**M11xR2 Discussion Thread

oh my god.. now I have to choose between this or envy 14.. and now some guy on here is saying alienware might have an M13x or M14x, this guessing has got to stop... >:| UNHEALTHYYYYY

 

Don't listen to the M13X/M14X talk- Seriously, why come out with them and undermine the refresh to the M11X?

 

Here is an official word on i7 and Optimus Technology. Makes sense.

According to this link
INFO
The integrated graphics on the i7 Chip should be faster than the old GMA4500MHD graphics chip from intel. Is this good or bad? What does the current SU7300/i3/i5 use?

[EDIT] so it's like....
SU7300's use integrated Intel GMA4500 + GT335m (Fn+F6) - we know this for sure.
i3/i5's use Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (5-series) + GT335 (Optimus) - 99% sure on this one.
i7 use Intel i7 onboard + GT335 (Fn+F6)?

 

The Core 2 Duo CULV models use the GMA4500MHD on the northbridge.

All of the Core i3/5/7 ULV models come with the Intel GMA HD on the CPU package.

 

M11x has ULV (low voltage / less performance) compared with Envy 14 using actual mobile Core i5 / i7. So the Envy 14 will have much better CPU performance and GPU is better as well.

Regarding possible M13x or M14x, highly unlikely. All speculation. The question just came up what will Dell / Alienware announce at E3 if they've already released the Core i5 for sale on the M11x. They may still just announce the M11x refresh, who knows.

 

That rep has no idea what he's talking about. Just last night I was talking to a rep seeing if they would confirm the refresh being available, had no idea what I was talking about.

Combining the power of the optional Intel® CoreTM i7 640UM and 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 335M GPU with optional NVIDIA® OptimusTM technology, the M11x delivers an intense gaming experience. Dominate wherever you may go.

from: http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/alienware-m11x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn
It has also been confirmed by erawneila earlier in this thread. The core i series ULV chips used in the m11x are all the same arrandale architecture. No reason for any of them to not have optimus. We should update the original post with the confirmed specs so people at least stop asking about optimus.

 

No customization for i7 UM's yet. It still has the old cpus in customization. Sad

 

To reconfirm this on the Dell NZ site it says on the specs page under chipset:

Mobile Intel® QS57 Express Chipset (M11x Core i5 and i7)

Where as on the US site it only says i5.

It is just a mistake.

 

But also:
1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 335M
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (5-series) (M11x Core i3 and i5 only)
Dynamically switchable with NVIDIA Optimus Technology (M11x Core i3 and i5 only)

Alienware M11x Laptop Details | Dell Australia

Are there any locales that say the i7 is switchable? Of course it could all be a mistake and the webmasters didn't get the info they needed. :/

 

I'm using the R1 right now and I dont want to let it go. But I must return it to best buy and get the R2 from dell..

Yet still undecided because benchmarks aren't available yet.

 

last I checked the i3 2.13GHz is just about the same as the 2.8GHz C2D.

my brain stops working past there.

 

OK so i7 has NO optimus because it has its OWN built-in low power mode? If that is so, I wish there was a test between that and the i5 for battery life and performance.
I was going to get the i5 because of the optimus vs the i7. On a small laptop, I would guess I would rather have longer life than what performance I would get from the i7 vs the i5.

 

AFAIK, the i7 has an iGPU built in as well just like the i5 and i3.

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=47700

"Intel® HD Graphics: Yes"

 

The only discount I can find is EPP, but the EPP site link is down. I had to call Dell and even then they could not get the pricing right so they are going to call me back tomorrow.

My EPP discount is only 10% for Alienware Products. Same as sales tax

 

Anyone confused about the Optimus technology? Well, let me confuse you even more. Here is the M11xR2 manual. And here are other related documents. All the documents are from the US dell website. I should say that I don't rely much on the sale rep, since I know that most of them have no clue about the technology. So, what is interesting is that R2 is refer to all core i3/i5/i7 models and R1 is refer to older technology. Well, this probably means 2 things there will be a core i3 version as well and that Optimus technology doesn't specifically say only for i5, thus I think it's for all core i-series.

 

The i5 and i7 available for the M11X all have the exact same on board graphics and they both have optimus as has been confirmed several times in this thread. Both these CPUs are probably going to consume less power because they were made using 32nm lithography compared to 45nm for the old CPUs.

 

That mean you are in California, the good news is you are not alone

 

Am I missing something here?

This seems like a pretty sub-par refresh.

Reading up on the performance of these UM iX cores suggests that they provide little to no performance increase in most instances. The i5 is said to be faster than any 1.2 Ghz C2D, problem is the M11X has a 1.6 Ghz C2D. Thus the i5 will probably actually be slower than the C2D. There is just no way architecture will make up a 600 Mhz shortfall, and Turbo Boost will only engage in the most extreme instances, for most tasks having the extra 600 Mhz even on older architecture is gonna be faster. This is especially sad for $150 more.

The i7 is said to be faster than any 1.6 Ghz C2D, that means it should be faster than the older processor across the board. Problem is, it costs $300 more than the C2D model and what I am reading suggests it will only be slightly faster than a 1.6 Ghz C2D. Everything I can find says expect no more than a 10% performance increase out of the i7 versus a 1.6 Ghz C2D.

I don't know, for my $300 I require a little more than a 10% performance increase. Am I missing something big here? Or is this just kind of a half hearted refresh because they are running out of C2D chips?

 

well if didn't make a substantial increase in performance, i don't think they would be foolish enough to upgrade the processors. The main concern now is how much difference it would make exactly, and the only way to find out about that now is to wait for someone to get their hands on one of these.

 

Iam thinking the same thing, I could get the old R1 AUD$1200 where as if I get the R2 i7 it would cost me AUD$1800.

If the performance is only slightly increase and even the optimus technolgy we are not sure the i7 have it then I would get the R1 and save me AUD$600

 

I can't find any benchmarks for these processors so I doubt your findings.

 

well. the corei7 is overclockable and the turboboost is at 2.266 sooo im thinking there should be a little more than 10%.

 

From what I understand the C2D's are EOL or are being made EOL, regardless stocks weren't going to last forever and they needed to move on.
I'm still waiting on seeing how good (if at all) these processors are compared to the current ones.
In your comparison you mentioned too, was it talking about the ULV i7's and C2D's or the normal laptop ones? As there is quite a difference

 

And that is in one month! I can't believe it. Im planning to return my M11x back to best buy. And I wouldnt have any benchmarks to have basis on.

very risky indeed.

 

so im like on the verge of switching. i still have about a week and a half left on my 30 day return policy but im not sure if its worth it to switch to the core i7. im wondering if the i7 would allow me to play games like gta4 on higher settings or if it would be about the same as the su4100. i just dont want my investment to last only 2 years when i could easily shell out another 300 and make it laster alot longer.

 

ALL iX CPU's have Optimus.

Also some more details from the manual:

Computer Model Alienware M11x-R2
Dimensions Height (front and back) 32.7 mm (1.29 inches)
Width 285.7 mm (11.25 inches)
Depth 233.3 mm (9.19 inches)
Weight with 8-cell battery (starting at) 2.0 kg (4.4 lbs)
NOTE: The weight of your laptop will vary depending on the configuration ordered and the manufacturing variability.
Processor and System Chipset
Processor Intel® Core™ i3
Intel Core i5
Intel Core i7
L2 cache 256 KB
L3 cache up to 4 MB
Bus clock 133 Mhz
System chipset Intel QS57
SDRAM bus width one or two 64-bit channels of DDR3 memory up to 1333 MHz
Processor address bus width 32 bits
Processor data width 64 bits
BIOS EPROM 8 Mbit
Graphics bus PCIe x16 bus
PCI bus 32 bits

Memory
Connectors two internally-accessible DDR3 SODIMM sockets
Capacities 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB
Memory type 1066 MHz and 1333 MHz (operates at 800 Mhz) dual channel DDR3 configurations
Memory configurations possible 2 GB, 3 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB

Ports and Connectors
Network adapter one RJ45 connector
USB three 4-pin USB 2.0-compliant connectors, including one USB PowerShare connector
HDMI one 19-pin connector
DisplayPort one 20-pin connector
Audio two audio output/headphone connectors and one audio input/microphone connector
3-in-1 Media Card Reader one combo connector
SIM card one SIM card slot
IEEE 1394 one 4-pin serial connector

Video
Video controller
Integrated
Discrete Intel QS57
Nvidia NV11P-GS1
Video memory
Integrated
Discrete dynamic based on system memory capacity
1 GB
External display support HDMI and DisplayPort

CHAPTER 7: SPECIFICATIONS97 Hard-Drive Storage
Interface SATA
Number of hard drives one
Hard drive 2.5 inch SATA hard drive
Type standard portable and solid-state hard-drives
Cards Supported
Media cards SSecure Digital (SD) memory card•
MMultiMedia Card (MMC)
MMemory Stick PRO
Video cards Intel QS57
NNvidia GeForce GT 335M

Display
Type 11.6 inch HD TrueLife, WLED
Maximum resolution 1366 x 768
Dimensions
Height 144 mm (5.67 inches)
Width 256.12 mm (10.08 inches)
Diagonal 293.83 mm (11.57 inches)
Refresh rate 60 Hz
Operating angle 0° (closed) to 140°
Pixel pitch 0.2550 mm
Controls brightness can be controlled through keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard (Backlit)
Number of keys 82 (Korea, U.S, and Canada); 83 (Europe); 86 (Japan)
Backlight color RGB; colors can be changed by invoking the AlienFX® application in the Alienware Command Center. For information, see your Mobile Manual.

Battery
8-cell “smart” lithium ion (63 Whr)
Height 11.2 mm (0.44 inches)
Width 173 mm (6.81 inches)
Depth 109.4 mm (4.31 inches)
Weight 0.43 kg (0.94 lb)
Voltage 14.8 V
Operating time battery operating time varies depending on operating conditions and can be significantly reduced under certain power-intensive conditions.
Life span (approximate) 300 discharge/charge cycles
Temperature range
Operating 0° to 50°C (32° to 122°F)
Storage –20° to 60°C (–4° to 140°F)
Coin-cell battery CR-2032

AC Adapter
Type 90 W
Input voltage 100-240 VAC
Input current (maximum) 1.5 A
Input frequency 50-60 Hz
Output current 4.62 A (continuous)
Output power 90 W
Rated output voltage 19.5 VDC
Temperature range
Operating 0° to 40°C (32° to 104°F)
Storage –40° to 70°C (–40° to 158°F)
Connector types
DC connector 3-pin, 7.4 mm plug
AC connector 3-pin – C5

 

So the memory runs at 800Mhz no matter what is stuck in the machine. All iX cores have Optimus

 

Anyboy know any active coupons for the UK??

 

Things that are clear:

i3/i5/i7 is available depending on your territory, i3 is not yet available in the UK for example.
VGA port has gone and left side has been slightly redesigned pushing display ports nearer the screen (this is a good move in my view).
Optimus support on all iX cores
95 Watt power adaptor
New iX cores have rubber black or cosmic silver options
Bluetooth is now an option in all markets (UK it was standard on prior model).
Memory runs at 800Mhz
Everyone wants money off coupons lol

Questions still to be clarified in my view:

1: Real World games improvement.
2: Can the Intel video do HD video with sound out of the HDMI port (this would mean longer battery life whilst watching movies ideal for air flights etc).
3: How well does the Optimus work with fan cooling etc
4: Does the non Gobi version come with aeriels (I think not personally speaking)

 

Actually the bluetooth is included on all Australian M11x's (so not an option), and we get all the cpu options.
In addition to this we only have 2 hard drive options at the moment, 500gb 7200rpm and a 256gb SSD. We also only have 4gb and 8gb ram options. However there is no soft touch option (yet?)
If you're curious the price difference between Australian and US models of the same spec (i5, 4gb ram, 500rpm hdd, bluetooth) is 1277US in australia and 1169 in America, tbh that's not that bad so i'm pretty impressed

 

are there any pictures of the r2 unit? the only one where i can see the changed ports is the tiny preview image on the configuration site. you can just see the removed vga and lan port on the picture.

also, if the left usb port has been moved to the opposite side, are there still the twin audio out jacks and single input? i found it properly useful, i could let my baby sister listen in on what i was doing without her bothering me.

 

just to inform:

I've just received my DOD per Mail.

M11x i5 should arrive on June 21!!!

Yiehaaaa.....

... in Germany

 

Don't understand why VGS was taken out, especially if it wasn't replaced by anything.....


Hopefully Optimus can be further adapted to R1 models as it has from other laptops.

 

Ordered my i7 m11x this morning as soon as I saw the site update. Order confirmation not received until the afternoon, estimated delivery date was 1 July 2010.

Interestingly, the manual speaks of 10/100/1000 ethernet. Despite the website and all the order forms stating 10/100 only, I hope the manual is right.

 

if anything, i believe it was done to help cool the core i5/i7 processor. i can probably see larger heatpipes for the processor, so they had to remove most of the ports from one side.

that's just a theory, though.

 

This happens exactly 2 weeks after I decide to get a lenovo since the processor in the M11x didn't fit my needs -_-

 

This one probably still wouldn't, ULV i5 <> the i5 in your thinkpad, a lot of people seem to be forgetting this

 

Intel comparison page for i5 520um vs i7 640um vs C2D SU7300, if anyone interested.

 

Ok im not expert in the field of silicon, but I do stay up to date as much as any one with whats given. I usually know what processors have been released, and some of the features that come with them like hyperthreading, or changes in l1,l2,l3 caches, and things like on board graphics. As far as names of all the processors I dont keep up with that stuff and all the related differences between each.

I don't agree with you about your statements in how the upgrade isnt sufficient though. The new i series processors are giving more battery life, while boosting performance at the same time. These ULV processors are so perfect for this notebook its crazy. I have an old alienware laptop and it has a desktop processor in it. Its almost like intel put everything aside, desktops, 17 inch notebooks, 15 in notebooks, all there other hardware just to release this amazing chip for this single notebook the m11x. You might be correct in the statement that there arnt enough changes for you in the new release of this notebook that warrent buying it over again, but yeah...Im very excited for the m11x owners, as there getting the best technology available for notebook/netbook sized laptop. I really dont see any time in the future netbooks getting much better then this, especially in the processor category.

 

I noticed the memory is being run at 800Mhz also, hence I post the manual myself. What's interesting is that on Intel product page, you can see that both 640um and 520um require DDR3-800, and thus the reason they are running at 800Mhz. I'm thinking that Dell want to future proof the board itself for future production of core i-series on M11x that require higher memory speed, hence 1066 and 1333 are there. But I wouldn't bet on M11xR2 w/ something like i7 720QM.

 

To be honest I think it comes down to cost, dell can make a bulk purchase of 1333 ram and use it on anything, rather then getting lower specced stuff that can only run in one system

 

Here is some number crunching that I am able to get to, with what I think is a closet match.(type in 350M su7300 and select or then hit restrict) What I'm comparing to are SU7300 vs i3 350M. Why 350M? That's because both 350M and 640UM are both base on Arrandale architecture and both have the max speed of 2.26Ghz, while 640UM would actually have 4MB of cache while 350M have 3MB. So, they should give somewhere a good comparison.

It's probably true about the RAM stick, but I'm actually refer to the design on the board. Dell could have make it so that the bus are actually running 800Mhz instead. As you can see the bus is 1333, not 800.

 

Considering that this is 1333MHz memory downclocked to 800MHz, it better have some very tight timings...

 

Ah i'm with you now on the ram side of things.
CPU wise I just don't feel that the ULV i3/i5/i7 cpu's will produce the same level of performance however, as intel can't just halve the TDP without some performace penalty. I'm going to stick with the i5/i7 being somwhat better (10-20%), and the i3 being pretty much bang on the same as the current cpu's.
In apps that can take advantage of the hyper threading it should be interesting though
How this affects gaming though i'm really not sure...

 

if u play a lot of strategy game (with the upcoming starcraft2) u need more core proc..
but if u play FPS games then duo core would be a bare minimum.

 

for myself i am thinking i7, 4 GB Ram, 320 GB HDD

Is there anything else new in the m11x besides the CPU and Optimus?

 

I had a very similar experience to MaxGeek... I called Dell/EPP by phone last night, two calls, over 1.5hrs in total. Dealing with CSRs by phone (while they were trying to be nice) was *so* painful compared to ordering on dell.com/epp directly.

But as we all seem to know, that Core i5/i7 EPP link to their configurator is still broken. The two CSRs that I called last night also had the same issue - the EPP "version" of the M11x R2 is only Core 2 Duo (R1) at this time. They would be able to order me one off Dell.com (home), of course at full price... no thanks... "all" that I am trying to do is get my (legit) 10% EPP discount...

One of the CSRs offered to call me back this AM as well, to check on why the EPP discount on the Core i7 model I want to configure wasn't pulling up any EPP discount.

Question for anyone else who's been here before, is it normal for Dell to delay EPP discounts on new models, or is there simply a website problem going on right now?

- Kirk200

 

I'm guessing it's just not at the top of their priorities right now. Why go through a lot of effort to make something everyone wants cheaper right away? So I suppose it's a little of both of what you suggested.

 

i almost forgot about hyperthreading

back when i had my pentium 4 desktop, hyperthreading made a huge difference in performance (for me, at least, doing 3d modelling stuff and such)

 

Does the m11x include the facial recognotition log in? I was just wondering and thought it would be fun to play around with.