M11x R3 Questions

Hello, I don't post here much but advice from this forum is really awesome. Anyway, I picked up a pristine M11x R3 from someone who is quitting games so I got a decent deal imo ($340) for it.

Specs are:

CPU: i5
GPU: 540m
4 gb RAM / 320 gb HDD
Windows 7 Home

1. How relevant is this laptop is still? I understand even new consumer class laptops or even the Macbook Air can beat it game performance-wise (i.e. Intel HD 5000). I will mostly be doing portable League of Legends gaming on this, so I only need to make optimizations for that game. If LoL can't run great, I might just sell it soon. I got it mostly because it cools better than a Macbook Air and I assumed it will run LoL better because it's a W7 system and all.

2. For M11x owners. If the new Alienware 13 comes out, would you find the M11x line to be obsolete? I'm concerned about the resale value next year after I play around for social gaming purposes this year. I want to get at least $300 back from this M11x R3 next year. Would you M11x enthusiasts pay $300 for a system like this? I understand M11x has it's own little cool niche.

I might end up keeping it as a collector's item because it is really cute. Add a SSD and upgrade the RAM a bit and fix the broken rubber feet. How long do M11x's last anyways? It's like 2+ years old now, but if it breaks in a year I might as well get rid of it.

 

You got it for a steal for that price. I have more than that in my last R1, re-sale is good on them right now. I haven't seen one for sale cheaper than 550 plus on Ebay.

I haven't personally ran LoL so I am not sure how intensive it is, I am still playing Skyrim on Med settings on my R1.

The M11x hit a good sweet spot with us for battery life and playing games on the go, If I could find a R3 for that price I would snap it up quick. I have one really nice R1 at the house and got a second one that was a little rougher to carry to work with me. Dropped a X25 G2 intel ssd into it, Mpci-e micro sd card slot mod to it and upped the ram to 8GB, still getting about 2.5 to 3 hrs of battery life out of it using the 335M GT video card all the time. It's getting about time to swap out my thermal pads though, when they start getting up in age it's something to look into to prevent problems later on.

I haven't seen any die because of heat, only drops and water spills.

 

2. I don't think that'll happen because the m11x is a completely different series. The 13" one will have newer components though.

 

Okay, I hope you're right, but I had no idea people even want a R1 for purposes besides (awesome!) looks. I'm surprised so many R1's still sell aftermarket to this day. Might fix up my R3 soon with a small SSD and I'll look into the thermal pads. I don't believe the last owner fixed up anything aside from cleaning the fans. The unit seems to manage heat well, but if you think thermal pads will help in terms of longevity I'll go for that.

It runs League of Legends so nice at medium-high settings. Perfect for my purposes this year. This thing is so nice, I think I'll skip getting the 13' Alienware when it comes out until later revisions. I'm still amazed at the build quality too. I think I will definitely go AW next time I get a PC.

 

It just depends on the thermal pads how much the unit was used. The date code on my other R1 is older than the one I take to work now. They are fine on that unit, it's even fine under a overclock.

It wasn't until I did the factory overclock in the bios where I had a few minor problems on the beat up unit I got just for work. I just turned the overclock off until I could get the pads ordered and replaced.

I would get a temp monitor program and just see where everything is running. If it is good I wouldn't worry about it till later on.