Alienware M14X for a College Student

Hi, I'm currently a college student in the US and I'm about to finish my freshman year. The M14X seems perfect for me spec-wise but I'm just a bit worried about its weight. I'm about 5"6, 120lbs and I don't lift weights so I'm not strong. Is this M14X too heavy to bring to class every day? AI've been deciding between this laptop and the Vaio S 13," and the thing that the Vaio S doesn't have is a good graphics processor for gaming. I plan to get a laptop for medium-level gaming (BF3, SCII, Skyrim, Crysis, etc.), creating music (Sibelius and Ableton Live), some light movie watching (netflix) and some other college stuff (essays, internet browsing, etc.) The thing that captivates me the most about this alienware laptop is the uber cool customizable lights, the graphics processor (pretty powerful compared to other 14" or below laptops), and the standard i7 processor.

To clarify, my questions are:
1) As a college student who won't carry many if at all any books to class (maybe 1 or 2 notebooks), do you think this will be a pain in the back to carry every day?
2) How good is the alienware brand? Are alienwares reliable? ie. will they breakdown after a year? are they known to be faulty?
3) Is this laptop good for multitasking/can it handle multitasking without noticeable slowdown?

Thanks. And Also I've never bought a laptop before

 

I think the weight will be fine. Just use a laptop backpack and it'll feel like you're carrying feathers. I carried a huge G73 with me which weighs alot more than the M14X every single day and it was very easy to carry. Just make sure you use a backpack and not an over-the-shoulder bag or else you'll notice it.

As for the games you listed, it will run them all perfectly fine.

I also create music (Drum & Bass, Nu-Jazz and Deep House) which is one of the top reasons I'm going with the M14X (as well as next-day warranty, which means you'll have 0 downtime as a student, which is very, very important).

Just to give you an idea of how important Alienware's warranty is, my Asus died during my Fall 2010 semester and it spent 6 weeks at the repair center. If I would of had an Alienware, the problem would of been fixed in 24 hours.

If you can afford it, opt for the 2 or 3 years of warranty. Not only does extended warranty cover you incase anything happens, but it increases resale value by a significant amount if you were to replace your laptop in the future.

The stock specs gives you enough juice to multitask perfectly fine (such as alt/tabbing from SC2 into FL Studio for example).

Edit: As a student (and music software user), you will need more screen real-estate to work with, so make sure you upgrade the screen to 1600x900 Wireless Card upgrade also isn't a bad idea since it increases range and speed.

 

^ What he said.

Alienware has kick warranty, beats pretty much everybody. Definitely go with extra warranty.

Spec wise, it will kick the but of pretty much any other laptop you're considering, unless you want to go 15in. This laptop will eat multitasking with ease, and should handle all your games with ease.

I'm around your size (give or take 2 inch and 20lb) and I've hefted around a 15in, and it isn't bad. You should be fine, regardless if you lift or not. Just get a good backpack to distribute the weight, and it won't be any heavier than a textbook(most of which weigh more/same as the m14x)

 

I'm almost exactly your size. I'm 5'6'' and 125 lbs, but I'm a wrestler and have to maintain my weight to stay in my weight class.

Almost every textbook is 5lbs+, so the M14X will be the weight of just another book. I always keep a 15 inch laptop (6lb sony NW from 09), 2-5 textbooks, a couple notebooks, and other random junk in my Swiss Gear backpack. I weighed my backpack the other day and it weighed in at 35 lbs and it still didn't really feel very heavy. My backpack only really feels heavy when I overpack it with 5+ textbooks, and even then it's still manageable (though a bit uncomfortable).

I guess it's all relative to each person, but for me, the M14X would be like just another textbook in the bag. If all your carrying is a notebook and less than two textbooks, keeping the M14X in your bag shouldn't be a problem at all. And even if it is, think of it as training .

 

For some reason 5'6" and 120lbs seems really skinny to me for your height lol i'm 6'4" 210lbs (yes I know im taller.. but 100lbs is alot for 10" difference)

Anyway point being. I honestly think it doesn't matter how tall you are or what you weigh. It will just come down to what kind of shape you are in. Even if you are in bad shape you will get in better shape fast with "extra" weight.

Like someone else mentioned. Most of your books are going to weigh around the same as a M14x if not more in some cases. I didn't notice the difference carrying around my 13" laptop vs 15" laptop vs my old 16" laptop. If you are lucky enough to have a semester in which you only have to carry 1 book (digital copy reducing your physical book needs) your laptop will feel like a feather in your bag haha.

Just my opinion.. keep in mind that if you go with a lighter notebook than the M14x you wont get the same hardware or quality. I had an M11x and it bugged me nonstop that the screen was so poor, I could see every pixel etc..

 

Yea thats why I plan on getting an m14x. Raw power that is more portable than the m15x lol. The only reason I didn't buy the m15x was because it weighed like 10lbs by itself.

 

after you order go out and get a 10 lb dumb bell and start doing curls while you wait for it to come in haha. =] im 5'2 myself and waiting on this laptop.

 

I'm 5'7", 140, and I was bringing an 9lbs M17x to college for a year. It was a little on the heavy side, but nothing that stopped me walking the forty-five minutes to college, not by any means. The M14x will be fine.

 

1. I carry my m15x around everywhere on campus and dont have a problem with weight. Its a large campus so walking alot is a must. The m14x is much lighter and should be fine to carry around each day.

2. From what I have read they are very reliable. Only had Alienware systems for about 8 months and never had a issue with any of them. Build quality is above average.

3. Yes, Alienware is Dells high end systems. They tend to try and pack as much power in them as possible!!

Honestly the m14x should suit you for many years.

 

wth? did you live 5 miles off campus??? lol

was it up-hill both ways?

 

Yeah.. Sounds like you should have invested more money in an apartment than a notebook LOL

 

ROFL


/10char

 

3 miles, actually.

I don't know about you lot, but I don't mind a little walking. Would I invest the equivilent of $1,000 a month to save me a few minutes walk? No.

 

If it was 5 more miles you would have a movie.

 

^I see what you did there revdiesel *golf clap* and i liked it. Ha!