Returning M17 for M17x

Is it worth it I would get the 8600 on SLI then upgrade on Xmas for the 9800 On SLI but the DDR2 Ram is holding me back at 667mhz?


Should I do it?

Specs would be



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[1] Area-51® m17x

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8600M GT – SLI Enabled
Display: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology – Black
Includes AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design!
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Blue
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 160GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Turbo Cache Memory: Intel® Turbo Memory (1GB) – Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
Available on Windows Vista Only!
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Onsite Service and 24/7 Toll-Free Phone Support
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Personalized Nameplate
Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m17x Protective Cloth Sleeve
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m17x Keyboard Diagram Overlay
Avatar: Alienhead 3D
Window Style: Default Window Style
Mouse Pointers: Standard Mouse Pointers
Power Plan: Standard Power Plan
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Time Zones: (GMT - 5.00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

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I would upgrade ram on my own.

 

Buying two 9800s later will be expensive. It will probably be more cost effective to upgrade to one 9800 now, then buy the second card later.

 

I have to agree with Kevin here, get the a single 9800M GT at least.

You can also drop the Turbo Memory

 

No. The M17 you already have is a beast. Why is everyone jumping ship on the M17? It's only a month old.

 

cause turbod the m17 has many bugs glitches and the build quality isnt as good as its brother the m17x. plus you have voided your warranty now and i bet you will be complaining when something goes wrong :/

 

OK. Do what you have to do. Seriously though, one month old. The bugs and glitches will get worked out.

I won't complain about anything. I intentionally voided my crappy 1 year AW warranty, which is impossible to get them to honor anyhow.

 

I am curious as to why you wish to return the M17 for the M17x?

What factors are causing this. Like Turbo said, the M17 is just now shipping, and AW has told several of us (me included) they did have a quality issue with a supplier (who has not been replaced).

I too have been looking at the 17x with dual nvidias vs 17 with dual ATI's. TO me, the one deciding factor FOR the m17 is that is setup for the 64 bit world. Granted, not many are making use of it, but that will change.

Thanks for any insight you wish to share.

Bob

 

i think the M17x has reached its technical limits and the M17 will be upgradeable for some time...

i wouldnt switch

 

m17x is way more expensive.

 

especially in canada there is a $800 difference in price not worth it IMO! That $800 you could buy like two 128gb SSD's

 

anything new and just off the product line has glitches and issues Jelly...get over it already....

 

Well, I got my M17 just yesterday and already played the games I played with my M17x. I returned my M17x last month due to the new M17. I had two 9800 GT cards. After playing with both I can honestly say the M17x is faster at all my games. Including Crysis. However the reason why I think part of that is due to the maturity of ati 3870 drivers.

M17x was a much nicer notebook in terms of looks and build quality

 

how about price difference?

 

people always complained becuase AW did not have a book at a price they could afford. they always said that AW should offer a less expensive model with good gaming capabilties...
well, AW came out with one, and in good time for a good price with up to date hardware and the like.
now all of a sudden, its not good enough...

make up your minds please....either stop complaining because the systems are too expensive or stop complaining becuase all of a sudden the less expensive model is not a 6000.00 machine...

you asked, AW provided...now all of a sudden AW cant do that right in your eyes...
no wonder companies get upset at consumers...

 

well said ryujin

 

I agree. I never thought of it that way, but you're absolutely right. Nicely put.

 

I was one of the frist that had the M17X. The only problem I had was keyboard lighting went out. Which was one trip to alienware. But the M17X has a good build quality and the space up to 1.5tb is good. Oh the Upgrade from 8600gt to 9800gt cost was not that bad. That if they send you the right part.

My frist laptop M5550 was one of my worse exp.

 

I think one of the problem is that some people are spending $4k+ for this notebook, which might make their expectation very high and it's understandable.

For me, I only spend around $2100 CAD including tax and shipping, and I get the same build quality as the one at $4k+. In Canada, $2100 CAD can't get much, and the build quality of this is better than ANY laptop at this price range. Maybe the new Asus g71g is the closest, which I am thinking about getting right now.

 

Well I like everything about the 17x but I dont like that its DDR2 Ram at 667Mhz I am staying with the m17 I will be doing Ram and CPU upgrade sometime this month.

 

Not I. $4,300 Canadian. My expectations are neutral at best.

- F

 

$1510 extra for your cpu on top of the P8400.... That's freaking about $1900 for a freaking cpu.

why need lightscribe? you got the lightscribe dvd disc?

 

For those concerned about the GPU of the M17, the 4870s will be available as an upgrade for this next year.

 

Confirmed from AW roswell or your guess?

 

fusion if you look in the ocz ewrecked confirmed it. for ocz atleast but sam difference

 

o thx, i did read the ocz forum actually.

OCZ may supports it doesn't mean AW will support it.
It may required an update bios, you can flash ocz bios and void warranty. May not supported by AW bios, and AW may not offer such upgrade anyways.

 

The 4870s will be available for the OCZ Whitebook, not its Alienware rebrand, next year Q2. Don't know if Alienware will allow any upgrading, I doubt it though.

 

Eh, Q2 is a long while from now. I'm sure that gives Alienware a lot of time to speculate on what they want to do next.

 

The problem is AW now has real competition and the notebook gaming market is no longer a "boutique" section. They have competition from top to bottom and their products are no longer awe inspiring for the prices they sometimes command. The laptop market is outpacing the desktop market and there is a reason AW/Voodoo coasted along till suddenly the big boys swooped in and swallowed them up.

The "lesser" cost is in the context of what? Other 840 vendors? Lesser, in this case, merely means "actually competitive" with similar hardware available elsewhere. Like suddenly Alienware offering cookie cutter hardware and software at a competitive price is a reason to rejoice? Alienware truly is off the shelf hardware with an off the shelf OS. They are rebranded OEM items (except the M15x (Hinges Away!)/17x) with a poor warranty transfer program, locked BIOS (way to stay cutting edge AW!) and in many cases costing more than they can be had elsewhere.

I'm not saying just about 99% of notebook VARs aren't doing the same thing, but let's not act like Alienware is something still special. They don't even really push to sell tweaked gear anymore that sets them truly apart. Decent hardware? absolutely. No more; no less.

You mean the other way around. Last time I checked, companies can't exist without happy consumers. As the laptop market grows (yet saturates), and other players continue to push the price point down for real notebooks, Alienware will find themselves either needing to shape up or ship out. I'm sure you love your M15x and it has been the tool of most righteous destruction and the bane of many a player in Lineage 2 ; I can't stop you from drinking the Alienware fruit punch 24/7 (which I'm sure if you peel off the AW branding, there is a picture of the Kool-Aid dude underneath), but I can at least tell you to spit it out when no one is looking.

 

Factor the taxes out of that. CPU still expensive, I know, but bleeding edge wasn't ever inexpensive.

Nope, but it'll add that extra touch to any movies I'll inevitably pirate for myself or friends.

 

well, what is the difference between the GPUs in the OCZ and in Alienware? I guarantee you that Alienware will offer the 48xx as an upgrade around the same time as they start shipping for the OCZ.