New 14 inch Sentia

Decisions, decisions...

I was waiting for this, but now I have to decide. I think I am leaning towards the 14"... it's so thin and sexy.

The 14" is nice, but if you're going for a computer that size and still want a gaming option, the m5500 would be ideal. You can still get battery life running off the integrated graphics, but can game with the external card. Not maxed out all the eye candy on gaming, but good quality graphics in games. The Intel extreme graphics is not a gaming option and the Sentia models are not gaming computers. They are lappies, good ones at that, but it dependson what you really are looking for in the computer.

I don't even know why they keep calling it IEG. It isn't. The Sentia m3400 uses GMA900, which while not the equal of a dedicated graphics card at least fully supports all of the current shader models and Direct X 9. Far better than the IEG2 on the 12" Sentia.

That said, if you are going to go 14" you might as well go one inch bigger and get the m5500.

Oops. I missed that. I thought it was still the older version. The GMA900 is better, but I still think that the m5500 is a better choice when looking at the difference in the m3400 and m5500.

I'm still leaning towards the 3400. My eyes (and the wife's) are getting older now, and the 14" is just the right size. I'm not much of a gamer, which is why I have the Area 51 desktop- to play games. The 3400 would be used for my business trips so I can continue my schooling. I love the weight factor-It will be easier for me to carry through the airports.

That is an excellent reason to go for the m3400. I'm more game on the go oriented so the m5500 is more of what I'd be looking for. I have a desktop for the fun eye candy gaming, but when I'm on a trip I tend to have down time for gaming so I like the functionality of the m5500. Having had the 5620D to cart around, I'd prefer to get away from the desktop replacement segment and go for a little more protability and battery life for unplugged work. Everything is subjective for the buyer, but getting other people's perspective really helps in making a fully informed decision.

I had started out with the 5500m in mind. But with all of the recent events in my life, I can sacrifice the graphics capabilities of the 5500m and still get a decent system with the 3400: 2.13 GHz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HD and keep it well under $2,000.

That's a good deal.

Also I'm glad that you were able to keep your job. I hope everything goes well for your wife.

I don't want to carry around a lot of weight with my boney girl arms. I got a small IBM years ago, and now I bitch and moan anytime a carry around anything more tham 4 pounds.

Maybe I will stick with the 12". I will be traveling a lot next month and don't want to wait for the 14" (Jan 23 is a long way away).

I hear you... Jan 23 is a long way away.

If you do go with the 3400, add 256MB to whatever you had planned for RAM (to make sure that when the GMA900 calls on system RAM for graphics use it does not slow the system down too badly).

Well I rolled the dice and just ordered the new Sentia m3400. I already have a Area 51 Desktop, so I was just looking for a small, thin and light notebook for web surfing and occasional graphic editing.

This will be replacing my Compaq V2030US which I had for a year. Within a year I've had stuck pixels, a bad cmos battery, and last week the LCD backlight just kicked the bucket.

Alienware states a ship date of 1/23, However my Desktop I purchased two years ago took almost two months to get to my door so I'm figuring I'll see the m3400 by the end of February if I'm lucky.

Once I get it I'll be sure to post a review. My specs are list below:

Processor: Intel® Pentium® M 740 1.73GHz 2MB L2 Cache 533MHz FSB
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Depot Service
LCD Display: Alienware® Sentia m3400 with 14" Wide-XGA 1280 x 768 LCD Display - Xeno Grey
Motherboard: Alienware® Intel® 915GM + ICH6 Chipset
Wireless Network: Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 b/g Wireless Card
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
Hard Drive: 60GB 7200 RPM ATA100
Video Card: Intel® GMA 900 Extreme Graphics
Sound Card: Intel® High-Definition Audio
Optical Drive: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Ethernet NIC: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Modem: 56K Modem with V.90 Technology

So this is a brand spanking new model, huh? So no one will have one for review for at least 3 more weeks? Does AW always take that long to ship laptops?

Pretty much.

Well I just got a call from AW. The built in camera is back ordered for 2 weeks. Est delievery date? Who knows. Maybe mid to late February They gave me the option of not installing the camera and sending it out by next week, however the camera was one of the reasons I bought this thing.

Sorry to hear that kilroy. I am ordering a Sentia 3400m without the camera, probably within the next week or so. Hopefully it won't go on back order as I'll need it at the beginning of March.

Well after a month and a half my M3400 is finally being built. The built in web camera was on backorder for weeks. Hopefully I'll have it sometime next week. I'll post a review and pics soon.

That's odd, I ordered my laptop after you and there was no delay on the lcd display with webcam. I hope they put the right display up, the only part that was back ordered for me was the DVD burner but that came in way sooner than expected. My system will be going out today. I should have it by Tuesday.

Yeah that is strange. On 1/19 I recieved a call from AW informing me of the delay. I then recieved the following emails from them

1/21
There will be a slight delay in your Alienware order, because the part(s) listed below are temporarily backordered. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and assure you that we are doing everything in our power to expedite the process of obtaining the part(s). Once the
part(s) have been obtained, your order will be processed.

1- SENTIA 3400 14 " WXGA GREY W/ CAM ........................... Expected
Date: To be announced

1/27
There will be a slight delay in your Alienware order, because the part(s) listed below are temporarily backordered. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and assure you that we are doing everything in our power to expedite the process of obtaining the part(s). Once the
part(s) have been obtained, your order will be processed.

1- SENTIA 3400 14 " WXGA GREY W/ CAM ........................... Expected
Date: To be announced

2/2
There will be a slight delay in your Alienware order, because the part(s) listed below are temporarily backordered. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and assure you that we are doing everything in our power to expedite the process of obtaining the part(s). Once the
part(s) have been obtained, your order will be processed.

1- SENTIA 3400 14 " WXGA GREY W/ CAM ........................... Expected
Date: 2/13/2006

Then finally 2/8
Your system is now in production.

It's being sent out Monday.