Looking into buying a M15x, what should I get?

Yeah I bought mine when they were released so I spent about $2300 with an upgraded warranty and I love it! The M15x isn't a benchmarking monster but when it comes down to actual game performance it really gets the job done. I run all my games in 1080p with great FPS. It also runs very cool and quiet. Like I said you can expect about 3hrs battery life with the 9cell but it's fairly bulky compared to the 6cell. The screen is amazing.

 

150$ for the screen or 50$ for the 9 cell battery?
I do like to watch HD content and I like screen quality, plus I, indeed, dont like the bulky look of the 9cell battery..
Though I would like my computer to be running for at least 2 hours on battery (for movies I mean) and something like 3 or 4 hours on word and such things to work..
And overall I dont have an unlimited budget so..
Life's hard!

 

I agree that the configuration can be stressful when your on a budget like I was. If I had to get rid of either my screen or the 9cell I would keep the screen. But 2hrs on the 6 cell is very lofty (although maybe not impossible). When sitting on a desk the 9 cell isnt bothersome, it also gives the laptop more clearance for the fans. The only minor annoyance I have with it is when I travel I take the batttery out so It actually fits in it's carry case. With the 6 cell I wouldn't have to do that. It's not that the 9 cell isnt great I just think the M15x looks more sleek with a 6 cell. Keep in mind you can always purchase a back up battery later but once you order with one screen or another thats the screen that you have.

 

When is the xps signature event?

 

@stewj it's currently going in canada, from the 8 to the 14th IIRC..
@Uroboros, Baww Idunno... I'm sure I would enjoy the 1080p screen, and I guess you,re right about the battery thing, I can still buy one after few months..! I just dont know fi the 150$ for a better screen is really worth it, a lot of guys told me that the 900p screen was also great! And since I dont plan on upgrading to the 260M, dont you think it could make my games lag more?

 

Anyone know when the xps event will be in the US?

 

Yes If you are going to get the 240 go with the 900p screen. I will sell you my 260 if they put out an ATI card in the next few months

 

I agree with uroboros...
alien command center in general seems to be more reliable in terms of power management and hardware controls than Windows power management... (Uggh, I actually hated the Windows power management on my now-dead Toshiba).

@SoccerThierry: The 240M is a great graphics card, well not the best but... You only want the 260M if you plan to play heavy-demanding games like Crysis on high settings... 240M for heavy-demanding games on low-medium/medium-high settings...

You should check www.notebookcheck.com and compare the 240M and 260M on gaming performance chart and see which will fit you more...
"Watch the FPS and resolution level carefully!!!"

In my opinion, if you either have $150 to spare or plan to hook up your M15X to a larger display (like a TV or projector) more often, then go for the 1080p display...
Otherwise, I would suggest saving your money for 720p... It's still good...

BTW: I live in Canada... I'm currently a graduating high-school student in Toronto going for UofT this upcoming fall...

 

m15x deal for today.. Pretty discount (300$) I just dont know if I have that kind of money
[ Alienware M15x
Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Alienware M15x, Cosmic Black
15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED
6GB DDR3 at 1066MHz
1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M
500GB SATAII 7,200RPM ] All of that for 2049$
vzegm, I already have like 3 HDTVs so I was planning on hooking my notebook to one of the them while I'm sitting at my desk..
Ugh now I'm torn, I really should buy this one shouldnt I?

 

I'm not sure If I really need all that stuff, the 500GB HDD is nice but I dont need it that much, the 260M is wonderful but once again, will I really use it?
And I'm a little affraid about the 6gb of Ram @ 1066, is this really slower than the 1333Mhz?
And will my system last for a couple of hours on battery with all these add-ons? I dont have more money at all... This set-up is alreayd over my budget.
So what do you guys think.. I doubt there will be another deal as good as this one before february or so..!
I dont knoooow =S

 

I am petty happy about my spec; i took the cheapest, but most "power" giving upgrads

 

Hey im new to this forum, but i joined because i'm about to buy a M15x and i've been waiting for it to be featured in the Signature Event... and finally, it is! Also, maybe i could help you out a little soccerthierry, as I too am buying this laptop on a budget, and have been following this thread.

As for the 500gb hdd, i suggest you get it as it's the lowest option they have right now. Also, as 500gb may seem a little excessive right now for you, programs and games will only continue to use up more and more hdd space in the future, so if you expect to keep this laptop for 3-4 years, trust me, it'll fill up fast without you even realizing it!

The 6gb 1066mhz ram isn't all that much slower than the 1333mhz ram... and you probably won't even notice the diffrence, so if your on a budget, just take the 1066mhz 6gb ram. I have a failry old Core2Duo with 2gb 333mhz ram! and it performs quite nicely doing everyday tasks (web browsing with 4,5+ tabs open, with itunes open, limewire etc...) considering its specs, so just imagine a 1066mhz! its already going to be a HUGE performance increase.

That being said, I'm probably going to take the 1333mhz just because it's only 50$ more, but ram is one of the easiest things to upgrade, and in about 6mnths to a year from now, you'll see 1333mhz be the lower end spec ram, and 1600mhz be the preferred higher-end ram. so by that time, 1333mhz will be dirt cheap, even 2x 4gb.

I also read your worried about the system sucking up more juice from the battery. Well, the hdd and ram won't do anything to battery life, and the only thing that will is the 260M. However, this diffrence won't be that significant and if you lower certain power-hogging features of the m15x ( put the lcd brightness as low as possible, turn off backlit kepyboard, turn on stealth mode, switch to the onboard gpu instead of the 260M, turn off bluetooth, turnoff wifi( if ur not web browsing), take out any cd in the disk drive, have the system running cool on a desk as opposed to hot your lap( blocks fans) , and turn the overall setting to power saver mode ( throttles back cpu clocks and gpu if on 260M).

By doing all of the following you'll be able to last around 90minutes or more on a 6 cell battery. a friend of mine told me he is capable of gettign about 100 minutes on 6 cell battery lightly browing the net. Unfortunately, this is as good as its going to get with the m15x on a 6cell battery, but you can always upgrade to a 9cell later down the road.

As for which lcd to get, i'm a big believer of the 900p lcd as besides having everything real tiny on the 1080p lcd, allowing you to squueze more windows on the screen, you won't notice the diffrence in gaming, video editing, and whatever else you plan on doing. REMEMBER it's a 15.6 INCH sceen!! I can't tell the diffrence of 720p to 1080p on my 46'' lcd tv while playing ps3. Even if you connect your m15x to your 46'' 1080p tv ( like i already do with my desktop), you'l want the lesser 900p because quite honestly, you won't be sitting right up close to your tv ( assuming your on the sofa in the living room) and fonts will be too small to read ( i have 20/20 vision here, so don't go on saying i'm blind). running it at 720p however, and your eyes will be much more at ease.

ALL that being said ( sorry for the bible) i hope all that helps you out with your decision. Also, you might want to consider getting a loan through your bank, and paying dell all at once because their intrest rates are ridiculously high. i managed to get 9% on a 2000$ loan with my bank, and will be putting 1000$ down, reducing my monthly payment to my bank to a measely 45$ a month! Peanuts! Because of that, im going for the following system:

Alienware M15x
Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.02 GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Alienware M15x, Cosmic Black
15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED
6GB DDR3 at 1333MHz
1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M
500GB SATAII 7,200RPM ]

Also be sure to Hassle Dell Sales Rep to the point of exhaustion to give you extra accessories, and an additional 100-200$ off as i managed to do just be persistent and tell them your aware of the throttling issues that aren't fixed yet, and a past sales rep was willing to give you those savings, and if he doesn't wanna give you them you'll just call the other guy back!! good luck, hope i helped!!

 

Woaaa, thanks a lot for this "bible"
Yeah I think I'll get it, its hard on the bank account, but woa, 300 off the computer of my dream, I just cant let it go..
So what would be the best way to hassle the sales reps? I guess I would have to call right?
Besides, what do you "other dudes" on the forum think?

 

Might be better to configure online that way you dont have to trust a dell rep to get the right options, thats a great deal I would snag it up. The 260 is def better then the 240 I would be happy with that config if I were you. Correct me if I'm wrong but I dont think having a 900p affects the resolution for an external monitor, if you disable the lcd and use an HDTV as an external I think you can still change the resolution to 1080p. Can anyone confirm this? I don't know what the big deal about native rez is. Running left for dead 2 at 1600x900 I can hardly notice any difference on this size screen then running the game at native resolution.

 

Nah you're right, it has nothing to do with the resolutions of external screens.
So it's a good investment? :O I should go ahead and put all my money in an Alienware?
I would not want to go wrong on that move

 

Well do you want a 15" gaming laptop? If you do M15x would be my first choice. If you dont want a portable gaming machine then you could buy a cheaper laptop and save yourself some money. I wanted to be able to play new games with high settings smoothly wherever I go. Having the M15x on a recent trip I took was awesome, I was able to play my full library of pc games at night when I went skiing this year. Since theres really bad tv where I went the only thing to do in past years was stare at the fireplace and drink beers... which is also admittidly fun.

 

You are absolutely correct actually, i was assuming displaying both the image on the external monitor and the laptop simultaneaously, but there is really no need for this. My bad

 

I'm on the phone right now, got a small 50$ discount on accessories...
Well thats better than nothing!

 

awesome! cant have an M15x without accessories haha

 

Ahah!
So it's now official, I have that computer:
Base System Color Alienware M15x, Cosmic Black
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Processor Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory 6GB DDR3 at 1333MHz
LCD Display 15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED
Video Card 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M
Hard Drive 500GB SATAII 7,200RPM

I'm pretty happy, thats a lot of money, but I'm sure it's worth every penny..
Also, got the orion backpack with the 50$ discount, I already have like 5 pair of headphones and the MX revolution mouse..!

 

congratulations dude! going by the responses on this forum, i think you will love your new laptop

 

sweet!!! congrats on new system. i'm sure you'll love it.

 

Congrats...
It seems like you just put your money into a good investment of a $2400 valued M15X for $2100...
Hope it doesn't create a bigger hole in your bank account than it might already have...

I tried out my friend's M15X today, and wow, so big: so heavy (4 kilos)...
I think I might just skip the M15X and go for the future M11X...

anyways, I hope you are going to be happy with your M15X...

 

NICE!!! I placed the order with the same setup but with th i7 820qm. Who here has a i7 720qm and could convince me that its fast enough to rip through games and heavy multitasking and that the i7 820qm is not worth the 400$ upgrade? hmm decisions decisions...what to do ... Logic tells me to go with the 720, but my inner geek tells me to go with the 820! i just don't want to get the i7 720 and be dissapointed with its performance because i want a system that will give me virtually no stuttering when multitasking. Suggestions?

 

Thanks you all for the help you provided me, I'm very thankfull. vzegm, I am very aware of its weight, but I'm simply in love with that machine..
Jstarnino, I personally dont think the 820 is worth 400 bucks.. But its really up to you..!
I'm very happy, cant wait for this beast to be delivered, Thanks again y'all you helped me so much!

 

depends on your needs, if just gaming 720 is more than enough. But for me I got the 920 because i'm a super heavy multitasker. I have at least 5-6 applications running at any given time, like photoshop, illustrator, words, and a few others. also with firefox opened with mutipages. I love this machine hasn't skip abeat yet. while my older m15x would of frozed up and have to restart.

 

What processor you had at that moment?

 

920 its in my sig at the bottom with all my specs

 

Yeah you're right SoccerThierry. 400$ is just a tad too steap for the 820qm. I guess I'll call the dell sales rep to modify my order yet again. A Cpu upgrade in the future is rediculously easy to do anyways if i find i need more power. So we'll have the same exact system then . Hope it doesn't take tooo long to arrive... For those of you who ordered from dell already, is that 12-15 business day delivery time accurate? or do they tend to take longer?

 

InappropriateName_3: I mean, before you get your 920, when you had to restart every once and then.
Jstarnino, Agreed, I'm pretty sure the i7 will be good enough anyway Then as you said, I might be interested in upgrading later this year! We'll see

 

oh my bad it was a duo core 2.5ghz
with 8800m gtx

loved that machine, but couldn't handle my heavy multi tasking.


also why did you get 6gb of ram, i'm planning on upgrading my ram too, just waiting for price to drop a bit.

 

6 gigs of ram is the one option I wish I could have been able to afford when I ordered. I saw earlier in this thread about the M15x coming with the displayport to hdmi adapter... It doesnt. If you want to hook it up to an HDTV on the first day I suggest ordering one my M15x didnt come with one. They are between $20-$50 beware I think some of them dont support sound and others do so check the specs.

 

When did you get yours. Mine can with an adapter even my replacement unit came with one. So now i have 2
call dell tell you didnt get one, i'm sure they can send you one free.

 

InappropriateName_3: Yup I got 6gb, I wasnt planning on but it was part of the sale, so I had no choice

 

Damn shady Dell one thing I can't back them up on is consistancy. I paid more for my system and get less accessories. I'd call and haggle with them but I cant stomach a 20min phonecall right now.