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    $600 M11x R1

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by crayzieap, Jun 28, 2011.

  1. crayzieap

    crayzieap Notebook Enthusiast

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    I've noticed that on the dell site that they are doing a $600 R1.

    PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® U5400 (3M Cache, 1.2 GHz) - Overclockabl
    OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
    MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 800MHz
    HARD DRIVE 320GB SATAII 7,200RPM
    WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Year Basic Service Plan

    Is this worth the price? More importantly, is there a way to upgrade the CPU later? I know there is a falty hinge. But I assume they will replace it if there is issues with the improved R3 hinge (of course gotta deal with the crappy service).

    Anyways, I'd appreciate some feedback from people knowledgable with the M11x line.
     
    crayzieap, Jun 28, 2011
    #1
  2. lukekarts

    lukekarts Notebook Enthusiast

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    For reference, I have that exact model, bought about a month ago, in the UK, for a comparable (currency converted) price.

    Is it worth the price? Well, that depends really on what you're looking for. A cheap(ish) ultraportable laptop with good gaming performance - basically a combination of size/performance/price that is unrivalled - then yes it's a good price.

    Wanting to play the latest games at max settings? It won't be worth it.

    Upgrading the CPU later - not possible.

    You can leave it in overclock (1.73ghz) permanently for a significant boost, it's still not a great CPU but it handles almost everything - will likely act as a bottleneck in any CPU intensive games.

    All in all, I think it's great value. I can play most stuff 1-2 years old at max settings, most new stuff in medium settings, with only Crysis really taxing it. I wasn't looking for perfect performance though, just something that's a nice compact device that can play games.

    Most important thing - what are you looking to do with it?
     
    lukekarts, Jun 28, 2011
    #2
  3. eivved

    eivved Notebook Geek

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    Could you comment on the following items:
    - overclock is 1.73ghz and not 1.6ghz?
    - how's the battery life and what features (brightness, wifi, etc.) are on?
    - have you overclocked it using the 'other' methods as discussed in the other threads in the forum?
     
    eivved, Jun 28, 2011
    #3
  4. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    This is not an R1. It is an R2 that has the U5400. The U5400 is a variant of the first gen Core i3/i5 (Arrandale), but performance is comparable to the SU4100/SU7300 Penryn.

    Compare Intel® Products,
     
    HTWingNut, Jun 28, 2011
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  5. crayzieap

    crayzieap Notebook Enthusiast

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    I see! Thanks for the correction. So this is an R2 model. Will this model again be able to upgrade the CPU for possible a higher varient i5?
     
    crayzieap, Jun 28, 2011
    #5
  6. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    No. The CPU is soldered on the motherboard. You would have to swap out the whole motherboard.
     
    HTWingNut, Jun 28, 2011
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  7. Benchmade 42

    Benchmade 42 Titanium

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    Either you get this or r3. No CPU upgrade upgrade bullcrap.
     
    Benchmade 42, Jun 29, 2011
    #7