Alienware Notebook Cosmetic Modifications and Custom Builds

Jaw dropping! Nice color choice... a real standout.

 

Feature on Alienware's facebook page is up now. More should follow soon as others send in their photos.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151058350921973.428409.71644901972&type=1

 

Looks fantastic Mr. Fox!!! I saw the update on facebook and commented there, but thought I'd do so here as well. Really really nice lookin!!!

 

Thanks, Greywolf22. Are you the gentleman with the Jeep?

I know DR650SE and Speedy Gonzalez, maybe a few others also sent in photos. I suspect we will see several members of our community being featured on the Alienware Facebook page soon.

 

Awesome work Mr. Fox! Seeing that makes me want to do something on mine... How hard is it actually to get something like that done? I have a M17x R3...

Would probably want something with a logo on the design though... With some reddish color... Wonder how good/bad that would be

 

saw your rig again on Facebook Dude!! Congrats!!

Mr. Fox's Alienware!! (Facebook Link)

 

Beautiful job Mr. Fox. Ive contemplated getting a simple vinyl to put on top of the lid, but Ive ALWAYS been terrible at applying those, plus I would still have to go through the hassle of removing the lid from the screen. I would love to get a solid white or even a nice teal/aqua color. But I am terrible with taking things apart and trying to put them back together. It usually ends up breaking or getting screwed up. So I may leave that work as a dream. Just curious though, about how much did it all run you (You dont have to give an exact number, just ballpark wise, so I can get an idea) and how hard was it to put it all together?!

Again great job!

 

I traded computer work for paint work with a long-time business friend. I could have done the work myself, but I no longer have the right tools and have not done any professional automotive painting in a very long time. I also did not feel like spending money on expensive tools (spray gun, pressure regulator, respirator, etc.) that I will not likely use again. Plus, I do not have a dust-free controlled environment in my garage. Professional automotive-grade baked-on paint work needs to happen in a paint booth to avoid getting dust and other airborne debris in the paint. So, the barter worked out well for me.

Having a lot of experience in the automotive repair and collision repair industry, I can approximate what you should expect to pay at a minimum as an off-the-street customer. Automotive refinishing materials can be expensive. I would say to expect in the ball park of $500 for a very high grade refinish job, baked finish, including labor and materials. That would be for a single color and nothing elaborate like flames or airbrushed graphics. There is a lot of prep work and surface conditioning that goes into a top notch job. You don't really want a "scuff and shoot" paint job. The trick could be finding someone willing to do it. A shop that does custom auto painting and restoration work would likely be more receptive than many high-volume shops primarily focused on insurance collision work. They are often very business oriented and don't take on special projects for strangers. But, the guys that do a lot of rods and customs probably would be happy to jump on something like that as a way to show off their talents and do something cool... "easy money" for those types.

If you are prone to breaking things, taking a laptop apart might not be a good idea, especially an expensive one like the M18x. For those that find this kind of thing easy, the M18x is a joy to work on. It has to be taken down to nothing but the lid and chassis base without any attached parts. The plastic molding on the lid about the display and plastic bezels on the sides where all of the ports are also need to be removed. That was the only difficult (i.e. tedious) part of the process, simply because using brute force is not an option. The molding on the lid is glued down and needs to be coaxed off gently. In absolutely unavoidable, one might be able to get away with masking it off and getting a nice finished product, but the paint might be susceptible to chipping or peeling at the edge adjacent to the molding because proper prep cannot be performed with it in the way. The side panel bezels between the motherboard I/O ports and the chassis are attached with a material like 2-sided Scotch tape and are not quite as difficult to remove. These parts cannot be masked off for painting without compromising the quality of the end product.

 

I'm thinking about doing mine pearl white... Same color as my car... Have the Alien head decal ordered and on the way from a customize auto decal shop.... (<---- Family in the Auto business...)

 

Like I said, that dream might just stay a dream thanks for the great feedback though. If I ever find myself with 500 bucks to burn and an itching desire for a different color laptop, Ill think about it. But for now Ill let you keep the credit and drool over the pictures!

Im still stuck on the white though. I was actually thinking an overall color of white (Like your yellow) with a teal flake so everytime the light hits it, it would give off a nice light tint of teal...ahhh dreams!

 

DR650SE has his M17x R2 painted in pearl white and it looks awesome.

The other colors I considered were canary yellow, hugger orange, candy apple green and cobalt blue. This yellow pearl was just too striking to ignore. I stumbled onto it by accident.

 

Just wondering, can we do it too on our M17x brother Fox? Man! I am so jealous! The M17x has a different finish compared to the M18x so I think it wouldn't turn out well properly

 

I don't know any reason you could not do it on an M17x R3/R4. Someone probably has already done it. I'm not sure about how durable automotive paint would be on top of the soft-touch finish. You'd have to try it and see. The paint may need a flex additive such as what is used on flexible plastic/rubber bumpers on vehicles to keep it from becoming brittle and chipping off. The surface prep would be a little different in the paint process.

 

Wow, awesome job Mr. Fox!
I've done a similar painting on my desktop TJ07, but I used electrostatic coating.
Maybe I can do something with the incoming beast.

@Kyrius: yes, you can paint the m17x too, using a professional aeromodelling painting kit. I think the automotive painting should work too. (when i took my car for repairs they used the same painting for the plastic and metallic parts)

 

I somehow missed it on the Alienware Facebook page, but DR650SE has his awesome pearl white M17x R2 featured there last month. For those that did not see it, here is the link:

So, my yellow beast and DR650SE... anyone else featured there yet?

 

That orange looks awesome. I want it and Id pay for it!!!!

 

I just realized that I never posted photos after adding the stripes to my M18x a couple of months ago. Here is what it looks like now. Sorry the lighting mutes the colors a bit. These were taken with a cheaper camera than the original photos. (There is a glimpse of the trusty old M17x R2 in the background on the first one.)

 

A few changes since I last saw your pics - reminds me of a Shelby GT500.......both have plenty of power under the hood!

 

reminds me of star wars for some reason.

 

Looks awesome! Think Stevie hit it on the head. Looks like Eleanor!

 

Has anyone considered hydrographics? After upgrading my guts to make my M18xR1 an M18xR2 I purchased a new bottom chassis to better accommodate the mSATA. So, I am not using my custom painted chassis at the moment. I am thinking about doing this to my M18xR2 if I can find a pattern that I like well enough. (The one in the first video would be pretty sweet.)

Check this out...

[parsehtml]<iframe width='640' height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jaLtWJLJBVU?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen=""></iframe>[/parsehtml]Here is a torture test showing durability...

[parsehtml]<iframe width='640' height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2t--uFmpIHI?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen=""></iframe>[/parsehtml]Here is a vendor that sells DIY kits... My Dip Kit Water Transfer Printing and here is their YouTube Channel showing more demos.

 

Fox, I've had hydro-graphics done on 2 of my AR-15's... digital camouflage on the forward hand guards, upper and lower receivers, and A2 stocks. Not only have I been impressed with the quality of the graphics (the transfers are wonderfully clear and precise) but the durability is absolutely AMAZING. They both get dragged through the brush and muck on slings on my back and the finish is holding up like nothing I've ever seen. You seriously have to try hard to scratch them. If it's the quality and durability you're wondering about, I can totally vouch for that, you won't be disappointed.

 

Thank you for mentioning that. Great info. I miss my custom paint job, but the real attraction of hydro-graphics for me was, in fact, the durability factor. The deciding factor will probably be finding something I like well enough. Camo is perfect for your AR-15's, but not something I would want on my Alienware. Most of the patterns available from the vendor I linked are not something that I would want. I may contact them to find out about making my own pattern, or maybe just going with a solid color like NVIDIA/Lime Green Metallic, Cobalt Blue or maybe even another bright yellow color again... if they can provide a transfer like that.

If I can scrape up the extra parts I need, I will be resurrecting the M18xR1 with the yellow pearl chassis. I have about 75% of what I need for that project. I need speakers, fans, LCD panel with LVDS and WiFi cables, ODD bracket and cable, and a couple of MXM cards. If I could find a rough M18xR1/R2, maybe with a bad mobo, all scratched up and ugly for dirt cheap that might be the easiest and least expensive approach. I almost bought one on eBay last week for $700 (still functional) but that was more than I wanted to pay for parts. Otherwise, I might sell the parts for someone that wants to take their worn out M18xR1 from tired and ugly to awesome... not sure yet.

 

You could maybe sell what you have and paint up your current one?

I do think you have to be careful with how you customise machines (resale value/warranty aside) as you can easily cross the line into garish.

 

Ive found tons of awesome graphics for this since you showed me.. I am thinking about saving the money and getting the big station so i can offer it to the public lol..
im thing about this one for the back panel of the screen... since it will look all alieny..lol

 

That does look pretty cool, DumbDumb. I like it. :thumbsup:

Yes, I totally agree with this. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I like the idea of a solid color as a matter of personal preference. Even though some really wild patterns look fantastic, I worry that over time I might grow tired of it. The flames and skulls on the motorcycle fender in the video above looks very cool, but I think over time, staring at it every day, I might end up wishing I hadn't done that. Sort of like having tattoos... best to be sure you want it because getting rid of it later is a problem. I don't normally consider resale value because I generally keep my systems until they are dead, too old to be worth using and donate them to charity, or give them to family as gifts if they are better than what they already have, etc.

 

Who ever wished Alienware made a tablet, well this is the link to my entry into the m18x r2 custom mod build... I call it Alien-Contact. I will be installing the aforementioned custom emblem with same familiar Alienware lighting effects at a later date, as it is the only identifying marker missing as of now due to the modification. I hope you like my picasso as it is the only real one in existence to this date.
Hands On Alienware Tablet "OFFICIAL" - YouTube
AIN'T IT COOL B-)

 

I'm selling an entire lcd assembly with hinges, lcd back cover, lvs cable and camera

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

While I applaud your effort, I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this. I watched your video, and I'm really unsure how practical a 2.5 inch think, 14 pound, 18.4 inch display "tablet" would be. While an Alienware m18x does already stretch the bounds of what can reasonably be considered "portable," changing the form factor into something that's supposed to be held in your hands takes it to a different level entirely.

I see in your video that you showed it off by playing "No Gravity" and "Asphalt 8." If you wanted to play smartphone/tablet games, you could have gotten a new Nexus 7 for a lot cheaper than mangling an m18x

 

Yeah, I did not think that was too cool... for all of the reasons you mentioned. Plus, the idea of having a slimy screen on my M18x just makes me want to puke. Having one fingerprint at the top of the screen near the webcam drives me batty. I even hate looking at my Android phone because of the filthy, nasty screen, LOL. Even if I was not OCD like that, using a keyboard and mouse for input are infinitely superior to using a touch display. I use computer systems equipped with 13-inch, 15-inch and 27-inch touch displays and I don't like using the touch feature on any of them. They are all nice machines, but I use keyboard and mouse and ignore their touch abilities. I suppose different strokes for different folks, but I can't really see the concept being embraced by most M18x owners.

 

I don't recall finding out the end to this discussion, but did anybody succeed in transplanting the LTN184HT02-S01 screen from the Sony Vaio into the M18x?

 

Lol I just saw Frankein-tablet for the first time now. Oh gee. Well, it's nice to see modders doing new things...even if yours truly views it as sacrilege.

 

It seem that I 've find a way to replace the screen. I haven't tried it out yet. I think the long brown ribbon on the left is the power of the backlight unit. If I use the converter I posted and bent the ribbon to the connection, it may power up the blu

 

However, I thinked about it for nights. The 20 pin is a power supply connector for the blu. I found other similar tn rgb led panel in the internet, such as the ltn170ct08-l01. Its 20pin connector need to have about 13w power input for it which tell us that the 20pin connection on the ltn184ht02-s01 need similar amount of power input.

 

If you want to run it on our M18x r2, we can buy the screen cable of the m17x, which has a 40pin connector and 20pin connector. But we would lose the power of the webcam. Moreover, the 40pin on the m17x cable is not the regular one that we use on the m18x r2 screen. So we need to buy for the converting board for converting the connection from the jae 40 pin to i-pex 30 pin and a board to convert the i-pex 30pin to i-pex 40pin. Finally we need one more board to convert the i-pex 40pin to flat 30pin that match the screen connection.

 

If my assumption is correct, we will be able to power up the screen successfully. But there is one more thing, the power consumption. We will lose at least 1 hour of battery time as the screen need large amount of energy.

 

I dont know how much power the lvds connector can output. If the connector cannot provide much power, our motherboard will definitely fry out.

 

I want to suggest another screen for those , include me, to use. It is the claa184fp01. It is a 6bit + frc panel which is able to produce more colour than the 6 bit one in our computer. At the right of the screen, there is a 12pin ribbon. We need to use this http://m.intl.taobao.com/detail/detail.html?spm=a1z5f.7632053.0.0&id=15655652388
and this
http://m.intl.taobao.com/detail/detail.html?spm=a1z5f.7632053.0.0&id=12251542011
to make the screen to work.

Thanks for reading

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-...503?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c4b95bfff

I have wrapped my Laptop in this.

 

Nice! Can you please share some pictures of your machine with this wrap?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/media/image.845/

http://forum.notebookreview.com/media/image.846/

Not the best pictures, but you can see how it looks. This is my M17X r3 i have wrapped.

I will get my wife to take some better pics with her DSLR camera.

 

Necro-thread time.

So, is anyone doing anything special with their machines any more, or just using them as they come off the assembly line?

If you've got something special, please flaunt it.

 

I'm kind of a "stock purist" kind of guy, both in cars and computers (as far as aesthetics go)

For me, it was always the insides that mattered. Just find the shell you like best, gut it/upgrade it, and use it! (read: S54 swapped BMW E28. My kind of car....)

 

Well, water cooling either the m18x r2 or the AW 18 has been on my mind for quit some time. I have not really dig right into it yet. But I am positive i will get it done. I will try external setup first. these are items that I have collected along the way. A lot of low profile water blocks, mxm water blocks etc ...

 

Continue ....

 

Nice! I look forward to seeing your progress on that @Rengsey R. H. Jr.

 

That's absolutely nuts if you can get it to work. Sign me up if you have it working!

 

Not sure if it's possible to fit something like this in?
http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/asetek_liquidcooling.jpg
It's something long long time ago, but if dell managed to pull this off on alienware 18 hats off to them.

 

This little tricked-out Alien landed on eBay US for a princely sum, due in part no doubt for sporting jet black genuine faux crocodile appliqués. I dig it. Reminds me of a turtle though. Cute? Yes. Very. Make mine an 18, in whatever flavor though, please ...

that's a knife

Spoiler

edit: according to seller: 'faux' KH protectors always available in numerous patterns, eBay/China, ~$25 USD

 

I am actually thinking of buying a new screenlid and chassis bottom and actually airbrush it in a F35 like stealth color theme. matte gunmetal grey contrasty with some shiny gunmetal grey accents.