INTRO: This is my third Alienware system - my first was the Aurora 7500 desktop that is going strong after almost two years. I then followed that with the 15.4" m5500 when they first became available...it's a great notebook, but I got hooked on the m9700 after reading all the positive comments. Here's a shot of my first two systems:
At first, I was not interested in the m9700 because it didn't have the latest dual core processor. But, after careful consideration of why I wanted the system, I realized this was not really an issue. My m9700 will be used primarily for gaming, and perhaps some Photoshop work. I'm not a big multi-tasker, and I knew from my experience with the desktop FX-55 that the AMD CPU could handle running iTunes while surfing and downloading...and that has certainly proved to be the case. I rationalized the need for an extreme gaming notebook because my husband has taken over the desktop for his Photoshop work - but the truth is, I was intrigued with the m9700 and wanted to see if it was really as good as Hammerhead said it was
Ordering Process: Ordered the system through the website, with no need for human (or Alien) contact, and it went smoothly. Moved to Phase 3 within a day, and to Phase 10 by Day 7 - and the system arrived on Day 9, beating the ETA by about 4 days. I know all orders don't go this quickly, but the m9700's do seem to be moving at a good pace.
I ordered the following specs:
Color: Cyborg Green
CPU: Turion ML-44 2.4GHz
GPU: SLI - 512MB 7900GS x 2
HD: Raid 0 - 160GB 5400 RPM x 2
RAM: 2 GB (2 x 1 GB)
LCD: WXGA+ 1440x900 resolution
Airgo MIMO wireless card
Windows XP Media Edition
I maxed out everything except the display, as I imagine this will be a system I'll keep for a few years. I wanted the WXGA+ display instead of the WUXGA because I've had a 17" notebook with 1920x1200 res before, and just got annoyed at the very small text size. My eyes aren't that great in my old age, and it was a pain to scale up text on websites and games.
I had to wait a couple of weeks to actually open my Alienware box, because I'm currently living in Australia, and only travel to my home in Florida a few times a year. I arrived in South Florida after 26 fun hours of airplane time, and found this waiting for me:
First Impressions: "Crikey!!!! This thing is GREEN, and it is a very bright green. It's a metallic paint, and it's beautiful. A bright green computer certainly won't be to everyone's taste...I picked it because it is a retro Alienware color, and I was ready for something different. I was torn between this and the Saucer Silver, as it would have been a great match to my desktop - but I won't be using them in the same room anyway.
The build quality is excellent, even better than my m5500 which I thought was very well built. The finish on the m9700 is exceptional, from the way the paint looks, to the rubber grips, trim on the LCD, and ports. Very happy with the way it looks!!
It IS a Laptop: Okay - after deciding I hadn't made a terrible mistake by ordering slime green, I spent some time playing with the m9700...using it on my lap to see if that was going to be a workable option. Yes, it's bigger and heavier than the m5500, but it doesn't feel all that big or heavy...It seems lighter than the Dell XPS 2 I had before, even though it weighs about the same. I've used it almost exclusively on my lap, and it's no problem at all. It's important to place something like a book or board underneath it, both to keep the airflow going, and because it can get warm on the bottom. But most of the heat is near the rear of the computer where the hot air flows out. I've never even noticed any warmth on the palmrest or touchpad. I'm quite impressed with how the system handles the heat that must be generated, given everything this beast is packing.
Here are some more pics to give you an idea of how it looks from a few different angles:
While it is definitely thicker than the average 15" notebook, it's not too bad. This shot shows it in comparison to a MacBook:
The Display: I need to get some better pics of the display, but I am VERY HAPPY with my choice to go with the WXGA+ option. Text is just the right size - and even though this is primarily a gaming machine, I use it for general web surfing and email. This pic gives you an idea of how readable the text size is (better pic coming):
1440x900 also works great for me for games. No doubt, this system can handle most of today's games at a higher resolution, but I find 1440x900 works well, and I just don't notice much difference in detail compared to running games at a higher resolution. But,that's just me - and I think the WUXGA option may be best for most people.
Here's a screenshot from Prey:
Gaming Performance: Awesome is an overused word, but there's no other way to describe how the m9700 handles games. Other than the usual frustrations of configuring widescreen format for some of the games (and this isn't an issue with the m9700, but the irritating lack of widescreen support in some of today's games), I've had nothing but a good time while testing out gaming on the m9700. I've played Prey from start to finish, and it was a decent game, made even better by the smooth gameplay and great graphics. There is no problem running any of the games I've tried so far at max settings, which shouldn't be a surprise.
DVDs look good as well. So far, I'm using the Cyberlink PowerDVD player provided with the system. Windows Media Player is not behaving properly right now - I think I may need to disable SLI to run it, but so far haven't bothered, as the Cyberlink program works fine.
Benchmarks: Not much to say here...the benchmarks look great, I'm getting close to the same scores I get with the desktop. Here are my 3DMark05 and '06 scores:
Other Goodies: The m9700 comes with a built in camera...so far I haven't done much with it, but the video quality looks good. I've used the card reader to transfer photos from my digital camera, and it works as expected. Some have reported issues with sound, but mine works just fine...it has the best sound I've heard on a notebook.
I ordered a few items to go with my m9700: the new Revolution wireless mouse (notebook version) works great. It's smaller than a regular mouse, but not as small as some notebook versions. The dongle is small, and there is a convenient storage spot in the mouse, so less chance to lose it.
Also picked up a 4GB OCZ flash drive from Newegg for $79.99...can't believe how much the price has come down on these handy little guys:
I already had a case for a 17" notebook, and the Booq messenger bag provides good protection for the m9700. I won't be using the m9700 much on the go, but this case makes it easy to pack it up. It has an outside pocket for the charger, and there's still room for a few magazines and other papers.
Conclusion: Obviously, I'm very happy with my purchase. This computer performs as advertised. The Turion CPU is plenty fast for my needs, and the SLI performance is trouble free. Thank you, Alienware, for offering this fun setup, and for bringing back notebook Colors!
I'd also like to say a special thank you to
for his helpful and enthusiastic posts about his m9700, as well as his patience in answering all my questions!
At first, I was not interested in the m9700 because it didn't have the latest dual core processor. But, after careful consideration of why I wanted the system, I realized this was not really an issue. My m9700 will be used primarily for gaming, and perhaps some Photoshop work. I'm not a big multi-tasker, and I knew from my experience with the desktop FX-55 that the AMD CPU could handle running iTunes while surfing and downloading...and that has certainly proved to be the case. I rationalized the need for an extreme gaming notebook because my husband has taken over the desktop for his Photoshop work - but the truth is, I was intrigued with the m9700 and wanted to see if it was really as good as Hammerhead said it was
Ordering Process: Ordered the system through the website, with no need for human (or Alien) contact, and it went smoothly. Moved to Phase 3 within a day, and to Phase 10 by Day 7 - and the system arrived on Day 9, beating the ETA by about 4 days. I know all orders don't go this quickly, but the m9700's do seem to be moving at a good pace.
I ordered the following specs:
Color: Cyborg Green
CPU: Turion ML-44 2.4GHz
GPU: SLI - 512MB 7900GS x 2
HD: Raid 0 - 160GB 5400 RPM x 2
RAM: 2 GB (2 x 1 GB)
LCD: WXGA+ 1440x900 resolution
Airgo MIMO wireless card
Windows XP Media Edition
I maxed out everything except the display, as I imagine this will be a system I'll keep for a few years. I wanted the WXGA+ display instead of the WUXGA because I've had a 17" notebook with 1920x1200 res before, and just got annoyed at the very small text size. My eyes aren't that great in my old age, and it was a pain to scale up text on websites and games.
I had to wait a couple of weeks to actually open my Alienware box, because I'm currently living in Australia, and only travel to my home in Florida a few times a year. I arrived in South Florida after 26 fun hours of airplane time, and found this waiting for me:
First Impressions: "Crikey!!!! This thing is GREEN, and it is a very bright green. It's a metallic paint, and it's beautiful. A bright green computer certainly won't be to everyone's taste...I picked it because it is a retro Alienware color, and I was ready for something different. I was torn between this and the Saucer Silver, as it would have been a great match to my desktop - but I won't be using them in the same room anyway.
The build quality is excellent, even better than my m5500 which I thought was very well built. The finish on the m9700 is exceptional, from the way the paint looks, to the rubber grips, trim on the LCD, and ports. Very happy with the way it looks!!
It IS a Laptop: Okay - after deciding I hadn't made a terrible mistake by ordering slime green, I spent some time playing with the m9700...using it on my lap to see if that was going to be a workable option. Yes, it's bigger and heavier than the m5500, but it doesn't feel all that big or heavy...It seems lighter than the Dell XPS 2 I had before, even though it weighs about the same. I've used it almost exclusively on my lap, and it's no problem at all. It's important to place something like a book or board underneath it, both to keep the airflow going, and because it can get warm on the bottom. But most of the heat is near the rear of the computer where the hot air flows out. I've never even noticed any warmth on the palmrest or touchpad. I'm quite impressed with how the system handles the heat that must be generated, given everything this beast is packing.
Here are some more pics to give you an idea of how it looks from a few different angles:
While it is definitely thicker than the average 15" notebook, it's not too bad. This shot shows it in comparison to a MacBook:
The Display: I need to get some better pics of the display, but I am VERY HAPPY with my choice to go with the WXGA+ option. Text is just the right size - and even though this is primarily a gaming machine, I use it for general web surfing and email. This pic gives you an idea of how readable the text size is (better pic coming):
1440x900 also works great for me for games. No doubt, this system can handle most of today's games at a higher resolution, but I find 1440x900 works well, and I just don't notice much difference in detail compared to running games at a higher resolution. But,that's just me - and I think the WUXGA option may be best for most people.
Here's a screenshot from Prey:
Gaming Performance: Awesome is an overused word, but there's no other way to describe how the m9700 handles games. Other than the usual frustrations of configuring widescreen format for some of the games (and this isn't an issue with the m9700, but the irritating lack of widescreen support in some of today's games), I've had nothing but a good time while testing out gaming on the m9700. I've played Prey from start to finish, and it was a decent game, made even better by the smooth gameplay and great graphics. There is no problem running any of the games I've tried so far at max settings, which shouldn't be a surprise.
DVDs look good as well. So far, I'm using the Cyberlink PowerDVD player provided with the system. Windows Media Player is not behaving properly right now - I think I may need to disable SLI to run it, but so far haven't bothered, as the Cyberlink program works fine.
Benchmarks: Not much to say here...the benchmarks look great, I'm getting close to the same scores I get with the desktop. Here are my 3DMark05 and '06 scores:
Other Goodies: The m9700 comes with a built in camera...so far I haven't done much with it, but the video quality looks good. I've used the card reader to transfer photos from my digital camera, and it works as expected. Some have reported issues with sound, but mine works just fine...it has the best sound I've heard on a notebook.
I ordered a few items to go with my m9700: the new Revolution wireless mouse (notebook version) works great. It's smaller than a regular mouse, but not as small as some notebook versions. The dongle is small, and there is a convenient storage spot in the mouse, so less chance to lose it.
Also picked up a 4GB OCZ flash drive from Newegg for $79.99...can't believe how much the price has come down on these handy little guys:
I already had a case for a 17" notebook, and the Booq messenger bag provides good protection for the m9700. I won't be using the m9700 much on the go, but this case makes it easy to pack it up. It has an outside pocket for the charger, and there's still room for a few magazines and other papers.
Conclusion: Obviously, I'm very happy with my purchase. This computer performs as advertised. The Turion CPU is plenty fast for my needs, and the SLI performance is trouble free. Thank you, Alienware, for offering this fun setup, and for bringing back notebook Colors!
I'd also like to say a special thank you to
for his helpful and enthusiastic posts about his m9700, as well as his patience in answering all my questions!
shazza. A great review and as always great pictures. Great to see another m9700 owner that is more than satisfied with their system 
. Got to love the HH pic at the bottom.
