Can not see the difference between a 14-inch laptop and a 15-inch? Actually the difference is very slight, although we generally prefer the smaller of these two options for the sake of portability. When it comes to high end gaming laptops, however, the difference can be more pronounced. While we wouldn't consider taking Alienware's 15-inch M15x laptop on the road, the new 14-inch version, unsurprisingly named the M14x, looks and feels a good deal smaller--even if it's still a beast compared with other 14-inch laptops.
For truly portable gaming, you'd want to stick with the popular 11-inch M11x, pretty much the only gaming ultraportable you'll find. But this new in-between size is enticing for those who want to take their games on a family vacation or business trip and still enjoy a reasonable screen size and generous 1,600 x 900-pixel screen resolution.
All these don't come cheap, and our review unit of the M14x costs S$3,242.65 (US$2,524.25), which includes a high-end Intel Core i7 2820QM CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GT555M GPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 750GB hard drive. Fortunately, more realistic configurations start at S$2,299 (US$1,789.66).
Design
It's been a few years since Dell gave its Alienware lineup a makeover, and it's starting to show. Like the recent M11x, the new M14x has the same angular, almost automotive design as the 15- and 17-inch models of a few years ago. When we first saw it we thought it was a good step toward a more upscale feel, but since then we've seen a lot of sharp laptop designs that go even further toward a modern, minimalist look.
Specification:
Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3 GHz with SandyBridge !
up to a 750GB 7200RPM HDD
256GB SATA2 or SATA3 SDD
RAM 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz
robust NVIDIA GT555M 1.5 - 3 GB !!
LTE or WiMAX connectivity
1366 x 768 display or a Full HD 1920 x 1080 LCD.
The M14x has the same automotive-inspired grille along the front edge (which is only for show, not ventilation), a slick edge-to-edge glass overlay on the display, and a matte black chassis (the exterior of our system was a matte red). It's distinctive, to be sure, and will feel comfortable and familiar to longtime Alienware fans, but we're also eager for something new, and hopefully a bit slimmer. At 30.5mm and 3kg without the A/C adapter, this is still an effort to haul around more than occasionally.
Alienware's FX lighting and settings control system is still here. It lets you set the color for the backlit keyboard and the other light-up parts of the system. Backlit keys can be essential while gaming, as a black-on-black keyboard can be tough to make out in the dark.
The keyboard has a more traditional tapered key design, rather than the wider, flat keys many laptop makers are partial to these days. The company has previously said that these tapered keys provide more space between the individual letters, which is better for first-person shooters, which make heavy use of the WASD keys. We're not sure we have a favorite key design for playing games, but it's an interesting theory.
Alienware has always had excellent touchpads, although much of the rest of the laptop industry is catching up in terms of size. The smooth, matte texture on the touchpad feels great under your fingers, and the two large, distinct mouse buttons are welcome. As with previous Alienware laptops, the touchpad is demarcated by a backlit ring, the color of which is selectable. A few touchpad options, such as the size of the scroll bar, are controlled by an app called AlienTouch, but we didn't see any multitouch gestures such as two-finger scrolling.
Performance And Battery Life
The real star of the show is the quad-core Intel Core i7 2820QM processor, which sits at the top of Intel's current laptop lineup. It's a very powerful CPU, making it so that only recent very high-end systems, such as Apple's high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro, are comparable to the M14x in our benchmark tests. That said, it's more CPU than you probably need, and most M14x buyers should be fine taking the CPU down a few levels when selecting system options online to save some money.
The Nvidia GeForce GT555M is also a newer top-of-the-line part, and helped run our Unreal Tournament III test at 1,400 x 900-pixel resolution at 240.4 frames per second. Playing a more recent game, such as Mafia II, at 1,600 x 900-pixel resolution with very high graphics settings got us a more realistic number, 34.8fps. Either way, this is a zippy gaming machine and more than enough to handle the latest games (although not at 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, as the M14x's screen resolution doesn't go that high).
It's been a few years since Dell gave its Alienware lineup a makeover, and it's starting to show. Like the recent M11x, the new M14x has the same angular, almost automotive design as the 15- and 17-inch models of a few years ago. When we first saw it we thought it was a good step toward a more upscale feel, but since then we've seen a lot of sharp laptop designs that go even further toward a modern, minimalist look.
Specification:
Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3 GHz with SandyBridge !
up to a 750GB 7200RPM HDD
256GB SATA2 or SATA3 SDD
RAM 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz
robust NVIDIA GT555M 1.5 - 3 GB !!
LTE or WiMAX connectivity
1366 x 768 display or a Full HD 1920 x 1080 LCD.
The M14x has the same automotive-inspired grille along the front edge (which is only for show, not ventilation), a slick edge-to-edge glass overlay on the display, and a matte black chassis (the exterior of our system was a matte red). It's distinctive, to be sure, and will feel comfortable and familiar to longtime Alienware fans, but we're also eager for something new, and hopefully a bit slimmer. At 30.5mm and 3kg without the A/C adapter, this is still an effort to haul around more than occasionally.
Alienware's FX lighting and settings control system is still here. It lets you set the color for the backlit keyboard and the other light-up parts of the system. Backlit keys can be essential while gaming, as a black-on-black keyboard can be tough to make out in the dark.
The keyboard has a more traditional tapered key design, rather than the wider, flat keys many laptop makers are partial to these days. The company has previously said that these tapered keys provide more space between the individual letters, which is better for first-person shooters, which make heavy use of the WASD keys. We're not sure we have a favorite key design for playing games, but it's an interesting theory.
Alienware has always had excellent touchpads, although much of the rest of the laptop industry is catching up in terms of size. The smooth, matte texture on the touchpad feels great under your fingers, and the two large, distinct mouse buttons are welcome. As with previous Alienware laptops, the touchpad is demarcated by a backlit ring, the color of which is selectable. A few touchpad options, such as the size of the scroll bar, are controlled by an app called AlienTouch, but we didn't see any multitouch gestures such as two-finger scrolling.
Performance And Battery Life
The real star of the show is the quad-core Intel Core i7 2820QM processor, which sits at the top of Intel's current laptop lineup. It's a very powerful CPU, making it so that only recent very high-end systems, such as Apple's high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro, are comparable to the M14x in our benchmark tests. That said, it's more CPU than you probably need, and most M14x buyers should be fine taking the CPU down a few levels when selecting system options online to save some money.
The Nvidia GeForce GT555M is also a newer top-of-the-line part, and helped run our Unreal Tournament III test at 1,400 x 900-pixel resolution at 240.4 frames per second. Playing a more recent game, such as Mafia II, at 1,600 x 900-pixel resolution with very high graphics settings got us a more realistic number, 34.8fps. Either way, this is a zippy gaming machine and more than enough to handle the latest games (although not at 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, as the M14x's screen resolution doesn't go that high).
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