PLEASE. help! 7970m or dual7970 crossfirex?

im looking at 2 alienwares. one is a M17XR4 THE OTHER a M18xR2

m18xr2 : ivy bridge I7 3610QM Mobile Processor 6GB DDR3 RAM - 1600mhz
DUAL 2GB AMD RADEON 7970M GDDR5 Graphics -Crossfire

m17x4: Intel 3rd Generation Core i7-3820QM 2 GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M Memory: UPGRADED to 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz blu ray

so what do you guys think? they both cost the same. please helo me as much as you can

 

I vote m18xr2. Ram is cheap to upgrade, 3610qm is fast enough for now.

 

Hi there. All I can offer is my own thoughts on the subject. Each person's view may be different but here goes!

Both machines you have spec'd will provide you with a good gaming experience. Even a single 7970m will enable you to play most things maxed out. Obviously, adding a second gpu can be beneficial but it can also be non-beneficial. I say that as it's not uncommon to find that certain titles aren't optimized for Crossfire or SLI. I would say more often than not, you will find support is there for dual gpu's but be aware this might occur. Even so, if you disable dual cards and run with one, the game should still be easily playable with a single 7970m. Saying thta, obviously two gpu's working nicely together is one heck of a lot better than one!!

Aesthetics? - R4 soft touch vs. M18x Aluminium casing. I prefer the "solid as a tank" machine. But it does weigh a bit more than the R4 so you should think about portability and wether or not you like to carry around a fairly hefty machine.

Driver support is a key factor too. It's no shock to say that AMD driver support of late has not been very good. It's getting better I believe but this is also something to consider. I'm not a "fanboy" of either Nvidia or AMD so I have nothing to gain or lose by vouching for one over the other, but in my experience, Nvidia drivers do tend to be more reliable...maybe not perfect all the time but I have had both Nvidia and AMD based Alienwares and I have had far less headaches with Nvidia.

Regards RAM - 6 or 8gb would be fine for gaming. Plenty. If you can save a bit of cash by dumping the ram upgrade, I would do that. You can always add ram yourself at a later date and you will probably get a better price on it.

Blu-Ray? - nice to have. I have one. That's up to you if you would utilize it. If not, you could trim things down a bit further. Don't forget that you can always hook up an external blu ray player via HDMI in. Maybe not practical if you are on the go but nice if you are at home.

3820qm in the R4? - I'd probably shoot for the 3740qm and save some cash. It can be overclocked by +400mhz anyway.

The biggest things to get right are the gpu and cpu and display. If you are in any way,shape or form "unsettled" at the prospect of having an AMD based machine (with driver support etc playing a part) then you HAVE to consider the Nvidia options too. I know they are a lot more expensive but you shouldn't rule them out just because of that. For example, if you have a maximum budget right now of xxxx but you are able to upgrade/spend some cash later on, another option to think of would be to toss a single 680m into the M18x build and add a second as and when you can afford to do so. I think the cost works out the same as opposed to dual 7970m's.

Regarding the R4, are you configuring with a 1080p screen? - I would advise you do so, if you havent already - no point in getting a blu ray with the base display either. I don't know if you are a 3D fan but you could potentially consider dropping the ram/blulray and going with the 3740qm and you would save $375. With that saved, you could potentially look at the 120hz screen & the 680m. If my maths are correct, you could be looking at about an extra $300 and you have a 3D R4, if that's your thing.

Also, don't forget - you can speak/deal with a Dell Sales Rep off the forums too. They should be able to save you some extra cash on whatever spec/machine you go for. Here is a link to the thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux.html

What would I do? - I'd grab the M18x with a single 680m and everything else more or less base. Upgrade parts later, but that's just me.

At the end of the day, the above is just my thoughts for your information. Take from it what you will and I hope you settle on a cracking spec regardles of which machine you opt for. I'm sure other members will chime in too and give you some advice.

 

thanks so much bro, yea BOTH machines have full hd displays. vconsidering everything you have said, i will go ahead and buy the m18x it wil only cost me 2 grand, which i think is a steal. as for the nvidia vs amd gpu, we will just have to wait and see. ive always had nvidia and never had any problems.. aside from my current one which fried itself. either way, nvidia or amd ive heard good things from the 7970 :-D i just wanna say thanks steviejones133 imbgonna go with the g18, as for the "soft touch" the g18 does not look metql, it actuqlly looks like it has the same matte surface as the g17