Alienware M17x r4 or Clevo P170EM

Hey guys

I'm just about to place an order for an AW M17x R4 or a Clevo P170EM.

I spec'd the AW with a 680m, dual 256GB SSD, 8GB ram and 3610Q

It comes out to $2335 plus $200 for shipping and tax.

I'm considering this over a similar Clevo P170EM for the same $$$.

I don't know anything about Alienware, and I would really appreciate it if you fine gents could please give me a very quick and very brief run down of everything I should expect if I were to place an order for the AW.

All Pro's and Con's with this system please.

i.e. Crap build quality, poor keyboard, poor screen, instability, upgradeabilit....whatever, anything you feel is important to know for someone thinking of buying one of these.

Also, if you had the chance would you go for the AW again or something else like the Clevo?

Quick responses would be appreciated as I need to place the order very very soon (like in 4 hours)

Thank you!

 

Alienware has the best warranty out of any laptop company. The build quality is above average. You can still get defects, but they are good about fixing them (make sure you contact the right tech support for your region. There are threads on this.)

Alienware has a great presence on this forum, both from users and the company. Look in the main AW forum for a sales thread. They will call you, and get you all the discounts possible. It's way worth it, i went this way on my last order and they saved me quite a bit over the website. Link to thread.

I've had 5 AW laptops in the last two years. I love them, and have had very few problems. I blew a speaker on my second one, they came to my house and fixed it within two days, was awesome.

 

honestly it also depends on which reseller you are buying your clevo from (also if it is a sager or not) certain resellers have excellent customer support and very good reputation (like xoticpc) while other clevo resellers are poor in these fields. Dell customer service is good in that is has on site technical help available, however there I have found that their customer support agents by phone are absolutely horrible and treat you more of an annoyance than a customer, the same could not be said about their online tech support, as they are actually quite nice and good. I have never used it but I have also heard dell depots service is horrible, as well.

keyboard to alienware does have some flex, but it is not that big of a deal, not noticeable in gaming.

I would probably by alienware again, only because i have had no problems yet on this computer.

Also with alienware, if you want to avoid sales tax, you might want to check out xotic pc's website and call them, they have started selling alienware laptops (only charge sales tax if you live in Nebraska).

 

Unfortunately I wouldn't benefit from the warranty as I live in a region where AW isn't sold. I was looking for a rock solid system with quiet operation.

 

had the same dilemma, went with AW in the end. If you are spending that sort of money you want something that looks the part. It was only slightly more money and is worth it. Warranty is great, built quality and materials are first class. Im very happy (apart from the usb 3.0 issue with my external hard drive)

 

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

As I do more research I am beginning to get particularly concerned with two points

1. Apparently the fans are atrociously loud with load. Can anyone confirm this? And can anyone provide dicbel ratings on idle/load? i.e. is it in the 50's? 60's? more?

2. Apparently the LCD display is terrible, using 2 lamps to light instead of one, and doesnt produce rich or vivid colours. I got this from a review on the M17x, but not the M17x r4. Can anyone confirm if the screen has been upgraded/still suffers from this issue?

3. Dell has an "anti-glare" screen guard as one of the accessory options at $35. Is this worth it? Does it effectively turn the display into a Matte screen?

4. Finally, does the 7970 or 680 perform better? should I ditch the 680 for a 7970m and save the $$$ or use it on upgrading to the 120hz screen?

Thank you!

 

1. the fans don't bother me.. these speakers are pretty loud with the soundblaster chip.. and there's always headphones

2. 1080p 120Hz screen is great!

3. the glare is not that bad.. the matte screen cover works.. but you might feel the urge to just take it off.. that's what happened with my m11x R2.. lol

4. if you don't want 3d, go with the 7970... if you want 3d.. then 680m.. FYI: if you get the 3d setup.. the rig will only run on the nvidia card all the time.. no switching with optimus to intel gpu.

as for the memory and ssd, i'd recommend getting them elsewhere online.. dell overcharges an arm and a leg for those

 

Thanks, i went and checked out an M17x today in the mall and i didn't like it at all. It looked and felt really cheap, the keyboard sucked and the screen was way too reflective and not bright enough. I used HWmonitor (sneakily installed it in the shop) to push the fans to max and the sound coming out was incredible. I measured it on my iphone in a quiet room which they let me use, and it was about 64dB.

Overall, didnt like the AW at all so it looks like i'll be going with a Clevo or maybe Samsung instead.

 

How did you get on with this btw? Any update? Ive owned an M17x and am now plumping for the Clevo. It came to £600 cheaper in the UK via Pc specialist. (same if not better spec)

 

Cheap is probably the only word i would never use to describe the look and feel of an Alienware laptop.

Me thinks you never wanted an Alienware in the first place. When would you ever sit in a quiet room with fans on max, may i ask? Usually, fans on max your going to have an application running like, i dont know, a game? Never, have i ever thought to myself,whilst gaming, "oh, i can hear the fans". Never.

Please expand on why the keyboard sucked too?

 

Ive also to add that M17X is no way to be given description as cheap and that it sucks on the keyboard, my opinion keyboard is one of the best I ever touched, and fans should never bother anyone at all, especially - youre gaming you wont think of anything bar the action in the screen, and else if gaming noise is trouble for you - you better of go with desktop and run under full water setup.

 

The M17x has 2 heat pipes on the CPU and 3 on the GPU if im not mistaken. I think that Clevo only has 2 on each.

 

There is no way you can call an AW cheap looking and not say the same thing about a Sager or MSI. I have been contemplating getting an NP9170 and selling my M17xR4. But I cannot get over how generic the Sager is.

The build quality on the R4 is awesome, the keyboard is great and the touch pad is outstanding in my opinion. I just wish they made a matte screen.

If only they would make the RGB Led screen in a matte finish with 3d capability. C'mon AW, make it happen!! This way I wouldn't even be thinking about getting a different laptop.

Seriously though, fan noise has never been an issue for me. I had an R2 before this and the fan noise is fine. Any gaming laptop is going to have significant fan noise to keep the CPU and GPU cool.

This OP sounds like a troll btw.

 

LOL, if someone thinks that AW laptops looks cheap they have right to think so.
You sound like troll, not OP.

I'm not happy with AW look too. They look like angry children gaming centers and if you ever go to your work with it, others might think all you do is gaming...

Clevo can easily be used everywhere and no one will think you are carrying 4k $ laptop or something similar lol. Less chance to get robbed! xD It doesnt stand out that much with all those useles lights as if i buy laptop for light show.

 

Once you go dark, the laptop looks as professional as any other that I have seen so I have no problems using it in a professional setting.
The machine might just be too big for a presentation room

 

I have to second this post. Exactly how would you describe any Alienware as "cheap"?

My R2 is about the most impressive piece of hardware I've ever used. It feels like a truck could hit it and break the truck.

 

Never said he had no right to think its cheap. I was simply countering his argument, which is fair.

To me, he comes on here drawing comparisons asking which he should by but has nothing but cons for the Alienware, Which is fine, but leads me to believe his mind was made up before he came here. Which is also fine, by me.
And i do take mine to work, and as it happens, people do think all i do is game, because that what i do, on my gaming laptop, built for gaming, play games.

And a bit of a contradiction going on here, if it looks "cheap" why will you have more chance of getting robbed? Would have thought you'd have less chance.

Anyway, each to there own, Clevo is a terrible brand, awful laptop and you have wasted your money, so ner.

Just to clarify, before i get a barrage of abuse, the last part was a joke, im sure Clevo is an amazing Brand of Laptop:thumbsup:

 

Not to mention using HWInfo to set fanspeed on the Alienwares turns up BOTH fans to max, something you are extremely unlikely to encounter in real use. The GPU fan is much louder than the CPU fan... To each his own.