M17x Questions & Info Thread

If your deadline is in August, then you shoud most likely wait. If you buy it now, you might not be able to upgrade as the Montevina is an entirely new platform (someone can correct me if I am mistaken). If they do decide to include Montevina later on, which most likely they will, then they will probably include DDR3 memory for the notebook.

 

I had this similar dilemma back in 2002. I was going to either buy the Dell Inspiron 4100 15" with Pentium 3 or an Inspiron 8100 17" with the just introduced P4. I'm comparing it to the 15"m15x vs. the 17" m17x.
After much debate I ended up with the 4100 and I used the heck out of it. In fact only about a month ago I got rid of it, anticipating another purchase once the m17x came out.
So now I am sitting on the decision making platform again and I am giving myself the same advice that I would give someone who is looking to purchase such a device: What do you want to do with it? Well the answer I am giving myself is : EVERYTHING.
I want to edit BluRay HD Quality movies, I want to edit .jpg images, I want to run engineering CAD software, I want to play Crysis and StarCraft 2 in full settings. I want it to be portable. I will bring it on many airplanes and sit in many airports while I wait for my flight. I will have a wheely-style luggage cart, so I won't be carrying it most of the time. I will give powerpoint presentations with it and I will walk into many CTO's offices and want to brag about it. I want to watch movies when I'm away from my family from one hotel after another on business trips for weeks at a time. I don't want to have to plug into an external monitor when using it on my desk. I want the fastest network connection possible - gigE or Draft-N. Oh and finally I want it to have bluetooth built in - no more dongles.
I don't want it to crash all the time (Vista....aargh) when using Skype, Outlook and iTunes simultaneously. I don't want it to burn my lap. I don't want it to render fonts so tiny that I cannot read them, what ever happend to 1024x768? That was a nice sized screen. When surfing the web or writing Word Documents, I don't need 1920x1080.
I would love to be able to duel-boot to Linux - Ubuntu or Fedora. I would love to run Compiz Fusion and hook up my wii remote to a projector and get multi-touch to work. I want to teather with my blackberry or Dash without the computer crashing. I want Battlefield 1942 (and Desert Combat) (yes I still play that) to show my damn crosshair. I might also end up using this PC as a media server at some point in the future. Could it run MythTV streaming full HD?
Finally, I know this is a dream, but I would like to still be able to use this computer for the next 4-5 years. Ok so at some point I know it will be a little old but really, most apps are trending towards web based and do we really need duel 8800gtx's for that? I know games will only get tougher and tougher on systems, but are we at a slight plateau here? I mean I still play BF1942 and I still enjoy it but it won't run on my Inspiron 4100 with 32mb nvidia geforce. But the next gen crytek engine will run on the duel 8800gtx's for some time to come ( I hope).
SO just to stay on topic. Which platform will future-proof me better? A fully maxed out m17x or m15x? Last time I chose the 15", this time methinks I will lean towards the 17". I'm not getting any younger and a bigger screen will hopefully keep me from adding a bigger external monitor - even though I will likely add a 25" or bigger external display to it at some point.

Any thoughts?

 

you've made just about every argument for the m17x, so that's what i'd go with in your situation.

 

p5surf,

OMG.. Are you reading my mind or something? That was really creepy. Anyways, YES, that's what I want. I want everything you just said.

Nasuke,

So you think I can get the m17x with Motevina by August with a DDR3 memory?

 

Sorry about the rant. It reminds me of when I was on a boating site and people were viciously comparing the 17' Montauk to the 18' Outrage. When you are out in 10 foot seas you are still saying "Holy Sh*t!!". So when I - the uber road warrior computer software geek salesperson, have to come up with a decision on what to spend (hopefully) under 10k on a new machine that better last, what do I get?
I love this forum, BTW, the details are great. How would anyone compare the VooDoo high end laptops to the Sager or the Alienware? Let's say I have all the money in the world and I want the best of the best of the best. What do I buy?

 

Voodoo uses the same barebones as Sager. they just give it a new name and slap on some paint. AW designs its own barebones you can't find anywhere else. note that if you want an ubersuperduperawesome gaming machine, the clevo D901c (or was it D900c) barebone might be the right thing for you. it's really the ultimate mobile gaming machine. Sager calls it the NP9262. quadcore CPU's, three hard drives, sli 8800gtx's, the lot, really. just bloody expensive and uglier than a mule.

 

Interesting info about Sager, thanks Whizzo. Hey upon first glance at the 9262, I am noticing some disturbing things. I'm looking at a next gen device, correct? So why does this design include the following obsolete ports: Modem, DVI, SVideo, CATV (unless this thing has tru2way or built in Docsis 3 Cable Modem, what is the need?) Maybe the thing screams, but I don't want to be left with a ton of legacy ports. This is my first thoughts, maybe I can be persuaded by other things. But judging by the ports, I'd be surprised if the thing could read SDHC cards.

 

backwards-compatibility i guess. oh and i wouldn't say it's next-generation, it's merely got some desktop components (the CPU, for example) inside. "next-generation" is onstensibly montevina, which will come along in june.

 

The 9262 is cheaper with similiar specs then the m17x

 

true. but it looks uglier as well.

 

Just posting some info here that quite a few seem not to know.

1. Dell owns Alienware. For over 2 years now. Buying an Alienware is the same as buying a Dell and vice-versa.

2. Alienware has used barebone laptops made by Arima, Uniwill and Clevo. They do not "design" thier own. They do however design thier own exteriors (this is why they are more expensive than a Sager, oooo wooks pwetty). Who is the current maker of the m17X, no clue.

I hope this helps some

 

i beg to differ. AW certainly gives the specifications for the barebones, they are built specifically for AW, therefore you won't find them anywhere else (not like Voodoo or Falcon Northwest). oh and the m15x and m17x barebones are manufactured by Quanta.

 

Thank you very much for the correction whizzo. I was curious as to who made the new lappies for AW, just didn't feel like trying to dig it up.

The main reason I said what I did is to dispell the believe that Alienware actually makes the laptops themselves. They do assemble them, ie: insert CPUs, hard drives, ram and what not.

Thanks again whizzo.

 

no problem note however that the barebones are still made to AW specifications, e.g. AW says "we want a barebone with a smartbay here, and touch controls up here, space for an 8800m-gtx, flashy lights here, here and here,.." and then quanta designs and builds that for them. i think that's what really sets AW apart from voodoo and fnw.

 

Well, anything you just said you can do it pretty well with the M15X, so I missed the part whent you juump out to the conclussion on getting the 17" notebook.... Is it was beacause in the past you decided to go with the 15" and now you wanna try something bigger?, is that it?..

 

ANd by the way, I know the M15X is comming in the black case in the next weeks, which is great!, and imagine that besides that AW decided to put montevina, I mean that would just be amazing, the perfect lappy!

 

you know, do you? and from where, pray, do you take this information?

 

@ whizzo

Well, Leaving aside the fact that english isn't my primary language, I'm pretty sure he said that though,,, watch:

http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=AoKlGoR1Dgc&feature=related

at 3:45

 

well i stand corrected. nice find mate.

 

I'm sorry to report this guys but, i have been reliably informed tht there are no plans for Monty thi year...

As for the M17X vs Clevo/Sager, i still think think that the M17X is the nest looking if not the faster true 17" Mobile laptop. The sager cheats due to using desktop hardware for speed gains...

Just my 2p

OB

 

Best looking yes, faster NO. M1730 Faster and SAME weight.

 

Can you confirm? if it's true. then I am getting the m17x right now

 

Now that is your opinion

IMO, the XPS is the ugliest. The m9750 is pretty smexy, but AW didnt do it properly this time. I think the 9262 looks better than the m17x.

 

XPS M1730>Alienware m17x>Sager 9262.

The pictures on Dell's site don't do the M1730 any justice. It looks much better in a good picture (I've heard it looks gorgeous in person). The pictures in this review do it some justice:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2007/12/12/Dell-XPS-M1730/p1

I'd take the XPS M1730 out of those three, the m17x looks huge and bulky, a lot more than the XPS M1730. The Sager 9262 is ugly as ****.

 

How can you say the M1730 is faster than the m17x, they have identical system specs (X9000 and 8800 SLI). They're also about the same size (give or take a 0.25 inches) and the same weight (10.5 vs 10.6 lbs IIRC).

 

the only thing i dont like about the m1730 is that ugly black and silver wavy color scheme on it. if it was pure black then i would think it would look really cool.

 

Really, I think the m1730 looks cool. But, the m17x looks better.

 

Dell allows you to overclock the X9000 to 3.4GHz, Alienware does not. The M1730 also has the Physx card for what its worth.

I've waited 5 months for the M17x to come out and I'm a little disappointed.

 

Im disappointed too about the m17x, but the thing with dell is that is far more difficult to upgrade. For instance, if I choose standar dvd,rw disc recorder I cant upgrade it later with a blure ray disc combo, so I will have to go with full maxed spec from the begginng. Au contraire, you can upgrade that easly in the m17x since it is a smart bay unit. With m1730 you can't get additional HDD storage at least you do it by a external device but thats not comfortable

 

@bebarood, I can confirm that the Monty will NOT be in the m17x this year and there are not even plans for this.

 

First of all, how can you "confirm" this? Second of all, intel will be pushing all notebook manufacturers to move to montevina, so I thinks its pretty likely that we'll be seeing refreshes to both the m15x and the m17x.

 

they wouldnt refresh the m17 or m15, they will more than likely come out with new laptops soon, they always do this, look at m9750 to m15/17x....laptop technology is annoying becausre they change socket types every refresh

 

Basically I asked Someone from Alienware, who is in the know...

I asked Frank...

He confirmed that there will be no Montevine upgrade this year...

And as far as the 1730 vs M17X, yes the Dell is faster because of the overclocking to 3.4Ghz (this also makes it sound like it's going to take off) but, if AW were to allow the same processor on the M17X to be "tuned" then i'm sure tha the M17X would perform just as good, if not better... it looks much better anyway

Just my 2p

OB

 

If you read Anandtech's review of the M1730, you'll see that the gains from overclocking the M1730 to 3.4 Ghz are almost nothing for gaming. Like 2-5% increase in fps. They also say that overclocking to 3.2 or 3.4 Ghz makes the fans run at full speed at all times which is very loud and annoying.

 

Does anyone know of a brand called " the Rock"? They make a Model 770-X9000-8800 that seems to kick some serious butt in this review:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2007/12/12/Dell-XPS-M1730/p6
Are they available in the US?

 

That Rock is the same as the Sager 5793, it's just the UK's rebrand. BTW, the Dell M1730 was only running dual 8700M GTs, if that were the version with dual 8800M GTXs, it would've blown away the Rock (Sager).

 

If you're all looking for something as beastly as the m17x, why not invest in the Sager NP9262? It seems like a better choice. Sure, it hardly has battery life (just UNDER an hour when only web surfing and such), but I doubt you'll be too concerned with the battery life if you're buying a gigantic laptop-that-wants-to-be-a-desktop. I don't know, the m17x seems rather poorly designed IMO.



The sager uses a desktop Core 2 Quad, dual 8800 GTX's, and (get this) three hard drives. THREE. IN A NOTEBOOK! All of that in a 17inch notebook seems like a LAN-partyer's dream.

 

It's like the comparison between Ferrari and Lamob. some people prefer a murcielago for 400K, but others want an enzo for 1.3 million. with similar performance of both cars/laptops, it is all about personal preference.

 

that sager looks pretty slim for all of that in there, wow, what desktop quad, q6600? jeez thats alot of heat for a laptop

 

Yup. It's 2.35" thick and weighs in at a whopping 11.5 (ish) pounds. The entire back of it is fan vents. It's got 4 fans in total to push put all that air. I hear it's surprisingly quiet and doesn't get too warm to the touch, though the air coming out of the back can be felt from several fear away (and don't even think about blocking those bottom intake vents).

 

Don't worry. That Clevo is known to have the most advanced cooling system (and the quietest) in a laptop to date.

 

Well I recieved a note from CS about placing a rush on my m17x order. And I received an email saying it had shipped on May 2nd. It is on schedule to be delivered May 7th. I look forward to relaying my first impressions and creating my first unboxing video.

 

Did they provide you with a tracking number? If not I bet somebody made a mistake. If you ordered the day it came out and they shipped it a couple of days later it will be the fastest new product delivery in AW history. Good luck with that, I hope they aren't pulling your chain.

 

Yeah I got a FedEx tracking number which indicates May 7th as the expected delivery. Supposedly shipped on May 2nd from Miami and hit/left Orlando at 6:38am on the 3rd. So I hope the truck carrying it doesn't get lost or crash.

 

well hopefully you get it that quick and Frag is right that would probably be the fastest to ever be shipped. Can't wait to your unboxing video

 

that is quite fast considering that whizzo still has the webcam on backorder. AW shipping something in 1 week must be a new record.

 

ok guys, i've been waiting for the m17x for a long time, but when its finally here i'm kinda having second thoughts...

i'm probably gonna wait till the first m17x's start arriving to people, and I hope by that time AW release the skullcap design on the 15x as well, but its gonna be between the m17x and m15x

I have one more year of college, so the notebooks gonna be on my back, every single day for atleast a year.. but I'm getting the exact same configuration on both notebooks with the m17x being just $200 more ...

I guess the 200 is worth the extra screen size, but is it practival to carry the m17x everywhere you go ??

also, is there any place where i can get a look at both these laptops side by side ?? any AW retailer or something ??

thanks !

 

My guess is that they must have had some prebuilt with close to what I ordered.

 

it depends if you are willing to carry the 17 in around or not. if portability is an issue for you then go with the m15x. if you are willing to carry a couple extra pounds then go for the m17x.

there is a alienware retail outlet but its in florida.

 

So you already got a tracking number? My configuration seems pretty close to yours, i would be ecstatic if it shipped even before the month is up!

My Alienware order status is stuck on phase 2 though, does anybody know if it has a lag on what is actually happening? Because i received an e-mail last Thursday stating that the bill had been paid in full...