Why U Got (x-part) vice (x-part)...

Been reading the forums for a time now and have the following questions:

1. Why one would choose the 1440x900 res vs. the 1920x1200?
2. Why the T9300/9500 vice the Extreme chip? (Aside from $$)
3. Why Sager (?) and Clevo (?) over Alienware?

These are just a few questions I am curious about.

I am perplexed why one would choose the lower res vice the higher - just wondering what you all are thinking in choosing that over the higher one.

Aside from funds, I wonder if there is any actual difference from the T series chips vice the X series? Is there a notable difference?

And honest - when I look at the other books mentioned over and over in the forums in compairison to the Alienware, I can not understand where one thinnks that a book with a VGA port and little up-to-date connection abilities is making the list of nice books to look at. (just me probably, but I am looking for reasons here)

So - if you feel like contributing to this, please do so...

I am looking to get a laptop very soon and this information will help with my decisions.

Thanks in advance.

 

the 1440 x 900 screen is glossy so it has better colors, more fps with a lower native res, lighter, consumes less power, has a better contrast ratio, and its brighter.

the 1920 x 1200 screen is matte and its only good if you photoshop alot.

2)the extreme processors downclock because of the heat.

3) sager and clevo are cheaper. they also have better build quality. the only thing AW beats sager in is in looks. specs are equal for now until sager releases the montevina platform notebooks.

 

thx exiled.

do you find the glossy an irritant (spelling) at all? i have preference towards matte as i get easily disturbed by reflections etc...

when you say they downclock, does that mean the chip reverts to a t9500 speed since it heats up more?

montevina i take it is the newest and greatest chip to be released from intel soon?

is not the penryn the one due out or is that already in books atm?

 

The T8100 and above are all Penryns - Alienware introduced them in the m15x around Feb
Not too sure about the X9000 problem but it does exist unfortunately
For exact details on Montevina check it out on Wiki - Linky
It has higher FSB, clocks (2.26 GHz to 3.06 GHz) & DDR3 (higher speeds than DDR2) but many say this will cost much more than DDR2 and isn't the die-for option for a couple of months when things should cool down as more companies offer it, bringing the market cost down..
Unless you're the type to get something when it first comes out

Hope this helps

 

Montevina will be using Pennryn 45nm dies, the ones out now are santa rosa refresh, and the difference is lower power consumption, higher fsb, and ddr3 ram.

 

@Wraithers, you forgot T8100. also DDR3 shouldn't be expensive, xoticPC is currently taking pre-order of 5796 with 5793's price.

 

all great info - thx to all.

any clues as to when we will see more of the new procs available with other vendors and alienware?

and as far as book size...

i did a ruler on paper measurement/layout of size for the 15 and 17 books from AW.

it may be me, but the 17 looks huge in footprint and thickness - but the 15 is close to footprint, but a lot thinner.

i will be traveling a lot with this unit, so the smaller footprint appeals to me better due to the thickness and smaller size, but with you all that have 17's - do you travel a lot or say just from one house to another?

 

There will be no upgrade for Alienware. make sure you check out the clevo m860tu.

 

the clevo looks nice for sure.

ok - good and bad - what has your experiences been with vista? and what bit are you running?

and on any of the notebooks talked about - how easy is it, or should it be, to upgrade from rpm modes to SSD's?

 

@Nirvana - My bad

 

speaking of my vista experience, it's a bit funny. I was one of the vista beta testers about 3-4 years ago. Microsoft sent me a 64-bit Ultimate as a reward after the product was finalized, but I've never used it.

They are 2 different types of hard drives.

 

wow - grats
it seems most users of vista i have talked to thus far utilize the 32 bit.
i have heard good and bad but bad mainly from people that do not have a build good enough to support vista.

i know they are 2 different types of drives, but i was told there would be the possibility of replacing the HDD with the SDD.

 

Yes you can put SSD on just like the regular HDD.

 

has anyone oc'd a t9300/9500 or is it even possible on the books?
do companies lock the bios or some such features as to not allow this?

what do you think the avg lifespan of a laptop is nowadays? 2 yrs?

 

I avoided the extreme cpu and 8800 to avoid serious heat issues and to keep my cost down. As for the screen its basically better in everyway (especially for systems with less power)

 

yeah - i have read about the heat issues. seems many people have had them early on - but the heat complaints seem to have taken a downturn.

i have decided to opt for the 9300/9500 cpu now for sure.
still open for screen as i do not like reflections which i am affraid i will get with the glossy 1440 one.
i would also prefer black to the silver, but it appears as if that is not going to be an option any time soon.

 

i believe the m15x's BIOS is locked. However, markus.kainer has modded his to allow OC'ing.

well i'd surely hope to get more than that. game wise, you should be able to max everything for another year, and then i'd say you'll get another two or three years of solid gaming.

 

I would look on Tomshardware on DDR3 and DDR2. The DDR3 seems to work best with AMD not INTEL. But the reviews are done on Desktops Not laptops. One Fact is DDR2 is cheaper then DD3. You know Laptops the price will be higher.

 

Regarding traveling with a 17"
I travel almost every day all around the world with my M9750
and yes it's heavy but.. i you have a good bag it's no problem at all
i am not a small guy (1,9 Mtr), so i think it depends on the person
and get a good sleeve with X-ray machine on airports you can leave inside this thin sleeve

 

most off my notebooks where 15" ,but if you buy one time a 17"
your hooked for the rest of live

My reason to buy Alienware and not a Sager
because you can pay AW with a international creditcard (wire tranfer you can lose your money)
as a company we lost 100.000 Euro for a year (so no wire transfer for me)
I am waiting for my new M17X now

 

As for the screen i went with the 1900x1200 because i do not like the reflections (I use my laptop outside as well, so matte works better for me). I also like the additional screen space, which allows me to have multiple mainframe windows open at work without having to alt-tab between them.

 

i love the glossy screen. compared to my matte desktop screen the glossy screen makes everything so much more vibrant. the only problem is that if you use it in the sun it is kind of hard to see.

when the extreme processor gets hot enough when it is being stressed it will downclock. i forgot what the multiplier goes down to but it goes down quite a lot. the processor has to downclock inorder to cool itself down so it wont get damaged.

the new processors are penryn.

 

That is completely wrong. Everyone receiving the EXTREME CPU has downclock. It was like that in the beggining, it is exactly like that now. There is no way around it, and if you want to try your luck... think twice, as you won't see any miracle happening. It's just a very bad desing in what regards cooling.
More... Read Groove's (and lineazy, if I am not mistaken) reporting their GPUs reaching 100C.

Nothing has been done regarding all these issues. Whether they are considered serious for each individual, that is another story.

 

i guess the 17 would take some getting used to then - but still think mainly due to the thickness of the 17 that it is but secondary as of now.

milcs - my bad - i read a few more posts regarding the heat issue. seems it is still there more then i thought. i found a thread where someone moded the GPU for cooler ops, but i can not locate it again.

i am definately set on the T9300 or 9500 proc - still deciding on othe options - i am about 80% for matte screen as glossy bothers me, but i have seen more favortism towards 1440x900 for pwr save and cooler GPU.

again - thx all - any more info you have, please share.

 

yeah, that mod by markus.kainer; i think he might have voided his warranty by doing what he did though.
plus i think he's the only person to-date to have tried, or been successful trying his method.

 

it would be nice if we heard if this was a warranty voider or not.
it is not as if he physically removed the GPU and moded it like doing a pin mod or some such.
i have looked at the new clevo - but not that impressed with looks of the case personally. the AW is more streamlined and appealing to me.
do you think more cases will be offered? or will the case be similar if not as seen?

 

Clevos have always been much less flashy in their case design than Alienware. Hell, with the exception of the Dell XPS M1710, all laptops out there (with a slight exception o some HPs and Dell studios too, I guess), are severely toned-down when compared to the very very obvious glitz and glamour of AW.

However, back to the point, I'm pretty sure that's the basic case design that will be used. The trim may differ in color, but I think that's what you're going to get. While the AW certainly attracts me more, I can appreciate the Clevo on its own grounds. It's sleek, understated, but still stylish in a debonair kind of way.

I guess I'd compare it to James Bond, and I dunno... Lindsay Lohan? Lol, that's a terrible analogy but I guess that's what I'm trying to say. One's suave and understated, highly efficient at what it does but doesn't stand out too much while the other is loud and flashy and runs way too hot too fast and is inevitably destroying itself.

I should reserve all these judgments for when the M860TU is released, though.

 

I would recommend a 17" notebook with a 1920X1200 screen. There is a post on this forum that has a photograph of a 17X and 15x side by side and the 17x doesn't look much bigger or thicker than the m15x. I own an m9750 and I love the 17" 1920x1200 screen since I run multliple desktop applications at once. I could never go back to a 15" screen now.

Also, I believe that in general, 17" notebooks tend to run cooler than a 15" simply because there is more space for components giving somewhat better ventilation.

 

AW used to use Sager and add on the bling in the past, before going with their own case after dell came in the picture.

My advice if any good ( seems ppl still get the AW..) wait a week, have a look at the new Sony's E-series from dell etc

 

i see what you are saying.
and as you said - maybe the new clevo will have issues of its own as most do with the initial offerings.
i am also wondering why the AW seems to have the heat issues it has...
what is the actual construction of the case? i thought it was a metal vice plastic case.
are the fans not robust enough to handle the job? can these fans be upgraded?

 

the fans cannot be upgraded and they run at max rpm when it reaches a certain temperature.

 

It's the cheap plastic case + the poor cooling system. The poor cooling system results in really damaging heat cycles, as in the GPU heats up to near boiling temps, then the fans kick in and cool it back down, then shut off, leaving the GPU to eventually rise back up again. You see how this is going?
All that heating/contracting severely degrades the life of the machine. Look at Fex, Jayonhavok, and Buzzin's threads about their cases being broken, or the people (they may be few, but they still exist) whose GPUs have failed/fried.
Alienware also failed to offer an option that allows for better fan control so that these heat cycles can be avoided.

That's why so many people were so outraged over this product because most expected much better quality out of their machines than what they actually received.


There are still benefits to the m15x (ie binary gfx, smartbay, appearance), but I simply think that depending on your needs there are better products out there on the market.

 

ok call me a newb then, but i thought the magnesium alloy frame was what the case was also built from - i re-read the description and got the light bulb turned on...
so the fans are not upgradeable...can one controll them from a pgm or some other method to have them run say at a lower speed but more frequent?

 

we are trying to figure out a way to control them. if we cant we need AW to give a us program to control them or let us do it in the bios.

i think there is a metal frame inside the m15x. the m15x is not made of entirely plastic i think.

 

I think that's what AW wants you to think; that it's made of metal or something. But I think it was GabeZ that said that the "skeleton"/frame of the m15x is the magnesium alloy and but the "skin" over it is plastic.

 

thats basically what im saying too. i think there is a frame that is metal to support the plastic.

 

yeah - from reading the site again i finally got the statement as it was the frame and not the shell that is metal.
any further word on the clevo unit?

and miho - what do you think of vista? use it or something else? has sp1 helped at all?

 

@ryujin, since you asked me about the vista last night, I decided to installed it today. I've tries all my softwares and......woot! it is far better than I expected. so much faster and more stable than those betas I tested, especially it only took me 15 minutes for the whole installion, compare to XP - 35 minutes. I still don't like the new "All programs" tho.

 

what is "all programs" ??

and thx nirvana - all i heard was bad stuff for a time, but several people have expressed good stuff about vista as of late to me...

 

lol, when you hit start and then "all programs" to browse your programs? haha
I am curious what are the bad stuffs you heard of? can I have some examples?

 

@ryujin: I never had any really bad issues with Vista, I remember some minor annoyances early on but those were quickly fixed with an efficient google search.

Sorry I can't provide a more detailed experience, lol.
Then again, I don't demand much out of my OS. There's only a small number of programs I run on my laptop currently and those are: Firefox, WoW, and Photoshop CS3 and I haven't had much issue with those.

Also, the Clevo releases in two days, so just sit and chill for the final specs to be released :]

 

bad stuffs:

slow - not compatable with periphials - memory hog - several bsod's - load time longer - and several nit picky little stuffs (mainly i think just cause of chg - we all hate chg - more so when the xp series finally was top notch....)

 

yea I do agree with "load time longer" issue, but it's not obvious on my rig, those people have older machines I guess.

 

well good - i will embark on the vista voyage then.
WoW huh? i play L2.

 

yeah it seems most that have had issues after talking to them got the vista upgrade with an older machine or not enough RAM or some such minimums to make vista effective and optimal.

do you think the 17" books have the same downclock issues as the 15" does?

 

are you getting the m17x? probably not.

 

still pondering the 17.
only real issue i have is size of it really.
i like everything else about it honestly.

 

Twas me

 

Sorry for the case of mistaken identity then! ^^;