may the force be with me

been lurking for a while. I wanted to purchase a new powerhouse but after the horrible time I had with my first alienware system really didnt think it was possible. Also after seeing all the problems with the 15x and 17x I knew I was not alone. I own a 3 year old alienware that has been nothing but trouble. It is a Pentium 4 3.6 beast that has been busted more then it works and basically shuts itself down under heavy gaming and is no longer under warranty. In any event I have been watching and waiting for someone to come out with a box worth buying and after all my issues didn't really feel comfortable buying from a small reseller or company.
so today I did what I said I would never ever ever do. I preordered the a new alienware....the 17M. Here are the specs:

[1] M17



Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 - CrossFireX™ Enabled!

Processor: Intel® Core™2 Extreme X9100 3.06GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)

Chassis: 17-Inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology

Keyboard Options: Illuminated Keyboard – Alienware Exclusive Design - Fusion Red

Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Ultimate (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1

Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner

Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM at 1066MHz – 2 x 2048MB


System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 500GB (250GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection

Optical Drives : Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW )

Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® Ultimate N 5300 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card with MIMO Technology
The World's First 450 Mbps Wi-Fi Adapter!

Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with Surround Sound

Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Onsite Service and 24/7 Toll-Free Phone Support

AlienRespawn: AlienRespawn v2.0 Recovery DVD – Windows Vista® Edition

Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap

Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mousepad

Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder

Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card

Alienware Extras: M17 Protective Cloth Sleeve

Alienware Extras: M17 Keyboard Diagram Overlay

SubTotal: $3,997.00

Shipping: $140.53

Discount: $0.00

Tax: $346.52

Order Total: $4,484.05

went with the fast dual core vs the quad as I think it will be better for pure gaming which is all i will really use this for anyway. Also went for faster hard drives vs more space. Love any comments or thoughts........

I feel sick frankly that I have once again ordered a computer from alienware after the horrible time i had with the other machine. Hopefully this will not be the waste of money the last box was. if it is i will never forgive myself.

does anyone know if you will be able to upgrade the video cards with the new ati cards that come out eventually?

pray for me. right now it has an expected ship date of Nov 17th.

 

Man, that is a sick config. i am sure you can get at least 13000 on 3dmark06 with that thing, especially overclocked!! and sure, i bet u can change the graphics card, it is extremely easy and convenient how they allow access for it. since its an MXM slot, it should be compatible.

 

does aw allow u to overl**** the cpu? on the x9100

 

yeah, im sure you can. spending all that money on that machine, **** man, they better!!!!!!!!!!

 

Nope they don't at least not on the M15x or M17x. Haha I wonder what thoughts are going through your head right now

 

wow ok im defiently sticking sticking with the q9100 if thats the case

 

Frankly I dont care so much about the overclock. If I can great if not that is ok also. Do I really need it? reality is this thing is powerful and will perform as well if not better then 99% of what is out there with a lot of new technology packed in the box. how much more do i really need? This should last me a good amount of time. I am happy with the specs. The only concern i have is that it is coming from a company that does not have a great track record.

 

oh man, that is pathetic!!! i dont understand alienware, come on man! its probably dell taking over since they own them. dell, u jerks, u!!! lol



and yeah, dont worry about overclocking. i am sure you can overclock your graphics card though. but, even without overclocking, your system is an absolute beast. it would smoke mine, thats for sure. like eat my x305 for breakfast

 

Nope Dell and AW are completely separate. Dell owns AW but lets them do their own thing. If dell took control of AW they would have probably released a pre-overclocked notebook.

 

oh ok, so dell is not too involved with their business then.
but still, that is no excuse not to have overclocking options. you can easily go for another vendor that has these options such as xotic pc or killer notebooks. the only big difference is the design and features as well as software.