M18x US Launch Info

Hello,

I have some info for the US launch. I will substantiate this info as soon as I get some solid evidence.

Starting price $2019 with core i7 2630QM, a single GTX 460M, 4GB 1333Mhz Ram and 320GM HDD

Preliminary shipping will start on or around 05/18/2011 which means that they might release the product really soon (maybe not, who knows)

The GTX 485M is not currently an option and the display is still WLED 1920x1080

 

Here you go:

M18X US Configuration site.

 

+1

thanks!~

 

Jesus. $900 for Dual 6970m

 

$975 for an OC'd 2920xm? I wonder what the difference is between that and just buying the regular 2920xm and OC'ing it yourself? Hmm..thanks for the link, +1. $900 for 6970M Xfire..Dell is out of their mind.

Check out how much this modest conifiguration costs:

 

Wow, as cool as this looks, it's completely out of my price range. Select 6970M and you're nearing 3K.

Glad I didn't wait for this, but hope you guys enjoy 'em.

Are these prices set in stone?

What justifies the 300$ starting price increase from the M17X R2 other than the chassis?

 

Total let down with the $900 GPU upgrade....

 

Still sporting the same 240w adapter?

 

Who knows? Since the product hasn't been released yet anything is possible.

 

It's a 330W adapter with 6970M Xfire. The upgrade price for crossfire is ridiculous, they need to cut that in half if they want any meaningful sales. Glad I still have an M17x-R2 I can play with until prices come down. I definitely won't be an early adopter at those rates.


A fairly basic config is still overpriced:

Compare that with the M17x-R3 and all you're really getting performance wise is an additional ATi 6970M GPU. I doubt it costs Dell so much money to make an aluminium chasis or to use an 18.4" WLED panel. If it was IPS RGB LED as standard, then I'd see justification for the outrageous price. Lets hope it comes down when the system is finally made available to order.

 

+1 Rep, thanks for this

 

How much would they charge for the 485M SLI if they charge that much for the ATIs? Anyways, I wish them luck with the sales...

 

That is one hell of a premium. The Area-51 is lookin abit more appealing now...

 

Lol Yep, my thoughts exactly...only im going with the Aurora and 2600K.

 

Probably another $1000 lol! No wonder it's not offered.

 

I dont think this is anyway bear the final version.

They advertised that it would support 32gb RAM. See it anywhere?

 

I have not made a final decision yet but the M18X does not have as big of a lead as it did before.

 

Yeah, I was hoping to see a 600$ tops for dual 6970M. On the other hand, the retail price ( bare card, no HS) is about 500$+ shipping.

 

Hopefully there will be a discount at launch

 

If this is final, then they just lost a sale. Those prices are just a bit ridiculous.

 

To compare, here's what I configured at XoticPC with a 90% gamut display + dead pixel guarantee, more ram, xfire 6970s (+ additional converter box for 2nd PSU) and a desktop CPU:

 

Alienware must be crazy to think anyone would spend easily $400 more for a similarly speced x7200. The only justification for the extra premium would have to be future support of Ivy Bridge. The final nail in the coffin would be if the m18x turn out with sub standard build quality a la m17x r3. If you are going to charge a huge price for something, then you better bring more to the table. Especially when $400 will put a 120gb ssd and 750gb scorpio black into a laptop or a cpu upgrade to a i7 970 in the x7200's case. In Joker's link as I see you can get a 90% gamut screen included as well that equals the price.

 

Don't forget teh most important part: X7200 with the 90% gamut display which is a lot nicer than a standard WLED.

 

That's old Alienware for you... I thought they changed.

 

+1 rep for OP

I was really hoping for single 485 chip... but no dice. The RAM is more of a rip than before!

Compared to M17X, 500 bucks more for a modified sound system (which hopefully is much improved without question), a slightly bigger screen, aluminum chassis... is that all? I don't know. If there was a 485 included with the deal, maybe it's a little better... but with a 460 by default, I'm not sure.

I also hope this is not written in stone. If the M17x had an aluminum body, I would have bought one. The M18x is almost perfect for me, but I hope they offer a better GPU. The price is questionable... it makes me think "Is it worth dropping 500 bones for meager upgrades from a M17x?"

 

Comparing an R3 vs an m18x as I would spec out each of them the m18x is almost a grand more. Bit rich for my blood.

 

Uh, looks like I will be on the R3 for a while. But Ohhhh how I want one. Just costs waaaaaaaaaaay too much for me. Maybe a year from now.


Software & Services
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Intel® Core™ i7 2920XM Overclocked Turbo Boost to 4.0GHz (8MB Cache)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M - AMD CrossFireX™
1.5TB RAID 0 (2x 750GB) 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology
Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
My Software & Accessories
Space Black Anodized Aluminum
Quasar Blue
Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
Automatic Updates: Critical Updates Only
My Accessories
1 Year Basic Plan
Also Includes
Adobe Acrobat X Reader
Standard Nameplate
18.4-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 WLED
Alienware M18x 240W A/C Adapter????

$4214.00

 

All that and it showed the 240W? I got a lower CPU and it showed the 330W.

 

iirc, within a couple of weeks of the R3 launching its price dropped $500. At least that's what happened in NZ. Perhaps they just try to sting a little more out of those that simply cannot wait?

 

Well I'll be able to get on in 2013 after the world has ended.

 

A bit too pricey! I was so excited for m18x but after checking out the prices I lost half of my enthusiasm why alienware why???

I can build a desktop with half the price with GTX590 or AMD 6990 but I was hoping m18x would be more gentle on the price side! I NEED to upgrade my Qosmio X305-Q701 ....a red crap machine

 

900 dollars? Seriously now? Urgh. :\

 

Ouch... That roughly 1K premium for the M18X over the M17XR3 will most likely mean that I'll have to opt for the 2820QM instead of the 2920XM. No way the wife will approve a 4k+ Laptop

After I get a price with the EPP discount I'll be making the decision. I just called Dell EPP sales and they had to cut the call short because of a tornado warning.... hope they are ok.

 

I was thinking it would be about $500 more expensive than a similarly equipped m17x...guess I was a bit off.

 

wouldn't dual 1.5GB be enough though?

 

if in the US M18x is so expensive, guess the European prices... \

 

If anyone's wondering a nice setup for desktop:
ASUS LGA 1366 ATX Motherboard Rampage III Extreme - $379.99
LG Electronics 10X Blu-ray SATA Writer Drive - $90.99
Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache - $79.99
Corsair Dominator 6 GB PC3-12800 1600MHz - $99.98
Antec Gaming Case for Desktops DF-85 - $155.99
Corsair Professional Series™ HX1000 80 Plus Certified Modular Power Supply - $228.19
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Superclocked 1536 MB GDDR5 - $506.99
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-2600K 3.4GHz 8MB - $314.99

Grand Total $1860

if you go SLi - $2367.08

Ofcourse you can make changes and all but it gets you an idea ! I was hoping for a cheaper m18x

 

could anyone answer the question, for my R3 I have 2GB for the video card, but wouldn't the 1.5GB dual be enough anyway? its obviously not worth spending 900 on dual 2GB.

 

Haha, yes indeedy. Those estimates of $6-$7k in Australasia are probably about right now.

For some reason I'm confident the US price will drop a little, if not before launch, then within the next month.

 

I was going to remain silent, but this is too much, lol. Joker, please, check the configuration again, but this time look at the NP7280- S1. For the same 3150$ you can get dual 6970M, i7-960, 12GB RAM, 2x500GB HDD, Bigfoot Wireless, the 90% gamut screen, blu-ray, etc

*** sigh ***

 

Amount of Gigs don't really affect performance of a video card.

 

I would assume that you are trying to compare a single 6970m to the 460m sli. The 460m sli was powerful in at the $2,200 price range months ago but you have to remember in between the 460m and 485m there has been the 480m/470m. A single 6970 is nearly as good as sli 460m. You'd be pissing away your money going with a 460m sli setup since its so old. Honestly I think if they could have the 2720qm and 6970m xfire at $2,700 no one would be complaining.

 

didnt mean to compare the gigs, but the two items themselves, my bad.

 

I'm not really shocked by the price. It's an Alienware afterall. Louis Vuitton wouldn't be where they are today if they offered affordable solutions for everyone.

 

Well can't say I didn't warn you guys, told you that if the upgrade from a 460m to Crossfire 6970 costs $700 in a Sager, then it will definitely cost more in an Alienware, and here you go, $900, that just about killed my interest in the M18X, now I'm reconsidering a very good configuration of the R3...

 

Price drop is imminent for R3 after M18x is released.I saw your sig , you really returned your m17x?

 

No, sold it, my order was delayed so I left the US a day before it was delivered. Luckily I found someone that wanted it so sold it to him straight away and decided to wait for the M18X, now I'm torn between an M18X with SLI 460m because I definitely can't afford the 6970's, or a very nicely specced R3 with single 6970, no idea what to do...

 

Well if you dont mind upgrading your laptops go for the m18x and you can keep upgrading it.If you don't like to upgrade stuff yourself stick with m17x with all the "Bling" + more portable than m18x for sure

 

Do m14x, m17x and m18x all have sata 3 and sata 6gbps motherboards?

 

Are these prices set in stone?

$900 for CF 6970m??? WAH!?