opinion: keep M11xR1 & SSD or M11xR2 i7UM & Momentus XT

So my current system is M11xR1 with the 256GB SSD, SU7300, 4GB etc etc.

I love the M11x and would like to stick with the line although I'm looking at Envy 14 or Acer TimelineX 3820TG.

I can probably resell the R1 with SSD and go a little better than even and pick up an R2 i7-640UM, 4GB, and buy a 500GB Momentus XT, can't afford an SSD with my storage needs (160+GB). Would you do it? why?

Here are my daily uses:
-Internet browsing, hulu, youtube
-I game a lot too when I get the chance, currently on my R1 I've played DAO, GTA4-EFLC, play WoW, SC2. I've always thought I could use some more FPS but not necessary. Only GTAIV I've gotten frustrated but continued.
-Every so often I encode video for my ZuneHD
Hopefully starting graduate school this Fall, so yeah I'll be using it for school things, Word, Excel, whatever else goes along with Graduate Molecular Medicine lol.
-I'm the kind of guy that feels like I could always use more. I've been through 4 laptops in the past year and a half. Went from powerful Sager 260m to this.

So yeah.. Anyway, it's down to SSD vs i7-640UM..

So for my uses and desires... what ya think?

 

why not keep your current ssd and install it on the r2 and resell the r1 with hdd that comes with the new r2?

 

Never had a SSD so maybe I should shut up, but I hope Momentus would just be a great and reliable 500GB hard drive. It's not a SSD, but... Yeah, it's a HDD with a bit of help from some flash memory!

 

I'd wait and see game benchmarks when they start pouring in. Unless i7 delivers some crazy FPS increase, I'd call you crazy to give up on SSD... I wish I had it. :< Besides, you'll be doing more "regular" tasks in grad school (grats? ). 256GB SSDs are too expensive for me yet. So I think I'll go for the small one for 2nd HD in m17x.

 

Pros ssd

Fast boots/loading times in games

Fast load of simple apps such as internet or ms word

cons:

ssd will not affect gaming performance, only loading times.

a limited amount of writes

Pros i7:

Better FPS in games and speed when encoding your videos

Cons:

Slightly reduced battery life (apparently 15-30 minutes)

 

I've tried that, working the numbers. And the R1 has dropped in value some in the past couple weeks. Ebay fees suck so let's say I can get rid of it for $800 I'm really only getting like $730 in pocket and I would prefer not to spend over $50 for the upgrade. And $800 seems like a lot checking out ebay auctions right now.. craigslist is getting no bites at the moment for my testing waters..

I mean I could not do the 4gb upgrade and go all minimum except i7 and then I guess it's possible keeping the SSD and upgrade in future. But 2gb..? eew WoW alone takes up like 1.5GB of ram hahah

 

I have the xt,I like it: fast lots of space, but ssd it def going to be way faster. They are cheap though,and big

 

Agreed - I can't state enough how much of an overall performance impact the SSD I have (Agility) has on the M11xR1 I have.

It really depends on what you expect out of the machine - I have a Core i7-920 desktop @ home. The M11xR1 config I have readily holds it's own against it for overall system responsiveness and performance - for almost *everything* I throw at it.

I've no doubt you'll see *some* performance benefits out of the i7 (especially with regards to some specific CPU-intensive benchmarks) in the M11xR2 - however, I'd still maintain the SSD is the better overall upgrade at this point (unless you're going for both then.. )

Early indications on the other threads are indicating what others have guessed/stated - an approximate 10-20% increase in CPU. Considering my CPU sits @ 0-1% utilization the majority of the time I use it (browsing running other programs than games).. that's a lot of cash to throw out for a few FPS increase..

Now that there are more people here receiving the R2 units - I'm sure we'll see some comparable benchmarks. However, unless you're *really* planning on doing some seriously CPU-intensive tasks/programs on a consistent basis (from what's described above - I don't think it's worth it IMHO) - what real-life overall benefit do you expect from an R2/i7?

 

Molecular medicine I can't speak for, but molecular bio does involve (potentially) very cpu draining applications. I don't know how relevant that is to you, but I've found in my graduate work (unrelated field) that I often prefer working at home to a school computer lab, in which case my computer sometimes needs to be doing some serious calculations. Just a though.

 

thanks for the post. Yeah I've always had the SSD in this M11x so I do not know the performance without one. So I wonder how a standard HDD would fair in an R2. What real-life benefit do I hope to gain? More FPS out of Starcraft II. More FPS out of games in general lol. I dunno, I just want more ya know? It's sad.. but I'm leaning toward keeping it. I feel like if I went back to HDD I'll notice it more (in a negative way) than I would with a new i7.. I dunno.

Yeah I worked in a lab as an undergrad. The lab was for biomolecular cell processes so we ran a lot of DNA type programs. I didn't have a laptop as an undergrad lol so I used the iMac's that my lab had. To be honest I'm not sure what sorts of programs I should expect in MolecMed but I do plan to work in a lab I hope, as a GTA or whatever. I guess I'll just mull this over.

 

I have the same set up as you and I do not see the point in spending more money for a relatively slight upgrade if you are interested in gaming performance. The R1 does everything I need, including video encoding using the gpu. Practically every game I own runs beautifully on it. I guess i am not sure what I am missing if I enjoy the way my system performs currently. My battery also lasts almost 9+ hours when switching to the integrated graphics. Besides, I am not so sure that this optimus thing is working out very well and I like the fact I have a built in vga port. The SSD drives makes the R1 feel snappy and seems much faster - even my slow 1.3 C2D seems more powerful than my 2009 MPB 2.53 Ghz 13" with a standard HD. Just my opinion...

 

^ thank you for your opinion. That's basically how I feel. It's just... it's an i-series CPU and a bit faster! hahaha that's my problem. But I do love my SSD... I'm just refreshing the M11x forum for benchmarks and kind of hoping in my head that the FPS increase in games really isn't that much. If so, I won't bother with the hassle. We'll see I guess.

 

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't sell the R1 and get an R2, but if you do sell your R1, I would definitely take the SSD out and put another drive in it. You're not going to get nearly as much for it as a 256GB SSD is worth.

Put your original platter drive back in the R1 to sell. If you bought your R1 with the SSD from Dell and don't have another drive to put back in it, buy another drive to put back in it.

 

The thing is, if Alienware had updated the GPU in the R2, it would be a much tougher call. The fact that they didn't, and the benchmarks aren't showing much of a difference between R1 and R2... I would keep the R1.

I am actually still within my return period on my R1 (just got it a week ago), and I haven't even entertained the thought of returning it for the R2. I got a good discount on the R1, making the differential between the r1 and r2 nearly $400US! I think I will do without the 2 extra FPS for that price!

My only regret is I didn't go for the 500 gig HDD. I only have 90 gig left on my 320 already. I've been going hog wild on Steam, and I haven't even downloaded half of the games I bought.

 

What is the return policy? I'm sure there is a restocking fee involved.

 

There is no restocking fee *if* you order a new machine from Dell under the same account, and it costs the same or more as the one you're returning.

On the Alienwares, you have 30 days to make up your mind.

 

^ that's good to know although I'm well out of the return period hehe

 

Yeah, it is a pretty good deal. Makes you feel good about ordering from Dell.

I've only had mine for a week, but it is my favorite electronics purchase ever. The battery life is incredible, and flipping back and forth between GPUs works really well. The screen is very nice, and it runs games far better than I expected. I would never, ever give it up (unless they figure out how to get 5850s SLI'ed in there, hahaha).

 

I've been really agonizing over the same thing. I'm two weeks into my return period and I think I'm leaning towards leaving well enough alone. I'm playing Supreme Commander 2 on my 46" LCD at HIGH settings. I won't feel obsolete until I start playing games with heavier loads, but by then maybe I'll be ready for another new machine...

 

So, if I understand this correctly, when I receive my R2 and if I don't like it, I would have to purchase another item from Dell at or above the same price or have a return penalty. That is too bad, the only item I really want from Dell is this M11x R2.

 

I also think that I get a little addicted to getting the next best thing and never settling for what works for me. It's gets me into trouble - so I think that as long as I am pleased with my purchase, I need to learn to stick with it (for at least a year or longer).

 

Correct.

The penalty is 15%, so you're not talking an insubstantial amount of cash.

Truth be told, while I never considered returning my M11xR1 for an R2, I *did* think about returning it for an M15x. However, with a hideous battery life and no HDMI port, that machine is well overdue an update. It's also a beast, at 9+ pounds. I use a Studio 1747 for work which is kind of the "buttoned down" version of the M17x, and there is nothing portable about a laptop that huge.

The M11x is the perfect trade-off of battery life, speed, and size. I really want for nothing with that laptop.

 

The real question is, "what can X upgrade get me that my current rig can't do?". As it applies to the M11x, obviously it is not a hardcore gaming rig. So regardless if you're talking the R1 or R2, you are going to HAVE to dial the settings back.

When you are talking an M11xR3, with USB 3.0 and a faster GPU, THEN the upgrade talk becomes understandable. I can tell you one thing, they are going to sell M11x's out the yin yang when the Old Republic drops next year.

 

Judging by early benchmarks and performance the R2 seems to perform exactly the same as the R1, even in games like Crysis that were said to be pretty CPU intensive.

Doesn't make much sense to spend a pile of money for no improvement.

 

Newegg just got a new shipment of the momentus XT.. I was waiting for it for weeks!

Newegg.com - Seagate Momentus XT ST95005620AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ Solid State Hybrid Drive -Bare Drive

 

Just ordered mine. Just in time for my R2!

 

can all of windows 7 fit on the 4 gb ssd? wouldn't it be best to have the entire os on one drive and not the other?

 

My Windows folder is 16 gigs.