Purchase now or Wait

Hi Guys, I'm pretty keen to get my m17x r2 ASAP. However I've been reading recent articles regarding the R3 coming out in Australia.

When discussing with Dell today, they stated that there "could" be a new revision from March next year. At the earliest, and this would only be a screen improvement for resolution (which doesn't sound right).

So my question is, do I buy the R2 now? What do you guys think about being upgradable to the HD 6xxx series of cards?

Also, as one poster has stated SSD vs HDD space, Dell will not allow me to build the lappy with an SSD in slot0 and HDD sata 640GB 7200rpm in Slot1.

I'm thinking I will just buy it with 256 SSD in slot0 and then buy a separate drive to install in slot1 (sata), this isn't hard to do is it?

Last question is red or silver?

I love red, but think I will always wish I got the silver, I saw the post above regarding this and a lot of neb red love, any silvers out there care to comment? Tried looking for pics on the web / youtube, but it's kind of limited.

Cheers
Guys

Future m17x R2(3?) owner.

 

i would wait for a little bit, because there are chances that the new revision will be out next year with many great improvement. And for the color, i think silver look better than red. Currently have a silver and its look great!

 

I would suggest you wait a little bit if u can... there will be new technology coming out every 6months but KNOWING something is very much about to happen soon and still taking the plunge is not advisable... or may be you could buy one now and use it for 10-20 days and return it (return time depends on your country and may be they might charge restocking fees)...

About colour ...well its personal preference really... I had an M15x in black and found it too dull... and wanted to get either silver or red.... was leaning a slight bit towards silver coz it seemed nice in pictures and red i was afraid would look too red.... but the rep (who was a good guy) told me red looked better and I ordered red (it was a thoughtless decision at first)... but my god when i opened the box and saw the laptop i called him up and thanked him for having suggested it..... its SEXXXYYyy.... But again its a personal preference above everything.... silver is a great colour too no doubt about that... i think you wont go wrong with either of it...

 

SILVER FTW! And also, I think now is a good a time as any.

 

Silver? Is silver even a color? Red all the way. Pay extra, its bad !!

 

Hmm I think I'll go Silver, purely because I'm getting old, and can't handle the sexy back

boring silver is sounding good..

As to waiting, anyone know if there is a way I can cover my in the case Dell release a new revision within the next month after my purchase?

 

I wouldn't want to wait and be the first few to own the R3. As technical and knowledgeable as I am, I don't want the headaches involved in owing something new. But that's just me Doing this however requires a long wait.

 

Yeh, I'm gonna get the R2 now, they've quoted a 2 week turn-around.
When I speak to Dell in Aus though 2 issues:

1. they will not include the intel 6300 (even though it's quoted as an option for an i7 chipset I'm getting the 940)
2. I cannot get a 256GB SSD in slot0 and a Sata 500GB 7200 rpm in Slot1....

Anyone else had this problem?

 

Silver.

Not only is it my personal choice, but also, in the long run, you'll be more likely to sell the laptop if you ever wish to. Red is nice for those who like it, but it is marginalized and eccentric. You're more likely to find someone to buy a laptop that has a look similar to a Macbook Pro.

 

this sound like a dull rep problem but if i where you would have waited for ces 2011 and the r3

 

Haven't bought it yet, this is the quote spec:

T511009AU-Alienware M17X10
Alienware M17x Lunar Silver Base (Direct)
Intel® Core? i7-940XM Processor
17.0" UltraSharp WUXGA (1920x1200) RGBLED Display with TrueLife
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM(2x4GB)
Mobility 256GB SSD Hard Drive, 2.5 "
Single HDD Bracket
Slot Load Fixed Blu-ray BD-ROM / DVD + /-RW Combo Drive
CrossFireX Dual 1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 5870
Integrated Stereo Sound
Dell(TM) Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal mini-card
Dell(TM) Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card
Genuine Windows(R) 7 Professional 64bit (English)
AlienFX BLUE
# Yr 1 Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
# Year 1 Standard POW
For Info Only: Dell's Terms and Conditions apply
International Support For Laptops
3-Year Premier Service
3 Years Priority PC User 24x7 Support (Round-The-Clock Technical Assistance)
# Include Yr 2 To 3 Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
# Includes Year 2 To 3 Parts Exchange Service


They knocked a grand off the web price for me.

My only pressing frustrations are
1. The Intel 6300 Wireless N isn't included (and they've not come back to me on this
2. I've asked for a second SATA HDD in the second slot, and had a response that I MUST have the same drives in both slots if buying from dell.....

Anyone else had experience with this.

I don't want to wait 6 months for the next e3 in June as this is to replace a desktop which is a spacing issue at home. I'm also thinking that for my current play I don't think I'll notice a significant jump in FPS with the 5870 vs the 6xxx series.

 

Very nice spec. It should eat up and spit out just about anything you throw at it.

I'm not surprised about the 2nd HDD problem you're having. I think it was only 6 months ago you could configure each slot separately in your order, but now you're stuck with a handful of pre-selected combinations. It makes the ordering system easier for the brain-dead sales staff to use, but prevents us from getting exactly the systems we want. Good news is that you can probably pick up a good-sized drive cheaper than Dell would charge you, and installing it is dead simple.

 

Hi

Check out the following thread for pitcures of the M17X R2 in Silver.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/528434-m17x-r2-mini-review-after-5-months.html

As for Red I posted some Photos in this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/533309-does-nebula-red-mess-up-alienfx-2.html

This is a powerful laptop, and will last for a while, unfortunatly no matter how good something is the newer one will be faster with better graphix, ext.

But if we always wait for the next best thing we will never have any thing.

Nice specs should last you a long time.

Not sure how long the wait is for the R3, I'm hoping long since I just got my R2 and don't want it to get old to fast, will not be replacing it for a long time.

 

It's a good configuration. Can you make use of the 6300? The hard drives/SSD you can do better on your own and/or cheaper. That is an option. Having said that there shouldn't be a problem for Dell to configure, talk to another representative if possible AND if you really really need them. I'm actually more concern that they are refusing because they are trying to unload a specific system off of you...but maybe I'm reading too much into it

Get the system, enjoy it

 

Wow, that's awesome!

How did you manage that? Did you have to haggle back and forth for ages for a discount like that or did they just drop the price by that much from the start?

I'm actually going to be ordering my m17x today, going to call Dell in a couple of hours to see how much they can knock off for me - would love to hear your tips

I got a "10% off" coupon from another forum and I didn't think a Dell sales rep would be able to beat that Would be a nice surprise if I was wrong...

 

Awesome thanks guys, I'm going to get it.

I just complained that I'd written in comments for the past 3 weeks with no feedback, and that I would buy it asap if they could just answer my questions.

The sales reps have been pretty bad, and a friend has said very similar things to all of you regarding the 6300 and usb 3.0 (can I even use it now? nope).

So I'm going to take the plunge, and be happy.

Apparently in Aus, NRMA members receive a discount, so try that.

Also, Dell came back with a separate drive install at $330 for parts, and $176 for labour....

I will indeed be buying my own drive and just putting it in.

Thanks for all your help guys, hope to have the rig soon

 

@Blueneon Thx dude, saw that Neb Red post, actually convinced me not to get red Too much for me. The silver posts is exactly what I want!

Brilliant.

 

@The0ne - yeah, you're absolutely right. I can always just upgrade the part later if I'm absolutely desparate, and I think that I will get a separate HDD myself, I just wanted to save myself the hassle of getting in the car and driving to a shop as I've been working 6/5 days straight for a while. But I'll have some time off shortly woop woop.

 

As far as the drives go, order the SSD you want installed. Then order the HDD separately and insert it yourself. You will have to call to do this.

 

Thanks GetFound, do you mean that I'll have to organise Dell to install the second HDD? I noticed that in my quote it mention's there is Single HDD Bracket Does this mean I will now have issues installing a second HDD?

 

most M17x had the additional Hard rive caddy and screws included.

Some did not, but a call to Dell should get one sent to you for free.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. I also had the same issues as you with getting a SSD+HDD combo in Australia, and they wouldn't do it. I ended up just ordering the SSD, and like you I saw the "Single HDD Bracket" in the invoice/order thing. First thing I did when I got the laptop was to open up the back and checked to see if the second HDD bracket was there, and it was. Went to MSY, got a 500gig drive, and whacked it in, worked fine.