M18x Makes Landfall! Pictures, Videos, Unboxing Thoughts, etc. Share away!

So... first thoughts of my M18X

Specs are as follows,
i7 2920XM @ 2.5GHz,
ATI 6970M in Crossfire,
8gb 1333MHz ram,
320GB 7200rpm HDD

Build Quality
Ok, so this machine is amazing in terms of build quality, i have owned my fare share of Macs before i bought this system, and i can tell you Apple have got competition.

Performance
Amazing, so far i've played 2 games - Starcraft 2, and Metro 2033 both on highest possible graphics, so far not even a stutter, so im really impressed with that.

Design
Personally i really like the design, and all the lights. This machine is much more elegant that I had first expected, despite being on the large size.

Portability
I had to take the laptop to school today to present some work, and my arm was tired after only 20 minutes of carrying the system, I havn't yet found a bag that i like so i carried the laptop in my hand. Really heavy laptop, not recommended for carrying around a lot, even with a bag, plus the adaptor is massive, and is probably another 2-3 pounds.

Speakers
Impressive sound system for a laptop, much better than the set that they had on the MacBoook Pro that i previously had, i havnt heard a lot of other high end systems speakers, so I can't really say much on the topic.

Display
Some people have said that the WLED screen found on the laptop is not as good as some other RGBLED screens found on other laptops. However I have not found this to be a problem, and because i have never owned an RGBLED screen, i wouldnt be able to comment on that either, all i can say is that i am happy with the screen.

Conclusion
Its been a day since i bought the laptop, and so far i have had no problems with it whatsoever. The performance is amazing, it really wow-ed some people when i brought it to school, even the battery life isnt that bad for such a massive laptop, given the specifications. the only downside to it really is the weight of it, i know people who buy the laptop dont really have the mind set to haul the laptop anywhere he goes, but on the occasion that you have to, expect really tired arms or shoulders after!!!


Pros
-Amazing performance
-Good speakers
-Eye-catching design

Cons
-Weight is really the major issue, for when i need to transport it occasionally
-It does get quite loud under heavy load but this doesnt really bother me

So if ive missed out anything or you want any more info just let me know. in the mean time ill be enjoy my new toy

 

I really love my Mamba! It has a great battery life as long as you remember to plug it in when you go to bed. The only thing that sucks is that it has a docking station that has to be plugged in technically making it a wired mouse. I was really bummed about this because I just felt silly taking that docking station with me to work. For home use, especially on the desktop where the docking station can be tucked away nicely - it's awesome. And if you don't mind luggin around another accessory - it's still fun on the m-series laptops!

Yeah, every time I had an issue they'd send me another hat or mousepad, plus with all my replacements... I've got a pretty nice collection myself, lol!

I ask because I had a first gen m15x when they first came out and it was customizable. Then I moved up to the m17x-R2 where it had the feature as well. I do not look at the specs of the other machines or frequent those threads because they do not interest me... so there are a few of us out there that're just finding this out. I just assumed it was stock on all their machines. It makes sense for them to do it the way they are. Less power consumption - however tiny amount it is. Less components to break. As long as the screen is working, then you have light. It makes sense. I don't like it - but it makes sense. I always had my Alien head set to pulse and I loved it.

So lets all have a moment of silence of the plain Alien head... ... ... ... ...ok, I'm over it now.

Back to my question earlier... how many business days did it take to receive your machine? I heard 14 days from ordering to arriving on the doorstep, but curious how many of those days were weekend days.

 

You can't count weight as a con when dealing with a system that has dual graphics cards and a top end CPU and is 18.4". For portability, AW has the M17x-R3.

 

Thanks for the response Mavericke! I am looking forward to receiving my Mamba this week... Got my backpack today... Now where is my m18x... sigh

 

Which was precisely why I went with a Logitech G700. Nano-receiver, zero noticeable lag or dropouts. Very impressed.

Sorry o/t...

 

Wouldnt mind knowing this myself!

Great review Jon! - glad you are happy with your new system!

Apple have never been competition for Alienware IMHO - two different systems for different purposes.....you dont (or shouldnt!) buy a macbook if you wanna game. End of story

Oh yeah Mav....Im beginning to feel like them hats are like trophies or battle scars.....each time I get one, its like a notch on my belt LOL

 

i meant competition in terms of build quality.

 

Some quick info for you guys: out of the box, the M18x panel has a 244 cd/m^2 brightness with a measured 435:1 contrast ratio. So Dell was nearly spot on in their spec sheet like I had thought.

 

Will do, thanks.

 

Lol how did this thread turn into a discussion about screwdrivers, anyways both jokers can you guys please help get this thread back on the road and take some nice shots of your m18xs and maybe another video showing a the nebula red in different lighting conditions and different angles, thanks.

 

Red will be red.....different angles will not change it haha

 

I would disagree, your comment may be true about the black, however from what i have seen the nebula red seems to shift in color slightly depending on lighting and gives of a shiny metallic look.

 

Most vids to date of the M18X actually running have been taken with the room lights off and Alienware FX on. Personally, switching the FX off is the first thing I do... it's a laptop, not a disco feature.

So, I too would love to see something more of the red beast! Heck I'll even take pics of the Black one from those that chose the wrong colour ;-)

 

These pics are beautiful, if you can please take more like this.

 

can we please stop/remove the screwdriver posts?

This is a m18x pictures/videos/unboxing thread.

Thank you.

 

Agree! and I would appreciate very much some comparative pictures (at that quality or better) from the display resolution, with texts, gamuts, shadows, textures, etc. etc. etc. PLEASE!!!

 

Glad to hear that, all my alienwares have been black and its starting to look very boring, i wanted my m18x to stand out amongst its siblings so i went for red Jokers your feedback would be great (some more pics and vids wouldn't hurt either)!

 

Thread has been cleaned up, please continue with the topic.

 

On a side note, I must say that I love the different design of the speaker grille...I know its was adopted for the R3 but I didnt really pay much heed to it before....the chrome accents on that and the track pad are a great touch of design in my opinion...much better than the R2 in terms of aesthetics.

Im looking forward to seeing what the palm rest is like in comparison to the R2 as it soft touch opposed to hard plastic of the R2.

I also think it was a great idea to remove the touch capacative buttons and replace them with pressable buttons....I lost track of the amount of times I touched something by mistake on the R2 and it went nuts...either that or it just didnt respond. Touch capacative was a nice thought but it just didnt gel on the R2.

God, writing a review here and havent even got mine yet LOL

 

Thanks but did you have to delete the post i quoted

 

What units are those Pics of ???? Obv the m18x compared toooo ?

 

forget it ... got it ... xps 16 whew, thought that was a 17.3 and was worried. ...

 

That laptop looks huge along the SXPS16, it makes the SXPS looks like an ultraportble.
@shaqdiesel could you please click couple of pics of the M18x when you recieve it next to your M17x R3. I might sell mine to get the M18x but would like to check out a size comparison first

 

Thank you! ^_^

 

Any pictures of the black m18x yet? Wondering what it looks like before I pull the trigger...

 

If you want more Nebula Red pics, you can see some of my R2 here http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/559824-m17x-show-off-pics-vids-etc-44.html on page 44 - should be the same red as used on the M18x hopefully......dont see any reason why it wouldnt be...

Oh and sorry for mentioning screwdrivers....my bad. - obviously some people (not mentioning user names) didnt like us talking about something useful to other users......afterall it was a few posts intended to help other new M18 owners out...dont see the need to whine and complain......theres plenty of vids and pics from the two Jokers.

Apologies for trying to help another NBR member over something fairly trivial....didnt think it disrupted the thread that much as I did say thats all we were gonna say on the topic.

 

Yea sure il take some pics for you when i receive it, anyways in the meanwhile you can see the size difference somewhat in this picture, hope it helps!



Edit: here is a much better view of 18x vs m17x r3 click the link below.

Alienware M14x, M18x and M11x R3 hands-on - Engadget Galleries

 

Yeah, that is really old pic but that M18x seems to be an older plastic version. Also wasn't the red one supposed to be the M14x??
Yeah I did check out the Engadget gallery but the pic they have is a weird angle, it did not help.

 

What I want (baddly need!) to see are some comparative closeups of the two displays resolutions... Even some macro closeups... with samples of texts, textures, shadows, etc. 4me this is a must before I decide... ( hoping untli then that some RGB-LED + IPS... will come out of the hat of some Dellienware designer... )
Even better, please, if the comparative pics are from the M18xR1 vs. M17xR2
Any one? Jokers?

 

Your never gonna get a true representation of how good a screen is (or isnt) by looking at pictures of a screen on a different screen.....the only way to tell is "in person"

Pictures may tell a thousand words but seeing is believing.

 

Very true, I was not sold on an M17x until I went to MicroCenter and played with the display model myself

Wish there were M18x models I could see in person

 

Totally agree indeed. But, in my situation, working fare away of 'civilization' now in South America, I can't have a comparative personal immersion, nor a glimpse, of the displays. My only reference can be some close-up macro pictures taken in the same conditions at the same distance... In the past I did it that way and it helps me a lot... My 'long distance' decisions then were satisfied with the product I choose this way. I never had to regret.

 

Screwdrivers have nothing to do with this topic. It's off-topic. Posts deleted ... it's forum moderation/maintenance at its most basic level. If you have a personal issue with the actions taken, PM me, I don't bite.
You're more than welcome to start a thread about screwdrivers.

 

Unless I've missed something, there's only one vid and one set of pictures... please correct if I'm wrong!

 

Vid is from me, pics from imitation joker.

 

Can you make another vid showing off the nebula red in different lighting conditions, and maybe snap a few pics too (also do you have any other systems to do a sceen comparison with)?

 

Hey guys,
Got my m18X today! This is my first ever laptop, so I'll try to answer any questions that haven't already been answered. So without further ado, here are some pics of the black version:










Specs are:
Alienware m18x Black
Core i7 2920XM OC Turbo 4.0 GHz
8GB Kingston HyperX PnP 1866 Mhz RAM (not installed yet, but on hand)
1.5 TB RAID 0 7200RPM
AMD CrossfireX 6970M
Blu-ray
Centrino Ultimate-N 6300
1 YR Warranty

 

3dmark 2011 score

what is the speed of your cpu when running winrar w/ multithreading enabled

what are the temps of your gpus after running a benchmark

 

You mean the 1TruJok3r *cough* *cough*

After seeing the black man am I glad I got Red No offense but the black just looks boring and bland...but to each his own.

 

320x180 isnt exactly a fair comparison lol. but i agree so far.

 

I would have preferred a silver option personally. I loved my silver R1.

 

I think that Red would be especially good if you want the computer to be the focal point of the room it is in. Black would blend in better and maybe then the focal point of the room would be some art or the design of the room or a nearby guitar or a beautiful desk.

I'd prefer silver too.

dt

 

I would of loved to purchase a silver version. Too bad the started discontinuing that colour. Maybe a CHROME one! like on the Auroras haha. I think most people choose black because its discrete and also the lid than looks all black with the rubber grip.

 

Maybe a real industrial look would be good, rounded with a lead or galvanized appearance. I'd like that and then they could make one corner look like a cat nose with whiskers and glowing eyes. It's late.

 

The black still looks sexy to me. I'm hoping for some better pics of the black ones. I'm holding off till June anyway because I will have funding then, and the new options (5xx + possible better screen).

 

Ok, very glad I went with red this time around.

 

Hey DualEdge, can you please post the bios settings for the factory overclock on your 2920XM in the overclocking thread, will help us that couldn't buy it with OC. That option isn't available in uk.

 

@ Duel Edge, is it just your camera or does the black m18x actually look brown instead of black oO

 

Here are my pics. First time I ever did this so i apologize for the quality.

m18x - Imgur

 

I see no need to apologize, looks great!