The Most Powerful 11in Notebook with a decent battery life, can it be?

I'm looking to purchase another Alienware and I was looking into the M11X R2 for college. The M15X has served me well but I just need something more portable and lighter. With the R2, how much battery life am I sacrificing for the extra power compared to the R1? Keep in mind, If I'm going with the r2 I'm going for an i5 and not an i7. From searching, I read that the i5 will have a little more battery life than the i7 which lead me to the i5. I'm sure the increase in battery life in the i5 is not significant but none of the less, its more battery life. I will not be playing games on this laptop on battery power or browsing the web much (Just taking notes.) So with maybe 2 bars of brightness and wifi off and a few LEDS disabled, how much battery life will I achieve? And yes, I'm set on this specific laptop and not a Lenovo.

Feel free to post how much battery life you get in class !

 

I get about 8.5 hours with my r1. leds off, screen low, wifi on, intel graphics card.

 

R2 only please.

 

I just came back from a 6 hour plane ride and programmed compsci project (video card off) the whole way back. You can easily expect 4.5-6.5 hours of battery life depending how intensively you are using the processor. If you are just taking notes with brightness down and LEDs off then you can expect 6+. I'd recommend it. All laptops vary a little by little. I have the i7 and batteries are all different but I'd imagine you'd get roughly similar results.

 

That's very good news, Thank you Dee.
Especially since your using the i7 and got a solid 5 hours.
Can I expect better since you have the i7 and I'm looking at the i5? And what did you do on the plane? Watch movies? Type documents? Browse on the web (If you had wifi)? Or check your email?

 

Used eclipse (its a Java Code compiler). In perspective its more stressful than typing documents, less stressful than watching a movie.

On a side note disabling wifi will add maybe 10-20min to your battery also (mine was disabled)

 

And if you could recommend me a future upgrade SSD that's not going to cost me an arm or a leg that I can afford with a student budget which SSD would it be?

 

How much storage space are you looking for?

 

my r2 i7 i can get 7 hours with turbo boost off low brightness and wifi off. All I have running is outlook with a 3G usb aircard running. I also have an SSD

I am using a 120gb SSD and that is with a couple games installed via steam. I still sit with 20gb free. I have a small music library and no movies.

Just so you know I would strongly suggest not going any smaller than 120gb

 

I thought seven hours was unheard of with the R2. How many bars of brightness did you have? What teaks did you do? Any services you shut down? Does an SSD help with battery life? And I would say a 120gb would be sufficient. I can settle for less, just anything that doesn't leave my pockets completely empty.

 

hi, i have just I5 r2 with the standrd 500gb harddrive and with everything turned off and the brightness low i get just over six hours... I have had mine since january and so far no problems at all (knock on wood)... I dont know much about ssd but I have heard that it can extend the battery time cause of the no moving parts thing so its quite feasable that someone got 7 hours i guess....

i dont normaly plug products no matter how good they are but since I've got this machine I have recomended it to friends, students and colleges alike

 

OP. are you only looking at the AW's or are you open to a strange suggestion?

I was looking at the R2 awhile ago for a much faster replacement for my MBP13"/MBA11" but went a completly different route. ( im a CAD/CAM and video editing user )

the Lenovo X220 will almost double the 11Xr2's battery life and before you freak and tell me it only has the crappy Intel IGP ... on a bit of curiosity I hooked a desktop 460 via an eGPU adaptor that supports optimus to my expressport slot and when at the hotel ect I can clip in the unit to boost my GPU speed to closeto a very highend DTR laptop. no I cant useit when packing it around butI would assume most people dont seriously game when just packing it around.

 

Yes, I'm only looking at the M11X R2. The X220 is unappealing in terms of the cosmetic body and the Intel IGP is bleh as you said.

*EDIT* I'm becoming fearful that my hinges will break after my one year warranty has expired. Can anyone reassure me that Dell will always be able to give me the one time fix in a year or three?

 

From what I have read, Dell will repair the hinge on any of the M11x units that were affected by that defect before the issue was fixed even after the 1 year period has expired. How long that will be; I dont think anyone really knows.

I am not aware as of yet of there still being a hinge crisis in the current versions of the unit; so if the hinge breaks on the newer models, unless you can show it is a design fault, you may well be SOL.


@ KCETech1

Thanks again for pointing out that unit. After months of researching various models and tossing everything but the M11x aside I believe I found the one that, for what I use a laptop for, bests the M11x.

Going over the units specs side by side, with the exception of the descrete graphics, which I personally dont need since I am not a gamer, and the awesome back-lit keyboard of the M11x; the x220 trumps the m11x in features hands down. I just discovered that you can add a SSD as a second drive in the WWAN slot of the 220, use that as your boot drive, and leave the original HDD inside the unit as your storage drive - I damn near wet myself when I read that!

Add to that a Full Power processor (and still get better battery life), easily switchable battery, PCI express slot, matt screen, availible docking station, slice battery, and, although it has a slightly bigger screen it weighs a pound less.

And as for the 'limited' graphics on the 220, I think that this video shows, though it wont handle the uber power hungry games out there, it aint that much of a slouch; certainly more than I need....I suck at FPS games...heck, I need God Mode just to play Freecell.

I have read many threads here where people rejected a laptop because of how it looks. When it comes to eye candy the M11x is beautiful, no doubt about it; but a pretty coat of paint wont make my old pick up run any better and I want a laptop that will have the power and versatility to hold me over a few years.

Have a Magical Day!

 

also dont dismiss the fact you can hook a desktop 460 card to an eGPU setup and the expresscardslot and ue it as an Optimus setup should the need/want arise. It is somewhat an oddity but its nice to have the option to use, I sure wish more laptops kept the expressport for port additions and external GPU setups.

I never thought of the SSD in the mPCIE slot as being too excitable but I only run one large SSD in mine. I was more after teh full volt CPU and battery life.

 

You guys are going off topic. If I wanted the Lenovo X220 I would post in the Lenovo section. Stay on topic please: How much battery life do you obtain with the R2?

 

I get around six to six and a half using Word or Paint.

Around three (I think) watching movies

Around one and a half to two gaming (depending on how many performance enhancing programs I have running).

 

Not bad, any tips to prolong hinge life?

 

Really depends on your hinges. Don't walk with the screen open. Ive had mine for 6months and its going strong. My R1 gave out in 3months. I believe they said the hinges will be covered with or without warranty? Someone correct me if I am mistaken on that. I thought I read that on here (believe chris posted it).

If worse comes to worse call in the warranty. BUt for prolonging it a biggie is not to walk with the screen up. The wobbling will get worse.

 

Or you can simply void warranty by opening your hinges and apply a blob of epoxy on the hinges to reinforce them. if you are willing, then check here

 

I rather not void the warranty, and I'm not very experienced under the hood of a machine. And yes, hinges are covered with a one time only replacement of the hinges. However, if something goes wrong during the replacement, can I call Dell and they will fix the issues no matter if its within or without warranty? Technically its their fault.

 

Yes. That's how it works.