Wireless and Battery Life
The Realtek RTL8185 54M Wireless 802.11 b/g LAN Network Adapter with new MIMO
Technology has great range probably due to a very good antennae system routed
in the m9700. At the office, normally our laptops can and have picked up as
many as 4 wireless access points in the surrounding area, but with the m9700's
MIMO technology wireless card we were able to pick up a total of 7 access points.
Three more than normal using the same area for our tests! Obviously the new
three detected networks were fairly week, due to their obvious distances from
us, but the m9700's MIMO wireless interface detected a broader range of available
networks. Finding laptops, even recent ones, with built in MIMO Technology is
difficult. Few of the laptop selections out there sport MIMO and as many who
have struggled with finding hotspots and getting a good signal can tell you,
we will take all the help we can get. Wireless has become a key feature enhancing
the usability and indeed the purpose of laptops and Alienware should be applauded
for making this feature available to its consumers.
When it comes to battery life, currently most desktop replacement or high-end
laptops generally do not last very long when subjected to load while on battery
power. The m9700 falls in this general area as well. We found during our testing
that the power consumption while on battery power while either viewing videos,
playing Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Doom3 and F.E.A.R. was limited from
45 minutes to 1 hour maximum. We then allowed the battery to cool, recharge
and then set the laptop aside basically in idle, with Alienware's screensaver
running while we also only browsed the internet occasionally during this test
and found that the battery power lasted approximately for 1 1/2 hours. Another
thing we noticed is that your frame rates in games will differ greatly if playing
on AC power versus on battery power. Since the processor throttles back to allow
for greater battery life, the framerates were greatly diminished during our
'On Battery Power' tests compared to those while the m9700 was plugged in.
