m11xr1 vs r2

Hi I'm trying to decide between the two.
The SU7300 version appeals to me because it has vga out and manual graphics switching no need to mess around with software, and from what i've seen the cpu is not the bottle neck.
The only thing that concerns me is if the hinges are weaker on the r1 vs the r2.

Anyone know if the hinges on r2 are any better or if there is a poll of r1 vs r2 owners with hinges/screen touching keyboard issues?

 

Not trying to get smart or anything but this topic have been discussed to death.

Anyway, from what I know the built on both the R1 and R2 are relatively the same, so the hinges are not any better. And yes, the CPU upgrade doesn't provide you with a lot of improvement but they however will be receiving more updates from Dell/Nvidia than the R1.

 

Exactly what azn said.

It's not a bad idea to go with R1 from Dell outlet with 3-4 years of warranty which will only cost around 1k.

Only down side I see on R1 is the drivers support, but I think less heat and more battery life out weighs the cons.

 

if you do ANYTHING for media creation you could easily see a benefit to i7 dependind on app used.

R1 isnt terrible though and the above comment not intended for pros

 

The only other physical difference is the lack of a VGA port on the R2, for me this limited me to the R1 - yes I could buy an adapter but I hate adapters - just more crap to carry around and lose!!!

 

Unless you are carrying the external monitor, you won't lose the adapter x).

 

Hinges are identical between models

 

I would go with the R2, either the i5 or i7 should give you a nice performance boost over the SU7300, plus the graphics card driver support will be much better on the R2 as Optimus is Nvidia's latest software technology, which it expects to keep growing.

I used to own the R1 and was always a little bit concerned about the SU7300 holding back the graphics card, and most people will say that it wont, but the R2 feels much quicker to use for every day tasks, more responsive, and does a boost in games.

The only thing that i would say is that my R2 battery life is only around 3.5-4 hours max, a lot less than the R1!

 

Wow only 3.5hours? I get 6hours easy on my R1
i think the su7300 do the job very well. Why such a powerfull CPU on this small laptop(or netbook) and the i7 is not good as the others, it only has 2 cores...

 

R1 is pretty fantastic. I get 6:40 on my battery running the integrated so it's perfect for taking notes in class and going the entire day. The core2duo runs games pretty smoothly; as a side note the M11x is NOT a gaming machine. it will run games, some on high, some on medium/low, but if you want a true gaming rig, get a desktop.

Honestly, I love my R1 and wouldn't trade it for an i series even if they have the quad cores.

 

Honestly, I would go with the R1 (being a R2 owner myself hehe) The lack of a VGA port really sucks (WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS ALIENWARE x.x) and I usually run with integrated graphics anyway, so Optimus isn't really necessary for me.

 

I have the R1 and have to say, I've never been more satisfied with a laptop purchase. I got mine from the dell outlet center final cost around 640ish.
I play a LOT of WOW and can 'dual box' two accounts with no problem on this thing. Amazing really. The Only time I run at stock speed is on battery, otherwise I run the bios overclock 24/7. Temps are remarkably low, no problems with hinges, keyboard, nada. As for the cores, as someone else posted above, I doubt the real world difference in performance with the R2 is even noticeable, (unless you're doing video rendering etc. type work) except in those instances where the i series problems can even cost you speed instead of gaining it. *Most* daily use apps are designed for 2 threads, so the issue is not the speed a cpu can run 1 core, but what can it do with 2, not 4.....

I was in the same situation as you. When I bought there were the 4100, 7300, i5 and i7 versions available. After studying the issue and the complaints/comments, I went with the 7300 and remain more than happy with my choice

seer

 

no sour grapes here! The 7300 gets the job done but all things equal the i7 would be good to have.

 

Thanks guys r1 it is for me!

 

I have had both the 7300 R1 and the I7 R2 and right now there are somethings about the the R1 i like better and somethings about the R2 i like. I prefer the I7 because honestly i ran into bottle necks with the 7300 that the i7 seems to run better. i multitask streaming content while playing games and surfing webpages so i may be a bit extreme towards the norm but in my opinion the I7 works better for me.

 

Where can you still get good deals on the R1 ?
I would love to find an R1 for under $700, seems better suited for my needs, the runtime is more important to me than all out performance.
Plus, I want the VGA port.

~John

 

Dell Alienware M11X Laptop: Intel SU7300 1.3GHz, 2GB DDR3, 160GB HDD, 11.6" 1366x768, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M, WiFi N, 8-cell, Win 7 Prem $589.20 AC +Shipping - SlickDeals.net Forums

 

Here you go! Link

New m11x R1 for around $650ish!

 

Beat ya slacker

 

d'oh >_<

It's a really tempting deal. If I didn't already have my current rig I'd be very tempted to jump on that m11x deal.

 

WOW New for that price!!. 4 year complete care and still under 1k. Amazing.