Alienware Material Rubber?

I looked at a Alienware m17x today and noticed the rubber material around the keyboard and touch mouse is crap! It was at a compusa and it had so many finger prints and even nails rubbed into it. I tried sliding my nail across a little and the mark just stayed there! if you try to clean it with anything that his lint on it your going to have a problem. Even if was brand new after using it for so long your going to end up having your nail rub across or lint stuck on it.

I love alienware and I want one. I been reading the forums here for about a month now and I seen no one say anything about this. Why is this? Can someone please tell me some input about this. Even my girlfriend thought what utter crap material it was and even on the Asus Republic gamer laptop was like that!

 

I have some carbon fiber on my palm rest to protect both the screen and the palm rest from hand oils and wear and tear and its working pretty well so far. I have had it on here for a few months now. Maybe this would help with what your experiencing even though My system doesn't show finger prints that badly.

 

I've never had any issues with the rubber material on my laptop. Unless you don't clip your nails regularly and I guess if you use the tip to the top part of your finger instead of the bottom part when you touch things, then I guess you may run into the chance of scratching your system. I guess you haven't read much about it because not many people have run into this problem.

You gotta also take into fact that a display model is probably getting touched by random people hundreds of times a day. Since it is a display model, people wont be taking as much care with it as they would their own. Also, some people are just jerks and probably try and screw up the system on purpose.

As for cleaning, just use a lint free cloth. I use one for just about everything, especially my electronics (laptop, flat screens, PS3/XBox) and my car. I don't know too many people that use non lint free cloths anymore.

 

i clean it with normal alcohol and there´s no problem, try it

 

Well see it's a problem since my palms seem to sweat a little after typing for so long. I will also be munching on something especially upcoming Diablo 3. So it will be oil based and would stick/show on there pretty easy even when being extra careful. Please don't lecture me about eating with a laptop. I'm sure lots of people do and eating something oily won't come off with a few wipes of a napkin. T.T

Is there a carbon base or different kind of material mod for it? Looking for the hard plastic solid easy clean up feel.

 

Well, i game a lot on my M17x R3. 200 +hrs on Bf3, 180+ on MW3, 90+ on BFBC2 and 100+ on Black Ops. Ive also spent i good deal of my life in Skyrim, Mass effect 1, 2 and 3. Dues Ex HR, Boarderlands, Football anager 2012 and GTA IV. Not forgeting Crysis 1 and 2. Arkham City, Arkham asylum, LA Noire, Alan Wake, Portal 1 and 2......And many, many more.

Above are just some of the games ive completed on my Laptop since i bought it in June 2011 and my palm rest/ keyboard area is FLAWLESS.....Not a mark, not a scrath and barely any finger prints. I clean, maybe, once a month, tops.

Oh, i also munch food while gaming.

Hope that answers your question.

 

It's not really going to matter what type of material it's made of. Sweat, food, oils, ect. are going to show up on anything. Just keep a spare micro fiber cloth or something similar next to your laptop and just wipe it off when needed. I eat while gaming, but I'm extra careful and do my best to keep my hands clean before placing them back on my laptop. The sweat doesn't really show too much, but as I said, just wipe off when needed.

 

I am glad the M18x does not have this coating on the exterior, but the "Soft Touch" finish on the palmrest has never given me any trouble. It does show fingerprints and body oil, but any type of surface will show that. I think it shows less on this than it does on a glossy surface.

I suspect that any laptop display model that you would look at is potentially going to look much worse than one you would own, simply because of people doing stupid stuff to it. Honestly, it's a very nice finish. Nothing to worry about. It's easy to clean and holds up well.

 

If you treat is like a $2k laptop then you shouldn't have a problem

The finish can be a bit annoying but I prefer this finish over the many cheap and nasty plastic finishes on almost every laptop out right now.

 

Here is what I have on my palm rest and it does a great job so far. Not hard to apply either. The hardest part is trying to find the right stuff.

 

No, I don't eat with my laptop...never have. My wife did until she spilled a cola on her laptop, now she doesn't do it anymore. You shouldn't really get into the habit of telling people what to do and not do on a public forum, either. If you're thin-skinned, that's a problem you're going to have to work on.

Just clean it periodically if appearance is your worry, but really, it's a tool, so the only way its going to stay 100% clean is if you either don't use it or if you go OCD on it and clean it every five minutes while using. Honestly, it isn't as big a deal as you're making it out to be.

 

Where you do get that stuff?

 

i just need to watch out since i'm wearing a watch on my left wrist, taking it off when planning to be on the laptop for quite some time. other then that no problems noted here and not a single scratch on it for over 2 years

 

Yikes... I agree... watches and laptops are a bad combo. I quit wearing watches because of accidentally scratching things, including my laptops. (Watch bands can also be pretty rough on fine furniture and will quickly destroy any painted surface.) With the prevalence of cell phones and smart phones, (and the Windows System Tray clock,) I find I never need a watch to know what time it is.

 

got it from another member here on NBR, and then cut it to fit how I wanted it. Not sure where you can carbon fiber from locally though. A auto detailer maybe?

 

dude, i have a watch on too...and after 6 months, i don't have a scratch on my laptop

i actually like the rubber material...very easy to clean

 

OP, anything you touch with a dirty hand will get dirty. I think all of us do eat and drink while using our laptops. One thing that help is I always have a wet wipes and a tissue box on my table. The rubber finish feels really good and the unit really look solid with it.

 

I suppose you guys are right. I only seen it for about 15 minutes and it looked liked a nightmare into the wrong hands. Although I dealt with this kind of rubber material on a droid case phone for a year and considering you grab it and mix in with stuff in your pocket sometimes it will get messed up. I will probably do what GTRagnarok did there. It's not to hard to get your hands on carbon fiber.Very clean setup. They sell that on amazon or google.

@unixfool I only said that because I'm getting old and I'm not here about lecturing. I want experiences/solutions

 

The only problem I have with mine, is that the touch pad and the keys are worn and shiny. But given that we play games a lot, its going to happen. After a while I will just buy a new keyboard and touch pad assembly.

 

Normal wear is pretty much unavoidable with the keyboard and touchpad if you use them all the time. I have other laptops with the letters totally worn off the keys and touchpad surface polished to a glossy finish from normal wear.

I always use an external mouse. Since I don't use the touchpad often, I turn it off. I have a black microfiber cloth that I lay across the palmrest below the keyboard. I rest my forearms on the cloth and that seems to keep it looking nice and new after months of heavy use.