M17xR3 First Impression

I hate to talk about FLEX...but i guess loosing out on the Magnesium chassis might have made it more prone to FLEX but i am not 100% sure what materials the R3 is composed off...but that flex man is like a hot piece of GYMNAST and i would love that in a women but i prefer my laptops FLEX_FREE

 

The keyboard is dipping right where the RAM sticks are:

M17xR3 - HyperX | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Why is there no backplate behind the keyboard to help keep it stable. My $300 gateway POS has one.

 

im only guessing here but perhaps the reason for the flex is AW had to make everything user accessible. im sure its easier to make something stronger if you didnt have to think about that. The border around the keyboard is a classic case. would not need a border on a normal laptop

 

Drake- After seeing your keyboard flex, I tried pushing hard on my Ins. 9300 and my keyboard doesn't flex at all. The amount of flex is troubling. Yes it may not effect typing, but it does seem excessive.

 

That keyboard flex is unseen before in a Dell machine at least not to that extend. I hope they fix that.

Mandrake, did you start trying to OC the PC?

 

mandrake, your flex seems to be way worse then mine. from your video, it seems that when you are pressing down on the left ALT button, it moves by more then 5mm. mine only has a flex of 2-3mm and the keyboard cover, only flexed by 1-2mm. not as bad as yours...

@ DR J, how about yours? does your flex as much as mandrake's?

 

Where is his video?

Edit: Just saw it on his first post. Yes, pretty close to his but cannot imagine a normal reason I'd push down so hard on the keys and why everyone is so upset over this? My XPS 16 depresses about 1/2 as much with a hard plastic border, fyi.

 

in mandrakes first post on this thread

 

Just the memory so far.

 

Yes, right above the memory. I don't plan on attempting to fix something that is a non-issue for me. I know others will have fun trying to.

 

General keyboard flex answer for all the other comments/questions:

If this is the type of thing you know will bother you then don't bother buying it. Same reason why I don't buy notebooks with chiclet keyboards. The last one I owned (Asus G73) affected the usability of the system for me so now I stay away.

Any other video requests? (I would do a reenactment of the unboxing if I had a hot (^female) model playing the part of me)

 

LOL, I don't really have any video requests but if you have plans to do so it would be nice to have your opinion on thermal pads primarily for the GPU heatsink As long as the flex doesn't affect daily normal typing I'll be fine with it, doesn't mean I won't find a way to fix it though

 

VIDEO REQUEST: HDMI in plz

 

I haven't played with the gpu yet. I will if I end up testing the 5870 in this system.

Anything specifically?

 

An Xbox 360 or a PS3 would be nice,

 

And try to output 1080p only and see if it's accepted from the hdmi in, so far i have only seen 720p accepted plus can you get audio through hdmi in to be used on the laptop speakers? and worthy lag between display and input?

 

With your system... I would luv to see the full power up cycle in video to reference startup since you have the SSD, RAM, etc and a timer running next to it. Though I guess there are programs to time that, but would luv to see it. It would give the presence of seeing the light sequence vs startup. The wait for mine is still weeks off and I have to fill the void by badgering you and others for information

 

Flex happens on almost all the newer gaming laptops, ASUS, my Clevo W860CU, I have never tried an M17X R2, and i never plan on buying one, too overpriced. Mandrake hasn't responded on how hard he is pressing down, he could be pressing down with all his strength.

 

Very true, I apologize for implying you did when you didn't. I'm not saying it's acceptable but if you look a bit closer Drake specifically stated he was pushing a lot harder than normal typing to get it to flex like that. A simple aluminum plate SHOULD fix that issue. If it is brought to light that it's an issue it's a simple fix to implement a small aluminum plate over the ram slot on AW's part just like the M15x has over it's RAM. Is it an issue? Yes. Is it an issue that should stop someone from buying it by itself? No. Aside from the keyboard flex there has been no solid proof to poor build quality at all, only time will tell.

 

In the FAQ thread, someone states that the bottom cover feels cheap and thin. My guess is it's the same crappy type of plastic Acer would use for theirs... Iono, I'm willing to wait. If it doesn't give me problems, then consider yourself lucky, Mr. Dell.

 

My M15x has plenty of flex. So much so that I shimmed the lower right corner with post-its (for adjustability). Is it annoying without the shim, sometimes, but I care more about the ability to play games maxed out then some flex in a keyboard. I actually use an external keyboard anyway, unless I'm on the go. So to me this is a moot point and something that have plagued previous Alienware's before they became "asusware", "acerware", etc.... jeez some of you guys are ridiculous. Mandrake even stated, it does not effect the typing experience. Until you experience it for yourself, and decide that its worthy of this (overblown) reaction, chill out

 

Guys we've gone way to OT here, this is Mandrake's thread, if we want to discuss this let's do it over in the Owners Lounge.

 

I am sure we can work a little harder on derailing this thread.

Personally I like the price point of the product. and am glad I have an opportunity to acquire a system with the lighted full size tactile keyboard, with second generation I7 CPU, and reasonably well accelerated graphics, both variants to 3D, 120Hz screen, dual cooling fans, the potential for user upgradeable GPU, 12 months interest free financing, not to mention the HDMI input, HDMI 1.4 out, VGA and a mini port that will allow DVI, dual USB3, eSATA, Dual SATA3 with the ability to RAID them, and over-clocking memory vs. other machines that have … oh well, a much shorter list. And yes, it could have a 485 for a lot more money, or a 470 or AMD whatever for little more money, but this is what is available. And by the time the newer 485 is fully out there, a new GPU die will be cast needing less power and much faster right on the heels of the vaporware GPU’s people are wishing for now.

If any of you are not happy with the product, the beauty is you don't have to buy it. And if you wish to complain about something that is not going to be changed here, then I am sure there are forums just for that purpose - perhaps even on nbr.

Personally, I prefer the discussions in this thread to be about the actual experiences. If there is an issue with the product point it out and move on. Dragging the rest of us down waiting for a perfect system is not helping the information exchange here for those of us still looking forward to getting the system.

 

****Best post award****

Hint-hint, nudge-nudge, wink-wink.

 

All of the sudden there is about four pages talking about flex. I stopped after the first couple. I'm not going to read through all of them so I apologize if I miss a request.

 

to get that amount of flex, mandrake had to be pressing down on the keys very hard. on my R3, for me to get any noticable flex, i have to apply around 3-4kg of pressure with my index finger. im sure mandrake was apply much more force then i did.

as i have mentioned before on the FAQ thread, if you go about your business and type as you normally do, there is NO flex in the keyboard structure. the only thing moving would be the individual keys itself.

so unless you have the fingers of a gorilla, you wont be able to get any flex off the keyboard under normal usage.

if you guys are areally that particular about the keyboard flex, go to a dell shop that has the R3 display set and test it out yourself.

 

if i remember correctly, someone said that wal-mart or best buy sells alienware as well?

granted, the US is huge, but surely there are places to get a hands on for the R3.

 

I wouldn't expect them to have a r3 for a while. Often other manufacturers that have a BB presence let folks buy their full price, fully specc'd computers before releasing an option to brick and mortar retailers.

 

Another M17xR3 video coming soon....


Another M17xR3 video produced. by Mandrake Photography, on Flickr

 

Planning on doing a modeling shoot with your M17X R3?

 

Hey Mandrake, at first glance, if you could change 3 things about the M17xR3 (not including specs) what would they be?

 

Interesting question.

1) Some of the plastics around the lights on the front and around the keyboard are a bit cheap. Would be nice if it were something more solid.

2) The rubber palm rest feels cool but it attracts a lot of finger prints.

3) I wish they had the old skull cap lid versus this new style.

 

Thanks for answering the question Drake, that's my wife that's trying to learn more on notebooks and be more active on the forum.

 

No problem.

 

Drake do you think the palm area will wear through the rubber over time with extended use?

 

Yes. How bad it will look is still do be determined.

 

Mandrake, I tried to replicate the flex around the windows key and I couldn't. Is it possible that when you removed the keyboard to install the memory module you didn't slide the tabs completely underneath the metal retainer when you reinstalled the keyboard?

 

No, I saw exactly where the tabs go.

The view point was on the same level of the keyboard which probably made it look worse than it is.

 

so if you are legally blind in 1 eye and even with corrective lenses u can basically see nothing but a big blur out of one eye can u even see 3d stuff right if only one of ur eyes works?

 

My brother in law can't see 3D and he can see from both eyes. It's not for everyone. If you only have one eye working it won't work for you.

 

And it's not for anyone with a stigmatism. It makes me extremely sick/dizzy after 20-30 min usage. I also hallucinate various coloured dots for another 30min after usage. You can place the glasses over prescription glasses, however if you have any type of eye condition, it will probably not work or have side-effects I'm experiencing.

3D looks pretty, but it's not worth vomiting over In a few more years when glasses are no longer required, it'll probably be an enjoyable experience for everyone. It's also important to note that the active nVidia glasses will make your surroundings darker (by about 30-40%) in a well lit room (at least they did for me).

 

Still coming or did I miss it?

 

Oh god. Thank you so much for commenting on this! I would've bought the 3D package, but remembered that when I went to bb and put the glasses over my eyeglasses, I got a headache, and the 3D wasnt working anyhow. Also, it wasnt very comfortable, as those 3D glasses arent like goggles, so they don't fit properly over my eyeglasses. Also, I have astigmatism, so thank you thank you!

 

@Mandrake -- Thanks for sharing your experiences with the R3. It's a great help to those considering an R3 purchase and the configuration options. That keyboard flex is worrisome, if only because so out of character for a notebook of this class.

 

Go see a 3D movie, if you watch a few of them and still feel sick then this won't be for you.

I see 3D movies ALL the time, have astigmatism, and have no issues. It's up to the user.

Note: After about 15-20 minutes the 3D effect wears off and you don't really notice it is in 3D anymore as your brain adjusts to the images hitting you, happens to most people

 

The program I'm using to upload it cut it and left out the audio. I need to fix it.

 

i allready saw your video drake, u have a new subscriber u know

 

YouTube - Alienware M17xR3 - GPU replacement(1/2)

 

The last two and a half minutes is becoming an issue. Darn youtube and there 15 minute limit.

 

does the second one will be up by tonight?