Alienware Area-51 m15x Review Discussion

The Area-51 m15x is the newest high-performance gaming notebook from Alienware. It packs components typically found only in the largest of desktop replacements into a slim 15.4-inch form factor and still manages to be a practical machine on the road. Let's take a closer look.

Read the full content of this Article: Alienware Area-51 m15x Review

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Tanks Chaz!

 

ah finally posted. Glad to see that alienware fixed the problem with the GPU, I'm sure that was turning into somewhat of a nightmare. I did however think that other users were reporting better battery time with stealth mode and integrated but I suppose not. It's very good on its own though. Now we just have to wait and see if the Clevo M860TU is any good.

 

Thanks for the review. I'm sure you will be sorry to send this one back.

John

 

Great review Chaz!

 

Chazz oustanding Review and a couple comments.

1. That 3dmark06 is low. With your processor you should be over 10k. Did you bench that at native resolution or something?

2. One of your COD4 graphs appears backwards with the minimum and maximum FPS appears "flipped." I think it said minimum FPS like 57 and maximum 27.

3. You mention battery life being 2.35 hours with Binary FX enabled and stealth enabled. Am I misunderstanding that feature? I thought with binary FX the 8800GTX would not be in use...so wouldn't stealth mode be useless then? or is stealth mode also downclocking the x3100?

Again, fanstastic and very very thorough and unbiased review. I share the exact same sentiments.

 

SAME!

 

If possible 3DMark 06 always runs at 1280*1024 (which is possible on a WUXGA screen).
Anyway, I see you haven't mentioned another bad part of Alienware: selling 4GB of RAM with a x86 OS. They should have all the drivers available for the M15x and only offer an x64 OS with 4GB of RAM. It's 2008 Alienware!

 

chaz did your m15x come with the touch pad sticker. if it did does the sticker make the touch pad feel any better.

 

Great review!

 

awesome review chaz, you really captured the feel of this notebook well, anyone reading this review should have a very good understanding of what this notebook is all about... awesome job!

i have to disagree with you on your point that "the m15x overheating issues are a thing of the past.", i don't think we have seen the end of that issue, but time will tell

 

HI Chaz.

Great review you've done, once again. I prefer the photograph and info style of reviewing to the video's which although are good tend to be a bit lacking on details sometimes.

The M15 Looks great and i like the way you have described it's faults with the same ammount of detail as it's plus's. I know that all machines have there good and bad points and it's nice to see you haven't made more of them than is neccessary.

All in all really good and informative too.

OB

 

This really is quite the machine, this generation. I would love to own one, but alas I wont have the money for a couple of years.

Heck, it gets better battery life than my MBP (I get about 20 minutes with my faulty battery)!

One question, considering you have two separate graphics chips installed, how does one install drivers for the X3100? I'm sure the gamer on the go wouldn't mind playing Starcraft or Warcraft III on that chip, and I can't figure out if installing two separate sets of GPU drivers when not in an SLI setting would cause problems or not.

I assume that only one shows up at a time? So drivers aren't too much of an issue? Just curious.

Best part of this laptop is the extra drive space in the smart bay and the fact that it can be switched with another battery. I miss this feature on my ancient inspiron.

 

Thanks to everyone for the great comments, they make my day.

1. I benchmarked it at the standard resolution of 1280x1024, which is what 3DMark06 should be done at. The scores you are seeing in excess of 10,000 are done at a lower res, probably 1152x864 on the m15xs with the WXGA+ 1440x900 resolution.

2. I'll see if I can get that fixed, thanks!

3. BinaryGFX is one thing - it makes the notebook use the X3100. Stealth Mode underclocks the CPU too, which cuts power consumption. It also cuts off the fans.

I didn't know they sent m15xs with the touchpad sticker, but now that you mention it that sounds pretty innovative. I'll have to look for it in the packaging.

Only one shows up at a time; the drivers are installed already for both so switching requires nothing but a restart. Works seamlessly.

 

They're in the back of the binder

 

Chaz, I have noticed there's a small gap above the ethernet port, where the surface has raised a bit.

 

SIIIIIIGH

comments like this make me wana run away from the m15x and never think of it again.

its a cracked case nttg.. afue users have been reporting it.. send it back <_>


i guess i trust Chaz..... m15x time for me... lets hope my case does not snap into a thousand shards.

 

I see it too... I wonder whats causing the material to bend up, and in two cases so far, even crack?

Is it heat? Is it a pressure/stress point?

Great Review nonetheless, the screen wobbling seems to be really bad though, I watched a Cnet video where the previewer was moving the m15x around and the amount the screen was wobbling was quite a... turn off. Reminded me of undercooked Pizza...

It seems that Alienware didn't entirely fail to keep up to the build quality standards they set with the m9700 and m9750. Just a slight disappointment that the m15x isn't perfect. But hey, we can't expect everything to be perfect, and many seem to neglect that this is a 15.4" notebook which is competing, performance wise, with the creme de la creme of laptops. Good that you stressed that point

 

I'm impressed with the X3100. Not performance-wise obviously, but that they've included it to save battery life. That would be a nice feature in most laptops with dedicated graphics, hopefully it will become more widespread, at least as an option. That such a powerful notebook could have a useful "stealth mode" impresses me.

 

Nice review Chaz.. Well done mate. Also thanks for doing a good job on the Gaming performance. All that information is vital to me.

Even tho I had to go for the WXGA+ display in the end I am sure, with out a doubt, I will be more than happy with the system when I get it.

 

Great reviewing ^^.

You say that the fans are louder than you expected at very high load. Does this mean that while normally browsing windows and doing some multi-tasking without playing games they can barely be heard and are quieter than other notebooks?

And the thing about touch controls not being responsive, I thought it got fixed with the BIOS update?

It's also strange that you say speakers are unimpressive as I've read posts about members praising them. Would you say they are at least the same quality as on other laptops or you're just not impressed with them because of the hollistic price tag?

 

Nice review. I like the lighting on the notebook, it'll be cool if you could make the lighting pipe multi-color flash/blink. Bet you that will give some gamers seizure while playing some high res game. Cool looking wallpaper too

 

You can
MAG13's video
Tacomenace's video

On another BIG note:
Great review CHAZ !! AW should let you keep your m15x.. I know you think so too
Thanx for all the pics, tips, links, thoughts and gaming info
Would you ever be willing to do a video per chance ?

 

Finally a review! Been waiting for a long time for this, but I personally prefer the look of the M860TU more than the m15x.

Thank-you review Chaz!

 

I'll trade you one eye for that M15X - I was fortunate to be born with two. If AW asks, tell them you lost it.

 

Excellent Review! Thanks Chaz.

 

Nice review! It's great to hear your praise about the m15x and to get the first good critic review. I find it a little weird that the m15x looks different in those pictures compared to all the other videos and pictures out there.

 

Nice review Chaz!

 

Nice review and great pictures.

But you should add that there are no 64bit drivers for the m15x at this time. I think it should be in the Cons. The bending at the chassis is very good to see on your pictures.

 

Nice review.

How does this notebook compare to the Gateway P-6831FX? Is this worth the extra $1000+?

 

+1 about the 64 bit vista....i got the 4GB in hopes that AW will release drivers for this

 

Nice review, I always thought the m15x was a nice design. The noise during gaming would not be a factor for me as I believe I will have headphones or speakers connected that will blare sound a whole lot louder than the fan can ever product.

I'm envious towards the m15x owners, but I have to admit that I would not be able to afford that kind of notebook. So to those who bought it, more power to you....... I am very happy with my m1530 system to do all the mobile activity I need to do... XPS FTW!!!! LOL.

 

Finaly a Pro and objective review,well done mate!!

 

Thanks! I found them and just put one on. It definitely fixes the slippery issue. It's transparent so it hardly looks different. That was a smart move on Alienware's part. I wish it was made more obvious to me though so I could have put it in the review.

Only now that you mention it do I see it. It's really hard to see though . . . I am looking at the side of the m15x as I type this reply and I can't tell it's there. I have been carrying this notebook around and using it in a variety of places of the past two weeks and it has not cracked or anything.

-The fans are very quiet at idle, especially if you use the X3100 because that means the GPU fan is not on. Even in performance mode, it is quiet.

-The BIOS update as far as I know only fixed the underclocking/overheating issue. Alienware is working on a fix for the touch controls though according to their official statement(s) on the forums.

-I've used a lot of notebooks and these are average speakers . . . nothing special, certainly not a standout. Nobody buys a notebook for speakers though, I don't view it as a con.

The Gateway is not a good comparison to the m15x, they are in different classes entirely. The Gateway gives much better performance per dollar but it's not as powerful and is much larger. The m15x is without a doubt expensive but if you have the cash . . . well, you read the review and saw that I recommended it. Obviously it's not for everyone though.

Thanks again guys for all the great compliments, I very much appreciate the feedback.

 

great review, thanks Chaz.
all i can do is wait for my delivery now(one day).:yes:
jim

 

Very nice review Chaz. Pleasant to read and informative.

I have to comment on a few things though.

1) The fan-biosfix couldn`t solve all overheating issues (but most). As can be seen in this poll-thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=231459

2) The AW customer support could be seen a little bit more differently.
Yes, they moved after it was clear that the m15x was suffering from overheating. But they took their time and a lot of people had to nearly get out of their way to make AW act. How could this happen, if the 200point quality-test was as good as they claimed? You could have commented a little bit more neutrally on this.

And than the delays in the production. Taking the money from their customers at the beginning of Febuary and delivering at the end of April? And no official "I am sorry, here is some bonus to show our goodwill".

Don`t get me wrong I also think that the Area51 m15x is the best high-performance notebook on the market. Its powerful (when it works), it`s great looking and it is mobile to boot.

I know you are person who can handle critics as well as praise. And thanks again for the good review.

Paendrag

 

I think it would be good if want, to try open & close the lid many times... only when you have nothing to do
so you can see if there is really an issue and if it become worse

btw, it's strange that this issue affect only the left (or right if you watch it from the rear ) side

 

It might be there because they couldn't put a screw through the ethernet port area, i'd guess due to space limitations.

I must admit it doesn't look good, especially as it's so near to the hinge area, i'd guess it will become a weak point after repeated use...

OB

 

First of all, I'm sure being given a choice between different OS types is vital!? Not all current software is compatible with 64-bit architecture, why would you want a company to restrict you!?
Secondly, there's no way AW or any other PC manufacturer would sit there and make drivers for every single piece of software out there to make them compatible with 64-bit systems! Especially when it takes them so long to identify or come up with a fix for their own stupid BIOS mistakes and miscalculations. Or shall I say especially when it takes AW months to "develop" a black plastic for m15x chassis!
Anyway that's just impossible; even Microsoft who created 64-bit Windows, have not been able to achieve this. How will it be done? It's down to the needs of the mainstream customer and also down to leading software companies around the world to slowly complete the transition. Until then, 64-bit systems will remain an advanced tool mostly used by advanced users for advanced memory mapping and advanced encoding etc! :yes:

 

great review chaz! make me wanna get one for myself! but alas, the pocket says otherwise

 

yer i have bailed out on the m15x for the same reason as many...

its a premium brand with more quality issues than the most budget of brands <_>


its unique yes.. but is that really a excuse for the type of flaws it has... CRACKS?. wobbling and twisting scrn? like come on get your self in shape AW.

 

Chaz, thanks for the nice review, benchmarks and thorough detailing of the m15x.

It is too bad that you did not include actual measurements or weights in your review. I think its misleading for Alienware to say the laptop is 1.3 inches thick when it clearly is not, and also it weighs 7.8 lbs which is closer to 8 than 7. Basically it is 20% thicker and 10% heavier than advertised which is not cool in my books.

The speakers are Really Really bad. I guess this is not an issue for people using the computer at home, but when you travel as much as I do its so nice to arrive in your hotel room, connect to the internet and start streaming some nice music etc that is of decent quality sound. Then when you play games its nice to have a semi decent sounding experience. The speakers truly are the worst I have ever ever heard in a notebook. In fact my HTC Tytn PDA phone sounds better and louder than this laptop.

The built in video cam on this baby is also pathetic. Compare it to a macbook and you will see what a good built in cam is capable of.

The bluetooth works very well and connects very fast. I have used it for GPS applications and my mouse without problems.

I was one of the users who got cracks in their case. I had to send it in to Alienware. Estimated time till I get it back is 2 full weeks. Pretty poor service if you ask me.

They are also too slow in producing an updated graphics card driver. There are games that I can run better on the Intel X3100 than on the 8800GTX. Thats a laugh! If people bought this primarily to play games then give us the drivers to play them! NVIDIA has had fixed drivers out for sometime, Alienware has not ported them over to the m15x yet.

I do agree with you most definitely that this baby has got a lot under the hood and they did a great job of getting it all in there- but it does have a lot of problems that could make or break the buying decision of an end user.

If I had to buy it again based on my experiences I would pass this one up.

 

How thick did you measure it as?

 

Wow, I just looked at CNET's dimensions (they measured the m15x as part of their review) and they say they measured the m15x as being 1.7" thick. Could anyone measure how thick the m15x is?

 

Michael, I think westcoastgeek have asnwered to your question yet

m15x is 1,7" thick, with rubber in the bottom.

westcoastgeek, what's the problem with the sound? bad quality or not too much louder? if it is the second, you can try to see in the bios if there is any function to step up the volume. in my notebook I can step up from 1 to 8 so there are 8 different steps of louder.
maybe you have the same function

 

Thx for the suggestion WLF46WLF. When I get my notebook back I will check and see if there is a BIOS adjustemnt for the speakers. Loudness is definately one issue. I was showing some friends Crysis on it the other day at the airport, and you could not hear the sound at all aboe the ambient nose in the lounge. If you crank it as much as possible the sound is completely distorted and completely lacking of any bass. The Bass is no big surprise, although my previous Notebooks had small bass channels to give them a fuller sound.

 

Fantastic review! I think it's safe to say that Alienware is the dream machine of many (me included). One thing I gotta ask though - will they ever released a version WITHOUT the glossy finish? The m9750 "Stealth Plane" has the best design IMO. If only we could have that on a 15 incher like the m15x!

BTW when is the black scheme coming out?

 

None know's anything yet. Alienware are keeping things very tight to their chest at the moment.

The general opinion is that they wil release colours once the M17X has been released, therefore guaranteeing future sales, as they can advertise a "new" product because it's in colour lol

OB

 

Even with all the issues that the m15x is having, I would probably still go for it because it looks so cool. haha

 

amazing review... i cant wait until it comes it with the classic skull cap lid.