Alienware's M17x R3: An Antidote to Clevo
by Dustin Sklavos on June 20, 2011 9:06 AM ESTA Screen Good Enough for Prosumer Work
Now we get to one of my favorite parts of the Alienware M17x R3: the screen. I've seen a lot of professionals buy gaming hardware (be they desktops or notebooks) because that class of computer often includes both high performance components and, as is the case with the M17x R3, a quality screen. While I'm not a fan of the glossy finish, the edge-to-edge display is attractive and more importantly, the 1080p screen looks fantastic.
While the contrast is slightly above middle-of-the-road for 1080p displays, color accuracy is reasonable, and more importantly, the color gamut is stellar. If you're tired of looking at cheap, low-resolution TN displays on consumer notebooks, the Alienware M17x R3's 1080p screen is going to be like a breath of fresh air. It proves that just because a screen uses TN technology, it doesn't have to be terrible.
The viewing angles on the M17x R3's display are also for the most part superb. They aren't perfect and are still largely limited by the display technology being used, but they're also nowhere near as bad as some of the awful displays we've had come through here.
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scook9 - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Also, when are you all getting an M18x to review so we can finally knock that ugly x7200 off the top of your charts? ;)Bolas - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
I'm currently in the market for a high end gaming laptop, so this review was very helpful to me.I've ruled out Clevo x7200 due to the high noise levels that would annoy my wife too much.
That leaves Asus G74SX-3DE, Clevo P170HM, and Alienware (m17x or m18x).
Asus doesn't really have a good way to upgrade the cpu or gpu, just the base model. Clevo has a lot of good features, but the keyboard is pretty crappy and this may be a deal breaker for me. Alienware has rumors of poor customer service, and this is a concern.
I was glad to read your review of the m17x to find that it is actually a good machine. That was helpful to me.
scook9 - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Customer service is actually great, all of the Alienware machines have Next Business Day on-site repair and it is not an exaggeration. It is a shame that warranty does not get mentioned in reviews as this alone sets the Alienwares above the clevos with depot only service.Alienware/Dell customer service just takes patience when dealing with the idiots on the phone, if you can take it though, you will be well taken care of.
Go to forums.notebookreview.com if you want a huge wealth of good information on the Alienwares or Clevos or Asus
noeldillabough - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
I've got a P170HM and its fantastic. I put a 2920XM, a GTX 485 and an Intel 510 SSD but the machine is now my main computer and there's no going back.I've got an ultraportable for mobile though, you don't really wanna carry a beast like this (or the Alienware...the brick is bigger than my ultraportable lol)
piroroadkill - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
At least you could do the logical thing: pick a 750GB HDD, then when it arrives, buy a nice SSD for the other bay.You're right though, the options are bizarre. RAID 0 in a laptop?
hammer256 - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Yeah, Dell seems to like raid 0 in their large notebooks, even the Precision mobile workstations. Bizarre indeed...Topweasel - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Well not so much Raid O, but specifically Raid. To support Mirroring (more important) might as well support Raid 0 as well.stancilmor - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Very simple concept: Locate the GPU, the Processor, and the memory behind the LCD and use an aluminum cover as part of the heat sink. I'm fairly certain a fan will still be required, so if thickness allows place the fan in lid too and vent out the top. If thickness doesn't allow, then some sort duct will be required to get the air from the base up to the lid.And all that extra space in the base can now be used for a larger battery that doesn't stick out.
The hot components are up and away from your lap.
The heat is vented up and away.
A larger battery in the base helps balance the weight shift and provides longer run times.
Only concern, will all that heat wreck the display (color shift, early death, etc)?
I think we can stand the extra thickness, because it's a real pain having some kind of thick lap insulator, so the laptop doesn't burn your legs.
I'm in the market for a good gaming laptop, but one just doesn't seem to exist. Either they are too hot, have a bad screen, a bad keyboard, too heavy, or too expensive. I can see spending extra to get everything right, but when the prices are above $2000 and there are still compromises...what gives.
scook9 - Monday, June 20, 2011 - link
Pretty much just described an AIO with a battery base lol.......it would be WAY to top heavy if they did that by the way and user serviceable parts like hard disk and ram are no longer an option....In general....this would be a TERRIBLE design for a laptop
stancilmor - Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - link
Not quite an All-in-One; harddrive, all the I/O and even the memory could be in the base. I just wasn't sure the memory could be located that far away for signal integrity reasons.As for user upgradability, I agree this would give up CPU and GPU upgrades. I think RAM could still be user upgradable.