need some advice before ordering!

Hey everyone,
well im going to order an Alienware M14x but I still have ALOT of questions
-PRICE DOESN'T MATTER-

1) i5 or i7? Ive played games like WoW, CS, SWTOR

2)4gb ddr3 or 6?

3)720p screen or 900p screen? does it make a difference?

4)Upgrade wireless or nah?

5)upgrading speakers worth it? yes i will use them, not fond of earphones

Some detailed replys would be much appreciated :] thanks everyone

 

1. personally i would go with the i7 for future game that will utilize the extra cores but alot of people say there isint much performance decrease at all unless you do some hardcore video editing that is, basically if you dont mind spending the extra money i would go with the i7 but if you want beter temps pick the i5

2. i went with 4 and i havent needed anymore yet and i virtualize windows 8 and linux and it works quite well, plus you can always upgrade the ram later for faster ram and cheaper then dells

3. 900p all the way no question, very big difference

4, i didnt upgrade the wireless and it dosent bother me, my ping online is usually 45 on a good day but other people would dissagree with me, but i do know that the other cards have a much better range, and i would reccomend the wireless HD, i wish i had it and didnt get it, it would make things so much more convenient

5. i didnt upgrade the speakers and they sound amazing, but ive herd the upgrade does make a difference and for only $20 i would get it considering the price of the laptop already

 

1. I would suggest the core i7 2670qm. If it's your main computer, and you want as much power as possible, that's the better value. BUT if it's not your main computer, the core i5 will benefit you in lower temps, cuz this thing runs really hot, even when doing light computing with the i7, and may have a longer battery life.
2. Upgrade memory through newegg. Try to get any 8 gb 1600 mhz ram. Much cheaper.
3. 900p screen, really amazing. Unless you have an issue with the smaller overall aspect of a higher resolution, but it's very crisp, more so than 720p.
4. Stick with the intel wifi 1000 base card. If it gives you any issues or not performing as you want it, you can ebay a 6250 for 20 bucks.
5. The speaker upgrade is just software, not hardware, I didn't upgrade, and it still sounds amazing.

 

i5 and i7 is pretty much nearly equal except for the i7 would get thing done faster than the i5 because the i7 has the Hyperthreading Technology (HT) while i5 doesnt. For gaming, they are the same since most games dont usually utilize or take the advantage of the HT. But if you going to make the M14x your main PC then choose the i7 because it worth better than the i5 in term of getting done faster. For games like WoW and SWTOR, I think it's a Graphic intensive game, so CPU isnt really important, for CS sure! It's a 5+ year old game, any 5+ year old game will run on this machine with no problem at all. But be warn, many of the owner here report that the i7 run really hot, and by that I mean to the point between 85C - 99C, me include, my 2720QM used to reach 99C when playing BFBC2 for around 2 hours, so I suggest you get a cooler as well, or like some of the owner here, they built a LEGO to elevate the air vent.

I think 4GB is enough, unless you do a vitualization or heavy video processing or photoshopping a lot.

For screen, the higher is better, because you'll have more space to work, however in the exchange of having smaller text but this you can fix it by use the Windows's Ease of Access in Control Panel to magnify the text from small (Default) to medium or higher, or you can also lower the resolution, now this is the benefit of the 900p, because if you get the 768p, you cannot increase the resolution, same goes with game, when in game you can always decrease the resolution at anytime to get more framerate.

For the wireless, I suggest you at least upgrade the Intel Centrino WiFi Ultimate N 6205, because it is more powerful than the Link 1000, while I see some of the users here report that that the Killer Wireless-N 1103 having some issues. And I get the Ultimate N 6205, never had any problem with it since receive the laptop.

For this do you mean the 5.1 SoundBlaster? Well it is not really an upgrade, the SoundBlaster is just a software (Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi MB to be exact), it isnt a sound card upgrade though, but if you have a spare 10-20 dollars then why not, because it would help improve the sound of the speaker, but I'm not sure if it improve the headphone/earphone or not.

 

Get the i7 for sure. Your computer will get hotter but it is worth it.

get the 1600x900 if you are planning on using the laptop for work like Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. If you only use it for gaming then the lower resolution is fine. The 1600x900 has smaller text which can be a problem but you can fit a lot more on the screen.

The speakers are the best on any laptop of this size no matter what you do.

I don't know about wifi. Maybe you could put in some subs and some dubs. Wut?