Game Development Community

Alienware

by LrdOfNightmares · in Hardware Issues · 07/10/2011 (6:49 am) · 8 replies

Hello fellow family members!

I will have to go abroad for studies and my Desktop no matter much it will cry i won't be getting it with me. so i will need a laptop.

I thought of getting the new Alienware M14X so i thought of asking you this:

Will it be comfortable developing a game in a 14" inch screen?

Also will i be alright with this laptop for rendering etc?

#1
07/10/2011 (9:43 am)
Well, I have the M17x which is much larger, and has many more possibilities for expansion. I've heard that the M14x is very nice though (particularly from the point of view of portability).

One thing I would worry about is potential for over heating - POWERFUL devices in compact spaces have always put me off to be honest!
#2
07/10/2011 (11:46 am)
Well, M17X didn't have ram speed at 1600Mhz as a choice only 1333.

So i should setup a cooling system too if i get this laptop.

Ok, i'll see what i can do.

Have you ever had problems in speed of processing while working with Torque of with 3D programs like Blender, 3DSMAX etc?
#3
07/11/2011 (1:37 pm)
I'm working on a M15x here at work. I don't have any trouble running resource intensive software like 3D Studio Max.

I would also check out Sager Notebooks and Boxx Tech for other options for high end mobile workstations.
#4
07/29/2011 (7:32 am)
Boxx Tech notebooks are awesome. I hesitated with the higher price tag but i am glad i purchased. I had an M17X and always had an issue with how hot it would get and how heavy it was, when i switched to the Boxx, i have more horsepower under the hood without the heat I had with the M17X. it is still heavy and actually slightly heavier than the M17X but has alot more horespower than the Alienware. My M17X went through 3 new motherboards before i switched when my warranty ran out, not sure on the M14x though I hear they are a bit better.
#5
07/29/2011 (11:00 am)
The m14x has gotten a lot of great reviews and is great machine, but since its owned by Dell, i would rather just buy an XPS with the same hardware and save some money. But personally I cant really design on a 14" screen, trying to work on a 13" mac for some smaller iOS games and it sucks! I do all my modeling on a 17" sony laptop with a 22" monitor attached. I need and love the space.
#6
07/29/2011 (12:39 pm)
I would recommend something with larger than a 14 inch screen, especially for programming. IDE's such as Visual Studio take up a consider amount of screen realistic (though needed) and will limit the amount of space of actual code view. I previously used a 19 inch wide laptop and really wouldn't consider anything smaller.
#7
08/05/2011 (12:57 pm)
I would recommend, whatever laptop you get, set up a second monitor if you're going to do development work.
#8
08/14/2011 (2:01 am)
Thank you all guys.
Right now i am working on a 22Inch monitor and i thought about getting it together with me bc the 14 is kind of small but this laptop is really powerful and portable.

@KEN: i searched about it and many people say that it gets really hot, so i will just get a cooling system maybe a cooling pad etc and things will work out. thatnks about the suggestions :)

Thats why i LOVE this community! Thank you all guys! :D