M11x/Dell Purchase Questions

Okay, I lurk here a lot, and just had some questions and figured you guys would be the ones to answer them.

I am currently selling off my self built fake Alienware (bought the case and built it myself) for an M11x. The reason why is because it's huge and loud and I rarely play computer games that need the power. I usually play the Xbox 360, and if I play a computer game, it's something older, Unreal Tournament 3, Quake 4, etc. That kind of stuff. I can get a good amount of $ from this desktop, i.e. I have a GTX 285 and those right there are worth a good amount.

I want an M11x because I just compacted my 360 to my desk and am also selling off my HDTV and surround sound and what not and am going with my HDMI 1080p 24" moniter and some good headphones like the Astro a40. I was also going to get a BT mouse and keyboard and keep my 2.1 speakers. It would be AWESOME and AMAZING to dump off all this wire and clutter and crap for a simple clean layout like I have right now (I am using my old Thinkpad R50 as my main computer right now)

I think the M11x would be fine for a main computer for me since I have a moniter I can hook it up to and, like I said, I really don't play too many computer games now and that CPU has GOT to be good for general computer usage. I have a Core 2 Duo e8400 in my desktop and I know they aren't the same but still!

The only thing I was worried about was Blu Rays and that is completely moot now that Netflix is going to have 1080p streaming and I could just play the discs from an external drive since this comes with PowerDVD.

Like I said, I have tons of stuff to sell off and will be getting a new job in March (I'm an ex college kid...trying to go back). The super slimness of this thing would also be awesome because I have moved around so much.

My BIG question is whether or not the financing is a good idea or not. I probably have no credit and don't have any debts but I don't quite have the 900$ to pay all at one time since between jobs I have been using ebay for a job (lol). Is this a horrible idea?

I talked to a friend about it for awhile and the way I saw it was: I'm not getting one of the monsters like the 15x or m17x that cost thousands, I'm getting one that ALMOST costs 1000$. If I got stuck with the 30% and didn't pay it off in 12 months (which shouldn't be a problem), then it's still not a massive amount since I wouldn't have to wait forever to get it.

I really, really doubt I wouldn't be able to pay it off in a year. Should I go ahead and do it? Is this a terrible idea? Am I missing anything? I've scoured the fine print but I thought I'd get some input from someone who has done this. It looks good to me. I've just never done anything like this before.

I'm really excited to have a little thin and light and capable laptop for sure! It would be amazing to have a nice little setup I can easily take with me. It SUCKS moving around with all this crap when I hardly use it to it's full potential. Thanks!

 

Why would you buy Alienware if you don't play games much?

The main processor (CPU) on m11x isn't that spectacular -- it's a low power consuming CPU, running on 1.3 GHz. And they put that one (I guess) since they wan't the battery to last longer when you're not gaming. The other thing is that m11x doesn't come with a DVD/BluRay drive (only external). It would make more sense to just buy some other way cheaper laptop then.

 

Because the m11x is pretty darn unique and it has a good GPU, which I DO want.

I didn't mean to imply I never play games EVER. I just don't play too many newer ones. The fact this one is as small as it is is what I am after, and it has a good punch to it. I have looked around, and I'll keep looking, but this one looks great vs others I've seen. The other idea I had was one of the ION netbooks, but I dunno about that. My dad is buying one of the Asus ones with the dual core ATOM and we'll see how that goes.

I would just like the ability to play a game, I guess. I just meant to say I'm no longer a crazy hardcore PC gamer but I do want good hardware.

I know it doesn't have a drive, I'm going to either stick my current BDROM into an external enclosure or buy a USB drive (my drive is a HDDVD/BD combo drive so I might just stick it on ebay as I'm sure someone could use that. I got rid of most of my HDDVDs)

 

Get the M15x. Much better choice for what your wanting to do! Ditch the m11x idea and go for the m15x.

 

But..but...thats a lot more...and it weighs a ton more...(I know what you mean. I'm considering that but I'm not sure since it might spend a good amount of time hooked to my moniter. Screen size ain't important but I do know that 11.6" will be fine for portable usage. I used a Dell Mini 12 a lot and it was totally cool)

Also, I forgot to mention the reason I want an Alienware is because of the....well, I really can't say much here except it looks cool. lol.

My setup is to be:

BT mouse and keyboard
Moniter
and then be able to carry it off by itself for whatever. It seems like the m15x would suck for that with it's battery and stuff, you know?

 

Trust me and others. The m11x aint going to cut it pal. Go with the M15x. Its powerful and light for a gaming machine. You will kick yourself. Or order both the m11x and m15x and send one back you dont want.

 

Like I have said 1000x times, if the m11x is your desktop / only computer then you will be greatly disappointed. Either get a desktop or a more powerful laptop.

 

Hmmmmm. I definitely see what your saying but, why won't it cut it? It seems to me that if it can play Unreal Tourny 3 then I should be good otherwise. I mean...right? I dunno about the size and weight and battery life of the M15x. And..the cost. lol. I'll go check out configs though...

Originally, last year I was going to sell the desktop for an m15x but the lack of HDMI port and announcement of the m11x threw me off. I know theres adaptors, but I dunno. It seems like I would need a netbook or something to go with the m15x, ya know? I dunno. Ugggg. I'm mostly interested in some insight on the DPA account crap. I'm going to have to wait a bit anyhow so hopefully some dudes around here get theres and can test 'em out to make it easier to decide.

 

I went for the financing option with my M17X-R1 as that was the only way of having the machine, and I don't really think it's a bad idea. I'd do it again.

 

i'm not sure why you think the su7300(or w.e cpu is in there) is a good cpu....

its like half the speed of the e8400 you mentioned

 

I know that. I didn't say it was an AWESOME CPU, I said I think it would do me fine. My 8400 hardly gets a workout aside from encoding video (which I have no reason to do anymore) so...seems like the GPU would pick up the slack.

Right now I'm on a Pentium M 1.4. hahahhaa.

Thanks for the answer Aikimox. There wasn't anything dumb that happened with it or anything?

I know what everyone is saying about the M11x not being a powerhouse, but I have a powerhouse right now and it's just kind of a waste. I def want something CAPABLE which is why this particular computer has my eye, plus it's awesome looking, an awesome size, and an awesome weight. It's smaller and lighter then my Thinkpad is. Thats awesome to me. Battery life looks great too. Is there any other computers like that from other manufacturers? I really just see the ION netbooks so far.

 

I should probably also mention I'm not planning on NEVER buying or building a desktop ever again. rofl

 

Everyone seems to be under the impression that every computer user needs a high end rig. For what the OP says he will be using it for, I don't see any problems with using the M11x for basic things with some gaming thrown in. A majority of people here are toting high end gaming rigs, so I would suggest finding someone who uses a portable notebook as their main computer and asking him how he likes it or regrets not going for more.

 

my father who isn't computer savvy received an Asus 1005HA this Christmas from me. he has meaty hands and fingers, vision isn't the best, yet, he loves the 1005-HA regardless that it is small.

for you usage, i think the M11x is a great idea. don't get caught up with the "if this is your primary computer then you'll regret it" as i know many people who have netbooks for their primary computer.

i travel a lot, though i finally caved in for a desk top rather than a gaming laptop because i wasn't comfortable bringing a 2000+ laptop to school and using it all day long. so i bought a netbook. but now i want something that i can still go to perhaps my girlfriends house and if i'm bored of 'greys anatomy' and other goofy shows, then i can hop on a game or something until the show is over.

i'm quite positive if you want portability, mobility, battery life, and gaming power combined into a sub 1000 notebook, then this is your choice for right now.

i'm really hoping this notebook brings forth a very good market for sub 1000 sub 15inch notebooks.

 

I totally disagree. The cpu is FINE for general computing - my work pc is 1.7 c2d, and its fine for all office / database admin tasks.

Photoshop, video playback can both use the gpu for a boost, and I do light pc gaming like this guy - my main gaming is wii/360/ps3. This is a perfect pc for me - it does everything I need.

There is ZERO reason for some people to have a quad core desktop or big desktop replacement laptop - I know, I've had both and do not need them. I sold my gaming desktop, and am selling my desktop replacement gaming laptop right now - I found I used my wife's 13 inch crappy $400 dell more because of the nicer form factor.

 

Thats exactly what I mean.

I appreciate the concerns of the underpowered CPU but I think it would be fine. I have a lot of computer experience under my belt, I have been building and messing with them since the Pentium 2 days and I have used tons of different configs. This isn't me saying i'm an expert but I really, really don't need the power of my current desktop and I regret putting as much money as I did into it. I came close with the M15x like I mentioned but I don't want a 9lb big laptop with a weak battery. Then I will be back in the same boat. Plus, thats more expensive by far.

Like I said, the most intensive game I play a lot is Unreal Tournament 3. You could look at my Xfire and see that I do play a lot of games but most of them are older. Hell, a lot of them play on my Thinkpad so this thing HAS to be able to handle them.

My grandmother and one of my best friends use a 12" netbook as there main computer for two years now and haven't had any complaints. Sticking win 7 on them made it all a lot nicer as well. Windows 7 runs excellently on my Thinkpad minus proper Radeon 7500 drivers.

My desktop is an e8400, GTX 285, 4GB of RAM. I just don't need it. It's nice but I would rather sell it all of for this (and I should have some cash leftover as well including all this other stuff).

Plus this thing just looks AWESOME! It's a very unique computer that would have been unheard of years ago. Get what I mean? =) I also think GPUs and CUDA and stuff are making this sort of thing more viable. Just look at Flash 10!

I'm mostly just cautious about the Deall Preferred Account thing. It sounds like it's alright and I should just go for it, it just feels very strange...being able to just get it and pay it later I guess. Like I said, it's 1000$ and under vs 3000$ and stuff for the higher ups so I should be okay. I've just never done anything like this, I've always paid for stuff in full my whole life because debts scare me! I guess this isn't a car or house though, rofl.

 

the alienware computers have no interest so if you can pay for it then get it.

 

@Phereq. If your fine with the low power CPU, then I say do it. My only concern is the $$ issue. If you can save, you're better going that route. From you post it seems your pretty sure you;ll pay it off, but not quite. The reason I say this is because life throws curveballs. You may get stuck with a flat tire, speeding ticket, replacing an appliance ect. The more stuff you can sell to finance it, the better. You can always upgrade Hard drives later on, and don't have to buy a full 4 year warranty. If you read my post linked in my sig, I think you can find some helpful advice. I'll PM you as well to talk about this off line. You need three more posts before I can PM you though.

 

Since you start work in March why not just wait til you get your first paycheck and skip the DPA. The m11x doesn't ship until mid-March anyway. So unless you can secure a good deal now, I'd wait.

 

Yes, your thread about getting a better deal was awesome.

I already got hit with the curveball...hahaha. I have had a very...interesting year, but like I said I have never had any debts or anything. I also don't drive so I think I'm good on that (I walk and stuff...haven't needed a car yet) I do get what you mean though, that is a concern of mine and why it feels odd looking at financing. The only reason I'm considering it is having it sooner rather then later would be very useful, (and then I can pass this Stinkpad to my sister) and it's not a giant amount really. When the blizzards stop, it's job time, and then back to school time. I feel like I could handle it, and cheesy as it sounds, I was kind of looking at it as a "responsibility" thing. Hopefully I don't sound like a total moron, or little kid or something now. Thats just how I roll. I doubt I will get any warranty beyond what comes with it. I probably will get the RAM and stuff later on, but was thinking about going for the HDD since then I don't have to backup or reformat stuff and whatnot later on. It does look like I could get a 640gb 5400 RPM for 100$ though.

The barebones with the Core 2 Duo is 900$, and then I'd probably go for the 20$ BT module. So whats a better idea, getting it barebones and doing stuff later? Or the full monty since I am using borrowed money anyway?

Aside from classes, this is probably the most expensive thing I have ever bought at one time. =x Just feels weird!

I didn't realize it isn't shipping until around that time, thats probably a good idea. By then I will probably have enough for it anyway from selling off crap. I was still curious about the DPA though. Thanks for letting me know.

 

2 more posts

 

Okay, so the M11x orders people have are just preorders? Nobody has gotten any yet? I swore they came out a few days ago. Well, if anything this gives me more time to save up and check out if it's worth it or if anything else pops up. I was kind of excited to just get something I wanted NOW but I'll live! Instant gratification I can live without! Thanks for the help guys. Guess I'll pick out accesorries and whatnot! Too bad there aren't any good BT illuminated keyboards. I can see why, because of the battery life....still! Too bad Alienware themselves don't have any wireless ones, or Razer. I love my Deathadder and Lycosa but WIRES BE DAMNED!

 

Well they came out for pre-order, no one actually has one yet.

 

Yea we all have preorders. With the first beginning to ship on March 1. Current orders will ship on March 11. Dell won't charge you until it ships but I wouldn't risk ordering without the funds since it may ship earlier than you expect.

 

Yeah, thats plenty of time. Even if I still did DPA I could at least pay the majority of it, or hopefully in full.

I feel goofy now asking about a computer that doesn't actually exist to end users now lololo

Hopefully in March my crime fighting career will takOOPS I JUST GAVE AWAY MY IDENTITY

 

Buying a pc on credit is almost never a good idea - unless you can pay it off fast. Even if you can pay it all by the time 12 months pass, if you can WAIT 12 months, THEN buy, you will maybe get revision 2 with better specs. PCs age fast.

On a side note, I AM using DPA to buy mine, but I'll have the money before the first statement even shows up.

 

Guess the OP found the answer?

- M11x perfectly matches your need.

- Save money now and buy it straight off in the next two months.

Just work harder in the mean time mate

Im a student too and Im saving up for a lot of things so I feel you mate Hate that Im a technologyphile

 

seems to me you already made up your mind, the person above you disagree with you getting a M11x and critisied it, you came back with a defence for the M11x.

so just what do you want us to tell you here?

 

I wasn't really asking about the M11x, I was mostly asking about the Dell Preferred Account. The giant paragraphs before that were me just talking about what I was going to do if I got said account. I got my answer though.

 

Got way more then enough saved up now! Unfortunately the job didn't happen, so I'm still stuck living on eBay. Whatever though, I'm good.

I'm probably going to order up in a week or two, once I get everything in a row, and see what kind of deal I can get! I'm probably going to go for the base config, plus Bluetooth. Maybe the SU7300. I bought a 640GB HDD, 2GB of RAM, an external DVDRW and a Razer Orochi/Kabuto for it, so I'm all ready.

Seeing as I'm going to be swapping the HDDs and reformatting, what do you do to get the AW crap, like the backgrounds and login screen and etc? I have all the drivers downloaded from Dells site. Is all that stuff on the Windows 7 disc they give you? (I'm guessing no)

Also, I was turned down for EPP. lol. I guess because I have no credit? Whatever it was, I'll work on that later. DEF got to order this thing soon because this Thinkpad is OLD

 

You definitely do NOT need the SU7300. Everything you've talked about tells me you don't need it. Its at most 3-5% faster IF that much.... not worth it unless you have some coupons and its essentially free.

Also, the system ships with TWO 1GB sticks of memory, so if you bought a 2GB stick, you'll only have 3GB total. If you want 4GB total, just buy the system with 4GB, its only $50 - far cheaper then you'll do on your own.

 

Oh DAMMIT. I didn't even think about the fact it would have 2 1GBs. I got my stick for 45$ or something. Guess I'll just resale it (or return it), it's still in the box. Think they'll give me the finger if I request a 2GB module? Are you sure it comes with 2 1GB?

As for the SU7300, I do have a 100$ gift card. lol. I'm thinking I will forgo it. The cheaper, the better. The only thing that really raises my eyebrow about the SU4100 is no SSE4 but I'm pretty sure that makes NO real difference. It's just sneaky of them to slap it with the Pentium name!

 

Yeah because they want to take advantage of the Dual Channel mode, all the ram comes in pairs. So 2 gb is 2x1 gb stick, 4 gb is 2x2gb sticks, 8gb is 2x4 gb sticks.

 

Yeah. I'm guessing they won't just give me a 2gb either. Well, whatever, not a big deal.

The reason I asked was that most of the Dells and etc laptops I've been reformatting for friends have been 1 or 2 gb under the keyboard....but then I remember those are all Core Duos...minus the 2. lol. Guess those aren't so new anymore either. Plus this isn't like...a Walmart PC brand.

 

If the RAM isn't open, just return it. They can't tell you no.

Also, two 1gb sticks is cheaper then one 2gb stick... so it saves Dell money to give you that configuration.

 

Yeah, it was from Newegg as well. I can't believe I didn't think about that.

I've got a phone, EPP discount, and a 50$ off coupon. I think I'm good to go! First actual laptop, or even PC purchase I didn't build myself.

I found all the wallpapers and login screen junk I needed as well, should be smooth.

 

Yeah what you do is request the RMA on their site, wait a day or two, then call in and try and convince them to send you a free shipping tag and not charge you a restocking fee... if you buy a lot for them, make sure you indicate that, and you'll be fine

I purchased a Zalman NC2000 cooler their for my XPS16 and then ended up sending the XPS back. I paid for my shipping (like $5) but they waved the restocking fee.

 

I got it with SU7300, 4GB, BT, and 500GB HDD for 940 with NBD. 840 after my giftcard. I think thats pretty good! I had to get the top build because it was EPP. I'm just going to turn that 640gb into an external drive and stick the RAM on ebay since newegg wants about 8$ of it for restocking fees. Cool cool! ETA is 31rst. I guess I just wait now.

 

OP:
The only reason I ordered the M11x is because I wanted a portable PC that can run a game here and there. While it's my primary PC, I also have a PS3, and don't really care enough, have the time to build, or even the space for a high-spec'd PC. Like others said, you will be very disappointed, if you think the M11x is a replacement for your current setup.

EDIT: Crap I didn't read the thread throughly. Ignore my statement, and good job on the purchase price!

 

Why?

I've been using a 2003 Thinkpad R50 for the last three months. lol

 

Hence the EDIT.

 

Oh rofl. Yeah, I think I'll be fine. I play and use my 360 for practically everything media related. Even though my Thinkpad is LOL slow I've really liked the mobility and desk space. That CPU does kind of suck but I think I will be fine. It will be cool to play UT3 and Quake 4 and etc mobile though! Starcraft 2 is probably the newest PC game I will be playing a whole lot...looking forward to that since I'm in the beta and haven't been able to play it much.

I have built and fixed so many computers the past few months that it's like zero fun to do it for myself. hahaha

 

I used to have a desktop in my room, but when you have a queen size bed, a huge dresser, and a desk, there wasn't much room for anything, and the only time I actually put the CPU to use is when I ran Folding at Home or some other protein-folding client. That said, the desktop had to go. I might pick up an iMac later on for a desktop, but no more big towers for me.

 

Yeah, lately I have been all over the place and I like having stuff really compact lately. It just amazes me this thing is smaller and lighter then my Thinkpad!

 

The m11x seems to be one of its kind. Rather perfect for non-hardcore gamers who don't want a huge desktop, and something they can put in a bag and go whenever they want. Great battery life. Cool looking. HDMI out to external screen whenever you want.

 

ETA is the 29th. Darn...

 

ETA is now the 16th, but says it was shipped with NBR today. Hmm. Cool!

 

OH MY GOD this thing rocks. I have it hooked up to my 23" 1080 moniter, got the orochi and kabuto, and I'm just using it's keyboard, also have a usb xfi hooked up. Amazing that its played all my games at 1080 highest (unreal 3, Quake 4, etc). TOTALLY awesome on the go as well! This thing is just as fast and usable as my desktop was for what I do. HIGH FIVE

 

*high fives*

 

What do you think of the fan, is it loud? Or has strange behavior?