M15x couple questions

I am looking at the m15x but I have a couple questions.

1. If order it I will upgrade the ram myself since $350 is way to steep for them to upgrade it to 4gb. So the ram I replace myself needs to be 667ghz? Or can I do faster ddr2 rame like 800ghz? I've never upgraded ram myself.

2.Is there much preformance difference between-
160GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) & 320GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) ?
Would it be cheapeer/possible to upgrade the hard drive myself?

3. I am not sure which screen would be better. Wouldnt the 15.4" the 15.4" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD have really small font and icons?


Thanks in advance.

 

You pointed out the two obvious components where you can save some bucks to your pocket and can take the pride 'I have done it'

1) Ask for 1Gb from AW and upgrade yourself from newegg, click on my RAM link in my signature which is very stable and neat performance RAM. You can put up to 800Mhz RAM since the CPU FSB is 800MHz but your BIOS does not support high speed ram and will adjust its speed to 667mhz. Usually 800MHz ram has a CAS latency of 5 but when it downclock to 667 its CAS latency also comes down to 4 which is more stable.

2) There should be noticeable performace difference between 8MB and 16MB cache. Go for 16mb.. or better go for 120gb HDD from AW along with a SmartBay HDD cage (just the cage for $18). Get a 500gb hdd from some other place and replace that with your 120gb. put your 120gb into the cage and you have a hot swappable HDD for all that stuff that you might not want to share with others

You could save roughly $350-$450

EDIT:

Here is the link for the RAM that I was talking about..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148201

 

Thanks.

I dont know that I really need the smartbay hard drive, 320gb regular hard drive should be more than enough for me. I also dont see an option for just the cage.

 

Before you buy it, just be aware that that system has had numerous problems with it before hand. 16 people on this forum alone have had broken hinges. Not to tell you not to buy it, but It's something to keep in mind while thinking about purchasing it.

The only other alternative to this laptop as far as performance goes is the Clevo 860TU, you should check it out before you buy the m15x. Whichever way you choose, good luck, and congrats on a future new purchase.

 

Yeah I've been reading about some of the horrors for the past 2 hours, I think I will pass on the m15x. The clevo is like 2" thick though isnt it? I would prefer to have a laptop around no more than 1.5".

 

Most of those people are people that ordered the m15x early on. I'm seeing more and more m15x users I've never seen before that are getting along just fine. As for myself, 3 months with my m15x and no major issue encountered. The choice is yours though.

 

about your question with the resolution...in my opinion the 1440x900 is the better option as its cheaper and most games wont run high settings at that resolution and even if they did its hardly noticable..
and the 1440x900 is glossy which looks fantastic.

and what athiest said is true but i got my m15x about 3 weeks ago and its perfect. only a tiny tiny bit of creaking the first inch you open it but thats it. no other significant problems so far(touch wood!!).

 

ya, im gonna go the other way on both things you've said cath, not trying to be rude or anything tho.

i loved the 1900x1200 (1200p) cuz WoW plays in that resolution and its awesome lol. plus, i like the extra space when browsing the web. also, i prefer the matte over glossy because its more useful on the go (hard to see through glare on glossy in well lit areas).

also, i got my m15x in less than optimal condition, and have had to send it back twice for repairs... not because they didnt do a good job repairing (entirely) but because they repaired the wrong thing... (replaced motherboard when the GPU was the issue...)

anyways, be informed. i knew i was getting knee deep in alienware and have so far been ok with it. obviously not happy about the issues, but whatever. im still excited to get it back and all. the CS and TechSupport aren't bad and Roswell is a good touch. the individual parts of the company aren't bad, just the management and overall inter-department communication.

yes there have been horror stories and yes the initial m15xs came out with some flaws, but its been 3/4 of a year of them getting numerous complaints and warranty they have had to honor so im 90% confident that they have cleaned up their act (to a degree lol).

even milcs and the others who have had forced refunds etc. AW lost big money on them, their target market can't be that big and even 16 returned/refunded notebooks can hurt a decently sized company.

i believe since being bought out by dell, AW needed to remember that their piece of the pie is still small (comparitively) and some of the crap that dell gets away with won't fly in this market.

the whole m15x fiasco on here was a metaphor for that so i think the only way AW can go from here is up... way up.

er... ya just my 2cents... didnt mean to go that long lol

 

Hmm. Well I am on the fence about this one. Is it really only 1.3" thick like it says on the website?

I would also want to switch it to 64bit windows, I know there is a thread about it but I havent read through all of it yet. Is there problems associated with doing this?

 

I am silent so that others can speak...

 

Yeah, it is actually about 1.4" thick. The one thing that the m15x still has that not very many laptops have is smart bay. The amount of battery life you can get on the m15x is top tier, if not the best. And there other options as well for smart bay (additional HDD, DVD, blu-ray). And without any modding, it's already so aesthetically pleasing.

findvikas would know about x64 on the m15x the best. I haven't heard of any major issues with it though.

 

The only issue with 64bit really is that 32 bit drivers come out first so you end up having to wait if you have some funky problem. About a 3.9/10 on the big deal scale for me tho.

 

Well, as time goes on we'll eventually be on 64-bit anyway. Also, laptopvideo2go has been consistently and simultaneously releasing drivers for x86 and x64 Vista/XP. Other drivers might not be so lucky, as shadedurza mentioned.