If you were going to upgrade this M15x....

Hello Forum members,
Recently I've decided to get back into gaming on my laptop. My current rig is bone stock M15x:
i7 q740
6gb
500gb non SSD
ATI 5850 OC'd 750/1050
1600x900 display

I plan on playing BF4's Titalfall wildstar WoW etc. If you were me, would you :
1.Say good bye to an old friend and just replace this laptop with a new razor/msi or another variation of a gaming laptop..what brand/model would u get? (portability is a bit of a factor, as i commute 2 hrs+ a day on a bus...this 15x is big and heavy and battery life sucks)
2. Upgrade this laptop and save some $$ since no one is made of money and i'd rather not spend that much right now.
a. If you were going to upgrade this laptop, what pieces would you choose: GPU/SSD/CPU/Screen? I would have no issues with buying a lower tier piece of HW and OCing it of course.

I appreciate the feedback! I've been torn on this decision for about 2 weeks now and it's killing me! Help!

 

Whether you should upgrade your very capable M15x or buy new will very much depend on how cheaply you can find used parts.

The best configuration for M15x is an i7 920/940xm which you should be able to pick up for around $200 and a AMD 7970M or GTX 680M. No idea on current pricing for those cards. You should also get a SSD but since we're limited to sata II it needn't be the fastest. My Samsung 840 works like a champ.

If you struggle to find these excellent used parts cheaply then consider a new laptop but you need to spend over $1200 to get a laptop that can beat a fully modded M15x.

My bad if any pricing or performance statements are outdated.

Sent from my One S using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the reply! With these upgraded parts will I need to upgrade anything else as far as power supply? I read a few threads where people have a 240W power supply? Mine is stock of course.
For the SSD, and excuse my lack of knowledge here, is it plug and play or will i need to swap out my current HD or can I keep both and then put the OS on the SSD?

 

SSD should go in the dedicated sata 2 slot where your hdd is now. The hdd you can keep for storage but you would have to put in inside the optical drive bay. Meaning no internal disc drive. Fatboy and I do this while running external disc drive via USB. Disassembly to the optical bay is a pain though and you need to purchase a optical drive bay caddy to mount the hdd in.


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Hello BloombergMike,
Quite franky those are great suggestions given by fatboyslimerr and King of Interns.
Adding an SSD and even taking out the Optical Drive will certainly ramp up your computer. (Because who uses DVDs or CD's now a days?)
As far as the video card, a 7970M goes along pretty well with the M15x. I've seen a couple running with it. It is quite a beautiful sight.

 

Picked up the 920xm 256 evo ssd. now i just need to find the video card upgrade! apparently no one wants to part with their 7970m

 

That's because it is still the best AMD have to offer! The 8970M and M290X are rebrands.

With new architecture around the corner. You might do well to wait a few months. I think many will sell their 680M's and 7970M's then.

 

I like this thread. The AW 15x is are very cool laptop. I am glad to see you are keeping it.

 

Hey Mike, If it's still available...this is a pretty damn good deal! AMD HD 8970M 4GB GDDR5 for Alienware 17 18 M17XR4 M18XR2 New Kit | eBay A little faster and more ram than the 7970M. I picked it up and waiting for it. It is cheaper than the 7970's I have seen on ebay. Best part is that it's new. I also recommend an ExpressCard USB 3.0 2x port adapter. New ways to give our older laptops new life.

As far as the SSD, If you have a way to put your EVO SSD on a usb to sata converter, you can download the Samsung Data Migration tool off their site. The software will allow you to basically clone your current internal HDD inside your M15x to the EVO SSD. (Granted you have the storage capacity on the EVO...) Once that is complete, it's as simple as swapping drives and powering up. I know because I have done it before. That process will allow your SSD to become your boot drive and it would be like as you never even swapped the drive...only with the speed and reliability benefits of a Samsung SSD

 

Same here! I don't think it's time to get rid of the m15x yet.

 

At the price I got my M15x for, I got it at a steal. I decided on upgrading the crap out of it and replacing my desktop! Fortunately, it is still cheaper than buying a new AW. Plus I didn't want the laptop to be any bigger and heavier like the M17-18x. The M15x is already big and heavy enough haha!

 

I would like to have one to play with.

Sent with love from my Galaxy S4

 

Ram, I'd always always do ram first. But then again I'm usually very heavy on the visualization side.

 

I don't know if you are still looking but i have a 580m just laying around if you need a card.