Need help configuring m15x for gaming/college

So I've finally decided on getting an m15x laptop, but unfortunately my budget isn't too high. I really want to stay in the 1500-2200$ range. Primarily, I'm going to be playing games and doing college work (presentations, reports, essays, etc.) on the laptop. I'm hoping the computer will last hopefully through college and will be able to play some of the next-gen games coming out (not too resource demanding ones like Crysis, but something like WoW: WOTLK).So with that being said, could any of you computer specialists customize a laptop for me that can play games like World of Warcraft and COD 4 smoothly, but stay within my budget? I accept that I won't be able to get the most insane graphics card or the best processor, I just need help determining which ones from the middle I should pick.

Also, if there are better options for me out there, feel free to post them here.

Thanks in advance.



EDIT: I see some people buying the m15x in stock condition and buying the RAM/upgrading the graphics card on their own, and I think this will be the best solution for my budget. So what I'm thinking is:

15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
120GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
I'll buy a Smartbay battery later with a discount
8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design

Total : around 1850$

Should I get the 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8700M GT or the 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT? I will be upgrading my graphics card to a 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800M GTX from somewhere cheaper after I get the system, so which one should I get to keep me busy while I grab the 8800 GTX?
Also, I'm going to be upgrading my RAM and grpahics card, but will I be able to do this on my own? Or since I'm a noobie should I take it to a store?

If you have any comments/suggestions feel to free to post them here

 

oh so you finally decided to go for m15x? it's gonna be tight to config one with 8800m gtx under $2200. don't forget to apply your student discount tho.

 

I'm also in the same sort of situation, but my budget is closer to around $2700. I hope you find what you're looking for!

 

im in same situation. im typing w/ one hand, btw...


t9300 proc
8700 card
4gb ram
alienfx lighting

^ my build, im still waiting on black colored m15x tho.

 

\

do you plan on getting smart bay accessories? are you planning to get the 8800 or 8700. and do you do cpu intensive task?

if you dont plan on getting smart bay and plan on the 8800 this is the build i can come up with out of my head.

you can get 8800m gtx
2.5 ghz t9300
1 gig of ram -> upgrade to 4 with new egg
120 gig 7200 rpm hard drive
$2249 before taxes and shipping
after taxes and shipping it would probably be around 2500.

 

@RES - Forget the 4GB of ram from AW and upgrade yourself. If buy from newegg.com you can save yourself a good $300 - $400 depending on what AW charges these days.

@OP - I don't want to sound like a fanboy but you should really go for the Clevo / Sager 15" notebook. I was looking at a config. for it and it is much cheaper than the AW. In addition, if you don't have the money for the 8800GTX you can get the 9800GTS which is $150 cheaper than the 8800GTX but it sure beats the hell out of the 8700GT.

 

No smart bay. The only "extras" I'll be getting, apart from the main pieces, will be the Illuminated keyboard ^_^.


Nirvana: around how much is the student discount?

 

it is 5% off

 

be careful with that PCMW page though, the prices they have up there include a $500 memorial day discount on now (and will be gone by tuesday), so really the model they have up there will be more like $2300-2500 normally

 

@GRB - Yea I didn't see that. Hmm well I would wait as long as you can before you buy the notebook so you can see other 15" notebooks which should come out this summer.

 

5%. i rarely use the Illuminated keyboard on my MBP.

 

That was my intention, but my notebook is failing fast and I need to order a new one soon. Woe is me!

 

yeah, I would still agree with waiting if you can

 

Well, think of it this way, it appears that the clevo will come in at a couple hundred bucks less than the m15x (based off PCMW's *normal* prices) and be, on average, 10-15% more powerful than the m15x. If you're willing to swallow those drawbacks, are willing to take the risk of receiving a lemon (hard to say your chances of that but there are horror stories) and you really like the m15x's looks, then go with the m15x. Personally, I would still probably be inclined to take the m15x thanks to its looks, the quicker delivery and the incredible power saving options for long battery life (approx. 7 hours with all power saving on and with a SB battery).

 

@GRB - I think you meant 4 hours. There is NO way that the M15x is getting 7 hours of battery life. I think one user got around 4 - 4h30m with his sb battery.

 

on integrated and power saver you could get 7 hrs with smartbay. 4 hours if you have the single battery in there.

 

Thanks for the advice GRB! I think I am going to go with the M15x, in part because it is the notebook I keep coming back to look at after going through them all.

 

That's right. tacomenace posted a screenshot of 7 hours (windows estimate) with all power savings on and with two batteries (primary + SB). And we're talkin about things like turning off AlienFX, etc.

 

But the Clevo also has an intergrated GPU. All Montenova notebooks will. Before you order the m15x I HIGHLY suggest you look through the m860tu thread. I was going for it to but the Clevo seems to be much better. And I think the Clevo looks better, not as flashy.

 

That's fine, and I already mentioned that fact, but the m15x still goes farther in regards to power savings. Just the fact that it has a smartbay and can have a secondary battery gives the m15x an advantage, but there's also the other aspects like stealth mode. Anyway, I think I fairly outlined the performance and cost disadvantages to him and he seemed to accept them -- believe me, I know how much pressure a soon-to-fail computer can have on your purchases (I had one for a year and a half before I got my m15x!).

Again, if he really could, I would agree with waiting. But, since he doesn't want to, and he's fine with the consequences, then I think he's making a fair choice.

For the record, I dug tacomenace's screenshot out (note how the AlienFX is disabled -- red alienhead):

 

I'm a girl.

Secondly, the Clevo does look good, for unfortunately for me it's a matter: 'Can I wait the summer and get a computer that runs 15% better and is a bit cheaper, or should I order something I can get in less than a month before my computer pulls an Old Yeller'? Especially considering I'm both a full time student and work full time during the summer, I to know that I'll have something coming before my first final.

I haven't made a final decision yet, I'll be making it tomorrow. I want to talk to a friend of mine who is somewhat of an expert, but he's been out sick and has only been able to e-mail me.

 

heh, sorry about that. common assumption on boards like this

 

Both PCMW and Eurocom jumped the gun with the M860TU. All pricing and specification information from their sites should be taken with a grain of salt. The notebook is not likely to ship until the end of June/early July, as Montevina is not even launched yet.

For $2,200, I'd recommend the AlienFX lighted keyboard and the WUXGA/8700M-GT display OR WXGA+/8800M-GTX. I personally would go for the higher-resolution display since you get more screen real estate. I find that my productivity goes up dramatically with higher-resolution screens.

 

No worries, sorry if I came off as rude. I always assume people will know I'm female .

 

@GRB - I know that the windows power estimate says 7hrs, but I've seen some crazy power estimates from windows that are not even close to accurate. The only battery test I've seen here is from (I forget who) who got around 4 - 4h30m of battery life.

 

yeah, I'll admit we are just going off the windows estimate. However I did talk to tacomenace and he didn't indicate in any way that the 7 hour estimate was incorrect.

when he comes back it would be nice if he could clarify if this 7 hour prediction was actually true

 

I can get 4 hours on one battery while doing word processing.

 

I know what you mean. My pc is on it's last legs. It's over 5 years old and ends programs i think due to overheating (the fans don't work properly and sometimes make weird clunking sounds ) It also has moments when it decides it can not detect a mouse, screen, keyboard, speakers or just about any external plug in. oh yeah and the internet connection is a bit dodgy to.

I would like to wait for the M860TU, but i'm not sure my pc will last another couple of months so i'm seriously considering the m15x.

 

would you also take 17 inch notebooks in consideration or do you like to portability? if you are willing to take 17 inch note books into consideration, the sager and dell m1730 seems to be good notebooks too. i just dont like them since i think they look kind of ugly.

 

I did look at 17" notebooks, but as I'm looking for something i can not only play games on but also take with me to use for work, I want a portable desktop replacement and the new gen of 15.4" notebooks that are starting to emerge are ideal for this.

I did actually look at the m1730 and you're right, the m15x not only looks better, but it will hopefully be easier to carry around. It also has the smart bay and the extra battery life I can get with this when on the road is a big plus. The fact i can also get music and films on separate SB HDD's is useful to.

 

From my experience, at least with a P4 and XP, you should take those battery estimate with a grain of salt. You'd see 7 hours battery life and next thing you know if you look a few minutes later it drops to 4 or 5 hours. I never considered those things accurate and would actually be more helpful if people actually TIMED the battery life of their systems with a stop watch to get the real time of operation.

Also, best of luck with your purchase, I've held off from alienware due to outdated technology and a list of customer relations and delivery problems and I hope for the best with you and that you to not experience any of these incidents.

 

Ok I've talked about this before I've never actually gotten 7hrs of battery. To be honest I've never tested how far I could go on battery but I have gotten 5 hrs before turning everything off being on integrated and typing in a terminal program. One day I'll test how far I can actually go

 

im afriad your budget is too low for a AW

 

alright, thanks for the clarification

 

I see some people buying the m15x in stock condition and buying the RAM/upgrading the graphics card on their own, and I think this will be the best solution for my budget. So what I'm thinking is:

15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
120GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
I'll buy a Smartbay battery later with a discount
8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design

Total : around 1850$

Should I get the 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8700M GT or the 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT? I will be upgrading my graphics card to a 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800M GTX from somewhere cheaper after I get the system, so which one should I get to keep me busy while I grab the 8800 GTX?
Also, I'm going to be upgrading my RAM and grpahics card, but will I be able to do this on my own? Or since I'm a noobie should I take it to a store?

If you have any comments/suggestions feel to free to post them here

 

Hmm well it depends on how long it will take for you to get the 8800GTX. Basically, if you are going to be using a 8600GT, the system is basically just a Dell M1530 wrapped up in a nice case.

I would recommend the 8600GT to save money. However, purchase the 8800GTX as quick as possible since it is really the only reason to have this powerful of a notebook.

 

I just can't help but thinking...

If i was back in school...

What the HECK WOULD I DO IF I HAD TO SEND THE DARN THING IN and ALIENWARE TOOK 2-4 WEEKS TO FIX IT AND GET IT BACK TO ME?!?!?!?

I mean seriously.

That's why for any family member graduating High School and heading off to college i STRICTLY recommend Dell with a 4 year warranty and COMPLETE CARE. THE onsite repair (usually 1-3 days turnaround) and accidental damage coverage is WELL WORTH IT.

Just a thought, cause i would hate for you to NEED your computer for a huge paper or presentation or project only for it to be "back at the mothership". Something to think about...