To potential owners of the m11x...

Just wanted to say that this is the best ultraportable I've ever used, and I'm a bit of a tech shopaholic. I've bought and sold more laptops this year (including the other two in my sig that I haven't updated) than most would think humanly possible.

The one machine I can't part with is my m11x.

I will say this, the SSD upgrade in this machine, IMO, is CRITICAL.

Whether you go the cheaper route with the Core2, or the i5/7, it's still a ULV processor. What will make your computer feel faster than it actually is, is either the (unfortunately expensive) SSD option from Dell, or saving up and installing your own Intel/crucial, etc SSD after purchasing the system with the smallest hdd.

Trust me, you want an SSD in this machine. I'd rather have the Core2 + SSD than the i7 + HDD if it came down to money. Just something to think about guys, because it will make this computer feel much less different from a more powerful laptop with a regular voltage processor in general use (obviously not in CPU intensive tasks, again, general use).

 

Trust me, when an application loads INSTANTLY, you'll think you're rocking some kind of supercomputer.

m11x + SSD = technological heaven.

 

m11x + Seagate Momentus XT 500GB also very nice, faster than the 7200rpm and it's 500gb My boot times is 38 secs on a normal boot, over with a 7200rpm at 66 secs. No tweaks used except for the normale disable Win Search ect.

I do agree, SSD's will spoil you, makes everything snappy

 

I just got the lower end M11x R1 Dual Core with 4GB DDR and 250 ATA and I have to say I am in love with it! It is honestly the best laptop I have ever owned. And if yours performs better then mine you must be completely over the moon - these are great little machines!

Aside for worrying about the potential hinge issue - I am totally stoked with my purchase, no regrets!

 

Apart from the damn hinge, screen not closing properly, and crappy rubber feet - I agree it has a good build quality. I agree on the SSD part, Thinkpad X200 just flies.

 

I don't mind not having an ssd. I think that it opens applications just fine without and when I'm in a game, it doesn't bother me if it takes a bit longer to load. I love my M11x. I have the R1 version and haven't had issues with it. No hinge issues, nothing out of the ordinary.

 

If it wasn't for the hinge, I would have kept mine. It's a solid device for what it is manufactured for - and in my opinion, the perfect LAN machine, or computer for the gamer on the go.

 

I think a lot of people aren't get the solid state drive because it's 500 bucks on the Dell website. I know I would have gotten one if it was cheaper.

 

$500 is a robbery. I bought OCZ Vertex 2 120GB for $200 on Newegg (and I think the price is still around something like that) - that one is one of the fastest, if not the fastest (280MB/s read/write) drives on the market. SSD is by far, one of the best computer things I ever bought. I am now saving some money to buy a 60GB one as a boot drive for m17x. It's worth every single dime, IMO. I agree on that with SaosinEngaged.

I hope more folks don't have the hinge problem (and few others I mentioned) as it's otherwise an extremely well built machine - in line if not better than business class laptops of that size.

 

Hello,

I've been looking into an SSD, however I'd like to know if I can pop in any SSD, or which type specifically should I look for?

I recall reading a post that said some SSD's didn't fit in the M11x case...

 

My biggest problem with an SSD is the size limitation. Right now my backups are about 2TB. About 1.5Tb is tv shows & movies. I’m ok with that being on an external secondary drive, but the other almost 500gb is all of my important stuff that I don’t want to have to go plug an external in each time I want to use it, that would be so slow (USB) and inconvenient (external) that it would far outweigh any improvements by the SSD itself. I keep all my drivers, utilities, cd images, games, pictures, music on hand because I use them all of the time.

Even systems with dual HDs I always chose space and cost savings going dual large HDs over a boot SSD + HD.

My guess is it will be a long time before I can actually use an SSD for my main drive because of both cost and size limits. I will say I had a 256gb SSD in a Sony a year or so ago and I honestly could not tell (without benchmarks or just moving a large file for the heck of it) the difference between any standard system HD I ever had.

 

You sound like the perfect candidate for the 500GB Momentus XT hybrid drive. The best combo of capacity, price, and SSD speed on the market. I got one and never looked back.

My desktop has a SSD boot drive and secondary drives for storage and that is really nice, but when you only have one spot for a drive, like in the M11x, the Momentus XT is the one that covers all of the bases for me.

 

I thought about that but I am down to 110gb free on my 640gb. I hate having a full drive so I'm trying to maintain a cushion for any new games or programs. I almost ordered a 750 for $100 from newegg, but I am trying to hold out for a 1tb 9mm drive.

 

I looked a lot into the momentus xt since my m11x will be coming with the stock 160gb 5400rpm.

just google momentus xt problems and you'll read a lot of people having problems, even the newegg.com momentus xt reviews have MANY people saying that the drive has flaws.

 

Those complaints are the same thing that is scaring me from trying, too...


I am wondering about this:


MR04 SD Card Reader for Mini PCI Express ( up to 64GB ) - eBay (item 180562986397 end time Oct-18-10 21:34:29 PDT)
If I can use that as an internal SDHC reader for a 64GB SDHC card (about 65usd, now), and a cheaper, lower capacity SSD...

 

I have had zero problems with my Momentus XT, keep in mind most of the people who post negitive things on Newegg.com have little computer experence.

 

Yep an SSD will make a world of difference - I upgraded my mini 9 from the original slow SSD to a Runcore 64 gig SSD and for a little atom powered unit it ran very well. Was my work unit before I replaced it with the M11x - only problem is the size limit on current SSD's....................Oh and the $$$$ or course!!!

 

Just a note on the Intel G3 SSD

Intel's 3rd Generation X25-M SSD Specs Revealed - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

Love my SSD... Corsair Reactor series. Moved it over to the m15 and still in love with it.

Thanks,

StevenX

 

SSD sounds nice, but so far i'm happy with the normal HDD. FWIW, i keep a microfiber cloth between the keyboard and the screen when its shut.

 

Another happy Momentus XT owner here. I post at another computer forum, and in the help me buy/build section, one of the main rulles is "Don't trust newegg reviews".

 

Well, if a whole bunch of them say the HDD melted in their hands, I would avoid it... just in case


But that is not the case, here. It's a fast HDD, and the best Hybrid implementation as of yet.

 

I'm interested in an SSD but it just doesn't have the storage I need. Currentlly I have the 250 sata but I may upgrade that to a 500 down the line. I have 80 gigs of music that I want to have on my laptop (and more that I guess I don't listen to much at all so it can sit on my backup external).

The momentus 500 gb is interesting and the cost is reasonable but I'm not sure about the reliability of it. Also probably chews battery life a tiny bit.

 

Well, there's always the 480GB OCZ vertex 2.

 

I am seriously considering this purchase, as extravagant as it may be.. My fear is that with that big of size there may be some performance issues. But I know nothing about SSD's..

 

lol... yeah it's really an awesome upgrade, especially if your favorite game is Windows Reboot Simulator

SSD price vs. performance still isn't worthwhile, imo.

 

Probably costs almost as much as what I paid for this little guy! lol

Some days that is your favorite game. I must have rebooted 10-15x today installing drivers, though most of it was installing and uninstalling 50 different versions of synaptics drivers to get some of the multi touch features to show up.

But I agree, right now sata drives are a little too pricey esp if you have a drive filled with all sorts of junk, music, mp3s, torrents, games, school documents, etc.

 

Hi guys, ive just configured a m11x i5 on the dell site

£889.01

it has i5 processor
500 gb hard drive
4 gb ram
and blue tooth

But i just wanted to ask you guys what you thought of the i5 processor (sorry if this has been discussed on another thread ) how much differnce performance wise is there between the i5 and the i7 ? i could upgrade to the i7 but it would cost an extra £190 .... lol but i cant Imagen it making that much difference

I would like to you it for some gaming on a big screen using 1080p any one tried this on an i5 ? ( games like L4D2 )

--------- Edit---------

Also would you get more battery life from an i5 than a i7 ?

thanks for any help

 

I agree the SSD makes a big difference. I got mine with a 180Gb HD and then exchanged it out for one of the Patriot Inferno (Sandforce) drives and it makes a big difference. The only thing I dont like on the M11x is the screen itself. At home I mainly use an external monitor, but the laptop screen to me seems to have a strong blueish tint.

I also have a new Mac Air 11 inch and that I use mainly for typing documents and web browsing and it's screen blows the M11x screen out of the water.

 

A lot more actually... newegg has it for $2200.

 

IMO.. Not enough to justify $190 worth.. remember all 3 core duo, i5 and i7 are all ULV processors.. and now that the R1 is going for $599 I have to question if there is enough difrence from the R1 to the i7.. and you should get a lil better battery life from the i5 but it would not be a huge difrence and the R1 will have the best battery life out of the 3...

 

I think the battery life on both i5/i7 are the same because they have the same architecture. IMO if you are going to get the i core might as well go all the way and get the i7 or save $400-500 and get the $599 deal on the r1

 

Ok thanks, i will keep my eye out for a better deal then

 

I too have been lucky and have had no problems with my Momentus XT. I am very curious how future product from this line is going to be. Might there be a 16/32GB SSD + 1TB drive coming out in the near future? Who knows...

 

I don't see a loss in battery life/power on my M11x R1 setup.

 

Just had another phone call from dell..

They offered me a price of £972

For the dell ESL pro edition + bag

Base Alienware M11x Soft Touch – Stealth Black
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Memory 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Video Card 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 335M
Hard Drive 500GB Momentus XT Solid State Hybrid Drive
Wireless Networking Dell Wireless 1520 Half Mini Card (802.11n)
Cables UK 250V Power Cord
Shipping Documents English Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference N12W1X04
Standard Warranty 1 year Next Business Day Hardware Support included with your PC
Enhanced Service Packs 1Yr Next Day Hardware Support included with your PC
Bluetooth Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module - European
Order Information Alienware M11x Order - UK
Primary Battery 8-cell 63Whr Lithium Ion battery
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 640UM (4M Cache, 1.20 GHz)
Gaming Essentials Steam® Gaming forum and download application
Color Choice Alienware M11x Soft Touch – Stealth Black
Avatar Alienware Logo
AutoMatic Updates AutoMatic updates - On
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Support
LCD 29.5cm (11.6") WideHD 1366x768 (720p) LCD
Hidden NamePlate Engraving Generic Name Plate Engraving
Protect your new PC No Antivirus Software
Power Supply 90W AC Adaptor

ACCESSORIES
Alienware durable netbook portfolio - black Qty 1
Dell Part# A4265977 Unit Price £34.99
Manufacturer Part# AWP01
Dell Part# A4265977

He allowed me to change the hard drive to the hybrid one even though its not an option on that model, and this guy gave me 6 % military discount where as vivja said he wouldnt

so £972 for all this including the m11x netbook carry case... Good deal do you think ? He said its a one time offer and i had to make my mind up there and then, but i said no because i dont like being pressurised into a buy.. Im sure if i said i will 100 % buy it if they gave me the same offer, im sure they will give it to me again

Also do you think this hybrid drive is better than the normal 500 gb hard drive ? because its cheaper ...

Also do you think i should wait for possible updates in january ?

This ESL offer ends tomorrow.. so any help greatly appreciated

Thanks !

-------------------------
Edit
-------------------------

Just made the same configuration on there site and it came to £1,268.99

so that is £296.99 saving..... But do you think thats anything amazing ? because there's sure to be offers in the January sales

 

Also how do you get your name engraved on the back plate ?

it doesn't give you the option when customising...

 

Not all countries do this. In fact I think the US is the only one. I am from Canada and did not get the option either.

 

ah ok, thanks Stain

Btw what do you think about the 500GB Hybrid HD ? Do you find its better than the original hard drives and do you get faster boot times ?

 

The Momentus XT tries to "intelligently" shift your most commonly used files and applications to the SSD portion while keeping everything else on the platter. That can give you performance that's constantly near standard SSD levels if you always use the same few applications, but if you use different applications on a regular basis you'll see hardly any benefits.

I was considering the hybrid drive, but since I have ~12 large games installed on my m11x and I play all of them at least once a week, there would be no benefit for me.

 

ok thanks

but having said that .. its cheaper than the normal 500 gb hdd... So you would at least get the faster boot up and shut down speed + the normal 500 gb memory all for a cheaper price.. so is it not a benefit to every one even if you do change the games you play ?

 

I like the MomentusXT hybrid drive, but don't expect miracles. After you boot up a few times, then your boot times become faster. Common Windows tasks feel faster as well. Like the time from when you right-click on the desktop to when the menu appears - it is probably not measurable, but it feels snappier. It makes no difference to games or loading large programs, especially if you change what software you are loading regularly.

I think of it like a 500GB drive (capacity was important to me) that has the added bonus of quicker boot times and the 'feel' to Windows. Look at the cost of a regular 500GB drive (not from Dell) and then the hybrid drive. That difference is basically what you are paying for a faster boot and your browser opening quickly. I was good with that cost, but not everyone is.

 

Where are the prices the same? Usually the 500GB XT is about 2x the price of a standard 500GB drive

 

When I got the MomentusXT, it was around $144 CDN, now it is on regular sales of $95 CDN. Although I am sure the 500GB non-hybrid drives have dropped as well (looks like they are $60-65 now).

The Dell upgrade to a 500GB costs more than the hybrid drive. That is the cost being referred to by Paddon, I believe. That is why I bought the laptop with the smaller drive and swapped it out without buying the 500GB drive direct from Dell.

 

yeah thanks for that guys ^^ , i will try and get one then while the hybrid drives are still cheap

January sales i think