Official M14x Review

[Ashtefere]

I bought some replacement fans for the M17x R2, however they were too thick by a few MM.

I gave up after being unable to find anything more suitable that wouldnt burn out the fan connectors (7v vs standard 12v)

-Ash

[mw86]

I bought some replacement fans for the M17x R2, however they were too thick by a few MM.

I gave up after being unable to find anything more suitable that wouldnt burn out the fan connectors (7v vs standard 12v)

-Ash

Oh well I guess there's no mods to the fans then... leave it to DellAlienware to make non standard voltage fans...

[Arklight]

I just got the laptop. Very impressive. The right palm rest gets warm though.. It's noticable, but i guess eventually it's going to be alright.

[Brian]

So if you're not a touch typist, does the heat from the palm rest make your hands sweat?

[Arklight]

So if you're not a touch typist, does the heat from the palm rest make your hands sweat?

The heat does not rise up.. it stays on the surface.

[Stevenxowens792]

The heat is enough to notice but does not ruin the deal for me. I have my cpu at 103.1 bclk and memory at 1600 1.5v and it's still very tolerable.. (to me at least).

StevenX

[Stevenxowens792]

3dmark06 offers no value anymore but here is a run I made just to satisfy my curiosity. Again over 1200 points higher than my current m15x with I7-720qm and 5850 at 825/1000

15274 for the 2630, im on top.. as usual..

[Stevenxowens792]

Here is my score on default settings... meaning physx set to auto detect and not CPU and frames ahead set to 3 rather than 0 which is my normal FPS setting... lol

15751

Here is the link to the album if you want to see the rest of the 3dmark evidence...

ImageShack Album - 3 images

ImageShack slideshow

[Brian]

Steven, do you have an external display handy where you can run these synthetic benchmarks? That way we can see the results at their default resolution.

[Stevenxowens792]

Ok.. A post on the youtube video asked for Just Cause 2 Benchmarks.. So here are 3 screenshots. This is the fully paid, Steam version of Just Cause 2. It has 3 benchmarks. I ran the first one called THE DARK TOWER.

1st one: Absolute Max settings, the only thing disabled is vsync. 27 FPS AVG

2nd one: Absolut Max settings, GPU overclocked at 750/900. 32 FPS AVG

3rd one: Absolute Max settings, GPU overclocked at 750/1000. 33 FPS AVG

Best Wishes, StevenX

[unreal25]

lol 3dmark06.... almost the same score as I have on 5870M crossfire, stock settings. So much about that test ^^

[Stevenxowens792]

Told you guys.. 3dmark06 = no value! You know as well as I that the 5870m xfire at stock will SMOKE the 555 nvidia in frame rates. However for some dumb reason 06 seems to think the CPU is more necessary for most games and scores it higher. The one thing I am is a realist. I dont make magic claims in cards and I tried and tried to give the kids at NBR some real figures on the 555 before I left. In the games forum and xps forum you would have thought the 555 was able to part the red sea and turn water into wine. I just kept trying and trying to explain its a lower-High Tier card. Or... Maybe you could say it's a HIGH-Medium Tier card. Either way.. it's not the 5850 or the 5870.

What can you do... I know what this thread needs.... MORE BOOBS!

Where are you ILOVEBOOBS? That avatar gets me everytime.

X

[Nando]

Lmao more boobs!

[mw86]

Great benchmarks Steven keep up the great work!

[coolguystan]

So would you recommend this laptop? I am worried about the temps. It def seems like it can play games well. The jc2 benchmark amazed me. 27 fps average absolutely maxed out is crazy for a 14 inch laptop. (Thanks for doing that btw i appreciate that.) I would love to buy this but those temps really freak me out a little. And how is the screen?

[HTWingNut]

Hey StevenX! Found you when looking at M14x stuff. I'm considering one as well. But can you share your battery life experiences and if you can game on battery!

[Stevenxowens792]

You have found the legendary StevenX. LOL Hope all is well HTwingNut. Im at work but will give a more detailed answer this evening. In short I love the m14x so far. Take a look in the game thread at real performance in games. I will try to post some more benchmarks on battery this evening. Thanks for posting!

[HTWingNut]

Hey thanks. The only thing holding me back is the price is about $300 more than I'd want to spend, and lack of Blu-Ray option. I'm going between this and the HP DV6TQE with HD 6770m GPU. I can get it with i7-2630QM, 8GB RAM, Blu-ray player/DVDRW, 1080p screen for < $1000 shipped right now. Similar equipped M14x is about $1300. I do like the feel of the Alienware laptops, backlit keyboard and all. But not sure if it's worth a $300 premium and missing one feature I want.

In any case, still debating... Thanks for any info you can provide.

[Gearsguy]

Probably preform about the same, but the M14x will have better battery and will be cheaper

And who doesnt like getting seizures from their keyboard!

[HTWingNut]

Probably preform about the same, but the M14x will have better battery and will be cheaper

And who doesnt like getting seizures from their keyboard!

From what I've seen the 6770 is a better performer, perhaps by 5-10%, and gets about 6+ hours battery with surfing with 9 cell battery, plus has a high gamut matte 1080p screen and Blu-Ray player, all shipped for less than $1000. It does not have backlit keyboard and there are currently GPU switching issues with OpenGL but that affects nothing that I do that I can think of. I'd rather have Blu-Ray capability to be honest. I do really like the solid construction of the Alienware's though, but not sure if that's enough to offset the price and lack of blu-ray.

[Stevenxowens792]

At max overclock (some of my scores are in different m14x review and benchmark threads) the 6770 outscores me in 3dmark vantage (gpu only) by about 250 points. In real gaming situations like bfbc2 I actually out perform the machines with the exact same CPU. Whatever the asus model is with the 2630qm. I posted a bunch of stuff in our chat. I also posted some stuff at NBR a while back but it got deleted as usual. I would just go with what makes you happy. These days I just post what performance I am getting and I don't try to convince anyone to buy anything. I posted a video with 1080p gameplay on BFBC2. I also posted an example video of BFBC2 on high (plus and minus HBAO) on 1080p.

If my memory serves me correct the vantage score GPU was m14x - 7050 vs 6770 - 7300.

Frames in BFBC2 at 1080p High settings were m14x 35-45 at 750/900 vs 6770 (didnt catch final clock) at 33-41fps. They are very close either way. 1080p screen is great of course. Blu-ray is a no brainer. (I use my external asus bdrom on my m14x).

Good Luck, StevenX

Edited July 8, 2011 by Stevenxowens792

[HTWingNut]

Thanks StevenX as usual. Missed you at NBR. Not sure what happened there but whatever, they can get uptight about things.

What software do you use for Blu-Ray? I thought I saw you (or maybe someone else) mentioned that Optimus doesn't play well with Blu-ray software like PowerDVD. I do have an external USB Blu-Ray drive, but internal is better for me at least. It is a tough decision.

If I can get my M11x and Sager NP8170 sold I will be buying the M14x or HP DV6TQE, and pocket the cash for better things!

[Stevenxowens792]

I have two pieces of software. I have a fully licensed version of powerdvd 9 with updates and a have fully licensed Total Media Theater 3 (version is a year old). It's slower than powerdvd9 but more compatible with titles. So I load up both and use powerdvd9 first and if it fails then I use TMH. Even the 720p screen looks amazing with blu ray so it would scorch with 1080p on a 14 or 15 inch platform.

[Kynlore]

Thanks for the info posted here.