Real World Usage
I thought I'd include a few real world usage notes, gleaned from my time with the Extreme over the last couple of months. Firstly, 90% of the time it would never resume from Windows' standby mode. I couldn't remedy it, either with BIOS tweaks, WiFi driver or graphics card driver updates. One of the devices on the board didn't like coming out of suspend and I just couldn't track it down. Alienware are aware of it however and should be working on a fix.Apart from that little niggle (and the well known issue with WiFi cards dropping connections when using Windows' Wireless Zero Configuration service), there was nothing wrong with the Extreme, usage wise.
Heat Issues
With all the hardware the Extreme sports, in a mobile form factor, heat will eventually rear its head as an issue. Having the Extreme on your legs is a no no if you're doing 3D. With each leg propping up either side of the base, you block off the biggest exhaust port for the CPU and GPU. Block that off and you'll crash/hang sooner rather than later, when doing 3D work. You also stunt base performance, since the 3.2EE will throttle pretty easily. You absolutely must keep the bottom of the unit well ventilated by using it on a flat surface.Power Issues and Battery Performance
The laptop is fed by a LiteOn PA-1161-02 PSU. The review sample arrived with an American power plug, despite Alienware knowing they were shipping to the U.K.. It's a sample specific error, Alienware assure me that U.K. customers ordering from Alienware U.K. will get a U.K. plug.To test 3D battery performance, I set the Extreme looping 3DMark 2001SE after a full battery charge. Note that it's possible to discharge the battery quicker, depending how hard you hit the CPU. My personal record (which became a fun target to beat at times) is 44 mins, playing Call of Duty Multiplayer at maximum detail and resolution, with 2x AA and 4x AF, with PowerMizer set to not care about optimising for power.
Here are the discharge times with PowerMizer optimisations on and off, along with a couple of discharge times from watching a DVD and doing light work with PowerMizer on.
Intepret them at will. They're either horrible (it won't even let you watch a regular DVD movie from start to finish unless it's under 1hr 20 mins) or you don't care (since it'll be tied to the mains 99% of the time).
PowerMizer makes quite the difference, but performance is certainly affected. I don't enjoy gaming on the Extreme when it's set to conserve as much power as possible, performance degrades too much and a 2.8GHz Extreme Edition makes too much heat and consumes too much power to do you any good anyway.
If you were expecting anything different though, you're interested in the wrong laptop.
Portability
As I mentioned when talking about the rucksack, it's really quite pleasant to lug around since it's not light enough to make you think it's not there, but it's not heavy enough and the straps are comfortable enough that it feels decent on your shoulders and the top of your back. Strange, but true. Carrying it bare under your arm isn't really the done thing with your Extreme. It's too heavy and it stands out too much. You'll either drop it, get arm ache or someone will try and nab it. It's shiny, pikeys will have a go.Warranty
Alienware's warranty is subjectively excellent. 1yr on-site is standard, extra years can be purchased when you buy it, or extended later if you choose. They endeavour to replace or fix them, worldwide, within a couple of days, within reasonable expectations. Replacement parts (if user changeable) are shipped same day.They have manufacturing, warranty repair and parts supply in Ireland, for U.K. buyers, minimising wait times when things go wrong.
If the laptop is DOA, you get an identical replacement within 48 hours. They'll pay to pick it up from you too. Support is a huge deal to Alienware, they stressed that whenever asked or pushed about what they'd do if things went wrong.
