how durable is the matte finish on the m17?

from those that have it? does it look like it will rub off like some of the cell phones do that have the rubber feel housings or if you scratch it will it cut through? how is it with fingerprints? etc?? i really hate the glossy finish on the ocz model but i have a bad taste with aw from past experiences but i really like the matte look better than the glossy

 

Hard to say how it will behave in the future but I have it for a week and I like it a lot, I`m also against dog-ball-glossy laptops so I`m very pleased with this matte finish. No fingerprints.

 

is it rubbery feeling or like a flat painted finish?

 

Nice rubbery feeling, did you read my review?
It's pretty durable so far, I think I am the first one who got this notebook shipped to me, so I had the longest.
I managed to create 2 tiny-mini chipped/bump that I can't get rid of.
Other than that, the matte paint at the corners are not perfect smooth.

I take 2 pictures of the chipped/bump part for you, and it's high resolution so you can see it. One is taken very close up with macro, the other one is taken few inches away when you can't see them.


By superprelude, shot with Canon PowerShot SD300



By superprelude, shot with Canon PowerShot SD300

Yeah, it's super tiny like 0.1mm. Tried to scratch it to remove the bump doesn't work, and also doesn't make it worse. So it could be like that on arrival instead of after arrival.

Conclusion is the best paint feeling I ever got from laptop.

 

i have a matte finish one my m9750, and i can say it looks awesome.

however, i've had my for about a year now, and i do game on my machine, there is almost a palm print from my hand on the left side where i keep my palm for wasd stuff. it isn't really noticeable unless you look at it from certain angles under certain lighting.

the sides of the matte finish on the notebook start to fade away, mostly because i put it in the travel case and it probably rubs against stuff. underneath is a metal casing that peaks through (or perhaps its hard plastic), but it's also painted black like the finish, so it's not noticeable.

in a years worth of daily usage, my matte finish is still there, with maybe a few little spots missing finish on it.

 

i hate how the matte wears to glossy spots. like on the keys. does it do that on the touchpad and palmrest?

 

The finish is JUNK! Alienware is'nt getting any more of my money! I ordered my M17 on 11/4 and recieved it on 11/26. For starters...I placed my order on the 4th and when reviewing my order the next day, I realized that they had me down for vista 32 when I ordered 64. I called them and they said, "no problem" Would'nt you know it. I get my PC and it has 32. I called them and they pretty much told me to go pound sand. They have no record of me calling. On to the finish, I have had my laptop for basically 2 weeks and have done nothing but baby it. If I took it anywhere It was in the velvet bag AND in my alienware backpack. Im looking at it 2 days ago and realize that on random spots (even spots that dont get touched) the finish is peeling off. I call them and take pics of the problem areas while on hold. They upload my pics and discuss it and get back on the phone and tell me "since its cosmetic, and we havent had any other complaints,...Sorry" I pleaded my case reiterating that Ive only had the thing for 2 weeks. They then tell me to send it back and then they will determine if they will fix the panels. Furthermore if it is decided that they arent going to fix it they will inform me of the price for repair. My mouth is hanging open in amazment at what Im hearing. I then ask how long I will have to do without my rig and they tell me 3 weeks but with the holidays probably 4 weeks. I reply " let me get this straight...I have to send it back, with no guarantee of it even being repaired, and its going to take 3-4 weeks???" Im so pissed off at this joke of a company. They absolutley have zero concern with customer service and don't stand behind thier products. I love the PC but its bittersweet. I have this nagging feeling of resentment to them for the way I've been treated. I owned a Dell in the past, my lid got scratched and they came to my house and replaced the whole lcd/lid no questions asked. One of the keys popped off on the keyboard and once again, they cam to my house and replaced the whole keyboard. Dell needs to come down on AW's substandard customer service. Take a look at the pics of my m17 and see what 3 grand will get you before you spend it at AW!

 

There is definitely something wrong with your paint, I am one of the earliest who got the M17, the only probable paint issues are the 2 tiny mini 0.1mm bumps that I posted. I don't even have a right case to carry it, I used a M1710 bag. None of the corners have the corners that you have.

 

Aaw crap. The rubber coating was one of the reason I was ready to invest on M17 but since it's just a joke and there's just way too much negative complaints from the product and Alienware's customer service, I might just turn to next manufacturer.

I thought Alienware was the brand of quality. Right now I'm too scared to even fill out the order form as a customer, because I'm not sure what I'll get. And ordering all the way to Finland, then sending the product back etc. all that hassle... I really don't feel like "dancing" like that with 4k EUR computer.

 

As I mentioned, there is no paint issue after used it for 3 weeks+.

 

4k? Mine was 1,6k euro, I don`t know if it hit 4k euro even if you max everyting...

Besides, again, we have one negative opinion and plenty positives on forum and god knows how many outside of it (10-20% pleased customers share opinion, and 95% unhappy do that). I have M17 for one week, done much od carrying it in hands, in car, with or without cover and I have none of mentioned problems with paint.

One or two bad examples won`t change my mind. You can find in web broken copies of any equipment from all manufacturers.

E.G. once I`ve bought Samsung`s CD-ROM (1 year warranty) and HDD (2 year warranty). Both broken down permanently 1-2 months after warranty peroid. But I still listen to people who praise quality of Samsung drives and LCDs but I`ll never buy Samsung`s products again.

But still, I won`t deny that they can do in Samsung good stuff.

 

Yes, 4 119,72 € where 52,91 € is shipping.

Maybe I just wait and see how the M17 turns out. See how your test drive goes. Guess I'm just too spooked with all the scary tales there's from Alienware.

 

So you did maxed everything

 

im going to go ocz i think. this is EXACTLY what i was afraid of this type of coating does the same even on most cell phones. im way to picky and if this starts hapenning to mine ill literally drive to miami (not to far for me) and throw it at someone

 

Jelly, is that you?

- F

 

haha no!
hes back from the DEAD!

 

i doubt that is jelly that notebook had to have been used far more than jelly had time to use his..

 

I received my M17 on the 20th of November. I always have my nasty sweaty palms on the palm rest for gaming and typing, and I am having NO issues with the finish.

 

but is it worth about 300$ more for me to have the matte finish?? im not sure if i think it is.

 

I have an m9750 - is about 2 weeks shy of 1 year old...the matte finish is the "bee's knees" IMO. It is more durable than a glossy coat...I found it way easier to scratch my m9700 than this one, plus it doesn't really show fingerprints. When I clean it it looks pretty much brand new. If you inspect really closely you can se a bit of wear on the back corners...that is from sliding it in and out of the notebook sleeve.
I was pretty convinced to go with the Killer Notebooks Nagamaki for my next one, but since the m17 came with the matte finish I have been reconsidering...I really don't like glossy finish.

 

i jusy wish i could buy the m17 without anything in it. i have evrything here since i was gonna buy a barebones. but now i have to take the system with at least the basic parts from alienware then try to sell them off later..my other concern left is the bad taste they left me with last time i dealt with alienware and sending a system back for a refund

 

Ill keep you all posted as to if I make any progress with AW. Im actually thinking about sending it back for a refund before my 30 day money back guarantee expires. But then I have to eat the 15% restocking fee. Like I said before, I love the m17 but why can't Alienware just be cool about the situation? I need my laptop for work and cant stand to do without it for 4 weeks! We'll see...

 

The rubber finish is generally durable, however if you actually transport the laptop from place to place the finish wears off. After one month of having my old M9750, the finish wore off on all of the corners and they were all shiny. On this new m9750 I am buying a pouch that doesn't have a zipper on it so it will protect the finish as much as possible.

Glossy coating > Matte (rubber) finish.

 

what im now thinking is to buy the glossy one and order the matte palmrst and lid from alienware or ebay

 

zfactor- is that possible? I've been thinking about going that route too.

 

not sure yet

 

I'll let you know if it's possible; I have a M9700 silver palmrest that I used on my M9750, so I'll remove the palmrest off my Whitebook to see if they're both interchangeable (though you won't be able to use the fingerprint reader with the M9700/M9750 palmrest). I'll do all of this by Saturday or Sunday because I have a lot of things to do tomorrow.

 

good luck man!

 

Got one more question from the M17 matte finish:

Has anyone had problems with light bleeding through the back of the LCD? (like in some of those m15x cases)

 

the m15x is a cheep laptop, i dont think the m17s bleed through the black paint

 

I am glad that my problem seems to be an isolated issue. That gives me hope that when they fix the panels it will be durable like it should be. I called AW again and the rep assured me that it will be fixed, she also thought that it should'nt take 3-4 weeks. Im shipping it back on monday and will hopefully report back with good news in a week or so. As far as the speculation that I am "jelly"? Nope, Don't know what you're talking about.

 

Nope they don't, well at least mine doesn't.

 

PS.

DID I SAY HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS SOFT MATTE FINISH?!?!?!

 

Bah, I know I was supposed to see if the M17/W840/OCZ palmrest and the Alienware M97xx series ones were interchageable...

Few things came up, so I apologize for not sticking to the date. I will do it though, hopefully sometime this week.

 

doesnt matter much unless i can find new ones aw told me they will not sell them to me id have to have someone who owns a system call up and get them...

 

What about just using some frisket film?

 

Hey guys!

I'm getting my M17 in January and I'm still curious if anyone has had any major problems with the matte finish. I'd hate to see my M17 to look all wear down after one months use. Is the original black clothing enough to protect the laptop if I intend to carry it on laptop/camerabag?

That matte finish is one of the main reason I chose M17 as my desktop replacement. I hate the glossy and pimped out finish most laptops have.

 

No problems for three weeks of extreme using .

 

Solid as a rock for me. Much better than the finish of my old 9700

 

The corner of my second M17 has paint comes off already.
My first M17 never have this problem.

I wonder if I should ask AW to do anything about it.

 

They may do something about it if the computer is relatively new. If it is older they may not as it is considered "normal wear and tear".

 

a freind just got his a couple weeks ago (he also owns a 9750 which has almost no wear from the finish) and i got to see it this week. his is about 2-3 weeks old and has the finish wearing off already. and he showed me if you rub it on the edge where its peeling it kinda just rolls right off. he called them and they said he has to send it in. they said they may or may not replace the parts that are peeling depending on how it was used. i was there on speaker phone with him talking to them and they really (and i hate to say this i really do) didnt seem to care much. the guy said well we dont gaurantee paint and things like scratches but in his exact words "we'll look at it"

he is not even sure he wants to ship it in since they told him estimated return time is 2-4 weeks right now..

i may not have thought they would have told him that but i heard the whole conversation with my own ears they didnt know i was sitting there though.. his older 9750 though has very little wear so he is very upset that this brand new one does.

 

I haven't had any issues yet either. Five weeks of extreme use. My greasy palm print just wipes off with Windex.