When you hear the name Alienware, most people think of a high-end machine with some funky styling and a premium price. Alienware is trying to shake this image, however, and they are taking a giant step in that direction with the new M17 notebook.
Overview
The M17 is Alienware’s first attempt to break out of their “gamer” mold. With a revised design that loses the radical alien ribs, they’ve succeeded in creating a system that will not just keep the gamer happy, but might even make it into some board meetings.
Alienware’s basic model is about average for a mid-range notebook of this size. Churning away at Vista, the Intel Core2 2.26GHz CPU is more then sufficient for most gamers or business users. The stock configuration comes with 2 GB of RAM, a 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870, and a 160 GB hard drive for $1,399. The system we received had dual 3870 X2 card, 3 GB of RAM, and the upgraded 17″ 1920×1200 LCD.
Price vs. Performance
The M17 is, quite frankly, a beast of a machine. The system that Alienware sent us was upgraded with a few of their more gaming specific features, which does have an impact on the price. Aesthetically, our M17 also had the new “Ripley” case design as well as the illuminated keyboard. This meant that our review system came to a total of $1,999 — expensive but not mind-blowing. It proved to be a very acceptable system for gaming, getting a pretty steady 30 fps in Far Cry 2, and around 45 in the Half-Life 2 “Lost Coast” demo.
Form Factor
When you start looking at the size of the M17, that’s where you start to run into problems. As I said, it’s a beast. Obviously not designed for portability, the M17 weighs in at a hefty 9.5 pounds, without the AC adapter. Once you add that to your bag, you’re looking at 12.5 pounds hanging from your shoulder. This would be fine for going to a LAN party, but for a road warrior traveling in business class, I think it’d be a bit much.
The redesigned “Ripley” case brings Alienware into new territory: understated. I have to admit, I’ve never been a huge fan of the vaguely Geiger-esque design that Alienware has used in the past, but the “Ripley” design is smooth, understated, and works well on the M17. The entire system is also covered in a rubberized “Stealth Black Soft-Touch” finish. I have to say, I like this design feature. It avoids the smudginess that other case surfaces fall into and maintains a clean look.
Screen
The 17″ screen is quite large for a notebook, and supports the aforementioned 1920×1200. This is ideal for gaming, and provides a great movie watching experience. This is also where I feel that the system could be improved. The colors are vibrant and clear, the refresh rate is more then acceptable, but you could also safely use the screen as a mirror. For whatever reason, Alienware chose to use a highly reflective surface on the monitor, which can be really irritating in some lighting situations. Great for sitting in the dark playing games, less than ideal for sitting on the couch with a window behind you.
Software
The M17 also has some very nice software features built into the Alienware Command Center. The system comes stock with a webcam built into the lid, and the Command Center is set up to use facial recognition to allow you to bypass typing in your password when you want to use your system. Amusingly, I was able to confuse the system by getting a haircut and trimming my beard. Luckily for me, the system we reviewed also has a fingerprint scanner built in, so I was able to log in that way instead. When discussing this issue with Alienware, they told me that facial hair is a known issue with the recognition system, and to be fair, that would be true of any facial recognition software.
The Bad
There were a couple of things that we didn’t like about the M17. The screen has a highly reflective coating on it, and the battery life leaves much to be desired. During tests I was only able to get about an hour and half of usage before running out of power. When you consider the weight and the battery life, the M17 should really be considered more of a desktop replacement system, and less as a portable system. I also didn’t care for the fact that while you could change the color of the keyboard, the indicator lights across the top never change, nor does the alien head in the top of the lid. When I asked Alienware about this, they explained that it would have required significant changes to the manufacturing that would have added to the cost.
The Good
I like the M17. It’s a nice system, with many little features that make owning an Alienware a special experience. The new “Ripley” case design works well, the keyboard is full size and has a good tactile feeling to it, the illumination is great (who can’t pick between red, green, or blue), and overall the system just feels high-quality. The facial recognition and fingerprint ID system is just cool, as long as you shave regularly (or don’t ever).
Bottom Line
The Alienware M17 isn’t perfect. But if you’re looking to buy a system that looks sexy, plays hard, and won’t (totally) break the bank, you could do much much worse then the M17.
I’ve had this for a while and there is another bad to mention:
They force you to pay for 32-bit Windows with it (no 64-bit option), then you have to buy 64-bit Windows separately. Such a scam.
Maybe when you bought it – but the M17 defaults with 64-bit now
I have had my M17 for about 2 weeks now, and compared to what I was using for gaming to this there is no comparison. I do tend to find myself using the fingerprint scan rather than the AlienSense software for accessing my computer but both work beautifully. It is a BIG HEAVY laptop, but I wouldn’t trade it off anytime soon. I play World of Warcraft and this game with the graphics turned up still produces great framerates. All and all I’m extremely happy with this machine and recommend it to all.
Good to here that you love it Vic, I was so nervous about buying this because its so costly and i dont want it to be not what i want. But it seems the only people who say alienware is too expensive and not worth the money are the people who either can’t afford it, have a mac of any kind, or have a laptop that doesn’t rock as much so they are jealous.
Wassup ya faggot! yaya u got all the mac’s so wat?..do u even have a friend?..or are they locked up in their room with their faces shoved 5 cm’s near their labtop screen like u too?..get a life u lil spoiled Dick!
From the way you are talking, you fit into the profile more than he does…
Haha. From the way you said lil spoiled Dick, You sounds jealous. Just as osiris has said. Poor boy..:D
nah your just pretty pissed off for some stupid reason
Decided on purchasing M17. I just had to have it. It took over one month to get it. Man, I was happy when it arrived. Once using it the key board was a huge problem as most of the key’s were getting stuck, this is less than a week. HUGE disappointment! Called Alienware and tried to resolve it which in itself was a huge challenge. Decided to give up on it and get my money back only to find out that I will be out of pocket $200 for a restocking fee. Plus I had to pay to ship it back to them. I hope I can at least get the shipping fees back, but who knows. Live in learn on this one! Still getting over the stress of it all.
i just bought it yesterday, and it said a maximum of 7 days untill it gets here.
48 hours of proccessing, and then 3-5 days to ship.
I am SO excited, though unfortinately, i can’t give a review yet. It’s good to know those positive reviews, but I don’t think it’s fair for a mac user to even attempt to give a review on an alienware system.
I am so excited. Thanks for all the reviews.
-Alex
PS: OsirisFaggot, gtfo
I just ordered mine, and maxed with a dual core extreme running @ 2.66ghz (instead of 2.26ghz)
Dual ATI radeon HD 3780’s and 3GB of RAM
im hoping I get what I paid for, and im looking up reviews like this to re-assure me :)
I’m considering getting an Alienware M17 for about 1,500 pounds. Mainly for the new SW MMO coming out. Will this be worth it?
Cool, I’d only seen the “geiger-esque” alienware systems, which were cool but not really something I’d want on my desk. The understated design makes me a lot more interested. Thanks for posting.
I have an M-17 laptop and bought it solely for playing World of Warcraft. I have had no luck in finding any solutions for the game locking up. I have talked to world of warcraft techs. I have also talked to Alienware techs. The alienware techs say the machine is operating normally within specs. That does not explain the constant lock-ups. I would disagree that this is a good gaming system. If anyone has a solution for the M-17 issue please assist. I bought the game with the dual ATI graphics cards and have 4 gig memory. I keep dreaming that someone will come out with a fix. Windows does not have any new patches. The ATI cards do not have any new drivers. WOW does not have any solution.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
LIFE FAILURE
That is a mean comment, but I have to agree.
He must be a retard or something.
Another note to add is that my MAC AIR plays the game better than the Alienware. I would like to say better about the M-17. With a fix I would praise it. I would love my machine if it didnt lock up during game play.
Just ordered mine couple of days ago:
2.0 Ghz Quad Core CPU
2.0Gb RAM will upgrade it myself
Dual 1GB RAM 4850 Crossfire
160GB hard drive plenty of space
Opted with 720p screen since I can connect to my exter 24″ LCD monitor via HDMI which gives me 1080p.
No Blue-Ray drive have a PS3 for that.
So let’s see how this performs on Windows Solitaire and online Poker. Haha.