Alienware M11x Debut Discussion

I have seen some ads in China say that it use i3. Seems very cool.

 

Yes i3s make more sense than using core su7300 I agree that su9300 or 9400 is better and make way more sense for perfect gaming performance I hope I win this machine I never win anything. Well anyway I am not trolling guy, you are the one who started about blabering how bad the sony z is etc... So your the one who is doing the same. If I am going to be acused then so be it. So you can preoder the machine now or just more specs and speculations?

 

There is no i3/i5 in the M11X. Alienware confirmed when you enter the sweepstakes that the processor is a Core 2 Duo.

 

Well, what can we expect for throwing in more dough, then? A higher clocked processor?

 

I am going to keep going on hoping for i3/i5 and see what happens haha

the su7300 is not the end of the world at all though like some are making it out to be.....

 

Yeah, it makes sense on Dell's end because Intel probably has a crapload of those CPU's to get rid of.

And Dell most likely got them for pennies on the dollar.

Easy money for Dell

 

True, however you know that when they release the M11x 2.0 just 3 or 4 months after the initial release, it will include an i3/i5 which will totally trump the SU7300 chip in there now. I'd rather just have them wait on the release instead of releasing models so close to each other.

 

Well put. It makes the most sense to launch out the gate with an i5/i3 so if the launch does have a ULV Core 2 I would also expect to see a refresh rather quickly!

 

Unless your talking about a regular i3, there is no ulv/lv i3 announced yet.

 

Ok so how will this thing stack up agains the LG P310 with the 9600 gt and 2.53 dual core?

 

I would hope so. I am now unlikely to buy it without an I3/I5 CPU.

 

Anyone heard whether the cpu is soldered to the motherboard or not?

 

That is unlikely. I think They only do that to atoms

 

From what I am told, CULV are almost always soldered on. If it wasn't I would already have the intel SL9x00 on my Vaio.

 

It makes sense that it will be updated with a core i3/i5 eventually and also the graphics card. Is the screen going to be LED or ccfl like the M17x?

 

this will be led ^

 

>.> well if its not soldered on I don't see why people couldn't do a after market upgrade. Who knows maybe they just wanted to put the ULV cpu in it for CES so that they could advertise the battery life? That is kind of the key feature of a laptop this size.

 

Umm. . . heat? Even if I could, I wouldn't go dropping a 25 or 35 watt cpu in where a 10 watt was. On a desktop maybe, but no way on a notebook - half of 'em overheat with their stock CPUs!

 

Well there is the LV SL9x000, which has a TDP of 17w.

 

>.> what laptops are you talking about? You mean those junkers in your sig? I haven't owned a laptop in the last 4 years that had heating issues with intel cpu's amd's have been known to have that issue for some though. Laptops that is. A long as the laptop has separate heatpipes for gpu and the cpu there should be no issues with the cpu overheating, the gpu is another story.

 

I think that (or at least hope that) they just couldn't get an i5 into it in time for CES. I'm hoping in the time up to its release that they're getting an i5 into it, but I'm not too hopeful-remember that even the ULV i5s have a higher power draw than this ULV processor and that means more heat, less battery.

Very few laptops have seperate heatpipes for GPU and CPU, only high performance ones tend to. And the M11x doesn't-with a form factor that small they probably couldn't even fit an extra heatpipe into it.

For that reason they probably couldn't afford to fit a hotter processor in there.

 

I think it is not much to ask for CPU options on release, not in future refreshes. If you don't get the longer battery life, that is expected.

 

I agree with this thinking.

 

Would people please stop mentioning Core i3's? The following chips are the only low voltage/TDP CPU's in the Core i* range: i5-520UM, i7-620UM and i7-640UM.

The TDP of an Core i3 mobile processor is 35W and they're standard voltage, there's no way in hell a current i3 processor will ever feature in an M11x.

 

Please rpg-XPS explain the core i5 vs i3 so we can go ok we understand you.

 

I can maybe explain part of it. Intel did NOT make an i3 low voltage processor. They DID make two i5 low voltage processors though both rated at 18w TDP. The C2D ULV is at 10w . The current i3s are at 35w which is probably why it won't ever be in the M11x. The lower the TDP the better for battery life. i3 wouldn't make a whole lot of sense although I feel the i5 could make its way into the M11x, if not at launch then the near future.

 

Just to point out, the TDP of all the mobile i3, i5 & i7 processors will be higher than their c2d ulv counterparts because of the built-in GPU.

 

I noticed the Dragon Age discussion, thought this was relevant:



Good luck with that 1.3Ghz CPU.

 

terrific post, wow shows how CPU dependent DA:O is, although that card is no slouch - but this goes in line with the M11x since the card in that is pretty powerful relative to the supposed C2D CPU.

I guess I'll have to beat DA:O before I attempt to get an M11x lol

 

There has also been lots of discussion on 100% cpu usage problems. That benchmark was done with "Review Code" and there have been a few patches released afterwards that improved performance and problems.

I'm not trying to defend DA:O or the possible CPU of the M11x, just pointing out some observations.

 

LOL, I wont deny the crappiness of the computers I own. That said, my laptop actually feels much cooler than my previous (a Toshiba Satellite M55-S135), and stays cool as long as I'm not pegging the CPU at 100% for more than 10 minutes or so at a time (although I often am of course ).

As EvilCorsaiR said though, most laptops DO NOT have seperate CPU/GPU heatpipes. And, while I hate using anecdotal evidence, I must say that among my group of friends, I know 6 offhand whose laptops overheat or throttle the cpu. All of the machines are 4 years old or newer; 2 are HP (and both of these are under 2 years old), 2 are Dell (so those definitely don't have the AMD processors that you blame), 1 is gateway, and 1 is a specialty brand (I think MSI).

Unless you buy specialty brand or gaming, it seems like laptops today just plain aren't designed to run the CPU and GPU at full clip 24/7 . They count on that downclocking to reduce heat production, and when it doesn't happen the system either overheats or downclocks itself (and hurts performance, see Alienware M15x issues).

Put it this way, if laptops running hot is so unusual, why do you see those cooling pads everywhere?

PS - Writing this from my 6 year old 'junker' desktop, which is running Windows 7 flawlessly and can still game pretty darn well (Left 4 Dead baby!)

 

Good graphic which shows why we should have a i5 or some other option.

 

>.> well I won't argue that alienware/dell laptops are known for heat issues, but its pretty easy to spot a properly built laptop. Take hp for example, just about all of their laptops have almost no vents on the bottom and I don't think I've seen one that has a open vent right above the fan. You have to also consider that many people just don't know that they need to clean their laptops every few months.

 

>.> The HP's I'm thinking of have cooling that looks the same as most laptops with a vent below the fan and on the side. But I suppose it doesn't matter, my laptop seems to be nicely vented (and, you would assume, properly cooled). It isn't until you open it up that you see the pathetic 0.25" thick aluminum heatsink that supplies both CPU and GPU/chipset with a small heatpipe to another aluminum heatsink on the fan.

Anyway, my only point initially was that heat issues are common with laptops. Overall we seem to agree - there are a lot of laptops with crappy cooling on the market (you yourself mentioned Dell, Alienware, and HP as having subpar cooling).

Sorry this is getting so off topic, but since you seem to know, what brands/models would you recommend to avoid heat issues? Even ASUS, which is generally considered a great brand around here, has some pretty substantial cooling issues with their current systems (namely the g51 series). What laptops have a decent GPU and run cool?

To tie back in with the M11x, I'm hoping the CULV processor and relative thickness of the case means it'll run nice and cool. We'll have to wait and see, but it's certainly a possibility.

 

I would recommend msi or clevo/sager. I like these brands because they are pretty reliable and also offer a barebone model so you can save some cash. Clevo/sager laptops are pretty well known for keeping their components at very acceptable temps and also make maintenance very easy by usually only having a single back panel to remove to access them.

Msi is also very good at making maintenace easy, but their single fan design was really only implemented properly on the 17 inch model. As it has two heatpipes with two separate heatsinks going to the fan. The 15 inch model does have to seperate heatpipes, but they connect to the same heatsink.

It should also be noted that the rest of the components in each of these laptop brands have adequate spacing from eachother, which I believe is the main flaw in the asus laptops. Asus chose to cramp everything closer together so they could provide room for a second hdd. There really are no perfect laptops, there are compromises made for the more efficient cooling. Clevo usually does it by sacrificing a second hdd and in the case of the new i7 laptops the battery size as well. Msi does it by using only a single hdd. Before someone chimes in about the two brands I suggested, keep in mind that these plain looking laptops often save you enough compared to botique brands that you could get a custom paint job to make it more flashy.

 

I run it with my CPU @ 1.6GHz as with most games and I don't have any problem. Although I do have a quad core.

And patches and the such as said before do make it better.

 

use taskmanager to set the affinity and disable two of the cores for dragon age. >.> keep in mind though you have like what 11x the memory cache for your cpu?

 

@Rorschach

Thanks. I've looked at Clevo/Sager and think they make great systems. I especially love the cooling on the Sager NP8690 (there's got to be a half pound of copper in that thing!). Kind of more than I need though and definitely more than I want to spend (I'd consider their lower end 15.6", but I want a better GPU than the 105M).

Like I said, I'm waiting to see on how the M11x handles heat. I'd love another ultraportable if it can handle some gaming and not have to downclock to control heat. If the reviews come out and it runs hot, then I'll start trying to figure out what to get instead. The ASUS in my sig is very tempting, but I just don't want to have to worry about heat. Plus, you can't beat the Alienware design

 

My CPU has 6MB cache which I believe is actually not much more than the 1.3GHz C2D ULV. I think that has 4MB. Keep in mind that my quad core is basically two 2GHz dual core chips in one processor-so 3MB per pair of cores in reality.

The CPU cache isn't what's making a difference. I think Dragon Age Origins utilises all four of my cores very well though from what I saw during gameplay and even at 1.6GHz it never hits 100% usage.

Hopefully the C2D will be overclockable to something like 1.73GHz in the M11x. That should help a fair bit.

 

Lol my answer to the question about a high performance CPU in a 11inch notebook was "Depends on what your definition of "High Performance" is"

browser crashed when i hit submit.... bad omen?

 

All this is somewhat troubling and pushing me to a X83VP or equivalent.

Many games I am personally interested in are ... notorious for CPU usage. Aside from the aforementioned Dragon Age, RTSes like Supreme commander or World in Conflict are CPU hogs, as well as some others (X3/X3TC, Oblivion/Fallout 3, etc etc). Still I need portability, so anything more than 14" or <3 hr battery life at idle automatically gets disqualified.

 

I think all this talk about CPU and TDP issues begs the question that's been asked before, why didn't Alienware decide to produce a M13x?

Maybe I'm biased as I have owned a 13" notebook for 2 years, but I honestly think that it's the most suitable form factor for portability and performance. Yes, the 11" is neat and pretty damn cool that it can squeeze a 1GB nVidia GT card in that shell but it seems it's sacrificed many other things to accomplish that. There have been negative comments on it's 12"-13" form factor (i.e. large bezel) and on the dated C2D processor planned, so while I am excited about the forthcoming product, I can't help but think they've gone a bit too far.

 

Who said they aren't working on it?

Maybe they're waiting for the new ATI series to come out or maybe they want to see how well the M11X will do (as being their first ultra portable laptop) or maybe (just maybe) they felt there is no such demand for it being somewhat close to the M15X (by specs) which will make the M15X seem big for nothing.

 

Your post makes a fair argument overall, but I have to nip this rumor in the bud. The M11x has a footprint of about 11.3"x8.2" ( see here). This is smaller than my 12.1" laptop (which itself is about the same size as Dell's old 12.1" machines, although newer 12.1" netbooks may be a bit smaller), and I don't believe there is a single 13" machine that would fit in that footprint.

In fact, the typical 16:10 13.3" display is 11.3" wide, so for it to fit on the m11x it would need to have NO bezel. Make it 16:9 and a 13.3" diagonal display jumps to 11.6" wide, 0.3" wider than the M11x. Basically, fitting a 13.3" widescreen display on a laptop the size of the M11x simply cannot work.

So, in short, those who are speculating that the M11x is a 13" chassis with an 11.6" screen are FLAT OUT WRONG. You might be able throw a 12.1" on there, but even then typical 12.1" laptops are larger than the M11x.

 

I dunno have you ever looked at a Sony Vaio Z in person? Granted it has a 13.1in screen, I felt it was about the same size as my old 12in iBook I have laying around. I personally feel the M11x could fit a 12in screen on it(vs the 11.6in it has) as the bottom of the bezel seems a bit large.

 

I agree, I play alot of Supreme Commander, most games I play are fairly CPU intensive. Looks like the M11x won't have the grunt I need if it uses one of these low power prcoessors.

How do people reckon the laptop is going to be usability wise on a day to day basis? I have a 12" Ibm X20. Whilst a great little machine, using it for work can be painful. Too little screen real estate...

 

The Vaio Z is a very cool machine and is very compact. Even with the 13.1" display, though, it's still over an inch wider than the M11x at 12.4" wide (although about the same distance front to back, 8.3" vs 8.2").

Now, that extra inch of width is probably worth getting a much larger screen for a lot of people, but there's two things you should keep in mind. First, I was never arguing the merits of 11.6" vs 13", just whether the M11x is big enough for a 13" display. Second, the Vaio Z is an exceptionally compact notebook: typical 13" machines are larger.

Since even this compact machine must be a not insignificant amount larger in order to fit a 13.1" screen, it correlates with my conclusion that the M11x chassis are absolutely not, in any reasonable sense, 13" machines with 11.6" screens and a large bezel.

That said, a 13.1" 1600x900 alienware with a 12.4"x8.3" footprint would be f'ing amazing, especially if they could keep the price under $1,000. :yes:
Unfortunately, the 11.6" screen probably helps keep costs down, and a 13" machine could cannabalize M15x sales. Or, heck, look at how expensive the vaio z is - if the price of the "M13x" is comparable to the (probably more powerful) M15x, the opposite could happen. With the M11x as it is, it caters both to those looking for an ultraportable and those on a budget. It's the safest bet, and I can see why Alienware made it (even if a PORTABLE 13" screen would've been a worthy tradeoff for many - although much bigger than the vaio z and you really start getting into what I would consider the small end of the full-sized laptop category, and are no longer catering to those looking for an ultraportable).

 

People see even a semblance of a bezel and automatically claim "it could fit X sized screen".

It's like when people were talking about the 14.1" Asus N81/X83 claiming it was a 15" inch laptop body. Complete hogwash. Slightly bigger? Yeah. Please don't exagerrate

 

the bezel could probably fit a 12.1" screen 16:10 if that big Alienware logo wasn't there lol, go look at it, the screen is like above that with an inch of room. I'd love a 1280x800 12.1 screen over current, 16:10 is just so much better for web browsing and gaming works great too.

 

That's 1024x768? Well, I think we're all assuming the M11x is 1366x768, so as far as screen real estate it'd be. . . about 1/3 wider. Enough space to have a few gadgets or a calculator open, but don't plan on putting two full-sized windows up side-by-side without some scrolling. Here's a comparison I whipped up:



Getting up to a 1600x900 display would start to get you enough space to really multitask side-by-side (800px wide windows), but that's starting to get too pixel dense for an 11.6" screen. Keep in mind that most 15.6" screens are 1366x768, so we're already talking about a very fine image. If you want more screen real estate, you'll have to go with a bigger laptop. The smallest I've seen with a 1600x900 screen is that Sony Vaio Z at 13.1", and the smallest for the next size up (1920x1080 Full HD) is 15.6".

Hope this helps .

EDIT - @aznguyen316
Agreed, a 16:10 12.1" would fit. I'll still point out that many 12.1" machines are larger than the m11x, but they also have rather large bezels of their own .

Heck, with as tall as the m11x is there (there's the big alienware logo on the glossy bezel and then another, matte bezel below it!), you could almost fit a 4:3 screen! I suppose the added height to the screen puts it well above your hands and makes viewing a bit more ergonomic, at least. That, and they probably needed the space in the chassis down below.