M17x Refresh Discussion

You can never have too much memory lol

It would of been nice if the M17 had 4 DIMM slots

 

yeah very true, my m15x has 8 gigs and i use like 50% of it which means if i had 4gb i'd probably max my system.

 

The system can and usually does scale back ram usage depending on how much you have so if you had 4 gb ram you would probably be using about 80 to 90% but you would definitely see a performance hit

 

yeah but who uses vista voluntarily???

 

The point is get the cheapest RAM and upgrade yourself. Don't pay the outrageous prices with Dell when you can get better quality RAM at a cheaper price.

As far as RAM usage, I have never seen me use close to 4GB while gaming or using everyday apps, which is why I bought a laptop. Obviously, if you do photo editing or any type of graphics program type work you will need more. But for everyday computing or gaming 4GB is plenty. But like I said, you can always buy more elsewhere.

 

if you have forty plus tabs open and listening to music, yeah
I did use vista and that the only time I've ever had a computer that hiccuped was the above mentioned reason

 

Want to make your computer scream for RAM?
Run VMWare Player with 3-5 instances of different operating systems.
This will put any mobile system on its knees (except for the Clevo' D900F with i7-975 +24GB RAM)

 

or you could open a humongous resolution photoshop file with about 40 layers

 

That sounds like more of a workstation than a gaming laptop. I've been happy with 4 gigs for any purpose as long as I wasn't running Vista. As far as ram pricing, we are right now between 2 gig dimms and 4 gig dimms making sense. 4 gig dimms have dropped signicantly, but aren't "cheap" yet. Although that only applies to people on budgets.

I know this seems a bit soon, but does anybody have an idea of when oleds/120hz will be available in more laptops? I'm glad there's an rgbled option, but I was simultaneously disappointed after anticipating a 120hz screen in this recent refresh.

 

I would guess about 1 1/2 to 2yrs

 

I just don't see how Dell can wait that long if Asus has already done it.

 

I thought that was just a concept model

 

after much pleading to give me a new unit with better specs etc after so many faults/flaws AW/dell have deicded to give me a refund for the unit nearly 2 months into having it,

im still not happy, but i guess a refund will have to do, might get the revised m17x with the i7 etc

 

I listen to people talk about cpu and ram 32bit/64bit. I can understand some logic you only need 4gb of ram. I think your giving out wrong info. To make the system Future Proof. Get 8gb of ram. If everyone stays in the 4gb realm. You give Games and Products Manufactures a reason to stay in 32 bit world and use only 4gb of ram. That is why core 2 quad core where never really good. Supply and demand of Quad cores was mostly High end system who people like to brag about or use as Photo shop. Not the home user or Gamers.

Now I think that will chang with the i5 i7 and Win 7 64bit and more ram.

 

It isn't wrong info as you state. It was mentioned that if you don't run high-end programs then more RAM isn't needed. Not everyone buys these laptops for that purpose. Most people I know that run instense graphics programs buy a MAC.

RAM is so easy to upgrade you really aren't future-proofing it by buying 8GB now. Besides, the price of RAM will go down as it always does over time and upgrading later will be even cheaper. Like I said before, buy cheap now and upgrade later if you find you need more RAM. That isn't wrong info, just advice. I still haven't needed more than 4GB yet. I'm sure in the future as more programs are built to run on quad cores and 64-bit (which they will) and get more advanced then more RAM may be needed. When that happens I will take the necessary action and upgrade.

 

................. You know future proofing we're really only talking about CPU and GPU right? If you're able to run DDR3 Ram, you're future proofed for now.................

And Core2Duo users and Core2 Quad are running 64 bit just fine.. You need 64 bit to address over 3GB of ram anyway. Everyone stays in the 4gb realm because that's all you need right now if you're a gamer.. most Alienware users are gamers.. 8GB is overkill and way expensive.

AND you can just upgrade to 8gb Later.

 

Hello everyone first time poster.

I have been reading the posts on here for a few days now at work and i have a few questions from for the people here smarter than me.

I am going to be ordering my m17x-2 soon and i am wondering what i should be geting out of all the options.

-is the 920 worth geting for the money.
-is 6 gigs ok to start with.
-is there a point to geting the raid if i am geting a SSD for the OS
-should i get the wireless device upgrade.
-is the TV tuner even worth geting.
-should i get the case for it (i currently do not have a laptop case)

I am in Iraq right now and have 4k to spend on this thing please help me get the most for my money. Thanks in advance everyone.

 

i would say the 920 is worth it, thats me, the better your cpu the less throttle u will see on the dual 4870's, and yes you should get two.

also six gigs is fine, especially if you have the money.

about the ssd i would just get the small one for the os and a 500gb at 7200 as your second drive, saves you money towards the 920, and from what i've read there ssd aren't to great and worse in raid.

no idea about the tv tuner i would also like too know about that.

and most people are ordering the wifi upgrade and i think it's worth it, plus only 60$ so yeah.

also get the rgb led screen, trust me it's worth it. this config adds up to 3998 with the standard one year warranty, if you want the advanced (which i might recomend, or even the 3 year basic, i would just go down to 4gb of ram.)

 

Thank you for your reply, would the drop in ram effect the computer much. I guess i could upgrade later.
also does ram need to be equally distributed in the slots or can i have a 4 and a 2?

 

That's exactly how they achieve 6 GB as it only has two slots. 4 GB is plenty unless you are doing extremely heavy multi-tasking or heavy video editing. Spring for the 920 as a last upgrade due to its steepness. First get the CF 4870's, SSD with companion traditional HDD. Personally, for me it is a waste of money, but you can't deny its performance.

 

also make sure you go with the 1333 ram. and your golden.

 

Awsome guys thanks for the Info. I will be going with the 920 with 4 gigs ram and dual 4870s. i will also get the upgraded wireless.

What do you guys think about tv tuner?

do you think the 1 TB raid is better then the SSD set up?

 

TV tuner is completely dependent on whether or not you'd use it.

The 1TB raid is going to be slower, but more space. Which is more important?

 

ok i will go with the SSD, i have many externals i can use thanks

 

if it was me I would go with an a different ssd then the one you get from alienware. I would go to newegg.com and look for the fastest ssd and get it. (60-128gb)Use the ssd for windows 7 and photoshop and take the harddrive I got with M17x reformat it and use as a slave for games and all other programs.
Thats actually my plan when I get it. If you use the ssd for games you will notice a faster load time but it doesn't affect game play

 

Hmmm, that is what I was wondering since I am buying it for gaming. Thanks for the info.

 

Good news to the Australian users who wanted the Alienware M17x-R2 It should be out VERY soon. The M17x Page has gone though a crap load of changes (Front page where it talks about M17x talks about I7 Cores in it now) And the whole Personailation thing has changed too, So the M17x should be out some time next week.

 

Skip the TV tuner unless you are without internet a lot. Internet TV is getting huge so you won't need a tuner.

 

Duh, well if you pay 1000-1500 more for less choices yeah then its okay. I still could almost book a flight to the US, have a holiday for a week buy the laptop there and be better off.

I've stopped buying anything electronic in australia. As an example my raymarine chatplotter, 3 times as expensive, ICOM SSB radio 4!!! times as expensive....

I'v started calling australian retailers retarders....

 

website looks the same to me :|

edit : the way u buy the laptop has changed it now has a "style" option lol??

also u cannot purchase any 4gb 1066mhz memmory nor the q9000's anymore

 

it's indeed the same....as in the same from months ago, not even mentioning the I7 processors

 

If you go on the first page where it say "Dominating the horde" Which wasnt there four days ago. It talks about I7 Processors in the M17x and ATI 4870s

 

maybe the rep WAS correct when he told me release is 25th of jan for aussie users
too bad though, i think ill be getting my cousin to ship me one..its still 1k cheaper!

 

My Rep said two weeks. So it'll probably be on 25th. Either way i doubt it will raise above 3500, Also if you get one from America you'll be paying Custom duties.

You're doing it wrong. Also 4GB of 1066mhz memory was never available in Australia it was always automaticly 1333mhz, as the style i mean the system. The old system every customization was a little icon on the bottom now the customizations have there own little tab at the top.

 

Apparently Win 7 uses 1GB Ram.

 

if you play online games then you won't get any benefit because the game starts when the server says so it doesn't benefit to have faster loads and show up early to the game. The server will just reset you back to beginning. that has happened to me before.

 

It seem for online games ssd drive are better. Load time faster. Some people even installed games on thumb drives if they have a slower hard drive.

 

dual 4870 up on UK site now. +£345

 

I was reading on one of the fourms on lotro. Alot of the times they where useing the flash drive for the textures to speed up there grapics cards. Due to slower hard drives speeds.

I am still looking at this. Most of the facts are due to low end laptops. But I am looking at other areas to speed up the games.

 

yes here in Belgium to.

 

I disagree with this. I have had experiences where loading faster than other players has helped me reach advantageous positions that would not have been possible otherwise. Fast loading times only matter until you can load the level as fast as the server can. Beyond that may do what you said, but I doubt you are actually reloading the level.

 

Hey guys im having alot of trouble deciding which laptop to buy between the Sager series or alienware, i would pritty much max out whichever i chose to buy. What do you guys think the advantages are of each laptop?
thanks for the help.

 

do you ever plan to take your laptop out?
sager looks like a huge fat brick.
Alienware looks like a finely crafted machine.

if you are a attention go with alienware, it will be sure to turn heads.
as for specs, they are about the same anyway.

 

Post the specific models your looking at.

 

as far as loading times ... its why you have VRAM

 

Beside HD 5870 do we have any info on GTX 3xx for M17x in upcoming months?

Thanks

 

aren't the new 3xx series just rebranded 2xx series with slight differences.

 

Another G92. That sucks! I used to an NVIDIA big fan

 

gtx380m and gtx 360m are not confirmed g92b

 

I hope so. If not it will be GT200b right?