Another MX17 Thread, Please bare with me, just a few simple questions

Ok so here is the deal. I have a really nice inspiron 1720 maxed out. But of course I love to have the best stuff I can get my hands on just as any other guy. So I want to get a new MX17. I want it for some good gaming. But my question is can I get it with bare bones on Dells Website, and pick up the QX9300 processor somewhere else cheaper then the $1000 dell wants? And the same goes for the memory. Would it be cheaper to go this route since I can install most of the things myself? The reason I started a new thread is because I'm currently working on a civilian contract in Iraq doing 12 hour days and don't have time to read all the other stuff, not to mention the internet connection in Iraq isn't that fast. Sorry if adding a new thread caused a problem, but thanks for any input. By the end I want to have my MX17 max out just as it would on the dell website, although I'd like to see if I can do it for less then the $5,500 that dell wants. Thanks again people!

 

You cant get the barebones. but you can gest everything stock annd upgrade yourself. But if you want to use sli i suggest to get sli 260 instead of just 1 so that you have a sli cable and fan preinstalled en dont have to look for this seperatly. Same with HDD, not everybody received their 2nd HDD bracket when they orderd with only a single HDD. However you can specificly ask them to include this for you or just go for raid since this doesnt cost that much extra. I reccomend you go for 1920x1200 WUXGA. For ram 4GB is more then enough and i wouldnt buy it from dell way overpriced, you can get the QX9300 from ebay for like 400 dollars or a little more

 

Good luck in getting Dell to ship it to an APO. They simply would not do it for me, but would not give me a reason why. Dell shipped spare parts to my APO, but not the complete system. I had to send it to my old man's address and he forwarded it to me here.

But yes, lots of people do it that way. Myself, like you, I don't have a lot of time either, so it was more convenient for me just to order the maxed out system, but that is just me. As someone pointed out here, I am not the most sensible person around lol

I wanted a maxed out system ready to go as soon as I got it....

 

Lord, sounds just like me, but I'm thinking I'll have to order it stock min and do it that way. Also is it better to go with RAID? On my current inspiron I use my second HDD like a back up, that way if the primary crashes, i still have all my saved files. Thats my thinking anyway and I'd rather go that way with the alienware.

What exactly is sli?

Also is the RAM on the MX17 your standard notebook DDR3? as in size? I know the desktop ram and notebook vary in physical size and just want to be sure what I order isn't going to be wrong.

Any Idea how much this route saves in $$? Maybe rough average? Thanks guys for your help. It is greatly appreciated

 

The video's here show you how to change out your CPU and may help you decide if you want to go through all the hastle in doing it yourself or not:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=401382

RAID 0 takes two HDD's and splits the data between the two of them. What this effectively does is gives you faster read/write speeds and lets you load programs and access data faster. The downside is if one hard drive fails you've effectively lost all the data on your computer.
RAID 1 takes two HDDs and makes them duplicates of one another. What this effectively does is gives you a backup hard drive so if one fails, you simply disable raid and can retrieve your data again from the good drive. Because its writing the data twice this will slow down your read/write speeds fairly significantly.
If you want to use your new laptop in the same fashion as your old one you can either buy it with one HDD, and request the 2nd HDD Caddy be shipped to you to install a second driver, or order it with RAID 1, and then upon receipt of your laptop, disable RAID 1, reformat the second drive, and use it in the same fashion as you do now. Its easier to go from RAID 1 to non-raid as it doesn't require you to reinstall your OS and you can keep your Respawn partition in tact.

SLI utilizes two GPU's (graphics cards) to split graphics processing between them effectively giving you better graphics capabilities. Instead of one GPU doing all the work, you've split the workload between two GPU's through the utilization of SLI technology.

The M17x (Note the correct nomenclature) uses standard notebook DDR3 Ram yes, you can either pick 1066MHz or 1333MHz Ram. The only thing you gain from 1333MHz Ram on a 1066MHz computer (which the M17x is) is that typical 1333MHz ram has lower latencies then 1066MHz Ram.

You can save probably $500-$600 swapping out the CPU and RAM yourself.

Here is my recommended config:

Processor - P8600 (2.4GHz 3MB Cache 1066MHZ FSB) Base
QX9300 Processors are becoming scarce on ebay and prices are starting to rise as well, but I found a couple here:
http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Comp...pt=Laptops_Nov05&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282
Ram - 4GB DDR3 1066MHz (Base-and really all you need)
Any of these should work as future upgrades with the exception of the two that are listed as 1600MHz:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...10170381 1052939102&name=204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM
Keep in mind with the RAM that you need to buy a pair to replace the pair thats in the laptop as there are only two RAM slots
Video Card 2 x 260M, or 2 x 280M, or 2 x 4870M GPU (Your choice really)
HDD (Base, but be sure to call for the 2nd HDD Caddy and have it shipped as well)
LCD - 1920 x 1200 (You'll love the high res screen especially with Blu-Ray)
CDROM - Your choice, but if you love good video and like to watch movies on the go get the Blu-Ray Reader. The Blu-Ray writer is overpriced and the Blu-Ray discs are as well, so if you don't plan on encoding HD Video its not worth it.
Warranty 1-Yr Warranty with Complete Care (You can upgrade this each year before it expires to save some up front costs).

P.S. I myself and heading home in about a month, keep yourself safe and good luck with your purchase.

 

I must say I love the performance increase from RAID 0. Being aware of the potential risk though, I do make regular backups to an external USB HDD.

Marvie gave great explanations and has an excellent base configuration. If I were living in the USA, I would probably do it myself as well. I'm just not keen on playing around with the insides over here, knowing my bad luck lol.

Yes, indeed, let us all stay safe over here! I got about 9 to 12 months left and a hot Chinese wife waiting for me back home lol....

 

The only thing you need Dell to upgrade is the GPU and Screen.

The QX9300 (OEM) can be bought for $470-$505 from either dectrader or HP spare parts store - many users have gone this route. Ram can be bought from newegg CHEAP compared to Dell's BS pricing same as HDD's

 

HDD's don't seem to be that overpriced... it's like 150 extra to go from 250 gb to 2x 500 gb. Which is about the same as any other place. Plus it's warrantied.

 

you cant go wrong with my setup i tell you. Just use a cheaper processor to exchange with your QX9300 and your good to go.

 

Thanks guys, this really helps. Not to mention the parts that I remove from the laptop, processor, RAM, and HDD can all be put up for sale to off set some of the price which is a plus. Thanks again I appreciate it. 12 months to freedom!

 

hehe, and I hope by then, AW will have a M17x refresh worth getting....a welcome-back-to-freedom present for myself. Just as I'll be getting an M15x for the stepdaughter as a welcome-to-capitalism present lol