M14x Pre-Order Configuration Questions... Ask HERE

[Wagnbat]

Wow. I apologize for all the incorrect words, i was using my iPhone hahaha. Thanks for the response. I'll make sure i grab a 900p screen.

Is there much of a difference between processors? and is it better to get the i5 with boost up to 3.1ghz or get the i7 with the boost only going up to 2.9ghz. That really confuses me.

i5 has two cores that act like four. i7 has four cores that act like 8. If you opted for a 14" laptop, it is likely that you are not expecting a desktop replacement system and thus will get more benefit out of the i5's cooler temperatures, longer battery life, and satisfactory dual core performance.

Unless you're using multi-threaded apps like advance photo and video editing apps, you won't see much of an advantage on an i7 vs an i5. The 5 also outperforms the 7 in some single threaded applications like gaming.

Agree the 900p screen is the way to go.

[Beanman1000]

i5 has two cores that act like four. i7 has four cores that act like 8. If you opted for a 14" laptop, it is likely that you are not expecting a desktop replacement system and thus will get more benefit out of the i5's cooler temperatures, longer battery life, and satisfactory dual core performance.

Unless you're using multi-threaded apps like advance photo and video editing apps, you won't see much of an advantage on an i7 vs an i5. The 5 also outperforms the 7 in some single threaded applications like gaming.

Agree the 900p screen is the way to go.

In your opinion, if you had the choice to go with the i5 for ~$1000 or the i7 ~1350, which would you choose?

[Jironmonger]

Hopefully going to order one of these bad boys tomorrow, selling my m11x R3 for it.

[Farson]

System Color Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64bit, English
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2760QM 2.4GHz (3.5GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
A/C Adapter Alienware M14X 150W A/C Adapter
Display Panel 14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
Video Card 3.0GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology
Hard Drive 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
AlienFX Nova Yellow
Hinge Up Hinge Up WLAN -BLACK
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader
Optical Drive 8x SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
Audio Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled
Wireless Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO for Gaming & Video
Security Software No Anti-Virus Software Selected
Hardware Support Services 1 Year Advanced Plan
Pre-Installed Software Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
Alien Wallpaper Alienhead 3D
WirelessHD & Mobile Broadband None
Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth 3.0

What do you guys think? it quotes out at $1,478 before taxes. . .

ah I don't use bluetooth and I could cut out the soundblaster software for another $40

And any idea when they are going to refresh the AW line or have they refreshed the 14x recently?

I have an 18x and an 11x r1 and use the 11x r1 to game while watching TV with my wife. This would be replacing my 11x . . .

Thanks for the input!


Farson

[Pauly Xi]

System Color Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64bit, English
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2760QM 2.4GHz (3.5GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
A/C Adapter Alienware M14X 150W A/C Adapter
Display Panel 14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
Video Card 3.0GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology
Hard Drive 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
AlienFX Nova Yellow
Hinge Up Hinge Up WLAN -BLACK
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader
Optical Drive 8x SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
Audio Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled
Wireless Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO for Gaming & Video
Security Software No Anti-Virus Software Selected
Hardware Support Services 1 Year Advanced Plan
Pre-Installed Software Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
Alien Wallpaper Alienhead 3D
WirelessHD & Mobile Broadband None
Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth 3.0

What do you guys think? it quotes out at $1,478 before taxes. . .

ah I don't use bluetooth and I could cut out the soundblaster software for another $40

And any idea when they are going to refresh the AW line or have they refreshed the 14x recently?

I have an 18x and an 11x r1 and use the 11x r1 to game while watching TV with my wife. This would be replacing my 11x . . .

Thanks for the input!


Farson

Maybe you could save some extra cash by dropping to 1.5GB from 3.0GB? Most people say it's unnecessary to go to 3.0 and performance doesn't change.

[JediSamReye]

So i currently have a m11x and have had it for about 9 months, and I am selling it this month so I thought that I would buy its replacement, after research and days and days of looking I decided to get a m14x. I love my m11x build quality and its been bulletproof, I i wanted a more powerful machine and also a disc drive haha.
So my question was, when I get it what is the first things I should do, and whats benchmark games to try on it? I know that the first thing I am going to do is a clean install of Windows Ultimate

but what else is there, and is there anything that I should take special note of with it? Such as the hinges in my m11x?
thanks so much I know that some of this is most likely covered in this forum and I have been looking around so I have figured you guys can help too thanks!

[CGSDR]

So i currently have a m11x and have had it for about 9 months, and I am selling it this month so I thought that I would buy its replacement, after research and days and days of looking I decided to get a m14x. I love my m11x build quality and its been bulletproof, I i wanted a more powerful machine and also a disc drive haha.
So my question was, when I get it what is the first things I should do, and whats benchmark games to try on it? I know that the first thing I am going to do is a clean install of Windows Ultimate

but what else is there, and is there anything that I should take special note of with it? Such as the hinges in my m11x?
thanks so much I know that some of this is most likely covered in this forum and I have been looking around so I have figured you guys can help too thanks!

No, DO NOT do the clean install Before create an image of a recovery disc, it is important that you do this before you do anything else. Follow this link to learn HOW TO: Preserve AlienRespawn - stock drive to aftermarket drive / AlienRespawn Q&A Then after you create the disc that you can do the clean install, after that follow this link to:

HOW TO: Clean Windows 7 Install (Driver Install Order) Guide for Alienware Systems - This thread guide you to install drivers in order.

Third thing (Optional, but recommend): HOW TO: Restore the Alienware 'Look and Feel' after a clean install of Windows 7

For in game performance between the two, you'll notice a BIG different, all of the game you play should have a greater performance to it, however dont get too excited because the GT555M is not a really high end card, but you'll still be able play games at Medium - High for most game, and for graphic demanding game is medium. But if you overclock the GPU, you might be able to play at high.

[Bait2point0]

I've been looking at getting one of these for a couple months now, and I still have a few questions that I haven't found an answer to yet (please forgive me if they're in this thread already, but it's 30 pages long at this point)

1) Is the factory SSD any more stable than all the others that people are installing on their own?
2) If so, is there any way to order it with the i5 processor? I really don't want the i7, and it seems rediculous to be forced to spend the extra $100 on the cpu upgrade just to add the SSD.
3) If the factory SSD is no more stable than any other, what about the newest bios? I've read that it restricts them to sata II, but that doesn't bother me at all, so is it stable at sata II speeds with other SSD's?
4) Have you heard of anyone installing either of the dual core i7's (2620m or 2640m) in the m14x?

[hellfire88]

To start I'm replacing a desktop. Recently got into stock trading and my iPhone at work is not enough to view charts etc. I also game mainly LoL, looking at bf3 and nba 2k12. Retired my ps3 etc, moving back to the pc side of things lol. I plan on getting the complete gta package from steam( my favorite series ).

The rig I'm getting rid of is a phenom II x4 965, 4gb ram, 4870x2. The m14x fits the bill, portable, not to big, not to small. I plan at times to output to my 40 inch 1080p lg led tv. From research there are better choices out there but I choose Alienware to take advantage of the 12 months no interest. Have a big Disney trip coming that is sucking my pockets dry until June lol and I need this like now.

Ordering in a few days i7 2670m , 3gb vid, 900p screen, 6 gigs 1600 etc. Coming from my old rig will this fit my needs, play the games I listed pretty good? Would this be a decent upgrade from my old rig? Been off the pc scene for a few years so excuse my noobness lol. Was an amd guy. Need this to carry me over for 2 years until I can build my monster rig, multiple screens the whole 9. Thx for your input.

I'm in the same situation as you had basically just sold my gaming desktop (Core i5-2500k, 8GB, ATI 6970, etc.) and selling my non-gaming laptop and replacing both with a "gaming" laptop. I chose the M14x and just got it last week. So far I'm liking it a lot and its handled my lower-than-before workload (used to game hardcore, now just surf the web, listen to music, watch videos, and occasionally game) just fine. I'd definitely recommend a quad-core CPU if you're replacing your desktop. The i7-2670qm is good. Here is a rough list of CPU benchmarks desktop+lapop combined:

PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End

Others will say that the 1.5GB video card is good enough (its the one I have) but the other specs you listed look fine. Good luck with your new laptop!

[hellfire88]

System Color Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64bit, English
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2760QM 2.4GHz (3.5GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
A/C Adapter Alienware M14X 150W A/C Adapter
Display Panel 14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
Video Card 3.0GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology
Hard Drive 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
AlienFX Nova Yellow
Hinge Up Hinge Up WLAN -BLACK
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader
Optical Drive 8x SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
Audio Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled
Wireless Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO for Gaming & Video
Security Software No Anti-Virus Software Selected
Hardware Support Services 1 Year Advanced Plan
Pre-Installed Software Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
Alien Wallpaper Alienhead 3D
WirelessHD & Mobile Broadband None
Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth 3.0

What do you guys think? it quotes out at $1,478 before taxes. . .

ah I don't use bluetooth and I could cut out the soundblaster software for another $40

And any idea when they are going to refresh the AW line or have they refreshed the 14x recently?

I have an 18x and an 11x r1 and use the 11x r1 to game while watching TV with my wife. This would be replacing my 11x . . .

Thanks for the input!


Farson

Yea you could save a few bucks by taking out the SoundBlaster option (its just software i believe) but if you think you'll ever be needing Bluetooth, I'd get it installed from the factory. I just installed a Dell 375 Bluetooth card myself on my M14x and its a pain in the rear: you have to remove the bottom cover, battery, optical drive, keyboard cover, keyboard, and palm-rest to get access to the Bluetooth card slot!