New Alienware m17 discussion

I am going to wait and see because I really do like the pricing on the m17 and I like the fact that it has the montevina chipset.

 

Hey guys,

correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't the alienware M17 just a flextronics W840DI platform with an alienware screen on top? I feel that in that case, I could save up to $400+ when buying the same setup from the smaller companies i.e. rkcomputers/killernotebooks/digitalstorm etc.

EDIT: Just noticed that they don't have a turbo memory option, or 1333mhz RAM sticks. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

 

people seem to be finding that AW is cheaper compared to other places selling the same specs - but i guess it depends on tax and everything as well

 

Yes the M17 is like the older AW's that were based off of the D900 chassis. However, this time around AW's pricing is better.

 

oh, go hate somewhere else.

the m17 starts at 1399, which is very reasonable. specced to be comparable with KN's version (dual GPUs, same HDD and RAM, 2.53ghz CPU), the m17 costs 2424$, the KN model 2899$. AW beats that by almost half a grand.

EDIT: the same specs cost 2453$ at XoticPC. AW beats that as well.

to use a four-letter-combo i rarely even consider typing, STFU.

 

way to go whizzo

 

Jelly I know this is random but when you quoted Whizzo you changed "by" to "my".

 

nope, i edited it after i saw my mistake in his quote

 

Nicely said.

And the fact that it does Canadian order smoothly and support too.

 

all alienwares are just OEM laptops changed inot the alienware brand. The m17X is a good price for an alienware, theres nothing wrong with it.

 

The chipset can't even utilize 1333Mhz RAM, so that's irrelevant -> Marketing gimmick.

But AW's tax on the sale does even out the price comparisons.

Oh, and AW is probably saving you money by not offering the turbo memory. That stuff is useless, except for maybe Photoshop.

 

not quite true, the m15x and m17x are AW-proprietary designs, made by Quanta only for AW.

 

first off, im no hater. alienware's done some really cool things in the past (i.e. m15x with 8800m gtx first 15" notebook to pack that). I'm just saying that I remember the days in the start of the 21st century when alienware didn't yet sell out to dell. Those were pretty **** cool setups they had. Eitherways, as far as K|N is concerned, I just find people saying the quality of the build, service, and customer attention in general is far superior to alienware, not to mention that you get overclocking and core optimization utilities only from K|N pre-installed on pretty much every system they got.

 

well we don't know yet if the m17 is "not overclockable", so you can't use that as an argument.

PS: "core optimization utilities" sounds very generic... care to explain?

 

any chnace they would sell these utilities to users that dont have the Nagamaki - i think the M17 looks nicer but i would like the overclock-ability and optimization KN offers

 

whizzo, its a program built for K|N that lets you create profiles that take COMPLETE control of every core you cpu's got and where you want it to go and do stuff. Setting up a program with it takes about 20 seconds or so. here's the link: http://www.killernotebooks.com/multi_core_processors.html#KNCOP bottom of that page explains it better. You can ask on the forums or call up Mark, his cell number's on the website.

 

hmm, interesting. yet it says nothing about how it actually works. shame.

 

as i said earlier, call up mark if you want extra details or have him call you up, you can post him via guruofgaming forums, his username is killernotebooks, or call his cell up, the number is posted on the website.

 

@Shmurr - Before AW "sold out to dell" their designs weren't as widespread. The M5500 and M5550 were based off of the Uniwill P71 / P72 chassis and the M5750 was based off of the Clevo D900K. They have actually become more innovative.

Honestly I don't see how you can fault them for the M17. They made a smart move and I for one (as much as I hate alienware) will say that they made a good move.

 

Without Dell, I don`t think AW can sell this notebook so cheap and basically wipe the competition in Canada. I also think this move will bring AW`s brand to more public and gain decent market share.

 

the m17 is technically not oc able because the bios is locked i know this because i asked. also if u overclock anything the warronty is voided.

 

The only thing I can critique, from a business standpoint, is why AW would cause such stiff competition in its own product line. I'm referring to, of course, the m17x, which starts at $2400, and jumps to $3100 if you want a comparable
dual card solution. Juxtupose that configuration to the m17 where, on top of the 2x 3870s and WUXGA, you'll need to choose an extreme level processor (X9100 to QX9300) and the Blu-ray drive to get anywhere near that pricepoint.

I just don't understand why you undercut your own product in such an absurd manner.

 

Maybe now it's a good time to stock up the market share while put out the AW brand. Seriously, AW just wiped the competition in Canada.

 

That's the only thing I have against Alienware (locking multipliers even for an Extreme processor). It really defeats the purpose of buying an Extreme processor and paying the premium to have those unlocked multipliers.

 

Actually, the turbomem isnt even supported in the whitebook yet, so it won't even help PS.


And like he said Whizzo, give Mark at K|N a call, he's a great guy, and very helpful. I've got his cell number if you need it, PM me.

 

The reason is probably very simple. The M17X just isn't selling while the M9750, even with older tech, is still selling well. Now you have the M17 that will sell even better than the M9750 because of the updated tech and in the end your now selling more product and making more money. They keep the M17x in the lineup because there will still be some people that want what it has to offer and you already have the parts so its not costing them anything to keep it. They will now probably phase out the m9750 as their stock depletes and stops selling because the M17 is in the same ballpark price wise. In the end its a good business decision on Alienwares part.

 

If the M17 just as good or better than the m17x then I would buy it, but it seems like ATI's drivers are not optimised to that point yet so I am going to wait and see.

 

It's interesting to see Alienware to sell the whitebook, especially considering 4850 and 4870 are coming.

 

I cant wait for the 4850 and the 4870 those are gonna outperform the 9000 series at a cheaper price !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Sorry guys probably silly question take into consideration i have never bought a gaming laptop before but should i really care what size processor i get because to be honest i'm not really looking to go over the 2.53Ghz processor.

 

You are probably asking in a wrong thread.
and you didn't tell us what you use your notebook for.

 

I have a few M17 upgrade questions, maybe you have some insight...

1. Does anyone have any idea how difficult or possible it would be to add a 2nd video card if i got the single 3870?

I mean does the single version use a different mobo or have some other proprietary technology besides just plugging the new card in?

2. Is upgrading the processor a big deal (as long as it is one of the ones i already know it can support)? I am really not clear if the T9400 (2.53) is really $250 better than the base P8400 (2.26). I mean how many FPS in Crysis might this translate to?

3. Does anyone know if adding a 2nd hard drive would require any special cage, screws, or cables that wouldn't come with-- say a WD notebook drive from Newegg?

4. THIS IS THE BIG QUESTION -- Does anyone have any idea if the 4000 series ATI cards will be plug and play?

Thanks for reading and I really appreciate any insight you can offer!

 

Now I'm not the smartest, but if I am wrong, someone will correct me.

 

Depends how much of the M17 is stock OCZ Whitebook.

The Whitebook is a barebone system that lets you upgrade GPUs, CPU, and HDs easily.

The test Mobility 4000 GPUs that have been shown by ATI were MXM so it's likely someone will make them for the OCZ Whitebook. If they make them then upgrading should be as easy as upgrading your GPUs in a desktop.

 

M17 = Whitebook with a custom lid, BIOS and Keyboard.

 

Thanks for the super quick response! I was hoping to grab one super cheap and then upgrade it later if i was happy, but sounds like i may need to get crossfire at least to help future-proof.

 

I think adding a second card is just a matter of installing then plugging in the Crossfire cable, but I'm more of a singe gpu guru.

 

That is what i was hoping for. My dream scenario would be to get a single 3870 and then replace it with a 4850 or 4870 in like 6months or so.

It did not occur to me that i might not be able to jump from Dual to Quad CPU by just popping in a new chip though...

 

Well I know that the resellers had to order them by single or dual cards, I think the cards have to be integrated into the motherboard by OCZ, not certain though.

 

E-wrecked looked inside his, and said that nothing was soldered. I'll try to confirm.

 

There you have it, Thanx E. and Kevin.

 

Thanks, I really appreciate the help!

 

does it only come in the skullcap design?

 

so far yes from what i see....

 

**** it i dont like the skullcap design, i hope they release the ripley design for it soon

 

I wonder when them m17 will have dual 4870's

 

Yes sir, the cards are not soldered. Both of them use the MXM-III form factor and may be possible to upgrade in the future. Also it has an MXM-HE port for just one of the cards, where a future upgrade to 1 9800M GTX will be possible (the 2nd MXM slot can hold MXM-I, II and III, but not MXM-HE).

 

I want 4870s so I can get sli 9800 gtx performance for cheaper prices with montevina

 

i dont think the 4000 series comes out till next year since the 3000 was just released a month ago but i could be wrong :/

 

Well, we might be lucky; the MSI GT725 already has the ATi Mobility 4850, but with DDR2 memory.