2010 Alienware M15x vs M17x, let the poll begins!

Even with a single 5870 card in a m17x you will be able to run around 99 percent of the games on the market In other words the laptop will not be useless for gaming in a year or two You can newer make a future proof laptop though as the hardware development is way too fast to catch up with(economically). Also you will not be disappointed having a single card m17x as that card is really, really evil.

here's a little link Benchmark Results: Crysis : ATI Radeon HD 5870: DirectX 11, Eyefinity, And Serious Speed

 

Thanks for the information but I thought the mobile card is based on desktop HD 5770 chip? Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

Yeah, the 5870MR is a ~17% slower HD 5770. In terms of performance at stock clocks the closest match is the desktop HD 5750, really.

 

Thank you for your information. I think they did this because of the power constrain inside a laptop isn't it? OMG! I should really get the M17x with the 5870 as the 5850 in the M15x would be even worse!

 

Well I did not know that but even then that is not so bad. I mean the boost is not enormous with crossfire

Benchmark Results: Crysis : Radeon HD 5770 And 5750 Review: Gentlemen, Start Your HTPCs

 

Well, the MR5870 has 12% higher core clock speed than the MR5850, so the difference isn't that large between the two.
As for the boost from CrossFire, it's different for different games.

 

Crossfire offers a pretty large performance gain in most games:

Source: Notebookcheck: Review Alienware M17x (i7/HD 4870 X2) Notebook

Not sure about the microstutters they mentioned, I never experienced them.

 

Well, the 5750 looks quite bad in the chart. I guess that's just the way the mobile card is, isn't it?

 

yeah the 5870 is truely an awesome card, been using it for the last few weeks and have been amazed.

 

Very informative. Thanks Joker. Personally, what would you suggest? 2 x 4870 or a single 5870 now? And what would happen to that empty slot in single GPU M17x?

 

It's M17x all the way for me!!

 

Great to hear that.

 

Thanks for the information But I still like to see the benchmarks differences(from game to game) between single and dual cards(crossfire) as well as their percentage differences as I find these numbers very informative Also I find that not all games benefits equally from having crossfire. However there are no doubts that the benefit exits My point is as before that one card is enough to enjoy gaming.

 

To those who owns a single GPU M17x, what happened to the other slot for the GPU? Just empty space without fan, heatsink and everything? Wouldn't that be weird like one side blowing air out while the other not.

 

Hmm tough decision knowing that the single 5870m has the crossfire connector. I can tell you that the crossfire 4870s have about 30%+ more performance based on synthetic tests. The dual 4870s typically max out at a clock of 650-670/1100 vs 900/1100 for the 5870. That's a 250+ mhz deficit BUT I don't know of any single 5870m owners that run their cards at 900 mhz for gaming so it's only good for benchmark comparisons.

In reality, most 5870m owners seem to run them at stock clocks (700/1000) and most 4870m owners run their configs at stock as well. The 4870s run much cooler than the 5870s even though they are on an older manufacturing process (I guess the 256 bit bus + ddr3 helps). The 5870m with gddr5 tends to run very hot, I regularly see temps in the 80-90C range.

 

Wow! That's weird isn't it? 40nm manufacturing process GPU runs hotter than a 55nm manufacturing process GPU. Uhm, that's a really tough decision to make now.

 

It seems to be MemIO in particular that gets hot, while the other temperatures are often significantly lower, which makes sense given that the memory controller would have to work hard for the GDDR5.

 

Dummy card instead as the technician from Dell showed me. A piece of plastic is put in place of a real card

 

The M15X makes no sense for me. The video cards on it just don't compare to CF4870 and soon CF5870 especially with 1080p resolution or higher. The GTX260M is just not good enough for me.

 

It might not make sense to you, but a decent M15x configuration costs a lot less than a Crossfire M17x configuration, and portability weighs in the M15x's favour.

 

RGB LED trumps all, KTHXBYE

 

I still chose the m17x for the bigger screen no matter how much cheaper the m15x might be. I settle for less hardware and eye candy just for a bigger screen And after reading this link http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5870.23073.0.html I am not in doubt due to the 5870 option.

 

The problem with the M15X is that its not THAT much smaller than the M17X. The M15X is smaller but sitll far larger than a normal 15 inch laptop and the screen edges are very fat, the M17X looks more proportional, not to mention the nice Aluminium Finish on the body.

 

I've been saying that for MONTHS now, granted it weighs like 4 lbs more but with those 4lbs you get a second HDD a seond GPU and a RGB LED, need I say more? Oh and A Num Pad.

 

M17x hands down!

 

Well I voted for the M15x because I own one!
I'm happy with my choice, the M15x runs all the game I want maxed out. I have yet to see it lag and it's gorgeous..
I don't think build quality differs from the M15x to the M17x, both are incredibly great.
I would have got the M17x if it had the i core when I got to buy a laptop, but back then it only had core2duo and core2quad.. So I went with the M15x... Plus I like how you can move the M15x pretty easily, sure isnt like the m11x, but I can move it to the library or at my school without any arm!
The M17x sure has a couples of points over the M15x, like RGB Led, 5870m (even though the M15x supports this card as well) and dual HDD configuration.
Meh I feel bad to admit it, but I'd go for a M17x if I had your chance!

 

That's hilarious! But thanks!

 

True. I've heard that the RGB LED screen looks way better and for many people, this is a one big step from M15x.

 

M17x for the win!

Key features over the M15x for me would be the larger screen not to mention the RGB LED option (Love me some 1920x1200!), full-size keyboard with numberpad, and the 2 additional USB ports and HDMI port. The ability to run dual GPU's and add a second hard drive...well that's just icing on the cake.

 

After a whole weekend, the M17x is still winning, I guess I will go with the M17x then. Many thanks to people who voted and shared your ideas.

 

It makes perfect sense with the 5850 and a 900p screen .

In any case, in Canada especially the M17x is just way too expensive when compared to the M15x. If I was picking a laptop that I knew would be on my desk for 90% of the time, and my budget was like $3k, then the choice is the M17x hands down.

I ordered the M15x since I wanted to cut down on the size and weight a bit, and my budget ($2k) didn't allow me to pick the M17x considering the specs I was getting for it versus the M15x.

IMO, you get the M17x only if you're getting the RGB screen, 5870 with crossfire (or planned crossfire), and at the minimum, one of the i7 processors. Otherwise I just see myself justifying the cost for it.

 

The size difference is quite minimal between these 2 PC's, after seeing both hand on. My friend has a m15x and I must say that the Magnesium Space Black is more fingerprint prone then the Aluminum Space Black. The portability of the m15x is horrid, I don't even care what people have to say about it, or how they can move it around it's literally no different from moving a m17x around, the bags you would use would be nearly identical in terms of size, and the weight difference is around 4-5 lbs. And if that difference is actually a factor for you, I'd say you're a weakling and need to stop playing video games and starting hitting a gym it would do you some good.

The m15x with an i7 has a horrible battery life along with a m17x, thus nullifying the idea that either of these laptops are portable laptops, they're both desktop replacements and should be used as such. If you still want battery life and portability then you should still stick with a core 2 duo. Also In short YOU MUST CARRY YOUR POWER ADAPTER WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES AND USE IT.

So with the added 4 lbs you get an RGB LED, and a second videocard and a second HDD and a full keyboard. How can you really beat that plus like double the number of USB ports?

When it is said and done the m15x is a step below the m17x, even the cooling system is a step down from the m17x thus why Dell won't "Officially" release the 5870 for the m15x.

My own brother wanted a m15x but after seeing the 2 systems compared side by side he has thus changed his mind completely and gone with a m17x lunar silver while I have a space black one. Also I don't know if this is an isolated situation or a common situation but the m15x stutters badly when playing BF2BC with the 260m for a long duration (I wanna say around 2 hours) while the m17x kept chugging away with no problems.

 

@darkloki: Your points are very good.

I guess it just depends on what your budget is...

 

Let the picture do the talking.


Now tell me, how big is the difference?

 

I would only buy a m15x under one condition, and that condition would be if I could get it via dell outlet for around 1400 or less. So when I see m15x go for 1500+ used, or 2 grand I shutter viciously. I mean I realize some of these m15x have 256gb SSD drives in them, but the reality is this, if you had dual HDD's then you wouldn't need the 256 SSD to begin with and could go with a 128 or 80 or 160 gb SSD and have a 500 gb normal HDD, for much less, and it sounds so much better that way.

The users of dual HDDs need to really comeout and tell others how difficult it is for them to go back to a single HDD.

 

I originally went with the M15x cause I wanted more portability and didn't want to buy an even bigger backback. I was shocked at how massive the M15x was. After 2 weeks I decided that if I'm going to lug around a desktop replacement I'm going to get the one I REALLY wanted. I ordered my M17x today

 

You are right, comparing the M15x to a typical 15 inch notebook. Most people even mistaken it as a 17 inch notebook as its size is comparable to a typical 17 inch notebook. In fact, I owned a M15x before and I can tell that it is so massive that made my Dell Studio 15 looked so small. I will upload a picture comparing the M15x and Dell studio 15 side by side when I return home after work.

The verdict, get a M15x if you are low in budget or else, there's no reason why not to get the M17x. ( Sorry to all the M15x owner. )

P.S The reason why I bought the M15x was due to the fact that M17x-R1 had too many flaws.

 

Well I agree M15X actually does not look like normal 15 inch notebook. When I was first presented with M15X my first thought was "okay - this is M17 - too big, now give me M15X" . But then they gave me M17X. It was bigger (not much, but 10-15% is still bigger), and more important - heavier. I can carry M15X in top configuration with one hand (9-cell battery works like good grip handle), this is almost impossible with M17x. I would say with M15X you can travel (keeping notebook in one hand, put into 15 inch bag, power adapter still looks like normal one etc), with M17X traveling will be laughable.

 

I dont think it's really laughable at all, me and my friend both have Orion Backpacks except I'm holding a m17x and he's holding a m15x. You can feel the weight difference in the bags but in terms of bulkiness it's pretty much the same thing. I still own the core 2 duo area-51 m15x wiht a 9800m GT in it, and that system is still my go-to system in terms of portability. I like it more then the 11x in terms of power and its capable of pulling a 6 hour battery life in integrated GFX combined with a modular battery and primary.

 

With the proper backpack, traveling w/the M17x isn't bad at all. Running with it, however, would be a different story.

 

So I've heard the M15x can get around 2:30-3:00 of battery life whereas the M17x is more like 1:30-2:00 (just low brightness basic computing for both) which is a pretty big difference. I could be mistakin though. Any owners care to chime in? The sub 2-hour battery life is the only turn off of the M17x for me as I would hope it would last a class or two that don't have easily accessible outlets at unversity. Believe me I know it's an impractical lappy for school but I'm stricken with the alienware design/ performance
Not to mention the M17x is like 500$ more in Canada for the same specs as the M15x. I've been debating the 2 for weeks haha.

 

Not to mention the M17x is like 500$ more in Canada for the same specs as the M15x. I've been debating the 2 for weeks haha.

Exact reason why I chose to order the M15x. The M17x is just too pricey here. The M15x is already pricey, but the M17x is just plain ridiculous.

And from what i've heard, the M15x gets only an hour or so battery life with an i7 processor on a 6-cell. Unless someone that owns it can confirm. So battery isnt exactly the best.

 

I'm almost thinking get the M15x and with the 500$ savings get an extra 9-cell battery, 2 year advanced care, and a logitech performance mx mouse.

 

Man you should just hit the gym, get a second job and get the m17. If 2-4 lbs hurts you, dont walk around with any alieware because you might get jacked. For the most part everyone here is a tech junkie and if you get sub par gear, you will regret it, hence the reason why you started this thread. My 2.4 cents

 

I had the specs in my sig and I got about 50-70min on battery . Another reason why I've given up on the idea of running on battery pretty much ever and gone with the M17x now.

 

Yeah I said this earlier, and it's true I'm not making any of it up, as long as you have an i7 chip in your system it'll be terrible in terms of battery life. IF portability and battery life are important to you, then you need to go with an area-51 M15x

 

^are you including the dual core i7?

personally i went with M17x because...

full sized keyboard
16:10 ratio RGB led 1200p screen
Dual 5870
Main small SSD and secondary hdd
(so I can have the speed increase without excessively wearing out SSD yet still be able to hold all the stuff i want)

and I could beat the day lights out of any attacker especially after carrying it and all my other stuff to and from school after short while
Also a good reason to get the advanced warranty

 

I prefer the M17x because i need the number pad and I didn't like the 16:9 screen on my old laptop. The 16:10 is much better than the 16:9. Also I can istall a second HDD in the future.

 

I workout at the gym on base every day and run three miles 3 times a week- and even my XPS1640 weight is a P.I.T.A. when traveling through airports. (I do a LOT of traveling/deploying for the military) So what I did was get the M11X for gaming while traveling, and here soon will be getting either the M15X or M17X for home.
*EDIT* My current setup while I'm activated here-

 

^^^^ LG!!!!

id rather the m11x if it had the i5/i7.. otherwise im with the m15x.. although idk how much bigger the body of the m17x is i already had the m9700 for a few weeks and sold it because im looking for a laptop.. not a desktop