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any reason at all for mALX over m9700? ...seriously? (also, is 400MHz RAM slow?)

post #1 of 26
6/12/06 at 12:11am
Thread Starter 
I am considering buying a new notebook after owning a Dell for about 3 years, and will probably go with an Alienware notebook.

I am very, very impressed with the value in the m9700. I can't believe the base price is only $2000 considering how good it is. I can configure an almost full-featured design for $3600.

I'm just wondering, is there ANY reason to go with the mALX over the m9700? Frankly I don't really know what they were thinking with the mALX:

m9700: RAID (up to 200GB at 7200RPM)
mALX: NO RAID (half that at 7200RPM)

m9700: 1920 X 1200 max resolution
mALX: 1680 X 1050 max resolution

m9700: 4 USB ports
mALX: 3 USB ports

Otherwise same ports except m9700 has an extra VGA port

Same RAM, Processors, Optical Drives, Networking

m9700: $2000 base price
mALX: $4500 base price

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!!?!

In its favor, the mALX has:

- The GTX cards in SLI as opposed to the GS. This is the only clear and meaningful advantage I see
- 19'' screen over 17'' screen, however the big size increase and the inferior resolution make this a highly dubious advantage. It's not like you are going to be exactly squinting at 17'' and I think 17'' is the upper limit of what can be considered reasonably portable
- PCM-CIA slot versus the m9700's express card slot, allows for supposedly superior sound with Creative Labs Audigy 2
- 4 speakers w/ subwoofer versus 2 speakers w/ subwoofer
- "airbrushed custom paint artwork." HAH!


Reminder:
base price of m9700 is $2000
base price of mALX is $4500

Seriously now. How are those prices justified considering that the m9700 trounces the mALX in 2 of the most important areas, hard drive capacity/speed and screen resolution? Is the difference between the GTX and GS cards so substantial that it makes up for everything the mALX is otherwise lacking?

Just wondering if there is anything I am missing before I buy a m9700...

Also - I've noticed the RAM in either machine is only 400MHz, compared to 667MHz for the Dell M1710. Is that going to have a substantial impact on performance? I can't see how it wouldn't, considering that RAM bus speed is one of the major bottlenecks on processor performance. Maybe I should just get another Dell?
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post #2 of 26
6/12/06 at 12:14am
Thread Starter 
Also it looks like the Alienware RAM is only DDR, versus DDR2 for the Dell M1710.
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post #3 of 26
6/12/06 at 12:17am
we;ll i don't see any reason to pay another 2.5 k for the malx. I would go for the m9700 or you could go for the dell. Its all up to you. Those 3 laptops are greta laptops. They all have their advanatges and disadvantages. If you for the xps m1710 look in the f/s sction and you could probaly save anywhere from 500-1000 on a 1710.
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post #4 of 26
6/12/06 at 12:56am
Well, a couple of your facts are wrong. The mALX has five usb ports. Three on the right hand side, two on the back between the rj-11 and serial ports. The mALX also comes with a very good mouse, headphones, and a backpack instead of having to pay for them. Personally, I think the 1680 by 1050 resolution will be more then enough.

The fact of the matter is, the mALX strikes me more as a toy then a work machine. And yes, I will admit I'm buying mine as a toy. The m9700 is a much more efficient machine. More storage, more heat effective video cards, much easier to carry. But you have to pick the machine that fits your wants and needs. I mean, my entire reason for buying it could be I like creepy kinda blue, kinda purple alien paint. It isn't, but for someone, that is a perfect reason to go with the mALX.

I agree with Boomheadshot, there are some AWESOME m1710 deals in the for sale section.
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post #5 of 26
6/12/06 at 1:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eliot1785
Also it looks like the Alienware RAM is only DDR, versus DDR2 for the Dell M1710.
that hardly makes up for the fact that the AW's both have dual video cards in SLI. There is no contest in frame rates between these machines. You're going to pay a premium for an AW vs the Dell but if money is not an issue and you want the fastest there is between these two...look no further
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post #6 of 26
6/12/06 at 2:05am
RE the RAM - that's a function of the AMD processors, so it shouldn't really be an issue.
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post #7 of 26
6/12/06 at 6:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eliot1785
Also it looks like the Alienware RAM is only DDR, versus DDR2 for the Dell M1710.

The turion doesn't support ddr2 memory, but the dual core turion X2 will. From what I've read DDR 400 is about the same as running DDR2 667 due to the additional latency with DDR2. The Dell uses intel processors that support DDR2. However, the turions have on chip memory controllers so the processor and memory can communicate much faster than the intel with an external memory controller that is limited to the processor regarding speed. Differences in memory speeds aren't anywhere near as important as processor/gpu hardware.
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post #8 of 26
6/12/06 at 6:46am
On the differences between the m9700 and mALX, the big differences to me are:

The mALX will outperform the m9700 due to using the gtx cards in sli. If it's all out performance in a "laptop" chassis that you're after, the mALX will be it. At 19" and with custom paint it's not really something I'd want to carry with me. Battery life is less than an hour, so I wouldn't plan on using it much away from an outlet.

The m9700 is built for performance with battery life. A 17" traditional laptop will be easier to carry around, and with two plus hours of battery life it's more friendly when you use it away from an outlet. Won't have the outright performance of the mALX, but dual 7900gs's it will outperform a similar computer in SLI enabled games with a single gtx. The SLI allows you to use less power and generate less heat and having twice the heatsink capacity of a single gtx system. SLI also is more affective at higher resolutions and settings, so it's nice to have the high res screen.

To me the mALX is balls to the wall outrageous, while the m9700 uses a pretty conservative approach to get high performance and battery life in a portable package. The choice was easy for me.
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post #9 of 26
6/12/06 at 1:35pm
^^
What he said, 2x GeforceGo 7900GTX will far outperform the 2x 7900GS in the m9700.

To my knowledge, the Turion 64 does not support DDR2 (nor do most AMD processors). The new Turion X2 processor does support DDR2, but there are no current AW systems with this processor.

The big thing for me on this was the screen resolution… the mALX using a 19” vice 17” and there are no UXGA screens 19” (yet?)

Having all the graphic horse power in the mALX, but a very low resolution is kind of stupid, unless plan on running some VERY graphic intensive games that would need a lower resolution even with 2x 7900GTX…
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post #10 of 26
6/12/06 at 1:51pm
or if you're using an external LCD monitor like the new 30" models The mALX would be able to push those screens while the 9700 would have some trouble at native resolutions
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post #11 of 26
6/12/06 at 1:59pm
Quote:
or if you're using an external LCD monitor like the new 30" models The mALX would be able to push those screens while the 9700 would have some trouble at native resolutions

nah, the m9700 native res is 1920x1200. i believe the 30" are still 1600x1200 (like the 20")
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post #12 of 26
6/12/06 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marker01
nah, the m9700 native res is 1920x1200. i believe the 30" are still 1600x1200 (like the 20")

You can get the m9700 with either a 1440 x 900, or 1920 x 1200 screen. And just because you can order it with a 1920 x 1200 screen doesn't mean it will run the latest games at native resolution.

The Dell 30" native resolution is 2560 x 1600.

I'm sure Alienware will offer a higher resolution screen in the mALX when they start making higher res 19" lcd glass.
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post #13 of 26
6/12/06 at 8:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marker01
nah, the m9700 native res is 1920x1200. i believe the 30" are still 1600x1200 (like the 20")
ya hammer beat me to it but the 30" screens are 2560x1600 ...two GS cards would probably choke at that rez trying to get good gaming FPS
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post #14 of 26
6/12/06 at 9:01pm
i cant imagine what would be required to push 2. i guess thats where these quad sli machines really shine. and that 30" aw 3007FW is pretty tempting. I cant support it with my current rig though. (maybe ill get one for my DX10 rig)
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post #15 of 26
6/13/06 at 2:44am
I think one of the reasons it is just a tad bit more expensive is that The mALX also has a ton of free stuff with it and also the graphics on it and the 19" monitor.

Too expensive for my taste
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post #16 of 26
6/13/06 at 3:16am
Just curious, but does anyone else here think the mALX paintjob is positively garish?
I happen to think it looks so bad, that the paintjob would actually be a detrator for me if I were to purchase one (if I had the ducats).

It reminds me of those girl bikes you used to laugh at in the late 70's.

I'd actually prefer the standard AW grey scheme to THIS.
It'd be cool if they'd offer an Alien Grey model for -$30 or so.
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post #17 of 26
6/13/06 at 3:19am
I really like the detail on the eye pieces, but I've never really liked the phase change paint. It's pretty flashy for me. I'd prefer a gloss black one myself.
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post #18 of 26
6/13/06 at 3:22am
I wouldn't mind the standard Martian Red they use on their desktops. That'd be cool.
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post #19 of 26
6/13/06 at 10:18am
I think the paintjob is so tight !!!!!
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post #20 of 26
6/13/06 at 10:50am
This is my Aurora mALX i order yesterday!!! I think it was well worth the money!!!!

[1] Aurora™ mALX

Processor: AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile ML44 2.4GHz 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Service Pack 2
Display: 19" WideSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 LCD Display with Built-in 1.3 Mega Pixel Camera
Motherboard: nVIDIA nForce 4 SLI
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR SO-DIMM at 400MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Hard Drive: 100GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Video/Graphics Card: Dual 256MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7900 GTX SLI Enabled
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS PCMCIA
Wireless Network Card: Internal Wireless 802.11b/g miniPCI Card
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Mouse: Razer Diamondback Chameleon Mouse
Bluetooth: Bluetooth™ USB Adapter
Floppy Drive: USB Floppy Drive
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® Ozma 7™ Headphones with S-Logic™ Technology - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® Aurora mALX Exclusive Hand-Airbrushed Finish by Smooth Creations - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager – Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Aurora mALX Backpack - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Custom Name Plate - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Felt Cloth Protector - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Keychain - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Luggage Tag - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Mousepad - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Pen - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Portfolio - Included!
Exclusive ALX Extras: Alienware® ALX Polo Shirt - Included!
Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service / AlienAutopsy / Respawn
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
AlienAutopsy: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request System
Alienware Exclusive Offers: GameFly - Unlimited Game Rentals for 15 days - FREE TRIAL
Benchmark Software: 3DMark®05 Professional

Total cost: $5,242
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