Alienware m15x Review Discussion

Edit: I want to clarify and preface this post by saying that it is targeted towards US consumers.

In which ways? Name 2 that aren't subjective. You can't say weight either. If you're going to say price, I paid $2099 for: i820qm, 4g ddr3 1333, 500 gb 7200rpm, gtx 260m, 2 years warranty (at home next business day). Just TRY and get that with a Sager 8690/W860 at that price point..you can't! As for build quality, I have owned the 8690 and guess what? The shell is no better than a $1000 Asus, it's 100% plastic (it has flex at the palm rest and lid). The redeeming quality is it's dual pipe/fan cooling but the AW has that too. In fact the AW also has a better magnesium case + superior LCD (LG Philips vs AUO on the Sager/Clevo) and backlit keyboard.

Aesthetics is subjective, I hated the M15x design at first and now I like it.

I also owned an Asus G51 and currently my gf has a $1100 Asus G60vx. While they're okay for budget systems, they're nowhere near the same level as an AW M15x. Cheap plastic build quality, low quality displays (G60vx has improved on that a bit by using hannstar but its no LG), underclocked gtx 260m, VERY HOT (100C+ in some systems) thanks to only 1 fan cooling the CPU and GPU. Asus also has a limited upgrade path because it reverses the MXM slot so you can't add in the upcoming graphics cards (e.g. ATi 5800 series).

You get what you pay for. Too many people are knocking on AW for price when in fact it can beat sager/clevo in value AND build quality. Dell warranty service is also top notch (next business day on site repair), especially compared to Asus/Clevo where you have to mail your system in and wait 1-2 weeks.

 

A 15" notebook that weighs 9lbs? Are they serious? Even the 7.5lb ones were a dubious proposition, but 9lbs is well into 17" territory. The performance is acceptable (though at that price tag, just barely), but with that weight... I am unimpressed.

 

That's the trade off for a solid cooling system + good build materials. They could have cheaped out and gone plastic but they didn't. 9 lbs for a 15.6" isn't too bad, especially a gaming DTR.

 

Given the specs you quoted, a NP8690 comes in pretty much at $2000 too. The differences lie in no OS for the NP8690 (upgrade $90 for 7 Home Premium), GTX-280M vs GTX-260M (Looks like $150-$200 difference from M17x upgrade figures), and different warranties (not really comparable because of lack of in-home service on the Sager front). Using those specs in the Dell configurator page, I get a price of $2373, which means you would have had to use some sort of extra discount at that point. I wouldn't say the NP8690 is an extremely better value, but it probably comes out to a bit of a wash, depending on what you value more at that point.

I think what a lot of it will end up coming down to is the fact that you generally need to end up paying a lot more for Dell upgrades, so a fully kitted out Dell system would probably end up being more than a fully kitted out Sager system.

And yes, I'm basing this on US pricing.

 

There are couple of other things i liked in M15x which made me buy it.I was torn between this and Sager but for others these may be trivial.
1.ssd- I want to buy with ssd and M15x comes with 256gb while sager can only go up to 160gb.
2.The command center with blacklit keyboard and all the colors .Really really fun to have it.I cannot buy a laptop without backlit keyboard atleast now a days
3. Slot loading vs regualr blu-ray drives.Slot loading looks much better and it looks ugly when that drive opens to load a dvd, it looks plain ugly

These are only asthetics but other than that it is pretty much equal between the two with sager having better gpu.Right now 260gtx is working fine for me and if we need M15x can be upgraded to 280gtx also.The most important for me is inhouse service next day of M15x compared to ship it service for sager

 

This brick is waaaay overpriced even with the Intel Core i7 920XM. It should have had at least a GeForce GTX 280M. And 9lbs !!!! Wow some 18.4"s weigh around that much.

 

I realize you like it, but come on, it's absolutely gargantuan for a 15" unless AW has mis stated the dimension's and mass [unlikely]....Magnesium v plastic isn't an excuse.
For me it totally crosses the line of what a 15" is, by being considerably bigger than a similarly powered 17" [also well built and well cooled] precision M6400 ....and heavier with a 6 cell v 9 cell to boot.

 

Yes, it's big because it has high end hardware and the ability to cool it. Not everyone cares about weight that much-many of us demand power. Dell's got low end systems too if that's what you're into.

 

oh gee? you mean customers would actually have to do some research on the product? especially one that costs several thousand dollars?

NO WAI!!!!

 

Here's the thing: it's not a so much a 15.6" notebook as a 17" notebook with a 15" screen. Look at the dimensions (from the first post): 14.88” (W) x 12.15” (D) x 1.92” (H). The actual diagonal of this thing is sqrt(14.88^2 + 12.15^2) = 19.21 inches! And it's practically 2" thick. They just "cheaped out" on the display with the added bonus of being able to sell this as a 15-incher to people who don't read the fine print.

 

I'm not sure what you mean or how it's related to what I posted ?

 

It's all relative within their own product line. The M17X is bigger than the M15X. It feels, size/weight wise like my old OCZ Whitebook/ m17 like a 17" with a 15.6" screen, but the quiet running, wicked cooling (even with the 920XM) and solid build I'll gladly take those trade-offs.

The fine print? Right under the specs, it lists its dimensions and weight. No tiny, hidden print anywhere. It is right there. If buyers can't take 60 seconds and so some basic comparisons, that is on them.

Is it still a chunk butt 15.6" notebook? No doubt about it. Is it bigger than some 17" notebooks? Sure. Is it smaller than other 17" notebooks? Yup.

As with all systems, figure out what size/weight works for you and go with it.

 

That's the most unbiased and informative 4 paragraph's I've read on this forum yet in regard's to the size from an owner,good stuff electrosoft .

 

I just returned the G51J to Newegg.ca and am happy it's gone, will not miss it for a minute. My M15x is currently being shipped to me. Sure the G51J had almost identical specs and sure I am paying about 5 bills more for the M15x but hopefully it will be worth it. I also considered the Sager NP8690 but decided against it.

Reasons I returned the G51J

-BSOD often while playing favorite games
-Bluetooth did not work properly
-flex everywhere, lid, keyboard, body
-screen was the worst I have seen on a notebook in a long long time, terrible viewing angles and contrast, blacks were basically gray soup
-got really hot (to be fair to Asus the warranty was awesome so I guess it was not that big a deal but still very hot)
-underclocked gpu

Now if the issues I just listed would not bug you, grab the Asus and save a few bucks.

A few reasons I did not go with the Sager:

-I live in Canada and I get gouged on shipping and would be screwed if I ever needed to send it for repair
-Plain plastic box with some flex
-$200 pixel warranty(I would have needed that as stuck/dead pixels drive me nuts)
-No backlit keyboard
-Screen quality is not quite as good as the AW, but close
-I did a ton of research and read a lot of posts/reviews and I noticed a bunch of little issues with the NP8690 like dead pixels, defective fans etc.

Now I should mention it would be a much tougher decision if I did not live in Canada as I would not have to worry about shipping/repairs. The GPU and cooling system in the Sager really made it a difficult decision. I am sure it is a great notebook.

Reasons why I went with the AW rather than the Sager:

-Screen quality
-Cooling system
-It's huge(yes I actually like a big solid laptop)
-Almost exact same price as the Sager (because of shipping etc)
-Local repair service

I know there are some issues with the AW also. If weight is a problem, DON't BUY IT! The trackpad sucks and I know AlienFX is buggy. Other than that, it looks like a really great notebook. I will know more when I finally get my hands on it

 

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate reading your post. Luckily I wasn't able to order the G51J yet (still out of stock).

Now I'm closer Sager 8690 or AW M15x

 

The core reason the palmrest is plastic is because plastic is the more resilient of materials. As an example Apple has had a known issue with palmrests and the surface being rubbed smooth and in the case of the Macbooks the paint coming off. The simple fact is the PH on your wrists plays havoc with the palmrest. Yes it will do the same with plastic, but not nearly as fast. There is a reason for all of this.

 

Can you back that up please?

I find it non-logical to use plastic for that reason. If so, the Sony Z in carbon fiber, and the Dell SXPS on magnesium would have terrible problems too...

 

Lol if Dell made a mess by making the palmrest a hardened plastic then why were all Alienwares palm rest plastic before Dell ?

 

Hi,

Sorry for the very noob question but would I be better off getting an M15 with the specs listed in this review or a bottom of the range M17. I could possibly spring for the 260GTX sli but my thoughts were that I would then need a better CPU to accompany the upgrade. I probably have a budget of around 3k which won't get me a good M17. Any help would be appreciated?

I was going to go with the G51J ( Currently have a VX1) but after seeing the performance ( Didn't know that Asus downclocked the GPU).

Thanks

 

It depends on your needs . . . the configuration in this review is generally good with a few exceptions. The 920XM is very fast but not worth nearly an extra $1,000. Also, Windows 7 Ultimate isn't worth the extra money over Home Premium unless you have a specific use for it. If you are planning on getting an M15x, I would advise a two-year warranty.

 

Thanks for that!!!! Yeah I was planning on getting the 820 instead of the 920 to keep costs down. Yeah I would get the extra warranty. Is 4GB DDR3 enough for gaming?

 

4GB of RAM is plenty for gaming; I have 4GB in my desktop and have yet to approach even 3GB usage playing games. 8GB of RAM is prohibitively expensive right now but prices will come down in the future.

Make sure you get the 1080p display . . . it is stunning.

 

Thanks Charles!!! I was just looking at your review of the Sager (Good review!). Considering the M15 is running a lower spec GPU it gets fairly close to the Sager's performance ( would that be fair to say) or is the real world performance a much bigger gap.

 

If you are planning on getting an M15x, I would advise a two-year warranty....?
Did you also experience problems on your M15X? If so, can you share some details? Thanks!

 

You are welcome. If you're talking about the Sager NP8760/8690, the real-world performance is basically the same. The GTX 280M isn't that much more powerful than the GTX 260M - the games I ran showed very little difference.

I don't own an M15x (the one reviewed here is a review unit on loan to us), but the reason I advise getting a two-year warranty is because it will give you some guarantee that your $3,000-4,000 laptop is going to work at least two years.

 

I see. Yep! If one is putting that much of investment on a lappy it should have warrantied.

 

Yep that's the one Charles! Thanks for all your help!

 

I always think gamers, in comparision with any other type of computer consumers, care the most about appearance of their machine. No?

 

Can the title be fixed every time I see this I think they drug the area 51 m15x back up

great review btw ... As usual

 

I'd say no. I think there's a subset of people who both play games, and are into how their hardware looks, and treat it almost like a hot rod would have been in the '50s or whatever, but a lot of us are skewed further towards the "we don't care how it looks or what size it is, but how it functions" end of things compared to the general public that's pretty influenced by looks.

 

So, please pray tell, which make/model 256GB SSD your M15x came with? I'm just about to order it and am debating whether to go ahead and purchase it with it or get the lowest priced option and upgrading to a Runcore. But as you can see, the upgrade price on the AW M15x for the 256GB is an additional ~$500. But I'm assuming that "includes" the price of the original HDD it's replacing. Which may, depending on how much Dell is charging for that initial 250GB HDD, put the cost of that 256GB SSD at about the same price as Runcore's 256. Whatever the case, the make/model of your SSD would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

if you were to look in the M15x forum you would see its a samsung SSD.

 

Awesome review Charles - but could you please change the thread title to ' M15x ' so people don't think its m15x at first. XD

 

You are right, Roxy; I changed the title.

 

Pardon me, but isnt the M15x and m15x the same thing?

 

The m15x ( with lower case m ) usually refers to the Area 51 m15x, the older model.

M15x refers to the newer model by Dell.

 

Oh....I had no idea. I though the other one M15x as well...
So Area 51 and m15x is the same thing? But M15x is different? How confusing!

 

I have a question, I want to buy a gaming laptop price for price around 1400k.

is it worth to buy an alienware m15x in lowest spec or should i buy another gaming type like asus g series or toshiba qosmio.. what do u guys recommend?thank you..=D

 

Wait for CeBit on Tuesday and get more info on the MSI GT660.

 

meh for 1400k you can get anything;-) but for $1400 you should wait for Cebit. Either there will be new models, so more value for money as the older might get cheaper.

I'm in the market as well and can hardly wait...