I'm sorry if i need to post another thread like this but i really need some advice/opinions/suggestions here. Any help would be much appreciated.
Okay, so i'm seriously confused on what to buy. I'm planning to buy an M14X with the specs i5-2410M(2.3GHz), 8GB Ram(1333MHz), 500GB HDD, 1.5GB Video Card, 900p(I'm still thinking about this though; if it would be worth the upgrade), Killer wireless card(also, still having a second thought with this card since i've read in some of the forums here that the 6250 is "okay". Please correct me if i'm wrong) V.S. everything the same except for the processor which would be i7-2630QM(2.0GHz) and the 8GB Ram(1600MHz).
I need something that would last about 5-6 years. Meaning, my laptop wouldn't have a hard time playing the games that would be coming out in the future. I really don't care if it's high/ultra/extreme, what's important is that it will be PLAYABLE thus, no lag and stutter-free. I'm sorry for posting another similar thread, just wanted to know the opinions of others and i'm still a newbie when it comes to things like these. Thank you in advance for any help that you guys will contribute.
Just additional information, i live in the Philippines and i'm still waiting for the Thanksgiving sale. My plan would be i would order online and send it in my aunt's address(who lives in Kentucky) then I would just get it from there. I hope i could order through the phone because they said, not sure if this is true though, that you can have a discount by talking to the sales rep. Unfortunately, i don't live in the states so probably i'll just order it online BUT i told my aunt to keep some coupons about DELL if ever she'll see one. Also hoping for the thanksgiving sale.![]()
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I would suggest with the higher spec'd CPU... always go for higher spec CPU's if you want it to last years as in the long run it'll be worth the higher upfront cost... some will say the cpu is never or rarely the botteneck but it can be, it all depends on the game... I think the new CPU's are being released so you should be getting those instead of the ones that are previously or currently still available. Don't believe the prices will change much if at all. If you don't care to play on high but still want medium, you may have issues down the line, say 2 years from now or even 1 year from now... the 900p res while good for browsing and other non-gaming stuff would really hamper your fps on games... you will def be able to play games between low and medium settings and tweaking various advanced settings within the games... The killer wireless card is worth it, it doesn't cost that much to upgrade, mine came with the nasty Intel 1000 card which was crap, I ended up paying $45 on ebay to get the Killer card.
Hope that helps. -
If It were me I'd be more than happy with that specification bar one or two details...
Personally I'd stick to the 1366x768 screen resolution if your primary use for this machine is gaming, the resolution is also perfectly adequate for doing homework or light office work and web browsing.
Secondly, I'd also opt for 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB as, for just gaming, it really won't be of much if any use, at all and can always be a cheap upgrade down the road if you really need it. For now though, I'd go 4GB.
Otherwise it looks ok to me, if it fits in your budget. I'd keep the killer card, mind. But that's just me. I've heard some pretty good things about it.
As for this machine lasting 5-6 years purely for gaming, It's not happening. Gaming laptops are pretty redundant in that department. Unless you'd be happy still playing today's contemporary games in 2016?
(which is fair enough because that's the situation I find myself in!) -
IMHO ..i would go with the higher resolution 900p screen ....i think thats a necessary upgrade if this happens to be your primary machine. Yeahhh you can skip the ram and install it later.......the killer card am not sure of...cause i have the intel 6250 card and it works great ...so thats not an issue....but go for the i7 ..if your budget permits.
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The 6205 card is perfect, but requires wimax now, which is a monthly fee I believe
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I have the i5 with the 900p screen and love it. I got a special when I bought mine so I got the 900p screen and 6GB RAM instead of 4 or 8. I was planning on buying 4GB RAM until the special and got a free upgrade to it. You're better off buying your own RAM to get the best value and performance.
My i5 has been great for all games and my every day programming/web browsing. Had I planned to use my M14x for video editing or file creation and rendering, I would have opted for the i7. With the i5 I feel I got better better life and a lot less heat. My fan is almost never on and I see people complaining on here all the time.
An i5 with a 900p screen an SSD would be an amazing machine. Not too sure about 5-7 years down the road though. -
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Def go for the i7 cant really go wrong with 4 extra cores, if your muilti tasking or playing an intensive game. Also get the 900p screen, can always lower the res if need be but if you start with the lower res you cant push to higher. Still wish they made a 1080p screen for the m14x...
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2 extra cores*
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The main issue I have is with the GT555m. If you are worried about games, then it wouldn't make a difference between the i5 and i7 since the GT555m is the bottleneck.
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Maybe just merge this thead with this one?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/599498-why-not-i5-m14x.html
maybe make it a sticky? -
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But probably i'll get it the upgrade as well. Really? You don't experience some lag? I mean, they said that the killer card reduces lag and i'm not sure about the other benefits though. I'm hoping that the prices would go down these upcoming thanksgiving.
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so, if you had a chance to buy an i7, then would you grab that chance? or still stick with what you have now? I'm also considering those factors, the "more" battery life and the temperature that most of the people are complaining at. I really don't care about the fan though, even if it's that loud because i'm pretty sure the sound in my laptop would be louder.
I kinda don't like the SSD because it's kinda small for me.yeah, i just wanted something that would last at least that range of years because i want that if i would buy a laptop, i will use my own money, thus i should have a job by that time. In your opinion, how many years do you think your laptop will last in terms of gaming and other things to consider?
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I would be using WiFi 100% of the time i would be using my laptop. So will the killer card make a difference against the 6205? But as everyone said, the killer card would be worth the upgrade so most probably i would get it. Thank you for your opinion though.
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Just thought that a combination of both these threads would make a good easy resource for people. -
If you only have one machine and the Alienware M14x is the laptop, then I would get the i7. It offers additional benefits for things like video editing and more CPU demanding tasks. If this is a supplementary machine like it was for me, get the i5 and put that money towards the 900p screen. I can't imagine having a low res screen. The 900p is absolutely perfect. -
Yeap, i agree with you. Thanks again! -
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I would like to have one but I belive that I'll just wait for the price to come down to earth.
Comparing my M11xr1 screen to my M14x screen I am glad that I went with the 900p screen, it's so much brighter and having more on the screen is good when you have a lot of sub menus opening. -
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It's to do with data transfer rate more than processing speed. So anything that involves transfers of data, like loading up a game, loading between levels in game, opening files, booting up etc will be MUCH faster.
Because an SSD has no moving parts (it's basically like a giant USB flash drive but without the USB) it will never need to be defragged, since there is no "head positioning" of any type. It's less vulnerable to shock and vibration too.
Another M14X i5 vs i7 thread. Sorry for this.
Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by Marcus007, Sep 9, 2011.