M17x Questions & Info Thread

No but the M15X has BINARY mode, although albeit a bit different from the SONY SZ series which had a TRUE binary graphics saving where it actually switched to Onboard graphics to save battery

 

Hold on, are we talking about the m15x or m17x?

 

I would say wait. Skullcap should be soon as well as montevina.

 

Sorry i may be wrong but the M15X has binary graphics right? but just means it downclocks the cpu and gpu correct? or does it switch to onboard graphics like the Sony SZ?

 

I was expecting way more from the m17x to be honest. It has a little different re-arrangement, but it pretty much matches up with the Dell m1730. I mean its the same weight and everything; just re-arranged. Its not the most original laptop design I've seen and I was expecting something way thinner but bigger. I expected it to look as cool as the m9750 when it came out, but to be honest, it doesn't look it. Performance wise though, I'd love to see it side by side with the m1730. I guess Alienware's highlight this year really was the m15x.

 

It has both. The m15x does have a "binary" mode (aka Stealth mode) but it also has a BinaryGFX mode in which you can switch to true integrated graphics

 

So I have narrowed it down to 2 choices for the m17x,

1)1] Area-51® m17x

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8700M GT – SLI Enabled
Display: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD with Clearview Technology – Black
Includes AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design!
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - White
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
System Drive: Dual Drive Configuration - 240GB (120GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service

price: $2,948.00

or

2)Area-51® m17x

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8800M GTX – SLI Enabled
Display: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD with Clearview Technology – Black
Includes AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design!
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Red
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
System Drive: Dual Drive Configuration - 240GB (120GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service

price: $3,648.00

Would it be worth getting the 8800's for the extra money?

 

I currently have an M15x on order in phase 3. Now I was excited about the m17x but when I configured my system it was too expensive. If this had the new montevina chipset I would prolly put down the $5k.

But I'm undecided... You can get a dell 1730 with the exact specs (ofc not including smartbay) and pay $4120 with the 599 instant savingfs + 12% student discount. If the M17x had the new chipset you it would be worth the 5.3k+, but to me I don't think its worth it and alienware is a bit too late releasing their new 17" system, dell and clevo had theirs for a long long time.

From reading in the sager/dell forums, nothing can seem to beat the benchmark scores of the 1730 which was 16,000+ with an X9000 (OC gpu and cpu ofc). THe 1730 seems to be the superior 17" gaming notebook out there, awesome cooling system, great drivers and unrivaled with benchmark scores.

I doubt alienware's new 17" will have better drivers then the 1730 especially because the m17x just came out. But the system still looks pretty sweet and might change my order, I got a few days to think about it since im in phase 3 on my m15x order. As of right now the dell 1730 is the fastest gamling notebook, it beats the sager 9262 by a long shot even tho the 9262 has a desktop cpu.It's all about the drivers!


BTW: Anyone know if clevo, dell, alienware will upgrade any of their 17" systems to montevina when it comes out in june. It's confirmed that clevos 15.4" gaming laptop will have the new montevina chipset, but how about the 17" systems out there? Anyone got any info or guesses with this?

 

The question will be whether or not AW will allow overclocking of the X9000 in the m17x. If they do, then it would be a serious contender for that high score.

 

does anyone think the m17x would have been better if it had side pipe, non matee finish, and skullcap? also a nice form factor.

 

Light pipe isn't a huge dealbreaker -- I lived the first few weeks with my m15x thinking it didn't exist and I had no problem with that.

I think the matte is ok, but for some reason they kept the screen frame in glossy black (like the m15x). That, to me, is just dumb. Matte on its own is probably fine, but the combo'll probably look bad.

And skullcap, well I always wanted ripley but I think a better way to phrase the question is that I would like it better if they offered the choice.

 

my inital thought exactly. i personally would go with the 8800m cards. seeing as how one 8800 m is more powerful than dual 8700m cards. you getting a super high end laptop, why "cheap out"

 

Yeah GRB, why haven't AW advertised the OC of the X9000 chip? At dells webpage, it advertises OC the 1730 X9000 too 3.4 ghz.

and any news on the montevina chipsets and 17" notebooks? only heard of the clevo 15.4 with the montevina

 

Agreed. If you're gonna get sli 8700s, get an m15x instead with an 8800. Cheaper & more portable.

 

i completely agree, why would they keep the screen like that and mix it. lightpipe is of course not a big deal but why the hell would they remove features from the more expensive model? skullcap should be a choice as its personal prefrance, but not a mere tease !

 

Because they don't provide the support for it (in the BIOS). People are speculating that's because of the m15x's small thermal profile (i.e. there probably is hardly any room for overclocking because of the high-powered components in a small, enclosed space)

However, they may do that with the m17x because, as a large 17" form factor, the airflow may be a lot better and so overheating may be a lesser concern. At this point, we don't know the answer to that.

And as to your montevina question, an m17x bought now will not be upgradeable to montevina. As I mentioned earlier though, a laptop with the m17x's raw power would hardly benefit with the addition of montevina (would be nice, but where it counts in game, difference will be minimal).

 

Yeah i was thinking the same thing,lol btw is the m17x screen gloss?

 

Well the M17X looks cooler than the m1730. The M1730 is ugly imo.

But then i would have liked the Logitech screen on the M17X, thats quite useful for looking at FPS, stats etc.

Obviously dell is better value but Looks do matter so I wont be buying a dell.

 

There is a hypothesis that the light pipe is weakening the screen, which, from my observations, could be true. Plus light pipe quality was shoddy anyway (e.g. on mine, one side of the light pipe is difficult to see -- again I don't care because light piping was never a dealbreaker, but I'm just pointing it out). I think they just thought it was more hassle than it was worth.

And yeah, they really need to introduce the skullcap/ripley and silver/black choices. I have a sinking feeling though that they're slowly trying to walk away from these options and sweep them under the rug...

 

If youa re doing ANY gaming, go with the 8800SLI, the 8700 are even worse than the 7950sSLI i heard.

 

Agreed. I would have bought the M1730 back in October/November with SLI 8700s if it looked like the XPS M1530 or 1330 (I mean, not size-wise of course, but stylistically). The M1730 is absolutely horrid

 

GRB I know it won't be upgradable, what I was saying is, will alienware be releasing an m17x model that has the montevina chipset. I haven't heard ANYTHING on montevina in 17" gaming notebooks. The clevo 15.4 gaming notebook will feature the new montevina but how about the 17" gaming laptops? Couldn't they just stuff the montevina chipset in the M17x/M1730/sager 9262? I know they would have to make some minor adjustments to the frame but it would look the same.

And is the only known system with the new montevina just the clevo 15.4"?

 

ah crap I just realized that the M17x does not have a glossy finish? What the hell >.< ? Why didn't they add the glossy look to it, imo it looks way better...





EDIT:btw GRB what happened to your m17x owners lounge? I can't get into it and someone bumped my april fools M17x OFFICAL owners lounge lol

 

Hard to say. The 1900 screen on the m15x was matte, and since the only options with the m17x are 1900, then it might be reasonable to assume it will also be matte.

 

Did anyone else notice how much the screen shook when they moved the m17x around a bit?

 

No doubt they will release it 100%. Question is WHEN and how long ull have to wait until they do.

 

I know the m17x just launched and we're all excited about it, but let's try to keep the number of new threads down to a minimum. I merged many to create this one, this thread will now be known as the "m17x questions and info thread".

 

Yeah it would be really nice to have an M15x or M17x in montevina. The future Quadcore mobile chips will reduce the heat by a sustansial amount.

WHY MATTE ALIENWARE WHY!

 

lol it wasn't *my* lounge but that one for some reason suffered a database corruption error. It's the second time in as many days that I've seen a thread do that; but it's nothing more than a glitch.

 

I wonder if the quadcores will reduce heat by a substantial amount, i mean the Penryns, clock per clock yeah used less heat but then if u get 4, it might be efficient but less than 2 cores? Im not sure man

 

I noticed the tech specs for the m17x said "Rear exhaust", where the m15x doesn't say that. Does that mean the m17x doesn't rely on intake vents on the bottom of the laptop?

 

Probably still does.

Look at the gallery page here
http://alienware.com/product_detail...?SysCode=PC-LT-AREA51M17X&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

There are still bottom grilles for intake

 

Ya, but I was thinking that those might just be vents to get rid of excess heat. Look at the speaker grills- it looks like the intake is where the speakers are.

 

Yeah, I'll admit, the bottom grilles are a lot less "extensive" than that of the m15x. I wouldn't be surprised if you're right, because the entire back of the m17x is freed up (because the battery doesn't make up the back plate) and all of that could be in use for both dual exhaust/intake duty.

 

Isn't an xps m1730 a better deal now, since its basically same weight/dimensions, with lights. The xps even comes with an extreme porcessor oc'd!

EDIT: nvr mind, it seems like they jacked up the prices of the 1730 due to the release of the m17x

 

Ya but the m1730 has been beaten hard with the fugly stick, let's not forget that.

 

Is the m1730 cheaper for the same price as the m17x?
the design is different.. some prefer the m17x's design. and it has smart bay too.

 

The RAM in that build seems unsettlingly low, Vista needs at least 2 GB's to run well.

 

Ji-hye Lim






Oops! I'm sorry....was that supposed to be a secret? My bad...

 

Before, you get get the 8800's in sli, dual 200 gb 7200's, x9000 oc'd to 3.4 for 4000 with discounts !

 

I waited all that time for this piece of crap??? **DELL** is still using old tech in the system, aka. 667mhz ram and that god forsaken Nvidia line of cards. I thought Alienware would offer Ati's HD 3650. The only real thing I actually like about this 17" laptop is the full sized keyboard with spaces between the keypad and arrow keys, 1+ on that, but seriously, this is nothing better than the 15x, except for screen size. At that price, I better get a happy ending after I click 'purchase.'

 

Understand that no to-of-the-line desktop replacement laptop (AW, Dell or Clevo derivatives) use ATI cards at this moment.

 

Hey guys so I think I will just go ahead and change my m15x order and change it to a M17x tommorrow. I'll stop being a wuss and just go ahead and buy something instead of anticipating what will come out in the next month or so. My M15x turned out to be roughy $4000. Now I want to limit my M17x purchase to $5k and no more than that.

I'm planning on getting it with the dual 8800 gtx cards and the X9000 processor. Now I need your help..... I don't know which ahrdrive to get. I don't really use that much disk space and I always could buy a smart bay hardrive in the future.
I got a few questions about hardrive options:

1. Whats a raid 0 and raid 1? I read about it some but I still really don't udnerstand the technology behind it. It's two hardrive that split the information?

2. Whats the difference between Extreme Performance (RAID 0) and High Performance with Data Security (RAID 1)? Whats faster? And is the differene that significant?

3. How does the regular hardrive like 200GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) compare to a raid 0 or raid 1? Will there a significant difference?

4. Because of my budget, I narrowed it down to either a 200GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) OR Extreme Performance (RAID 0) 240GB (120GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache). Which is a better choice?

5. If I decide to go with the single hardrive, will I be able to upgrade to a raid 0 or raid 1 in the future? (I heard its permanent and you can't or if you can it will be ridiculously be too expensive)

6. 8 mb vs 16 mb cache make a big difference ?

Planning on changing my order in early in the morning so if I could get some feedback tonite or early in the morning would appreciate it.

Would like to thank everyone who gave reviews of the M15x and for answering all the questions the NON- OWNERS had. Hopefully I can return that favor when I get the M17x. I'll post a ****loads of pictures and will do performance test etc...

 

extreme processor is knid of a ripoff if you ask me. I would get a t9300.
raid 0 is where both hard drives are combined into a "huge" hard drive, where you see twice the capcity and see increases in hard drive performance. The disadvantage is that if one hard drive dies, you lose ALL (repeat *ALL*) of your data). Raid 1, you have only one hard drive's owrth of space, but it is copied to each drive, thus if one of them dies, you have a backup.

You can install this hard drive yourself, and setup raid 0/1 in the bios. It is permannent in the sense that you have to reformat to change the settings. Thats all . The 8mb vs 16mb cache is becasue 2 hard drives are acting like one.

EDIT:
Also,you are much MUCH better off buying both the hardd rives from newegg and select the lowest option on the website (320 gb hds are about 140 on newegg and 200 gb 7200 is 150). It is very easy to install hard drives. I recommend same for ram. DOwngrade to lowest on the site, and buy 4 gb RAM from newegg for 90 bucks.
Hope that helps

 

Thanks bhattsan, appreciate your feedback I will give you + Rep for sure.. The 16mb cache btw is the single hardrive not the raid 0 which is an 8 mb cache (duno if thats combiend or each).

Theres a lot of questions I asked so could you or anyone else whos answering them go through all the numbers? I have 6 questions with mutiple questions in each, thanks appreciate it!

BTW is which is a better choice for me? 200GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) OR Extreme Performance (RAID 0) 240GB (120GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache)?

And which is faster Raid 0 or Raid 1?

And is Raid 0 OR Raid 1 faster than single hardrive?

EDIT: SO from what I understand, Raid 1 is just like a single hardrive, but the only difference is it copies all the data into the second hardrive for backup ? So the raid 0 would be the fastest hardrive but disadvantage would be that if one fails then I lose everything?

And last, from what your saying Bhattsan, The Raid 0 and Raid 1 feature can be enabled in ANY system as long as the bios is compatible with this feature? When I talked to a tech guy from dell about the 1730, he made it sound like it was a hardware thing, in that they had to add special hardware to enable the raid features and that it would be permanent in the sense of, if I don't select the raid feature I will NEVER be able to upgrade in the future due to the missing ahrdware. Can someone clarify this? thanks

 

Yes raid 1 is like you having only one hard drive but when one fails you have all your data saved on the other. I would go with raid 0 for space because I never had a problem with hard drives. If there is something really important I am afraid to lose I would burn it on a DVD or save it on a flash drive.

 

Its finally here! I was so psyched when i got home from school and watched the alien network video! I ordered about two hours after it was available, it took forever with the customer service people who can't speak English lol. Oh well, i don't care as long as this thing gets to me!! Any comments on my configuration? Now just one more month of waiting...

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8800M GTX – SLI Enabled
Display: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD with Clearview Technology – Black
Includes AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design!
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Blue
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Ultimate
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Internal Digital/Analog (ATSC) TV Tuner
System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 500GB (250GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 2x Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Burner (BD-R, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Mouse: Wireless Mouse - ExpressCard MoGo Mouse X54 w/ Multimedia Mode Learn More – NEW!
Power: Additional Battery - Alienware® m17x 12-cell Lithium-Ion Additional Battery
Security: Targus Key Lock Notebook Security Cable
Flash Memory: 4GB Alienware® USB 2.0 Flash Drive

 

If you look at the dimensions of the M17x, its thicker and width is more than the dell 1730. Kinda dissapointed a little, I thought the M17x would be at lease lighter and less bulkier than the 1730. The M17x, 1730, 9262 is about the same size and weight. I guess we can call the M17x the new "beast" because its bigger than the 1730!

Btw I wonder if the drivers for the m17x is going to be just as good as the drivers for the 1730 is.

 

Nah... the "BEAST" is still the Clevo D900C with quad-core and space for 3 hard disks

 

i'd do the RAM myself and save lots of money...