Dead m17x r2. Approved for system replacement

Question

The short version of the story is,  they don't make my motherboard anymore for my 17x r2. A replacement system has been approved as I have 300 days left of my 4 year extended warranty. Now my problem is,  my current specs are i7 720, 8gb 1333,  2x 128gb Samsung ssd,  cf 5870, 1200p rgb led, and Blu-ray drive. The replacement they are offering me is somewhat upgraded in in the cpu and ram department and it is a new build 17x, however I specifically bought a r2 for for the dual gpu, 1200p screen and Blu-ray drive. Am I being out of line for wanting no less than a dual gpu setup with Blu-ray, now I understand there is no way to replace my screen or upgrade it but a single gpu unit regardless of what gpu it is can not replace having 2. If one dies I always can run on one until it gets fixed because I need the computer everyday. Also upgrading wise two is always better. The latest I've heard from my rep is they can not go from 17 to 18, I explained why I need dual gpu and he has cancelled my new system build and is escalating my case whatever whatever that means. So my question again am I being out of line for wanting a dual gpu replacement,  and what should I do from here?

eclipse1321 · Answer

As i believe I already stated they cancelled the new build and escalated my case, called me the next day and said it was denied they will not upgrade me to the 18'.  So they have started building me the new M17x again, my question still stands I feel like it is a downgrade to go from dual graphics cards to a single in more ways than one.  I really do not want a different computer anyhow because I love my 1200p rgb screen and dual gpus.  Why is it such an issue to replace it with a dual gpu laptop?  Any suggestions?

89fordprobe · Answer

well honestly it depends on what video card your getting since a video card like a Nvidia 880M would annialate both 5870's in performance wise. The Cpu will be a 4th gen i7 which would be far superior to current first gen i7 you have the only real loss is the 1200p screen and unfortunately I don't think they are offered on alienware anymore atleast it wasn't on my m18X R2 doubt the 18 is any different.. find out what single video card you are getting cause to be honest your R2 M17X is 4 year old technology vs current specs.. a lot will be different .. post replacement specs and we can tell you if its worth while.. Also dual GPU means nothing, the m17X R2 was the only m17X that was built with NO ONBOARD video, so if primary card failed you were pretty much dead in water trust em I know I had 1 M17X R1 and 3 R2's with 5870M's it is physically impossible to run on secondary card with a dead primary cause it was just that so your logic there is wrong sorry.. (unless you physically removed both cards swapped heatsinks and replaced primary around as a hassle) The new system will have an onboard video so if the discrete fails , you can use the onboard until you repair the discrete video(nvida or ati card) onboard will be intel and not very strong but good enough for light gaming till discrete is repaired..

eclipse1321 · Answer

I appreciate the response, however that is the problem with my R2 right now is a dead video card, which apparently is the motherboard that they do not make anymore, the only way to boot into windows was to disable one of the cards, so I am running on one card right now. Honestly the only way to upgrade or do like for like on the 1200p screen would be to upgrade it an inch is one way to look at it. I understand they are upgrading my cpu, and ram, but the video card they are giving me in the base video card offered it seems which isn't really fair going from duals that i would be able to upgrade alot further than i could upgrade a single. Here are the specs for the new system.

Alienware 17 Base
Dell.com Order
338-BETQ
4th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4910MQ processor (Quad Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)
Alienware 17 Anodized Aluminum
340-ADEV
Setup Instructions English
354-BBBB
Alienware 17 Silver Anodized Aluminum (Non 3D)
370-AANN
16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz (4x4GB)
389-BCCZ
Windows 7 Label
391-BBEM
17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare Display
408-BBBY
2TB RAID 0 (2x1TB 5400RPM) + 80GB mSATA SSD Caching
429-AAFS
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW)
430-XYGR
Power DVD 9.6 BD, 3D,V2
450-AAGU
Power Supply : Alienware 180W AC Adapter
451-BBCB
8-cell Lithium Ion (86 wHr) Battery
470-AAKE
US 110V Power Cord
490-BBRS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics with 2GB GDDR5
555-BBET
Killer NIC 1202 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0
580-ABEG
English Keyboard
619-ACMQ
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, English
630-AAAU
Software: Microsoft Office 2013 Trial
640-BBLC
Alienware Command Center 3.0
658-BBMF
WLAN Killer 1202 Driver

89fordprobee · Answer

well the 860 is not much slower then both your old cards in xfire . but in reality is a downgrade.

I had a dual 5870's and the secondary card was the one that always failed I run dual 7970's on my m18X R2 now and well I never turn second card one.. no need for source engine LOL..

I would be pushing or a 870M bare minimum as its a slight increase over the performance of both 5870's combined or push for a 880m for the loss of the 1200p screen to compensate for the losss of such screen and second card.. this will give you far better performance then current system but only 1080p.

(sorry previous post was mine but done with my other login)

eclipse1321 · Answer

i really appreciate the response and info, that's exactly what I was thinking that that was the base gpu they could give me and it was actually a downgrade. since I am losing my nice screen and that is a downgrade at the very least they would upgrade the gpu if not upgrade me to 18' for the simple fact that the only upgrade to my screen would be making it bigger. I now have a corporate rep that is calling me back today searching for a suitable replacement while still continuing to build the new 17x. At least now I can reference this post as to someone else agreeing that gpu is a downgrade, I won't even go in to my hard drive situation on here. Do you have an actually performance comparison rating the video cards or just from experience and web browsing?

89fordprobee · Answer

We'll I search webs google was great for this and I found a great post on performance in order for both ati and nvidia together il stand behind what I found and I'm sure others will do but hopefully this gets resolved I didn't even notice about the ssd either argh I'd refuse the current as a downgrade when you get the call back .

Anyway tell them what you want since the 18 is out of the picture since warranty does state equal or better not worst for a replacement but I can't hash dell they like all companies trying to save a buck nowadays

eclipse1321 · Answer

Well, the 18 is not completely out of the picture yet. As I said I've got a corporate rep in contact with me now and he says he is going to try and get me an 18 as a suitable replacement. He will be calling me today and hopefully we can get this resolved, you think I should really push for an 880m if I get denied for the m18. I really have no idea, i am happy with the CPU and ram, blu-Ray, the hard drives I already have 2 tb worth of externals I was happy with the speed of my ssd and they want to give me 5400 rpm hdd.

I really almost feel bad asking for anything, I just want basically what I paid for when I got this laptop, dual gpu, blu-Ray, top of the line screen, the rep even said when I bought this laptop it was top of the line, I understand it's 4 years old I just can't accept a base model anything after owning this weather parts of it are upgraded and other parts are downgraded.

89fordprobee · Answer

If you gotta deal with single card of the 17 then I'd push for the 880 or bare minimum of the 870  which would put you about or just over the dual 5870 but 880 for the time it's taking loss of screen Ect Worst case remove and keep your current ssds and ship the 17 back with the slower drives  there is ways of doing this just got to mention this and talk nicely don't get mad

eclipse1321 · Answer

Ok here is the update new system offer which I am pretty sure I am accepting.  M18x i7 4800mq 32gb 1600mhz 750 gb 7200 rpm bluray drive Dual 770m 3gb sli windows 8 1080p weld screen

89fordprobee · Answer

The 770,s are still better overall then the 5870's as i said before just remove the ssd from current system and reinstall windows from scratch and just ask for windows 7 with key and media  if your comfortable swapping the hdds

89fordprobee · Answer

Take it trust me the cost of that superceeds your current  drive speed will be slower but overall is much better but still with 1080 p screen

eclipse1321 · Answer

the only thing that really bothers me is the hdd and windows 8, I really dislike windows 8. I was thinking about asking for windows 7 and 870m or 880ms to make up for the screen and hdds

eclipse1321 · Answer

Thank you for all the advice, my new system should be here Monday!!!

Alienware-Naomi · Answer

Hi eclipse1321!

I'm glad to see you were able to sort out the configuration for your system exchange. Please update the thread when you receive the new computer and let me know if you have any other questions or if need further assistance.

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Dead m17x r2. Approved for system replacement

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