The good: Amazingly powerful for a 15-inch laptop; highly configurable; adds 16:9 display.

The bad: Configuration options can get expensive; far from portable.

The bottom line: Alienware's big and bulky 15-inch M15x pulls out most of the stops, thanks to a superpowered CPU.

Read full review of the Alienware M15x »

By Dan Ackerman, CNET.com
Nov 19, 2009

Keeping the same revised look and feel as the recent 17-inch M17x version, the Alienware M15x is an imposing black slab of computing power that's thicker and heavier than most 17-inch laptops.

We love having high-end options such as Intel's uberpowerful Core i7-920XM CPU, and it's a plus that Alienware has finally gotten onboard the 16:9 display bandwagon. But if you want serious gamer options such as dual video cards or two hard drives, you'll have to trade up the bigger 17-inch model.

While it starts at a deceptively promising S$2,799 (US$1,988.49), our review unit clocked in at S$5,400 (US$3,836.32), which is a steep premium for a system with a single GPU and hard drive (not even a solid-state one, at that). Still, the Alienware mystique counts for something, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a better-built, or faster, 15-inch laptop.

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Do check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

The new look of the M15x is essentially a slightly shrunken clone of the current 17-inch M17x. Much like that model, this M15x has a modern minimalist design. There are fewer distracting flourishes on the keyboard tray than on previous Alienware systems, and there's a slick edge-to-edge glass overlay on the display. The front edge, rather than squared off, has an angled automotive-inspired grille that helps the overall look from being too slablike, complete with adjustable glowing lights.



The anodized aluminum case is built like a tank, but is also about as heavy as one. Even though this is technically a fairly portable 15-inch laptop, we don't see it taking too many trips out of the house.

Alienware's Fusion FX lighting and settings control system is a unique selling point. You can set the color for the backlit keyboard in four separate zones, meaning you can create a rainbow-like design across the keys. The same software package also provides a fairly comprehensive power control suite which offers more detailed options than the basic Windows power settings, as well as security controls, including facial-recognition login software.

The keyboard has a more traditional tapered key design, rather than the wider, flat keys many laptop makers are partial to these days. When we reviewed the similar-looking 17-inch model, Alienware explained 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.

Features

The 15.6-inch widescreen LED 16:9 display offers a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which is as good as you'd find on any 17-inch or larger laptop. That matches the 1080p standard for Blu-ray and other HD video, making the M15x well-suited for media watching.



Dell continues to push the DisplayPort standard as an alternative to HDMI, and having only three USB ports may be a bit limiting for a gaming machine. But other than that, the M15x is well-equipped for networking, expansion, and accessories.

Performance And Battery Life

As expected from Dell and Alienware, there are enough configuration options to create some very different final products (as well as easily doubling the price). The most notable is the new Intel Core i7-920XM CPU. It's a whopping S$1,725.91 (US$1,226.14) upgrade over the default Core i7 720QM (itself nothing to sneeze at), and includes a requirement that you also choose the larger nine-cell battery option.

With that superpowerful processor, we saw some of our best performance numbers to date, even beating a hybrid laptop built with desktop quad-core components. Make no mistake, you're paying a lot for the privilege, but at least for now, no one will have a faster laptop if you go for the most expensive processor upgrade.

Actually, using the Alienware M15x was a smooth, pleasing experience--windows snapped open and shut instantly, annoying pauses were virtually nonexistent. Gaming was likewise excellent, even with only a single video card. Running Unreal Tournament 3 at a whopping 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, we got 99 frames per second. A few SLI dual-card laptops, such as the Asus W90Vp, could beat that, but not by much, and even those systems fell behind at lower resolutions. The combo of a killer CPU and a good single GPU was a powerful one, and we can only imagine what we'll get from the first system we test with a Core i7-920XM plus dual Nvidia GeForce 260M or 280M video cards









As one would expect, the Alienware M15x won't run very long away from a wall socket. Even with the extended nine-cell battery (required by the Core i7 920 processor), the system ran for 1 hour 46 minutes on our video playback battery drain test. That's alright for a high-powered desktop replacement, but very low for a 15-inch system with at least pretensions of portability.



System configurations:

Alienware M15x
Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core i7-920XM; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M; 500GB Seagate 7,200rpm

Asus G51J
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Core i7-720QM; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M; (2) 320GB Seagate 7,200rpm

Toshiba Qosmio X505
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Core i7-720QM; 6GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M; HDD #1: 64GB, Toshiba SSD/HDD #2: 320GB Hitachi 7,200rpm

Gateway P7809G
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 1GB Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS; 500GB Western Digital 5,400rpm

Asus W90Vp
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600; 6GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 512MB Dual ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2; 320GB Seagate 7,200rpm

Service And Support

Alienware includes an one-year Premier Service and CompleteCover with the system, which includes in-home service. Upgrading to a three-year plan will cost an extra S$175.48 (US$124.67), and several other options are available for purchase. Support is accessible through a 24/7 toll-free phone line, an online knowledge base and driver downloads.

Tags: Toshiba Qosmio, NVidia Corp., Gateway Inc., Nvidia GeForce, Alienware

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