M17xR3 First Impressions and Review-DaneGRClose

Updated: February 22, 2011 @ 8:45pm MST​

*-Most Recent Update-*: Added Basic Low Quality Pictures, More to Come​

*-Initial Impression and Notes-*​

-I feel the media buttons are a major step back, the touch strip above the keyboard on the R2 was actually touch and worked well, now the media buttons on the R3 are actual physical buttons that need to be depressed and for some reason aren't acurately responsive.

-The very first impression I had was at how huge the box was, it was even bigger than I remember the R2 packaging being, the box weighed in at a feathery light 21.50 lbs too lol.

-The red color on this rig is amazing, I didn't personally like the red available on the M15x and M17x R2, but this one is something to see. The color is almost chromatic/prismatic depending on the light you have it under and can change from hues of a metallic burnt orange to metallic blood red depending on the lighting and angle.

-Although it resembles the M11x, the changes in the chassis lines and styling is one I personally like.

-One thing I can tell you for certain after owning both the R2 and R3 is that they are for very different markets. The guys that would go for something like an M15x or Asus G73 would love the R3, the guys that are out for all out dominance and a desktop in semi-portable form are going to want the R2/Classic. They're both great machines with different targets.

-Here a short bit on some generalized 3D info on the rig with my experiences so far:

*-Questions From FAQ Thread-*​

-How does the power jack feel? Is it solid when the power adapter is plugged in?
The power jack is very solid, much more solid than any of my other systems I've had. It's a snug solid fit without being hard to get to go in.

-How do the hinges feel? Do they creak, feel weak/loose, or make any noise when opening/closing?
Very good, no noise, not easy to open but also not extremely hard.

-What is the case made out of? Is it the same or similar to the R2’s alloy casing? (NOTE: Alienware says it's made of solid magnesium coated with a rubberized plastic soft-touch coat.)
It's definitely not a solid metal casing like you find on the m15x or m17xr1/r2 but is very firm. The best way I could describe it is the feel of the m11x in texturing but closer to the firmness and rigidity of the m15x/m17x.

-How does the screen look? Can you compare it to the 1200p RGB screen in the R2?
Viewing angles could be better but they are also nowhere near as bad as a lot of the other machines I've used. Color contrast and vibrance is somewhere between the M15x and M17x(RGB). Brightness is good so far but I have yet to use it in direct sunlight.

-What is your approximate battery life? Please mention whether this is tested battery life or Windows estimated time remaining.
3:24 on power saver at 100% charge, wifi on, alienfx dimmed, and minimum brightness. Not really quite as much of an improvement as what I had hoped when compared to the R2 I had.
*UPDATE 2-8-2011* I was able to squeeze 3:53 minutes out of the battery today with wifi still on but everything else(alienfx, bt, etc) off and brightness at the lowest setting.

-If you are a fast typer, do you notice any keyboard lag or any problems being able to type multiples of the same letter in a row quickly?
No keyboard lag that I've noticed to this point, typing more than 2-3 of the same key in a row may be difficult though as the key throw is a little deeper than most computers+ there is a small amount of flex that increases the throw further.

-How is the trackpad? Is multitouch smooth in terms of scrolling or does it feel choppy/inconsistent and poorly executed?
After owning all of the models in the current AW laptop lineup I can say this is by far the best trackpad I've used on anything Dell or AW has made in the last 1-2 years. It is a smooth finish that glides much easier than the textured finish on most of the other AW's. The response/polling rate is great. I don't use multitouch so I can't really comment on that.

-Does the keyboard flex at any parts? Do the keys feel solid or cheap and flimsy?
The keyboard does flex, I can confirm it doesn't flex as much as Mandrake's video would make it look like, but does feel almost cushioned. The keys themselves feel solid but I do think the rigidity of the keyboard itself in the throw of the keys could be greatly improved. The only area I noticed much flex in is in the region above the left side of the trackpad.

-Do you notice any audio popping while playing music, on Youtube, or in games?
No audio popping or distortion so far. I was hoping for a bit fuller sound coming from them when I saw that they were Klipsch but they aren't nearly as good as the JBL's in the XPS lineup. Still a large improvement on most laptop speakers.

-Do the speakers sound good? Do they have decent bass?
The speakers sound much better than standard speakers but are a far stretch from a good set of headphones. The bass is there but with a set of Z5500's and a set of G35's the bass just can't stand up to the punch put out by other speakers.

-What are temperatures like? Can you post a screenshot of your temps after gaming?
Max temps in game were high 60's, temps under stock clocks are awesome. YTBD under very heavy gaming at high OC's. More to come
*UPDATE 2-9-11* I have had the chance to run quite a few games, some very stressful games, at overclocks of 775/1550/1375 and have yet to break the 60's under any scenario. The overclock only raised the temps by between 0-3 degrees celcius. This is a very cool running card. All of this while on stock paste/pads. I may not even touch the paste pads like I've done on every machine I've owned til now.

-Do the palm rests get unbearably hot during gaming?
No definitely not, I feel little if any change in temps throughout the majority of the outside of the system.

-How loud are the fans? How often do they seem to go to full load?
Typical loud blast at startup but after that they're very quiet for a gaming rig especially from AW. I remember my R1/R2 fans sounding like a jet engine when really warmed up and this is no where near that.

-Is the HDMI input port capable of receiving 3D signals with audio from an external device? Is the HDMI in an HMDI 1.4 port?
No idea, don't have anything external to play in 3D at the moment.

-Do the onboard speakers receive audio from the HDMI in port?
Haven't had a chance to test it yet, more to come later.

-Does the laptop have to be powered on to use HDMI in, or does it work like a tv (on/off button for the monitor only)?
More to come later.

-Are the lighting/LED's arranged the same as the M17x R2 or are they similar to the M11x (M11x only had glowing white around head on lid).
White only on the lid's alien head but the rest is very similar to the R1/R2.

-Any light leakage from the black bezel?
Not from the lcd itself no, I did however notice the Alienware logo at the bottom of the screen bleeds a bit.

-Is the touchpad larger in the R3 than the R2?
Slightly wider from what I remember of my R2, not much difference if any though.

-Is hardware easily accessible for self upgrades through panels? Is it one giant panel like past Alienware models or is it several panels?
Very easy on everything but the ram under the keyboard, one giant panel just like before.

-How heavy is it? How heavy is the power brick?
Not too bad, about the same weight as what my M15x was, definitely a little lighter than the R2 is.

-If you chose the single hdd option, does the R3 still come with a second hdd caddy?
Yes.

-Is the lid a fingerprint magnet?
Only to sweat or oily substances.

-Does the M17x come with all 3 antennas even when ordered without the Intel 6300 3x3 MIMO Wirless Card?
I ordered the 6300...shrug.

-How is the 3D experience? Is it worth it or do you feel its more of a gimmick?
It's awesome, definitely takes some getting used to and isn't something I see using in every game as some are better with the 3D than others but definitely worth it IMO. I've had my wife, son, and father try it and they all thought it was cool too.

-Is the screen big enough to really get a good experience in 3D?
Yes.

-How are your framerates while gaming in 3D?
Framerates seem to hold stable in most games still, I can tell you that a stronger GPU than the 460m would have made the experience even better though. Don't expect to play too many demanding games on high details/resolution and 3D, be prepared to lower your settings a bit.

-Is Optimus is supported on the 3D model?
No and based on what Nvidia and Dell have said recently looks like it probably won't ever be supported in conjunction with 3D or even a 120hz panel

-How is battery life affected when 3D is turned on?
Don't know for certain, pretty sure it would obliterate battery life if it would even run. Looks like this model may be similar to the M15x in having a non-controllable "stealth mode".

-Does Fn+F7 turn off the external graphics card on the 3D model?
No. The "This Does Not Do Anything" popup is good for a laugh though lol.

-Can you run DPC latency checker and post the results?
This part worries me a bit, I don't know if my wireless mouse or modem may have been causing an issue but I did get some spikes. See pic.


-Can you run the HDTune benchmark on your HDD/SSD and post the results?
Not really an HDD/SSD benchmark fan especially on SSD's.

*-Synthetic Benchmarks-*​

3DMark06 - Stock: 12,823


3DMark06 - 10% GPU Overclock: 15,088


3DMark Vantage - Stock: P8307


3DMark Vantage - 10% GPU Overclock: P9055


3DMark11 - Stock: P1708


3DMark11 - 10% Overclock: P1868


WPrime both 32m and 1024m at Stock Settings:


Cinebench R11.5 at Stock:

*-Game Benchmarks(either in game or monitored with fraps, individual settings listed)-*​

-Crysis-
Actual Gameplay, OCed to 800/1600/1500 on all runs

1920x1080 Res, Very High on all, No AA, Non-3D
Min: 8 fps
Max: 20 fps
Ave: 14.87 fps
This run was a joke, looked like a slideshow.

1920x1080 Res, High on all, No AA, Non-3D
Min: 16 fps
Max: 39 fps
Ave: 25.73 fps
This run was actually very playable, probably thanks to motionblur.

1600x900 Res, High on all, No AA, 3D
Min: 9 fps
Max: 43 fps
Ave: 17.05 fps

-Far Cry 2 Game Bench-
Maximum settings on everything.
Min: 18.69 fps
Max: 40.40 fps
Ave: 26.09 fps

-Starcraft 2 Online 1v1-
High, Native Res, Stock Clocks, Non-3D:
Min: 41 fps
Max: 140 fps
Ave: 103.081 fps

High, Native Res, Stock Clocks, 3D Enabled:
Min: 15 fps
Max: 62 fps
Ave: 31.680 fps

-Left 4 Dead 2-
Native Res, 8xMSAA, All Others Maxxed, Non-3D
Min: 16 fps
Max: 91 fps
Ave: 62.255 fps

-Metro 2033-
(This game is ranked 3D ready by Nvidia and looks amazing in 3D even low settings )
Native Res, Very High, DX11, Non-3D
Min: 8 fps
Max: 21 fps
Ave: 13.274 fps

1280x720, Normal, DX11, 3D(I lowered the settings majorly as this game eats desktops alive in 3D)
Min: 12 fps
Max: 49 fps
Ave: 29.427 fps

*-Pictures-*​

Pictures, more synthetic benchmarks, more in game benchmarks, and tutorials on how to replace components and overclock to come.....as always PM me if you have any requests

 

Looks like you and I are getting the same battery life, but I have optimus.
Nice review

 

+1 been looking forward to it, nice review danegrclose!

 

Thanks, Dane. Great to finally see some real benchmarks for the 460M-based R3. At the risk of breaching the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" dictates of the moderators concerning the R3, it would appear that it might benefit from a stronger video option(s). +Rep

 

Nice review!

Btw, for those who want a quick comparison of the graphics, here's my Vantage with 5870m Crossfire disabled, with Core i7 620M and no OC: GPU Score (because that's the point of running Vantage): 7314.

 

Lol...don't blame the mods. I don't think I've ever seen any system, laptop or desktop, that couldn't benefit from stronger graphics. The trick is to balance performance, power, heat, etc., and not burn out the internals in a month...especially when dealing with laptops.

 

Great review Dane!

 

Nice Dane FYI. Your 3D Mark06 should be 14K base

 

I don't think it's 14k I believe others were getting high 13s out of the box with a 2720 and he has a 2630

Great review too ! I have to ask just about 1 thing. I'm surprised to hear you don't like the media keys at the top vs the old glass touch sensitive. The old one was laggy and a fingerprint magnet and you had no way to know if you hit the button or not or touched the right area. The new one at least has a click to it and is separated so you can feel which button you are pressing. Just felt like disagreeing with you there hope you don't mind

 

true, it should be around high 13k to low 14k.
there should no be that much difference due to CPU.

perhaps 3d Vantage will be a better judge as it doesnt really take the CPU into account.

stock 6870 gives P9182 3DMarks for vantage and 14396 3DMarks for 06.

dane, your scores seems to be running abit on the low side... i belive Dr.J got 14K as well on a same specced R3.

 

Hey what are you guys using to monitor cpu gpu temps?

 

Nice review! You were very indepth and specific. Do I get to see you now?

 

you might need to drag him out for wherever he's hiding to do his benchmarking

 

Nice work Dane .. +rep

 

Great review. The DPC test shows some spikes but are not too high at least nothing compared to the R1 which had spikes above 50,000.

 

your missing the most important part, can i see an in depth review of the alienware hat, how does it fit? how is the styling? does it make you look cool? do chicks dig it?

anyways awesome review dane, now time to roast that baby up, hehehe

 

Inap you forgot to ask.. How does the M17R3, hold up in the cold.. ie the freezer or outside in Texas right now, etc... Does the new R3 have shell of cold resistance +5?

Thanks, StevenX

 

^^ lol you remind me of some benchers here like scook had actually brought AW outdoor to bench lol.

Wanna push your lappies to max? Welcome to WI

Great review Dane.

BTW, who cares DPC spikes when S/PDIF is featured

 

Check my sig...

 

The 2720cpu's (with the same GPU) are getting about 300 more points in 3dMark06...

 

Thanks vikingrinn, make sure you keep an eye on the thread as there's quite a bit more that will be coming in the next few days.

You bet Rev, I definitely think the card is strong enough for a while to run nearly every game out at very high settings if you don't have 3D enabled but without 3D you kinda lose one of the main points of the R3, I don't see why they wouldn't have tried out a 470m in here, quite a bit more strength with not much more heat or any other risks I can think of off hand. It will be interesting to see what Nvidia/Dell do to address this as I'm sure there's going to be a very high demand for a stronger GPU.

Thanks unreal25, I think there's a lot of potential for OC in this rig, I know I've played with it a bit last night and today and it seems like there is good enough cooling to make the card run quite a bit stronger. It will never be equal to Xfire 5870 but I think it can definitely run with a single 5870.

Thanks Steven, the system seems to be fine in the cold lol, I don't run freezers I just run straight A/C , I can say it's very cold here so we'll see if it causes any issues anywhere

Yeah I don't see 14k as a correct base stock run, something seems off with 14k with these specs, maybe with a higher CPU. I don't like the media keys because they seem to be hit and miss at actually working once pressed, most of the time I have to push the button 2-3 times to get it to actually do anything. I had nothing but great experiences with the touch strip on my R1/R2 so it's kinda tough to go from touch that works to buttons that don't I don't mind disagreement at all, as long as we don't go flaming it's all just a good old fashioned "to each his own" situation.

I know some of you guys are newer to the benchmarking thing so I'll tell you this, 06 is a CPU heavy bench for total score, Vantage is a GPU heavy bench for total score, 11 is mainly GPU with more CPU than Vantage for total score. I don't know where you found that there shouldn't be 1k points in difference between 2 cpu's but it's very possible. The 6870 is an AMD card which will almost always deliver a stronger showing in synthetic benchmarks but not quite so much in real life like gaming when compared to Nvidia. I realize Dr J. got the 14k, either something is off about his run or he got a freakishly stronger GPU.

HWInfo32 for CPU temps, GPU-z or MSI Afterburner for GPU temps.

Thank you! And no, I refuse to tell you where I'm hiding at

Exactly!!! ^^^ Until benchmark blood spills, there will be no stopping lol

Thanks Quad, you're getting really good at the whole "randomly popping something in various spots of the AW board" thing lol, how ya been? What machine you been using lately?

Thanks, the spikes are a bit concerning but nothing too bad, the R1 was a nightmare at times and this one only did it under massive load and only when a audio/video/streaming program was opened. Once the programs were actually running there were no spikes.

Sorry about that inap lol, I have a funny shaped head so trucker style hats don't fit me well, when are they going to finally start making stretch caps? Trust me the roasting begins this weekend

I stay away from outside I just put mine over the A/C I'm sure the winter weather here in UT would work quite well for it though, temps the last couple days have been sub zero with wind chill

Guys something seems off about the 14093 stock score, what settings were you running at Dr. J? Resolution, clocks, Nvidia Control Panel, Etc.

 

Thanks for the review! Just got mine this week also. Looking forward to when you do you OC guide, id like to request you list what OC specs you use for gaming / everyday use (for a decent boost without straining the crap out of it lol).... as I know alot of people OC more than they really should for everyday use (just for benches).

 

DaneGR are you going to return your R3 or will you be fine with a mobo replacement later on?

 

Joebarchuck- So far it's looking like I'll probably keep it and wait for a new mobo/system. Depending on what Intel/Dell say in the next few days, and what the rest of my "assessment" determines with benches and performance it may go back but so far it's looking like a keeper. The only other thing I've found that I don't like is the uncontrollable "stealth mode" crap like they had on the M15x, funny thing is stealth mode gimps the heck out of the GPU but makes the CPU run even faster which is confusing as heck.

MJOzolins- Congrats on the new rig, I've been looking at the options for cpu ocing in the bios for a while now, once I get it all figured out and determine what does what and what the best settings are I'll be sure to post it up(if any ground is made) on the GPU I know very well the difference between a bench OC and daily OC, my 5850 in my M15x could run over 1ghz Core but I never ran it daily lol it was set daily at 750.

 

@Dane -- where is the stealth mode registry keys and now it's time to start digging to see what can be done to "trigger" that cpu speed enhancement without having to cripple the gpu.

Good hunting sir!

StevenX

 

I have no idea on registry settings, if you know where I can find them point me there, let me know what we can do to find and possibly tweak them and I'll be the guinea pig. I don't know much about registry settings so I can test but don't know what to test.

Another note, I updated the original post with more benches in game and synthetic.

 

I've noticed that with the GPU too.
When using AutoCAD/Revit/3DSMax, if I idle for a minute or so to try to figure out what I have to do next in my files, the system totally lags for 3-8 seconds when I try to move cursor again.

This doesn't happen when I run the above programs on sandy graphics.

Side note: 460M seems to do surprisingly well in CAD/BIM for hardware acceleration.

 

@Dane - Can you rerun some benches..? Your card is the 6870 correct? If so, please use the ATI clock tool to set the clocks at standard speed before running the standard 3dmark06 bench again. This way you know for certain, proof positive that you are getting basic benchline. Also, are you sure your machine wasn't in stealth for first 3dmark06 bench? The reason I ask is in your screenshot the multiplier looks really low. Even for idle.

I know the 6870 specialty for graphics is probably dx10 and 11 and not 9 but it's a start. I would also manually set clocks and rerun vantage and 11. Best Wishes, StevenX

 

So Stealth Mode automatically work on itself now?

 

Uh he has the 460m, look at his Sig.

But try to see if the latest version of ts helps.

 

Steven I have the 460m, and I reran it again and still getting the same results.

Yes it does and there's no way to control it at all, the only control you have over it at this point is unplugging or plugging in the power.

Ran 06 again with TS and didn't change the score still looking at the 12.7-12.8k score range.

 

Originally posted by DaneGRClose:
"I know some of you guys are newer to the benchmarking thing so I'll tell you this, 06 is a CPU heavy bench for total score, Vantage is a GPU heavy bench for total score, 11 is mainly GPU with more CPU than Vantage for total score. I don't know where you found that there shouldn't be 1k points in difference between 2 cpu's but it's very possible. The 6870 is an AMD card which will almost always deliver a stronger showing in synthetic benchmarks but not quite so much in real life like gaming when compared to Nvidia. I realize Dr J. got the 14k, either something is off about his run or he got a freakishly stronger GPU."

Hi Dane. I just posted so you know there is something wrong with your baseline score with the 460m and 2630 processor. We have the same systems but you have double the RAM so it should not hurt...

I have two R3 systems and they are both over 14,000 everything baseline on the system and 3DMark06.

I posted a picture of the one in my sig located on my review thread, Dr. J. My two R3 systems are within 20 or so points from each other, fyi. At least one other R3 with OUR system spec's are in the 14K ranges as well in this benchmark. The systems with the 2720 cpu are 300 points higher, in 3DMark06 bench. I hope this helps so you start from the same point as us and perhaps troubleshoot something that will help you later. Thank you for your communications here.

 

Mine scored 14.5K but never posted it. I had a 2720.

 

I'm impressed by the battery life (almost 3.5 hours is a lot, especially for a 17 inch laptop), or did I read this wrong?

 

No you read it right almost 3.5 hours based on the windows estimated battery life at 100%, now that usually doesn't end up being 100% right but I think 3 hours wouldn't be too tough to hit.

Drake did you ever take any screen shots of any of your bench runs? Stock mine won't break 13k.

Dr J. I didn't see your runs but would it be possible for you to run both Vantage and 06 with screenshots of the full score, cpuz, gpuz, and nvidia control panel settings?

 

Yes this weekend will do. Note everything on both systems was at default/baseline settings for both the R3's and benchmark software.

 

Thanks, also do you remember if you switched PhysX to off/cpu in the nvidia control panel? If not some of that score difference may be due to a boost from PhysX running on the GPU.

 

Never remember seeing the PhysX option in the nvidia control panel so I am certain I did not toggle it from default.

 

Default is auto select which quite often makes PhysX tasks run on the GPU, there is a sub section on the left side of the control panel for PhysX and unless it's set to the CPU it can skew the scores of a Nvidia GPU system. PhysX in benchmarks is supposed to be turned off to make the score comparable to ATI/AMD systems.

 

So it looks like it's something with my GPU holding my scores back, I did a run on my computer with PhysX at the default setting and still got 12700 so it's not that skewing any scores here. I may need to dig deeper into the Nvidia control panel to see whats up. One last question Dr. J did you get that 14k score with the Dell driver or are you running the modded 266.66?

 

Total stock/baseline/default for everything including drivers.

Don't mean to cause you any grief but better to know that your baseline is off for some reason. I will recheck 3DMark 06 and get Vantage scores with pic's this weekend.

 

No grief at all, I appreciate the help on it. I saw your scores and it's definitely my GPU somewhere, my CPU actually scored about 100pts higher than yours on your 14,089 run, my HM 2.0 score was like 1-1.5k lower than yours and my HM 3.0 was something like 750-1000 points lower. It has to be the driver and/or a Nvidia control panel setting.

 

Do you still need pic's of updated benchmarks?

 

If you could that will still be awesome, I think I'm starting to get more of an idea though so if it's a bother no worries.

 

It's all good mate. I will try to snap pictures of my nvidia control panel tonight as I think there may be something there or did you mess with bios yet?

I remember I had trouble with my 3D settings and when back and hit default in each and every nvidia control panel...

 

@Dane--- I am so sorry.. I had my mind set that you had the 6870. Talk about tunnel perception.. lol

Good luck, I am sure you will get the nvidia sorted.

BW, Stevenx

Also.. is that 460 the exact same that's in the m15 or is it a little different model?

 

I don't know, I can tell you that it can handle higher OC's than what everyone in the M15x thread are showing so it may be slightly different, may just be this individual card though. The main specs such as RAM, clocks, etc are the same though.

 

are you using vantage or 06? I'll download and run for more comparison.

 

Both my 06 score seems to be a bit low I haven't been able to break 13k at stock and everyone else with the same specs has been getting just over 14k. If you could do a stock run of both and include a screen shot that shows your full score, your nvidia control panel, cpuz, and gpuz I would be very greatful. +rep to both of you as well.

 

Dane - the higher scores from others... It sounds as if physx is enabled (just going by my old m11x). But again it depends what the nvidia control panel looks like on the more recent driver sets. I wouldn't makes assumptions until we see some screenshots of the control panel. You might post yours as well to see if their are differences between you and Dr. J.

Again keep trucking. You will get all the kinks worked out.

StevenX