DH Review: Alienware Area-51M Laptop

Zardon · Mar 5, 2008, 10:52 PM

Read The Review Here
_______________________

Performance laptops have been around for some time now and one of the leading lights has been Alienware. In my time at Driver Heaven I have been lucky enough to test several Alienware systems and have seen their products mature from their first generation model, the Area 51m to the latest M5550. It is fair to say that Alienware always try to pack as much high end kit into their notebooks as possible and when I think back to the 51m I fondly remember the 3.0Ghz Pentium 4, 1Gb of DDR-400 and Radeon 9600 impressing everyone in the office, in fact that specification was actually better than many desktops at the time (2003).
That original machine received a glowing review when we tested it and the last time we spoke to the person who originally ordered the system it was still working, albeit with a replacement battery. Unfortunately not every experience we have had with Alienware systems has been the best, some have had major issues with build quality such as failure to remove protective plastic from heatsinks or damaged graphics cards which display corruption when gaming. But with each release we have to put these issues to the back of our minds and view each product as if it was our first, which brings us on to today’s review sample.

BlueMak · Mar 5, 2008, 11:18 PM

Nice review. Powerful laptop, but still don't understand why they have SLI of 7950 in it.

In fact, is it me or modern laptops are not as powerful, compared to desktops, as they were 4-6 years ago, at least in terms of graphics and CPU.

Also, dugg! (first too :-p )

Matth · Mar 6, 2008, 05:28 PM

Well, browsed around Clevo to see if I could figure which one it's a rebrand of, and yes, Clevo DO have SLI laptops, it's not a scoop for Alienware. Couldn't find an exact match, but the article says 945 chipset and the comparable Clevos are 965 chipset, so maybe the Alienware is an older Clevo model rebrand - maybe things have changed since Dell, but Alienware laptops always used to be Clevo rebrands with a minor cosmetic makeover.

Really, especially since being taken over by Dull (Dell), Alienware is just a branding exercise with no real substance.

Clevo Laptops (SLI)
CLEVO - Products (D900C & 901C)
CLEVO - Products (M590KE)

BlueMak · Mar 6, 2008, 06:51 PM

Clevo? Never heard of them before. Any good? Do they sell in Europe?

Matth · Mar 7, 2008, 02:16 PM

Not usually in their own name, but a lot of smaller brand laptops will be Clevo, actually not even sure if Clevo are the actual root of them, or if it goes further back to some nameless tech sweatshop in Taiwan, but Clevo seems to be main name that comes up when hunting down info for almost any "unknown" laptop.

BlueMak · Mar 7, 2008, 07:02 PM

So as a consumer you can't actualy buy anything directly from them.

Mar 5, 2008, 10:52 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	DH Review: Alienware Area-51M Laptop Read The Review Here _______________________ Performance laptops have been around for some time now and one of the leading lights has been Alienware. In my time at Driver Heaven I have been lucky enough to test several Alienware systems and have seen their products mature from their first generation model, the Area 51m to the latest M5550. It is fair to say that Alienware always try to pack as much high end kit into their notebooks as possible and when I think back to the 51m I fondly remember the 3.0Ghz Pentium 4, 1Gb of DDR-400 and Radeon 9600 impressing everyone in the office, in fact that specification was actually better than many desktops at the time (2003). That original machine received a glowing review when we tested it and the last time we spoke to the person who originally ordered the system it was still working, albeit with a replacement battery. Unfortunately not every experience we have had with Alienware systems has been the best, some have had major issues with build quality such as failure to remove protective plastic from heatsinks or damaged graphics cards which display corruption when gaming. But with each release we have to put these issues to the back of our minds and view each product as if it was our first, which brings us on to today’s review sample.

Mar 5, 2008, 11:18 PM	#2
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,248 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Nice review. Powerful laptop, but still don't understand why they have SLI of 7950 in it. In fact, is it me or modern laptops are not as powerful, compared to desktops, as they were 4-6 years ago, at least in terms of graphics and CPU. Also, dugg! (first too :-p ) __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Mar 6, 2008, 05:28 PM	#3
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,410 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	Well, browsed around Clevo to see if I could figure which one it's a rebrand of, and yes, Clevo DO have SLI laptops, it's not a scoop for Alienware. Couldn't find an exact match, but the article says 945 chipset and the comparable Clevos are 965 chipset, so maybe the Alienware is an older Clevo model rebrand - maybe things have changed since Dell, but Alienware laptops always used to be Clevo rebrands with a minor cosmetic makeover. Really, especially since being taken over by Dull (Dell), Alienware is just a branding exercise with no real substance. Clevo Laptops (SLI) CLEVO - Products (D900C & 901C) CLEVO - Products (M590KE) __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Mar 6, 2008, 06:51 PM	#4
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,248 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Clevo? Never heard of them before. Any good? Do they sell in Europe? __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Mar 7, 2008, 02:16 PM	#5
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,410 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	Not usually in their own name, but a lot of smaller brand laptops will be Clevo, actually not even sure if Clevo are the actual root of them, or if it goes further back to some nameless tech sweatshop in Taiwan, but Clevo seems to be main name that comes up when hunting down info for almost any "unknown" laptop. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Mar 7, 2008, 07:02 PM	#6
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,248 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	So as a consumer you can't actualy buy anything directly from them. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*