Alienware M11x Debut Discussion

You obviously don't understand the point. Quite a lot of Alienware owners also have a smaller and lighter notebook (or netbook) for their main on-the-go usage. Here Alienware provide their fellow gamer with a product of the type that can still game pretty well and won't break their wallet unlike many ultraportables.

The M11x is not MEANT for use as a main computer to be used all the time (or maybe it is-if you want to, plug a bigger monitor into it) but to be used for gaming on the go without trying to deal with a 10lb+ massive notebook for a pitiful below 1 hour battery life.

Even for use as a main system easily plug a bigger monitor into it and a keyboard and mouse and it'll do very well as a mid-end gaming laptop.

The problem is that with a more powerful CPU comes two things: More heat, and more power draw. The main issue is the heat. The big restriction in a system this small is the room for fans and heatsinks, so a smaller heatsink can't take as much heat.

I'd rather have a 1.3GHz C2D running cool than a 2.0+GHz C2D/C2Q overheating and resulting in half the battery life.

And there's still a chance we'll get a ULV i5 or i7 processor in it, if it still isn't out for several months. If it is open for orders late this month however then I doubt we'll be seeing a different processor.

We all hope that, but if it does become available this month then it's not likely.

 

Can't wait till order time !!!

 

Dell should have went with a screen set up like Onkyo's AMD Congo notebook.

 

Add 2 more screens on top and count me in

 

Many of you guys&gals are talking about being able to game on the go as the main reason to buy the 11X.
I'd like to ask you, seriously how many of you are gamers? Now if by gaming you mean playing tetris and sudoku - your blueberry will fit this nicely.
I know this thing is able to run Crysis,... are you? Are you able to run Crysis and any other FPS game on the 11" screen? Would go RAID in WOW on this netbook? Would you play any MMORG game on it? C'mon don't be kidding. You can bring it to your friends, yes, but only to impress them with the lights and the mere fact that you can load Crysis and GTA4, you won't be playing those, at least not against your friends - you'll fail miserably.
The RUSH never ends. So buy it. Be the first to get your sweaty palms on it and enjoy. Just don't pretend it is for gaming. It's not. Not even occasional.
I was once playing AA 2.x on a notebook with a track-point instead of a real mouse, got very proficient with it but as soon as I got to a decent clan, - couldn't play anymore. When you game you need the gear not gadgets. Even M17X and M98NU are barely holding that level.
Do not look for excuses like "I wanna game on the go", instead buy it because you like the looks, and would love to move around with that thing in your backpack

 

They probably could do 4 screens if they used an ATI card. The lid would have to be pretty thick so they could all slide together though.

 

"Many of you guys&gals are talking about being able to game on the go as the main reason to buy the 11X.
I'd like to ask you, seriously how many of you are gamers? "


God you just missed everything.

Main reason is NOT GAME ON THE GO. It's portability with 6 hours of battery life that JUST HAPPENS to be able TO GAME ON THE GO.

Jesus christ it's like you have an order from above to threadcrap on this thing.

Many, if not 95% of people who plan to buy this thing ALREADY have a hard-core "game" machine like I do with my dual GTX 260's with an E8400 @ 3.8 ghz. All that crap about "hardcore" gaming needing gear and not gadgets is bull because most of us already have the "gear".

 

That's probably the best target for this kind of machine since MMORPGs generally have lower system requirements and their players are addicts that go through withdrawal if they're away from their home and can't log in for extended periods of time.

 

M11x? Goddamn, they're multiplying!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O71ydrX_ahI#t=8m22s

 

It's just an x not a multiplication symbol.

 

Extended periods of time? Try 5 min without getting withdraws to check the Auction house........

 

One of my friends is finishing his PHD in 3D-Holographic modeling. He says it's gonna be here in a few years from now.
No screens anymore Initially it was supposed to take 10-15 years to bring it on, but thanks to a very powerful customer - p0rn industry, the research was sped up greatly by the $-support. So I won't be surprised to see some prototypes in 2 years from now.
Imagine a computer the size of your USB-stick with a holographic touch-screen - the future is here?

 

There are plenty of ultra-lights with better battery life, Better&bigger screen and way lighter than this device.

I know that you have the gear at home, that's why I'm suggesting you stop associating the M11x with gaming.

So we are down to the lights and looks again...Oh and the alien head of course.


P.S.> you are almost right. I have to threadcrap on this thing, just because I can.

 

watch this thing actually be a PoS. hahah

 

Phin makes a very good point, you should listen to him. MMORPGs are also usually far less CPU reliant than most games (excluding WoW because it uses an ancient engine) so the processor will be less of a bottleneck.

One of the first things that I'll be putting on my M11x if I do get one is Lord of the Rings Online

 

anyone have dimensions or size comparisons? I've seen the videos but it's hard to get a feel for the size when there's nothing else to compare it to besides a hand lol. Knowing alienware systems I'm curious about the footprint of it although being an 11.6"

 

Things I use my N10j for:

Gaming on the train (Borderlands, RE5, Torchlight etc) all single player
Gaming while waiting in-between classes (Same, plus WoW)
Taking notes in class
Web browsing
Try to do artwork/editing on it but cry at the render times

Things I would use a M11x for:

All of the above, just 11 TIMES BETTER!

Get it?!

No?....

..

Well I don't know if I'd be classified as using it on the GO, cause I certainly can't play a computer game while moving... But having a small machine with alot of power can definitely keep me busy almost anywhere.

I don't know what you classify as "gaming", Akimox. I could have sworn that gaming meant playing video games, which is exactly what the M11x was designed to do on a portable level. According to your logic, handhelds like the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP shouldn't be associated with gaming, and that's just wrong

I'm half suspecting this. I'll bet the battery life is 4 hours on integrated and 1 hour with nvidia enabled. Gotta wait for reviews I suppose!

 

I was planning on getting this when i return to uni, since I live away from home. It would be nice to have this as a replacement for my current laptop with additional power AND portability. One of the reasons I'm hesitant on the M15x is that its too big to carry around, and isn't practical. This would fit my needs perfectly, though I know I'd be completely sold on it if it was just a 13 inch screen. Going from a 15 inch screen to an 11 inch screen for movie watching and slight gaming will be a bummer....

I'm also concerned if it would be able to run Dragon Age on it. DA is CPU intensive, so I'm worried if its not gonna work too well with this laptop.

 

See here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5710100#post5710100

It was a separate thread that got merged with this one.

 

Here's my logic:
M11x is an under-over-kill. Means - very nicely presented yet extremely disbalanced system.
1. Notebooks this size are usually 13"+
2. Notebooks this weight are usually 15"+
3. The graphics card is an overkill, since the games it can run :
a) require a bigger screen to benefit and enjoy the high rez +high settings without straining your eyes too much.
b) will heat up and probably burn the machine if you play on your lap (you'll have to be careful playing in a train/plane/bus)
4. If you intend to use a bigger external HDTV/screen at home, the card will drag you down.
5. Games like Borderline and WOW can be run easily on notebooks with lower graphics/bigger screens/less bulky/lighter.
6. The lack of an optical drive.

A huge pro - it's an alien!!! And it got the lights!

 

It will run DA at medium+ details. This game likes resources and the system temps will be way higher than with Borderlands/WoW/etc. You will need to monitor the temps very carefully.

 

th only real prob i see is the lack of optical drive


.... this wont overheat my m17 don't overheat playing on my lap

 

Negative! While your m17 and my M17X (I use it on my lap all the time) won't overheat , this machine will (have a look at the vents position). Besides, netbooks are prone to overheating. That's a fact. Our company receives a lot of requests to deal/fix/replace burned out netbooks. My own NB100 was reviewed as one of the best in its category in terms of temps - if you leave it on your lap for 2-3hrs, the cpu temps hit 100c (with fully functional fan).

 

BS!!! I figured this machine to be about 11.3" by 8.2" (methodology in this post http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5710100#post5710100). This is smaller than my laptop (a 12.1" Averatec 2573) or even a 12" netbook (11.8 x 9.0 x 1.1 for the Dell Mini 12). A typical 13.3" machine is 13.00 x 9.12 x 1.09" (macbook).

Find me a single 13" machine with a 11.3 x 8.2" footprint.

If by "usually" you mean "occationally". Further, the ones that are almost never have a dedicated graphics card and are commonly the same ULV chip that's in the m11x.

Actually, scratch "occationally". The lightest 15" machine I can find is 4.2lbs. Maybe there are some, but I certainly can't find any.

Opinion. Comfortable viewing size depends on the person as does eyestrain. The 1080p screens on higher end 15.6" gaming laptops these days are more pixel-dense than the 1366x768 screen on the 11.6", so eyestrain would be just as much of an issue with the bigger, high-res screens you mention. Plus you give up portability and add a load of weight, not to mention that you then NEED that more powerful GPU to run games at the laptop's native resolution.

You mean like most laptops these days? That unfortunate fact aside, this is one area that I share your concern. However, since it's using a CULV cpu and a next-gen, midrange graphics chip, heat MIGHT not be an issue.

Didn't you just call it overkill for the built in 720p screen? Why can't I play on my 720p TV? Or, god forbid, lower a few settings and play it on my monitor? Or use the money I saved by buying this sub-$1000 gaming machine to buy/upgrade my desktop for playing at home?

But they will run better on this, and games that wouldn't run at all on those alternative machines will be playable.

The only thing I use an optical drive for is installing programs/OSs and burning disks. Maybe if you're a big movie buff who would rather keep all your DVDs with you instead of ripping them this is an issue. The rest of us will just use a USB disk drive and keep it at home.


I understand if this machine isn't your cup 'o tea, but I can't help but feel like you're looking for (and making up - numbers 1 and 2) reasons to hate it. There are a lot of people who want an ultraportable machine, and want to game on it occasionally, without having to spend several grand. This machine is for them, and it fills a niche that has until now been completely absent of viable machines.

If performance isn't important, get something lighter and cheaper. If size isn't important, get something bigger and heavier. But for me, and, judging by the interest in the machine, many other people, this laptop is the perfect combination of price, performance, and form factor. Let's just hope the build quality is top notch and it doesn't have any heat issues .

 

Bingo! You've hit the nail on the head! This is the kind of computer I need!
To be perfectly honest, I don't see why people are complaining against this little beauty.
It's not at all as if it cheapens the Alienware brand, as it uses the same exterior design and AlienFX.
Some people (like me) will be using this as a primary computer.
Others will use it as a companion, to take to LAN parties and other places. It sure beats lugging a heavier machine around, be it M15x, M17x or a desktop.
I was absolutely thrilled to hear about this machine when Dell announced it, so I can't wait to get more info on it. My guess is that it will have an ULV i5 at launch, yet they wouldn't say so at CES incase they couldn't figure how to get it in there. I think they're gonna be playing around with the extra 8W the ULV i5 requires, and I'm hoping they get it right.

 

If most people are considering this m11x as a gaming laptop, Should think again. It's nice and cute an got a lot of punches. But if you game on the m11x like you game regularly on a gaming notebook, you gonna fry this bad boy.

No one is hating this m11x, it's just a precaution that gaming on regularly basis , is going to kill it sooner than later.

Side note: I have a played L4D 2 on my 15" vaio, and it burns my lappy to smitherin.... Can you imagine playing L4D 2 on the m11x .

If you are a gamer, you know for certain, that m11x cannot pass as a gaming laptop. It's a Friggin' netbook with a lot of horse power!!!

 

Funny how this has turned into a "Defend the M11x" Thread.

 

I can't stop thinking about this haha and I JUST got my current (sig) laptop haha..

 

Funny how this has turned into an "Attack the M11x" Thread.

Come on, I mean the only specs that are actually finalised are the screen size and graphics card.

 

It called getting a cooler! In this economy many people will buy this type of machine just for everything, i know plenty of people who do that. If anything happens, just get a warranty it's that simple, on site is good. I can't wait to buy this machine, just too bad their isn't a cd drive for this, that is why i say go for a asus 2x blu ray external drive for only 89 dollars! Its a powerful little guy.

 

I think it is a great concept. I for one will not be exclusively gaming on it. I needed something like my M15x but a bit more portable for school, and hey if it can play some games, that ends up being just another bonus!

 

I agree it is a great concept, and also the prior little alienwares never had a dedicated graphics card, so this is going to be awesome, there is nothing like that in terms of the 1 gig graphics card at this size. Did you put the update for the a03 bios? Is that why your machine is a paper weight?

 

haha.. no, unfortunately my M15x is a paperweight, because the on-site tech totally botched my repair, and damaged my system. Alienware is sending me a new unit though. Now I will use my M15x as my desktop replacement, and the M11x as my portable solution.

 

Heat is one area I'm concerned about. No one can say for sure if it's going to end up just warm or super hot.

But the area I'm more concerned about is battery life. 6.5 hours would be DECENT, so I'm hoping it hits that mark. Otherwise I probably won't consider it.

I'm surprised how many people are saying it's a fact that you can't game on this thing when they've never had the chance to yet. If I can game on my N10j, then I can more than likely game on the m11x. Now if I'm at home, course I'm gonna use my desktop PC (unless it's dead or something). But there is no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to play games on the m11x away from the house.

Methinks too many people are stating their opinion as fact itt

 

My intention is not to convince you to change your mind, but to give you a different perspective. No offense and no hard feelings but someone has to play the devil's advocate...Always.
We could carry this on and I would answer your every post as you would answer mine, even though I really like the machine.
As for the numbers - those are to emphasize another opinion.

So those of you out there thinking of buying the mini-alien, -
go for it! But as you do:
1)Get the best warranty option as you might need it quite often.
2) After receiving the lappy, game/work on it as much as you can in the first 2-3 weeks, to see if the screen size/battery life/weight actually meets your needs. If not, you can return it.
3) Monitor the temps as you go (especially while gaming on your lap), it might be a real deal-killer.

@ opnickc thanks for defending the product, Dell could hire you one day

 

you mean you can return dell laptops for a full refund with the reason "it dint turn out the way i thought it would be and i dont like it?"

i thought it only applies if you have issues with the laptop. like if it isnt working properly or something

 

You can always return it if really want

 

you can return it within 21 days of the shipping date but will be subject to a 15% restocking fee unless you can convince them to waive it (usually only if something is wrong or you are replacing with something else)

 

I don't like that people are complaining about graphic performance when it has not even been tested yet. Also just like the vostro v13 the battery is inside and its not even a full 6 cell, so this also might be the case, i don't like the fact the battery is inside i like having my battery to be taken out if i ever need too. Yes it is important to have the best warranty you can have. I do worry about heat due to how the dell xps m1340 and 1640-45 all have the same type of issues. A asus nj1 netbook plays game quite well. People tend to forget dual cores have only been around since 2006, before that was just single cores and some with hyper threading so in reality playing on a single isn't that bad at times, so a ultra low voltage dual core will be no different. Hopefully you can overclock it.

 

defending / attacking isnt the point, i guess some expected a 13" and other dont.
i like this forum and also the different point of view´s, it helped me a lot in the past of deciding and getting my system and keep it updated.

i do unterstand the point of aikimox, i own a netbook since 2 years and yet selling it to get the M11x, in some points he is right, but i had never an overheating issue, also the battery life of AW´s new toy might not reach the 6.5 hours, mine has close to 4 hours in battery mode (downclocks the CPU)

and i also i agree with the others, i did gaming on the netbook, it´s funny, e.g. sitting in a boring meeting, time for some shooter , i also hooked it up with my 42" LCD back home, i´m used of not having a drive in it, but it´s ULTRAPORTABLE, has a SIM card slot built in, if you need to get online everywhere

there are some do´s and dont´s, but it´s a nice concept and i have the M15x home for hardcore gaming, so lets wait for the final spec´s and as it is, it´s not just buying an AW, i guess, it´s a kind of lifestyle, but beside that, the machines are great and, of course, the style makes it

 

All those saying that the M11x will overheat and die:

That's what a warranty is for

Warranty joke aside, most netbooks don't exactly have sufficient cooling. My mother's netbook doesn't even have a direct intake for the fan, from what I can see, or if it does it's not much of an intake. Her netbook hasn't overheated yet

Plus, the Allpowerful series is renowned for brilliant cooling. Just looking at the fan on it I can see it's no ordinary netbook fan. The vents are far, FAR bigger than on any netbook I've seen, and it likely has a larger copper heatsink instead of the likely small aluminium heatsinks that most netbooks use. From what I can see the fan might even be the size of a fan from one of its bigger brothers and we all know how good those are at cooling.

All those saying that the screen is too small/too pixel dense:

Some of you are the ones with a 1920x1080 screen in a 15" lappy. They are more pixel dense than one of these.

Plus, this is purely a matter of personal opinion. I used to play the occasional game on a netbook (an ancient game, mind you) and had little problem with the small screen, and that was on a 9" netbook.

All those complaining about the lack of disk drive:

Oh come on. How many of you honestly use disk drives anymore? All I use it for is installing programs and you can have a USB disk drive for that.

Want to watch a movie? Just rip the disk into a movie file on your M11x.

Want to play games needing a disk? Few need one nowadays but for those that do-and some may not like this suggestion, but I'll make it anyway-download a no-CD crack. You're not hurting any company's pocket as you've already bought the game. (I've actually had to use a no-CD crack on CoD4 as it doesn't seem to recognise its own disk anymore, and nobody can blame me for that)

Or if that really isn't to your taste, create an ISO image from the disk and then use a virtual disk mounting software, it's not complicated to do so.

Any more complaints anyone?

Does this make me the official M11x defender now?

 

lols nice 1... i been planning to buy a m11x once its release

 

Who uses CD's anymore these days? Steam FTW!!!

Yes, you are.

 

If the M11x becomes the primary computer, then a lack of an optical drive would probably be a hindrance. I have ALL my PC games on steam, which I love, but on top of ext HDD backups I also backed up a few on DVD. I use the drive to reinstall Windows, and honestly I've never done it any other way, though I've seen USB methods. Also I've been buying a ton of blu-rays and they've shipped with digital copies on discs first lol. Also to rip a dvd to your computer would mean needing a drive somewhere right? I guess to me, this is the only drawback although I'm a huge digital goods person, I even find myself using an optical drive a lot.

 

Fair enough

If defending a product on a forum was all it took to get a full-time job from a large, multinational company, my wife wouldn't be using her degree in biochemistry to count inventory part-time for RGIS

 

For some price, an external optical drive will be available.

 

M11x is probably gonna be around 1000$ as the terms and conditions of the alienware M11x sweepstakes says "6. Prize: Grand prize: One (1) winner per entry period will receive an Alienware M11x computer. The Approximate Retail Value of this prize is $1000."

 

that could just be with certain upgrades though, the base price has been speculated to be $799

 

I figure it will be close to 1500.00 loaded out (SSD) and all.

 

All,

I have been watching this thread in some detail, I will be for the defence as I would love a portable (ok) gaming laptop for the times I travel. I have wanted an alienware for a long time but begrudge sending £3k on laptop.

I have been trying to find out when the US and UK release dates will be, from what I have read everyone is just saying spring - can anyone from Dell blow the whistle on the dates.

I will be purchasing once release.