Questions for the experienced

Hi, I'm going to be buying an M11x very soon and I am trying to settle on the specs that I want for my new laptop. I don't want to spend a fortune (somewhere around $1200). I am going back and forth between the i5 and i7 processor. For me this laptop will be primarily used for gaming. I figure you will want to know what I will be playing so heres what I want out of my laptop:

1) Run WoW at maxed settings
2) Run Starcraft 2 at high-maxed settings
3) Run Guild Wars 2 at high-maxed settings (when it comes out)
4) Run CoD Black Ops or MW2 at high settings (doesnt have to be maxed, this game is a powerhouse).

Any system suggestions? What I have been looking at is the i7 processor with 8gb ram, 500gb HD, Nvidia Geforce 335M graphics card. I can get this setup around that $1200 mark. What can I expect from this system? Also is the soft touch stealth black a kind of rubbery coating? (That would be awesome). Another question I have, is it kinda hard to game on an 11.3" screen? From what I can tell, to upgrade to the 15" model with same specs its around an extra $500. not worth it, so I think. Thanks in advance with any answers/recommendations.


LOOKING FORWARD TO JOINING THE ELITE CIRCLE OF ALIENWARE OWNERS!!!

 

To save some money you can always check to see what is available in the Dell Outlet store ( Dell Outlet | Refurbished Computers, Laptops, PCs & More | Dell) that is where I bought my m11x.

 

The better question WE would have for you is, do you need the portability the m11x offers, or would you rather a desktop replacement? The m15x is big, heavy and has bad battery life compared to the m11. That said, it is quite a bit faster. With regards to your question though, if you want to be gaming, for those specific games the i7 is the way to go. You dont really need 8gb of ram, your just busting your wallet with that. The soft touch IS the rubbery feel, so yea. Note that the i7 will have less battery life than the i5, but will also be a bit faster. The m11x will run almost all modern games at mid to high, but if you want something more future proof and dont care as much about mobility, the m15x is the way to go. Also, gaming on anything less than a 15 inch screen is hard, an 11 inch is rather small but totally doable. You can always output to an external monitor...that will drop framerates a bit though.

 

Yeah I did look at the m15x, but it seemed to be on a completely different price range...starting at $1200. I wanted to keep it around that but the specs didnt seem to match the prices. If I spent $1200 on the m15x I would be getting the i3 processor, 4gb or ram, and a 320gb HD, with the same graphics card. It would be nice, but I feel like the m15x is just out of my price range to get a good laptop that will last me a few years with future games running at humble settings.

 

Alienware M15x Laptop
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor Processor: Intel Core i5-540M Processor (2.53GHz, 3M cache)
Hard Disk Drive 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Memory 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
Media Bay 8X DVD +/- RW Drive
Video 1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730
System Color Cosmic Black
Laptop Screen 15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED
Laptop Battery 6 Cell, 56WHr Lithium-Ion Primary Battery
Network Interface Card Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
Bluetooth Wireless Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
Hardware Upgrade 5.1 Channel Audio
Software Upgrade 64BIT Operating System

Okay I found this on the dell outlet site for $1,200.00 would this be future proof for a while and also is dell outlet safe to buy in your opinion? it has 1 year of warranty included.

 

You can get an m11xr2 with i7 cpu for $864. I can throw you the links if you like. The m15x IS better, but only if you pay for the better parts available, at stock the core i3 will only be a little faster than the m11x i7 due to its higher clock speed, and the graphics card will be perhaps 10% faster. Now if you go up to 1350 for an m15x you can get one with an actual quad core i7.

 

Yeah give me the link if you dont mind. Under $900 sounds like a steal!!

 

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Here is where I found the deal.

Best deal and coupon Dell Alienware m11x 11.6-in Core 2 Duo / Core i5 / Core i7 Gaming Laptop w/ 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M - LogicBUY

Add this code at checkout for 50 off
BHW1L0MX0D?MCX

And your set! I doubt this deal will be around for much longer, so you should really decide what size/power level you want and how much you want to spend.

BTW, be aware, the i7 in the m15 is a quad core cpu, the one in the m11 is actually a dual core. Its respectably fast, but it IS a dual core, contrary to what you might assume with the i7 moniker.