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The low battery run times also point to AMD and/or Dell still having to work on optimizations. In spite of the strong BTYAVG1 12 cell battery (96 Wh!), the M18x ran out of power quite quickly. Two hours of web surfing or two hours of video playback (good to maximum brightness) are considerably below the possibilities of this high end notebook. The old model managed almost twice as much with three to four hours. Just under 60 minutes under 3D load is also pretty meager.
As is common with new GPUs, the energy saving options for the Radeon HD 7970M are not yet optimized. Reason 1: The relatively high power draw in idle mode. While the first revision of the HD 6970 CF drew a moderate 19-28 Watt from the outlet, our measurements indicated 32-42 Watt for the HD 7970M CF. Reason 2: The CrossFire bug. When we deactivated CrossFire, power draw actually rose to a beefy 60-72 Watt. Under load, the HD 7970M CF worked more frugally than their predecessors. Instead of 183-316 Watt, the new GPU only pulled 161-294 Watt during the 3DMark 06 benchmark.
Case
Alienware M18X R2 featuring the new Ivy Bridge mobile CPUs. Users will have the option between three CPUs: i7-3610QM, i7-3720QM and i7-3820QM. To power the 18.4-inch FullHD LCD White-LED Glossy screen, end-users with have the option for dual Radeon HD 7970M or dual GeForce GTX 675M (SLI) mobile graphic cards. A third option of the GeForce GTX 660M will be available but it is unknown if it will be available in SLI or just a single card setup. As for your memory options, the M18X R2 will offer DDR3 1600 MHz in 2 GB, 4 GB and 8 GB, with DDR3 1866 at 2 GB.
Users will find the Alienware M18X R2 offers a wide range of storage options from standard hard drives to SSDs. Users will be able to choose either a 500 GB 7.2K 2.5-inch HDD or 750 GB 7.2K 2.5-inch HDD for their systems. If speed is more your thing, you have the option for SSD storage. The SSD storage options include; 256 GB / 512 GB Samsung PM830 (SATA3, 7mm, 2.5-inch), 32 GB / 64 GB Samsung PM830 (SATA3, mSATA) or 512 GB Micron C400 (SATA3, 7mm, 2.5-inch). In addition, the Alienware M18X R2 will feature a Wireless HD card (optional), a 240 W or 330 W AC adapter, and two color choices - red and black.
The noble aluminum surfaces might drive up the weight (over 5 kg), but they guarantee excellent stability. Only the keyboard bed and the cooling exhaust grids can be noticeably dented in. Combined with good workmanship, this results in a perception of high quality. We especially liked the pleasantly soft wrist rest (Soft-Touch). Different from its smaller brother the M17x, the display lid surfaces are not gummed. Talking about the lid: Depending on your viewing angle and the surroundings, the black variant of the M18x sometimes looks rather gray or brown instead of black.
Since Alienware largely favors matte finishes, the 18-inch unit is relatively impervious to smudges. An exception is the glaring plastic display surface, which ends up covered with finger prints after a short time. The relatively tight display hinges do a decent job, though they cause the base unit to swing up when opening the notebook.
Due to the high weight and enormous scale (436 x 323 x 55 Millimeters), the M18x is only suited for stationary operation. Those who frequently move their notebook, should pick a more compact machine.
With a product from the competition, one misses out on the stylish case lighting. The M18x offers multiple zones that can be independently lit in different colors. In addition to the keyboard and touch pad, you can light up speaker grilles, the Alienware logo, the power button, the status lights and the multimedia button bar. (ASUS A42-U36 batteries)
Connectivity
Alienware undertook only minor optimizations in regards to interfaces. Not surprising, as the first revision already offered a multitude of connections. Instead of two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 connectors, the new M18x contains 4 USB 3.0 ports. External drives or input peripherals can also be connected to the eSATA/USB combo as needed.
Three video ports (VGA, HDMI 1.4, Mini-DisplayPort) and four audio connectors (5.1 analog, 7.1 digital per S/PDIF) are also commendable. In addition, there is a 9-in-1 card reader, an express card slot (54mm) and a Kensington Lock. An RJ-45 Gigabit LAN port can't be missing either, of course. One can even use the laptop's display for other devices through the integrated HDMI input. Aside from the power connector, all interfaces are placed on the sides.
Wireless Communication
Wireless Communication
Wireless connections can be made over WiFi b/g/n or Bluetooth 4.0. The base configuration is equipped with Intel's Centrino Wireless-N 2230 module, which supports transfer rates up to 300 Mbit/s.
Service
Service
Servicing is a comfortable affair. After pushing out the battery and removing four screws, the bottom plate simply slides to the rear. With the exception of two RAM slots (under the keyboard), all important components are accessible here. Cleaning the fans is as easy as upgrading hard drives or memory.
Keyboard
There is little to complain about the input devices. The keyboard sports a dedicated number block and a decent layout. The key size of 18 x 18 millimeters might seem ample on paper, but due to the slanted edges, just under 12 x 13 millimeters are actually usable.
We'd call the typing feel and acoustic feedback a success. Even with the relatively soft pressure point, the keyboard offers passable feedback. Keyboard travel seems neither too short nor too long and should meet approval from most users. Requiring some getting used to, on the other hand, are the five macro keys (three levels), which Alienware placed to the left. Since the main block does not start at the edge of the notebook, its easy to miss them during first use.
Touchpad
The minimally sunken touch pad with its lit edges doesn't just score with a useful size (99 x 55 millimeters), but also with good gliding attributes and excellent precision. Thanks to the smooth surface, finger movements come easily.
We weren't quite as excited about the classic image run. For one thing, its fairly slow with default settings, and the speed varies irregularly from time to time. It's also less than great that you have to manually enable supported 2-finger multi touch gestures (zoom, scroll, rotate) in the touch pad driver.
Some gamers might also take exception to the positioning. Since Alienware mounts the touch pad relatively far to the left, it can cause accidental inputs while playing (deactivating the touch pad will fix that). Beyond that, the touch pad is without fail.
Display
The 18.4-inch glare type display panel comes from Samsung (HT184). With a diagonal of 46.74 centimeters and a resolution of 1920 x 1080, the gaming notebook provides impressive screen space.(DELL 312-1254 computer batteries)
If you just look at brightness, the monitor fails to deliver an outstanding performance. Under 220 cd/m² is an average value, but at least it's half way sufficient for interior spaces. Black values score significantly better at roughly 0.3 cd/m², so dark areas really look dark. Cheap run off the mill panels tend toward a noticeable gray tint, which turns games and movies into pale affairs.
Such problems are unknown to the M18x. A contrast of about 700:1 is more than respectable. As our screen shots prove, the panel also does a decent job with color reproduction. Few notebooks cover the sRGB color space this well.
Outdoor usability of the M18x tends toward zero. Too often, there are annoying reflections due to the glossy display surface. On brighter days, you can see almost nothing at all on the display. Even in interior spaces you are often confronted with annoying reflections. To find a good placement for the notebook during the day is so difficult that you may begin to wonder if Alienware engineers designed the notebook exclusively for poorly lit conditions. To make it short: Alienware should really think about offering a non-reflective display option.
Viewing angles are sufficient. While horizontal angle changes are tolerable, vertical angles should not veer too far from 90 degrees. The more you open the display towards the rear, the worse the illumination changes - typical for TN panels. Re-adjustments of the display, however, are only rarely needed.
Speakers
For the sound system, Alienware has chosen speakers from Klipsch. Two speakers and a sub woofer form the basic ingredients for an adequate sound stage. Aside from the strong bass, we liked the high maximum volume..
The good sound of the M18x relies not only on the quality of the speakers, but also on Creative's Recon3Di chip. With the installed software, the sound can be adjusted to one's individual liking. The THX TruStudio Pro technology especially lifts the 18-inch unit above the competition. Games, movies and music still sound a little hollow as is typical of notebooks.
Verdict
The Alienware M18x R2 is definitely a superlative notebook, but calling the massive 18-inch unit a notebook is stretching the term. At over 5 kg, the M18x R2 is essentially limiting the user to indoor use only.
Still, no one can deny its mighty performance. Thanks to the overclocked Ivy Bridge processor and the two Radeon HD 7970M GPUs, the high-end machine handles every task easily and painlessly. All currently available games can be played with maximum settings.
As mentioned earlier, AMD's CrossFire technology is limping a bit behind Nvidia's SLI system. Thanks to better driver and game support, Nvidia models profit considerably more from a second GPU. If this trend continues, the brand new GeForce GTX 680M might offer the faster dual GPU solution. In fact, this particular Nvidia setup is already on our radar for a future review. (SONY VGP-BPSC29 Battery)
Aside from the excellent performance, the M18x offers further qualities. The noble metal surfaces and the numerous illumination elements make the competition look pretty outdated. The integrated Samsung display panel also convinced us with good color reproduction, black values and contrast - it doesn't need to hide behind external displays. Speakers, input devices and connectors are also appropriate to the high price.
The list of criticisms is rather short. The cheap, reflective display unfortunately does not reflect the quality of the rest of the notebook and its price and is the low point of the system. Regardless, the user will have to live with annoying reflections, short battery life and a bulky case. In other words, the sole drawbacks are everything one might expect from a large DTR.
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