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

Well my out of pocket cost is $2028 and the only difference is the 120 screen w/3D bundle. I didn't really care for that anyway. If I went with the recommended package with 225 savings, I'd actually end up paying more.

 

Was told the WiMax gives you a much broader range in wi-fi signal reception...something about using microwave signals

 

i also could care less about the 3d but the 120 screen is nice. i can definetly see the difference on a TV. i was looking at a bunch side by side at a store. i look forward to seeing it on a laptop screen.

 

1) If you only select 1 hard dive will you still get the hardware to add a 2nd hard drive?
2) Can the mini port support a DVI adapter to my monitor with DVI input?

Very close to jumping on this

 

I dont think you get hardware for 2nd drive if you only order one, I know you dident with the R2

 

Thanks for the feed back. I found that DVI is possible through the mini port on page 41 in the manual.

 

Where can I find this manual ?

 

1st page of this thread....

 

How hard would it be to install a 2nd HD or a ssd? Just a matter of getting the cage or whatever its called and installing it in the laptop?

 

Dont know, wont REALLY know untill someone gets theirs and looks at the way its set up

 

I am sure it is as simple as in the R1 or R2 which means VERY EASY.

 

thats about it

 

I would think not since the NVidia 3D Vision is not compatible with other systems such as XPand. So, if you changed your video card to a 6970 from the 460, you might lose 3D capability unless you use a new external emitter and new glasses.

 

I am just not sure how to acquire the hardware for the second drive

 

There are third party programs/drivers (such as iz3D) that will let you do so. However they probably won't work as well as the official kits, and there's no guarantee the nVidia glasses will work perfectly with them.

 

Get the part number from Dell, order it from dell, pay for it....

 

Does anyone know the website where we can punch in the dimensions of our laptop and compare it with another? It had 3dimensional boxes as the pictures. Forgot what the site was....

 

With the r1 we could call and just say we did not get the 2nd caddy and they would send it out for free. They wanted like $80 for the "kit" otherwise. F that.

 

I think Dell's site is wrong. From what everyone has been saying the m17x r3 is smaller than m17x classic (r2), but Dell's site says this:

Dimensions for the classic
Height: 51.31mm to 53.59mm (2.02 inches to 2.11 inches) – Front to Back
Width: 405.89mm (15.98 inches)
Depth: 321.31mm (12.65 inches)
Weight: Starting at 5.3kg* (11.68 pounds)

Dimensions for the R3
Height: 51.31mm to 53.59mm (2.02 inches to 2.11 inches) – Front to Back
Width: 405.89mm (15.98 inches)
Depth: 321.31mm (12.65 inches)
Weight: Starting at 5.3kg* (11.68 pounds)


Does anybody know the actual dimensions? And I've been wondering... how is the R3 going to get 6 hours of battery life??? If it gets 4 hours+ with wifi, my jaw will touch the floor (and my wallet will be considerably lighter).

 

I'm cancelling my order tomorrow. I think I rushed into it to fast, paid 2106 CA after taxes for just the base model upgarded screen to 1080, and video card. Hopefully they haven't begun production, ordered it friday night.

 

That is just a copy and paste job. The real dimensions of the R3 are:

(W)16.14" (D)11.96" (H)1.77"

So it is a bit wider, but it does have a bigger screen (17 vs 17.3). I'm not sure how much it weighs though, haven't been able to find that.

 

i accidentally deleted the users manual but i remember it was around 9 pounds/4.2 kilos. so actually about the same as the M15x. In fact all dimensions are smaller than the M15x except the length. the M15x was a very large almost square shaped 15inch while the r3 seems to be a relatively normal sized 17'3. the narrow width helped by the 16:9 screen should mean it might fit into some more bags. I really hope i can squeeze one into an axio swift 2.0.

 

Lets not get confused here.

The R2 had issues however they were corrected - Brian (AW Engineering) looked into the R2's shipping without the 2nd HDD Caddy and called attention to it. The R2's shipping today and for some time now, are shipping with the 2nd drive caddy and interposer.

I'm sure this will be the case with the R3. There is no reason to suspect otherwise.

Shawn, be sure to call first thing in the morning. You want to get on the line with Sales/Customer Service as early as possible to avoid any complications.

 

So it's actually smaller than the Asus G73: 16.3” (W) x 12.6” (D) x 1.8” (H), which wasn't that thick/heavy, but only long/wide. Not bad, Dell.

 

I posted this a few days ago to compare it vs the Asus G73. Just note that in my comparison I did incorporate $228 into lighting fx for the G73 so actual cost difference can be as high as $400 if you don't consider lighting important. However, it provides the dimensions for both systems as well as a key feature breakdown. Now if you go to ebay and pick up that 17% coupon and load up an M17x-R3 with 3 year warranty etc, the savings pile up and price goes way down as well.

 

I dont know if I trust the '17% off' coupon that is on ebay. But it would be nice to use it on top of what I already have used, and get an upgraded warranty.

 

I have one, it works and it stacks.

 

Did u get it off ebay? I might get it if the seller can be trusted. $125 is alot for a coupon tho... Does it apply to the starting price or subtotal and does it stack with everything?

 

Oh, did not realise that BatBoy...thanks for clearing that up

 

nVidia Optimus.

When it's running on the Intel IGP, it should get 6 hours. Even with WiFi and reasonable screen brightness you should be able to get 4.

 

VHBQS$4MR8081X coupon code

Dell XPS Laptop 10% off - OzBargain

10% offf XPS and Alienware in the australian store. Still damn expensive but thats still 300 in your pocket.

I tried it and it still works.

 

Anyone else bothered by the sentence in the R3 documentation that states Nvidia Optimus is disabled with 3D capable systems? (paraphrased)

Hope it simply means Optimus does not work only when 3D in effect. This is not explict.

 

I found it interesting to say the least.

 

Question for all the Alienware veterans. Since the R3 will be my first Alienware, I went to the Alienware website here Alienware: Client Services Support Area Cutomer Login
to set up a my hive profile. It asks for an account number. Does that come with the machine, or can I get it to set up the site now so its ready when I get the new machine? (If so where would I get it?) Also are there any real benefits to the My hive site and community?

 

That was used for the system that were sold under Alienware vs Dell. If you log into your account with Dell you get similar features.

 

Cool thanks. Strange they haven't updated it to point to Dell support.

 

That's because some of us legacy users still require the ability to login to get our (albeit outdated) original drivers.

 

*slaps forehead* Damn you logic!!! You have thwarted me yet again!!!

 

Just ordered:

2720QM
120Hz Screen
GTX460M
4GB RAM
320GB Harddrive

Cost: 18500 kr. ~ $ 3300

 

Please please post prime 95 temperatures and at what ghz does the CPU settle during prime 95.

 

Damn, did not realize you cant order from the US unless your in the US Figured it would work, like ebay does.

In aus to get the new sandybridge tech I need to get a system that costs minimum 3300. Thats lame as hell. Wonder what kind of discount theyd give considering how much cheaper it is in the US.

I have priced up this:
CPU - I72820QM(not optional)
Video Card - 1.5GB GTX406m(not optional)
Display - 17.3" Truelife Full HD (1920x1080) 3D LCD Panel with 3D Glasses
Memory - 16GB DDR3(not optional)
Optical - BluRay Player(not optional)
Hard Drive - 1.5tb(750gb raid)(not optional)

Price: $3590 shipped and using a 10% off coupon.

What reckon chances are of getting more knocked off? Really its just 8gb more ram, and a bit more hard drive space then what I priced up on us site which was gonna cost around 2400. I would guess this system in the US probably cost around 2700?

-.- sigh

 

use the code i posted on the last page to get 10% off. and remember if you or anyone you know is going overseas 1 month after the purchase you can get 10% cashback at the airport

with the 10% coupon and considering the stuff that is included its not as much of a rip compared to US. but the thing is i dont need half of the forced upgrades

 

Mum and sister going overseas in 3 weeks? haha.

Um yeah, well I was settled on 8gb ram. And I didnt want the bluray. Theres 500$ I dont want. Hmmm tough one.

Would it matter if I was going to do the finance thing? Im about to use all my savings to book bali+japan trip lol..so was gonna do the finance for now and pay it next month.

If they did the 2700 system they got going with the 2820sandy id be ordering right now... frustrating lol. I found some cpu benchmarks and it just dominates.

 

to people who have R3: about the quality of laptop in comparison with R2. Is it the same: aluminum or plastic?

thanks

Fred

 

Nobody has the R3 yet and won't until the first week or two of February.

According to Dell, it's plastic ala m11x style. Cheap, IMHO.

 

no one got the laptop yet. pretty sure its going to be magnesium covered in plastic

stephen: yeh, if i were still in aus i would wait a couple month for the price to maybe settle a bit and get it on finance. dell finance in aus seems pretty good. I would also wait till march to see if the new 6970 makes it to the r3. that thing is a beast. Seems like the laptop was designed with that card in mind. The GPU heatsink is HUGE.

 

I do want to wait, only reason I was gonna jump on it now is cause the no interest thing ends at end of the month. But i guess if I wait a bit I can save and pay cash. Hummm.. im an impatient person

EDIT: ^^^^ = reason i was asking a few pages earlier whether I can upgrade GPU on its own later down the track.

 

I have a feeling Dell australia isnt going to have any MXM 3.0 GPU to sell to you. And if they did it would cost a rediculous amount i bet. Plus im pretty sure they will have the 2720qm and 4GB ram option soon. Those and a few other unnecessary options will save us atleast 5-600 and plus the 10% off it would be approaching US prices. lets pray.

EDIT:actually the 16GB ram upgrade is 500USD from 4GB standard, CPU is 200USD upgrade from a 2720qm and the raid 0 750GM is another 250USD upgrade. so thats nearly 1000USD of useless junk we can upgrade for cheap later. assuming the australian mark up thats easily a saving of 1200-1500AUD!!

so 3300-1500= 1800AUD!!! that would be a killer deal.

 

I really want the 2820qm, but anything above 3k is too much to me. Could build a stupidly insane desktop for that. Willing to cut a bit of performance for easy mobility but yeah, 3k+ is rather steep. 2820, 8gb ram, 460m would be fine if I can get around 3k mark. And later on if I can upgrade gpu then sweet, if not oh well. I would only be annoyed if they released the new gpu, but could only buy it as a whole system.

EDIT: But i guess thats the reason I should wait, my concern is I could wait...and wait..and wait...and nothing but a couple of hundred cheaper.

 

from the benchmarks it seems the 2820qm is a very small upgrade......... .1 ghz or less than 5% performance and you cant overclock the card like the 2920XM.

Personally i would get the 2720QM for now and buy the 2920XM off ebay for around 500 bucks later and overclock it to 3.5GHZ on all cores. that would kill the 2820QM which seems to settle at a max clock of 2.7