Portability

I'm sure there are similar questions such as this but i would still like to know your take on just how portable m14x is.

Like a lot of people looking for a refresh laptops this time of the year, I am looking for something portable to take with me around the campus.
Any uni students here with the m14x that would like to share their experience?

Unfortunately I don't have a reference point when it comes to the size or weight since I've haven't had a laptop since forever.

 

A m14 is about as portable as an ultra portable notebook was in 1994. I would have bought an alienware a long time ago, if they didn't weigh some much and werent so huge.

 

Well mate... My only issue with your question is Performance...

The M14x is not big at all... In fact it is smaller than my previous 14" laptop. But it is a lot THICKER. Weight for me is not an issue... (M14x is around 6.2 pounds) Since it could weight in 30 pounds... But if it fits in my backpack... its all good...

In summary... Not Huge Length wise... but substantially thick...

However... considering the amount of "Performance" you're carrying around in an M14x... I'd say it's very portable...! Not to mention Slick... My Friend's jaw literally dropped when they saw it turning on... lol

 

Also something about a alien shaped strobe light on your desk doesn't scream professionalism to me, the fan noise from the m14 is also considerable, something to keep in mind when you're trying to pay attention in a quiet lecture.

 

It's very portable (coming from a guy who's carried 17" behemoth's to campus).

There's actually videos on YT of people vistually comparing the M14X to 13/15/17" laptops if you want to get an idea.

Just make sure you get a solid backpacks with good padding. I made a backpack thread for recommendations:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...4x-backpack-thread-post-yours-pros-cons.html#

^ Need more contributions if anyone wants to share

@ForeverZen
My fan is only on when I play an intensive game. Otherwise, it's never, ever on when I'm surfing and doing audio or video editing. This is with the recent BIOS.

In a professional setting, I find it's more admired than criticized

 

My R2's fans are only loud when gaming... the rest of the time they're barely noticeable at all... Secondly, if you wish to project professionalism and do quiet readings... (You can do that too with an M14x. Just lower power consumption and turn of the AlienFx) I think you might be looking at the wrong brand... Lol

 

you MUSTVE gotten funny faces when revealing a laptop of that size in a lecture

 

Hahaha Not really! When I need to do something at the Hospital, I usually turn the AlienFX off... Apart from the Alien logo, people don't even think twice about it. But with it on... get used to attention bro... People are drawn to it like bugs are drawn to a Zapper... hahahaha

But do I regret it? Hell no! I've a monster in a 14" frame...

 

Do you own one??

 

Quite portable. I carry mine between my place and my gf's place twice a week without issue, and could easily take it to class every day if necessary. It's about as big as a normal 15" mainstream laptop is.

 

I carry my m17x to class everyday and with the lights off, it functions perfectly fine for school. The fans also are dead silent when not gaming, and im sure the m14x is the same way.

 

You do realize its a normal laptop right? This isnt the m18x lol

 

He probably meant all the Glow and Glory as I call it... From the AlienFx...

 

Yeah but who would honestly use all the lights out in public? The machine can still look pretty normal with the lights off.

Of course you could say that the alien head on the back doesnt shut off... but neither does a Macs apple and I dont see anyone complaining about that..

 

I take mine to college, fits in my backpack along with my books and folders! Most of the lecturers have their laptops out and a few students, so i fit into the crowd when i turn alien fx off! When i turn them on or start a rave with the winamp plugin, then i start to get stares and second looks lol!

I was sat into the canteen playing crysis with a few m8s with alienfx off, no1 seemed bothered. To most people it will look like a bulky black laptop but to people who know what it is thats when i start to get points and stares =)

Its highly portable, will take me a few secs to take it from my bag and turn it on! Good battery when word processing and internet browsing, so win win!

 

crazy how good these machines get for battery. My m17x gets like up to 4 hours with wifi, screen brightness 75%, cpu downclocked and lights off. The battery life on that m14x r2 must be crazy

 

I noticed my battery life is going down actually.. I can only get about 3.5-4 hours now and I used to be able to pull 6.5 if I tweaked it. The machines only a year old now so I cant believe the battery is that weared down. I do a very healthy switch off of battery and plugged. in.

 

Mine's also dropped about 10% over the past year - all of it at once in the past few weeks, actually.

 

Have you reinstalled Windows recently Gears? That might help your cause.

I had a similar experience to you and within the first year of owning my M11x, the battery life had nearly halved. I checked my battery health and it was at 98%, so it wasn't due to the battery. I decided to reinstall Windows (which I hadn't done already) and that fixed it, back to 4.5 hours+ of battery.

 

Yeah I had to reinstall Windows because of my SSD and its still the same. (And yeah I noticed it was going down before the SSD).

I think eventually I can have Dell replace the battery right? I have the three year accidental, and I bet they would do something if I just called them and said I can barely get 2.5 hours out of my machine now (obviously I would wait until this is true)

 

I average decent battery life... Just as long I dont do any gaming obviously...