Clevo and x7200 owners, any arguable reason to get m18x?

I think part of me is having a hard time accepting that Alienware has fallen so far down in top of the line gaming notebooks, but can anyone think of at least one reason why someone should consider the m18x over a clevo?

Is it just looks?
From what I can tell it's specs are a joke compared to Clevo's top two class notebooks and it's price is worse.

Alienware m18x Config site:
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

 

The only benefit with the Alienware I see is the Optimus graphics support which will turn off the discrete graphics card when you don't need it and give you longer battery life.

If you don't care about battery life then Clevo is the way to go. I've heard that the Sager NP8150 can still reach three hours.

EDIT: The Clevo x2700 probably won't reach 3 hours though.

 

doesnt the new m18x have HDMI input so you can use the laptop as a display?

 

a part of the AW users don't understand notebook at all .

In the laptop world there're TWO kings ,

one is THINKPAD , the other is CLEVO .

And where is DXLL ?

 

clevo's next king will be sbe lga2011 x79 8core.......will beat m18x if dual gpu
its x70......對吧1341兄??

 

The only advantage I can see is the larger screen and potentially longer battery life on the 18x. It depends on what your priorities are. The x7200 is unquestionably the faster and more feature rich of the two, but that doesn't come without some compromise.

 

The larger screen being an advantage is debatable. The 15.6" Clevos, 17.3" Clevos, and the 18.4" Alienware all have the same 1920x1080 resolution, so it's not like you're getting more screen space to work with.

 

While the resolution is the same, having a larger screen is always nice if one doesn't mind the extra physical size of the machine, much like how we try to fit the biggest TV we can in our living room. Some of us in our old age have a hard time with high resolution screens in smaller sizes as well.

 

The x7200 offers desktop processors which the M18x doesn't boast which is a massive selling point despite the batter life and AlienFX on the Dell. If I had the choice, it would still be the x7200 even though, as you can see, I'm an Alienware person.

 

X7200:

3 Hard drives vs 2
High gamut and matte screen upgrade options
Higher performance (485M SLI + 990X)
Lower cost for similar configuration
Blu-ray burner
Possibly a more robust cooling system?

M18X:

Far better battery life
Backlit keyboard, AlienFX
Anodized aluminum shell
4 RAM slots vs 3
Expresscard slot
HDMI in and out
9 in 1 card reader
Slot loading optical drive
Higher quality sound system
Factory OC' to 4GHz on the extreme CPU


Having said that, I'm still trying to decide between the two for myself... Decisions...

 

Excellent comparison.
Couple points..
x7200 has the 9 in 1 card reader.
Does battery life really matter with this? I had not really heard until recently anyone considering a high end desktop replacement laptop for battery life. Wouldn't it be plugged in mostly, especially if playing games or performing a task that actually uses the machine's hardware? It is nice I imagine though to at least be able to detach it and chill in front of the TV for an hour, or to watch a video on an airplane if the battery is 3 hours.

Another question, since the alienware config only allows up to 8gb ram, do you think this is just a dell self limiting config, and a user could upgrade it to 16 or 32gb? Such a low amount of ram in their config options confuses me. Maybe that would change at actual launch..

The best features of the Alienware which I'd envy after getting an x7200 it seems would be:

Backlit Keyboard
Slot loading optical drive
Sound system (If it actually is superior)

The keyboard and slot loading drive would be amazing if added to future clevos. This would really add a notch of refinement to the machines IMO.

 

You're right about the card reader, thanks for correcting me. The battery life is still important to me. For instance, when I had a M17XR1, was using it as primary business laptop as well as a gaming rig. Was doing quite a lot of video presentations. One day, I had to do a 3hr video presentation in a conference room with virtually no time for prep. It turned out that I needed an extension cord(which I didn't have handy) to use the PSU, so I decided to go on battery and luckily, the system lasted 3 hours. There are many occasions when 5-6hrs of battery life can be very beneficial. If you bring your laptop to Starbucks, you will always have the extra hassle of searching for a good spot with an outlet. Another thing is, from the review posted on hardwareheaven, you can even game on the M18x for 2 hrs. That's impressive.

You can definitely upgrade the M18x up to 32GB RAM. the x7200 will be limited to 24.

The sound system is certainly better on the M18x. Dell uses Klipsch. You can read the review here.

Still, the X7200 has enough PRO's to make me want it badly. I hate glossy screens and there will be IPS matte options down the road, while the M18X is limited to the super glossy WLED with poor gamut.

 

The m18x can use the latest 2nd gen i7 processors, while the x7200 can only use the 1st gen. For desktops at least it seems as though the current Sandy bridge will be able to use the upcoming Ivy bridge processors:

Leaked Intel slides reveal Sandy Bridge-E, Ivy Bridge details - TechSpot News

This may also be true for the mobile versions. If that is the case then Sandy bridge will have better future cpu upgradeability.

 

and

The x7200 can use the desktop 990x though that outperforms the best mobile Sandy Bridge.
Still these are both excellent ideas. Thank you!

 

I have had the 18.4" screen and its quite nice to have that extra size for things like games and video. I went back to the smaller with the x7200 and it does lack the pop you get with the larger screen.

Like others I also question whether battery life has any real meaning with these kinds of laptops. You cannot even open up and use an 18.4" laptop on a plane unless you are in first or business. The clevo can be done but its quite tight as it is a big laptop in every way and that includes the dimensions for and aft. In the airport itself you can always find a plug. Either way you can get your email and such on battery but will not do anything intensive for very long. I would expect slightly less than an hour no matter what you read with the aw unless you really crank the power settings and even less obviously for the clevo. Another factor is how many people who are going to spring for a top end laptop like these are there going to be that do not have a smartphone? I would guess the percentage is pretty low and you can keep up with your email and such that way removing some of the need to break out the laptop. I travel regular with these things and I am speaking for myself here but I having owned a number of large heavy battery sucking desktop replacements between their bulk and lack of legs they just dont work very well on the go away from the wall.

A couple of fyi's, it appears that the supply of the better screens is getting pretty thin with no replacement in sight on the x7200 so I am told by xotic. Also you can have some of the resellers overclock for you if you dont want to do it yourself and again they will warrant it at their overclock.