m11x vs. BfBC:2 bench?

looks like the benchmarks are rolling out for the m11x everywhere, for everygame I've wanted to see....except....bad company 2!?!?!

Now that there's been a patch, and people have had almost a week of this thing in there hand, how come I can't find one on NBR, or even google/youtube?

 

No way it runs on that weak processor.

 

Yeah gota say, BFBC2 seem to suck processors dry, although with a heavy OC it may be possible to get away with it...just.

 

I have a BFBC2 key, and I missed the FedEx person today to get my M11x Hopefully I will get it tomorrow and have a day (beta ends Thursday, right?) to give some feedback. I will do what I can!

 

The reason to me to get a Netbook is when you are in a situation you need to run on battery for long time and a cramped space where you can't have a larger 14" laptop.

Are you all sure you can game on the M11 on battery?

If not, then I don't really get the point, that's my take in spending the extra $700 if on battery it's no better than a $300 netbook.

It's awfully small screen for gaming and keyboard too small I think. If you can game on BC2 on battery, then it would be worth the money if you like gaming on a minuscule screen.

 

couple of th reviews had it saying three-four plus hours unplugged straight gaming...

 

Yes, please visit the Alienware section here at NBR. There's gazillions of posts about every question you could ask about the M11x. And yes you can game a good 2 hours or more on battery, and you can get a good 6 hours battery life running with integrated video.

They keyboard is not small, it's full size, and the screen is personal preference, but I don't find 11.6" screens that terribly small. But people game on their cell phones, iPhones, PSP's, whatever 4" screen they have available to them all the time. It's all about portability. If they could fit a 17" screen in an 11" package, that'd be awesome (OLED maybe?), but not reasonable or even feasible.

Plus you can get one for about $800 with the coupons constantly floating around with the SU7300, 320GB HDD, and 4GB RAM.

 

In terms of actual battery life, yesterday at work, I got 7 and a half hrs out of the M11x in power saving mode +2 bar brightness with web browsing and MS word. Not too bad. Right now, with lower settings, the battery bar shows 8 and a half hrs, but those numbers don't count because it fluctuates. Oh and the processor was OCed. Anyways, is the BfBC2 beta key for steam? If so, I am willing to give it a shot. PM me the beta and I will test the performance when I get home today (can't really play games at work lol).

 

(My post is going to continue the off-topic theme of this thread. Hopefully, the OP followed Vicious' advice and posted his question to the m11x benchmark thread...actually, I think it's already being discussed there.)

Do either of the linked laptops offer a hybrid graphics system that you can switch without rebooting?

I am seriously considering purchasing an m11x. Worse yet, the other system I'm considering is the 2010 Vaio Z which is almost double the cost of the m11x.

I have no allegiance to Alienware and have twice backed out of buying their laptops (the original m15x in early 2008 and the m17x R2 last year).

And I agree with you Vicious about larger laptops not being that difficult to lug around. I carry my m1710 with me almost everywhere I can, and it always goes to work with me. Never really found it to be a burden...

And it's a great machine from outlet to outlet...however, the battery life is somewhat limited for anything other than 90-120 minutes of web browsing...fire up a DVD/BluRay with any screen brightness, and I'm lucky to make it past the previews. And GPU intensive gaming is even worse...but from outlet to outlet, I'm still very, very happy with my m1710.

But I frequently fly on business to the West Coast, and fly with my family to visit the ancestral home out West...four to six hour flight. Besides the battery life, a 17" laptop is extremely awkward on an airplane since I can't afford first class. Just not enough room to open it up...I usually end up watching a movie or playing a game on my PSP...

There's also the frequent six hour road trips to the in-laws...after spending an hour beating my two sons into submission, a laptop that actually comfortably fits on my lap, won't scald me, has a full keyboard and built-in Verizon 3G capability along with 5-6 hours of battery life seems like a great way to pass the time. And then when I arrive at their house (which doesn't have a high speed internet connection and no wireless router), I can still check e-mail, surf web, and...plug the laptop up and play some modest gaming with my bro-in-law (Half Life 2 Deathmatch or Call of Duty 2 typically).

My wife's iPhone does the web surfing as well as most laptops, but I can't stand the touch keyboard and the iPhone won't play HL2 Deathmatch...my PSP actually games better than the iPhone, but I guess that's what that $200 toy was designed to do (do you realize that you can almost buy a 360 or PS3 for the price that I paid for my PSP?).

So, the m11x, although expensive in computing power terms, offers me a single source solution that no other device does...music and movies from the hard drive using the integrated graphics for 5-6 hours completely detached...web browsing for 5-6 hours with a more natural interface for me completely detached...and modest gaming when plugged in...probably almost on par or better than my m1710 when you count the CPU/GPU together...

Each of us has different needs (wants?) and the m11x fits the bill well for me and I don't mind paying around $1200 for one (I am struggling with $1900 for the Vaio Z for an upgraded processor from the m11x and an SSD, but that is one sexy machine...which statement probably offends your sensibility)...and I actually enjoying gaming on my tiny, tiny PSP screen...I'm still amazed that I can play Sega Genesis games on the thing at full speed...now, I can move up to a tiny not tiny screen for Sega Genesis on the go...

 

i think the m11x is a great idea. if you are on a trian or something and want to play a game its easy enough on an m11x whereas on a 17 inch gaming notebook you have to take up a large amount of space and you dont have the option to game on battery. i admit the m11x is pointless if you only game at home but even then you may as well have a desktop.

the cpu in the m11x aint all that bad. if its overclocked to 1.73ghz it does well enough. my cpu is ony 2.1ghz which is plenty for me and in all the games i own my gpu is the bottleneck and thats is the case with most notebooks maybe excluding high end gaming notebooks

imo the m11x has just as much point as a 17 inch gaming notebook. notebooks are made for carrying around. most people dont carry round their gaming notebooks and end up leaving them on a desk at home (ok not all people do but most do) so these people mught as well have a desktop.

 

The M11x looks very attractive. More games are GPU dependent than CPU dependent. Also, for $1000, it packs a big punch for its price I think. Alienware imo offers at least decent quality products. Even if it is a big overpriced, it is still very good. For $1000, you can't get any other laptop that provides the same gaming performance with the same mobility. I agree with the above poster with what he said about bringing my laptop to class. I rarely bring my laptop to class because it is 15 inch. Just too big. Classes can get boring sometimes, and it would be really really nice to be able to take out a small laptop and play new games whenever i want. If the M11x was out when I bought my laptop, I would have gotten that instead of what I have now.

 

After having my M11x for a day, let me just say that this is NOT a netbook by any stretch of the term. It is a very solid and well built machine, but to be honest I was a little surprised by how big it is. This is just a compact notebook, not anywhere near the size or weight of any netbooks I've owned or used.

That being said, it does pack a powerful gaming punch. My brief time in BFBC2 beta would run it at native res (1366x768) on a loaded server at low detail in the 20's on avg. It was very playable, and low detail looks a lot better than I ever thought. Hopefully final gaming code will be a bit better, even gaining 2-3FPS on average would help smooth things out a bit.

 

I dunno, this thing is kind of like the difference between a Porsche or Mercedes versus a Chevy (and I drive both a Ford and a Chevy and love em!)... The build quality is truly miles better than ANY laptop or netbook I've ever had, which include Asus, Acer, Dell, Toshiba, Compaq, IBM, HP, and the beloved Sager/Clevo. It's just in a different league. And, while a normal Alienware is hard to justify when it's several thousand dollars, this thing is $799 before coupons or discounts, and has an unheard of GPU in such a small form factor... That to me is amazing... small, compact, incredibly well built (LOVE the keyboard), performs great (most new games and all older games in an 11.6" package!?!), and only a few hundred $$$ more than a "comparable" machine?

Me, I've never owned an Alienware before and struggle to justify paying more for anything that performs equally, but this is a nice little machine. Hands down.

And, back on topic, here's hoping BC2 comes out a bit more optimized, as then it will be unquestionably enjoyable and playable.

EDIT: And, more I use it, I can vouch the battery life really is great, and yes, is fully able to run Modern Warfare 2 at 1366x768 and High Settings for extended periods on battery. That alone is something no other laptop or netbook I've owned is capable of.

 

This thread is closed, I had to delete too many posts.

Original poster, you can make another thread about this if you wish.