Alienware M17x R4 Review (i7 3610QM/ AMD HD7970M)

We measure from a distance of around 2 foot from the chassis with our Extech digital sound level meter to mirror a real world situation.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

The Alienware M17x R4 is a two headed beast. When idle, or when watching a bluray movie, it is not intrusive and barely audible.

When under gaming load however the fan system kicks into overdrive and produces a high level of noise. It would be masked by a set of speakers when gaming, but it is clearly audible. I am not sure if this would annoy a hard core gamer, but it certainly was a ‘borderline' noise emission for me.

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