Do you recommend the M11x for school purposes

I am interested in purchasing an M11x mostly for doing school work, browsing on the internet, and the occasional game. The main reason why I am interested in it is because of its portability and performance. Why do you guys think?

 

if its mostly for school go with the r1, longer battery compared to the r2. i love my m11x able to do anything on it so far =]

 

I am sort of tempted to go for the i7...

 

I agree, the Core 2 Duo (R1) would be a good idea.
And yes, the Alienware M11x would do well for school.
The build quality is good, it's portable and it blew me away with it's performance!

 

Just go w/ R2, and go w/ power save mode. Sure it will not last long as R1's, but you don't have to deal with the lack of driver updates on R1's.


Oh and for school purposes, I would not go cheap on warranty.

 

What type of games and apps will you be running on the laptop?
Really, the core 2 duo will suffice for most apps.
The main reason why I got an i7, was because they were doing a 200 dollar off deal if you went with a core i7. In fact, it is still going on: Alienware Landing

 

I'm in Canada and right now, there is about a $300 difference between R1 (core 2 duo, 2GB ram, 250 GB HDD) and R2 (i7, 4GB ram, 320 GB HDD). I think I might go with the R2.

 

I'm in the same boat as you, I need it for school and I'm Canadian as well. I like the better battery life of the R1 but I like the newer cpu's, Optimus and driver updates of the R2.

 

Good idea. The R2 will offer you a better performance than the R1 while idle. i7 is the best (futur wise).

 

Exactly, there is an instant savings going on for the R2 (i7, 4GB RAM, 320 GB). It costs $1200 without tax.

 

For school? Nope unless you have some heavy computing/grafix needs.

I would recommend one of the larger 11" netbooks or similar sized notebooks that give a good 10hrs. Mainly for word processing etc.. Also less $$$ in your school bag to go missing or generally get banged up.

For school work away from school then yes.. you know something you can take with you when dragged places by parents where you can blend gaming with school work

For collage, yes as you probably want that blend even more.

 

Oh, your Canadian? Well, that might change everything.
If the R1 only comes with 2 GB of RAM, you mind as well just go with the R2.
Unless of course you know how to install extra RAM

 

No I don't lol Do you have a special bag for it or do you just shove it in your school bag as well?

 

im using the alienware neoprene and a targus 14" messenger bag for my r2

 

If you're just going to be an occasional gamer I'd suggest the u30jc

 

You can use whatever you want. I just put it in my backpack, but you can do whatever you want.

 

Whichever deal u can get honestly. The r1 is great. but if ur willing to spend 300 Bucks, U might as well shell out another 300 to build a 6 core amd Rig.

 

i purchased my R2 for mainly school and some occasional gaming. Its perfect. (typing on it now..)

 

Yes! Another person in my boat!

I am starting college in a month as a freshman, and I was so very confused on what to get for the longest time.

Finally, I decided that, with an external monitor, I could make the M11x work.

I have really big hands and I don't mind weight, so at first I really wanted the M15x. Then, I kept hearing about the M11x and decided to check it out.

I fell in love immediately. It was the perfect blend of aesthetics and performance, cost and value, craftsmanship and quality. I still can't help comparing any other computer on the market I see to the M11x.

Anyways, I am so excited to find out they are still doing the free i7 upgrade. I really thought that they ended it a month ago and I was bummed.

Anyone know if it's possible to EPP or coupon that promotion?

 

You might what to try out the keyboard first, if you can, as the keys are narrower than what you would find on today's netbooks..

 

i would say even excluding the graphics processor for gaming the m11x is a great laptop for school.

1. It is small, weighs about 4.5 lbs
2. It has good battery life ~5 hours for the r2 and ~6.5 hours for the r1
3. It is very fast with the i5/i7 or core2duo processor so all the music, youtube, hulu stuff can be done really quickly

There are alternatives for small computers for school but you won't get the gaming performance which is the real unique part of the m11x. Most netbooks have the much slower atom processor. Although they do seem sufficient for youtube and hulu stuff even at high def.

 

I would say yes and no. Yes for its battery life, build quality and performance. But no due to its attention grabbing nature and the fact that it can play games quite well. Ends up being quite a distraction as it happened to me. I bought it to school for a week and decided that I would go back to using my tablet since I can't play many games on it.

 

LOL, Unless the person wants a cheap computer that isn't much better than a smartphone at doing tasks, I'd never recommend a person a netbook. Just get a regular computer, and learn not to toss your bag just anywhere, drop-kick it , etc. And if you use the M11x solely for light usage (Word processing) getting netbook-like battery life shouldn't even be an issue, even with the R2.

The M11x is durable. I take this thing to my chem labs. Need I say more?

 

That's just a matter of self control, not to belittle you or anything. Kinda like how some people I know skipped class to pick up God Of War for PS3.

 

That is true. But most people don't have much self-control And I'd prefer having a prevention policy. However, the issue of others being annoying is a very real issue at school. Others may start crowding, asking stupid questions and wanting to touch your laptop. For those who like their personal space, or are easily annoyed, this is not a good thing...

 

LOL Win!! I remember when I was 25, in college, having one of the worst days in my life, getting D on a test, etc. and I stopped in a Gamestop to pick up God of War 1. Ohh that was a fun end to a terrible day!

Were I still in college though, I would definitely use my m11x for class. The battery life of the R1 is top notch and I could use MS OneNote on it.

 

I'd definitely use it for school

if the lights are too attention grabby, you can disable most of the lights aside from the head on the otuside of the LCD

 

Ordered the R1 for school.... comes tomorrow SO EXCITED

 

I ordered my R2 for school... due to arrive this friday.

The m11x really has everything I'm looking for in a college laptop... portability, battery life, and power. The small screen doesn't really bother me because I'm gonna be connecting it to my tv via HDMI whenever I'm using it in my dorm.

 

I've got my Alienware m11x r2 with i7 & 8GB RAM.
IT COMPLETELY CHANGED MY LIFE!!
I can game whatever I want, do whatever i want.
The keyboard is an eye-catcher! I used it @ my university's library and heard somebody mentioning my laptop
What's more ---- I got few new friends because of it!! Thank you Alienware for making my life so wonderful!

 

lol if you bought a laptop just to have friends...please return it^^

 

i ordered an R1 for school. should come tomorrow
i'm starting to regret not getting a better warranty lol...

 

I bought it for coursework/project and gaming too!

 

That's not what s/he said at all.

 

I also bought mine to be used for my first year in university come September! I tend to be disorganised so the need for the laptop to take some notes and do homework on was quite necessary. Of course, the added perks of being able to play most any game on it is a strong point too

 

I just bought mine for my senior year. I got the R1. Truly an excellent computer. Highly recommend it for school, even over a 13" macbook pro. Way more bang for yer buck (unless you want to do some specific media editing and really want the mac apps).

I used it for summer courses--battery life is amazing (an average 7-8 hours usually), performance is great too. Just wish i had a better harddrive.

I would go with either the R1 (works fine for just about everything), or if the R2, an i5 as a compromise between battery life and power.

 

Absolutely. I bought for school as it is a great work computer, I think my selling point was the amazing keyboard and backlighting....great for lecture. Personally I would get the R2, I get around 6 hours on avg on mine once you configure it properly. I always have my adapter with me so I will never worry. Unless you truly need battery life, then yes the R1. I was in a similar debate but the engadget review persuaded me to get the R2 as it has a lot of potential once AW iron outs the minor hiccups.

Either way, the one thing I know I am going to enjoy is when I come home on the occasional weekend (I am 2 hours away), I don't need to worry about not being bored since I have the m11x with me. I don't know about you, but I can't do work at home so when I come home, it is to relax.

My set up also includes an old pentium D desktop I have from 2005, still works great as I maintain it well! I use it mainly for school work if I end up working in my room, photography, movies and music. I can still play nfs shift on that desktop so my m11x will be for sc2 and transformers war for cybetron (haha at the moment at least). I had an acer netbook before giving it to my younger brother, I need 2 computers all the time (when i started using a desktop/netbook set up, my marks jumped 10%!!!, I was never good at writing notes, typing ftw!) and I figured the m11x would be a good laptop to have on hand in case something happens to my desktop. I just wanted a small but powerful laptop.

I don't think I could have made a better purchase, R1 or R2, I was happy to get a m11x.

 

Absolutely not. Unless you plan to drop out of school after 1 semester, when the hinges start to break down.

Apart from that fact (that it's hardware-wise as stable as any typical radioactive nuclei), the laptop is really great.

 

I think in terms of school the Pros are:
- Very Portable Size
- Good battery life

Cons:
- Small Screen & Low Resolution
- Not the best keyboard for typing (narrow keys, no grooves)

For school work I think I would rather have something bigger (yet portable) with a great keyboard like a Lenovo T410/T410s, but for all around school life the M11x is great since it can also game.

 

Really!? I LOVE the keyboard and I have big hands so I was surprised how comfortable it was. It still doesn't top my logitech illuminated keyboard which I use for my desktop but it is a great one for my laptop.