Alienware M14x worth it?

Hey everyone i am looking for a laptop to go away with to college next year. I will be majoring in some type of computer science and i do play my fair share of games. I then stumbled accross the m14x and at first glance this thing just looks so amazing and from reading the specs it seems like a boss. I need a laptop thts fast and can handle my needs such as gaming and web browsing and have a decent amount of battery life. I cant stand it when u double click a program like firefox or w.e an it takes like 10 seconds to open although that may seem fast i can stand that. Anyway this m14x seems like the one and i would like to know from some owners if its truly as good as it seems. Because my friend had an alienware like 2 yrs ago some 18 inch and he ran into a lotta problems and now the screen is just black and he cant even use it. This is what i definitely dont want to happen college is the priority a laptop that can do it like a powerhouse plus play games is legit. Also if someone could help me out on the specs for it i cant go over 1600$ and i do want the advanced warranty. The specs i dont rele know about but i need it fast, like what i said before.

Hey about the standard warranty and i wad lookin into it but is it a real warranty? Like if it breaks or somethig can i get it replaced? Or what, also whats the deal with the wifi hd upgrade thing? Is that worth it or just some gimmick.

 

I'd say like almost users here to go with the stock config but upgrade the screen to 900p, for the proc, the stock proc is enough because the limitation of the m14x is the GPU so upgrading the proc will not run the games better, for the ram stick with 4GB and if you need to upgrade just buy it on newegg because Dell prices are insane. I personnaly upgraded the proc to a 2720 because I do a lot of multitasking, I don't know if it'll help but that was just to be sure but all users here will tell you that the 2630 is more than enough.
I didn't recieved my atm so I can't say if the m14x is fast or not but from the feedback the only bad points are Sata III and Loud fan and they'll probably be fixed with a BIOS update.
Finaly if you ask me if the m14x is worth it, I'd say yes, ok you can find another laptop with the same specs for a lowest price, but you'll never found a laptop with the style of alienware, if they fix the issues like loud fan and SATA III then I would be the perfect laptop (for me).
Hope I helped you.

 

I bought the m14x for all the reasons that you are stating. I am an engineering student and needed long battery life, portability, and enough power for heavy games on my downtime.

So far I am not dissappointed. The laptop is amazingly fast, I dont experience any lag or slow down doing day to day things such as browsing, emails, etc. I also havent had any issue running games. It has handles everything on max or close to max settings.

As for the fans, While doing anything but gaming, the fan is silent.. so its not rly an issue.

Battery, simply unheard of for a laptop with this much power to last 5 hoursish, no complaints.

The config I went with is stated below, but pretty much what tsukurimashou said, base config with a 900p screen is all you need.

For that config, plus 4 year basic warranty I paid 1.5k CAD. For that price, I dont know of any other laptop that can match it.

 

To be honest, I dont know yet, im stil testing and thinking about it.

 

C'mon guys it's pretty obvious that with this laptop you won't experience any lag or slow down doing day to day things such as browsing, emails, etc.

It will be ridicolous if you would.

My 2 cents for your purchase: if you don't care about the "style" go for an Asus G53, and if you don't need it right now, very soon the new G53 will be released, with a GTX 560 inside... Now, THAT's gonna be a "boss".

 

Other than the GPU being a little weaker than I'd like, the m14x is a great laptop.

 

yeah right, a gtx 485m is a feat in 15'', not a gtx 560m a card that can only compete when there is at least 2 of them in sli...

there is only 2 gaming laptop makers one is aw in the 17 and 18 range the other is sager in the 15 and 17 range

 

So a single 555m (m14x) or 460m (actual G53) is better than a single 560m in a 15"???

 

nope its a performance increase of 10% from the 460m, the 560m is basically a higher clocked version, higher binned.

however the np8150 can still pack the gtx 485m, which is more powerful than 2 gtx 460m in sli, its the same for the 6970m

 

Thanks for the explanation!

I was actually think about a Sager too, really can't decide what to do...

 

In answer to the original question.

No, we are all mugs and throw our money away on a whim. Nothing I like better than to spend £1200 on a door stop.

Serioulsy though, 14" of pure throbbing gaming muscle..................whats not to like.

 

If you don't care about the look of your laptop get a Sager.

 

For the m14x, you trade off
1. approx. 2 hours better battery life
2. the fancy design / alien fx / backlit keyboard / overall AW exclusivity
3. better warranty
4. a slightly smaller footprint (1 inch less wide and long and 0.2 kg lighter)
5. lower cost
6. better trackpad


to have in the Sager 8150
1. better size and weight / performance ratio ie. GPU can be configured to be twice as powerful as the GT555m
2. better cooling (separate heat sinks and fans for GPU and CPU)
3. a down to earth design
4. future upgradability prospects (the GPU is upgradable through the MXM slot unlike the GT555m which is soldered onto the mobo in the m14x)
5. better screen config: 1920 x 1080 FHD wide gamut display which can be useful for engineering designs
6. wider selection of ports

It depends on which features are more important to you. Warranty and downtime could be especially important for a college laptop especially when you need a computer for work.

 

Sager is a huge step back in terms of build quality and Dell's warranty and aftercare is far superior IMO.

I'd never get a Sager over an Alienware, but I'm probably biased.

 

Haha, and here I am returning my alienware for a Sager due to build quality issues.

Dell's warranty and aftercare really is far superior though. Sager is a very niche market and aftercare depends pretty much on your reseller.

 

How come that the difference in build quality is huge, could you give any concrete evidence? I've always thought that sagers generally had good build quality, above the average.

 

Because just like any manufacturer, sometimes QA issues are present. Just because you received a defective or damage system doesn't mean they're all like that. I'm not talking about QA (receiving a system without flaws), I'm talking about the materials used in building the system.





Anodized Aluminum > plastic Sager fugbox.

Also, the rubberized coating used on the other AW models is far superior to the rubberized 8150 Sager I've used. It's not even comparable.

You don't have to take my word for it. Sager got their reputation for building comparitively cheap, powerful working systems. They're good for what they are, but "quality" is misleading. They're like a WRX STi (if you know anything about cars). They're fast and are very functional, but the build quality is still crap. The m18x, for example, would be the BMW M3 in that analogy.

The bottom line is it'd be a cold day in hell before I get a Sager over an Alienware. The keyboard, materials, and overall look (most subjective part) is much improved over a Sager.

 

Yeah, it looks okay. But do you actually any proof/examples of the (consistent) lack of quality in sager laptops, or that Alienware is much better? I'm not saying it's impossible, just that some more info would help.

And after all, alienware have had their share of quality problems too, wasn't the hinge on the m11x for example a massive problem that took caused a huge number of returns and took them a good long while to fix?

edit: And btw, isn't the m14x made of plastic?

 

You're not getting my point; QA =/= build quality. Any laptop has a chance of being shipped with manufacturing defects. I'm not here to provide you with hard facts, I'm giving you my experiences and opinion. Take it for what it is.

I owned an m11x and never once had a hinge problem. So I can't speak to that. Every AW I've owned (I've had 7 total laptops) has been flawless in terms of build and QA. Sagers have their reports of QA issues if you'd search around. Like any manufacturer.

I never said there was a consistent lack of quality in Sager systems. I said the build quality was crap. Once again you're confusing build quality with QA. Build quality is materials used to build the system, QA is shipping without manufacturing defects. They're two very different things and that will be the last time I attempt to explain the difference.

This is all getting besides the point; go ahead and try out a Sager. Hopefully you'll be satisfied with it. But I'm far less convinced.

 

And yes, the m14x is hard plastic with rubberized coating. My original point in my previous post was that the rubber coating is far superior to what is used on the 8150, the nearest Sager competitor. However, the Sager is more powerful and a 15inch model.

To clarify my points:

Alienware has better build quality
Sager may have better QA (what you think I mean by build quality)

But seeing as any problems you have with the AW you have 21 days to have them build you a new one, I've never seen the shoddy AW QA as an issue.

 

To answer the OP, yes the m14x is worth it. There is no directly comparable system except for the coming HP envy 14 refresh.

I've owned an HP Envy 14 and without the Radiance display (the refresh won't have it supposedly) there's no point in getting that system for gaming as it will have far inferior cooling to the AW. (My E14 got very, very hot with just a 5650m and i5-520m, can't imagine it with the SB and GPU refresh. Too little space for adequate cooling).

 

Not worth it at all. Huge waste of money. You'll get much more bang for your buck out of this:

Amazon.com: Desktop Abacus: Toys & Games

 

Well, if you go through a reseller like xoticpc.com to get a Sager, you will be able to return your laptop for any reason within 30 days (at least, I believe that's their policy). There's really no way to beat the Sager price to performance ratio.

By the way, the closest sager competitor to the m14x is the Sager NP5165 (SB CPU + GT 555m), not the NP 8150, which counts its competitors as the m17x and m18x, both of which are superior to it, IMO. The Sager NP8130 is actually the best bang for your gaming buck laptop on the market currently, at least in my opinion, and it has a better body design than the older 8150.

Support? I mean, personally, I've never found a computer problem I can't fix. If it's hardware, you're sending it back no matter whom you've purchased from. Most resellers offer 24 hour support anyway, much like Dell.

Build: Alienware gets the nod here. Their laptops are sturdy. They feel like you could drop them three stories and they would be fine. Sager is just fine in this area though, and the 8130 has a very nice body structure and is pretty darn sturdy. It's certainly not going to fall apart on you. This area is simply less important to me, as all I do with my lappy is plop it on my desk for a month, then pack it to travel in a laptop bag that I carry on flights with me.

Screen: Sager. The Sager Super Clear Matte type 95% NTSC Color Gamut is the best laptop screen I've ever seen and lacks the horrific reflective glossy plastic you see so often these days. You pay for it though. AW has nice screens as well, just not as good in my opinion.

Aesthetics: I personally prefer the simplistic look of the Sager since I travel with it for business, but there's no question if you're looking for style points, AW takes the cake. They make some pimp looking laptops.

Ultimately, it's hard to go wrong with either, but if you want a well-balanced, powerful/portable laptop (e.g., SB cpu + GTX 560m in a 6.8lb package), the Sager 8130 is the way to go. If you want super portable with good power, the m11x r3 is unbeatable. If price isn't much of a concern and you want the beastliest laptop around with crossfire features and such, you get the m17x or m18x.

 

Hey about the standard warranty and i wad lookin into it but is it a real warranty? Like if it breaks or somethig can i get it replaced? Or what, also whats the deal with the wifi hd upgrade thing? Is that worth it or just some gimmick.

 

In the end, quality materials and stringent quality control shold both go hand in hand in determining the overall build quality of a laptop. No point having the best materials when every single replacement comes with a flaw, and no point having the best build when lousy materials used deteriorate quickly over time.

I do think that the rubber coating of the m14x is top notch. However, it is the quality of the chassis / hard plastic under this "paintjob" which matters the most. Simply basing build quality on coatings alone does not make a lot of sense.

Does the uncoated porous plastic seen when you remove the base panel of the m14x scream quality to you? If anything, it feels a little cheap to me. Also, that pretty rubber finish will not cover up for the relatively poor keyboard quality, and that's in comparison to my cheap Compaq CQ40 notebook.

Lastly, many people feel that the quality of Alienware has been going downhill ever since Dell bought over the company. Some tidbit for thought is that Sager (or Clevo rather) used to be the OEM for Alienware back when they started out as a company which is the period when many perceive the quality to be at its highest and before the dilution by Dell.

Of course, this is only of an interesting note and by no means imply that all current Sager notebooks have great build quality across the board. I just think that material for material wise, Sager's build quality is not all that different from Alienware's, especially when most laptop manufacturing processes are subcontracted out to the same group of plants in China anyway where quantity and not quality is king.

 

errr... so thinkpads are crap, because they are plastic....

 

To me build quality is:

• How well the system is put together, any flex, etc.

• The quality of the materials used

• How well the system holds up over time

And from what I've read, Sagers usually tend to last a good while (compared to cheap HP/Acer laptops, do you agree that the build quality of these (too) often is low?) and have a good quality feel to them.

On the matter of design and so on, I won't get into that due to it being far too personal and up to each buyer.

 

Still not sure that I did the right choice, like the review stated - slightly worse GPU then it should have - at least compared to it competision. But sadly I was in a extremly need of one who had mobility and G35 lacked optimus, I needed one which could last 5-6 hours at school and Im often travelling home and M11r3 was a little bit to small.

Its weird that none tryes to do like alienware : small netbooks for gaming. If I would fine just as small as m14x with the same specs (probably better ) I would go for it and it would probably cost more ; I dont get rid of the feeling that I paid a little overprise and that is mostly GPU related.

However - I love that it final great and again, that its mobile as hell. And games as crysis still looks beatiful and goes extremly well with advanced -720P and future games is easy playable I expect.

Sadly The ASUS G53 was a little to big - sadly because its a silent laptop which seems genius when it comes to the specs.

 

May be true but im not a big fan of sager or asus, im a dell kinda guy so. But also i really just wanted to get people's feedback b.c my friend has a alienware 18' something that he got 2 maybe 3 years ago and the screen is just black now when u turn it on and he has also had many problems with it so i just wanted the consensus on whether or not to go with the m14x i want a quality laptop that wont be slow wont give me annoying issues like this current vista pc of desktop i have, freakin every time i close something program not responding loads, then i x out and then it closes, not a big deal only takes another like 5 or 6 seconds but its just annoying and unnecessary. It seems liek the m14x has been good to pretty much everyone and i think im going to take a jump at it.

****Now its time for system specs....lol
Quick question about warranty though...like whats this i hear like dell separate warranty from alienware and etc. If u get the basic 1 year is that it just 1 year and if anything breaks due to malfunction not like ur spilling crap then they replace the pc or something? Theyre so vague when they explain it on the site and i was wondering if i should get the 2 year warranty but im not sure if its worth it.

 

You get next-business day on site house call from a technician.

If you add a little extra $ at the time of purchase, you get accidental coverage for just about everything, and if they can't repair it, you get a brand new system.

Best warranty in the industry

 

Who said that, you or me?

Would you like to argue with yourself?

 

battlefield 3 pretty much made my decision of getting a np8130 instead of a m14x. and this: two people have the problem now. Might mean more do but dont know about this site. The pic even looks like the m11x issue. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/581845-cracked-hinge.html

 

Why did BF3 make ur decision of the sager over the m14x? b.c im gonna get that game too...

 

There is no way that the m14x can play that game on high settings fluently.

 

Not when they release a M14x R2 hopefully with a 560m although I doubt if would be in this year

 

I'd say the m14x is maybe worth it if you paid less than 1500 for it. But with almost all alienware products, you are paying a premium for the name. Some call it overpriced, I call it a premium . If you want the best specs for the price, don't go with alienware. And as for Battle Field 3, my m14x barely handles bfbc2 on high settings with around 30-40 fps. But the overclock provided by MSI Afterburner makes everything smoother. I doubt it'll handle BF3 maxed. Would have to cut back some settings for a fluent game play.

 

Sadly, there is no better 14" then alienware, give me a computer who have better stats for the same size or smaller - for me - I need to have as much power and small as possible around 13-14"

So it is the best specs for the price.

 

(Playing Devil's Advocate on this one...)

Interestingly, the M14x is as heavy as many 15.6" laptops, and volumetrically is as big as one too. The 14.1" screen belies the systems actual girth (... or relative girth).

Here's a size comparison vs. an HP dv6-6xxx series, which by all accounts is an equivalent if not better specced machine depending on you particular config (can get a 1080p matte LCD, similar/slightly better GPU, and BluRay for less money, though not as "well styled" for some).

M14x = 1.49" thick x 13.27" wide x 10.17" deep = 201.08 cubic inches and 6.45 lbs
dv6 = 1.39" thick x 14.88" wide x 9.71" deep = 200.83 cubic inches and 5.78 lbs

The M14x is actually bigger than the 15.6" HP in thickness, in depth, in overall occupied volume, and in weight. Nothing about it is really "small" except the screen size, giving up 1.5" yet being as big/bigger than a comparable laptop.

While it is true that there isn't much as powerful in the 13-14" category as the M14x, it's quite misleading to actually consider the M14x as IN the 13-14" category with those physical attributes. Considering the dv6 has some options which makes it superior to the M14x in some areas (screen, optical drive, optional larger battery) and it's "as small" as the M14x, the M14x should really be up in comparisons to 15.6" laptops... It's really not that small.

To further continue the comparison, a 15" MacBook Pro only occupies 133.87 cubic inches (5.6lbs) and an M11x R3 is 133.37 cubic inches (4.4 lbs). Which would you rather carry? Price notwithstanding, the 15" MBP actually provides a greater mobile gaming experience per cubic inch than the M11x considering they occupy the same volume of space.

Verdict: Alienware's are chubby for their laptop class!

 

Touché everythingsablur .. my respond ? I like chubby 14" ? ;p

On a more serious note, I did not know that the difference was that .. big .. if that the word we can use.
I compared the m14x with some games-laptops (msi and asus) and thought "That beast I dont want to carry around to school with."

But next time ( when/if R2 comming out) I will do better research - but here in Norway our choices are limited when it comes to this, a lot of cases you will need to order from the US with the advantages and disadvantages that follows.

I dont care at all about the alienware shinning logo, all that I want is what I said in my post above so its good to know that I was wrong there.

 

Hehehe... who doesn't like a gal with a little meat on her bones? Cute too!

But yes, if you compare an M14x to an enthusiast's gaming 15.6" laptop like an MSI GT/GX, ASUS G, or Clevo/Sager then it will look positively tiny. Those laptops are just in a different class though, both in size (the ASUS G53 is actually bigger than some 17" laptops) and performance. They would run rings around the M14x, the dv6-6xxx or anything similar.

Well, until you unplug one...

 

For nearly twice the price

 

Well, I did say "price notwithstanding"... It was purely a comparison based on the size of the devices/form factor, hence the "per cubic inch".

If you want to get into a price-performance comparison, we can bring Sager/Clevo into this, but the Alienware premium has already been pretty well documented. As has the "Apple tax".

 

Check this out;
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP8130

For 1299, you get the gtx 560m, and if you want to pay more, you can get a sager 15 inch with "the world's fastest mobile gpu" the gtx 580m.

Well how much does it weigh you ask? Not much more than the m14x, under 7 Pounds. And it's similar in size to the 14 inch m14x. A lot of people say the m14x is a lot smaller than any 15 inch notebook. That's not true with all 15 inchers. The asus and the m15x yes, but there are a lot of 15 inch notebooks that are not only the same weight, and a larger screen, they are almost the same size dimensionally.

Sure the sager is no looker and doesn't put on a light show. But if we compare specs vs price, this sager blows my m14x back to it's alien home world.

 

To add to my previous calculations...

NP8130/8150 = 1.69" thick x 14.8" wide x 10.08" deep = 252.12 cubic inches and 6.83 lbs

They're close dimensionally (not as close as the dv6), though the NP8130 is 25% larger in overall volume. The laptop weight is similar, but the power brick is a BRICK brick, and pushes overall carrying weight close to 9 lbs.

Unless you need the battery life for actual productivity while unplugged, it's hard to argue with the performance value you get out of an NP8130 (Clevo P151 HM1).

 

9 pounds? I got this taken from the actual site.
6.83 LBs with Battery Pack
14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38"~1.69" (h)

Or were you talking about the charger? lol

I was just taking performance vs price. Not counting looks, actual practicality, weight, size, though they are comparable, or battery life.

And for 1299, besides the gtx 560, you get a 15.6 inch full hd screen, 8 gig's of ram, and a blue ray option.

Again, would rather have my m14x, but im just comparing price/specs. The m14x wins in portability and battery life.

 

SORRY! That is what I meant...

 

Oh you were right, the adapter is sometimes called the powerbrick, i thought you were referring to the battery when you totaled it to 9 pounds

 

Cool Story Bro

No Thanks, I will stick with the M14x.

 

Why not compare with a Sager NP5165 which is pretty much same specs as M14x, except NP5165 is 15.6" 1080p but no backlit keyboard, 1 lbs lighter and about same dimensions except 1in wider. The NP5165 is about $300 cheaper comparably equipped: i7-2630QM, GT 555m with Optimus, 500GB 7200RPM HDD, 4GB DDR3 1333, Win 7 Home Premium x64, 62WHr battery. Plus you can add a blu-ray player/dvdrw combo drive for $80.

I'm seriously considering both the M14x and Sager NP5165. Unless Dell comes out with a decent coupon in the near future, I think I'll have to go with the Sager.

 

Just call up sager really isnt that cheap i configured one from sager for same specs and only came little bit cheaper, plus i called up dell to order my m14x and the rep took 300$ extra off, so it was a kill, and very easy decision. Also i have it now and i absolutely love it, can handle anything runs smooth, quiet, and very cool. I game for hours and hours while plugged in this thing hasnt gone over 70 degrees celsius and when ur not gaming its cool room temp and extremely quiet. I wouldnt ask for anything more.