M17x Questions & Info Thread

I seriously advise against carrying more than 3 kg in your back everyday, not only for comfort but also for possible injuries (back strains, and long-term spinal damage). This is also related to your body weight -- I weigh about 75 kg and 3 kg is already uncomfortable, but manageable.

If it was my choice (and if I had to choose between those two laptops), I would get the m15x without second thoughts.

 

I will be starting college next year and i went with the m17x. I don't plan to carry it that often, more of a computer for my dorm that i can take with me if absolutely necessary.

One thing to think about that you didn't mention... The m17x would contain two video cards in SLI compared to the one in the m15x. So the configurations would be slightly different

 

Anyone on the fence about m15x or m17x versus other brands, seriously read this review:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4391
It's changing my mind about Alienware, in general. The Sager NP9262 is a serious piece of machinery for a very reasonable price. Look at the benchmark results here:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsId=4392
And be sure to read the reviewer's comments on Sager's support. Then price out the m15x and m17x versus the NP9262 with similar options. You will be surprised.

Hmmm, I might be re-thinking the m17x afterall.

 

Alright, we all know Alienware has revolutionized gaming notebooks with the m15x. 4-5 hours of battery life, Smart Bay, BinaryGFX, 8800M GTX, and support for Intel Extreme processors in an awesome-looking 1.3" thick, 7 pound chassis. What's going on with the m17x? Alienware revolutionized powerhouse 17" portable gaming with its' last generation SLI 1.5" thick, 9 pound M9750. Now the m17x is revealed and it's taking a step back, and all of the revolutions Alienware made with the M9750 and m15x are gone. Sure, it's using better hardware (which is expected), but it does it in a sloppy, clunky design that keeps brings it in the same league as all of the other SLI gaming notebooks, and all of the gaming notebooks in the past. Seriously, Alienware, this was obviously quickly made and poorly designed. The Penryn processors take up less space, use less power, and omit more heat than the Merom processors in the M9750. Missing from one of the m15x's evolutions is BinaryGFX, which lets you switch to an integrated card to save power, which should be included in this form factor. The 8800M GTX (believe it or not) used in the m17x uses around the same power and heat as the 7950M GTX of last generation. Alienware just needed a new motherboard to support it which is why the M9750 couldn't use it. The m17x basically has the same matte black finish as the M9750 with the addition of AlienFX lighting, a new ripley design, and a custom keyboard, which look cool. But the m17x is .6" thicker and 2 pounds heavier, pushing the limit of what could be considered a notebook. It's no longer portable in the sense that it's practical to carry around an area, but only portable enough to be taken from place to place on a week to week or less basis.

So the m15x is revolutionizing mobile gaming and was obviously Alienware's main focus. The m17x is a sloppy, carelessly designed notebook that just sticks cutting-edge hardware in without any thought or care to design. Just my $.02.

 

I will actually surprise if a college student can squeeze out space of their backpack for that.

 

I'm convinced... Im getting the M15X... hopefully everything it's going to be just perfect!

 

I had an Alienware M15x but due to several minor gripes with it and due to outstanding customer service at Alienware they are allowing me to turn it in for an M17x.

My question is a basic "which Ram do I get for it?". The memory prices at Alienware with the system are a little high. $350 for 4 gigs.

The RAM listed on the Alienware order page for the Alienware M17x is:
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB

Is this the correct memory for this system?
PC2-5400 DDR2 SO-DIMMS (667MHz)

I found some great prices at DealRAM.com but want to make sure I am getting the correct ram for the system.

Which is the better brand?
OCZ or PQI

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Yes that ram is compatible with your system

Brand doesnt matter, which ever is cheaper will be best as they all perform the same

btw check neweggs RAM deals as you might find cheaper

 

I will not recommend cheap RAMs. RAMs can come with some damaged memory locations which can lead to freezed systems or crashes.

The good RAMs are from Kingston, OCZ, Corsair, Geil, mushkin. Newegg has excellent customer support and a superb return policy.

After you install the RAM, perform a RAM test from the BIOS options. It will tell you if your RAM is ok or not..

cheers

 

I will recommend any RAM as all the DRAM is manufactured by one of five company's. No such thing as "cheap" RAM and not "brand name" RAM. Here is a link to a thread on the subject.

 

Exactly. MOST RAM is the same per say when it comes to who its ultimately being made by. What separates it is its WARRANTY. Check the warranty's on the RAM your buying. Get a decent brand with a great warranty.

 

nearly all of them have lifetime warranty.. its their warranty/RMA service were really after

 

Cosair has awesome warranty/RMA service. I sent my bad 1gb stick to them. And in little over a week, they shipped me new one.

 

I was aware of several companies using re-branded OEM RAM but I was not considering warranties while considering the purchase. Thanks for the reminder.

 

It dosn't really matter what ram is used it's more or less the same just go for a brand u trust.

 

I saw someone saying the m17x doesn't support a smartbay battery, or rather they inferred that because it wasn't listed as an option. I can't find that thread now so I'm posting this here.

I just spoke to someone on the online sales chat and they said the smartbay on the m17x does support a battery but they aren't selling them yet. This is one of the main reasons I want the m17x over any other 17" laptop so I'm happy. All I need is for it to come out in the UK!

 

The question is when it's going to land in the uk i hope before the month is up
and how much it's going to cost. are we gonna have another clear RIP-OFF-BRITAIN lol???

 

I used the ratio of one of the m15x configurations to work out that the $3800 spec I'd want should be £2200. Didn't the m15x get slightly cheaper just after it was released in the UK? Hopefully they will do the same with the m17x.

 

I'm sceared to think how much a fully loaded 17x is going to cost i bet no less than £3.500 this means i'll have to make some sacrifices this is cpu, hard drive (i can always upgrade at a later stage) but i realy want a beast and newegg do not ship to the uk.

if anyone knows a newegg equivalent in the uk please let me know

 

Anyone that has a question about the m17x, I encourage you to post in this thread, the m17x FAQ:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=247409

I plan to close this thread in a couple of days because there are a lot of threads on the m17x and the information is going to get too scattered/hard to find.

 

@alienmadness
I normally use Micro Direct or Aria. You could also try eBuyer or Dabs. Just see which is cheapest, I've bought from all of them in the past with no problems.

 

Thanx didroe i will check'em today.

 

Alaska - you were asking about memory. The funny thing is that Vista will only recognize 3Gb of Ram unless you have the 64bit version. And we all know that memory in dual-channel is faster than a single simm. So I would recommend just getting the 2GB memory unless you have the cash to waste on 4GB.
You will not see much of a performance difference between 2GB and 4GB, imho.

I read some reports on benchmarks done with Crysis and it was the speed of the RAM not the amount of it, that really made a difference. Of course, with the laptops we are limited to 667Mhz RAM. Desktop RAM can go much higher speeds, which will ultimately affect your speed.

Yes you can probably save a few bucks by going to newegg or another vendor and then boost up your RAM later. My thoughts on this is that there is an "aggravation factor" with these purchases. It's really much easier to just select what you want from Alienware and pad it into the cost of the system. This way you don't have to worry about buying the wrong kind of RAM, or worry about warranty issues. For example if you buy like 400Mhz Ram by mistake because you are getting a great deal on 2GB of Ram but don't realize the pin configuration, then you go through the headache of having to return it, etc...
Ok all flames aside, I do realize it is good practice to buy minimum on the system (where you can) and then upgrade yourself, you can save a few bucks. Sometimes you can save a considerable amount. Like minimize the hard drive. But then you have to transfer all your data over. Now what is easier - to pay an extra $100 and not have to move all your data or to save $100 and then move the data and reinstall the OS on a new drive?

Just my 2 cents...

 

my two cents:
it's WAAAAAAY more than "a few bucks". i went for 1gb RAM in my m15x, i will upgrade to 4gb. if i had bought that from AW directly, i'd have paid like 300$, which is about three times as much as the cost of the RAM itself. i'm just saying that there's no need to act stupid and waste money.

 

I agree wholeheartedly p5surf, I would generally spend a few bucks to get what I want rather then spend the time to get what I want. Have to weigh the time vs the money. But as Whizzo said it was a $275 savings on the RAM!

It will take about 30 minutes to pop the case and place the RAM...
So untell I am making $550 an hour (($275 x 30 minutes x2 = $/hour) it was a better investment to spend a little time to replace the memory.

And to anyone making $550/per hour... Wanna adopt a 35 year old?

 

If it takes you 30 minutes to replace RAM, you're doing it wrong.

Changing out the RAM takes about 2 minutes, give or take a little depending on how fast your computer boots.

 

well the to get the ram in the m15x requires removing about 5 or so screws but yeah 30 min is to long maybe more like 10 min

 

There is no joy in Muddville tonight.

I'm sure its no surprise to most but I did NOT receive my m17x as hoped.

The FedEx package I received from AW today was actually the backpack I ordered with my m17x.

After a call to CS I was told I am actually in phase 3 (i.e NO WHERE)

So its back to the wait and hope game.

 

the 30 minutes includes looking for the one little screw you dropped and now, can't find.

 

LOL. I've done that many times in front of customers. Learned to use a piece of scotch tape to secure the small screws real quick.

 

AM i correct in thinking that the M17X should be released in the UK tommorrow?

I think it was Frank who said two weeks...

OB

 

Apparently so....I can't see it personally though can you?

 

I guess we'll have to wait and see...

Lol i guess "Wait & See" could be an unofficial tag line for Alienware...

To be honest i'm only interested in the pricing at the moment, i'm hopsing that the M17X won't be waaaaaaaaaaaay too expensive?

To be fair, with Monty being released next month and the NP9626 and 1730 already out with very similar specs, they can't really be more expensive even for looks.... can they?

OB

 

hope not, i will be one of the first to purchase this beast though i know that for sure. Not MUCH point of monty at the moment. TBH id rather have tried and tested tech that works than something brand new with teething problems ala m15x.

Santa Works and there is nothing wrong with the platform in my honest opinion, everything always has to go forward eventually but I dont need to keep up with the Johnsons.

 

I totally agree, i've read about Monty, it seems ok for power consuption but the quad-core processors don't come out until next year... Also the m17X will not have Monty this year so i'm not waiting either...

OB

 

I'm looking at getting the AW m17x for gaming as well as some work usage (running AutoCAD and other CAD programs). Wondering if anyone has purchased this notebook and if the AW shipping probelms (scratches, cracks) are still ongoing or if they have been resolved. Thanks.

 

There's no point waiting I'll try to order it as soon as it becomes avalable in the UK

 

i don't think anyone has recieved their m17x yet. you'll just have to wait and see i suppose.

 

I'm only waiting until July when i'll have the cash, well i'm hoping to have enough, depends on the price, as always

On the subject of the Uk release, I had a message from Frank,
"The UK shipment is on its way, we are working to launch in the UK at the end of this month but not 100% positive yet"

So about a month after the USA release, as normal!

What spec are you going to go for, given that it's not waaaaaaaaay too expensive?

OB

 

Anyone know why the European release date is always way behind the U.S date?

I can't see any reason why - surely different divisions can order parts or the suppliers can deliver to different places, that is assuming each division has its own assembly plant

Surely it'd be pretty inefficient to manufacture all the laptops in one particular plant in the U.S and then ship around world (If that's the case why bother having different divisions?).

 

Im not really sure why they do it like that. Its probably just a schedule thing

 

@ OB

I'll most likely go for T9300 there's no point getting the X9000 and paying so much for non overclockable cpu the smallest HDD and RAM it is cheaper if I get them from microdirect even the mouse not shure about the SB HDD(if I can get a biger drive inside ) and battery may be I'll get them at a later stage.

 

you can change the 80 gig hard drive inside to a bigger size 2.5 in hard drive or you can call customer service to see if they will sell you the shell so you can put a hard drive inside instead.

 

@ exiled

Do you mean the SB HDD?

 

i believe he does. yeah you can get empty SB drives after purchase.

 

That'd be briliant then!

 

Hi
I was planning to buy the M17x but I have a few questions in my mind:


1)Most important question: Will it be upgraded by the company to Montevina platform give easy to understand reasons

2)As I would be spending a lot on this notebook will it satisfy me for 3 years.Most part of the time I will be doing extreme gaming.

3)Which notebook that has been reviewed can I compare it with.[specs should be 2.8 Ghz processor,4GB Ram,Dual 8800m Gtx]

4) I am not right now living in America which is the best way to contact Alienware.

 

1) not likely, but no one really nows
2)i think it should be fine with 2 8800gtx in sli for maybe 2-3yrs, although around the end you may have to bring some graphics down. depends how much the game industry evolves by then.
3)you could try the dell XPS m1730. i think Chaz's review had those specs in it.
4)where are you living?

 

1) It seems like Montevina won't come before next year. I don't think Alienware will upgrade the m17x to Montevina few month after the release. It's a big thing to do, so it costs a lot of money and time (so much more money ). Moreover if you don't plan to change your processor during the 3 years, there's no point in waiting Montevina. Quad Core are not expected before next year too.

2) Take a big config with 2 8800m GTX like Heliosvector said and it will be allright for 3 years.

3) If you buy in the US : dell XPS m1730, Sager NP9262.
In Europe I think you can only find the dell XPS m1730 if you want a really recent configuration.

4) Where is the question ? ^^

 

well i would only answer your last question. If you're not living in America right now, you can contact alienware.co.uk if you want your laptop to be shipped where you are because only the UK site for some reason ships worldwide.