Alienware 13 vs M11xR2 Comparison Review

HI all

I broke down and picked up a new Alienware 13(specs in the signature) and figured I would post some pics in reference to what i'm replacing a M11xR2.

First off the 13 is a little lighter and overall like the appearance of the laptop. I decided to get the 1080p screen as for a 13" laptop anything higher in my opinion would have been too large to be productive even with Font and Icon scaling.

On to the Pics

Side by Side:






As you can see not that much larger but one thing I did notice was the no glossy screen on the 13 which I like much better.

Size Comparison:
Top


Side


Back


Not much thinner but enough to notice

Weight:
M11xR2


Alienware 13


Not much lighter but enough to notice

The Good and the Bad

Good:

Keyboard - I like the keyboard on the 13 but compared to the M11xR2 it will take some time to get use to it

Screen - Wow this IPS 1080p screen is beautiful but I will say that icon and text scaling is needed in my opinion to actually read text.

Hardrive - This might be subjective but I ended up getting the 256 Samsung M2 SSD. I wasn't sure what to expect honestly but its noticeably faster on boot up compared to even my M17xR3.

GPU - I think its a perfect mid to high lvl GPU that will handle most any game out wi

Fan Noise - This was one thing that I was crossing my fingers on since I had a M14xR1 and returned it due to the excessive fan noise. I have to say at full speed it is not that noticeable at all. Kudos to the Alienware team on that.

Game Amplifier - I will preface saying I do not own one but the thought of having the ability to "future proof" your laptop is a nice idea.

Bad:

Trackpad - I think that the M11xR2 has one of the best trackpad I have ever used. I love the texture on it but the one on the 13 is unresponsive at times and to sensitive at times. I don't know if this is just a "need to get use to" thing but as of right now I am not liking the track pad at all.

CPU - Most people wanted a quad core i7 CPU(including myself) and even after the release they ninja added a dual core i7 for a ridiculous price, coming from a dual core i7 in my M11xR2 I am ok with the choice. Still wish they added the quad core CPU option.

Game Amplifier - Yes I put it in both spots because of the cost and the potential to have the GPU bottle necked by the ULV CPU.

If anyone has any questions or any tests you would like me to do please let me know.

I hope this was informative for those looking to upgrade to a Alienware 13 or get one in general.

 

Great head to head review loved it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Love to see a side by side view of the two. I have been looking for something to replace my trusty m11xr1.

 

thanks a lot mate, this looks awesome. I'm a bit blown away that there is not more difference in size between the machines! Awesome! Those 2 added inches seemed to be worth it

 

Useful comparison!
+rep for you man!