I want a Gaming-LCD on the m15x!

Lately I read a review of the big fat M1730 and saw it has this nice and nifty Gaming-LCD above the keyboard like the Logitech G15. Even more, its based on the same technics, so all plugins for the G15 can also be used with the dell display!

Don't know what I'm talking about? Here's an image showing the display with fraps plugin (fps-logging):



Now I want the m15x to have such a thing, too! So Alienware, just get rid of the crappy volume-slider and put the display there Actually I don't know why there aren't more notebooks out there with this since its a great invention imho. I have made myself a LCD for my desktop pc and just loved it, so many possibilities: monitor FPS, temperatures, fan speeds, current song playing, a clock/timer/countdown, game stats, weather etc...!

What do you think?

 

Just buy a G15

 

i like the idea too, but i'm not so sure if you have time to check fps and temps during an intense round of CSS...

 

i agree this is something they should have included. Im sure it will be in there next gen laptops

 

Y'know, and perhaps this isn't quite what you're looking for, but a second monitor would do just that. Put all of your diagnostic utilities open that you want on that monitor, then play your games on the other. That is what I do on my current laptop and it works great.

If you're worried about FPS, the m15x has more than enough horsepower to handle that. Heck, that's no problem for ANY graphics solution these days.

 

The display is pretty cool - it can also be used to show what track you are playing and other stats when you are playing music and use it to show CPU usage. I don't think it is much of a selling point however - cool but totally unnecessary.

 

Wouldn't say totally unnecessary, just a good addition to a gaming laptop and since the volume slider is pretty much useless.

 

it would be really cool if it synced with alien fx colors. but then again im not sure if it would look right on the m15x. where would it go?

 

next to the power button, instead of the volume slider, which is useless anyway. granted, that might not look to good.

 

They could also put it next to the webcam as there is a good inch of bezel there.

 

Yeah, its cool but totally unnececssary. I run rivatuner when I game (you never know when downclocking might sneak up on you!) so got all that info anyways.

On another note, that faux-carbon fiber is making my eyes bleed. YUK!

 

Less unnecessary than that volume slider! Is Alienware aware of that issue and are they planning on fixing it?

 

just use net_graph 3 in half life games like everyone else. Tacky lcd screens take the whole look off the laptop especially when in ordinary non gaming use.

 

The volume slider doesn't work THAT bad. I kinda just wish that the little volume thing would show up when you adjust volume during a game.

I don't think that little screen thing is that necessary either. If it was on a laptop I probably wouldn't even be paying attention :-/

 

Yeah that faux-carbon look sucks, like the whole big fat m1730 design, it is just crap in my eyes, so buying a dell m1730 won't be an option at the moment

But I don't think an additional LCD would be completely useless, imo this can only be judged when you have used one before! Of course netstat does display the fps in source games, but it "pollutes" the main screen and this little display can do much more than only display fps!

I have to agree that a plain display will destroy the m15xs design, maybe it could be placed behind a semitransparent piece of plastic in the case, where it is only visible when there is something to display? Hard to explain, so I made a quick&dirty photoshopped image how I imagine it (credits to chaz for the original image):



If it has nothing to display, its not visible at all! I don't know if thats possible with plastics (and with reasonable cost) but I know of LCDs behind mirrors that have the same effect!

And of course its somehow unnecessary but what about touchcontrols, lightpipe around LCD, lit up touchpad or the alienheads? We all could have bought a thinkpad when we wanted a laptop without anything unnecessary

 

that would rucking fock! nice pic crizzler!

 

Nice pic! The volume slider is useless for me, I can only increase the volume and not decrease it. If the LCD is going to be a distraction to some while gaming, just switch it off! lolz. It's good for CPU perfomance, temps etc.. Also good for some Teamspeak or Ventrilo apps.

 

very nice photshop work. yeah come to think of it, the volume slider is so useless. (minimizes all full screen aplications, and you have to beg it to work) thats the perfect place for the lcd to go. now add black glossy skullcap, a subwoofer, louder speakers , all ports behind the monitor on the back, stronger feeling build quality. *phew*, and you got yourself the desktop replacment!

 

You should email that to alienware, it looks friggin' awesome.

 

LOL. much bezel on this laptop.

this would make for a pwnage 15 incher. The m15x needs it to be truly alien.

 

this is like on the Asus G1S...
looks cool indeed.

 

Call us noobs if you want, that doesn't work either. People don't say it doesn't work after 2 mins, we've actually tried everything we could before saying it is useless. When I tap on the minus sign nothing happens, only when I tap the plus sign does it increase.

 

Yeah, might be some defect in earlier versions. Before my warranty runs out I am going to send it in and get it checked out.

 

So you just regged to NBR forums to tell us all were noobs? hmkay

But maybe you are right and these controls somehow do work, they are still are piece of crap considering usability. You know, every single item on a designed product should follow the rule form follows function. And tell me what you want, THATS not the case with this volume-thing! I remember my old M3438 that had a small hardwired(=no software in-between) wheel to adjust volume, simple yet functional...

 

Its not that the volume controls have an "issue" that could be fixed by patching something, its a plain failed by concept "problem"...

So much for the volume controls... Actually this thread was about an LCD, so I hope alienware-steve checks this out and they adopt to the idea!