*OFFICIAL* M11x Owners Lounge - Part 3

Personally, I'm planning to play source games on my laptop like TF2/CSS and probably grid defense / audiosurf etc... And from that standpoint, i can't justify paying almost $500 more for the m11x when the VT can handle those.

 

is there an option in BIOS to make it so you don't have to press Fn to do the alternate F1-F12 keys? I like having volume up/down/mute and brightness keys at a touch of a button instead of either needing two hands or thumb + middle finger lol.

 

The ul30vt is $500 less than the m11x? I see the Asus for about $850?

 

Hey guys!
I was just wondering for you current owners how often the m11x's fan kicked in, especially on lower performance settings, or even with the GPU enabled? Mine happens to go on and off for practically no reason and my temps are fine! Whats yours like?

 

OUT OF BUILD PURGATORY!

Mine finally shipped and will be here tomorrow!

 

IF M11X had a i7 640 in it, instead of the SU7300, what kind of performance boost would be talking about here, in terms of 3D Mark 06, for example?

Right now its supposed to be able to hit 6100 points. Would that increase(as well as gaming performance) with an i5 or i7 processor?

 

In canada:
asus = 879 + tax = 993
m11x = 899 + 100 [cpu] + 100 [ram] + 50 [250 hdd] + 2 year warranty to match the asus standard warranty = 1324 + tax = 1496

1496 - 993 = $503!!!

 

With a 640m it would probably melt before completing the test.

 

The two finger scrolling option isn't in the Scrybe options. It's in the options of the updated driver that Scrybe automatically installs. So after installation, you go to the same place you'd normally go to configure your touchpad and the new options should be there.

I'm sure just installing the driver off Synaptics' site probably works, but I wanted to try out Scrybe anyhow.

 

I couldn't a couple of seconds ago, but after switching the graphics I could. It seems like it occasionally flakes out after switching from the integrated graphics to the discrete graphics or vice-versa.

 

Really? That is kind of lame.

 

nope. i just looked for ya.

 

Then maybe the most powerful i5 ? It seems to have a low 18 Watt.. and its almost as powerful as i7.

That would mean, that battery life would not suffer, right?

 

luffytubby, you're trying to put standard voltage processors. You need to look at the i5um or i7um which are the c2d ulv equivalents

 

ohh I see, silly me! Do you have any link with these CULV versions are tested?

 

does anyone know how to change the log-in screen back to windows default one? I dont really like the red background that it's using right now

EDIT: nvm found out how to do it here. but now i want to make it so i dont have to click on my username to enter a password since there is not other user besides me

 

Depends on what discounts you get for the Dell. Amazon has the 30vt for $800 and similar config for M11 would be $1,100 with no discount. Difference is $300, but the vt has a $200 cheaper vid card in it and weaker quality display. If games are not your main thing, vt may be a better buy for some people.

 

Does the M11x remember its Battery Charge Disable/Enable state when connecting / disconnecting the AC Adapter and pressing the Power Button?

Using the M11x when being connected to the AC Adapter and constantly charging and discharging between 98-100% won't grant a longer battery life.

 

Got mine today! Heaven...for what its worth I love this little guy. Pictures do it zero justice. The packaging is cool, the cloth pouch is a nice touch and overall the build quality is solid. The black is definitely a finger magnet as reported.

The glare at my office was pretty pronounced. I may look into a screen protector to negate that if one comes out that fits.

I downloaded both Dirt and Bioshock demos and the both ran great with default settings. I pumped up Bioshock to full res on this bad boy and it ran just as smooth.

First impressions overall are very good. Can't wait to sit down and enjoy some more quality time with this thang.

 

Ok, so I think I might have been one of the first people to receive theirs last Thursday due to picking overnight delivery by accident I have been loving this laptop to death but as with all new products I have one minor issue. My "[" key (one to the right of the "p" key) looks to be a bit deformed. The upper right corner of it is angled up while the bottom left is angled down a bit. This becomes more noticable when the keys are backlit.

Now don't get me wrong, this is fairly minor and has NO effect on functional use but when spending 1k on a piece of tech you would like it to be flawless until YOU break it hahah. I called the standard tech line last night and after 20 minutes on hold I was greeted by a gentleman that spurted out an introductory sentence I could not decipher. I just hung up. There was no way I would be able to describe/discuss this issue with that rep. So my question is: should I even pursue this further, what could they even do, and is there a better method to resolve this than the standard 1-800 number.

Oh, and for all the WoW players out there I ran the weekly raid today and got a steady 30-40fps on XT-Deconstructor 25 man. I have shadows all the way down and one or two other options down but running at full native resolution.

Mike

 

Just got mine 30 minutes ago. OCed the CPu already and it's running awesome. Very quiet and the build quality is amazing. I'm typing on it right now and the keyboard is great aas well. Everything about this machine is just plain AWESOME!!

 

Am I the only one heres whose fan is almost ALWAYS on and is really loud. And im just typing on NBR and itd doin it, this normal?

 

Did anyone with SSD tested the battery?

 

Woot,thanks for the info!

 

I can once mine arrives. What kind of test were you looking for?

 

Engadget posted a review, anyone see it?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/23/alienware-m11x-review/

 

@nick No, what's this "engadget" thing?

 

not a good review

 

yeah, not a good review at all

 

Not a great review, but a fair one.

 

engadget is just a good source of electronic info... that review is nothing..

 

After all of the waiting and neurotic thread checking my m11x has arrived. Im typing with it as we speak!

I cant believe I took time from playing crysis to type this. I just had to share my joy however.

With CPU overclock and GPU stock crysis is completely playable with all medium + high shaders and very high textures!!!!!!

Im in love.

 

Is Nvid Optimus where the GPU switches on its own because Dark said that it wont be getting it at all, I believe. Fail on Engadgets part if I am not delirious, getting my info mixed up.

 

Good to hear. What kind of FPS?

 

I have an SSD enroute due to be delivered tomorrow.

Speaking of which -

I believe I've found most of the drivers off of the main site, however I cannot find the alienware command center. I noticed someone else had recommended installing the one for the M17X - however - that apparently has a bug/issue with it - and has since been removed.

Apparently - you can download the command center supposedly from the "My Hive" section of the AW site - however - you need an account number to establish - and I haven't found any account number/Agent ID card within the box that was delivered. Tried my Express Service Code - but that didn't help at all... Any ideas?

Basically - I really want to install my SSD - however - I'm concerned about being able to change the lights once I install everything except the Command center from the site.

With regards to the laptop itself - I'm really amazed, as it's the complete package that I've been looking for quite awhile in a laptop - small package (10-12 inches, HD Screen, powerful GPU, decent CPU (this whole Core i vs. Core2Duo is about silly and quite honestly - considering what I'll be using the system for - gaming / word processing / general everyday use / coding).

It's hard to conceive - however - this unit is much easier to type on/use than the 11z I have. Not sure why - as I've compared the 2 units. They're very close in overall size/dimensions. However, m11x's keyboard is shifted "up" in the main base compared to the 11z - which gives you the capability to rest your hands very comfortably next to the touchpad (which is a tad bit smaller BTW).

Overall build quality of the unit is hands down one of the best i've seen, even including MacBooks.

My only "nitpick" is that apparently I have a dust particle on the inside of the "plastic/glass" screen. It's not a dead pixel, but is about the size of a pixel or two. From a distance, it's not that noticeable (i.e. I have to search for it on a white background), however, if you get close the screen - it is. I'm on the fence about calling up Customer Support - as I'm of the opinion I don't want to mess up a good thing..

 

You are correct, Dark said there were no plans for Optimus to be added.

 

I played the Crysis Demo - only "choppy" area was at the beginning of the demo - where the plane flies in and it blows heat from the jet on the "screen"..

Overall, however, it's VERY smooth - I'll try to install Fraps later on to test.

 

Congrats Nuke.. Glad U should get it B4 going off to Uni.

 

Speaking of which, has anyone heard from Dark in a while? I think he's become completely obsessed with his M11x.

 

I can adjust the screen brightness - but am having trouble with the battery charging switch..

 

I read somewhere that that's broken. Mine doesn't work either.

 

I hope people are reporting these bugs to Dell/Alienware support. That way there are reported issues, and we may see a fix sooner for these problems.

 

The battery switch is BIOS-only for the time being. If/when Dell sends out a BIOS or software update, we should see a fix.

I would assume they will shortly, as this feature is documented in the manual and opens them up for some hefty (and legitimate) complaints.

 

You won't be able to change the lights without the Command Center. I'm not sure why Dell removed the M17xR2 one from the site - mine seems to be working without issue. An Alienware support rep explained to me that the My Hive section of the Alienware site is only for Alienware models prior to the M17x and M15x, which explains why we can't access it.

I guess you'll just have to wait until they fix whatever's wrong with the Command Center and repost it. I have a feeling we're going to have some fixes incoming in the next few weeks, as there's definitely a few kinks in the system.

 

I just tried to swap out my hard drive with a hitachi 500 gig 7200 rpm drive. I made 2 partitions with the hitachi 500 gig drive, one 150 gig and the other 350 gig. I made a clone of the stock hard drive on the 150 gig partition. However when I boot it says:
Check Cable Connection!
PXE-m0F: Exiting PXE ROM
Invalid partition table.

Anybody who knows what I did wrong?

 

They removed it because of known issues - check the thread here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=461136

Looks like some people have issues - others don't? It's been suggested not to install it - (obviously now - since it's been pulled from the site).

According to BatBoy - there's an update coming - not sure when. Ah well - worse case scenario - I'd just put the other HDD back in to change it - I'm not a fan of cloning drives (especially going from an HDD to SSD - too many issues for failure there.. ) - even though this is pretty barebones of an install anyway.

RE: issues - I'm not *that* surprised - there's always issues with brand new systems - no exception here.. I'm sure AW/Dell will be on top of things for the next few weeks as they want this to be a success.

I did recieve a call from a rep earlier asking if I had received my system and what I thought.. which was a nice touch - didn't get that with my last Dell purchase.

Overall - I'm satisfied - it's a great unit - looking forward to using it...

 

i just got mine!!!
its effing amazing!!!
my name didnt fit on the nameplate though lol
i can live with it!!!

 

I have the same problem Kyouteki. Its like they printed the lettering over a piece of plastic and it didn't stick. Thankfully the Service tag is printed on my invoice, so I just stuck a copy in the box and put it in my closet just in case.

 

How many characters did you have on there total (including spaces)?

 

don't worry, the service tag in embedded and you can find it in the bios