i5 R2 for $699! i just got my R1 a couple weeks ago...thinking of returning it now.

i know that the R1 vs R2 discussion has been beaten to death, but in light of this new price drop, i need some advice. i'm settling in with my R1 right now, in terms of getting all of my games installed, tweaking all of my settings just the way i like it, etc. however, this R2 kicks my R1's in terms of processor, 4 more GB of RAM, and 802.11n wireless (R1s aren't N are they?). i paid $649 for my R1, with 4GB RAM and 250GB HDD.

essentially, for $50 more, i'm getting those upgrades. on paper, it looks like i should do it, right? however, i am a fan of manually switching graphics settings vs. Optimus, and i've read here and heard firsthand from people about having serious problems with trying to play certain games. i have installed about 15 games now and all of them run with zero need to tweak anything.

i'm grappling with the idea of upgrading all the hardware, only to encounter crappy Optimus problems. also, the R2s generally run hotter than R1s, don't they? heat = the enemy, when it comes to laptops, so i know this sounds crazy but i'm willing to sacrifice a little performance for less heat and more longevity.

i'm still within my return period, and also, the computer came slightly cosmetically damaged anyway (and i opened a ticket with Dell immediately) so i would not be responsible for a restocking fee.

thoughts? the crappy thing is that i just sold my quad core desktop last night on craigslist, so i'd be without a computer for 1-2 weeks if i went through with it (would only have a work laptop and gf's macbook pro). are there any other little things that i should take into account (better or inferior screen, possible hinge fix being integrated into an R2 that i buy today, etc)?

Alienware M11x Intel Core i5 1.06GHz Dual 12" Laptop for $699 + free shipping

 

I put this in the "Deals" section.

 

I just payed 684.70 dollars for my R1. It hasn't even shipped yet from Dell. It's in the building stage. Would they let me cancel my current order? I don't have enough money to have both on my card at the same time.

2x the HDD space, 2x the ram at 8GB, faster processor :O

I think the only downside to the R2 is battery life. I'm now in the same boat as you OP.

 

I paid 549.00 for the stock R1, I then bought some ram from NewEgg and a 500GB 7200 RPM hard drive for 140.00 bucks, so a total price of 689.00.

The only thing Im missing vs this R2 is the i5 CPU. Is it worth the hassle for me to RMA the memory and Hard Drive with NewEgg and pay a restock fee of about 20 bucks... and then deal with tweaking the OS again and reinstalling my applications?

The i5 upgrade will cost me including the cost of restock with newEgg about 38 bucks... I will lose 180GB of hard drive space which I can value at about 20 bucks... 58 bucks now...

Is it worth my time and effort.. Probably not. But I don't play a ton of CPU intensive games or use a ton of CPU intensive applications.

Your decision may vary.

 

don't forget about optimus!

 

The R1 and R2 both have it. The former requires manual switching between the IGP and 335M while the latter is supposed to do it automatically.

 

you should call ASAP. i canceled my R1 to pay with a different CC probably 36 hours after i initially ordered it, then re-ordered.

we're in agreement from the hardware side of things, but what about all of the awful issues that many people are having with games freezing up/Optimus/nvidia drivers sucking/etc? to me, it's not worth it to go R2 if there are widespread gaming issues.

on my R1, i have played mass effect 1/2, L4D, L4D2, the witcher, bioshock 1/2, Grid, and at least 5 other games with no issues whatsoever. no freezing, no stuttering, nothing. to me, it's not worth it to roll the dice on an R2 if there's even a 10% chance of things going downhill.

 

Optimus is nice. But I really dont mind the FnF6.. And the off plug time I get w/o Optimus and the C2D aproaches 8hrs which is also a nice feature of the R1, since I do use the laptop alot for business in conference rooms for extended periods of time.

 

Optimus is NOT a problem. Most people have the exact same problem with optimus when they post and that problem is not whitelisting. There are drivers from Nvidia that work fine and then there are modded drivers that work fine. Personally I think the technology is just great. Something like that shouldn't be a deterrent.

 

probably why the R2 has less battery life over the R1 because it has to power both at least (i.e. have one at a low power and the other on full power).

 

Basically.. If I had the choice as people today have.. I would have chosen the R2 over the R1. But as of now... I will not go through the hassel of the switch. But thats just me..

I'm happy with my purchase and I feel great for the people who get to purchase the R2 at this price point. It truely is a great deal!

The more of these laptops we get into peoples hands means more money into development of these types of toys we all love and driving the prices down further for our future purchases.

 

there's just no real incentive to convert from an R1 to an R2, but if you're new then go for the R2

 

If anyone had a doubt the R3s are coming soon...this all but confirms it. $320 off? That's HUGE. I canceled my refurb order. New one ordered...even cheaper through EPP - $660.52 plus tax.

 

Amazing deal, and above post^, I agree. something sounds like it is coming soon ^.^

 

Battery life. I'm going to keep my R1 order going

 

I don't see the R2 i5 at $699 the EPP site shows the R2 at $734.02 but that includes the i5, 8GB RAM and 320GB 7200 HDD.

I have been watching these threads for some time now as I am always in the market for a laptop but tbh i dont know why since I rarely use the one I have but I think that is because its sheer physical size doesn't translate well to me moving it around.

I currently have a G73 with an i7 (1.6ghz) and the Radeaon 1GDDR5 card 8GB 1333DDR3 but its a beast so I rarely use it and sit on my 360 instead but I am watching Guild Wars 2 with anticipation.

Would the i5 or i7 11R2 pale in comparison to the G73 when running the R2 in modest settings considering the only PC games I like are MMORPGs or Dawn of War 2 types?


Or should I sell the G73 and wait for the R3

 

This is the best deal you could possibly get because you can customize it with the i7 cpu also and still has the $320 discount + $50 coupon making it a total of $370 discount.

W/O the discount and coupon, configuring a core i7 m11x r2 with 8gb ram, 500gb hd and bluetooth is $1,329

With the $320 discount + $50 coupon, you can get the same config at 8gb ram, 500gb hd, and bluetooth at $959!!! Sweet Deal

 

Geez, $884 for an i7 + 8Gb... Looks like they're really trying to unload their remaining inventory of R2s. I wonder why?

 

$75 off coupon: J20LHW1MV4ZWML (for EPP)

Source:
Dell Alienware M11x Laptop: Intel Core i5 520UM (1.066 GHz) CPU, 8GB DDR3, 11.6" (1366x768) WLED LCD w/ Webcam, 320GB HD, WiFi N, 1GB GeForce GT 335M, Windows 7 $699 + Free shippin - Slickdeals.net

 

Hmm, that's a good deal. My base $550 R1 that I ordered Monday is still In Production. However, since I already have the SSD, RAM, and intel 6200 ready to install, canceling and ordering the r2 would only net me the better cpu and optimus. Not a $150 improvement IMO. I'm more interested (concerned? hehe) that this is a sign that R3 is coming out real soon now.

From what I've read, the R1 can already play my current gaming addiction, League of Legends, maxed out. I'll keep my R1 order.

 

Can someone either post or send me a PM with the $50 coupon information.

Also is the i7 much of in improvement over the i5 in terms of running RTS games like starcraft or dow2? I guess is it worth $160+ bucks.

I think the only improvement i would add other than that would be the internal BT for $20 or just get a $5 dongle?

Im just wondering if the M11xR2 will get more mileage than my G73jh which I think I have used for a total of 5 hours in the 5 months I have it. Its just not that portable and convienent. With two lil kids I really though the G73 would be portable enough to move from room to room with them while they play and still have access to a computer. More times than not it wasnt worth lugging around so it sits unused.

Also is there a return policy on AW laptops say it just doesnt cut it

 

Remember I said that if you try and buy the m11x r2 over $1,200 is being a sucker and stupid, now I recommend it because you can get the highest 8gb ram, core i7 and highest 500gb 7200rpm hd under a grand at $959 after $320 discount + $50 coupon. This is a super great deal for people that wants the m11x

 

My link on the previous page (in response to you) also has the $50 coupon. EPP is a better deal, though.

Go i5. You can OC it to near i7 performance and it's likely the R3 is coming soon so I wouldn't dump $160 more into the R2. You won't gain that much going to i7. Especially when you consider it's a $660 laptop...adding $160 is nearly another 25% of the cost of the whole laptop.

 

I would also argue that going with the 500GB and i7 is being a sucker and stupid...but that's just my opinion. Upgrade the HD yourself (way cheaper and you can get a better part) and just OC the proc (i5). $660 for i5/8GB/320GB at EPP.

 

So do these versions of the i5 and i7 share the same number of cores i.e. 2?

I thought it would help with games like RTS (Starcraft and Dow2) etc but yeah its another 25%

Same goes for the internal bluetooth for $20 waste or jsut get a dongle later?

 

Just purchased the m11x with i7 8gb 320gb for $805 free shipping before taxes. This was through epp. Good deal?

 

Same basic processor. i7 just has faster CPU speed and 1M more of cache (4M versus 3M on the i5). i5 overclocks better.

 

If the next R3 comes out in the next 2 years (the length of my total replacement warranty) I will probably ebay the R2 and go with the R3 if the price is right.

 

That's my plan, too. The eBay value of Alienware stuff is near Apple levels...i.e. you seem to get about 75% or so of what you originally paid (if you bought smart).

 

That's one of the benefits of owning a product that has a lot of "fanboy" following

 

A better deal than the $800 refurbished R1s, but not than the $500 R1s. If you're going to use it as a primary machine, that's all right, but as a secondary gaming setup, that's a bit much. Just my humble.

 

I am so SO torn on this decision. My M11x R1 arrives TODAY. As configured, I ended up paying about $600 for it, but I purchased 8 GB of RAM from NewEgg for around $80, pushing the final price almost to the $705 incl. tax from the EPP deal.

I'll primarily be playing WoW, DCUO and Starcraft 2, so I'm concerned about the CPU on the R1 not being able to keep up. When I got the R1, the R2 was $300 more, so it was a no-brainer for me to go with the R1. Now that they're almost literally the same price... ugh.

I'll probably install my SSD today, install WoW/SC2 and see how it plays before I make a decision. If I decide to keep the R1, I'll most likely call Dell anyway and see if they'll offer me some incentive to stick with the model rather than upgrade...

Ugh.

 

Depending on what you want to play, of course. BFBC2 is my jam. It gets a lot of help from a faster/more modern CPU.

 

Yeah, I changed my mind from getting a R1 because I wanted to make sure I can play BFBC2 and SC2 decently. Hence why I decided to just jump to a R2 i7. This will be my main notebook. I have a desktop as well that handles everything else.

I also decided for the higher specs because they seem to hold their value better on ebay.

Edit: WOW...that was fast. It seems as though the deal is dead already. I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did.

 

As I said, but probably didn't make clear, as a primary notebook, the i5/i7 makes sense. It's a great price, and if it's what you want, more power to you. It's your money, spend it however you see fit.

Incidentally, it looks like this deal is now dead. (D'oh, ninja'd)