabrication process, and deliver an estimated 3 to 4 times the performance per watt compared to Fermi, which first products rolled out of the fabs only earlier this year

 

6X the performance might be impossible to achieve but double or even triple sure. Look at the difference in between the 5870M and the 6970M if test confirms... It's simple to almost double.

 

The article in engadget and other websites says nvidia told them it will be between 3 and 4x some other websites reporting 6x but that's why i said it's BS imo

Also 6970 doubled the performance using the same architecture and it's still 40nm,

Moving to 28nm alone massive move specially for laptops

 

I wish I new what you guys were talking about and what the significance of 27nm vs 40 nm was. My head just exploded!!!!!