Need help! Really torn between the M17x and the M18x

Is it worth upgrading to the m18x over the 17 just for the better case/build? Both systems I've speced are exactly the same, no dual cards in the 18 just single. Thinking about it just for the better build as there offering £200 off the m18x at the moment which dosnt make it that much more than the m17x.

Thanks

 

Having owned an M17x myself (the first gen one) and having had the chance to play around with an M14x R2, I would, without a doubt, pay for the better chassis. The only drawback for me (and it would be a big one) is the lack of Optimus support in the M18x, so you'd be sacrificing battery life quite a bit. That may or may not be a concern for you though.

 

Having owned both, short answer: yes.

The M18x is not only built better, but has a better cooling setup and supports many upgrades with the ability of having dual graphics and an XM CPU.

Note: If in the future you plan to add another GPU, you better buy the required parts now because in a year or two they may be nearly impossible to get ahold of.

 

It's better to get dual gpu setup from the start, later on if one wants to upgrade to dual gpu, one has to buy not only the second gpu but heat sink, cf/sli cable and fan as well. Same goes for msata ssd, the connector and board for msata ssd is also hard to find, although there are few available online right now but no guarantee if they will still be available in few weeks.

 

The better chassis is definitely worth the extra money. However, the other part (in bold) is a common but inaccurate misconception or assumption by people that have never owned an M18x. I got 5.5+ hours from my M18x running on IGFX last weekend. I watched two full length Resident Evil movies with battery to spare on my flights. Manual graphics switching performs better than hybrid switching. It not only performs better, it has fewer problems, and gets equal or better battery life than the M17x R3/R4 with Optimus (or Enduro if you are a red fan).

Ditto... right on the money.

The M17x R3/R4 is not remarkably smaller or lighter and it is not a "bad computer" by any means. To the contrary, they're actually very nice machines. However, in every way the M18x is superior to the M17x R3/R4. The deciding factor should be whether or not you can afford the best, or prefer to make compromises to save a little money.

 

Awesome thanks guys, need to recheck my budget. Is it worth sacrificing the 2 year warranty and 2 year accidental for dual gpu? I really can't Afford everything which sucks.. but I'm thinking one card will be enough, I've never liked the dual Gpu because the price to performance isn't great. And everything I've read points towards there's a good chance I might get a problem with something in the laptop at some point, more years covered the better?

Edit: also as an off topic question, swap the 680m for the 7970m and use the extra cash for ssd and vengeance ram? Or am I going to end up with problems with the 7970m? Im not team red or green I don't mind aslong as it works well and has reliability and what about dual 7970m? The dual 680m is soo expensive :s thanks for everyone's help so excited about finally in the position to order one of these

 

Another common misconception, unless you think almost double the performance is not a good price to performance ratio. SLI and CF performance completely annihilates a single GPU on systems equipped with the same GPU. Yes, the more the better in terms of warranty. This applies to any high performance laptop or pre-built desktop. Protect your investment because high performance components don't last forever and they are more expensive to replace than the cost of the extended warranty. You can easily compare the result between M17x R3/R4 and M18x R1/R2 benchmark results. The performance increase with dual GPU is nothing short of amazing.

 

I wouldn't sacrifice the warranty for any reason, but if you don't do so, you run into what I consider one of the m18x's main problems: it's too heavy and bulky to buy with a single GPU. 7970m CrossFire seems like a mess and 680m SLI gets into the price range (even with great discounts) at which I can't justify buying any gaming laptop over a desktop/laptop combination.

If you're comfortable with buying used products, you can look for an m18x with 580m SLI and hope that warranty extensions are affordable.

 

I didn't know it was double, thought it would be like 20% more or something. I realistically can't get dual 680m, its not going to happen best I can do is dual 7970m or single 680m. Preferably I would rather a single 7970m so I have money for other upgrades, I will be playing latest games and want high settings, but I'm not a fps watcher, I currently play all my games on a 610m lol and they run I'm happy but I want higher settings.

So from everything thats been said, am I right in saying if you can afford dual 680 get the m18x, if you can't afford the best then not worth getting and might as well have the m17x? All such a hard discussion lol, its been giving me a headache all the researching, I keep changing my mind on what is best to get

 

If money is tight, go with the M17x. It is substantially cheaper and will satisfy all of your gaming needs for the time being. But before deciding on the M17x, check out the Dell Outlet for a Manufacturer Refurbished M18x R2 with 680M's. You may find one for an amazing price. I have considered going this route myself...

 

No, I would not go that extreme. A low spec M18x is better than a high spec M17x. Get the best machine you can afford to get. If you can only afford an M17x R4 with GTX 680M that is still a wonderful computer and it does a fantastic job of playing games smoothly, with even demanding games running at playable FPS. It does really well with 7970M also, but I would recommend going with the green card if for no reason other than life is better with good drivers. However, if you can afford the M18x with one 680M, 660M, 675M SLI or 7970M CF, go for it. GPU for GPU, the M18x will still be a much better computer than the M17x due to build quality and future upgradability, and better cooling system... as already mentioned by J.Dre. FYI - 675M SLI is roughly the equivalent in horsepower to one 680M or one 7970M GPU. Plus, you get all the necessary parts for an upgrade to 680M SLI (or maybe an even more powerful NVIDIA SLI setup) later on, so the 675M SLI is a good choice FTW if you ever plan to upgrade. If not, then it's still as powerful as one 680M or 7970M... there's nothing to lose in that scenario.

 

I'd just stick with the M18x route. Better to have and not need, than need and not have, right? (Referring to the upgradability options - dual GPU, etc. with the M18x as opposed to the M17x.)

Now is the best time to buy. Deals are excellent, may even get more off if you speak with a rep. on this forum.

 

Anodized aluminium? - worth every penny on getting as it's a unique appearance/feel and build quality is second to none.

Another vote here for the M18x with virtually any gpu configuration you can afford. As you are warranty conscious (and that's a very savvy thing to be when it comes to high end machines) I'd advise getting as much as your pocket will spring for - but at the same time, trying to get the best cpu/gpu config you can at time of purchase. Other things can be upgraded on a "as and when" basis but gpu/cpu tend to be more expensive to swap out later, best to get it right at order time than have to sell off parts and upgrade them later.

Regarding gpu configuration in the M18x (with good a good warranty period equivalent to how long you think you will keep the beast before changing again) I would go in the order of 680m Sli>7970m xf>single 680m>single 7970m>675m Sli>single 675m - those are the configurations available via Dell US, the only other is a single 660m which I wouldn't bother with given that a single 7970m is $200 more and would blow the single 660m out of the water completely. Even if you added another 660m to go Sli, the single 7970m would still beat it, and that extra 660m/Sli cable/heatsink etc would cost way more than the $200 outlay for the 7970m at order.

If you play around with various warranty periods and gpu configurations, I'm sure you can get an even balance of both - remember, if you order with a single gpu, you can always add a second when you can afford to. As J.Dre said, you can't add a second gpu to a machine that only has the capability to hold one gpu (M17x). The 18x will give you more scope for future upgrades and when things start to lag, you can up your game by doing some DIY upgrades on the cheap via Ebay or NBR Marketplace.

Once you have settled on a gpu/cpu/warranty configuration you are happy with, remember to visit the AW sales thread here on NBR to haggle some discount - you may well find you are able to add another upgrade with the money you could save

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux.html

 

Thanks guys, I have decided to go for the M18x only changes made from standard are 8gb ram killer wireless and single 7970m, the ram and hdd ill upgrade myself next month. I managed to haggle it down to £1743 with a 3 year warranty, I could have 2 year warranty and 2 year accidental but I'm thinking 3 year will be better? Aslong as I don't accidentally brake it lol. Any thoughts guys? Am I making a good choice? I'm paying for this tomorrow night

 

As I'm in the UK too, I've been looking at your build. Personally, I'd ditch the memory upgrade and toss the extra at upping the CPU - the 3630qm cannot be overclocked as it's totally locked down at bios level. The 3740qm on the other hand can be nicely OC'd by around +400mhz. £50 is a lot for just 2gb extra of ram and you probably won't even notice the difference, to be honest.

Dell have a special on the warranty right now, so either way, I'd stick with 3yrs as it's only £40 more for an additional year - that's a no-brainer, especially as if you decide to sell it before then, you can sell it with warranty on it and that £40 will pay for itself. Even if you never use it, it's gonna be invaluable to have as much warranty as you can get as cheap as you can get it. Warranty specials are a great way to do that.

Accidental damage? - well, it should be covered in your home by your household insurance. If you're away from home with it though, it wouldn't be covered under home insurance unless specified for cover away from the home address. Worth checking with your insurer as it is pointless doubling up on insurance if you are covered elsewhere.

So, the build I would go for, if you could afford it, comes to £2,110.17 on Dell UK - you've obvisouly done some haggling already so I would see what deal you could get on that one.....same as your build except drop the ram upgrade in favour of the cpu upgrade and stick with 3yrs warranty - I based that on no Acc. Damage cover by the way....still with the Killer....

If that build is still working out "over budget", I'd also consider dropping the Killer and sticking with the 3740qm - you are gonna get more benefit from the cpu upgrade than the wireless card and/or memory upgrades, as you can do them aftermarket, cheaply, easily and when you can afford to do so.

 

Thanks for your help mate, is it worth over clocking then? I make that £1868, not including warranty's in my builds as that is added free instead of a nice discount. That's slightly over my budget but doable if being able to oc the cpu is worth the extra money? My i5 in my current laptop has been pretty good, its always let down by my gpu which is a 610m lol, although dispite the hate It gets it runs all new games at medium settings and low for the hungry ones, so I'm expecting to be able to wack it up to high/ultra

 

Put it this way, the extra cpu power will only help out. Some games are more cpu intensive than others and having the flexibility to add some more grunt can come in very handy. Games like Crysis, Metro etc can be very demanding on the cpu too, so a 3630qm locked is not gonna help out as much in those kind of situations.

If you look on Flea-bay, grabbing a 3740qm is gonna cost around £330 - having it already slapped in by Dell means that it's only costing the upgrade fee of £160. Great saving there AND it's covered under the roof of your Dell 3yr warranty.

Honestly, if it were me buying, that's what I'd be doing. The most important things to get at the outset are cpu and gpu - ALWAYS get the best you can afford and look/leave the other stuff till a later date. You won't regret doing so.

 

Ok steviejones your logic sounds good to me I will change the build tomorrow when I pay, I'm going to be playing a lot of planetside 2 which I know is one of the most cpu hungry games currently out, so the extra grunt will definitely help thanks stevie

 

if you make purchase with American Express, they give you one extra year warranty. saves a couple of hundred bucks right there that can go toward

dual GPU or better CPU.

 

No problemo. I reckon if you can get an M18xR2 from Dell UK with the following changes over base configuration, for around £1800gbp, you've got a cracking deal and a solid machine. That would work out at around 15% discount.

• Upgrade to 3740qm
• Upgrade to Killer 1103n
• Upgrade warranty to 3yrs no Acc. Damage
• Upgrade to single 7970m

Also, if you pay using a UK credit card, even just £1 of the amount due, you are covered by the credit card issuer for the full amount of the purchase - if there is anything wrong, they are liable for it under the consumer credit agreement. It's not free warranty, but if the machine is faulty, they are liable and you can pursue them for compensation etc.

I've watched too much Martin "MoneySaving" Lewis on the tellie

Hey, Mikey - what about an Ebay purchase? - I found this little beauty that has just under 2 days to go, no bids, £1500. Spec as follows:

Dell Alienware M18x R2, 3.7GHZ i7,16GB RAM, 4GB GDDR5 AMD HD 7970M CrossFire | eBay

• 3740qm
• 7970m Crossfire
• 16gb ram
• Blu ray ODD
• 500gb HDD plus 32gb mSata (caching)
• Windows 8
• FREE M18x Orion case
• 10mths warranty remaining (transferable and extendable)

Of course,it's not brand new but has warranty which you could look to extend. If you could snag it for close to the starting bid, it'd leave you a tidy amount to chuck at extending the warranty and you would then have CROSSFIRE 7970m's, and all the other upgrades listed above too.......

Just a thought for you to consider!!

 

steviejones, thanks for your continued input. Ive just looked on ebay and for the same money im about to pay i can get the 680M. The one im looking at is dell refurbished Grade 1 with a 3 year dell warranty.. Is this legit? Whats Grade 1 mean? dell have confirmed the tag number as registered to the seller and he also has very good feed back and offers next day delivery... lol too good to be true? am i better off new?

 

Not sure if it's legit as I don't know the seller - chances are if they have a lot of positive feedback, it's pretty kosher. Is the seller NDC? - they seem to do a lot of Dell returns and refurbs.

Of course, new machines carry the "new" premium for being new. I guess it would be up to the individual if they wanted to buy a used machine. The good thing about used is that you can obviously get more for your money vs. a new Dell purchase.

EDIT: I think I see the seller you are looking at - I don't know what their grading system is, maybe you should ask them. As it might have been sourced from Dell Outlet, there's a good chance it could be a "not wanted" customer return, it also might have some minor cosmetic damage - best to check with the seller for the finer points.

One thing's for sure, you will get more bang for your buck buying like that vs. new - it really is a personal thing though - would you mind a used machine that possibly had some very minor damage BUT getting a much better specification...these are the possible trade-offs vs. buying direct from Dell. I know that if I were on a budget, I'd certainly be very tempted to buy used - as long as the warranty is in place, and either zero/minor cosmetic damage, I'd be keen at the right price.

The seller also says this:

which is not entirely true - new machines ship with an OS disc, resource disc and some other app discs like Cyberlink PowerDVD - you might be able to get them sent out under warranty or grab the software for Dell Smartsource anyways at least.

 

Thanks Stevie im finding out from the seller now all the ins and outs, probably wont know till tomorrow, ill let you know i dont like the idea of buying something like this second hand no but with the 3 year warranty, better spec than what i can afford, cheaper than what i was going to order, all that makes it very tempting. Main differences being the 680m instead of the 7970m, as the bluray dosnt bother me and the 16gb ram and 1tb hdd are all things i can buy later, just the 680m is something i couldnt afford with the m18x, and from everything ive read the 680m is not that much more in performance over the 7970m but is alot more stable and much better drivers and generally a better card over all. Plus the option to buy another 680m in a few months

 

I have bought and payed. Being delivered tomorrow Dell confirmed all the details, spec and the warranty and it was sent back for a refund this year after the customer reported artifacts on the screen. He was offered repair but chose refund, so the system is brand new, just got to hope dell did there job and repaired before selling in the outlet. If not least i know i have 3 years warranty and a big bonus is i get it tomorrow and wont have to endure dells build time thanks again for your help stevie if it wassnt for your idea on refurbished i would have paid more, got less and waited longer

 

Excellent news, Mikey! - seems like you have snagged a bargain deal. I imagine that the screen would have been replace and/or tested out before resale, but like you said, you've got the warranty - you might have to transfer it or maybe find out if the seller does that for you. Be sure to keep us posted when she lands and report back!

If it does come without discs, such as a OEM Windows disc, maybe see if Dell can send you one out. You'll maybe need it if you want to do a clean installation at some point in time. Any bundled software should be available for download via Dell SmartSource. - you only get 3 downloads of any stuff, so if you do download any, make a copy of it and keep it.

 

@StevieJones1033

Agree with everything you wrote above except, " • Upgrade to Killer 1103n"

I've had my M18x for a little over two weeks and dumped the 1103n that came with it at 10 days in. Once I switched to the Intel Ultimate-N 6300, all the weirdness went away.

 

Thanks, Michael - the Killer can be a tetchy little card. Some report no issues, some have constant headaches. I guess if it doesn't work, slap it on Fleabay and grab an Intel card instead...nothing much lost in doing so. Like I mentioned before, I'd have certainly dumped the Wifi upgrade in favour of a more powerful CPU if it came down to a choice between the two, as it's such a simple piece of hardware to upgrade and can be had cheaply enough aftermarket.

I guess if anyone has Killer issues, they should simply do as you have and ditch it! - job done!

 

Will do Stevie, already downloaded a copy of all the drivers/software ready, and I have copy of windows I can use hopefully they have I'll post again tomorrow with hopefully the good news this unit comes with the Intel wireless and dell also said that they have very few problems with them, and the killers are slightly more touchy.

 

Cool. You should have no issues with the Intel card. Also, just as a word of advice, create AlienRespawn recovery media via USB before you begin clean installing - always handy to be able to reset your machine back to factory condition :thumbsup:

 

I had an m17x R1 and as much as i liked how much it could take a beating, the aluminum and size was too much. Unless you have children or cats that claw laptops then i wouldnt make a decision because off of the chassis

 

I loved my M17x R1. I once dropped it about two feet onto a wood floor. What happened? Well, sufficed to say, something had a chunk taken out of it, and it wasn't the laptop.

Also, if there's one thing Intel does well, it's networking. Forget your G4MER 980GTS UltraSniperExtreme junk. If you want perfectly efficient, always reliable connections, you go Intel.

 

^^^I agree with that about Intel network cards.

Having a laptop that takes a chunk out of whatever it lands on when accidentally dropped is pretty awesome.

 

Having had m15x and m17xr2, both had superb build quality, now I have m17xr4 and I feel the difference quite a bit, yes it's smaller and lighter but that build and finish on m17xr2, I miss it everyday.

Once you put m17xr2 and m17xr3 side by side, you see the difference and can feel the difference in build quality, m17xr4, although it doesn't feel like a $400 toshiba, it doesn't even come close to m15x let alone m17xr2.

 

I just got it! came about half hour ago, all seems fine its in perfect condition they could of said brand new and i would of believed it! im very happy so far, Havant ran any games yet though still copying and installing stuff, i have no doubt everything will be fine couldnt be happier. On a side note.. OMG its huge! lol but me likey no doubt ill see you all around the forum thanks for all the help guys, special thanks to stevie!

 

Woot!!! - glad she's all good, you must be very happy! - they are big aren't they? - nice and solid and reassuringly heavy LOL

 

First and foremost I know I can get the same specs for cheaper with other brands but I have a Dell credit account that I will be funding the purchase with so please don't tell me "Why don't you purchase X brand."

Currently, I have a budget of around $2200 - $2300

The main use for the laptop will be gaming (WoW, Neverwinter, SW:TOR, Skyrim, Battle Field, Etc,). However I will also be doing some minor photo editing, etc.

Main concern(s) / question(s) is how easy will it be to upgrade and product longevity, however ability to be upgraded will make longevity a lot less of a concern.

It will be plugged in 99% of the time so battery life is not too much of a concern, and I also don't mind the screen size difference between 18.4 and 17.3, or overall size for that matter. Also on a side note, I REALLY like the look of the aluminum case on the m18x, from pictures I see, in my opinion it looks a lot cooler than the plastic look of the m17x.

If I decide on the m18x I will most likely be getting 1 gpu to save some money for the moment and adding a second later if needed / wanted, as I have read some games don't support SLI at the moment anyways. Also need verification that this is possible and making sure they don't give a 1 GPU port Mobo if you only get 1 GPU. Also would like non fan boy responses on AMD Vs nVidia. I have always had nVidia in my 2 laptops so I have no personal experience with AMD mobile products.

And is the "Killer" Wireless card worth the upgrade? As I will be running it wireless 99% - 100% of the time so a great wireless card would be preferred.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:

I currently own a ASUS G74S (Best Buy Model) that I added a Samsung 840 SSD to that I plan on taking out and installing it into the new laptop to save some money on the HDD. It also has the OEM 500GB HDD as well that could be installed into the new laptop or used as a portable HDD. Also the HDD I took out of the ASUS is currently being used as a portable HDD, however if I read correctly IF I go with the m18x it has 3+ HDD bays so I could put it in the system as well.(Verification needed)

If the 8GB of RAM from the ASUS is compatible I could add that as well, so I could save some money there as well, tho I have read that most people believe anything over 6 - 8 GB of RAM is overkill for gaming anyways, LOL.

Not that I think it really matters, but I upgraded the ASUS to Windows 8 Pro, and since I will be "parting the ASUS out" I could install Windows 8 Pro onto the new rig. AND if I decided to just put the old HDD into the ASUS and use it as a backup / traveling laptop I could go back to the factory installed Windows 7 Home.

I think that is all but if you have anymore questions please let me know.

Thank you for your time, and in advance for your help ~ J

PS: If anyone is really, really bored and wants to take the info I gave and come up with a "beast" build that is within the $2200 - $2300 price, I would be forever grateful. LOL

 

I think we already have more than one thread on this subject. It might not show on the first page, though. There is not a great deal of difference in size between the two, but the difference in performance is remarkable. The M18x (unless you buy lower specs) totally blows away the M17x R3/R4. If build quality, performance and upgrades are tops on your list, the M18x is the better choice.

Edit: there was one, and it was on the first page. I merged it for you. It may already have the answers you are looking for.

 

Thanks, I totally missed this one when looking thru them using the search feature / google... and TBH a lot of the posts were starting to run together in my head. LOL

 

No worries, that happens to everyone. It can be confusing when we have concurrent discussions in multiple threads on the same topic. It's sometimes hard to tell what the discussion is about judging by the thread titles as well. There is discussion around single GPU in this thread and I think most of your questions are addressed in the 50+ posts available for your reading pleasure. The M18x R1/R2 is unrivaled in build quality, performance, cooling system and upgradability. The M17x R3/R4 is a good machine overall, but it is a less expensive model that makes some compromises based on price. There is not very much difference between them in terms of size and weight. The gentleman in post #26 has owned both of the latest versions. Either model is superior to anything offered in a competing brand, so you'll be making a choice among the two best gaming laptops available.

 

Hey everyone. Was wondering if I could piggy-back on this thread and get some feedback on a certified refurbished M17x i'm considering from Dell Outlet.

The specs include 750GB SATA hard drive (7200 RPM), 1920x1080 60hz display, intel 3g i7 3630QM processor, 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHZ, and a Nvidia Geforce GTX 675M graphics card.

I'm a pretty casual gamer these days but ideally would like to play current games (starcraft 2, WoW, etc) at max setting, or close to, whenever I do have time to play. Current price would be $1,241 after tax.

Any feedback on the price/value, as well as whether or not the GTX 675m's quality for my scenario would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Sure, feel free to ask. No problem.

For a "casual gamer" that is a very decent setup and the price is really nice, too. You might need to scale back some of the settings on demanding games like Crysis 3 with a single 675M, but that GPU is still more powerful than what some of Alienware's competitors are trying to pass off as a "gaming laptop" LOL.

 

A single 675m should be able to handle the games you want to play at high/ultra settings. The price seems pretty good to me, but I'm in the UK and I'm looking at similar spec'd machines on Ebay and there are some with slightly better spec's up for around $1700.

Maybe someone from the US can comment better on the price....

 

That's a decent deal. If it comes with an extended warranty, I might even say "great."

 

Thanks for all of your responses!

 

As a quick note there are a few very misleading points concerning the laptops that I want to clarify.

The M18x does NOT have a better cooling system than the M17x.
It has MORE cooling components to match its greater amount of GPUs, and thus makes it comparable.
The fans are PER GPU and CPU. It is not the case of having additional fans on single GPUs.

The M17x is not for just Casual gamers whatsoever. This is complete nonsense.
All current games run on max settings with only a few titles requiring reduced settings which from my testing does not result in much, if any loss of "graphical satisfaction".

The Gtx 675m (GTx 580m rebrand) can play all current games without question.

The M18x is MUCH heavier than the M17x.

M18x Notebook 5.6 kg
330W Power Supply: 1.34 kg
Total 6.97Kg

M17x Notebook 4.36 kg
240W Power Supply: 0.82 kg
Total 5.18Kg

That's over a 35% increase in weight which is colossal in terms of notebooks.
Both the notebook and power charger are larger in size which makes it more difficult to transport.

If both systems are running on integrated cards and use the same processor the M18x will have better battery life.
12 Cell vs 9 Cell.

However you've bought the wrong laptop if you plan to use either on battery.

NEVER sacrifice warranty. This is both due to how expensive components are to replace as well as Dell's excellent in-home service.

 

I just want to point out a few things here - just to clarify. I take your point about the weight, but anyone with half a brain already knows that the M18x is going to be heavier - that's a given. See highlighted text above.

Thank you.

 

No it doesn't have a better cooling system!
It supports the exact same Fan components from the looks of things.
You just have an extra fan for an extra GPU. That's it.
You honestly believe it's because it's better and not perhaps, say...Marketing?!

The M17x R3 could EASILY handle the extreme series processor. Without doubt.
Is it supported - No.

Why?
Because they wanted to give the M18x the best processors to further lure enthusiastic buyers.
And let us be truthful here - The majority of users as well as games in general will not benefit at all from having a 3920XM over that of a standard 3630Qm.
But let's not just use the well beaten dead horse of an argument concerning the user majority.
After the Gtx 680m Sli, the 3940XM extreme series processor for the M18x is the most expensive and overpriced upgrade currently available.
It is not worth a M14x. This isn't opinion - it's fact.

I've already stated it can't handle all games, but that it can handle most on maximum.
I know because I've tested it. And yes, these are titles above 30 Fps threshold on Max before that's brought into the equation.
This alone tears it straight away from the casual segment and puts it into the hardcore gaming.

Even the HD 6990m I'm running at the moment can run the likes of planetside 2 on Max with only shadows on Low/ Medium.
However the shadows are still fully present in game and after comparing it to that of Max desktop GPU quality it really isn't at all a difference worthy of note.

The M18x is a great system and I love all Alienware products, even the new sneak peaks which are very controversial.
However I couldn't sit well knowing that I can buy 2 M17xs for a single M18x.
That's both fact and personal opinion.

 

I agree with your marketing ideas, indeed the M18x and M17x target somewhat different niches of gamers/enthusiasts. But I'm going with stevie on the cooling system argument. I considered downgrading to the M17x to save my back and shoulders but in the end turned against it partly due to the cooling. Yes the M17x could handle an XM no doubt, but can it handle it at 4.4ghz+? It's true that no gamer will benefit from the XM, but people who do buy the XM are going to do some sort of moderate to extreme OCing at some point. Cooling isn't just about any heatsink with some pipes plus a fan blowing onto it. I'm no expert, but I can tell the design of the heatsink and arrangement of the pipes are factors to be considered. The fact that they offer a triple piped for the M18x CPU already shows that the potential for cooling is there. The M18x rear ventilation design is also a more open mesh design as opposed to 2 holes for the fans on the M17x, allowing more passive airflow there. I remember threads from 2 years ago where widezu and Geo were benching their R3s with the 2920XM, they had to constantly repaste to maintain their temps within reason.

 

Each to their own I guess.
The greater amount of vents on the M18x is to help expel more heat on multiple GPUs.
From my research the M17x runs cooler overall (Anywhere from 5 to 10'C) and that suits me fine.

Once my warranty is over I'll try other extreme series processor on my M17x if possible and show it first hand.

It'll be late, it'll be out of date but I'd do it to satiate.

 

You are forgetting that cooling is not just about fans - the M17x cpu heatsink is not sufficient to adequately cool an Extreme cpu under full hardcore load - that is just fact. Could the m17x support an XM - probably, if Dell chose to do so - they didn't - that again, is fact. Result? - M18x is superior in the cpu department. No "ifs, buts, coulda woulda's" or anything else that you might want to use as an excuse. Bottom line is that if you want the best cpu and cooling, you gotta go for an M18x and not whine that it's not offered or supported in an M17x.

Again, untrue. Having an extreme cpu over a base level 3630qm is going to help out a fair bit in cpu intensive games such as the Crysis saga and Metro, GTA saga etc etc......your assumption that a 3630qm versus a 3940xm will see little or no difference is just ignorant. If you don't believe me about the performance gains to be had in gaming with an overclocked extreme cpu, ask any hardcore overclocker - I'm sure Mr. Fox and Johnksss will tell you the same. It can increase frame rates a fair bit as opposed to a stock locked down 3630qm cpu.

And your point is what exactly? - your opinion of what is over-priced may not be the same as someone who wants the best regardless of cost.

Again, your own opinion being repeated again. To some, including myself, an extreme cpu and 680m Sli setup is worth more than having two lesser computers. If you cannot justify the cost, that's your problem - again, the fact remains that these components are the very best currently available and if a buyer wants the best, why not. Not everyone wants an M14x just because its equivalent to the cost of the gpu/cpu upgrades in the M18x.

Obviously you forgot what you typed. Also, not everyone is happy with 30fps for a smooth gaming experience - maybe you are but I would hardly call that hardcore gaming. Perhaps you would like to run Crysis 3 and let us know how you fair - even the 680m or 7970m can struggle on high/ultra to achieve a realistically playable FPS. I quote from the following article: Crysis 3 Benchmarked

Maybe if you are happy with fairly low frame rates. I wonder what FPS you get as others report having to lower settings with a 6990m to get an enjoyable experience - bigtonyman said this the other day (quoted below) so I'm sure as heck curious as to how (miraculously) you can max it out with lowered shadows and still play well....

Yes, the M18x is a great system. So is the M17x, on that we can agree. Just because you would personally prefer to own two lesser performing computers, rather than one ultra extreme hardcore gaming machine, does not make the M18x a wrong choice for someone who DOES want the very best - this is again your perspective, and not very transparent to people seeking advice on what is the best, as not everyone sees it like you do. As we are trying to give advice here, it's in best interests of people enquiring about what system is better and why to give them the full "no frills" truth. The simple fact of the matter is that if you want performance, the choice is clear - M18x all the way. It is superior to the M17x (no matter how much you may profess otherwise and brandish about information that a single 675m/3630qm is a hardcore gaming rig) and that, my friend, is the cold hard truth - not sugar coated or clouded with personal opinions - just the truth. Price justification only comes into it if you are budgeting or are a tight-wad or have difficulty justifying the prices for the best mobile computing experience currently available via Alienware.

Just because you could buy two low end M17x's for the cost of a great M18x does not make for a good (or justifiable) debate for someone wanting a high performance machine. I could use the same kind of analogy -I could say to someone, who's always dreamt of owning a Mercedes, that they could have bought four Ford's for the cost of that Mercedes - at the end of they day, if that person wants a Mercedes, because they liked the elegance or whatever, then telling them that they could have had four Ford's for the same price isn't gonna make them feel happy about owning four Ford's, is it?

If you are happy with four lots of lesser, then that's your lookout. If you are content in fooling yourself into thinking that an M17x with a 3630qm and a single 675m makes for (in your words) a "hardcore gaming machine", then that's fine, I don't personally have an issue with that, but just don't try and mislead others into the same daydream - they come seeking impartial advice and impartial advice should be given.