Purchasing an M15x...

Hello, all.

After considering all of my options, I have finally decided on purchasing an Alienware M15x this week. Could you guys give your opinion on my prospective system specifications and provide any new owner information not in the "New Owner Thread?" Thanks!

The bad touchpad is no problem for me; I'll buy a Razer Orochi. As I understand it, the throttling issues don't occur with the lower-end processors and graphics cards in the M15x. Is this true?

Specs:

Alienware M15x - Lunar Shadow
Intel Core i5-540M (i7-620M is not worth it based on what I read, and I'm not sure if the quad-cores are worth it)
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
1 Year Basic Service Plan
512MB Nvidia GeForce GT 240M (Yes, I know it's weak, but I am not a very hardcore gamer, on a budget, and I prefer Nvidia...)
900P 15.6 WLED (Is the 1080P WLED worth it? I think not.)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 1066MHz
250GB SATA II 7,200RPM (Might upgrade to larger HDD simply because of the trivial prices, don't want to upgrade anything but RAM myself)
Slot-Loading Dual-Layer DVD Burner (Will the Blu-Ray drive be useful for anything other than movies in the future?)
6-Cell Battery (might upgrade to 9-cell, battery life not too important)
Intel WiFi Link 5300 (again, only want to manually upgrade RAM)

 

How much money will you spend on this system?

I mean come on, don't waste your money on a crippled system as long as you are not going to play some games with your machine.

You can watch movies and browse the web etc. on a laptop that is half the price.

But if you really want an alienware and reaaaly dig the design etc. I will be the last to question your motives.

Just be aware of the fact that you could get a suitable system for less money.

 

Thanks for your response. Don't get me wrong; I am a power user and this laptop will be seeing plenty of games. I am a heavy multitasker and casual PC gamer, plus I can't stand buying a weak PC !

Based on my options (HP Envy 14, Lenovo IdeaPad Y series, Asus something), the Alienware actually turned out to be the best compromise between price, performance, and build quality, for my budget of ~$1,400. Plus, the styling and lights are always a bonus !

 

I know your an Nvidia fan but i would still consider the 5850... Price and performance it will bring your system to a whole new level for gaming even if you are a casual gamer as you say....

Plus on the flip side if you ever decide to sell the machine down the road the resale will be much better with the ATI card, DX11 and all....

Everything else looks fine and good luck on what ever decision you make ...

 

+1.

Either that or buy the 5870 from BabyHemi. You will regret buying the 240M. Really you will. You could instead get the 260M and apply the throttling fix if it really has to be the nvidia card, but I would really advice you to go with the 5850 if you want to do gaming.

Also, no real point in buying the blu ray drive if you dont want to watch blu ray movies

 

Intel Core i5-540M - It's a alright choice. I personally would go wth a more powerful processor (not necessarily a quad core however).
512MB Nvidia GeForce GT 240M - Don't take this the wrong way, but being an Nvidia fan shouldn't mean that you cripple what should be an excellent gaming laptop. I'm an Nvidia fan, and if the 5850 had been out when I bought my M15x, I would have bought that instead.
900P 15.6 WLED - If you're intending to watch HD video, then the 1080p screen will be worth it. Otherwise, you'll get better performance with the 1600x900 screen.
6-Cell Battery - If you want to take it anywhere without the power supply, you're going to want the 9 cell. If it's staying at home or is not being moved around too much, then stay with the 6 cell.
Intel WiFi Link 5300 - This part is fine. The only real upgrade would be the 6300 which isn't the biggest jump in performance that you'll see.

If you're thinking about upgrading the RAM to get better performance, I would advise against it. 4GB is more than enough, unless you're editing video and images. The most noticeable speed increase you can get will be an SSD.

 

Not sure the corei5 is a good option - I know your budget is tight, but the i7 with 1333MHz memory is a real step up, (very much more powerful as it does not have the GPU on-chip that constraints the TDP).

 

Personally, what the others said. Also, my own little note is that Alienware is a beastly gaming laptop. It's a beast. Beastly laptop (did I say that?) I'd hate to see you complain in the future that it's slow or you're not getting good FPS rates or if you computer freezes or something. The M15x is called All-Powerful for a reason. If you're gonna just go with those specs that's your decision, however I would rather get a high spec system like the M15x I have now. It sucks to see an AW under perform because this thing is a beast...really, I love this machine. You can probably tell by reading all that.

Get a higher specced M15x or just get something else with better specs that isn't Alienware. I would really hate to see this machine under perform.

 

Thanks for all of your replies, everyone.

Yes, the 5850 is a tempting option, with DX11 and all, but at $150, and me having an Xbox 360 to do more hardcore gaming (this laptop will primarily see low-demanding puzzle/strategy games and PC-exclusive racers), I think I'll stick with the 240M or upgrade to the cheaper ATI card. How is the cheaper ATI card compared to the 240M?

The more powerful processor options I have are the i7-620M and the quad-cores. Based on a review from NotebookCheck, the i7-620m consumed more power than the i5-540m and did not offer a significant performance increase. The quad-cores are expensive, but I might need them to future-proof my system. This is the one area where I don't mind breaking my budget.

You guys confirmed my assumptions about the screen and Blu-Ray drive.

4GB is perfect for me since that is an adequate amount now, and I can easily upgrade it in future. The other components-not so much.

SSD is just too overpriced now...

Based on your guys' input, I'll probably buy a better processor, graphics card, and 9-cell battery. What are your views on the necessity of quad-core in the future and the cheapest ATI card upgrade (the one below the 5850)?

EDIT:

Actually, I'll definitely get the 5730. It's only a $50 upgrade from the GT 240M, scores 3,000 better in 3DMark '05, and supports DirectX 11!

The only component where I'm facing a dilemma is the CPU. Is it worth shelling out for a quad-core for a laptop which needs to last four years? Four years ago, quad-cores were just coming out...now, they are more widely available, but rather uncommon...in four years, will they become the de facto standard?

 

With the 5850 your laptop will be much much more powerful than your Xbox. Playing online is also cheaper.

In terms of necessity:

1. 5850
2. i7 620M or i7 720QM (i7 is less useful now, as not many applications make use of more than 2 cores, but in the future it may be a better option).
3. 9 Cell battery.

Honestly, if you're going to cheap out on it, then don't cripple the Graphics card.

 

i agree with everyone here, the graphic card needs to be upgrade to a 1gb card. i don't see a point in getting the blueray burner without the 1080p screen, those 2 should go hand in hand. and the blueray burner speeds are pretty slow. otherwise everything else seems fine including your ram.

 

Gonna pull the trigger on a somewhat similar system. (I say that only cause we both have dual core.)

i7-620m
ATI 5850m
1080p
4GB 1066mhz
250GB HDD
9-Cell Battery
Intel WiFi Link 5300
DVD burner
Windows 7 Home Premium
Nebula Red
1.8k after 300 Dollars in discounts

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

^^ Thread hijacker!!

Anyway, I suggest you do what I'm doing; wait until E3 is over for new stuff.

 

Remember, if you get some contacts and coupons and deals (and haggling) you can knock off 20%. So you could get a more expensive upgrade here or there and still only pay what your limit was.

The graphics card really is worth it however.

 

Sorry, I had to be a terrorist for once.

Yeah, I'm going to wait until the E3 alienware announcement, which should be today or tomorrow I'm guessing.

 

I can't get the EEP discount so any other way for DELL to shave off some money?
Any coupon codes?

 

The corei720qm supports 1333MHz memory and does not have the onboard GPU so it's thermal constraints are CPU defined only, (which is a big deal with the turbo boost). As you are getting the bigger battery and a lower powered GPU I reckon the quad core i7 is a must

 

After much debate between MSI and Alienware. I too decided to get an Alienware M15X only because of their credit line and reviews from youtubers. Sad to say total reach 1655US after tax damn California tax! and recycling fee? (sigh)...can't wait to get it though. Ordered on June 9 and the expected delivery date is on June 28. I went very cheap in hopes of replacing these parts over 4-6 months or so due to my lack of MONEY at the moment. Iam so stoke and it is my first intel
here are the specs :
Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
3GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz - 1 x 2048MB + 1 x 1024MB
15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED
512MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M
250GB SATAII 7,200RPM

 

Save up and get that with the 5850. Seriously, it's the only part (besides the screen) that would cause you trouble (assuming you don't intend o upgrade the CPU), they can also be quite expensive. You'd be better off saving up until you can get it with the 5850.

 

Sorry, but if your on a tight budget, I would seriously not recommending buying alienware. Get ASUS or the MSi you were looking at. It's just not worth it.

You should consider Alienware only if you plan on spending 2k or more w/o EPP.

BTW, changed the 620 to a 820.

 

right i am well aware of the price for L33t performances...

 

If you are in college I suggest trying to go through the Dell EPP/DellU in order to get a bit of a discount. I did the EPP thing (Military) and my M15X order is due to arrive the 29th of June with the following spec's:

Core i7 720QM
ATI 5850
1920x1080 LED
320GB HDD
4GB RAM
BluRay player

All for $1650

Check this link out for advice on getting the best 'bang for the buck'.

Save Money When Ordering Your AW

 

I think you're simply being cautious and wise with your money and I can't blame you. The 240 is not the strongest card, but it will do the job you want it to do just fine, so don't worry about it. One of the good things about Alienware is that almost everything is user upgradable so waiting for things to get cheaper and upgrade in the future is an excellent decision if on a budget.
The only thing I would change if you can afford it is the processor. Despite the review you read, the i7 620 is an excellent processor, in fact I wish I had had the option when I bought my computer. Since you do some heavy multitasking you'll be glad you did it.
Everything else is fine, screen is great, RAM is sufficient, battery is not worth spending more money on, etc.

Good luck with your choice!

 

Very nice set up, man and at a great price! Congrats.

 

The cool thing is no tax/shipping- Just another reason I'm glad I joined the USAF.

 

Im a college student. What site do I go to for dell university then?

 

Here is the link, read the terms and contact them.

Dell University

Discussion on how to access EPP codes via 'google' is not permitted. Thanks.

 

wooot finally got my m15x this morning 10:56am...but wont be able to play on it til after 1030pm