M11x Pre-purchase Questions

I'm not sure where to post this, especially as I am not yet an owner! I am looking into buying one of these later this month but I have some questions first and I'm hoping this is the place to find proper answers.

My main issue (which really has more to do with general lack of knowledge than alienware specific) is about the mobile connectivity. I live in Cheyenne, WY and we get terrible coverage here overall. Verizon is really the best way to go, but I dislike the fact that they use CDMA instead of GSM like the rest of the world. AT&T has absolutely no coverage here, and I believe Sprint is on and off. I have actually been thinking about switching to Sprint for cell phone service to give them a try out here but just haven't yet.

The three mobile connectivity options are Verizon, AT&T, or nothing. Is the AT&T only AT&T specific or can it support any GSM service like Sprint? Also, are these options something that can be easily changed out at a later time? If I choose to go with nothing right now, can I order the card I need and pop it in later if I decide that's what I want to go with? Or am I WAY off and these have nothing at all to do with GSM or CDMA at all? I'm only thinking they are because there are both options... And really do I need one of these at all or would I be fine with a mobile wi-fi gadget from either Sprint or Verizon?

Another question I have is about memory - is 4G enough or should I upgrade to 8G? Does it make a noticable difference in game performance?

And lastly does anyone know if there has been word on an upgrade from the GeForceGT 335M to something more recent in the very near future??

I have never owned a laptop so please bear with me! It annoys me that you can't just order all the parts and put them together like you can a desktop, so this whole process has me a little nervous. Any advice for a first-time laptop owner would be greatly appreciated.

 

No one knows when the refresh of the m11x will happen. Sometime this year. Might be in 4 months might be in 6 months might be in 8 months no one knows. I've been investigating the possible upgrade paths and it seems that the cpu will be changed to

Core i7-2657M 2/4 1.6 Ghz 2.7 GHz 4MB 17W 350-1000MHz $317
Core i7-2617M 2/4 1.5 Ghz 2.6 GHz 4MB 17W 350-950MHz $289
Core i5-2537M 2/4 1.4 Ghz 2.3 GHz 3MB 17W 350-900MHz $250

those are the sandy bridge ulv's

and the possible gpus would be either the gt435m or the gt525m the 525m is more likely because its lower wattage for about the same performance.

If you can wait till later this year you will be better off but if you need it now just buy now.

Sorry don't know anything about 3g connectivity never used it before.

 

4GB is more that capable for gaming and there will be zero benefit from any additional. Save that money for something else.

No one knows for sure when a refresh is likely to occur for the M11x, but you're likely to run across lots of posts where people are hoping/speculating that it might happen around E3 which is in June. My money is on it happening in the fall.

 

Not sure I can totally agree with NO benefit going to 8GB.... some games cache up as much as they can over time, reducing hitching, etc.... it is a subtle difference, but... I personally think its one of the best $120 you'll ever spend these days... but get 1333 Mhz memory so you can pull it one day if you want.

The only thing I can think of that would beat it out considering what little you CAN do with an M11x... I'd put the difference towards an SSD.

 

i too am interested in the m11x but very hesitant about getting one with the hinge issue.

i'll keep an eye on this thread but i am hoping for a refresh.

 

You've hit on another dilemma! I am on the fence about that as well. Bigger vs. faster. Especially with no disc drive, I was thinking the SSD was just too small. I don't plan on storing every game I have on there, sure. But I also don't want to have to be trading games in and out to make because there isn't enough space to save everything I want.

From what I have been reading though it looks like this is one of the components that can be easily replaced, so I may just wait a bit and get a larger SSD when I can afford a nicer one and switch them out at a later date. The upgrade to memory at the off is far cheaper (like you said only $100) than the SSD upgrade. It may be worth it for peace of mind more than anything - I was short on memory once ages ago and have overcompensated ever since.

 

i like your font

 

The only reason you're going to need more than 4GB is if you're running virtual machines or running memory hungry 64bit applications. Gaming is not going to see any benefit from anything above 4GB. Save your money for something else.

 

you could also get like a pocket 500gb external hard drive to keep large media files such as movies on. They're $60-$100 on newegg. Of course, this option would be way cooler if the m11x had USB 3.0

 

I suggest you check this link out: Review - Is More Memory Better? | bit-tech.net

Note the year of the article and think about now. More memory CAN help depending on the game and how you use your machine, but not dramatically so... and I don't generally see games going down in memory use, only up, though PC-gaming is slowing down in development overall with the notable exception of shooters and MMO's, both of which like memory, though the latter benefits more in most cases.

It almost will never hurt, and might help, but again for today's and yesterday's its not something most people will notice if you're just looking at FPS. As memory continues to drop and the average machine has more, I expect developers will cater to the space.... I consider it future-proofing. ALT-Tabbing out of a game to run another app, while obviously not a concern, IS a clear case where more is beneficial, make switching fast as opposed to a heavy game that starts swapping.

Obviously it depends on your needs and what games you play, and if you use memory intensive apps along with JUST gaming.... remember when they said no one would need more than 64K.... but don't expect an FPS difference, expect a generally smoother experience using the computer.

 

anyone have a %age of hinge failures?

 

You really don't want to use either Verizon or ATT's mobile broadband service. They are all capped and can result in steep overages if you go over your 5GB limit. I would highly reccomend getting a pre-paid Rover Puck on Clearewire's 4G service. It's unlimited, and perfect for gaming. It's a bit expensive though (150 or so) but it's prepaid so no expensive early termination fees or anything like that.

4GB is plenty. You definitely don't want to go with Alienware's 8GB option. It's cheaper to just buy your own memory. 4GB is plenty for gaming and everything I've had to do on my Alienware M11x. From what I understand, 8GB of RAM will result in you being able to have more programs open and better multi-tasking... but in terms of framerates, 4GB is plenty.

the GT335M is brand-spankin' new from what I understand. I wouldn't worry about being outdated anytime soon. This graphics card puts out very good visuals and has a large amount of memory to off-load some of the processor burden.

I was basically in the same boat you were in. I was very apprehensive to buy this laptop because I wasn't sure it would have enough "oomph" to play the games that I wanted to play. The Alienware M11x is a very portable notebook and is perfect for gaming.

I really want to emphasize though that this notebook is powerful enough to play pretty much any game I've thrown at it, don't expect to fire up Crysis or Bad Company 2 and play it on max settings at 60 FPS. It's just not gonna happen. If you absolutely need the fastest gaming experience available you may want to go with something else.

If you want a laptop that can handle today's games reasonably, and is super-ultra portable... the M11x will not let you down. I can't say enough good things about this. I can carry it around campus with ease and it has effectively replaced my desktop completely.

It's worth buying. Hands down.

 

To make the point about games, if your getting M11x for gaming AND you play GPU-bound games it works pretty well.... but some notable games are very CPU dependent, BFBC2, Star Trek Online/Champions Online, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Crysis etc all need good CPUs... then you want the M11x with the highest CPU possible.

 

i-series is overkill for WoW. The R1 plays that just fine.

 

Yes, I will second that... WoW plays very well on the Core I7. So does Guild Wars. In fact, I wish I could set the settings HIGHER... since I had forgotten how graphically ugly both games are.

 

Thanks for all the info everyone!

This is a great idea - I think I will spend the extra $$ on the SSD instead of extra memory and get an external drive for extras. It is sounding like extra memory is fine if you have plenty of extra cash to throw around for niceties but not entirely necessary, and I have certainly wanted to try a SSD for a while now! I have heard though that they can only be written to so many times before they have to be replaced?

I've not heard of this but it sounds too good to be available in Wyoming. Hah! I will look more into it though - on first glance it looks interesting, being circle and all! Very neat! Would I need to get anything pre-installed on the laptop to be able to use this though?

Good to know. This is the main issue for me, since it doesn't look like I can just buy this one part in a year to upgrade!

I am definitely going with the highest CPU I can get. It would be nice if it would run Age of Conan, but I have no real expectations of playing that one on the M11x. I will most likely give it a try though for S&Gs!

 

i tempted just to get the R2 and deal with the hinges when it appears but yeah until Dell have made the fix permanent then i'll won't be wasting my hard earned on it.

 

Not to try and convey a false sense of security... but I've had no hinge problems on my R2 at all. Granted I've only had the laptop for about 2 weeks now, but I'm not too worried about it. Just be sure to get the advanced (or higher) warranty plan so that you're covered in case there are any issues. (I'm assuming the replacement warranty covers hinges, I'd be surprised if it didn't)

 

How does it do in 25-man raids? What settings?

 

I would like to know if those who have bought their's this month to report back in 2 month's time if they have issues.

 

I have a new question regarding Hard Drives... I don't really like the options that comes with the M11x so I am planning on ordering a better one from Tiger Direct. Of course all the Alienware specific stuff (like the colour changing wheel) as well as Windows and Steam will be installed on the drive that comes with the laptop. Can I plug both hard drives (the laptop one and the new blank replacement) into my desktop and just copy everything over from one to the other?

 

not as simple as that because windows creates a section of the HDD that cannot be moved by conventional drag & drop. you would need a program that can clone the drive for you.

 

Yeah, what you would need is a spare computer with two free sata slots and some clonning software and do it that way, or you could buy a device that will clone time for you, I'm not sure how much those are.

 

you would need a 3rd PC with the cloning software installed such as acronis software. you can also buy a 2 drive sata dock that takes both 2.5" and 3.5" drives: which is connected via USB.