Sell my MBP and buy an M11X R1?

shuffles03

So my g/f's friend is looking to buy my MacBook Pro 13" for €600 and I'm considering her offer and might buy an M11X R1 on eBay.

My MacBook Pro's spec is:
Late 2009
2.53GHZ (C2D)
4GB RAM
500GB HD

Here's a link to the R1 I'm looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Dell-Alienware-M11x-R1-1-30Ghz-SU7300-4GB-RAM-500GB-/180666921441?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item2a109671e1#ht_7007wt_1141

Is it a worthy swap? (I know you can't really compare a MBP to an Alienware as they're completely different).

Thing is, I'm off travelling in October for a year and I was thinking of selling my MBP anyway and I thought, what the hell, sure I may as well get a gaming laptop to tie me over until then.

I know it's pretty old as there is an R3 now but I don't want to spend anymore as I'm off soon. It would basically be a straight swap since they're the same price plus when I get back, my MBP would be worth even less again if I didn't.

I currently only use my MBP for downloading movies and web surfing but am an avid gamer and have been using my PS3 and 360 up until now and would love to play Crysis 2, The Witcher 2 etc if possible. Would an R1 hold well with today's games? I know a guy who bought one recently and loves it.

I've heard that an overclocked R1 is nearly as good as an R2. Some people have suggested for me to get an R3 but there's no point in me spending money as I'm off in 2 months time anyway. I figured a straight swap (monetary wise) would be a good idea.

What would you do?

Sobanek

Definitely not! Keep your Mac! It'll not only hold its value for a much longer period of time but also will be much faster.

shuffles03

Yeh but as a gaming laptop it's terrible and that's what I'm looking for.

Sobanek

Laptop ≠ Gaming

You want to game, get yourself a desktop.

Alanstrainor

Sobanek wrote: »

Laptop ≠ Gaming

You want to game, get yourself a desktop.

Hang on a second. There might be a shred of truth to what you're saying, but saying that laptops cannot game is just not true. The only thing to keep in mind is that gaming laptops are expensive.

As for the first gen M11X, the biggest downfall is the processor, the graphics card should be sufficient, but not the greatest in the world. I'll be honest, i've been tempted by one of these, but I think if you really want to game you'd want a bigger screen. And the battery life on them is very poor, which for me is a deal breaker. A laptop that doesn't last is a waste of time.

machalla

The difference between R1 and R2 is supposed to be fairly minimal overall but the jump to the R3 is supposedly worth it. Dell were offering the R1 (refurb I think) for about 530 euro earlier in the year but that seems to be gone now.

Theres not really any other laptop of that size on the market that can double as a game machine from what I could find earlier in the year. I still haven't seen anything in the meantime. If you are not fixed on getting an 11" screen you open up the possibilities a bit more.

There seems to be some value in this 15" Acer 5750G with a powerful processor, adequate graphics card at the moment although it is pricier than the 625 euro Alienware and a lot less portable.

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5750G_1091445.html

You could drop the i7 processor to an I5 and get it for around the price you are looking for though. It seems one of the better value budget gaming "capable" laptops out there.

Just a suggestion though, it may not suit you at all.

I noticed on Amazon that you can still get this R1 and it looks a lot cheaper there than ebay. Plus sold by Amazon should cover you under Amazon guarantee.

Performance of games on this gpu (NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M) is listed here.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html

This is the same GPU as in the current M11xR3

Vs

Alienware M11XR1 GPU- NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-335M.24060.0.html

shuffles03

The M11X on Amazon for £499 just sold out so I'm out of luck. I've got €600 to spend on a gaming laptop so no idea now. As I said earlier, it's just to tie me over until October before I go, that's why I wanted the M11X (cheap and would play a good few games).

Menengroth™

Sobanek wrote: »

Laptop ≠ Gaming

You want to game, get yourself a desktop.

Disagree.

shuffles03

Looks like a nice setup. Any ideas on a good gaming laptop for €600 or a site that I can still get an M11X R1 for the same price?

machalla

Its a shame you missed out on the Amazon one. I haven't seen it anywhere else. Very little stock of it over this side of the world.

I am harping on the same tune all the time but for 600 perhaps this? I5 based acer with GT 540m. Would do the the job nicely for a while i'd say and comes in on budget.

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5750G_1086985.html

Clareman

Sobanek wrote: »

Laptop ≠ Gaming

You want to game, get yourself a desktop.

My M18 just laughed reading that

shuffles03

machalla wrote: »

Its a shame you missed out on the Amazon one.

Yeah I know. They had them in stock all week up until this afternoon. They don't know if they'll be getting more in but if they do I doubt it'll be an R1 for £499.

Thanks for the link to the alternative. I had a look and while it probably would do the job ok, it just doesn't have the ooomph of the Alienware.

I could pay more for an R3 but there really isn't any point as it defeats the whole purpose of what I'm doing in the first place. If I wasn't going away I'd probably be eyeing up an M17X or M18X in about 2 or 3 months but as it stands I have to be strict with my money and only spend what I get for the MBP. No point doing otherwise if it'll just be sitting here for over a year.

I'm going to keep searching, maybe one will pop up somewhere....maybe even Amazon again. I'm checking adverts regularly too although there hasn't been much Alienware action there in a while.

shuffles03

Dell just reduced the R3 today:

Alienware M11x Nebula Red
Intel® Core™ i3 2357M (1.3GHz, 3MB Cache)
English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
1GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M edit
2048MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x1024]
250GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Intel® 1000 Wireless Card - European
Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Module - European edit
1Yr Next Day Hardware Support included with your PC

€799

I wonder why? Hopefully Amazon etc might do the same. There's only 2GB RAM in this one though.

shuffles03

What is the best way to get an online Dell sales rep to reduce the price? I've heard of loads of people doing it. I asked a rep last week and was told that their online price was the best they could offer but I know that's bull from reading forums.

shuffles03

I was just talking to a sales rep there. I was told to press for discounts or free upgrades. He said they can't give me a discount other than the discount that is already imposed which is €799. I then asked about getting the ram upgraded for free from 2Gb to 4GB but he was still having none of it either. He kept saying that it was a €60 upgrade to do that. I kept pressing but nothing.

I then told him I couldn't place my order for another week and a half as I'm going away and would the offer of €799 still be available when I got back? He obviously said no it wouldn't. Apparently it ends next Wednesday.

He tried to make me place my order now and then said he'd ring back tomorrow at 4pm.

I've never dealt with Dell. Should I place the order or keep pressing for a better deal? Normally I would just place the order but friends have told me that if you ring they offer discounts/upgrades and not to pay the price stated on their site. I've also read loads of forums saying the same thing.

machalla

I tried to get Dell to give me a decent discount in two different companies that used to buy a load of Dell kit. The sales rep could not give me any beter than the website price, with about 2-3% extra off due to EPP (employee purchase programme).

Given the lead times on the laptop I'd say just go with it unless anyone else has a better idea. The sales reps seem to be nothing more than a channel with no leeway on price at all. I would try to guarantee delivery before you head off though as I'm not sure if Aleinwares take a longer build and ship then the usual.

shuffles03

I found a 10% discount code online so I'm going to go ahead and buy it today. It's working out at €722.

machalla

Nice

I can never find any alienware discount codes when I went looking.

Well done on the price I think thats a bargain. Enjoy.

shuffles03

It's just a standard XPS 10% discount on any laptop over €749ish. The code is valid until the 31st of August. I can pm it if you want (don't know if I'm allowed post it freely).

machalla

Ah, I kept looking for Alienware specific codes I didn't realise XPS were included.

I just took the plunge on the Acer with Core i7 I had been looking at. I need the processing power really. Otherwise the M11 might have been the one for me at that price.

Cheers for the offer. I don't think its a problem to post codes up here. We do enough free advertising for various oneline retailers on here anyway.

shuffles03

Here's the code for anyone who wants it:

CWGM1SKXQ9V20Z

shuffles03

shuffles03

It just arrived this morning

Sobanek

Tested any games yet? I don't know, like DiRT 2 or GTA IV?

shuffles03

So far I've only downloaded a demo of Just Cause 2 from Steam. It's currently playing at an avg of 30fps