old alienware m17x

[ShurikN]

My 2 cents.
$450 today can get you: (brand new)
Ryzen 1600
2 x 8GB DDR4 3200
RX 570 4GB
B450 mobo
500W PSU (EVGA, Corsair, Thermaltake)

No case, no SSD.
You could probably get the memory and cpu second hand for less (or go for the 1500X), and then squeeze in those two parts to complete the system.
And this desktop is gonna run circles around that M17.

 

[theFOoL]

@ShurikN It's a laptop and the OP didn't say what his brother was using it for

 

[xtreemchaos]

my grandfather was a Horse dealer and he was a simple man, he once told me a horse is only worth what someones prepaired to pay for it, I think that applys to most things when we think about it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Im not the OP, therefore, its not really my responsibility to go digging for specific specs for someone's rig.

I fully agree! We need OPs to state fully the system specs and problem descriptions. But typically only experienced forum posters and experienced computer users understand the need to do that.

Therefore, you are right, we cannot go digging for the specs for someone's rig. So by that same token, we cannot assume we know their specs or level of expertise. And we certainly cannot arbitrarily pick a single configuration out of the air and apply it to make absolute statements of fact based on arbitrary assumptions.

And that's been the problem here.

And this desktop is gonna run circles around that M17.

I agree but as rk3066 correctly pointed out, the M17 is a notebook, not a PC. As a notebook it includes a case, a keyboard and mouse/touchpad in that price. And it includes a monitor and OS too! But you left them out of your list! So your $450 "PC" comparison does not apply and really makes no sense - especially since you decided to omit the price of storage (SSD or HD) and the case too. ???

 

[frank30fps]

My brother play gemes like gta 4 and gta 5 and is only wanting to buy a laptop

 

[theFOoL]

I would say that Laptop does the Job at medium/high settings

 

[micropage7]

My brother bought an old m17x alienware laptop for 450$ usd and i wanna know if he got ripped off ?

Yes or no, if we talk about the spec, for $450 you can have a new laptop with newer technology
And no if he knows what he has paid for and he is happy with that. What about this is the model that he looking for and someone sold it?
You need to ask him, does he happy with the purcase or not

 

[TheMadDutchDude]

I would agree... overpaid for the laptop. But it’s done, I guess. Perhaps the OP ought to have his brother consult guys in the know before the purchase.

 

[ShurikN]

I agree but as rk3066 correctly pointed out, the M17 is a notebook, not a PC. As a notebook it includes a case, a keyboard and mouse/touchpad in that price. And it includes a monitor and OS too! But you left them out of your list! So your $450 "PC" comparison does not apply and really makes no sense - especially since you decided to omit the price of storage (SSD or HD) and the case too. ???

I've mentioned how to obtain a case and an ssd, but you didn't bother reading the entire post.
If we wanna compare second hand only parts (as that what the laptop is), you can can get miles better pc than the m17, and get everything you need. OS is like $10, he can it buy form the sponsored sites here on TPU...
But since he said his brother wanted a notebook, then he should have looked for a 15 R2 or R3.
There's literally a guy right now on ebay selling a 15 R3 with a 6300HQ and a GTX1060 for $450.

Alienware AW15R3 15.6 inch (1TB + 128GB, Intel Core i7 7th Gen., 3.80GHz, 16GB) Gaming Laptop - Black - AW15R3-7376SLV-PUS for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Alienware AW15R3 15.6 inch (1TB + 128GB, Intel Core i7 7th Gen., 3.80GHz, 16GB) Gaming Laptop - Black - AW15R3-7376SLV-PUS at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

So yeah, he got ripped off big time...

 

[Deleted member 185158]

I'd say if paid more than 10% on 8 year old hardware, you paid a little too much.... But then was a desired choice more so than a researched choice.
If paid 350$ us for the laptop, would been about good. 450$ is a little high, but then a good gaming laptop isn't cheap to start with.
Gets 2 years from it, then got the moneys worth imo.

 

[MrPotatoHead]

I've mentioned how to obtain a case and an ssd, but you didn't bother reading the entire post.
If we wanna compare second hand only parts (as that what the laptop is), you can can get miles better pc than the m17, and get everything you need. OS is like $10, he can it buy form the sponsored sites here on TPU...
But since he said his brother wanted a notebook, then he should have looked for a 15 R2 or R3.
There's literally a guy right now on ebay selling a 15 R3 with a 6300HQ and a GTX1060 for $450.

Alienware AW15R3 15.6 inch (1TB + 128GB, Intel Core i7 7th Gen., 3.80GHz, 16GB) Gaming Laptop - Black - AW15R3-7376SLV-PUS for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Alienware AW15R3 15.6 inch (1TB + 128GB, Intel Core i7 7th Gen., 3.80GHz, 16GB) Gaming Laptop - Black - AW15R3-7376SLV-PUS at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

So yeah, he got ripped off big time...

thats the starting bid and I wouldnt be surprised if that goes for $6-700+ do you even know how ebay works?

 

[ShurikN]

thats the starting bid and I wouldnt be surprised if that goes for $6-700+ do you even know how ebay works?

Of course I know how it works. Don't try to be a smartass.
There are 15 r2s that have a buyout price around 500 and still miles better than what he got. And ebay is probably the worst place to look.

I'd say if paid more than 10% on 8 year old hardware, you paid a little too much.... But then was a desired choice more so than a researched choice.
If pa

The saddest part is, no one mentioned the elephant in the room, and that is, what problems does an 8 yo laptop bring along.
Bad battery and fans probably on the verge of death.

 

[theFOoL]

EBay is a hit or miss. You can get something great or bad. For me I'm smart and look carefully at the pictures/details as I bought a Hp 8460p for only $43 and it was perfect besides the password which I found a password bypass with a program though I could of just bought a BIOS Chip to replace the current one though I'm unsure of how I would go about setting up the laptop again as Hp would though or it's probably just a simple step like normal

 

[95Viper]

Stay on topic.
Once you made your point... move on.
Continually arguing does not help the thread.
Do not name call.
Be civil, have nice discussion/debate and be helpful to the OP and each other.

Thank You and have a nice day.

 

[micropage7]

since it's secondhand the condition affect the price, if it's in good condition the seller would tag it higher so you couldn't say he paid too much for the stuff

 

[killster1]

it could be a good deal if he was in prison or on a island with no transport!~ Id shoot for a mx150 personally since they have decent gaming/battery performance. Did it come with lots of porn or games installed that also could boost the price a extra 100000$

 

[king of swag187]

Depends. The only it would be remotely worth it if it was a high spec M17X R4, atleast that can get some proper upgrades such as a 980M or a 1070, anything else is snooze worthy and you definitely overpaid.
Edit: Saw thats a M17X R3. Thats a yikes, definitely overpaid but hey on the upside you can throw a 7970M in there and still get decent performance if you want to waste even more money, but at that point you could have gotten a new 8300H/1050 ti laptop or maybe a used 8750H one which destroys any upgrades you can throw in the M17X R3 even if you board swap to a R4.

 

[lexluthermiester]

It's a m17x r3

$450 is a bit much unless it has 16GB(4x4GB) of ram and large SSD's included. That was a premium laptop BITD. It's old but not useless. That laptop will be fine for common computing and internet usages and even some mild gaming. It has a Core i7-2720QM, quad channel ram quad dimm slots and a Radeon HD 6970M which are still supported by games today.(Edit after researching further it seems it was not quad channel ram just four dimms to expand to up to 32GB)

Amazing system for it's time and still a nice system today. He might have over-paid, but nothing priced at $450 brand new is going to deliver the performance that the system still offers. So it just depends on your perspective. If it was in good or excellent condition was decked out with ram and SSD's, then I would say he got a fair deal, especially for an Alienware laptop which are famous for being both durable and well equipped.

My brother play gemes like gta 4 and gta 5 and is only wanting to buy a laptop

That system will run GTA4 very well on best settings. For GTA5 he'll have to turn down some of the settings(turn off anti-aliasing, at 1080p it isn't needed) and he will have a good experience. However, that game runs best with lots of system ram. If it has 8GB it'll be good, but 16GB would be best. That system will accept 32GB but such would be overkill.

Out of curiosity, what are the specs on the ram and storage? Does it have 8GB or 16GB of ram? SSD's or standard HDD's? It is in good condition?

 

[AlienIsGOD]

Radeon HD 6970M which are still supported by games today.

But drivers do not, 6970 is vliw arch and current drivers do not support anything under HD 7000 series

 

[frank30fps]

$450 is a bit much unless it has 16GB(4x4GB) of ram and large SSD's included. That was a premium laptop BITD. It's old but not useless. That laptop will be fine for common computing and internet usages and even some mild gaming. It has a Core i7-2720QM, quad channel ram and a Radeon HD 6970M which are still supported by games today.

Amazing system for it's time and still a nice system today. He might have over-paid, but nothing priced at $450 brand new is going to deliver the performance that the system still offers. So it just depends on your perspective. If it was in good or excellent condition was decked out with ram and SSD's, then I would say he got a fair deal, especially for an Alienware laptop which are famous for being both durable and well equipped.


That system will run GTA4 very well on best settings. For GTA5 he'll have to turn down some of the settings(turn off antialiasing, at 1080p it isn't needed) and he will have a good experience. However, that game runs best with lots of system ram. If it has 8GB it'll be good, but 16GB would be best. That system will accept 32GB but such would be overkill.

Out of curiosity, what are the specs on the ram and storage? Does it have 8GB or 16GB of ram? SSD's or standard HDD's? It is in good condition?

It came with 4x2gb of ram and an ssd, but my added his 500gb ssd and he upraded it to 12gb

But drivers do not, 6970 is vliw arch and current drivers do not support anything under HD 7000 series

he might want to buy a gtx 780m , is it any good idea ?

 

[lexluthermiester]

But drivers do not, 6970 is vliw arch and current drivers do not support anything under HD 7000 series

Just because the drivers are not being updated doesn't mean games won't run. It'll be fine for the amount of time it'll be used.

It came with 4x2gb of ram and an ssd, but my added his 500gb ssd and he upraded it to 12gb

A 500GB SSD is a good upgrade. 12GB of ram is a good upgrade as well. I'd say it's a nice setup. He should have fun for a year or two. Just remember to have him turn off anti-aliasing in the driver settings to get the most performance from the GPU in games.

he might want to buy a gtx 780m , is it any good idea ?

That depends on the price. If he can get it for cheap, then yes it'd be a worthy upgrade, especially for GTA5 performance.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

Just because the drivers are not being updated doesn't mean games won't run. It'll be fine for the amount of time it'll be used.

did i ever state games wouldnt run? no...

 

[Bill_Bright]

I've mentioned how to obtain a case and an ssd, but you didn't bother reading the entire post.

I did read it. And I just read it again and there is nothing in your post #26 about "obtaining" a case and a SSD. The only mention is there is "no case, no SSD".

I see no point in arguing what the OP's brother could have or should have got with his $450. The money is already spent.

The saddest part is, no one mentioned the elephant in the room, and that is, what problems does an 8 yo laptop bring along.
Bad battery and fans probably on the verge of death.

If you go back and read the entire thread to get caught up, you will see in my first post I commented on the age of the system and specifically mentioned the battery as a factor of this being a good deal or not.

he might want to buy a gtx 780m , is it any good idea ?

I agree with lexluthermiester - only if you can get a good deal. But I note adding a hungrier graphics solution will put greater demands the aging power/regulator circuits, and cooling.

ShurikN is right about one thing - this is a 8 - 10 year old computer. That means the motherboard, CPU, monitor, CCFL & inverter, power supply and other components are already long in the tooth - and could die at any moment of simple old age. The older they get, the harder-to-find and most likely more expensive the replacement parts will be. Yes, I assume used parts will be available for some time, but used parts are still old parts.

And in the meantime, technologies will continue to advance the state-of-the-art, pushing that already legacy notebook further and further back in to greater obsolescence.

I think your brother should be happy where he is and use this notebook as is for as long as it will hold out. And in the meantime, start building up a new budget for a new computer that will support current (and future) technologies at current performance and security levels.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I agree with lexluthermiester - only if you can get a good deal. But I note adding a hungrier graphics solution will put greater demands the aging power/regulator circuits, and cooling.

Actually I was about to edit and chime in on that, did some more reading and the difference between the two is only about 15W which the Alienware AC adapter can easily handle.

ShurikN is right about one thing - this is a 8 - 10 year old computer.

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It's a maximum of 8 years old. However they made this model for at least a year. That said..

That means the motherboard, CPU, monitor, CCFL & inverter, power supply and other components are already long in the tooth - and could die at any moment of simple old age. The older they get, the harder-to-find and most likely more expensive the replacement parts will be. Yes, I assume used parts will be available for some time, but used parts are still old parts.

...the components within will be fine.

And in the meantime, technologies will continue to advance the state-of-the-art, pushing that already legacy notebook further and further back in to greater obsolescence.

That's been true for 40+ years and things still continue to last for a long time. The laptop in question was a budget purchase and will provide good performance for the price range in question, especially with the upgrades already performed.

I think your brother should be happy where he is and use this notebook as is for as long as it will hold out.

Here we agree, however the laptop isn't just going to up and die. I have a Gateway C2Q based laptop that is much older and it still runs fine. Alienware systems are of much higher quality.

and security levels.

That system is Windows 10 supported.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Actually I was about to edit and chime in on that, did some more reading and the difference between the two is only about 15W which the Alienware AC adapter can easily handle.

Hopefully so but I note power supplies also get weaker as they age. And they have already bumped up the RAM which will consume more power, albeit not a lot. Switching to an SSD will hopefully save some over the HD - but again, not a lot.

That said, I also said a hungrier graphics solution puts greater demands on the aging regulator circuits and cooling. Taking just the power supply out of context does not change the validity of my point.

...the components within will be fine.

??? Huh? You don't know that. All electronics age - especially those that subject to regular large swings in temperatures - such as the voltage regulators I just mentioned - again. And it is important to note the electronics in notebook go through significantly greater temperature swings compared to PCs which typically sit in environmentally controlled facilities, and are housed in large PC cases instead of cramped notebook cases.

Every capacitor, resistor, diode, IC, even solder joint is at least 8 years old. Even the lid hinges are old and the cables that run through them have likely been flexed 1000s of times.

The mere fact this is a used computer means you don't know the components inside will be fine - and this is especially true since you have never seen this computer, or know what kind of abuse it has sustained by its previous owner (or owners!).

Here we agree, however the laptop isn't just going to up and die. I have a Gateway C2Q based laptop that is much older and it still runs fine.

Again, you don't know that. Your sample-size-of-one experience does not set the standard. Anecdotal evidence is not evidence.

I have a Toshiba notebook that is almost 10 years old still chugging along. But I have a 6 year old Dell with a failed motherboard too.

You've claimed to have or work in a shop. Surely you have seen computers come in that have failed that were only a few years old? I surely would not have had a long and lucrative career as an electronics technician if computers, TVs and home audio electronics hardware never failed prematurely.

While it is possible electronics hardware will last 10, 15 years or even longer, it is also possible it will go up in smoke in 5 years or less - or 1 day after the warranty runs out.

That system is Windows 10 supported.

Not officially.

I see no point in any of this discussion. None helps the OP. So let's get back to helping him.