Thinking I should buy a m17x-r3

I bought a m7700,5500i-r3,area 51-m17x r1 and am thinking about buying a m17x-r3.I know not to get the memory maxed out from AW,but what should I get for the rest of the components for the best reliability and performance that should work with games for a few years? Or should I wait for a new model that may be coming out soon,or not? I am 56 and still play games.

 

rule of thumb for the most cost effective R3 that still performs:

don't get

tons of ram (get the 4gigs)
harddrive or SSD upgrades through dell
3d

Do Get

1080p (1920x1080) screen

The ram and a nice solid state drive upgrade you can do yourself for a fraction of the price. 3d on laptops is a gimmick because the frame has to be rendered twice which will cut your fps in games in half

Whether or not to get amd 6990m or nvidia 580m is up to your preference. Just be aware that they are close in performance but the 580m costs double and many have had issues with the 580m throttling (i.e., once the temp reaches a certain point, it throttles back with lower core and shader, ram speeds) Many have tried vbios updates and other things to remove the throttling but its not 100% perfect.

 

SlickDude80 summed it up.

Dont upgrade ram, HDD

Must have 1080p and the best GPU you can get. (I like AMD so I would recommend the 6990m or even the 6970m as its still a very nice card).

 

Don't get why a 1080p screen is a must? Please explain? I personally would prefer a 900p as prefer the extra frames rate in games.

 

yea get the 1080p

 

Or do you think the m18x would be a better idea? but much more money.

 

I had a M18x.. and all I can say is that is not very fun traveling with it. M17x will be a better mobile laptop. Just my 2 cents.

 

the 18 is HUGE and heavy. You can have dual cards, and a slightly larger screen but Did i mention that it is HUGE?

 

After doing a ton of research, I ordered the m17.

Here's a few things I found that were very helpful.

The 6990, price to performance ratio beats out the 580 by a mile. However, if you're not willing to give up 3D I feel it's your only real option if you're looking to do serious 3d gaming.

The RAM upgrade is 200$ for 4gb more. You can buy 8gb more Here(Kingston HyperX 8gb 1600) for less than 100, and it's great RAM.. but you already knew you didn't want to upgrade the RAM through AW, so I'm throwing this in just incase someone else is reading with the same question.

1080p Screen is also a must in my opinion. I pretty much suggest upgrading Screen/Graphics as those are two things that are very expensive to upgrade down the road if you decided you were unhappy with a 1600x900 screen or a 560 graphics card that might bottleneck you in the future. Everything else, RAM, HDD etc, you can upgrade at your own pace down the road.

As far as when the new stuff comes out, there will always be new stuff coming out. But the 6990 is not old by any means, and the new processor line just came out a couple of days ago. So you'd be up to date if you ordered soon.

Good luck and be sure to browse the outlet if you're looking to save a bit!


Spoonjaffa - compare a 1600x900 laptop with a 1920x1080 laptop and you will see. It's not just resolution, it's also screen quality.

 

Its almost a must for a 17in screen to be 1080p. Now a 14in machine 900p is standard.

 

also if you want to upgrade the cpu then don't go any further than 2760QM, I'd go for that just for the support of 1600mhz rams!

 

2670 is the new base processor, and supports 1600mhz ram.

 

£70 more for a 1080 over 900 screen at moment, both are WLED, the quality on my 900 15" screen is excellent. It would be nice to have some proof that the 1080 screen is better than just some extra pixels else i'd still go for improved frame rates. These are laptops for gaming and frame rate count more, plus you could have a few more graphic options turned up over a 1080 yet get same performance.

 

What do you think of the refurbished lapys? Or should I expect problems there. They are much cheaper.

 

most refurbs work great, but the one concensus seems to be the refurbs are a little marked up. So expect scratches, dents, marks, uneven chassis pieces etc.

 

I can go down to 1600x900, but you can't go up to 1920x1080.. it's not like I'm stuck at 1080 all the time.

That's more than enough for me to spend the extra cash. Having the screen real-estate on demand like that.

 

I would never play on none native resolution, the pixel ratio just ends up making things look blurry. Try it on your current screen and see what you think.

 

I have, without issue.

I prefer to play on 1080, I'm just saying if there was an fps issue I could scale down if I felt the need. You're not going to change my mind, I've witnessed 1080 on a laptop and love it lol.

 

the 1080p screen is that much crisper, i don't even understand why there is a discussion here about that.

Now, i understand what spoonjaffa is saying. You need less vid card to run games with a 900p screen vs a 1080p screen...there are almost half as many pixels to render in a 1600x900 screen compared to a 1080p screen. So in the end, you get higher fps

Solution: Get the 1080p screen with a better vid card. You get to have your cake and eat it too!

IMO, Those looking at Alienware aren't too concerned with another few bucks to upgrade the screen. The dollar conscious consumer is probably going to look at the MSI-R which comes with the gtx 570m for as little as $1200 in base configuration. You're looking at around 2K for a relatively basic M17x

 

The 900p screen (occasionally and apparently) has screen tearing and random visual issues.
Hence the preference for 1080.

 

Agreed with you bro. I sure don't get why people say it's the only way to go that the difference is soooooo huge.
My 2 cents about that issue is that now people NEED HD stuff even when it souldn't be that way. (in seven eleven's you can buy HD sunglasses for the best illustration of what I'm talking about...)
But regarding the r3.. there seem to be a lot of trouble with the 900p screens (vertical lines all over...).
EDIT: my 900p screen works absolutely wonderfully... Damn glad I didn't got tempted with the 1080 screen. Initially wanted to go with it, it just seemed like I would be disgusted by the 900p res and that it would not be enough (My previous laptop had 1650*1050... this one has 1600*900... that 900 scared me lol) but I am absolutely loving the screen.

 

There's no way to argue it, a 1920x1080 screen will have a better picture than a 1600x900 screen. It's worth the 150$. That's why so many recommend it.

But here's where I'll stop butting in on the subject:

I can tell the difference, it's night and day to me. But others may not.

 

agreed to that.

This is where I will disagree with almost everybody else on this forum.
And just like spoonjaffa said it in page 2, when playing games with a lower res for better FPS, the picture will look better on the 900p screen than on the 1080p screen running at 1600*900 because it's just not its native resolution. that too, is a fact.

 

I agree with Stampy!

If I didn't have the vertical lines issue on my 900p screen, I would've kept it. The picture quality was awesome and crisp. However, there are some weird 900p screens with problems out there! I know cause I have had my screen replaced twice. On the recent one, desktop images look like they're in 16bit color mode.

The original one that I got from the factory was great! However, those vertical lines were really bothering me.

I ended up ordering the 1080p screen.

 

pfffff what happened to you is just beyond bad customer service.... I'm just glad I won the lottery on that 900p screen xD If I had had that problem I would have probably just returned the whole system and never think about getting AW ever again.
EDIT: I forgot to mention on that post above, the 900p quality screen is also plenty good enough for a 17.3 in screen.

 

I said I'd get off the subject, but I just feel like I need to readress it. Nayilalien I'd be interested to know if you still feel the same way after you receive your full hd screen.

Stampy, If it's FPS you're worried about the best route would be to upgrade to a 6990. A 6990m will play games better at 1920x1080 than a 560m will at 1600x900.

 

I'll post a review and will try to end this debate.

900p is an awesome resolution (fps wise) for cards lower than 6990m and 580m.

 

That I will absolutely agree with!

 

You right, but even when I upgrade my GC (For a 6990m? or whatever is going to be cheap and good at the time of purchase) I will keep the 900p screen because I don't believe the upgrade is necessary for a 17.3, that much is debatable, it's just how I feel at the moment.

Also I want to play Cliffs of Dover (when they finally fix the damn "thing")... I don't think a 6990m will play it well at 1920*1080. (lol... I haven't even wanted to try it with my 560m yet, I'll address that disapointement later xD)
EDIT: I should've gotten the 6990m xD I just didn't know a thing about GC or processors at the time of purchase xD I don't keep up to date for those sort of things lol....

 

Too bad the m17x r3 don't have rgb screen man......

 

The same like me. I always play on native res.
Belive me I'd go with WXGA+ RGB if it was avaiable

It's 900p avaiable in R3
Review Acer TravelMate 7740G Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

1080p
LGD02DA MGNC7_173WF1 / MGNC7€173WF1
Review Alienware M17x R3 GTX 580M i7-2820QM Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews
Review Alienware M17x R3 (GTX 460M, i7-2630QM) Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

A good reason to go with a 1080p is it seems to be a huge selling point for some reason if you choose to get a new laptop down the road.

For me personally I find the screen res means little, I can see the difference but It does not bother me. In terms of gaming preformance its easy to say go with a 6990 and take the higher res screen, but from a cost perspective you will end up spending an extra 300 bucks on a video card and then an extra 150 bucks on the screen to get the same preformance.

 

Maybe same FPS (MAYBE).... still better res and better graphics for a 6990m... You said it buddy though... What EMS doesn't get is we don't all have the available fund xD
But even when funds are in play.... and you get the 6990m like he suggests... I would still go 900p because then again, it runs games nicely today at 1080, but it most certainly will start having difficulties in a year or 2.

 

All I'm trying to do is make sure the OP makes an informed decision when he goes to order his laptop. I understand funds can be an issue, but at the same time if you want the best, you've got to spend the money. So either save longer, or make sacrifices. I'm not sure why you keep pushing the 1600*900 screen, because if he can afford it the 1080 is undoubtedly better.

A 1920*1080 screen will play games at 1600*900 just fine. It's the same aspect ratio and pixel displacement is not noticeable (from what I have seen) on these screens. But you're spending this much on a laptop, not going full HD seems crazy to me.

 

Get the 1080p screen.

I have the 900p and like it very much, but moving between it and my 1080p work computer, you can see the decreased screen real estate. Gaming aside, the computer is more productive (spreadsheets, database tables, etc) with the higher res.

I like the 900p screen and it is not a deal breaker, but would get the higher res if I could do it again.

My 2 cents.

 

Well of course the 1080p is better, but it depends on your use of it again, this is debatable we most likely won't agree with one another, if the point is to let him make an informed decision you don't need to tell him 1080>900... but 900p is acceptable as well. Yeah, he'll have less space on desktop to work with, yes its not gonna be full HD for videos and games (if he plays DVDs or Blu ray he can always go through an HDTV with HDMI like I do for gaming ...) But again, and this my point of view here... Going all out FULL HD on a 17.3in screen seems crazy to me. I respect both opinions, just stop saying we HAVE to have the 1080p you're wrong saying that.

This view is much more interesting here, that work screen is 17in as well?

 

I never said 900p was unacceptable. All I said was 1080 was the smarter choice if you're looking to get as much out of your laptop as possible. And with anyone buying alienware.. that's usually the case.

I even went as far as to say with a 560m, the 900p screen is probably the better choice.

 

Yeah but that was after way too much pressure from me and spoon either way... in my eyes, the $150 required to upgrade from 900 to 1080 is not well spent. They are fewer people to think like I do, much more thinking that it would be crazy not to get 1080p.
Those few people are satisfied with the 900p, the greater number only swear by 1080p, and a small fraction of those full HD are coming from deffective 900p (Yes the 900p have been way more infamous for having problems)

Let's leave it at that.

 

Ok. The end.