Idea Storm: M12x

After owning an M11x r1, it's upsetting to me that there doesn't appear to be any form of a successor from Alienware on the horizon. The M14x is a disappointment in my opinion. The performance is decent, but its plastic chassis and large size make it unworthy of filling the void that the M11x left behind. Since being discontinued, Nvidia's Kepler graphics cards have arrived on the scene, offering powerful yet efficient mobile gaming solutions that weren't possible in years past. Sager has entered the market with its own ultra portable 11" gaming laptop, combining Ivy Bridge processors with Nvidia's 650m, but for those of us that have grown to love Alienware's excellent build quality, styling, performance, and warranty, the NP6110 can't quite live up to our expectations.

I know I'm not alone in wishing that Alienware would produce a true successor to the M11x. The demand for this kind of machine exists. What's kind of disappointing is that despite the demand, we haven't been able to prove to Alienware that an M11x successor would be successful. There was a petition that garnered only 116 signatures, and a thread on IdeaStorm proposing the M12x (brought to my attention by our resident NBR rep Luis) but so far it has only been upvoted 15 times and has a handful of comments.

Imagine the improvements of an M12x with the same dimensions as the old M11x: a 12" 720/900p IPS screen with glossy/matte options, a powerful Nvidia 7xx GPU, efficient Haswell processor, and an aluminum chassis, all for around a thousand dollars. If Alienware were to build another machine like this, I'd drop the cash for it in a heartbeat, and I know many of you would too.

That's why I'm hoping that you'll all sign up and vote/comment for this idea. Even if it doesn't get built, our ideas may be heard by the people at Dellienware, leading to improvements on other models. Let's show Alienware that it was a mistake to drop their ultraportable laptop right when improved hardware was about to be released. Let's show them that we still care :thumbsup:

Sign up and vote here. Thanks guys!

 

It would be better if they ditched the m14x and came out with an m13x with a high quality ips,the one in their new xps 13 mlk would be nice,a dual core i5 or maybe a ULV and some midrange gpu(750m maybe?).
That would be cool and one of a kind.

 

Agreed, that'd work well. I'd like to see them ditch the M14x, bring back the M15x with 760m-780m options, and then just do something small again. As long as it's ultraportable I'd be happy. The M14x doesn't make much sense imo.

 

Yup. Clevos p150 deserves some competition. Also they should make all their models from magnesium like the m17x r3 was except for the m18x which should stay aluminium.

A lineup like this would be cool:
-m13x which would basically be a gaming ultrabook
-m15x with 760m-780m
-m17x with 760m-780m or alternatively they could make this an sli model with the option for single gpu config thus giving competition for 17" single and dual gpu notebooks with a single unit + future upgrade ability to sli.
It would be very cost effective that way but of course it would mean that the m18x goes down the drain.

 

That would be awesome, though I'd kind of like the M18x to stay since there isn't anything else like it on the market right now. I had no idea the M17x was magnesium, I thought it was plastic like the r4 is? I know the r1 and r2 were aluminum like the M18x, but I thought they switched to plastic with the r3. That makes me want to pick up an r3 for cheap and slap a 680m in it; I love metal chassis.

 

The r3 was magnesium with a rubber coating for fingerprint resistance. I always thought that was a cool idea. Magnesium is lighter than Aluminium so it would be ideal for the lower models like the m13x and m15x to save weight thus improving portability while still maintaining a high build quality. I'm not sure but I don't see a reason why the r4 wouldn't be made from magnesium? I wouldn't be surprised if people just assumed it was plastic because of the rubber coating.

I also like the m18x btw.but like we discussed earlier a 120hz screen would be worth the downgrade. The upcoming 780m's in sli could easily pull 120fps in most games. Maybe we could even get a little more if the screen had oc headroom. 135-140hz

 

I wondered why my M17x didn't really feel like plastic. It didn't have that "clicky" feel when you tapped on it with your fingernail, it felt more solid. How is it that you know more about these things than I do

You're right, better screen options would make up for it. I'd still be happier with an 18.4" 120hz screen though, but it would be cheaper and simpler to just get rid of the M18x altogether.

 

Well I have been reading this forum for years. I just never felt like joining in. lol

It would be awesome to have a 120hz 18.4" lappy. That would be a mobile multimedia paradise. xP Sadly it is cheaper to just get rid of the 18x and make a new dual gpu 17x.
We'll see how things play out soon.

 

lol that makes sense. I've been reading NBR off and on for a couple of years, but I'm still really new to AW. I can't believe I never really liked them before. I think part of it was most of the AW owners you see on youtube know jack sh** about their computers lmao. I always wrote them off as poseurs.

Now I'm a total fanboy. lulz.

 

I hated AW as well based on the posts I've read here about all the issues they have and their crappy warranty etc. They seem to have sorted most of the problems so I'm up for buying an SLI machine from them.

Before I always recommended Clevo. Not any more. (except when it comes to their 15" gaming lappy. I always recommend that over the m14x or that piece of overpriced garbage Razor Blade)

 

Absolutely, I had two Sagers before the AWs, really great laptops. If you're gonna spend $1000-$1500, the NP9150/NP9170 are the way to go imo.

 

Why would they want to go into the netbook market again while there's clearly not much to win there.
There are a couple of freaks here (no offense meant, i'm one of them) who would love an ultraportable, with ultra performance, but the market for this is simply small. Most people use a netbook in bed, on the couch or on the kitchen table to just browse a bit, not to benchmark it and see how much fps you can squeeze out of it in game X, or how much you can have it OC'd buy soldering a resistor to one of the CPU legs ^^.

Don't get me wrong, i'd buy the successor in a heartbeat. Heck, i'm still desperately trying to get the 'old' m11x just cause I want one (dear reader, feel free to pm if you want to get rid of your m11x ).

But in the memory of the m11x, I would opt for an Alienware hybrid m11x-tablet.
With windows 8, this opens up a lot of possibilities, cram a touchscreen in it, give it a slight redesign, and make it hybrid so it's going to be a netbook/alienware powerhouse and tablet in one, a jack of all trades

 

I'd be happy with anything portable, and Dell could easily release something similar to their XPS line but with more power.

I can't predict what the demand would be, but I know a bunch of us AW nuts would love a new M11x as a 2nd laptop. As much as I love the M18x, it doesn't have the portability or convenience that a little M11x or M12x would have. I still bring the M18x with me when I go out of town, but a smaller system would be perfect for general use/light gaming and bringing to work or school. I just miss the little guy

 

Ultra portable? No. Gaming ultrabook? Sounds interesting to me.

 

Well, under status, it says "under review", so hopefully that means they are taking it seriously.

 

You've got my vote, I also love the little beasts

 

I'd buy one in a heartbeat :thumbsup:.