Questions before Purchase M17x

I have been looking around to replace my ageing desk top with a laptop, I have checked out the Sony AR series, alot of money for mid range laptop but it does suit my needs apart from a full keyboard, I've just started reading the reviews of the Alienware M17x, this looks like it might suite me better, Can users of the M17x advise what would be best for my needs.

I not gamer as rule more photo's film editing and converting to play back on different devices, is having dual 512mb graphics a benefit to me or would be In better suited opting for the dual 256mb

Does Vista Ultimate fully utilize 4 gig of RAM

Is the 2.6 Processor worth the extra £165 over the 2.5

The Blu-ray burner is must, what are the specs is?? it a Sony, I don't know of any other manufacture that produces Blu-Ray burners

Sound card, Being I will be watching Blu-ray movies while traveling how good is the sound from the speakers or would it be worth buying a decent set of head phones

Battery life, what is the expect usage time between charges

Build Quality and customer services, This would be my first purchase away from mainstream manufactures has does the build quality and CS compare with say Dell & Sony.

One last thing is there anywhere in UK where I view Alienware Laptops as I do like to view in the flesh before I hand over my hard earned cash

Any comments advice would be much appreciated.

 

frist of this setup not setup for vista 64 bit. It only 32 bit vista ultima. If your into game this machine is fine. Vista ultima will only use 3gb of ram.

The sound card on this system is killer.

The blue ray is unknown at this time for I have a low end setup.

Normal battery lifeI use about 2 Hours just on websites and music. If it the hot swap battery life It in the unknown for many people.

The case and such have been good. All the problems I had was a O key pop off.

 

to my knowledge, AW doesn't have any physical store locations in the UK. so you'll have to make do with the pictures from the website, unless of course you can find an owner in your area and take a look at his.

 

the processor is really up to you to decide i dont see a point in it i was fine with getting the T8300 but anyways the sound quality is great even at full volume no cracking or anything... i watch blu ray movies and they run perfect and that sound is nice through the regular speakers. Battery life matters what you are doing in non stealth mode the laptop gets just over an hour and a half while i was on the internet and watching a DVD. Build Quality is great there is a slight flex in the keyboard but that does not bother me... everything else is brilliant the look the feel the weight lighter than it looks ... Customer service i do not know about the CS in UK but the roswell crew is better than any other CS i have ever talked to (not including Apple of course) i have had a Dell and a Apple in the past and i hated the Dell (but everyone hates the low end dells) the macbook i still use to this day and it works great but no where near as powerful as my m17x... video card i think if your not gaming 8700GT is not a bad option if you ever wanna play a game at decent settings... 8600 aint bad either but its not that expensive of a jump

 

Thanks for comments guys, since going through the spec and seeing the comment about 32 bit vers 64 bit, I have few more questions.

Can AW be upgraded to 64 bit vista so that full use of 4gig ram can be used???

Has anyone hooked there AW with Blu-ray to a HD TV using HDMI out to AV receiver will it allow Hi-Def Audio i.e is the HDMI 1.3 compliant

Does it playback blu-ray movies at 1080p @24hz or is at 1080i @50 or 60hz via HDMI out

I'm based in Essex if anyone here is local to me and has a M17x would it be possible for to review your laptop

Sorry for the all questions, I just want to be clear in my mind before ordering.

 

yes you can upgrade to 64bit. easiest would be to use the microsoft upgrade service.

 

i thought AW did not recognise 64bit at the moment and if this is the case wouldnt it void his warranty if he upgraded.
also there are still lots of hardware not compatable with 64bit, ie,broadband,printers,scanners.

 

well you won't alienfx or command center, but i think some guys have upgraded to 64bit before.

 

64 bit will not void your warranty since it is a viable upgrade from microsoft of which AW is a reseller (for vista) and well it is true you will not be able to use command center or alien fx. I have used 64 bit and then 32 bit and i have not seen that big of a diff in the two versions and i think you are good with 32 bit imo... i do everything from gaming to video editing and i have not seen a big enough difference between the two to have a mind set on one or the other.

 

p.laver,
Have had my M17X for a couple of weeks now and very pleased with the performance. No problems like i had with my M15X. My rig has the 2.8 cpu and 8800m gtx gpu's. There were no cracks or other defects in the case, touch controls work fine, great screen, no down clocking or overheating when doing graphic intensive work or playing games. Sound is decent for a laptop. There is some keyboard flex bur i did not find it that bad. The only thing i did not like was the ac adapter. It is the size of a brick. Personally i prefer the M17X'x black matte finish rather than the M15X's glossy silver. i posted a pic comparing the 2 on the "My M17x has arrived thread" page 7.

 

the cd/dvd drives are made by sony so im going to guess that the blu ray drive AW uses are made by sony too. I am just assuming but it should be a pretty good chance for the blu ray drives to be made by sony.