I just exchanged my XPS for an Alienware. How can I tell how comparable my specs are?

You didn't say what XPS you had...

per the exchange process, you get what "they" deem as on par and better, you cant really call and demand upgrades.

Alienware M17x

Intel Core i5 520M 2.4GHz

1GB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870

250GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD

compare it to you old machine...

I'm sure its better than any XPS notebook.

Sorry about that. It was a loooong day! I did end up finding out the specs, by going through them individually. But I was mainly concerned if I was going to be able to upgrade it once I got it, or if it would be maxed out in the current laptop they are sending. I'll have to wait until they send it.

On mine, I looked up:

XPS M1710

Intel Core 2 CPU
T7400  @ 2.16GHz
2.16 GHz, 2.00 GB of RAM
Hitachi HTS722016K9A300
NVIDIA GeFORCE Go 7900 GS
TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-L632D
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN

It seems to be better. I just wasnt quite sure about the RAM and the Video Card and Processor. I was trying to look up and research why others would rather have had i7. I saw it advertized. I totally didnt expect them to do it for free. I would gladly pay for the upgrade of a processor. I just knew I needed to do that quickly before it was completed. (UGH on the phone with them now, and theyre saying they cant do any upgrades, even if I do pay for them UGH).

BUT they did say the 4G RAM was in a sinlge slot, so I can upgrade at one point without having to dump one of the 2G sticks, and purchase a 4G in its place. (That's what they did before with my XPS. I wanted 2G RAM but I wanted to be able to upgrade. And when they sent it, it was 2 single sticks, so I would have to take one of them out, and then only have 3G or take two out and waste them both and buy 4G. So, we'll see what happens. Hopefully they sent a sinlge 4G RAM stick.

So, they cant change a thing. But it looks to be ok.

Is there any way to find out what the item numbers are specifically that come next to the description? A few of them were foreign to me.

Name Plate Engraving, Personalized Nameplate Trigger, Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter (How many cells does it have?) ..........That kind of thing is what I wasn't sure of the specifics..........and what they entailed........

Thank You for your help. My husband's a techie but is not available for me to pick his brain. So, Im on here instead.

Right you can upgrade the ram by getting another 4Gb for the second slot.

The "Name Plate Engraving, Personalized Nameplate Trigger" is just a strange marketing thing, nothing to be too concerned about. Not sure on the strength of the battery included, but I would hope they provide a decent one. 

This is a really nice notebook, I think you will enjoy the jump to quad processors. The DDR3 ram while the newest is not yet being fully optimized in systems and generally wont really notice a major speed change there.

The video card is really nice...DirectX 11 capable, enough said =)

But yeah, once they process that exchange, it is what it is.

~SIGH~

You Rock!

Thank You!!!!!

I sooooooo did not want to worry my husband with it all. He's soooo busy mowing lawns and stripping and waxing floors to make extra money. And I'm homeschooliing our son.

And this did not need to be in his head. He has enough in there as it is, lol.

I'm relieved now, THANK YOU!

P.S. The comp was paid off in 18 months, so at least no more money is going into it. YEAH!!!!!

I loved the idea of my XPS M1710 (with XP Media Center Edition) when I got it.

But it seemed to be quirky when they had to replace the entire laptop (after several hardware components were replaced). They said they were sending XP on it. But it had Vista. We had already paid it off by then (Which was $3K). And little by little, the refurbished machine had to have the fans replaced, the motherboard, the keyboard/mousepad, the DVD Drive,.......etc.....it was a mess. So when I got tired of replacing and still having issues, and spending over 5 hrs with them that day, (I made several calls which the automated and live foreign folks could not transfer me to the right people;  or I was on hold forever, and then disconnected, and even after they had me on the line and they verified my number, they still did not call back once we were disconnected. So it took HOURS!). Once I had the woman on the line for the final time, I said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! No more taking over my computer and fidgeting with things trying to assess the problem.

At one point (when they had control of the computer) they disabled my Norton to try and work on it, and never turned it back on. I had a HUGE virus, shortly after that, that I almost had to pay Norton to take off because it was ADVANCED! So that was irritating. But my Internet Explorer kept 'not responding'. So, I can not wait until my Alienware comes in. I pray that I can finally use my computer once it gets here next week.

It'll be interesting to see where the comparisons stand once it gets here. I'll keep you updated!

I have had a little experience with a very similar issue.

I started out with an XPS M1710 years ago.  Loved that system.  (I use them for work, believe it or not).  Once the 3 year warranty runs out, we order new machines here.  So, when the warranty went out on the 1710, I bought a 1730.  It came with Vista, and it was somewhat stable.  When it was running stable the performance was nice.   After a little over a year, it started having all sorts of problems.  2 different boards went out, the keyboard went out, then the bad one came.  The video card started to fail.  At that time, the GeForce cards the M1730's came with were on backorder. (This was in Oct. '09).  After chatting with tech-support, it was determined that there was no definite date on the cards, so support moved my case to dispatch.     Dispatch opted to replace my system with "equal to or better than."     Prior to my case getting to dispatch (as this whole process took a couple of weeks due to the backorder status causing some confusion in support), I had spec'd out an Alienware M17x.   Once the tech with Dispatch contacted me about replacing my system. The XPS M1730's had since been completely discontinued.  So they offered to replace it with an Alienware M17x.   I told the tech that I had spec'd one out, and he asked if I would send him the specs.   The XPS processor I had was overclockable, so the only option that I had for the Alienware was the QuadCore as it was the only overclockable processor available with the M17x's at the time.   The XPS had the GeForce with SLI, so the Alienware got the Dual 260's and the 9400 as the comparable swap.   I had 4 GB of RAM in the XPS, but I had spec'd 8 GB in the Alienware.  They were only able to give me 4 GB in Alienware since that was comparable to what I had in the XPS.   My 1730 was running two HD's in RAID, so I got tw HD's in RAID for the Alienware.   Dispatch processed the order, and in a couple of weeks my new Alienware arrived (while I limped along with the XPS).  Per Dispatch's instructions, I removed the HD's and the battery from the XPS, put it in the box the Alienware came in, and shipped the XPS back with the return shipping label provided by Dell.

The Alienware came with Windows 7 Ultimate, and after a bit of fiddling, I was able to get the Alienware Software to work with Windows 7.  (I don't use the facial recognition utilities at all though).  It runs like an absolute champ.  It is amazing.  Never had a piece of hardware this nice.   I can even virtualize some of my servers on it, and it doesn't even flinch.   And running games, it truly shines.  Mass Effect 2, Crysis, Bioshock 1 & 2, DragonAge, you name it.  It just performs.  Editing and rendering video, it just plows through it.   I have yet to choke this machine down.   The comparison between the M1730 and the M17X are easily the M17X the far and away leader.  I don't know if the OS had anything to do with it, but the XPS, as good as it was, just couldn't come close to what this Alienware does and is capable of.

I ended upgrading the system myself to 8 GB of RAM, and now it really smokes.    I really like how the aluminum case helps with cooling the system.    I also use an NZXT cooling station at both my office and at home, especially if I'm really going to be taxing the Alienware with a heavy load.  (To hopefully add longevity to the system).

Well, I've had my Alienware for a few wks now. WOW! I love it. BUT, (O how I hate to even utter these words.....), the touch pad volume control at the top right of the keypad / number pad, just will not work. I touch it, nothing, touch it harder, nothing, maybe hold my finger slightly on it, it might work, but only after I've hit UP, DOWN, and back to up.........it's very inconsistent. They sent a techie out to replace it (who was smug and made it clear that I was a waste of his time), and now the enject tocuh won't work sometimes. They are talking about having to do a repair, and I am in the process of of taking evrything off my HD and saving onto teh external for a Dell image to be done tomorrow. And because I went from XPS to Alienware and my warranty is up in Aug, I felt like I needed my warranty extended. But it weas going to be over $600. I then found out that all this time I was supposed to be getting support from US and NOT India because I had the top of the line support (which I paid for). But no one could take my word for it, and look for the documentation. So all the times I was transfered from one person to another, and one country to another, and put on hold for HRS AND HRS, and finally spoke with someone who couldn't make out what I was saying, and ultimately ended up reformatting my hard drive (because they could not figure out anything else they could do, but that)........and I could have been speaking with US support the entire time. So I opted NOT to BUY that this time around. I spent over $3K for the XPS, for gaming......and whent hey refurbished a Vista XPS and replaced it, it was never the same. Now, I'm paying almost $400 for support for ONE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt like I needed it because I'm already having issues and it wasn't out of the box for a week. They're talking about having to send me a motherboard.

There's just not enough Calgon in the world to make up  for this!!!!

Theonly thing keeping me sane is a Dell Rep that has been walking me through this entire mess from about a month before my Alienware arrived. I guess they got tired of me calling ALL THE TIME asking for an update on my system repalcement. I was nagging because my XPS was for over a month while I waited or my Alienware to get here, and now I had to pay $400 for a lousy year, when I paid about that amount for 5 years and had issues constantly with it.

I just don't know what to do. If it's not the motherboard, then what........

Well, I gave up! No more ALienware. Have had to reformat since I got mine (which replaced my xps), and have had issues like crazy! They exchanged several parts out and I finally gave up. I still have not been refunded for the issues with my Dell Card. I ended up paying $120 for software (which included $50 for taxes and shipping)....ugh! They sent me a check for $19.66 and I should be happy with that. No one ever calls me back in ref to that card problem. But they had time to try and shut me up by sending $19.66. So, I'm only out 120 bucks instead of $140. But too many issues............it's probably just Dell, not Alienware. But who knows. They're doing, yet another system exchange. Im just gonna get a Studio 17. And have them do the specs comparable to Alienware's specs, as close as I can do them.

Sorry to hear that . My replacement AW has been pretty good to me .

Believe me! I fantacized about having a computer that works! ANd an Alienware, WOW! I was thrilled. Im sorry that am getting a Studio 17. But I really didn't feel like Alienware or Adamo were right for me at this time. I think they need to figure out the bugs before I travel that road again. The only thing that kept me sane was my tech int he US. Marie!!! She has been a blessing. I just felt that having issues with my XPS, then another XPS, then Alienware, and now to a Studio......almost feels like Ive downgraded to the Studio. But I was thinking that maybe I needed a laptop that I needed to go with something that wasn't new to Dell.......The XPS was great, I just got a lemon, then the more I downloaded updates and drivers, it would crash all the time. Then I got Alienware and was thrilled, but the blue screen........the driver issues, the freezes, the shutdows for no reason, the brightness issues, the function keys, volume buttons, etc. all were such a headache! Especially when I had a gaming system and now, Im had to reformat several times and still having issues.

No Studio 17. They sent another Alienware M17x-R2.

No replacement Microsoft Office (even though I had to purchase it multiple times since it wouldnt allow me to keep re-registering to each of the replacement laptops). They said they'd tak $100 off when I buy it from them. So I'll be out $50.

So, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Its my 3rd replacement, minus all the individual hardware replacements.

I had 4 years full warranty, and I had to pay $378 for an additional year since my 4 yr was up this month, just as the 3rd laptop arrived. They would only allow 5 yrs total warranty for my order.

Its an i5 2.4G, with 320GB Hard Drive (upgraded from 250G), with 4G RAM (had 2G on the original is 2006, and 4 on the the 3rd laptop, and this one is my 4th laptop from dell in 4 years) and a Crossfire ATI Mobility Radeon 5870. The last one didn't have Crossfire.

Who knows. Maybe this will be it!