Need opinions on M15x setup.

Before you post please be aware that I have just basic computer knowledge.

I've just finished college, meaning I have literally nothing to do with my time but earn money and socialize, so I'm saving a ton on travelling and various other expenses. This allows me to prepare for my departure to university this September, so I thought I'd gear up with some awesome Alienware. Like most of us, I've wanted an Alienware machine since the first time I laid eyes on one.

My budget is a tight £1,100 (with student discount if I can blag I haven't left yet). No room for movement, unless somehow a few money strategies (slim chances) I have pay off. I've narrowed it down to these specs, and from the looks of things I'm considering not purchasing one at all:

Alienware M15x Gaming Laptop - Cosmic Black
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 430M(2.26GHz,3MB cache)
1 year of coverage included with your PC
No Accidental Damage Support
1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5730
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
160GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
15.6-inch Wide HD+ (1600 x 900) WLED display
DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) Slot Load Drive
6-cell 56Whr Lithium Ion battery
No Antivirus Software
NO - Dell may NOT telephone me in relation to my order and related products and services
Accessories
Alienware 3D Wallpaper
Alienhead 3D
Steam® Client and Portal™ Game - Factory Installed

I'm not put off by it's bulky-ness, my current laptop is 17" and pretty heavy. I absolutely love the design, I've never seen anything like it before. The only thing putting me off ordering that machine is if it's going to be good enough, I will be doing a lot of multi-tasking between software like PhotoShop, WoW, MSN and iTunes, and I will need it for working with software like 3DSMax and the Adobe software whilst I'm at university.

Upgrading in the future is a slight possibility, although again remember I have just basic computer knowledge, I also won't be able to splash out on things whilst I'm at university so I'm doing it now haha.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you so much to T120ted who provided me with a $50 coupon, even if it doesn't work in the UK I feel even giving away something like that is incredibly generous and deserves recognition.

 

Multitasking, I would look at the 740 or 840QM. Photoshop and graphics software you might look towards the 1080p screen with a bump in GPU.

 

Precisely. If you need battery life, the 9-cell battery would be indispensable. For heavy multitasking, consider getting 6GB of RAM now (4GB + 2GB DIMMS), then upgrading to 8GB (maximum, 2 4GB DIMMS) in future.

Since you are on a budget, consider the HP Envy and Dell Studio XPS series; they offer similar amounts of power (except GPU) at a lower price. Not to mention Asus and Acer models, though they seem to be iffy with quality and cooling.

 

If you aren't comfortable with switching out parts i'd recommend an 840qm and a 5850. These will help indefinitely with the programs you mentioned. I think you'll be fine with 4 gigs but i mostly game with the occasional video encoding on the side so hopefully someone else with a similar use to yours can speak up.

Also, this should be a give in but, make sure to call and speak to a rep when you order. See if you can upgrade / lower prices and haggle your way to a good price.

 

you can try the dell outlet for some good prices on higher performance parts, but keep in mind that they're certified refurbished.

 

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I really appreciate it. I'm going to really have to consider this, because I will probably not have this much money to spend in a long, long time. How much is the student discount from Dell? How do you apply for it?

I'll be keeping you guys updated on any progress .

 

The student discount is 10% and all you need to do is tell them which school you are attending.

 

I've actually left college, but I still have a student card and (I believe) access to my student e-mail (sometimes needed for verification like when I purchased Windows 7 Professional for £30 ).

OK, I've found this laptop for £1,073 including VAT and delivery:
Enigma i7
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Mobile CPU i7-620M (2.66GHz) 4MB Cache

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5650 PCI Express - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
NOTE I HAVE A 1TB EXTERNAL HDD SO THIS SIZE DOESN'T BOTHER ME.

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
2x SATA BLURAY ROM + 8x DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer & 16x CD-RW (£99)

Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 SD Card Reader

Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11G CARD (AS STANDARD)

USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Bluetooth & Infrared Options
INTEGRATED BLUETOOTH ADAPTER (£7)

Battery
Enigma Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (4,800/5,200 mAh)

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

15.6 inch widescreen HD glare 1080p as standard.

I'm seriously considering that an Alienware laptop is just out of my reach , which really angers me because if I'm honest I'm a designer freak. Why do beautiful things come at such an expense?

EDIT: Considering spending more time on earning money, and with a 10 - 15% discount and some haggling I'm hoping to afford this alienware setup, OR the above setup:

Alienware M15x Gaming Laptop - Cosmic Black
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 540M(2.53GHz,3MB cache)
1 year of coverage included with your PC
No Accidental Damage Support
1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5850
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
250GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
15.6-inch Wide HD+ (1600 x 900) WLED display
DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) Slot Load Drive
9-cell 85Whr Lithium Ion battery

£1,333.99

I'd need to do some pretty good haggling, I'm considering explaining to them that I've just left college and am heading to University in a couple of months.

 

Do you actually need 8 gb of ram? I think most people are fine with 4 gb or 6gb if you want to push it. Also, with that save money, you could get a ATI HD 5850 which would last you for a few years or many years if you are not hard core gamers. Also, I dont is it worth it to choose i7-620 instead of i5-540? I dont know much about it, but on this forum, I think the two processors are pretty close in term of performance. Another option is to use the back-to-school discount instead of the standard EPP 10% discount. For the back-to-school discount it is 15% off and subtotal of 1499 for the minimum specs.

 

I can't upgrade on the graphics card . Thanks for the heads up about the 15%, I'll ring them and see what I can do if I choose to purchase.

Please read the thread edit on my post above ufo888 before replying.

 

If you plan on going through Dell EPP with a student discount I have a coupon for $50 off. I don't know if it'll work in your country but, pm me and I'll let you have it.

 

Wow, T120ted, that's incredibly generous of you. I'd be more than happy to accept the coupon, however I really would feel quite bad for accepting it, especially without giving anything in return.

Also, for the life of me I cannot find the PM button on your profile (even when I click on your name and the drop down menu appears), do you require a certain amount of posts before you can PM like some other forums?

 

you might have to go into CP and turn it on.

 

yeah, it won't let me send one to you so go into your control panel and change im options to accept from other members. about the coupon, I'ts no big deal. I get them all the time. I think I've bought around 60 or more laptops from them amongst other things and they send them to me all the time. Most just go to waste. You can give me a rep if it works for you.

 

I've been through everything and I can't find a way to turn on/off PMs, I turned on "allow e-mails from members", however that didn't change anything.

 

You need i believe a minimum of 15 posts before you can PM someone ... Its been awhile since i last looked so the number might be more or less...

 

I sent you one through my control panel, see if you got it.

 

Got it, thanks a million. I'll let you know if works .

edit: Can someone tell me if this setup is worth buying?

Alienware M15x Gaming Laptop - Cosmic Black
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 540M(2.53GHz,3MB cache)
1 year of coverage included with your PC
No Accidental Damage Support
1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5850
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
250GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive (Note: I have a 1TB external HDD so I don't care about space)
15.6-inch Wide HD+ (1600 x 900) WLED display
DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write) Slot Load Drive
9-cell 85Whr Lithium Ion battery

£1,333.99

With the possibility of a discount OR if a coupon works then I will be able to afford this.