Buying advice - back to Alienware! :)

[mav]

Hey guys,

I had a looooooong drive to my first Alienware - the M17x R2.

I upgraded it from CPU to GPU to even better Memory.. and I sold it, what I deeply regret.

I'm now at my desktop with i3 and gtx 660.. buyed it just an half year ago but I hate it.

It also takes a lot of Space at my desk.. the dust not to mention. ^^

So I'll gotta go for an used Alienware Laptop, but which one?

I would have enough place for an M18x, but dont know whetherthepower, guess It's overpowered for me.

I even dont know which Revision I should take :/

These new M17/ M18 are pretty awsome, but way too pricey.

So, I'm comingfrom an i7 920xm (oc to 3.6ghz) to an i3 3220 with 2 cores @ 3.3ghz.

Should I take the Sandy Bridge or the Ivy?

'Cause I dont know if for example you can overclock an i7-2670QM that high as you can overclock an extreme Series processor, I definately would upgrade to an extreme processor.

So then, the graphic: I dont play the newest Shooters, I'll play an very exotic FPS called Shootmania Storm, which can handle my gtx 660 easily at 90fps. Just sometimes I'll play games like Assassins Creed Brotherhood (best evaaar), Relevations, Mafia 2, Bioshock Infinite and Grid 2.

As I wrote in the beginning, I upgraded my r2 with an 7970m. It was pretty awsome, but I wanted to get an nvidia card for the 2D Lightboost.

So a little question here:

Is it possible to activate the Lightboost on the integrated Display?

For what would you guys prefer for my have?

Two gtx 580 in an M18x, one 7970m in an R3/ R4 or an 680m?

I'm not really interested to upgrade my graphic card an half year later.

So some more questions which really could help me consider which Model I'll get.

Are the M17x R3 or 4 made of anodized aluminium or does they have some kind of rubber on top and the sides?

I know the M18x R1 does have anodized aluminium, like the M17x R2.

And how is the heatabsorbation compared in the R3/ R4 and the M18x R1 ?

When you're arrived here, I wanted to say thanks for reading this shit whats now out of my mind to make it more clear

Eh, last but not least:

What would be an fair price for an M17x R3 with normal i7 quadcore, 580m, 8gb ram, 500gb hdd?

And what with 680m?

Thanks for the read Iamcurious about your answers.

Greets,

mav

[svl7]

A lot depends on how much you want to spend (max.).

[mav]

Well I planned about 1000-1200€ for 2nd gen i7 and 580m/ 7970m

I'm going to upgrade if I'll get an good offer with 580m to 7970m. Sounds weird, yep. That I am. x)

If it would be an 2nd gen i7 then I'm going with the i7-2960XM.

If it would be 3rd gen i7 then the i7-3920XM.

50€ more or less, this wouldn't matter.

I am not sure which Prozessor would get better overclocked.

[Khenglish]

Well I planned about 1000-1200€ for 2nd gen i7 and 580m/ 7970m

I'm going to upgrade if I'll get an good offer with 580m to 7970m. Sounds weird, yep. That I am. x)

If it would be an 2nd gen i7 then I'm going with the i7-2960XM.

If it would be 3rd gen i7 then the i7-3920XM.

50€ more or less, this wouldn't matter.

I am not sure which Prozessor would get better overclocked.

I upgraded from a 2920xm to a 3920xm. The 3920xm is the superior CPU. It will be slightly faster, slightly cooler, and use substantially less power.

Also the 7970m is a much better card than the 580m, but if you can get it the 680m will be slightly better than the 7970m.