Thought's on the Alienware M14x

[niko2021]

I have had the m14x for some time now. My overall thought's on this laptop is that it's a great laptop, with some kinks that will probably be ironed out in updates or revisions. I want to know how many of you will actually be returning your m14x for something else. I bought this for gaming on the go, but after rethinking that idea, i realized that it's not that great. Short battery life, lower gpu cpu clock speeds. So I mainly game at home, which mean's, at least for me, an m17x would've been a better choice. But I love my m14x still, what about you guys?

[mittens14x]

i love the laptop itself. if you read my other threads, i hate the small problems that occur. right now, i hate the bios. everything else is ALMOST fine though. i wouldnt return my m14x unless something big happens to the software

[Dukien]

I selling my to a friend actually today, the I7 cpu is great and I love the design etc, but the issiue is that when you paying so much for an laptop today it should at least play crysis 2 at 720p max and I manage to do that with 35-40 fps with OC, but thats not good enough compared to others around the same priceclass.
The cpu is topnotch but since the gpu is so much of an bottleneck I almost do not see the point because future games who will support quadcore probably will have higher demands for the GPU - I saw witcher runs good on the m14x but consider the price and the other laptops its simply not good enough, its a reason I dont have an Iphone - the only phone people paying overprice to get outdated hardware, but thats another story.

This laptop really should have an gtx 460, I would even pay more for that.
I getting the asus G53 series, dont really like to go so "big" as an asus g53, but with the same price and offers an gtx460 the whole purpose of having an small computer who can handle the newest game is gone - at least for me.

That beeing said, im thinking about it hard right now, sell this or not? My friend comming by in a few hours. :O
Like I said the biggest advantage this have is that it looks good, it makes other laptops make cheap and I really love the build and the design and the fact that its still portable as hell. But other laptops again makes this laptop feels cheap when it comes to games. =(

[d2c]

the new asus g53's come with the new gtx 560, so even better

[smokingjam]

im really impressed with mine. can run crysis 40-50fps. love the looks the design. got mine in red.
gonna have a shot at running the witcher 2 later

[GabeZ]

Greetings all,
Although I can't speak as an owner, I have seen numerous disappointed customers. This included a customer that opened the box right in front of me, witnessed it shut off on it's battery, and called Dell support. I would truely like to say there are more good things happening with this system than bad, but it just isn't the case.

Pros:
1. It's just as flashy as other Alienware Systems.
2. It's a good portable size for it's hardware.
3. It has good gameplay (with an AC Adapter).

Cons:
1. Quite possibly the most unstable notebook I've seen (while on battery).
2. While build quality looks semi good, endurance doesn't.
3. Software glitches within the Alienware software are buggy at best.
4. Klipsh speakers sound like standard speakers (not sure what happened there).
5. Optimus causes more issues than it solves (whitelisting/tweaking/adjusting).

While these are only a few of the key points, there are many more.

I'm happy for those that love the system for what it is, or have managed to adjust to it. It does fulfill a niche that most notebook manufacturers don't support (and probably with good reason). As for me, the system will neither be recommended or supported. Perhaps my opinion will change when revision 2 comes out.

Thanks,
Gabe

[Dukien]

the new asus g53's come with the new gtx 560, so even better

Sadly that is wrong, the 460 is better since the 560 is a modifated version of the 460 - higher cloack but 128bit and not 192 bit making it worse then the 460.

460 1,5g ram 192 vs 560 2gig 128 .. Asus did like Dell did with m14x "recommend 3 gig ram" =(

[niko2021]

I was considering the asus g53 with the gtx 460. I really don't take my m14x out anywhere anymore. I would take it to school if i got the rated 6 hours of battery life, or even 5, but i get 3 hours, same as the asus i read about. The m14x just doesn't "feel" like a hardcore gaming laptop, like the m15x for instance. And yes the gt555m is gonna be outdated probably in a few months based on performance. It handles recently games okay at kind of high settings, but for the future, i.e. 6 months to a year, such as bf3 and so on, i doubt i could play on high, maybe medium. bfbc2 multiplayer barely runs high for me. 20-40fps same fps for crysis 2 on advanced. Honestly, the only games this laptop plays great are older titles. So the m14x is okay for now, idk if in a year it will still hold its own, maybe an r2 version with a gtx card? or an amd 6870 series? who knows

[Dukien]

I agree with you on all points, but sadly g53 is big. But I have managed to get 5-6 hours when at school and 60++ on advanced - actually I played crysis 2 hardcore with around 30-40 fps 720p with OC.

However, the GT555 is still crap as hell, sadly and thats the reason I feel forced to sell this one and get the g53.

[niko2021]

I agree with you that you can get higher fps on the 720p reso. But i paid too much for 900p just to have it lowered . The m14x is okay for now, but when newer games come out, i think it'll struggle.