RdLdr1's Area-51m pics!!!

Well, first of all I'm a second year student at a college just north of downtown Chicago. I've always dreamed of having a laptop, and after my desktop crapped out on me it was time to fulfill that dream, with the Area-51m.

I absolutely love my Area-51m, and I have yet to show it off throughout campus. It would be difficult now since its starting to become abit chilly here by the lake, but when it warms up I'm definitly going to take advantage of the campus wireless connection when I can (minus the file sharing, 'cause we can't).

Well, these pics were taken on my desk within my on-campus apartment after I had everything in working order. I had to resize the images abit to keep the file size down.

Here we go:








-here you can see my roommate's hand, he's playing C&C Generals.


-Right above the PCMCIA slot is the multifunction card reader, inside this I an all plastic 'false' SD card.


-This pic is of the Area-51m in the free backpack.

What comes with it is a binder with printouts of benchmarks, a user's manual, recovery and utility CDs, warranty info, etc.

Also, it comes with a sweet remote which really comes in handy and doesn't skimp on the features.

-Some Comments:
After reading through the product manual, the area just below the screen are vents, not speakers.

Also, there are TV tuner/Video Capture capabilities, the hardware would be located on the right hand side towards the back, the expansion port for this is located to the right of the vent. Hopefully it won't be rediculously expensive since this is nice to have when its released (if ever).

When the screen is all black, you CAN see the glow from the Alien eyes. I have no problem with this since it is not visible when the screen is in use.

My roommate was amazed with the awesome UXGA screen and its viewing angle (compared to his Gateway's assumed sxga screen). A few days ago a few buddies and I sat around at the dinner table in viewing the movie Zoolander (from one end) and everyone had no problem with their viewing angles.

So far I am satisfied with Alienware's tech support, the longest I've been on hold was a minute at best, the problem pertaining to some inquiries. Also, I can upgrade the hardware as long as I call them and they walk me through the process.

The NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5600 works well. Madden 2004, DF: Black Hawk Down, and Postal 2 run great. I am yet to install some really kick @$$ games like Vice City, Generals, and Half Life 2 whenever it comes out.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy the pics, and also any questions and picture angle recommendations would be great.
Also, hopefully no one would spill beer onto the laptop keyboard, just like what happened to a buddy of mine...



P.S. I have a 17" LCD monitor, and as you see there is no room for it on the desk. I have two options; hooking it up to an LCD arm or mounting it on the back portion of my desk, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Well, since I don't have a wireless card yet, I havn't used that battery at all. I've pretty much just left it plugged in. Whenever I do have an opportunity to use the battery to its fullest extent, then I'll let ya guys know.

The Area 51m excells in these areas. This laptop is really quiet and barely noticeable, and is ALOT quieter than my old desktop. I remember my cousin's old Compaq laptop, and had heating problems that could be felt through the touchpad. My badboy has no heating issues that would be annoying, and is probably isolated to the bottom.

Well, I meant is you can see the glow when the LCD is off and not visible when it is on.

I have a limited experience with laptops. I've experienced friends and relatives' laptops such as Compaqs, Dells, Gateways, Sonys, HPs, Toshibas. The build of the Area 51m is excellent, and I feel far superior than these other machines. It may be not all metal; I recall the TechTV movie clip, and a METAL piece fell off the bottom when they guy attempted a video upgrade, it made a distinct METAL sound when it hit the table. I don't know what's the definition of 'metal alloy'. The outer shell of the laptop has a plastic feel, but it is a build of QUALITY.

The screen is excellent. No dead pixels whatsoever. But, my eyes need abit of adjusting from my LCD monitor to the laptop's screen. Also for gaming, there is abit of bluriness in some games such as DF:Black Hawk Down (those guys are hard to see from a distance).

Yes, the bag displayed is the 'Targus substitute'. There is adequate padding for the laptop, and quite abit of padding for your back. My roommate has the coveted platinum and black Targus backpack (it came free with his Gateway laptop). The difference between the two would be that the Targus has ALOT more room for textbooks along with the laptop. The MobileEdge backpack pretty much only fits the Area 51m and a few thin items like my Lapdesk. For the compartment itself, the MobileEdge backpack has padded 'bumps' while the Targus does not.

Its a decent backpack, but I don't see it as a school/laptop backpack just like the Targus is. The Targus one is that much better than the MobileEdge backpack. I'd say its sole purpose is to safely transport the laptop, and its great for that. But I don't see it as anything beyond that, so looks like I'm sticking to my trusty ol' North Face bag for school...



To make a point, i'll post up a pic of the Area 51m in the Targus backpack. I'll get that done as soon as my roommate gets back from class plus other stuff...

Sorry for the long lack of a reply, I just got back from a road trip to Windsor, Canada (and you know what goes on over there...)

Its a desk from Target, which was purchased beginning of the school year last year, and unfortunately is not found on Target.com anymore, but hopefully the stores still hold the desk.

Here's a suitable alternative:
A-Tower workstation at OfficeMax.com

My speakers are a really old, Labtec 2.1 system. I bought it at a computer convention for $30 a few years ago and they are still kickin today, and has more bass 'oomph' than my roommate's Logitech 2.1 speakers (in my opinion of course).

The gamepad is a Thrustmaster Firestorm Dual Analog 2, no rumble. I HIGHLY recommend NOT to download and install the Thrustmapper controller software, because it screwed up the IRQ of the two computers I had installed the software on (which is a drag cause I really needed to change the button configuration to a PS2 style).

My two cents... Hope this helps!

I referr you to here:
http://talknotebooks.com/showthread....&threadid=9287

I'm hesitant to open my baby up (unless necssisary) cause its my first lappie and I dont want to screw with anything and break it... sorry

Well, I carry my laptop to class Tuesdays and Thursdays for note taking. I just want to warn you, its pretty heavy on its own and I dont recommend long term carrying of your lappy in your backpack.

Its not horrible in terms of walking from class to class but waiting in line to pick up some lunch while this in your backpack tends to hurt. What I feel that you need is a separate shoulder bag, cause a 9lb laptop and a 1000+ textbook's weight should be evenly distributed.

Pics coming soon!!!