M6600 Owners Thread

Quick, someone give me a reason why I should NOT do this Alienware vs the M6600. Both configurations are within a few dollars and reletively the same, except for the CPU and GPU as listed below. For both I will upgrade myself with 16GB of 1600 ram and a SSD. I will be using this for college (Geospatial using ArcGIS), watching movies, and some gaming. Please advise, quick!

Alienware m17x R3
CPU: 2760QM
GPU: AMD HD 6990m

Precision M6600
CPU: 2720QM
GPU: FirePro m8900

 

You should check this out, but from memory the M6600 is far more expandable/upgradeable - you can even change the GPU at a later stage on the M6600.

Basically the Alienware is for people that game, and the M6600 is more for proffessionals that need the power for the applications they use.

The M6600 also looks a lot more proffesional, an important point if you plan to use it in meetings etc.

 

The warranty for the precision is also much better (3yrs vs 1yr standard).

 

Alienwares doesn't have the IPS LCD.

 

But, that IPS is WAY expensive, and I will use a Dell U2410 external monitor with IPS anyway.

 

Ok, I have settled on the m6600. Now, next question:

128 mSATA SSD 3Gbs (from Dell) and two 250Gb 7200rpm HDD in RAID O

or

128 SATA-III SSD and 500Gb 7200rpm HDD

Which has the better performance, the SATA-III and non-RAID HDD, or the mSATA and a RAID of HDDs? Does the risk of data loss on the RAID negate the performance boost?

 

[Even if Aliewares are from the same Co.]

I'd also like to add some words about the outstanding Dell Support.

A while ago, a Dell Quality Manager flew personally from TX to WY to experience first-hands a previous issue with some LCDs.

They recognized the issue and fixed it for everyone.

It's all documented, just search through this thread.

(Don't worry about my sig...soon it will be taken care of!).

 

So welcome to the community!

The 128 mSATA from Dell it's said [by reviewers] to be a really fast performer, I believe it's a Samsung PM810 or similar OEM part, and it seems not to be directly purchasable by customers.

Spinning RAID 0 hdds on a laptop: Bad idea!

But it all depends from your usage patterns.

If you're looking for maximum performance, SATA-III Raid 0 2.5" SSDs would be unbeatable and safer (against accidental damage)...and pricey.

I personally choose a compromise between performance, experimentation and storage.

 

What is wrong with spinning RAID 0 on a laptop?

BTW, RAID SSDs is WAY too expensive! The laptop config is already ~$2100, and I still have to buy the hard drives (~$300) and RAM (~150).

So, what about doing a 120Gb Samsung 830 SATA-III SSD, and a 500Gb WD Black 7200rmp HDD. How does that sound?

 

They are noisy, at 2x 7200rpm!