The "Why you shouldn't buy the M15x" thread [OUTDATED] [FIRST GEN MODEL]

hey there will be no 9800m gtx for clevo m860tu, so you guys can chill.

 

ya that's a very interesting development... also puts a big question mark on the m15x's ability to hold that card too; I definitely wasn't expecting that

thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=256714

 

@milcs: Do you remember the picture of the m15x/m17x when they were first announced? They had a THICK lightpipe on the side. Now, the design didn't end up turning out that way (since it bleeds through instead of being a strip), BUT IT IS STILL THERE. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BLEED THROUGH. I cannot stress this enough.

As they say at Blizzard, "working as intended".

 

hmm.. i didn't know it's supposed to bleed through.. cuz mine is like just a light strip.. nothing bleeding through the plastic whatsoever.. i guess mine has thick paintjob? I'm cool with it though.

edit: yeah refering to the post after mine.. same here..

 

About the light pipe as I said before it SHOULD be bleeding through the edge mine however, doesn't. That's why I can hardly see it even if my room's light is turned off I still can't see it clearly.

 

Are you telling me that the m15x is bleeding edge technology that does not bleed?

 

I read too many bad things about the m15x. In the end, I went with Apple, since I already have experience with them and I trust them.

 

I guess I don't know why you were interested in the M15x then. A Macbook (pro) is not a gaming laptop. The 8600M isn't any faster than the 6800M in my Dell XPS Gen2 from three years ago. I can't play any game that was released in the past year on it.

The added cost of loading on a copy of Vista, on top of the already inflated price turns me off as well. So I dunno, I'd be right there buying an Apple with you IF Apple made gaming laptops.

It sucks Alienware dropped the ball right into the woodchipper this time around. Seeing all the problems with the m15x has me deathly afraid of even considering the brand :/ Bah, I was eagerly anticipating the m17x release last november...and its still...not...out.

Hopefully those two buffoons in the Alienware video are soon out of a job for their inept handling of things.

 

^^agree, m15x and macbook pro are totoally 2 different things.

 

Also guys with news just out that Clevo/sager are not going to suport quadcore processors in there 15inch centrino2 sistem and they are also not going to suport/sell the 9800m GTX in it.. the m15x may actualy be the best/only 15inch high end sistem for some time/all time..

my advice is get a m15x just dont get a x9000 and expect a professional web cam its fun now go play.


also now that the clevo15inch does not suport the 9800m GTX its very safe to asume that the m15x batterylife would out strip the clevo by quite a margin. The clevo will have no Hybrid SLi or Binary FX..

 

I can't stress enough this is not normal... it's a shocking and shouting defect and that's probably the only place that shows me this is cheap plastic.
I will try to post those pics soon so that this becomes clarified. The bleeding is not normal and I have no doubt of what I'm saying.

 

ERRRRRRRRRR the Macbookpro IS a gaming laptop lol...

my brother plays crysis and cod4 and BF2 on it all the time...

he can play crysis at average 20fps on medium/High.....

the 8600m is pritty good if u run it with XP and in DX9 in crysis... + afue console tweeks and a 960x600 res and your more than playable.

sure its not even close to the 8800m GTX in power but to say u "cant run any games on it.." is compleatly wrong u can run every thing out atm on it.. beside mabye Flightsim X ^_^

 

@Heathkidd,
1) there is no confirmation whether m860tu will support qual core or not yet.
2) just because mbp can run crysis and cod4 doesn't means it is a gaming laptop. a laptop with 8400m gs can also run those games at 5fps. mbp is more for audio/video editing and modeling.

 

For the money they ask, AW should provide quality. I am shocked to see the problems this laptop has.

 

I have always wanted to own Alienware but this laptop made me feel like a big spender than a smart spender.

After folking out $5800 i felt more stupid than special. Thought AW was the IT brand

my m15x is very nice but the more i visit this forum the more i feel less special about owning AW m15x. My friends are already laughing at me for spending unwisely on brand name.

 

Tyronne... You just have to work hard, but in the end, it's still the best laptop in the world! With quite a handfull of flaws, but the best.
I'm really confident they will be able to work out most of the mistakes, problems, errors... When they do, we have in our hands a gemstone of technology.

 

I am starting to hate Stupid noobs that advertising Macs as the best. Heathkidd Please Post on Mac sites. People here dont care about Macs. They want PC that they understand.

 

Be careful when you say this. Now, instead of the m860tu being 10-15% better, the two will be practically identical except for WiMax support and slightly faster RAM (things that come with montevina). That'll be like a 1-5% total performance difference in favour of the Clevo. Not worth waiting 6 months imo, but that doesn't mean it's bad.

These developments just mean the Clevo will be equal, not a lot better. Unless AW can fit the 9800M GTX, then it's impossible for the m15x to be better -- just equal.

 

R U suggesting that if the m15x has problems supporting Penryn and 8800m, They will actaully be *stupid* enough to put a Quad Core and a 9800m GTX?????

 

isnt the 9800m gtx suppose to run cooler than the 8800m gtx. if it does then it would be possible to put into the m15x.

 

It was rumoured to, but latest news from Clevo resellers says that it isn't. That really isn't too surprising given that the 9800M GTX is based off the same architecture as the 8800M GTX (if driver files are to be believed), so the only way to gain a performance increase would come at the cost of higher heat production.

 

just to back milcs up on this.
ive had 2 m15x in 2 weeks and neither of them were bleeders
BUT
the original lightpipe before the chassis and motherboard were replaced was literely so thin you could hardly see it. after the replacement chassis it was thicker and much more noticeable.
so bleeder or non bleeder, thick or thin it shows that the build quality is not consistent and especially nothing like the original pictures on the AW website.

 

as far as I know WiMax is also delayed and therefore the first Clevos won't have it.


saint

 

yeah, I learnt that after I posted

so I guess it's just the RAM...

 

Then your definition of "gaming" laptop would include the greater majority of systems manufactured in the last 4 years. So why even have the title? For me a gaming laptop offers an experience above and beyond what non gaming hardware is capable of. At the minimum it should be capable of playing games near native resolution! (a challenge for even an 8800gtx)

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Grafic-Cards.130.0.html

You can see how the 6800 go ultra is ~ the same speed as the 8600M GT minus the DX 10 support. My experience with the two cards confirms this. And yes, while I can play TF2 at 5-25fps with everything on minimum - I hardly call that a good gaming experience.

Back on topic... one reason I am holding out for GF9800 confirmation is for the same reason I held out for my XPS Gen2 to get the ultra card. I want the system to last 3 years. Though most m15xs seem to have trouble surviving a week

 

I meant to quote this and back up what milcs was saying, but I forgot Anywho, I definitely believe that the intended setup is the thin line. I have very minimal light leakage, which is only viewable in a very dark room. So either they got mine perfect or they royally screwed it up -- my guess is the former.

 

GRB, sorry, I have an off topic question. How are you finding Vista on the M15x? Does it work well?

 

All in all I would say it's pretty good. If you have user account control off (that's the feature which asks you all those confirmation questions when you move folders, start programs, etc), like I do, then it's just a nicer-looking XP. Get antivirus protection as always if you choose to turn UAC off, but as long as you're even half-competent with a computer (which everyone here is ), you'll be fine turning off UAC.

Performance-wise, Vista is known to be a little weaker than XP as the drivers aren't optimized, but since the m15x just blazes through most games anyway it's hardly a noticeable difference. Probably the only place it would matter (now) is Crysis, because the FPS is so low as it is that just a couple extra frames can make a big difference. That said, you can get most of those frames back just by running it in DX9 mode instead of the default DX10 mode in Vista.

 

Awesome, thanks!

 

@Heath - Why do you remind me of a certain user here who always posted that one company was the best but never actually used the laptop. First of all, the MBP is not a gaming laptop.

I have used a MBP multiple times and let me tell you, it is not a gaming laptop. The whole chassis acts as a heat sink which makes it hot enough to use already, and playing game on it definitely does not help that. It gets way to uncomfortable to use for prolonged periods and that is a problem that they have not yet fixed. In addition, it is very expensive to buy a MBP + a copy of windows (and don't give me the get windows illegal argument).

My friend can play COD4 on his HP 14" with a 7150, doesn't mean its a gaming laptop.

The macbook pro is a notebook with the ABILITY to play games. However, I would not call it a gaming laptop. The IFL90 is a gaming laptop even though it more or less has the same specs as the MBP. Don't get me wrong, its still a good laptop and I may buy one in the future for creative work.

Also, you don't have to answer this, but how old are you?

 

I am wondering if he even has a notebook.

 

Oddly enough I'm not completely disappointed about the 9800GTX with the Clevo thing. More than anything I'm still looking for the build quality in the Chassis and the hinges. I like the way they've made the back end a little beefier. Hopefully, (speculation again), they've put in some solid hinges in there. That in combination with the 1 large fan and the nice heat pipes, is what is making me lean more towards the Clevo. Point blank, I just want a nice 15.4" gaming laptop. It doesn't have to have lights. Just has to play games, be solid, travel well and NOT give me any problems. That's all I want.

 

i didnt say its the best i just said u cant say it will barely run / 5fps arguments

The average fps is 25+, with drops to 17 fps and peaks on 38 fps. All high -Shaders and Shadows medium

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h4jvz7qa-e8


just saying that performance is worth noting.. one of the best performing 8600gt systems alot of it is user tweaks but nun the less u cant just say "No it will only run at 5fps or no its crap"..

that out performs what some 8800gt users are prob experiencing if they are downclocking / bad drivers

 

What the Heath Troll fails to mention is that the the video in that link has Crysis set to 960x600 screen resolution. No thanks.

 

plus DX9 mode because it's XP

 

So what`s the problem? I`ve played Crysis at 960x600,ALL HIGH at 25ish fps and it looked awesome, granted I had 2xAA to remove jaggies,and on a 17 inch WUXGA screen.

In DX 9 mode, of course, XP provides better frame rates than Vista.


I think there should a new thread :"Is it safe to buy m15xs now?"

 

Yea? Well, after 4 shots of tequila and 5 beers, pretty much all the girls in the bar start looking good to me. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

960x600 on a 1920x1200 screen? You can tweak and AA all you want my friend, but that image is still going to look like ass. But hey, if you can never game at 1920x1200 because the video card can't handle it, then I guess you don't really know what you're missing, eh?

 

My friend, if your standards are that high,that you can go aheat and rant about it as long as you like, leave the rest us to enjoy what we have,and tweak it so we'll play at max details.
I'd much rather play at WUXGA/4 AND MAX DETAILS than play at WUXGA and all low.
If you're all about perfect lines and no jaggies,go ahead and play all low and forget about what the game has to offer in terms of details.
Trust me, been through the whole high res gaming many many years ago and unless you're willing to throw in thousands of dollars yearly just to game at high res,(since maxxing out has nothing to do with that),you'll learn that tweaking is the smartest way to go.
I`m maxing out games today with a card that was king 2 years ago,even though its at 960x600 and over 25 fps(Crysis INCLUDED).That says a lot.

 

It's very interesting conversation... but what does it have to do with the topic of the thread?

 

I dunno
Again, IS IT SAFE to get an m15x now?
With the updated chassis and all...

 

No ranting here, 1440x900 or 1920x1200 simply looks much better than having to interpolate a 960x600 image on a WUXGA screen. :shudder:

Look, if 960x600 is all you can handle, then there's no reason why you can't enjoy the game in some capacity. However, some of us were willing to shell out the money for a latest and greatest laptop that is able to game at higher resolutions with all the eye candy turned up. Let us enjoy it, ok? Soon enough we'll have antiquated hardware too but it's nice being able to game at high res for awhile.

It's like a geo metro and bmw Z4. Both will get me to the airport and both allow me to enjoy the view on the way but there's something altogether to be said about the driving experience and quality of the ride.

 

I smell too many trolls in this thread.

 

There's no "updated chassis". Till date, it remains to be confirmed whether any problems are trully solved. I only see people saying "The screen has a bit of wobbliness but it doesn't upset me." and things like that.
I'm waiting to see what happens with my laptop that is now with AW. If they manage to fix the lid wobbliness and give me a laptop whose GPU and CPU don't go up above boiling temperature, then I will be happy.
I'm curious to see what they are going to do... I sent a 8 page letter to them, detailing all the problems I've encountered. Overheating, wobbliness, crappiest webcam in the world, no functional lock, a gap abover ethernet, keyboard flex, light bleeding through plastics close to light pipe... If it was me reading it, I would think "This guy is a psycho!". Oh well... Hoping for the best.


So, at the moment... no, IT IS NOT SAFE. Let's see if they trully change something... If, for example, the security lock starts working, than maybe we can assume something is being done regarding the chassis. I do hope something is done... then the M15x will be the fastest laptop and, even if something comes out soon to marginally take its place, it will be the nicest looking as well.

ps: what is trolling?
ps2: why do people always compare laptops with car brands?

 

Oh, and I was not worried if they wouldn't manage to fix it as the new Clevo is almost out... But after seeing pictures of it... Oh man, that's ugly as ugly can be! Well... not ugly, but not pretty. So I can only hope that the M15x will have a 180ºC turn and become, in fact, the most amazing thing on earth.

 

Trolling is when people state opinions or start arguments in a thread for no other reason than to stir up trouble.
[/QUOTE]

It's just an easy analogy that most people can relate to. Fast cars, fast notebooks. Shiny cars, shiny notebooks. I suppose you could transfer the "fast" analogy to women too or laxatives for that matter but it wouldn't paint the same kind of image.

 

fast laxatives? Ahaha... That would be nice. The lamborghini of the laxatives...
Anyway, thank you for clearing that up. Always learning.

Carry on with the USEFULL discussion please...

 

Now I`m a troll, whadda you know, after 5000 posts I'm a troll
Ok,whatever, but in this regard,most of the discussions are PRESENT linked,not what we could have done or what we will do.
If he enjoyed it at 960x600,and so did I, who are you to tell us it looks like crap? beauty is in the eye of the beholder in the end.
End of "trolling".

As for the m15x , what do you mean no updated chassis yet? A friend wants one and I said now it's ok since the squeecky lid sounds and cracks are taken care off...
So what's the deal?

 

There's no official updated chassis. That's only people guessing and people talking about what some CS mentioned. All the CSs you will talk with will tell you that every single problem you mention was never described before. So... no credit should be given to the CSs, really.
More... my LCD lid doesn't squeek. It wobbles. What people say is that the wobbliness is acceptable. In my opinion, it is not. Don't get carried away with some positive reviews. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best, but so far nothing solid can be said about the M15x, appart from the fact that it has inumerous ammount of problems.

Until someone has proof of a "new" revised chassis, you should assume this is not true.

 

well, assume you're buying the same old iffy chassis, which won't necessarily be bad, but does still have a high rate of lemons

 

I just emailed my friend to steer clear of the m15x.
Thanks