Hi there.
I, like many people who use these forums, am an I.T. professional. With over 10 years experience figuring out ways to push IBM pcs to their limits in professional environments, I work as a digital audio and video consultant -designing, building and training technicians and staff members alike how to assemble and maintain professional digital media workstations. I've also worked on a fair amount of films, TV progs, documentaries, videos, professional music releases and installations.
Recently I got burned. I bought a laptop. I've bought laptops before, but this one was for a particularly special job - real time openGL demonstrations over long periods at shows. Bear in mind that i'm not talking about playing games here, I'm talking about proper professional computer usage such as display, editing and broadcast CG work. I was shocked to find that due to its design, it was incapable of performing at the advertised speed for longer than 10 minutes at a time. After months of testing and tweaking, i realised it must be due to incompetent thermal management.
The Laptop is a known name brand with a good reputation. Their technical team had the machine for two weaks after I demanded that they inspect it and give me a report. They have now admitted to me that this inability to stay on top speed is (and i quote) a 'technical limitation of the hardware' - and every laptop they produce has the same issue. Trading standards have been very helpfull - I am currently about to sue.
IN order to rectify my error in trusting an established name brand who manufacture their own laptop hardware (as opposed to a company who buy in third party products and sell with their own branding), I decided to try the area51m from alienware, for obvious reasons. I'm in the U.K., so the only other re-selling company that provides acceptable quality control are red submarine (who are a great company). They sell clevos identical to Sager. Red sub, however, are not graphics specialists, so my decision was made for me.
I was disturbed by the number of consumer complaints relating to the area51m. It concerned me that people seemed to be waiting for a long time to recieve a laptop which had been supposedly configured as a 'work of art' and tested 'to the limit', only to get a pretty standard clevo or uniwill laptop without manufacturers warranty or decent support. Other stories regarding faulty and untested hardware abound. Like it or not, these are the rumours surrounding alienware and the area51m.
I have to admit, i was harsh and rude when dealing with alienware. The more they tried to convince me that their machines were assembled on mars in some weird kind of hyperspace, and that I was lucky to even be able to think of buying one, the more I suspected them of the same type of con that i've witnessed so many times in the media industry and beyond. Talk up your product until it becomes the emperor's new clothes, and then ship some garbage - The same tactics that pornographers use.
Anyhow. I took delivery of an area51m yesterday.
I know how to break a machine. I've spent years melting boards in stress tests using avid and 3d studio for longer than 24 hour periods. I have my own software for assessing graphics performance, and have seen many a machine cave in after a couple of hours due to overheating.
Over the last 24hours, i've tested five different professional applications which require real-time openGL rendering, performed latency tests using my bespoke software, and generally had the area51m frying eggs like a skillit in hell.
And it rocks.
Believe the hype.
The most reliable portable machine I have ever tested. Full Stop.
Garbage man
Area51-saucer silver 3 gig 1024 ram radeon 128 9600 bla bla bla whatever as long as it runs hot for ever.
I, like many people who use these forums, am an I.T. professional. With over 10 years experience figuring out ways to push IBM pcs to their limits in professional environments, I work as a digital audio and video consultant -designing, building and training technicians and staff members alike how to assemble and maintain professional digital media workstations. I've also worked on a fair amount of films, TV progs, documentaries, videos, professional music releases and installations.
Recently I got burned. I bought a laptop. I've bought laptops before, but this one was for a particularly special job - real time openGL demonstrations over long periods at shows. Bear in mind that i'm not talking about playing games here, I'm talking about proper professional computer usage such as display, editing and broadcast CG work. I was shocked to find that due to its design, it was incapable of performing at the advertised speed for longer than 10 minutes at a time. After months of testing and tweaking, i realised it must be due to incompetent thermal management.
The Laptop is a known name brand with a good reputation. Their technical team had the machine for two weaks after I demanded that they inspect it and give me a report. They have now admitted to me that this inability to stay on top speed is (and i quote) a 'technical limitation of the hardware' - and every laptop they produce has the same issue. Trading standards have been very helpfull - I am currently about to sue.
IN order to rectify my error in trusting an established name brand who manufacture their own laptop hardware (as opposed to a company who buy in third party products and sell with their own branding), I decided to try the area51m from alienware, for obvious reasons. I'm in the U.K., so the only other re-selling company that provides acceptable quality control are red submarine (who are a great company). They sell clevos identical to Sager. Red sub, however, are not graphics specialists, so my decision was made for me.
I was disturbed by the number of consumer complaints relating to the area51m. It concerned me that people seemed to be waiting for a long time to recieve a laptop which had been supposedly configured as a 'work of art' and tested 'to the limit', only to get a pretty standard clevo or uniwill laptop without manufacturers warranty or decent support. Other stories regarding faulty and untested hardware abound. Like it or not, these are the rumours surrounding alienware and the area51m.
I have to admit, i was harsh and rude when dealing with alienware. The more they tried to convince me that their machines were assembled on mars in some weird kind of hyperspace, and that I was lucky to even be able to think of buying one, the more I suspected them of the same type of con that i've witnessed so many times in the media industry and beyond. Talk up your product until it becomes the emperor's new clothes, and then ship some garbage - The same tactics that pornographers use.
Anyhow. I took delivery of an area51m yesterday.
I know how to break a machine. I've spent years melting boards in stress tests using avid and 3d studio for longer than 24 hour periods. I have my own software for assessing graphics performance, and have seen many a machine cave in after a couple of hours due to overheating.
Over the last 24hours, i've tested five different professional applications which require real-time openGL rendering, performed latency tests using my bespoke software, and generally had the area51m frying eggs like a skillit in hell.
And it rocks.
Believe the hype.
The most reliable portable machine I have ever tested. Full Stop.
Garbage man
Area51-saucer silver 3 gig 1024 ram radeon 128 9600 bla bla bla whatever as long as it runs hot for ever.
