Any ideas

Seems to be American based forum, so first, sorry for the invasion - *Hug*

Any Brits about?

I'm just wondering whats peoples ideas. I have around £1800 (Around $2 with the current economic crisis lol) to spend and want the best bang for my buck. I went with the M17 'Save the wallet' option but upgraded the cpu to T9400, added the illuminated keyboard and 250GB hard-drive.

Seeing as though i only have 3gig or RAM, is it best to stay with 32bit vista?

Persoanlly i like the M17 for security reasons. I'd prefer a 17" as im after a solid desktop replacement. I'll be using photoshop regually and also Autocad (2d work mostly). Gaming will also be popular, RTS fan, but like to dip into FPS and RPG/Fantasy games. I just want a solid system i know will perform well whatever i decided to do. Most of the time im most likely to be surfing the web or using IM lol.

Be great if I could have some input - I mean i hate asking people to spec for me, so it's more of a discussion on specs so i can get a better understanding of what Alienware has to offer

Thanks in advance, Kev

 

If you're only getting 3GB, then 32-bit is fine. Can you post the rest of your specs?

 

If you hit 'Save the wallet' option on the uk alienware website you'll see them matey. I couldn't copy and paste the whole page due to graphics etc. Only things ive changed are the things i mentioned in my original post.

Im just thinking about 64bit for futureproofing - but with all the complaints flying around with driver issues = putting me off it

 

That configuration is pretty good then actually. You won't really need 64-bit since you only have 3GB of RAM, but if you ever get more RAM or if you ever need 64-bit you could always buy it and install it later.

 

Great Tbh the only main concern was the cpu, as i have no idea whatsoever whats good when it comes to product names, was just going off the ghz, plus the fact it was the cheapest 6mb Cache option lol.

Thanks for your help - anyone elses input would be appreciated

Kev

 

I'd agree with getting the T9400. It's the most cost-efficient option like the T9300 was for the m15x. Though the quad core options might be better for CAD/Engineering programs, they're rather expensive.

 

Cool, gonna opt for 64bit vista and 4gig then ram too then i think. The 4 gig of ram wont goto waste with that processor will it? Might just stick with 3gig and 32bit vista tho - just for stability with drivers etc. Not sure yet.

THanks for your help btw

 

I'm still on 32-bit with 4GB of RAM. Only about 3.2 or less is readable but regardless, I still haven't seen it get used over 79%. Though, CAD and such may or may not be more demanding. This is really up to you whether you want to stick with 3GB/32-bit for a bit or go 4GB/64-bit.

Not a problem. Just trying to help.

 

decisisons, decisions lol. I'll have to think about it and wait for some m17 reviews. CAD aint really an issue no more - **** bringing work home hah

 

After reading Gamespot's Far Cry 2 Hardware Guide, I decided the T9400 is what to get.
I know the article was looking at desktop CPUs, but a Core2 Duo E6600 @ 2.40GHz scored 38 while a Core2 Extreme X6800 @ 2.93GHz scored 39. The best was the Core2 Extreme QX9770 @ 3.20GHz with 42.

 

Yeah, compared to the price, if money matters, it's the best choice.

 

Rep added thanks Ennea - expect thread necromancy once the m17 is more common among users here

 

Hi Kev,

Not a Brit by blood but work in London

Anyway, if you are doing Photoshop, CAD stuff, I would highly recommend 4GB of RAM meaning you should go with 64 bit windows. My flat mate is studying architecture and uses alot of CAD and constantly has issues with memory running out even though he has 3GB. 4GB will definately help out in this area.

Also if you can, I would try and spring for the quad CPU if you can squeeze your wallet abit as it helps for rendering and stuff like that. It wont help games much but will help overall "stability" in the sense that u can have multiple windows, programs open and have a more smooth experience.

 

I use 3D minimally, although use UnrealEd quite a bit. Heavy Photoshop use etc.

More RAM is better for 3D apps or anything like that.

Photoshop still has the limit of 2GB ram. So you can have 4/8/16 whatever GB but the application itself won't allow more than 2GB. Im not 100% sure so don't quote me, and i cba to research it, but the 64bit version could allow for more. It isn't just the OS that has it's limits. I have no idea if other apps do, i just read it about Photoshop, so who knows

The CPU is decent and should easily render what it needs to, seens as most 3D apps lay that work over to the GU anyway. And Photoshop CS4, Extended or not, also now has the option to utilize OpenGL which is much faster and clearer if you have a decent GPU behind it.

Also for greater PS performance, make use of two drives, not sure if the M17 allows for 2 drives in a non-raid array, but if so, two seperate drives for Photoshop can become much more efficient, allowing a nice amount of scratch disk space off onto the other HDD where Windows doesn't need to store pagefiles, or a smaller one.

Ill be hopefully grabbing me a M17 soonish, although ill be going cheapo on the CPU and get a bog standard 2.26, which albeit isn't the greatest for Photoshop, although in the future and when i have no warranty left i might grab a cpu for it a little cheaper. Because those prices aren't too nice. Unless i can get some more money, somehow..

But if i get one before you im sure i can see how performance in PS etc is.

 

Project manager here.... Like i said i'm mostly 2D. 3d annoys the hell out of me, thats what my draftsman is for lol.

Im gonna go for the entry level 6mb cache cpu and the 3gig/32bit option me thinks. Just more stable in regards to now. I've always the option to upgrade a couple of months down the line when my 1yr warrantly is coming to an end.

Just gonna wait out for some m17 reviews first

Kev

Thanks for all the help btw, some useful comments in this thread