The longevity of getting an m11x

So I was thinking about getting an m11x because my living situation as changed, and my desk and my desktop setup are taking up a lot of room, so I was thinking about selling my setup and getting a laptop to save some space.

The problem I have is this: My desktop is a Core 2 Quad 2.8 ghz with 2 Radeon 5770s in Crossfire, its a fairly decent system. I know this thing would shread the m11x GPU wise,but I'm not sure how the CPUs would compare.

Long story short, I plan on playing a lot of BF3, maybe a small amount of MW3, and I'm worried that getting the m11x would eventually limit me on the games I would be able to play.

So I have a few questions:

1. How would the 2 CPUs compare, my C2Q 9550 2.8ghz vs say the i7 you can get i the m11x r3?

2. In our opinion, how "safe" of a buy is getting an m11x to play future games, and having it as the main gaming machine? I would like to at least be able to play at mediumish settings, possibly on an external monitor, in games like BF3 and future FPS games for a few years. You can still make a game look good that isnt played at max settings.

3. I've seem to have read varying reports of the m11x playing BF3, so at what settings could you play the game at to get a steady 60 FPS?

I've been pretty busy working and spending time with my gf, so I havent had much time to look into this too much myself,so thank you fo your time guys. I'm really just looking for some comforting details if I do decide to sell my gaming machine for something a bit less powerful, but takes up a lot less space.

 

Doubt any settings will get you 60fps. If you are downsizing from a desktop then why not get something a little bit bigger and more powerful than the m11x.

 

IMHO a good choice for you will either be a M17x or a M18x. They also may be upgradeable with newer graphics cards in the future too.
The M11x line already struggles with new games so you can scratch future proof.

 

Hey teeth, I'll try to answer a few of these from my experiences.

1. I haven't had any experience with your desktop CPU but it is a quad core compared to the M11x's ULV dual core, so it is quite a bit more powerful than the i7 in the R3.

2. I have an R2 and the R3 is definitely a more powerful machine but I would not be buying an M11x to be future proof. It can definitely play most games out now at medium settings or higher at its native resolution (1366x768) however playing on an external monitor at 1080p will bring it to it's knee's for the more demanding titles available now.
If Battlefield 3 is any sort of example of titles being released in the near future, than my R2 will definitely struggle to keep up. The R3 will fair better but it is still not the machine you should be after if you're looking to future proof for X amount of years.

3. From my experiences with the Battlefield 3 beta, there is no chance it will run at a steady 60fps without playing at a ridiculously low resolution.

So if you are looking for something really portable and can game, the M11x is your man. However if portability is not your biggest priority, get something bigger and alot more powerful. My M11x has been and still is my main gaming machine and it is performing very well, but I'm definitely going to upgrade to something more powerful next year, probably the M14xR2 when it's released.

Good luck with your decision!

 

No laptop will beat a desktop rig performance wise, getting a laptop means sacrificing on graphics/CPU. M11X can play most games fairly decently, but don't expect good FPS from newer titles, it will run them fine med-high with playable FPS, but not much more.

It is for gaming on the go - a gaming machine if you want to take it with you on long trips or aren't staying in one place much. Get m15x or something for a laptop for gaming, or get a smaller gaming rig so it wouldn't take as much space, i have seen some fairly small towers, though you will have to sacrifice the extra HDD slots etc.

Anyways, compromise. Its all about what you need. I moved and don't really stay in one place much, and m11x handles pretty much all the gaming i need at sufficient graphics to not make the games look ugly, yet keep them playable. I am sure it will run mass effect 3, runs fallout 3 really well as well, race driver GRID starcraft 2 and so on. the I5 i got isn't really struggling either, but for hardcore RTS I7 is a must.

It is best portability/performance wise as it blows all the rest netbooks out of the water and shreds them to pieces, same with most non-gaming laptops, but it still is a netbook. nearly 10hours battery life yo.

also for rough idea on the difference of performance from CPU and GPU:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

 

I like the appeal of the m11x,its just so damn tiny for what it can do!

I'm not expecting it to play BF3 at ultra settings nor am I expecting it to play every game in the future, but I definetely don't want to buy something brand new that can't play current games at playable framerates.

I don't mind turning AA/AF off if the textures still look ok at medium/high settings, I am just wondering how the game playes once the official version is out and we get updated drivers...

 

everything play perfectly fine to me at medium to max settings, games looks completely fabulous, well most of them. i haven't tried RAGE etc. them resource heavy ones, but i hear they run quite well. HL2 one of my favorite games ever runs at ~100fps with little OC completely maxed out, almost never drops below 60, and i play like a madman.

500 series is the latest and greatest from nvidia, so those should be kept updated for a year or two, probably more. I am sure BF3 will run at fair FPS and still look quite well.

great little machine, will surely stay relevant for a fair while, and run everything you throw at it. And will blow out every netbook there is for decades to come, or at least as long as they keep shoving them atoms in them.

M11x is best of the sub 15inch notebooks(erm not from alienware that is), at least ones i was checking to buying to game on the go. If you want to carry a laptop with you and game, it won't get better than this, unless you can fit 15inch notebook into your backpack, but then again, battery wont last very well.

 

I "downgraded" from an ASUS G73JH to an M11x R2 and couldn't be happier.

Asus G73JH:
i7 740QM quad-core with Hyperthreading
8GB DDR3 1333MHz
1GB Ati 5870
17.3" screen

M11x R2:
i7 U640 dual-core with Hyperthreading
4GB DDR3 800MHz
1GB Nvidia 335M
11.6" screen

I thought that i would get the M11x as something to use "on the go" but the moment i got it, i stopped using my Asus G73 all together. It's light, it's fast, the keyboard is amazing to type on, and it's ultra-portable with a 4-5 hour battery life.

I don't play demanding games so for me this is perfect and i don't even notice the "downgrade". CSS/TF2/L4D/WC3/UT3 all play perfect at high-max settings, i am as happy as can be. I got it for $800 too so the price was just at the sweet spot.

If you're going to be using it as a portable PC, the M11x is definitely one to consider. If you're going to use it as a desktop alternative which is just going to sit on a table though, i can't fault the Asus G73.