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the first Area-51 m5550 review - By Allastorm - Page 2

post #21 of 109
8/13/06 at 3:11am
That looks like the same keyboard as the area-51m 766 .. hmm.. I love the keyboard so I'm fine with that.
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post #22 of 109
8/13/06 at 8:49am
What are you getting for battery life?

Mines sucking big time. I think on a ful charge, without ANY gaming and the wireless on, I'm getting maybe 1 hour and 40 mins

Also, the four buttons up top...whats the one that resembles a fan? I didn't find anything in the manual or I aint looking at the right piece of paper or something


thanks!
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post #23 of 109
8/13/06 at 10:20am
Thanks for the initial review! I just got an email saying my m5550 was shipped. Should be here on the 15th. It does seem like the magic number.

Enjoy!
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post #24 of 109
8/13/06 at 9:53pm
Are the cpu's easy to ugrade on the m5550? If I get the 1.66 now, I'd like to ugrade later to the 2.13, or even the new Core 2 Duo, if possible.

Anyone have a picture of the bottom of the m5550, showing the access ports?

Thx.
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post #25 of 109
8/14/06 at 1:57am
Alienware's new laptops are all core duo
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post #26 of 109
8/14/06 at 2:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sno0kiez
Alienware's new laptops are all core duo

Do you know w/the m5550, if the cpu is easy to upgrade?

Perhaps the manual would show it?

Also from what I've been reading, the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo are pin compatible, so the m5550 should be able to accept it.

I'm trying to make a decision on what cpu to get.

Thx.
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post #27 of 109
8/14/06 at 8:52am
Can anyone tell me, what is the small button just above the touchpad? I have an M5500 and it does not have the small button? Kind of looks like a fingerprint scanner, my dad has a fairly new model Sony Vaio and it has a fingerprint scanner, but its a pain to use, you dont press your finger on it, you have to swipe your finger, meaning if you dont do it at the right speed, it cant recognise your finger and you have to do it a few times. I had an old Acer travelmate which had one of the first built in proper fingerprint scanners and that worked really well!

Theres some PCMCIA fingerprint scanners which pop out to touch your finger then pop back in which are neat, just a shame these laptops only have one slot, im already using it with the bluetooth adaptor.

Anyway, just as a side note, i did a test with my M5500 (2.26ghz, 2gb ram, 256mb go 6600) and my dads Sony Vaio (quite a high spec and has core duo) and my M5500 booted up 30 seconds quicker and when i ran 3dmark03 on both machines simultaneously, my Alienare finished and the sony was still running! LOL

Oops.. gone a bit off topic so back to my actual question: what is the "button" above the touchpad? Thanks
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post #28 of 109
8/14/06 at 2:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mgl6966
Can anyone tell me, what is the small button just above the touchpad?

I believe it's the off/on for the touchpad...not 100% sure tho

P.S. my m5550 went Phase 5 about 20 seconds ago
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post #29 of 109
8/14/06 at 3:13pm
I'm about the pull the trigger on a m5550 or the m5750.. i cant decide. I think i'm leaning towards the 15.4 since the 17 inch model looks huge! I want one a lappy i could lug around...(my gateway 8510gz is actually not bad for a 17 inch, but i always wanted an alienware lol) IS the keyboard translucent?

A few questions... does this laptop run hot? and also how is the battery life? My 17 inch gateway with 8 cell last 3-4 hrs : )
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post #30 of 109
8/14/06 at 7:26pm
First off, YES, the button directly above the touchpad is the ON/OFF for it. When you press in in, the boarder of it lights up green, meaning it's on.

I'm not sure on the ease of upgrading the CPU

And also, my keyboard on the M5550 is transluecent in certain lighting. It's a clear black more less. It's so badass :P
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post #31 of 109
8/14/06 at 9:24pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry guys, ive been away for the weekend and I didn't have any internet access (that was an open network anyways) But I played Halo a little bit. Ran very nice. I just love my lappy sooo much. Its worth every penny. And as much as I hate to say it, the alien logo without the text is starting to grow on me... when its a glowing blue alienhead in the dark it looks sooo cool! For all of you on the edge debating getting this or not, Id say go for it. Its just perfect. Overall for me at least the perfect size, power. I love it!

Im going to add to the review a little bit right now. But, I Have a question for you guys. Should this concern me: The K, L, O and ; keys make a sticking sounds sometime when I type. They don't stick but they make a slightly differnet sound. I am just worried that down the road they will stick but my waranty covers this, yes?

And one more thing, i pretty sure you can manually go from integrated intel graphics to my ATI card but how do I see what im using? Im asking becuase the icon on my tray on the bottom has a little degree symbol for temp and its always 0 which is making me wonder if Im even using it! Sorry if that sounds dumb lol.

Yes, the button above the touchpad turns off the touchpad. I like that feature for when I play games hehe. Across the top underneither the lights the first one is media, 2nd is internet, 3rd is mail and 4th is silent mode. Then power button. On the bottom where the m5500 button was to alternate graphics is now the wireless on/off which I find nice for when im playing games and I cant stop that from searching for networks.

And come on mods.... you KNOW you wanna sticky this bad boy! lol! I will add more pics possibly tomorrow. I will get pics of all the sides, bottom as requested. If you want to know anything, ask! SNookiez so glad you are loving yours as much as I am mine! And baout hte battery life, mine sucks too! Im luck to get an hour and a half on it... but it doesnt say what cell battery it is either!
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post #32 of 109
8/14/06 at 9:51pm
Yeah, I think my max battery life so far is about an hour and a half. I'm not sure if the M5550 has the option to change between graphics cards or not...because I have the 256mb one, and yeah, battery life sucks on that.

how'd you get the temp reading to how up on your task bar?
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post #33 of 109
8/14/06 at 9:54pm
Wait,i think i might have it figured out.


right click on your desktop background, and see if your graphics card is displayed there. Mine is. I click on it, and it shows my temp reading for laptop.
It was at 77 C or F..idk

but anyways, there is an option called POWERMIZER, I clicked that, and switched the AC Outlet from Max Performance, to Max Power Savings

I hope maybe now my battery will last longr
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post #34 of 109
8/14/06 at 10:10pm
Thread Starter 
Well, when i hover over the ATI logo on the bottom on the screen is shows my screen resolution, then 0 degrees and then color:32bp... how do I fix this?
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post #35 of 109
8/14/06 at 10:46pm
Not sure.

But when I was charging my lappy today, I went and checked the temp and it was all the way on 90

it shuts off at the threshold of 100
but as soon as i moved the mouse, it went gradually back down to about 70-68
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post #36 of 109
8/15/06 at 12:36am
Also, I installed Microsoft Works 8.5, and I can't get Microsoft Word to open. Which is the only program I need off that disc.

Anyone else have problems with it?
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post #37 of 109
8/15/06 at 5:42am
the battery life is only 1 1/2 hrs? seriously? IS this best battery life you recieved just surfing the web? what about max battery life settings? Can you buy a larger 8 cell battery for this laptop? I was about to buy this lappy tonight till I read this response... How can a centrino laptop only last 1 1/2 hrs?

My gateway 1.73 with go 6800 256mb (17 inch screen) last around 2 1/2 to 3 hrs hrs with 8 cell battery... please confirm this battery life info.. thanks!

PS with the stock ati x700 the battery lasted nearly 4 hrs
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post #38 of 109
8/15/06 at 5:46am
also how long is the battery life on the x1400.. can this video card play bf2 in med settings in a 64 player map?
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post #39 of 109
8/15/06 at 6:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allastorm
Should this concern me: The K, L, O and ; keys make a sticking sounds sometime when I type. They don't stick but they make a slightly differnet sound. I am just worried that down the road they will stick but my waranty covers this, yes?

Make sure the keyboard is seated all the way properly. The whole keyboard comes out, and clicks back in. You should see three small tabs that hold the keyboard in the case. I guess the m5550 has a screw in the bottom that holds the keyboard also. It might not be a bad idea for you to carefully remove and reseat the keyboard, but be careful of the little tabs.

Support might help you do this over the phone.

Here's a link to Alienware's database article on removing the keyboard for the m5550.

Quote:
And one more thing, i pretty sure you can manually go from integrated intel graphics to my ATI card but how do I see what im using? Im asking becuase the icon on my tray on the bottom has a little degree symbol for temp and its always 0 which is making me wonder if Im even using it! Sorry if that sounds dumb lol.

Unfortunately, the m5550 doesn't have a switch between the onboard and separate video card, that was with the m5500 only. Not sure why your temps aren't showing or if it's supposed to, but you can always call tech support and ask them.
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post #40 of 109
8/15/06 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 
^ thanks Hammerhead, I think I might just try that.

Bryan, the battery life isn't that great but the thing is Im not sure what cell battery it is. Neither the battery nor the battery icon on the tray on the bottom show. I havent messed around too much with the battery but at full charge it shows me an hour and a half and thats just browsing the net. And im pretty sure it can play BF2 but i havent tried. That may be my next game though. And dont let the battery life hold you back from buying. I think that if you have a good battery like the 9 cell you should be fine. Its a great lappy otherwise.
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