Alienware m17x Review Discussion

yes that is correct

 

Good know, because a guy told me that Asus W90 is WAY better than m17x.

maybe he was just a Asus fan

 

It is true that Sager and ASUS offer great specs for the money, but as mentioned, the Alienware is well priced (much more so than previous Alienware computers).

Alienware systems offer a bit more than a Sager/ASUS system from a feature standpoint. They cannot touch the unique design (whether you like it or not is irrelevant) or the build quality. The edge-to-edge display, AlienFX lighting system, and case color choices are all very attractive and are worth a bit by themselves. The point is that you can't compare every laptop based on specifications, which is what you are doing. Some people want a bit of flare to go with speed. The M17x does that better than any of its competitors.

That said, let's stay on-topic in here. Please keep discussion about this review/the m17x. I don't have the unit in my possession much longer so if there are any questions, please ask them!

 

I can't justify buying such an expensive notebook if the screen isn't top-notch. Darn.

 

will never happen anymore. not only due to the cost but to the lack of production. i just switched both my 12.1" clevo over to boe hydis panels and those were hard enough to come by.. the future is rgb led and even some of those i have seen recently have just sucked for what they are "supposed" to be the end all right now

 

100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000% agreed

 

there are games that the sager will beat the alienware like GTA4 or any RTS games alienware and sager have their own strong points but i choose alienware

 

Thank you, we don't need people to come here and argue when some of us want information. I don't need opinions of Sager fanboys or AW fanboys, I want facts and UNBIASED opinions before I spend $2K on a laptop...

 

What are the temps when doing just basic things with the 9400m?

 

60-70 C

because its the chipset/northbridge

 

Nice review Chaz.

 

Very complete review, I cant help wonder if crysis performance would be close to that with a overclocked q9000 and 260M SLI.

 

It was a great review Chaz!

I still find your m9750 review to be the best ( I loved that cat)!

 

I know I'm late getting in my 2 cents here, blame the site admins for not letting me retrieve my pw earlier.

I really don't think $4250 is a realistic price to pay for a high performance notebook, no matter what it has under the hood. Last year I took a good look at the Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708, a machine that has a quad-core CPU, SLI graphics, SSD drive and killer sound system. It was priced at $4200 retail, even thought the hardware inside was effectively worth maybe $3300. While it was a great notebook to play with, I returned mine because I refused to pay the exorbitant price.

Today, I'm typing this on that very same notebook. I bought my X305-Q708 maybe 3 weeks ago for $2919.99. That's over $1200 cheaper that the Alienware, and my Toshiba can also play Crysis - at native resolution - with ALL the eye-candy turned up on full.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you don't need to spend $4000-plus to get a great gaming experience. At under $3000, the X305 will run any game the M17x can do, and I'm still on a machine that's mobile. Spend $2500 on a desktop though, and it will obliterate any gaming notebook out there.

I was actually considering getting a desktop, but ponied up the extra $500 and went with my X305-Q708. It does a great job, and I'm happy with my purchase.

Now I know all the AW fan boys will remind me that the AW has a higher-res screen, better gpu and the backlit keyboard. Those upgrades really aren't worth the $1200 extra. Aluminum chassis? I counter that with a better sound system on the X305 and a flame-red imprint finish.

Am I making excuses for the Toshiba? Maybe. But at the end of the day I save big bucks too. That extra $1200 buys me a new Zune HD, netbook and smartphone, and still have coin left to buy an armful of games. Sure, I love the M17x and would have loved to get one, but for under 3 grand the Toshiba X305-Q708 - for me - made a whole lot more sense.

 

Hm nice review.

RGB LED couldnt come soon enough on this thing.

 

It is RGB LED???

 

no it is not

its dual lamp CCFL

 

WOW...RGB LED should become standard by now for this ultra high end gaming rigs!

 

Don't jump to conclusions and assume that an "RGB LED" or even just an LED screen will be of higher quality than a given CCFL-backed screen.

I would easily take an IPS screen over the newer LED displays I saw recently.

 

I mean, compared to what regular notebook displays are, an RGB LED should be better, no?

 

Another thing to take into account is cost. Take the M17x, for example; it starts at $1,799. If an RGB LED screen was standard it would be another few hundred.
Look at the Dell XPS 16:
http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/note...d.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-16&s=dhs&cs=19
It comes with an LED display; upgrading to a high-res version is $75 more, and upgrading to the RGB LED high res is another $175 ($250 over the base). That's a lot of money. Even though I knocked Alienware for the lower quality screen on the M17x, I would not advocate jacking the price by $150 - $200 to factor in an RGB LED screen. It's just not worth it to most people. If you need any proof of that, then look at the number of customized Dell or HP notebooks sold with the base screen vs. an upgraded screen; the vast majority go with the base.

 

Most people probably don't realize what 'RGB' means, or what higher resolution does for viewing.

Most probably think its just a nickel and dime gimmick that they can't tell the difference between.

Most would be incorrect.

 

Well, point taken Chaz and Texas.
But what I mean is that such a high-end expensive gaming rig, with such configuration should have come with a better screen, at least LED base model (which low end Inspirons and Studios have). It just seems bizarre to me, considering that even the M6400 with a lage screen and the Studio 17 can offers LED based displays, it just seems odd to me...

 

LED screens DON'T MEAN BETTER !!!!!!!

 

That is a matter of personal preference, and pardon me, but I find them better than my TFT CCFL LCD on my Dell.
So calm down, and what I mean is that they have a regular TN panel there, found on any laptop (pretty much), and what amazes me is that having the ability to place a good screen, this great laptop ended up with an above average, but regular display.

Why do I say about the LEDs? Well LED screens are a tad better IMO (in MY opinion), they have a better contrast and are brighter than a CCFL one. And as a base, considering that even low end laptops carry them, it just seemed odd to me that the AW M17x, the flagship, did not have something that is almost standard, and that works well.

Again, this seems odd to me. But perhaps, as Chaz said, that would have raised the price too much on the base config...

 

if they were worried about price they would not of made it dual lamp

 

wait, what are you saying?
Dual CCFL lamps on the screen? As in the M4400 WUXGA non-RGBLED?

Ok, you that are a user of the M17x, what are your unbiased thoughts on the screen for your usage? Gaming, regular, working? Is it bothering at all?

 

the screen is the best i have had on any of my laptops

my m17 screen was not this good either.


is it the Best no , but is it good ....yes

 

My M17x had a terrible screen, I had the 1200p, for a dual lamp it was pretty dim (whites). The whites had graininess and it had uneven back lighting.

 

Well I think the general consensus is that the screen is pretty poor considering how high end and fancy of a notebook this is supposed to be. I really really want an Alienware for my next lappy, but I'll be happy to go more economical with Clevo or Asus if it's not up to scratch.

 

When I was originally jumping from site to site configuring laptops I kept looking at Sagers because of the price point. At some point I noticed none of the sites selling them really had any good pictures of the machine, why is this? Because they are UGLY... sorry to sager fans but these laptops look like something you would find a sams club or some dirty flea market or something. Im not saying they dont perform well, everyone raves about how powerful the things are but if your going to spend $2000-$4000 on something you are presumably going to carry around with you It should have some semblance of style. If your going to buy a laptop that performs like a sports car why should It look like a busted honda civic.

 

Are you seriously judging a laptop by the appearance?
What are your thoughts on ThinkPads? Latitudes? Elitebooks?

 

He is not judgeing it just simply saying that for that kind of money he wants it to look as good as it performs

 

I think the Alienware like most consumer notebooks is flashy

But the Sager and Lenovo ones dont have to show off in looks and I think they look more professional or slick.

 

Nah I dont discredit Sager/Clevo or lenovo on the basis of performance. I know those are solid and reliable laptops. Moo hit it on the head, if the things a beast I want it to look the part. It doesn't need bells and whistles to be good but I just dont think the clevo is as stylish as a $2000 laptop should be.

 

To share some good news that the Alienware forums already know about: the M17x now has a Crossfire 4870XT option for $700. 1Gb of unidentified GDDR on each card.

 

Hi every one,

do you have some news about the X17 new version (R3)?

regards,