Observations using the r3 like a "normal" laptop

Last night, I decided to bring the r3 into my TV room and sit with my wife while she watched a marathon of "Lost" via Netflix (streamed through a TiVo to our plasma).

I knew from using the r3 at my desk that the rear vents and the bottom of the unit get pretty warm, even when not gaming, so when I sat down on the couch and put the machine on my big lap pillow to do some surfing, I was very careful to monitor temps (both by touch and via CoreTemp).

My observations.....when I switched to the Intel graphics from the 6970m, most of the heat generation went away. The bottom of the unit got a little warm but not hot. The CPU core temps did not get appreciably higher. I dimmed the screen a little but kept the keyboard lights so I could see to type, still got about 4 hours 45 minutes battery life. It did not seem too large and heavy sitting on my lap either.

I know, "cool story bro", but if anyone was thinking of using the r3 for more than just a desktop replacement/gaming box, I can tell you the switchable graphics and excellent cooling make it more than possible. I prefer using it on my lap compared to my wife's much smaller Dell Inspiron, and the r3 has better battery life. The keyboard lights in a darkened TV room were a great luxury also.

 

Toy.

Well for those who said people without problems don't post here is one.

I plan to use mine as both, a desktop replacement and mobility around my house.

 

Mine pretty much follows me from room to room as I move about.

I will usually pull it from under the bed where I store it before going to sleep, wake it up and check e-mail and a few other odds and ends. Then, once I'm up and ready for the day, I'll pull the plug and bring it downstairs to the living room\kitchen\dining room area and plug it back in and toss it on the coffee or end table and use it as I need or want.

If the girl friend has homework to do and needs to use the basement rig (aka my gaming desktop) then I'll usually bring my R3 down there to sit with her and play while she works.

At night I take it back to the bedroom and will work on or play on it depending what she is doing. Then back under the bed it goes when I head for LALA land.

I also work nights (three 12 hour shifts) so on those nights I shove it into my backpack along with my T61 Thinkpad and all accessories and bring it to work with me in case I have any down time.

For the most part I use it while having it in my lap and while it can get warm I have not yet found it to be uncomfortable and I usually try and place it in a way that the fans and vents are not restricted.

I hope to eventually find a lapdesk that I like that works with and fits the R3.

So far the R3 has held up very well indeed for all the toting from room to room I do with it and I have not at all found it to be an issue from the portability standpoint.

 

All of these reports of 4 hrs....how?

I seem to get 2-2.5. This is with the iGPU, screen medium brightness, and power profile set to balanced. AlienFX on.

Do I need to set it to power saver mode to get 4 hrs? Are there other tweaks I need to do?

 

Not sure....I left the laptop in "performance" mode, manually dimmed the screen to 50-60%, and kept all the lights on.

Maybe you are doing something more processor intensive. I use Internet Explorer and don't watch a lot of video, mostly just use the internet for reading/forums/sports stats.

 

I guess gaming on the couch is out of the question like I do with my G73JH huh? that makes me sad, you would think dell would have figured out that vents on the bottom is a stupid idea.

 

Being my first laptop, I am just starting to realize the possibilities for all this portable power. I thought I would just use it for lan parties once per month. Your post inspired me a little too.

I was afraid of buyers remorse, but haven't been this happy with a purchase since my F150.

 

The exhaust vents are on the back, but the bottom does get warm when gaming. Maybe there are intake vents on the bottom? Not sure, I don't have it with me right now to look

I've seen a co-worker's G73 and the rear vent placement looks similar to the r3, if I remember correctly.

Edit: I would try gaming on the couch just to see what happens, but all my games involve a lot of mouse-work, and I don't have a large solid surface to mouse on while sitting on the couch.

 

Sorry I should have specified that the intake on the bottom is a stupid idea.

 

I use my R3 in bed actually most of the time. I have a very thin lapdesk I use when I game to keep the vents from being covered, and I just put it on a pillow in my lap when on IGP.

It works beautifully.

 

My R3 moves around with me as well and my uses are very similar. This was a desktop replacement for me that needed to be powerful enough to play my two games that I'm in daily.

I watch video, do lots of browsing, Skype, IMs, etc.

With my CoolerMaster Storm 19 I can sit for hours on the couch with comfort for all of these tasks.

I still haven't played much with battery life, but if I'm only web-surfing and a little YouTubing, I get more than a few hours, so I'm quite pleased with this compared to past laptops.

 

The only thing is that I can do all of that stuff without a coolermaster or any other lapdesk with my g73. I usually go to my buddy's house and play games while sitting on his couch without any issues temp wise (both for the laptop and on my lap).

 

I've heard the new G73 is both very cool and quiet. It's a nice laptop that looks good in person. Pictures don't really do it justice.

I chose the r3 because of the 6970m. At the time, though, I was only considering it as a desktop replacement and lan party machine. No "on the couch" gaming, but everything else about it is awesome.

 

You cannot compare that big giant plastic (very bad quality) with the Alienware (doesn’t matter if is R1, R2 or R3). I had the G73 and have given it free to my friend… First, when I wanted to buy an Alienware and noted the price, I said ‘what, are dell crazy? How they can ask for so much when my G73 is almost half the price?’. But believe me, is a huge difference… So, let’s leave the G73 a side and concentrate on our Alienware

 

I had looked at the G73 before finally deciding on the R3. Mainly because the R3 had far better warranty options. Choice will depend on priority. I was simply adding my observations about using the R3 for multiple tasks, not just gaming, and I'm quite happy with how things are going.

With the laptop cooler, the R3 fans come on far less often, and since they are noisier than the cooler fans, this is also a plus. I don't know the noise levels of the G73, so can't compare.

 

Mine goes to multiple places (there and back) 4+ times a week, I also use mine around the house (and am generally impressed with the 4ish hour battery) and I am generally impressed with it in terms of all around use.

The only real gripe I'll have forever about the system is that it takes WAY too long to connect to a network I have a password saved to.. I sit there waiting near 5 minutes for it.

I also have an SF-19 for heavy use (at desk) that does its job very well at assisting temps. That and a CPU re-paste made a world of difference.

 

To all the people bashing on the g73, I currently own one and the cooling is insane. I gamed on my lap playing rather intensive games, and my laps never felt uncomfortable from heat. Also I don't have to worry about blocking airflow as there's no vents on bottom.

Although I ended up ordering a r3 anyways because I wanted something obnoxious looking.

 

A bit off-topic, I know, but this sounds like something wrong with your setup. Connections to wireless networks on my R3 are practically instantaneous. I'd look into that, though I can't think offhand what would be causing it.

Say whaaaaa?

Only thing that could be qualified as bashing in this thread would be G73 users bashing the R3, but I don't think that's the case either. I'm not sure what you're referring to.

The thread was about observations of how to the R3 works as something other than a gaming machine. So that's what most of are trying to convey.

 

I think he is referring to this:

But I think the point was basically "you get what you pay for" with respect to the G73 costing so much less than the M17x, not really "bashing"

 

Ah, yes. I missed that one. Apologies.

Although I don't think that qualifies as "all the people." Heh.

And you're right. Not bashing, but just knowing the differences so you can make a wise and balanced decision.

Getting back into the topic, the fact that the intakes were on the bottom of the R3 is also something that pushed me towards using the cooler. Better to have cool air going into them rather than blocking them with my legs.

 

Without IGP this notebook could might as well be called desktop. It is a must

 

I was trying to be nice to the G73 owner. I would never buy one over the Alienware after owning the r3. One look at both of them in person is enough for any rational person to decide. Unless money is an extreme limiting factor, of course.

That said....the G73 does look better in person than in photos, and does serve as a portable gaming device, as advertised.

 

Wow thats almost exactly how I use my inflatable girlfriend.

 

LOL! +1 for making me laugh so hard!

 

Hah, weird how I own both of them and I don't consider my G73 a bad quality laptop, and the fact that asus is willing to back it with a decent warranty without making me pay out the wazoo for it means something to me. I'm going to play with this m17x some more tonight and see if it gets hot. If it sucks, I'll send it back to dell. So far I've been pretty impressed though.