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    Suggestions needed on the build..

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by xenotech, Jun 18, 2011.

  1. xenotech

    xenotech Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello folks,

    I am planning to buy the Alienware M17x R3 sometime during this week. (ASAP)
    I greatly require help in customizing the laptop and suggestions on accessories and software, or technical or warranty plans that i should add or subtract. Following are the bunch of things that i planned would be good (Any help or suggestion is greatly appreciated) :

    PROCESSOR : Intel® Core™ i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)

    OPERATING SYSTEM : Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit

    MEMORY : 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)

    VIDEO CARD : 1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M

    HARD DRIVE : 256GB Solid State Drive

    LCD PANEL : 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 120Hz WLED w/ NVIDIA 3D Vision Bundle

    WIRELESS CARD : Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology

    WIRELESSHD : Internal WirelessHD Technology - FullHD Video Transmitter

    SYSTEM COLOR : Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Stealth Black

    PERSONALIZED PLATE : X

    ALIENFX COLOR : Mars Red

    OS CUSTOMIZATION : Alien Cyborg

    PRE-INSTALLED GAMES : Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed

    GAMING I/O : Alienware TactX Mouse

    GEAR STORE : Alienware Orion Laptop Backpack - Fits Laptop of Screen Sizes Up to 17" - Black

    WARRANTY AND SERVICE : 4 Year Advanced Plan



    I am not a good handler of things and so took the 4 year plan :D And is the phone support thing really necessary??
    I want the 3D thing and as the GTX460m was unfortunately the only GPU available i selected it, BUT ANYWAYS ANY IDEA ABOUT THE LAUNCH OF GTX 485m ??

    Once again, any kind of suggestion is greatly appreciated. I am a big time fan of Alienware and would order it ASAP!! (Any grammatical errors should be ignored :D )

    -X
     
    xenotech, Jun 18, 2011
    #1
  2. Dreamliner330

    Dreamliner330 Notebook Evangelist

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    Unless you really really want it, I'd step down to the 2720QM 2.2. You'll never notice 100 Mhz and you'll save a couple hundred bucks.

    Newegg sells 8GB of Kingston 1866 memory for $147.
     
    Dreamliner330, Jun 18, 2011
    #2
  3. Simplified

    Simplified The Most Awesome

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    Upgrade the ram yourself and get better value for your money. I suggest you to take the stock 4gb here and upgrade it to 8gb yourself.


    Upgrade the SSD yourself and get more value for your money. You can slap in something awesome like a vertex 3 here.

    Excellect choice. I bought 4 years standard on my R2, but I give you thumbs up for this choice.
     
    Simplified, Jun 18, 2011
    #3
  4. xenotech

    xenotech Notebook Enthusiast

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    It's just that i am a bad handler......

    And can someone post link to upgrading to a SSD manually and the RAM too...

    I am not that a techy freak regarding it....
     
    xenotech, Jun 20, 2011
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  5. Dreamliner330

    Dreamliner330 Notebook Evangelist

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    Dreamliner330, Jun 20, 2011
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  6. blaster

    blaster 1 tequila, 2,3,4,5, floor

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    That shouldn't be that hard, as easy as pie. If you need further instructions of how to upgrade the ram and hdd, the manual is the best resource. IT has pretty pictures with step by step instructions. :D
     
    blaster, Jun 20, 2011
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  7. zero2005

    zero2005 Notebook Consultant

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    +1 on the step down to 2720, then overclock for the extra 100mhz. spend the extra cash at a stripclub, or take your significant other if you have one out to dinner.

    +1 on the SSD DIY. Crucial M4 is a bit more budget friendly. Real world performance wont be hugely noticeable between the M4, intels, or OCZ. however OCZ has been known to have faulty SSD's as of late. you also might not need a full out 256gb. while nice, IMO a 128 would suit most just fine. but its all relative on your application. also, you can basically trade out the stock dell cheapo 320gb hard drive if you prefer for a much larger "storage" drive like 1TB if you need it, for much cheaper. so just stick with the 320gb. Crucial M4

    +1 again on the ram. you can get ram much cheaper and DIY. the difference between 1333 ram and 1866 ram is debatable. you can save even more with some 1333 in the 80$ range (allowing you to go for even more in the size department like 16gb).

    you can step down on the wireless card too - get the basic model. newegg has them for 35$, and i've seen them otherplaces like ebay new, for 28-30$ shipped. the R3 automatically comes with all the antenna's in place all you gotta do is replace the card and plug them in. Intel 6300 wireless N card

    buy some extra DVD's, and IMMEDIATELY download the iso image of windows 7. the windows 7 disk reinstall disk is crap (known issue). you *could* rely on factory reset, but it would help to do it now just in case.
     
    zero2005, Jun 21, 2011
    #7