Alienware M11x Review Discussion

I can get email, hulu, pandora, and 2 word docs (or browser) all on 1280x800.

I need an external monitor.

Right now i have 23 internet tabs on 2 browsers, email, 3 word docs, 1 exel, 2 powerpoint and pandora open right now. And this is normal.

 

The screen is not a problem I thought it would be. My boss has an ultraportable Sony with 13.3" screen and M11X's is more comfortable to use.

And, honestly, I don't understand why some people complain about screen quality. Granted, I'm not spoiled by WLED screens or anything, but I think it's it's very, very nice.

 

Looking forward to receiving me m11x...

 

Dimension-wise, it is larger than typical 11 inch laptops. So, I think that comparison is justified.

M11X: 11.25" x 9.19" x 1.29"
Vaio Z: 12.4" x 8.3" x 1.0 - 1.3"

As you can see, although M11X is shorter than Vaio Z, it is actually has more depth than Vaio Z, which has 13.1 LCD. So, this comparison, IMO, is perfectly valid. And honestly, I wish if AW/Dell put larger LCD than they use - that bezel is huge (which I always hate in any laptops).

Of course, Z is devilishly expensive, and M11X has better GPU, so M11X probably is a better option for gamer-on-go. And I do think M11X is a very good laptop - but I do think it is misleading to judge its size from its screen size.

 

wait: i thought the M11x overclocks to 1.6ghz not 1.73ghz. I remember reading it somewhere.

 

It's a matter of Intel SpeedStep and the overclocking of the FSB on the processor. The high-end of the overclock is 1.73GHz but it's not constantly running at 1.73GHz ... which is part of the key reason that some applications list it as 1.6GHz and some say 1.73GHz.

It's also why you'll notice that NONE of the printed or online Alienware material specifically say what the overclocked processor speed is.

 

Good call on the Editor's Choice.

I actually think it's a good idea that dell left the choice of gaming mouse to the buyer. Gamers have very strong preferences for their rodent of choice, and there's no use bundling a cheapo OEM accessory that will be thrown out like a week-old dead rat upon opening the package. (PS to notebook users: give the Razer Salmosa a look. There is a mini version that is sold mainly in Asia that would be perfect for this small laptop.)

The recovery disk is more of a faux pas. Dell should make the recovery image available on their website so people can restore the image from a bootable USB drive.

 

Nice little lappy...Nice review!
However I wonder how over clocked SU7300 performs against P7370? There shouldn't be much performance gain if over clocked SU7300 works flawlessly.

 

Has Battlefield Bad Company 2 been tested on this?

 

That's the thing. I can make that Z comparison to a 14.1" laptop. Total footprint for me is the biggest factor. I can say without even holding the M11X that in that terms, it is will easily be more "wieldy" than the Z.

 

Came across this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWWdajCUWWY

 

Yep, that's my video. That was with beta code. So far released code is much better even. Will upload videos time permitting. I was going to do some last night, but I couldn't get online. Something was fubar with the EA servers.

 

Awesome! Keep them coming mate! I'm subscribing on youtube! regards

 

Wow! That's quite a machine!

And btw - excellent review. I must admit I lol'd when you wrote "WHAT?!" regarding the inclusion of a dvd restore disk without the machine coming with an optical drive!

8 hours and change is not too shabby at all for a machine this size imo ... although I personally do not like the Alienware logo stuff and the heat that the machine puts out would make me feel a little unsure about purchasing it, this does indeed look like a very nice machine.

Kudos to Dell for this one!

 

When I was reading the review I can't help but feel that the writer just couldn't hold back his enthusiasm for this machine. Now I am very tempted to get one myself--if only they have a better CPU for the machine! I guess I'll have to wait until the next iteration and/or competitors to come out.

 

That thing looks so thick....

 

What do you expect? It can game, there's no getting around it, it needs the cooling.

 

the gpu on this machine is excellent, but the CPU is little lacking in grunt compared to the new i5/7 cpu, but i guess that would bring the price right up too.

 

If I still used windows this is surely the machine I would buy. Sleek, luxurious, powerful, ultraportable, all under $1000. Well, if Apple ever goes bankrupt and stops production, Im going back to Alienware.

 

Come on ... even Apple households need at least one gaming PC.

In all seriousness, I think the M11x is going to do a better job at tempting Apple users than the Dell Adamo (which was specifically created to be Dell's alternative to a MacBook).

 

So my guess is you are console kid?

 

This was a great review. If I had to pick a bone with it I would point out that the screen should go edge to edge. that bezel just wastes space, Might even consider mono speakers as most ppl who will game with it will cop headphones and add another USB header. Ive been a think-pad person forever because they've been the best brand for ultraportable's & sony is usually out of my price range.
I wanted to get this for myself for a while and then pass it on to my little bro, but would you all say C2D is at end life? Maybe wait for an i3/5 something with HT?
I'll be making a buy w/in the next week, and Im stuck btwn T410/X201, the M11x, and Sony's Z/CW... Still very informative review. Thanks again.

 

It's doubtful that Core 2 Duo chips are going to vanish completely in favor of Core i3/i5/i7 ... but then who knows what goes through the minds of the brand managers at Intel???

Just look at how long the Pentium brand has been around? Likewise, look at the technology that is labeled as part of a specific processor line.

For example, the SU4100 and the SU7300 are virtually identical processors, but the SU4100 is branded as "Pentium" while the SU7300 is branded as "Core 2 Duo" ... and if you compare the SU4100 to the first "Pentium" processor and the SU7300 to the first "Core 2 Duo" processor you'll see that these are all VERY different chips.

Pentium, Core 2 Duo, Core i3/i5/i7 are just brand names that Intel can stick on whatever they want. Heck, for all we know Intel might release a "Pentium" branded CPU in 2011 that technically out performs a current-generation Core i3 mobile chip!

In fact, I think there's at least one current-generation mobile Core i5 CPU that out performs a current-generation mobile Core i7 CPU.

My point is there is no real point is getting caught up in the branding. Take a look at the technical specs for the chip/chips that you're considering and try to find out if the "real-world" performance of the chip(s) is good enough for your needs.

Technology NEVER stops moving so whatever you buy will be replaced by something else regardless of the brand name. All you can do is try to make sure the hardware you buy fits your needs at the time you buy it.

 

How is the gaming if you hook it up to a 1080p monitor using the HDMI? I would imagine some sort of decrease in performance running games at a higher resolution but would it be playable?

 

Depends on the specific game and the detail settings as to whether it's playable at 1080p ... and some M11x owners are reporting an obvious performance drop when playing games at 1080p over HDMI if you check the Alienware forums on this site.

 

One thing I hate about alienware is that their laptops are very plain and ugly, brick casing design. no curves to it on the edges, make lenovo's look good/

I understand they could not make the edges thing because they fit the graphics in there, but at least curve them, this is one ugly looking machine, very thick, and weight wise 1.8KG it too heavy, I want an ultra portable gaming laptop, have lenovo x200 already, but I'd rather spend an extra £1000 and get the i7 Vaio Z with Gt330M graphics, as it has all the power of the lenovo, with gaming graphics, back lit keyboard and HDMI as well as 16:9 Screen, can't really have two laptops, so the Z will be a good replacement.

Only thing about the Z is you get 1600*900 screen, no option for 1366*768, now I want to play games at native res, but at 1600*900 would give me a lot of frame drop compared to 1366*768

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder pal.Obviously you have never held an M11x in your hands,its a very sexy piece of tech

 

so tempted..so tempted...would the best way to buy straight off the dell site or are there coupons or any ccp or shp or ffp programs to get a better deal?

 

I too am waiting for a deal. Theres a Dell EPP coupon on SD that works with this, taking off $50USD. But that still comes out to a bit over $1000. Guess we'll have to wait for it to be obtainable at $800 again with 4gb ram, 250gb hdd, bluetooth module. The EPP default config boasts alot, but its still $200 bucks more than I(we'd) like to pay.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Core i3 or i5 refresh, with switchable graphics.

 

that would be a very good deal. Also, I hope AW can have fingerprint readers too.

 

I wonder what other companies will follow suite.

Here is a question for the community. Instead of a subnotebook. is there at 13.3 or 14.1 notebook which can be on par? The m15x is a bit big and i'll be traveling alot. a 13.3 or a 14.1 would be great (battery life, AW kickassness and gaming capabilities *grin*) pipedream maybe....

 

Proud owner right here mateys. The refresh might bring us more goodies than just iX processors... (Hint: Optimus)

 

Here's a picture-laden teardown of the M11x, although the article is in Chinese. For those of you who can't read it, you can still look at the masses of photos!

 

Already been confirmed, the i Series refresh, not the switchable graphics part.....someone who actually works with Dell hinted October maybe.

I'm assuming that's when they'll refresh their entire lineup.

 

link.................

 

so when IS the refresh anyhoo? Will there be possibly be deals out so that I can get this for less than $1000USD?

 

Heck if I remember the post count in the thread I saw it in....It was in the M11x owners lounge part 2, knock yourself out

Only thing the person confirmed was the general time frame and that there would be a i series refresh, no further details really.

 

The rumored processor refresh in October is probably based more on the typical Intel pricing cycles than anything else. If a manufacturer creates a successful product they will usually update it with better internals as the pricing drops make sense.

Look at the HP Pavilion dv4t ... originally announced back in 2008 and it's still available in 2010 with the same chassis and different components inside.

Intel and AMD drop their CPU prices on a pretty predictable cycle and the laptop OEMs know that they can usually expect to toss newer processors into existing systems every X number of months.

Of course, that doesn't "really" change anything. When it comes to electronics there will ALWAYS be something better (in terms of raw performance) if you just wait 9-12 months. The question is: Does it make sense for you to wait or buy now?

If you are someone who needs (or just REALLY wants) a new PC now it doesn't make sense to wait 9 months for something better. If you don't need it or really want it then you can just wait for that "something better" 9-12 months down the road.

The M11x was announced in January and started shipping in late February. It's only March now. Dell might surprise us, but I don't think we'll see any internal changes to the M11x until the end of the year (October, November, December) at the earliest.

 

No test of Fallout 3 on this machine?

 

Did Dell enable GPS in the laptops with Gobi?

I don't need 3G, just want GPS on the laptop and was wondering if it works by itself, thanks.

 

If that comes in the next few months I am totally sold.

 

Strange that i didn't see this review until now, long after i bought my m11x, but that was really an excellent review, thanks.

 

Jerry Jackson: "It's doubtful that Core 2 Duo chips are going to vanish completely in favor of Core i3/i5/i7 ... "

agreed, if ever there was a point in beating a dead horse, corporate america will find it. I have a 478pin P4 on a good board that'll take on crysis just fine.

jj"the SU4100 and the SU7300 are virtually identical processors,..."

performance wise they are the same, save the su7300 allowing VT for things like XP mode in Win7

jj"Pentium, Core 2 Duo, Core i3/i5/i7 are just brand names that Intel can stick on whatever they want...My point is there is no real point is getting caught up in the branding."

so true. marketing = innocence lost. I am wondering about the refresh because the batt. life jump the x200 -> x201 was significant. HD performance too. Though the cost and TPD would likely suffer here, it seems like viable trade off.

 

Can anyone tell me what the CAS latency of their memory modules are? And if anyone got the 8 Gigbytes from Dell PLEASE let me know. Believe it or not this is my deciding factor on getting it with 8 gigabytes from Dell.

 

i wish they put more cpu options. i mean many people will buy what thier heart desire hehe nwe i also hope that they pud a expresscard 34 slot... i mean external video cards will eventually be on every retail stores soon and i really want to add an additional powah to these already awesome laptop. cheers to alienware and dell for giving us these product to feast on. More power guys

 

Don't know if LG made a refresh update to this notebook line recently, but when it was released it had an awesome powerhouse in a 13.3 form factor. If you can find this for sale then it's truly a gem. 5000+ 3dmark06 bench

I like the power packed into the M11x, but in all honesty, I can't stand the design.

 

Oooo, that's awesome! I personally think that a small gaming laptop with good battery life will be the way to go for moderate users/gamers/workers/coders and etc. I'll be keeping an eye out for a 14.1 with a gaming capability and 3+ hours of battery

 

1 Auss dollars = 0.93 USD

and we are paying 1300 dollars as apposed to 799 in usa

and the computers are made closer as well to aus than usa

HMMM GIANT RIP OFF

 

you should see brazilians paying 2.5x for their macs