Ultimate Laptop & Spec for Gaming?

Hi,

I want to get an Alienware M17x but don't know if I can justify the price as I'll really only be using it for gaming mostly along with browsing and light word/excel.

I spec'd an M17x and it roughly comes to €2,700.

I then spec'd an M15x & an M11x.

Obviously, the price difference between these is huge but as I'm looking at it from a gaming perspective only I'm not sure which to get. I know a lot of you are designers/programmers etc and so need the power of the M17x but I can help think that an M17x would be wasted on me if it were only used for gaming.

I've included configs I was looking at of all 3 models below. Could you advise me on which to get? I want to play the latest and greatest games so that's what I'm looking for in this laptop. If it turns out that you guys think the M17x will do a way better job with games then I'll consider getting it.

Heres the specs:

M17x

-Alienware M17x MLK Gaming Laptop - Nebula Red
-Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 620M(2.66GHz,4MB cache)
-Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
-1 year of coverage included with your PC
-CrossFire™ Dual 1GB ATI® Mobility Radeon™ HD 5870
-4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
-250GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
-17in Wide UXGA (1920x1200) - Beyond HD (1200p) RGBLED
-Blu-Ray ROM combo (Blu-ray read only, DVD, CD read & write) Slot Load Drive
-Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module - Europe
-Intel® Wireless LAN 6300 3x3 802.11a/b/g/n card (EUR)
9-cell 85Whr Lithium Ion battery

€2,784.84


M15x

-Alienware M15x Gaming Laptop - Nebula Red
-Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 620M(2.66GHz,4MB cache)
-Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
-1 year of coverage included with your PC
-No Accidental Damage Support
-1GB NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX260M graphics card
-4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
-250GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
-15.6-inch Wide Full HD Display (1920x1080)
-DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) Slot Load Drive
-Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
-9-cell 85Whr Lithium Ion battery
-Computrace LoJack for Laptops, 1yr license

€1,940.74

M11x

-Alienware M11x Soft Touch – Stealth Black
-Intel® Core™ i7 640UM (4M Cache, 1.20 GHz)
-Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
-1 year of coverage included with your PC
-4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
-320GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
-Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module - European
-Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
-Dell Wireless 1520 Half Mini Card (802.11n)
-11.6-inch WideHD 1366x768 (720p) LCD
-8-cell 63Whr Lithium Ion battery
-1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 335M

€1,455.11


So theres the 3 specs. I chose the Blu Ray drive for the M17x because I figure if your gonna have an RGB LED screen, you may as well have HD videos too. On all three models I kept the RAM at 4GB. I don't do video editing/programming etc and I was told I wouldn't notice the difference if I upgraded to 6GB or 8GB. Feel free to correct me though. In terms of price, the M15x and M11x are pretty close. I'm not looking for portability do I think it's between the M15x and the M17x. I wanted to upgrade the hard drives to SSD's as I've heard this also helps gaming but I can't afford it so I'll prob do it at a later date.

I'm leaving it up to you guys. Theres over €1,200 difference between the M15x and the M17x I've spec'd but if the difference is comparable to the price in terms of gaming I'll consider it.

Thanks for reading,

Shuffles.

 

gaming is all about GFX cards and which laptop has the best GFX cards?

 

If gaming is your concern than get the m17x. It has 2 of the fastest ati card available and will provide the best experience out of the 3. The screen on the m17x is the best (resolution wise and brightness wise) of the 3 and i personally wouldn't want to game for an extended period on a monitor smaller than 17".

In regards to the ssd's, the only way they "improve" gaming is by lessening the amount of time you spend in loading screens - they don't affect performance at all.

If you still have doubt and you were to still considering the m15x you should at least configure it with the 5850 because the 260m is old tech and isn't the best option.

In summary, for gaming - get the m17x

 

Cheers for the replies. M17x it is.

 

If money is a problem try getting one from Dell Outlet, you can't choose if you want Cosmo Black or Lunar Silver, or a custom nameplate, but you get it for a much cheaper price and it comes with a 1 year warranty just so your on the safe side. I got mine just 3-4 days ago and I have to say it feels like a new one.

 

M15x is my vote and I owned all three systems.

 

Does Europe Have the same EPP access as the states do? If so, you should be able to knock some off that price.