News Bits: Alienware m15x User Review, Cloudbook Sells Out, Dell XPS M1330 Gets Penryn

Alienware Area-51 m15x reviewed

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Forum member Packer445 has recieved his brand new Alienware Area-51 m15x gaming notebook and done a thorough review of it in the forums. It features a 15.4-inch widescreen display, Nvidia 8800M-GTX 512MB, and Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor. Scoring nearly 9,500 marks in 3DMark06, it is a serious performer. Packer445 reports the machine is built well, has a sleek design, and the exterior has a beautiful finish. The m15x features different lighting zones including an optional backlit keyboard, which add to the whole experience.

Read the full review in the forums

Everex Cloudbook sells out before release

The Everex Cloudbook has sold out before it even went on sale. The "initial allotment" has been sold, but there is no information on how many. Engadget questions whether the Cloudbook ever went on sale and if it did, where are the reviews and comments?

NotebookReview.com coverage of the Everex Cloudbook
Read More (Endgadget.com)

MacBook Air with SSD = no performance boost

Many wonder if that extra $1,300 for the SSD option in the Apple MacBook Air is worth it. Ars Technica ran it through a series of tests and came to the conclusion that it did not offer much at all in terms of performance and battery life where SSDs are supposed to excel. There was a minor boost in performance overall and battery life was a mere 29 minutes longer, but on average did not last any longer than the hard drive equipped Air.

NotebookReview.com Review of the MacBook Air
Read More (Endgadget.com)

Core 2 Duo for under $500: upgrade an Acer 3690

Don't want to spend a lot on a notebook but want dual-core performance? All hope may not be lost - forum member krazyphire has done a run-down of how to replace the single-core Celeron M in the Acer 3690 with a much faster Core 2 Duo. The upgrade can be done for cheap as Core 2 Duo T5200/T5300 processors can go for under $100 on eBay.

Read the full story in the forums
Special thanks to TeeJay 44 for submitting this bit

Penryn now available on Dell XPS M1330

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Dell is now offering the new Intel Penryn Core 2 Duo on the XPS M1330. The Penryn Core 2 Duo is manufactured on a 45nm process and has better performance and battery life as a result. Dell charges $275 for the lowest T8300, $400 for the T8300, and $675 for the highest-end T9500. Ouch!

NotebookReview.com Review of the XPS M1330
Product Page (Dell.com)

 

No T8100 in the M1330? And when is Bluetooth 2.1 coming?

 

Why are there two different prices for the T8300? Are there two different versions of the T8300, or is that a typo?

 

I wonder if the cloudbook claim is for their production run. As in, they've taken orders/presold all from the run to stores/distributors?

 

Which config are you looking at? Check the screenshot I attached, I am configuring the $999 model and see only one T8300. Maybe you saw the T9300?

 

I think he means this Chaz:

I think the second is supposed to be the T9300

Even so on the topic. . . why are the prices in your screen shot $100 cheaper than what is listed in the quotes^.

 

Any idea when NBR will get Cloudbook review?

 

Cloudbook - is this me or is this thing just totally fugly?

 

No! It's not just you. Looking at that gaping hole under the screen would constantly bug the living daylights out me. I think it's safe to say that most people want maximum screen and minimum bezel. Why don't they get it? Same goes for the Eee PC thing!

 

a mere 29 minutes...
that's not bad at all

 

But considering extremely high price tag for SSD offered by Apple, 29 minutes longer is a negligible performance...

 

I don't care for the design of the Cloudbook myself. I'm still curious to see the review on it though. I'd like to know if the 30 GB HDD can make up for some of the things the Cloudbook lacks that the Eee PC has.

The Eee PC is a much more attractive machine though

 

Regarding screen size. Well, they put screens that are available right now in sufficient quantities. I guess nobody is producing 8 - 10 inch screens in quantities that all companies want. It takes time to prepare factories and build a stock of products market demands change.

This is also true for example for Lenovo use of IPS LCD panels. Lenovo stopped selling them, because LCD factories were not producing them in sufficient quantities.

The same goes for wide screen panels. LCD factories are pushing these as it is cheaper for them to produce wide screen panels comparing to the 4:3 panels. So notebook companies have to build notebooks from what is available, unless you want to pay extra for custom requests.

 

For what it's worth, Cloudbooks are starting to show up on eBay.