NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Alienware Notebook Forums › Alienware Sentia, M11x and M14x › Sentia m3450 any good for FL Studio/Photoshop
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Sentia m3450 any good for FL Studio/Photoshop

post #1 of 3
8/11/07 at 8:19pm
Thread Starter 
I'm thinking of getting the bog standard Sentia m3450
http://www.alienware.co.uk/product_d...EFAULT#pdp-nav

(really can't afford to pay for any upgardes)

Two bits of software I can't live with out so would appreciate if anyone can confirm they'll run fine:

Fl Studio music making software (plus Vsts) (Ability to run Reason and Live would be a bonus, too)

Photoshop CS2 (And most other graphics apps, and Flash)

basically, I need to use my laptop for hi-res photoshopping and music making.

Also, I've read complaints about the sound being quiet - What's it like through headphones?

And on one forum, someone mentioned a noisy fan, although I've not seen that mentioned elsewhere.

Thank you.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 3
8/11/07 at 9:51pm
For any hi-res photo stuff, I would recommend the 5550i with a dedicated graphics card.

Yes, the 3450 has a fan that is constantly going and this issue was meant to be fixed with a firmware update that is still to be seen. They have now discontinued this lappy in the USA and I would think that they are probably never going to fix this issue as it is almost a year old problem now...

It's a nice portable lappy though and sometimes wish mine never had any issues. I returned mine for the 5550i and don't have any regrets.

I hope some others can answer your questions...
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 3
8/15/07 at 12:36pm


It was a wonderful portable machine for me until it had issues. I'm currently in the process of shipping my 3450 out for a replacement 5550.

Yeah, the fan could be noisy, but it really only became a problem if you let it heat up by having anywhere except a flat surface (it would speed up). This problem probably never will be fixed.

The people who complained about the Sentia's speakers and sound just never played with the Realtek sound settings. My Sentia put out terrific sound. I used to stream radio through it in my living room and I could hear it anywhere in my apartment (1023sq').

The default settings were 50% volume (yes, even with system volume at 100%) and equalizer disabled. There are a ton of settings to tweak, but just a couple minutes and a couple settings changes everything for the better.

You can check out my Sentia M3450 review linked in my sig and stickied here in the forums.

However, I would not suggest the Sentia for any hi-res Photoshop work because of the integrated graphics. You really don't want the standard set up either. I'd suggest putting the money aside, saving up some more, and buying a 5550 with at least a 2GHz processor, 1GB RAM and the video card.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Alienware Sentia, M11x and M14x
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Alienware Notebook Forums › Alienware Sentia, M11x and M14x › Sentia m3450 any good for FL Studio/Photoshop