The M15x: We all want to have hope... but is it really there?

To continue our efforts to keep people informed and, to balance the data collected on the "world survey" and the graphics that, to the untrained and naive eye, might suggest something positive is happening regarding the M15x, I went through several posts of people that have recently received the M15x (or recently reported a problem with it).

Most of these people are generally happy with the M15x but, at some point or another, posted about some problems.

Here is the "collection" (not that small, as you can see):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3513589&postcount=427
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3523616&postcount=435
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3495613&postcount=351
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3478758&postcount=287
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3480675&postcount=301
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3511568&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3515807&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3526797&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3533524&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3523698&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3523698&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3517741&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3534053&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3526028&postcount=1
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3525642&postcount=183
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3522664&postcount=57
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3545721&postcount=27

If you have the patience of going through all of them, you will notice that the "old" problems are still the "new" problems. Even though the "problems" are there, people report they live happy with them (not all, but the majority). At least I can count people that got their GPU's fried saying they would recommend AW... even if in less than one week, they have to substitute the GPU.

What I want people to be aware of is that... these problems are real and are not made up by people with mental problems. Not everyone will notice the problems (and the degree of the problems will vary in different units), but they are there to a bigger or lesser extent.

For example, for me problems like creaking, keyboard lag, poor speakers, etc... Never really made me think twice. For my mind, the only "real" problems were the wobbliness and the overheating. For some other minds... probably not even these ones will be noticed.

The message I want people to take home is:
No solid and measurable improvement has been done by AW and the same problems still exist.

And which problems are these?

Screen creaking
-Screen wobbliness
-Keyboard lag
-Keyboard flex
-Keyboard and touchpad do not work at the same time
-Poor speakers/crackly speakers
-Poor webcam
-No functional security lock (I think it's confirmed by now... No lock has been reported to work perfectly in the M15x. Not even the Targus Defcon CL they sell on their website)
-Overheating problems with both CPU and GPU
-Extreme CPUs downclock (derived of the overheating)
-Problems with Vista integration (specially on Sleep and hibernation modes)
-Touch controls not completely functional

I'm not saying that everyone will experience these problems. Far away from that... I didn't myself. What I am saying is that these problems are reproduced more than it is acceptable when we are talking about a manufacturer like AW that does claim to produce the most powerful notebooks in the world.

If you want to open your eyes and see... It's there. If you still choose to open your eyes, look, but not see... We will still be all happy.

Take care,
M.

 

I wonder if the M15X will improve with the advent of Montevina mid july where Im guessing they might introduce the black ripley and Im hoping maybe the plastic for the matte black might be different or something LOL

But yeah Milcs you are right, the problems people posted ages ago are pretty much the same as the one people are posting now. AW has done bugger all to improve the quality.

 

if history repeat itself, AW will come up with a whole new model for Montevina, of course, not in any time soon.

 

Nirvana r u following me LOL

 

not you, but your avatar.

 

hahahahaha she is called Narumi Riko in case you were interested. I watched her dramas recently and got hooked. It helps if you speak Japanese

 

How many people have had a GPU die to heat... i count 0 but maybe i missed some i was afk from the forums for abit.

I while its nice to list all the issues its already been done in the survey and its shows most people are content happy and informed about what they spent their money on and its the silent majority that is happy as one would expect.

While u can be disappointed with the quality of the speakers/webcam/heat/case
its not like they are products of lies or deception

its the most powerful 15inch and may remain so with Palidin44 a big sager reseller saying that the 8800mGTX is no longer even a certainty for the new clevo rival 15inch (no suprize due to heat)

and in regard to the webcam/speakers etc are listed on the alien ware site as simply present with no details on focal lenses or speaker range and frequency so to say u expect the best is abit rich.

Alienware is not the "wonder brand of all things amazing in mobile computing" but its close to the top with its Performance and batterylife TOPOFCLASS in the m15x.

Alienware promise 1 thing.. Enthusiast gaming/performance rigs.. people need to get down to earth and stop thinking that just due to the price (which is very modest this time around for the m15x) it should be 100% perfect...

alot of users who are not first time alienware owners (hardly any in the survy) say that the m15x is the best quality alienware they have had... so yer..

read more reviews guys its clear alot got the m15x with out seeing its really just made for hardcore gamers.. who dont care about webcam/speakers/case being super strong.. and just wana order the most powerfull/batterylife notebook they can get online before actually feeling/testing it.

maybe its because the m15x emulates the macbook designs and mentioned metal components in the case ... i think alot of the unhappy people here are simply victims of misinformation on what they where going to receive and how they are going to use it.

good thread lets hope more dont make the same mistakes if gaming for as long as possible is not the only thing they care about.

 

I somewhat agree with your thoughts Heath. Somewhat...

 

Heath, just one question...
Did you, by a matter of chance, even read the posts that I put the links to? 3 people, just last week, had their GPU damaged and had to send it back for replacements. Let's count... one, two, three... zero.

More... we already know your opinion... it's just to game and everything else should be disregarded. We appreciate your opinion. Is really a good point to keep in mind. What does it matter if the camera is bad, if the speakers are bad, if something melts inside. You should just be an alienated gamer.

More... you were already told that the ONE comment you read from Paladin was a joke. But obviously you took it very seriously. Obviously you persist on giving people that wrong idea (why... I don't know).

I don't really know what else to say to reply to your comments. So I won't say more.

I will finish by saying (it's like the 1000th time I say it to you) I am not dissapointed with my M15x.

And that's all. I liked your AFK, btw.
Welcome back.

 

depending on how one would read what you say.. I read it as it's made of plastic and we should all expect that, it might be crap but dam it runs hot and fast, wow... and it's not a Mac..

 

Heath,

Have you had any problems with your m15x? I have, so I comment on it. If I didn't own one, I'd like to think I'd respect the people who review and comment on their own personal purchases. I might make my voice heard at some point, but I wouldn't continuously repeat myself and tell all of the m15x owner's to "deal with it" over and over and over and over again.

We all know your opinion. If we feel the need to speak on our personal experiences with the m15x, then we should be allowed to do so. This is the Alienware Section of this forum, correct? Do us all a favor, and stop repeating yourself...

 

I have to completely agree with Jay there.

Is not only rude, it's quite unpleasant to have you always saying to us, people that actually worked hard for getting the M15x (and are not getting it from our parents), to shut up and take whatever problems we have pleasantly. You keep crossing that thin line you like to walk on, you show disrespect and you don't seem to understand when people ask you politely not to make such ofensive comments.

Appart from that... I hope you can understand (by reading my post), that the intention of this thread is not about going on again and again about problems.
NO... if you read properly, it's a collection of posts from people, made in the last couple of weeks, about problems owners (mostly new owners) came across.
But if you didn't understand it when you read my initial post... I doubt you are going to understand it now.

Please, do take other people's problems with more consideration. Who are you to question the troubles and problems that M15x owners have came across?

 

Whoa partner! Calm yourself right there


It's the 9800m GTX they aren't completely sure about. But the 8800m GTX is going in there for sure.

 

Clevo m860GT will be m15x redemption.

If it runs without trouble, AW has a chance to learn how to deal with the 8800 on 15,4". If it runs with troubles, well, them it will be no better that the m15x.

 

Sorry cowboy i dont think u saw what palladin44 actual said which was exactly that I just found it really odd some one who should be hyping the Clevo and is a reseller with money involved would say that the 8800m GTX is no longer even a given (which he did say and i didn't see any "im being sarcastic" follow up from him).. i could not find this Re ost in the "thermal budjet 44 no 9800m GTX etc" thread over in the clevo section so maybe like milcs said it was a joke and hes deleted that post.. i didn't have the time to keep up with that now MASSIVE speculation thread.

its just such a odd thing to joke about in his position to such a large audience. So i think it has some truth maybe ask him? he seems active.

What does owning a m15x has to do with commenting on the number of cases of people reporting dead gpus on this forum.. and why are u talking about my parents n stuff please don't i have a sensitive situation.. i really don't understand and i think saying the average unhappy m15x user expected more via relating the design to others and didn't research enough is alot less offensive than discussing unknowns like my financial or home situation which i demand u stop immediately..

the GPU replacements where on new units with fulty gpus not units running at the 80-90 heat that the m15xs seemt to peak at fine for a extended period of time so the fear of your hot gpu deing is wrong founded. Or am i looking at the wrong cases.


saying "u cant understand get off oru forums u don't have a m15x" has no basis in a thread recording the number and nature of negative reports. As you your self are only hanging around here to warn off perspective owners like me.

u guys have got far to aggressive towards me once more so i guess ill go on a holiday u call me a fanboi and wish me to leave however i'm the most timid and car full of all of you and am using this forum how it should as a research tool pre purchase. GLHF and QQmoar u silly fellows whats the point having a thread addressing perspective owners if u tell me to bugger off when i share a view

 

I just read this and had to comment. I was a hardcore gamer once upon a time, which has become almost non-existent now due to a gruelling job, a better social life, and meeting somebody special. That is not to say that I don't want to dive into the gaming experience again - just not as hardcore as I was, as it can become quite detrimental.
If I paid the earth for a notebook like this (hardcore gamer or not), you can be sure that I would care about the webcam, speakers, and case being something special, or at least in full working order and of a great quality. I would not be so ignorant as to just be grateful that I have something to game on in a hardcore manner. I know that Alienware's main selling point for this notebook was on its looks, but if Nike brought out mirrored trainers I'd still expect them to offer nothing less than a lesser quality pair of trainers. And if I couldn't run in them, then what's the point?

I'm in it for the whole working package... with no flaw that would surpass those experienced on a notebook far cheaper.

 

Thats hits the brutal honest point but..the m15x is not expensive as in the vain of past Alienware and other High performance gaming laptops.

for a T9300 8800m GTX m15x you pay around 2500 USD/ 3500 AUS which is the same as a high performance 17inch form say sager Np5973 in both nations.


the M15x is by no means a Uber expensive notebook its the first to have the Dell effect and compared to past top end gaming notebooks its cheap. People expected too much from promises that where not even made.. when a site just states "has webcam" "has speakers" don't expect it to be A class... clearly thats not what its focusing on.

i'm shocked at the amount of people on here who don't actual use there m15x for mainly gaming thats simply a bad purchase before even considering quality of portions of the product.

 

I understand where you're coming from, but it's just sad when you have a company that doesn't seem to care about bringing all the moderately essential components of a computer up to scratch. If it was just for gaming, the M15x might as well have been a portable games console with keys, but it has a webcam and SD reader and bluetooth too, and I don't think AW meant the M15x to solely be used as a gaming notebook. On the website it offers you suggestive specs for different needs, like Entertainment and Creative work. Some people might have bought this to have video conferences with other designers. Some people (like Livre and myself amongst others) want one because it looks nice, and because we want the option of great gaming coupled with the fact that you can switch to an integrated card to do normal stuff too.

I think that it's Alienware who are riding on a prayer that people will buy this for gaming without caring too much about the overall quality.

 

I think there 4 differnt types of people. One that a hard core gamers. they are the rich kids who seem to be the ones that Pout the most. Then there the type that use there systems for games and mobiltity. That the second class of people. Then there is a group that buy just for looks. That is the 3 class. Then there a class like me who want to be able to have high end but have to save to get it. I buy low end and upgrade to high end.

 

I fall into a few of those types I think. I want one for looks, I want one for performance and mobility, and I am having to save up real hard for it, even though I have a decent, professional job (my other financial commitments just don't help with spare money at the moment).

 

Alienware Fanboy to the Death aren't you Heathkid. That's good. Passion in this world is sorely lacked from individuals. But I'll have to shoot you down now.

 

Laptop speakers are laptop speakers, but the ones in the m15x are unusually poor.

They sure do advertise themselves as the wonder brand . . . and for $2k I'd expect a flawless (as in, no tweaking needed to get it working right) machine. I think I'd expect that out of a $500 laptop.

I think people have the right to complain about things that bother them. Don't forget that what you are saying is opinion too.

 

That just made my day...


Now that this issue has been cleared out, can we go back to analyzing what is at stake here and not let ourselves get lost in quite poor and pointless discussions? Lets try and think with our minds and not with our guts. I'm sure that will help everyone out.

Let's think a bit...
Isn't it strange that all those reports were made in less than two weeks? Isn't it weird that new laptops are all coming up with such a large and reproducible ammount of problems? I think it is...
Like Chaz said it very wisely... even if you pay $500 for a laptop, you have the right to demand perfection.

Anyway... I just sent an email to AW UK Costumer service reporting Groove's finding regarding the security lock. Apparently, not even the Targus Defcon CL (that AW ships and that supposedely fits the AW M15x security slot), fits the M15x. Now... this makes me deeply sad. I can't possible keep a laptop if it doesn't have a functional security lock.
Now, of all of the things wrong... after having waited one month for my laptop to be sent back from repairs... it's going to be a freaking security lock that is going to make me have to get a refund? How sad and ironic is that?

Honestly... How can you not see that the security lock is not functional? I mean... how can you get a security lock wrong? That simply amazes me...

I'm quite sad now.

 

Well, Milcs, I sent you a PM with the following link... but I'll repost it here for everyone's benefit, just in case they've missed it. It sounds like good news about the Kensington lock:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=266057&page=6


EDIT: And if that doesn't work... I guess we'll have to resort to making our own holes: http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=23423&CatId=1681

 

i guessing we should super glue that adapter to the m15x? the m15x will look so weird and im not sure if it will be as secure as being in a machine.

if i was a thief i would try to just rip it off with enough force. If i cant take anything ill just take your smart bay thing then

 

If it's any consolation, my webcam, speakers, and microphone are all excellent. I was really surprised, as I was expected crappier things like I heard and seen on this forum. I'll do my full review, but right now I'm extremely pleased

 

If we expect the worst if it turns out that way then ok we expected it. If its better than what we expected then whey!!!

 

Hooray Livre, it's fantastic to hear that
I await your review with baited breath.

However, as Milcs once said, it's kind of sad that buying an m15x is still a bit like buying a lottery ticket =/
Some are golden through and through, some are sub-par, some are a little in between. Quite sad.

 

I just don't seem to understand why my friends $700 plastic HP laptop lid does not creak at all but my $3000 AW laptop lid creaks....am I missing something? Also my laptop made it to houston, texas now a I just have to hope they are going to repair it right so I don't have in more problems

 

You should return your m15x, Daedric.

 

dunno if this was mentioned along the way but the keyboard/touchpad issue isn't an issue but rather a 'protective' feature of the synaptics drivers that can be turned off. the idea is to prevent you from moving the touchpad around while you're typing something up.

 

This laptop has to be the most interesting out of all laptops . I'd like to see it properly fixed until the time Montevina comes out.

 

I wonder what Milcs is going to do with his time once the m15x EOLs