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Alienware M17x-R2 or M17x-R3? Your pick!


Brian

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Happens all the time :)

Thx for the welcome.

Edit: username: Infernia <-- was TRYING to feminize the word 'inferno' years ago when i chose that name. Hasn't worked for me yet. :P

Well what do you know, Infernia/Inferno is now on Tech|Inferno. :)

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Yes progress, seems like regression lol!

so the M15x gets sandy bridge/larger display/etc. (M17x R3), as does the M17x R2 (M18x), throw in an M14x/etc. - and you call that regression?!?! :facepalm: oh, dear...

Edited by vikingrinn
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so the M15x gets sandy bridge/larger display/etc. (M17x R3), as does the M17x R2 (M18x), throw in an M14x/etc. - and you call that regression?!?! :facepalm: oh, dear...

He was referring to going from 2 gpu's to 1. I'm assuming you meant the M17x not M15x. That has been single gpu and the screen size hasnt changed for any model has it?

Gaming performance-wise the r3 want progression, more like a sibling split. They had to detune the R3 some to make a significant spot for the M18x. Hence no extreme cpu for r3.

Edited by GetFound
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Gotta first say that it's good to have a site like this around. Thanks to a vikingrinn for the heads-up. :)

So, I'm still going through my cheezed off period with my current replacement situation with Dell/Alienware (some peeps here gave some great advise over there before the thread was locked). I am going exactly through what this thread is about. R2 (with the 4870 GPUs) to R3 because an idiot tech trying to repair a Blu-ray drive fat-fingered my R2 to death. I'm not quite sure how he did it but he actually managed to scratch the screen, too.

Anywho, I'm getting a R3 as a replacement and I'm not diggin' the fact that the screen is smaller and of lesser quality. It's not cool to lose the ability to have dual graphics cards. The machine, based just on specs, doesn't feel like Alienware All Powerful. It's a notch or two below. Especially for what I paid for in my original rig.

I think it's great that there is something out there for people looking for a powerful unit that has better battery life and is lighter than the R2. But I bought my R2 as a pure desktop replacement so the weight and battery life mean very little to me. Almost nothing, in fact.

It will be great to get something truly top of the line like what we are hearing about the m18x because the R3 certainly isn't. :(

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For those who care and gave my some great advice from the old NBR thread: I am still trying to get someone who can give me some better upgrades on my replacement to make up for the $800 difference in the machines not to mention all the BS I've gone through since late January just trying to get a laptop back in my hands.

Edited by JCrichton
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Welcome to T|I J. Crichton (btw that show rocked). It seems like they are trying to force you to get an R3 so IMO the best option to pursue is to ask for your money back. That way you can wait until the M18x is released in a few months and get a dual card system.

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Welcome to T|I J. Crichton (btw that show rocked). It seems like they are trying to force you to get an R3 so IMO the best option to pursue is to ask for your money back. That way you can wait until the M18x is released in a few months and get a dual card system.
I'm definitely going to give that a shot on Monday. It'll be a bit of a pain to not have a laptop for however long it take them to bring out the M18x but I'll live. I was all geared up to talk to a rep Friday afternoon after multiple phone transfers and then work got in the way and I was too pooped when I got home to put up a fight.
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I'm definitely going to give that a shot on Monday. It'll be a bit of a pain to not have a laptop for however long it take them to bring out the M18x but I'll live. I was all geared up to talk to a rep Friday afternoon after multiple phone transfers and then work got in the way and I was too pooped when I got home to put up a fight.

+1 on Brian's suggestion and the welcome ;)

I've recently sold my R2 since I was offered too good of a price to pass on and it's a pain to wait on the m18x but I think it will be worth it eventually. I'd push for money back

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Great Site, nice change from the proletariat at some other places.

I'm on the fence about getting an R2 with all it's pros (and the chance of a 6970 upgrade) to straight up getting an R3, both at the same price. Playing the waiting game to see what shakes out with the *cough* M18x *cough*. Sorry, too many cigs........

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Great Site, nice change from the proletariat at some other places.

I'm on the fence about getting an R2 with all it's pros (and the chance of a 6970 upgrade) to straight up getting an R3, both at the same price. Playing the waiting game to see what shakes out with the *cough* M18x *cough*. Sorry, too many cigs........

Hi Silent Bob--thanks and welcome! Where's Jay?

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I think so far we all are playing that waiting game mostly out of curiosity for the extras (I personally wait for the screen and the chassis material), otherwise it is easy to predict how well 2x6970M combined with a 2920xm can perform... (even though we still have our doubts about TS and whether the bios will allow it to transform this CPU or not)

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I think so far we all are playing that waiting game mostly out of curiosity for the extras (I personally wait for the screen and the chassis material), otherwise it is easy to predict how well 2x6970M combined with a 2920xm can perform... (even though we still have our doubts about TS and whether the bios will allow it to transform this CPU or not)

exactly who would pass up crossfire 6970m and 2920XM with its potential unlocked by TS. No one but if thats not gonna be possible not everyone is gonna jump right in. The 2920XM in itself is quite an upgrade but if TS is unable to manipulate the power limits last years models will be in close competition with this years models. That'll make things interesting.

There's Jay he must of been :80::64:

Edited by mw86
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So glad I found you guys.... again.... not to mention I got a dozen emails telling me the wiki forum was closing and that this one was opening... :P

Hey we now have a legacy Alienware... the R2. And I'm damn proud... um can we say that? Oh well

I promise I'll get a sig and avatar later. Maybe just use my other ones temporarily til I get the creative juices flowing again.

And back to the ON-Topic opinion.

+1 for Danger and his suggestion for a name of M17X - 3D.... save on the confusion and put the proper title on the laptop that they rushed out the door to compete in that particular market. No I am not implying that the R3 is not a quality laptop, it is. I am only saying that it is not the predecessor to the R2... as many others have already said before me.

Why can't they go with Anodized aluminum? Some awesome colors out there and a nice protective coating on it would keep scratches at bay plus provide a whole lot of customization....

Good to see all the familiar names again. Now to finish bookmarking all my favorite tweaks, mods, and workarounds

Cheers

I agree Infernia if you compare them spec by spec it seems like an entirely separate entity. 3D plus slightly more bandwidth on gpu memory. Its 100mhz less on video memory but still has about double the memory bandwith of a 5870m when comparing 5870m to 6970m the later has lower core clock and more battery life due to no crossfire, seems to me its a same sized laptop thats meant to be more portable to lug around and be away from a power socket for awhile.

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I was just looking at benchmarks for the gtx 485m.

If the R3 had a 485m in it, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Is anyone intending to buy one separately and see if they can shoehorn one in?

From what I have researched, the 485m has the same power envelope as the 480m, which has the same power envelope as the 6970m, so....

It will fit, power wise AFAIK.

Anyone know of a place that sells them outright? I may consider this for my next machine...

-Ash

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Theres a pretty big difference between 6970 and gtx285 in power consumption, at least a 20 watt jump. However the 480 and 6970 are pretty close.

GTX485M - 37 watts idle - 170 watts full load

GTX480M - 50 watts idle - 150 watts full load

6970M - 48 watts idle - 148 watts full load

*485m - 6970m Source

*480m Source

Edited by GetFound
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I was just looking at benchmarks for the gtx 485m.

If the R3 had a 485m in it, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Is anyone intending to buy one separately and see if they can shoehorn one in?

From what I have researched, the 485m has the same power envelope as the 480m, which has the same power envelope as the 6970m, so....

It will fit, power wise AFAIK.

Anyone know of a place that sells them outright? I may consider this for my next machine...

-Ash

I know someone who has a few in hand, pm me for more info.

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Well I've decided I'm going old school. Gonna pick up a relatively new R2 for a really nice price, mod the hell out of it (don't have a camaro in the garage anymore) and flip it when the M18x decides to show.

What do you have in mind? Because I have two M17x-R2's up for sale and both are in mint condition. Both have identical configs except one has a 920xm + 5870m xfire while the other has 720qm + 5870m xfire.

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What do you have in mind? Because I have two M17x-R2's up for sale and both are in mint condition. Both have identical configs except one has a 920xm + 5870m xfire while the other has 720qm + 5870m xfire.

Thanks Brian but I have a lead on a 2 month old (still warrantied) R2 720qm w/5870 xfire for $1500 and should be wrapping up the deal in the coming week. Feel free to PM me their respective specs in case this deal falls through if you like.

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Nah, only has the 1520 wifi, but does have the RGB LED. An R3 would be great and I don't mind paying for it, but I hate shelling out taxes on an R3 to sell it and buy an M18x when (if) it comes out and end up getting taxed on that too. Prefer moving up from my lowly XPS to something I can get most of my money back from if I decide to flip it in 6 months.

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You can't lose either way with regards to r2 vs r3. You're going to love the R2 vs the old m1710 (I used to own the same notebook).

Thanks Brian. The M1710 was a watermark in performance for value. The R3 is the next one in my mind. I'll be lighting up the board to pick your brain on how to trick out the R2 when I get it.

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