Best M11x Accessory $100 and under

What is your favorite M11x accessory UNDER $100? For example external HD, cooling pad, external dvd etc...

 

Wireless mouse for sure

 

Ok, What one though? where did you get it from, how much? I just figure people are just as interested as i am to find the best ad-ons for "our precious"..

 

I got it from k-mart , you probably don't have that in your country and it was around $50AU or $60AU when I bought it, probably cheaper now

Wireless Mouse 5000

 

I looked in this thread which was quite helpful.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/499007-mouse-recommendations.html
Razer mice look nice but a bit too much for me to spend on a mouse. I have ordered Anywhere MX . UK Amazon price is £39.99.
Hopefully it is a nice compromise and you can use it on most surfaces. Just need it to arrive now along with the R2!

 

Probably my creative fatal1ty headphones, had em for a few years but for 35 pounds they sound amazing and have a detachable mic and inline vol and mic switch. They're better than some sennheiser ones I used to have

 

we have k-mart here. lol

your wireless mouse, is it the smaller sizez or the standard size?

 

This mouse is the best one I've ever used, and it's under 50 bucks.
Amazon.com: Logitech V450 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for PC and Mac: Electronics

 

Standard size, it's really good because you can use it on basically any surface without a hassle. Hence why I got it since It's for a laptop, which would be used on a variety of surfaces

 

Razer Orochi Bluetooth Mouse

 

Razer Naga!($ 80) And my Speakers JBL ($ 100-150$ I dont really remmember, I bought them 4 years ago)

 

By far, the best accessory you can get is a good mouse for your laptop. Wireless mice are nice, beacuse the small size of the Alienware M11x makes wired mice a little bulky for the laptop.

I would recommend the Logitech Anywhere MX (if you like smaller mice) or the Logitech Performance MX (if you like full-sized mice). Both are excellent at tracking on any surface, are excellent in wireless mode, and have that nice free-spinning mouse wheel.

I would recommend against the Razer Orochi. It has an annoying "feature" where it goes to sleep after 2 seconds of inactivity to save battery power. You can "wake up" the mouse simply by moving it around, but there is a slight lag/delay when it wakes back up. This can get *VERY* annoying in games where you are not constantly moving your mouse around. I cannot understand why people praise this mouse as a wireless gaming mouse, despite this glaring problem.

If you already have a decent gaming mouse, then you might want to look into a pair of nice headphones. I am partial to Etymotic noise-isolating headphones myself, but you will also find great headphones (canalphones) from Shure and Ultimate Ears. If you like full-sized headphones, then you would do incredibly well to go with the Sennheiser HD555 headphones.

 

mines are:
razer orochi - 80$
Zalman ZM-NC2000Black Notebook Cooler (Black) - 60$
500gb external hard drive - 80$ got it on sale

 

Razer Orochi Mouse

Razer Moray+ Headphones

Zalman NC1000 Cooler

 

Blah.

My one rule of thumb is to never trust audio gear targeted at "gamers". You quite commonly get poor mid and high range audio clarity, and a heavy emphasis on muddy, distorted bass. The "gamer" part only comes in with the aesthetics - the audio gear usually has some weird design on it or gawdy LED's.

If you want headphones in that style (in-earbuds) and price range (about $30), then look into the Sennheiser CX-300B headphones. They are absolutely fantastic for the price. Excellent audio clarity at the mid and high frequencies, and a balanced punchy bass response. I am a headphone nerd, have tried about 6 different pairs of headphones at the ~$25-$30 range, and can easily tell you that these are the ones to get.

 

Well, while they dont quite fit under the $100 price mark (unless u find a good sale). I'm going to say that my klipsch promedia 2.1 speakers are my favorite thing to plug into the m11x. However, a mouse is definitely needed.

 

Oh, definitely. Klipsch ProMedia 2.1's are a fantastic set of 2.1 speakers for the price. Definitely a thumbs-up.

 

Mine are:

Targus USB portable DVD drive- got it for $20 off Buy.com, retails ~$50 I think
Sony Extra Bass MDR-XB300 Headphones- $30
Multiple-port USB "octopus" (I hate running out of USB ports!) $1-$5
400 to 800 firewire adapter; I have an old Iomega Peerless drive

 

Best accessories hands down

$55 for Razer Orochi
$25 for USB slim DVD writer refurb asus
$35 for Creative MK2 pro Fatal1ty

OKay so i am at $115 but even then hands down worth it

 

I got a 1.5TB external hard drive for 85$ on sale

WESTERN DIGITAL 1.5TB Elements External Hard Drive USB 2.0 Black : Storage, Drives & Backup | Dell

There's the link if anyone wants to take advantage of it too :]

 

Under $100...
@steam software install (free)
@Razer Deathadder Mouse $65.00
@Best Buy Brand Gaming Mouse Pad (dual sided) $15.00
@BFBC2 game - purchase license/serial from authorized dealer --$21.00

Ok so that was $1.00 over... LOL

Best wishes,

StevenX

 

Because you don't game with it in wireless mode. Wireless mode has a 8-9ms latency on it.....which I personally find unacceptable for gaming, it feels laggy. For reference, wired mode has 1ms latency.


Beyond that, there's the battery saving "sleep" thing you spoke of. even if it DIDN'T have the sleep issue, it would still be unacceptable for gaming with the laggy 8-9ms latency.




Bluetooth mode = Web browsing/day-to-day tasks
Wired mode = gaming

I love my Orochi. It's small, versatile, & it packs quite a punch with a great laser & nice sensitivity & you can poll it @ 1,000hz.

Plus, the bluetooth is handy if you just wanna whip it out real quick to do some menial tasks.


Plus, pair it with a good mouse mat(I.E. Hard surface) & it feels like you're playing air-hockey. Really, really low friction. Not to mention the kinetic & static drag is pretty close, so the force required to move it vs. the force required to keep it moving is minimal & great for muscle memory. Drivers are okay....at least you can get rid of mouse acceleration with them. Once again, helping out with muscle memory.



What a great little mouse, I HIGHLY recommend it.

 

I wouldn't mind gaming in wireless mode if it wasn't for the poor sleep behavior of the mouse. Its not like the LCD screen don't have input lag or response time delays or wireless internet isn't slower than ethernet. If performance was everything I'd always use a powerful desktop, ethernet, and a CRT monitor, but its not so I'm fine with wireless mice, wireless internet, and a slower machine.

 

I really want to like the Orochi. I still do. I was dead-set on getting one, until I found out about the Bluetooth lag problem (both when waking up from sleep, and the 8ms delay inherent with Bluetooth). And I will probably still get one, if Razer can either adjust the sleep-timer through a firmware upgrade, or if someone can make a convincing argument on why someone like me would want one.

Because here's where the math fell apart for me: Why should I deal with the hassle of a mouse that is sometimes-wireless and sometimes-wired? What advantage does it have over a decent mouse that is always-wireless, like a Logitech Performance MX?

I haven't been able to answer that one for myself, and I haven't found any information online that answers it for me. But once I do, then I will definitely get an Orochi.

 

Actually the Razer Morays are quite good sounding. I too am an audiophile, who owns multiple headsets including Sennheiser HD215's, and CX6's and am quite impressed with Razer's canal buds. The reason I purchased them was because they have an inline microphone, which are great for gaming while using Ventrilo, and have the portability for travel. The CX6's sound much better, but are more than three times the cost of the Razer Moray's

I use the CX6's while travelling as their noise canceling are among the best from ear buds that Ive tried...

 

Hmmm... I wasn't aware that the Razer Moray's had an inline mic. I didn't see it on any spec sheets that I saw.

Edit: Ahhh... I see now. The regular Razer Moray does not have a mic. The Razer Moray+ does have an in-line mic that plugs into a regular 3.5" stereo+mic phone jack, with a splitter for separate headphone/audio channels. That's a pretty sweet design.

I take back the generalized comments I made about "gamer" gear. This actually looks like it might have something going for it.

 

For me, it was pretty easy. I was also looking real hard at the Logi Perf MX.


But, I decided Razer because:


Logi eats up a USB port (Which are important to me. I've got steering wheels [G25], joysticks[G940], xbox 360 pad, Logitech G13, TrackIR....lotsa stuff, so I need those ports!) I don't really wanna have to carry around a USB hub too. Plus, my TrackIR eats up A LOT of USB bandwidth, I don't wanna muddy things up with a hub.

Orochi is smaller, size was pretty important to me too. Less bulky & less heavy when carrying it around. (Not that big of an issue, but the less bulk, the better. The M11x is replacing my 10" netbook & it's small-small carrying case) Plus, it has it's own tiny carrying case for it & it's USb cable.

The sleep issue is a non-issue for me. As I've said, I do not game in Bluetooth, nor will I ever. The latency is too much for me. It feels like trying to play with V-sync on(As we all know, V sync is a big no-no). It's the same reason I can't stand most wireless mice. Wired all the way for me. It's like a night & day difference between wired & wireless mode.

This goes along with the latency issue....but polling rate. The Performance MX has what, a 125hz polling rate? That's like the 8ms latency on the Orochi in Bluetooth mode.....unacceptable. I need my 1,000hz polling & 1 ms response time, no exceptions.

I cannot stand the delay in bluetooth mode. It feels the same as if you were playing with V sync on. The difference between this & the monitor is that this is input latency, not general latency. And yes, I do have a wired internet connection. (*EDIT* For what it's worth. When I get into "serious mode" I swap out for a 2ms TN panel LCD. Even tho I prefer the higher quality of my IPS panel, when response time matters, like...during a match, I'll swap out for the 2ms panel)I'm very picky about my mice. I have ZERO mouse acceleration, and ZERO mouse deceleration(Used to have to be fixed with a regedit....but now in Windows 7 there are other ways). I'm used to 1,000hz polling with 1 ms input latency. I'm also used to 3,200 DPI specifically. With each of my FPS games matched in-game sensitivity. (About 3/4" mouse movement = 1 full 360 degree rotation in-game. I can make about 20 full rotations with 1 full swipe of my mouse across my mousepad) To build muscle memory. I also need a hard, flat mousing surface, to reduce the difference between kinetic & static friction. Once again, to build muscle memory. I keep the same sensitivity settings, with no mouse acceleration. This helps build muscle memory so that you no longer think about how far to move your mouse. It's become second nature at this point & with 5.1 surround I can twitch shot people without even looking at times.

Although I hardly play competitively on the M11x, I don't want to mess up my muscle memory learned from my desktop when I do. So, I've pretty much matched everything to how it is on my desktop. Wired connections, 1 ms latency, same configs, sensitivities, shortcuts & macros. Everything, except the hardware.

 

Ok, I am starting to see why you like it.

Freeing up a USB port when in wireless mode is nice, as does smaller size. And you are right - the increased polling rate when in wired mode definitely makes sense.

Thanks for explaining that to me in a civilized way. I get it now.

+1 rep to you, sir.

 

I see your point too. Wireless mode vs. wireless mode, I would prefer the Logi Perf MX(Especially because of the darkfield tracking, that way I could use it on the couch, on the desk, on the table, on my pants-leg, etc etc even glass (my desk is glass)). But I need PERFORMANCE MODE.

 

What's the best price you guys have gotten for DVD-RW optical externals?

 

someone (sorry I can't remember who or else I'd give credit) posted this one in another thread, so I picked it up a few days ago http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135208&Tpk=ASUS SDRW-08D1S-U BK REC

It's really nice, and that recertified version is like half the regular price. Even without the MIR it's worth it.

 

Personally, I use this one:

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 8X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 6X DVD+R DL 8X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-R 4X CD-RW 24X CD-ROM 2MB Cache USB 2.0 Slim External DVD Writer Model SE-S084C


Although mine is older. (I got it over a year ago when I had my netbook)

Works well enough for me. I can't comment on the speed as it's the only external burner I've ever used & I've only used it to copy a few DVDs. (& make .ISOs)

I believe $40 is what I paid for it a year ago.


Definitely could be sturdier, tho. Feels kinda flimsy.

 

wireless mouse being a cop out will lead me to say my cooling pad. it drops the temperature by about 5 degrees celsius while undergoing use via video games. also some tiny rubber pads near the top of the notebook to help the screen close properly

 

The M11X Orion Portfolio Case. Just received it today, and it's awesome!

 

If I could find a gloss screen protector cut specifically for the M11x that would be it.

 

I agree, but I just wish there was a little more space to fit my accessories. I'm able to squeeze my power supply into the mesh pouch and my earbuds inside the case, but there is nowhere for my mouse to go.

 

Newegg.com - Ideazon Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard- ZXP-2000 Black USB Wired Ergonomics

My favorite keyboard of all time, had mine for about 2 years and love it. My little brother has one of the newer g15 boards and for fps games the lack of dedicated wasd keys sucks. I don't use macros I just need everything logically placed and comfortable, once I get in game I just remap the keys the way I want. I'm thinking of buying another one and storing it because it appears soon they will be hard to find.

Technically I guess this is a desktop accessory and not really laptop related but until I build a new desktop I'm using my m11x as my primary gaming machine.

 

My favorite accessory is far and away the A4 Tech XL-750F... srsly, best gaming mouse ever - it has all the features you could want (laser, on-the-fly switchable DPI 600-2500, rapidfire button, side buttons) and it's only around $30 (i got mine new for $25 on ebay). IMO, for the price per performance & quality this thing is unbeatable.

Although if you'd rather have wireless functionality instead of the extra buttons, the Logitech V450 is definitely your best option.