The notebook's bottom was 97 degrees, which is slightly higher than our 95-degree comfort threshold.Ĭlick to EnlargeA pair of USB 3.0 ports, a slot-loading DVD writer, Gigabit Ethernet and a secure lock are located on the right side of the M14x. The touchpad measured 86 degrees while the space between the G and H keys registered 93 degrees. Temperatures increased as we played "Batman: Arkham City" for 15 minutes. The underside of the notebook was only slightly warm at 86 degrees. When we ran a full-screen Hulu video for 15 minutes, the touchpad and the space between the G and H keys measured 84 degrees Fahrenheit. We're usually a fan of discrete mouse buttons, but the M14x's were a little spongy for our taste, causing us to press down harder than usual. We sometimes had to perform a motion such as pinch-to-zoom several times before the system would accurately recognize our gesture and perform the associated action. However, the M14x's viewing angles were wide enough to accommodate three people comfortably.Ĭlick to EnlargeWhile navigating with the 3.2 x 1.8-inch Synaptics touchpad was smooth, the somewhat small size made it a little tricky to execute multi-touch gestures such as two-finger rotate and pinch-to-zoom.
The GT60, XPS 14 and Series 7 Gamer's displays notched 268, 435 and 325 lux, respectively. In terms of brightness, the 236 lux screen on the M14x fell short of the 260 lux mainstream notebook average. Similarly, when playing "Street Fighter x Tekken," the action going on in the background of our fights - rampaging T-Rex, ballistic Mechs and humans running for cover - was so detailed, it was hard to keep our eyes on the fight.
As we watched the 1080p trailer of "Rez 3: Genesis," we could see the detail in the bride's lace dress and veil - including a few stray threads - and the colors of the soft pink and purple roses in her bouquet were particularly vivid. When it came to movies and games, the M14x excelled.
While we wish there was a 1920 x 1080p option, the M14x's glossy display delivered reasonably sharp text we noticed only a little pixelation when surfing to Kotaku and CNN.com.īut you don't buy an Alienware to read websites. Click to EnlargeThe M14x R2 features a 14-inch 1600 x 900p LED-backlit display.