just ordered an m17x 3d but...

I feel like im the only one that ordered a 3d system. I know the 6970 gets better benchmarks but I bought it thinking the 3d will be nice to have in the years to come.

Does anyone have a 3d and loves to use the 3d features? anyone get the 3d and wish they got the 6970 instead?

I know its been beaten to death but im starting to wish i got the 6970 after reading on here ><

i might cancel my order yet

 

I recently purchased an alienware myself, non-3d though, justification was that 3-d technology has not been perfected yet and the differences in peformance between the 460m and the 6970m is too great for me not to consider since I will be using this laptop for atleast 2 to 3 years.

3-d gaming does have an appeal though, so I say go for it if that is what you desire.

 

mine arrives tomorrow - monday - i also went for 3d as i will be gaming but i play rift etc and it will handle it just fine otherwise 360 is for use and ps3 so its ok for me - you can always upgrade the card next year once price dropped if u wanted a ati i guess but 3d for me

 

I'm playing Burnout Paradise in 3D and having a blast with it, my kids as well. My other non-3D playn game DeadSpace 2 is running smooth with max vid settings (30FPS). Shift 2 plays smooth as well maxxed but no AA. Running Rift at High settings.

Sure wish this supported HDMI 1.4 input for external devices like the 360, was hoping to play some NBA 2k11 in 3D but guess will have to wait till I receive my monitor.

Alienware OptX? AW2310 23" 3D Full HD Widescreen Monitor Product Details

 

I have had both. i am on the verge of buying my 2nd 3d model as a keeper because it can be upped to a 485. The 120 hz is brighter and well.. 120hz. Since the screen is what I stare at 100% of the time the lappy is used its important to me.

I dont use 3d and since Im not a bencher the 460 is strong enough. The better screen is icing on the cake. I even had both side by side and the difference was dramatic.

 

A 6970M is a beast of a card and will outperform a 460M easily BUT....

Well a laptop is a Personal Computer and personal preferences matter when you are talking about these things.

And I prefer to have 3D capabilities on my system. I don't find this technology gimmicky at all. In fact, the 3D effects on this system is one of the best I've ever experienced. I've been in 4D theatres and viewed 3D content in Malls with over 100" screen but none of the picture quality was as crisp as I've seen in this M17xR3 3D IMHO. I don't mind one bit for not having 6970 because frankly, I am not the type of guy who wants to MAXX out the graphics in everything I play. Moreover, the graphics difference between med and high almost negligible in MOST modern games and we don't need AntiAliasing at all when you are already playing in 1920*1080p. One last thing, the perfect viewing resolution for 3D games according to many 3D enthusiast forums is 720p.

With that said, don't think a GTX 460M is a loser card at all. It can still run all of today's game in MAX settings except Metro n Crysis and I think we all agree even desktops can't run then maxxed out. What's the use of having a card when it runs games at 120fps but you get horizontal tearing on your screen? To avoid these we put VSync on and the games are now capped at 60fps and power goes without utilising it. It's like buying a Porsche 911GT3 and you never get to use the twin turbo because the road is not freaking drivable at all.

That being said, don't forget it's a PERSONAL computer and personal preference matters. If you want SUPERB 3D effects on games, movies, videos etc, and a much brighter screen, go for 3D version. If you want gaming power to run everything maxxed out but for a slightly poor screen, go for 6970M.
And on that note, even CROSSFIRE 6970M can run Witcher2 maxxed out.
I want nVidia's awesome driver support and I also want 3D. What do you want?

 

The 460m is great. No issues with lack of horsepower for everything we play and I like nVidia drivers/updates better.

When deciding on 3D v. non 3D, I would work backwards. What games do you play? Check the nVidia 3D list and see if they are on there. Might you watch 3D blue-ray movies on your R3?

If the games you play 90% of the time are not amenable to 3D and no chance you watch movies then cost would be the only other reason beyond above logic to go with the non-3D 460m. Future proofing against a new killer 3D game and ability to upgrade to a 485 aside.

3D enabled systems battery life may be an issue for you as well.

 

As others have said, despite the 460M's slightly lesser performance to the 6970, it's still a great card. I think you will be perfectly satisfied with any modern game you play, but do realize that with some games, you won't be able to run a steady 30+fps at the very highest settings.

Here's what to expect... Crysis 2, I have my graphics set to "very high" (2nd highest) and a resolution of 1440x900: roughly 37-50fps. At 1600x900 resolution i get 33-46. On "extreme" (highest) @ 1440x900 resolution I get 25-35.

As you can see, all of those settings are very playable, even at the highest setting. Keep in mind, those are performance numbers with the GPU NOT overclocked. With an overclock of 800/1600/1350, you can get a 5-7fps increase all-around with minimal temperature increase and no artifacts.

 

^ I'm running 825/1650/1500 which someone posted and it works great for me, ran for a few hours on Fable 3 without issues. REALLY speeds up FPS in 3D

 

thanks for the replies everyone; i feel much better haha... It took me a couple weeks to pull the trigger then I found this site and after reading on here I felt I made the wrong decision.

Good to hear from others who are enjoying the 3d aspect. As long as I can play games for some time in the future; even on low settings and I'll be happy. I'm a big gamer but not competitive like i used to be so as long as I can play the game ill be happy haha. I work on the road and the hotels we get don't always have a good internet connection. If I also get the ability to upgrade to the 485m when 3d works on that also makes me happy as well.

I just cant wait to get it. Only 2 weeks to go

 

You will be happy with it, I am.

I will tell you this though, and this is from an ongoing issue:

Dell's servers for tech support / sending techs out has been down for going on a week, chances are this is never going to happen again WHEN they resolve it, but it's a matter of WHEN.

It's a world-wide outage right now.

If I had the choice and I was getting another laptop I would be getting the 3D enabled Clevo Clevo P170HM-3DE, 17.3" FHD, Matte, 3D Ready with Glasses, nVidia GTX 485M Video Card, DVDRW

100% 3D on the 485M. I am <-> close to buying that now and selling off my few month old M17x R3.

 

for $2400 (built my way) thats a good looking system. I looked at a lot of systems but something about the alienware (mainly flashy things keyboard etc...) kept drawing my attention back to it

 

Yea, the other benefit to the Clevo is it actually has a dedicated subwoofer like my XPS 17 had >_<

The dedi-sub just makes stuff sound so much better !

 

I am pretty sure they will be adding support for a better nVidia card in the future (hopefully the 485m) and that in my eyes is something to look forward to. Just FYI.

 

How long does the battery last with a full charge with the 460 and 3d panel?

 

I have the 3D version as well. Like some other posters have mentioned, this comparison extends beyond simply choosing between 3D functionality/6970m GPU. On one side, there's the 3D bundle which has a better 120hz screen that is brighter and has a higher contrast ratio than the 60hz models (a universally acknowledged fact) and 460m which is still a top tier card; on the other hand, there's the much more powerful 6970m and perhaps better battery life but worse screen and no 3d.

So in the end it really comes to your personal preferences. I've watched the 3D bluray of Tron and a few other films and the experience was simply awesome. The 3D bluray market is still a bit underdeveloped at the moment but that for me is the whole point of getting the 3D system. The market will grow and mature in the next few years and that justifies choosing the 3D version. Isn't futureproof what we want from such a pricey laptop? As for the 460m, well I'll give it 1 year before we can get a much newer Nvidia card for a reasonable price and make it compatible with the 3D version. I'm sure I'll upgrade mine in future.

I'm not that into 3D gaming atm. Well for the more casual games I play a lot of Football Manager (pointless in 3D) and Sims 3 (again pointless). I've tried Mass Effect 2, Test Drive Unlimited 2 and Arkham Asylum in 3D and they looked absolutely magnificent. The Witcher 2 in 3d seem a bit too much for the 460m. Haven't tried Dirt 3 yet. Ah how much I hope there's a proper racing sim like Forza or GT on the PC...

Anyways, those are my thoughts of my m17x 3D and hope that helps

 

Holy crap, it supports 3D bluray?! Now I am kinda hoping they can't fix my r2 and they have to give me an R3......

 

With the 3D bundle yes. But so far for me 3D Bluray only works on PowerDVD 11.. The nvidia 3d video player is pure cr*p and all the usual ones people would use (WMP/Quicktime/VLC/KMPlayer in my case) don't support 3D playback. Like I said, the home 3D video market is not mature enough....yet.

 

I'm excited for it to come... feels nice to hear from other 3d owners. I ordered mine on the 20th and i will have it in 3 days from today so about a 10 day from order to receiving which is nice. I like that as 360 and ps3 games support 3d ill already have it which is nice for that having the hdmi. I like that future nvidia card upgrades are looking to be a possibility.

 

I first ordered mine in late January (just before the sandy bridge recall) then had to wait more than three months for it to eventually arrive. (order got messed up in early march so had to reorder..) But the wait is sooooo worth it. You guys are a lot luckier than us now that the 3d model seem to be arriving pretty quickly Hope you'll enjoy it.

 

i had my rep put a rush on it for me. was very nice person, was a gamer himself... just wish his english was a little better but overall it was pretty smooth

 

anyone have any issues with 3D bluray playback? I have tried to watch the tron on my m17x r3, with horrible results. The image skips every 5 seconds or so. What is the problem? It skips on powerDVD 9.6, and roxio. Is it the programs? do i need more ram? i have 6 gigs now. Whats the problem please help.

 

I had this uninstall 3d driver and nvidia driver go to dell support and download the m18x 460 driver and install that then go to m17x and download the 3d controller and reboot worked for me

oh nvidia do there own player small and easy for 3d

 

@mano are you trying to watch in 3D? If so, get the latest PowerDVD, it's been a known issue and finally fixed in the newest revision.

 

thanks neptune. I found a thread 5 min after i posted this. I downloaded a trial version of powerdvd 11 and my 3d blu ray works great without any lag or skipping. kind of ridiculous though. I just got this computer and now i gotta fork over another bill just to watch 3d blu ray (at least i got 30 days with the trial.)

 

Curious, where can we get a copy of powerdvd? Is it on the Dell driver site? Or do we have to buy it separately?

 

You're right it is a matter of personal preference, I feel stupid wearing those 3D glasses, I think I'll wait until the technology allows to view 3D without the need to wear those geeky glasses lol.
I am much happier with my 6970M...
Its like what they say, if it makes you happy then go for it, who cares what everybody else thinks