is anyone anywhere selling this with the matte finish besides aw

i am still highly considering this system but man i like the matte finish of the alienware over the ultra glossy one of the ocz whitebook (im so ocd with my systems i think id shoot myself in the head after a week or two of constant cleaning lol) alienware is just as cheap pretty much but i cant buy it bare from them and i have everything i need to build one here. so id have to buy a alienware (i REALLY HESITATE on doing from past experiences with them) then strip it and put all my parts in it (cpu, ram, hdd's wifi, etc)

i just know id prefer the matte finish unless its super ugly in person? i doubt anyone else has it but figured worth a shot to ask. thanks

 

Sorry, Alienware imports their M17 with matte finish directly from Arima/Flextronics. All the other resellers get theirs from OCZ, who only stocks systems with a glossy finish. So the only way to get a non-lossy whitebook from another company would be to have them apply a skin or paint of some sort.

 

I'd definitely recommend getting an alternate finish done by a dealer then as well or partial skin cover.

I just received my shiny new Whitebook less than 24hrs ago and it already has more greasy stains on it than a prostitute.

It'll add an extra week or several on your order, but it'll save you time and a bullet.

 

but does it scratch easy. i dont mind polishing it all the time im worried about seeing all the fine scratches in the glossy finish

 

... you can always use sand paper and make it grainy and you'll get rid of the gloss and shininess. just scratch the top off till u get to the hard plastic. or get some of that contact adhesive plastic. Like the one used to cover an iPod and just cover the laptop up.

 

lol ummmmm no.... that would not happen...

 

Lol... worst case. make it like a bubble boy or one of those premature kids in an incubator.. keep it inside a locked acrylic fish tank and adapt it with gloves.. hehehe.. Dude its bound to get a few scratches. there might be some things you could do to prevent them.. one is getting a decal and cover the front specially the keyboard area. But seriously that clear static paper is a really good option as you can always remove it and sometimes you can cut it up to size. Otherwise latex gloves could help. Paging Dr. zfactor...

 

Ya, it is a fingerprint magnet. I thought I would be going crazy when I first got it cuz I knew it got fingerprints and stuff all over it but I got used to it. Depending on the light, sometimes you can't even see the fingerprints.

 

yea... if there is absolutely no light at all, you won't see the fingerprints.

 

Gotta agree that the finish on the AW Whitebook has me leaning in that direction regardless of all the downsides of buying from AW.

If they offered the Ripley cover it would be impossible for me not to turn a blind-eye to voiding the warranty.

 

Too bad the keypad lights up then. ;p

 

oh man the ripley lid would have had me.. the matte with the ripley that would just be sweet

 

Is the AW m17 still delayed because of parts issues?

Also, the matte finish is what's bringing me to AW too...

 

yeah man i HATE GLOSSY notebooks. it will be very hard to bring myself to get the glossy overthe matte but i just dont know if the extra $$ is worth it for the matte, it would cost me about 300+ more if i went aw and got the matte

 

I hate the glossies too. Not really my thing. Well for my AW it's actually going to come about $100 cheaper than other resellers cause I'm basically going bare w/ only the dual HD's and upgrading later. I hear that on higher end specs AW ian't too worth it due to their higher upgrade costs. Then I also think about man, who brings an AW out lately? It's awesome, believe me, but also kinda embarrassing. It's odd...

 

From a functional standpoint, a polished finish holds in heat. That's why they polish or chrome teapots. I suppose the most functional case is one with a finned aluminum surface painted flat black .

If you want to avoid the fingerprints take a silicone impregnated gun cloth, or get a clean piece of polishing cloth and spray it with 100% silicone spray. Then wipe down the case. You will get an oily looking surface but it will prevent fingerprints. This is what they use on blued surfaces of handguns and rifles to prevent corrosion. I use this to on my digital cameras also. Great protection against sweaty fingerprints.

As for considering AW, been there, done that. Compared to buying from Xotic, you will be charged a restocking fee if you return the unit and the BIOS will be locked. A 3-year warrantee is standard at Xotic but will cost you an extra $200-300 at AW.

I cancelled an order at AW via e-mail and they said I had to call to cancel the order even though it had not even been charged to my card! I had to call long distance from Japan and was on hold for 20'. I hung up when they transferred me to another department to 'finalize' the cancellation. They will have you jumping through hoops like a circus dog.

 

Nice tip, Silicone Spray and polishing cloth Will most likely give it a shot. How good is Windex and polishing cloth?

 

Nice suggestion. Might have to try that this weekend.

With AW, you will also have to pay tax which is often quite high.

 

imo i would not use anything like silicone spray. i use meguires yellow pro wax for automotive finishes. it works awesome and prints just wipe right off. and inbetween that i use eagle one "wax as u dry" to spray on a microfiber cloth and then buff off and it also helps prevent prints ans with this they also wipe right off. some silicone sprays have stuff in them that is for sure not so good for the plastics.

 

I will then buy meguires yellow pro wax to wax on wax off my PC. Is this PC safe and I assume you always spray it on a cloth before polishing. Is it screen safe or windex for screen?

 

just put a dab on a cloth and use microfiber. then lightly rub it on and let it haze for a few seconds and wipe off. only use a dab it goes a long way. and do not use ANYTHING imo but a tiny bit of water on the screen. just a lightly damp cloth do not use windex. if you have a small mark or very light scratch displex will work well as long as its not to deep. i use the eagle one spray was on everything in between including the keys again spray on the cloth and lightly go over the surface and then wipe off. and again do not use on the screen

 

AW M17 now comes with the Ripley lid.

Just make sure you check for tape on the GPUs before powering on.

 

yeah but i cant go aw now.. ill explain soon enough

 

new clevos?

 

Im guessing you're probably doing what Ive been thinking about and will swap out the Whitebook parts for aftermarket AW parts.

If it can be done I'd likely just swap out the palm rest and frame around the LCD then get a custom paint job or K|N style aluminum cut out for the top outside lid.