Alienware M11x @ BestBuy In April: SU7300/4GB/250GB - $899!

I really don't understand Best Buys Marketing strategy. the Pittsburgh Area, And as far as i can tell PA doesn't stock this. someone needs poked in their eye balls.

I guess I can OMS one to our store.

 

^^ yeah that

 

Went to bestbuy Duarte yesterday, and saw this and the g73. both are f*kn nice computers. too bad they're really expensive, and the m11x is a bit lacking in terms of hardware

 

Ebay. Mostly around $20. Make sure you pick a USA seller or else who knows how long it'll take to get here, not worth saving a few dollars.

Or if you want the whole package check this listing. $30, but this guy is including the mouting screw, this looks like the complete retrofit kit from Dell it includes the FCC sticker and CD. If you want no surprises (not finding a screw that fits), it should be worth the extra $10 - do you want to have to redo it because you can't find the right screw?

The way this new BT is designed, you WILL need to secure it with a screw. Actually if I didn't find the right screw I would have just used electrical tape The old BT card design with the cable connector, I just leave it dangling inside and it's not going to come off.

PS if you do decide to tackle this, I had to fiddle a bit to get the driver to install. When you first plug in the BT card and boot into Windows, Windows will NOT give you any indication a new device is installed. It has always been that way with Dell's internal USB BT cards - when you install the drivers, it does some of its own magic to kind of wake it up and then you'll see it in the device manager.

On my M11x, nope nothing happened even after I ran the drivers installer. Multiple reboots, power off, I even opened the thing up again and unplugged the battery. Nope, nothing. What I did to get it to finally show up is this: go into the BIOS and turn off BT radio. Went into Windows and installed the BT driver and software. Went back into the BIOS and re-enabled BT, then back in Windows and reinstalled the driver. This time it went as expected - in the middle of the installation a new device popped up.

This was with the stock OS which I'll be blowing away when I pop my SSD in there. Yours may or may not behave the same way, so don't freak out if after you install it and nothing happens.

 

eh? What's lacking?

 

Bluetooth for both. On the M11x, you lose the customization feature, which was the whole point of dell/aw anyways.

 

Ok, BT, I understand. However it's an easy to install $20 part. Also, BB versions don't come with the AW customization software (lighting, background, etc)? Or were you referring to something else?

 

The only "customization" is they set the color of the lights for you. You can change this as soon as you receive the laptop....same for the desktop background

 

Might be talking about the inability to customize your nameplate. While minor to some, may be a deal breaker for others.

 

Hurts your resell value anyways, no one is going to want a laptop with your name on it

I personally see that as more of a gimmick

 

meh the nameplate was initially a deal breaker for me but it is definitely a gimmick that I will likely pay no attention to after the first day

 

Lights are a gimmick also
But both these gimmicks make it all that much more awesome and unique.

 

AW customization software was on my build. I nuked my build and installed Win7 Pro 64bit and downloaded everything from Dell...even the customization software for all the lights.

I don't use BT and I don't mind the 250HDD since I want to go SSD in a few months.

What wasn't customizable was the name plate.

 

Yeah....the name plate...I'll have a new one fabricated. i'm sure Dell/AW will offer this service for a fee.

Lights I ended up turning off to get me that extra 3-5 minutes of gaming on battery! hahaha ....

 

Ya the nameplate was it for me. I kinda dug that feature If it includes the lights customizationabilitystuff though, then I might be down for breaking my wallet for the m11x. UNLESSSSSSS..... a refresh of the m11x include an i5?!

 

I took another trip to bestbuy today and I made it a mission to customize their display model with nasty rainbow mix fx

 

I stopped by the local microcenter and checked out the M11x (first time getting hands on time with one). WOW...it is a fingerprint magnet compared to my M17x. The size is awesome though. The keyboard seemed low quality to me compared to the M17x one - but that might just be me. The backlight on the keyboard was also not nearly as good. Having actually seen one in person now, I am much less enthused to get it over something like an Inspiron Mini 11. It would be fun to have all the flash but grossly unnecessary for what I would be using a beefed up netbook for

Just my 2 cents

 

well I just ordered it through bestbuy.com I need something with a little more power than a netbook. But want to keep the same size.

I guess time to tear apart my old netbook and pull the bluetooth and WAN card out and see if they will work on the 11x.

 

So... is that the very one Dell would have installed had it been configured with it? Thanks!

 

Yes it is. The Dell 365 internal BT card, same one that would have been installed at the factory.

 

meh... went to BestBuy again today. Was playing around with the G73, G60JX, and the M11x. G73 is huge as usual, but I like it. Only turn off is the large size and weight. Same with the G60JX, which also has only 1 exhaust vent on the left side.

Now, on to my main concern: M11x. Besides not having bluetooth, I was quite disappointed in the super GLOSSY screen. I could see myself at every single angle, and could not really see the icons on the screen. If one wanted to use this outdoors, it'd be a bummer. Inside Bestbuy, with all of its lights in the ceiling is kinda analogous to outside, or even at a library. Very disappointed. Turning on the brightness doesnt do much either. Additionally, the keyboard quality seems very crappy, feels like an average person's fingers will smash the keys. I'm a small person, so if I feel uncomfortable about it, I'm sure many others will hate it even more.

Does anyone know if Dell watered down this model in order to be sold at BB, or are they all like that?

If the m11x never sees an i5, I think I'll stop paying attention to these m11x threads...

 

All the screens of the "All Powerful" line are glossy like that, so I expected that looking at one. I totally agree on the keyboard though, just looked and felt cheap to me

 

So is the one ordered from Dell glossy too? Are they glossy cuz it's "LED", or is it glossy just cuz they say so? Cuz my HP which has an "LCD" is glossy, but not super-carwaxed-buffed-looking-glossy like the m11x I saw at bestbuy.

 

They are all glossy because they are edge to edge screens - in a bright room the screen will be like a mirror

 

Keep in mind that glossy look is made worse because BB goes around everyday and buffs them to a perfect sheen. Once you actually own the laptop, under normal use the screen is not gonna be buffed to a mirror finish, and is actually not that bad.

Still, pretty shiny.

I like the keyboard though, and the rest of the M11X is great. However, what you see on display is what you get, so if you don't like it then don't buy it.

 

I think the m11x (and alienware laptops in general) are designed for use in your mother's basement after lights out.

 

Got mine at BB a few days ago, been waiting on my x25-m to come in before I set everything up. Got a monitor for desk use since this is my everyday machine, hooked up my keyboard and I'm almost good to go. Just waiting on my Performance Mouse MX warranty replacement. Oh yea, excuse the mess I'm in the process of tearing my room apart.

 

I don't know why, but I like that setup. Nice!

 

But yours has a customized name plate...

 

stevenxowens792,
"Retail stores... Remember they also have to deal with returns or warranty issues. So the laptop has to be pretty stable to sell. Otherwise it is a nightmare of returns (what was that gateway performance laptop that got returned a lot last year or 2008?) "

You must mean the Gateway P FX laptops, I have not heard of a mass return of these, at the time they where the best bang for the buck. The only problems were people reinstalling OS's for no reason, and using moded drivers without knowing what they where doing.

 

Maybe it's the NOS in the corner . Thanks for the compliment, it took me a while to decide on exactly what I wanted. I'll have updated pics in a few days, hopefully it'll look a bit better.

 

Sorry San Diego. I bought a M11x from the Carmel Mountain Best Buy last night - there were 2 in stock. I liked it so much I went back and bought another one today. There aren't any more in the San Diego area...

 

Ha! Glad I got mine on the 8th.

 

is it possible to get brain cancer if i my head sleep next to m11x? not a south park related question.

 

ordered from bestbuy.com on the 18th.. they say it ships the same or next day.. well its after that and still not shipped..

 

Well.. Been on the phone with best buy on and off all day. They have no idea where my computers at. I have yet to get an answer from a rep that leads to anything, if it shipped or not. or if they even have them in stock. They are quick to take my money but not so quick to get me my product or refund me. They said as of right now they can't refund my money. Tomorrow they will have a better Idea.

Sunday I leave for the Army so if I don't get it i'm F'ed. And they said once they can refund the money it will take 48 hrs. So I still won't be able to buy one to take with me......


best buys terrible.

anyone want to lend me an 11x till mine comes in??

 

seriously, ask for a manager and explain the situation - and then if they can't help, don't get off the phone until you spoke with that managers supervisor. and so on, and so forth - until you've received an overnight shipping confirmation, or some sort of in store pickup arrangement with the closest M11x in stock - that's some ridiculousness... dude, if you want that M11x to take with you, at this point you cannot accept no (or even an idk) for an answer!

 

Believe me spoke to managers.. the whole nine yards. the problem is, it seem's like there is no direct line of communication between .com and the warehouse.. everything is done by email!

So if it doesn't ship tomorrow morning. Looks like im going on a road trip to ohio and racking up about 5 hrs of driving time and 300 miles!

 

yeah, seems that way - i ordered off their web site once just before, and once during the last holiday season. both instances the orders took forever to arrive, so told myself at that point no more - if i bought something from them i'd stick to b&m. good luck, hope it all works out so you have it in time - and sincere thanks for your service!

 

Well, what kind of shipping did you get?

 

It was over nighted for free. I ended up driving to 5 hours round trip to get it because they couldn't guarantee that it would arrive in time, before i leave for the military. Turns out it would of, The one they shipped arrived today. I sent it back already, But If I didn't go to Ohio to pick it up the one that was shipped wouldn't of made it (my luck).

So far I love this thing. I'm going to pick up a gaming pad though so I can spread my self out more and be more comfy. It's just a little tight when gaming on it. But the screen size or keyboard don't bother me.

 

yep, gotta love murphy's law but awesomeness - you got it just in time to enjoy it, congrats!~

 

The Razer Kabuto makes a nice addition to a mouse pad btw..

 

so there is a dead pixel on my new m11x from best buy. should i get a new one???

 

I know that a dead pixel on this system would drive me absolutely insane. I would take it back...

 

Just got myself one from Milwaukee Greenfield Bestbuy :]

 

if your inside of the 14 days ya just return it for a new one. If you are outside 14 and are using GSBTP you need a total of 5 dead pixels or 3 within a inch of each other.

 

So as far as getting an m11x from BB, can you purchase an extended warranty from dell or do you just have to settle with BB's?

how many people actually went for an extended warranty?

 

i think i will, it's just that i have everything on here now saved and loaded and all that jaz. sigh. i really don't wanna have to clone it but if i do can i just recover onto the new one???

 

Looked at the Best Buy Models. It's cool that they offer it, but, damn the black color attracts fingerprints like no other! Glad I got Lunar Silver!