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.
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.
P.S. Every game I throw at this thing runs flawlessly. The only one I haven't tried is that new tactical squad based FPS "ghost" something. I've seen that game run on some nice computers and I feel the game itself is a piece of junk. Oblivion runs so nice. I'll be getting Neverwinter Nights 2 and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic soon I hope.
P.S.S. I'm in the beta for Supreme Commander (a new RTS with ties to Total Annihilation) and it runs smooth as silk. Can't wait for this game to come out.
Im pretty sure when the final release one comes out it will be optimized much better for even smoother gameplay.
Has anybody tried running Oblivion on it and how did it go? I'm going to be playing NWN2 when it comes out and it has the same recommended specs as Oblivion. I'm asking because I don't know processors very well and I'm hung up on the fact that the Core 2 Duo T7200 is only 2Ghz and NWN2 is not a multithreaded game. I understand that clock speeds may not be a good way to compare two different processor generations but would appreciate some advice.
I need Some help deciding what to get.
Aurora m9700
Processor: AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile ML37 2.0GHz 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Chassis: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD with Clearview Technology - Saucer Silver
Motherboard: Alienware® NVIDIA® Mobile SLi Chipset
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR SO-DIMM at 400MHz - 2 x 512MB
Hard Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 160GB (80GB x 2) Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Optical Drive: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW & 24X CD-RW Burner
Video/Graphics Card: 256MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Sound Card: High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Wireless Network Card: Internal 802.11b/g WiFi Card
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth® Device
Primary Battery: Alienware® m9700 12-cell Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
OR
Area-51 m5750
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Display: Alienware® m5750 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD - Saucer Silver
Motherboard: Alienware® Intel® 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
Hard Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 160GB (80GB x 2) 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
They are both about the same price, i will use it primarily for school and the net, i do play games, I like to play battlefeild 2 online, i think that would be the most intense thing i would use it for other than burning dvds and ipod stuff. I am not a super gamer but i do like good performance when i do. What do yall think would be the best for me? And what do you think is going to be the best system gouing into the future with everything thats coming?
Thanks So much!
You might have to lean in close to notice.
I already ordered a m5750, you're review is what made me set my mind on it.
I have a question, you said that it is the same as the fujitsu, but the fujitsu has internal bluetooth and this doesn't.
I don't know if it's an appropriate time, but If it isn't too much trouble could you snap a couple of pictures of the screen, a couple of closeups with some programs launched and also the desktop by it self, Im really debating if I should stay on my current res. (WXGA same as you) because I cant make up my mind from you're pics because they're kinda far.
A.J.
Need to know how it'll fair with up and cummer's like
Battlefield 2142
Quakewars etc,..
pls respond
Processor: Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2400 1.86GHz 2MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine
<javascript:OpenDetailsWindow('/Configurator_Pages/Details_Pages/Static_
Pages/genuine_microsoft.aspx');> 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: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 120GB (60GB x 2) 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
Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request
System
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
Productivity Software: Microsoft® Works 8 Productivity Suite
Mobile Bags: Alienware® Odyssey Backpack
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
When exactly did you order your m5750, and when did it arrive? I ordered the same laptop with the same specs (minus the 2GB of ram) on August 2nd, and it's still hasn't shipped. The Status Info says it is currently in Phase 8 (Quality Inspection), and it's been in Phase 8 for about a week. I did some browsing on similar situations, and I've noticed that a lot of people have had problems with extremely slow shipping times. I called up one of the representatives and he told me Alienware is currently experiencing a "bottleneck" in the production line. I'm a bit concerned, and now really anxious to get my laptop after seeing the pictures of yours. Thanx in advance, yo.