Upgrading from M11X?

Hey everyone. I currently have the M11X R2 with i7 640UM, 4GB RAM, 80GB SSD. While I like the little guy, I find myself not using it nearly as much as I thought I would due to the screen (both size and quality).

I have been toying with the idea of selling it on eBay or Craigslist and grabbing the M14X. I think I would be much happier with the 14" screen (I like the size of my 13" Macbook Air), the higher resolution and the upgraded tech specs. My M11X is great for playing some games at medium to low settings, but thats about it.

I will be playing games like Diablo 3, The Old Republic and Skyrim (I know, no specs yet), but also things like Sims 3, Starcraft II, using PS2 emulators, etc. I also have a Dell U2710 monitor I will occasionally hook it up to. So here are my questions if you would be so kind:

-Anyone make this switch from the 11 to 14 and regret it? If not, was it a great change for you or...?

-It sounds like with the 2630QM you can OC in the BIOS to run 1600MHz RAM?

-Is the 3GB card overkill??

Here are the specs I was looking at:

CPU: i7 2630QM (Anything more seems like overkill?)
GPU: 1.5 555 (Is the 3GB overkill?)
RAM: 4GB (Ill upgrade to 8GB later)
HDD: Smallest one - Ill get an aftermarket SSD
SCREEN: 900p
MISC: Soundblaster upgrade, base wireless card

 

1. Never had so cant answer

2. Yep, I did it and works fine

3. Depends on how long you want to keep it. After some discussions, its shown to show a minimal difference now, but me and some other users believe in the future it can actually make a marginal difference. I plan to keep this for 4 years so that's why I got the 3gb card. (Side note: I seem to get about 5% lower temps than others as I have seen so). If you only plan to keep it 2 years or under, get the 1.5gb.

And pictures of m11x vs m14x in the link below.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/572033-m14x-order-status-discussion-29.html

 

If you want to game over wifi get the Killer Wireless card, I've heard the stock one is awful.

The sound blaster audio is only software, so I don't know if you want to pay extra for just that. I haven't heard conclusive reports about how useful it is.

I wouldn't recommend the 3GB card either, I've seen no evidence that it makes a noticeable difference in frame rates.

 

I went from the m11x r3 to the m14x. I mostly did it because of the screen size. I loved the m11x it was very mobile and packed a lot of punch for such a small laptop. Some things I miss about the m11x over the m14x is the mobility and quietness of the fans. I was actually surprised how much bigger the m14x was compared to the m11x but I had also had the m17x r3 so it was the perfect middle one.

The big thing for me now is the fans. While the fans on both get very loud, on the m11x I never heard the fan kick on while I was surfing the Internet. On my m14x there are times when the fan gets pretty loud when surfing the Internet.

Also the battery life is something I miss from the m11x but that wasn't to suprising since my m14x is a lot more powerful then the m11x.

Can't help you on the oc part since I have the 2920Xm on mine.

While I have the 3gb model on mine I have heard that, as far as gaming is concerned, you don't need the 3gb model.

 

I went from the M11x R2 to the M14x, so I'm in your boat (although I still have my M11x right now, so my girlfriend can use it to play SC2 with me!). I do not regret it one BIT! I love my M14x very much.

The M11x was nice for the portability, but I had trouble with it running the one game I play most, SC2 (because I play a lot of 3v3 or bigger games, and the processor was too weak to handle those games really effectively -> low framerate even on lowest graphics settings).

My M14x has served me really well in that regard. I play SC2 at High in my big 2v2 or 3v3 games and Ultra in 1v1 with great framerate - only ever drops into the low-mid 20s during the biggest battles. It also plays Mass Effect 1 and 2 at perfect 60 fps, Portal 1 and 2 at like 100 fps (why don't those games have a framerate cap, I wonder?), and Dragon Age: Origins in the high 40s fps (mid 50s with a modest GPU overclock).

It's also really not that hefty - I'd always heard the stories of Alienware laptops being gigantic and heavy as hell, and it's really not. It's a 14" laptop and it feels like that. That's all.

Highly recommended!

 

How the heck did you get the 2920xm in your m14x? On the alienware website I only see the 2820qm as the highest CPU option?

 

The CPU is upgradeable, he either did the upgrade himself, or you can order an m14x from HIDEvolution with a 2920XM

 

for $1000 i'd rather get a 990x o_o

 

I remember getting the M11x R2 the day they put up the M14x. I was able to return and get the M14. For the few days I had it, the M11x was really cool mostly because of the power and size. I liked it. Some things I liked more about the M11x...like how much more quieter it was, and how the laptop doesn't automatically turn off while playing a game without the AC adapter. Also, while the M14x does have a faster gpu, it's really not gonna give you as much of a kick as you'd hope for. The gpu for the M11x is perfect, because of the screen size, you'd be able to run most games. Anyway, you can go for the M14, it is better...but just be aware that the fan is probably louder than your desktop.

 

I made the jump from an m11x r1 to the m14x and have not looked back. I went with the 3gb card, the 1600x900 resolution screen and I have had great performance on games like Starcraft 2, the Witcher 2, Fear 3, Red Factio: Armageddon and Dragon Age 2.

With Dues Ex and Warhammer 40k Space Marine coming, I am pretty excited and see the m14x as a realistic solution to playing these newer games.

 

Yeah went through hidevolution for the CPU, memory and hard drive upgrades.