M11x case design video

Before I bought my R2/i7, during my research stage, I remember seeing 2 guys on a video from alienware discussing the m11x design.
These guys had a lot of insight on the design process and may have actually been the pre Dell owners or, engineers.

They talked about the m11x virtues and how it had been done years ago however components that they deemed capable of providing the preformance that they wanted were not available yet in the size needed to fit inside the m11x case.

Has anyone else seen this video and if so can you post a link here in this thread.

My reason for bringing this up is to help prove my argument that the m11x R4 will have a case redesign or is in desperate need of a case design. The redesign my be larger, wider, or smaller. This will require moving to a new line of cases.

Here is my point:
1. Others here have argued here that the m11x is only a 1 years or so old product and thus the case is too early to be redesigned. My response, based on this video, is the m11x case has been around a long time and alienware was waiting for hardware to fit.

2. Is it smart of alienware to try so hard to stick to a case design that high fan noise (m11x r3, m14x r1) is traded for overheating. Isnt there a way to have high performance and no fan noise like the asus g17/g15 ? Someone said his m15x sound like a jet airplane.

3. Fan noise is not "par for the course" with gaming as many have said. The vast majority would prefer high performance and no fan noise to high performance and high fan noise.

I do not know for sure if the m11x R4 will be redesigned however, the R3, being a marginal upgrade to the R2 that is only worth buying at a huge discount, is exhibiting an overheating solution (fan noise) that tells me something is wrong.

I am looking for Alienware to do something creative like the asus g17 where a huge processor/gpu (not the crippled i7's in the r2/r3) can be run at really high speeds with no noise.

 

Wow. How much sleep have you lost over this ridiculous point?

EDIT: Really, why is it so important for you to keep arguing about this? Go outside and get some fresh air. It's not the end of the world that people disagree with your point of view.

 

Well, no noise is impossible even with the other laptops..
There are trade-offs involved but I do think that M11x R3 could have been postponed with larger upgrades...

From my opinion, M11x R3 and M14x are experiencing fan noise problems majorly due to their BIOS.
I am M11x R2 user and I had severe problems with fan noise after upgrading to A03.
I am able to perfectly enjoy far less noisy fan with BIOS A02.

Unfortunately, I never saw such video as I have been happy with my M11x R2 in terms of performance and design.

 

Well.. No need to be so offensive here although I saw people arguing with this guy in the past.
No idea what has been happening.

 

These really negative responses are not personal.

There is something suspicious about these comments though.

How often have you seen a person advocate for something that will improve the consumer experience and they are shouted down by another consumer ?

I don' know what it is here but it's just weird.

 

I can understand that you want a new case design. And I don't see a problem with that.

But usually in design terms, a new case design won't be realeased at least for 2 years after the initial product comes out. So, I would expect the R5 revision to have a new design, or be a new system. It is possible the R4 will be redesigned.

Personally, I like the current design, but it is my first M11x. I just hope when they do redesign it, that it looks as good as the current.

But I do also believe a firmware update will be coming out to resolve the fan noise issue.

Anyway, I don't want to argue with you anymore Anthony. I understand what you want to see happen, and respect that.

 

Dude, the case will be re-designed in the future, I'm sure. That's how marketing/capitalism/technology progresses.

But you've made your point 5000 times already! Talk about something new. What's really weird is that you're *obsessed by a laptop case*...

 

Okay. I have said it many times before. Agreed.

Maybe being "teamed up on" with irrelevant comments like, "you cant afford an R3", or, "you're jeolous", made me think I had not gotten my point across.

If Dell is listening to this thread then I saw myself as not being heard by them because I was shouted down.

My point in a nutshell has been to Dell:

"I want the case redesigned immediately in the R4. I will not buy an R3 (for full price). I will not upgrade to a many years old case design where you think you can just keep re-filling it with new, marginally better components."

 

Cool, I hear you; no one should bash someone over potential financial issues or whatever. However I think providing feedback to Dell directly would be way more effective, like at their official forum:

Alienware Forum - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community

They also have various product feedback forms you can submit. Take care. ~

 

Is your main reasoning for a new case from the reported loud fan noise of the R3? If a bios fix reduces the fan speeds and noise of the R3 are you still going to argue for a new case design?

Maybe the components aren't much better, but Dell used the parts that are the successors to the R2... the new low voltage i5 and i7, and the Nvidia 540, which is the performance wise the successor to the 335 and 425.

 

With current tech expect any higher performance or gaming capable laptop to have one or more fans...

If you take fans out of the equation and rely on passive cooling alone you will sacrifice performance, price, wieght or size. its just the way it is.

Im sure everyone would love to have a fast PC thats completly quiet. i dont think anyone wants thier PC to make noise. but when performance is the trade off for the 0db rating people tend to not care as much about it.

There are many methods that could be used to go noiseless with high end PCs but the trade offs are often too much for the main stream. Passive coolers would be heavy, thick and expencive.

 

The ASUS G73 is as quiet as a pin dropping and has the same 2630QM as the m17x. Its also very cool. Its not passive but just as quiet as passive.

My point is that the M series looks cool however can you keep it the same without re-thinking anything about it ?

Alienware is not doing anything innovative.

They seem to beleive consumers are content with the same ole case with all of its problems and want to keep further innovation to a minimum.

 

I have a good idea for you : buy an Asus 17 p and go in the Asus forum...
Seriously, i ll just buy an R3 and one day, maybe i ll buy another laptotp. But you cant be serious when you compare a 17 p laptop with a 11 p... my d901c had 4 fans, it was audible but always at the same level, idle or load.

I need a 11 p silent when i m working or surfing, i should have prefer an nearly silent 11p laptop but the actual tech dont allow that yet.

So Sheldon please let us enjoy the present time and go on with our M11x R3, even if you come from the future, dont tell us it's hurt

 

I don't mean to hijack this thread but since the topic is on the M11x case design...I was wondering if you think Dell would ever include an internal optical drive?

 

Sure. if you dont want a battery.

 

It's really not needed, even if they miraculously could squeeze it in. I don't miss it at all, and it's my 1st system without one.

I use another laptop as an external drive sometimes at home, if I want to install a game or whatever from disc. It's easy enough to network them together.

 

I am curious to see this video tho. I think it would be interesting.

On the topic of the DVD/CD drive. Not a big deal to me either. But I do also have a slim external DVD Writer.

 

But you're not gonna get 6-7 hours battery life with that CPU.....


I don't think you get the point of the M11X.





Besides, more power=more voltage
More voltage=more heat (And less battery)
More heat=more fan RPM
More fan RPM=more noise



You can't have everything. The M11X is about portability & battery life. If you want more power like the G15/G17 then you're looking in the wrong place.



You say Alienware isn't doing anything innovative.



Show me another notebook of the same size with the same battery life & same power? At the same price?



My M11X runs really cool unless I'm doing serious gaming.....even then the temps are pretty good....so I don't know what you're talking about overheating...



You call the M11X's i7 "crippled"..... you're wrong. It's an LOW VOLTAGE CPU. If you stick a "normal" CPU in there, your battery life is shot. You'll have another 1-2.5 hour notebook on your hands, destroying the purpose behind the M11X.



If you're so in love with the G15/G17, then go buy one and stop bugging us with your nonsense.....because you obviously don't understand what the M11X is about & you just seem to want EVERYTHING in your notebook. I hate to tell you but here in the real world, you can't have everything.



So, what's more important to you? Power or portability/battery life? If you want power, go with another system. The M11X is an amazing machine, It's small & light enough I carry it everywhere, and I'm not chained to a power outlet.




*edit* I don't know why you think they designed the case several years ago & were waiting for the components.....but that's backwards. You design a case around components....not the other way around.










Lastly, this thread needs to be locked. It's full of nonsense.

 

Really not trying to flame you here but you do understand the basic idea of how heatsinks work right?

The more surface there is, the more heat can be removed.

The faster air travels over the heatsink the faster heat is removed.

The tighter the heatsink fin denisity in a given area to work with (laptop frame minus componets) the more noise they will make as air passes thru them.

So the idea for engineers is to make the quietest laptop they can make with out having temps get dangerously high. when you take space away things get louder for the same performance level.

Think of it this way. If you had to blow out 1 candle every 1seconds and you were armed with a chinese hand fan you could do it quietly. but if you had to blow out 10 candles every 1seconds and all you had was that same fan you would start to make a lot of noise to keep up. the only way to reduce the noise your making is to get a bigger fan (more air flow over a given surface area) or reduce the heat level (less candles).

Untill chips are made that can output the same or better level of performance with less heat. thats all you go to work with. its as simple as that. sure they can always improve the cooling systems and make them more efficent. but we are talking a few deg. difference.

 

So how do you explain the logic of your small size makes louder fans when the loud fans on the m17x r3 compared to the quiet stealth like breezing fan of the G73?

 

http://www.mypay-computers-credit.com/wp-content/uploads/alienware-m17x-r3-3d-financed-3-550x396.jpg


Height: 53mm
Width: 406mm
Depth: 321mm

vs

http://www.blugga.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/asus-1.jpg

Height:57mm
Width: 415mm
Depth: 320mm


i think that pretty much sums up what i was talking about..

IMO the Asus looks pretty awesome (first time ive ever seen it) and if i were to buy a huge laptop like one of these i would pick the G73 over the M17 if looks and cooling were top priority (i dont know enough about theses 2 laptops to make any other assessment).


the cooling design looks to be better on the G73, but this comes a cost, the back end is thicker & the shape is not as square to accommodate the (more than likely bigger) heatsinks. which with all else equal means more surface area to dissipate heat, which means less air flow per sq inch is needed to remove the heat. so it makes less noise

 

This thread has served its purpose ... closed.