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    m17X with 1 gpu or M18X with dual gpu's

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by usmc362, Jul 31, 2011.

  1. usmc362

    usmc362 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm trying to decide if I should get an M17X r3 or an M18X. The 18x comes with dual gpu's,And the 17x comes with 1. Is it really worth the extra money and does the performance increase in dual configurations justify the expense. Also i notice on Dell's website you can't get an m17x with a 2920xm, but on Hidevolution you can. Does the m17r3 bios have cpu overclocking capabilitys? I know I'm asing a lot of questions but I value your opinions. Thanks
     
    usmc362, Jul 31, 2011
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  2. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    Basic overclocking... no voltage control. CPU change is very easy on these things. But the 2920xm costs like over $1000 by itself. If I had more money and was not going to be carrying it around everwhere would have probably went m18x.
     
    ewitte12, Jul 31, 2011
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  3. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    This is a hard question to answer. What are your budget constraints? SLI/XF is a good bit more powerful, however, there are still games that don't want to cooperate with dual GPUs. ATI has been pretty diligent about releasing new drivers, can't speak for Nvidia. I don't think the R3 had CPU OC options.
     
    TurbodTalon, Jul 31, 2011
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  4. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    It says OC in the manual but until I actually play with it it mostly seems like multiplier adjustment and changes to turbo mode.
     
    ewitte12, Jul 31, 2011
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  5. qohelet

    qohelet Senior Member

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    you need to remember that m18x is 3-4lbs more. 17x r3 is already heavy as it is. if you don't care about weight, then i say go with m18x. its performance and build quality are better than 17x r3 hands down. it's worth the extra cost for sure.
     
    qohelet, Jul 31, 2011
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  6. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    Really I saw 16lbs (versus 9.4) somewhere but never really researched it.

    Edit: NVM says 11.93 on the specs. I'd carry that around. Wouldn't bother me.
     
    ewitte12, Jul 31, 2011
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  7. CleanSweep

    CleanSweep Notebook Geek

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    I think the M18X is a bit much, the 580m with 3D is probably more practical and the 3D makes it more fun for sure! I would go with the R3, I am quite happy with mine, and use the money you save to get the 580m and the best processor, just load it out except for memory and hard drive and stuff you can upgrade yourself and get that stuff separately.
     
    CleanSweep, Jul 31, 2011
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  8. usmc362

    usmc362 Notebook Consultant

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    Actually it's 7kg=15.4 lbs.
     
    usmc362, Jul 31, 2011
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  9. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    Probably after you throw in the gpus and their heatsinks/fans.
     
    ewitte12, Jul 31, 2011
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  10. usmc362

    usmc362 Notebook Consultant

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    Well I went on Hidevolution site and made 2 configurations. M17xr3,2920xm,6990m gpu,8gb hyperx 1866,Crucial c-300 256 gb SSD (also icdiamond applied to both cpu and gpu) $3781,no sales tax, free shipping. The m18x,2920xm,dual 6990m's,8 gb hyperx 1866,same SSD,same icdiamond. $4194 free shipping, no sales tax. So your basically paying an extra $413.00 for the extra gpu.
     
    usmc362, Jul 31, 2011
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  11. qohelet

    qohelet Senior Member

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    damn.. thats a lot of money.lol

    if you can drop that kind of money then better just go with m18x. the quality and performance are way better than 17r3. the build quality is exceptional with top and bottom made of anodized aluminum while 17x r3 is made of hard plastic. with dual gpu from 18x the performance boost is very significant compared to r3.
     
    qohelet, Jul 31, 2011
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  12. Brabostaan

    Brabostaan Notebook Deity

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    No bios support for the 2920XM so no overclocking as the M18x.

    See you are willing to make Dell rich, its youre money but upgrading everything yourself is cheaper.

    Plus eveything HID installs is not covered by the Dell warrenty.
     
    Brabostaan, Jul 31, 2011
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  13. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    ^^ This is a very valid point. If you really want to buy from HID, don't choose anything installed by them as they won't include the original parts therefore, the warranty becomes a sticky situation.
     
    widezu69, Jul 31, 2011
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