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    Thinking of upgrading to a M14X... A few questions!

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by martinroshak, Aug 5, 2011.

  1. martinroshak

    martinroshak Notebook Consultant

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    Hey all!

    I've been a m11x user for the past year, first with a R1 and now with a replacement R3 I got about a month ago due to some technical stuff ups. I'm loved the units to bits and have been very happy with it...

    However, I find myself selling my desktop computer and all its peripherals, and do not see the m11x as being very practical any more. As such, I am looking at stepping up to a m14x :cool:

    I have a few points of concern however, and it would be really great if I can get some people's comments on direct comparisons between either the m11x r1 or r3 and the m14x in regards to noise and heat.

    I am looking forward to shifting to a m14x, but only want to if, for everyday tasks, it isn't much louder or hotter. When gaming it isn't as great an issue, but anyone's comments on heat and noise in general would be greatly appreciated!

    As a comparison point, I am looking to get the 2630QM and the rest stock (will upgrade to SSD and 8gb of RAM afterwards).
     
    martinroshak, Aug 5, 2011
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  2. crazyotterhound

    crazyotterhound Notebook Consultant

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    Well I have both the M11x R1 and the M14x, so I'll try and give you some idea of the comparison in terms of heat and noise. First off, heat: the M14x runs way hotter than the 11x, the 2630QM in mine idles at 50c or so with an ambient room temp of 30c. Under load (e.g. playing Portal 2) it hits 80c, again with room temp around 30c. This is with the rear end raised and a (pretty ineffective) laptop cooler sitting underneath. I suppose its not really a fair comparison when one is a quad core processor and the other a ULV.

    Next noise - the fans ramp up a fair bit when gaming, and it is quite a bit louder than the M11x. Having said that it doesn't bother me at all. I usually plug in earphones anyway as the game audio tends to irritate the missus :)
    In summary if you are looking for a quiet running laptop for gaming, the M14x does not fit the bill. I have no regrets with mine whatsoever having moved from an M15X, the performance and looks more than make up for heat/noise issues.
     
    crazyotterhound, Aug 5, 2011
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  3. martinroshak

    martinroshak Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for that! Is it very hot to the touch? For the most part I will be using it as an everyday laptop rather than a dedicated gaming machine, so as long as it's comfortable enough to use like that, I'm cool with it.

    I just don't want to be stuck with a hot and noisy laptop when all I'm doing is web browsing and writing documents...
     
    martinroshak, Aug 5, 2011
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  4. Gearsguy

    Gearsguy Notebook Deity

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    I dont find mine to ever get too hot. Only thing that gets hot is the speaker grills while gaming. I find those unbearable almost. But who touches the speakers grills? lol

    And for non-gaming (eg notes and such) its pretty much silent. On battery the fan pretty much never kicks in
     
    Gearsguy, Aug 5, 2011
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  5. smokingjam

    smokingjam Notebook Evangelist

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    i love m14x.
    i wont lie when the fan kicks in under a heavy gaming session it is loud. def invest in a cooler. i have a U3 and it seems to keep it cool.
    it will get warm though but when you think of the power you can kind of understand it
     
    smokingjam, Aug 5, 2011
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  6. martinroshak

    martinroshak Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for all the comments guys, for what I'm going to primarily be using it for doesn't seem like it will heat up much at all, cheers!
     
    martinroshak, Aug 5, 2011
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