Alienware M14x: the Sound and the Fury
by Dustin Sklavos on July 19, 2011 12:35 AM ESTThe M14x Came to Play
Our results in 3DMark bode well for the Alienware M14x: between the Intel Core i7-2630QM and the powerful GeForce GT 555M, the M14x should be able to consistently post clear leads on everything but the GTX 460M-equipped Clevo P151HM. GT 555M basically splits the distance between the GT 540M and the GTX 460M, making it a good fit for the native 900p resolution. We're sticking to our Medium and High detail settings for the M14x testing.
And there you have it: the jump from the GT 540M to the 555M is a good one, with the 555M able to push every game in our suite above 30FPS at the M14x's native resolution. Not just that, but it's consistently faster than the GT 540M at the same settings at a higher resolution. Only the CPU-bound StarCraft II and oddball corner case DiRT 2 upset those standings, and even then the upsets are minor. But what about high quality settings?
While it struggles in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Metro 2033, the GT 555M nonetheless appears to be almost exactly the right amount of horsepower to drive games at 1600x900 in a notebook. Alienware made the M14x to deliver a solid mobile gaming experience, and they've achieved exactly that. Buyers concerned about the GT 555M not having enough power to drive the 1600x900 display have little to worry about, for now at least.
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etamin - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
just curious, where can I find out more about this 4 GPUs with the same name business?Hrel - Saturday, July 23, 2011 - link
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=GT555Mlunarx3dfx - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
The m14x isn't available with the other GT555M. I have a feeling that it would be significantly slower though.AlexKitch - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
My friend has one of these and struggles to even play Minecraft without the machine becoming so unbelievably hot that it has to de-clock itself, turning his games into more of a slideshow than a game. This happens in my (fairly cool) apartment, on a solid desk with no obstructions to any of the fan intakes/exhausts.Personally, I don't like the styling of Alienware machines either. It's all a little over the top and immature.
kevith - Thursday, July 21, 2011 - link
is NOT a lot! It´s terrible to keep on reading, that notebooks that weighs like this one, are heavy!I´m 50 years, and I´m working in the woods, and the chainsaw I use weighs around 22 lbs. And not only shall I carry it around for 8 hours every day, I have to toss it arond all the time to obtain access to sawing area.
I´ve read reviews, where the reviewer has used words like "chiropractor", "immoblie", "desktop only" etc.
Come on man, I don´t know what kind of workout You do - if any - but I will recommend You to spend more time doing it or find a more effective system.
Hrel - Saturday, July 23, 2011 - link
Yeah, that always annoys me too. Basically as long as the things under 10lbs I'm fine with it. And that's only because of all the other stuff I keep in my notebook bag. But then again, if you're talking about burly men that's totally different than if you're talking about 5'4" women.solracd - Monday, August 8, 2011 - link
Can someone explain why the 1.5 upgrade to 3Gb video memory is not useful? Is is not helpful 'today' but possible useful in a year or two? The same applies to the CPU option. I would think getting the most is the best (although clearly not the most cost effective).I buy laptops and keep for a while so I'm puzzled how more is not better.
Thanks in advance!
Habshockeygrl - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
I love my M14x, I don't mind the louder rapid cooling although my husband when sitting near me sometimes complains about the loudness of it. My problem as been the sound system. I paid extra for the premium sound package and have had multitudes of problems with it. They tried to have tech support remotely reset drivers, which made the surround sound stop working. They sent a tech to my house, upon taking it apart he somehow destroyed the motherboard and the mouse track pad. So he had to come back with the new parts. Second trip, he brought brand new speakers because he could see a visible problem, replaced the motherboard and the tracker section. Now only either front or back speakers will work separately but not together. Nobody has been able to figure out this problem and I continue to feel I was ripped off in the sound department. Good luck to anyone purchasing the upgrade!