is an m15 base worth it ?

i have been looking at the base m15x in the uk with a 460m gfx card an i3 cpu , for 829 or should i go with a new m11x r3 base for 899 uk pounds? the m15x is upgradable the m11 isnt ?

 

m15x base spec

Included in your system:
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
Alienware M15x Gaming Laptop - Cosmic Black
Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 370M (2.4Ghz, 3MB, 2C)
1.5GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460M
3072MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024]
160GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive

is it worth upgrding the cpu to something else , want to keep cost down as much as possible , will the i3 be ok for gaming ?

 

It depends on what you want. If you want a very portable and powerful system then the M11x is what you want. If you want portable and very powerful system then go with the M15x. Games depend heavily on the GPU. Only recently have games really started to make use of the upgraded CPUs (quad core etc), and as far as I know, you can upgrade to the i7 if you wished.

 

You can probably get a better deal on a M15x on ebay. I'm in the UK too and I got my hands on the second M15x in my sig for a good price.

 

suppose the best thing with the m15 is , it is all upgradable ....

 

woohoo just got this for 1100......



Alienware m15x ( purchased 22/6/2010 )

Dont bother with the i3 , i5 equivalents that are listed all over ebay .This is The best processor and graphics card for this laptop ! . It is one of the fastest laptops i have used and with the 120gb vertex 2e Solid state drive / 920XM Processor it manages to beat most PC's.

Was originally bought as a base spec but is now the following . Probally the best spec you can get .

Intel core i7 920XM
8gb Corsair DDR3
120gb vertex 2e Solid state Drive
Geforce GTX 460m ( THIS IS CORRECT AND A LOT BETTER AND MORE RELIABLE THAN THE 260M)
Removed the old DVDRW and replaced with a 500gb Sata HDD ( Yes this laptop has TWO ! hard drives , This was the original 500gb that comes with the alienware)
External DVDRW samsung
R.A.T 3 Mouse
1080p Screen
6 Cell Battery ( lasts around 1 Hour 15 on Max Settings So is working Perfect )
Wireless and Bluetooth
Windows 7

 

Nice one. I saw that, yeah it is a good buy. I think the person that lead you down the ebay path deserves some rep

 

rep added , what the hell would that have cost through dell!?

now only need to get a 6970 to be same as you

 

You will never get the exact same specs as widezu.. His gpu is pretty awesome, and as far as we know one of a kind (1120 shaders)

 

Seems like a great setup and well worth a try...
Mrcgibb, would you happen to know the model of this HDD ? And there's this case held by 4 screws that the original HDD sits in - did you have to get an extra one of those as well ?

 

Great deal, this should make u very happy. Congrats and welcome to the m15x family

 

Tried to do the same thing as Mrgibb i.e. replace the internal dvd-rom with another HDD. However the dvd rom has a slim sata conector and as far as I know these are only used on the dvd-rom(big surpise).
Form factor wise a standard 2,5inch laptop hdd could be made reasonably secure - not ideal though unless you use some custom casing. No idea where I would get one.
Can any1 tell me if there's any point in using the sata to slim sata adapter to connect the 2nd hard drive ?

 

you misunder stood , this was the guys advert i bought the alienware from , i didnt do it he did , i still havent got it yet , prob be on monday or tuesday ....

 

Ok I get it now, sorry Mrcgibb, that solution got me pretty excited, since I've got an internal HDD from my dead MAcBook Pro - this seems to be the perfect way of putting it to use.
I would've asked you if there's any chance you could dismantle your soon to arrive powerhouse, and let me know how the secondary HDD is attached, but...
For some reason CD-ROM seems to be one of the least accessible parts of M15x. Nevermind - I've order the slim SATA adpter already)
Will post results.

 

for this money u really got a nice rig... i payed 1650 euro´s for a i7 740QM with a 460 GTX und 320 GB Harddrive so ^^

and my account still can´t make a signature.. damn it

 

thanks i am glad dell screwed up my order 2 times for a m14 x as i have ended up with a far more powerful machine , as for dismantaling it , i am afraid i cant i dont have the time , i get home to scotland from africa on sunday will have laptop hopfully monday , then flying back out to africa end of the week , havent been home for 5 months so afraid other things have prioraty ;( sorry

 

i'm not sure you understand. you don't need a second hdd caddy like the one you have with your laptop... you buy a custom made caddy which incorporates a hdd to fit in the CDROM slot.

as for the connector, it's a sata to ribbon cable connector, you need to use the original from your laptop. not sure if it's possible to buy a replacement.

take a look at this guide made by villosa. it's what i used (along with the service manual) to install mine.

he has links of which caddy's work, i bought this one. its a little pricey but works great. fitted perfectly, feels solid and light. you also need to keep the metal bracing from your original drive (refer to 5th image in guide... the one with screwdriver)

it's a great mod, but a little time consuming. you need to take your laptop apart, almost completely. give yourself ample time, light and make sure to have the service manual ready.
.

 

I do kinda feel like i'm missing the point completely))) A question - does the caddy come with the ribbon cable connector that will fit the mobo or do i have to use the one that connects my CD-ROM ? Because it ends with a slim SATA female... The guide says

, but I haven't seen any1 mention the slim sata issue yet, so a bit confused here.
As for taking apart I've taken to doing it a lot more often since i joined this forum, thanks to all the guides here.

 

Great thanks for the guide and caddy links, btw xeroxide, repped)

 

oh thanks
but villosa deserves it, he did all the work. i just followed the guide.
it should become clear to you when you get the caddy and open the lappy up.

the ribbon cable connector (you can see it clearly pulled off in the 4th image and connected to the drive in the 5th image) is part of your laptop.
without it you cannot use a cdrom drive or hard disk.

you unplug it from your cdrom drive during removal, and then plug it onto the hdd/caddy replacement.

the hdd caddy is designed to have the same port at the back just like the cdrom drive. it is also designed with the same dimensions and screw hole positions as the original dvd drive.

2 things you will need to keep from your original drive (you will have them otherwise you can't use the cdrom drive) is that small ribbon cable connector, and a screw on steel bracket which screws around the side of the drive. it adds some essential mounting screw holes to keep the drive in place.

the only thing you're replacing is the drive itself, and the caddy has the same sata port and screw mounts as the original drive.

now for the slim sata issue?
i'll be honest and say i'm a little confused as to what you mean.
do you mean the slightly larger 1tb drives that are higher than the 9.5mm?
more like 12.7mm?
cause they will fit with the 12.7mm bay's linked. also the one i bought (check above post) will also fit these drives.

in short, keep the components you pull off from your original drive because you'll need to transfer them to the caddy during installation. the caddy is designed to fit these components and if you buy the one designed for the m15x you can be sure that all the mounting holes are in the right place.

cheers and happy modding.
oh and grats on the m15x. i've worked on some other laptops in the past and the m15x is by far the most straight forward laptop to work with. no hidden latches or special ways you have to twist to get the damn thing off. if it doesn't come off, you're probably forgetting a screw... that's it, plain and simple.

i just wish there was a good alternative to ribbon cables, i hate the damn things... too fragile.

 

Haven't messed about with too many laptops - so far only an old advent 7090, macbook pro and my m15x. Out of these 3 m15x is by far the easiest and most straightforward to work with. On the advent for ex. ram slots are scattered across the mobo and macbook you can't go near without torx and even then...
As for slim sata - the name refers to the form factor of that connector on the caddy(and the cd-rom) where you plug the ribbon cable connector. It's not as wide as the standard sata connector hence the name.
Thanks again for the help, definitely gonna grab a caddy, shame the delivery from US takes so long.

 

ah did not know this about slim sata, tyvm +rep.

 

Get an Asus G Series. You will be happier.

 

Well well it arrived today and OMG it's great ! Far faster than my desktop for loading due to ssd graphics power not as good as I have a 570 gtx but , if anyone wants to try and get a 560m to work might be good
!
Screen is amazing 1900 res on a 15 inch screen .....
So far loaded in dirt 3 maxed out smooth as butter
Witcher 2 just about to try
Crysis 2 downloading and I can only hope for pre download of duke nukem soon !

 

Congratulations, mrcgibb. Sounds like a helluva bargain. Welcome to the club.

 

Thanks m8 amazing laptop I am so glad I didn't go for the m14 now as I feel I would not be happy with performance :?

 

Nice one, mrcgibb, congratz.