Some advice needed

Hi

I am planning to purchase an Alienware M17x. I would appreaciate inputs on a few points.

1. Is a cooling pad necessary?

2. I have been following the threads on this forum regarding the throttling problems with the 580M and so far, I dont think I have seen any post that says "problem solved". That leaves me with the GTX 560M and the HD 6990M. Have people experienced issues with these two cards?



This is the configuration I have in mind:

PROCESSOR - Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM 2.4GHz (3.5GHz with Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache
DISPLAY - 17.3" (43.94cm) Full HD (1920x1080) WLED LCD Panel
MEMORY 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 4GB)
HARD DRIVE - 1.5TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive (750GBx2)
OPTICAL DRIVE - 8X DVD + /-RW Drive with DVD + R double layer write capability
VIDEO CARD - 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M (Or the HD 6990M)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARD - Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video

I am primarily a console gamer. But lately, I have had to travel quite a lot. I cant really carry around my PS3 , so I want to invest in a good gaming laptop. The 18x is out of my price range so not looking at that. I am in Sydney for another three months, so I want to buy the Alienware before I have to go back to India. (The Dell store in India has only one config available for the Alienware)

 

Cut the RAM to 4 GB and ditch one HDD, buy a SSD aftermarket. Even the 2670QM is plenty for gaming. The 6990m is the better choice here. No you dont need a cooling pad.

You can import a laptop from the US if you want. Sometimes its way cheaper.

 

yea a cooling pad is really not needed with this machine. All you gotta do is prop the back end up a little bit

 

I agree do the up grades your self and save a free bucks. I went with the 560 because I wanted the better screen 120 hz and I am glade I did nice screen very bright and I set it to run at 120 all the time not just 3D which I really don't use unless to show off..lol

 

Did you mean 580m or 560m? The 6990m and 560m are different classes of cards. The 6990m is more comparable to the 580m

the 6990 is about 35-40% faster than a 560m. if you are going to be gaming at 1920x1080, i'd definitely spend the little extra and get a 6990m

As others have already said...no cooling pad is necessary all you need to do is put something on the back to raise it up. That promotes good airflow and allows the fans to easily suck in cooler air. I made my own stands from material i bought from the dollar store.

If you'd prefer to buy it, all you need to get is something like this for $1.79

Cooling Cooler Cooler Stand Pad Leg Laptop Notebook | eBay

 

Do not get the 560m. It may be a higher number, but its nowhere near the performance of the 580 and 6990.

 

1. Cooling pad is not necessary at least for me.It gets hot but nothing out of the ordinary.

2. I had the 6990m and had some problems with it.If i were you i would go with the 580m.altho the price would go up quite a bit.

 

I meant the 560M.

After going through this thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/616150-dell-580m-throttle-contact-group.html
I really am not confident about spending all that extra money on it. (Unless this problem happens only with the 3D stuff and not with normal gaming and movie watching.)

 

throttling is a real issue that nvidia users on Alienwares have been facing. The new dell vbios does make it less pronounced but its still there. Some people do keep their temps down so they don't face it, but its something that you have to be aware of if you're gonna get a 5 series nvidia card. It happens in regular gaming, 3d gaming or in any situation where the temps go up to 79c

 

Errr ... all 5 series cards or only the 580M?

 

580m is the main culprit because in theory, it will be hottest of all the nvidia mobile cards.

however, the vbios updates are being applied for 460m/560m/and 580m. Its all temp related so if your 560m hits the thermal threshold, then it will throttle all the same

See here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...idia-geforce-460m-580m-560m-see-post-1-a.html

 

its with all nvidia cards in general in the m17x, though the 560m should never hit the temps that the 580m does. Only reason my 460m has throttled is because i blocked the intake fan to test. If i were u i think i would get the 6990m as the 460m/560m isn't gonna be able to play the newer games as well as the 6990 or 580m. I currently ordered a 6990m cause i want more power, but that's just me

Edit: Slickdude beat me again

 

Temp throttling is with anything that would cause the gpu to increase in heat, which can be controlled by ambient room temperature, propping up your laptop on a book, and maybe a fan.

Otherwise, its a good card overall(The 580m). It just requires a bit of tinkering.

 

Okay. so this is what I have decided to go for:

Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM 2.4GHz (3.5GHz with Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (English)
1-Year Premier Service
McAfee(R) Security Center - 15 Months Version
17.3" (43.94cm) Full HD (1920x1080) WLED LCD Panel
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 4GB)
1.5TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive (750GBx2)(Raid 0)
Slot Load Fixed Blu-ray BD-ROM / DVD + /-RW Combo Drive
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6990M
Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video

8GB RAM is the minnimum available, as is the 1.5 TB HDD. The SSD will set me back by another 400$. I really wish they would give the option of going for 4GB RAM, smaller HDD (500GB), no security software . .bleh .... But then again, this is still better than the ultra hgih config that they have on the Indian site.

This config appears for 2900 AUD. I was chatting with a DELL sales representative who said that she would try to get me a good deal once I had chosen my specs. Has anyone actually got any good deals after chatting with sales representatives?