M14x R2 former owner's thoughts and expectations for M14x R3

3 great things I like about the m14x is the superb sound system from klispch speakers w/ sound blaster recon, the great responsive touchpad and 2 separate buttons and the unique design and pretty lights but other than that i would recommend you dvoid m14x r2 and wait for improvements in the R3.

It has one of the most horrible screens out there despite having HD+ resolution. The colors are dull and it looks foggy and fuzzy and it suffers from a loud hairdryer jet engine fan noise when gaming and the damn fan runs on and off annoyingly even when idle like it has a mind of its own. It also suffers from screen touching the keyboard showing vertical lines that you have to wipe out everytime you close and open the lid and you shouldn't have to put a cloth inbetween to fix this because other laptops do not have this issue.

The reason the fan is so noisy is because it uses a single fan to cool both gpu and cpu and Alienware better step it up on R3 to put dual cooling solution. If G46 that has a GTX 660m card and only weighs 5.5lbs can put dual cooling fan, Alienware has no excuse not to be able to do this.


Things that needs to be done with M14x R3
- Quiet Dual Fan Cooling
- Keep 900p resolution but make it a better quality panel with higher SRGB coverage and good color gamut
- Maybe 0.5-1lb weight reduction
- Matte Screen Option

 

Thank you for the feedback. You can also create a new thread on ideastorm.com our engineers and developers always check in there for ideas.

 

I would like to add that a touch screen would be a good thing to have on the R3.

 

Easy clean able GPU like Y500/Y580.

660m Sli would be great.

 

id like to see the optical drive removed to allow either a more compact machine, SLI or at least separate cooling systems for CPU/GPU's. I'd also like to see a second mSATA, 1080p or higher option (im not above gaming at lower than native res), multi-touch option, and 802.11ac w/3 antennas.

 

I'd love to see a tray based hard drive like the Latitudes, Makes hot-swapping EASY

 

I just ordered an M14x R2

 

You fukced up son! The R3 is like 1-2 months away.

 

I needed a replacement right away from my last one kicking the bucket. The specs on this one are a lot higher then my M11x R1 with an ULV processor
It still works, technically, but not enough to use at my office anymore.

My best friend got an M18x just 1 or 2 months ago and it's working out great for him. This design looks similar, but mainly just smaller. It will definitely have enough power for me, and I like the lights a lot. I love my m11x even with the lower processor. I'm still playing Star Trek Online, and Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Diablo 3 even on it. It runs great.(yes i have to turn the settings down) No need to put my purchase down, and in a couple months from now the M14X R2, is still going to have amazing specs by most 14" laptops I think.

 

id bet its more like 5-6 months away if were lucky. dont get me wrong, I hope you are right, but even so I dont think getting an r2 is ing up. its still a fine machine. dont kick yourself bro.

 

I didn't know a new one was coming out soon, but if they are still selling it now I'm sure it's still very fast. It is Alienware after all and it's made for gamers

 

Yeah, ignore Colpolite, he has no idea of when the r3 will be out. Haswell won't be out until July, so it won't be until after that. The 7xxm GPUs are releasing in Q3, so it'll probably be even later than July before those come out. If you needed a new laptop, you made the right decision.

 

Will there be a price increase from the r2 to the r3? Was there one from the r1 to the r2? I am looking to buy a gaming laptop for college this fall. Should I buy a m14x r2 or should I hold out for a possible m14x r3? Thank you in advance for your thoughts

 

Are you serious? I find the screen to be absolutely great! By far the best screen I've used on a laptop.
My brother has an Asus G74 and the M14x screen is miles better!

 

If I recall correctly the base price for a i7 system between the r1 and r2 was roughly the same. I would hope they would try to keep the same low entry price and just "Dell" their customers on upgrades such as high res display, ssd, ram, wifi, etc. You will however find that when an r3 gets released you wont find any good coupon codes that work on it for a few months while they clear out r2's.

 

Sli gt 750's or a gtx 765 would be awesome. Anyone know how thick the current r2 m14x is? My m11x is less than an inch in thickness but people keep asking how heavy my baby is lol.

 

37,8 mm x 258,36 mm x 337,00 mm

 

Well if you really need a machine I would just go ahead and buy one. As to the price difference between the current and next gen systems, you can't really estimate it till you know what parts are used. A 750m card is a lot cheaper than some of the more powerful cards that they could possibly stick in this machine after all.

 

I am sending my R2 back tomorrow. Nothing wrong with the system, except for the cooling. My entire keyboard and arm rest vibrate. Might get a quad core unit next time or get a Sony Vaio with an IPS display not sure.

 

The R3 REALLY needs to have S/PDIF out for digital audio. All the high end PC/Console headsets use it now. This is a deal breaker for a lot of buyers, as most of us high end users have $200+ dollar headsets!

 

Good Point. The M18x and the M17x already have it so their isn't a big reason why the little bro can't too.

 

Yeah I use the Astro A40's on my R2, that would be a nice touch on the R3's.

 

there is no reason why it shouldn't have only USB 3.0 ports now, and a thunderbolt port - this stuff has been out for ages now.

 

- Double Fan / Dual Heatsinks
- Touch Display
- FINALLY THE OPTION FOR AN ULV HIGH END CPU !!!! ( i would bite my left arm off to have an m11x with an ivy bridge ulv cpu - same goes for the m14x ofc)

I remember the m11x with the i7-620ulv cpu which was so cute, quiet, extrem coool but still awesome powerful. It also had ridiculous long battery lifetimes. Compared to my old m15x with the gtx260m and i7-720m 90% of the games even ran smoother. For me the combination of a highest as possible GPU + highest possible ULV!! CPU is the BEST - period. For Games it makes no sense to use high TDP CPUs in a small notebook anyways. Leave them for the big chunky monsters like the M18x or something.

Put a high end ULV (like the i7-3667u) in the R3 and im a definite buyer of a max specc and cost one. Dont and i stick to my R2 till more Ultrabooks are coming with GT 7xxm GPUs. I tested the Asus Ultrabook i5-3317ulv with the gt 740m and its awesome. Max temp is 70C without repaste after 2 hours of gaming. Battery lasts for 3 hours of extreme gaming. In my experience every game runs on more constant, higher fps when played on a system with an ULV + good GPU even the theoretic speccs of alot of Benchmarks say the opposite.

The best part besides the long battery lifetime etc. of my demand since 2 years now is that there wouldnt be 999999trillion threads about temperature problems and DIY solutions since THERE WOULD BE NO TEMP PROBLEM with such a system even with a crap factory paste Job.

Alienware M14x R3 - "The First Hardcore Ultracool Still Most Powerful Gaming ULTRABOOK In The Universe" <- doesnt sound too bad Alienware huh?

Maybe its a bad idea.. can already hear my wife after throwing 2k+ Euros out for a new Notebook... "Again" lol

 

Ok people keep saying touchscreen, let me just state that I understand people have different thoughts, but honestly... touchscreen sucks! I mean the hinge on the m14x is not that stiff to begin with, can you imagine pressing your finger all over it and making it wobble? Fingerprints are also a problem and why do you want one anyway, I just thought about having to reach over to the screen and tap it (I know you wouldn't have to use it) it feels very odd imo. this is my wishlist

Slim down, I know it would be hard, but I think it could be done
all round usb 3.0
if at all possible make the gpu replaceable! think about simply slapping in a new gpu instead of getting a new laptop every time there is a new model, I would pay $150 just for the option to replace the gpu because you won't have to spend much down the road.
sata III
keep the same look, so sexy

 

TS here again.

Screw touchscreens, we do not need that. I repeat we do not need that.

What we need are listed below
- Dual Cooling for GPU/CPU for temps and noise reduction. Hate that loud hairdyer jet engine sound and the single fan that turns on and off like it has a mind of its own
- Slightly slimmer and reduction of weight. If a G46 with GTX 660m can do it at 5.5lbs, so can M14x
- Better SRGB coverage/color gamut of the screen. The resolution is good so keep it at 900p and contrast ratio is also good

 

Well i take the Touchscreen back you people are right its maybe not a good idea but could help since we would be forced to use this crap Windows 8.... BUT i insist on an ULV Option.

 

forced to use win8? I downgraded all of my PC's to win7, it's not permanent you know...

 

Touchscreen? NO. And NO win8

 

My greatest wish for the M14x is that it'll one day sport a GTX *60M card. With Dell's technical knowledge I am certain they'd be able to figure out an appropriate cooling solution, lord knows the G46VW pulls it off well enough.

 

Agreed with the *60 card. With a better cooling solution, the GT 750m could be the base model with an option to upgrade to the GTX 760m (I'd gladly accept higher, too). I'd be hard-pressed not to order the upgraded graphics card, unlike the extra gig of VRAM for $100, which I don't care about.

 

I think it was a matter of pricing for them using the GT 650m. The GTX 660m and GT 650m are the same TDP really. Its just different clocks so nvidia can charge more, and the difference can be achieved by overclocking so i'm guessing dell thought it was a waste of money.

 

Yeah, the TDP difference listed as 5, which I agree is insubstantial. While the DDR5 650m can overclock up to or even exceeding the performance of the 660m, the 660m can overclock even higher and to better performance than an overclocked 650m.

Also, it'd be strange that dell would think would think that the 660m is a waste of money, but the 2 GB vs. 1 GB is not a waste of money. To me, it's more likely that Dell didn't want to diminish the difference between the base model of the M17x, which includes the 660m, and the less expensive M14x. That's just a hunch, though.

I'll be pleasantly surprised if the R3 has an option for a better vcard than the 750m.

 

All you need is a cracked vbios and the GT 650m is better anyways so i don't see why it matters. I got mine GT 650m clocked at 1100/1200

 

I believe that Lava6000 is on the money, which was likely the reason the M15x was discontinued in the first place.

 

From what i've heard they sell more m14x's than anything now. So i don't see how this has improved anything.

 

Is that overclock with a voltage increase? I'm more of a soft-core Afterburner OC'er.

 

I'd like to know that too, especially which cracked vbios version you are using and your OC settings

 

I've never had issues with the fan spinning up if I'm not gaming. It is very loud when I'm gaming but I think that's to be expected. The display panel is what I think really needs to be upgraded. I think it is terrible compared to others in similar price points. I'd also hope that the funky sound issues are sorted out, I see so many people having sound problems and I've experienced them myself.

 

No voltage bump. Its a custom bios over on Tech Inferno.

Although, from what i understand 1100 Core is rare you might hit 1050 Core. My bios has the stock clocks at 950 with boos disabled. Then from there i can take it as high as i want with afterburner. My memory is locked at 1200Mhz even 25mhz more brings artifacts. I haven't tried a higher core.

As for the actual voltage. I'm not at home to check.

Edit: Sorry for the late response. I didn't expect questions about my overclock on this post. The bios i have downloaded unlocked CPU oc'ing too. I'm @ 3.9Ghz on 4 Cores, and temps max at 79C in BF3.


http://forum.techinferno.com/alienw...igher-boost-clocks-test-versions-only-30.html

Thats the thread, you'll have to dig around and see what works best for you.

 

No problem, and thank you for your answer, I've only been able to find the thread with the modded a04 bios until now

 

@Alienware-L_Porras Any Chance for an ULV option or is my idea too uncommon for the typical Alienware customer? I mean even it is it definetly would be something new and the most efficient update for the M14x R3. It wouldnt tangent gaming too much but boost energy efficiency / portability (where none currently is cause of high TDP CPUs) and solve all cooling problems at once without the need for otherwise highly important dual heatsink improvement.

 

I think all ULV CPUs are BGA meaning they are soldered. Meaning they would need a whole different mobo for that option. Furthermore it would only be a dual core which would be garbage for a gt 750m etc.

 

A more compact design would be great, quieter fans and high end GPU option...like top of the line.

 

should i buy r2 or r3

 

Things that would make me jump from my precision to an m14x:

Quad core (already there)
Higher then mid level GPU
1080p screen option
4+ hours of battery life

 

My wishlist

• Full HD screen with matte option or at least less glossy frame.
• Make the dvd slot an ultra bay so we can easily replace the almost obsolete ODD with things like a slice battery, SLI graphics card, HDD
• If Dell insist on using crappy thermal paste, make the heat sink more accessible so we can put our own proper paste on without fully dismantling the machine
• Separate fans and heat sinks for GPU and CPU
• Quieter fans
• Easy way to disable throttling (alienware overclocking tool anybody?)
• USB 3.0 ports only
• Rubber feet to protect the screen under transport
• Foldable feet on base of machine to prop it up for improved cooling

 

This! While optical drives are good for old games/software I only ever use mine when I play Empire earth 2 and when I reformat.

 

Getting a higher quality panel would depend on people making one of the right size as dell don't have the clout to do their own run.

 

Fingers crossed, this would be the best thing to happen to the M14x.