Alienware m18x or m17x r4?

MINUS12

MINUS12

MINUS12

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3 Apr 2007
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Land of the sheep
Bit stuck here:confused:


Alienware M18x : Stealth Black
Processor: Intel Core i7-2720QM (2.20GHz, 6MB cache, Quad Core)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
750 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Display: 18.4in Widescreen Full High Definition (1920X1080) WLED LCD
Graphics: Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M CrossfireX
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
Wireless: Dell 375 Bluetooth Card
Wireless : Killer Wireless-N 1103
Battery : Primary 12-cell 97W/HR LI-ION
Internal Backlit Keyboard

Or

Base Alienware M17x
Operating System English Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Memory 8192MB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M
Hard Drive 500GB 7,200rpm SATA 6Gb/s HDD
Optical Devices DVD+/-RW (Read/Write)
Sound Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Wireless Networking Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO with Bluetooth 4.0
Cables UK 2M 250V Power Cord
Documentation/Disks Southern Europe Documentation (EN, SPA, POL, GRE)
Bundle N05W7M01
Extended Service 1 yr Next Day In-Home Hardware Support
Placemat Placemats (Eng, Gre, Pol, Ara, Rus)
Order Information Alienware M17x Order
Primary Battery Primary 9 cell Li-Ion Default Base Battery
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Camera Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital microphones
Color Choice Alienware M17x Stealth Black – 3D Compatible
Avatar Alienhead Glow
TimeZone (GMT + 00.00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
AlienFx Colour Plasma Purple
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Protection
OS Customization Alienware Glow Wallpaper
LCD 17.3" 120Hz w/ 3D Bundle WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
Additional Software Alienware M17x Resource DVD
Protect your new PC McAfee® SecurityCenter 30 Day trial version
Power Supply 240W AC Adaptor


Cant decided between a m18x with 6970 crossfire setup or a m17x R4 with nvidia 660m and 3dvision 2 with Lightboost technology?

I like the 18inch screen of the m18x and the extra power of the crossfire setup but also like the 3d vision and 120hz screen. Do you think the 660m will run most games at high settings ?

Please help me decide:o
 
I should be known as Clevo man instead of Roughavoc..

You could always check out Clevo, for the same or less price as either of those you could get yourself a 3rd gen i7 and a 7990M easily which would outperform those by miles!

Though if you are a Dell only person, the M18x CF always has problems I hear. If this is heating, game compatibly ect ect just has problems
the m17x however isnt as powerful GPU wise but you wont run into any problem

I personally would go for Clevo (Vortex III) > M18x > M17x
 
roughavoc said:
I should be known as Clevo man instead of Roughavoc..

You could always check out Clevo, for the same or less price as either of those you could get yourself a 3rd gen i7 and a 7990M easily which would outperform those by miles!

Though if you are a Dell only person, the M18x CF always has problems I hear. If this is heating, game compatibly ect ect just has problems
the m17x however isnt as powerful GPU wise but you wont run into any problem

I personally would go for Clevo (Vortex III) > M18x > M17x
Click to expand...

17" clevo is so ugly though :/
 
Gotta m18x coming tomorrow with a crucial m4 256GB SSD to upgrade it so hopefully I can give you some feedback on the screen and size of the beast.

I don't see much point in getting a 660m with a 120hz 3D screen as it'll be near useless for gaming.

As others have stated you would need a 680m or 7970m at least to drive that screen properly and 6970m crossfire or 580m sli are on a similar level too.

I think the m18x would make the most sense of those two as it has very good gpu power and a decent screen.
 
Look forward to hearing your opinion on the M18x tomorrow ranxZy , did you buy new from dell and what was the complete spec;)

What about a m17x with a 580m gtx and 3d vision mk1 , also would it be be better getting 3d vision 2 with Lightboost instead as isnt it supposed to be much better than the old 3dvision ?

How good is this 3d on the laptops anyway as have never tried it?

Still tempted by m17x with 3d vision:confused:

Thanks guys;)
 
If I had unlimited funds I would have an M18X.

3920XM @ 4.1ghz
16GB of 32nm samsung ram @ 2400mhz
2x 680M 4GB GDDR5 SLI @ 1Ghz core (13-14k scores in 3dmark 11)
2x512GB Crucial M4 Raid0
 
The m18x is very good. I have had mine about 8 mounts now and it just awesome. If I was going to buy m17x r4, I would get a 7970m as its about the same speed as 2*6990m in stuff were crossfire works and much better when crossfire dose not work. NV card are over priced so I would not get one in a m18x or m17x. 2*6970 gpu's would give very good fps in most games at High settings. I was in the same situation as you about 8 months ago and got the m18. If you need to carry it about much, the 17x might be better.
 
MINUS12 said:
Look forward to hearing your opinion on the M18x tomorrow ranxZy , did you buy new from dell and what was the complete spec;)

What about a m17x with a 580m gtx and 3d vision mk1 , also would it be be better getting 3d vision 2 with Lightboost instead as isnt it supposed to be much better than the old 3dvision ?

How good is this 3d on the laptops anyway as have never tried it?

Still tempted by m17x with 3d vision:confused:

Thanks guys;)
Click to expand...

Yes I ordered direct from dell, heres the main spec:

Alienware M18x Cosmic Black - Anodized Aluminum
Intel® Core i7 3920XM (8MB Cache, up to 4.1GHz Overclocked)
6144MB (1x2GB + 1x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
500GB 7,200rpm SATA 6Gb/s HDD
Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD RADEON HD 7970M CrossFireX

I've ordered 16GB of 1866Mhz Kingston HyperX for it, but the SSD should come tomorrow so I'll put that straight in, can't wait. Will try and get some pics up too if you don't mind me hijacking your thread :p
 
Last edited:
RanxZy upload some pics as I can't wait to see this beast ;)

I'm concerned about reliability and high frame rates and detail at 1080p resolution , isn't a gtx 580m supposed to be close to 2 6970 in crossfire? I just get worried with sli setups as there seems to be higher failure rates with sli in laptops which is probably due to the excessive heat produced.

Fredflint how reliable has your m18x been.. Im also wondering if I could add 3d 120hz screen setup to the m18x as 3dvision2 looks awesome in certain games and really makes for more immersive experience.

Also wondering if I should buy one off the dell outlet? Still tempted by a m17x 3d r3 but the R4 version has the new 3d vision2 and the Lightboost technology!
 
Which one should I get ?


Alienware M18x : Stealth Black
Processor: Intel Core i7-2760QM (2.40Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
256 GB Solid State Drive Ultra Performance
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Display: 18.4in Widescreen Full High Definition (1920X1080) WLED LCD
Graphics: Dual 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M SLI
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
Wireless: Dell 375 Bluetooth Card
Wireless: Intel Advanced N-6200 (a/g/n 2x2)
Battery : Primary 12-cell 97W/HR LI-ION
Internal Backlit Keyboard

Or


Alienware M18x : Stealth Black
Processor: Intel Core i7-2720QM (2.20GHz, 6MB cache, Quad Core)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
750 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Display: 18.4in Widescreen Full High Definition (1920X1080) WLED LCD
Graphics: Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M CrossfireX
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
Wireless: Dell 375 Bluetooth Card
Wireless : Killer Wireless-N 1103
Battery : Primary 12-cell 97W/HR LI-ION
Internal Backlit Keyboard

or

Alienware M17xR3 : Stealth Black
Processor: Intel Core i7-2670QM (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Optical Drive: 12.7x Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
Display: 17.3in 120Hz w/ 3D Bundle WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
Graphics: 2 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
Wireless: Dell 375 Bluetooth Card
Wireless : Killer Wireless-N 1103
LCD Back Cover
Battery : Primary 9-cell 90W/HR LI-ION
Internal Backlit

Or

Base Alienware M17x Base
Operating System English Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Memory 8192MB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M
Hard Drive 500GB 7,200rpm SATA 6Gb/s HDD
Optical Devices DVD+/-RW (Read/Write)
Sound Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Wireless Networking Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO with Bluetooth 4.0
Cables UK 2M 250V Power Cord
Documentation/Disks Southern Europe Documentation (EN, SPA, POL, GRE)
Bundle N05W7M01
Extended Service 1 yr Next Day In-Home Hardware Support
Placemat Placemats (Eng, Gre, Pol, Ara, Rus)
Order Information Alienware M17x Order
Primary Battery Primary 9 cell Li-Ion Default Base Battery
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Camera Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital microphones
Color Choice Alienware M17x Stealth Black – 3D Compatible
Avatar Alienhead Glow
TimeZone (GMT + 00.00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
AlienFx Colour Plasma Purple
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Protection
OS Customization Alienware Glow Wallpaper
Promotions Hidden Option Class Free Flight Promotion. I approve Dell passing personal data to TLC Marketing
LCD 17.3" 120Hz w/ 3D Bundle WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
Additional Software Alienware M17x Resource DVD
Protect your new PC McAfee® SecurityCenter 30 Day trial version
Power Supply 240W AC Adaptor


Please help me decide as I'm so damn indecisive!

Thanks guys :D
 
Last edited:
MINUS12 said:
RanxZy upload some pics as I can't wait to see this beast ;)

I'm concerned about reliability and high frame rates and detail at 1080p resolution , isn't a gtx 580m supposed to be close to 2 6970 in crossfire? I just get worried with sli setups as there seems to be higher failure rates with sli in laptops which is probably due to the excessive heat produced.

Fredflint how reliable has your m18x been.. Im also wondering if I could add 3d 120hz screen setup to the m18x as 3dvision2 looks awesome in certain games and really makes for more immersive experience.

Also wondering if I should buy one off the dell outlet? Still tempted by a m17x 3d r3 but the R4 version has the new 3d vision2 and the Lightboost technology!
Click to expand...

the 580m is within +-10% of a 6990m so about the same depending on the game. 6970m is not that far from the 6990m. My M18x has been reliable since the A05 BIOS and it is on 12-14 hours a day with 4-5 hours of games.

I was looking on the outlet the other day and there was 4 on. you could get one with a 2960m for a lot less than I paid for mine. Some times they say 2*6970 gpu's but are 6990m's. I dont know about 3d 120hz screen setup.
 
Fred have you suffered from the dreaded micro stutter in sli configuration and how do you find crossfire or sli in most games..I'd love to be able to run metro 2033 in all it's dx11 glory in high setting at high resolution.

Trouble is with radeon 7970 is that they don't support nvidia 3d vision ? Or do you think I should wait for 3d to evolve a bit more?

Thanks again Fred and ranxZy ;)
 
minus I would go for the last one with the m17x with 680m but only if your budget permits that sort of rig.

The 680m is so powerful that it's still on par with the 6970m crossfire but without all the driver headache.
 
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