M17x vs XPS M1730 First Impressions

Hi I just thought I would post my first impressions of my new m17x vs my old XPS M1730.

XPS M1730 t9500 @2.6Ghz, 8800M GTX Sli, 2 x 200GB HDD, 4GB DDR 2 @ 667, BD R, In Red, XP sp3
M17x t9550 @2.66Ghz, gtx 260m sli, 2 x 500GB HDD, 4GB DDR 2 @ 1066, BD RE, Nebula Red, Vista 64

M1730
Like

• Cool wing lighting and lighting options overall great aesthetic
• Nice Solid touchpad, with great lighting
• solid keyboard and overall construction, no flex anywhere
• Extremely quiet
• Awesome 3d performance for when I got it 18 months ago

Don't Like

• Very unreliable, had replaced 3 x gfx cards, blu ray, keyboard, battery, power brick
• Runs hot, even when new the video cards were around 80c under load
• Poor Support for windows xp
• Extremely poor performance in vista 32 when i got it
• Power Brick is Massive

M17x
Like

• Keyboard lighting is pretty cool
• Great thermal design, video cards only get up to 63c under load
• Overclockable processor via bios
• Slightly better 3d performance than the XPS M1730
• Bright monitor

Don't Like

• Weight, I know people have mentioned this but seriously this is ridiculous its at least 1kg heavier than the XPS
• Unstable even with moderate overclocking
• Touchpad is extremely poor quality and flexes the entire computer?
• touch sensitive media keys are too sensitive and annoying
• When displaying dark images the monitor seems to dim?
• Loud, The hard drives in this thing are really loud and clicky, i never heard them in the M1730
• I regret not opting for the gtx 280m's

I'd like to hear other people's comments or impressions on the M17x and if you can compare it to any other high end desktop replacement computers particularly the weight that would be great!

 

How does the touchpad "flex" the entire system? I'm not doubting you I just dont know what you mean. I have the M15x and the touchpad is uniform with the palmrest and has 0 flex. I have heard the touchpad/palmrest is the same on both systems.

 

Glad you wrote that.
I will not upgrade to m17x and your words make me think I am doing the right thing

 

I will comment on your M17x cons as an ex-M1730 owner and because I don't think those are common thoughts around here.

- The weight seems the same to me but I never tried putting either on a scale.

- I can OC nearly a full 1 Ghz with the qx9300 and be stable. This subject depends on experience and I'm not sure what your level is here. The M1730 held people's hand when OC'ing and was nearly impossible to screw up. I prefer the extra control in the OC'ing features with the M17x.

- I didn't experience any flex with my M17x when I had it. I'm sure there would have been all kinds of complaints from others here if that was the norm. The texture of the touchpad is a common complaint.

- The media controls are a common complaint. It does take some getting used to.

- The auto contrast feature is a well documented and probably the #1 complaint about the M17x.

- No issues with hdd noise. I ran the 256GB SSD and the 500GB 7200rpm Seagate. I have seen other post about clicking hard disks when running RAID 0.

- Upgrade to the 4870s when available.

 

I think the importand thing to mention here is that this is a compairson between the two laptops, not weather you should buy one or not. I think the main difference in your opionion to buy one should be based on that and not on his individual experience with his m17x. The main difference Im refering too is the countless times the m1730 had to be repaired with new gpus. Since this is a comparison between the two that should make the best determination in your feelings towards geting an m17x.

 

Good post, and as jeffreybaks points out a comparison rather than a purchase decision. Bit like comparing your faithful (or not) old car, and nice new sportscar. There are still touches you miss from your old machine, if that makes sense?

I'm writing this on my M1710 - still going strong after 3 years, no faults, but have upgraded to 4Gb RAM and 320Gb Caviar Black HD (which is whisper quiet). It's certainly not a powerhouse, but runs W7 32-bit just fine.

I prefer the tactile feel of M1710 keyboard and touchpad, which (IMO) is far superior and responsive (if not as colourful) to the M17x. The HD regularly clicks (parking sound) on my M17x, but after hearing so many similar comments, possibly either chipset controller, or bad batch of HDs, but no signs of failure otherwise.

Overweight and hot .. oh yeah, but enough about me - so is the M17x

Cheers

Trelawney

 

Ive had the M1710 - M1730 and no the M17x.
Touchpad flex - don't see this at all.
Weight...well you are buying a desktop replacement gaming notebook. if it weighed 2 KG's more then the M1730 i wouldn't care
Hearing nada from both my 500gb HDD's
Media keys...bit annoying all right

 

IMO, the M17x is what the 1730 SHOULD have been.

Why I like the M17x more:

- Graphics cards run cooler
- Vents/fans in good locations for either actual laptop use or desktop use
- BIOS allows overclocking
- Lighting colors are nice
- Feels solid, looks sharp
- HDMI output
- 2 USB ports per side
- Media buttons constantly lit
- Good looks
- Hybrid gpu's
- Faster FSB
- AL chassis stays cool even after heavy use

Why I miss my 1730:
- Blue lid was nice
- has the Logitech gaming LCD
- LightFX themes were nice in WMP
- Individual speaker control for lighting
- Lighter - yes, a good 2-5 lbs lighter
- Latch to open
- Media buttons easier to use/operate
- Customizable WIFI switch (wifi/bt; wifi only; bt only)
- Touchpad felt more natural
- AC adapter cable didn't fall out as easily

 

thanks for the replies everyone

I think you are right Zath, I agree with you on most points.

when I say the touchpad flexes I mean when you tap on it it sounds like plastic hitting plastic, so its not solid like most laptops. This may be an uncommon thing but its a bit average from a $5,000 AU laptop.

I guess I'm just a bit negative because, my m1730 broke and I didn't think a heavier laptop existed

I'm working to improve stability with overclocking and hopefully will be able to figure it out.

I'll post some benchmark results when I figure out how to upload images to the forum (any advice appreciated) I have:

Far Cry 2
Crysis Warhead
Fallout 3
Dawn of War 2
Batman Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty 4 and 5
Saints Row 2
Grid
Need for Speed Shift

 

Nice comparo. I am looking at changing to the M15x as I need something that is half portable?! The thought of going to something that weighs more than the XPS 1730 is scary lol.

My Dell has been bulletproof, still running as it was day one. Looks wise I think the M17x is heaps better. The touchpad on the XPS is crap IMO. I am glad I bought it, been a great power house for the constant moving I do, but now it is time to move to something a little more portable.

 

My previous computer was the M1730 and I had a horrible experience with the 8700 SLI's. As for the weight, a couple of pounds on a desktop replacement doesn't make much difference to me when you're talking about something that weighs over 11 pounds to begin with. I liked the design of the m1730 but the m17x has to be the most awesome looking notebook I've ever seen--to me, it's worth the couple of extra pounds.

 

It isn't just a couple of extra pounds. Infact, I have found some Clevo based laptops - of which - if you were to mimic the specs with the m17x - you end up having to spend an extra £1300 for the m17x, I was shocked (and to be fair, this was with the specs being still just under that of the Clevo based).

I mean, a couple of hundreds of pound premium sure, but over £1300 and still not matching the specs? AW is a no go for me.

 

You must but from the UK? I'm from Canada, and like the US, when we say pounds, we mean pounds as in 1 pound = 453 grams. I didn't mean pounds, as in the British currency. And the weight is no big deal, I've carried 15 pounds of textbooks for years.

But I have to admit the Clevo's have great specs for the price.

 

The M17x is grossly overpriced in UK, unfortunately there is not much you can do to remedy that short of buying it in the US and shipping over (but you need to know someone here to do that)

 

I should add that my GPU temps in my 1730 were often 60's and 70's celsius at idle and 80-80 celsius max whereas my M17x temps are often 40's and 60's max.

 

hehe ^^

Not to mention getting charged 15% when it arrives - and all the complications of warranty/repairs etc - and the enormous shipping costs!

 

I don't see the point of having 80% charged when it arrives. I don't mind if the battery is empty on the arrival day.

How bad is the touchpad of M17x Why is it bad everybody? One thing I know for sure when I sold my MacBook is I'm gonna miss its trackpad no matter what my next lappy is. Why don't every company just make the goddamn trackpad just like Apple? Something that is huge, has hidden buttons, glassy surface, sleek appearance, real multi-touch function (not poorly Synaptics) with 1 to 4 fingers, smooth like hell, well respond... Omg!!! I can buy a MacBook just because of its trackpad

I really hate it when see some huge HP or Asus 17" lappies have very tiny trackpads on them. It looks riddiculous Does anyone know why they don't just make it larger? I'm sure it will be much more convienient when it's larger!