Why were R2 so expensive?

Just looked at Dell.ca website today and R3 starts at $1,599 and they have better spec than my R2 which I paid $1,699 ($400 savings) from Dell.ca ....Really? how?

 

the R2 was made from a more expensive anodized aluminum chassis. It also has a dual gpu setup. It also has the more expensive 16:10 format screen with RGB LED available. It just a better built machine with higher end options but the sandy bridge r3 with 6970 is more powerful then the 5870 crossfire r2 in most games

 

uh what were your specs for the r2?

 

Define better specs. (You better have had only a single gpu set up)

Crossfire 5870's at stock speeds are ~10%-15% quicker than a stock 6970 mobility in 90% of the games I can find. And then you got the overclocking potential of the 5870's - most people can get them well above 800mhz. No-one really knows the OC potential of the 6970 mobility yet, but I'd be surprised if it was comparable.

(Even stock clocked CF 4870's are neck and neck with the 6970 mobility - if not a tad faster - and once again, a vast number of people have their 4870's on a near 20% overclock.)

 

Yeah I wondered the same thing, but looking at the little things it does make sense. The cross fire capability, aluminum case, etc.

DaneGRClose's review mentioned this:
"-One thing I can tell you for certain after owning both the R2 and R3 is that they are for very different markets. The guys that would go for something like an M15x or Asus G73 would love the R3, the guys that are out for all out dominance and a desktop in semi-portable form are going to want the R2/Classic. They're both great machines with different targets."

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...xr3-first-impressions-review-danegrclose.html

Which explains the price difference.

On a different note, just out of curiosity Xavier, did you get yours yet I remember we got our shipping note at the same time and I got a call Monday from Dell assuring me it would be here by the end of the week, called purolator today as the tracking still says it's in the U.S. and was told that Dell screwed something up with the shipping and it probably won't be here until mid-next week at best (while I'm out of town of course).

Of course Purolator can't track the package until it "Enters" Canada through Customs. Apparently once the package leave the U.S. depot until it clears Canada Customs the package could go anywhere in the States and Purolator has no way of tracking it.

 

Because they are awesome!

 

^ This. I had a chance to look at M15x few days ago. The display and the magnesium chassis really turned me off. But then rubberized coating on R3 may deal well w/ the later.

 

ok thanks !! Yea i love the anodized aluminium..
yea of course i have single 5870 with 740 i7

 

I don't care how heavy my laptop is (seriously, it's not that heavy in a backpack if you've been accustomed to carrying battle gear before lol) that metal casing is definitely worth it. Much tougher than any plastic thing I've ever come across.

As far as the main topic of why the R2 was more expensive I can't add much more than agreement to the previous suggestions (it is indeed speculation):

1. Aluminum casing opposed to molded plastics.
2. Space in the casing for dual graphics cards, cable between them, and extra cooling as well.
3. Higher quality screens.
4. Possibly with the R3 Dell made some cheaper deals with manufacturers, allowing them to build the machine at a lower price point? Must remember that pricing all depends on many things, one of them being licensing and manufacturing deals with many other companies, which get much cheaper with time / greater amounts. Motherboards are custom and have to be made especially for the machine, adding in chipsets, audio, bus systems (didn't Sandy Bridge implement more of the bus directly onto the main chip? I know the clock controller was), and who knows what else. I'll stop rambling about stuff I barely understand here,..marketing and pricing and whatnot are not my specialty by any means.