Alienware M11x Debut Discussion

Now something along the lines of the Z series seen above is what I was expecting Alienware to do. 13", perfect mix between decent portability and still with half decent screen real estate available. Yes, the Sony will be very expensive, in part due to the excellent chassis construction, and thats its a Sony.

If Alienware had done something similar, I would have been sold!

 

If there are no CPU options, what is the prospect for (stable) overclocking from Alienware?

 

Good to know, guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The SU7300 does support VT-x, which a lot of the lower end Core 2's (especially the ones you find in sub-$1000 machines) don't. I don't know whether VT-x makes up for a lack of raw horsepower or not, but I'd think it'd help.

Finally, a company has their priorities straight .

 

The Vaio Z would appeal to me...if it wasn't for the near-$2000 pricetag.

It'll already be hard enough for me to justify an $800-$1000 'netbook'. Plus the M11x will perfectly meet my needs; it'll play all the games I have (even if not maxed out), is very light and portable, and has a 6.5 hour battery when I need it or even 2 hours gaming.

Not to mention the Vaio Z's advantages over the M11x really aren't worth it in my opinion for someone like me at least.

 

Can anyone tell me how does this 1.3Mhz CPU compare to P8400 cpu ? (Montevina Series). I have 9600m gt now on my P310 and P8400 and it runs pretty much all the games with no problems. I just wanted to know if its close with its power to P8400. Thanks

 

It honestly depends on what games you play, some are far more CPU dependant than others.

The vast majority of games should be fine, especially as the 335M will be significantly more powerful in graphics than the 9600M GT.

 

great discussion here, makes me super excited to see real specs. If this may be shippin in Feb, I do hope they put it on the website for building soon! Maybe a couple weeks?

 

It really does depend on what games you play, if you play mostly rpg and strategy and some shooting games then it will be fine. I would also get the z but it just too expensive of course amazing quality and quantity but again too much money and there is nothing on this market right now to buy something with its size and having a decent 1 gig graphics card! The z is still stuck on a 256 card cmon sony enough with your old world ways! I suggest you wait aznguyem316 until people buy it and reviews and see if evidently their are any throttle issues but believe me this is going to sell, its a great comeback for small machines from Alienware.

 

There were some posts regarding Dragon Age: Origins killing this machine. I don't believe that will be the case. As a game developer, I can tell you that the machine was on display playing MW2 at 30fps. When we discuss a cpu (as opposed to a gpu) killing a game, we need to examine the game loop.

MW2 uses a hybrid engine. Its IdTech with Infinity Ware implementing some AI, texturing and compression algorythms. This hybrid is reffered to as IW 4.0. The game loop is easily more complex then Dragon Age.

If Origins won't play on this machine, it will be due to GPU congestion. And I don't think that will be a problem either.

 

I'm sorry, but if this comes out with a C2D SU7300 processor, I'll be bitterly dissapointed. Yes, I understand most games aren't very CPU-intensive (apart from a few) but for Christ's sake, my 3-year-old T7500 is quicker than this!

I do understand it's an 11" "netbook" and it has to be a low-TDP low-voltage CPU and the SU7300 fits the bill at 10W. But for around the same price (~$250 according to Intel/Wiki) you could fit a Core i5-520UM or a Core i7-620UM / 640UM! In addition to being priced similarly, they're designed for only 8W extra TDP!

It's not as if the TDP of this machine is like other netbooks out there, sure it's going to be trying to keep a 1GB NVIDIA GT card relatively cool. Surely it could handle an 18W ULV Core i* processor?

 

You would think so. Hopefully there will CPU options(broken record).
do we expect the CPU to be soldered to the MB?

 

Keep in mind that when you think about it, an extra 8W TDP is still 80% more.

Plus, they may have had this in development for a while, and as such may not have been able to develop it to fit any Core i5/i7 processors.

It may still release with them but we just don't know. And like I said first, if there's a good reason they don't use it, it's that 8W TDP is still a lot more when you put it relative to the current processor.

 

The Z model scratches itself when closed and has a battery draining problem, I don't called that excellent construction. I rather go with alienware for good built quality.

 

My Z doesn't scratch itself when close, but I am very careful with it.

I am sure there are folks that just throw it in there bag and it will get scratched.

Actually, my wife's Z has been beaten to death by my kids and it has survived quite well. lol

As for the battery drain, it's there but not a biggie - just remove the battery if you're not going to use it for a while.

 

I'm talking about scratches on the inside, not the outside which are the result of throwing it in your bag as you said...although I can't imagine anyone just throwing in his expensive 2000 dollar/euro machine in his bag

 

New M11x vid on Alienware's YouTube channel, but it's nothing significant. See it at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/AlienwareChannel#p/c/974C367F31DA10EC/33/OBrCWdxVNPQ

if you really want to.

 

Yeah, I know what people are talking about, thanks.

I have no scratches on the screen. The bag comment was more related to people throwing it in there bags and having other things in the bag compress the laptop so much that it scratches the screen.

Besides, the lid would need to take a big nick to scratch as it is made from a carbon fiber compound

 

Went to Sony Style to mess around with a Sony X series which was an 11.1" screen at 1366x768 to get another feel for the screen size etc. The keyboard I found was small, but I don't think that's the case with the M11x seeing as the keyboard goes all the way out and isn't spaced out w/ smaller keys. As for the screen, it will take some getting used to, but I think it's possible to get used to on a daily basis. Really doing some research before I dare to plunge for the M11x haha

 

I have a gut feeling that we will see the new i core CPUs in these badboys when they launch.

 

god i hope your right IKAS cause I just dont think those SU7300 will handle bad company 2 the i3's and i5's yes they will thats why im thinking about an Asus UL30JT but i dont know how the GPUs between the m11x and the JT are different which one is better?

 

I sure hope so. I can't justify buying any type of new PC (desktop or laptop) that still has C2D technology in it still. If this doesn't have some form of an i3/i5 processor, I'm just holding out until they release a 2nd revision.

 

I swear if this dosent have a i processor in it at launch im shelling out a loan for a UL30JT it has way better specs (besides GPU i think) for under 1000$

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M5hlU2lA9E

Dell employee said the first part of Feb. Did he say it can't run CoD at very high settings? (stock maybe) Atleast he is honest, but that is not how you market your product.

 

While the 310M GPU is slightly weaker than the 335M, the i7-640UM is impressive for that size. Also 13.3" is already acceptable for mobile gaming IMHO. Plus 12hrs of declared battery life. If it wasn't for Alien lights and "famous" build quality I'd probably try ASUS.

 

No, he said it CAN run MW2 at very high settings. But plus rep, thanks for the video. Looks awesome, but doesn't look as small as other 11" laptops, but that's fine. But it is a fingerprint magnet!! Also said metal flakes in the paint, so kinda like a pearl look similar in cars I assume. Looks like a very solid machine, first part of February I think he said. effing A

 

And I will probably have to wait until March unless I win it.

I listened to it twice and thought he said can't. Saying it can makes alot more sense.

 

actually he says "it WILL play..." around the 1:22 mark =), but once again thanks for the video. Hope more pop up after ppl get around to uploading their CES visits.

 

Real question is how much will that Asus cost?

Edit: Also, does anyone know if the GT335m in the M11x is built into the motherboard, or will it be a small removable card?

 

It shouldn't cost more than the M11x.
I think the GPU is gonna be soldered into the mobo, look at the photo here.

 

Thanks.

I just did a side-by-side of the GT335m and the GT310m, no way I could justify forking up the dough for a GT310m over a GT335m assuming the prices are similar. Looks like I'll be on the sidelines until Alienware opts for a mobile i5/i7

 

how did you do a side by side comparison? the specs on the nvidia site seem to claim the 335 is loads better in terms of processor number and playable resolution.

it says the 335 is 20x better over an integrated while the 310 is only 5x. so is that huge or very little? any benchmark scores for the cards?

 

I thought it said 30x better for the 335m. >_>

 

I just went to the specs tab listed on each page. The GT 335m walks all over the GT 310m it appears

 

20x the last time i checked.. but i dont know if those numbers can be trusted.. id like to go for the m11x cos i have an m17x and itd look funny with alittle brother but if the difference between the graphics performance between the 335 and 310 isnt as huge as the specs claim then i think ill go for the asus since it has an i5.

of course if the m11x has an i5 id go for it straight away.

 

so i guess based on the tech specs it would have a huge huge difference in terms of gaming performance?

im guessing if dell claims the 335 gets around 6k 3dmark so the 310 would get like 4000? or less?

 

The difference between the two gpus will be pretty substantial.....around 6k 06 on the 335 and I would guess around 2k on the 310

 

The 335M is just around 3x better than the 210M. The 310M is roughly equivalent to the 210M.

Notebookcheck claims the performance is roughly between the ATI 4650 and 4670.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards.130.0.html

 

lol Thank you for giving the asus alittle more faith plus it comes in a 13" chassies instead of an 11 so i think thats nice..so what its not as flashy till now the m11x cpu cant hang...its got the asus beat on GPU thats it but not on cpu which is what im looking for when i play bad company 2 (the required is a quad core... i need all the cpu small form factor power i can get) the 310M could play that game on what medium to low settings?

 

what do you guys think would run world of warcraft better? the asus with the low voltage i7 and the weaker, integrated graphics, or the alienware with the superior graphics and weaker CPU (assuming its an ULV core 2 duo)

 

From what I have read, WOW is alot more CPU dependant than GPU. Meaning having a better processor is going to benefit you more than a fancy GPU. Anyone who actually plays WOW care to share?

 

Asus are good bang for the buck but its not only design that AW has over them its overall build quality. Expect the asus to run much hotter. I bet the M11x stomps the asus.

 

No WOW for me but both systems should handle the game with no problems.

I'm sure it will

 

You won't be raiding much

 

hehe, well hey i raid on my comp i have in my sig (im going to build myself a desktop soon) but i will not be planning on raiding mobile, still it would be nice to know if a better processer>better gpu for world of warcraft.

i guess im leaning toward the asus because of the bigger screen for now, but we will see little m11x

 

Hey MOO!
You getting one?
So far this AW is really looking good.
I wish I could order one now.

 

WoW is all about how you set your graphics. There are a LOT of things you can change both in the main menu and by running console commands that raise or lower the detail levels.

On a smaller screen like that, you arn't going to SEE a lot of detail, so inherently you can already run all the texture levels lower. The lower resolution will give a lot of headroom as well.

I honestly think WoW will run fantastic on this thing though without a lot of tweaks. I have WoW running *just* barely playable at 1920x1080 on my N330 atom/Ion server which is definitely a weaker system and a higher resolution.

What will really make or break the game is system and video RAM. This rig will surely support 4GB (RIGHT?!) and between that and the GPU's 1GB it will be just fine imo.

WoW is GPU intensive because of all the rendered models and spell effects. Worst case you have to run player textures on low.

 

What Asus Are you talking about? I went on their website to try to find the 13". But no luck.


Also I think the m11x is going to be sick.. My birthday's in febuary. definitely doing to treat myself to one of these!

 

Another video here. A couple of things:

1. The fan is definitely an AlienFX zone. You can see it changing colors, and I'm pretty sure in the other videos it was red.
2. I think he says metal top near the end. Maybe someone can confirm. I watched it once.

It seems very light, and a reasonable size. Also, the screen already looks 100% better than the one M17x users got stuck with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M5hlU2lA9E

PS. How do you embed YouTube videos here? I try it but the forum removes the "object" part of the code and it doesn't show...

 

I think he said the paint had metal flakes.

So it will have a metallic look to it, but still be a plastic body. Should look nice - and as long as the machine is rock-solid, I couldn't care less what material was used in the construction.

Thanks for the video BTW. Looks like the early February release is official .

 

I agree about the metal flakes. Just watched it again. It looks solid to me. I like it. I wish he would have said February 1st...