Buying an M17x - some component questions

Hello.

I am (most likely) going to buy an Alienware M17x fairly soon. I will be using it mainly for gaming. I have some questions regarding the setup.

First of all, I read about a possible refresh, but I asked dell support who had no information on when it would take place. Is it worth waiting? (I do need to get this laptop by mid February)

My budget is ~$3k (usd)

Here is my current build, along with some questions:

Processor
Intel® Core™2 Duo T9600 2.8GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB) (or Intel® Core™2 Quad Q9000?)

Video Card
Single - 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 (this way I can upgrade later, or 2xDual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 2GB ?)

LCD
17-inch WideUXGA 1920x1200 (1200p)

Memory
6GB DDR3 at 1066MHz (is 6GB useful?)

Hard Drive
128GB Solid State Drive (or 256GB but that's a bit over budget)
I plan to add a 500GB HDD (doesn't seem like that combination is available from dell)

+ orion backpack, which I've read here was nice.

Total $3,008

Also, any reason I should get windows 7 ultimate vs pro?

Finally, should I order cheap ram and hdd from dell and buy others from somewhere else? Is the ssd drive dell offers good? What about the ram?


Thank you for any input you have.

 

Wait a month, the refresh is coming. You will get i7+(very likely) 5870CF or at least 285Mx2. Just be patient. And browse the forum for details.

 

Gardianz,

I personally would not wait for a refresh. In this industry a refresh once announced can be immediate or several months away... it's all marketing. If you need a machine by February this is your best option. You also need to go into this decision knowing that whatever 'monster' configuration you spec a better config will be released a month or so later.

A PC is only obsolete when it ceases to do what you purchased it for.

Best rule of thumb with laptops is to buy the best processor/graphics combination you can afford. Upgrading later on is almost always cost prohibitive. Shoot for the Q9300 and a crossfire/sli combination if at all possible.

Do you REALLY need 6GB of RAM? Unless you're running multiple virtual machines, doing video editing or high-end graphic design you'll never use over 4GB. Memory is easily upgraded later on if you need it.

I'd personally recommend staying away from the SSD at the moment. The cost per megabyte is ridiculous. By going with a regular hard drive configuration now it should allow you to get better performance (graphics/processor) long term. As prices drop and SSD's become more affordable, you can always easily add one later on.

- Denver

 

If you can't wait for the refresh, then I would go with only 4 GB RAM as 6 isn't really neccessary unless you do some heave multitasking and Memory intesive things. Games are never really bottlenecked due to memory. 4GB should be plenty. I'd put that money towards dual ATIs if you can, or 280 SLI. It's cheaper to go with dual graphics cards from the start rather then upgrading later. This is also the best investment if you like to game and want top notch graphics. The HDD price from dell are about on par with ordering elsewhere, so if you can find a setup that suits your needs from dell, I'd go that route. But since your adding the 500GB, go for newegg or somewhere else. The dell SSD's are samsung, and from what I understand the now have Trim firmware, so that should keep them running fast. As for Windows 7 Ult, I'd look at a comparison chart here and here and see which on is right for you. If your not going to make use of the extra features, then go with the cheaper one.

 

In any case, the refresh exists always in this field. Every year we have laptop refresh. So if we always want to wait the refresh, we will never get what we want.
The core i7 is similar to QX9300 when we play games. So not necessary to wait the icore 7 refresh if you only play games. Also, it seems that the ATI 5870 offers only 20% better performance regard to the 4870. The difference is not very exceptionnal. It is still a OC version 4870.

If I were you, I will take best processor, best graphic card, best screen, bluray burner. And the other thing you take the cheapeast possible

Take windows home prenium, you could upgrade it to Ultimate later for cheaper( The W7 Ultimate anytime upgrade disc 100$ from amazon)if you want. You could change RAM and hard drive yourself later for cheaper and better performance too.

 

I'd say look at the dell outlet. You can get all the things you are looking for for less than 3k. I picked up a black qx9300 (at 2.93) 4gb ram, 2x 500gig in raid 0, GTX280 sli and the now elusive bluray player for 2700. Add the Schwartzeneggar almost 10% california tax and 3 year warranty + complete care i was at 3400 delivered. Without the warranty and complete care i would have been just under 3k.

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...line/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

 

View Details

ZB1RRPJK Select
$2,819.00 Alienware M17x Space Black Intel Core 2 Extreme - 2530 Genuine Windows Vista Business X64 17 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) with Free Fall Sensor 6000 Blu-ray - w/dbl layer BD write SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX 280 1024MB


on there right now for 2819.00

 

Normally, I'd agree, but now is the time for a refresh on all Allienware products. Worst case scenario you'll wait 2 months. The reason for this is not the latency issues (I don't have them in Linux), and not the performance issues (the current C2Q when OC'ed will kick the i5/7 CPUs in most scenarios).
It is in the LCD. If the upcoming M17X will have a better screen - you're set.
And a little bit of GPU. DX11 is entering the scene, and 5870x2 will make a good substitute for 280Ms with lower current consumption and OC'ing headroom.

Also in notebooks, opt for the top GPU, not the CPU (you can get it for half the price later ), the later is easier to replace/upgrade.

And NEVER buy from Dell outlets. The risk of a broken/mulfunctioning hardware is too great to ignore.
You wouldn't believe how many people come to us for help afterwards.

 

Say what you will, i have personally bought over 200 outlet systems. I have returned 2 of them in 5 years. overall i dont fear getting broken or malfunctioning systems.

Its true that my M17x arrived with a broken touch command strip(above the keyboard). I called dell and they are sending a new keyboard and strip. I still reserve the right to send it back. Today they offered me another 100.00 off to keep it.

I think they are doing the stand up thing so far. Again where am i losing?

 

IMO it depends how long before the refresh is out...if it's a few days or even next week, I'd wait. But if it's a month...I wouldn't wait. A dell rep told me 1-2weeks on the chat but idk if that's true or not --- he may not actually know lol

 

Im trying to look on dell outlet right now but someone keeps putting 30 of them in their cart and shopping from their cart =/

 

Do as you prefer, more clients for our company anyway
Also do you get the "complete care" warranty option for 3 years?
Last time I checked, there only was a basic limited warranty.

 

Thanks for the input so far, you've convinced me to get 4GB ram and instead dual video cards:
Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 280M, 2GB or Dual 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 (100 usd more expensive).

About waiting, normally I'd be tempted but I am leaving the usa mid february (for france, where prices i believe are far higher) so I can't really wait that long...

But I was under the impression that getting a ssd resulted in a pretty significant speed increase, or is the money that I was going to put in the ssd better invested in the qx9300?

 

I would say spend for the CPU instead.
You can go for SSD later on by yourself.

 

I would go used. I know there is a crazy deal in the classifieds here for a m17x that is 90days old with sli 4870s for 2500. Heck I bought sli 260m with higher specs than what you want for ~1800. Since warranty is transferable why not?

 

I say go for the Best GPU you can, Basic CPU - Dell charges way too much for the CPU options. But given the choice I want the GPU cards under warranty.

4 GB is fine.

Outlet or new IMO both are good options, but if time is limited you have to consider expected / actual delivery dates for a new build.

SSD Drive is nice but a 500 GB 7200 RPM HD is not that bad either, if $$$ is am issue. The 128 GB SSD used for booting and a 500 GB for files etc is also a good ideal.

 

Yes i did get the CC for 69 dollars extra for 3yrs.

 

After reading this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=403628 about buying the qx9300 for 500 usd from hp I'm thinking of doing that rather than getting it from dell. Is this a bad idea?

If I do, should I get a QX9300 or a T9900 (about 150 usd cheaper)?

Thanks for the help.

edit: it seems most people here agree the qx9300 is a better investment, so that will probably be my pick.

 

Thats what I did, Got the M17x with the P8600 and picked up my own QX9300

As far as the QX9300 Vs T9900. you could probably get a higher OC on the T9900, but I prefer the quad cores myself.

 

Well, I'm glad I have not yet ordered yet since the refresh just happened!

Here is my new config:

Processor Intel® Core™ i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (1333 useful or stick with 1000? these new processors don't have a fsb?)
Display Panels 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p) (apparently the RGB screens are far better and worth the $$$?)
Video Card Dual 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 in CrossfireX™ (not much choice here)
Service 1 Year Advanced Service Plan

Total comes to $3,123.00, a bit above budget but not too bad.

Thanks for the input.

I also gave reps to the people who helped me out before! I'm new here so I'm still learning how the forum works

 

Nice specs... but i think u should stick with 1033 MhZ for memory

 

save the money on the ram and keep everything else

 

I'd recomend at least going for a 2 year warranty (although the 3 yr is your best bet). I've purchased 2 dell systems (a desktop in 2000 and a laptop in 2004) and both times I made use of the warranty well into the 2nd year although never needed it past the 3rd year. If your spending $3k you don't want to have a brick after 2 years of use. Plus with complete care you you accidently shock it (which I did and it literally fired a component, smoke and everything) or drop it or what have you it's no problem.