Overview
Say hello to the new Area-51 m15x from Alienware. Tagged for mixing their legendary performance with impressive mobility, it is a 15.4” gaming laptop that when configured ‘properly’ can knock close to $5,000. When we first got wind of this machine, we were worried that Dell's conservative take to design would dilute the futuristic flash and style that Alienware has been known to supply. In true LaptopLogic form – read on to find out if looks and performance match our intuition…
Design
Silver – and only silver, that’s the fist thing you’ll notice with the m15x. The case wasn't something that impressed us much – and given Alienware's reputation for edgy design (almost Giger-esque), we found the silver lid with obligatory blue-eyed alien head to be, well...boring. Having reviewed Alienware machines in the past, we were always fond of their blue exterior option. This new lid is a silver panel, with a seam starting from the bottom to two-thirds up the lid, where it's broken by the ambiguous alien head. Granted, the texture and quality of the material used was spot on baby’s behind smooth, but also too plain for what were used to.
One notable negative to the build-quality of the m15x was the creaks and groans. Let's just say James Bond wouldn't use this laptop if he was hiding in the rafters. Just moving the lid, even before the lid’s angle is adjusted, emits a creaky staircase noise (think 40’s horror flick sound). What makes the matter worse, is it doesn't make much difference where you grip the lid. However, we have a theory behind the creaks…we're attributing this to the LED lighting built into the rim of the lid. Being somewhat boring on the exterior, Alienware opted to deliver an attractive blue border to their monitor, although the extra parts means more chances for friction…and more friction means more noise.
Keyboard
The 86-key keyboard has a pleasant blue LED area of light that surrounds each key and features excellent feel – while keeping perfect key travel and ample space for large hands. However, flex was an issue (although isolated). We noticed a fair amount of keyboard flex, but only to the dead center of the keyboard, which only significantly affected half-dozen keys or so.
Display
The display was astounding with a native resolution at 1920x1200, and being a 15.4" WUXGA display was plenty enough pixels per inch. Although we did notice the monitor seemed to produce a softer image than most displays at this resolution. However, this may be a better thing because it made it easier to stare at the screen for longer periods of time.
Size & Weight
The whole kit will take up approximately 14.55" x 10.73, and weighs in at around seven pounds. Compare this to the HP Pavilion DV6700t series, which is slightly smaller (14.05" x 10.12") and weighs around 6.12 pounds.
The weight, however, can differ slightly depending on what drive you're placing in the Smart Bay. You’re choices can range from a 2x Blu-ray Disc Burner, secondary 300 GB hard drive, or an extra Li-Ion battery. One thing we definitely like about the m15x is that all 3 of these devices are hot-swappable and can be completely changed in around 10 seconds or so.
Connectivity
Alienware did an excellent job supplying connections for the m15x. It carries the latest internal Intel a/b/g/n wireless card, which is something we feel is a requirement given the machines price.
The left side supplies the power jack, a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports, connections for both headphones and microphone, and the hot swappable Smart bay.
The right side provides Firewire B, USB, and HDMI, as well as an ExpressCard and 7-in-1 media card reader.
The front houses a single IR port – no more, no less…ok, more drab silver color but that’s just our disappointment talking a little more.
Heat, Noise, Upgrading
Even though this machine screams at the performance and price tag level, we're glad to note that while the fan noise of the m15x is audible, it doesn’t scream at you (thankfully). The heat generated by the laptop is only uncomfortable under the area to the right of the palmrest. It does get warm after hours of use, although it's within expected limits, especially with a 8800m GTX and Core2Extreme CPU under there.
Alienware gives you plenty of manufacturer options for upgrading the m15x, and luckily your base Alienware can be configured for quite less than ours. So you do have a few options - our unit came maxed out with 4 GB of DDR2 RAM running at 667 MHz, and that's the most you can get out of both Dual-Channel slots.
