M11x - R1 or R3?

Hi all,

Been thinking about this for gaming when away on work, but I am massively torn between the R1 and R3 models... on the UK website, R1 is at a great price (half that of the R3 all other selections being about equal), but the big differences, and what I would like to find out more about are:

1. GPU - is the newer Nvidia worth splashing the cash on the newer model for? What extra sauce does it bring?
2. Battery - for non-gaming activities, I've heard the R1 has a great all-day life, but the R3 has varying reports of battery life. What is the truth behind all this?
3. "The Hinge" - many stories about this in the R1, and which is supposedly fixed in the R2 and R3. Now I know the R3 is only a couple of months old, so are there any stories of the R2 hinge being problematic (I assume that if AW fixed it in the R2, then the newer machine will also have it fixed as such a new model will probably not exhibit the failures yet).

Thanks in advance!

 

Oh, completely forgot...

4. HEAT! - Core-i are meant to be much cooler than Core 2... what are the heat comparisons like between R1 and R3?

Cheers!

 

The difference is not HUGE so the real question should be how comfortable are you with splashing the cash on the R3. If money is not that much of an issue just go for it and dont look back.. If it is the R1 will still do you proud.

The only think for me is there will be more and more multi core games coming out (i.e. more than 2 cores) and the R1 will start to struggle later down the line.

At the end of the day there aren't many games out at the moment that the R1 can't play with pretty decent settings as long as you stay at native resolution and dont hook it up to a 1080p TV. I have mine hooked up to a 1360x768 32" Samsung TV and its spot on.

 

I'm in the same boat as the OP.

Money is an issue for me, and although i have the money to spend on an i7 r3, i would feel it.

i too am completely torn.

 

Why not go R2 then? You can get so great deals on ebay. I got mine with 2/3 months warranty left (Which I can extend) its in perfect condition and only paid £530.

 

Funny you should say that, theres an r2 in the Uk outlet store at the moment going for £514 with tax.

•Alienware M11x R2
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
•Processor: Intel Core i5-520UM Processor (3M Cache, 1.06 GHz)
•Hard Drive : 250GB Serial ATA (7200 RPM)
•2 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
•11.6 inch High Definition WLED Display (1366x768)
•Primary 8-cell 63W/HR LI-ION Battery
•LCD Back Cover : Soft Touch – Stealth Black
•Back Up Media Not Included

Good price?

 

Is it certified refurbished, dented or what? there are three categories. As long as it is not dented it should be a good price. I don't know the conversion to USD$ but I figure so long as its under $700 that should be a fair price. The reason is that its pretty bare minimum. only 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, and the i5.

edit: If you do go with it you will definitely be in the mindset of upgrading the RAM to 4GB or you may so some lag/stuttering in games.

 

Yeah its certified refurbished.

How doe's the Intel Core i5-520UM Processor (3M Cache, 1.06 GHz)
hold up? as updating the ram and HD wouldnt be that costly.

 

You should 100% upgrade to 4GB if you get it. Mine has 2GB at the moment as I had a bad stick and waiting for a new one from Dell. I can't play the Witcher with only 2GB but with 4GB its fine.

The i5 is spot on. See the link in my sig.

 

I 'downgraded' my MBP to the m11x and I haven't looked back. The Core 2 isn't a wise by any stretch. I'm able to play my (admittedly OLD) games just fine (the few exceptions seem to be too old).

I would not hesitate to recommend the R1 to anyone who is satisfied with the small screen and lack of optical drive.

 

Oh, and I don't have an R2 or R3 for comparison, but I've read says the R1 has better battery and runs cooler. I'm sure someone will come along and correct me if I'm wrong.

 

That looks pretty sweet - however i wouldnt know where to begin with the otherclocking, are them programs free?

Only ever used systems at the spec out of the box.

 

i have had all of them and still have two .. I have an R1 and R3 and sold my R2 I7.. The R3 is by far the strongest game player but the R2 was no slouch..My wife uses the R1 and she is not really a gamer so here is just for general usage.. but that is by far the coolest running of the lot.. that thing idles at 30c and my R2 was in the low 40s and my R3 is in the Low 50s..

 

Thanks for all the replies - still completely undecided mind you!

Glenjamin, can't see any R2 in the outlet store, just some R1 models, including one with a "Pentium Dual-Core" rather than a Core 2? The way I'm seeing this is to either save on getting an R1 and spend some time and having some fun with overclocking it to a stable state, or splash out on the R3. I'm a bit disappointed to hear that the newer revisions are a lot warmer running, as generally thought the new chips were meant to be cooler - I use a Vaio YA with the i3 ULV and no part of the chassis warms up at all unless I put a massive load on the machine.

 

There are people overclocking R2's CPU and GPU to run at near R3 levels. The R2's CPU can be OC'ed and Throttlestopped to run substantially faster than a R1. The R2 is then the best bang-per-buck from the three.

If you are still keen to go an R3 you may also want to note that it weighs a hefty 2.00kgs. Taking the ODD out of a 4830TG, Y470 or DV4-3000 would bring them to near a m11xR3's weight. A 13" Acer 3830TG is thinner, lighter and occupies less volume than a m11xR3. See comparison below.

Code:

13" Sony_SA		3.71lbs (1.69kgs). 0.95" thick. HD6630M/900P option.
13" Acer 3830TG	        4.11lbs (1.87kgs). 1.14" thick. GT540M. No ODD.
11.6" Alienware m11xR3	4.40lbs (2.00kgs). 1.29" thick. GT555M. No ODD.
14" Acer 4830TG		4.77lbs (2.17kgs). 1.17" thick. GT540M.
14" Lenovo Y470		4.85lbs (2.20kgs). 1.20" thick. GT550M. mSATA.
14" HP DV4-3000		4.88lbs (2.22kgs). 1.11" thick. HD6750M.
14" Lenovo E420	YES	5.25lbs (2.39kgs). 1.43" thick. HD6630M option. mSATA.
14" Vostro 3450	YES	5.35lbs (2.43kgs). 1.28" thick. HD6630M option.
14" Sony_CA		5.39lbs (2.45kgs). 1.43" thick. HD6630M/900P option

Another option would be something like a 1.4/1.45kg 13" Toshiba R830 or 12" Lenovo X220 + a eGPU like a GTX460 x1.Opt.

 

Yeah it's gone now, the r2's don't hang around for long.

 

The C2D units are actually considerably cooler than the Core-i processors. My SU7300 usually never exceeds 55c unlike most i7s which operate at 65-75c.

 

I just faced that choice and bought an R1. Before retirement, as an MIS Director and then a CFO, my mantra was, stay away from the bleeding edge of technology. I still follow that and will usually buy the year old proven discounted version rather than the latest and greatest. For me the R1 also made sense because most of my time on it will not be gaming and I tend to play older games.

Also, I'm a cheapskate.

 

im pretty sure the R2 clocked high enough beats an R3, in 3dm06 the R2 can reach over 9.2k, and the stock R3 gets about 8.2k

 

lol! Here we go again - this topic comes up a lot. And with a very minor overclock on my R3:

Result

Also, to be more accurate, compare stock to stock, overclock to overclock.