why did you buy an M17x?

What made you buy it??

 

Specifically?

- It's looks
- The power (7970M + Ivy? Sign me up the hell up.)
- Solid price
- Portability
- Because an M18X with a 7970M or equivalent wasn't available

 

Power/performance, options, quality, warranty, NBD service, appearance and satisfaction with prior Alienware models. Excluding perhaps Origin and Northwest Falcon, no other gaming notebook can really compete except for the M18x, which is an entirely separate class.

 

I would have honestly only gotten the M18X for it's decently better cooling and the alloy chassis. Not for the crossfire, I could care less about that. I'd rather have the single best card in a system. Have had too many issues with X-fire and SLI in the past to warrant it. The sting of having dropped a grand on cards that don't really justify the issues I've had was too much after a few years. You'd think I would have learned my lesson after the second time (8800's).

 

I agree with you about the challenges of dual card setups, which is primarily why I have an M17x-R3, together with the much easier access to the primary components for upgrading and servicing. But you can't deny the performance of those SLI/CFX M18x's and SLI at least seems to have made substantial progress in stability and compatibility, so I still feel the temptation from time to time. For me, an M18x is like a mistress -- I'd love to have one to play with, I just don't want to live with it.

 

I'd have to agree on the performance, sometimes it's close to double, other times it's enough to warrant it, but having experience constant stutters and issues and driver mishaps, I just kind of swore off it. I'm not advocating to people to NOT get a dual-card setup because it can/may have issues, I just would advise not expecting perfection. We're still a long ways off before multi-card setups are seamless and perfect. For now, in a portable rig, a top-end single card solution just can't be beat. Honestly though, if I waited another 2 weeks before ordering, I probably would have purchased the M18X with the crossfire 7970M's, and then having seen that there still isn't actual driver support, would have ended up selling the other card for a massive premium.

 

And I would have bought it.

 

Well there you go then, we would have both benefited.

 

so m18x's arent worth it?

u guys have no regrets on ur m17's im guessing,

 

This is a great question for the Owner's Lounge.

 

Depends on so many personal factors - how you want to use it, what you can afford, power usage, etc etc. The reasons why I got the M17x R4 is because it is considerably cheaper than the M18x and I was on a low budget; It is smaller, thinner and much lighter and I will be lugging this around a bit; I need higher battery life than the M18x offers, just in case, and also have to think about power usage. I also don't mind not having crossfire/sli, don't need that much performance

That's just my 2 cents, but there are definitely people who love their M18x's for the performance it offers, because it fits their needs. Didn't fit mine, so there

 

The thing is that you're not making a bad choice by choosing either one. On the contrary, both are incredible machines, it just depends on if you really want that dual-card setup to possibly future proof yourself/also if you do not plan on buying the best-in-slot single card when it comes out. The two aren't very different in regards to size, so that isn't a valid point to be honest. They're both big enough to be considered desktop replacement computers, and are both powerful enough to be considered high-end.

The realistic consideration, I think at least, are:

- Want two graphics cards + possibility of an XM (extreme) rated CPU?
- Plan on overclockking? M18X has a better cooling system
- M18X is alloy; M17X is a more rubbery/soft finish
- Does portability/battery life matter AT ALL to you?

 

True statement... why did u buy an m18x r2? alot of people say...

The difference in physical dimensions between the two laptops are negligible and the M18x has 4.5 to 5 hours battery life, so that last one is not really a valid point to consider. But, I agree with the other three bullet points.

 

I'd agree I suppose, I was more-so kind of comparing the two to the overall portability sense, not to each other, should have been more clear. Haven't had all my coffee yet after an all-nighter.

 

I like my M17X R3, but I'd rather have an M18X.

 

Price/performance ratio
I was going to buy the Samsung Chronos 17'3, but it's like 100 USD less than the M17xR4 at the moment here in the Netherlands.
So the choice was easily made, though I was a bit skeptical at first due to the looks of the AW.

Now that I have it, I'm a rather happy camper

 

I was looking into getting a Clevo built by Malibal. I researched a little about AW, but I thought all the flashy lights and looks were more suited for someone 15 years younger then me (I'll be 30 next month :cry . After customizing some builds and speaking with some reps from various companies, I decided to check the AAFES website since I'm military. I was surprised to find out that I could get a M17X r3 for nearly $200 cheaper than a Clevo and have a better build.

I figured I would just keep the lights off except during the night. Once I fired it up, I couldn't believe how amazing it looked, and I only turn the lights off if I'm going to leave my system on for a while without using it. This is one sweet laptop and I'm glad I pulled the trigger on it. I do think when I'm ready to upgrade the entire thing, I'm going to looking into the M18X.

 

I bought a gaming laptop because I was tired carrying my desktop over to my friends place (7 block walk), setting up monitor speakers etc.

13-15 inch screens are too small to play with considering I play on a 32" tv at home. 13-15 inch laptops are also generally not that powerful. 17 inch was the perfect size and power (fits my backpack perfectly too). I bought the Alienware specifically because I think it's just a better price/performance/quality overall than other high end gaming laptops. m14x is too small and m18x is out of my budget. I'm broke but happy with my m17x

7970m is as powerful as the 6950 on my desktop I believe (just cant beat the i5 2500k OC). For a while I was thinking of selling my desktop since m17x has HDMI out... but meh maybe I'll just keep it for my guests and in case I want to upgrade to a higher res screen 2560x1600 and graphics card 2-3 years from now (2500k should be fine for a long time... heck my 7 year old athlon 64 x2 6000+ and gts 450 runs most Blizzard games max settings still)

 

I could not agree more!!!! Except on my next birthday I will be 57 :cry: :cry: :cry:

I wanted the best laptop I could buy and Alienware fits the bill. Seriously I love my R3. I gave my R2 to my daughter because I was fed up with crossfire but getting the R3 was a very pleasant surprise. It has never put a foot wrong and it is 1 kg lighter than the R2 and I carry this computer to work everyday and that does make a difference!

 

I picked the M17x because I felt the M18x was too big and too expensive for my needs. I wanted something with a large display and a decent GPU. Ultimately I'm very happy with my M17x. I like the black soft-touch and the customizable backlighting. I like playing Skyrim at Ultra Ultimately I'm very happy with my M17x R3.

 

Because chicks dig it...

 

Always wanted to own an Alienware. Back in uni, not drawing much income, I would check their site and build these insanely expensive PCs (10K!). Finally got one and I'm loving it (only 2.5k, we've come a long way!). Main reason for buying it is highly spec'd without stupid 'Gamer' look. The design looks elegant while still keeping the unruly factor. I used to build every single desktop since I was 7yo, until I bought my first 'Desktop replacement', a Toshiba P105-S921 (I think I posted a pic of it here). Since then, I bought no desktops anymore. For this refresh it came to a toss up between the G73 and the Alienware. HP, however, had me hooked on the uni-AL body but they wouldn't take international AMEX. Dell would, so they got my money, and I became the happy owner of an Alienware!

It's close to a year old now(warranty expiring), so I will go for usual re-pasting/formatting, optional upgrade cycle. SSDs are not quite there in terms of price IMO, so I'm thinking of increasing the memory from 8gb (checking whether I can install 32gb). I'm ok with the GPU, though I admit the newer ones, specially the 680M do look sexy.

I'm on Win7 and install includes VS.net & Sql Srv compact, Maya and 3 VMs with Ubuntu, CentOS and Scientific Linux. Gaming is mostly around Diablo3, Skyrim and usually DC Universe. And also coding some stuff for my Emotiv headset and Kinect SDK.

Ubuntu VM is being for testing out SEAndroid and eventually rooting my phone. Yes, I could go for CyanogenMod, but if I can build it on my own, why would I?

Also serves as media 'server', though I'm looking into a NAS to cover for that function, and I'm currently encoding a lot of material with Handbrake and MeGUI. Reformatting could help me address a graphics driver issue preventing me from using QuickSync and saving some time.

 

oh really?!

 

Really... Red, Pink, Purple lights. No joke.

 

Blinky lights are the essence of technology.

 

And booth girls...

 

This.

Moreover, for quite a long time Alienware has been a bit overpriced, even if it offers top notch components. With m17 r4 i've noticed that the standard setup with maybe just a few changes has actually a very competitive price compared to brands that are supposed to be much cheaper. Here in Australia I could have gotten a m17 r4 and a clevo with the same spec based on a 7970m for the same price, only difference being an extra 8gb of ram for the clevo (not a big deal in temrs of price) while Alienware comes with Dell's international warranty (HUGE deal for me).
Getting my m17 r4 from the outlet with a 500$ discount was even better, but that's a different story xD

 

In my case my laptop (dell latitude d520) was broken and I need a new one.

I was fall in love with dell computers, their quality is higher than other one.

My first option was a 2º hand laptop, a Dell XPS 1550/1530, a gaming laptop. But I read about the nvidia 8xxx failure and gone for a better option, a new brand Dell XPS (perhaps a Dell Studio).

Some people advised me about the possibility of getting from Hidevolution with a better price and...... Finally bought a M17x R3.

I considered the R2 but the R3 was the new model with a lot of new features.

After a year and a half, I have to say that I am very happy.
Maybe a little overpriced for my bucket

 

Why did I choose an M17x over say an Asus or MSI? Simple, Dell offers a payment plan that's reasonable. Eurocom's financing system is a PITA to deal with and only works for those with top-notch credit scores. Other retailers that sell MSI or Asus couldn't qualify me where Dell could. I also like the fact that Dell auto-withdraws from my bank account.

 

I bought my M17x after using my M11x for about a year. I wanted something with a bigger screen. After getting the M17x, I realized it was too big to carry around! So, I ended up buying an M14x.

 

The price of the R2 I bought was rather good for what you were capable of installing into it. Granted it didn't have all the super nice features of the newer machines, but it did feature two GPU slots in a 17" case. That and the RGB screen is to die for.

I found a deal I guess. I highly doubt that I'd be able to manage getting something equally powerful to the current setup that I've got for the same price.

Total cost spent on the M17x R2 I possess has come to just shy of $1,300. Few things needed fixing, hard drive swap, and a second 6970M on the way too. So jaja. I couldn't find anything out, at the time, that would even remotely touch the deal I was going for even before the price drop was settled upon. That and it feels rather... durable. The weight makes it something else entirely and it's just... it's an Alienware. Most people don't care about price in the end, they care about bragging rights and showing off to friends and whatnot. Apple seems to have that down pat.

---------
Pros:
---------
- Came with a rather dated, yet still very very fast processor.
- Featured the RGB screen. (Big reason for the purchase.)
- 6970M already installed with the controlling software installed, as well as the second heatsink/fan for another GPU if I wanted to Crossfire. (Second GPU is on the way.)
- Featured a Blu-Ray Drive. (Other reason for said purchase. I wanted one badly.)
- Outright stock performance was 75% greater than the previous machine on average.
[CPU is ~99.994% faster according to Vantage.] - [i7-920XM vs i5-460M]
[GPU is ~60% faster according to Vantage.] - [Radeon 6970M vs Nvidia GTX 460M]

---------
Cons:
---------
- Surprisingly was heavier than the Qosmio X505 I upgraded from.
- No warranty, showed signs of fairly moderate usage. (Not really a con, buuut...)
- Gets exceedingly hotter than the X505 I upgraded from.
- Power Supply limits what I can do when I crossfire.
- Battery life is no better, if it's as good as the previous laptop... (Can't believe I actually considered adding this...not important for a gaming laptop...)

 

Because the 18x wasn't available when I ordered my m17x R2.

But, I wanted to have a really powerful laptop with as close to desktop power as I could get. There were other options from other companies like eager and Asus. However, one of the main reasons was the alienware design. It looks far different than any other computer out there. I then went with the most powerful setup I could afford. I'm very happy with my m17x. Much cleaner look than a desktop and much easier to move when it calls for it.