Alienware M11x vs Sony Vaio Z i5 Comparison and benchmarks

I just want to comment on a come of the items addressed in the review from an engineer's (mechanical) perspective

• The Sony "felt" flimsier because it was lighter. Your conclusion was that you felt more comfortable throwing it in your backpack.
• Internal temperatures. You commented the m11x's silicone temperatures were lower then that of the Z
• External temperatures. You commented that the external tempeartures were lower on the Z relative the m11x.

My comments:

All three of these actually reflect superior engineering on Sony's part.
First, the weight vs. "sturdiness" This is very misleading. In reality, the lighter laptop will be more durable. Subjective comparisons are invalid here. Take both systems and drop them from the same height several times and compare the damage. This is a more valid comparison. The lighter system will have much less impact energy.
Internal temperatures are irrelevant. The 40 and 32nm silicone in the Sony is designed to take operating temperatures of up to 105°C. It is in the manufacturer best interest to push these temperatures are high as possible. This means cheaper, smaller HSFs, quieter fans, more performance in a smaller package. The only impact would be the cooler system may be a better over-clocker - but that's not too relevant for notebooks.
External temperatures. The Sony having lower eternal temperatures, despite having higher silicone temps clearly shows better design. But you already acknowledged that one.

IMO, the Z is in another league. Not that the m11x is bad, but the fact that you get a larger screen in a smaller and lighter package in the Z says a lot on it its own. Now, the Z is easily double the cost of the m11x, and I won't be buying one... so that deserves a nod.

 

@okashira: Thanks for the comments.

I suppose the word "sturdiness" or "delicate" is subjective to a degree when describing a laptop, and if not, then you really need to go into a lot of detail i suppose.

I admit that weight was (incorrectly as you point out) a factor in my appraisal, as was the thin/malleable screen housing, and the slightly loose battery (which has been mentioned by others and is simple to correct). And i suppose an unfair comment in that it all pretty much amounts to "irrelevant" assuming you don't mistreat either notebook.

As far as the temperatures go, i understand your viewpoint with regard to higher heat threshholds for the technologies involved. I suspect after reading a great deal that i may have poorly applied thermal compound on my cpu and gpu which would explain the fact that the metal bottom plate of my m11x gets quite warm, and also why the exhaust heat from the fan, barely warm under load.

I was quite impressed with the cooling system of the Sony in general, especially considering the slim and elegant form factor. While the temperatures were within spec, i suppose i am a bit old-school, and feel a little uneasy when temperatures approach the 90 degree mark. That aside, the only real issue i had with the cooling system was the intensity of the fan. It hit a fairly significant db level, and the high frequency pitch was very noticable if not a deal breaker. Then again, i doubt the sony was designed specifically for gaming, where as the m11x clearly was.

 

Indeed. Fan/system noise is one of those areas where subjective analysis rule. Let me add that your subjective analysis on flimsiness in regards to the battery being loose is perfectly valid as well (but if it's an easy fix, no problem.)

 

Sony Vaio Z has a big portability advantage imho. Too light, and I know how important it is for many people. I own a lg p310 and I would love to trade it for a Z series

 

From what i am seeing so far the processor doesn't really make a difference, sure you have some games RTS, GTA IV, just to name a few that are very processor intensive but from the cpu priority thread and this thread the conclusion is coming though that the su7300 is cheaper and can be put its limits, too bad it can't be overclocked to 2ghz unless someone tries out setfsb.

 

I just got my M11X and I am considering getting a Vaio Z.
What I like about the M11X
1) Excellent price to performance ratio, got my basline M11X for $714 with tax included
2) Excellent performance, just tried Assasin's Creed 2 and it performed wonderfully

What I don't like about the M11X:
1) Size and weight, coming from a E4200 (<0.8 thickness and slightly over 2 lbs) I am still not used to the added thickness and weight of the M11X
2) Screen, beating a dead horse again, the M11X's screen is not very bright and the glossy coating is quite annoying.
3) the design, the design is too gaudy for my taste

 

So then. a m13x.

13'' matte display.
i5 540m + GT335M Optimus.
9 cell battery, 10 hours.
DVD RW.

win? win for me.

Also ran...

New Macbook pro i5 (no 13'', poor win 7 battery life).
HP Envy 14 (weird 'up' / 'down' keys, too 'metrosexual' and macbook pro wanabe).
Asus UL30JT / PL80JT series (weak GT 310M).

TBH, I'd quite like a macbook pro if it had better win 7 support. They are nice machines in their own right, but Steve Jobs would rather choke in his own smuggness than do the sensible thing.

 

lol.. m11x square dimension which is 11" no even smaller to a 13"
no wonder the m15x sized like an 17"
all AW product are upsized, im curious why dont AW stick an 13" monitor to the m11x, 17" on m15x, and perhaps 19" on m17x, i believe it will fit perfectly
im finding a portable notebook for next month purchase, im going to bring my notebook everyday to campus since im a computer science student. i dont mind bringing a 15" notebook but m15x weight 9lbs and a size of 17" is insane, im sure i would break a bone in several weeks. i love the AW looks, this is why i couldn't get my eye out of it.
i currently prefer the vaio z series more than m11x, why do we choose a heavier and smaller monitor if we can get a lighter weight and larger monitor at the same size with a slight GPU performance but better CPU (dont forget it has a dvd-rom, compare the portability if you have to bring an external one), i dont mind on the high price if its worth it

 

you guys should really check out this acer 3820tg that the other guy mentioned.

It seems to be one hell of an awesome laptop with some serious performance. So far there have been just these two competitors but with this one possibly coming to US,....

i think i may wait a little before buying.

ive never owned an acer but the few i have used seemed quite sold and simple design.

 

Is there any other Laptop which comes close or beats Alienware m11x ?
one with a DvD drive would be nice

thanks