New m11x r3 owner!

Hi everyone!

Just recently received my m11x r3 today .The clone from the hard drive to a Phoenix Pro 128gb ssd just finished while I was typing this and needs to be installed so I'll be brief. If you have any questions I"ll try to help the best I can. Initial impressions are good.

i5-2537m
8gb ram
gt 540m
bluetooth

 

Nice!

I thought the Phoenix Pro was 120gb not 128?

I want an SSD again. Sold my last one w/ the computer.

Prices are just too high - and I'm enjoying 750gb of storage.

What games are you planning on playing ?

 

120gb is right.

So far only loaded Warcraft III and tried DotA maxed out resolution 1360x768 and graphics on high using the integrated card. It was definately playable but not at a solid 60 fps. Games last about an hour if you're lucky. The overall performance is much better than previous generation igp's. Coretemp showed a max cpu temp of 76C. IGP performance was on high I believe.

I made a video showing an r2 i5 8gb ram with a 320gb standard drive vs this r3 model with the phoenix pro ssd. When I get time and create a youtube account I'll see if I can post a link. Both computers were booted from stock images. I can say the ssd one took about 30 seconds and the standard hard drive took about 2 minutes. Worth it? Once the computer is booted up- the memory keeps it pretty responsive. The ssd is great for no moving parts and fast seek times but at the cost of money and storage space.

Cpu temps in general hover around 50-60 C during general usage. I noticed the left usb port is not that deep and the unifying mini reciever for the logitech anywhere mx mouse easily disconnects during bumps. I have not tried the right usb ports, or any other ports for that matter yet.

Batterybar shows 8-9 mwh's on idle but gets up to 20+ mwh's on load. I'm guessing based on these numbers 4-6 hours of life at this time. I'm running 111 processes with dim green lights on besides the Alienware logo, and while watching the desktop achieving 89's mwh. Good power management.

So far the laptop is doing good, temps not as cool as I'd like, but usable for now. I have not tried the nvidia 540m yet.

I have a lot of steam games to try- but I need to invest in a usb 3 external drive to load em all up. Once I do I'll do some benchmarking. I'm also thinking about getting the Optoma 700 Projector, a brite-view bg-2322 wireless hd signal, and nvidia 3d vision. We'll see how this laptop plays on that- but it's mainly for my desktop since I don't think this laptop will be handle the 3d.

Chau for now!

 

how do you clone the hd?

i am thinking about getting an ssd drive

 

Use a drive imaging program like Acronis True Image. I believe you can download and use a 30-day trial of their Home Edition for free.

If you want an idea of what an SSD drive can do, check out some of the links in my signature below. I run through a few scenarios, showing how you can throw just about anything at an SSD and have it just soar past all of that.

 

ta dude.

do you know much about the 250 gig crucial one it seems pretty cheap

 

hey there! congrats on your new R3!

I have a little question for you guys, right now i have the option of getting an R2 with i7 processor (used - good condition), but if I were to save up a bit (quite a bit actually) more dough, it'll be possible for me to get a brand new R3 with an i5 processor.

I'm not willing to fork out more to get an R3 with the i7 processor. So, which one would you guys go for? R2 with i7 or R3 with i5?

Thanks!

 

Hi All,

Im thinking of replacing my 500GB Sata HDD with an SSD for increased performance. Can anyone confirm if i will invalidate my warranty if i open up the laptop to swap the HDD ?

Thanks

 

i dont think it will at all. but if any problems occur and it needs work - just put the old hd back in

 

Swapping hard drives or ram won't affect your warranty.

 

In the end though- it's still an 11 inch laptop. Is it worth it to you really depends on your wants, needs, and can affords. Personally I wouldn't opt for the I7 R3 though- seems to be a small gain for high price. Then again if you can afford it- it's as good as it gets in an 11 incher. The I7 R2 may be faster in theory, but the i5 sandy bridge is newer technology.

 

Thanks for confirming I has m11x

 

thanks simplewizard!

your input is very much appreciated, i'm guessing an i5 processor is the optimal mate for gt540, perhaps an i7 would be an overkill?

but true enough, it's all about personal needs/requirements.

p/s: you could've just let your post be long, rambling or not it's still info, i was quite surprised to see that your post has been trimmed down to what it is now

 

Wow - you're only getting an hour out of the battery gaming? Dayum. That's pretty poor.

 

Haha yeah, kept trimming it then decided to keep to what I know and not speculate too much. It's only been a few days and my observations may be incorrect since the theories have not been tested and the environments change.

 

There is never any overkill when you're looking for speed.

The i7 will outperform the i5, there is no question about it. By how MUCH tho? Probably not a ton, but worth it for some.

I picked the i7 - because I want the machine to be as futureproof as possible, I'd at least like a year / 2 years out of it.

 

Congrats Simplewizard! :laugh:

And, I wholeheartedly agree about owning a SSD over high capacity slower drive for performance. After my first time playing games with SSD, I decided to never go back to slower internal. I use external 1TB/600Gb drives for additional space needs.

 

It is definately nice. I am somewhat tempted to get the hybrid version for the storage space- which is convenient for a "gaming" laptop considering games take a lot of space. I just can't get over the fact that any rotational hard drive will "probably" be louder, hotter, more fragile, may cause a vibration, and use more power. I am looking at the Western Digital Passport drive that uses the USB 3.0 interface for extra storage, but hoping that maybe I'll find something better. I really wished Alienware would have included an msata slot instead of wwan, or interchangeable atleast, but that's just wishful thinking...