M14x R2 vs M17x R4

Hello! I am new here, but have been reading the forums for a few weeks now. Lots of good tips and info. I am looking to get a laptop for college with a bit of gaming. (Not much, mostly just Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, maybe Star Wars TOR, and Civ 5) I will be doing some digital art in the future, and I hope to have this laptop last me a good 3 to 4 years. I can't decide between these two models. With both I chose the best possible screen 900p and 1080p, bluray, 8 gb of RAM, and Killer Wireless. With the M14x I chose the 2 gb VRAM because I would link it with a monitor at home, while with the M17x I chose the 7970m. Battery life is not important to me also. I heard the M14x R2 has heat issues, but the M17x R4 would be harder to carry around campus. Any ideas?

 

If you want something that will last 4 years, I would definitely go for the m17x. Also, as a digital artist you are going to want as much screen real estate as possible.

Just get a good backpack and you should be fine.
For 500 or so dollars more, you are getting more than twice the gaming performance.

 

The M14X is an excellent portable gaming machine for college.

Currently, I use the R1 and run all the games you listed at high settings (minus shadows), so that gives you an idea on how well the R2 would handle those titles since it has a superior GPU.

I used to carry a G73JW to school, which is equivalent to the M17XR4 and I found it inconvenient. The weight wasn't the problem since I'm athletic - it was the "set-up" (packing/unpacking), your ability to carry less textbooks and lack of room during lectures that did not offer tables/desks (laptop would be inconvenient for the people sitting next to me).

The screen on the M17XR4 is better (brighter; 1080p) and I'd consider the screen on my M14X as average (I like my screens very bright and it lacks this - at least on mine).

The M14XR2 is cooler than the R1 and an R1 with fresh thermal paste and cleaned internals will run at 80c max.

Overall, the M14XR2 is the best choice in my opinion. Big bulky laptops are just too much of an inconvenience for college. If you get a chance, go to a Best Buy or any other electronic store and view/feel a 17" gaming behemoth (BB has Asus G-Series 17" I'm pretty sure on display) so you can get a basic idea of what an M17XR4 would feel like before you make a final decision.

 

How long would you reckon the M14x R2 would last me? Out of curiosity...

Also, would the M14x R2 handle things well if plugged into let's say a 22 inch monitor?

 

I think it would last 4 years, but it wouldn't be able to play new games well (if at all) in 4 years. an m17x with a 7970 will still be able to chug through new games (at low settings).

 

I think you'd be able to play all games for the next 3~ years on it without worrying about not being able to play anything on a decent setting.

Like I mentioned in another forum post, this is how I look at it:
2012 = High-Ultra
2013 = Medium-High
2014 = Low-Medium
2015 = Low

2015 = When you start considering upgrading to a new revision (or different laptop altogether) + sell your R2 to contribute to the cost if you want to play the best/top new titles of that year.

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As for your external monitor question, yes, the M14X handles external monitors/TV's just fine. I plug it into a 42" Plasma regularly

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I also recommend to purchase an extended warranty at the time of purchase because if you purchase it AFTER, the cost will increase.

Here is my post of how good AW warranty coverage is:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/677004-alienware-support-post-your-experience.html

You'll basically have 0 downtime during college with NBD-Warranty, which is incredibly important.

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If you're interested in either system, you can get a quote from the AW reps here on the forums:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux-32.html

 

Do you notice any heat issues with your laptop? If I play games I'd be on for at least 2 to 3 hours.

 

I game for 4-5 hours per day, almost everyday.

If the laptop is clean and has fresh thermal paste, it will not overheat or have heat issues. Over-time, all gaming laptops will increase in temperature because of all the dust that has gathered over-time. Also important to note that the life expectancy of thermal paste is one year (unless the paster did a lousy/half a** job), so it will have to be replaced (Dell tech can do it for free if you complain about heat issues; you can also provide a Dell tech with high quality paste that you self-purchase).

Keeping your laptop clean and pasted results in optimal temperatures.

Like I said, my R1 caps at 80c and R2 owners are reporting better temps

People who complain about heat either have 1) Filthy laptops (hairballs in the fan), 2) Malfunctioning components, 3) Poor paste jobs ...or a combination.

 

This... always kills me, but that's how it is lol.

Based on what you told us, I'd get the M14x.

 

Remember, the M17x comes stock with an I7. the m14x comes with an i5 and its an extra hundred dollars to upgrade it to an i7.

 

M17x is also more expensive.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

I too debated this a few weeks ago and ended up going with the M17xR4. First, its TOP of the line powerful with either a 7970m or the 680m. Secondly, it can be upgraded, from Cpu to video card, to ram to HDD, to SSD, Raid etc. The m14xR2 has the videocard soldiered to the motherboard and cannot be changed. Lastly, the M17x 1080p display is LEAPS better than the M14x display in both color gamut, brightness, black levels and white levels. My vote goes to m17x. Make sure you read the Dell saving $$$$ thread on this same board. The only way I would go with the 14x is if you need to carry this with you every single day as the m17x gets a bit heavy over time.

Edit: I should clarify, the M14xR2 is an awesome laptop. Its not the best in terms of pure power but for its size and portability its a beast. Dont let me deter you away from it.

 

What is a reasonable haggle price with giftcard for a M17x R4 with 1080p screen, bluray, 3610QM, 8 gb of RAM, Killer Wireless, 7970m, and 256 SSD and 500 gb hdd?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux-32.html

Check out this thread - the AW reps can give you a quote If you are not happy with the quote, you could always spend an hour talking to various reps over the phone and getting multiple quotes. Write down all their names, extensions and quotes - once you're done searching, select the best price/rep and go from there.

I find that it varies (rep dependant) so much that I cannot give a definitive answer.

 

Alright, I posted there. I still can't decide between the two. Each one has their pros and cons. I really like the portability of the M14x, but the M17x has upgrade options in the future.

 

One of the main advantages I can see with the M14x, is that the money you can save vs the m17x can be put into a solid warranty upgrade and you will still have some change left over.

 

The few things I would really look at is:

1) are you a gamer? if so, its hard to pass up the power of the m17x. Also if you buy the m14x, is it just a laptop? or are you using it as a desktop replacement.

2) do you have a capable desktop already? if you do then the 14x is probably the better decision.

I bought an m11x because I told myself 'man it would be so cool if i brought this small thing with all this power everywhere/anywhere'. Then after a year I noticed I brought it to a handful of places, mostly on vacation where you can bring bigger laptops. So in the end I had a 'desktop replacement' that was 11 inches and pretty average.

Weight the pros and cons and go from that.

 

Yeah, most likely I will stick with the M14x and get a monitor for home. I really would have wanted a 15 inch, but stupid Alienware had to discontinue them. Bad move...

 

M17x should offer much better cooling. M14Xs tend to truly heat up under load, especially with a faster i7 onboard. M17x is also much easier to repaste. To repaste m14x you actually need to take the laptop completely apart.

IMO M14 is perfect for a small desktop-like laptop you can easily carry around and in which keep your personal stuff and documents etc (this is how I use it). If you want to game, get M17x w/ 680M.

 

I wouldn't be playing that much on it. Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 are not really gpu heavy games. Civ 5 I don't need at max settings so I wouldn't utilize the 680m. Plus compare the price of an M14x with a M17x with a 680m. I don't want to go over $1500 let alone $2000.

Also, does anyone know how many RAM slots are user accessible? Cause to save money I could drop the RAM down to 6 from 12 and upgrade myself.

 

You should always upgrade ram/ssd yourself since it will be much cheaper. The m17x has 4 dimm slots and the m14x has 2.