Alienware's M17x R3: An Antidote to Clevo
by Dustin Sklavos on June 20, 2011 9:06 AM ESTConclusion: Nearly as Good as it Gets
After using the Alienware M17x R3, I'm actually sorry I'll have to send it back. Usually with most of the notebooks I've reviewed there's some kind of fatal flaw, or something that makes it less than ideal for my purposes. But the M17x R3 is mostly bulletproof. It's bulky and heavy, yes, but it's also a gaming notebook running high-performance kit.
The M17x R3's biggest problems aren't even necessarily issues with the notebook itself. The aesthetic may not be for everyone, but the build quality is fantastic (outside of minor flex in the keyboard.) And while the glossy screen is going to be a dealbreaker for some people, the implementation is sound. No, the real issues lie in the configuration options that Dell offers with it. Only offering quad core processors and eschewing the extreme i7-2920XM isn't a problem, but none of the storage configurations offered are anything resembling ideal. Defaulting to RAID 0 is a great way to get the notebook sent back in for service. Most of the media seems to have drawn the same conclusion here: an SSD for a system drive and an HDD for a storage drive is the way to go. That this option isn't available on their site is downright bizarre.
The other issue is a smaller one: the graphics configuration options. I'm not sure entirely where blame needs to be placed here, either. AMD users are going to be set: the HD 6970M is tied for the fastest mobile GPU available, and the HD 6870M is a capable alternative for users who want to keep costs down. But if you need NVIDIA kit, the GTX 460M just isn't going to cut it. It's not a bad GPU, but it can barely compete with the 6870M that it's offered as an upgrade from, and Alienware doesn't offer Optimus technology with that GPU. Really, what we need are either the rarefied GeForce GTX 470M as a halfway point or at least the GeForce GTX 560M, which will hopefully become available as an upgrade option. In a perfect world we could choose between the GeForce GTX 485M and the HD 6970M, but one of these is in great supply from multiple vendors and the other is not. (By the way, kudos to AMD for finally getting top-end mobile GPUs out in force for two generations in a row.)
With all that said, though, the M17x R3 has an awful lot to offer any consumer looking for a gaming notebook. It's definitely pricier than ASUS's offering, but it's also faster, more comfortable to use, flashier, and has both better battery life and a better overall design. Clevo notebooks can't really compete on cost here, either. The M17x R3 is just fun to use, with a great screen, comfortable keyboard, minimal gloss, and a solid build. Fix the flex in the keyboard, find some way to keep the bottom from getting so hot, and offer just a bit better configuration options from the Dell website and Alienware will have a gold Editor's Choice on their hands. As it stands, we think the M17x R3 is more than worthy of the bronze.
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KoolAidMan1 - Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - link
That MBP has the same CPU and a GPU that is only a little bit slower. These aren't massive differences in performance here, but one has a much better keyboard, multitouch trackpad, real battery life, slimmer/lighter chassis, 16:10 display, etc etc.Bashing Alienware is like shooting fish in a barrel anyway. Lenovos are also great, if you're dead set against a Mac then at least give a reasonable alternative.
KoolAidMan1 - Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - link
I take back what I said re: GPU performance, I got one of the numbers mixed up when checking on other sites. The Macbook Pro is surprisingly good for a gaming laptop, its great for Starcraft 2, Team Fortress 2, LoL, etc etc, but the Alienware can legitimately be a full desktop replacement if one was so inclined based on these numbers: http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6970M.4...Its still not going to make me sell my SLI desktop PC, but its nice that the option is out there. :)
Shinya - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Protip: intelligent computer users dont care about battery life on a GAMING/HIGH PERFORMANCE laptop. We all know these are supposed to be plugged in. These tend to be desktop replacements/lan machines."Paying this kind of money and getting a bouncy keyboard should be illegal!"
so should spending the same amount of money on a apple computer and getting dated hardware, crap cooling, and a fraction of software availability. All while labeling yourself an in insecure macf** in the process.
Go back to Engadget you'll fit right in with the rest of your kind. Your Lord n Savior (Jobs) will be waiting for you.
ganjha - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Don't poke the trolls. If you ignore them long enough they'll go somewhere else...TEAMSWITCHER - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
"intelligent computer users don't care about battery life on a GAMING/HIGH PERFORMANCE laptop"What total BS. Only an idiot wouldn't care about battery life on a laptop. If you have to plug it in, then it's not a desktop replacement, its a small form factor desktop with average performance and a $2500.00 price tag. Oh yeah - I forgot butt ugly.
The MacBook Pro uses the same Sandy Bridge processors found on the Alienware systems.
Yes, people complain about the heat while gaming on the MacBook Pro, but the Alienware in this review got same complaint. Obviously Dell doesn't have a magic solution for the heat either.
The MacBook Pro can run Mac OS X *and* Windows 7 - therefore could run a much larger suite of applications than any PC ever could.
Yes the Alienware has a couple better features, like the faster GPU option. But given all the pluses and minuses, I'd take the MacBook Pro every time. It simply is a better value for my $2500.00.
If I'm a troll for thinking that, well at least I'm a troll that can back up my rant with facts. And not insane musings from insecure winf***s.
The0ne - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
So now you're thinking because Apple uses Sandy that the performance is the same? Or did I misread that. What do you mean by that statement so we're all clear. Let us all forget about the surrounding designs around the processor for argument sake.There is hot and there is hot hot. Not like your Sandy bridge comment.
I can run Mac OS, why do you think I can't? And are we referring to raw install, emulated or VM? You do realize the difficulty in using a Mac OS on a non-Mac PC is right? Go have a chat with the VMWare dev team. Currently I have Windows 7, Redhat, Fedora, Unbuntu and XP SP3 available for my business use. I have absolutely no use of Mac OS for work or play. Absolutely zero of my business associates here or in China (contract manufacturing) has a Mac. So while I can use it, I have 0 need to use it. And if you have to ask why all the flavors of Linux then I'll just have to slap you silly.
So for a high end laptop, in which most users pay to be able to play games much better, having a better GPU option is not such a big concern to you. Ok. Fine, that's fair. It's also fair that with all the +/- the user gets to choose the laptop of their liking. Cool. Value sure has its niches.
I don't mind you choosing a MBP but please at least try to be reasonable and have some common sense in your comments. Just looks so redneck and childish...see, kinda like what I just said!
DanNeely - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
This is a gaming laptop not a general purpose system, and the MBP gets stomped in any relevant comparison. The 6750m it offers is less than half as fast as the alienware's 6970 (half the cores and slower clocks), the 6490 that's the baseline option is about 4.5x slower.JarredWalton - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Actually, the 6870M is about twice as fast as the 6750M, and thus the 6970M is more like three times as fast as the 6750M. If you want a comparison, on the High quality gaming charts the 6750M would be around 5-15% faster than the GT 540M. (That's the line second from the bottom in most of the games... and that's not even running at 1080p, where the limited memory bandwidth on the GT 540M and 6750M becomes even more of a handicap.)KoolAidMan1 - Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - link
I would really like to see some gaming benchmarks from the 15" MBP under Windows, because a 3x increase in performance with the 6970m seems quite massive. I've tried Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Starcraft 2, and Bad Company 2 on a 2011 MBP. Not the most straining games by any means, but they were all very smooth from what I saw.Unfortunately notebookcheck.com is the only place I found stats on the 6750m, and their testing methodology isn't the best since they just aggregate random data from different hardware and displays that aren't necessarily the same: http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6750M.4...
Based on those benchmarks the difference seems to be under double, with the 6750m yielding about 40fps in Bad Company 2 with high settings while the 6970m gives about 65fps based on the results in this review.
Again, the 6750m numbers can only be taken as ballpark since the rest of the machine specs are unknown. Again, too bad there aren't many 2011 MBP reviews out there with gaming benchmarks, it'd be interesting to see how well the medium end AMD GPUs stack up to the monster in the Alienware machine.
KoolAidMan1 - Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - link
Well well well: http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6970M.4...Such impressive numbers there. You're compromising size and battery life, but man that thing screams, truly a desktop replacement.