Alienware M17x R3 Review

Alienware M17x R3

Review Summary:

With great performance, cool design and fantastic speakers, the Alienware M17x R3 is a top-level 17-inch gaming notebook.

Pros

• Fantastic performance
• Unique design
• Excellent keyboard and touchpad
• Great speakers

Cons

• Build quality not as good as old M17x
• Gets noisy under full load

Alienware M17x R3 Full Review

 

Now in its third iteration, the M17x continues to be an impressive looker and performer. We go hands-on with this 17.3-inch top-shelf gaming notebook.

Our Alienware M17x R3 review unit is configured as follows:

• 17.3-inch glossy "edge to edge" full HD display (1920x1080 resolution)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core i7-2720QM quad-core processor (2.2~3.3GHz Turbo Boost, 6MB cache, 45W TDP)
• Intel HM67 chipset
• AMD Radeon HD 6970M w/ 2GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory
• 8GB DDR3-1333 (4x 2GB; supports up to 16GB - 4x 4GB)
• 1.5TB RAID 0 hard drive array (2x 750GB 7200RPM; Seagate ST9750420AS)
• Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN wireless network adapter
• Internal Bluetooth 3.0 wireless
• Integrated 720p webcam
• Slot-load Blu-ray reader/DVD burner (HL-DT-ST DVDRWBD CA30N)
• 9-cell Li-ion battery (90WHr)
• Weight: 9.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.76 x 11.96 x 16.14 inches
• 1-year limited warranty
• Starting price: $1,499
• Price as configured: $2,369

The M17x is now in its third iteration with the R3 edition. Unlike its predecessors, the R3 has a single graphics card; to get a dual graphics card setup (AMD CrossFireX or Nvidia SLI), you need to step up to the monstrous 18.4-inch M18x. Still, the M17x R3 packs serious firepower as configured. Options include the slightly faster i7-2720QM processor (the i7-2630QM is standard), AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card with a whopping 2GB of its own memory (a 1GB HD 6870M is standard), the upgraded Intel 6300 AGN wireless card, and the 1.5TB RAID 0 hard drive array.

Build and Design
Alienware notebooks showcase the most unique designs on the market; the M17x R3 is no exception. Its ultra-modern exterior looks like it was based off of a military stealth aircraft. The M17x R3 is also available with a red exterior.

Its AlienFX LED lighting system is seamlessly integrated into the chassis and takes the design to the next level. The colors of every single light on the notebook, even the caps/number lock indicators, can be customized with a dazzling array of colors. The keyboard is composed of four separate lighting zones. For even more fun, the lighting can be set to morph between two different colors or strobe. And of course it can be fully shut off. It's just too cool.

The M17x R3's build quality is good though almost exclusively uses plastic; its predecessor made extensive use of aluminum. I miss the metal, especially on the lid backing. Despite this, the M17x R3 uses rather thick plastic that doesn't make a cheap rattling sound when tapped by a fingernail. In general there are very few flexible surfaces on the M17x R3 save for the media controls area above the keyboard.

The lid is well-supported by a strong hinge connecting it to the chassis. It resists twisting when gripped by the corners though flexes more than the old M17x since it has a plastic backing. On a positive note, the M17x R3 adopts a "soft touch" rubbery surface on nearly all viewable surfaces. It feels great and is easy to clean. The M17x R3 has impressive quality though its predecessor was a few notches more upscale.

Ports and Features
The M17x R3 has an outright arsenal of ports; it includes USB 3.0, HDMI in and out, DisplayPort, eSATA,  and a pair of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports. The only item that's missing is an ExpressCard slot; the old M17x R1/R2 had one. All picture descriptions are left to right.

Front: AlienFX lights and speaker grilles

Rear: Cooling exhaust vents, AC power jack

Left: Kensington Lock slot, Ethernet, VGA, HDMI out, DisplayPort, 2x USB 3.0 SuperSpeed, S/P DIF, microphone jack, dual headphone jacks

Right: Media card reader (top), slot-load Blu-ray reader (bottom), 2x USB 2.0, eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port, HDMI in

Screen and Speakers
The M17x R3 has a 17.3-inch display with an "edge to edge" glass covering. The base system has a 1600x900 resolution however our review unit has the much better full HD panel (1920x1080 pixels, or about 44% more space to work with). The M17x R3 is also available with a 3D 1080p panel with a 120Hz refresh rate (the high refresh rate is required to produce the 3D effects with glasses).

The non-3D 1080p display has excellent brightness and is very colorful. Contrast is above average; the Command prompt window is a nice deep black. As a TN-type panel, viewing angles are fine side-to-side however the picture distorts when viewed off-angle vertically. The glassy surface is even more reflective than a standard gloss-coated display; when shut off, it looks like a mirror.

The M17x R3 gets an upgrade in the sound department compared to its predecessor. It features two custom-designed Klipsch speakers integrated below the palm rest. They sound positively fantastic for notebook speakers, boasting full sound with perceptible bass. They have ample loudness and don't distort up to 90% volume.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The M17x R3 has a traditionally-styled keyboard. It has four-zone customizable LED backlighting via the AlienFX system lighting. The keys have a slight concave shape and a rubbery non-slip surface. Key travel is excellent; it doesn't feel like the keys should move any further up or down. Keys have moderate actuation force (the amount of pressure it takes to depress a key); resting hands won't push down the keys, which is a good thing since gamers tend to do that often. There is some moderate flex towards the keyboard's center, however this does not affect typing feel. Overall the keyboard feels great and makes for a satisfying typing experience. As an added bonus, the keyboard is about as quiet as notebook keyboards come.

The large Synaptics touchpad is responsive and has an excellent matte non-slip surface. The edges are backlit - another part of the AlienFX lighting system. I like how the touchpad is slightly recessed into the palm rest, making it easy to find by feel. The two touchpad buttons are quiet and have very good tactile feedback. Overall Alienware did an exceptional job with the input devices.

Performance and Benchmarks
System performance is the overarching priority on a gaming notebook. The M17x R3 is an impressive hardware showcase; it includes the 2nd-generation Intel Core i7 quad-core processor (and an upper-tier variant, at that) and the crown jewel of mobile video cards, the new AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB of screaming GDDR5 video memory. Combine those two with an ample 8GB of system memory and and a large 1.5TB RAID 0 hard drive array and you get one of the best-performing notebooks on the market. The M17x R3 is available with up to 16GB of RAM and an even higher-end Core i7 quad-core processor.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

PCMark 7 is the latest synthetic benchamrk measuring overall system performance in Windows 7 (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark Vantage measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Gaming Performance
We ran a series of games on the M17x R3, including The Witcher 2 and the ever-demanding Crysis.

Crysis is still a benchmark that stresses PC hardware four years after the game's release. We put the screen resolution up to 1920x1080 and the details to "High". The M17x R3 performed flawlessly, maintaining consistently over 30 frames per second (FPS) - the minimum required for smooth gameplay.

The Witcher 2 is a fantasy action/role-playing game with demanding system requirements. We set the resolution to 1920x1080 and a "High" detail level. While this game phases computers with lesser specs, the M17x R3 stood up to the challenge and performed admirably with an average of 35 FPS; the game was smooth but did slow down in more intensive action scenes. 

Heat and Noise
The M17x R3 jets hot air out vents on either side on the back of the chassis. The two large intake vents on the bottom of the notebook provide the air for cooling. At idle the cooling system hardly makes any noise. Once under full load, however, the noise level increases significantly; it sounds like a very fast rush of air, like the high-pressure ventilation nozzles in commercial airliners. Fortunately the fans lack any sort of whine or motor noise.

The top of the chassis remains lukewarm only on the keyboard area; the rest is room temperature. The bottom center of the chassis gets hot but not alarmingly so. Overall the M17x R3 has a well-designed cooling system, though its predecessor was much quieter. The exterior temperatures shown below are listed in degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery Life
During our standard battery rundown test  (Windows 7 Balanced power profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every 60 seconds), I squeezed a rather impressive 3 hours and 4 minutes of battery life from the M17x R3's large 9-cell battery. This is a definitive improvement over its predecessor, which struggled to make two hours. The M17x R3 features switchable graphics and ran off the integrated Intel HD graphics on battery as opposed to the beastly AMD Radeon HD 6970M. I left the AlienFX lighting system on during the test, which negatively affected the battery life without a doubt. The high-performance RAID 0 hard drive array is also not battery-friendly since both drives need to be running at all times. Despite all this, the three hour time is respectable - it's a good minimum number.

Battery life test results (higher scores mean better battery life):

Conclusion
The Alienware M17x R3 is a class-leading entrant into the 17.3-inch gaming notebook market. Its outstanding design, AlienFX lighting system, and excellent performance make it ideal for gamers and multimedia enthusiasts. Other highlights of the machine include a great keyboard and touchpad, nice-sounding speakers, and good build quality. Speaking of build quality, that is the one area where Alienware could have improved. As it stands the M17x R3 has good quality, but it is not up to par with its aluminum-clad predecessor. Furthermore, the cooling system works well but is not as quiet as its predecessor's either.

In short, the Alienware M17x R3 is an easy notebook to recommend for the above-stated reasons.

Pros:

• Fantastic performance
• Unique design
• Excellent keyboard and touchpad
• Great speakers

Cons:

• Build quality not as good as old M17x
• Gets noisy under full load

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support 
Upgrade Capabilities 
Usability 
Design 
Performance 
Features 
Price/Value Rating 

* Ratings averaged to produce final score