The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Questions before ordering m14x

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by avalanche0316, May 28, 2011.

  1. avalanche0316

    avalanche0316 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hello,
    I apologize if this has been covered before on the forum but I could not find it. I am in the process of ordering the m14x and taking advantage of the free xbox deal while I am still a student. I have a few questions.
    1. I am stuck with the Intel Link 1000 wireless card. I have talked to for reps who are all adamant that I cannot get the 6205 and still take advantage of the deal. Is the card as bad as some have been saying? How hard would it be to replace it myself with a better card? Are there internal antennae that I will need to replace as well as the card?
    2. How much of a performance increase will I see for games and multitasking from the 6gigs single channel that it comes with versus buying and installing some Kingston Hyper X 8gig ram?
    3. Is there a specific ssd that people on this forum recommend?

    Again I apologize if this has been covered and appreciate any links to that info if possible.
    Thanks!
     
    avalanche0316, May 28, 2011
    #1
  2. Tsukurimashou

    Tsukurimashou Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    189
    Messages:
    468
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    First, no it is easy to replace the card, I think there is no antenna but not sure.
    The performance gain for games will probably be 0 but for multitasking I'll help imo.
    I never used an SSD but from what I read OCZ vertex 2 is really good (I don't recommend a Sata III SSD because there is some issues atm with Sata III but if you have money pick a Sata III and wait a bios upgrade or a fix from NBR users).
     
    Tsukurimashou, May 28, 2011
    #2
  3. Dukien

    Dukien Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    75
    Messages:
    96
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Im wery pleaseD with my C300 so far, only had m14x for three days, but it really really jumps into windows and other software extremly fast.

    I getting now sata6 speeds .. for now at least. :)
     
    Dukien, May 28, 2011
    #3
  4. avalanche0316

    avalanche0316 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Are you sure that it will be an easy install for the wireless card? I know that the 1000 model has one antenna while the 6205 has two. Won't I have to somehow run another antenna through the computer to make it work properly? That sounds complicated.
     
    avalanche0316, May 28, 2011
    #4
  5. avalanche0316

    avalanche0316 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Update: A tech guy at Dell said that it is difficult or impossible to replace the wireless card with a different one, and highly recommends just buying the one I want at the outset. Idk if this is bs or not, but it means I can't take advantage for the free xbox deal. Meh :(
     
    avalanche0316, May 28, 2011
    #5
  6. c1ro

    c1ro Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    39
    Messages:
    242
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    installing antenna require you nearly tearing your machine apart, it is indeed pretty complicated

    actual installation of the card/chip is easier than ram though
     
    c1ro, May 28, 2011
    #6