Purchasing Within 24 Hours, Input Please!

I'm gonna be getting an M17x pretty soon.
Processor:
+ Intel® Core™ i7 740QM Quad Core Processor, 1.73GHz (2.93GHz Turbo Mode, 6M Cache)
Operating System:
+ Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

RAM:
8GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 4GB DDR3)
[I can't decide between the graphics cards. It's either... ]
+ CrossfireX™ 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870
+ SLI® 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M
HDD:
[I heard the M17x only has two slots, so I wanted to raid 1tb at first, and get an SSD and have them all running, but apparently thats not possible. So I might get a 1tb from Dell, then buy a seperate SSD, this is what im most unsure on, please help.]
+ None, See above
Display:
+ 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
Optical Drive:
+ Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

I'm real sorry I know I seem like someones who's too lazy too look around for this information, but I've been up all night, and can't find anything regarding my issue, I have to purchase this within about 20 hours, and have work. Please help me resolve my issues.
PS. I just really need the HDD, And Graphics card advice, thanks so, so very much.
PSS. What's the R1/R2? And what is what I listed? Thanks again!

 

If it were me, i would go with the 5870 crossfire setup....it supports dx11 whereas the 285's do not....most glitches with the 5870 have been resolved so they work really well. IMHO, you would be best off with ATi cards....

HDD - hmmm....if youre looking to get an aftermarket ssd , i dunno if i would bother paying the extra for a 1tb (x2 500gb in raid) choice. The money you would save by electing to go for a single hard drive (which you can then use for storage and your ssd for windows and anything else you like) would be best put towards the largest ssd you can afford.

I would be looking at a 7200rpm single HDD - size up to you.....save the cash from the 1tb you are thinking of and throw it at the SSD as soon as you can. If you go for the 1tb, you are gonna have a HDD laying about doing nothing that you have paid Dell prices for....i guess alot depends on how soon you are gonna get the ssd....if a single HDD would do you for the short term, id be doing that.

Display - 1920x1200 is a MUST....dont downgrade to the lower spec one.

Optical drive - entirely up to you - preference really, if you wanna watch blu ray, get a BR reader....personally i wouldnt bother with a BR writer.

EDIT: R1 and R2 are just "revisions" of the m17x system itself....eg...the R1 came first, then a newer one the R2 (the one thats the newest now) but pretty soon , within the next few months, there WILL be an R3 new M17x released...if you can hold off till then.....thats EXACTLY what i would be doing....it will be the latest M17x probably with faster cpu's and other new things....

System RAM - 8gb is obvioulsy the best although if you buy from Dell with 4gb....you can easily save a bit more money and upgrade the RAM as soon as you get it....dead easy, just open it up and stick it in....thats it. You should be able to get RAM cheaper elsewhere instead of paying a Dell premium to put it in for you....robably better quality ram too.....you would need x2 4g sticks and the x2 2gb sticks you "would" get from dell, you could sell on ebay or something.....

Just my thoughts anyhow...hope it helps.

 

IMHO avoid the Crossfire and stick with the Nvidia cards. I got my M17 last month the Crossfire setup has been a unusable waste of money.

 

You should have a read of some things before hand.....

GTX 285M SLI or 5870 Mobility Crossfire? - Graphics-Cards - Graphic-Displays

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/520830-gtx285m-sli-vs-hd-5870-crossfire.html

Both articles confirm that the 5870 setup is a better option...still, its down to preference.

 

Real life shows ATI drivers suck. Id take my GTX 280's back to get rid of the CTD and flickering ATI says isnt a problem.
On paper 5870 is a better option. ATI usually looks better on paper.
Must enthusiast go Nvidia. Dont know how AW has done with the 285 though. Dont just read articles, get real world experiences.

 

If you DONT have real world experience, how the heck are you supposed to get it??? - basically, the OP has asked for input on one or the other....as i dont have experience of nvidia cards, i cant comment....i CAN however READ what people say about the two....and thats all i have done here...put forward information that the OP may find useful. Im not bashing one or the other....merely pointing out some differences....there is good and bad in both...

And the CTD and flickering you say you have....most 5870 users do not have this any longer....

 

You get experiences by reading forums, such as he is doing. Sorry had some typo's that made it look negative. (damn droid spell check)
There are still a bunch of us that have these issues, read the latest driver forum. I had a much better experience with my GTX 280, too bad the laptop fried. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/520830-gtx285m-sli-vs-hd-5870-crossfire-1.html. Doesnt look like they actually answered the question.
Just giving the OP some real life experience.

 

Hey thanks guys. I'm gonna get the SSD whenever I want it, I have my money saved up so. It's not much, but its enough for a decent SSD. I WILL have room in my M17 if I only get one HDD, then get an SSD from like newegg right? [It has to be a 2.5 I think right?]

 

Yes, that is a good way to go. Order with one drive and buy a second from newegg.

 

Got any suggestions for an SSD around 200 bucks? Preferably a little lower than 200.

 

Dont do it man... there will be a new version released soon ( probs in january )

and that will make this config cheaper and give u the option to buy the new and better m17x

 

'probably' Its only a rumor

 

Isn't this a bit misleading. While it does support dx11, there aren't many dx11 games. And when dx11 games become more prevalent in the upcoming years, this setup will be a low to middle of the pack preformer, and you might get better results playing dx11 capable games in dx10 mode. And by the time dx11 only games come out, it'll be time to get a new system.

The only draw back of the nvidia cards is that they cost a bit more, and they run a bit hotter, which means more heat, more fan noise, and less battery life since they draw more power.

I've been reading this forum and the sager forum for the last few weeks (to research gaming laptops), and it appears crossfire has much more complaints than SLI.

 

Buy it now I did! Remember.. DO NOT settle on a price until the Indian guy from Dell in India calls YoU back to say ok fine I'll do that price. It's what I did. I know cuz I'm Indian lol. It's taken Dell 2 weeks to even ship so guessing another week or two to receive. I'd bet people won't see r3s for another 4 months. Can you wait That long?

 

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0351760

Microcenter has 64 gb ssd for $99 with sandforce controller.

 

The new FF MMO utilizes DX11. So Im gonna get the radeons, considering it's 50 bucks cheaper too. On paper the ATI > Nvidia card. And most of the bugs have been fixed [for ati's] since amd started writing the drivers.

 

I thought the new laptops historically are available at the end of CES, 2 weeks from now.

 

No probs - thats how we all learn i guess without blowing tons of cash on hardware before we've researched it a 'lil.

Not sure about US prices or best place to buy but afaik, Intel SSD's are among the very best but obviously quite pricey...OCZ Vertex also as a good choice for many on here it seems.... Best ssd for ~$200? - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

This seems like a good one from a brief look.... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167031

 

Jasperiel, I would wait 2 weeks until CES to see what's coming out. You may regret your current purchase.

 

No it's not a rumor, it's a fact. We all got the AW email and with the recently leaked pics, there is no doubt.

 

ces? ... Im so bummed...2 weeks...

 

Just wait those 2 weeks. Worst case once they announce the new PC your current config will most likely still be sold for 6 months and cheaper.

 

Tend to agree....if you CAN wait, like i said earlier in my 1st reply, it would be the better option....if not, its still a great machine but you may miss out on some new graphics card options and sandy bridge cpu's etc etc...

 

OK, so its AMD's infancy DX11 mobile gpu....of course it will eventually get better (take the new releases for example) BUT, in the meantime, it IS a DX11 card nonetheless whereas the NV isnt....OK, so not THAT many DX11 games atm, but, when they start coming out in more frequent releases, if you go down the road of NV, you will be stuffed to take advantage of this support. Any DX11 card will future proof the OP's system for a fair while - why buy old tech when you can have new tech at a lower price?

Yes, you are right in saying that Dx11 games arent "the norm" at the moment BUT i would say that there will be more and more of them over the next 12 months and UNLESS the OP wants to swap out and upgrade gpu's during that timescale, then a DX11 card would futureproof the OP's system for a reasonable length of time.....

I say, bang for buck, your much better off with the AMD cards....

You say...."the ONLY drawback is they are hotter, louder, less battery life etc".......i would say that these are more than one drawback, they are MANY major drawbacks and the OP should be aware of all of them with such a big decision.

OK, crossfire hasnt been the best success in the world but its pretty good atm IMHO - AMD outperform the NV's they are also: cheaper - cooler - quiter on system fans - gentler on the battery AND offer DX11 support......to me, its a no-brainer......(and im not an AMD fan boy just 'cos ive said that - it just seems like common sense)

 

It's not a better setup when you have to basically disable one of the cards and there is no fix. What did I pay for the Crossfire option for?

Oh and I read plenty before ordering my M17 but I never dreamed the Crossfire would be such a tremendous headache and waste of money. Too bad since the rest of the machine has been great.

 

Could you list the games that have given you trouble? I'm about to pull the trigger in the next couple of days, and am thinking about getting the nvidias for peace of mind.

 

Its not that crossfire doesnt work cos it does...its a handful of games that this affects and this could be down to bad coding of the game itself....

 

One advantage to buying now, it the discounts that Dell seems to be offering.

buy now or a R3 next month either way your going to have a kick a.. laptop.

You can be sure that the R3 will probably be a fair bit more $$$ than the R2's are right now.

And as far as NVIDIA Vs ATI well I am a fanboy of NVIDIA and IMO thier drivers are better, and in the real gaming world, you will probably not notice that much difference in FPS over all, bearing in mind some games are deigned to work better with NVIDIA or ATI GPU's.

Either way it is still a nice system.

 

I know you were asking Goldenboy but I'll give you my input. Out of all the games I tried I think I only had 2 that did not work well with crossfire, one was World of Warcraft (Others have reported it working for them so this could just be me) and I think the other was Bioshock 2 maybe? Every other game showed some improvement and many had basically 2x the FPS which is perfect scaling. This is all with only 1 screen.

Using eyefinity (3x1 display setup) every single game worked better on a single card, kinda sucks so keep that in mind if you plan to use eyefinity.

I have always been an nvidia fan but these ATI cards do very well. I wanted to avoid the heat problems that I always end up fighting and I knew the ATI's ran much cooler so that is why I went this route. One thing that sucks is my favorite game uses physx so I have to disable that feature with my laptop now

Partial games list that work well (from memory so don't quote me):
Half Life 2 games
Sacred 2
BFBC2
Burnout Paradise
Crysis
Left for Dead 2
Bioshock 2 (think I have to run this on one card though)

 

Originally Posted by steviejones133
You should have a read of some things before hand.....

Go for the gtx 285m or wait for R3. Your money, you make the call.

 

Wouldnt have expected any other answer from someone who obvioulsy loves Nvidia cards......