buy an M14x for everything But Gaming?

I'm thinking of using it almost exclusively for business and every day use (running a bit of everything).

Spec wise I'm sold but I'm wondering about the overall use and value?

I currently have an envy14 radiance but I'm not too happy with the keyboard and the trackpad is relatively but the screen and audio is great.
I need performance and my i5's been unable to keep up in some cases, so I'm looking to upgrade, now... I was leaning on the ThinkPad T420 with the keyboard, portability and battery life but then again the M14x makes up for the screen, backlit keys and performance (afik)... I'm genuinely on the fence here

insight would be great.

 

XPS 14z maybe? Drop in a SSD and you have a very portable fast machine.

 

Well if you're using it for anything but gaming, there's a lot in the m14x that you don't need. It's like buying a Hummer to do groceries IMO. I would suggest getting the Lenovo x220. Maybe I'm biased because I want that laptop, but it's amazing. Great for business, But the T420 is also good. Don't get me wrong the m14x is a good value, but you wouldn't be taking advantage of most of what it has to offer. Maybe you're just lusting for an alienware. But if you want it, it's a pretty great machine.

 

I'd love an alienware M14x for work! but only to show off. its not a great business machine! for a start the battery wouldnt last you through a 4 hour meeting!

The T420 is tat, we have them at work. craply built. Not a fan of the x series either. i'd go with the Dell XPS 15 or 15z. Although the XPS 17 is what dad just bought. same specs as my alienware, including backlit keyboard, and cost him £765 after discounts. a bargain if ever there was one!

 

i got the alienware m14x for everything but gaming.....i love it. i would never go back to another computer. just because of styling, power, portability, and if you are smart, you can optimize batter to almost 5 hours like i have.

 

I'm amazed at how different all of our identical builds can be... I get 6 hours battery without doing anything to save battery (brightness still about medium, AlienFX still on, etc).

 

Full upgraded m14x starts faster and runs faster than 99% of computers (if you have SSD and i7 and everything). It can also wirelessly transmit presentations to compatible televisions/monitors.

But it is heavier than any 14 inch laptop, and the monitor is not as good as it SHOULD be.

But it does have the best sound system of any 14 inch laptop that I have ever seen. It is good enough to actually listen to music and games sometimes (although I still use a headset).

So the weight and size are the issues although the size is still quite small, so mainly the weight.

If you are wealthy/have plenty of money then go for it (but definitely get the SSD for performance in applications like Excel and Word, etc.). But if you are not extremely wealthy then I would pretty much suggest getting something else.

My business partner has a much cheaper 15 (or 15.6) inch Dell Inspiron with an i3 and let me tell you, by the time that thing starts up Windows 7 I have grown a beard.

So to summarize: if you have LOTS OF MONEY LYING AROUND, then go for it if you are willing to handle the weight. The drawbacks are mainly the display which is not good enough for the price, the low battery life, and the weight. But the machine is not heavy and I carry it everyday at least 1.5 to 2 miles with the Orion Messenger Bag that is available from Alienware/Dell website. I would say that this is the best 14 inch laptop currently available but only if you are not wasting your money. Also get a long advanced warranty in case you have some kind of hardware failure.

The battery life is also short so if you cannot use it plugged in most of the time then it will be stupid.

 

I dunno, in a business setting I probably wouldn't be too keen on using an Alienware. It's just not something I would see a respectable business user using on a daily basis. There are some nice Samsung, LG, and Asus variants that are also much better in the battery life, weight, and appearance (business) departments.

 

yea alienware seems a bit flashy for business, but I guess it really depends on the environment its being used in.

 

I am using my fully upgraded m14x as my only laptop so it is traveling with me everywhere for business as well, but I also use it for gaming when I have time like at night. However, if I were just buying a laptop for business I would not have bought this laptop. But since I knew I would have some freetime on this trip I wanted to be able to play games as well so this is my new all-around game/work/whatever computer aside from desktop. In this scenario, the Alienware m14x makes perfect sense. But not really in a scenario where I would only want it for gaming or only want it for business. If I wanted a strict gaming laptop, m17x or m18x is the way to go. If I wanted a strict business laptop but wanted it to be fast, I could just find a laptop with an i5 or i7 processor, an SSD, and thats about it.

 

I'd put the 14z on my short list as well as long as you get the step up from the base unit. For some dumb reason Dell decided that an integrated GPU is a good idea (intel 3000) instead of the 525.

 

well it would use more battery and give off a lot more heat. I've heard that thing already gets pretty hot

 

You can also take a look at ultra books from Asus/Sony/Samsung.

If Sony is able to fit a FHD screen in a 13 inch laptop how come Dell cant? XPS 14z is kinda lacking a better screen, Dell should at least offer 900p for that thing.

 

I don't really plan to game much on mine... I have a bit extreme desktop for that purpose.

I wanted something portable yet powerful enough to where I wasn't compromising anything. I needed it to run Windows, and I wanted something with an excellent build quality.

I considered Ultrabooks, though I felt they were too expensive for the performance they offered.

I went with a m14x with i7 and 1.5gb vid card. Don't pay for the Dell SSD, it is SATA2 and extremely overpriced. Don't pay for Dell ram either.

I was able to snag an OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD on Newegg for about $140 w/ rebate. This thing is blazing fast and works at 6Gbps speeds right out of the box on my m14x. I ended up reinstalling windows 7 on it to avoid any conflicts.

I replaced the stock ram with 8GB Kingston HyperX plug-n-play ram, and replaced the optical DVD drive with the stock 7200rpm 500gb hard drive.

Now I've got plenty of storage, a ridiculously fast machine, plenty of ram in a portable package without breaking the bank. Gaming, business, taking notes, looking at pr0n, it will do whatever you want and it will do it well. This is a solid machine.

Cost?
m14x $1100 incl tax shipped
Memory $70
SSD $140
= $1,310.00

*Much* cheaper than many of the other options out there which don't perform nearly as well. Just my 2 cents.

 

nice setup you got there If he wants the M14x I second this setup. only thing I would miss would be the optical drive

 

I keep a slim external dvd drive in my laptop bag for occasions when I need to load a DVD... That way, I don't lose functionality and still get my fast SSD plus 500GB of storage.

 

ah that works I suppose, I gotta get around to getting an SSD one of these days, My buddy has an older SATA ll SSD in his XPS 15 and its still blazing fast

 

Thank you everyone for your input!
there seems to be mixed reviews all throughout but I've been able to gain some insight on the laptop...

I began considering the m14x since I'd be able to get it for ~$950 with the recent 25% off dell had + dell gift card promo -- and that's all the specs I'd need in a laptop, but I'm just undecided about the portability and battery life... i got an 128gb m4 installed in my envy (removed the slot load drive) and I plan to do the same for the M14x, or any laptop I get for that matter...

The 14" setup would work best for me (imo) and I've considered the 14z but It didn't have the 900p res. and the build quality doesn't seem to be all that great from what I've read... the problem is that the 900p screen is becoming rarer (for some reason) even though everyone's going the "HD" route.

might pull the trigger but I'd like the option of changing my mind if it comes down to it...how lenient is dell on their restocking fee?

 

I could recommend this laptop for use in business, as I am doing so as well. Although I am using the laptop for mostly for programming/reporting little games on the side.

The reason why I got this laptop is that at the time it was one of the best bang of buck laptops with a decent i7/gpu/keyboard combination. I would say for sure keep the DVD slot drive as clients who send physical data do sometimes send as DVD's.

 

I agree with your statement but the XPS has always been Dell's answer to Alienware, Envy, Quasimo, and the like. Since Dell bought AW it makes sense the XPS takes a back seat but not the huge step from an nVidia 5 series to a frickin' Intel 3000.

 

The XPS got scaled back when dell bought AW. They are now more of the mid/upper range instead of being the performance flag ship models. Alienware is now performance king

 

Even If I don't plan on gaming I always buy a Gaming Spec machine. Old habits are hard to shake