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3 Posts
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7098
April 5th, 2013 09:00
m17x Configuration options
Hello Dell, can you tell me why the customization options for the Alienware M17x do not include the 4GB nVidia 680m GTX GPU, the ability to have an SLi option, or have the i7-3940XM CPU?
Also, is there a reason why it costs so much more?
For example, I used Cyberpowersystems to look at an "extreme" 3d gaming notebook:
Intel Core i7-3940XM Extreme CPU (3.9 GHz) - Not available for the m17x
2x nVidia GeForce GTX 680M 4GB GDDR5 cards in SLi mode (8GB GPU RAM) - Not available for the m17x
16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 RAM
240 GB Corsair Force Neutron GTX SATA III Gaming MLC SSD
750GB Seagate Momentus XT 7200rpm SATA600 Hybrid HDD with 8GB SSD caching
3d bundle + 120hz screen
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
£2714
The Alienware comparison (m17x):
Intel Core i7-3840QM (3.8 GHz) - Top spec available
1x nVidia GeForce GTX 680m 2GB GDDR5 card - Top spec available
16GB (unidentified) DDR3 1600MHz RAM
256GB SSD + 1TB 5,400rpm SATA (closest match)
3d bundle + 120hz screen
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
£3258
(over £500 more expensive) Less CPU power, Less GPU power, lower quality HDD.
Do the fancy lights and nameplate really cost that much? I've always been attracted to Alienware, however the (seemingly) additional cost for the brand sort of leaves a bitter taste when other systems out there give you the option for better components at less cost.
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89fordprobe
83 Posts
1
April 5th, 2013 09:00
the difference... when support is helpfull is the warranty, its inhome, not ship out at your expence like most.. now cyberpower i dont know but dell got out of dual cards in a 17 inch due to heat issues.. the m17X R2 was the last with dual cards, then if you wanted dual you would have to up the anty to a M18X which heat is much better disapated due to the larger size..
89fordprobe
83 Posts
0
April 5th, 2013 10:00
Well the m17x r2 and r1 had sli or xfire option but the systems were like the m18x and made of magnesium alloy which disipates heat alot better then the plastic that they swapped to in the m17x r3 and r4 ...
Unfortunatly the m18x dosent have 3d but I purchased mine with dual 7970s and honestly rarelly need the second card
Usually dual card w9rk together but when needed they heat up and heat up good during synthetic benching for an hour on my m18x with xfire enabled. Basically breaking it in I cracked the tempered glass desktop I had from the heat .. go figure
Chrisp3gg
3 Posts
0
April 5th, 2013 10:00
Thanks for the response!
I looked into the m18x but unfortunately, this laptop does not support the 3d option (at least, it's not available on the customization screen).
I heard that the Alienware chassis was superb at cooling the internals (CPU/GPU), so it's somewhat a surprise to me that they had cooling issues with 2x GPU's running SLi, when other sellers offer the option in chassis that (I thought) were inferior, cooling-wise. I also thought that having a dual GPU setup would mean that the cards would run at lower temperatures, as the processing was shared across the GPU cores.
That aside, why not offer a single 4GB GPU (or is the heat issue with that particular card?)
Chrisp3gg
3 Posts
0
April 5th, 2013 10:00
"Basically breaking it in I cracked the tempered glass desktop I had from the heat .. go figure"
LOL! Now that's some serious heat generation there!!! :-)
Needless to say, I'll by buying a laptop cooler - one of those 22mm fans that keeps everything nice and cool.
I really wanted the 3d option (I've heard some fantastic reviews of how gaming comes alive using 3d), so it'll have to be the m17x I guess, if I stick with AW...
Thanks again for the response 89fordprobe, much appreciated.