Alienware m18x or m17x r4?

MOOGLEYS · 25 Jul 2013 at 11:20

It was a refurb.

The chap has been today and replaced the screen so all is good now. He also raised a repair to have the Blu ray drive replaced as it started doing the same again.

Really helpful chap and great service.

Just finished installing Windows 8 and setting everything up. Tbh I think I'm just going to keep the laptop and split and sell off my desktop as this does everything I need and more.

tereu5 · 25 Jul 2013 at 11:42

That is my intention. Started to think now that M18x

with crossfire will keep me going little longer then m17x with 1 card and should play some games in the future (anyway currently playing 1 and its not so demanding - WOW)

MOOGLEYS · 25 Jul 2013 at 13:09

tereu5 · 25 Jul 2013 at 14:59

They do look nice tho!

Doggmeister · 28 Jul 2013 at 05:16

alienware or ************?

tereu5 said:
They do look nice tho!

Hi Guys

I picked up an alienware for 1282 inc vat and delivery on the outlet, with i7 3740qm, 256gb ssd and gtx860m alongside the usual spec, however i notice on the ************ website they are now offering the clevo 15.6 inch with gtx680m which when kitted to the same spec comes to about the same price (inc 95% gamma screen) , should i go for that instead given its lighter and smaller and easier to carry around?

Doggmeister · 30 Jul 2013 at 07:47

Doggmeister said:
Hi Guys

I picked up an alienware for 1282 inc vat and delivery on the outlet, with i7 3740qm, 256gb ssd and gtx860m alongside the usual spec, however i notice on the ************ website they are now offering the clevo 15.6 inch with gtx680m which when kitted to the same spec comes to about the same price (inc 95% gamma screen) , should i go for that instead given its lighter and smaller and easier to carry around?

nobody??

CEUOTC · 30 Jul 2013 at 09:20

Get the Clevo, my mate has that model looks good, a lot easier to move about.

MOOGLEYS · 30 Jul 2013 at 09:57

Man up required. The Alienware is not that heavy and in a backpack is easy enough to carry around. Think of it as free gym work.

It seems silly buying something else if you have already bought the Alienware just because it is a bit lighter and smaller.

tereu5 · 30 Jul 2013 at 15:37

As a DTR they never meant to be light

That's the whole point - want something powerful and well build you have to carry twice as much weight and mobility is not their strongest point (but then again every one will percept this differently - for me carrying my big tower build in compare to AW even M18x would be a nightmare

so they are very mobile

MOOGLEYS · 30 Jul 2013 at 15:49

Has anyone got the stupid killer WiFi working with win 8. I'm having lots of disconnects and have tried different drivers and turning off the management software. It works fine on win 7.

Also my blu ray will not play rental discs for some reason. Its fine with normal ones ? Tried power DVD 9 and 13 with same results. Its a bit weird......

tereu5 · 30 Jul 2013 at 16:37

I know that they not using Killer any more in the new m17

Maybe they had some problems with it as well and decided to ditch it?:>
Heh never thought that the system will be so smart that will know which are rented which not LOL

MOOGLEYS · 30 Jul 2013 at 17:43

More than likely I cannot get it stable with any drivers. I have a Dell Intel Ultimate N 6300 card arriving tomorrow which is meant to work fine on win 8.

Doggmeister · 31 Jul 2013 at 05:14

tereu5 said:
As a DTR they never meant to be light That's the whole point - want something powerful and well build you have to carry twice as much weight and mobility is not their strongest point (but then again every one will percept this differently - for me carrying my big tower build in compare to AW even M18x would be a nightmare so they are very mobile

thanks guys for the responses, i have managed to cancel the order with dell in time however waiting on the refund, i suppose given that these are desk top replacements but having the option to have a lighter model of the same spec (al be it without the 17inch screen) i prefer something that at least i would consider taking places with me than something i would probably avoid carrying around, having said that its the same price for both so its not much of a cost saving!

MOOGLEYS · 31 Jul 2013 at 12:36

If you want to raise the back of your R4 to aid airflow to the fans a pair of lego blocks does the job perfectly. I used the 4 size ones and the rear legs fit perfectly between the raised bits. Does a great job.

Top tip....

MOOGLEYS · 1 Aug 2013 at 12:10

Just installed the Intel N6300 wireless card and it's miles better than the killer. No disconnects so far and better signal strength. Just using the stock Win 8 installed drivers and it works perfect.

Also fitted a 64GB Msata drive to be used as a cahe to my 750GB HDD & another 8GB of Samsung ram.

roughavoc · 2 Aug 2013 at 12:35

MOOGLEYS said:
If you want to raise the back of your R4 to aid airflow to the fans a pair of lego blocks does the job perfectly. I used the 4 size ones and the rear legs fit perfectly between the raised bits. Does a great job.

Top tip....

I remember when I got mine, just raising it by 2-3CM decreased the temps by 5-10C. Airflow oh airflow

Doggmeister · 5 Aug 2013 at 05:06

doesn't seem to be any new bargains on the outlet, any body spotted any good deals on the r4s?

tereu5 · 5 Aug 2013 at 06:58

Not recently. Some time in last couple of weeks there was a one with 680 but with nearly 1400 its not quite a bargain

I am pulling more towards CrossfireX on M18x ...not that much expensive and more future-proof (although still waiting to see maybe a new model up there)

Doggmeister · 5 Aug 2013 at 09:17

tereu5 said:
Not recently. Some time in last couple of weeks there was a one with 680 but with nearly 1400 its not quite a bargain I am pulling more towards CrossfireX on M18x ...not that much expensive and more future-proof (although still waiting to see maybe a new model up there)

hey yeah i saw that 680 too, agree at 1400 plus it was overpriced, i am keeping an eye out at 3:15pm as suggested here on this thread for any 680s under a grand... wishful thinking?

tereu5 · 5 Aug 2013 at 10:38

hmm As far as I know it was more likely 14:15---18 UK time and for 680 under 1K its really wishful thinking....7970 yes but 680 not a chance