Alienware m15x General Information - Post m15x questions here!

Can I get some opinions about the black m15x? I'm just curious if any of you know about the quality of the paint and if the lid is still part of the magnesium alloy frame. From what I've heard it will be similar to the toshiba x205 and the coating peeling off, is there truth to this?
I'd love to know about most of your ideas of the downside to the black m15x, the glossy isn't much of a problem with me, but please let me know what you think, even if you havent seen it onhand i know they've used it on prior products. Thanks ahead of time

 

I'm planning on getting one and am pretty excited, but have a batch of new questions... forgive me, I'm a newbie:

1) i understand physically installing ram is pretty easy. I plan on saving some $ by getting 1 GB and buying another GB and installing myself. Question is, does the manufacturer matter? Or can I get any 667MHZ DDR2 memory? Is it the 200 pin type? And for a total of 2 GB, do I get 1 GB (2x512)? Also, is it plug and play, or do i have to do something in the BIOS?

2) vista or xp? is the only reason to get vista DX10 and if so, is it worth it? I don't want to be dealing w/ a buggy OS if at all possible.

Thanx!

 

Well, DX10 is the main reason to go to Vista.

Personally, I haven't had any trouble with Vista aside from a couple compatibility issues with older programs.

 

You don't need to do anything to the BIOS, just stick them in. Either get 2GB (2x1024GB) or 4GB (2x2048GB) or just get a single 2GB stick and together with one of the 512MB sticks you will have enough RAM. Compatibility issues are rare and no, the manufacturer doesn't really matter but make sure is DDR2 PC-5300 SO-DIMM 200 Pin 667MHz.
And for the OS I'm personally going with Vista, it will improve a lot with the release of SP1. :wink:

 

And you seem so sure...do you work at Alienware or have hands on experience with the m15x?

Because the Alienware site says (and I quote from the 'Design' tab):

'The Area-51 m15x’s Stealth Mode throttles back the CPU and GPU, decreasing the notebook’s energy consumption and increasing battery life. Powering down the Area-51 m15x also reduces noise output. Higher energy efficiency and quieter running makes Stealth Mode especially beneficial when working unplugged and out in the field.' (Italics by me...)

And then on the 'Tech Specs' tab, we have mention of BinaryGFX: 'Switch between high-performance graphics and integrated graphics.'

So BinaryGFX and Stealth Mode appear to be two separate items although BinaryGFX could be a subset of Stealth Mode...

That's my biggest beef with these threads on m15x hardware that only mrwater has actually put his hands on...if you have hard info (from a sales rep [somewhat unreliable], from a tech site, from Alienware's site], tell us with as many exclamation marks as you can...if you're guessing, be careful with the superlatives...

 

Well on the AW website there a Download for an Intergrated graphics card.

 

waa i want the black skullcap alienware

 

I'm with you. We haven't seen pictures of the black Alienwares since the unveiling of the m15x and m17x in NY. I wonder how it looks now, because the silver looked much better at CES than it did at the NY event.

 

i want to see what the black skullcap looks like.waaaa i need it before feb 21.. and like if i want it before feb 21 is it advisable to get it now??

 

Do you need to have recieved it by then or ordered it? I've hard that the m15x will be full customisable starting the end of January or early February.

 

It depends on what you want to configure your laptop with, but last time I recall the earliest these things are going to ship are around mid February (assuming you order it TODAY).

Go online and configure what you'd want in your laptop and check the ship date. If your ship date is around mid february, you may want to stick it out a week longer to see if they come out with the skullcap next week (or early next next week).

However, if you DESPERATELY need it BEFORE the 21st of Feb. no matter what, then you are probably going to have to stick with this silver Ripley unless a miracle happens this weekend.

 

my estimated ship date is like feb 15

 

I just check Alienware's site and if you order the $2099 model it'll ship in less than a week, if you order the $2699 it'll take less than two weeks.

 

HOLY MOTHER OF afsdjf;ljf;ljL:FDJSFLS:JFL:SDFJSDFLKSDFJSF#RUEREWORJSEJFLKSDJFLK:SJFSDJFLDSJFLKSDJF:ALFJAKL:FJSD

I JUST HAD THE MOST OFF-PISSING CONVERSATINO WITH ALIENWARE.
I asked the sales Rep (Anita or something): "Do you have any updates on when the black case and skullcap are coming out for the m15x"

"They are coming out by the end of march."

I asked if that means they could be coming out in the next 2 weeks even, and she said "no, they are coming out end of march."

meaning they will probably come out "at the end of march."

WOW. Apparently the reason she was able to say this is because Alienware gave them a date that was 2 months of lead time....and that "if the product comes out early, then good for the customers." But she doesn't know the probability of it coming out sooner, and she was really stuck on this phrase that pissed me off: "end of march."


I'm confused, angry, and confused.

 

Alienware reps suck at coming up with information on upcoming products and changes. If you talk to another Alienware rep they'll probably give you a different answer. They just like to make up things so we think they know all of Alienware's secrets.

 

Hang in there Coolar! Or you can go Silver

 

what an a$$hole.. B**CH

 

Haha thanks man! I'm just cringing in agony and anticipation because I've been wanting a laptop immensely since October, and decided to wait when I heard of the m15x's launch on Nov. 19th.....and this waiting is really killing me. I mean, I'm checking the websites EVERYDAY hoping it'll change and now they say itll probably be the last week of March.

I agree with you, but what worries me is that I called them again 5 minutes later, talked to another guy who said "there is no set date." When i told him that another woman was giving me a date of "end of march" he was confused, and I told him to go ask someone else, like a supervisor or something. He went to go check, and, 45 seconds later, said "oh yes im sorry, I just got here so I didnt know but it looks like it will be end of march."

Apparently this is new information that Alienware sent them today...

I just really hope it's BS. I'm awfully confused as to how much patience I really have. haha

 

Roor, if you're on this forum, please tell me that the "End of march" date I'm hearing from Alienware sales reps for the skullcap and black case is WRONG....

 

Each Alienware rep is going to tell you a different story. For example: I called 4 times asking about a military discount and was told 2% (3) times and 5% (2) times until finally giving in. Ya know what I'm saying? There is no telling when it will be out. It could be next week or later. Sorry dude.

 

yeah, you are right.

I'm sticking it out, but it kills me inside! I'm Romeo, searching for my beloved Juliet, the m15x..where art thou? where art thou? *stabs myself*

lol. Im a little obsessed. haha

oh well.

It's time to get that toilet paper roll and number it from 1 to 60...the countdown begins...2 months to go.

 

I totally here you bro! After dealing with the M1730 and the problems that I had with them and wating over a month for my refund from Dell. I'm just as ready for my new baby!

 

LOL yay!@

 

quick question, when i customize my m15x do i leave it at 1440x900 or do i up it to the 1900x1200 one?

 

There has been so much debate over this, and it's all still based on guesses and experience from other laptops. There haven't been any reviews of the m15x yet, and the only m15x(es) that has (have) been received is MrWater, who got the 1440 x 900 LCD.

The 1900 x 1200 will allow for higher definition (1200p as opposed to 720p in the 1440) viewing, but the question is if you will really even see the difference on a 15.4" monitor (probably not).

The 1900 x 1200 means you will have more pixels on your monitor, so for photoediting you will have more screen viewing space.

The 1900 x 1200 also means that your graphics will work harder to output at the bigger screen resolution. This means that you will have to use lower video options on videogames, and on a game like Crysis, it may not be possible to enjoy the game at a reasonable frame rate (this is all just speculation).

I think the big thing that was mentioned on this forum is that if you do photo-editing, the higher resolution helps because you have more work space.

Personally, I don't mind the 1440 x 900, and I've seen a 1650 x ???? on a 15.4" and the icons and writing is nice and small. The 1900 x 1200 will make everything quite small so unless you have 20-20 vision you may have to move yourself much closer to the monitor to see. It really depends.

I haven't covered everything, but that's just a small spiel for you.

 

most people are gonna end up with the 1440x900 in their laps...

 

and also is it better to wait for penyrn or just get the extreme??i want to know if its that worth it to get my computer after spring break or not

 

Mobile Extreme processors won't show any noticable difference in games, even 2-3 years from now. Look at an earlier post I made.

 

I had to delete a couple of posts in here because they were inappropriate - keep it real please.

Right, just stick with one of the non-Extreme processors. I personally would get either the T7500 or the T7700, whatever is affordable for you.

 

well my parents are paying for it as a present for me getting excellent grades so i basically can get any set up i want. any recommendations

 

Are you a college student or something? My parents never spent $3k to buy me a present just because I get excellent grades and made Honor Roll every time report cards came out since the schools offered Honor Roll in third grade.

I'd say get the same config for your m15x as the m17x I have in my sig (minus the 17" display, obviously).

 

nah im in a private school in CA.. one of the best prep schools i heard..and like this is also to replace my D630. but why only 3G ram?? and it only comes in 4 so i guess ill just get 4gb.. what im trying to get is:

Intel xtreme
Vista ultimate
4gb ram
200GB 7200rpm hard drive
intel turbo memory
8800GTX

I dont get why people get bluray? the dvd quality imo isnt that that great

 

The Extreme shows no noticable performance in games, the Intel turbo memory slows down some things and shows no improvement otherwise, and Alienware ships their systems with 32bit version of Vista which supports 3GB of RAM. Just giving a heads-up .

Blu-Ray disks have much richer colors and a much more detailed and crisp picture.

 

so i should just change the turbo memory and the extreme?? why not the T7800?

 

There is no significant jump from the t7700 to the t7800. So it's mostly like you're giving away an extra $250 to Alienware/Intel, who probably don't need the money!

EDIT: When I said "no significant jump" I meant practically no noticeable difference* - even for video editing on professional programs like Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 and After Effects 7.0

 

alright thx for everything.. ill go with the one in michaels sig but with the 4gb ram.. does the home premium work to with the 4gb?

 

Yes, but any 32-bit version OS will only be able to use 3.5GB of it.

 

I posted this in the owner's thread but no answer.
What warranty should I buy with it? Should I just leave the 1 year or is it a good idea to spend $300 on 3 years. Think from the perspective that every little bit helps.

 

Yay! my laptop in in phase 6 - Operating software installation. Things are moving ahead very nicely Its like waiting for christmas doh! I have to say I am impressed so far with the customer support and the way they keep the customer up to date with the delivery.

System ordered was the 2699 version with the 7200 rpm drive and 8800 GTX with 2 GB or ramand the 7700 processor. Ill upgrade the ram myself later.

I did not get the extended warranty as I also get one free year with Visa and I usually sell my laptops after a couple years and upgrade. this is my 5th laptop but my first Alienware. The others were IBM and Gateway. I probably am one of the roughest guys on laptops and in all those years the worst i had was a screen that went fuzzy in the second year, but visa put a brand new glossy one in for me for zilch!

My gateway I even dropped 30 feet in my travel suitcase off some stairs onto a concrete pad below and it still functions great.

 

The 3 year warranty you spend an extra $300 bucks on doesn't cover accidental damage. In the first year, if a CD drive gets defective or what-not, it'll be covered in the included 1 year warranty.

After that, it's unlikely it'll go defective and if it does, repairing it will cost you much less than $300 bucks. After your first year is up, I'm pretty sure that anything that gets damaged (which is very unlikely in the first place) will cost MUCH less than $300 to repair, so spending money on a 3-year warranty won't give you any benefit.

If it were an accidental damage warranty, like you drop your laptop and it shatters into smithereens....then that's a different story. But I don't think Alienware has accidental damage warranties...

 

You'd be screwed if the whole notebook broke a day after your warranty expired and it needed to be replaced. It depends if you think you need or want the peace of mind of getting your notebook replaced if anything goes wrong

 

Is it safe to say that, with the 2600ghz processor, the 8800 gtx and 4gb of RAM this laptop can play any game currently available on highest settings? I hear Crysis might have some slower framrates but I'm sure I could tweak it to satisfactory levels without losing too much quality.
Correct me if I'm mistaken guys, but if I'm spending $4000 or so I want to be able to play anything that takes my fancy!

 

Yeah, even Crysis will run all Very High at 1280x800 and High at 1440x900. It's safe to bet no game will surpass Crysis in terms of system requirements for quite awhile. One thing Alienware is good for is notebook upgradbility so in a year or two you should be able to upgrade to the newest thing, we'll atleast see an upgrade to the 9xxxM.

How are you spending $4k? That rig should be less than $3000. You really should consider upgrading the RAM yourself and saving a ton of money. Upgrading the RAM is the easiest thing to do to a notebook, other than turn it on, which my mom can't even do .

 

you wouldn't even need 4gb ram first of all...everything should be fine with 2gb. but like MICHAELS01 said...how in Zeus's butthole are you spending $4k?! 2699+???=4000. crysis is the only game you probably won't be able to play on highest settings since even TriSLI nor QuadSLi (which is actually worse) can run crysis on highest everything. Ass Ass Creed is the only upcoming graphic intensive game i can think up of right now and i think m15x should play it without a problem on highest.

 

Yeah, I forgot when I customized it all the hooplah I added in, like antivirus, office suite, warranty, lock, mouse, bag etc...
If I don't buy it with 4gb of RAM it costs almost exactly $3000, +taxes and those other things it'll hit a bit more though. But thanks for the tip with the RAM.

When I look at Gamespots' hardware performance tests on various games like Crysis, Bioshock etc... for the videocard they always show the GeForce 8800 GTX with 738mb or whatever memory and the GeForce 8800 GTS or so with the 512mb. Is it because the 8800GTX for the m15x is on a laptop they lowered the memory? Because those GTS' were significantly slower than the GTX on their site.

Also, I looked at one test, and the best performance came with 2gb of RAM, with 3GB actually lowering the framerates. Does more RAM sometimes do this, or was it some sort of anomoly?

 

The 8800M GTX is comparable to the 8800 GT, which is a great video card. I've saw some benchmarks on these forums of Crysis running extremely maxed, so you don't have to worry.

 

Good stuff, that clarifies things. Now I'm getting excited for this thing. Gotta wait til it comes in black though, silver is too generic. I think I'd get a Black Ripley, the Skull Cap is a bit much, not my cup of tea. Okay, countdown, with alkl the money I have now Ican buy the extras and pay the taxes I guess so that leaves only... 400 hours of work at minimum wage left! Which is extra hard because I'm between jobs right now :O.

 

haha! I'm pretty sure you'll have 400 work hours done by the end of march, which is the (REALLY OFF-PISSING) date that Alienware gave for the relesae of their black case and skullcap configurations.....(and 1499 config)

 

Maybe I'll buy a nice surround sound system after I've purchased the laptop. Sound good? Jesus, now I'm all excited.

 

Sounds good. But you just added an extra 2 weeks of work.