The Alienware M15x was one notebook we were eager to get our hands on as it seems to strike a perfect balance between performance and portability. The M17x wasn't exactly designed for on-the-move gaming unless you wanted to lug around a 5kg laptop. The M15x is a bit more forgiving and you could technically move it around in your backpack if need be.
Just like its older sibling, it shares many of the similar features aesthetics wise so you get the Alien FX software which lets you customise the lighting effect on all the lit areas plus get that cool blend effect on the keyboard which, till date, is the best implementation we've come across. You can completely customise the configuration of the M15x as per your liking and the one we got today comes with their high-end bundle where you get the Core i7 920XM (4 cores, 8 threads) which is Intel's Extreme Edition for the mobile platform, a 15.6-inch screen that sports a 1920x1080 resolution using WLED backlight and Dell's TrueLife technology, 6GB of DDR3 1333MHz memory, 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, slot loading BluRay drives and 1GB of Nvidia's GTX260M graphics card. You also get a 9-cell battery if you opt for this bundle. This configuration will easily set you back a cool Rs. 2 lac. Let's see if it's worth all that moolah.
Just like its older sibling, it shares many of the similar features aesthetics wise so you get the Alien FX software which lets you customise the lighting effect on all the lit areas plus get that cool blend effect on the keyboard which, till date, is the best implementation we've come across. You can completely customise the configuration of the M15x as per your liking and the one we got today comes with their high-end bundle where you get the Core i7 920XM (4 cores, 8 threads) which is Intel's Extreme Edition for the mobile platform, a 15.6-inch screen that sports a 1920x1080 resolution using WLED backlight and Dell's TrueLife technology, 6GB of DDR3 1333MHz memory, 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, slot loading BluRay drives and 1GB of Nvidia's GTX260M graphics card. You also get a 9-cell battery if you opt for this bundle. This configuration will easily set you back a cool Rs. 2 lac. Let's see if it's worth all that moolah.
The M15x is packaged very well with plenty of alien facades all over the bob. The notebook is held securely between two thick foam pads while the accessories box is separate. Let's take a look at what comes bundled.
Bundle
- Charger
- DisplayPort to HDMI cable
- Instruction manual
- Alienware cap
- Alienware mouse pad
- Utilities disk
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
The lid is coated with matt finish paint along with a small plastic piece carrying a honey comb design. There's a very prominent alien head on the top which keeps changing color.
On the right, we have the slot loading BluRay drive, Express card slot, two headphone jacks, microphone jack, ESATA cum USB port and a single USB 2.0 port.
Surprisingly, the underneath looks just as good as the rest of the notebook with the same design philosophy added here. The black portion in not rubber but plastic. The 9-cell battery bulges out a bit but is tastefully done and blends well with the notebook. It also features a battery level indicator. There are two vents on either sides of the notebook for cool air.
The screen is protected by a plastic cover that sits flush with the frame giving it a seamless look. The quality of the full HD screen is very good and everything looks sharp and clear with a very good color reproduction.
The keyboard area is something that will just blow you away if you've never used an Alienware notebook. The full matt finish of the palm rest and keys give it a very stealthy look plus it's very difficult to see finger prints anywhere on the keys since the surface is designed in such a way. The backlighting is perfect with all the keys evenly lit. The trackpad as well has a light ring around it which turns off when you disable the trackpad.
There are a bunch of multi-media keys on the top and two shortcuts for some of the Alienware utilities. The little speed dial icon enables/disables Stealth mode which drops the CPU clock so that the notebook runs quieter and also give you a slightly better battery life.
Due to the 9-cell battery, the weight of the notebook is quite heavy and it gets uncomfortable if you use it on your lap for an extended period. Next, let's have a look at the performance of the M15x.
Performance
PCMark Vantage
PCMark Vantage
3DMark 06
3D Mark Vantage
SiSOFT SANDRA 2010
Real Work Games
Dirt 2 (All high, 1920x1080, AA off) - 30FPS
Resident Evil 5 (All High, 1920x1080, 8xAA) - 22FPS
Crysis (1920x1080, AA-off, High settings) - 24FPS
General and Multimedia Usage
The laptop is very comfortable to use over long periods, thanks to its excellent keyboard. The keys themselves have a very good tactile feedback without being noisy and the backlighting is subtle and really adds to whole gaming experience that Alienware is trying to create. We did have a problem with the trackpad though as it wasn't responsive at all and very laggy. When we tried plugging in a USB mouse, the pointer worked fine. We then tried live booting Ubuntu under which the trackpad was performing normally. So, it was an issue with the Windows driver or some other program interfering. We tried to update the driver but couldn't find any. We hope Dell fixes this glitch in future models.
The screen is simply gorgeous, and the full HD resolution really comes alive while watching movies. The built in BluRay drive lets you watch your favourite BluRays perfectly. The main USP of this notebook is gaming and it does it very well indeed. The quad core coupled with the GTX260M give the M15x the ability to scale very well when the resolutions are pushed all the way to full HD. We got a very playable frame rate with Dirt2 at this high resolution.
Battery Life
The laptop is very comfortable to use over long periods, thanks to its excellent keyboard. The keys themselves have a very good tactile feedback without being noisy and the backlighting is subtle and really adds to whole gaming experience that Alienware is trying to create. We did have a problem with the trackpad though as it wasn't responsive at all and very laggy. When we tried plugging in a USB mouse, the pointer worked fine. We then tried live booting Ubuntu under which the trackpad was performing normally. So, it was an issue with the Windows driver or some other program interfering. We tried to update the driver but couldn't find any. We hope Dell fixes this glitch in future models.
The screen is simply gorgeous, and the full HD resolution really comes alive while watching movies. The built in BluRay drive lets you watch your favourite BluRays perfectly. The main USP of this notebook is gaming and it does it very well indeed. The quad core coupled with the GTX260M give the M15x the ability to scale very well when the resolutions are pushed all the way to full HD. We got a very playable frame rate with Dirt2 at this high resolution.
Battery Life
In the 720p video drain test, we were able to get 1hr 22min of battery life. This is with the notebook on balanced mode and with the brightness on full. In our second test, we switched to Power Saver mode and used it for normal office like work, like typing a Word document and a bit of surfing on the side. What's nice is that the CPU speed drops to 532MHz. With this, we were able to get a battery life of 2hrs and 30min which isn't exactly good considering this has a 9-cell 85Whr battery.
Pricing and Verdict
The M15x with this high-end bundle will cost you close to Rs. 2 lac which is a lot of money. You can, however, drop a lac by opting for a slightly lower-end bundle which include a Core i7 720QM, 4GB of RAM, 6-cell battery, 1600x900 res screen and a regular DVD burner while the rest of the components remain the same. This configuration makes it very similar to the Asus G51JX that we compared it to and from the scores you can see its no slouch when it comes to gaming.
The M15x is a slightly toned down version of its elder brother but certainly shares the same gaming DNA. It's great for high-end gaming and the illuminated keyboard is one of the best we've seen in any notebook more so for its great tactile feedback.
But shelling out nearly 2 lacs for this is where I draw the line; I mean I could buy a used car for this money. The lower-end variant seems more bearable which is priced around a lac. In fact, for that price, the Asus G51JX gives you more value for money since you're getting Nvidia's 3D Vision kit as well. Overall, the Alienware M15x is a wonderful gaming machine and is probably one of the best 15-inch gaming notebooks money can buy. However, drawbacks like the really high price, average battery life and the sheer weight of does not make it a very sensible buy.
