New m15x review coming!

So my shiny new baby comes in tomorrow (FedEx estimates before noon!), and I intend to complete a complete review of it (benchies, pictures, the whole works), but I wanted to compile a list of all of the known (Past/present) problems with the m15x so that I can test them all out. Here are the ones I know about:

1. Screen wobble
2. Screen hinge creaking: Hinges creaking and making noise when being moved.
3. Crack by ethernet port
4. Keyboard responsiveness: Missing keystrokes that are in quick succession
5. GPU overheating: I'm not too sure on what went on with this, so I don't know how to reproduce it. If people could enlighten me about this, that would be fantastic.
6. GPU downclocking: See above for overheating. Not too sure how to reproduce this one.
7. Overall build quality: Some people have been saying the build quality is poor overall.
8. Paint imperfections

What am I missing, anything? I'll post my complete review probably Tuesday or Wednesday after I've had a chance to play with it and get a feel for it overall. Here are the specs for mine:


[1] Area-51® m15x

Display: 15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - White
Video/Graphics Card: 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800M GTX
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
Turbo Cache Memory: Intel® Turbo Memory (1GB) – Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
Available on Windows Vista Only!
System Drive: 160GB 5,400RPM Hybrid Drive w/ 256MB flash memory
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Keyboard Options: AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Port Adapters: HDMI to DVI-D Adapter
Power: Additional Battery – 6-cell Smart Bay Battery

 

im really looking foward to this, thanks!

 

the overheating and downclocking issue have been fixed in the new bios drive. If you are going to do a review, then please download the x32 driver first from myhive to avoid any old infomation.

 

Cool.

Nice specs there.

 

halogod... my monitor beats you by 1 ms refresh rate...... thats then only thing i beat you at.....

 

haha well for a 28" 3ms is unbeatable, unless yours is the same size or bigger, im guessing you have a samsung

 

no, an asus

 

Ok. I'll make sure to check for the X32 BIOS. Are we absolutely sure the X32 BIOS solves all overheating and downclocking issues?

 

from what we have seen, yes

 

it was actually the x30 update, but then they came out with the x32 update that fixed an issue where the touch controls would not work after the system came out of sleep mode. so yes, get the x32 for best results. x32 i think is still a beta, but it works fine. thats why you dont get it preloaded. it beta

 

OMG! im a notebook geek now!!! i prefered enthousiast, thank you very much!!!

I cant even spell sometimes!

 

dont worry youll be able to change it to w/e you want someday lol

 

?... ooo! i even got a rep!..... so is your OC master and my notebook whatever just decided by some nosy moderator? or does it have something to do with the amount of posts?

whats OC master?

 

i think amount od post then you can just type in whatever you want it to be, i forgot when it let me do it

 

I have more RAM, but he (she?) has a Penryn

 

she?! im not a girl, or were you talking about heliosvector?

anyways OC master means overclocking master

 

well im a guy for one, and secondly, i dont have any pc specs up for him/her to look up so it must have been talking about you.

 

Ahh! FedEx shipping notices are driving me nuts! At 0851, it was marked as on a FedEx vehicle for delivery, and then at 0946 it was marked as "In Transity" with a note of "Package to be cleared by FedEx broker". What is going on with my baby?!

Seriously though: What do they mean? It's on a truck already why is a broker dealing with it?

 

where abouts are you dude?? Looks like they are querying the customs fees on it before shipping it further. Wondering if the duties have been paid on it or not.

 

Nevermind. It's here. Arrived about 15 minutes ago. I'm unpacking it now, and documenting the process (Already missing my nameplate...Oh well. Maybe it's in one of the other boxes or something).

 

no it should be screwed into the bottom. Congrats on finally getting your system

 

the nameplate should be fixed to the bottom of the laptop, unless it got lost in transit. hehe!!

 

some 200 point system that they have. honestly. Its supposed to have multiple visual checks yet they miss a nameplate missing?

 

Oh, here we go. Found the invoice. It's on back order. Hehe. Wupz.

 

I still dont see how they can manage that, i mean if every single m15/17x laptop comes with a nameplate, the would they not order one for every single chassis in stock?

 

Perhaps they ran out because of people calling back with incorrect names on theirs? Either way, no biggie. I'm compiling a list of notes on it as I go. So far, I've only got a couple complaints, and they are extremely minor.

 

Hey man my m15x is in stage 4, let me know how the screen wobble and hinge are, I'm interested.

 

Screen wobble is no worse than any other laptop I've ever had. Perhaps other people have higher expectations, but the wobble on the m15x are as good as, if not better than, anything else I've owned.

Hinges on mine are fantastic. They make little to no noise when the they are being worked. While they are stiff, they aren't overly so. One thing i noticed was that when closing the lid, the last inch or so is tough to control, but you'll get used to it. Won't take long. (You'll see what I mean when you get it)

Hope those help.

 

thats because it closes with a magnet. just use both hands and you should be able to control it pretty well.

 

Yeah, I figured that one out after a moment or two. Still, something I felt I should point out. I do prefer it to a latch.

 

theres a feature i didnt know about. smart idea.

 

ok sounds good, thanks man! I'll have to check it out