Question for M14x Owners

I made a similar post in the M17x thread, but I need some input from M14x owners: I am going into college for Media Arts And Technology which will mainly involve using Adobe CS programs. I was debating between a M17x and M14x because since there is no 15" Alienware, and I run a 15" laptop now, I need to know which will fit me better. Here are my pros/cons for each:

M14x:
Pros- More portable, smaller footprint, powerful specs in a 14" laptop, lighter.
cons- less upgrade-able, Only 1600x900 screen ( no 1080), weaker graphics card

M17x:
Pros- Better screen, better graphics card options (more future proof for gaming)
Cons- Heavier, more desk space taken up, larger overall profile.

I really can't decide; I want the form factor and portability of the M14x that doesn't take up a lot of space but I want the raw power available with the M17x but am hesitant based on how much desk space it will take up. One thing to note is that I have a 1080p external monitor and may be investing in a second monitor. So with that said which would be a better fit for me?

 

I can only speak for the m14x R2 here:

I'm really happy with it, though it's already heavy for a 14" notebook, I use it for university purposes almost everyday.
With a little soft-OC or even with stock clocks, games like the new tombraider and bioshock infinite run on high with solid fps (I know, not to compare with the m17x, but hey ).
Your cons: less ugrade-able is sadly true, the gt650m is soldered to the motherboard.
I came from a 16" 1080p studio xps to this notebook. The resolution isn't this much of a problem, since I think 900p is enough for a 14" notebook.
What bothers me the most is probably the low color gamut and color management of the screen, especially when you plan on working with photoshop for example.

Connecting two external monitors is no problem, and if you plan on doing your graphical work on them, I don't see any reason why not to buy a m14x

 

There are others laptops that offer similar performance to m17x and are much smaller. But if I must choose between the two, I'd go with m17x.

 

i actually bought my M14x to replace my desktop and M11x. i needed something with a lot of power that was still "portable".

i dont regret my choice. IMO the M14x is quite heavy in a back pack as is, i couldnt imagine carrying a M17x. the only con i could really think of is the 1600x900 rez. but.... if you want a smaller form factor there is not much that can be done there.

its worth noting that you can have a full desktop exp with the M14x. i have mine running with a Msata SSD along side the HDD and DVDrom. which still comes in handy on a weekly basis for me. i run the OS on the SSD and game/docs on the HDD. i also run 2 virtual machines inside windows with out hickups. the 3610qm is no joke, even with gaming and running VMs i have yet to see anything over 75% load on the CPU. Temps are hit and miss as with any laptop but typically nothing a repaste cant fix. the battery life is really amazing. i get 4-7hrs depending on my workload. which is almost better than my M11x R1! this quad sips the power when idle and with Optimus letting the Intel 4000 do most the work when not gaming its cool and quiet when doing minimal stuff. the 650m is no joke ether. sure its not a SLI power house but i can run almost any game near max and still get 30+ FPS. in Skyrim with settings near Max and shadows off i get 40-60 FPS @ 1600x900.

 

I love my M14x R2, but I wouldn't want to do tons of media editing on it because of the screen (900p), and you'll be looking at that screen a lot, I imagine If you want portability, you could go with the M14x and get an external monitor so that when you're at a desk working, you could use that or use a dual monitor setup between the laptop and other external display. If you don't want to use an external monitor, then I'd go with the m17x. Important caveat: I wouldn't want to lug the m17x around to class. My m14x is pretty much at the limit of what I'd want to carry with books (oh so many books), and most days I left the power cord behind unless I knew I'd be using it for more than 5 hours. The powercord on the m14x and the m17x are pretty hefty. But, these days, it's starting to become the exception that profs in my field allow laptops in class, so most of the time I didn't need the cord.

Also, do you know whether other students in your program typically use computer labs for editing, or do they do it on their own laptops? If no one uses their own laptops, this may help you decide.

Enjoy school and good luck!

 

I'd go with the m17x because you can upgrade the GPU in the future.

 

The m14x cannot have the GPU upgraded. That's the main issue there but the portability is certainly good. I believe that the PC built-in monitor is more than enough.