Hardware Revisited: Alienware M18x Gaming Laptop

An aspect of most hardware reviews that's always missing is the prediction of how durable a piece of equipment is unless the thing falls to pieces while it's in use. With that in mind I thought it was time to revisit a piece of hardware I reviewed back in 2012, but have been using since late 2011. That piece of hardware is the Alienware M18x.

The casing of the unit has held up extremely well, even under heavy use. I travel a lot with this thing even though it weighs a ton and it has suffered it's fair share of knocks and toddlers slamming the screen down, and the only evidence of it's use is a small nick out of the paint. (See picture below.) I've done my best to minimize exposure to dents or scratches during transit, to the extent that I hunted down a (second-hand) official Alienware shoulder bag made specifically to accommodate the oversized nature of the laptop. The laptop picks up the typical amount of finger prints and dust, but the overall look of the machine is almost flawless.

Hardware: Alienware M18x Gaming Laptop

I've been using the M18x for the last 6 months. That time has spoiled me, particularly because I've been able to play so many games on it. It's to the point that even if there's a menial computing task I need to do, like posting this review, I'll use the M18x rather than my seemingly limp desktop PC (which is equiped with a Zotac GeForce GTX 560Ti). My desktop PC is fine and dandy and should serve for another couple of years when it comes to gaming, but with the M18x it's like having access to a flying sports car. I'd rather be driving/flying it than driving my reliable road-based mini-van.