Buying an Alienware m15x, what graphics card do i get?

I'm 13 and I won't be able to spend all the money in the world on this laptop. Alienware gives me 5 choices of graphics cards -
Nvidia Geforce 8600m (comes with the laptop)
Nvidia Geforce 8700m
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870
Nvidia Geforce 9800m
Nvidia Quadro FX (I won't be getting this)

I need to know if I should get the ATI, or the Geforce 8700
Can they play Crysis? and also, are there any other graphics cards that i could buy and install myself?

 

Where are you from, or more specifically where are you buying from? How much do you have to spend?

We mightr be able to suggest a better and cheaper alternative - Alienware machines can be slightly more expensive than they need to be; and if budget is a concern (as you've mentioned)......

 

Between those two, get the 3870.
But if you're on a budget you don't want an Alienware, you can get way more power in another system for less money.

 

I agree, Alienware is not for you if you're on a budget, especially if you can get a lot more power in other systems for less money.

 

I'm trying to stay in the 1,000 - 1,300 range

 

Are you completely firm on getting an Alienware m15x? If you are getting it only because of the brand and looks, then shame on you .

Just for a rough idea of the power of the graphics cards COMPUTER GAMES ON LAPTOP GRAPHIC CARDS

I'm assuming that you mean the original Crysis... so both the 8600 and 8700 can run it on Low settings. The ATI would be your best bet.

Personally I'd recommend that you check out the Sager NP5793 and NP8662 from XoticPC.

Great deals with more than adequate graphics cards .

 

okay so just about everyone is saying alienware is not a good choice. okay so how about a good computer that has a nice graphics card (plays crysis or dow 2 easily), at least 2GB RAM, good amount of memory, and vista 64

 

Fill out the FAQ; we'll throw some suggestions your way.

Edit: ps it's not that Alienware is not a good choice; but it's an expensive choice in comparison to other notebooks you could buy for the same money.

 

All good info minus the last part. 9800GT > 9800GTS.
I know, freakin' weird.

 

Thanks for the correction. I had it in my mind that I was comparing the GTS to the GS ... *Corrected in my previous post*


I took this from Gophn, hope he doesn't kill me .

For 15"
*(sub-$1400 budget)*
- ASUS G50VT .... 15.6" with 9800M GS (budget high-end card)
- MSI GT627 .... 15.4" with 9800M GS (budget high-end card)
..... and the rest of the mid-range notebooks with Nvidia 9600M/9650M, ATI 3600/3650, etc..
*($1400+ budget)*
- Clevo M860ETU (aka. Sager NP8662) .... fastest 15.4" gaming notebook with Centrino 2 quad-core CPU support... and Nvidia 9800M GTS / GTX 260M / Quadro 2700M

 

1) What is your budget?
1,000-1,300
2) What size notebook would you prefer?


d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen


3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
UNITED STATES

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

NOPE

5) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Music, Gaming, Internet
6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
desk
7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games or types of games?
GAMES, crysis, action,shooting, a lot of rts
8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
dont care
9) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
dont care
10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
vista 64
Screen Specifics

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?



c. WSXGA+ – 1680x1050; The middle ground. Again, text and icons are smaller than WXGA+, and more stuff fits onto the screen. Good for having applications open side by side, like a web browser while playing a video.


12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
yes
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
a very long time
Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 80GB to 500GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
at least 160gb
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive
ya but not blu ray (i need to watch dvds/play cds)

 

would everyone agree for me to get the ATI if i don't like any of the other laptops?

 

Can't say I can speak for everyone but I can assume most will suggest the ATI.

 

Sager would be my recommendation; why not take a look at these specs:

Sager NP2096 Custom Laptop (Built on the Compal JHL90)
- 15.4" WXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1280x800)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P8600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.40GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- nVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512MB PCI-Express DDR2 DX10
- None Standard
- ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- None Standard
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5100 802.11 a/g/n
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carrying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard
- None Standard
- ~Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 1 Year Parts & Labor, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Tech Support

All for as price of $1,079 from http://www.xoticpc.com

 

hahaha thanks for the offer, but i would like a new notebook and i wont be getting this for at least 2 months

 

One thing to keep in mind - that $1300 price tag that you think you're going to spend on your Alienware will actually be a lot more since you have to pay taxes as well. If you buy an NP8662 from XoticPC, you will spend $1489 with no taxes (assuming you don't live in Nebraska) for a 260M GTX, 2GB RAM, P8600 processor, 250GB hard drive, and Vista Home 64-bit.

 

Agreed. Only reason I didn't recommend it was because of the budget of having to be below $1300. If you can find the extra cash or save up more pocket money or whatever; I'd recommend the Sager NP8662 also.

Just trying to have a look to see if I can find anything better than what I've already suggested for you.

 

i looked at that and got it for 872? i wonder what i passed up?

 

ive brought taxes into mind, and you can go a little over 1300 just nothing like 1500

and btw thanks soooo much for all the help!

 

Oops my bad; didn't put the better screen into the config. I've put the better screen in and taken out Vista Ultimate. Home Premium 64bit will do the job just as well I would expect:

Sager NP2096 Custom Laptop (Built on the Compal JHL90)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P8600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.40GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- nVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512MB PCI-Express DDR2 DX10
- None Standard
- ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- None Standard
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5100 802.11 a/g/n
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carrying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard
- None Standard
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 1 Year Parts & Labor, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Tech Support

$1074

Will keep looking

 

fragile that computer is a definate possibility, will it still be there in the summer?

 

All I upgraded from the base model was the screen, the RAM, the operating system and the processor. I didn't upgrade it as far as you could; but to be honest a P8600 is man enough for most things.

 

Yeah it should be around for a while. I have one and I'm very happy with it.

 

I would suggest the Asus G50V, there are several models, all have the 9800GS. That's better than the 9600GT suggested above, and you get it pretty fully loaded for 950-1050.
It would be my choice if I were to be getting a gaming laptop on a budget of ~1000.

 

okay so would this Sager NP2096 be a good choice for me? can it handle music, all modern games, and multitask on the internet? oh and btw, does this one look pretty nice?

 

OK, I am going to have to revise my recommendation. I've done some reading up; and although the 9600 GT is a good GPU; it's a little dated now and after reading through some posts it seems it's only capable of getting between 20-30 FPS on Crysis.

Hold fire though; I'll find something for you if somebody doesn't beat me to it.

 

I think this Asus from BB is a must better option for less than $1k.

Don't go less than the 9800M GS.

 

Agreed. Just looking through these for you now.

 

Wow jeez, the G50V-X1 is down to 899? That's such a great deal, I suggest it even more now.

 

so the 9600 isnt very good? ya i want to be playing crysis on high if possible without lag (medium would be great, also)

 

The 9600GT is okay, but you can do better for 1000.

 

There must be something better; that Asus is only better based on the GPU; nearly everything else is inferior - and the resolution is not as high as the poster wanted.

 

Yeah the G50V is a great machine.

 

The 9800M GS is literally stronger than two 9600s put together. No you will not play Crysis on high with the 9600, unless you enjoy the slideshow.

But he wants a gaming machine, and GPU comes first. The 9800M GS will be killer at the 16:9 res, while the 9600 of the 2096 can't even manage at 1680x1050. I know which one I'd choose.

2.26 vs 2.4 is just 5%... won't matter.

 

wow you are right the 9600 isn't very good on the chart

 

im back to the alienware guys, the ati is looking verrry nice right now

 

The 9600 GT is ok, but like I said - after reading reviews of it, it does struggle a little with Crysis. Still playable - but only just.

No, but you could turn a few of the settings down a little and it would be perfectly playable.

Where did you see that? If this is the case I might buy one for my brothers birthday....

 

can the ati and 2GB RAM play crysis on high with ease

 

Yes, and slower, smaller HDD. But I'm not picking holes in your suggestion; just that it didn't match what the poster was looking for.

 

Not particularly. It can; but I think the last test I read for that card showed the min FPS around 8 or 9; which is not good - i.e. that would probably be a lag death.

If you dropped the shaders down a few levels it would be absolutely fine though.

 

how about medium lol?

 

OK, I think I can probably speak for everyone when I say; if you are not buying a computer until the Summer; then wait until then to make up your mind. It is possible that the Sager NP8662 will have come down in price; and that one definitely can play Crysis on high a lot better than any of the others that have been suggested. Doesn't need to come down in price that much either....

Anyway, it's like 1:30am in the morning here; so I am off to bed. Good luck!

 

okay thanks a ton fragile and everyone else who replied!!!!

 

No problem... I'll be getting a laptop in a few months aswell, chances are its going to be one of the Sagers .

Love your avatar by the way.

 

In the link Kevin Jack posted, here:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9050279&type=product&id=1218012519873


Also I think the laptop is perfect for what the OP wants, it's probably the best bang for you buck 15" gaming laptop available.

 

Just curious, what's your obsession with alienware. Unless the cool chasis and flashing lights are that important to you, performance wise they're way overpriced, use old technology, and I've heard their customer service is very bad.
Alienware is a rebrander. Which means they buy laptops from other people, put cool lights and alien stickers all over them, and sell them for much more.

 

Get the quadro. jk. Anyways i would get the 3870 if i were you. If you want nvidia go with the 9800 dont get the other two cards they are way worse. I would get the ati because im tired with nvidia.

 

I forgot to mention...

Before you buy an m15x, you need to go to the Alienware forum to research the issue with the hinges breaking. Here's the search results for 'Hinge' in the Alienware forum.

With this issue still looming, I wouldn't recommend this notebook to anyone.

 

LOL! I didn't expect that link to be so funny - "m15x hinge busted....AGAIN!!!!", "Another busted m15x hinge.....add me to the list =(" - absolutely hilarious . I absolutely despise Alienware and will never be able to recommend that awful brand to anyone. You pay SO MUCH for crap.