*OFFICIAL* M11x Owners Lounge - Part 3

The only thing except that the files on a properly formatted usb stick is that that partition needs to be active. Active means it is available for booting.

I think there are even tools out there that do the formating and preparing for windows boot for you. Just search for such a tool, such as: http://www.google.com/search?q=HP+USB+Disk+Storage+Format+Tool

Other than that, you need to tell the bios to boot from that usb stick.

 

The main point is that intel verified that the processor works at 1,3 ghz flawlesly without any errors.
If you overclock, you do not have that guarantee anymore. It may be that the cpu does not work stable anymore.
However, most newer cpus can be overclocked at least 20 or 30%. Some overclockers drive that into the extreme and and go even beyond 50%, but that is usually only achievable with tweaking (increasing voltage and cpu cooling).

The thing is, each cpu produced does not have the same quality. For a batch of cpus. So an individual cpu of the same type make be better overclockable than another individual cpu.
After the cpu platter - the core part - has been produced, intel checks how good the quality is and determines how fast it can be safely be clocked - but they do not assign the maximum possible, but keep it on the safe side. The main point of overclocking is to use up the full potential of a cpu.
Dell knows until which speed it can expect a cpu of that type to still work stable. They provide the overclocking feature to a specific frequency that is still generally safe (or safe enough) to use.
Only the really good ones can be clocked with a high ghz value, and the higher that value the rarer those cpu's and thus the price is higher on those.

Also, the higher a cpu is clocked the hotter it gets. The hotter, the more unreliable. If it gets too hot it may do errors in the calculation.
Also the hotter, the more battery is used up (battery power is converted to heat).
Cpu's have a clocking range in which they are most efficient, and intel clocks them in that range.

At least that's my understanding of the whole thing.

 

I've mentioned it several times, but I'd like to point out again that I own a SU7300 in the form of an Asus ul30vt. It's a damn fine processor for what us m11x owners will be doing on it. No, it's not the latest gen and it's not the fastest ULV, but in an 11.6 inch form factor it absolutely beats the pants off everything else available.

My Asus is paired with the craptacular 210m, and I can pull 50 FPS in WoW with medium settings and play a lot of newer titles without too much trouble. I also don't leave my Asus overclocked to 1.7GHZ, so with the m11x oc'd and this monster of a 335m, you guys should have NOTHING to worry about as far as gaming goes.

If it can play Crysis, it can play every game on the market.

At 1.7 GHZ, you're rocking a C2D that's near non ULV C2D speeds, and if you pair the m11x with a SSD (I got the crappy Samsung Dell one just for convenience, down the road I'll replace it with an Intel once the drive starts to degrade), the performance difference will be even smaller. After really considering everything, I believe the m11x is going to blow us away.

 

The SU7300 will run stable and flawless at 1.7 GHZ. ASUS provides software OC'ing for the processor, and I've stress tested it many times. I'm sure, with a bios crack, this processor can be pushed MUCH farther. Don't worry about it. Also, with the OC on my ASUS I barely notice a difference in battery life. It doesn't make much of a difference, and this ULV processor won't be suddenly turning into a coronal mass ejection from +400MHZ extra.

 

Bios crack? I dont think thats going to happen, at best you'll be able to use tools like SetFSB if you identify the right PLL for the Laptop.

 

Thanks for that input. I just can't wait until people start getting the production samples and post real results. All this SU7300 bashing and smack talk how retarded it is, etc is driving me nuts.

@ Morkeleb - I am sure Alienware has received assurance from Intel that the SU7300's they've received are capable of achieving their BIOS overclock, whether it ends up being 1.6GHz or 1.73, otherwise they'd be eating crow for offering this "turbo" function. Either way it is a significant boost. These chips are at end of production life so chances are the quality improved to the point that they could easily achive 1.7 to 1.8 GHz.

TBH, if it ends up being a 1.73GHz BIOS overclock then I don't know that you'll really need much more than that, or the return in performance will be minor. But I'm sure some crazy people will manage to push it over 2.0GHz if they get a good CPU.

 

I agree. It's more than enough.
I will only try out overclocking just to see how it works and how much improvement there is, but I won't overclock it for general usage. Battery is more important to me.
Thats also one of the reason why I chose the ssd - beside being much faster, it gives me more battery life (I will see how much the difference is when I get it).

The samsung ssd dell provides is not all that bad, actually. Yes, I agree it can't live up to the intel ones. If i'd get one from intel, i'd get top speeds, but I don't think the difference will be huge on typical usage, and if I would get an intel one, i'd have to go for a smaller model or pay a much higher price.
This review convinced me that the provided samsung ssd is more than enough for me: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/256gb-samsung-ssd,2265-3.html (please notice the following pages of the test with benchmark comparisons) - and it's even a bit more energy efficient than the intel ones.

 

I've read all the information from Eggs Scrambled regarding the Samsung drive, and it shows that the Samsung drive is extremely inferior to pretty much every other brand of SSD, especially when it degrades you're talking 7200RPM drive speeds.

I guess we'll see how it performs, as prices fall and capacities increase over the next year, I'll still most likely replace it with a newer Intel one at some point anyway.

 

VERY good observation as far as fabrication maturity at this stage The SU7300 is perfect for form factor and battery for a Mini-Me gaming system. I posted how well just a 1.3ghz 7300 does with emulators.

A better chip option that would fit the form factor and battery would have added at least $200 to the M11x at this point in time. Not to mention there are not mass production levels yet on the ULV versions of the "i" cpus. They are out there, but you are still paying out the wazoo for the early part of the cost curve.

 

What is the current fixation with SSD's? Industry expectations are for prices to go to half of current costs later in the year. Why not save hundreds of dollars with a 250gb or 500gb HD and then get a bigger better SSD later in the year?

 

Exactly. That's why I wish everyone would shut up about "they should have put in an i5". Sure, if you want to pay the premium. When I first heard the M11x was going to be $999 to start, I didn't even bother looking at it. When I saw it was $799 to start, $999 decently configured (i.e SU7300, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD) plus all the discounts it was a no-brainer for me, as it was for tons of other people.

The problem is that since the i5's have just started appearing in other notebooks people were crying foul, and whining that it doesn't have the latest and greatest. Well, you would have easily paid minimum $999 to start with an i5 setup. I'm sure with a refresh probably in a year it'll be there. But for now, it is what it is for a reason.

I dunno. I like SSD's. Fast loading and responsive. But for me, it certainly doesn't outweigh the cost. Especially for a gaming machine where you'll need at least 100GB to put 6-8 games on there. It'd be great if you can have dual drives, then one can be a smaller boot drive, with maybe a game or two for games that demand faster load times, and separate hard drive for storage, etc. But then I guess you'd lose the effect of durability.

I DO like what the new Sony Vaio Z is offering though, and wonder if this will become a trend. Sounds like they are dual sided SSD's in the same size 2.5" form factor, that work with RAID. This should reduce the price one would think, having two 64GB SSD's in one case, running in RAID, instead of one 128GB, and should get better performance too. I hope this is the way they plan on going forward. Unfortunately the Vaio Z is over $1900 decently equipped for a 13".

 

Newegg has a 500GB 7200RPM drive for $104.99. I'm thinking about picking up either that one or the 320GB 7200RPM drive for $74.99.

 

The 7300 is the same chipset as the 9000 series (VM and SSE is same ). Only difference is clock. 7300 is clocked low for price point, but is clocked up by manufacturers- because it has no adverse effects. A great litmus to use is if a the overclock is a standard function for a company that also supports warranties Asus does.

The 7300 is not even a case where the fab yields are weaker from a production run. The clock is set there on purpose. Brilliant idea by Intel, since results in a more profitable mix out of the same chip runs! Excellent maximization of economy of scale!

 

In raw io stuff or wriwing/reading small segements of data randomly it's quite bad for an ssd, thats true.
But lets see how it really feels when you use it.

 

meh, have you seen the Samsung SSD thread for Dell? Enabling TRIM helps against the 'degradation', something the Intel G1's don't have, yet still being recommended... but if you're good with 160GB for onboard space then sure get the Intel G2 drives. The price per GB on the larger 256GB is what sold me vs a 160GB Intel G2.

 

So for clarifications sake, the m11x I ordered, Samsung SSD installed, will be TRIM ENABLED or DISABLED?

Also, is this as simple as going into the bios of my m11x and flipping the TRIM switch? Or is it much more complex? Forgive me if this is a horribly stupid question, but outside of performance of components and specs, my knowledge of computer tech is limited.

 

From info gathered from the Samsung website it will have trim.
Price aside SSD are fantastic.Every thing is just quicker,load times,boot, file tranfers,etc,etc.
I have a OCZ Vertex in another laptop and I love it

 

You can't enable trim in bios.
The first models of the used samsung ssd did not have trim support, the latest firmware (that I assume is already installed on the models coming from dell) supports trim (for the record: firmware version "VBM19C(0)1Q" or later supports trim for the samsung PB22-J ssd, older firmware such as "VBM18C(0)1Q" does not).

Also, the operating system must support this trim command. Currently thats only the case for windows 7 (and the latest windows server os). There are seperate additions that should work for older os's though.
By default trim is enabled in windows 7.
However the disk driver must also support it. Be sure not to install the intel matrix storage drivers, those will only support trim for their latest intel ssd's, but not for the samsung one.
Stay with the default disk drivers that came with windows 7.

 

hi guys, been treading these threads like a maniac since i ordered my m11x on the 5th of feb, im in south wales uk, and im telling you i have literally been glued to my laptop clicking refresh on my order status every minute on the minute.... at 5pm tonight it was still on in production, something told me to check again.....its been shipped tonight and will be in my posession tomorrow.

i only customised the processor and upto 4gb ram, so for people in the same boat from 5th of feb to 15th including 1 weekend (which in uk i doubt any work was done) is 8 days from build, testing, shipped. my original edt was 24th feb!!! so have hope all you march estimates it wont be that long.

i honestly havent know such a short time to pass so long, i get the feeling reading your posts im not alone there. Now, i am very busy, got a 2 month nephew and a rampant 2yr old to look after but i swear to ease your pains if i can pass any info on to you guys i will honestly try to find time...ney i WILL find time to give you any info you still might be unsure of or just want to know in general about it, i have the black not silver, but any pics etc ill post. I have a collection of games, gta4, super street fighter 4, nfs shift, call of duty mwf 2 which i can tell you how they look/run etc if you want to know.

it is supprising to me that for such an anticipated bit of kit that the lack of any real definative coverage and reviews, indeapth looks is so very short, this thing was 4 years in the making i think i heard the dell guys say in one of the many youtube vids now burnt into my retiners....yet before csnet 2010....no info, and still apart from hardwareheaven i think it is....realatively very little info...its baffling.

anyway, that 2 month nephew is now craving my atention so now the long wait for tomorrow begins....do you think if i go to bed by 6pm, tomorrow will come quicker....anyone else used to think that before thier birthday when kids?? ha.

 

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

I believe bellyboy, I ordered two 4 dell systems for work over the course of last summer and every one shipped in about half the time dell had estimated.

This might not be the case for the M11x since it is a brand new system, but I wouldn't be surprised and am very excited at the prospect of getting my system a bit early! I'll be keeping an eye on my order status.

 

Hey there, folks. This one isn't "specific" to the M11x, but I know some of you are wondering about the real life difference in performance between the 1.3GHz SU4100 and the 1.3GHz SU7300.

Well, I just finished the review of the Lenovo IdeaPad U150 with SU7300 running at standard clock speed compared to the Dell Inspiron 11z with SU4100 running at standard clock speed.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5538&p=2

In wPrime the 11z with SU4100 actually ran faster than the U150 with the SU7300 processor.

Interestingly enough, the 11z also delivered a higher PCMark score despite worse specs.

You'll also notice that the overclocked SU7300 in the ASUS UL50Vf performed better than either the SU4100 or the SU7300 running at the standard clock speed.

Granted, this isn't the Alienware M11x and these are obviously just synthetic benchmarks. Still, I'm very interested to see how the M11x with SU7300 performs side-by-side with the M11x with the SU4100 ... particularly when both are overclocked.

 

Thanks Jerry! +1

 

Hmm, interesting!
I can't wait to see some benchmark of the M11x. I'm still unsure the performance are worth it.. but man, it's still an Alienware! 8D

 

haha i just tried tracking my order but its saying my order number and customer number dont match.... but my electronic paking slip has all the info on it, walsh western are the people delivering it to me, they have alot of high profile customers here

Audi,BMW,Boston Scientific,Chrysler,Clarion,Dell,EMC²,Epson,Fiat,Ford Motor Company,Fujitsu Siemens,General Motors,Hewlett Packard,JCI/Toyota,Logitech,Medion,Mopar,PACCAR,Pfizer,Rolls Royce,Vauxhall,Volkswagen,Xiring

so they must be a decent firm.

to anyone who disbelives me i wouldnt have posted unless it has been shipped, there are too many posters in this thread craving info on what they have bought, and ill try to provide as much as i can... would have to be rather a sad person to say its been shipped just to say your one of the first to get one......

 

I believe you belly boy. My expected date was only one after yours so now I have higher hopes. Plus our specs match. Oh and if you really want to stop people doubting just post a screen shot saying it has been shipped.

 

just waiting your screenshot bellyboy

 

Same order date and EDD date as me... same country.. i'm still in production though! good to know any time now it can change however

 

we have a whole seperate thread for order status/tracking

 

Tigerdirect has them for $75 and can go lower with Bing Cashback

 

HAHA IVE BEEN CHECKING ALOT AS WELL! even though my ship date is the 12th of march. AND THIS IS MY FIRST POST!

Ordered mine on the 2/9/10 and Estimated Ship date is 3/12/10

-Alienware M11x, Cosmic Black
-Intel Core2 Duo SU7300 1.3GHz (3MB Cache, 800MHz FSB)
-2GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
-11.6-inch WideHD 1366x768 (720p) WLED
-1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M
-500GB SATAII 7,200RPM
-AlienFX Color, Quasar Blue
-Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
-DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
-Integrated 10/100 Network Interface Card
-ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
-Integrated High-Definition Surround Sound Audio (5.1)
-M11x Wireless INFO MOD
-1.3 Megapixel Webcam
-1 Year Limited Warranty
-Dell Hardware Warranty Plus On-Site Service, Initial Year
-Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year
-No Warranty, Year 2 and 3 (Will upgrade to more years later)
-Optional Bluetooth Module, 2.1+ Enhanced Data Rate
-Steam and Portal Factory Installed
-Thank You for Purchasing AlienWare
-CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection, Inspiron, 1 Year
-No Internal WWAN Antenna Installed
Not too sure what some of these are...

-Soft Contracts,Banktec Care,Alienware
-Warranty Support,Initial Year
-Failsafe, 1 year Standard Package
-Thank you for choosing Failsafe
-Failsafe, 1 year Standard Package
-Soft Contracts,Consumer Complete Care,Alienware
-Special Pricing Applied
* -DISCOUNT $279.00
* -DISCOUNT/COUPON APPL
-State Environmental Fee for display less than 15 inches

Subtotal: $889.00
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $50.97
Environmental Disposal Fee: $8.00
Total Price w/Discounts: $947.97



Did i get a good deal?

 

Just one day of shipping thats fast. Usually takes 2-3 days from dell (poland or czech republic or wherever it's built) to me in austria. But maybe it's a shorter shipping route for you...

How long was the production time for you (so the time between when start of production and start of shipping)?

I ordered on the 8th and and it just now (in the last 2 hours) went into production. Would be good to know how long I can expect it to take, since the EDD is an estimate only...

 

I love it, Dell releases a new laptop product and NBR membership shoots up.

 

Nick, where did you get your HyperX RAM from? OcUK are out of stock unfortunately - they had one of the best prices too. Did you buy the DDR3-1066 CL5 RAM?

Did you spec your M11x with the base 2GB option? It's £80 to upgrade to the 4GB on Dell UK, which is £10-£20 short of 4GB of the HyperX RAM. You'd probably be able to get your £20 back too, by selling the spare 2GB module on eBay.

 

damned good idea that, i have an ovi account and have made a new public album dedicated to pics of it when it arrives, here is the link with pic of my confirmation to start with

http://share.ovi.com/album/bellyoy.alienwarem11x

 

I've got access the USA market so I got it from newegg.com, I couldnt find it anywhere online in the UK. I got them last year for the M17x i used to have.

Base 2gb option and 160gb 5400 RPM HDD since i'm going to do an instant upgrade I'll hold on to the parts, I like having the stock stuff that's on the invoice handy.

 

haha I like your style. Congrats, i'm hoping mine pops any day now as well ;P

 

@bellyboy
congratz! Be sure to do a unboxing video for youtube!

 

i''m in the uk and mines been shipped! ordered on the 2/2

 

UK what a nice country ! We all wait for your unboxing videos ! and pics congrats!

When you have your UPS or FEDEX number can you tell us where do your M11x come from?

 

mine shipped from limerick ireland and baring god striking sea and air its still on for delivery tomorrow.

 

UK aint nice for SSD drives ours with SSD's only just went into productions cause of Dells lack Drives lol

 

I live in Ireland. This further gives me hope of a speedy delivery. Have they taken the money out of your account. Thats also a good sign while also being such a bad thing lol.

 

Mines shipped with Walsh Western? Tracking doesn't work yet though

 

Dell in Ireland is gone i believe, i live a couple hours away in waterford and i m fairly sure it will arrive from Poland where they have relocated. Mine went in production today so hopefully will be in by next week at some stage.

 

Damn you UK people! Where is my preferential Dell American treatment?!

 

h0M3bReW3r how long did yours say production for? how many days?

 

Ah right, very good. The base HDD option in the UK is the 7200RPM 320GB drive, which is a little disappointing. I would prefer to be able to choose the slower 160GB drive to make the overall cost cheaper, and then upgrade myself.

 

I always knew the British empire would strike back. Who knew it would be in the form of early laptop shipping dates, who knew

 

Is this the twilight zone? Since when did Ireland get ANYTHING first? ever?

But grats guys, take lots of pictures.