Alienware M15x need advice for upgrade :)

Hi I'm still a newbie about alienware ,
I have a Alienware M15X Processor, I7-620M
RAM 4GB
Graphics : GT-240M , The reason i want to upgrade it because i'm playing some game now like Diablo 3 and it's not running smooth at i want so...
my question is i hope someone who knew about alienware that can help me to find some websites that they sell something for my upgrades , i truly appreciate for that
Pls If you can pls post the website that sell the stuff you talk with , Thank you so much

Right now i want to upgrade it , so far i saw that M15x can get the 7970M the powerful one . for the Graphic and this is so expensive do i have another good one not the 7970M

And for the Processor the best one is 940XM - Can u guys help me with another CPU ? Cause the 940XM i see so far not easy to find...[and expensive too ]

For the RAM i knew that it can upgrade to 16GB RAM and i found this website
16GB Kit (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10600 1333MHz SODIMM Memory k4sd34g1333mb --- you think i can just buy this and then put into my laptop ?

I dont know much about doing the upgrade so i think i will bring it outside who know how to do all the upgrade and do it for me ? Any advices for this ?

Last thing where i can get the Killer Wireless 1102 ?? i was looking around for this

One again thank you so much for helping

 

here is the newegg link for 16gb memory, remember that the m15x only has 2 slot so you will need 2 sticks of 8gb. newegg runs specials from time to time, or you can just go for 8gb kit(2 sticks of 4gb) which will run much cheaper


As for the gpu, wireless card, also for memory and maybe the cpu you can find here in the marketplace most of it in the first page.

the cpu you can find at ebay i bought my 920xm (QS) for laptop monkey. the 940xm is not really worth the extra cash imho.

 

Check the NBR marketplace as suggested for super cheap 6970Ms. A HUGE leap it from the GT240M.

 

Thank you so much for your helping ! I think i will go with the 920XM(OS)
and for the RAM i will order this one
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10

 

Hey you do know that even if you place 1600 ram it would be downcloacked to 1333 in your m15x, just a reminder.

 

I just bought a m15x with a I3 and 240m, well worth the money to upgrade to the 920xm, I am loving it. 940xm is still too much money. 1102 cards are on ebay right now for $50~. Video card wise there are a lot of options, that is for sure.

 

what screen resolution you have?
if you have the 1600x900 even the 5870m or the nvidia 560m are fine in my opinion

 

OMG! really , for real i didn't know that the 1600 Ram can make downlocked . Thank you so much , i think i will buy another one 16GB (8.2) and 1333 , phew

Congratz for the 920xm , This is the killer wireless you talked about right ?
Killer Wireless-N 1102 Dual Band (2.4 GHz & 5GHz) 2x2 MIMO 300 Mbps | eBay

Btw , Do u still have the website that you bought the 920xm ? the same on ebay , something like the monkeylaptop right ?

 

Here is the page for upgrademonkey (laptopmonkey) to get the 920xm, which is about 250-290 for the QS:
CPUs, Processors | eBay

Yes that is the killer 1102 card. One word of advice from experience, use the Atheros drivers if the bigfoot killer drivers are performing poorly for you.


Here is a link to nbr forum for 2x 6970m's at about $285:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/669554-fs-3x-dell-oem-amd-hd6970m-2x-clevo-x7200-gpu-hs-fan-1x-m18x-dual-piped-cpu-hs.html

another 6970m for $250 + shipping:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/671190-fs-dell-6970m.html

A 6990m for $450:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/654420-fs-nvidia-gtx-580m-mxm-3-0b-2gb-gddr5-ati-6990m-2gb-vram-mxm-3-0b-2-x-nvidia-gtx-485m-mxm-3-0b-2gb-gddr5-mobile-video-cards.html

A 6990m for $350 canadian:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/660553-fs-amd-hd6990-new.html

Killer 1102 ($40) & 1103 ($60):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/649654-fs-wi-fi-killer-1102-1103-hyperx-1866mhz-2x4gb-new-b173hw01-v-5-spyder3elite.html


Happy pickings buddy!

 

khetik beat me to it, but yeah, those are the it. Laptop/upgrade monkey does good business, I highly reccommend them.

 

I just ordered a Killer Wireless N-1103 9 Cell ,
I went to the computer repair , he told me to check my laptop before buy the RAM , Can someone help me to make sure that i can put the 16GB DDR3 into my M15x , ( by the way the website to buy the RAM too ) Thank you so much

 

Yes 16GB 1333mhz DDR3 works! 2x 8GB sodimms.

 

Thank you so much bro , Any advice for the video card around 200$? I just check there are many of them like gtx460 , HD5850....

 

You should check this out:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/671190-fs-dell-6970m.html

 

Hi , i just want to make sure before i buy it so..
I'm thinking about to buy this one , Anyone have some advice for this ?
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M MXM 3.0b VGA Card 1.5GB DDR5 GTX 260M upgrademonkey | eBay

 

It would work but a more better investment for a little more moolah would be either 560m or 7970m which is good for a long run

 

Don't get the GTX460M! Get a 6970M at least! The 6970M can be had for about $250 dollars no problem. You might even be able to haggle for less. I would anyway

If you have a 1600x900 screen the 560M is also adequately performing too. I managed to get hold of the 7970M for twice the amount you would pay for the 460M. It is overpriced!

 

I myself is using a GTX460M and I am unable to play latest games smoothly. I have then decided to switch over to the 7970M as well. You might as well invest on a 6970M with that 200+ dollar price tag.

 

So I know 7970M is superior...

But between 6970M VS GTX 560M, which is better?

 

The HD6970M is much more superior, period. The GTX560M is just an over clocked GTX460M with optimized efficiency. You may manually overclock the GTX460M and achieve the same performance as a GTX560M does.

 

Agreed. For the price you can get either but yes the 6970M is the faster card easily. It is faster than the old GTX 480 by about 33% so go figure

It is simply that nvidia parts are much higher priced so in the same price range you get a much slower nvidia part.

In terms of raw power the 6970M is about neck and neck with the GTX 485M which is a slightly downclocked 580M. A very powerful card indeed and highly OCable too.

 

Thank you for your helping , i will take the 6970M

Wow i didnt know that the GTX-460M couldn't handle the latest games...hmm look like i have no choice to get the 6970M
Thank you so much

 

Nice one! You can't go wrong with it

I really recommend you use a decent thermal compound like ICD 24. I use it and it keeps my CPU and GPU super cool. It is very thick stuff so you don't need much of it but it is worth the money.

 

Im actually shocked that your 460m cant play the latest games. My 5850m is still truckin along and i can play the latest games on at least high settings 1080p max temp 75-77c. Could be a driver or temp/throttle issue.

 

My 460m is running Diablo 3 like a dream lol

 

Yeah it runs Diablo 3 pretty good, but when it comes to Max Payne 3...

 

oh the decent thermal compound like ICD24 , Can u help me where i can get that one ? I will order it first and wait for my Graphic card . Thank you so much bro

My desktop had the same Graphic as u the 5850m , But it couldnt play the Battlefield 3 MAX SETTING for sure . Some of the Lastest game it still lag for MAX SETTING , I tested some games before...

 

Check out the link below :

IC DIAMOND 24 CARAT 4.8 GRAM THERMAL COMPOUND | eBay

 

Oh guys sad news for me i wont able to get the 6970M cause the guy just sold it for someone , So i think i will get the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M on ebay like this site NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M MXM 3.0b VGA Card 1.5GB DDR5 GTX | eBay
I know it is not good like the 6970M but look like i have no choice , I just want to get some great one around 250$ , any advices thanks

 

I would recommend you to be patient. It seems you have indeed missed the boat on some good deals but wait a couple weeks more and I am sure there will be more in the marketplace.

If you are going to upgrade sometimes patience really is the biggest virtue of them all Many have the 6970M in their machines and will be upgrading to the 7970M or 680M very soon indeed and probably in increasing numbers. Your wait will not be long. For example I just upgraded a few weeks back and some lucky soul got their hands on my 6990M. This will happen many more times

 

oh well that's true . I guess i will wait for someone who want to sell their 6970m or 6990m
Thanks for your advice bro

 

No problem. I am simply thinking longevity. A 6900M card will last you alot longer than a 460M unless you game at less than 1080p. But even then the 6970M will pull ahead just as much.

 

Anyone have any ideas for the 128GB solid state drive , i'm looking for one right now , Which one is the best one ? Is it just simply put it into my laptop ?
Can u give me the website where i can buy the right one for ? Ebay or somewhere . Thank you so much =]

 

I bought a used OZC Vortex 128gb ssd on ebay for $100 a couple of months ago, but you can buy them anywhere really, some brands are better than others though, you get what you pay for.

Very easy to install, re-installing windows is easy if you want to do a fresh install (which I would do).

 

Getting a sata 2 ssd is quite cheap. OCZ and sammy are good. But for more longetivity try the newer sata 3 ones if you can like I did.

 

You could look at the Crucial M4 Drives. They are getting pretty cheap and are super reliable.

 

Wait i thought the max of m15x was 8gb?

Also, what is the benefit of upgrading the wireless card?

 

Not really that big of a difference unless you game online, I'd suggest stick with your present one unless you got moolah lying around. Officially the m15x supports upto 8gb but people have successfully got it working with 16gb ram. The reason being that the bios does not detect it but windows does. Not really worth it.

 

I've been running my M15x for the best part of two years now,

It's had the stock i5 520m in it from the get go, and that's never been changed.

Assorted other things have been changed, but not the processor.

Long story short, I've hit the limit with this processor, and want to upgrade it.

I've read through the numerous other threads, and it seems to be a common choice to go with the 840/920/940 range of i7's.

However, I saw one thread with CPU-z screenshots saying something about socket 988.

My socket reads as LGA 1156. the chipset is Havendale/Clarkdale, and the southbridge is PM55.

Am I being paranoid and perfectly safe to go for an 840qm such as;

INTEL CORE QUAD i7 840QM 3.2GHz 8M 1066MHz MOBILE CPU 55 chipset upgrade monkey | eBay

That one?

 

Yeah the 840qm will work perfectly fine with the m15x, but I suggest you purchase the 920xm instead since it is easily overclockable

 

Forgive my ignorance, but it doesn't seem all that much better in comparison, given that it's (just over) double the money?

 

Your right on the money there..... till you start overclocking. Then the 920xm is worth every cent.

Sent from my Asus Transformer tf101 running Revolver 4

 

Ahh. I think I'll go for the lower spec'd one, then. I've not bothered overclocking anything since I had a Prometeia Mach I back in Socket A days.

Something else that occurred to me - I'm changing out drives and what not, going from the stock 160gb 7200 in the primary bay to an SSD, and I've replaced the DVD drive with a bay and 500gb 5400rpm job - I want to replace that with a Seagate Momentus XT, the 7200rpm model - Would I be better off putting the SSD (Presumably lower power requirements) on the DVD connector and the 7200 on the primary bay connector?

 

No the DVD connector uses sata 1 interface while your primary hdd uses sata 2 so you'd be better off placing the ssd in primary and any other hdd in the dvd bay

 

THe upgrade to 16 GB is straightforward, but you won't notice much difference unless you use Photoshop or video editing software.
Note that with an SSD and lots (e.g. 16 GB) of ram, you can run with a much smaller pagefile.

I have no experience with the Killer wireless card, but I upgraded from the Intel 5300 to the 6300 (obtained on Amazon). New card maintains high speed (n) link significantly farther from my router.

Good luck,

Joe

 

THe 920xm and 940xm are designed with unlocked multipliers. FOr applications that use only one core (true for many games), the maximum speed for one core in one of these is not that much higher than that for the next lower i7. However, for processor intensive activities that can make use of multiple cores, the ability to use Throttlestop (Thanks, UncleWebb) to take all 4 cores to 25x makes a huge difference.

One other point - recent (CS5 and CS6) versions of Photoshop will take advantage of presence of an Nvidia card to speed rendering - they do not do this with an ATI card (yet).

As always, it depends on what you want to do. The m15x isn't light or sleek, but it is very powerful and customizable.

Good luck,

Joe

 

So would the 820qm be good enough? Because the price difference between the 820 and 920 is like 150 on ebay and thats a ton.

 

Well if you decided never not to overclock then yes. Nevertheless, by overclocking the 920xm to a certain degree, its performance can match higher tier sandy bridge processors such as the 2860qm or even an ivy bridge 3610qm

 

Oh you cant overclock it. Totally overlooked that.

Dam 300 bucks is a bit much for the cpu.

 

If you look/wait a little more on Ebay, you can get a 920xm for $250 or less, and the 940xms' can go for about $300-350. Those prices will stay around there for a while as well. Price wise the 920xm/940xm is still pretty good compared to even newer CPUs in terms of peformance.