Help! Confused College Student

I need your opinions...

I ordered the m17x in my signature the day they became available, but now i am wondering if i did the right thing. I still like the black better, but now the skullcap is available and i like it more than the ripley. This is my first laptop so i don't know how the weight and size will effect me. I am taking this thing to college, so the smartbay battery and binary graphics will be a huge plus. I am confused as to whether i should cancel and get the m15x, wait for black skullcap, or stay with the m17x. Please, any suggestions will be a great help!

1) Will the weight of the m17x be a problem taking it around in a backpack?

2) How bad will the battery life be on the m17x (i've heard around 30 minutes and that scares me) compared to a binary gfx enabled w/ smartbay m15x?

3) I have heard the rumor of black skullcap on June 24th, is this for sure and on which system?

4) Will there be a fee if i cancel my m17x order now?

5) Would the m15x, with an 8800 gtx, handle games like LOTRO, Civ 4, and The Sims 2 on highest settings?

Thank you so much for the help, i'm kind of panicking atm...

 

1) allegedly, it's HEAVY. as in 10 to 12 pounds, excluding power supply. so that might well be uncomfortable.

2) no one knows. however, note that the m17x DOES NOT have binarygfx. so i expect two hours max, maybe three with SB and you're lucky. the m15x with SB and binarygfx will hit 6h and more.

3) again, no one knows for sure. lots of rumors, no hard facts.

4) depends on which phase you're in. anything past phase 4, very probably.

5) don't make me laugh. the m15x would destroy those games (the sims 2... come on mate ) at any setting you throw at it.

 

If your like me Size will not matter. I own 1 17 Inch laptop. But when I need to be moble I use my 15 inch Acer Laptop.

So if your useing it for School I beleave the M15X would be best. It will be easier on your back and More battery power.

So yes whizzo is right.

 

Okay first of all, just cancel your order for the M17x right now. I own a M9750 and it is a ***** to take to and from school. The battery life is so-so which means I need to bring the power brick which is pretty damn big. In addition, the laptop is very large (smaller than the M17x though) which means that it will not fit in my regular backpack which is a letdown.

1) Yes as I said before it will be a huge problem in my opinion.

2) I am guessing that the battery life will be around 1h30m or 2h because that is around what the M9750 gets and they are both using SLi but the M17x 8800's consume less power and it has penyrn which also requires less power.

3) Meh don't get your hopes up.

4) No there will not, which is why I recommend you do it right now.

5) Haha yea it will demolish those games. I have played LOTR on my M9750 with basically no problems. The only problems I had is because of SLi, which really sucks in my opinion.

That would also be a reason not to get the M17x. All you are getting is a larger chassis and 1 extra 8800GTX which I think is pointless seeing as SLi is really a ***** sometimes.

 

I can absolutely guarantee (well, 99%) that the m17x doesn't have support for the SB battery. The battery only provides 40 extra minutes (or there abouts) with the m15x, with the m17x it probably provided too little to be worth it. Don't buy the m17x for a power-conscious laptop, that's all I can say for sure.

 

Thanks for all the input!!! I decided to call and cancel, but they had closed so i am going to cancel first thing in the morning. Now i just have to decide if i'm going to wait on the black skullcap...

 

Good call man. And if you need any questions asked feel free to PM me as I will respond much quicker if I don't check this thread again (since there are a lot more threads in the AW section now).