So, your honest opinions, will I be happy?

The reasons I'm asking this are I intend to use this machine to replace, not supplement, my desktop, which I'll be selling to help fun the change; and I like my games haha

My desktop is in sig.

I'm intending to buy an M17 with the following spec:
1920x1200 screen (I prefer Ripley cover, but I think the Skullcap will offer more protection?)
P8400 (Which I will replace with a processor from ebay, likely a T9800/9900 or a X9100)
2GB RAM (Found a 4GB DDR3 1066 corsair SODIMM kit for half the price AW want)
4850 1GB Crossfire
160GB HD (Which I intend to swap out to 2x Western Digital Scorpio Black 320 or 500GB Scorpio Blue in RAID0)
DVDRW (will upgrade this in the future if I decide I must have Blu-ray; and will source a drive then)
All this upgrading will ofcourse also give me a chance to apply some Tuniq TX-2/3, AS5 or OCZ Freeze.

I'll of course be keeping the original parts incase of any warranty return issues.

The reasons I want to make the change are heat from my desktop; noise from my desktop (powerful fans keep it cool), power usage; I work of evening and weekend shifts so it'd be nice to take a powerful machine to work; and I'll be able to take it round my friends when we get a chance to get together around the 2 hour round trip drive, and work et al.

What do you reckon guys, will I be in love, or will I be a sad panda?

 

the laptop is gonna make noise when you play games on it ....

other then that you will be happy .... it will play games no problem

 

its a great laptop, and with the 4850's it will fly

but be warned under load with a decent cpu in it, it does get very noisy, really nothing you can do about it. If you put performance parts in it then you have to expect heat which translates to noise.

However bragging rights always seem to go with skullcap, regarding protection i dont let my baby get bashed regardless so i dont know

Swapping out the HDD, CPU, RAM is all easy as anything, Personally i wouldnt upchange to a Dual core, i would go Quad. As Quads are more and more powerful over applications then dual cores. More and more progs will utilise them as well. Regardless of teething issues, which lets face it AW will not fix in the M17 they will be focusing the R&D on the 17x replacement now with I7 mobile in it

Over all with the 4850 it will match the m17x with dual 280's without a doubt and be £2000 cheaper

 

I dont know...after having the Skullcap design now since February I do regret sometimes not getting the cleaner, sleeker Ripley design.
Make sure you make the right decision here though.
I love this machine as it keeps up with all my mates powerful desktops and will kick most of their asses when I get these HD4850s.

I still think if I was back at decision day I would get the M17x because Im sure oneday they will have 4870s which will make them even better.
What will be the price comparison between the M17 and M17X with your config?? thats the question.

good luck either way!

 

in the uk its never worth it the price difference is out of this world!!

 

I don't mind some noise when I'm driving it hard, especially not when Im gaming; my desktop is running about 5 high performance fans; plus a high end CPU cooler to keep the gubbins cool; its a pretty noisy setup; which is an arse if I want to say download something overnight, which is where my want to change comes from. I could rebuild a quiet, fast PC, but I'd end up spending a decent amount of money to get something seriously cooler for the same performance anyway.

Im still umming and ah-ing on the Quad upgrade, the trick is I don't want to find myself stuck with something that stutters/offers a less than smooth experience considering the money involved here. You've obviously been quite lucky with your quad; especially as it's clocked quite highly for you; but given my luck, I've got the horrid feeling I'll end up with one of the machines that'll stutter all the time; rather than one of the people out there who's never stutters; and in that regards, considering I only really use single/dual core optimised programmes bar 2 games, I can't help but think a cheaper, more reliable, higher overclocking dual core may be the one for me right now.

Alienware may not fix the stuttering themselves, but it doesn't mean a BIOS from someone else won't, or a fan fix may come around; for example an option so we can permanently up the PCI-E frequency to 102, which was seemed to be suggested as a fix in the other thread; given the availability of the chips, it also gives me an option to go dual now, and upgrade to quad when I see necessity; as the possibility of a stuttering machine would probably drive me mad haha

I have to be honest, the RAM and HDD will be my first priority for upgrading anything; a 2Ghz dual will be a system shock, but it'll be much less a limiting factor than the RAM etc; then a month or two down the line I can pull the trigger on that CPU upgrade

I am erring towards the Ripley, it looks that little bit more professional to me; the M17x is approximately another £500 over here though, so massively more expensive than the M17, and apart from not having any issues that I've seen with Quad CPUs, unless it comes down massively in the next 2 weeks I just can't see a reason to spend the extra.

Given the difference in cost, I'd rather stick with the ATI cards, they just feel like a better value packaged.


One last question; the HDMI audio output does work on these doesn't it?

 

yes i believe the audio works

the Ram timing cant be lowered much

@ high resolutions anything over 2 ghz or so will be enough

 

It's not the timings I want to upgrade; I know that timings make little to no real world except when it comes to overclocking headroom; I meant RAM as in I'm going to get the 2GB version of the M17; Alienware charge £130 to upgrade to 4GB; I can buy a seperate 4GB kit for £70.

2Ghz will be enough for most stuff, but I do occasionally dabble in MMO and RTS, and they absolutely eat CPU time, high resolution or not; the X9100 at 3.57Ghz might just be enough for them

Glad to hear the HDMI audio works; I have a nice home theatre kit that I'd like to use; as the 4-series output upto 7.1 in PCM, it makes a surprisingly good sound card, especially as the digital transfer means no quality is lost

Edit - regards protection/strength going for the Skullcap over Ripley, I also meant day to day use; the Ripley looks more susceptible to screen flex etc, whereas because of the extra plastic on the back with the Skullcap, I'd imagine it feels that little bit more rigid and sturdy.

 

their is a optical audio .... not sure about its channels

I never messed with surrond sound

 

Hehe, optical isn't so good. Raw PCM to a reasonable DAC sounds brilliant; as effectively the soundcard becomes your expensive AV-amp. The RX-V1800 I've got was originally £1000-1200 ($2000) when it came out over here; and while its not going to have the same sound quality as a dedicated stereo amp and DAC costing that much, in combination with my speakers and sub, it sounds one hell of a lot better than either an onboard solution; or alternatively the X-Fi card I had previously and dumped because I didn't need it, in comparison with pretty much ANY available PC speaker kit.

From one of my mates who's a headphone and pc sound card nut (loves his expensive Xonar/E-mu cards etc), it compares pretty well to a lot of the more professional audio kit for neutral output also.

All I need, optical is just far to limited in comparison!

 

thanks for explaining its just not my area

 

What can I say, I love my audio, and you love taking your laptops to pieces and making videos so the rest of us can take a look before we do it to ours

 

Also, I'd like to keep this laptop for a year and a half or so, can anyone see any issues with the lifespan of this unit, I understand it might be a case of no more new upgrades comes out for the chassis.

 

no more upgrades will e coming ....

the MXM is 2.1

the CPU platform is on its way out


BUT it is still in the top 5 gaming laptops and it will play games for more then a year or 2

 

Haha, well the obvious question is, do you really think it's worth waiting on the new Calpella stuff out later this year; which should have more of an upgrade path; or just go for it, given the likelyhood that whilst it'll be a bit faster clock for clock; it'll probably be much more expensive
Things are always out of date as soon as you've bought them with PCs, but I dont want to regret the purchase or the timing
I don't have £2.5k to spend on a laptop hahah

 

Your base config form AW looks like exactly what I would do:

Skullcap Lid
4850 CF
1920x1200 Screen
Everything else base (except maybe warranty)

Definitely upgrade the RAM/CPU/HDD yourself, this is smarter anywhere, not just the UK

As for the CPU upgrade, I have a qx9300, sometimes it stutters, usually it doesn't, when it does I throw a fit. I just ordered an x9100. I'll hold onto the qx9300 for a while but will be using the x9100 I think. I would recommend saving yourself the frustration and getting the x9100 (ebay of course). It will perform just fine for any games, current and upcoming.

The lid choice is for a couple reasons, firstly, it looks awesome. Secondly, I just installed same lid onto my Whitebook, it isn't plastic, its a magnesium alloy same as chassis and is very rigid and strong. The ribbed design also adds strength and the way it bows slightly will give it a gap between the LCD and it which helps as a safety factor if it somehow gets stepped on or something (we never like talking about it, but it happens)

You will be very happy.

 

Your M17 will make you happy, like mine is making me happy though. There is some worry over in the 4850 thread though; apparently that 4850s are cancelled ( again) and people that have ordered them in their systems...well, they're being cancelled from what I gather. You might not want to go for it if you can only get 3870s, although they are still great gaming cards. (They do me for Crysis at 1440x900, high, near constant above 30fps.)

 

That is true, just because the 4850s (maybe) are on the way doesn't make the 3870's any less good. Either way you should be happy. I would put my laptop up against any single GPU desktop really. It will be within 10% performance.

 

Hmmm, have been reading about the 4850s being cancelled, unless that gets reinstated, I'm gonna hold off unfortunately; the cost just becomes unjustifiable without the upgrade over the 3870, the 4850 crossfire would be equal to my 4870 more or less (depending on crossfire utilisation, the single card is about 2/3 of my current 4870), whereas the 3870 is much less so; I'm an overclocker/tweaker and love speed at heart, so the 3870s just wouldn't really justify themselves in my head for the cost

You've confirmed my thoughts on the skullcap lid though which is good; and also my thoughts on the QX9300 vs X9100.
I'll see what happens with the 4850 Crossfire; if it goes ahead I think I'll go M17, otherwise I'll have to re-evaluate.

 

Ya the whole 4850 fiasco is getting ridiculous. If OCZ had just followed through and not dropped the ball with Flextronics I'd have 4870's in my system right now so you know I am pissed. Now it is happening to AW owners as well, it's a shame.

Well, for the price you would be paying for the config I detailed....a couple hundred more always gets you an m17x with GTX 260m SLI and 1920x1200 (at least in the US, I know you all get screwed with hardcore on prices over there). Just be extremely clear that you want the 2nd hdd caddy if you will install another hdd down the road haha. There is a whole long thread on that alone.

 

Heheh, yeah I feel your pain. Problem is, over here the M17x is massively more expensive, some of the upgrades cost slightly less but its just not worth it to me. I could get the M17 with crossfire and upgrade them for less than £2000 approx total, the M17x will be at least another £250 for a comparable spec. Its extra money I dont really want to spend, Im pushing the budget as it is

 

I definetely would NOT put my 3870s at matching any single desktop GPU. They match my 8800GT in most games. That means that obviously with many faster desktop GPUs out there there are single desktop GPUs that are faster. As you say though it doesn't make the 3870s any less good.

Looking at it from a positive sense, because my 8800GT is about the same as a 280M in terms of performance (or similar anyway) the 3870s essentially match or are only a bit slower than a 280M which isn't bad considering some of the best gaming notebooks only use a single 280M.

Yeah, I personally love the skullcap lid. In fact I love everything about the styling on the M17, especially the matte black finish. In my view the ONLY thing that is missing is AlienFX.

IF you can get 4850s in the M17 then it is an amazing offer seeming as 4850s pretty much match 280Ms. Basically you'll have M17x performance in a cheaper, thinner form with a bigger battery as well for longer on the go gaming.

Yeah, that's what makes me happy that I went for the M17. I would have had to spend at least £400 more on an M17x just to get a comparable configuration (well, I call 260Ms comparable, it probably would have been a bit faster but still.)

 

I didn't say 3870's, said my system With both GPUs and the CPU considerably OC'd haha

Also didn't say I'd beat them, just come close. Don't get me wrong....my desktop has GTX 275 SLI and a Core i7, I know the difference between desktop and laptop performance

Currently the 3870x2 still beats ANY single gpu laptop solution on the market. You can even put a GTX 280m into the master slot in an M17 to check... But for a "budget" gaming laptop the m17 is hands down the most amazing deal I have ever seen (with 3870s or 4850s)

 

Hehe, pretty much my exact point. US vs UK laptop market seems to be very different. I think they just dont want us buying expensive laptops so they dont have to market them over here

 

That would be ridiculous, but entirely plausible haha.

 

Well, we have to pay quite a bit more for AW, Sager and Gateway don't even sell over here, Clevo are only through a small number of resellers [as Custom models] and we see a much lower number of releases in this price region.

It's like the UK market is filled with £0-1000 laptops, then they forget theres a market for powerful desktop equivalents bar a few models between the £1000-2000 region, and then suddenly there are a few £2000-3500 models.

Ludicrously poor availability, lack of some brands even showing any representation and all round a really annoying market to buy in!

 

Ya wow, it's not like GB is insignificant or anything haha

Sorry to hear it man.... guess life is better as a colonial in some respects lol

 

Well for a start my wage (about $29000 a year if I convert), would actually buy me a nice laptop rather than me having to go crazy and hunt in all the sneak holes for deals

To give you an idea, the Asus W90-VP is available over here for £2200, about $3200-3500, but our version uses a single, rather than crossfire, 4870.
So we pay more, and get less. I really don't like the UKs laptop market much; most high street shops wont even sell anything in the upper brands, and if they do it'll cost £1500 and come with something like a 4650!

 

Well, interesting...are the 4850s cancelled or not?

 

Well I've ordered;
Total BNPL figure £1660 (including service charge).

Have got:
Skullcap
P8400
2GB RAM
160GB HDD
4850X2

Will upgrade it ASAP!

Here's hoping V12 finance don't play funny; they've no reason to!

 

you know your running some benchmarks when you get it right?

 

Oh ofc, will whack the 9.6 cats straight on it when it arrives.

I'll be running P8400, 2GB RAM and 160GB HDD when it arrives, but should at least give some preliminary figures on how the GPU perform

I'll then a retest about a month or so down the line when its upgraded, which should mean X9100, 4GB and 640GB RAID0 Scorpio Black. Yummy!

If V12 Finance turn round tomorrow and tell me they've decided to review, and decline the Buy Now Pay Later, I think I'll cry! haha

 

why x9100. sorry i just read the 1st post. lol

why 640@7200 raid 0

 

X9100 as this model suffers some issues with Quads, and I honestly don't feel like the hassle if I get any issues; especially not when it's going to cost what it is.

640GB because I'm either going for the W.D Scorpio Black 320s in RAID0, or 1TB worth of Scorpio Blues; simply because they're pretty much the fastest laptop drives, outside of SSDs right now; and I'm erring towards the Blacks because they're a little cheaper, a little faster, and 640GB is still plenty of storage. If SSDs fall substantially in the next year or two, I can consider upgrading to them at a later date
I'll be raiding because, whilst it will increase the access times very very slightly, this machine is well and truly going to be my desktop replacement, and I want to eek every last little bit of performance possible out of it; hard drives are usually one of the bottlenecks in a laptop and I'm keen to avoid that as best as possible without dropping $500 equivalent on an SSD with limited shelflife.

 

Oh and also, to add to the lack of issues with Duals in comparison to quads, the X9100 is substantially cheaper to get off of Ebay. I could go to a retailer to buy half these chips, but it'd cost like twice as much, so ebay seems to be the valid answer, providing I buy from an e-tailer/seller with very high positive feedback.

 

ok i see what you mean. but i would just go for 1 ssd and one hdd if i were you but i understand if money is the case.

 

With new Intel drives right around the corner, and current issues with most of the existing drives, it isn't worth it right now, I wouldn't buy one for a desktop and I wouldn't buy one for a laptop, the gen1 drives are little more than retail prototypes, and I'd rather delay until the technology has matured; especially when you consider performance is only going to get better, and prices going to drop. The current batch all have thier own issues, and I'd rather not having to worry about that sort of thing; especially when you consider the IOPS on some of the drives really aren't that high in comparison to a good 7200rpm HDD.
Over in the UK the SSD are massively more expensive for what you get; massively. High end technology typically costs almost twice as much in the UK as the US, and I'd simply rather wait until they mature; I'll get a more reliable, faster, longer-lifespan-warranted drive for the wait, and if I'm going to drop £200 ($340+) or more on one of these things; I'm not interested in paying to test them out; I'd rather wait until they eclipse normal drives completely, and until the firmware bugs are tweaked; Windows 7 SSD support has been tweaked, and the drives themselves have become cheaper, that's really not on the cards; they've come along way, and I've been following them, but they'rem not there *yet*. In 1-2 years I think they might be, and that's when I'll consider the swap.

 

I'd be more than happy dropping some money on a Samsung SSD (rebadged or not).

I have heard and read nothing but positive reviews for them and prices are actually reasonable right now.

The new Intel drives had my hopes up but seeing the prices and reading that speed gains will be minimal turned me off....

 

Everything has been approved with the finance company; they should contact Alienware today to let them continue.
Should have my 'laptop' in 2 weeks then
Will definately order the RAM this month as well, but think the car MOT is gonna get in the way of HDD/CPU. We shall see

 

Great rig, I think you'll be very happy with it. Best of luck bro.

 

very very good rig

 

congrats! it will be nice

 

It's been shipped!


DHL have my M17; it's on it's way [oh god, not DHL@home, please!!!]!

Hopefully it'll arrive friday not monday; as I've got a late shift on Saturday

Will be interested to see what drivers are installed for those 4850s, and I need to get a move on ordering my RAM, HDDs and backpack!

 

awesome.

but sorry to hear its DHL...I kind of hate them (at least in the US they kind of suck)

 

Aye, they're not much better over here. If it comes Friday or Monday I hope they have the goddamn sense to take it to the depot rather than leaving it with a neighbour!

 

Well, so Im ready for the arrival I've ordered 2x WD Scorpio Blacks (320GB each), as by and large they're the fastest non-SSD laptop drives going; 2x 2GB of Crucial DDR3 SO-DIMM and a cheapy "upto 19"" (the extra space might come in handy anyway; the M17 isn't exactly the smallest 17") capable backpack to last me until I grab a decent Targus or the like, along with a long ethernet cable to run through the wall; because my homeplugs haven't been so happy since I had to move them to some new plugs in the house
(Router went from garage to another connection in my room....which seems to connect worse despite the lack of distance!)

Happy days! Wish my mate had given me my owed monies back though so I could have ordered the X9100 too!

 

Well it's arrived, the bad news is Im going to be at work til late evening; and am in all weekend

Hard drives arrived today too. Too much to play with and not enough time!

 

Patience, young grasshopper.

 

Haha, I know, looking forward to getting a decent chance to play. Will try and get an early Vantage score for everyone first of all though; after that I'll go away and begin fitting the new RAM, drives, reinstalling etc.

 

Are you gunna carry on the thread here Alex or start a new one?

Please can you get some scores straight from the box and tell us what scores Alienware got with your system....they tell you this somewhere!

Im sure you will have it running like a beast before long.

thanks.