QUESTION FOR M17X and M18X USERS !!!!! PLEASE HELP !!!!

Hi there, I was trying to build some systems on Alienware website, I'm thinking about buy one either M17x or M18X. While building the system, I found out the same price between the M17x and M18x (for $2699), and I only can afford about that price, so I have some questions.

Here are the systems :

M17x : i7 2860QM 2.5GHz / 8GB 1600MHz / GTX 580M

M18X : i7 2670QM 2.2GHz / 8GB 1600MHz / GTX 560M – NVIDIA SLI


1. For m17x users with 580M with 2670QM, how BF3 run in that machine ? pls be specific : resolution setting and frame.

2. How about with 2860QM, will the machine run better in BF3 ? Is the different between 2670QM and 2860QM big ?

3. Is 560M SLI > GTX 580M ?

4. Overrall, which one is better ?

5. Someone who can build a equal or better system with cheaper price pls tell me.

 

m17x R3 user here, don't get your hopes up I am just about to give my 2 cents based on what I heard here and there...
I tried installing the BF3 beta, but did not work xD Hopefully was just beta related
Also apparently the processors aren't the biggest deal now if you want to play a game these days (Though if you play a very realistic simulation, you'll have to have a good one I believe).
Another key point in deciding which to choose is, a loooooooot of people are having throttling problems with the 580m. Apparently it is just as good as the 6990m but costs tripple the 6990m's price.
There was a thread about what you are asking though, search BF3 in this part of the forum there was a thread with lots of people saying precisely how the game ran on their machine (Usually 1920*1080 res and full ultra I THINK for those with 6990m, or maybe they had to bring a couple options down from ultra).

Also I would believe 2 560s are better than one 580m, though not sure at all... but as of now BF3 is new, and most likely will not be kind to SLI and crossfire users but eventually I am quite confident that it will become beneficial to have SLI or crossfire to play that game.

 

That's a whole lot of exclamation points for a question like that. I would get the M18x. It will last you longer in the long run because it has more upgrade potential and dual GPUs. Someday we will have SLI/CF support right out of the chute rather than waiting months and months for a proper driver update.

 

ok my 2 cents

i have a m17x r3 with the 2730 6990 and 8 gig of memory

and i have a m18x with the 2760 4 gigs of ram and 560sli

now the 560 when working in sli are about as fast as a 580 that is when every thing is optimal and drivers for the game you are running works right

and with the 6990 i notice no difference between that and the 560s none at all

i would do a set up like this on a m18x is get the 2760 and the 6990s in sli your looking at a 200 dollar upgrade for twice the power of the 560s
in less your in the green camp and not a fan of amd and your looking at about 2649 off the us site for it i would recomend the bigfoot wifi card if that is how you primily connect

 

I know 560s are weak and all, but that seems shocking that they wouldn't be better than one 580 :l... But I am nobody though on that matter. What games have you tried this experiment with?

 

rage, bf3 beta, crysis, crysis 2 , and the vantage and 3d mark numbers were very close with no oc... so you have more over head in the 560s for the future with oc but one on one the 560s land right in the middle of the 580 and the 6990 in terms of stock clocks... form my xp at least .... i have a pair of 6990s comming form dell ... the reason behind that is that the m18x was the replacment for my r3 and the 560s did not cut it when they refused to work in sli witch is all the time with programs like maya, photoshop, and nuke.. but that is my xp ... for the 200 dollars you cant beat the 6990s in the m18x set up

 

and dr_gin_rain dont buy the 8 gig upgrade you can pick up 2 4 gigs of hyper x for 80 dollars and save your self the money that is you grapics upgrade right there

 

I just tried to build another sytem with M18X / 4gb Ram / Corssfire 6990m for $2,499

Is that good ? Does 4gb Ram matter ?

 

Do you want dual GPU's? Do you carry the laptop around much?

Dont buy RAM/HDD's from Dell. Just buy them stock.

M18x with 2760QM and 6990m CF 2650 dollars, you should be able to get that for about 2400 if you contact a rep.

If you need something more "mobile" get the M17x R3 with 2760QM/6990m/FHD screen.

580m and 560 SLI are about the same. If a game does not support SLI then it will run on 1 560m.

 

One of the best GPU options or more RAM/bigger HDD.

Without a doubt the better GPU option. Upgrade that RAM yourself.

 

So if I update Ram myself, Do I have to remove stock Ram, or I can put them togerther ?

Im thinking to update this Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1866 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1866C11S3P1K2/8G

 

You can mix and match RAM but generally it's not recommended.

Also what ever the slowest RAM in your machine is IE the stock RAM it will force the 1866 to run at 1600mhz.

 

Unfortunately a single 580m is probably going to be faster than SLi 560s. Even though the number of processors between the two is equal, and the 560s are faster, SLI only equates to 0-80% performance gain, it is not 2x the performance. Some games will see an 80% gain, but some will see zero (that will be rare though).

Here are some thoughts...

Single GPUs are easier to manage, but dual GPUs can obviously be more powerful. A dual 560m config would leave lots of upgrade-ability to 6990s or 580s, but the M17 would be maxed out already.

On your CPUs, the 2670 is all you need. Few games are CPU based, most depend upon the GPU for most of the heavy lifting. The performance difference between a 2670 and 2860 on BF3 will be next to nothing.

As others have said, save $$$ and get your RAM somewhere else. 4GB from newegg is like $20... try this... Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBSQ
I have 8G I am selling for $40 if you are interested. Just get the base 4GB from Dell.

As for M18 v M17, there are a ton of threads on that.

 

so should I get this Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G + 4 gb stock Ram = 12gb of 1600

Or should I get 8gb of 1866 Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1866 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1866C11S3P1K2/8G and remove stock Ram

 

Honestly i dont think any of the faster RAM is worth a single penny extra unless you have something very specific in mind like Benchmarking more then anything, so save what ever $$ and get the cheaper stuff.

A member on the forum has that 1600mhz stuff for $73 shipped and he has it seems quite a few available.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/com...perx-pnp-1600-8gb-kit-khx1600c9s3p1k2-8g.html

Might want to go that route and also yank out the stock RAM and stick it in the closet for warranty purposes.

Do you NEED 12gigs of RAM for anything specific ? or do you just want 12gigs ? because 8 will be more then plenty.

I am using the stock garbage Dell RAM in my machine and its working fine . The Kingston will have better timings so that is about it but again unless your chasing some benchmarks you will never see a bit of difference.

 

There is nothing specific..just wondering if 8gb run faster than 4gb much ? If 4gb is good enough then I just get it with 6990m Xfire then

 

Oh hey Quadzilla

How is ur 6990m run in BF3 ?

 

Have not played the BF3 beta so i cannot say but there are some screenshots and such on the forums people took with it running on a single 6990 and it seemed good.

I will be buying BF3 day 1 though just like i bought 1942,BF2,BF2142 day one . Never liked Bad Company so i hope BF3 is more like the older games .





4gigs is usually just fine 99% of the time so i would say stick with the 4gigs for the moment and if you find yourself running out of Memory then worry about.

There are always people selling there stock RAM on the forum for CHEAP so when the time comes maybe look there first .

Best investment for the machine is some kind of SSD more then RAM . You really want something to make your machine scream get a nice SSD and you will be amazed.

 

What kind of Solid Drive should i choose ? in the building website, it list :

500GB 7200RPM Solid State Hybrid for $125 extra

256GB Solid State Drive SATA 3Gb/s for $375 extra

Is the first one good enough ? the second is is hecka expensive

 

Just buy an after market SSD say something like a 128gig will be more then enough for some games and your OS.

Take the stock 500gig drive and use it as a storage drive for the rest of your games.

Crucial M4 128gig SSD is probably the most popular right now and would be a good choice for under $200.

I have the hybrid drive in my machine right now but want a SSD again just that the hybrid drive came in my replacement machine so i cant complain .

You dont need a 256gb SSD especially not for $375 extra.

So yeah stick with the Stock RAM and stock HD and buy that stuff later aftermarket to save some coin.

Only thing you need to focus on is which GPUs and which CPU honestly.

 

but is the hybris drive is not SSD ? and it's not faster than the stock one ?

 

It is faster but thats for a whole other topic on the pros/cons of the Hybrid drive.

Just google Momentus XT that is the hybrid drive i have and it will come with.

For $125 extra for the Hybrid you can buy the momentus XT on your own and get the other stock drive the machine will come with essentially for free.

Dells prices on RAM and Harddrives are rather messy so id suggest looking elsewhere BUT!! if you just want to get a machine and not mess with installing your own operating system or cloning the drive then by all means
buy a better drive from Dell because for some people that stuff is just to much hassle.

I always do everything myself but i can do it in my sleep because i have done it a million and a half times so its easy for me to say do this or do that when this or that is not for everyone and i do understand that.

For the record i am really enjoying my hybrid drive more then i expected but an SSD will bring more battery life when i am unplugged and these new machines with switchable graphics can have some nice battery life when need be so i want the best battery life i can get and only an SSD as your OS drive is going to provide that .

 

Between the first two options I would pick the better single card over the lesser 560's in SLI because of SLI headaches (which I am told are less then Crossfire head aches but none the less are present).

But then in the last post you did, I'd go with the Crossfire 6990's. I am totally an ATI guy now...seems like they win the performance/value contest more often then not (let the flame war begin...).

 

as for the bf3 beta, I was running my 2760 and 6990 on my m17x r3 on full ultra, everything maxxed 1080p, and getting ~30fps on caspian border and 40 fps on operation metro.

Buy your ram and Hd elsewhere dell is a huge ripoff for those. (i got 8gb of crucial memory (1600 MHz) for like 50 bucks, which i added to the existing 4gb (1600) dell provided for 12GB for 50 bucks extra... dell would have charged $350. I also got a crucial m4 (128 GB 6Gbps) for 179 from amazon to add the the HD in the system already. it's AWESOME.

Be sure to visit the "how to get a deal on an alienware" thread in the alienware subforum. I saved ~25% on my lappy (~$700 off).