Alienware m17x General information

My computer's good enough to last me a few more months, it isn't as bad as yours, it could max out older games like WoW at 1920x1200 resolution (with AA4x) and keep a steady 40fps, going up to 60+fps at times, and pretty much never dropping below 30fps.

 

mine play cs source @ 1024x768 on lowest settings @ 20-50 fps

 

2 more days till January let see if theres any news about it till then

 

it probably wont be on new years day. I think ( and hope ) it will be in the following week.

 

I am currently setup to do a review on the area-51 m17x

 

U Lucky LUCKY man lol

 

Rub it in you dirty mutha.............

 

GRRRR... well i guess i get to own one

 

Does anyone know what the max physical memory can be for the m17x running Vista 64-bit?

 

As of yet, no.

Hopefully they have worked around the m9750's chipset limitation.

 

if they havent im gonna cry... im all set up to put in another 4 gigs of ram

 

m17x and m15x are both Santa Rosa notebooks (they use different variants of Intel 965 chipset) and as such will be able to take 4GB RAM. if someone comes up with 4GB RAM in a single stick it should be able to address up to 8GB RAM..but it's just theory

seriously, forget about 4GB notebook sticks for next year or two

 

You saying its not worth getting 4gb ram for another 2 yrs ??

 

he means 8gb ram(2x 4gb sticks)

and is there any possibility of the m17x having Penryn processors? It'd sorta make sense given the time of release(although it could be due to the 8800M GTX, other companies like Sager were able to distribute those already where as the m17x is still not out)

 

either way the penryns will pretty much be drop in compatible

 

Anyone know if a newer chipset is going to come out anytime soon?

 

except that'd mean I've have to spend even more =[ and what would I do with my old processor hahah

 

sell the old processor and just get the cheapest shoice they have

 

As most of you probably know the http://www.alienware.com/intro_pages/m17x_m15x.aspx page has an e-mail sign up form which will allow you to "Be the first to know when the M15x and M17x are available". Does anyone have any experience with Alienware and e-mail sign up forms like this?

By signing up I'm wondering if they will send you an e-mail like a week ahead of the launch and provide you with a special link to the configuration page where you can order ahead of everyone else? Or by giving your e-mail are they just going to e-mail you once the configuration page is up so you know you can purchase it now (but no pre-launch special or anything)? Anyone have an educated guess?

 

Montevina is expected somewhere mid-2008. it will support 1066MHz FSB (required for second generation Penryn CPU's), DDR3 800MHZ (as it is more energy-efficient than DDR2 800MHz) and new southbridge - ICH9M. those changes shouldn't give more than just a few % of performance increase, especially in gaming. main reason for this upgrade is extending battery life - which will still be limited mostly by dual 8800M GTX's so IMHO it will not be worth to wait.

 

90% of the time we find out of elsewhere
thatn the sign up e mail
HERE i feel we will know on thissite

 

The email notifications about the "Alien Code" came at or after the pages were already up on the website. Based on that, I would expect that the emails will issue after the webpages go up, though there will probably be some delay as they are sent out by Alienware so I would expect that most who are waiting here are likely to find out initially by either monitoring the site themselves or finding out here from a post.

 

I know it isn't all that reliable but can anyone tell me how much the starting cost was on the leaked page? and how much it costs to upgrade to an 8800M GTX?

 

Here you go http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=187764&page=6 just scroll down.

Heh, I hope those prices are correct at release.

 

i hope theyre lower... but thats just wishful thinking...

 

I think the other way
if its anything below $4000
I know im Missing stuff
I want it all lol Loaded

 

haha i guess you like to spend money then. Im a real bargain kinda person. If the performance > price its good hehe.

 

Well the m17x is quite expensive and if you want to configure it with GTX it would be around 25k $

But the m15x is quite good choice, 1399 $ at start, configure it with GTX and you get 1899 $ for it.

 

those prices are ridiculous... but thank you for posting.

I hope the price is lower because Alienware was supposed to have better prices after they were buoght by Dell but according to this, it's a total rip off. But then again, the thing said they were AMD athlon processors while they were really Intel so maybe it'll lower. But, I'm not so sure I want to wait anymore after seeing that since I dont want SLI.

 

If anything, you should expect the prices to be higher. For example, on those pages, there was a $0 charge for whatever you chose to put in the Smart Bay. The M9750 was priced higher when it first came out than what is shown on the "leaked" m17x page. And, given that they are marketing the m17x and m15x as the most advanced laptops in the world, premium pricing at the launch would not be a shock. To be honest, I'd be pleasantly surprised if the pricing was close to what was on the "leaked" pages.

 

ridiculous premium pricing on the most advanced technology isn't practical at all for today's world. Right now companies focusing on a larger crowd/segment of people, which would benefit them more because more people will buy it. Instead of just having couple of customers. So I wouldn't be surprise to see if the pricing isn't that far away then the leaked page.

 

I don't really understand your post, Alienware isn't really supposed to be for the masses such as brands like Dell.

I don't find those prices to be a rip off or ridiculous. It's Alienware - a half-boutique brand. Yeah they are on the expensive side but their prices are not ridiculous. I will probably find myself paying as much for a m15x with the 8800M as my Dell XPS M1710 a few months ago. I will pay this amount of money.

 

What I meant is something like $2500 tops for starting price. Like most of us already know, Alienware has the lightest and thinnest platform that carries 7950gtx in SLi yet the price is competitive enough and if I am not mistaken, is the lowest amongst all that carry 7950gtx in SLi.

So what I am saying was, Alienware wouldn't charge RIDICULOUS premium pricing like any other boutique, or like they did before (never really know about Alienware pricing 4-5 years back) so for whom with budget around 2500-ish to 3000 maybe could have a decent config m15x/m17x; which is the most powerful 15/17incher laptop have ever been built so far. With that much price, that is not so bad.

 

Oh yeah, then I completely agree with you.

 

I assume you're talking about the m9750, which is at a base price of $1,699 now ut I believe was somewhere between $2299 and $2499 when it was first released...and that was with a single 7950 GPU. As I read your post, you're kind of comparing apples and oranges with the pricing of the m9750 now with the pricing of the m17x/m15x if/when they are first released.

 

Well, I understand that they're being marketed as the fastest laptops but I dont even want the higest configuration. I'd be totally happy with a single 8800M GTX, 2.0 ghz, 120gb 7200rpm, and 2g of RAM. With the leaked page, that's already $2750 which is even if I buy RAM off newegg instead of on the site. I dont see how that's not a ripoff if the Sager NP5792 is around $2100 with the same specs. Of course, that's without the smart bay and all those pretty decorations but I dont see how that's worth $650.

Even then, I'll wait to see what the price really is when it arrives.

 

Yeah I have to agree with you on this one. I searched around for a couple months for a laptop before I decided on the m571ru from Eurocom. (which i paid 1776$ us w/ 8800m gtx)My second choice was the m9750 which with SLi is a good deal, but these new 17x/15x look rather childish and as I am not 13 years old I cant justify buying a laptop that looks like a christmas tree. If i brought that notebook home i beleive my GF would give me a lolipop instead of something else.

 

Nope it was 2099, not like what u mentioned at all.

Alienware is not as expensive as they were before. Their pricing are exactly perfect IMO. Not too expensive for a laptop (specifically) and not too cheap for the technology they have in it.

I wasn't comparing Apple with Orange or Rambutan or Durian or whatever fruit u have out there. Generally I was saying about how companies nowadays approach their targeted segment with their pricing on the products. It's not just Alienware, it happens to all others too. HP's prices are getting cheaper and cheaper, Apple's getting competitive as well.

So if u have no idea what's rambutan or durian is, google that. I could afford it even if it's like >$3000 but why wouldn't I want or at least hope it will be cheaper than that?

 

Not to forget with that Student's discount and stuff, Alienware isn't a rip-off at all.

U sounded like Alienware shouldn't come with those prices, which is absurd IMO.

 

That's a ridiculous point that they look childish and therefore you wont buy them. Lets look at the specs here. Yes it may be 400-600$ more than the Sager, but that's how it is with Alienware, a bit more of a boutique brand. I would pay that much more for an Alienware over a Sager. And a point a lot of you are missing is: I WOULD PAY 650$ MORE TO HAVE THAT MUCH POWER IN A >>15"<< LAPTOP.

But yes, if I wanted a 17" laptop, I would get the Sager, no questions asked.

 

Well...no one ever said you can't "want" or "hope" that it will be cheaper than $3,000. In fact, I never said it would cost more than that. I said that given the other problems with the "leaked pages", you should not expect the pricing to be correct and, if anything its likely to be more than what was leaked. I think there are a few posters here that may be waiting and depending on the pricing on those leaked pages and are going to end up being disappointed when the base prices end up being higher. But, of course, everyone is free to "want" or "hope" that the pricing will be lower. Heck, I want and hope the pricing will be lower. I just question how realistic that "hope" is.

As for the initial M9750 pricing, you very well could be correct, though that was with a T5500 CPU, the 1440x990 screen, the single 7950 GPU, an 80 GB 5400 rpm 8MB cache HDD and 1 GB RAM. For an extra $250, you could upgrade to 2 GB RAM and a 100 GB 7200rpm HDD, which along with a CPU upgrade is probably what I was thinking of from the various times I priced a M9750.

 

I dont agree with Apple being more competitive, the price for their macbook pro is absolutely outrageous. But then again, the new one is coming out so maybe things will change.

Alienware has a student discount? and I think that Alienware just makes their laptops really expensive when nobody else offers the same specs, but I think they should lower their prices when there are other laptops with the same specs and $400+ cheaper.

Just wondering but why would you want the 15"? the 15" looks like a 17" with a smaller screen to me. And the fact that it has a 8800M GTX supports that it's probably going to be something like what I described. I do like the lower price tag though of course =]

 

Man, seriously? You're asking me why I want the 15"? IT'S SMALLER! Therefore more mobility, hopefully battery life and doesn't takes as much space, but bottom line is mobility dude, I can't fit and don't want to fit a 17" in my bag to go to class or anywhere else for that matter, if I can have the same in a 15". And no one else, upto now, offers a 15" with that much power. I think the laptop LOOKS SWEET! What's your last point with the 8800M GTX? Don't get it?

 

does anyone know roughly how long it usually takes for these laptops to become available in the UK once they have been released in the states?

im very close to getting the m9750 as i prefer the design but i'll wait for one of these models if its not to long.

 

id say about a month but really dont take that seriously im probably really off

 

thanks for the reply

i'll wait until this time next week to see if there's anouncement on the release then if there is :sigh: i'll wait some more.

only problem is im seriously not feeling the design i think i can tolerate the black but that glossy like finish really kills it.

 

What I was trying to say was that the m15x wont be as small as conventional 15" laptops. At least, that's what others along with myself think since from the pictures the m15x looks like it has a 15" screen but extra space around the screen to the extent that it's almost like a 17" but with a smaller screen. Of course, nobody knows for sure, but the fact that it can fit an 8800M GTX supports the idea that it's going to be an unusually large 15", possibly to the point it'll just be as big as a 17" although personally I think it'll be slightly smaller.

 

I get your point. I am glad I am opting the m15x, not the m17x

It's up to you to think it like that. They offer an extra OS and stuff but heck, I am not comfortable with them and I absolutely prefer Alienware compared to them.

Yes, Alienware has student discount:
https://www.alienware.com/profile_pages/sfpplogin.aspx

 

oh that's pretty cool, how much of a discount is it? And it's too bad that I won't be in college till Fall.

 

I am with you for this part. How could one question why we want a powerful m15x over the m17x?

For some of us, getting a powerful laptop/notebook should focus on mobility feature more instead of others. As most of us already know, 8800m gtx in SLi are more expensive but less powerful compared to their desktop counterpart, which means for some of us who have desktops won't need the m17x. I know the fact m17x is a laptop, which is completely different compared to the desktop I mentioned but yeah, if you are going to sit 3 hours on your desk/workstation in front of a system to play games, might as well get the desktop which offers more performance and cheaper options. Now we know there is 3-way SLi coming to desktop which make gaming performance even better on desktop.

So the point of getting the m15x is like mentioned, mobility. Mobility with some performance would be a greater combo for some of us. But for those who only would have one system or prefer to work on one, getting the m17x would be the best choice IMO.