looking to buy m11x, need feedback

hi everyone. me and a friend are looking to buy this laptop but are held back because of some of the things we've heard.
first off we are both going into a health related field next year so we want to use the time we have to just play around and stuff.we want to spend the least as possible so will the core 2 duo under perform compared to the i5/i7 processors? we are looking mainly to play fps games (coop).after we start our schooling, we will mainly start using our laptops for school.
also, would you recommend this laptop, especially after the whole hinge problems and scratches on the screen?

 

While this is only MY opinion, I could never recommend this laptop. My personal experience with the M11x R2 has not been good. I eventually (after a long painful month and 1/2) decided to return it for a full refund, and bought a laptop from a boutique builder.

 

R1 (dual core) is awesome. Great for college, mid range gaming, and doesn't have any of those "Optimus" problems since you manually switch graphics cards. There are marks on the screen but you wouldn't notice them with the laptop on. Also, I'd recommend keeping the cloth that comes with it between the keyboard and the screen when it's closed to minimize the oils on your hands on the screen.

I've played a number of games on this at either medium/high to mostly high. A couple games, i.e. the Stalker series, had to go on low but that could have been my fault or just because they're oddly coded. I also do Java programming on this laptop and it works out pretty well.

Unlike the guy above me, I'd recommend the heck out of the R1.

 

This laptop definitely has a few annoying flaws. But at the same time i still love the heck out of it. It is still the best notebook i have ever owned.

 

I love my R2. I've been having my m11x R2 for almost 2 months. I just bought a MobileEdge laptop sleeve(free shipping coupon woot) to protect my m11x. My m11x has i7, 8GB ram, 250 HDD all paid with my university scholarships. It stands out from all the other laptops students bring to class. I sat in the front once in my 200 student classroom, and started playing bad company 2 before class started, and everybody were like lol.

I mainly use it to do my papers in college and play around 2 Hrs a day since I have a tight schedule. About first person shooting, I have Bad Company 2, it runs smooth on medium, but there's this Punkbuster kicking problem going on for R2, hopefully nvidia willl fix it soon. The rest of my games run smooth, such as SC2 on mostly high, SW:Force Unleashed(maxed), Batman Arkham asylum(maxed), Civ 5 on medium, and older games on max.I don't overclock so I'm pretty sure it can run better.

I don't have any hinge issues so far, I try to open the lid carefully of course. I also kept the white blanket that came in the m11x to protect the screen whenever i close it, so I don't have any screen scratching issues.
Overall, I love my laptop. The only thing keeping it from perfect would the the annoying Punkbuster problem with the new nvidia drivers; I'm sure they are aware of that problem. The only solution for playing BC2 online is to rollback to the original drivers.

Best PC I've ever purchased aside from my custom built desktop at home.


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Thanks guys!
You all have been very helpful!

I'm looking for something that will last me for at least 4 or 5 years. Obviously the hardware in terms of the CPU will by obsolete all within two years or so, but physically, how is the build? Is it sturdy enough to last out long enough?

 

Depends which part. I don't see hinges lasting more than few months, in case you actually use the laptop.

Build
pros:
- keyboard has absolutely no flex
- feels sturdy overall, I think the it's covered in some magnesium alloy

cons:
- hinge breaks quite easily, so you'll need a long warranty
- rubber feet go off really easy as well (unless you won't move the laptop at all; in that case it's pointless to buy m11x)
- screen doesn't close completely; in fact if you flip the laptop upside down screen will wiggle and will separate
- bottom plate scratches easily as well (especially when one of the rubber feet falls off )

The plus is it's pretty portable, but as I wanted something more long-term I bought another laptop instead.

 

No computer will last you that long and still meet the standards of constantly evolving hardware. Call me a hypocrite but I do intend for mine to last that long. I've had mine for 2 months and the build is quite solid; no hinge issues either. My old dell laptop (mentioned in the signature) lasted 4 years and then finally had a hinge crack. It's currently held together with red duct tape.

 

go get a macbook or something, trust me. Your going to be better off with it. As much as I love my m11x, if your mainly going to use it for school and want a bit of gaming on the side from My personal experience this notebook doesn't cut it. But if you decide that you want this notebook for sure, Consider This notebook, cheaper, better i7 Same graphics, USB 3.0, Has a 20% better performance and only 14" form factor. I could tell you from a wide range of notebooks but honestly consider this notebook only if your going to R2, with i7.

 

Hmm, invalid link.

 

I think he meant the 3820tg, or something similar.

 

That notebook is also not in the same class as the M11x. What's so bad about using the M11x for school work?

 

Asus N82JQ-A1 14"/i7-720QM/NV GT 335M 1GB GDDR3/4GB DDR3/500GB 7200/DVDRW/USB 3.0/ $895 After Rebate

So graphics are same, but it has an option to change the cpu to: Intel Core i7-720QM, 1.60-2.80GHz, 2.5 GT/s, 45nm, 6MB, 45W Intel Core i7-840QM, 1.86-3.2GHz, 2.5 GT/s 45nm, 8MB, 45W: $575 Intel Core i7 Extreme 940XM, 2.13~3.33GHz, 2.5 GT/s, 45nm, 8MB, 55W : $1105

it has 1333 DDR3, Significant increase right there, including the cpu, USB 3.0, 895 For the base model, DVD drive upgradable to blu-ray. Intel Advanced-N 6200 802.11 a/b/g/n Wireless LAN

It isn't bad for school work, I'm simply stating he could find a much better notebook, if he doesn't mind a 2 inch increase. I personally find my macbook pro more useful then the macbook at school work, much faster, more reliable, better craftsmanship, and key point better service.

 

I was actually looking at that 14" notebook, however I've heard bad things about its battery life. I'm really looking for something that can pull off at least 5 hours on a single charge and the R1 M11x does that beautifully with 6-7 hours. And honestly, I don't think as a health-student, I will be needing something as far out as an i7 or anything. I will be just as happy with the C2D, but I can move up to the i5 if I save up more cash. I'm looking to place my order after christmas this december or early janruary.

 

Move up to i7 and 8GB ram with college scholarships! That's what I did Oh I carry the m11x in my backpack and nobody notices it. Pretty awesome. I love the mobility of laptops.

 

8GB RAM for exactly what?

 

An notebook built with an i7M or QM is going to have horrid battery life. Which is arguably either 1 or 2 on the very short of list things you need from a notebook that's primary purpose is school.

 

Yeah, thats why I am looking to either go with C2D or the i5. Unless you're playing SCII or some other RTS based game, it shouldn't affect the performance for the most part. I'm mainly looking to play FPS through coop with my friend, and even then it performs admirably.

 

C2D gets 6:40 on mine on the integrated. Mmm yeah!

 

Yeah, I'm really not looking to keep up with the games when they come out. I guess C2D M11X wouldn't be a bad choice?

 

I strongly not recommend to get Alienware m11x series unless you are able to cope up with poor design and badly manufactured product.

I personally that it is a perfect laptop if I totally ignore about the fact that it is built pretty badly, especially the hinges. In addition to this, Dell is doing nothing about these obvious problems that the design of the laptop is having.

However, I would like to remind you that it is you who is purchasing the laptop and I believe that you shouldn't choose whether to buy or not by seeing whether other people like it or not.

 

get the warranty and you will be happy, other wise =(( mad:

 

Got the R1 (only 4gb ram 500gb HDD) and R2 (i7 8gb ram and 256ssd) and love them both!
Both of my laptops close flawlessly (at least for now). Perfomance is great!
I can play most games on ultra/high without any problems. GTA was the only one that gave me headaches :/

I also never had any optimus issues.

Battery life on R1 and R2 are great imho.

Get the extended warranty if you want to be on the safe side.
(Living in europe, bought R1 in europe R2 in US)

 

I have the R1 and love it. Have the processor o/c to 1.73 and just o/c'd my graphics card. It runs my games really well. Mostly high settings. I would definitely recommend it but know that the lcd is glossy and has a glare. If you can work with that, you'll be fine. If you can't work with that then you'll not want this computer. I not only game on it but I write novels on it too. It goes with me everywhere. I'd never get a mac.

Also, still don't have a hinge problem and I use it every day.

 

Positives- good for an eleven inch
Very fast processor, good graphics card, long battery life
Negatives-
Hardware is not fully unleashed,( example is that the wattage use will turn off turbo) but thank god throttlestop fixes this.
Quality control- you could get a bad one, or u could be like mine which has no problems yet (knock on wood)
All in all it is a good computer with quality control problems and no love from punkbuster,
Get a warranty if you get it.

 

I have had my m11x R1 since June. And its basically my main pc. I'm a casual gamer by definition as I dont care about playing the latest titles on full graphics. But even with the c2d, its amazing the punch this little guy packs.

If your only buying your pc later in the year, or beginning of next year; wait for the next revision maybe. When the new revision is released, the R2's price will probably drop.

And honestly, the only problem I have had with my laptop is my firewire not working. But its a driver issues, because I dual boot with Ubuntu (Maverick Meerkat FTW!) and the firewire works under Ubuntu. Odd.... :/

I usually decide on my options by saying what are the absolute minimum thing about a laptop that I cannot have any compromise. For me it was power/weight ratio. And this little guy rocks! And besides even once the hardware is outdated, the lighting system stills stays awesome.

 

Lighting system is another awesome thing about this laptop. My current laptop is the ASUS F9S. Its a 2.2 ghz C2D with 4 gb of RAM but with an underpowered 128 MB nVidia 8400 GPU. What I really hate about this laptop is that it is barely able to play games even at the lowest settings. On top of that, what I really hate about it is that when I first got this laptop, I was lucky to get 2 hours of battery life. I'm a big fan of light and powerful, and it looks like the m11x is the best one out there.

 

One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch, you must have received one of the faulty ones but honestly the ratio from good to bad is most likely 100:1, either ways they replace it so no need to list it as such a poor notebook, you most likely wouldn't even be on this forum if you received one without a hinge problem.

Also Omni you suggested you were purchasing it after Christmas around January? January and February is the estimated date in which they will release an R3 version, I suggest waiting for that before making a decision.

Edit: Also Omni, that 6 hour thing? Yes if your not gaming at All, if your using dedicated only your looking at barely 2 hours. Even using integrated if your on the web, listening to music or using mircrosoft word your looking at about 4~5.

 

ONE bad? See how many pages hinge thread s got. It looks to me more like a container filled with bad apples, where you really have to search through to find a decent looking one.

 

Again, the amount of users who complain here vs. Everyone whose purchased it? You can't base statistics on whose on this forum, most people goto forums anyhow to look for help.

 

Still, if many users complain about the hinges, then you should still be wary. Do you see many hinge complaints in the m17x forum? No, you don't. Is it reasonable to assume the m11x has more of a hinge problem vs the m17x? Yes, it's utterly reasonable. How much more? We cannot say. Considering the sheer size of the hinge issue threads, and the fact that batboy is consistently closing "other hinge threads," I'd say the m11x has a problem which hasn't been addressed.

 

Overall I think this is a fantastic system. I have yet to come across anything with such a great balance of gaming power, portability and battery life, with cool added features like the lighting. While I'm a casual gamer, it's been able to play everything I've thrown at it, and I love how I now have something more powerful than my old Acer Aspire One when I'm traveling.

That being said, the build quality is a bit suspect. I got my machine in August and haven’t had any problem with the hinges yet, but my original screen had dust under the plastic. A tech replaced it with a screen that was even worse, which was replaced again another time by a tech with another faulty screen. I know the screens were likely refurbished, but it is quite annoying to purchase a brand new system and get three bad screens in a row. The techs also messed up things on my system each time they worked on it and actually made other things worse, and while this isn’t really Dell’s fault, it’s something to think about.

Dell’s customer service has been great though (at least in Japan), and they are sending me a replacement unit after going through three screens. As others mentioned the negative comments here are cannot be taken to be indicative of all M11x users. I'm sure there are many users without any problems, and those with problems will tend to be more vocal and make more posts.

One thing I don’t like and understand about the M11x: why is the power supply so huge? Yesterday my Envy 14 Beats Edition arrived and it has higher specs but a smaller adapter, and I think the heft of the M11x’s adapter negates the portability advantage a bit.

 

Thanks guys, you all have been very helpful!
This choice is getting really complicated now. I found this laptop for $1000 including shipping and tax:
Dell Studio XPS 16
Processor: Core i5 460M (2.53GHz/3MB cache)
RAM: 4GB3 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333Mhz
HDD: 320GB SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
Video Card: ATI HD5730 Mobility Radeon

I know the huge trade off is the portability. But in return, you get a bigger screen with more work area and a more "future-proof" notebook. As a student, I think I would find more use out of Studio XPS 16 than the m11x, perhaps?

 

You can get more if your going to spend for an 15~16" notebook... Check out www.gentechpc.com or even browse around ebay. I suggest getting a 400 nvidia series as they're more "future-proof" ever since they released tessellation, Also look for a USB 3.0 notebook as well, and various other things like i7..

 

Check the user forums on the XPS 16 before you buy - it apparently has catastrophic cooling and throttling problems that severely impact performance. Definite case of something that looks better on paper than reality.

 

If it didn't have the hinge issue, I'd love this laptop and I'm sure it would last 3-5 years easy (Not in the games department of course).

But as my hinge has been broken since Oct 2nd and Dell hasn't sent a tech to my house, there's just no way I can recommend it to anyone.

If you do end up buying it, I can't stress enough how much you need the extended warranty.

 

Personally, I've had this laptop for a bit over a month and so far it's pretty capable for what i've thrown at it. But it is NOT a desktop replacement - I found that out after it was too late, but it's ok because it is a very strong laptop for its size (I'll probably just get a desktop and have this as a kick butt mobile laptop). If you buy this as a desktop replacement, you will be sorely disappointed in time (for now it can squeeze by I guess - but that time is limited). Go for a different laptop if you intend to use it for intensive gaming or something of the like. As most people that have the m11x know, you get portability, long battery life, and moderate performance (excellent for its size, but versus other computers of larger sizes it falls short). For a simple mobile pc though, not as a DR, this is an excellent choice.

 

watch the hinges! nasty stuff

 

Is there any Dell laptop that actually doesn't ? I have head a Dell tech coming over to fix my m11x hinge and his laptop sounded like it's gonna blow up. And all he had up running was a web browser . He said himself at one point "Uh-oh I think it's overheating again!". I LOL'd: Yep, been there!