M14x Pre-Order Configuration Questions... Ask HERE (Part 2)

The purpose of this thread is to guide new customers into purchasing their new M14x.
Lets not fill up the forum with these type of threads.

Part one can be found here

Reference the M14x Documentations before posting as it may answer many of your questions:
M14x - Documentation
M14x R2 - Documentation

 

So why did the single 256 SSD option disappear from the M14XR2. It was there for a day or two, now you can only get a Raid or single 512 SSD?

 

Two questions:

1) When will the i5 ivy bridge roll for the R2?

2) What's the benefit of the 32gb flash drive that's added to the 500gb HDD? Does Dell load W7 onto it?

Thanks!

 

I think that is the implication. I cannot see any other use for it. At most that is 3-4 pc games installed if it used as another hdd. Would only make sense to add the os to the ssd.

 

1) This summer or later.

2) It is probably used as a OS drive or cache drive.

 

I have a question. I haven't been following Alienware for a while, and now that I am back, since when do they have the 650M for it? Also, I've heard about the r2. What is that, how do I get it, and if its a new version, is it possible that I can get it? (I got my m14x in September)

 

Anyone know what's the different between ;

32GB mSATA Caching SSD
64GB mSATA Boot Drive

Let's not mention about the size , as a caching SSD , can we reinstall it as a boot drive? does it work like normal SSD? (I'm new to mSATA SSD's)

What kind of SSD will dell provide? are they running in SATA III /6Gbs?

Is it worth to get these SSD from dell?

 

The first one will be set as a cache drive and if you choose the 64Gb one i believe that they'll set up the OS on it.

You should be able to set it as a boot drive but 32Gb is kinda snug.
They are a bit slower than your regular 2.5" SSDs.

As for brand i guess they're SAMSUNG, since they're using the same brand on the XPS line.

 

So it sounds like I should skip the $75 upgrade for the 32gb flash memory add-on. I'd be better off saving for for full blown SSD upgrade down the road, right?

 

Thank you for your reply! rep+ for science man!

I guess mSATA is not necessary for me.

That's what I thought , save for 512GB/256GB SSD , those 32/64gb mSATA reminds me this - http://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-64GB-Cla...mory_Cards&hash=item2c60993fa7#ht_1585wt_1396

 

Is the upgraded "Intel® Advanced-N WiFi Link 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology with WiMax and Bluetooth 4.0" worth it for $50.00?

Or is the stock "Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0" a decent card?

 

So does Dell ever run promotions on new Alienware laptops?

 

So I just placed my order for the m14x and this is my configuration:

i7 3610QM
6GB Ram
500 GB 7200rpm Hard drive
1.0 GB GT 650M
900p screen

All for $1299.99. For $100 more, I can get 8GB Ram, 750 7200rpm Hard drive, and a 2.0 GB GT 650M. Do you think the upgrade would be worth it?

 

Before placing your order I recommend you give Allan or Bill from this forum a PM.

 

hi all.. kinda new here.. First time going to buy an alienware..
planning to get m14x r2 reallll soon..
Anyway issit worth it to get the 'HARD DRIVE 64GB mSATA MiniCard and 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive' ? or probably i just go with 1tera 5200rpm and later on by my own SSD..
Also planning to get 2gb ram video card.. im using external monitor setup..

 

I would not take a 5200rpm it affects the perfs a lot. Even with an external monitor I would not take 2GB I don't think it will change anything. For the 64GB mSATA not sure if worth it because it's mSATA so it's not SATA III it's slower according someone from Dell on another thread.

 

Why? Do they give forum members special prices?

 

Yes. Send him an e-mail or to one of his associates in the thread and he'll reply with a quote.

 

I take it I should build my system on Dell, then email him a photo of the build, correct?

 

Yep, e-mail them a saved link of your build.

 

See this post for instructions:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/8487684-post225.html

and post #22 for their email address.

 

I can't decide..

i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
i7-3720QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.6GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
i7-3820QM (8MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)

Do you guys think i7 3720 is good enough for AutoCAD use? i7 3820 is just too expansive for some reason..

 

I don't use AutoCad, however I can tell you that Double Cad XT ran on my m14x r1. with the I5... little bumpy but manageable. I think that will be sufficient

 

Any of the i7 should run Autocad fine. How big are you files?

 

1mb ~ 15mb the most cad file. Extra 2mb cache for $200 seem not that worth for me.

 

So, skip the 2GB 650 right?
Im on an M14x with 3GB 555M (mistake in the order) and plan on going for the 1GB 650M.

As a replacement, I'm going to be upgrading the WiFi and screen resolution to the 900p one.

Lastly: What should I do between these:
1 Year Advanced Warranty with i7-3610QM
or
1 Year Basic with i7-3720QM

 

Depends how accident prone you think you are with your laptop.

Last year I nuked my beloved XPS with a teeny tiny laser-guided glass of whisky.

Am getting full protection with my M14x, that's for sure!

 

That's right.

As for your last two choices, only you can make that decision.

Personally, I regret not taking accidental warranty since I travel with my m14x quite frequently. I'm very careful, but there's always a chance I might bang it into something or drop my bag. Depends if you travel alot.

 

I was wondering.. should i get a 6GB or the 8GB memory? i don't think ill play much demanding game on the m14x. the only games that i'll play are most probably dota 2, starcraft and diablo 3 on it. Oh.. and what's difference is there between the 1GB and 2GB video card? is it better to get 2GB instead? because the price difference isn't that much.

thank you

 

Just wondering, should I get onsite help for $110,000,148.49?

 

Rule of RAM:

4GB = Gaming
6GB = Music Production / Rainmeter-Rocketbar
8GB = 3D/Heavy Adobe/Maya

You definitely won't need 8GB for gaming

As for the GPU, the 2GB will give you the exact same FPS as the 1GB.

It's a cash grab - the only reason to get 2GB is if you connect your M14X to two external monitors simultaneously.

 

ah i see.. thank you Voodooi

 

Ok, what happened to the WirelessHD? It was available up until today and I had a configuration saved in a cart and it's gone from there too. I know the little hard drive cards use that slot, but I had the 512SSD that should have left that slot availble for the WiHD???

 

I thought the 512SSD was actually 2x256SSD so would take two slots. Which country are you ordering from?

 

USA. And yes there is the 2x256 option, but there is a single 512ssd option also and it corrected the order from the 2x256 RAID option to the 512 single SSD in the cart, now it's not even an option.

I just got an M14xR1 basically shipped the day before the R2 was released and have all the labels etc to send the R1 back for a full refund, but I like the WirelessHD and really want it on the R2. What a rollercoaster ride.

I noticed that is has not been available on the M17 or M18 since the revision. What is going on, are they really dumping the WirelessHD>

Oh, and to make it worse, I would have ordered the new one already, but I'm still waiting on Allen to send me a quote.

 

Ah that sucks. Yeah noticed on the UK site the WirelessHD has disappeared too. Didn't spot the single 512SSD till now - £830 extra in the UK, hope it's not so much of a sting in the US!

I held off from ordering and the 3year advance warrantee has gone up by £130 since yesterday. So much for being patient!

Looooooool!

Did they give you a quote on finance?

 

Yes, they want a bucket of cash for the 512ssd. And that's another thing I don't understand. My M14xr1 has the 256ssd and that was an option the first couple R2 days, but then it went away, but the actaul 256ssd is still available in the RAID with the 256mSATA drive. I even tried a 'chat' with Dell and the anwser was "that's what the manufacturer is offering, tough luck"

 

m14x-r2 650m 2gb + aw2310 with 3d bundle , what you guys think? is it worth it?

 

3d on 14 inch screen?
No thanks I wont take it.

 

aw2310 is 23" , m14x screen itself won't support 3d.

 

Oh sorry I mixed it up with the M17x's 3d option I guess.

Well to be honest I have a 63 inch plasma with 3d and even it fails to give the impact of a 3d cinema. I dont think it would be good in 23inch for movies atleast. Never tried to play a 3d game, so cant comment on that.

 

Its cool , I guess m14x is not worth with 3d build. Its just sad that I don't know where to find a monitor that support 3d with 6990m.

 

Ok guys I'm danger-close to ordering. Got all the below for £1553. Does it seem like a good deal?

Note the extras (Alienware neoprene sleeve and 2years warrantee + accidental damage protection). Have highlighted all the main bits.

COLOUR CHOICE Alienware M14x Cosmic Black edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.6GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT) edit
GRAPHICS CARD 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M edit
MEMORY 8192MB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7,200rpm SATA 6Gb/s HDD edit
LCD 14.1" WideHD+ (1600x900) WLED with TrueLife edit
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) edit
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 with Bluetooth 4.0 edit
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 8-cell 63W/HR LI-ION edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee® SecurityCenter 30 Day trial version edit
SERVICES AND SUPPORT 2 Years Next Day In-Home Service with Premium Phone Support edit
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE PROTECTION 2 years Accidental Damage Protection edit
Accessories
ALIENFX COLOUR Plasma Purple edit
AVATAR Alienhead Glow edit
OS CUSTOMIZATION Alien Cyborg Wallpaper edit
PREMIUM CASES Alienware Orion M14x Neoprene Sleeve edit
SOUND SOFTWARE Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software edit
Also included with your system
BASE Alienware M14x Base
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Cables UK 250V Power Cord
Documentation/Disks Western Europe Documentation (EN, FR, IT, GER, DUT)
Bundle N05W4M01
Placemat Placemats (Eng, Fre, Ger, Ita, Dut)
Order Information Alienware M14x Order
Camera Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital microphones
Additional Software Alienware M14x Resource DVD
Power Supply MOD,ADPT,AC,DLTA,150W,3P,WW
TimeZone (GMT + 00.00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

 

I wouldn't bother with the RAM upgrade - don't Dell charge 90 quid for 2GB? That's a rip-off and you don't need more than 4-6gig for gaming anyway.

Most people will argue that you don't need to upgrade the graphics card either, but I'd wait until I'd seen benchmarks for both before advising either way.

 

Am definitely sticking with the 2GB VRAM for multiple displays. But yeah you're right, they do charge £90 to upgrade from 6GB to 8GB RAM. The only thing that will bug me is that if I go for 6GB they won't be matched modules. Having said that, is there any truth in the performance benefit of matched modules?

Other than that though does the price look ok? Getting last minute jitters haha.

 

Possibly a stupid question, but are you getting the m14x specifically because of the size? The only reason I ask is that I had the dilemma when I was ordering, especially if you upgrade the CPU.. I was thinking 'hang on, I could get an m17x with a better GPU etc for the same price'.

I ended up getting the i5, so it wasn't comparable to the m17x on pricing anyway, but I just thought I'd mention it

Apart from that, your insurance is obviously pushing the price up a fair way. Isn't accidental damage covered by your home insurance?

 

Definitely for the size. I've been loving the portability of my MBA 11" but been missing gaming sorely. I don't have a desktop currently, but I move about quite a bit so the size is important (but I want enough muscle to hook up to monitors and play once in a while).

Exact same spec but M17x is £150 more (bigger screen obviously) so even with my portability requirement aside, it's not quite enough to tempt me.

Good point on the insurance - 2 years with Dell for accidental is £85. I think if I changed my policy to accommodate it would work out more but should look into it. The more expensive thing is the warrantee, but I don't want to cut corners there (£161.25 for 2 years next day in-home support).

Oh decisions decisions!

 

m17x is slightly lighter then m18x , but their size still kinda huge for travel...as performance surely m17x/m18x is better.

I'd say go for m14x if you travel a lot , its portable and good for soft-core gaming(medium/high setting) if you can't stand for small 14" screen get a external monitor for home/office use.

 

Fair enough.. just thought I'd check

I'd be surprised if you had to pay extra on your home insurance.. mine covers me up to £3k for any single item, and they don't have to be individually declared. I think that's pretty standard.

So don't bother with the memory and the accident cover - that's £175 saved.

Get it ordered!

 

Oh boy do I want to order! Checked my home insurance - not covered. There are added premiums for laptops / electronics etc with regards to accidental, especially outside the house. Was far too long to make sense of the policy so will either go into the bank tomorrow or call them.

Either way - I have to order in the next 24 hours cos that's when my 10% off voucher expires!

Think I'll definitely go with your RAM recommendation - I checked Crucial and can upgrade in the future by myself for less than 40 quid to 8GB.