Video cards & blue-ray for m17x R3?

Hello,

I am finally going to be able to buy an alienware m17x r3 soon. I have all the specs I want but have a few questions. It seems from the posts that the HD 6870 and 6970 are regarded a bit more highly than the GTX 460m, although personal preference plays a part. Should I go with HD graphics then?

Also I am debating the blue-ray player. I have never had one. Are they very important to this machine. If I get blue-ray I can only afford the HD 6870m graphics not the HD 6970m.

Specs:
Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Nebula Red
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
A/C Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
Display Panel 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Video Card 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6870M
Hard Drive 750GB 7,200RPM HDD
Nameplate Personalized Plate
AlienFX
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat Reader
Optical Drives Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Sound Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
Wireless Intel® Advanced N + WiMAX 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology
Automatic Updates Automatic Updates: On
Service 3 Year Advanced Service Plan

Thanks for any input.

 

Hi, some quick tips...
Go with the 4gb of ram and save yourself 150. Instead, go to newegg and buy some kingston hyperx 1600Mhz ram. You could get 16gigs for just under 200, or 8gb for even less.

Unless you plan on using Wimax, the Intel 6300 card is better.

blu-ray is kind of important if you ever want to what a blu-ray in the future. If you're not such of a media guy, then don't bother with it.

Also, order by phone, will save you loads if you haggle with the reps. Here is the thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/456885-aw-dell-ordering-advice-how-save.html

This thread will save you tons Also, try and use somebody who got a really great deal as a baseline to argue with the reps. Will make your life sooo much easier.

I would also advise the 6970m, its a real beast and well worth it to future proof your system for years to come.

 

For pure gaming and if you have no intrest in 3d go for 6970 it's the best card.

Also for ram go for the basic 4gb and buy a 8gb ram yourself you will save loads and can get an even better ram. Get 1666mhz since your 2720 supports it. It would be way cheaper than a upgarde by Dell.

Get the blu-ray if you plan on bying or have any bluray dvds.


Pretty much what killerbunny said.