m17x R3 Mini Review

I received a PM today requesting a mini review of my new R3, so here it is without some of the repeat information and with more of my objective opinion. This will also be geared from the perspective of an R2 owner as I'm sure the biggest debate for some of you is whether to get an R3 or wait for the m18x:

First, a couple pix I took quickly with my iPhone. I couldn't figure out how to embed the resized images into the thread (they weren't showing up), so here's the link to the full image. Nothing crazy, just showing you my baby.

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

1 225-0536 Alienware M17x Soft-Touch, Stealth Black $2689.00
1 317-6602 Intel Core i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
1 317-6119 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
1 331-1347 Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
1 320-1933 17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
1 320-1939 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M
1 342-2221 256GB Solid State Drive
1 313-8792 AlienFX Color, Quasar Blue
1 421-4655 Alienware Command Center Software, M17X
1 421-1400 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp
1 420-9956 Vista PC Restore
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 410-1883 Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
1 318-0395 Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
1 421-4541 Roxio Creator Starter,No Media
1 318-0424 Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
1 430-4021 MOD,CRD,NTWK,6300,ANW

Build Quality

My first encounter with my new toy after removing it from the packaging was noticing the radical departure in design from the R2. The matte "soft touch" coating on the R3 is akin to a hard rubber not unlike the backing of certain Droid phone models. Coming from the anodized R2, it took a moment to appreciate the different kind of beauty possessed by the R3. Truthfully, it's not so much a step back in build quality as it is a step sideways, into a new direction. As you all know, Alienware opted to slim down the R3 and make it a lighter and more portable machine. This decision makes perfect sense in the context of the m18x being the true R2 successor, and the payoff is exactly what they aimed for. Never before have I held such a powerful machine and felt I had the ability to toss it around and take it with me from place to place, whether in my apartment from desk to bed, or even while I'm on the go. It's by no means "light," but it's definitely not too heavy to carry, either. In fact, it's quite comfy sitting in my lap in bed as I type this for you all. The soft touch coating makes it incredibly comfortable to use as it is softer on the skin and has lost the "cold metal tank" feel of its predecessor. I should mention mine does suffer from the media control panel defect where it is popping up every now and again on the far right side. Honestly, not a huge deal. That's what they make glue for.

Also worth mentioning is that they clearly did a number on the trackpad because let me tell you, I've owned MBPs and I genuinely prefer the trackpad of the R3. It is absolutely phenomenal. The smooth surface feels spot on, the mushy buttons are perfect, and the responsiveness is right there with Apple. Really, I was blown away by how much I enjoy using it.

The keyboard also feels improved over the R2. I had issues with my R2 keyboard missing keystrokes (not registering) and this seems to have been alleviated in the R3. Also, while the keyboard looks exactly the same, I can't put my finger on it, but it feels nicer to type on. Maybe it's because I haven't used my R2 keyboard in months, but typing on the R3 is faster paced and more pleasurable than I remember on the R2. I also don't notice flex anywhere near as bad as I've heard reports on. It flexes a slight amount, but I notice more on my Envy 14.

I do not care for the media buttons, although the look is much improved, they're a pain in the rear to press and use, and as mentioned by others, the volume controls kick you out of whatever game you're in. Very silly oversight, but far from a dealbreaker. It is fairly annoying how stiff and imprecise the media controls are, however, I'll take this design to capacitative touch buttons.

Performance

There isn't much I can say that most of you don't already know; this thing is a beast. Sandy Bridge is the best thing to have happened to mobile computing in quite some time, as is the 6970m. I will say, however, that with a Passmark score in the 6000's, the 2630QM is FAR more powerful than I think some people realize. It's easy to look at the lowest end SB processor offered and think intuitively that it'd be a better idea to go with at least the 2720QM so that you're not getting "the worst" processor offered. Yet, even with the 2630QM, you have to remember you're getting a processor that's a good bit more powerful than the 940XM, the extreme processor of the first Core i7. In my opinion, the only need for a better processor in the R3 is for those that pursue benchmarking, or those that need the muscle for professional design and CPU intensive tasks that are crucial for their career. The average person will not really notice a difference, IMO, because even the "worst" processor is mind-blowingly fast. Not to mention you won't see much of a difference in gaming.

The 6970m is a heaven-sent gift to mobile gaming. You're getting the performance of Xfire 5870's without the hassle and potential problems of having two cards. Less parts, less chance of something breaking, less glitches and driver issues to deal with. It's a total win/win if you stop and think about all the advantages a single GPU system offers. The only intensive game I'm currently playing is Rift, and this machine maxes it only without AA at 1080p while pulling a constant 40FPS.

Another word of advice: do not get this system without an SSD. Buy your own SSD and upgrade later, do whatever you need to do. With a regular HDD in this system, you'll be bottlenecking yourself because the processor can only work as fast as the HDD can feed things to it to do. With an SSD, this system is so fast at times I need to re-hinge my jaw.

Battery, Display, and Sound

Coming from the R2, I would have never thought I'd get a replacement system that could truly be portable and rely on its battery. This paradigm has totally shifted with the R3, because you now have a system that lasts longer on battery than many of its smaller siblings. With the IGP, battery bar is showing me 4:13 without even making an effort to attain better battery. Think for a second about how incredibly awesome it is to use a system of this caliber OFF BATTERY for 4 hours and be totally capable of getting work done. It's really a bit surprising and I still find myself to be not used to using a 17 inch Alienware like my 14 inch Envy.

The 1080p WLED is honestly the biggest disappointment of the system for me. If you're coming from the RGB of the R2, you WILL be disappointed. Don't think for a second your eyes won't tell the difference, it's dramatic. No, the WLED on the R3 is not a bad panel. Not at all, with a contrast ratio of 527:1, it's definitely an "above average" WLED. For reference, the m11x is 217:1, and my Hp Envy 14 with Radiance (FTW) is 852:1. With that said, the RGB of the R2 and the WLED of the R3 are night and day. One has vibrant, scorching colors, the other has dull, "adequate" colors. As you can see, the WLED can't touch the RGB:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/pics/ICC_M17R3_vs_DEllStudioXPS16_01.JPG
I also found the display to be far too dark; it could have benefited easily from another couple notches of brightness.

The sound is the other disappointment. While the speakers sound, okay, the lack of a subwoofer makes the sound bottomless and truth be told they simply don't get loud enough. The R2 definitely had better speakers, and honestly I prefer the sound from my Envy 14. Once again, this is another segment where the R3 is merely adequate instead of outstanding.

Other Comments

The 6300 advanced N card has been something of a let down for me. On the same router with a 6205, my Envy 14 never lags in Rift. On my R3, I get lag spikes every now and again, sometimes as often as once a minute. I'm sure there's some dissonance between my R3's card and my router, so I'll have to troubleshoot that in the near future.

The AlienFX lighting looks MUCH cooler on the R3 than the R2. The keyboard seems to light more evenly, the media controls look AWESOME lit up, and the "gradient" effect on the speaker vents is sublime.

Every so often the graphics switching from IGP to 6970m results in what I can only describe as "weakened performance" while on the Radeon. In order to fix, I have to restart. Not a game changer, but annoying nonetheless.

Did I mention this thing is FAST??

R3 FTW?

Overall, I can safely tell you this is the best laptop I've ever owned. I've had 4 Alienware laptops in my day, including the R2, in addition to laptops from Asus, Sony, Apple, Lenovo, and HP. This is my favorite, ever. The R3 absolutely NAILS so many things it makes it very easy to overlook the minor complaints. While the display could be much improved, as much as I want to trash it, it's not terrible and is better than most (and much better than the 1080p on the Envy 17).

But SaosinEngaged, if I'm sitting on a sexy R2, should I upgrade?

That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Honestly, that's difficult to answer. I only sold my R2 because I needed cash at the time and I was having issues with it. If I were sitting on a "perfect condition" R2 with XM processor and Xfire 5870's (and obviously the RGB), and I didn't have a need for mobility whatsoever, then at this current point in time I'd tell you to hold off and wait for the m18x at the least (the R2 will still last you quite a while).

However, if you are reading this and could see the benefit from the lightweight chassis and excellent battery life and are equally as impressed by the power of the single GPU solution, I can tell you right now you won't regret picking up the R3. It will take some adjustment to erase the RGB from your mind, but the overall quality of the R3 should ease the sting. I'm really, REALLY partial to the soft touch. I think it's awesome.

Hell, this laptop is awesome. :wub:

 

While I could be bringing up a bunch of "what about this part? are you having any problems with it?" I'll put it aside and thumbs up for you enjoying your laptop so much. Funny enough the mbp 17 was one of the laptops I was looking at due to design and the touchpad. Never thought I'd hear someone prefer a pc touchpad over the "highly engineered glass trackpad".

I'm still waiting on my R3 with 3d to come in. You'll be whopping me in 3d performance but oh well, I just want to see what it's like to play games in 3d.

 

Any issues I'm having I mentioned in the review. If it's not there, it doesn't stand out, good or bad.

Also yeah, I really do prefer this trackpad to the MBP. Call me nuts, but that's what my fingers keep telling me!

 

Thanks for the review! Quite in-depth.
+1

 

Thanks a lot for a descriptive and unbiased review. I found it to be very informative from a personal everyday point of view and enjoyed the reasoning behind all of your major points. +rep

 

Great review! +1. Glad you like most of it except for the screen of course. For me I think it will be quite a nice step up from my 1600x900 hp dv7 screen .

Edit: Is there any HDTVs or brands in general you can compare the R2's RGB screen to? Thanks

 

About SSD, really recommended to buy later. But that does not take away the qualities of a Samsung 470.Só the price that dell still leaves salty!

 

Over the dv7 screen, absolutely. HP's non Radiance (or dreamcolor) displays tend to be pretty horrible. I've owned an Envy 17 and the 1080p on that system was easily several notches below the R3. Once again, I know I sound overly negative about the R3's screen when in reality, it isn't bad at all. It just doesn't hold a candle to the RGB, which was an "exceptional" quality screen and typically found on workstations for graphic artists and photographers. It's one of the better WLEDs I've come across, but at the end of the day, it's still a WLED (which to me always tend to have a "whitewash" effect and muted colors. Even IPS iMac displays take criticism for using WLED tech.

I can't really compare the RGB to a tv, because the RGB to my eyes was better looking than any television I've owned. You have to physically see the colors pop, specifically reds and blues, to appreciate how incredible the RGB is. It's the kind of thing that once you have, it becomes very difficult to take a step back from.

Fortunately, there's new rumors circulating the return of an RGB type display to the m17x. All I can say is cost will be no issue, I'm ordering it and having a tech install it.

 

Your review makes the R3 sound pretty enticing. The only things that's really holding me back from getting it are the display and the plastic shell (which you made sound pretty good lol). If an RGB display does become available sometime soon, I may go for the R3 instead of the M18x, both to save money and to have more portability.

+1 Rep for the nice review.

 

SaosinEngaged...Great review. There is a thread titled 'Clear Coat/Soft Touch on M17xR3 Peeling' on this forum. Have you seen any issues?

 

I've read through that thread. As of a few days of ownership, my unit is still in perfect condition. I do move it around quite a bit so if anything were to pop up (no pun intended), I'll post the information here.

 

Well, supposedly the coating started coming off after about 3 months for the guys on the thread (if I read correctly). So it'll be a while before you see anything, hopefully never.

And while plastic sounds "cheap" it's a lot lighter than alum.

 

so which Wireless card would i be better off getting, i dont wanna experiance any lag spikes :S Wireless 802.11 g/n, Intel Advanced N + WiMAX 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology, Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology. not worried about cost just effiency/connectivity to my wireless router

 

Depends on your router and if you plan to upgrade that as well. I have the Linksys G router, so it looks like a router upgrade might be on it's way. I got the Ultimate. You can get it cheaper and install yourself if you want, but the price difference for me was not worth it as a do it yourself item.

 

I have the Apple router, I wonder if that's what's causing conflict with my 6300.

 

+1 SaosinEngaged!~

well put and insightful - thanks!~

 

Thank you for this thread. Makes me want to get an SSD now lolz.

I'm so jelly of your writing skills. My review feels boring now that I re-read it lolz. +1rep for shizzle.

 

Yeah, don't let my experience scare you off the 6300. It's a superior wireless card. The issues I seem to be having are most likely due to, as I mentioned, some kind of dissonance between my router and 6300.

I know computer tech, but I know next to nothing about setting up wireless connections and configuring routers.

 

Not sure about the problems you're experiencing with your wireless card Saosin. So far I have been extremely pleased with mine, but I have not had the chance to game on it yet. I'm getting massive throughput while downloading patches and my ping time on speedtest.net seems rock solid. Gaming, of course, will be the ultimate test though.

For reference, this is the router I use: Netgear N600 WNDR3700

 

Good honest review, very good.