M-Tech Laptop Computer Reviews

Friday, September 28, 2007
Alienware vs Rockdirect vs Dell : Finding the Best Gaming Laptop  Click here for the full article

WildCard Entry: M-TECH!

There's another laptop maker many novice gamers don't consider when buying their ultimate gaming machine. It may not be as well known as the ones above but the real wildcard entry is M-TECH. This is basically the American equivalent of Rockdirect, although the companies are in no way connected. They just have a similar philosophy of working with and using cutting-edge technology and firms to produce some superior gaming machines.

M-TECH, a Michigan company, started in 1995 and has close strategic partnerships with Tech firms in Silicon Valley. It is favorably reviewed by many industry magazines such as Laptops, Mobile Computing, CNET, PC TODAY and others.

M-TECH produces some powerful low priced (relatively speaking) gaming laptops such as the D900K and the D900T:

You can configure your D900T with two 100GB (7200RPM) SATA HDD Hard Drives with Pentium 4 3.8GHz 2MB L2Cache with a RAID setup. With Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX w/256MB DDR3 and a 17 inch TFT WSXGA+ Glassview LCD display for around $3500 USD. One year warranty, longer warranties may be purchased.

When buying your laptop, keep in mind, just because a gaming laptop has a lot of style doesn't mean it has sacrificed performance. It is not a matter of style over substance, it just means you have to pay highly for all that style/advertising/packaging. If you can afford it, go for a higher priced gaming laptop. People buy Ferraries don't they? There's no accounting for how people spend their money, if you want one of these dual core laptops from Rockdirect and you can take a little bit of heat and noise with your games, go for a Rockdirect Xtreme 64 or the older Xtreme Ti.

If you want a dressed to kill Alienware laptop, go for the Area-51m 7700. If you're on a budget, look closely at the Dell XPS M170 or the other XPS systems and watch for special Dell coupons and discounts. Dell is known for giving some great discounts so keep your eyes peeled. And if you really want to go against the mainstream, why not check out M-TECH. Especially the M-TECH D900K or the D900T, ultimate performance at a good price.

No matter which gaming system you go with, try to pick one that has a fully upgradeable open architecture structure so you can easily upgrade when the time comes. Keep in mind, laptop technology is changing so fast by the time your dream machine is configured, it is probably already out of date. Sobering thought but more true than any of us would like to believe.

Finding the fastest gaming laptop may be an on-going process of outfitting your dream machine with the latest technologies and hardware as they come on stream. Hey, nobody said life would be simple.

Just wondering how you can fit Quad SLI with 4 GPUs into a laptop. Hey, it can happen and probably will!

Hardware Reviews

WebBound Magazine selected M-Tech as one of the Top 75,000 internet web sites.

Space wont allow us to reprint the entire review article or for that all the fine reviews about M-Tech Laptop Computers, but we think you'll get the general idea.

Articles separated by model and date of review.

 

C/NET  MTECH 5600Xtra  Additional MTECH 5600 review 1, 2

When it comes to speedy components, it's hard to top. It features a 3.2GHz desktop Pentium 4; 1GB of 400MHz DDR SDRAM (notebook SDRAM is usually the slower, 333MHz variety); a 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics chip; and a 60GB, 7,200rpm hard drive (smaller, slower hard drives are also available when you buy). The system also includes an integrated antenna that supports 802.11b or 802.11g wireless standards. But because Eurocom sells only 802.11b mini-PCI cards, you'll have to add other standards via the Type II PC Card slot.

Not surprisingly,  tore through CNET Labs' SysMark and 3DMark tests, posting some of the fastest scores we've seen. The system didn't do as well with MobileMark 2002, a test that measures performance when running on battery power. The slower performance on battery power shouldn't pose a huge problem, because you shouldn't take the 5600Xaway from a power outlet too often;

 

Mobile Computing Magazine names M-Tech's 20U the Product of the Day More info...

M-TECH 8100 Laptop Magazine September 2002 p.143-144

"we can say that it is adequate for almost any use" "the MTECH 8100 provides surprisingly good video performance...DVD performance was very good" " a terrific presentation system...an excellent travel companion."

M-TECH 5600 Laptop Magazine August 2002 p. 131-132

"the MTECH5600's video capabilities equal to or better than some desktops"  "The MTECH5600 will make an outstanding desktop replacement."  "While it's obvious that a laptop shouldn't be purchased based purely on the way it looks,. The MTECH5600 is a real knockout."  "the powerful processor allows the MTECH5600 to easily  handle processor intensive task that might overwhelm a less powerful laptop"

M-Tech 928 Laptop, July 2002 p. 130-132

 "the 928 makes few performance compromises in its quest for portability"  "The DVD player worked great, as is to be expected with as much CPU and Video horsepower as this one has,"  "Overall, the 928 is an extremely powerful and large-screened laptop computer offering the portability of a laptop and the performance of a desktop."

M-Tech 8100, Laptop, April 2002

"Kick back with a game or DVD movie and the benefits of having a Radeon under the ?hood? will
become obvious." "The difference in speed between, a 1-GH Pentium III laptop.. and the MTECH8100 1.6-GH Pentium 4 running at full speed is a dramatic one." 

 

 

M-Tech 22, Laptop, Sept. 2001, p.157-158

"Despite its fast 1 Ghz Intel Pentium PIII desktop CPU and generous 256 MB of RAM, the MTECH22 is an affordable laptop."

"The 14.1-inch display makes it a good choice for portable or desktop replacement use, while the 20GB hard disk and three-spindle design make it useful in any role."

"...you can get online easily , whether at the office or in a hotel room"

"...nice multimedia"

"...pleasure to use whether on the desk in your office as a desktop replacement or in front of a small group of people during a presentation."

"...easy to use with a big-screen television as a display device for larger meetings"

"...image quality was very good, with no artifacting or aliasing visible."

"In all of the applications that we tested, including DVD playback, audio quality was very good."

"In both desktop replacement mode and unplugged travel mode, you should find the MTECH22s performance more than adequate for even the most processor-intensive tasks." 

 

M-Tech 22, Laptop, Sept. 2001, p.82 - 83

"Students...can get a great deal of notebook for their money with M-Techs M22."

"An IEEE-1394 port makes for easy connection of a compatible digital video recorder or other device, while a fax modem and Ethernet adapter ensure Internet access whether or not the dorm or apartment is wired for broadband." 

"In all, this 6.5-pound notebook is an excellent value."

 

M-Tech 3593, Laptop, Nov. 2000, p.174

"...With its nice configuration and feature array, the asking price isn't unreasonable."

"The M-Tech 3593 is no lightweight in power or heft."

"All tested DVDs, including badly scratched discs that can produce hesitations, yielded excellent playback."

"Large screen"

"We liked the M-Tech 3593. Its powerful, and it has a nice-sized screen and good DVD player performance."

"If you want a good laptop to serve as a desktop replacement, ... the M-Tech 3593 makes ... and attractive choice."

 

M-Tech 3593, Laptop, Oct. 2000, p.157

"A 650-MHs Mobile Pentium III CPU and a generous 128MB of RAM equip the M-Tech 3593 for applications as demanding as any."

"Excellent Multimedia"

"We installed several high-end applications, including a 3D "shooter" game and Photoshop, and were very pleased with how the M-Tech 3593 handled them."

"Very good warranty"

 

M-Tech38, Laptop, Jul. 2001, p.160

"The M-Tech38 is ... suitable as both a desktop replacement and a large-screen model light enough to carry comfortably."

"At 14.1 inches with a 1,024 x 768 resolution, the display is suitable for making presentations to a small group, or to be used as a desktop replacement system."

"Video performance ... was quite good, as was DVD playback on all of the discs we tried."

"...The 750-MHz Pentium III will serve very well. You can do your bookkeeping or rum a payroll on the M-Tech38, al will as more mundane asks like word processing spreadsheets, or e-mail."

" ... The M-Tech38 presents a very nice overall package in an affordable laptop, all at seven pounds. Its certainly worth a look."

"Good price"

"Three-year warranty"

"USB port replicator included"

"CD audio panel works even when the PC is off."

 

M-Tech30W, Laptop Buyers Guide and Handbook, Mar 2000, p. 173

"The 450-MHz version of the processor is a powerhouse, suitable for high-end compute-intensive tasks."

"Even with its three-spindle design, the M-Tech30W is fairly light, at 6.1 pounds, and only one and one-half inches thick."

"The 14.1-inch LCD is large enough to be shared by seat-mates on a long trip, or to serve as the centerpiece of a presentation. We found it bright and crisp at the screens default 1,024 x 768 resolution."

This yields excellent video performance, also providing hard-ware motion compensation to boost full-screen playback ... ."

"... The M-Tech30W has an S-Video output jack on its rear panel so that you can throw its output up on a large-screen television or A/V monitor."

"...You'll be very pleased with the quality of sound you get from the M-Tech30Ws ESS Technologies Maestro-2 Wavetable chipset."

"...Our testing of several high-end applications, including Photoshop, demonstrate that the M-Tech30W has the horsepower to be your main system, whether it is on your office desk or on your tray table at 35, 000 feet."

"We were also impressed with the M-Tech30Ws performance on our battery-rundown test. Turning off all power-management features, the M-Tech30Ws 4, 800-mAh battery powered the laptop for an impressive 3 hours and 40 minutes. ... You should be able to get close to 4 hours from the machine."

"We like the M-Tech30Ws performance- ... its a real power-house."

"We also liked the 14.1-inch display. [It] ... is a good compromise between cost and screen size."

"The long battery runtime and hefty 128MB of RAM are also desirable features."

"We have found the M-Tech30W a very attractive laptop."

"Very good performance"

"Long battery life"

"Lots of RAM"

 

M-Tech30W, Laptop Magazine, April 2001, p. 160

"The M-Tech30W is a plus-sized desktop-replacement system that can be ordered in a wide range of configurations, all of which deliver and unusually high price/performance ratio."

"The slightly oversized chassis provides plenty of room for three onboard drives, a good-sized keyboard, and a screen that's the systems crown jewel."

"M-Tech will install any of six Pentium III processors in the M-Tech30W, ranging in speed from 600 to 850 MHz."

"The 20GB drive in our review unit should be more than sufficient for most users."

"Equipped with 16MB of SDRAM, the MOBILITY 128 was able to juggle pixels to the point where every available resolution was, if not perfect (an impossibility), then sufficiently clear to be useful."

"The adapter was also able to deliver full-screen, full-motion video with no artifacts or overhang. Even dark scenes were resolved with excellent contrast. The moving images were complemented by fine sound from the side-firing speakers."

"The size of the M-Tech30Ws chassis provided M-Tech with the opportunity to specify an unusually spacious keyboard."

"While unabashed fans of ergonomic keyboards, we wouldn't feel too deprived if forced to use the M-Tech30Ws on a regular basis. Its comfortable, offer no unpleasant surprises, and on balance is one of the very best to be applied to a laptop. The same may be said of the Synaptic Touchpad."

"I/O facilities are given plenty of room on this chassis, ... the M-Tech30W doesn't skimp in that area."

"We added a few applications of our own, and spent some time using the M-Tech30W as a primary system. Its performance more than lived up to the expectations raised by the hardware complement."

"Its possible to spend more on a laptop- indeed, its possible to spend more on a M-Tech30W- but this configurations balance of performance and price strikes us as being right on target for a broad spectrum of potential buyers."

 

M-Tech30W, Laptop, Jun. 2000, p. 70

"... The M-Tech30W strikes an excellent balance between performance, features, and economy."

"The M-Tech30W weighs 7.2 pounds, not unreasonable for such a well-configured system."

 

M-Tech30W, Laptop Magazine, 2001 August

"If you want a desktop-replacement laptop that offers plenty of flexibility when traveling, take a look at the MTECH30W. This three-spindle beauty weighs only 7.2 pounds, but still offers a large 15.1 inch screen."

"The screen in our review system was clear and bright..."

"DVD Playback was excellent on all of the DVD discs we tested"

"The MTECH30Ws audio system is... impressive"

" The MTECH30W performed very nicely on formal benchmarks as well as actual applications"

"...the MTECH30W is equally ???
?GET http://www.m-techlaptops.com/photogD game."

"For business or pleasure, the MTECH30W delivers more than acceptable performance."

"Contributing to the MTECH30Ws quality is its battery performance."

"All of these factors make the MTECH30W an excellent choice...Its fast, affordable, and not too heavy to take on the road comfortably."

 

M-Tech 2893, Laptop, Dec. 2000, p. 169

"If you're looking for a big-screen portable with great multimedia, able to handle tough applications with aplomb, take a look at the M-Tech 2893."

"The keyboard is a nice size and provides a comfortable feel when typing. There is no excess flex, and the palm rests to help to correctly position your hands when typing."

"The M-Tech 2893 offers good communications options."

"Built-in modem and Ethernet adapter."

 

M-Tech 2893, Laptop, Jan. 2001, p. 167

"The multimedia capabilities of the M-Tech 2893 are impressive. The display is a giant 15.1 inches, large enough to make a presentation to a nice size group. The display is bright and very readable at the default resolution of 1, 024 x 768."

"Audio is excellent."

"Our testing found the M-Tech 2893 to perform very appropriately for its configuration. It has enough horsepower to breeze nicely through compute-intensive applications like Photoshop."

"Excellent multimedia."

 

M-Tech 2893, Laptop, Dec. 2000, p. 169

"As a desktop replacement, the M-Tech 2893 delivers very good performance."

"The large screen and moderate weight also make the M-Tech 2893 nice to use when traveling."

" The 8X DVD-ROM drive offered very good performance. We experienced no hesitations, aliasing, or artifacing during testing."

 

M-Tech20U, Laptop, Jan. 2001, p. 165

"Finished with attractive metallic blue, and with artistically sculpted contours, the system unit is equipped with a reasonably full range of I/O facilities, a good-sized display, and a decent keyboard."

"...We have nothing but praise for the two-slice configuration of the M-Tech20U."

"Our test movie is notable for having many dimly lit scenes, which can appear washed out on some systems. The M-Tech20U, were pleased to say, rendered them with all of their shadings intact. We didn't notice any ghosting or digital artifacts when the action heated up."

"Our overall take on the M-Tech20U is very positive. Its split personality allows the M-Tech20U to serve on double duty, on the road or the desktop, without requiring that the user make any significant sacrifices to take advantage of either mode."

"Fine value"

"Slim/light and desktop replacement in one"

 

M-Tech20U, Laptop, Feb. 2001, p. 158

"...The I/O and other facilities are arranged conveniently for easy access."

"In addition to being very loud, the sound was reasonably clear. The keyboard gets ... full marks for layout ... ."

"Excellent multimedia performance"

"M-Tech supports the system with a very good warranty, and has a generous technical support policy. Its a lot of computer for the money, and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it."

"... The drive bays provide good potential for expansion, and the port complement is ... flawless."

 

M-Tech 8500V, Mobile Computing, Sept. 2001

We decided that speed ? a lot of it ? would be the sole criterion for inclusion in this buyers guide. Therefore, the notebooks we feature have little in common besides speed-freak pretensions: They all sport at least 1GHz processors under the hood....The latter is particularly the case with M-Techs enormous M-TECH8500V powerhouse. This notebook features a 15.1-inch screen, which remarkably offers the wide-screen SXGA+ (1,400 by 1,050) format, and the machines wide 102-key keyboard resembles that of a desktop PC, complete with numeric keypad next to the regular keys.

 

M-Tech 8500V, Laptop, Jun.2001, p. 158

"...The spacious chassis ... [is] exceptionally comfortable in day-to-day use."

"... Care has been taken to provide proper airflow for cooling."

"The chassis vast expanse of surface area provides plenty of room for I/O facilities, and the 8500V has them in great profusion."

"... Unusually well-equipped... ."

"Highly modular"

"Great value"

"Terrific video"

"Good warranty and support"

" [It has] a large, 15 inch screen, and an even more impressive full-sized keyboard."

"The screen is exceptionally crisp, with a 1,400 x 1,050-pixel native resolution."

"We checked out the systems DVD capabilities with a few favorite discs and found it a splendid desktop theater. Low-contrast scenes weren't washed out, there was no ghosting even when the picture was fairly dark, and the viewing angle was sufficiently wide enough for three viewers to enjoy the show without sitting shoulder-to-shoulder."

M-Tech 8500V, Laptop Magazine, Dec. 2001

The enormous M-Tech 8500V could easily serve as an example for those wondering what a desktop replacement ought to be.
Its extensive flat surfaces are broken by well-conceived curves that add to the visual appeal of the chassis.
The large size of the Chassis makes it possible for M-Tech to create a package that, for most users, should eliminate and thoughts of an external keyboard or monitor.
M-Tech took advantage of the fact that memory chips are now inexpensive....
The 8500V is equipped with a truly wonderful video subsystem....
....for a screen of this size to have three or four dead pixels, but close examination didn't reveal a single one.
We used the DVD-ROM drive..... and were very impressed with its video capabilities
....8500V chassis provides plenty of room for a keyboard and the one installed by M-Tech is as good as any....
Its a good touchpad that offers considerable potential for configuration.