- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Sony VAIO E Series
- Toshiba Qosmio X775 3D
- Dell Inspiron 17R
- ASUS N53 Series N53SN
- Dell XPS 15z
- 3.6 GHz Single core
- 8 GB
- 1,024 GB HDD
Released September, 2011
by LaptopMag (Jan, 2010)Our configuration of the VAIO F featured a 1.60-GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor (which overclocks to 2.8-GHz), 8GB of RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), and a 500GB hard drive running at a fast 7,200 rpm.
by LaptopMag (Aug, 2011)As if that wasn't enough, the M18x also has HDMI 1.3 input, so you could use the notebook as a TV or monitor, too.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Sony VAIO F Series compared to the Alienware M Series M18x
GHz3.6
by LaptopMag (Nov, 2010)Weighing in at a hefty 6.4 pounds, the VAIO F has a decidedly sturdy feel to it.
2.4 GHz
Intel Core i7 2760QM
by LaptopMag (Aug, 2011)Outfit the system with Windows 7 Ultimate, an Intel Core i7-2920XM overclocked to 4 GHz, dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 580M GPUs, 16GB of DDR3 memory at 1600MHz, dual 256GB SSDs, Killer Wireless-N Wi-Fi, WirelessHD, and a slot-loading Blu-ray, and you're looking at a price tag of $6,500.
cpu speed
| 0 GHz | 3.6 GHz   | 4 GHz |
VAIO F Series by R.-March--CRracer_912 (May, 2012)I'd been deciding on a new laptop to replace my very very old Dell Latitude that was running a Pentium M 1.8 Ghz processor and XP Pro.
M Series M18x by LaptopMag (Aug, 2012)Click to EnlargeOur $4.454 review unit has a 2.7-GHz Intel Core i7-3820QM CPU with 16GB of RAM, dual 256GB SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration and dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M GPUs with 2GB of VRAM.
processor
VAIO F Series by LaptopMag (Jan, 2010)The quad-core Core i7 platform really shines when it comes to heavy duty multimedia tasks.
M Series M18x by Thomas (Dec, 2011)The only thing wrong with this computer is the processor, it says its the Intel Core i7-2670QM Processor (Quad-Core, 2.2GHz, 6MB Cache), but its actually the one right below it the Intel Core i7-2630QM Processor (Quad-Core, 2.0GHz, 6MB Cache).
memory
| 0 GB | 16 GB | 20 GB |
VAIO F Series by Yoshiko-Akashi (Feb, 2012)But everything has been fast and smooth so far and I don't feel I need to add another 4GB RAM anytime soon.
M Series M18x by LaptopMag (Nov, 2011)Equipped with a 2.5-GHz Intel Core i7-2920XM CPU that overclocks to 4 GHz, 16GB of RAM, two 750GB, 7,200-rpm hard drives in a RAID 0 array, and dual AMD Radeon 6900M GPUs with 2GB of VRAM, the Alienware M18x has seriously epic performance.
Performance Real world tests of Sony VAIO F Series vs Alienware M Series M18x
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Alienware M Series M18x
| Much faster processor | 3.6 GHz | vs | 2.4 GHz |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 50% faster processor; run computation-intensive applications, such as photo editing, faster | |||
| Much lighter | 3,107 g | vs | 5,410 g |
| More than 40% lighter | |||
| Slightly thinner | 43 mm | vs | 54 mm |
| More than 20% thinner | |||
Advantages compared to the Sony VAIO F Series
| Much more RAM | 16 GB | vs | 8 GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twice as much RAM; run more applications and have more browser tabs open without slowing down the system | |||
| More cores | Quad core | vs | Single core |
| 3 more cores; run more applications at once | |||
| Much more HDMI bandwidth | 1,020 MB/s (HDMI 1.4) | vs | 495 MB/s (HDMI 1.0) |
| More than 2x more HDMI bandwidth | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Sony VAIO F Series | Alienware M Series M18x | ||
 |    Rated by 145 users at amazon.com Rated 80% by by Hush (Nov, 2012)   Rated 80% by by Mike-in-San-Diego (Dec, 2010) Rated 100% by by PiscoSours (Apr, 2012) | Rated by 13 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Thomas (Dec, 2011) Rated 100% by by J.-Manke--E.Eng.---Gamer (Jan, 2013) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Competition What else you should consider
 | 2 | Toshiba Qosmio X775 3D Largest amount of storage capacity |
 | 3 | Dell Inspiron 17R Good CPU benchmark score |
 | 4 | ASUS N53 Series N53SN 4-way tie: OK USB ports |
 | 5 | Dell XPS 15z Sharpest screen |
