Going through laptops, thinking of an M18x now...

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I've been here, none-the-less, I have questions:

I've spent the past month running through potential laptops, and I can't find one I like.

Samsung NP700Z5C: Display was below average, audio was horrible.
ASUS N76VZ: Battery life was lacking
Dell Inspiron 17R SE: Audio problems.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for in a laptop, but I want something that I know can handle anything I throw at it. This doesn't just mean games though. In fact, that's probably fairly low on my list. I'd like something with good battery life first off*, but something that can hold its own in the audio department too.

So, what are peoples' impressions of the audio and video from this laptop? Bear in mind that I'm not interested in "It's really loud!!" or "Bass be thumpin'". I'm probably closer to an audiophile than the average user. I've also been spoiled in that I've been using IPS displays for the past two years, and nothing else. The end-point here being that I'm looking for in-depth opinions from people who really know what they're talking about.

Thanks!



*Side question here: If I configure an M18x with a single 660M, do I still get Optimus, or is it a chipset limitation?

 

No Optimus or Enduro available on the M18x. The M18x is not designed with any support for hybrid graphics switching and (thankfully) lacks that functionality. The manual graphics switch is superior and more reliable than the hybrid switching. It would be a shame to buy an M18x with only one GPU. That would be like buying a muscle car with a wimpy V6 engine. The manual graphics switch also has better battery life than hybrid switching. Other than the notably inferior plastic chassis build, you might be money ahead buying an M17x R3 or R4. If you are not interested in gaming, you can likely pick something up from the Dell Outlet with outdated graphics cards like 6970M or 460M and save even more money.

The audio on the M18x is fine by laptop standards. I don't think you will find a laptop with better audio, but I wouldn't consider it to be fantastic if you're a discriminating music enthusiast. It serves my purposes very well.

 

The audio is excellent on the M18xR2 and the battery life is actually better than the M17xR4 due to the ability to turn off discrete graphics completely. I easily get 4+ hours on battery.

 

the M18x has decent battery life as long as your not gaming or doing something equally as intensive. If your just web browsing/doing word/ etc... you should get between 3 and a half, and four and a half hours of battery life.

From what I have seen, the M18x has some of the best speakers of any laptop I have ever seen. They are equal or better than almost any 2.1 desktop speakers I have encountered, and MSI's GT60/70 series is the only other laptop brand that's speakers rivals the M18x (AW uses audio my klipsch, MSI uses dynaudio).
Headphones also sound good, but from what I understand, If you are an audiophile who wants the best laptop headphone audio, MSI makes the best in that department. They use audio amplifier software, and the headphone jacks are actually coated in gold, which any audiophile know is the best material for sound transfer.

 

How do you accomplish this?

I love the M18x R2! Aluminum chassis, extreme power that rivals high end desktops, beautiful aesthetics, mostly durable and I have to say that Dell costumer service is actually very good. A few owners, including myself have had a few issues, but nothing that deviates from the industry mean, and Dell will help you promptly.

I give my M18x R2 an 8 out of 10.

Surely the best choice performance wise, hope you have deep pockets!

 

I switch to integrated GPU and slightly decrease screen brightness to get 4+ hours.

 

Do you make the switch when prompted by pressing F7? Does that entail a system reboot? Does it look like its in safe-mode? Can the integrated GPU handle HD video?

 

Yes, it will handle HD just fine. It is 1080p, and no, it doesn't look like safe mode. You may need to install the driver. The Intel HD graphics is good for just about anything except for gaming. I can get over 4 hours on battery with my M18x R1. Select "Power Saver" profile and optimize your settings to get the longer battery life.

 

I can tell you as far a sound goes its decent, as good as, if not better than any other laptop. The sound card should do everything you need but if your into any kind of production your probably going to still want an external.
To be honest, the m18x wouldn't be my first choice if I only wanted video/audio fidelity with gaming on the lower list of heirachial needs. Not to say it will disappoint you in the slightest, far from it.. Its just you're pretty much paying alot of $$$ for sli/cf.

 

As an M18x owner, I have to say that I'm really pleased with this laptop. The sound is amazing(by laptop standards). If you don't need its audio for anything professional, it's quite excellent. The bass is quite good in my opinion and it's more than enough for a laptop.

One thing that I do wonder is why you would put this on your list if gaming is not one of your priorities. I decided to go with this laptop since I do game fairly often. I also watch videos and listen to music on it, but my main use for it is gaming. On occasion, I do record sound clips but that pales in comparison to my game time on it. If you mainly want video and audio fidelity, why go for a gaming machine?

Another thing I wanted to ask is what you meant about "handling anything you throw at it". What types of applications would you be running? This may be a make-or-break factor for you. I'm not sure if you would really want to opt for the dual-GPUs given your current uses, but I honestly fail to see the reason of going for the M18x if you're not getting them.

 

oh i just had to chime in .. there are a bunch of good deals in the out let.. some top end xm 580 sli systems for 2800 lol

check it out!

Dell Factory Outlet

 

Thanks for the input guys.

It's not that I won't be gaming on it, it's just that I don't want to be looking at a 680 SLI monster if the audio is going to suck, or if the screen is horrible. What I'll actually be doing with it? Well, a bit of everything really: Web development, 3D modeling, Photoshop, music, movies, gaming, interwebz, etc.

I might not start out with two 680s, but it's nice to know that the option is there in the future. (Having said that, it's not like a 680M is anything but horrible value)


This also brings up the fact that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my main rig. If I were picking up an M18x, I'd sell off the bulk of my desktop components, and only have the bare minimum required for internet stuff, and music/movies. (The big drawback of the M18x is not having a dedicated sound card that's anywhere near the quality of my desktop one.)
My other choice is to get a smaller, cheaper laptop that can handle games on low/medium settings, and sink the rest of the money into desktop upgrades. The problem is finding one cheap enough where this situation becomes viable, that still has everything I want from it.

 

Well, you can get 15% off an m18x right now at Alienware.com. Then get another $200-300 off with your rep, throw in a $200 GC and 5% GC, and I'd say you got a deal! I was ordered an m18x but finally went with an m17x because I couldn't justify the extra expense for the 680m SLI with the amount of gaming I do (not to mention it's just a lot of money even if you game all day long---5 xbox 360's---think about that for a minute..). But, whatever suits your fancy.

 

Honestly, 1200 bucks will get you a solid G75 by asus that will handle everything you throw at it, and will leave you with plenty to spend on your desktop.

 

I had looked at the G75, except that I mentioned in my first post I'm looking for good battery life too (5 hours or so at least), which the G75 just doesn't do.

 

I don't think you're going to get 5 hours battery life from a m18x if you're going to be doing anything mildly graphic intensive. If you using the GPU's, it's going to drink abit of power.
If its an Alienware you're after, maybe consider a m17 since they have only 1 GPU and a better screen. Still then, I don't know if your going to get 5 hours of battery time (maybe some owners here could chime in here).
The standard sound card is fine and there isn't anything it can't do as far a most multimedia goes, and the sound quality is fine if, especially if you only want to listen to music and watch movies. It has HDMI 1.4 out and you're going to notice that Flak files sound great. I use monitor speakers and its very difficult to notice any sound quality differences between my external card/internal card for most applications. There are much weaker links to look at than the sound card/s in such a sound system should you want to strive for better fidelity. As I said before, unless your doing any kind of music production - VST's, MIDI, Sampling - you're probably going to want an external card anyway - hence this is just an inherit problem in getting a laptop. Even on the standard card you're not really at much of a disadvantage.

I hope I've helped you somewhat. It sounds like you have a few things to think about with your desktop too.
Personally I use my m18x for everything, it essentially is my desktop now. If I need to take it out I can, but I won't stray too far from a power outlet for too long unless I want to only browse.

 

Let me preface this by saying I absolutely love my M18x R2. That said, why aren't you looking at the new MacBook Pro with the Retina Display? If you're doing photo-editing, I figure you'd probably want the best possible display, and Apple knows how to make 'em as good or better than anyone. I'm not a graphic designer, but my friends who are all swear by Apple.

Just my $0.02

 

just get a USB sound card, I got myself a X FI HD usb that I like a lot and its comparable to what I used to get with my Xonar D2/PM in my desktop.

 

Usually when battery life is important, so is weight. Remember with the Alienware Orion back pack 3lbs, power brick 3lbs and the m18x 12 lbs. That is a commitment. Not a big deal for me but some feather weights have a problem with it.

I love my m18x too (self proclamined fanboy) Gaming keys, HDMI in, large screen (I am old, eyes fading), 4 sata drive capability, dual gpu (680ms), 32 gig memory, killer LAN *for me this does work better than the Intel 6300 in my old lappie. I use a set of audiophile headphones for music, and a Logitech 5.1 wireless usb headset for games

I generally always find a place to plug in when I move about so for me all is good. I am very pleased.

 

I agree with a lot of what has already been said here...

The M18x is a great laptop, however, it is not so much a laptop as a sorta-mobile desktop replacement

1. Size matters here - depending on how much you plan to carry your laptop around, lugging a 12lb beast can (and probably will) get old quickly. Of course having an 18in screen is a step up for photo or video editing, however, give me the chance to plug into a 30in IPS screen and there is no comparison. That being said, I find the screen on my M18x R2 to actually be pretty decent other than the very glossy aspect. I do wish it was a little brighter for use in a sunny office or outside, however, the reflections will get you before the low brightness most of the time anyways ;-P

2. The built-in speakers are also quite decent though they can not compare to a quality 2.1 setup, or even a quality bookshelf setup. They are laptop speakers, with tiny drivers and limited resonance space, decent ones at that given the size, but still tiny. Surprisingly the bass is actually well represented in the higher end, however, tonal separation across the spectrum doesn't compare to a dedicated setup (as it shouldn't) If you wanted the best audio out, I'd say USB sound card into an amp, though once again the portability goes out the window there. The built in jacks are ok but nothing to brag about... I get a little white noise through mine, however, at least no annoying beeps or other sounds when the HDD is accessed or the computer is under load

3. As far as battery life... as long as I switch to integrated graphics (with a FN F7 and reboot) I can get 5 hrs or so if the brightness is below half and I'm browsing the web, doing some basic photo editing, etc. As long as you don't do anything too intensive 5+ hrs with a new battery is doable

I bought the M18x for gaming first, however, it is also a pretty kick-butt laptop at a number of other things as well, once you get over the size and weight of it

*As said before, dedicated switching between integrated and discrete cards is vastly superior (still) to an Optimus setup. System restarts are very fast, and not leaving it up to software in determining what graphics options to use is ideal

 

You can also get an express slot discreet audio card if you want higher end audio output using external speakers.

I travel extensively and the M18x goes everywhere I do. It's not like packing a cheap tablet or netbook around, but the size and weight of the M18x and all of its gear is never a big deal to me. With all my extra gear, my backpack is very heavy by some people's standards, but it's totally worth it to me to have the beast at my side. I just this week used it to watch movies and surf the web using gogo internet on two flights and the 4+ hours of battery life was awesome.

The display is very good. If you primarily use it sitting at a desk, you might want to buy a nice high resolution external monitor, or a pair of them. That may be less expensive and may offer usability advantages compared to buying a limited use system on the basis that it has a nice display.