Alienware M17x R4 Review: Mobile Gaming at its Finest - moodywasso1962

If a laptop weighs nearly 10 pounds, can you comfortably wait it on your lap? Probably non, and that's why we call gaming monstrosities such as the Alienware M17x R4 "background replacements." Because, really, they'atomic number 75 desktops that are only slightly easier to move than traditional towers.

The M17x R4 is Dell's Ivy Bridge refresh of its popular Alienware M17x gaming system. This new M17x keeps the aesthetics of the old M17x, and packs a unused processor and nontextual matter card.

Our review articl unit, which costs $1974 as configured, packs a third-generation Intel Core i7-3720QM mainframe—combined of the most powerful mobile Ivy Bridge deck processors on the market. The arrangement also has 8GB of Chock up (upgradeable to 32GB), a Kepler-based Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M discrete graphics card, a 500GB disk drive, and a Blu-beam reader/DVD-RW combo drive. Connection-wise, you'll find oneself built-in Badger State-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, as well American Samoa a 2.1-megapixel webcam. The M17x runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

Performance

The Alienware M17x R4 scores a very acceptable 146 in PCWorld's WorldBench 7 bench mark tests. This means that the M17x R4 is 46 percent faster than our examination framework, which sports a second-generation Intel i5-2500K desktop processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics card. It's a reputable score for the performance/gambling laptop category—about 20 points higher than the average score (121.7) of the unlikely three performance laptops we've dependable. That said, the M17x R4 still lags behind the class loss leader, the Origin EON17-S, which has a WorldBench 7 score of 200 and sports an Intel Extreme Edition i7-3920XM processor.

Thanks to the new Kepler-based nontextual matter card, artwork and gambling performance connected the M17x R4 is very good. In our Crysis 2 graphics tests, the M17x tally frame rates of 'tween 43.1 (maximum-level quality settings, 1920 by 1080 pixel resoluteness) and 96.1 (inferiority settings, 800 away 600 resolution). The M17x's carrying into action in DiRT3 was equally impressive, posting 65.6 frames per instant at 1920 x 1080, Ultra Tone. The mobile GeForce GTX 680M seems to offer a overlarge performance boost over to begin with generations of Nvidia sharp end mobile graphics chips.

In our battery life tests, the M17x R4 chugged along for 5 hours, 21 minutes, which is the longest of some of our performance laptops. The mean shelling sprightliness of the concluding three performance laptops time-tested was just 3 hours, 35 minutes, and the EON17-S's barrage lifespan is regular depress, at just 2 hours, 33 minutes.

Intention

The Alienware M17x R4 looks on the button wish its predecessor: one solid hunk of gaming machine. Information technology weighs 9.39 pounds, non counting the two-pound power brick, which is heavy even for a carrying into action laptop.

The M17x R4 is housed in a solid black chassis covered in soft gristly corporal. It's likewise spattered in lights: The keyboard is backlit, with a sliver of light around the trackpad, the media keys are backlit, the stranger head power push button is backlit, the Alienware logo underneath the screen lights up, as does the alien head on the cover, and deuce medium-sized grills at the front of the data processor also light up. The lights and the grills make this laptop leap out from other bulky gaming machines aside adding a bit cool factor.

The laptop computer sports a full-size keyboard with regular-style keys and a 10-key number pad. The keyboard is laid out pretty typically, though the Page Up, Page Perfect, Home, and Goal keys are located higher up the number pad. The keyboard is easy to use, thanks to large, flat keys and satisfactory tactile feedback. Preceding the keyboard is a row of dedicated media playback buttons (volume up/downcast/mute, hot forward, rewind, play/pause, eject), as well as a Wi-Fi button and an AlienFX clit. The AlienFX button takes you to the AlienFX Editor, which lets you swop ascending the keyboard lighting.

Below the keyboard is a giant trackpad with cardinal separate mouse buttons. The trackpad is seamless, comfortable to use, and accurate, though I still advocate using an external mouse for gambling purposes. The buttons are large, soft to the touch, and easy to press.

Dell really outdoes itself with the M17x R4's port selection. It has pretty much everything you need: four USB3.0 ports, one eSATA/USB Sleep-n-Charge, VGA out, a mini-DisplayPort, ethernet, HDMI-unfashionable, HDMI-in, and a Kensington lock slot. Other connections: S/PDIF, mike, headphone, and combo microphone/headphone knucklebones, plus a nine-in-one notice reader.

Cover and Speakers

The M17x R4 sports a beautiful 17.3-inch glossy LED-backlit screen with a inborn resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. The cover is gorgeous: Information technology has a glass-to-glaze over bezel-less design, it's bright, and colors look very good. Blacks are glowering, whites are bright, and HD video plays without a hitch. Off-axis wake angles are ample, though the screen does sometimes present a little too much glare. But there's a reason that Dell provides an HDMI-in port on this laptop computer—you genuinely will want to fireplug other devices into this screen.

Audio on the M17x R4 sounds same good. The speakers offer rich, complete sound with plenty of bass and virtually none of the tinniness you usually get wind on laptop speakers. The only real egress with the M17x R4's audio frequency is the volume—the loudest background is still disappointingly deficient, and barely blasting enough to fill a small room.

The Bottom Line

This particular refresh of the Alienware M17x R4 is…fountainhead, refreshful. The new Ivy Bridge over processor and Kepler-supported Nvidia graphics card offer up great performance, and the entire system costs under $2000—a pretty good sight for a gaming-orienting desktop replacement. The screen is beautiful, the speakers are good (if soft), the keyboard is excellent, and the AlienFX lighting is a decent touch. Plus, information technology has excellent battery life.

I potty't think of a reason not to beget the M17x R4, except for the fact that information technology weighs almost 10 pounds. If you're looking a "portable" gaming powerhouse, you've base it.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/460387/alienware_m17x_r4_review_mobile_gaming_at_its_finest.html

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