*OFFICIAL* Alienware M11x Owners Lounge - Part 2

I'm sorry! For some reason I distinctly remember typing "thanks to Eggs" but when I go back and look, it's not there. I think I'm going crazy. :O

Here ya go! http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5862932&postcount=3092 I fixed it.

 

FYI, you can actually adjust what the wireless switch controls in the BIOS; you can set any combination you like (i.e. bluetooth only, wireless only, or both). It might be handy for you if you're used to using the switch.

 

The unifying receiver may save you a port if you ever want a keyboard and iPod cable can always go there - flash drive doesn't, right? You can copy it to your laptop and copy the stuff back if you need the port 1-2 ports should be enough to play with, and if you desperately need 2-4 extra ports some time you can buy the multi-usb stuff inconvenient but it's once in a while ^^

 

Hey Jerry,
In the three-four years that I have been lurking on this site, since before the first EEE PC, I have been looking and looking for a truly portable gaming/movie/entertainment device with power and small enough and good enough to carry around EVERYWHERE all day.
One year ago, I think people would have said that a machine like M11X would have been impossible. Removing the stupid useless DVD Drive, gives up space, weight and battery for more power, and in this digital world, thank god.
It's weird having wated for +3 years for a product that didn't exist.

First buying an expenssive 15''... finding out it was not portable or energy efficent. then a 13''... And not having gaming power.



I think some review outlets will be dissapointed by M11X because of the CPU. They will test certain Computer Games, and they will not realise that many video games are CPU dependant. Some games are not. Crysis for example, is more GPU dependant, which explains why it was semi-playable on a Asus N10(9300m GS, Atom 1.6 GHz).

But with 2 hours of gaming on battery, and 5-6 when not gaming, is heaven. It's a revolution. I am so much looking forward to hearing more about this device.

Did Alienware make a device that could also finally appeal to normal consumer who before M11X was afraid of their battery hungry, expenssive and crazy LED Alien Light design?
Power, Weight, Footprint, Portability.
For all us who needs the big power all day in a small chassis.. To carry a Laptop around with you for 10-15 hours.. all day. Bathroom, work, kitchen, car... Doing your MMO, doing your facebooking and youtubing, your video and photo editing, all with firefox and itunes in the background.

It's like the swizz army knife you are looking for in your life. It's almost scary how it's the only source of entertainment you really need. screw TV!

 

Another question: Does M11X use Optimus Nvidia technology or is it something else(better or worse)?

 

This is correct. While VT-support will increase performance of a virtual machine, OS X is the only OS I know that requires it when you run it in a virtual machine. That said OS X is only supposed to be run in a Virtual Machine if you use mac hardware. (Specifically the license only allows you to virtualize OS X server on mac server hardware that is also running OS X server)

VMWare Player is also another option if you have issues with virtualbox. The latest version allows you to create your own virtual machines without having to use workstation or a third party (like easyvmx.com). I haven't seen or done any research myself to know which one is better to run on windows.

 

I bought an Anywhere MX mouse for my M11x. So far I like it - it's a little small, but I have a corded mouse for when I'm at my desk, anyway.

 

fast moving thread ??

was away for 36 hours, sometimes i have to work and it took me 2 hours to follow up all the pages i missed

i do agree with lufftubby, actually i dont need the M11x, i have a ultraportable, subnotebook, netbook, however everybody wants to call it,but this thing is definitely a great niche product

well done DELL

 

Nvidia Optimus is software-based automatic graphics switching technology, and was only released yesterday.

The M11x uses a "hot switch" to activate (and de-activate) the GT 335M when required. It can't really be better or worse, as all the different ways of implementing it end up with same result (i.e. the dGPU is either on, or off).

There's no reason why Optimus can't be used with the M11x in the future if you wanted it (Dell would obviously have to approve a driver package supporting it though).

EDIT: Jerry (below) has confirmed that Optimus with the M11x is not possible due to motherboard restrictions.

I'd be happy with just the switch though, it only takes a couple of seconds anyway.

 

I spoke with Nvidia about that very thing last month. As a matter of fact the M11x will NOT use Nvidia Optimus because Alienware/Dell designed the motherboard for the M11x before Optimus rolled out.

The M11x (at least the first revision) will use traditional switchable graphics with multiplexers (muxes) on the motherboard controlling the switch from Intel IGP and Nvidia GPU.

This means you have to manually tell the M11x when you want to use the IGP and when you want to use the Nvidia GPU ... and the screen will go black for a few seconds as the muxes switch the input/output and the correct display driver (GPU or IGP) loads.

For better or worse you will have to control whether you are using the GPU or the IGP ... the M11x won't do it for you.

edit: @rpg-XPS, Dell/Alienware can't make this revision of the M11X work with Optimus because the motherboard uses muxes. Optimus requires both a special driver and the correct motherboard setup (see my comments in the ASUS UL50Vf review thread for more details).

 

Hey, guys. What do you think of this mouse? It's from the future!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Logitech-MX...58QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMice?hash=item1c0fb81bc2

 

This is what I thought of it back when we had one in the office for review:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3902

 

@Jerry
Thanks for the review!

 

I'm stuck between either the Logitech VX Nano or the V450 Nano mouse. Which one is better? The V450 says that it has a 1yr battery life, the VX, on the other hand, claims only 6 month. Also, what is the cheapest nano wireless mouse in the market?

edit: I see, the VX has more buttons, and is smaller in size. I think I'm going to go with the V450 for its 1 year battery life.
edit: WOW!! the Marathon mouse M705 can last 3 years!!!

 

Thank you for the info Jerry, I amended my post above.

 

I personally like the VX Nano. No only for the function, feel, and number of mouse buttons, but also for the micro dongle that I can leave plugged in and don't have to worry about it getting knocked out or broken off. A set of AAA batteries will last me months.

 

I like the via anywhere mx mouse best mouse, has great contact and very fast dpi speed, since i use a gaming mouse all the time just for in general when home. It works even on glass!

 

Notice that there is only one powershare USB. Will this be a problem powering external DVD drives? Some of them require two USB, especially if burning a DVD.

I was hoping the powershare USB would mean we only need that connector, but not sure.

Perhaps we need to make a list of good external DVD drives that only need one connector to run them for full operation?

Bestbuy has few. I would rather buy from a store, so if will not power ok with one connector, it is easy to take back.

 

Powershare USB provides power even after shutting down notebook used for charging devices by USB.

I think all the USB ports when the M11x is on are powered 5v

 

From what I gather reading the user's manual, all ports are standard USB ports and will supply 500mA 5V when the laptop is powered on. In addition, the powershare port will supply 500mA 5V when the laptop is turned off, until battery power is less than 5%.

 

This is what I use for mouse on all my netbooks.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=112

It folds in half to tiny size for portability and then unfolds to full size mouse when your ready to use it. Plus it turns off/on with the folding so you never have to worry about having dead batteries. I cannot use those notebook mice they are just way too small and I don't like to carry a full size mouse with my netbooks takes up to much space and defeats the purpose of small form factor.

This is perfect solution for me.

 

I just bought a Lite-On eTAU208. It's $50 from newegg, and only uses a single USB plug (which conveniently hooks in underneath the drive for storage).

Newegg says it only supports burning +R disks, but LiteOn's website says it supports all DVD formats (+/-R, +/-RW, +/-R DL, and I think even DVD-RAM). Unfortunately I don't have any -R disks to test this right now, but I'm pretty sure it supports at least +/-R, if not -R DL or -RW.

For $50, it's hard to beat. And I can definitely confirm that it only needs one USB port.

 

Hi all,

I spoke to Dell earlier today and asked whether the M11X battery was user replaceable, i.e. that you could easily change it for another just like any other laptop.

They said yes you could, but after looking at some photos online, it appears you need to remove the back of the laptop to change it.

I am thinking about using the laptop on long haul flights, where I will have 9 or so hours to lose, so an easily replaceable battery would be perfect.

So I guess the questions are -

Is the battery installed in the laptop and will it require a screwdriver to change it, and possibly a soldering iron?

Is the battery attached to the laptop like most laptops, that is it is easily removed and a spare replaced

Thanks

 

Yes, a screwdriver will indeed be needed. To conserve battery life, you can try undervolting the CPU. With an undervolted cpu, 75% brightness, no WiFi, and no keyboard backlight, you should easily be able to obtain a 7-8hr battery life while reading an ebook or playing spider solitaire.

Otherwise, if you are an extreme road warrior, I suggest you to NOT get this laptop. I strongly recommend having a look at the ASUS ul30vt and ul80vt series instead.

 

Dell EPP site is really making me mad. I have configured this m11x every day since it has released and every day they change what you can or cannot configure. Just when i was going to order they upped it to max spec with a base price of 1163 and add in the 15 month mcafee antivirus. im ok with the specs but when i called they said they cannot take off the mcafee (80$ and its crap) because that is downgrading. I dont want to be forced to buy things i do not want because im using a so called student discount EPP when i could configure it for less without the mcafee and a smaller hard drive (320) and come out better on the normal site. Anyone else ran into these problems.

 

I went with the Orochi/Kabuto combo, I've heard good things about it.

 

^ it's a perfect match for the M11x IMO. It'll be great. Wired mode for the Orochi is top notch, on par with any other high DPI gaming mice out there, just a bit smaller than the competition =)

 

Thanks Jonjonk for your reply

I had a look at the ASUS ul30vt and ul80vt series as you suggested, I am amazed that they can get 12 hours out of the ul80vt, what an awesome machine, but at the end of the day, it can't play games like an M11X, so although the battery is not easily changed, is a pain, I think I will still go with one.

Cheers

 

i think they sell portable battery packs too, like something you can plug in to the power port and get some charge that way. That's probably the most convenient thing for the m11x, else you could replace the battery on the plane and have everyone tackle you can get questioned for a bomb scare?

 

i still dont understand the deal with ul80vt nor ul30vt getting such good battery life, it must be the battery itself being twice as large or something.

 

===M11X HANDS ON===
uploaded to youtube today.
lucky guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTV6GSp74KU

this vid also gives you a very clear view on what the lunar silver looks like

 

For most long-haul flights, they offer power outlets (Southwest doesn't do this). While it's an old post, check out this page where one guy goes over using power supplies on planes. Also check out http://www.seatguru.com/ for information about which seats have power outlets.

Regarding changing your M11x's battery: if you take a look here you can see there are eight screws that need to be removed in order to replace the battery. If you're the risk-taking type, you can go ahead and try to whip out a screwdriver and a battery pack during a flight; for the rest of us, I wouldn't be fooling around with anything that could remotely make you look like you're assembling a bomb.

Edit: you beat me to it, Eggs. :O

 

@eggs : I think after having my Asus 1000HE where I got 8 hours and playing around with my friends UL30A which got around 9-10 hours I've really been spoiled. I felt like when I heard this M11X only got 5-6 hours that it was the end of the world and not enough!
I mean, it's still not enough but I think I'll have to get over it

 

Cool, nice video thanks

 

Thanks for the USB points and external drive suggestion

Less than one month. I guess I will order a drive towards to end of the month. I will use the case for my HP TX2010. About the same footprint, so should be good. Wife took over the HP for email and Skype.

 

thanks abused, lol @ 3Dmark2001. That silver looks a lot brighter which is a bit depressing to me, but hopefully that's just a different region's silver or something since I'm still hoping for the grayish silver I've seen most everywhere else. Anyway, it looks damn small sitting on top of an M17x like that, I still can't really get a feel for the size just yet either..

 

@azn: Yea, they need to compare it to the size of like, a macbook or asus UL20/30. Obviously it would look small compared to m17x cause that's a monster!

 

Like another poster said: underclock your CPU. You can also turn down the brightness, turn off the lighting, and only run one program at a time.

I'm going to install a Linux distro on the M11x and see how that affects battery performance... I don't know if I'll be able to use the integrated card, though.

 

Nice find. Even though the grey appears to be a little shiny, it looks fantastic. With some blue lights it's gonna be awesome.

 

@cleolwulf

If you were referring to my posts, I did not meant underclocking, I meant undervolting. Two very different things. For starters, you lose 0 performance if you undervolt. Take a look at this thread for more information:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

 

We should start a poll asking what color your going to make all your lights. From some of the videos purple actually doesn't look to bad.

 

Am I the only one planning yellow
Yellow and black

 

my default setting from factory is purple hahaha

 

imo the silver color looks kind of more like a dead color. Makes the laptop look old :/ It also doesn't match with the black alien head. On a side note, I really like how you can change the lighting into any color of the rainbow.

 

If that's the standard silver than I am glad I went black because I actually wanted a sort of gun metal grey.

 

^ I knowww I hope it's not the case pleaaaaseee more gunmetal gray haha oh well.

 

Thanks for the link, jonjonk; I figured they were the same thing.

 

yellow and black would look sick. call it the hornet

 

@ceolwulf
If you undervolt AND underclock, you gona get one heck of a battery life lol

 

Really cool video. I am so glad I bought the M11x. The size is absolutely PERFECT.