*OFFICIAL* M11x Owners Lounge - Part 3

I have my m11x now and it's great.

The only problem I have had so far is the alien touch menu gives me an error, "System.ArgumentException: Value does not fall within the expected range."

There is much more to the error but this is the first line. Anyone else having this issue?

 

Man been playing on my m11 since lunch time. I ran like 6 5 man instances as a tank in wow. It holds up very well but I did have to disables 2x anti and drop it it 1x. If I didn't I was in the teens in dalaran. So far I am very impress how it's been handling wow. I also played serious Sam hd and set that up to all hight settings. Not even 1 slow down. This is great my wife wants one now. I told her once the new version comes out I'll give her this one. Hehe.

 

are you guys with SSDs getting significant battery life boosts? I already plan on buying an SSD for the performance, but I'm curious to see the real-world improvement on battery life.

 

How accurate is the "time remaining" in the windows taskbar? The max I've seen was 6h 12min.

Also is there some sort of program to keep track of the battery/power? Like coconut battery for the Mac?

I used the m11x in class for 4 hours w/OC and integrated graphics and still have 53% battery life left. Pretty impressive.

 

i just got done playing portal and now my wallpaper is black. changing it doesnt do anything anyone know of how to fix this?

 

Well to be honest:

I haven't had the system long enough to actually run down the battery - much less condition it.

I've seen arguments on both sides of the fence that it would/would not increase battery life. It'd be nice if it does - but that's not what I bought the SSD for.

Additionally - you *could* make the argument that you're more productive (which saves time, thus increasing battery life.. ) due to the responsiveness of the drive. And yes - it's significantly faster - across the board. Imagine your webpage and application loads 2-3x faster across the board, and you'll get an idea. Essentially - you're *never* waiting for an application to execute (save for internet latency).

 

It's not a good reason to get SSD just for the battery. The battery life is already extremely long with 8+ hrs. I tested with OCed processor while surfing the web and using ms word with 2 bars of brightness. Of course, there are countless other benefits of having an SSD. I just can't afford one right now

 

What internet card did u guys get? I thought we were suppose to get an intel 5100, I got a DW1420 wireless N card instead

 

what benefits does the SSD give you since its like $300-400 to upgrade. Is it that much worth it?

 

what are other game distribution sites.. other than steam???

 

i think battlenet is one (owned by Blizzard)

 

I use direct2drive.

@Craig

I'm doing some research on ssd's now because I'm interested in getting one. I heard the performance benefit isn't marginal at all. How much you benefit is unknown to me.

 

I called Dell regarding the Command Software, but they were no help Not available to download just yet...

It should show up here if you registered your system but hasn't yet:
https://smartsource.dell.com/Web/main.aspx

After cloning the original HD on to an Intel SSD, the Dell DataSafe option only works with HD's that are equal to/or greater than the factory installed HD... argh! In the end I just did a clean install and have no way of changing the LED's whatsoever
-Anybody have any ideas to remedy the issue?

(first time poster, and lurker since CES announcement of the m11x .... now ~$800 poorer)

 

The reps were wrong: it's not the 5100, it's the Dell 1520. You can just pop out the 1520 and pop in the 5100 if you want, though. Installation looks really easy.

 

LOL -

so - I just checked again - and the command center is magically up on the site!

Downloading now..

 

If you already have a game that direct2drive offers, can you download and install it with your previous CD Key? Or can you only download games you've actually purchased through direct2drive?

I guess this same question can be asked about Steam as well.

 

OH lol no way would i buy the SSD JUST for the (theoretical) battery life improvements. I'm buying them for the break-neck speed and performance boosts that the system will have in games and such. I'm just curious if there will be an added "perk"

 

I *THINK* steam will let you import a CD Key from old school store-bought half life or counter-strike (in fact i think it makes you do it now for some games).

 

I can confirm that. I do it all the time

 

I think direct2drive doesn't support entering old cd keys and such. Pretty much have to buy new, but I go back and forth between d2d and steam for weekly deals and stuff. Sometimes games are cheaper on service than the other. The only thing that irks me is that steam needs an internet connection to play the games unless you put it in offline mode or something. Not that it matters considering if you buy a multiplayer game you're gonna be on a connection anyways.

 

hmm.... which site?

 

Alright! - Command Center installed - no problems!

Also installed the AlienSense application, etc.

Unfortunately - I still have that lurking "unknown device".

If possible - can someone post a pic of their fully expanded device manager? I should be able to tell which driver I'm missing from that..

 

So, few hours of playing on this little space monster. Think it's time for first impressions.

Screen: Awesome. I don't know what other people's screens are like, but mine is amazing, fully uniform illumination, no bleeding from the edges at all.
Keyboard: Kinda mushy, but not bad at all.

Overall build quality is great.

Played a few raids and dungeons on WoW, settings cranked up all the way with just the shadows turned down (They look lame anyway) was constantly 60fps

Portal locked up on me once, but no idea why that happened. After that did happen, though, I turned on the OC and left it on. Been running the M11x OC'd for about 12 hours straight. No problems.

I'm really happy so far, seems like this was the right choice for me to get back into gaming without going crazy.

 

You mean you have to install these things when your laptop arrives? They dont come already installed?

I better go buy an optical drive :/

 

Linky:

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...emID=ALW_LP_M11X&os=W764&osl=en&catid=&impid=

however - to get the video cam software - interestingly enough - you have to go to the site you quoted earlier..

 

Id like to see the evidence that SSD:

1. Improves battery life
2. Improves performance in gpu based games
3. Improves performance of the machines speed

thanks

***** To warrant $378 extra

 

^^ command center second from the top.

 

Oh yeah..... Thanks!!!

 

1. again, not sure.. I'll know more in a few days to be able to determine. This lappy has a long battery life to begin with - so you may get a bump - but I wouldn't expect much.

2. Not sure how to quantify? Best I can state is that it LOADS games / applications much faster. To give you an idea - here's a great video - albeit of M15X's - comparing the "standard" HDD vs. an SSD. Same spec'd system otherwise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fiugY3RGws

And yes - it's THAT much faster on the M11x as well.

3. Define "machines speed"? To give you an idea... before - it took the laptop approximately 35-60 seconds to boot into a "usable" login screen for Win 7. Now it consistently takes 11-17 seconds. Other applications now load near instantaneously - whereas before it took 1-10 seconds. So yes - it's a significant impact to the "speed" (or I should say "responsiveness" of the machine). Another comparison - THIS site would take probably a half to one full second to load in the browser - now it's pretty much instant (i.e. "pow" there's the site). It's hard to quantify unless you actually see it in action.

 

No - I purchased an aftermarket SSD. I had to re-install everything since the Dell Backup software requires you to restore to the same size drive (i.e. I had a 250GB HDD - and I "upgraded" to a 120GB SSD. Backup wouldn't restore.

Since I didn't have much on the machine - it was just as easy to re-install. And no - you don't need a DVD / CD - just a good 4-8GB USB thumb will suit your needs. I honestly don't see the need to ever use a CD/DVD again (other than to decode .. )

 

Just wanted to say, for the people in the M15x and M17x threads having problems with their "new" Alienware Command Center update, I think Dell mixed up the pages it was posted on, or possibly models it is compatible with, because this update works 100% with the M11x.

If you need the Alienware Command Center or Facial Recognition Software because you formatted, it is available on the M15x page.

Release Date: 2/12/2010
Version: 2.5.44.0, A05

If you look, its release date semi-

If you need to reinstall the Alienware Command Center to control the keyboard lights, and also reinstall the Facial Recognition Software, download the Alienware Command Center from the M15x page here.

Everything works, the 'Unknown Device' installs, and I can finally control my keyboard lights again!

 

They just made the 2.5.43.0 version available on the M11x pages.

 

PM me or post what your hardware ID is from device manager and I will look it up for you

 

Hardware IDs:

ACPI\SMO8800
*SMO8800

 

M11x arrived today. I used Arconis to clone the hd onto a kingston 128gb V+ hd. Worked beautifully. Clone took 10 min.

 

Does the Alienware Command Center that comes with the M11x support the Alienware TactX mouse as well, or do you need to install the seperate software that comes with the TactX mouse?

 

Think I've found it:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5655454&postcount=496

Same thinking - why would I need the free fall sensor when I have an SSD?

I'll install that driver (I think it's the only one I haven't installed - because I figured I didn't need it) and let you know the results..

 

Yep - that did it.. go figure.

Now all I need to do is grab the backgrounds / logos / boot screen / avatars from the old drive (unless anyone knows of an install package for that?) and I'm back to where I started - with an SSD instead of a HDD.

 

when i installed the new ssd and cloned the drive, after the 2nd boot a message popped up telling me that it detected my drive and the freefall would be activated on the next boot.

 

60 fps! That is so awesome. I can't wait until mine arrives! I have to wait until the 23rd of march though

 

If you guys are looking for a sleeve this one is pretty good: Sleeve link, i bought it on Monday and the M11x fits perfectly. Thanks Ceolwulf for posting the link.

 

and the sleeve the m11x comes with isn't good enough?

 

moving over from the order status page. Fedex is gonna deliver tomorrow if all goes well. will now read the rest of part 2 and ~3000 post of 3

 

Always glad to help! I'll put up a list on my webserver so I can edit it freely.

 

I've got a question. Does anyone want to start " **Official** M11X Gaming Thread " A place where we can consolidate all gaming talk? It would be great to get somone to start the thread, and then Maybe update it with information, about each game. Somone who has time to read most posts and gather updates in a nicely formatted first page for quick referance, things attached to links ect. The reason I say is because the benching thread talks a lot about gaming, and so I figured it would be great to consolidate.

If wanted, I can start it, and take well done game reviews (through PM) and link them and post them in the first page.

Just throwing out a thought to see if there is support for it and anyone who wants to take on the thread.

 

jsgiv - thanks for that M15x SSD link, that is awesome! I'm so glad I opted for the SSD

 

Just to give everyone an update! After 10 hours my initial impressions are the same! I tested my beast and got 6316 with native settings and high power. I was running some programs even though it tells you not to. This machine does run a tad bit warm at the wrist rest but nothing that would be considered unbearable! The fan is totally quiet and only has a slight rev up when doing some labor intense application. I will test out the little quirky things tomorrow like checking the dim/bright setting on battery etc... So far though I have to say I haven't had one single problem.

EDIT: Not sure if this has been mentioned but the COMMAND software has been added to the M11x Software and Drivers site.

 

Alright, updated sleeves/bags/backpacks list available here: http://stereoincolor.com/m11x/

Enjoy!

Speaking of which... I ordered this a week ago and it came a couple of days ago. I have to say, this is the best backpack I've ever worn. It was only $35 with free super saver shipping, but if you want the same quality, go after this one as it's an updated model and only $5 more. In terms of quality, you can't beat it for the price.

Edit2: Looks like there's still the red one for $35.

 

Hi everyone,

My M11x arrived tonight. I booted it to make sure it worked and then cloned and installed a Kingston V+ 128gb drive. Worked like a charm.

I loaded Lord of the Rings Online. I didnt raid or anything but it seemed to run just fine.

I also loaded Star Trek Online. I played for an hour and a half and did multiplayer and single player content.

M11x handled both with relative ease.

FYI

 

FYI

Newegg has these bags for cheaper.

check it out