Before its release Alienware’s m15x was the gaming notebook that everyone was looking forward to. Despite Dell picking up Alienware and a number of relatively predictable releases over the last year or two, the m15x was shaping up to be one of the best 15-inch gaming notebook available. Now that it has been out for some time the hype has calmed down, and there is a 17-inch m17x to lust after, but the m15x has proven worthy of our expectations.
The m15x–as tested–is based on a 15.4-inch 1920×1200 display and is powered by an Intel X9000 (2.8GHz) mobile processor and a single graphics card (Nvidia 8800M GTX). Other hardware highlights include 4GB DDR2, 1GB Intel Turbo memory (Robson), a 200GB 7200RPM disk, a/b/g/n WiFi, a Blu-ray burner, and a Smart Bay which can handle a 320GB disk or spare battery. It features a new design (the Ripley, as opposed to the Skullcap) which is a lot cleaner looking then Alienware’s previous models. The new design has software-configurable lighting and Alienware’s standard alien head right in the middle of the LCD cover.
Looking at the m15x, it’s a nicer design than previous Alienware notebooks, but it maintains Alienware’s brand image. What this comes down to is that if you didn’t like their designs in the past you probably won’t be too impressed with this one, especially if you don’t want the alien head or a lot of lighting. The size is not bad for a gaming notebook, but it’s still not that small and it’s on the thick side. Once you factor in the price and the size of the power block and this thing won’t be leaving your desktop very often so the thickness is not a huge problem. There are some nice touches, like the illuminated keyboard (a $50 upgrade) and a remote which can be hidden in the ExpressCard slot which will let users take full advantage of the m15x as a 1200p display, but many people will still find the exterior design to be lackluster.
From a build quality perspective, the m15x looks nice but the system is less than perfect. The system has more than its share of creaks and the monitor tends to shake. Your computer room or office probably won’t be very windy but the display will move without a lot of pressure and while handling the system you will notice creaks. In all likelihood these are not weaks points but they are there and given the largely plastic exterior and the price of the system it would be great if they weren’t. The keyboard is very good and the palmrests are solid, but the trackpad is seamlessly integrated into the computer so you can’t tell when you have moved off of it without looking.
It takes more than a slick design to make a gaming system and few companies know that better than Alienware. The m15x brings along some serious power, including the X9000 processor, so no matter what games you throw at it it should be able to power through at full resolution for the next generation or two of games. It is the first 15.4-inch notebook to use the Core 2 Extreme as well as the first with the 8800M GTX so finding similar power in this size will be difficult. It smartly uses these gaming features in order to crossover into the media space and by using the remote, high-resolution display, HDMI-out, and Blu-ray drive users will be able to get more than just a desktop replacement.
Putting 1920×1200 into a 15.4-inch display means you get a lot of screen real estate, but icons and text are on the small side. This does not negatively affecting the gaming experience, but things are a bit smaller than you might like and if you do want a great Blu-ray experience you will want to use the HDMI-out to get the picture on a television (there are no VGA or S-Video outputs). Past these the screen looks quite nice and 1920×1200 is a great upgrade over more common resolutions. The area around the display is slick smooth, with the only features being a 2.0 MP webcam and digital microphone array.
Looking around the m15x reveals features all over. The keyboard area is quite clean thanks to touch-sensitive controls for the volume, Bluetooth, wireless, the Command Center, Stealth Battery mode, and a few indicators. Each of these are backlit so if you are not tired of lighting yet, these might be enough to push you over the edge (or least shut a few off). In theory this is a great idea, but the volume control, the most important one, does not work very well and even slow sliding (the correct action, not press or pointing). This can be a bit frustrating, especially when gaming. The I/O includes three USB 2.0 slots, ExpressCard, a 7-in-1 ExpressCard reader, HDMI, FireWire, ethernet, headphones, microphone, and the Smart Bay which has an optical drive in it by default. Noticeably missing are the two legacy connections: VGA-out and modem, which few people will miss.
One paper the m15x looks like quite a powerhouse and, as it turns out, it is the most powerful notebook we’ve ever tested. The Core 2 Extreme processor, high-end graphics, and 4GB of RAM means that there is no power shortage. Luckily these nice components translated into high-end performance as well, not just an inflated price tag. Full screen (1920×1200) gaming was not a problem, no matter how intense Call of Duty 4 got, and the system pretty much clobbered anything else thrown at it. This means no slowdowns and very solid performance with the settings cranked up and never even considering gaming at anything under full resolution. The 8800M GTX is the key player here, but 4GB of RAM and the X9000 processor both help out. If you are looking for a few numbers, you can try these on for size: 3DMark01, 37645; 3DMark05, 15704; PCMark Vantage, 3911; Window Experience Index Graphics, 5.9; WEI Gaming, 5.8; WEI Processor, 5.6.
Part of the Alienware experience is made up by the extras. Alienware is still catering to high-end users with the sort of frills you don’t get with a $1500 system from a big-box retailer. The first is the customizable lighting, which will let you change the color (in each zone), which zones light up, and so on. It’s a nice feature and it’s necessary if you are going to have lighting all over. Also you get a personalized nameplate on the bottom of the computer. Another impressive features is the touchpad which as no seams between it and the palmrests, which looks cool but make this feature less prominent since you will probably be using a mouse anyway.
The stock battery (without the SmartBay) expansion will give the m15x a bit under two hours of battery life for general use. This is not when gaming, but rather the type of light internet work you would expect on any system. Normally this would be a fault, but give the spare battery option and the fact that this machine will rarely be far from an outlet the 90-120 minute battery life is not much of a problem.
The m15x starts at a very reasonable $1499, but don’t let this number fool you–our test system came out to $4619. What gets the price this high are the upgrades–the move to 1920×1200 will run you $150, the 8800M GTX is $500, and that X9000 is an incredible $900 over the T8100. A reasonable, but still powerful, build (1920×1200, 8700M, T9300, 2GB RAM, no Smart Bay, DVD instead of Blu-ray) will run about $2400, or close to the $3000 mark if you wanted to add in Blu-ray, a bit more RAM, and the the illuminated keyboard.
Any $4600 gaming notebook is going to be impressive on a number of fronts, no matter who it comes from. For this price Alienware has delivered a notebook that is extremely fun to use and has lots of great features, as well bleeding edge components. If money is no factor the m15x may have a few issues, but it still delivers on its promise and rarely left me asking for more.
If you scale the components back and cut the price down to the $2000-3000 you will have to forgo a number of expensive upgrades, but the good news is that it will still be possible to get a very solid system. It might not be jaw-droppingly powerful but you will get the same foundation as the machine we looked at. This is to say that if you put your money into the right areas you can save a lot and still get a nice machine. Some of the allure will be lost as will some of the fancy (yet unnecessary) upgrades, but you can still come off with a great gaming system. If money is the number one issue the m15x is not your best bet, but if you want performance and features in a 15.4-inch gaming system it should be near, or at, the top of your list.
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Well hey, there’s Lenovo’s rumored IdeaPad G Series on the company’s Malaysian website as of this afternoon. It’s not a netbook after all, but a cheap, nice-looking laptop. Specs for the G400 are slightly less great than what we’ve heard, but they’re not bad: 1.86GHz T2390 Core 2 Duo with X3100 integrated graphics driving a 14.1-inch display, 160GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, a dual-layer burner, and b/g WiFi — no n, apparently. Pricing is listed at just RM1,999 ($631), so if this thing ever makes it to the States it’ll probably make that Eee 1000 decision just a little harder, no?
