Review: Alienware M14x

Alienware's new 14-inch laptop packs surprising grunt for its size. Photo / Supplied

Having crafted up the world's first gaming netbook (the M11x), Dell subsidiary Alienware has opted to strike out for the middle ground with the slightly larger M14x.

Sporting a chunkier spec and more on-screen real-estate than the M11x, the M14x is considerably more portable than the M17x juggernaut. The M14x also features many signature Alienware design tweaks including grunty graphics, a tasty design, as well as customisable backlighting.

Look & Feel

With has the same Alienware DNA of its larger siblings, the M14x comes complete with two illuminated Batmobile vents on its front and an Alien logo on its lid. Where the M17x was the angular Humvee of notebook PCs, the M14x has softer corners, giving it a sleeker sporty look. As with other Alienware gear, the M14x is also available in a range of spaced out colours, ranging from Nebula Red through to the Stealth Black that the review unit was supplied in.

Matching its distinctive looks, the M14x struck a good balance between heft and functionality. At a mere 37mm high, 259mm deep and 337mm wide, the M14x is easily small enough to slip into a day pack, and at 2.92 kg, is light enough to carry around town with little to no shoulder strain. It may be slightly larger than a typical 14-inch notebook, but the M14x it packs one hell of a punch under it's extra-terrestrial hood.

Firing up the AlienFX applet let me customise the M14x's keyboard, grill and other backlighting bits. As well as being able to tweak lighting intensity, I was also able to change colours to near psychedelic levels, complete with transitions, fades and strobing effects that made the M14x look like a prop from Tron Legacy.


In Use

Trippy intergalactic backlighting aside, the M14x's keyboard was a definite step up that of most average 14" notebooks. Its keys were large, comfy and had an excellent tactile response. Given the relatively small size of the M14x, its keyboard felt surprisingly roomy and was fine for extended episodes of QWERTY bashing (such as writing this review).

The M14x's touchpad also didn't disappoint, feeling spacious and yet smooth, with friction at its edges to let ones fingers know when they've strayed too far. Multitouch gestures were were frustratingly disabled and had to be activated by delving into the control panel. Hopefully Alienware will activate these by default in future units?

Where the ultra petite M11x gaming netbook was an incredible technical achievement, its equally petite screen felt a tad cramped when it came to gaming. Not so with the M14x, whose generous 1600x900 screen managed to really deliver the goods for both video and gaming. Playing Crysis on the go on such a petite notebook rapidly became a regular part of my regular computing and commuting repertoire.

The M14x's integrated speakers, whilst adequate are best for casual use, are likely to see dedicated PC speakers being a requirement for movie watching or music, and I frequently used headphones when gaming on the move.

Connectivity/Expandability

Considering its portability, Alienware hasn't skimped on kitting the M14x out with several boatloads of ports and connectivity options. On its left hand side is a four-in-one memory card slot, as well as two headphone ports (which is great for sharing a screen during trips) and a microphone port.

Alongside these is a USB port, a DisplayPort as well as VGA, and HDMI outputs. two USB 3.0 ports, and an Ethernet port plus ultra zippy 802.11N wireless. In short, there isn't much that's been missed on the connectivity front.

As well as several potloads of ports, The M14x also sports a bezel-mounted 2MP webcam which worked well when tested with Skype. Like other Dell gear, the M14x also comes bundled with FastAccess, which uses facial recognition technologies to let regular users securely log in, making fingerprint scanning or entering passwords feel positively retro.

Performance

Packing a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i7-2820QM quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia Geforce GT 555M processor, the M14x was able to handle virtually anything I threw at it in terms of multimedia or games without even breaking a sweat.

Much of this was due not only to the serious i7 quad core processing muscle under its hood courtesy of Intel, but also to the inclusion of Nvidia's Geforce GT555M dedicated graphics processor, which gave it similar gaming performance chops to most well appointed mid-range desktops.

All this gaming grunt is only ever going to be as good as the M14x's battery life, which thankfully didn't disappoint given the M14x's pumped up spec. Un-tethered from the mains, The M14x lasted just shy of four hours, and that was with Crysis running, screen brightness maxed out and Wi-Fi switched on.

Verdict

With the M14x, Alienware has once again assembled an intergalactic stunner that proves portability and gaming needn't be mutually exclusive. Having decked out the M14x in an ultra stylish finish, Alienware seemed to have achieved the near impossible Tardis-like feat of cramming in serious processing power and grunty graphics silicon into a pint sized 14-inch notebook package. It might cost a fibrillation-inducing $3,099, but for that price you do get one hell of a lot of bang for your buck, besides - what price can you put on gaming on the go?

SPECS
Alienware M14x laptop
$3099

Processor: Intel Core i7 (2.4GHz/8MB cache)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz; 750GB SATA, 7200rpm
Video: 3072MB NVIDIA GeForce GT555M
Display: 14" (1600x900)
Battery: 8-cell Lithium Ion (63w/hr)
WebCam: 2.0 MP (dual digital microphones)
Networking: 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet NIC 802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
Ports:: 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, Mini-Display, HDMI 1.4, VGA, 9-in-1 card reader, 2 x audio out 1/8", 1 x audio in/microphone
Dimensions: H 37.8mm x D 258.34 mm x W 337mm. 2.92 kg