Basic Alienware m14x

Welcome all !

Your forum seems to be THE source of information for any knowledge on alienware !

As you all may know, the requirements for Skyrim are out! And like probly a lot of you , I wanna play it !

I bought the basic Alienware m14x...I know its not super powerful but I dont game much but I would really like to play skyrim on the computer rather than my ps3.

I will buy skyrim but I need to be sure to get at least good fps on at least high settings.

I dont play games like crysis 2 of battlefield 3 that require a lot of power so I guess thats why I bought de basic version.

Any thoughts on either my decision or how good I will run the game Skyrim ?

thanks all in advance

the specs :

i5 2410m 2.3 hz
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
NV GeForce GT555M 1.5GB VRAM
14.0 HD (720p/1366x768)/WLED
500GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD
Win 7 Home Prem 64 SP1,Eng,w/Media,AWNB

 

You forgot the 1600x900 display?

Aside from probably having noticeably better image quality, the higher resolution lets you fit more onscreen. 1366x768 is approaching the mediocre side for a 14" screen, especially in a laptop that costs upwards of $1100.

Cancel and re-order with this screen, it makes a world of difference.

The screen is the most important upgrade, and you shouldn't be buying the M14x if you cannot afford this upgrade.

 

The base model would be fine, the cpu and gpu are a perfect match for each other, the core i7 processor are better, but the gpu would bottle neck it for higher performance. What you should debate is whether or not to upgrade the screen. 720p is the ideal size for 13-14 inch screens. But the 900p is so crisp and clear, but then again the overall aspect of the things you're viewing would be smaller, so much wasted space on the sides if you're not gaming. I wouldn't say the 900p is a must, but it is a nice upgrade.

 

Thanks for the comments!

It also bring a question tho, will skyrim run on high or max ? if you have just a good idea, it woulb be great

As for the resolution. It is my first powerful laptop and as a student, I dont have the money and neither the time to game alot. For the resolution, I read a couple of places that the 1600x900 is the highest resolution for a 14 inch latop, so is the default resolution lower than an average 14 inch ? I also compared on my girlfriends laptop that has 1200x800.

Also for the price, I love in canada (im french, sorry for the writing), the alienware was cheaper than the macbook pro 13 by about 150 dollars. So I still think it a relatively good price.

Thank you!

Also, it seems that people have been asking for benchmarks on the i5 ? what exaclty is a benchmark ? and I could check with my default alienware when I get it.

 

If you're not even much of a gamer, buying an Alienware and not getting the one upgrade that will make a big difference outside of games is a kind of one of the worst paths to go down.

How much did the laptop cost in your configuration? You should probably cancel it and buy a different laptop if you can't afford the 1600x900 screen. The Alienware M14x should not be bought with 1366x768 unless eyesight comfort level requires such a low resolution for large text.

 

For any laptop that is design and manufacturing after 2009, the average screen is 768p however as the guys above me (except you - OP) 900p is a must, because it will made thing easier when doing multitask.

 

I just wanted to get a good gaming laptop while not spending too much for my first laptop buy !

As long as the 768p is average than I am good. The price I got isnt that much, like I said, I paid less than a macbook pro and for sure less than my 2 year old laptop.

Thanks for the thoughts !

 

It's "average" (common), but it's still mediocre and will be a huge limiting factor compared to 1600x900. The screen is the biggest limiting factor in a computer.

 

Well, for the smaller screen it mean everything will look larger while some stuff look like it is been cramped together, that as for in game as well, for the larger screen meaning you will also get a larger FOV (Field of View), I dont know about you but for me the larger the better, and I willing to sacrifice the lower RAM/HDD on-website upgrade to get the higher screen resolution, due to that larger FOV especially if you play RTS/MMORPG/FPS game, you will see the different.

However you also can set the FOV larger than the default but it will be like fish-eye view, since (like I said) everything will be cramp to fit the FOV setting. Plus if you upgrade to 900p, you can always set to 768p whenever you like, but it is impossible if you had the 768p.

 

Just as a note, not trying to turn you off of the alienware, its a great computer, but if you're not going to be doing much gaming, and being a student you'd value battery life and weight, the alienware would seem more of a hassle than a benefit. It was for me, I bought the alienware m14x in the summer, I love computer gaming, and I use it a lot, but for school, I ended up getting a macbook as well, because the alienware averaged 3 hours of battery life, really heavy, and I didnt need all that power on the go, only at home. Not trying to push you to get a mac of course, just trying to make sure you dont make a wrong buying decision. I use both of them at once when I'm home

 

How about someone tells him if it can run Skyrim or not? Seriously, you adress everything but what he asked. Although I do like the 900 screen, it is NOT mandatory, and the i7 is better, but if you just want a good computer that doesn't cost WAY too much, then this is fine. I would tell you what Skyrim runs like, but I don't know.

 

No, the processor is not more important than the screen because the screen still makes more of a difference. The screen affects everything. The processor barely affects anything and likely won't noticeably affect Skyrim performance at all.

The GT 555M GPU will be a bottleneck far before the i5-2410M will, don't waste money on getting an i7 if it means sacrificing the more important upgrade.

 

I have decided to upgrade to 900p.

Thanks for the advice, and thanks Jovan for bringing back the subject !

What can I expect for around 40fps , high - max settings ?

thank you

For syrim that is

 

Bonjour Mano,

Le ton d'Edit est un peu, disons, "coriace", mais il a néanmoins raison.

L'écran 900p est essentiel, la différence est majeure. C'est un peu comme acheter une voiture avec ou sans chaufferette, au Québec.

Pensez à long terme.
Je crois que le modèle M14x de base pourra très bien faire fonctionner Skyrim avec des réglages de moyens à élevés. Mais Skyrim ne sera pas le dernier jeu qui vous intéressera.

De plus, si vous voulez ajouter du matériel dans votre portable, comme un "TV Tuner", vous ne pourrez profiter de la meilleure résolution dans le cas ou vous désiriez regarder un film sur un grand écran HD, avec votre M14x comme lecteur.

Votre modèle de base, avec un processeur i5, sera bon pour une année, peut-être deux.

J'ai personnellement commandé le i7 2630 avec 6 Gb de RAM à 1666 Mhz pour le long terme, je suis assez confortable avec une durée utile de la performance pour les trois prochaines années. Mon prix était de 1300$ avant taxes et expédition.

Écoutez Edit, il vous donne de très bons conseils.

 

I gotta disagree with the 900p screen. I'd rather have the lower res and get a good external monitor to use as a screen for gaming. Reason for lappy is to be able to do crap on the go which generally isn't gaming since battery life isn't the greatest.

I was just checking out the M14 configurator and the only screen option is the 900p screen. Makes me wonder if the 768 is being discontinued and the starting price is going to get increased by $100 and come stock with 900p.

 

In other countries, the 768 screen still exists unfortunately.

And no, an external monitor cannot replace your laptop's internal display because you can't bring it with you.

The screen isn't just for gaming, it's for everything. In fact, it affects general multitasking more than it affects gaming.

 

Merci beaucoup Kimjo42

Jai commander le 900p, mais rien de plus tout de même. Je suis très fièr de monde choix et je sais que j'aurais pu ajouter d'autre options mais je pense que le modèle de base va me suffir. Je joue beaucoup de jeux, mais jamais des jeux de style FPS et jai aussi un ps3. Les jeux à l'ordi qui m'interesse sont du style « hack and slash » je ne peu attendre Diablo 3 et bien sur je suis un adepte des MMO surtout EVE online.

Je voulais un ordinateur perfomant mais sans trop puisque c'est le premier «gaming laptop» que j'achete. Je change de portable environ tout les 2 ans donc c'est parfait pour moi je pense! Javais aussi regarder le XPS 15z, mais et pour 50 dollars de plus, jai le system de lumière Alienware qui est simplement super et une carte graphique qui est entièrement plus perfomante !

Merci de la réponse, je dois avouer que edit était pas mal féroce dans ces réponses et c'est une des raisons pourquoi je n'ai pris aucun de ces commentaires au serieux ... oops

Alienware 900p it is !

 

Maybe for you, I'm getting a laptop purely because I travel a bit and a desktop would be a hassle, but I don't really use it away from a power source. I would very much want the 900p screen, it can be turned down to 768 anyway.

 

i gotta agree with jovan can someone just seriously answer his question without it being a debate on the most important upgrade for his M14x, not a single person has answered how well he can play Skyrim. Not sure if the guy in french covered it or not, I myself don't know how well you'd be able to run it or at what settings. Hopefully topic goes back to the OP's question.

 

As a student, the most important thing which you need to consider for the m14x is the price. You should get the cheapest price that you can get. Nothing in the m14x consider as a good upgrade even for the 900p screen. The 900p screen upgrade may be good for you if you travel a lot.

 

Skyrim recommends a core2quad, I'm not sure how the dual core i5 would compare. Yes, it's faster (I think) but 2 cores instead of 4.

 

In French I told her/him she/he should be able to run it on med to high settings.

On Bethesda's forum site there is a thread dedicated to system specs, in which you type your specs and ask Bethstaff if and how Skyrim will run.

Based on this thread, the M14x should be able to run it fine, even at basic config.

 

My Core 2 Quad benchmarks similarly to an i5-2520M. And the 2410M isn't too much less powerful than that.

 

Awsome !!! I will pre order it for sure !! but to have fluent fps will I have to go to 768p ???

thanks all for the responses !!!

 

You should be fine at 768p I think