My first Alienware- Have some Qs

Saturday night my gf and i purchased two M11x R3 i3 laptops. My gf doesn't game (she wanted the M11X so she could make everything pink) and I'm certain the i3 is more than enough for what i need.
1) I was wondering where Alienware ships their computers from? I live in FL and wonder how long till take me to get it after its finally done being built.
2) Since ill be starting at a new university next month this laptop will mainly be used for note-taking/schoolwork, but how well will the i3 game? My 5 yr old desktop runs rift with around 7-13 fps (not good but its good enough). Would the i3 be able to run MMORPG's such as Rift, WoW,or GW2 (if it ever comes out) at better speeds? I'm used to playing games on minimum graphics.
3) Is the fan in the M11X too loud to use for note-taking and the occasional Starcraft 2 match in a classroom?
4) Don't forget to recycle *highfive*

 

1) longest time waiting will be the actually building. I'm not sure where it ships from exactly but they ship from within the US so you'll get it within a couple days.
2) Not sure, its dependent on your gpu mostly not cpu. I know a lot of people here run WoW on high or ultra with no problems.
3) Nope, at least for the R1 mine never turns on unless i turn the gpu on. Will probably turn on during starcraft 2 though, thats a little more intensive than taking notes.
4) I tried one time, but then i realized im lazy and recycling on the no-no list.
5) have fun

 

Well, in my opinion you should've went with the i5, i3 is basically a Core 2 Duo
But what's done is done ><

1. It usually takes about 1-2 weeks, if you got free shipping. If you got different type of shipping then expect what you ordered
2. The laptop will easily last 5 hours with no gaming. It will run WoW and all that jazz with nearly max settings. This does not apply to all games just most of them.
3. The fan is silent, like dead silent if you aren't gaming. But if you were to run SC2 you could in a college classroom, I doubt you will be considering the amount of APM spamming and noise that accumulates.
4. LOL ?

 

1) they ship from china I think
2) the i3 will game just fine, nothing super stellar, but my r1 can run just about everything and its way way slower than yours
3) if you run on the intel graphics, the fan never reallly turns on, but if you start gaming.... oh boy in a classroom people will think you got a jet pack going over there.
4) *highfive back at ya.

 

The obligatory lame-adult question: why play Starcraft II in class? I mean, why not just either go to class to take notes / mildly slack off on the internet, or skip class to stay home and play Starcraft II?

 

Thank you for the replies. Overall, after several hours of reading, im happy with the purchase but i wont be 100% happy till i have it in my hands.

lol, why so serious? As i said "occasionally". Attendance is pretty important in many professor's eyes. It shows i care enough to be there. From time to time a teacher will go over lessons i already studied and memorized. Why not play a game that makes me look like im working rather than stare at a blank screen? Makes sense in my head at least..
*highfive* for asking something my dad would.

 

I have an r3 i3 and I play skyrim on High @ native resolution. Need I say more?

 

this excites me. My EDD is the 12/9/11. The sleeve i ordered with it comes in tomorrow. Already picked up a Targus cooling pad and an external optical drive.. Just need the darn laptop already >.< so close.. yet so far

 

Haha, yeah the hardest part is waiting.

Congrats on your new R3, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

 

Thanks. im sure my gf i will both envoy our M11X's very much.. Maybe i can finally convince her to play some games with me but i wont get my hopes up. Its only been 2 days of waiting but it feels like 2 weeks.
Still cant help but wonder why the trackpad is slightly to the left. Easier for right handed people? Will most likely just use my razer naga anyway.

 

Yeah, any serious gaming should be done with a mouse.

You make a good point about the trackpad though. I think it should be moved to the right instead. It may prove to be a more viable option for light gaming then.

 

because when u lie back in bed, have it on ur belly ur right hand is free... most people are right handed. also works better for me since ive got a cat next to me who wont leave me alone so my left hand comes in handy for pushing it away

 

I play TF2 while my cat sits on my lap...lol. Anyways OP mime just got shipped today and I ordered it two Fridays ago,so about 10 days was the build time.

 

idk if i can wait that long.. Was hoping it would come in earlier than the EDD - 12/9/11
Already bought an external optical drive, a cooling pad, and my case/sleeve comes in tomorrow.. Cant think of anything else to buy.. maybe a hello kitty sticker?
Must.. Have.. Now.. so i can rub it in my gf's face. (Her EDD is 3 days after mine - 12/12/11.)
Already read everything there is to read/ watched every worthy youtube video.. now im stuck on deciding what color combinations/wallpaper i want to use. I gotta find somethin to keep me busy the next week or two.

 

I also have a 12/9 EDD of the same laptop. High five!?

 

Heck Yeah!, *highfive!*
Just wish there was a better way of tracking my order.. My iphone app says shipped while the dell website says its in production. Knowing WHERE it is right now would be awesome. it could be a a state or two away or it could be on the other side of the world.

 

Yes, I also wore out the F5 key on my old lappie waiting for the M11x to arrive. I think mine also shipped over some long weekend or something, I don't remember now. It was awful. But I gave up my MacBook Pro for my M11x R1, and I haven't looked back.

 

Mines also in production. The anticipation is killing me.

 

hey great pickup and after all and you have 21 days after you get it to return if you dont like it; to be honest I would call them up and tell them you want to make yours an i5, the 1ghz of turbo boost really makes a difference in cpu intensive games (i.e. Starcraft) and it's only 100 dollars more

 

Wouldn't be a terrible idea but i only need the i3 what im using it for. My brothers been telling me the same thing. TBH, this laptop puts my desktop to shame.. and my desktop has no problem playing the games i play. If itll play starcraf 2, Guild Wars 2, left for dead 2, and pacman with 15+ fps on low quality, ill be more than happy with the i3. This is going to be used for school 90% of the time anyways. If i enjoy this laptop as much as i hope im going to ill be buying the m14x with i7 within the next 4-6 months to replace my desktop.
The standard *highfive* as ususal

 

It's fine, while I gave in to pressure of getting the i5 on mine just for the turbo boost, I'm hoping to be using my M11x for a while so I didn't want to be severely bottleneck'd by the processor in the future but eh I'm used to pushing every juice I can out of "Intel" graphics that this m11x will be like heaven to me. I'm pretty sure you can run those mentioned games perfectly with your i3, at least on good settings. I'm personally kind of blind anyway so as long as the graphics are decent I don't even mind playing on lows.

I can't stop thinking about my m11x. Oh when will it arrive? =\

 

^
I believe the m11x i3 will make both gf and i very happy.. We're both upgrading from 5+ year old computers. Receiving the alienware sleeve last night made me realize how TINY this thing really is.. Like a laptop mini-me
I feel your pain.. Refreshing my screen every 15 min to look for updates isnt making the time go by any faster. Hopefully this weeks finals help me lose track of a few minutes.

 

The mini-ness of the m11x makes me understand why people buy MacBook Airs.

But not why they buy them instead of m11xes. I'm planning on upgrading in the Spring, but right now I'm deliberating: m11xR3, m14x, or an ASUS lappie (I am a fan of ASUS). I guess we'll see what's on sale.