here we go again... m15x vs m9750

what's with the draft N card? is it better than the 3945 network card? if it's not, then I may go for a media remote instead of the draft N. I can also get the lightscribe DVD Rewritter.


anyway, thanks Frag.

 

it's much better than 3915. better range even though for g/b

 

lol. just that? then maybe I'm off with Frag's config except for that card and a lightscvribe and remote. with the 5% m9750 discount, it'll reach $1,600 no problem.



i'm eyeing for the m1530. damn! anybody want to help me? been here months asking for what laptop to buy. now I'm only days from having one, and I can't decide. lol



**so conffffuuuused! help help people...

 

m1530 has a lot of extra stuff like the internet protection, 4GB RAM, higher processor, remote, etc, etc... but lacks the appeal of the AW m9750 (which also has the better 8700M GT, though with lower T5500 or T7100).


please tell me if I can play the games I want to play at native res with the T5500 on Vista with only 1GB RAM (as I cannot get more RAM as of now). in that case, will you recommend XP when I order the m9750?



the base m1350 is sooooo appealing, though the design is not. haha lol. so which to pick?

 

alberttwomi, once you think about it, you're taking a risk buying from Alienware since half of the systems they shipped recently have had some kind of defect. You won't be here long enough to get those fixed, so you get where I'm going here. If you really want to spend extra on looks and want an 8600M GT, get a 2.2GHz MBP for $1500.

 

that's what i am talking about. anyway alberttwomi make sure you can have AW warranty when you back home

 

no AW there... where do you guys get the MBP at $1,500? the apple site gives me at least $1,999.


how bout the Dell m1530? the deal's good enough.

 

i forgot the site, you could get over apple section and ask people there

 

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/new_promo~dp~7256720~family~macbookpro~promo~26.asp

I've also heard you can get the current $2k model for $1650 new with some deals, but there won't be a huge performance difference. You'll be able to take it to one of the Apple Stores in the US if it doesn't work or there's some kind of defect when you get it, so if there's anything wrong you can get it fixed while you're still here.

 

I agree with MICHAELSD01, apple offer much better CS than AW

 

why aren't you guys commenting on the m1530? lol


ok, will check that out. (damn, I have my games all for Windows OS, and installing Windows will be a bit troublesome)

 

base on your budget:
for style -> MBP
for performance -> gateway p-6860fx
m1530 is in the middle of nowhere

 

middle of nowhere? is that good or bad?


just visited the Dell website... and they have a weekend sale ($649 off), and the m1530 featured there is soooo dirt cheap. the m1530 is like a combo of looks and performance (plus it's got a sleeve when shipped ).

the macbook pro only has 128MB of either DDR2 or GDDR3 (I don't know) on its 8600M GT.




**still waiting for granma's call...

 

Apple uses GDDR3 for every 8600M GT card they have (even the 512MB version uses GDDR3 memory, an Apple exclusive). An Alienware rep told me that the 8600M GT they use is only GDDR2, so the MBP should be a bit faster when it comes to gaming.

 

oh... thanks for clearing it out MICHAELS.


this is no longer an AW thread... technically it's not. lol



so both the AW models are eliminated? no one likes the 8700M GT on the m9750, I guess.




so it's MBP vs M1530?

 

If you want the Alienware, go for it. It's not our money, it's yours . You're just taking a risk since you have a good chance of getting some kinds of defects or an extended ship time, in which case will suck since you'll only have a few weeks to be down here and get everything straightened out.

 

yea bottom line, you will be the one using it, not us. you got more than enough opinions from this thread already.

 

Wait until May and get the new Cleveo 15.4" notebook with the 8800gtx Or just get the Sager NP5793 from xoticpc.com now for a 17" model.

 

If I were you I think I would buy the m1530, mac's are just overpriced regarding their power in my opinion (especially graphics). The m1530 has a flat and decent design, is sturdy built, features a remote and other nice extras and a slotin-drive (love those!). I would have bought it myself if it only had some better graphics (have currently a laptop with a ATI HD2600 that scores about 3100 3Dmarks06, the m1530 with a 8600 GT and DDR3 only about 4200... compared to the brute force of around 9000-10000 3Dmarks06 with a 8800 a joke!)

And lol to the reference to my pix, wouldn't have expected them to cause such a huge impact!

Hope you can decide in time

 

It all depends on what your going to use it for. If you are looking for portability then get the Dell. If you want to have to learn a new OS or deal with dual booting get the apple. I would get the Alienware. It has a great screen. It has a really fantastic keyboard ( the best laptop keyboard I have ever used) with good feel and no flex. One thing you haven't mentioned that I can recall is battery life. Short battery life is the only drawback to the M9750 over your other choices as far as I can see. As far as defects go I wouldn't worry too much about the M9750 as it is a tried and true model.

 

so you'll go with m9750 at base with 2.0GHz processor than a fully packed m1530 (after $649 instant savings)?


the m1530 has T8300, 8600M GT, 3GB RAM, some flashy accessories like fingerprint reader, slot loader, etc, etc.

for the same price, the m9750 packs an 8700M GT but with a somewhat weaker processor, just 1GB RAM, and plain design (except for the cool skullcap design).


now you're bringing me back to Alienware...

 

I'm going to best buy tomorrow to see some laptops and test out the 8600M GT. I think they have the m1530 on display, so I can get a test drive on its system.

if the 8600M GT does not pass my expectations, I'll go for m9750 as it is the only cool laptop around $1,600.

 

You won't really be able to test the 8600M GT out there. BestBuy doesn't have games or benchmarks on any of their notebooks that they put on display. Remember, if you get the m15x, you can upgrade to an 8800M GTX later on (or maybe the 9800M GTX).

 

i know boutthat that, and I really want to have that advantage. the only thing that detracts me from buying the m15x is its overall build. the wobbly screen and cheap plastic some members said are the worst parts of that notebook. I'd enjoy having such cool laptop, but if it can't keep up with its daily tasks, I wouldn't bother getting it.

 

Costco has the sims 2: life stories installed on most of their laptops. I've tried playing it at max settings on 1440x900 and fast forwarded the time, and it did not lag.


but I assume that the sims 2 requires minimal graphics horsepower even at high settings. I hope they'd had FSX installed, or COD4.

 

I'm pretty sure Costco would not be selling many notebooks if they demo'd them with Crysis loaded on them.LOL.

 

Sims 2: Life Stories was meant to run even on laptops with integrated video cards. It's actually meant to be a version of the game Sims 2 with the same gameplay, just a lot less intensive. Not a good way to test overall power. You won't see games on any of the notebooks on display because the stores don't want people coming in there just to play free games and take away from people who are interested in seeing the notebook. They're really only on display so you can see the overall build quality, display, keyboard, touchpad, etc.

 

@ Loggie

can I give you a rep? you just made my day pal...


@ MICHAELSD01

so at $1,500, you're suggesting me to get an Alienware instead of the Dell?

 

It's pretty much opinion, but, I'd personally take the m15x over the M1530. The only downside to the m15x is that it can't be configured with a LED backlit screen. The 8600M GT is already a year old and will be struggling with a lot of games in a year-year and a half from now, so it's great to be able to upgrade to an 8800M GTX (or possibly 9 or 10 series cards) when the notebook becomes outdated (and when the card will only be around $100-$200).

 

how bout the cracks? lol



so if you have the same budget as I do, you'll go with the m15x rather than the m1530? well, that's something new (and odd).

please note that if I'll be getting the m15x, it'll be at its base config. future-proofing is important (regarding the upgradeability), but the performance it'll bring when I get it this month will also be as important as the future (and the m1530 at $1,600 beats the base m15x).

 

If you could, I'd try to get another $150 and get the 2.4GHz processor, though the 2.1GHz should be fine. The XPS M1530 is in a completely different class (average home user) than the m15x (gamer, power user), so it depends what you want in a notebook. Would you upgrade it for $100-$200 later on if you wanted to? If not, I guess the M1530 might be a better choice. I'd go for a MBP over the M1530, though. Cracking shouldn't be a huge problem anymore. Crappy build quality is what you'll have to worry about (some have shipped out looking pretty ****ty).

 

I'll be getting a new one maybe after two years... if the m15x will still be a capable laptop by then, I might just upgrade it instead of buying a new one. of course, that is if the m15x will still be kicking after two years.

the only m15x I'd be getting will be the base + the light-up keyboard. upgrading RAM next month in Philippines. you think I'll be able to play games on Vista and 1GB RAM for the mean time?

 

Everything, but Crysis, will run around the same with 1GB. You'll lose a few frames, but you should be fine.

 

isn't the 8600M GT the m15x has is the DDR2 version?

 

Yeah, but Alienware might've changed that. That's what they told me around a month ago.

 

really?!

others said that running Vista and playing on 1GB RAM won't be a good idea since it will lag (knowing that Vista requires at least 1GB).

I haven't tested Vista on 1GB, especially playing games on such system, so I really don't have any idea... the members here just scared me of even trying that setup with Vista.

 

i ordered my m15x with 1gb RAM. i'll leave it like that for a day or two (or maybe just an hour or two, depending how weak i am ) and then slot in my 4gb's. the difference should be interesting.

 

the different of 1GB and 4GB should be huge. for example:
1GB + my thinkpad + XP+ BF2 = 2-3 mintues loading time;
2GB + my thinkpad + XP+ BF2 = 20 seconds loading time

 

well, I'll leave mine for about a month... lol

but I want to be able to play right away, so that means playing with 1GB RAM. if that won't do for the first month, then I may want to consider the m1530 (or some Asus lol).

 

the thing is I want to play right out of the box... I brought my NFS series games here, so that's what I'll play while here in the US (and maxxing out the settings). if the m15x won't do, the nicest thing next to it is the dell m1530 and probably some laptops tomorrow at bestbuy.

 

you mean the pro street? you can buy rams from newegg right now so that you can plug them in upon you receive the m15x

 

yeah... pro street, carbon, most wanted, underground 2. i just brought with me some couple of $$$.

and Philippines has this $40 2GB Team Elite RAM. that's pretty cheap, so I plan to get it there.

 

For a bit a future proofing I would get the M15x over the Dell. The main problem with the M15x is they seem to have a ton of delays being shipped. It would be a slight risk ordering and getting it before you go back.

 

I just went to best buy a few minutes ago... dad was about to get the Dell m1530, but I said it did not have the 8600M GT, instead it has this 8400M GS (which is of course not what I want).

then we saw this $1,199 Asus G1sn-X1 with a 64-bit Vista and 4GB RAM. it also has 320GB HDD and the newer 9500M GS (performs just like the 8600M GT). though it only has the T5500.



so i thought I'd consider that... the cut-off date will be at the 15th of May, so I'd still have more time to decide (unless I do something cool that he'll buy me earlier).




**just saw the m1530, it is sooooo cooool! lol. (how I wish they also had the m15x on display.





**I think I should change the topic's title.

 

Yeah, your thoughts have definitely 'evolved' over time

 

You should see my 5793, its even COOLER lol

 

lol

you can show it to me... here's my address: (just kidding)




the Asus G1sn-X1 is feature-packed, though it's so flashy in design, and makes me look like a suoer gamer... lol. the m1530 is plain and simple, so I like the looks. but according to their specs, they should perform just the same.


still thinking bout the m15x. the 1GB RAM is the thing that detracts me from getting one. I don't think I'd enjoy playing on Vista with just 1GB?! lol

 

It would be essential to upgrade from 1GB for Vista, but another 1GB stick would be dirt cheap when ordered from the right places

 

ram is really cheap to upgrade so it shouldnt be a problem if the m15x comes with a small amount of ram.

 

problem is I have to wait for a month before I get the additional RAM.

what I want to do is play right after opening the box. if I get the m1530, asus G1 or any other laptop that comes with 2GB+ of RAM, then I can start gaming after opening the box. whereas m15x will only be shipped with 1GB. lol.