Questions about this M17x Config

hey everyone, I'm about to pull the trigger on this config:



I was hoping you guys could give me some advice on what to expect temperature wise. I want this system to last for a long time. Am I going to need a notebook cooler or any other special set up?

Any other recommendations on the config would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Unless you have some specific reason in mind to get 8gigs of RAM i would nix that for 4gigs and maybe upgrade your warranty.. If they have the RGB LED screen i would also look into that as well...

As for temps know one has one yet that has reported how hot or cool it runs but those questions should be answered in the next couple days....

 

Everything seems fine (maybe 4 gigs instead of 8), go for the RGB LED display though. Which med school in Pakistan are you at? Aga Khan?

 

I have a couple of cad and medical programs that I like to run simultaneously which is my main reason for the ram. 4gigs would actually be alright but leave very little left over.

The RGB screen-- how much better would you say the quality is? Am I getting a better quality screen or a more power efficient screen? And is it worth the 100 dollars?

I forgot to upgrade the warranty actually-- fixing that right now to 3 years.

Thanks a lot for the help, much appreciated.

Edit: Just graduated from Shifa college of medicine a few months ago. Now back home in California

 

Surprisingly, my R2 system with the 920xm runs cool even at peak gaming. Temperatures around, 45-50°C during normal usage and 70-80°C during gaming. Hope this helps.

 

CPU or GPU?

 

Get the RGB, it's definitely worth the upgrade. Isn't it supposed to be 50% of what the R2 is about? lol

 

The RGB LED screen gives a better color gamut, brightness and screen uniformity. It's definitely worth the upgrade cost. Congrats on finishing, 5 years is a pretty big commitment. I recently finished the Step 1 as well

 

CPU temp at stock settings.

 

Was not loud when both GPU fans were blasting along side the CPU fan during a gaming session ?...

 

I tried the highest settings for l4d2, cod:mw2, and dirt 2 at stock last night. Only dirt 2 strained the gpus a lil, but that was 30 minutes into gaming. As for l4d2 and cod:mw2, i'd say after 1 hr++ into gaming the fans started getting louder, but it was ok. Initially i prepared a cooling pad for it but end up not using it. lol

 

I say the best way to go in this situation since your actually one of the few to benefit from more RAM. I would downgrade to 6 GB ram and then upgrade to the RGB LED

 

Ahh ok well hopefully they used some quieter fans this round though im not holding my breath ... Guess ill find out soon enough but thanks for the reply ...

 

Lots of great input-- thanks guys! (And congrats on the step one 5150 Joker!)

Is it going to be easy for me to control fan speed manually? If I crank them up to full speed when I'm gaming is it going to get me significantly cooler temps? Also, does the fan ever reach it's full capable speed? I have an older system where manually I can get the fan speed to about 5,000 RPM whereas normally, even at high temperatures (75+) the fan speed never went above 3,500 RPM.

I'll definitely upgrade the screen. Also, does anyone have any experience with the SSD's that are supplied with the M17x? What's the skinny on those?

 

If they're using the same fans as the M15x, they're pretty decent. It never really got loud for me even under max load.

The fans are controlled by the bios so you don't have to worry about it. As for SSD, Dell uses a Samsung one. It's pretty decent though I'd recommend you save that money and buy one at retail (e.g. Intel X25-M or an OCZ [indilinx based] drive).

 

I'd say skip the dell SSD's, the Intel X-25M 160gb SSD is looking pretty good right now.

 

Awesome, thanks guys.

BTW, haven't owned an alienware before. Do they come with a lot of bloatware?

 

just ordered me one of those yesterday.

 

you need an RGB LED display and at least 1 year of advanced warranty. also, 8gigs of ram is not necessary, 4 will suffice.

 

please read through the whole thread


Also on the bloatware subject they do not come with any

 

Thanks guys, sounds good. I will get the warranty + RDB LED and buy an SSD from somewhere else. The Intel ones do look really good right now.

Thanks again for the help. Getting mine in black.

Any suggestions on a blu ray drive that will fit the M17x? I thought it would be an available upgrade on the Alienware site but apparently it's not.

 

woops - double post

 

If you order by phone you may well be able to get a Blu-Ray drive. Dell do a lot of stuff over the phone that they don't do on the website. Not to mention the fact that you can probably get a nice discount considering the amount you're going to be spending. They might be able to upgrade your warranty for free? It's worth a shot!