Ram Questions & More!

Hey guys, I have been reading the forums for a while and decided I have a few questions of my own since you guys are so informative

Like countless others here, I will be starting college at Baylor in the fall. Because of this situation I am going to purchase a very nice laptop that I can take to class (15") as well as the capability of acting like a Desktop replacement. Which is why I have decided to buy either the (Clevo m860tu, or m15x from AW).

I will be gaming and most likely be playing high quality games such as Crysis or Age of Conan - which require top notch systems to run smoothly, especially on a laptop.

My system will PROBABLY consist of:

8800M GTX
2.5 C2D Processor
Vista
200g 7200 16mb

My Questions:

1) I will be buying either 2g or 4gigs of RAM for my system. How MUCH of a difference will this be making on the high quality games? Is the difference marginal? Also, laptop configurators significantly overprice additional RAM - when newegg will sell you 4gigs for ~$80. There has to be a catch? Obviously it's easier not to install it yourself. What else is involved to adding your own ram? Bios changes? software? I like the idea of saving hundreds of dollars on Ram (especially if I end up choosing 4g) but I want my system to run optimally with little to no problems (I see putting my own RAM in a bad thing, since I am not extremely computer savvy).

2) I have been reading Intel Turbo Memory - apparently the only real benefit is faster boot times (IMHO it is worth the $50) - there are also rumors that it will have a detrimental effect on system performance while gaming; is this merely a rumor or?

3) I need the laptop by LATE AUGUST. I have read that the new Acer computer should be coming out around June? And the m15x upgrade will be arriving around the same time? If anyone has any more information about these I would love to hear it. Will either be using the montevina platform? Also, as far as I am aware these are the only two 15" laptops that will be using the 8800M GTX - if someone knows of another feel free to let me know!

Thank you all for your help, I appreciate it!

-Outphaze

 

1) Installing your own memory is the only thing you have to do. Just buy 4 gb of ddr2 sodimm memory from newegg. Then when it arrives, take off the memory bay cover, and install the memory. Out the screw back in, and bam 4gb of memory, for a fraction of the price.
You do not need any bios updates, or software to get 4gb of memory to work..

2) Do not get the turbo memory module, it is a complete waste of money, it does nothing.

3) I would go with the clevo m860tu, it will be a much sounder system than the alienware.

K-TRON

 

Agreed with K-TRON on one and two. You probably won't see a huge difference between 2GB and 4GB of memory, though. I'd venture to add that if you're looking for a machine in August, you should wait and see what's available closer to your purchase date. Lots of new stuff comes out during summer and the back-to-school season.

 

Thanks for the replies guys - however K-tron why do you say the Clevo is more "sound"? From what I've read so far most of the issues the m15x have been resolved other than the rather flimsy screen and the rather non-responsive touch controls at the top of the keyboard... Neither of these are really deal breakers though.

Also how can you already say the clevo will be a sounder system when it has yet to be released?

***ALSO*** If I were to buy my own RAM the m15x comes with ( 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz ) I'm assuming you CANNOT upgrade to 800 Mhz?

 

I firmly believe that if a laptop has known problems, like the m15x has, I stay away from it. I understand that most of the problems have been revised, but that still does not sit well with me. Alienware also has pretty dodgy customer service and tech support.
Clevo manufactures some of the best gaming laptops, and as an owner of a clevo chassis, its a very nice build. I have seen the new m860tu, as Voodoo will be using it in one of their new laptops. Its a really nice system. Unlike a lot of other brands, clevo tests their systems for long months in order to insure that their products can withstand all of the beating which a normal user puts the system through.

I must have missed the "late august" part, so I think you should not even worry about these two systems yet. You should sit back and read more reviews of the systems, and potentially newer systems, since new laptops are usually released in june/july, so that all of the kids can go out and get new laptops for school and such.

K-TRON

 

Yea some alienware m15x users are having problems with thermal downclocking because the cooling system isnt enough to cool down the gpu.

 

Outphaze Santa Rosa only supports 667Mhz RAM, you can put PC6400 in but will downclock. Now let me get this straight, AlienWare; flimsy screen, non responsive touchpad and overheats? OK, I can live with that, anything else wrong with it?

 

Thanks for answering the RAM question.

No... You're not straight. Yes the screen is a bit flimsy, big deal. the TOUCHPAD is fine, the touch control buttons (volume, etc..) at the top of the keyboard can be nonresponsive (that's not the touchpad). The overheating issue was resolved a long time ago, I love how everyone keeps stating the 8800 keeps downclocking itself because of heating issues, that was resolved a long time ago.

And K-tron I appreciate the lengthly replies Thanks for all your help I'll be reading up on the newer laptops when they are released.