Alienware M14x R1 by PF T.J., on Flickr


Alienware M14x R1 by PF T.J., on Flickr

1st of all I am Dell employee so i got EPP for my AW 14 however I am unbias on this.
I got to admit that Dell have very bad QC in the factory, I m not sure with others but I got 3 Dell laptop that is faulty out from the box.

Not to sway too far from our review here so.......

UNBOXING EXPERIENCE
The 1st push of the AW 14 power button it already failed to start. It only manage to start up after several restart. (SOLVED)
When I install some games to test out, then only I found out the directx library is missing so I head to microsoft site to download them. (SOLVED)
Then I do some screen test and found 3 dead pixel on the very 1st usage. (FIXED by Dell technician by changing the lcd)

Upon using, I realize the combo port for headphone is emitting "hissing" sound. (I know this happen in other brand as well but ofcourse I would expect at least Dell could use a proper sound card in this premium product to avoid this). (NO SOLUTION)
The light tron/line on bottom right is not as bright as the left side. Suspected one of the led burnt. (AWAITING Dell technician to come fix this)
After for about 2 week of usage.

PRO
1. Superb keyboard. Fully mechanical, it feel very type-able and responsive. Yes, I am a programmer hence I type a lot. I shall never use other laptop or desktop anymore because of how smooth the typing can be.
2. AlienFX, one of the most impressive features. Near to unlimited combination you can customize make me very excited even just by looking at the machine myself. I personally like this design better than the previous because of its elegant and lower profile design. You would like all ppl staring at you in starbuck don't you?
3. Ultimate portable gaming machine. It is not too heavy nor too big where you will have no problem finding any table  at the cafe/mamak/bookstore to use it with your snack/drinks on the same table.
4. Performance is bad-ass even gpu throttle happen. As long as you dont reach the temp limit/ or you modify the throttle limit. I max out Metro, DOTA 2 at Remember Me and is still very playable. (Sorry I only tested on 3 games).
5. Screen is awesome. I am part time photographer and I could tell that this screen is definitely produce better color and sharpness (1080p) compare to most of the laptop in current market. (I used ASUS, ACER, TOSHIBA, LENOVO 1 or two generation model before current model before)
6. KILLER wifi is really KILLING~! I got more bar compare to my asus laptop place side by side.

CONS
1. ODD, Dell needs to put this rubbish in the system.
2. DDR3L ram, hard to find and expensive if you want to upgrade it.
3. RAM, Dell used cheapo ram (Micron Tech)
4. No ssd option, yes you may upgrade it yourself but then you have to choose either throwing away your HDD or ODD for this. = =''
5. HDD is vibrating kinda too hard. Maybe due to 7200RPM, is kinda annoying when you rest your hand on the palm rest. So far no sound being made by the hdd spinning.
6. Not sure this fits in, but I find that this screen is kinda small for movies. Yea, it is fine if watching alone but if you watch with friends then you guys will end up squeezing each other. lol

NOT SO GOOD BUT I AM OKAY WITH THAT
1. Cooling. I know someone might say this is the best you can get on 14 inch laptop but hey, it is not that cool either. If you have hdd, its temp will raise until uncomfortable level at your right palm rest. GPU never reach above 61 degree but CPU max out at 80-ish, average use will be 70-ish, idle 55 ~ 65. All this measure in air-cond room + cooler master cooling pad.
2. Yes, I know rubber palm rest is for comfort but it introduce finger/palm print and its hard to clean. Okay, I admit I have sweaty hand.
3. Advance overclocking option is not available in the bios as stated in the user manual. Even after calling Dell support they can't help me. Thou I can use 3rd party software to overclock.

TIPS
1. Please test as much as possible on your machine on the 1st week on common problem such as dead pixel, screen light leak, overheating, alienFX lighting and etc as you could always ask for refund/new replacement model within this 7 days time frame. Yes, you have to insist if they don't allow you to do.
2. Just found out a way to manual control FAN speed. I get 40ish of CPU temp on average but it is like having a jet behind your laptop. 
Ask me for info if you want to know how.