Thoughts about a M13x - What could it be like?

If you were in charge of Alienware's Development team to make a cross between a m11x and a m15x - A m13x. What would it be like?


For me:

IPS Panel - 1440x900 Matte. Edge to edge display. Very high quality version should be a option for those that can afford it and really want a state of the art display, while others can pick the standard-glossy-crappy-viewing-angles-option. It would probably be several hundreds of Dollars more, but in my case it would be worth it.

Chassis - Relatively "Fat" like the other Mx machines. No DVD Drive. More GPU/Cooling/Battery performances. Ideology taken from m11x/acer timelinex - Would still be a Steam machine.

Battery - Aiming for solid 4-5 hours on integrated with 50% brightness, wi-fi on, while browsing. Big integrated Battery that would take up perhaps 40% of the machine, similiar to what a Macbook Pro 13 uses to get 8-10 hours of battery.

CPU - GPU - Ram - All around a middle of the next Directx 11 - The choices would obviously point to the most powerful cards but with the lowest power consumption and most cool nature. ATI cards maybe.

Snuff - Backlit keyboard, the usual array of ports, HDMI, USB 3.0, aiming for around 2.5-2.8 kilo weight. We should allow it to be heavy for the best cooling, best battery, as long as the dimensions and footprint are relatively along the lines of other compact and mobile 13'' notebooks.




13'' Is to be the ideal screen size. There can not be any doubt about that. As a companion thing, I would love to see Alienware offer a high quality 27-30'' gaming HDMI enabled display to be a companion to the mx devices.



What would you want in a M13x?

 

This would be imo pointless unless they added an optical drive. Otherwise you may as well just get an m11x.

 

Did Perfectionist put you up to making this thread?

 

This sound like the M11X R3 thread lol.

There would be no point for an M13X as the M15X is the the midpoint between ultraportable and a desktop replacement (M17X), adding the M13X would probably dwarf the M11X sales.

 

IMO, optical drives are a incredible waste of space and battery. the benefits of using a external USB, is extreme when you consider what you get for the tradeoff.


Many 13'' has dumped the optical drive totally - Like Asus UL30, 3810/3820, MBA and so on...

 

What would an M13x be like? It'd be like a 13 inch Alienware laptop.

 

What could they offer when this is the current top of the line spec wise:


Acer 3820:

core i7 (not CULV)
ATI 5650 (which is > 335m and much more than 330m)
8 GB Ram
6-8 Hours of Battery
8000-9000 points in 3dmark 06(default resolution)



I would like to see if AW could top it. What 3820 did was remove the optical drive and put in another heatsink, for better OC'ing. people have gotten 9900 on it! pretty good for a 13'' chassis that is still around 80 degrees on both GPU and CPU OC.

But apparently a card like 5650 is just a ice rock.

 

Considering the m11x doesnt exceed 60 degrees 80 degrees is severely hot for a system that I would expect to be able to use on the lap.

 

I really don't see the need for an M13X. Even from a business standpoint this makes no sense as it would cut into the profits of the M11X and the M15X.

 

It does seem like a M11x R3.
Really, I think Alienware pretty much has a full line up of products that covers everything! Unless Alienware decides to do something besides computers, I have high doubts that they will release any new products.

 

I agree with luffytubby's points in general. People are saying it would cut into the M11x profits but honestly just cut the M11x and make it a M13x with a proper screen. I got to play around with one at Best Buy and it seemed like a pretty solid machine that outclassed the other small notebooks in terms of appearance and build quality but it was just too small.

Screen definately needs to get upgraded, immediately. 1400x900 IPS panel is asking too much IMO. We have yet to see if the new notebook IPS's can even handle gaming motion properly.

 

Easy, make it as good as the Sony Z.

Needs a DVD drive.
Needs an excellent screen.
Needs a class 1 GPU (GTX 360M minimum)
Needs a quad core CPU option

Hell, I'll be happy with an M12x. 12.1-12.5 inch excellent screen in the same body.

 

What people might not think about is the amount of capital that went into the creation of the M11X. It's a huge amount of $$$, and with their lawsuit settlement, downturn in the global economy, etc it's not economically feasible to go into 'creation'-mode so soon...

 

I never said right now. If the rumored M18x is coming and its dumping the M17x is true, all it takes for Alienware to comfortably switch manufacturing of a chassis and investment into its product is a little over a year.

 

I believe if they kept the M11x body but just actually used the screen real estate to fit in a perfect 12.1 - 13.3 in screen.
I thought I would like an internal optical drive, but after having M11x, I used my external optical drive approximatley 4 times since I got M11x. No need to optical drive IMO.

So better screen, no OPTIMUS and possibly better processor is perfect.
A M13X would be fine if they can keep the weight as same as M11x.
I mean, keep same internals as M11x but put it in a little bigger M13X body to cool down the notebook even more.

 

I'd love an m13x. The reason I'm not getting an m11x is because it doesn't have a DVD driver or higher res screen. 1600x900 would be nice for the m13x. maybe an m14x.

 

then the question is would the profit added by brighing new customer in with the 13" form factor ou weight thosses lost by the m15x

 

lol my first thought too! Too funny

 

LOL.... perfectionist....

 

I think unless you work at Alienware's financial department you are not qualified to make such a statemente.



From what I gather, 13'' is the most ideal screen size for everyone. The most sought after and the best combination of portability and power.

You can't rule out that many people are not buying alienware because this screen size is not an option, or that they have many unsatisfied customers who had to either buy too little(m11x) or to big(m15x).

If you want to buy a pair of shoes and your ideal size is 43, you are not happy if the store only have 41 or 45!

 

I really mean no harm; Personally I'd love an M13X- It would be a perfect-sized laptop, but sad to say that I just doubt it will happen anytime soon. I'm just trying to be a realist, that's all.

 

Lies. I had my personal Dell rep confirm it for me, it's going live in summer 2011:



m13.37x - The Most Powerful 13.37" gaming laptop in the Universe*
Featured Options:

• Now featuring the Powerful Core-i series quad-core mobile processors
• Dual 1GB NVIDIA 435M graphics in SLI, standard with NVIDIA Optimus for even better** battery life
• Less than 10 lbs
• Coffee/Coco/Latte chassis smells
• m17x professional touchpad, now with even lower polling rate
• 1 extra lighting color (infra-red)
• Alienware sandals - Pwn noobs even on the beach

Dimensions: (W)13.37" (D)9.2" (H)1.3"

Available in Goo green only through EPP only with 500GB HD, 8GB RAM and mandatory lifetime subscription to McAfee(C) Anti-virus software. EPP customization options:

• black business sandals
• extra strong coffee smell
• even bigger Alienware sticker
• "No-cracking-hinge" option

* except for Sager Clevo xL33Tx "Cardboard Chassis System Mark XIV"
** Only if the laptop is completely turned off

 

Good one Unreal!

 

Lmfao, 1337.

Also I would have gone for a 13 rather than an 11. Especially with no optical drive. As the other user mentioned it takes up alot of space for better things, since the opticals are becoming more and more obsolete as usb drives are just raping.

 

I also would have purchased a M13x over the M11x

 

a 13 inch might be nice... but i wanted a netbook, thus, i bought a netbook-like notebook! my desktop is sufficient enough for power.

 

Well I think instead of an M13x what might be a little better would be going ahead and making an M15x with switcheable graphics. This should increase the battery life on this computer by about 1-2 hours, if not more (i'm sure that 5850 sure uses a lot of battery life).

An m15x with a 9 cell and 3-5 hours of battery would be nice.

 

Llano with Seymour or Capilano in Hybrid Crossfire.

 

The Vaio Z and Alienwares are laptops in two different classes, for two different purposes. You can't simply say "make it as good as the Sony Z".

Firstly, a DVD drive in this day and age? I, and many others, would prefer to have a larger battery, or a second HDD caddy. A smartbay, perhaps.

An excellent screen, that I won't argue with. That would drag the price up however. For that reason an excellent LED screen should be an option, from a financial view.

A Class 1 GPU in a 13" system? Are you joking?!? It'd use up so much power, and create so much heat, it'd be absolutely redundant. You know the M15x? Two hours battery, with a class one GPU. The M13x wouldn't have any bigger battery, most likely smaller. And then the cooling system would have to be a seriously good job, making the laptop either over 2 inches thick, or one that overheats a lot.

A quad core CPU would be a poor option for the same reason as a Class 1 GPU would be. Too much power, too much heat.


In my opinion, an M13x would have a low power processor (possibly ULV, possibly something a little more powerful than that), a mid-range low power GPU (similar to the 335M in the M11x, but likely more powerful), and a very large non-removable battery.

Overall though I think an M13x would be completely redundant. It would barely be more powerful than an M11x, unless they made the base and bezel massive which would be pointless. The profit output, considering it'd steal from the profits of the other systems, would not be worth the development costs.

 

Buwhahahha!! You had me going there for a sec.

 

A 13in would be great and I agree it would be better than an M11X in many ways but a 13" would probably need a higher resolution than the M11X therefore it would require a more powerful graphic card and a bigger battery.

I believe this is why they chose the 11 in option over the 13 in. It gave a better compromise in between weight, battery life and power.

I still believe we may see an M18X way before a possible M13X.

 

Exactly 13" for the monitor, with the glass measuring to the edge of the system, no border; full glorious 1440x900 holographic plasma screen technology! Quad SLI mobile DirectX 12 capable graphics cards, 4GB video RAM, clock speed of ~1600MhZ. (These would be half the size and thickness of current mobile GPU's ideally.) 12GB system memory, 4TB Solid State hard disk, touchscreen keyboard, built-in trackball. Battery life is 5000 years due to highly efficient plutonium-zinc ion cell encased in user-friendly lead lining. Biodegradable too!

 

Ya think we could add in a hamburger and soda fountain machine too? I get hungry when I game...

 

lol I was kidding of course. My aspirations usually inspire perspiration and are quite lofty...

 

I am the one that usually makes post like these but you made a mistake... If there is a holographic screen then there is no keyboard. Everything would be voice/touch activated through the holograms projected in front of you.

Seriously speaking how far away from a true holographic screen are we? Are there even working prototypes?

 

there are prototype they just require a ridiculous amount of hardware

 

I googled it and I did not find anything. Do you have a link?

 

13.3 inch screen
1600x900 res screen
slot load drive
some mid tier ati card
i3 and i5 procs
switchable graphics obviously
some absurdly large battery ala Apple for a claimed bat life of 10 hours, and a real usage life of like 7.