Alienware m17x user here contemplating switching to envy 17 help me make up my mind

After seeing the release specs of the new envy 17 My mind is very torn on if I should sell my current setup (see sig below) and get the envy 17. I love the dx 11 supporting gddr5 ati card but I wonder how much performance I will lose over dual GTX 280m's? I also love the eyefinity support and the USB 3.0 support. Is it hard to adjust from a 1920 x 1200 to a 1920 x 1080?

I am basically looking for some pro's and cons between the two systems. I am also curious what my current system would possibly sell for?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

The Alienware

Pros:
-Graphics power, as impressive as the 5850 is your Crossfire setup in the Alienware is still better.
-Resolution (sort of) Alienware has the 1920 by 1200 and Envy has 1920 by 1080. Unless you really, really, can't give up the extra screen space then the Alienware wins in this category
-Screen quality is likely to be better with the crazy RGBLED on the AW, but the screen on the Envy 17 is still comparable with very good quality.

Cons:
-Heavier than the Envy 17
-Bigger form factor, Envy 17 is only 1.2 inches thick
-bad battery life

Other things to consider:
-flashiness, the Alienware isn't something you can just take into a boardroom. I don't know if this is a pro or con since its up to user preference.

HP ENVY 17

Pros:
-Looks nice
-3D support
-up to 2 TB of storage
-lighter at 7.5 lbs.
-better but still average battery life.
-Eyefinity without adapters, all you need is the laptop and 3 monitors.

Cons:
-graphics aren't as powerful as the AW's, but they aren't a slouch. Will play any game at 1080p maxed out or very close to maxed out.
-doesn't have the AW light show (I'm not sure if this is a con though)
-resolution (see above)

 

A friend of mine offered me 2450 for my laptop but I get to keep one of the intel drives. Thing is it's not even a half a year old and I spent about 3600 on it. Is 2450 a good deal for me did the value really go down that much in under 6 months?

Reason I am keeping the gen 2 160GB intel x-25m is I will end up using this as the boot drive as well as storing most of my games and apps and then in the 2nd bay i'll get one of those 12.5mm 1TB drives for mass storage of flacs and HD video.

 

Oh definitely charge more than that. This laptop here on amazon is specked lower than yours except for the processor and is close to that price.

Amazon.com: Alienware M17x-2857DSB 17-Inch Laptop (Black): Electronics

Yours is pretty decked out with awesome specs. I would charge about $2700+. especially with that nice SSD in there along with the Blu-Ray. But to be sure, go to the Marketplace forum and go into the Price Check forum. List your specs and see what price points members recommend. I'm not to good at judging the value of Alienwares.

 

Yeah, I guess Alienwares are typically significantly more expensive than the hardware would suggest. I would've said $2450 was a fair enough price for those components, but I don't know how much one should add to that due to it being an Alienware.

 

intel 160 ssd cost around 400 each, that's 800. $2800 that only $450 depreciation which is pretty good for computer hardware. Even Macbook losses similar amount of resale value.

 

Your m17x is last gen, 2450 is good enough, any higher and he might as well buy a m17x R2 with the new clarksfield architecture.

 

I am keeping one of the SSD drives and putting the 250GB drive back in.

I just hope 2450 + 400 I have saved up will be enough for me to configure it with the fastest dual core available (hopefull i7-620m) a single 1TB HD (i'll use my intel drive as the boot and app drive) 8GB of ram, Full HD res screen, the slice battery, blu ray drive, win 7 ultimate, 5850 ati card, and maybe a beats headphone.

I'm very hopeful for switchable graphics I would love the extra long battery life but even wihtout it with the slice battery it will kill my alienwares battery life which is a major reason for the switch as well as the usb 3.0

Once I see the priicng if I can afford it I think I'm gonna go for the switch. Never owned an HP before seen too many freinds with problems with them. I hope this laptop is solid.

 

I am also between the m17x and envy 17... it will come down to price/performance to me. If Envy does have 3D it is really tempting... Im still waiting though for the m17x to have 5870's in CF before I make my decision

 

you are gonna be waiting alot longer than may 19th for the CF 5870 it's not even a guarantee that willl be an option. A single 5850 with gddr5 will run pretty much everything except crysis in maxed out full resolution and ultra high settings. I'm pretty sure the envy 17 is going to be alot cheaper also its alot smaller and lighter and has way longer battery life. You lose a little performance but you gain more portability more battery life sleeker look ability to use 12.5mm 1TB drives ability to use usb 3.0 possible 120hz 3d rendering screen also an overall cheaper laptop when you max out both of them. I love my alienware but the battery life makes me sad.

 

What he said

 

I'm able to run Crysis Warhead (not sure if that is the one you are referring to) with no OC at all, at 1080p at the highest settings (enthusiast) with no problems or lag whatsoever on the Envy 15 which has the 5830. I average around 25FPS but sometimes it drops down to 18 or 19.