Alienware m17x VS. Alienware m15x

[sharr]

Hello, everyone.

I think, by now, everyone has heard about the Alienware M17x and the Alienware M15x, no doubt in my mind. Great laptops, again, no doubt about it. BUT. Which one is better for gaming. You have on one hand the QX9300 with 2xNvidia GTX 280M (SLI) (NO, i dont even want to hear about ATI) and on the other, the brand spanking new, I7 920XM with the Nvidia GTX 260M.


Personal thoughts on the subject:
In the long run, will the QX9300 be able to keep up with ever growing processor demands (in games, but not only), or is the new I7 920XM with just the one GTX 260M enough for a true gaming experience in the months (years) to come. Im well aware that most of the games are "single core applications" or at best "dual core applications", but still, a dual-core or a quad-core will NEVER (in real life game/applications usage and not just the benchmarks) compare to the power of the new I7. But then again, 2x Nvidia GTX 280M (SLI) will always pack a bigger punch than the one Nvidia GTX 260M. BTW, i dont care about how "big" it is, how long the battery lasts etc. Pure power comparison (in the long run ofc).

Laptop full config:

Alienware M15x:

SYSTEM COLOR Alienware M15x, Cosmic Black
PROCESSOR Intel Core i7 920XM 2.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
VIDEO CARD 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M
LCD PANEL 15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED
MEMORY 6GB DDR3 at 1333MHz
HARD DRIVE 500GB SATAII 7,200RPM
SOUND OPTIONS Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio

Alienware M17x:

SYSTEM COLOR Space Black – Anodized Aluminum
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Extreme Quad QX9300 2.53GHz (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
VIDEO CARD Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 280M, 2GB – SLI® Enabled
LCD PANEL 17-inch WideUXGA 1920x1200 (1200p)
MEMORY 6GB DDR3 at 1333MHz
HARD DRIVE 640GB - 2x 320GB 7,200RPM - RAID 0
SOUND OPTIONS Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums
Well between those it depends on what you want to do,if you want to play at the best settings available go for m17x because 2xGTX 280M perform a lot better than
1 GTX 260M in almost every game,but if you want to have more portability and you want to to good gaming(not extreme) go for the m15X,here is a good review which compares QX9300 with i7(Its not alienware but its a good comparison):
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3647

And here is a good article which compares a QX9300 laptop with GTX 280M in SLI with other laptops and one of them has i7 with GTX 280M(i know the AW m15X has GTX 260M but this article will give you the general idea about the gaming performance):
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3660

 

[sharr]

Thanks for the articles, only problem is ... they are as undecided as i am. Benchmarks, games, applications ... none offer similar results. In some cases SLI is useful and in others a powerful CPU and a single GPU do the job just fine. The only real conclusion was: "I7 processor with SLI"

PS: Too bad i forgot to attach a poll regarding these 2 laptops.

 

[Maziar]

Yes some games benefit from a better CPU like RTS games and others like GTA IV

 

[DuDeX_21]

Guys some of the more savvy of you will know but for the ones that do not,

You can get Alienware M15x and M17x at upto 60% off!! at UK Laptops Direct
p.s. i do not work for them i have just reveived my m15x from them and am seriously happy about the whole thing!!!!!!

Happy Gaming Peeps!

 

[evilavatar]

I think the biggest question is if you are looking for portability and long battery life or to have a portable plug in computer. With the SLI setup you can probably safely assume you are going to need the extra juice of being plugged in to be able to game at a high level with both cards running. I know that the M15x has a decent battery life rating without the SLI setup. WITht he SLI enabled I would assume you can at least half the battery life from a normal setting. WItht he SLI setup you probably will not ahve to upgrade your video in the near future either. The question I would have is if you could hook a vidock to the 15x and make it sli after the fact if you change your mind.

http://www.villagetronic.com/vidock/techspecs.html

 

[p4nz3rm4d]

1) your laptop to be has no DirectX11 support(which ATI has)
2) the keyboard is rubbish
3) the trackpad is rubbish
4) turbo mode doesnt really work with laptops. It will run OK, but will damage ur laptop after a while, for they only pass quility control on stock settings.
5) this laptop doesnt have great cooling.( look at Asus's innovation with their G73JH
6) made by Dell, so reliability is questionable.
7) VERY heavy and poor battery life.
8) as everything is the mobile version, it is not really a powerful system.
9) overpriced
10) poor build quility.

After reading this, dont you want to find a replacement for when your laptop to be blows up?
These are FACTS ONLY. I am not a fanboy.

 

[sharr]

i agree with u p4nz3rm4d, thing is, this thread is from 11-03-2009 and the G73JH is like 2-3 months old... back then, the Alienware ALLPOWERFUL actually WAS allpowerful

 

[sai111]

M15X is better than M17X.....Go for M15X

 

[Maziar]

Why ? the only factor that M15x is better would be portability and lower price, spec wise M17x is better

 

[greatzoron]

I have a M17x and lets just say I had HUGE problems from out of its box. Dell has the worst customer support of all companies I have ever worked with.
And for that reason alone and the hell they put me through with this laptop I will NEVER buy a Dell again.
They had to replace my M17x as it didn't work and there tech support coundn't fix. I had to get my states AG invoved and the BBB of Texas and Alienware Miami/BBB.
Good luck with Dell.

 

[buwish]

This topic has been closed by Buwish