Alienware Aurora m9700 or Dell XPS M1710? - Page 2  

i havent seen that one... everything i have seen was that alienware was still deciding on whether they will or not. at the moment thats true for most games but in the future everybody will be dual core, games included please note also that im not a troll for dell rather i do own machines by both alienware and dell.

OMG you all arent getting the point I made. I was refering to the 2 configs the original poster made. IMO the 1710 was the better deal. Stock for stock the graphics power was only down a little but the dual core cpu makes up for that due to future games plus for the money he also gets a 7200rpm drive. Sure if he had the money and could buy a decked out 9700 then that would be the way to go. But he doesnt so the dell offers the better deal for him.

^ actually dual core does happen. If i'm gaming and i have ventrillo or teamspeak on and then i want to switch channels so i ctrl + tab and it will go to my desktop. With my single core amd 64 3000 + it goes very slow. with a amd x2 3800 + or any other dual core i bet it does it fast without any slowdowns. Also if you want to future proof your new laptop/desktop then you'll get dual core because more and more games are and will start to utilize dual core. I Think both laptops have their advantages and disadvanatages. It would be a tough pic. But actually HH someone broke 10 k in 3dmark 05 with their 7900 gtx 512 mb so it beats the m9700 by a little bit but rememer benchmarks don't prove that much. If you really want to compare them then get a chart that shows their fps in games.

And also look

And Also

And I quote from the review
""""
At a resolution that would make most systems tremble, the Aurora m9700 performed admirably. Here, average framerates remained above 40fps even with 4xFSAA and 8xAF when using SLI. For those wishing to use a single GPU, the highest settings that remained above 40fps were 2xFSAA and 8xAF. In each case, the game looks absolutely stunning and is nothing short of amazing to see it run on a notebook at these speeds. However, in terms of overall performance and the benefits of adding the second GPU we are slightly disappointed. Given the information above, it seems almost criminal to complain about performance as this level of speed was unheard of only a short time ago for notebooks. Regardless, we cannot help but feel that this platform is still a bit early in development and we are confident we will see performance increase dramatically
""""
To be honest I dont think the 3dmark score matches the game performance
Nearly no difference in FPS btween single and SLI.

I did not want to get into a argument, I think alienware is cool but I think the ratio for complaints from XPS not other dellware and Alienware there are much more complaints and horror stories from alienware.

I would buy the alienware too, but not for 4000 when I can get a fully spec XPS for like 2700$ and also with tested technology that is proven to work.

Thats all

I will

For Gaming Only!

Dell
Pros:
512 Video Card
Dual Core processor

Cons:
Intel processor (AMD typically out performs Intel in FPS)
No Dual core enhanced games exist.

AW
Pros:
SLI
AMD processor

Cons:
1st ever 17” SLI enabled notebook, we will be the “genie pigs” and statically, have the most problems (compared to later models that come out)

$2700? Everytime I "fully spec" an XPS - it comes out to be pretty close to $4000... Did I miss something @ dell I should have looked for?

Perhaps you should re-price that M1710

I wouldn't want to get into an argument either with incorrect numbers. Do you actually own an M1710? Because I've priced both machines, and in fact I bought the Inspiron E1705 (same model as the 1710 but without the GTX). First... you can't buy a an M1710 for 2700$ with a 7900GTX, and you have to settle for the 7900GS, a single one at that. I configured a m9700 with 120gb 7200rpm raid0, dual 7900gs, with 2ghz Turion and 2gbs of ram (with the 1920x1200 screen). Can't get a direct link, but it's $3522 before shipping/tax. I configured a XPS m1710 with comparable (100gb 7200, they don't offer raid), single 512mb 7900gtz, 2gb ram and the 2ghz Core Duo. No direct linke either but it's $3662 before shipping tax. The M1710 comparably configured has a slight advantage in processor peformance (the Core Duo benchmarks (in single-threaded) higher than the Turion) and I would say in real world cases the 512mb GTX will give you some performance over the SLI GS's. However, the M1710 doesn't have (and cannot) 5.1 support (the SB Audigy option is a software package, trust me... been there, done that on the E1705) and loses out in the HD performane and capacity (100gb versus 160gb Raid0, both 7200rpm). The M1710 comaparably specced is easily $100 more than the m9700, and tha'ts after shipping and BEFORE taxes. (Dell tends to charge sales tax regardless of state) I actually returned the E1705 (over what I consider underhanded practices with eh SB Audigy add-on) not supporting 5.1, and placed a pre-oder in May for a m9700. My point of contention is you're misrepresenting the benefits by showing a $2700 pricetag on the M1710 in your post. I'd say at most pricepoints the machines are comparable in performance, and really it boils down to what features are important to you. If Dell had offered a comparable product (5.1 support, RAID support), I'd have likely purchased it, as I have purchased 2 previous Dell laptops and consider myself a fan. Edit-- Sorry the direct links pop to default configs.

It’s common that someone needs to “vent” when they have a bad experience.

It’s not common for people to say wonderful things when their system works fine, because, it’s supposed to work well =)

I wouldn’t go by people complaints cause that’s just about all you will hear.

That configuration option is actually a software package that "enhances" the onboard Sigmatel C-Major audio.

I don't understand why the continue to label it in such a misleading way on the configuration page.

The only reason the sound blaster audigy card isnt offered is because the m9700 uses the newer Express Card Slot /54mm while the audigy is only compatable for the PCMCIA Card Slot. Expect Sound Blaster to come up with a newer card for the express card slot in the near future. You can always get the external USB HD audio system if you want to run 7.1 surround sound. I think the 5.1 onboard should suffice while the 1710 does not offer an internal 5.1 device hence why they are offering the Audigy to boost performance

Hrmm, miscommunication?

I think we're talking about different things.

I was referring to the M1710's buildout option (SB Audigy Advanced) being a software solution, and not hardware.

Both the M1710 and the m9700 are ExpressCard-based, but the m9700 offers a 5.1 solution whereas the XPS does not.

My previous was reply was trying to clarify that the Audigy option offered for the M1710 can be misleading since it actually doesn't offer Creative hardware, merely a software driver that mimics the Audigy functionality (EAX support, etc.) on the Sigmatel onboard chip.

As I said, multi tasking will work better with dual core. You're running more than one program, so the performance will be better, but vent doesn't use a lot of resources, so unless you're at the limit on your games performance it shouldn't matter much.

And with games, multi threading will be coming soon with the Unreal 3 engine, but I've read several articles that discuss the difficulty and limitations of multi-threading games. Games will still have most all of the game content in a single thread due to the need for consistency with sound and graphics, so the multi-threading will be for peripheral issues at best. It will make a difference, just not as big of one as with business applications that can easily have tasks split.

On the guy that says he topped 10,000 on his Dell, that's nice. The reviewer in the article did a quick optimize and saw 9996, so it's obvious that an overclocker with time will easily top 10,000 with the m9700 setup. Don't forget that the m9700 had double the potential cooling capacity, and with the slow clocks on the 7900gs likely will have much more headroom for tweaking. I don't overclock, especially with a laptop, so I really don't care. I like the m9700 as the gpu's won't be taxed heavily, nor will they create a lot of heat so longevity should be enhanced.

Ir you're worried about the bottom line, talk about the bottom line. You tried to compare performance when your point was the Dell is cheap.

We all know the Dell is cheap.

I think you're wrong... There is a world of difference between the quality of hardware AW uses, and Dell uses.

As for the graphs you've shown, the resolution is 1024 x 768 with no AA or AF. That means the limiting factor for these runs are the processor, not the vid cards. The slight dip in performance with the SLI is because the processor has to do more work to split the signal, but at these settings it can't take advantage of the second card.

Anyone familiar with SLI will know that, and nobody with a wide screen laptop of this power will be running their games at these settings. In addition, the drivers were early in development at the time this review was performed. Nvidia is getting returns of up to 80% with the second card in some game benchmarks.

In addition, the higher the settings and resolutions, the better the SLI performs over a single card solution.

I will be running these older games at the highest resolution possible, with high AA and AF settings.

Do you have to run your Dell at 1024 x 768 without AA and AF?

Good points, but on the processor comparison, you will se improvement with the dual core processor for multi-tasking and multi-threaded apps, and it's true that with equal clock speeds the intel slightly outperforms the turion, but the single core turions offer higher clock speeds than the dual cores due to heat issues. As far as I know this is true with all dual vs. single core processors. The single cores can be clocked slightly higher as there isn't another core on processor to add heat.

You can get a 2.4GHz Turion, but not Turion X2 or Duo Core.

Because it fools people into thinking they're getting a full blown audigy setup. It's another way Dell lies to it's customers.

BTW, can someone post this in the Dell section too, so we can get both sides of the debate? :P And I think someone said that you couldn't get a fully configured XPS 1710 for like $2800 but I'm pretty sure you can. In the for sale section someone is selling them. :P Anyway, I'm in the exact same situation as the topic creator. Stuck between the XPS 1710 and the m9700.