So what are the issues with this system? (M14x R2)

I am looking into purchasing yet another Alienware even though I told myself I was done, but for the price/performance/style it cant be beaten IMO. I will however buy the extended Warranty this time so it will be a worry free process. Anyway the reason I ask is because Ive owned an m9750, an M15x and an M11x R1 (that I just sold) and all of them have had their issues. I remember the m15x had REALLY bad throttling problems, and my M11x had hinges that broke the screen right off the body (which Dell fixed). So what I'm asking is are there any noticeable defects with this system that I should be aware of?

Thanks!

 

Well, I went from an r1 to an r2, so I think I can offer some perspective.

With the r1, the dealbreakers for me were the high core temps and the mediocre GPU. When doing rendering or VJing @720p, I could get temps as high as 99c, with average being 93-95c. I experienced worse and worse performance as the average 4 hour club show went on. Frame rates would start to stutter, and I would get application freezes that could never be explained. Then I found out about the SATA III problems and decided I had no interest in using custom hacked firmwares, etc. just to get my laptop to run full-speed. So I argued for an upgrade to an r2 and was approved :]

I mailed my r1 back in 9.5/10 condition, with all original shipping boxes, etc.. (i7 2760QM, gt555m 1.5GB, 900p). I even cut a cloth to protect the screen during shipping.

My r2 arrived a few weeks ago (3610QM, gt650m 2GB, 900p) and I have been stress testing it against the old r1. As near as I can tell, they basically solved all my major problems with the r1. The core temps max out around 67c when running the same projects I used on the r1! The gt650m (despite what some people are saying) is quite an improvement. Plus, the HD-4000 integrated GPU has made a big jump over Sandy Bridge. IIRC they are now supporting full SATA III speeds on the mSATA and primary HDD ports? If that is true, then the only remaining problem I have is multi-monitor support. I finally got my r2 to enable three displays by using internal + HDMI + MDP (adapted to HDMI). Three displays would not work when I was trying to mix VGA with digital, so the r1 may actually be superior on that front... Hopefully it's just a driver issue?

tldr;
The r2 is a killer laptop, esp when compared to the r1. The r2 runs the way a "premium" laptop should run, whereas the r1 was a lumbering beast.

One final note is that they have reduced the quality of the packaging and no longer include an outer shipping box (my box arrived damaged). Oh, and a shorter power cable for some reason. Seems kinda chintzy to do that stuff.

 

Wow man great write up. Yea I forgot to mention some of the insane temps I had with my m15x (upwards of 90+ degrees C), so I really hope that stuff is taken care of. I will do some more research but will have to decide soon because I would love to take advantage of the $200 off plus free xbox. Thanks again!

 

One other thing: The 900p screen could be better. They should offer more detailed info for the screen choices, as well as a matte option. Very glossy as-is.

 

m14x-r2 is perfect machine , but the design of the front speakers(bottom of the screen) really bother me , when those dust dropped in , its too difficult to get rid of em , even I used blower and vacuum does not help , but well I really like the 5.1ch sound.

 

Amazing, my unit is perfect. I love it. Worth every cent. : ) the only bad thing I say is they get dirty quite easy and im always blowing dust off or wiping the screen with my shaggymac but that might be just cause i have OCD haha..

 

I can't wait for mine. 2nd time riding the UFO for me, R.I.P. old M11X *sniff*

 

Yea the screens COULD be better on current alienwares. I remember playing WoW on my old m9750 and it had one of the best screens ive seen. The colors just popped out and was amazing. My M11x screen has been meh, so as long as the 14x is better than that one ill be happy. Oh and lastly, they really need to tone down the glossy-ness. Its almost impossible to play games if there is any sunlight in the room you're playing in. All I see if myself.

 

Yes! I hate trying to clean that area because it's so tough to get dust out. Just a side note, people often mistake the front grills as the speakers when they checkout my laptop 8)

 

Only issue I have is with the glossy screen but that's a problem with a lot of notebooks, not just Alienware. It's not bad inside, at least, so it hasn't bothered me much .

I've been really impressed with the temperatures, it never seems to get hot, even when gaming. Admittedly, I usually use a notebook cooler, but it's pretty cool even without (like when I bring it to work or something). The heat issues with the original M14x was one of the main reasons I passed on the system so I'm so glad they fixed the problems.

 

No problem. I had a hard time finding info and got very little help from AW, so I'm trying to pass along as much as I can.

 

Not any problems yet

 

the only problem which might bother you is the 65deg throttle
Its basically horrible if you live in a warm climate like me
Just in case do a thermal repaste(antec or smthin like that) so that it does not occur as the AW paste was not up to the job
cheers

 

From the info in this thread

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/686354-my-m14x-r2-repaste-details.html

it looks like the factory paste retains heat much longer than the IC Diamond i used. so say the CPU goes into low activity after hitting 85c... the temps do not drop as quickly as a more conductive TIM, which means you are always running at higher temps than you should be. with IC Diamond, the min temps are close to idle, which tells me it dissipates heat much much better than the factory slop.

 

Hi, I'm sure the community will give you strong advice. I'll leave you an article that shows the main differences and upgrades from the R1 to the R2. Remember that if you have any questions, you can send us an email to [email protected] and one of our techs will answer them all personally.

 

Can you elaborate on this? How does the throttle work? Is it in the BIOS? And is there a work around?

I'm excited as I just ordered mine on Monday and am awaiting shipment.

 

i had an m14x r1 for about a year and recently received my m14x r2 and really do love it - my temps are actually decent as well (no need to repaste !). Definite difference in grafix cards (get a good chunk more fps with my r2 - that alone is worth getting the r2 if you're buying new/refurbed anyway). i guess so far i've been decently lucky with alienware so far - m11x r1 and m11x r2 (refurbished but looked new) had almost no problems (loved them both), m14x r1 same deal (refurbished but looked new). One exception with the m14x r1 is that over time the screen contact with the keyboard caused a little bit of scratching in 2 places on the screen - need to put a cloth in between (shaggymac is what i use). Cannot say i've had anything that i dislike about the m14x r2 as of yet.

 

One question about the M14x R2 - how does the red version hold up?

Is the red something glued to the outside of the laptop, or is it red paint on the plastic shell of the laptop?

If the red version is something glued to the outside of the laptop - does it affect heat dissipation?

Sorry, that may be more than one question....