Alienware Area-51 m5750

Intro

We see a lot of reviews of laptops and notebooks fresh out of the box. Well this review is designed to give readers and new laptop customers an idea of how Alienware stacks up over the months of use. It has been 12 months since my purchase, and the following is a review of my experience thus far.

Reason to Purchase:

If you have never owned or handled an Alienware, you would be amazed with what Alienware has to offer for consumers and more specifically, hardcore gamers. People need to stop looking at Alienware as “overpriced” but really sit down with two laptops with similar specs and understand why Alienware’s have the gaming name attached to them. Alienware produces durable, powerful and cosmetically pleasing notebooks.
The Alienware 5750 is a step between a midsized laptop and a mobile desktop. With the Intel Duo Chip, it packs a lot of CPU and GPU power to play the latest games on a crisp 17 inch screen while at the same time giving you impressive batter life and plenty of storage space.
After my disappointing Alienware Story back in the summer of 03, I vowed never to buy another mobile gaming laptop ever again. I told myself laptops were designed for basic computing and should never be stocked with expensive GPUs, mobile CPUs and high res screens all of which are not even upgradeable. Well the years went by and technology has vastly improved and my option of mobile gaming machines have changed. For one, the price of mobile CPUs has dropped considerably since 02 when Pentium 4m’s were just starting to hit the market and retailing for over $1000. Battery life has also greatly improved over this time with the improvements of the Pentium Duo chip and impressive mobile GPU power usage. I was also attending a lot more LAN Parties where I would need to bring my entire Desktop Setup which was starting to get very annoying. So I started looking at another Gaming Laptop.

Specs:

• Area-51® m5750
• Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500 2.0GHz 2MB Cache 667MHz FSB
• Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional with Service Pack 2
• Alienware® m5750 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD Upgrade 1 (Paint Job)
• Alienware® Intel® 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
• 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
• Single Drive Configuration - 60GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
• Upgrade 2 - HITACHI Travelstar 5K250 250GB 5400 RPM Serial ATA150 +$186.99 8/29/2007
• 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
• 256MB ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X1800
• Intel® 7.1 High-Definition Audio
• Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
• Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
• 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
• Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 Channel 7.1 XP
• Alienware Respawn Recovery Kit
• Alienware Mobile Manual
• Alienware Owner Identification Card
• Microsoft® Works 8 Productivity Suite

SubTotal: $2,623.00
Shipping: $99.00
Discount: -$200.00
Tax: $0.00
Order Total: $2,522.00

What’s in the Box
This being my fourth Alienware notebook (6th total), I was surprised to notice that Alienware does not ship their notebooks in big black boxes anymore, probably due to the fact they were so easily noticed sitting on the back of FED-EX trucks. Alienware also stopped shipping the black Alienware binders a few years back and now only ship software and manuals in a smaller white cardboard package thing. I miss the binders.

Design
Alienware’s have always been known for their flashly colors and sleek ‘out of this world’ design and this laptop was particularly special to me since it was my second laptop with Alien Eyes that glowed a blue ominous color. But the Saucer Silver chassis disappointed me after having two prior conspiracy blue laptops. I decided a few days after I received my 5750 to make a special arrangement with the best custom painting laptop company there is.



Smooth Creations Custom Paint Job:



For My Smooth Creations Review Go here.


Screen:
The viewing angle of the 5750 is quite impressive. The 5750 screen is advertised as “HD” at 1920 x 1200 resolution, but watching QuickTime high def trailers did not look as good as watching them on my HDTV at 1920 x 1080. When high def DVD becomes cheaper, I’d like to put in a blu-ray drive and see the quality of the screen compared to my HDTV, but that upgrade is still months if not years away. I am extremely pleased with the screen quality when it comes to games. Once again, Alienware has shipped me a machine with 0 dead pixels.

Keyboard

The 5750 ships with a full size keyboard, which at first glance may look enormous, but actually is tightly squeezed together in a comfortable package. There are a few keys missing, for example the end key, but they did manage to squeeze a number pad on it which is very useful. The m9750 does not have a number pad. The keyboard is the norm colors, black keys with white lettering with the standard laptop function (FN) keys that allow you to raise the volume, adjust the brightness or switch between video outputs.



Touchpad

One of the worst touchpads I’ve ever used belonged to the Alienware Sentia 223. It had no texture, too much acceleration that was not affected when messing with the mouse speeds in the control panel, and your thumb was always bumping it when you tried to type. It was overall a bear to use. I was pleasantly surprised with the touchpad on the Alienware 5750 to see they have made many improvements. There is a raised horizontal line that lets the user know when your fingers are venturing too far to the right before you touch the scroll pad. This should be a stock feature on every laptop ever made. The scroll pad is also extremely useful and effective. However, the one annoyance with the touchpad is the left and right mouse buttons. When pressed and depressed, they emit are annoyingly loud “click”, not like a subtle mouse click, but more of a deep-‘everyone in the room knows I’m clicking’ click. Alienware has since improved on this annoyance with the 9750.




Features

Multimedia Keys



LEDS



Alien Eyes

The picture says it all.




Speakers and Mic

The speakers are ordinary tweeter styled speakers like on any laptop, located above the keyboard and boosted a tad by a subwoofer on the bottom. And for users convenience, there is a microphone built into the laptop chassis at the lower left hand side. The only bad part about the mic is it is located exactly where users would keep their hand if they were typing. So talking on voice networks and typing at the same time would be difficult for people to hear as well as the noise and feedback they would receive with your wrist rubbing over the mic. The 9750 fixes this issue.



Input and Output Ports

Front: The front of the laptop has three features. One, a mic indicator letting users know the mic is located in the front left side of the laptop under the keyboard. The second feature is the latch which is sturdy and reliable. The third feature is an on/off switch that controls the wifi. I find this useful if there are no wifi networks in my area and need to conserve battery life. A simple flick of the switch will stop the 5750 from searching for available networks instead of having to disable it in Windows.



Right Side: The right side of the laptop contains an Express Card Slot /54mm (also 34) three high speed USB ports, IEEE 1394a (4-pin), a 4-in-1 Memory Card Reader (SD / MS / MSPRO / MMC) and the Ethernet port. The 4-in-1 Memory Card Reader is very convenient for just sticking your digital camera memory stick in and the 5750 recognizing it instantly instead of hooking up external ports or wires. I am very surprised Alienware did not continue this on the 9750 model. There is also a laptop lock on the rights side, perfect for keeping your laptop safe if you want to leave it at work or at school.



Left Side: The left side of the laptop contains the CD/DVD, which is in perfect position. Since I am a righty, when I use an external mouse it sits on the right side of the notebook. If the CD/DVD tray was on the right side, it would be annoying to have to move my mouse and mouse pad every time I swapped out a CD/DVD. If the tray was on the front, I would need to move my external keyboard. I am disappointed Alienware moved the tray to the front of the laptop on the 9750. Also on the left side is another high speed USB port, AC power connection, volume control and audio ports.



Rear: The backside of the 5750 contains an S-video out, DVI out, exhaust fans and for those still using dial up, a modem jack.




Top:



Size and Weight

With a 17 inch display, there is no doubt carrying the 5750 around will be a tad annoying. Even if you happen to purchase the ginormous Alienware backpack that comfortably seats the laptop in a protective pouch, walking to class with it on your back does put some strain on you. The 5750 is by no means a chore to carry and is no where near the weight of 14 lbs of my first Area-51m 5620P, but at a minimum weight of 8.8 lbs, the 5750 is not ideal for traveling a lot. Again you are making a compromise in the Area-51m line. You are not purchasing the smallest laptop with a 15 inch display, and you are not purchasing the largest at 19 inches. That said, taking the 5750 around is not a problem for LANs and occasional trips, but it could turn into one if you happen to travel with it everyday. Finding a backpack or carrying bag to fit the 5750 may be difficult for it did not fit in my original Alienware backpack which is why I decided to purchase the Alienware Odyssey backpack.

16.0" (w) x 11.5" (d) x 1.8" (h)

Min Weight 8.8lbs
Avg weight 10.8 lbs

Heat and Noise
This is the area I was most concerned with. Did Alienware fix the heat problems that were present in some of their first generation gaming laptops? Or was I in for another unfortunate CPU overheating problem? This question would be answered after a long LAN party.

Needless to say, it ran like a friggin breeze. Zero problems, ran all games smooth as silk and did not even get hot. Man am I happy with this thing.

Battery Life

I tested the 5750 on two sets of brightness settings and spent the time surfing the web with Firefox 2 with 1-5 tabs open as well as writing in Microsoft Word.

8/8 – 2 hours 3 minutes
1/8 – 2 hours 20 minutes


Synthetic/Gaming Benchmarks

Here is a list of tested synthetic and gaming benchmarks. All results are with stock hardware settings.










Nor’easter 06

Alienware once again gets my praise. My 5750 was not strained, nor was it even getting hot after playing 12 hours straight! I really couldn’t believe how NOT hot this laptop got. I was expecting the keyboard and touchpad area to be burning my fingers but it felt the same as if I had only been using it for an hour or so. I have Intel’s Core Duo processor to thank for this. Some of the games played over the hours included:

1. CounterStrike: Source
2. Battlefield 2142
3. Battlefield 2
4. Doom 3
5. Quake 3
6. Quake 4
7. F.E.A.R.
8. World of Warcraft (don’t laugh, I was just playing it to chill out)

Quakecon 2007

I brought my machine to Dallas Texas where I participated in one of the most anticipated LANs of the year. It ran like perfectly with a year of use under its belt. Played Counterstike: source, F.E.A.R. Combat and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars great.

Software

All the Alienware laptops I’ve purchased come with a reasonable amount of free software that is very useful. Microsoft® Works, PowerDVD and Nero Burning Rom were all included with the system.

Accessories

The 5750 ships with a decent sized power block. This makes carrying around the 5750 in a backpack or briefcase very reasonable. The 5750 also shipped with a white binder filled with drivers and software that was shipped with your system.



Problems

I do not consider this a “problem” because all laptops suffer from this issue. While playing games at Quakecon 2007, my laptop restarted on me a few times. This was due to the fact that dust had clogged the output fan area so the laptop was not getting the cooling requirements needed to function properly. So what fixed it? Propping up the back end where the output fan was with a piece of cardboard did the trick. That was a temporarily fix until I was able to get a can of compressed air and clean the fan ducts out. This is a normal result of actively using a laptop. Dust happens.

Upgradeable

One of the best features of the 5750, is not really a feature at all. The 5750 comes shipped with the Intel 945PM motherboard with a Core Duo processor. I purchased this laptop a month before the Core 2 Duo chip was released. To my surprise, the Core 2 Duo chip is compatible with the 945PM motherboard. That means, when I decide that my laptop is not capable of running the most current games, I can upgrade my CPU and GPU to accommodate my needs. The flexibility of this is very rewarding and I am excited to upgrade to the latest CPU when my 3 year warranty runs out. You can see the Intel boards here.



Pros:

• Performance – Plays every games like butter
• Battery Life – Intels Core Duo Process gives great power for games and impressive battery life
• Heat – barely any heat for a gaming laptop!
• Keyboard – comfortable
• Wireless – easily configurable; adaptable
• Noise – runs quiet!

Cons:

• Touchpad Buttons – loud clicking, fixed in 9750 model
• On/Off Switch – hard to press, gets annoying
  

Conclusion:

After a year with the m5750 I could not be more satisfied. I was a bit disappointed that the Core 2 Duo chip in the 5750 was released 2 weeks after my purchase, but that just leaves the window open for me to upgrade later when games become difficult to run on it. Laptops are becoming more upgradeable over the years and the 5750 is a pure example of it. I am also a bit disappointed with the 3dMrk06 benchmark score, but that I was expecting with Core Duo chip and a mobile X1800. It still runs games beautifully, smoothly and enjoyable on max settings and at 1900x1200 resolution. The Alienware Area-51 m5750 Gaming Laptop has won me back over, after having convinced myself gaming laptops are not worth it in the long run.

You can see the comparison between the 5750 and the Sentia 223.



If you have any questions about anything written here you can e-mail me: Dukefrukem[at]notebookforums.com

well, I got my m5750 on wed. and I thought I would post the 3dMark 05 Scores that Alienware got when they tested my system. The PC Information from Alienwre is already on the desktop when you first start it up. Also, 3dMark 05 is located in the local drive in the 3dmark 05 folder.

Here it is:

Test Date: 08/09/2006 09:45 AM


III. Burn-In/Benchmarks

Doom 3


Doom 3: 66.6 fps

3DMark 2005


Game Tests
3DMark Score: 5,316.00 3DMarks

GT1 - Return To Proxycon: 22.63 FPS

GT2 - Firefly Forest: 16.24 FPS

GT3 - Canyon Flight: 26.17 FPS

CPU Tests
CPU Score: 4,870.00 CPUMarks

CPU Test 1: 2.57 FPS

CPU Test 2: 4.11 FPS

The test score when I ran the test again on all tests with default settings was 5297.

If anyone wants to explain the numbers to me and their significance, I would appreciate it. Cause I don't know anything about benchmarking and stuff like that.

Any question regarding the m5750 is also welcome here.

PLEASE NOTE: I am assuming that the 3dMark 05 that Alienware ran was the version without the 1.2.0 patch because the version that came on my computer doesn't have the patch. I will post my 3dMark 05 score with the patch when I'm done downloading it.

Overview and Information

Alienware recently released the Area-51 m5750 17" Laptop with the Core Duo processor and ATI Radeon x1800 256MB GPU. After much research on which laptop I wanted to buy, I decided to buy this one. One of the reasons is due to this being the same laptop as the Fujitsu Xi1546 which I had read a review on elsewhere and was impressed with. I liked how it looked, I liked the rare GPU it had and it seemed to have the power I needed with a mid-level price tag. Find out more about this laptop at http://www.alienware.com

Since this is my first laptop, this is also my first review of one. I'll try to be as detailed as I can. I'm not quite sure where to get all the benchmarking stuff so I'll have to add that later. I apologize if these pictures aren't the best. If anyone wants to give me picture pointers I'm definately ready to listen.

Delivery and Packaging

My laptop was delivered by FedEx on the exact day it was supposed to. The packaging was quite impressive. I received 2 boxes - one with the laptop and the other with my Alienware Backpack. The brown box with the laptop in it had a warning about satellite tracking on it and inside that box was the pretty black Alienware box.






What Came With The Beast

[1] Area-51® m5750
Processor: Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2400 1.86GHz 2MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Service Pack 2
Display: Alienware® m5750 17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD
Motherboard: Alienware® Intel® 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Hard Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 80GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Video/Graphics Card: 256MB ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X1800
Sound Card: Intel® 7.1 High-Definition Audio
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
Alienware Exclusive Offers: GameFly - Unlimited Game Rentals for 15 days - FREE TRIAL
Productivity Software: Microsoft® Works 8 Productivity Suite
Mobile Bags: Alienware® Odyssey Backpack
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager

I decided to get a cheaper hard drive because I can upgrade that later and I was short on money after everything else.






Build and Design

The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the plastic was how large it was. At the same time it really wasn't very heavy at all. Then I noticed the polished sheen grey color of the chassis. All I can say is that it looked high quality. When I opened the laptop to look at the screen I was very impressed by the quality of the arms that hold the screen to the laptop - this thing won't break easily. It felt very solid. Although the screen is wide and large, it feels very solid thanks to the Alienhead casing. I didn't feel any bend at all to be honest.

Turning it on was also a pleasure. The lights all light up a pleasant blue. As you all know, the Alienhead on the back of the screen also lights up. Damned if I didn't just sit and stare at that awesome logo for about 5 minutes. I've been to all the local stores looking at laptops and the quality on this baby really made me feel I made the right choice in spending a little more money on an Alienware.





The Screen

I chose the 1440x900 option because I wanted my games to run as fast as possible in the native resolution and I was planning on using an external LCD in a dual setup if I needed more real estate when working at home. I see now that even without that external monitor there is plent of real estate *for me.*

I didn't see any dead pixels, at least that I can notice. The screen is just gorgeous. The glossy display looks great! Also, the I get a clear view from just about any angle I view this thing, which is really nice. I still need to see some games on this screen but so far I am very happy with my choice. The screen was a big thing for me and I'm totally satisfied.







The Speakers

Like any laptop speakers, they aren't going to blow you away. They sound adequate. Not bad really. My recommendation is to get some really nice speakers or headphones though. This isn't a bad point - its just the way it is with all laptops I guess. I suppose I could watch movies just fine with the built in ones though. One thing that is totally cool is the volume control on the left side. It feels sturdy and is a nice feature to have.

Performance

Well here is where my limited experience with benchmarking comes in. I'll do my best. First of all, the system boots up real fast. You go through the standard Windows setup stuff when you first turn it on (timezone, personalization, networking, etc). After that I had to switch to the screen's native resolution. ** More Coming To This Section Soon ** Note: I have not experienced any issues with both wireless and normal network connections that someone else mentioned. Speeds seem great to me.

The Keyboard

This keyboard feels really nice. I really like the numeric keypad. The key pressing has a solid feeling and I don't feel any flex in the keyboard when I press down.

The Touchpad

The touchpad seems about like others I've used. I won't use it much to begin with, but I really like the buttons. They feel very solid and high quality.

Heat and Noise

Wow. This thing is very quiet. I've had mine on for a long time now. Its slightly warm under the right keyrest area but not bad at all. Its super quiet. I haven't even turned it on quiet mode yet (there is a button that does this)! I'm going to keep a close eye on the heat and report back again when I play some games. Update: I had this thing on all day yesterday. It gets a little warm on the right wrist area as I reported before but nothing serious.

Gaming

Well I'm sure this is where many of you will want me to write something more significant. I promise I will - as soon as I get done with loading some up and doing some benchmarks I'll come back and add to this section.

Update: Titan Quest at 1440x900 = perfectly smooth and beautiful. Vampire Bloodlines with patched widescreen support = awesome at full settings. Dark Star One and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic demos both have crashing problems which I don't know if I can blame on the laptop or the game. It seems the forums for both of these demos have folks complaining of issues. When Dark Messiah runs though - wow its a real treat. I'm going to continue working with these two demos to see if I can find the problem. I'm still using the stock drivers for this that came from Alienware - so if anyone knows a better video driver for the x1800 than this one please let me know.

New Addition to Review - Cyberlink PowerCinema

The leftmost button below the screen and above the keyboard turns on Cyberlink PowerCinema. This can be used instead of booting to windows to watch DVDs, play music or even view pictures. It comes up in about 5-8 seconds from the moment you press the button. Its pretty cool and I didn't notice it before. A guess a lot of newer laptops use something like this. It will be nice for watching movies on and not booting to Windows.


Overall

Well what can I say? I'm tickled pink. I love this laptop and I can't wait to do more with it. I'm happy with my decision to buy it. I'll update this section after I play with it some more - but as of now I feel that just about anyone looking for a mid-to-high level desktop replacement would be happy with this beast. Thanks for reading this and I hope it helps folks decide on a laptop.

Ok I got my 5750 today. I really cant say finally since i ordered it on Monday. I dont have a digital camera so i wont be taking any pic atm unil i get one. This will be a review in progress considering that i just got it 2 hours ago.

Area-51® m5750

Processor: Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2300 1.66GHz 2MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Service Pack 2
Display: Alienware® m5750 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD
Motherboard: Alienware® Intel® 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
Hard Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 60GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Video/Graphics Card: 256MB ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X1800
Sound Card: Intel® 7.1 High-Definition Audio
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Alienware Exclusive Offers: GameFly - Unlimited Game Rentals for 15 days - FREE TRIAL
Productivity Software: Microsoft® Works 8 Productivity Suite
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager


First Impressions:
The packaging is really nice and organized. Gives a good sense of the quality. The computer itself is very nice. You really dont get the feel of how big it is until its infront of you. I was using a gateway 15 inch and the screen i just so big and prety compared to it. Cool thing is the hight is just abut the same. The finish of the computer is top quality. It really does make it feel like u are using a top end system. And dont forget the glowing logo and alien head its like the icing on the cake. The keayboard gets a little geting use to. The right shifht key is kinda small for my taste wish it was a little bigger than a reg key. but thats minor. havent seen the heat but then havent been running heavy apps or games yet that will be latter tonight. Ill be doing some wow on it. The screen is just amazing, but its gonna take a litle getting use to the 1900 x 1200. guess im gettting old. and havent had a monitor wih that high rez before or alt least since i was using my crt wich was about 4 years ago. Im sure it will grow on me fast and ill will tell myself how did i ever live without it before.

First Problem:
I did have my first problem but i dont mean to scare anyone. Maybe this might help some in the future. I was with connecting with my Road Runner. I was getting the limited connectivity icon on my LaN connection. Wirelesss was fine. So i decided to make my first call with tech suppoort and see if all the myths about them was true. I called in and i only waited about 5 mins or so to talk to someone (see if dell can get to u that fast lol). I was greetly very politely and felt very comfortable. We went through their steps and he was helpful and never got frustrated at any point in he call, which made me feel calm also. We could not resolve the issuse so he transfered me to a specialist same quality of help but problem was not resolved so he gave me 2 option call Time warner or reinstll but he said that more that likely since TW is a provider they would fix problem quickly. Again the phone call was excellent as far as quality and they really do try to resolve the issue. I would give tech support a 8 out of 10 only becasue issue was not resolved. I did get the issue reolved (im typing this review on my new alien ) FYI for those that get the connectivity issue ( and im sure most of u gurus know this but .....) You have o turn off the notebook and the modem disconnect the modem for about 5 mins and do not discconet modem from notebook. re-plug modem and turn on notebook, and everything is all good. Apparently the modem has a little memory chip that was still looking for my gateway and it had to be reset and then conect to te alien kinda freaky that the tech new both the computers i had (BIG BRO is always watchning ) Well any way now im up and running an its all good. That is the point im at rigt now and ill finish this up latter tonight after i load my software and run some games, and apps.

Gaming:

World of Warcraft
Ok i got WOW installed last night only issue i had was that i got a message when i first installed that my CPU was too slow but it allowed me to install anyways. Found out that was something to do that notebook cup is slower than desktop as far as the game reading it (something like that). Anyway game was installed, went to the seting and maxed them out and set rez to 1900 x 1200 imo it ran fantastic. It had a little lag right after i changed the settings but after that it was smoth and this was in IF on sat night at about 7:00 central time on darkiron. The detail was abosolutely fantastic., I am coming from a p4 2.18 with a 1 gig of rdram and 256 ati card on a 21 inch lcd made by gatway, sytem was about 4 years old. So this to me is a big jump in tech. The LCD is really nice great color great contrast and very bright even to the point where i dont even have to max out the bright on it to see very well. Im sure there are better LCD's but this is one of the best i have seen. I compare this to the systems i see at best buy and compusa , places like that. the key board gets a little getting use to that may be since i have never really gamed on a notebook. After playing a bit i loaded insomniax and wih it i was able to monitor the lag and fps. I stayed at 58m for my lag and i manged to get my fps (full setting maxed out and 1900 x 1200 dps) between 23-53 hade one drop to 13 and that was it. Im sure if i play with setting lowered a bit could get fps up. Im usre u guys with 2 gigs of ram would be rocking and the higher cpu. For this not being my main gaming pc im amazed i got much more than i expeced. Loven it totally.

Counter-Strike: Source
Ok I have had a chance to install CS now. install was smooth, updated ad was up and rolling. First of all havent played Cs in about 3 months so all the new textures were a nice treat and great to test out t the 5750. I was able to play the game at 1900x1200 with no problems what so ever everything maxed and lit up. The game ran smooth no noticable stutters. A few hicups but nothing that inturupted play. again seting lower more than likely would run faster and those with meater system look out. Detal was crisp and sharp. Contine to be impressed.

C&C Generals:
Had a chance to play C&C it ran perfectly ut only was able to get it to 1600x1200 (anyone know where to get the 1900x1200 patch for it) anyways this game ran perfectly and as usual everything was so pretty. Textures were nice. I have been noticing on this gam and wow that there is some artifacting in the dark and shadow areas, nothing to noticable but its there most of it can be fixed with contrast i think but in wow all u can adjust is gamma and it can make game a bit dark if not careful. again c&c ran perfectly. Time to do som laundry lol.......


More review to come.....

Gonna instll photoshop 9 next and give that a good running

My first and most likely only review of anything so please be nice . Anyway..here it is...most of you are probably waiting for this. Couple pictures are kinda blurry but I was so excited and also in a rush to get this review posted. I'll post more pics and replace them over the course of the night. EDIT: And how about a sticky moderator?

Alienware Area-51m5750

Specs:
Area-51® m5750

Processor: Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2400 1.86GHz 2MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Display: Alienware® m5750 17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD
Motherboard: Alienware® Intel® 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
Hard Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 80GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Video/Graphics Card: 256MB ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X1800
Sound Card: Intel® 7.1 High-Definition Audio
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
Productivity Software: Microsoft® Works 8 Productivity Suite
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager

Order Total: $2,151.00

Ordering:
As everyone else says, the website has a VERY nice layout. Ordered on 7/24/2006 via internet, got confirmation email within 30 minutes of ordering and order was also processed on the same day. They have a nice order status page that seemed to be updated as progress moved along (Phase 1-Phase 10) but I was stuck in Phase 3 (Order Processed) for about a week until I saw movement into Phase 5 (Production). They also had some issues with inventory as their website didn’t say anything was out of stock yet I received emails saying parts were out of stock with an expected date of “To be announced”. I will warn people that in my particular case that the lead times given on their website were off by a week and a couple days so don’t be surprised if you have delays due to backordered parts. My order was eventually shipped out on 8/8/2006 and delivered on 8/10/2006 via FedEx Home who typically has a very good track record of delivering on time or sometimes even early depending on the situation.

Billing/Financing:
Alienware does offer an in-house credit card through AIG Finance and the process was very quick and easy for me. They were offering a 0% promotion for 12 months so it was a no-brainer. I applied on a Friday night, decision on Saturday morning, and called in Alienware’s Finance/Billing dept. on Monday for my account number. Although they had some issues with billing, they corrected it instantly. I got my $100 discount that wasn’t applied at checkout and the lady fixed the billing issue with their in-house credit card so it would proceed into the queue for production. They also offer split billing which is very convenient if you want to divide the payments on two credit/debit cards.

Packaging:

First Impressions/Quality:
After receiving the packages, I noticed not one, but two brown boxes. One was smaller and had Microsoft Works 8.5 in it and the other box is the laptop. Inside I found a black box that had the laptop inside. It was securely placed between two of the spacers along with the accessories box. The laptop itself was what made my jaw drop. It is a beautiful machine and everything from the exterior to the design of the LED lights and buttons in the interior is amazing. On top of that, the glowing alien head makes it look bad ass = D. I’m also happy to say I had NO dead pixels. I posted some pictures with a 30GB video iPod for some of you to get a feel for the thickness of the machine as well as other pictures from the back, top, front, etc. I will say though that the screen is very bright due to the ClearView and this machine looks MUCH bigger in person. It also comes with a full keyboard layout with a separate keypad to the side (in pictures…)
EDIT: Also, the amount of personal attention you get is unbelievable. Compared to the Dell 700m I owned before, this laptop came with MUCH more "personalized" info such as the benchmarks, ID card (i had a quick laugh over it hehe), and other small things that other big name companies don't care much about.


Performance:
System booted up pretty quickly but what can you expect with modern day systems. The file on the desktop says the machine scored around 5100 in 3DMark05 as well as running 110FPS in Doom 3 but doesn’t say the resolution. I will update this thread as I run some more benchmarks and play some more "modern" games on it (GRAW and Oblivion). EDIT: I've left machine running for about 30-45 minutes now and it seems as if the unit runs pretty hot. The area where you would rest your palms is pretty hot to the touch.
EDIT:
Just ran the Source engine on it (HL2, CS:S, etc.) and I got 41.97 FPS with details and resolution maxed out. Looked pretty smooth. Also got CoD2 on it and it seemed to run pretty smoothly at high settings. I didn't max anything out and I don't think you can unless you have SLI (I think textures lock at medium or something when your not running SLI). Also got GRAW on it on maxed out resolution and settings and framerates are smooth as butter. There is VERY VERY small slowdown when HUGE explosions happen in GRAW but it's nothing you'll notice if your in the "heat of battle" and busy telling your buddies what to do. I wonder what a T2700 and 2GB of RAM would let this machine do...it would cut through any games now and in the future. ATI Powerplay DOES work. I found out that only the "Balanced" setting has a bug on it which causes the laptop to crash. Hopefully future BIOS revisions and Cataylst drivers will fix it = )

Keyboard/Touchpad:
Nice "full" keyboard layout like a regular desktop keyboard but some of the keys are "smooshed/squished" together (haha I couldn't find a better word so excuse my 3rd grade vocabulary). They also made some of the keys smaller and more compact so they could fit all of it onto the laptop. The full numeric keypad is nice but if you play games and need to reach for the left CTRL key you'll notice that you hit the FUNCTION key more often than not. There are some "mysterious" function buttons as well but after reading the manual it'll make sense. The touchpad is nice and comes with a up/down scroll "pad". You can also go left/right but it isn't labeled on the touchpad. If your using a USB mouse, you can also disable the touchpad by a button the laptop which is conviently located right above it.


Screen:
Bright, beautiful, no dead pixels = ). What more can I say.

Noise:
Not very loud but I do have one gripe. The subwoofer makes a very odd noise that is very hard to describe. Sounds like a fan is on in the speaker but there isn't. Still VERY quiet laptop. I've only heard the REAL CPU/GPU fan when I'm playing GRAW or NFS:MW and even then the fan sound gets drowned out by the music/sound FX from the games.

Speakers:
MUCH better than the ones on the Inspiron700m. If you guys (and gals = D) have used that laptop before, the speakers just plain SUCKED. Sound on the Alienware is much clearer. I also like the subwoofer on the bottom of the unit. Doesn't give you the "thump" you expect out of a "real" sub but it's better than nothing.

Customer Service:
Haven’t had any problems yet so I can’t really judge their customer service. I will say though from my ordering experience that they are professional and courteous when asked about order status, billing issues, etc.

EDIT: I had to finally call them up about one of my Alien Respawn CDs being scratched up from shipping (the boot disc was all sorts of scratched up) and initially the tech support rep said I would have to send it in for them to re-image the system to create a new set of Respawn CDs because each system is unique. After telling him that the CD probably won't even boot and that I'll call back after trying to get the drive to read it, he said he would talk to his supervisor. After about 5 minutes on hold, he came back and said they would send a new boot CD free of charge. Can't say Alienware is the only company who would've done that for free but other companies such as Gateway, Toshiba, or even Fujitsu are more likely to charge the customer an extra 15-20 bucks for that CD in my opinion; even though it was a shipping/packing issue that wasn't my fault. BTW, I got another Respawn disc set for free via 2 day FedEx shipping = )

Overall:
The unit is huge but what can you expect from a laptop that comes with a 17 inch widescreen display. Everything about this laptop met above and beyond my expectations. Even though the beginning started off rough with backordered parts and constant calls to customer care about getting my laptop into production, the end results were impressive.