Solved! ASUS G51JX-X2 vs. Alienware M15X

[julian tempest]

Hey everyone,

I've had a few minor issues with my Alienware M15X, and on seeing a deal on an ASUS G51JX-X2 last week, I decided I'd be happier with the change. The ASUS has many upgrades over the Alienware..

4 USB 2.0 ports vs. M15X's 2 USB 2.0 ports
1920x1080 resolution vs. M15X's 1600x900
nVidia 360M with 1GB GDDR5 vs. M15X's nVidia 240M with 512MB DDR3
HDMI port vs. M15X's DisplayPort
1 Express Card Slot/54 or 34 vs. M15X's none
320 GB hard drive vs. M15X's 250 GB
new vs. M15X certified refurbished
4 memory slots vs. M15X's 2
Full keyboard with number pad vs. M15X's standard keyboard
Standard size notebook vs. M15X's odd dimensions (does not fit in my 15.6" notebook slot b/c V-shaped projection)

...many similarities...

Both are i7-720M, 1.6 Ghz with 2.8 Ghz boost
Both come with 4 GB DDR3 RAM
Both max out at 8 GB DDR3 RAM
Both have 15.6" displays
Both have an eSATA port
Both hard drives are 7200 RPM

...but a couple of downers...

The eSATA port is not eSATAp
The RAM is only 1066 Mhz, vs. the Alienware's 1333 Mhz
I've heard about the G51's having heating issues

Seems like a no-brainer that the ASUS is better, but that's a very significant difference in RAM speed, so I wanted to get some input on the effects of the memory speed difference.

What do you guys think? Is the ASUS the better laptop? Will I notice drag due to the slower memory?

On a random note, do you think it's possible and worthwhile to try to load Windows XP 64-bit on this laptop, or should I stick with Windows 7?

Thanks in advance.

Luke

 

[sidewinderx2]

Hey everyone,

I've had a few minor issues with my Alienware M15X, and on seeing a deal on an ASUS G51JX-X2 last week, I decided I'd be happier with the change. The ASUS has many upgrades over the Alienware..

4 USB 2.0 ports vs. M15X's 2 USB 2.0 ports
1920x1080 resolution vs. M15X's 1600x900
nVidia 360M with 1GB GDDR5 vs. M15X's nVidia 240M with 512MB DDR3
HDMI port vs. M15X's DisplayPort
1 Express Card Slot/54 or 34 vs. M15X's none
320 GB hard drive vs. M15X's 250 GB
new vs. M15X certified refurbished
4 memory slots vs. M15X's 2
Full keyboard with number pad vs. M15X's standard keyboard
Standard size notebook vs. M15X's odd dimensions (does not fit in my 15.6" notebook slot b/c V-shaped projection)

...many similarities...

Both are i7-720M, 1.6 Ghz with 2.8 Ghz boost
Both come with 4 GB DDR3 RAM
Both max out at 8 GB DDR3 RAM
Both have 15.6" displays
Both have an eSATA port
Both hard drives are 7200 RPM

...but a couple of downers...

The eSATA port is not eSATAp
The RAM is only 1066 Mhz, vs. the Alienware's 1333 Mhz
I've heard about the G51's having heating issues

Seems like a no-brainer that the ASUS is better, but that's a very significant difference in RAM speed, so I wanted to get some input on the effects of the memory speed difference.

What do you guys think? Is the ASUS the better laptop? Will I notice drag due to the slower memory?

On a random note, do you think it's possible and worthwhile to try to load Windows XP 64-bit on this laptop, or should I stick with Windows 7?

Thanks in advance.

Luke

I'd recommend the G51, and i really don't think you're going to notice the difference in RAM speed (in fact, the G51 would be faster anyways due to the better graphics card), just be warned that if you get the G51jx, you pretty much MUST go on a updating binge (BIOS, Drivers, etc) due to a BSOD problem with the shipped drivers/bios. I've heard that after the updates the problem goes away.

Also, why do you need xp 64 bit? Afaik, it's not even available as a non-enterprise (as in, regular consumers) version... Win 7 is pretty good for whatever you want to throw at it.

 

[julian tempest]

Thanks for the BIOS and driver warning! I'll make sure to attack that as soon as I get the machine.

As for XPx64 over 7, I have a legit ISO for XP 64-bit, and after using Windows 7 on my M15X for the last few months, it seems like Windows 7 is just an updated Windows Vista. This is confirmed by the fact that Windows 7 is really Windows version 6.1. So, lacking very many useful features, I can't help but feel that whatever fixes Windows 7 made, it's gonna bog down performance over XP. Vista was the poster child for (Useless) Feature Bloat.

Why burn 1-2 GB of RAM and whatever percentage of the processor power on running Windows 7 when XPx64 will do what I need it to? Besides security and hyperthreading improvements, I don't see how Windows 7 will run games better than XP will.

 

[sidewinderx2]

Thanks for the BIOS and driver warning! I'll make sure to attack that as soon as I get the machine.

As for XPx64 over 7, I have a legit ISO for XP 64-bit, and after using Windows 7 on my M15X for the last few months, it seems like Windows 7 is just an updated Windows Vista. This is confirmed by the fact that Windows 7 is really Windows version 6.1. So, lacking very many useful features, I can't help but feel that whatever fixes Windows 7 made, it's gonna bog down performance over XP. Vista was the poster child for (Useless) Feature Bloat.

Why burn 1-2 GB of RAM and whatever percentage of the processor power on running Windows 7 when XPx64 will do what I need it to? Besides security and hyperthreading improvements, I don't see how Windows 7 will run games better than XP will.

I'm just worried about compatibility issues with XP-64... but if you're not afraid of that, then go for it

 

[julian tempest]

Well, it's at least worth a shot. Worst case scenario, I just reinstall Windows 7.