Alienware Sentia m3450 14-inch Notebook

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Anthony Fiti
Kurtis
Alienware
Dec. 5, 2006

Specifications

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Conclusion

The Alienware Sentia m3450 is a mixed bag. On one hand, we have a good notebook for students who mostly use office applications, watch movies, listen to music, and play a few casual games. The faster hard drive (7200RPM versus 5400RPM) helps performance in desktop and multimedia applications alike. However, the Sentia m3450 is not for hardcore mobile users - the integrated graphics and thermal throttling and shutdown issues we experienced showed that 100% load on both CPUs will bring the system to its knees.

As far as aesthetics are concerned, the m3450 (like all of Alienware's systems, really) is an eye pleaser. Of course, Alienware being sort of a boutique systems integrator, the m3450 does carry a price premium over its like-configured Dell brethren. I customized a comparable Inspiron E1405 laptop, and the price with similar components (I could only get a 2.0 GHz processor in the Dell vs. a 2.13 GHz processor in the Alienware) was $300 cheaper than the Alienware. On the flip side however, you're paying for the Alienware name, support, and not having a bunch of extra software loaded on your computer the moment you take it out of the box.

The only other major negative point would be the battery life. I'm really surprised and disappointed that not only is the battery life pitiful, but there is no option to purchase a more powerful battery for this laptop. You can buy another of the same battery, but that's all.

Unfortunately, I can't really recommend this laptop due to the stability issues I experienced under load. I experienced the same problem on two test samples, and it's very unlikely that I got two bad apples. If those stability issues were resolved the Sentia m3450 would be a good performer.

Pros

Sharp looking
No junk software loaded from the factory
7200 RPM HD improves performance
Built-in webcam and microphone

Cons

Stability problems
Battery life
Integrated graphics - we suggest a beefier solution if you want to play modern games
Price premium ($300 more than a comparable Dell Inspiron)

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Looks
Page 3: Taking a Closer Look
Page 4: Bundled Software
Page 5: Testing: Hardware & Software
Page 6: Testing: Temperature
Page 7: Testing: Performance
Page 8: Testing: Battery Life
Page 9: Conclusion

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4 User Comments

1 - Posted by EmoMakesMeCry on December 6, 2006 - 1:43 am

pretty sweet notebook. the only problem i have with the sentia is it's keyboard. it just looks...i dunno...ugly? i can't put my finger on it.

anyways, any idea if y'all will be getting a thinkpad x60 for review? that'd be a pretty cool comparison. :)

2 - Posted by Nick on December 6, 2006 - 12:30 pm

No way would i get a notebook that shuts off under full load due to thermal throttling. That just screams poor design. Im really surprised such a problem could make it through testing unnoticed. They make test chambers specifically for rooting out these types of failures and it would surprise me greatly if alienware didnt employ them during design, testing and production.

3 - Posted by Kurtis on December 6, 2006 - 4:47 pm

I was quite surprised myself... Oddly enough, it doesn't crash under loops of 3DMark, which is what they use for stability testing. But it does crash under the heavy CPU load of Orthos (and HL2, coincidentally).

4 - Posted by Anthony on December 6, 2006 - 4:50 pm

Indeed, and its not like my room is that hot (76-78F). But two laptops later I could provoke both into shutting down while running Orthos.

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