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Some of us will be receiving the M18x today so we'll be posting up pics, videos and impressions in this thread. Stay tuned! Phew just finished the unboxing video and inspecting the system for flaws, so far I haven't found any *knock on wood*. After I edit the video I'll toss it up on youtube. Quick impressions: I've owned Alienware M15x, M17x-R2, M17x-R3 so I'm no stranger to Alienware systems. Display 7.5/10 I know I've made a big fuss over the display but I will admit this is a decent display. For those expecting a 90% gamut panel, don't count on it. It looks very similar to the M17x-R3 72% gamut panel which isn't bad, just not the best. It is not as bright as the M17x-R2 panel nor does it come close with respect to color reproduction. The contrast ratio isn't the best to be honest, it could have been better. That said, it is a pretty good panel (better than most notebooks) and very few people will have complaints. Those of you that haven't experienced an RGB LED won't be missing anything. Build 10/10 Alienware took the best of the Alienware M17x-R2 and improved upon it. It is anodized aluminum like it's predecessor but also boasts a superior palm rest (soft touch rubber which seems higher quality than the R3). I have no complaints at all, it is Alienware's best built system thus far. Weight 9/10 M17x-R2 owners will feel comfortable with the M18x, the weight is very similar. Because the M18x is wider, the weight is more spread out so it actually feels lighter than the R2 when you hold it or put it on your lap. I do not feel that build quality should be sacrificed for weight therefore I feel compelled to give Alienware high marks for building such a high quality system while maintaining a reasonable weight. Sound 7.5/10 The sound beats the M17x-R2 and M17x-R3. Once you adjust the wavemaxx settings in the IDT control panel, it is crisp and loud. The subwoofer produces decent bass although it could be a bit better. If the volume was a bit louder I'd have given it an 8/10. Keyboard 9/10 Feels solid, not much if any flex and the keys are fairly responsive. The alienware fx lighting is uniform. My only complaint is a hollow sound when you type because of the ram slots underneath. Media Panel 8/10 Very responsive, feels great and I don't miss the capactive buttons from R2 at all. I wish the they were a bit more understated so I'm docking 2 points for that. Design 9/10 Alienware took the best elements of the M17x-R1/R2/R3 and built the M18x and it shows. If they had an IPS panel and slightly better sound, the system would probably be their best system ever made. But what's up with removing the color configuration from the alien head?? Unboxing Video <object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNTgjHKefjU?fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNTgjHKefjU?fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Photos - These are unedited photos. Please do not reproduce anywhere else without first asking. Thanks!

So Brian can look forward to this! LOL! Edit: So Brian are you going to ghost ride the whip?

May 17, 2011 7:58 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery STOCKTON, CA It's on it's way!!

Hold off on the video, let me hire some bikini models to sexy up the video.

Without flaming anyone I will like to state that if you buy an HP you will end up: 1.with company that gives you little or no support and If something happens to the system be prepare to repair it yourself or just to junk it. 2.A product that looks great visually but uses inferior parts. 3.They are extremely poorly Designed. This goes back to the time of the Packard Bell computers, this laptops are extremely difficult to work on and most components end up solder on the motherboard. 4.They give you the notion that they are fairly priced. This is an illusion, any Dell machine even the lower tier ones will club to death any HP machine. 5.Selling point for their machines are the Doctor Dre Beat speakers? really? nuff said.

LMAO Brian don't worry man we will register a grandpa in the forum so you won't feel that old

This is one of my favorites Pain of Salvation - Book I: Genesis

I have a lot of pron Hahaha.

Really impressive! Wow, I wish I could get some hands-on time with such a system... but I don't know anyone in my areay who ordered one. Btw, someone who got some photoshop skills should design a watermark or similar... that would be nice for posting pictures here. Just an idea...

Hmm, when I open CrystalDiskInfo it says host writes 400.56GB, power on count 286, power on hours 34... seems a bit weird, or am I looking at the wrong values? I'm using this drive since the beginning of April... However, 22tb seems to be huge anyway... are these numbers reliable?

Yes, as long as it doesn't delay the M18x review/comparison with M17x R3. Those of us deciding exactly what to order need to know! Congrats on being first Brian, someone uploaded a boot video a couple days back, but it's sh*t.

The M18x has just landed! It will be about an hour before I report back, going to record an unboxing vid real quick and then take some pics. Might take a bit of time to get it all uploaded, stay tuned.

I just wanted to warn anyone that is considering buying a HP Envy 17 with a Sandy Bridge CPU. Some of these new laptops are using multiplier throttling which seems to be triggered by power consumption long before temperature becomes an issue. If you are using the CPU and GPU at the same time such as when gaming, they can instantly throttle down to 800 MHz which kills performance. Anyone thinking of buying one of these should do some thorough testing before reaching for their wallet and make sure that you can take it back for a full refund if you are not 100% satisfied. If you already bought one of these and want to test for this problem, run any demanding game and at the same time run RealTemp with the Log File option selected to make sure that your CPU is running at its rated speed. RealTemp 3.67 http://www.mediafire.com/?n99nq4kn95u6i6a When loaded or gaming it should not be dipping down to 798 MHz. If you have this problem, run ThrottleStop and it will take care of it and get you back up to full speed. Edit: May 27, Throttling problem solved. See my next post for a bios update.

Okay I'll write something up, I may talk to one or two other people once it's written to see if they want to add anything. I'll try to get it up tonight or tomorrow.

I ended up contacting my customer support rep and he set up the service tag within 30 minutes. and it was immediately available online too.

I hear ya... I know that all to well.

I mean BFBC2... hehe, I set the shadows to medium and it stopped.

ahaha svl7 thank you for pointing out the error. Sorry that was lack of morning coffee.

yup, it also might be building already and they haven't update their web system, if i was you talk to a live rep and confirm is on the building stage, if not I recommend raising a mob with pitchforks and torches and visit the AW Florida HQ.

Nice, 580m and 6990m incoming. Shame about those hard disk random access times though. I have a nice shuttle priced up that I am going to build instead so... Yeah. -Ash

i managed to get a full refund on my M15x. bought the r3 and got a cool grand back in my pocket.

Umm... read your post again, carefully... ... fail?

Very nice, I need to check them out, thanks StamatisX! Here's something I just listened to, Death Angel - Room with a view: I really like this song, even though it's not a typical song for a thrash metal band... So here's another, more typical Death Angel song, pure old-school bay area trash Death Angel - Disturbing the peace:

not really in everyday task, but i'm a bencher so any lil bit counts.

2720 here: ran the 1024 wprime it stays at 30x for like 5 sec then drops to 29.5x for 90 sec or so, then drops t0 28x for a few secs then the reminder of the test is at 27.5. max temp at 85. also have my bclk at 107.

Blasphemy!! I am going to have to exorcise you!!! Quack

ILoveBoobs gave me a great idea with his Vinyl letters; Tshirts with the Aliencarat font. could say whatever you want. I used to have a shirt with what I thought was chinese writing when I bought it. I asked a Chinese friend and she told me it said "foolish american consumer". lol I thought is said like peace and harmony pr something. Granted youd have to look it up to know what it said, but havent you always wanted a "Fuck you" shirt. lolol Maybe not, whatever. Me screams "I am not a geek!!!" Me replies "Ugh, Yes you are..."

Settings... See Screenshot but in a nutshell.. ALL HIGH, NO HBAO, NO AA/AF NO VSYNC. Dx10 Benchmark Type (Dynamic), logged while in 32 player MP match, Rush Isla Innocente. System: I7-2630qm, 555mGT @ 750/1000 driver 170.61 2011-05-15 23:17:24 - BFBC2Game Frames: 28046 - Time: 266902ms - Avg: 105.080 - Min: 44 - Max: 162 2011-05-15 23:22:29 - BFBC2Game Frames: 82908 - Time: 987159ms - Avg: 83.986 - Min: 26 - Max: 155 <--- Notice extreme server lag killed the score but still very high. A couple of quick tips to great performance out of BFBC2. 1. Check your PERFORMANCE tab of your TASKMGR. If your cpu goes above ZERO at idle then you need to optimize. 2. In your BFBC2 config file, make sure render frames ahead is set to ZERO. 3. Set DX level to 10 or 9. 4. For MP make sure network throttling is disabled. 5. Never enable HBAO... It kills performance and no real improvement. Good Luck and Happy Pew Pewing. StevenX

Here's some CollegeHumor:

WOW http://dc133.file.qip.ru/flash/player.swf?file=http://dc133.file.qip.ru/img/111226964/dfc05946/dlink__2Fdownload_2FAM45Fzuw_3Ftsid_3D20110512-161308-569382d5/preview.flv&streamer=http://dc133.file.qip.ru/img/111226964/dfc05946/dlink__2Fdownload_2FAM45Fzuw_3Ftsid_3D20110512-161308-569382d5/preview.flv&image=http://dc133.file.qip.ru/img/AM45Fzuw/komanda_barmenov_k_novomu_godu.flv&logo.link=http://file.qip.ru/video/AM45Fzuw/komanda_barmenov_k_novomu_godu.html&logo.hide=false&logo.file=http://dc133.file.qip.ru/images/logo.png&logo.position=top-left&plugins=sharing&sharing.link=http://file.qip.ru/video/AM45Fzuw/komanda_barmenov_k_novomu_godu.html&sharing.code=%3Cembed%20src%3D%22http://file.qip.ru/embed/111226964/dfc05946%22%20width%3D%22420%22%20height%3D%22320%22%20allowfullscreen%3D%22true%22%20allowscriptaccess%3D%22always%22%20%2F%3E

Depends on which version. Anyways here are the rest guys! Please enjoy

I used to use a VHS tape to prop up my laptop. It was topgun. Topgun was pretty cool so I figure it worked better than taped re runs of the price is right. Wait... Wat.....

i would consider myself a huge fanboi, everything i buy, i try to custom it to make it look like an alienware product, hahaha

First post updated, I'm going to add the unboxing video here on T|I exclusively once I finish editing it along with some pics.