Which to get (M14x or M15x)

Hey guys I havent got much money so would like your opinions on which one to get:

M15x
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
Alienware M15x Gaming Laptop - Cosmic Black
Intel® Core™ i7 740QM (1.73 Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
1.5GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460M
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
160GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
40cm (15.6") Wide HD+ (1600 x 900) WLED display
DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) Slot Load Drive
9-cell 85Whr Lithium Ion battery

M14x
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Alienware M14x : 1.5 Base Black
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 2630QM (2.0Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
1.5GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT555M
4096MB (2x2GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
500GB (7,200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Intel® Wireless LAN 6205 2x2 (802.11a/b/g/n) Card - European
8X DVD+/-RW Drive including software
No Antivirus Software
1Yr Next Day Hardware Support included with your PC
No Accidental Damage Support
14.1in Widescreen High Definition + (1600x900) WLED with TrueLife
Primary 8-cell 63W/HR LI-ION

I will be using this laptop for starcraft 2, some times unreal tournament, and possible some other new games. But mainly starcraft 2 to be honest.

I am also a graphic designer so will be using it for a bit of photoshop and illustrator work, I did first look at macbook, but everyone at work has one so want something different to them.

Sorry if you see threads like this alot,

Cheers in advance.

 

m14x since SC2 will utilize the extra CPU muscle.

 

If the price is similar, the M14x is a better choice because of better CPU and considerably larger hard drive. This will be very relevant to your photoshop and illustrator, as well as SC2. The GPU is a bit worse on the M14x though (not by much).

 

Thanks for the responses guys, main reason for basic hdd in them is that I have a 128 SSD already at home which i might put it, or just use external hdd

 

Yeah bro for better portability,decent performance, the m14x for sure.

the m15x has a better gpu but the cpu on the m14x is faster. but since todays games require more gpu then the cpu isnt going to be a bottle neck if that makes any sense. i have the m15x (see specs below) and I wouldnt bring it to campus its too much to lug around and too heavy imo, why I use my m11x instead. the gaming performance of the m14x gpu is still a decent card so you'll still be able to run todays games with like med to high settings depending on the game off course. anyways bro i hope this helps

 

Thanks for the reply, The whole weight thing and size doesn't really bother me too much. Though obviously lighter is always going to be nice. When I get more money I want to upgrade a little for sure to be able to run future games better.

 

From what I hear, I dont know if the CPU/GPU are easily upgradeable - speculations say that they are soldered on. I could be and hopfully am wrong. would be nice to upgrade the 555 to a 460 or an 5850 then it would be a beast of a machine

 

Ah so perhaps in that case getting the M15x might be wiser?

 

And it'd be a beast of a mess after it finished burning / melting / exploding.



Hasn't it only got one fan for the internals? As great as Alienware cooling may be, I can't see it coping too well with the added temperature. Even if you can upgrade the GPU, which isn't looking too likely. Although the 460M is supposed to be a very cool card even when it's pushed.

It really depends on how well the M14x performs. Personally I'd never buy a system without letting somebody run the gauntlet first. I'd like to know exactly what it's capable of before I make a decision that is going to cost some serious wedge. If you're in no hurry, I suggest waiting to get a good grasp of the performance. That way you have a much more solid comparison. Bearing in mind the M15x can be turbocharged with a 6970 (DIY style that is..) it might be a more beefy piece of kit. Although in terms of portability the M15x is a shocker. Weight and size really isn't that much of a problem but the 6-cell battery can only be regarded as an emergency power source. I get 1 hour surfing the web on mine. Not great. But plugged in, it's fantastic.

 

I'd opt for the M14x personally. While, yes, you can upgrade the M15x, it's still going to be old tech, even when it's upgraded. If fully upgraded, the M15x will be more powerful than the 14 however.

I myself will be going for a 14, as a take-around-college and game-on-the-go laptop. The 555M is pretty much as good as the 260 that was in my M17x, so I'm not really after massive power this time round.

 

Only way I would get a m15x is if you got a good deal on a used system or from the outlet.

Its all based on what you need which seems to point you towards the m14x.

 

I bought an M15X over the M14X, because there's a 20% off coupon for the Dell outlet

 

That coupon is incredibly tempting.

A crossfire M17R2 for about 1300$ (incl 20%) @ 1980x1200 is a damn good price.

 

Elusive,

I have an m15x I could sell you if youre interested.
It has a stronger gpu than the m14x and the upgraded 9 cell battery, 1080p screen, 6gb ram and 3 years advanced warranty so if ANYTHING ever at all happened to it Dell would fix it for you no questions asked.

pm me if you want to make a deal

 

thanks for the offer but I want to get the laptop through dell on finance really.

Do you guys think it would be better going for a base model m17x r3 instead?

 

I'm still gonna stick with M14x, it'll be more powerful thanks to technological improvements in the last 6 months.

I wouldn't go with the base r3, because there would so much I would have to upgrade (screen resolution, maybe processor, graphic cards, etc..). If you want base r3, I'd rather go M14x.

 

More poweful than what? M11x? Yes. Anything else? No.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

If you want to future proof your purchase, definately. Apparently the M14x has zero potential for upgrade in the GPU department. The only way to get a better GPU is to buy a new system when they bring out the R2. Not to mention the fact that the M17x R3 blows it out of the water, and isn't much bigger than the M15x at all. It's only bigger in width, all other dimensions are smaller (somebody correct me if I'm mistaken).

 

Ok thanks, I thought this would be the case tbh, I got an 17inch sony that has lasted me since 2007, blu ray, 2 gig ram, 320hdd, inte core 2 duo T7250 lol. Reason for me not stretching much with my budget is i've just bought a new motorbike and don't want to spend too much more..

 

The R1/R2's were absolute tanks of machines. But these new R3's weigh something like 200g more than the M15x when you compare both at base spec. If you get one, I'll be jealous!

 

Try M15x? Newer processor (sandy bridge anyone?), better graphic card.

I'm still gonna stick with going for m18x.

 

Ok so at the moment, I going base M17x r3, but with the upgraded screen