The Plan

Ok so I have wanted an alienware for a long time and I have read all the problems with the m15x and none of them seem like deal breakers.

Anyway what I want to do is get the m15x with these specs:

Design & Display: BLACK Ripley Design
Display: 15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Blue
Video/Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® Series - 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
Turbo Cache Memory: Intel® Turbo Memory (1GB) – Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
System Drive: 120GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Keyboard Options: AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service

However. There are two problems.

1. Its not out in black. yet???

2. Instead of paying $350 for 4 gigs of alienware ram I want to get two of this item:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145172

(2 2gig ram sticks) costing me about $85, but I don't know if the corsair ram I want to get is validated.

My questions:

Will the m15x be out in black for sure?

Is corsair ram validated with alienware and will it void my warranty if I put it in anyway?

 

1. Unfortunately, no it is not out in black yet. I would have opted for black as well, but honestly, the silver is still dead sexy. There has been no black m15x confirmation yet.

2. Yes, upgrading yourself will definitely save you a couple hundred. I'm not 100% positive if it's completely compatible but the specs look all right.

Might I recommend upgrading to the 8800M GTX? You'll save a couple hundred upgrading RAM yourself and you may not even notice the 1GB TCM either. I highly recommend the 8800M GTX card, as it is just sheer beastliness (even just one of them). Although, it is on back order right now, I can tell you it's worth the wait.

 

Yeah, Without the 8800m GTX, the price hardly justifies the purchase.

 

In a video here:

http://www.alienware.com/aliennetwork/pc-gaming-channel.aspx#abovePlayer

"the new notebook overveiw m15x and m17x"
a little before the middle of the vid that they are working on releasing the m15x in black in a few weeks. Unfortunately this was on april 29th. And that vague statement about "working on it" is all we have. Hopefully waiting will payoff.

Anyway as far as graphics goes the 8600 is more then I need. The games I will be playing aren't graphic intensive at all.

 

you will not get the full 4 gigs of ram, if you really want that because AW does not use 64-bit OS yet. just an fyi.

 

But this happens anyway right? with the ram I want to put in or AW's? I am aware that alienware doesn't have 64bit OS's

 

Note it also helps for video playback and other GPU related tasks. However, you're right in saying that if you know you won't be doing very demanding things you should be okay with the 8600. You could upgrade to 8800 later, I believe, anyway.

 

They do not provide 64-bit OS' but they do provide drivers for 64-bit XP.

 

if you're not getting the 8800m-gtx, i strongly suggest looking at the dell xps m1530. it also has the 8600m-gt, but has better build quality, and it's much smaller.

 

but if you change the OS to 64-bit on your own, it voids your whole warranty

 

no it does not. AW just does not support it.
if you needed to send the system in for whatever reason, you would then need to install the OS that came with the system for them to work on the unit.
or if you had tech issues and called them, they would not be able to help since they will not offer support for the 64bit at this time.

 

I'm ok with the 32 bit vista. I just want to know if corsair ram is validated with alienware and if it isn't will it void my warranty if I put it in anyway? and If there is any news on it coming out in black.

 

the ram issue has been a topic of interest for a bit. there are several threads regarding this topic...in one or two there was a quote from AW about the ram they have validated. if i can find it before i leave i will post it.
other than that, others have installed corsair, gskill, kingston, and others with no noticable problems....if the unit needs to go back, then just install the ram that came with it.

black - doubt it.

 

Yeah, just keep your old RAM if you can.

 

Anyone news on black? I have asked AW directly and they said they couldn't tell me cuz the information hadn't been released at this time. so that makes me think that it will be because they aren't making any money making me wait.

 

No reason to get the m15x if you aren't getting a 8700 / 8800GTX.

 

Wait for Sept. 9th. There might be something about a new AW product.

 

Status: waiting

 

When i talked to a rep online, they said you have to have the original OS for them to do any work, so that's what i meant, you would have to make the effort to revert back to your original OS that the system came with.

 

would the recovery DVDs windows has you make work for this? I plan on making the DVDs as soon as i get the machine instead of spending $50 on AlienRespawn.

 

??????????

 

Did you actually but the machine? Honestly I can't say that you're going to have a good experience. Many users here told you that the dell would be better but it is your money and your preference.

Yea you can make recovery DVDs.

 

I'm just trying to get as much info as possible before i make the decision. The worst thing i can do is make an uninformed purchase.

 

Ohh by the sounds of it I already thought you purchased the machine. Read my repair log and you'll see the **** I'm currently dealing with.

 

To be fair, he's not getting the m9750. And if he gets an m15x like me, he won't ever have to deal with CS. I can't say ever, as I may have a serious issue later, but since I've had the m15x I have not yet needed to even think about calling CS. Smooth sailing for my m15x. Hope it stays that way.

 

Yea it was kind of smooth sailing for me as well until I ran into them. Honestly man things will be great for a few months / a year. However, once something goes wrong you're doomed. At least with Dell they pretty much offer to rebuild your entire computer at YOUR house in less than a week.

 

Yeah, that's my primary concern as a new user. I can only take care of my m15x and hope that I never run into any issues.

 

Now im just waiting for it come out in black. *posts and threads to come when I do buy. . .