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The Alienware M17x R3 is sold as a desktop replacement, and as such is a large machine. It is nicely finished in black, with angular panels cut into a very modern design, unlike any other manufacturer on the market.
The design is similar to other models in the Alienware range although this one has received some ‘up to the minute tweaks' to improve the aerodynamics and overall styling. Obviously the glowing Alienware head still holds a centerstage position on the lid.
When compared to earlier models, the grills have been reshaped and adjusted to suit the new, tweaked design. There is also a rubber material shell to protect the chassis.
On the left of the machine there is a Kensington lock and GB lan, HDMI out and VGA as well as mini Displayport, 2x USB 3.0 and 5.1/7.1 audio in/out which includes a S/PDIF socket. On the other side there are two USB 2.0 ports, eSATA/USB hybrid port and a 9 in 1 memory card reader. There is also a dual layer DVD RW drive and an HDMI in port. This HDMI in port is unusual, but its a fantastic idea for hooking up a Playstation 3 for instance.
The rear of the system has very little connectivity, a power connector and several vents to allow for high levels of airflow, which such a powerful system will need.
Underneath is an Alienware plaque which can be etched with the customers name before shipment. Alienware have cleverly designed the airflow system to exhaust air away from the user, making an ‘on the lap' experience, more enjoyable. The onboard sound system is supplied by Klipsch, this is also branded into the underside of the chassis.
Well thats damn nice. its also the price of my car mind you :p
Looks a lot nicer than the earlier versions. Although I loved that 11 inch version, that was sexy. these aren’t for me, too bulky to carry about.
Brilliant. Not sure id ever pay that for a laptop, but certainly made for nice reading.
Gotta love twitter alerts. need my daily review fix 😉
Very impressed with this unit, but the 15 inch one might make more physical sense. im all for desktop replacements, but it doesnt work for me. insane performance, thats without question.
Id love one of these, see them on tv shows a lot (as well as apple machine obviously).
Id be tempted to look at one, once they get the mobos replaced. When will that be? march?
Wow even this machine is affected by the bloody intel mess. will it ever end. its like the end of the world, i tell ya !
Its good, but they need a stronger GFX for such a high end machine.
My mate has a alienware, he uses it alot, but his keyboard fell apart over 3 years. hopefully they fixed that.
I read a lot of horror stories about these previous versions, google them ! I love the looks, but its hard to review long term strenght. some of these companies should let the reviewers hold onto them for months, so they can do follow ups. but they wont do that.
The lighting is awesome, that sold me before anything else :p
Its nice, and its fast, but why dont they make a ferrari one ? like the cars. I know acer did it, but dell would make them nicer.
Great laptop. I have the first revision and I agree, it wasn’t built to really last a long time, but ive looked after mine and its been great.
Pricing the components and the system isnt bad, including the overhead for the lighting and custom chassis etc. the SSD alone takes up a big portion of the price. but well worth it as the HD tests show.
Id love a 17 inch laptop, but Id need one for college and I dont fancy hauling this around. shall look at their 15 inch models, once the sandybridge fiasco is sorted.
I always loved their case designs and these look stunning, my professor has one in college and all the kids think he is cool for owning it (he is a 65 year old guy who can really use it too!)
I was going to order one, then realised at the last part of the review that this uses one of the troubled sandybridge motherboard. so will have to wait. Any ideas on the time frame for the fix? march? april?
Yes, the laptop is terrific, but that is one seriously awesome review guys! Boot time; acoustics; SSD; screen quality! Wow! Best I’ve read! Keep it up! (and rustle up a Eurocom equivalent!)
I’m prefered to call it M17X 2G rather than M17 R3 because: i) new redesign, and, ii) new ports (USB 3.0, HDMI 1.4)
I bought the m17x r3 before it was removed. One feature that was listed on the Alienware site was the wireless HD. I have not been able to figure out how this feature works. I looked for a WirelessHD icon or WiDi icon but did not find it on my system. I did find it on the resource CD. When I tried to run it there was an error stating it could not find the wireless Display card. I looked in the BIOS and found an entry under wireless that read DMC Sibeam. Have you tested this feature? If so what is missing?
Its back on sale now! ordered mine yesterday 🙂 nice and complete review!
You forgot to do a section on the audio quality………
For such an expensive laptop, headphone/speaker performance is important to prospective buyers.