M14x VS XPS17

keimps

Honorable
May 6, 2012
5
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10,510
Hey folks,

I'm hoping for some advise on my laptop purchase.
The main reasons for the purchase of a laptop is Gaming and the 'normal' things like internet browsing and using office and stuff. No heavy editing for that matter.

Games I'm looking to play are: Diablo 3, WoW and possibly some shooters but the main focus in on the first two as I will be spending most of my time with those two.

Now I'm a fan of dell and I'm now doubting between the M14x and the XPS 17.

The most important differences:

Screen:
M14x: 14.1" WideHD+ (1600x900) WLED with TrueLife
XPS: 17.3 FHD 3D WLED TL (1920x1080) 1080p with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera with 3D Glasses

Processor:
M14x 14: Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
XPS: 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz)

Graphics card:
M14x: 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M
XPS: 3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M Graphics Card - 3D Capable

Memory:
M14x: 8192MB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
XPS: 8192MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x4096]

I will probably be upgrading the one I buy to 16GB.

The prices of both vary less than 30€ so that's something which doesn't give an atvantage to one imo.

So basically it comes down to what would suite me better?
14.1'' might be a bit small for a nice gaming experience compared to the 17.3'' of the XPS.

The XPS also has full 1080p HD (and 3D), where the MX only goes to 1600x900.

The processor difference is not very clear for me, is the M14x a lot better than the XPS processor wise?

The difference between the graphic cards is hard to tell for me. I see 1 GB difference but the other is a higher number/type, which will probably have it's advantages I suppose.

Im slightly leaning to the XPS at the moment, mainly for the bigger screen and full HD.

Any opinions guys?
And is it indeed worth it to upgrade the 8GB Ram to 16GB? (ill be buying that seperately as its a lot less expensive that way).

Thanks!

Greetings

Keimps :)

PS: I know a desktop is liek 10 times better but I don't have room for that ;(
 

Tibbs01

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Jan 20, 2012
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One other thing to consider is the GT 555M will require you to run at lower game settings if you want to play at the native 1980x1020. 3d in games with that gpu and resolution would be extremely limited. The 650M is a pretty good pairing for 1600x900 resolution in regards to gaming performance. For movies and MS office work etc., the 1080p resolution would be ideal, however.

Since you are a fan of Dell I won't suggest some other machines that would be a bit better performance for less money.
 

ryfry

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Aug 20, 2011
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i really wouldnt compare a 17 to a 14inch laptop, in most cases the 17 will win because of space and hardware expandability. In this case the m14x wins. 1600x900 will look fine on your laptop. Honestly theres alot better machines you can get for your money. I bought my laptop from xotic pc and havent had any problems with it. You should check out notebook power too, they have good prices as well.
 

keimps

Honorable
May 6, 2012
5
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10,510
Thanks for the advice!
How about the M17x
It looks a lot better. I think I can handle the price differece.
Itwould give me:

Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0) 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M
6144MB (1x2GB + 1x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel (40€ extra for a 8GB upgrade, but probably better to upgrade to 16GB buying it in a cheap store).
500GB 7,200rpm SATA 6Gb/s HDD (supposing that's upgradable as well)
17.3" WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
 

ryfry

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Aug 20, 2011
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I wouldnt reccomend upgrading the ram yourself, you litterally have to take almost the entire thing apart. You could probably get a better sager or msi for the same amount if not cheaper. Also look in student discounts when getting your laptop from dell, if it applies to you. But if your set on alienware get the 17 it will be the best of all three. Just know there are more bang for the buck laptops out there.