Full Spec M11x R2 or wait for R3?

I've got a budget of $1600-$1700s. I can afford a maxed out M11x (i7, 8gb of ram, SSD). The other option is to wait for the R3 to come out. I don't have that much time, and they haven't announced a release date. It also might be more expensive than my budget. Should I just get the R2? Dell customer service told me that the R2s currently being made don't have the hinge problems.

 

I'd say wait. Speculated release for the R3 is 19-21st of this month. If nothing else, and you decide to get an R2, it'll be cheaper.

 

It depends on what you are going to use it for and what is most important to you, if portability is get the m11x if power and a bit of portability get the M17x R3 if power and built quality get the M17x R2
Not sure what the pricing is in your country but m17x might blow the budget.

 

Pretty sure he's asking exclusively about the M11x (R2 vs. R3).

Absolutely wait, I say. It's all about the 540M over the 335, not to mention SB. With that budget, you should still be able to max or near-max an R3 is my guess.

 

Yeah, with that budget, you'll probably be able to max out an r3, unless you go for an SSD. Nowadays on dell's website a maxed out r2 goes for less then $1200USD way under your budget (without SSD). But then again, if you can not wait, then go for the r2.

Personally, I'd wait for the r3, but that's just me.

 

I love my i5 R2. With that said, one of the great things about it is it smashes other similarly sized and/or priced computers at $900 or less. However, if I were spending $1700, then I think I could find a much more capable option. I'd say cut your budget in half and you could still probably get an excellently configured R3 or get a "well-equipped" R2 you'd be very pleased with.

 

No way I'd pay that much for an R2 now. Wait for an R3 and learn upgrade the components yourself. Ram is like the easiest install you can do. You can also get a better SSD yourself and install it without too much trouble. If you don't know how to do a clean install on your PC you can also use the restore disk.

 

Dell representative are deceptive . Thats why they redesign r3 hinge. Get the r3 and upgrade ram yourself. 2 most profitable configuration are ram and harddrive for dell.

 

I find it funny how people think the r3 model will be coming out for sure within the next few weeks. I do not like to believe in speculation until it is actually released and available to order, but that's just me.

FYI this is advise i tell everyone who asks, friends or strangers.
I suggest waiting if you have patients of 1-3 months at minimum, or if you are impatient go for an r2.
If your rich or do not know much about computers, go crazy with upgrades its alot easier, if it is a tight budget and you know a bit about computers do the upgrades yourself.

 

That's because they waited for months already.

 

Nobody in this thread has said anything about it coming out within the next few weeks except for you and Serephucus, and you both included the fact that it's only speculation.

You're probably just absorbing the general feeling all over the forums that it's coming soon. There's nothing wrong with that feeling, though. And it exists for good reason. More and more evidence comes out every day that the release is getting closer and closer.

Doesn't change my answer, in either case. Whether it's tomorrow, April 19-21, or around E3, I think any individual should wait for it. Unless their money is going to disappear for some reason. In that case, wait for the R3 until the day your money is supposed to vanish, and, if it still isn't out, get the R2. If you buy the R2 due to impatience, I gotta believe you'll be regretting it when the R3 is released as it should be equal to or better than the R2 in every way (provided you have the money).

 

Here is the Intel specs for the top dog in the R2 line up.

Core™ i7-680UM
Intel® Core? i7-680UM Processor (4M Cache, 1.46 GHz)with SPEC Code(s)SLBST


And here are the Intel specs for the top Sandy Bridge low power dual core mobile replacement.

Core™ i7-2657M
Intel® Core? i7-2657M Processor (4M Cache, 1.60 GHz)with SPEC Code(s)SR03S

On average that's about an 8% increase in rated MHz for Sandy Bridge. The 680UM has an 18 watt TDP and its Sandy replacement has a 17 watt TDP so they are both designed for the same low power market.

The R2 starts to shine when you overclock it in the bios. Bumping it up from the default base clock speed of 133 MHz to 166 MHz can give you a 25% boost in CPU speed. With Sandy Bridge, you will be very lucky if you can overclock it reliably by 5%. Sandy Bridge is not overclocking friendly. A fully overclocked 680UM will be running faster at idle or full load so the Sandy Bridge will need its increased efficiency to remain competitive.

The TDP/TDC power limits that control the amount of turbo boost you get are fully adjustable in the 680UM. In the 2657M, the maximum turbo power limits are locked by Intel and can't be adjusted higher using software. When using ThrottleStop, a fully loaded and overclocked 680UM can maintain full turbo boost for as long as you like while the 2657M is designed to throttle the amount of turbo boost when you reach the preset Turbo Time and power limits.

There is no software miracle coming that will unleash the full potential of Sandy Bridge. For many applications, it will be competitive with the R2 but when fully loaded, there are probably going to be some applications where it can't keep up to a fully overclocked 680UM. If you can get a good price on an R2 with a 680UM, I don't think you will be feeling any buyer's remorse when the R3 ships someday.

 

Very interesting unclewebb,

How does my processor compare to desktop processors i7?

 

Have you not been reading most of speculation threads? A lot of people are suggesting in April, thus with there only a few weeks left of April. I really do not wanna get into an argument with you. I am basing my comments on all of threads I have read in past month. I have given my advise through my perspective.

P.s. throttlestop is the greatest program I have ever used for r2. Love you Unclewebb

 

I just had a look around a couple of different Dell sites but couldn't find an M11x-R2 with the 680UM option. Maybe Dell is hiding this bad boy so it doesn't over shadow the upcoming Sandy Bridge CPUs.

A fully overclocked 920XM compares nicely to the original desktop Core i7 CPUs as long as you can find a way to keep it cool. They are based on the same architecture as the desktop CPUs so if you run them at the same speed, you tend to get very similar performance.

I haven't paid too much attention to the R3 speculation threads. There's no need to argue. I just wanted to add an opinion based on the presently available Intel hardware that Dell can choose from. People need to realize that the R2 + ThrottleStop put it way ahead of the curve so there is very little room for the next generation low power R3 to significantly improve on a fully overclocked UM in the R2.

Happy to hear you like TS.
Maybe Dell should send me some $$$$$ since it must have increased M11x-R2 sales.

 

you could be lucky if you could get the 640um to 166mhz. I'd still wait and see for a comparative review between the R2 and R3 and see if there's still any benefit of the R3 at stock.

 

Or higher which right now the ram is holding back the cpu from overclocking, In couple days when i get my extra hdd im going too install xp on it and flash the ram so i can get pass 166mhzs

Right now my m11x does 166mhzs not sure about 100% stable but its fully stable at 165mhzs.

Like too get this cpu too 3ghzs.

I still need too install throttle stop

 

I got a question. if I have an original M11x r1. with the Su7300 processor (non-pinmodded). Is it worth waiting for the r3? will there be a noticeable difference in my games? Does the new RAM (1333Mhz over 800Mhz) really help that much? assuming I get the top of the line processor in the R3 (Core™ i7-2657M)?

 

For the ram part there's probably wont be any difference at all in games, ony in benchmarks.

I know sense my desktop is 1066ram and i had the ram overclocked too 1200mhzs which is dd2, And when i got 8gb of ram i couldn't overclock any anymore so i have too keep the ram under 900mhzs for my cpu overclock too be stable were i want it at. ony performance increase i saw was in benchmarks and that was it.


But ya if you already have the r1 and want more performance than wait for the r3, In cpu intensive games you will see a difference in games like bbc2. Thats why i got the r2 over the r1 because i want too play some cpu intensive games otherwise i would've got the r1 for better battery life but i am happy with the 4hours and a half too 5hours sometimes over 5hours battery life on the r2.

 

It's worth waiting just to see comparison benchmarks to be honest. There's a raging debate about whether or not the R3 will see any real world benefits compared to a bios-overclocked R2. If you wait you'll be able to judge for yourself whether the inevitbale price-premium is justified, in the same way people were doing with the R1 and R2 (before throttlestop graced us) and were concluding that the R1 was a much better purchase in terms of bang-for-buck.

In other words, it's entirely possible that there will be hardly any difference between an R2 and R3, which would make an R2 purhcase considerably more attractive, as you'll be saving yourself tons of dosh, but still get a decent upgrade over your R1 if you overclock.

If you're happy with your R1 and can wait, just wait.

 

Thanks guys for the quick replies. I think I'll wait. Since my m11x doesn't have any problems for now.

 

Unclewebb,

Remember, we're talking about Sandy Bridge, which it's very architecture also provides a performance boost. If we were talking purely in mhz, then yes an overclocked r2 will be faster in raw computing power. However, 1) mhz isn't the sole indicator of performance, and 2) the r3 comes with a better graphics card and higher memory frequency stock. Although the r2 may beat the r3 in raw cpu speed on full load, it could very well be that the r3's throughput is higher giving an overall higher performance. Of course what we're doing is also speculation/theory. Either way, I'd wait to reserve judgement and see performance comparisons when the r3 comes out.

 

Wisest piece of advice on these forums in weeks.

 

i Agree about the gpu part which will be faster but from what i herd its going too be around 10 too 15%, which is small and the 335gt can overclocked really well because of the volt mod which we not sure if the 540gt can be volt modded.

About the memory speed that's not going too make it much faster, Pretty much ony in benchmarks like i said in my post before this.

But ya we wont know till it shows up and with benchmarks. when ever that will be i know about the 19th-21th mark but that could also be wrong and we wont see it for months. I need too see it with my own eyes and not just rumors lol

 

it's the only thing one can do and i will be the same: waiting for comparative review.

 

I've gotta chime in here on the original question - no matter how large your budget may be, DON'T max the specs out when ordering the machine. I have found when buying notebooks that it's wise to focus the order on the highest resolution screen and the most powerful CPU, but try to minimize memory and disk space. The reasoning behind this is that all manufacturers put a hell of a premium on memory and disk, and it's really a waste. Go basic and then go and hit NewEgg or another cheap third party vendor to buy the memory and disk you need. You'll save money and still get the machine of your dreams.

There's also a certain self satisfaction that comes from knowing that this machine is a machine that you played a part (however small) in building.