Help me choose an Alienware laptop for grad school

So I will be joining grad school later this year (hopefully) and I was wondering if I should go with the Alienware m11x R1 or R2 or the base model Alienware m15x with the Core i3 processor. I will be using laptop for gaming, programming, photoshopping and random web designing. Thanks in advance

 

Here are some comments Ive made about m11x performance ect from other threads if they help:

"dude honestly just buy the r1 and save 400 dollars...or if you have one dont upgrade its not worth it!! i am playing all my games on an r1 at high or max settings with very decent (25-40) fps and my temps stay in the low 50s even with the gpu and cpu overclocked! Benchmark results for gaming consistently show only around a 5 to 8 fps increase between the lowest and highest end m11x and some games the core2duo actually outperforms the i7! Dont waste your money..."


"Ive watched a full 1080p trailers on youtube and it is very speedy, slight buffering but if you give it a ten second head start or so it shouldnt catch up. (this has more to do with internet speed anyways) I dont really work too much with powerpoint but that shouldnt cause you any problems and I leave multiple firefox windows and do other things while they are open with 0 slowdown. I cant imagine youd be disappointed with the speed and if you do find that it isnt multitasking at the level you want it to you can always upgrade to 8 gb of ram down the road. If you feel like you will be doing such intense multitasking (music, hi res videos, HUGE image files, IE, powerpoint and want to be able to do these things simultaneously than you may want to save up some more money for an i5 or an i7.

I dont want to guarantee you anything because Id hate you to order and then be disappointed but think of it this way...if you get it, and it doesnt perform as you like, you have ninety days to return for a refund."


This is all just my personal opinion and is only based on my experiences. Obviously the m15x is going to be a better machine but is larger and much more expensive. Your decision needs to be based on the intensity of the photo editing, designing, programming ect. If it is all very casual than the r1 should be plenty and also save you a bundle of cash.

 

Get the R1 refurbished with a floating 15% coupon from Dell Outlet.

Invest in an additional year of support if you want, make sure to get a nice large external monitor for all that programming. I use a 23" on my desktop @ 1920x1080 and the m11x has no problem running output to this.

You'll want the m11x because lugging anything else around to class is going to be weird and a hassle. Plus, for only $400 from the outlet, you have the money for the extra screen and whatever.

 

R1 from the outlet along with the coupon is a great deal, however I don't think it'll do fair well on photoshop (I haven't tried it on mine yet). Might wanna look @ the R2 in the outlet.

 

Terrible advice and much false information in this thread, despite the best of intentions. Much of the usage you've outlined is sufficiently broad enough that an m11x r1 -might- adequately meet your needs.

However, if "photoshopping" ( your only specific), means running cs5 you will find the m11x r1 to be a frustrating performer relative to it's cost. This is particularly true if you shoot in raw or plan to do much video encoding. You should also plan to add an exterior monitor as the gamut on the m11x is pretty low, and the screen size is really tough to work on.

An i3 equipped m15x will handle cs5 more effectively and eliminates the neccesity of an external monitor, though you may still decide to use one.

If you get into the specific games/programs you plan to use and how heavily you plan to use photoshop you'll get some really solid advice here.

For many the m11x r1 is the perfect machine. Hey, some people just play WoW while others only play crysis. It all comes down to what YOU need to do with it.

 

In the future, will it be possible for me to remove the core i3 processor and attach a new core i7 processor?

 

nope. once it's in it's in: no changes.

 

Yep

You can swap the cpu and gpu in the m15x in about 30 minutes. Youtube has a few videos that will take you step by step through replacing the gpu. Check the m15 boards, there was a thread on the front page about this issue in the last day or so.

 

Well I wouldnt call any of the advise here "terrible" advise as above poster states. What I said before "Your decision needs to be based on the intensity of the photo editing, designing, programming ect. If it is all very casual than the r1 should be plenty and also save you a bundle of cash." which Augusta basically just restated using more words. Keep in mind the sizes of the laptops. The m15x is a large laptop, over 10 lbs with the power adapter. If you are running around during the day going to classes, ect you may want to consider what it will be like lugging that bulky beast around with you. I dont have an r2 but I think that an r2 with an i7 processor and 8 gigs of ram should perfectly meet you performance needs and portability needs. Here is a link to a cs5 benchmark done with the r2. It scores very well:
Alienware M11x R2 Review - Photoshop Benchmark

Wanted to also comment that I have read user reviews from students using the m-series laptops as classroom laptops having lots of trouble with the glossy screen under bright classroom fluorescent lights. They make anti glare guards but alot of them use speckling which is known to give some people headaches and motion sickness when reading text. (doesnt do this for me but for some people it does) so just consider the fact that depending on your lecture/classroom environment you may be seeing alot of yourself in the "mirror".

 

oh really? nice! though i dunno if buying a desktop processor will work on it

 

I cant imagine doing any photo editing, programming or webdesign on a m11x. I guess if hooked up to a monitor or TV that would change things some.