How long will an m15x last?

Hello

I know the m15x came out a few months ago so I know there can't be a concrete answer but I'm just looking for thoughts or opinions..

About how long could an m15x last w/ all the best specs and with good care?
(I'm hoping it will last 5+ years , specially when I'm paying 4k)

 

you have to be more specific. do you want to know how long the m15x will last or how long it will last for gaming? for the first, four years or so should be possible if you're careful with the case, for the latter, two years or so.

 

in my case about 3 hours
future proof and top spec used to mean it would last a lot longer than your normal off the shelf computers you would buy from your local high street but it is almost impossible to answer as the m15x is a new breed of computer.

 

B2T: reconsidering... i'd say four years at most, more like three, seeing how some cases already have cracks etc.

 

You probably won't see it last 5+ years. If you have the 8800 GPU, I'd say it would decrease its lifespan due to heat related issues. A more realistic number i think is 2 years.

 

yeah but overheating issues have been cleared up. then again the plastic might get brittle or something, so that might be a factor. i still say the m15x should hold together for 3 years.

 

What's with all the pessimism? Seems like kids these days like to throw out technology...

5 years should be no problem, though expect some 'quirks' to develop over that time

 

i don't know... some users already have cracks etc, and that's not gonna get better over time, right?

 

That one picture of a crack, in all fairness, was tiny and not even in a stress location (it was like over the ethernet port; that was probably caused by the technician installing the port a little too forcefully -- I'd be surprised if it got worse at all). And the base plastic (the non-glossy black) has practically no chance of cracking.

If cracking is your worry, then if you ever even get one it will probably only be in a superficial location and could be fixed with some tape (but I really don't see that being a huge issue). I've dropped things and banged up the glossy part several times, and nothing has ever come of it yet (not even scratches)

 

and don't count the 9800m out for the m15x.

 

exactly. If the Clevo can have it, so will the m15x

 

yeah but that's _now_. only time will tell the real quality of the plastic and the effects of heat on the material.

EDIT: though of course i'd love to see the m15x last four or five years

 

Well ok, but off 2.5 months, I really can't see cracking as a long-term problem though.

 

sorry I didn't specify more, I meant technology wise, I know I could keep it without breaking it for 5+ but software/hardware being outdated idk

I've had my PC since 2002, it's a 2000 model and Its okay but I can't play most games unless they have low specs so I guess my question is how long will it last before I can't play the new games or it's starts having trouble running the current games

 

okay, i think i'll have to cede judgement on this to you, seeing how i don't own an m15x yet...

 

Yeah, and that's where the 9800/9900 come in. Since the m15x has the MXM-HE connector, it's a fair bet to expect the laptop to be upgradeable to at least that generation when it comes out in 8-12 months. An 8800 combined with a 9800 upgrade would provide you the best performance possible in a laptop for 3ish years (maybe more depending if the "10800" series also goes off MXM-HE).

 

I think the problem is that build quality is being confused with durability. There are definitely some fair build quality complaints (e.g. those cracks, scratches out-of-box, parts not lining up, gap above ethernet port for some, etc) but on the whole I would still say this is a durable laptop.

 

It might not be portable for more than 3 years, but as a desk dweller, even craptasticly built laptops can last forever...

my dad got an Averatec 3200m days after it came out... 5 effing years ago!
he uses it for 3 hours, every weeknight, maybe a bit more, I don't live there any more. Any who, Averatec machines are poorly built, but thin and light.

He has treated the machine nice, and it has held up waaaaaay too well for a 5 yr old lappy. Single core, 1.2ghz Turion. The wifi card died a bit ago, so I put a mini-pci N card in it for him.

that laptop will last for at least another 3 years the way he uses it.

Another example: we had a laptop program at my high school, my grade was the first to get it. we got dell d505 latitudes. 1400mhz, 1024x768 screens, 40gb HDD, 512mb ram... beautiful. We used them in every class for 3 years (and many used them through Hurricane Katrina, because of which my school was closed for a year).

As you can imagine, that puts a serious amount of strain on a laptop. I treated mine very well, and still had to replace the keyboard, and I have one cracked vent grille. Some people's LCD's are loose within their lids, but as a whole, these things held up through some tough $h1t.

The m15x will acquire scratches, cracks, and other cosmetic failings. but none of those will stop it from being usable, it is not as if the motherboard will come flying out of the thing if you slide it too hard.

 

From my experience, how long a high-end laptop lasts depends on what you want to do with it. Since you bought a gaming machine I presume you want to play the newest games that are on the market with it.

So here is what you will consider with a high end notebook without any upgrades:
- first year, newest games play at highest settings maxed out without any drawbacks
- second year, newest games play with minior drawbacks, maxed out setting wont be an option anymore, old games still run pretty fine
- third year, the newest stuff will only play with major drawbacks, reducing resolution and putting settings to min may help but wont make you happy -> now is the time for a new system or an upgrade if you want to keep up with current games that are released!

 

One thing you need to have clear:

Don't purchase a mobile system with hopes that you will be able to upgrade the video card at a later time.

While mobile system manufacturers may provide an upgrade or two don't count on them providing laptop video card upgrades for long if at all.

Other parts are more easily upgradeable like CPU, hard drives, memory, optical units and the like. Still, video cards on mobile systems are not as upgradeable down the road.

 

Why is that? Hardware compalibilty issues? If not that I can get someone to do it for me or do it myself, is it hard?

 

It's usually because laptops have lots of custom components. Laptops are far less universal than desktops (because, with desktops, they're all the same size for the most part -- laptops come in all shapes and sizes, so the components are hardly similar between laptops)

Now, while (as Moidock says) you should never buy any laptop expecting to be able to upgrade it in the future, I am cautiously optimistic about the m15x's video card having the potential to be upgraded.

 

Mmm... gotta love these laptop companies deliberately choosing proprietary hardware/form factors to ensure forced upgrades...

PS I do understand that there's some requirement for custom design, particularly when dealing with the cutting edge. But seriously. Does every "standard" (e.g. like the Dell Inspiron line, not like the Dell XPS line or the Alienware m15x) 15.4" have to have completely different motherboard layouts? It's not like they're all that different from each other...

 

Well, there have been movements towards standardization for those things other than the CPU and RAM (most notably NVIDIA's MXM standard for video cards), but the fact is that there is a lot of variety between laptops other than the screen size. For example, the m15x's motherboard has to be capable to hold the 8800M, which separates it from all (current) 15.4" laptops. Or, some companies decide to have their laptops slope in the front -- well that needs a different layout than the m15x (for example, as its height is even). Lots of things vary between laptops, so while it is unfortunate things aren't more standardized, it is definitely understandable.

 

http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/

 

yup thats exactly what happens, but lets hope we will be able to upgrade to the 9900GTX when that happens.

 

I actually believe there is a high chance that this might happen what would give the m15x another benefit against other gaming-laptops!

 

Well, as I've been saying all along, the Clevo m860tu has been advertised (by Clevo) to be 9800/9900 compatible, which therefore means that the m15x will be as well (they have the same MXM connectors)