Pondering the Alienware M17x R3...

Hey All,

I have some questions/concerns about buying the Alienware M17x R3 and after spending a good part of the afternoon reading these forums, I figure this would be the best place to find some insight/advice.

First off, a bit of background on myself. This laptop is replacing my 8 year old old XPS desktop. Primarily, I plan on using this computer for graphic design/multimedia work. I will be buying the Adobe CS5 Master Collection with this computer. The bulk of the work that I do is print design but lately I have been doing lots of multimedia. Rendering video out of Adobe Premiere is very important and I will be doing lots of work in Flash Catalyst (and Photoshop/Illustrator of course). Normally, i would be looking at desktops but I need portability from home to work as well, I need to be able to upload photos from my Canon 50D camera on the fly. I have been looking at a variety of laptops available out there but I keep coming back to the Alienware M17x R3. It seems to have everything I want in a laptop. I haven't ruled out buying another desktop but right now I think a beefed up laptop is the way to go. And no, I won't be buying a MAC ...I have been a PC guy for nearly a decade

I will be playing games as well on this laptop but nothing too crazy as I mostly play PS3 games. I will probably have SC2 and Civ5 loaded but mostly I plan on using this computer for work.

Anyway, I am from Canada and the first thing I have noticed is that I can only order the 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6870M graphics card on dell.ca. I am hoping to get the 2GB AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M graphics card but it seems they are only available on dell.com ...I am not sure why that is. Should i wait a few months to see if a 2GB AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M is available on dell.ca?

Here is what I am looking at right now:
Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
750GB 7,200RPM HDD
1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6870M

Is this setup going to be OK for me? As mentioned, gaming is my secondary concern. By the numbers, I am fairly certain this will be able to rip through my graphic design/multimedia work with ease (and i will have some wicked gaming power as a perk). I am fairly concerned about heat issues and after reading some of the problems people are having on this forum with regards to BSOD's, among other things, I am wondering if I should buy this laptop right now.

So hopefully someone can give me some advice on my situation. Anyone using this laptop for graphic design/multimedia? I am also looking at an XPS 9100 which costs about the same as the Alienware M17x R3 but I am hoping to be able to take the laptop from home to work (buying a desktop to replace my old one is still an option at this point, as I can still use my external drives that I own for portability if need be).

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

 

Hi,

Welcome to NBR. I dont have much time so I''l make it short.

- Processor: definitely get the 2720QM, its worth it.

- RAM: for photo/video editing, you'll need A LOT of RAM. 8GB is good, but I think you should not upgrade 8GB RAM from Dell. Just get the basic one (4GB) and buy an after markeet 2 x 4GB RAM for a much cheaper price.

- HDD: save money from the RAM if you purchase after-market, and spend on an SSD. The difference is noticeable. You'll get SSD for OS + game and HDD for storage (your photos).

- Graphic cards: for your purpose, any of these cards would do the job. For photo editing, even the IGP (intel HD3000) would be good enough. You are not hard-core gamer, and you dont need 6970. For photo editing, nVidia might be a better choice with PhysX, etc. that PS 5 can take advantage of. If you choose 460M then you have 2 options for the screen: 120Hz and 60Hz. If you dont need 120Hz then go with the 60Hz and you will have Optimus (better battery life), otherwise you'll lose Optimus with 120Hz screen.

Everything else doesnt matter, but dont forget to get the 1080p screen

 

Hi Torai,

Thanks for the reply!

Your recommendations are very helpful. I think I will stick with the basic 4gb of RAM as you suggest and upgrade later with after market. Also, I like the idea of going with the Nvidia 460M.

I guess I am wondering about the SSD. The option in the Dell customization is a 256GB Solid State Drive which adds $600 dollars to the price. The highest option is a 512GB SSD which is $1,200, which is a bit out of my price range. I am hoping to stay under $2500 (my CS5 master collection has killed my budget haha). Anyway, would the 256GB SSD be sufficient? I have a couple external hard drives that I use for file storage for my project files and photo archives. If i stick with the 256GB SSD, the total price is about 2400 which is ok for my budget.

This is what my prospective system is looking like at the moment:
Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
256GB Solid State Drive
1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M

The price is at $2,599.99 (the 1080 screen jacked up the price a bit but I think I am OK with that)

 

no certainly not... dont go with the SSD from Dell.com

You'll see bunch of discuss regarding SSD here.

Solid State Drives (SSDs) and Flash Storage

 

I agree with Torai. Do not upgrade the Ram from Dell. I would recommend purchasing it from an online retailer like newegg.ca.

If you want to go with the best Ram go with Kingston HyperX. Here is a link.

Newegg.ca - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3K2/8GX

You can get 2X4GB for $97.99. There are 4 Ram slots on the R3 so you could go for 4X4GB for just under $200 +taxes and shipping.

I also agree that the Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache) is definitely worth the upgrade for the cost.

As for the 2GB AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M graphics card I have read from one other Canadian on this site that if you call Dell and say another sales rep was able to configure the R3 with the 2GB AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M graphics card and you should be able to get it. You could also try to negotiate the price and get a discount.

I have not placed my order for the R3 yet. I am waiting for my tax return to help pay for part of it so I haven't bothered to try what the person suggested. Hopefully talking to someone from Dell will allow Canadians to configure the R3 with the 2GB AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M graphics card. However since gaming is secondary for you if you are wanting to save money you could go with the stock 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6870M or get the 460M.


Lastly SSD; if you do decide to go with a SSD upgrade again I would recommend getting it from a retailer like newegg.ca.

The SSD I am looking at purchasing is made by Intel. I have heard a lot of good things about Intel's SSDs. Here is the link.

Newegg.ca - Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Hope that helps. Cheers.

 

Oh OK...so I get what your saying. Source out an aftermarket SSD and go with the basic hard drive offered by Dell.

 

Torai's gave you a sound advise....follow that and then follow your heart and mind!

 

Yes, exactly. however for myself I am going to go with the 750GB harddrive from Dell and order the SSD from newegg.ca

The HyperX ram is also a much better price on newegg.ca compared to what Dell wants to charge. If you decide to go with 4x4GB there is a video on this site showing how to install the ram.

 

Great advice, Prophet.

Those links will help a lot! I definitely appreciate that. I wouldn't have known where to look for that stuff. I figured I would probably have to call dell and ask about the higher video card. I think the Nvidia card is most likely what I will be ordering so Dell won't have to deal with my awesome haggling skills!

 

Haha, I totally agree. My heart and mind are saying...DO IT...DO IT NOW!

 

You should look around newegg.ca there are a lot of great deals on that site another one you might want to check out is tigerdirect.ca

 

Yea, I might go with the 720GB as well. I am guessing I will have to wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS once I get the SSD.

Anyway, thanks again for the help! Much appreciated!

 

Well after all this great advice, I am now looking at this:

Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
LCD Panel 17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
Hard Drive 750GB 7,200RPM HDD
Video Card 1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M
Price: $2,099.99

I am now looking at newegg.ca and tigerdirect.ca for an SSD and more RAM. This will take some more research but I think I am on the right track now.

Anyone know if these upgrades void the warranty? I am just getting the basic warranty for now.

 

No, RAM HDD GPU wont void ur warranty. Even with CPU if I am right.
HyperX is great, but 1333 MHz RAM would be just fine.

The biggest improvement will be the SSD. That's the throttle of ur lap

 

This is a little off topic but Torai why are you using Windows 95 Ultimate?

 

Ok, thanks. I will probably be placing the order on the phone. I will ask the Dell rep if there are any limitations on the warranty.

My biggest hurdle will be the installation of the SSD when i get it. I am pretty tech-savvy with PC's when it comes to software but haven't done any hardware installation before (save the odd RAM upgrades). If I have any issues I can always sweet talk one of the IT guys at work to do the change over for me

 

Amen, brother!

I did the aftermarket SSD with an OCZ Vertex2 and it's the wisest upgrade I've ever done on a PC of mine. Well worth the initial frustrations of upgrading the firmware before I was able to use it in the R3.

I need to get my desktop PC upgraded that way as well.

Hard drives have been the biggest bottleneck for as long as I can remember. Still are, but much less so with SSDs.