m11x R1 , R2 , R3 hardware differences

Hello , may I know what are the differences(look) of the m11x r1 , r2 and r3?

 

As far as I know, they all look the same externally.

R1 and R2 has VGA port but lacks USB 3 port.

R3 lacks VGA port but has USB 3 port.

 

Yup ^^ but the R3 hums awesomeness. True story.

 

All 3 models have 3 usb ports.

here is a list

r1
gloss/satin'ish paint
vga port
hdmi
display port
1394 port
sd card
sim card
3 headphone/mic jacks
eithernet jack

r2/r3
matte finish (soft touch)
no vga port
everything else the r1 has.

Now, the only parts between them that is swappable is the lcd really.

The r1 has a diff palm rest, bottom chassis.
the r2/r3 can use the same chassis, but the mother motherboard/daughter boards are not the same, and may have diff mounting points.

the keyboard for the r1 is r1 only due to the f6 key turning on the gpu.

r3 has upgraded speakers over the r1/r2

the bottom metal cover is not the same r1 to r2/r3 due to some of the mounting screws not being the same places.

 

Thank , that's what I need to know but I think r2 lack of vga too.

Rep+ for additional details & Thanks. I'm getting it next week , I'm tired of carry my m18x around. m11x + portfolio would be fun.

are speakers hardware are still the same? eg; if I get r3 speaker parts to replace on r2.

 

r3 speakers will swap over to a r1/r2

really, any oval shaped speaker the same size as the m11x speakers will work.

 

Incorrect. Having had both the R2 i7 and R3 i5, there are a few differences. For one, the R1/2 does not provide a soft-touch finish whereas the R3 does. Also the external ports vary slightly (VGA vs HDMI ect).

also ejohnson, i heard (from a Dell rep) that the R1 and R3 speakers are identical and have the exact same part numbers... is that true?

 

How about the top cover finish , (alien head area) they used same material for 3 version of m11x? Just wondering , r2 & r3 are you able to change alien head logo color via alienwareFX?

 

It's always white. But someone moved an LED assembly from the power button to the head.

 

The R2 had the soft-touch finish. It may have been optional on early models, but I know it was standard not long into the product cycle. Additionally, the R1 was only available in black, where the R2 and R3 are/were available in red as well.

 

I have an R2 and it has the soft-touch finish. Well, not for long, going to sell this R2 and move up to an M18x very soon.

 

The R1 and R2 both had a choice of Lunar Gray color case. Its not soft touch. R2 started with the black soft touch, and the R3 is the only one with the red soft touch. Basically the R1 and R2 had the same GPU, R1 had only a dual core processor and it didn't have optimus, so you can dedicate the nvidia gpu only if you want.

 

The head on the top of the lid is only white, and the alien head power button changes color for different notifications (power mode, hdd activity, ect).

Ah k, it wasn't an option when i got my R2. R3 soft-touch was the only red one though, right?

 

The r3 came with klipsh speakers, the r1/r2 came with some off brand cheap speakers

The finish on the top cover changed, they were all the same shape, but the r1 you could get black or silver
r2 soft touch black or non-soft touch gray
r3 soft touch black or soft touch red.

R1 came in silver also
r2 never came in red.
only the r3 came in red.

 

I'd suggest keep R2 and get m18x too , because you might tired of the size like my m18x, I really love my m18x but it's really inconvenience while travel or move to other location , it just too huge or I'd say the PSU too huge.

Thanks for detailed information again

my m18x come with klipsh speakers and I never used it , I'm always on headset , I'm sure it will be fine for me.
(I'm getting r2 for normal use and "softcore gaming" - League of Legend/Diablo 3 on purpose.)