Need help customizing laptop!

I didn't exactly know which area to put this in, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with the alienware thread (since its an alienware laptop) anyways...

This summer I will have 2 jobs, which means around 6 grand of cash to work with, and I've decided that with the extra I will be getting a gaming PC, but I only want to spend around $2,500 - $2,750

Now, to give you guys a little background info, I am planning on getting the Area-51 m15x Mobile Gaming Notebook. I will be using it for blu-ray movies, music, and PC Games (obviously) I want to be able to play it at home, but then take it on the road with me and play in the car.

As far as performance, I don't want to spend 3 grand on the PC alone, and I am fairly (did all the research today) confident my choices will fit me nicely, besides a few that I'm stuck on.

This is where you guys come in, please look at my choices and comments for each piece of hardware and tell me if what I have is right (not enough, just right, or wasting money on useless stuff)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Display

Choose your display resolution or click on the More Info link below to learn more.

I'm not exactly sure about my choice here, I picked the 1920 x 1200 because I want my blu-ray and games to look good, but will it look any better than the 1440 x 900 with the graphics card I have chosen???

[ ] 15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
[X] 15.4" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphics Card

BinaryGFX technology, a standard feature on your Area-51 m15x, allows you to toggle between high-performance graphics and integrated graphics to reduce power consumption, increasing battery life during low intensity tasks.

I'm confident with my choice here, the card I have chosen exceeds the recommended requirements for most games.

[ ] 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870
[x] 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT
[ ] 512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 3600M
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processor

The CPU is the main engine of your PC. Faster CPUs with more cache can take on increased workloads with more complex applications

I'm going to go with the 2.5 because the processor is not something I want to be cheap on, just one question though. One of the games I have requires "3 GHz Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 3000" the crappy laptop I am typing this on has a "Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83GHz" processor, and on the "Can You RUN It
?" website I pass the test, will the 2.5 GHz intel be better than the 3 GHz Pentium 4?

[ ] Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 2.1GHz (3MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
[ ] Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 2.4GHz (3MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
[x] Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
[ ] Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9500 2.6GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
[ ] Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating System

Upgrade to 8GB of memory by selecting a Windows Vista 64-bit Edition operating system.

Don't see the need for ultimate, but do I want the 64 bit?

[ ]Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack
[x]Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1
[ ]Windows Vista® Ultimate with Service Pack 1
[ ] Windows Vista® Ultimate (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory

Memory stores data during use. More memory increases multitasking by allowing you to access additional applications simultaneously.

Most games only require 1 - 1.5 GB of ram, but should I get the 4???

[ ]2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 1024MB
[x]4GB« Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB
[ ]8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 4096MB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turbo Cache Memory

(not available win windows vista 64 bit OS)

Is this something I need? Should I get rid of the 64 bit?

[ ]Intel® Turbo Cache Memory (1GB)
[x]None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
System Drive

Hard drives store all saved content in your computer. Choose a higher capacity to store all your photos, music and movies.

I went with the 320 because I almost have this 180 GB laptop full, and I don't have any PC games on it.

[ ]160GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
[ ]250GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
[x]320GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
[ ]500GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
[ ]128GB Solid State Drive
[ ]256GB Solid State Drive
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smart Bay

For additional storage capacity, slide out the optical drive and slide in a hot-swappable hard drive.

I don't think I really need one of these....

[ ]250GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) Smart Bay w/ Free Fall Protection
[ ]320GB 5,400RPM (8MB Cache) Smart Bay
[ ]400GB 5,400RPM (8MB Cache) Smart Bay
[ ]500GB 5,400RPM (8MB Cache) Smart Bay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optical Drive

Optical drives include CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc® drives. Increase your storage capacity and watch HD movies with Blu-ray.

I want this laptop to play blu-ray, but will this drive be enough to play games or do I need the 2x?

[ ]8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
[ ]8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW) w/ LightScribe Technology
[x]Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
[ ]2x Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Burner (BD-R, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Battery

I would like a 10 hour battery, so I'm assuming go with the 9 cell??

[ ]Additional Battery – 6-cell Smart Bay Battery
[x]Additional Battery – 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Have you checked this out yet:

https://www.allpowerful.com/

You might want to wait a little longer as you may have more/newer choices.

-Rob

 

why would you want to spend so much money on a 15inch?

 

Yea, I can't get it for awhile anyways, I'm just trying to get educated on what type of things I should put in it.

I don't, but I want it to perform well, and I want the blu-ray player.

 

have you checked the asus w90?

 

If he does that he'll need to visit the Samsonite store too! lol

 

How well will my blu-ray discs and PC games look/play on my computer?

Model: Alienware - Area-51 m17x
Graphics Card - 512MB Nvidia® GeForce™ Go 8700M GT
Display - 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology
Processor - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 2.1GHz (3MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
OS - Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1
Ram - 2GB
System Drive - 350 GB
Optical Drive - Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)

 

Well maybe I should stray away from alienware then....

 

Lol. but i think it come with a bag

what are you looking for in a laptop?

 

10 hour battery?!?! If you want that buy a netbook....

 

movies will look good, but what games are you planning to play on the notebook?

 

Well I'm not sure what that addition battery is, is it an external thing that you swap out, if so, its not that bad of an estimate, I told you, I wasn't sure...

 

GTA IV, R6V2, and maybe some call of duty...

 

Probably not something that requires 2 people to carry and a stretch limo so he can open it up in the car . If your looking for something remotely portable i would go with the clevo/sager 8662 . Its a 15incher with a 260mGTX Quadcore capable and is fairly portable and priced very reasonably .

 

yeah i was going to recommend him the sager if he wanted a 15in. Lol.

 

GTA will not run so well, that's the nature of the beast. RB6 and CoD will run fine at ~1280x800. Did you just buy this notebook recently? Used I hope?

 

Yeah and we've got what, 17...18 days till we see what new rigs there are from Alienware?

 

Nope, but those are the bare minimum options for the comp I was customizing, I'm trying to figure out what I need.

 

Woah, just wondering guys, is there anything wrong with XPS??? Because I can get all of the below for a little over 2 grand...

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-bit
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE Speed: 250GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM)
VIDEO CARD NVIDIA® SLI™ Dual GeForce® 9800M GT 1GB GDDR3
WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
BATTERY OPTIONS 9-cell Primary Battery and 9-cell additional Lithium Ion Battery
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
CABLES AND ACCESSORIES Multimedia Cable Kit

 

Its a total HAWG but other then that nope its a very nice machine. Id say take a look at the sager i mentioned or do what Rob41 said and just wait 2 weeks longer and take a look at what alienwares new offering might be. The m15x is a nice machine but buy todays standards its old tech so i would not invest my hard earned money on something like that , especially if you have to work 2 jobs to pay for it The XPS while nice is old tech as well and there cheap now because there making room for the new ones.

 

That laptop is using old components and is overpriced, don't buy it. To understand what exactly you want and your pricerange, I suggest you fill out the app in the "what notebook should I buy?" forum.

 

Yea, I like it, and with all the extras its still only 2 grand, this is gonna be a tough decision...

 

I strongly advise against buying that laptop too. You can get much better.

 

Dell still selling old, overpriced junk. How NOT surprising.

Don't buy that, it's rubbish, especially for whatever Alienware's going to charge for it.

 

Agreed, look at Sager notebooks. You can probably get a better, more up-to-date setup for the same price.

 

Or look into M17 instead... but I have to agree, try first filling out the questionnaire at What Should I Buy? sub-forum.

 

as an ex m15x owner i would strongly take the advice above and think again.
after a 19 day nightmare i relaced it with the sager/clevo m860tu and havnt looked back since and it was £300/$600 cheaper with higher spec components.

 

if you configure it in the ling in my sig its only 999