Alienware Area-51 m15x Vs. Clevo M860TU

This is the thread to make all posts regarding the comparison of these two popular, powerful 15.4" notebooks.

Even though the Clevo M860TU hasn't been released yet, there is already a lot of discussion about it, and some debate going on in the forum over these two notebooks. Since this discussion has taken another thread off topic, I made this one to keep things organized, and to provide a great place for this discussion.

An anticipatory poll may be posted soon, and if possible it will be replaced by a new updated poll after the Clevo M860TU is released.

 

Since I own an alienware, this is hard to say but I would take the clevo. The m15x currently has a boatload of problems like overheating, cracks, downclocking, bad thermal paste, broken lights ect. In my opinion, the lights and size are NOT worth the risks. In the alienware forum there are a ton of complaints. If you still want an alienware, you could consider the m9750 which costs less, and has 2 gpu's and 2 hard drives. Otherwise, defenantly go with the clevo.

 

As i derailed the other thread with this =\ in short the problems with the m15x are getting, if not already, fixed. Production has started back up and once the new ones are shipped i will be comparing the two (in a couple months) to see which to spend my grad money on =]

 

yup, that's what i heard. they always need early adopters to IRON OUT all the kinks..

 

sucks reading all that stuff, those poor guys =\ at least i can't order mine for at least another month so i got time to wait and see =]

 

i thought this was about m15x VS M860TU how does the m9750 isnt it a 17" note book? Anyway back to the question. We can only speculate how this will turn out. How i look at it if Alienware Updates the m15x to run on the montevina platform like how clevo has it planned out for the M860TU. You will have both notebooks almost identical in how they will perform (granted AW fixes the issues the current m15x model has). then it will just come down to looks, and pricing. Of course we all know how that goes.

 

well from what we know of them, and the fact that BOTH products arent finished yet by the looks of things. you can only go on looks since the specs are not a million miles apart

so the alienware wins on looks, what can I say, I am attracted to shiny things

 

he was just giving his 2 cents relax.

i agree

 

It would be unusual for alienware to update the m15x to montevina, considering that their laptop chipsets are usually a generation (or two ) behind, but their graphics cards are always decent. Just look at the m9750, it uses the napa platform, and it never got updated to SR. Maybe the m17x will be montevina, but even thats unlikely...

 

It`s pointless to compare these two laptops since the TU has not been released yet and the m15x is already known to have issues,so it`s not a fair start.Wait until both are owned by people and the the talk can truly start.

 

If you had read and understood my OP, you would have know better than making your post. The reasons are quite clear.

 

Even though the reasons are clear, how can you talk about something that no one has seen yet?
It`s a thread about speculation , if that`s the case.
So I`ll speculate the M860TU will be better than the m15x. So there :twitcy:

 

Well, people were doing it, and in the wrong thread, so there you go.

 

lol you could say that nobody has seen either notebook yet
sorry just a stab at the euro AW situation

I gathered from the OP that this thread was about opinion anyway, so since the specs are similar save for a mobo chipset, performance wont be that much different so its down to aesthetics for me

 

I really hope that the Clevo M860TU doesn't launch with problems like the Alienware Area-51 m15x has.

 

how about service??

 

Good point hkman.

 

Another thing is build quality.

IF clevo makes this as solid as teh m57ru or the D901C, then it will ahve a better build than the AW for sure

 

Well, I own an M15X and I intend to get the M860TU when released for my g/f. Depending on which I like better, I'll keep the one I like

It's true that the AW has had problems, but I have to at least give credit to AW for solving 2 of them (missing lights, downclocking GPU to heat), at least for my unit. Other than that, my only issue is build quality.

Provided the M860TU has superior build quality (which I'm fairly certain it will have), it comes down to the Clevo's Montevina + build quality vs the m15x's battery life options/Smartbay and flashy lights (only one of which to me is useful - the lit keyboard).

Pick which one is more important to you.

 

And i was giving mine so you relax as well.

@bhattsan

Wow AW Doesnt usually update thier platforms? That i didnt know, well in that case +1 goes to the M860TU with Montevina platform. Looks like the M860TU has a great chance of cooling off better then the old santa rosa platform as the motherboard for montevina is smaller which would allow for better cooling options for the M860TU so thats another possible +1 again.

 

not usually. Look at the m9750....

 

I too doubt that AW would update the m15x to Montevina. Their exclusive agreement with the ODM that makes their case/motherboard combination may be the hindrance....while AW is the only one that can use that cool case/mobo combo, they may not be able to justify the R&D cost it would take to develop and integrate the Montevina chipset into the current m15x case. I doubt AW would be able to move that many mobo upgrade kits + new m15x w/Montevina models to justify this added cost. I think this is why we haven't seen or will ever see an updated m9750.

Clevo doesn't usually have that problem because so many of their customers such as Sager, Eurocom, etc demand it and all their customers combined can move many more units.

 

but HK bhattsan just said they havent updated the m7950 platform from napa to santa rosa.

 

The plats may change, but not the upgrades. For example, the AW still has the T7600, which is 2 gen behind as of now...

 

ahhhh so the plat changes not the chipset? and they still charge the premium over head?

 

I guess we will be hearing a report from you sometime this year in regards of the m15x vs the M860TU this should be pretty interesting.

 

well, people still pay a rather hefty premium for a bottle of water, alcohol, and certain organic volatiles derived from flowers - provided the bottle's got the right label on it.
*

 

the M860TU needs batterylife (prob only be 2-3hours).......... the Alienware m15x needs a strongercase/lid

the fact the m15x can get 4-5hours with a second battery makes it stand out atm.. regardless flaws

CELVO need smartbay

i just hope the m860TU can be used on your lap n stuff aswell... apparently the alien wares metal base makes its painful to use under load <_>

 

I agree,a smartbay is definitely a must nowadays...

 

exactly what i'm looking at. there is rumor a black m15x is coming out soon which may mean it comes out with Montevina which would be really, nice altough it probably won't, just gunna have to wait and see.

 

You can see in many, many threads over at alienware forums of how they realize they are stuck with the napa platform with the alienware m9750 and its dreaded socket m, which would make it not drop in compatible with any of the socket p processors of santa rosa. EDIT: here is an example of such a thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=233302

 

any chance that Clevo M860TU will be at around 2000 with 8800 gtx?

 

I think 2400-2500 is expected for a nice config, judging by the prices of the m570ru, and expecting a little premium for being 15 inch.

 

2000? Don`t think so.
as Bhattsan said, 2.5k is more realistic.

 

I think it will be like 2200-2500. I think its prices will be similair to the 5793

 

Yeah.... similar to NP5793 I'd say! All in all, it's just speculation ultimately...

 

it should be cheaper then AW though...

 

whats the point of a 15inch laptop with only 2hours of battery life give or take... eurocom have a prediction of only 1 hour of battery....

the whole point of the m15x is is 5-6hours of battery and a 15inch so it can be portable + a gaming station..

the Clevo M860TU will be just a shrunk Np5793 by the looks of it... i cant see it being a big hit based of the current info (which could change alot)

 

Eurocom is not a standard in any way, so I suggest you stop believing everything on their site.
Heathkidd, 5 - 6 hours is extremely exaggerated and I suggest you stop making such predictions. It depends on whether you want to carry an extra battery along, use a smaller resolution screen, not have the extreme edition CPU and so on. Mostly you're stuck between two to three hours of battery life without the extra battery.
If you are not satisfied with what Clevo hasn't yet released and no one tested get an Alienware, as no one will blame you, nor you will regret it.

 

There is something to be said about the physical footprint a laptop can take up. Although these things are portable, because the unit is all in one with the keyboard attached they take up a fair bit of desk space. The HP HDX is nice but I live in a very cramped dorm room where space is a premium, 20.1" is far too large for me. I got a high performance 15.4" laptop because it could play all the games I wanted and still physically fit on my tiny desk securely. For you lucky bums out there living in places where space is not a premium and can get any size laptop you want, enjoy whatever it is you get. But I know I'm not alone in the "I don't have the space for a giant laptop" group.

And as to the m15x being super portable - AW did that to offer versatility to the design. Now if people want a powerful laptop that will go 5 hours on a single charge, they can have that. Or if you want something that'll tear oyur battery apart in 2 hours but play crysis on higher settings, you can do that too. It was a genius move on their part to capture a larger audience.

Going back on topic with that, the clevo must do one of two things 1) Beat the AW severely in one area. Versatility comes at a price, the whole "jack of all trades, master of none" scenario. If the clevo can consistently show that it is a better gaming machine then you will have the gamers looking for the best of the best buying it. The m15x will still generate sales as a high performance 15" that's portable but gaming entusiasts who could care less about battery life (me) will get the clevo. 2) Beat AW at it's own game (not recomended, probably not going to happen). If by some miracle clevo can make their model have slightly higher battery life options AND better gaming performance then they win. But that is incredibly difficult to make and would probably make the thing needlessly expensive which would actually give an AW a decent performance per dollar ratio. Not good news for clevo...

Clevo also needs to have a smooth launch. m15x got the problems sorted out but there were orders lost due to initial problems. If clevo can have a good clean launch with a lot of positive word of mouth, they're golden. Positive word of mouth advertising from the get go does wonders for any product.