M11x r1 upgrades and dual hdds?

I recently bought an alienware m11x online and want to upgrade it. Im pretty sure it can handle a max of 8gb ram (2x4gb) and a basic laptop hdd but while looking into it it looks like the laptop has a m.2 slot or somthing. Maybe a mini pcie slot. Can i put a small ssd in it? If at all posible id like to install the os on a small ssd (80-120) and all the games on the hdd if posible

 

M.2 is still quite new, only very modern laptops within around 2 years old would have them. Definitely not the m11x.

It looks like it doesn't have a 2nd hard drive slot (2.5mm, M.2, mSATA), so you are out of luck.

You can however, replace your current HDD to a SSD, then use the HDD as an external hard drive.

 

Ya but im going to use this as a mobile lite gameing computer. So an ex hdd is out of the question. I dont mind gatting a 1tb 7200rpm laptop hdd but generaly i like to use dual drives just in case of a crash or system failure. The slot i was looking into is a wwan slot using a msata connection but no one knows if a msata ssd will work in it.it seems like its a hit or miss on other computers but i cant dig up info on it.

 

That slot is a mini pcie slot but is not wired to the SATA bus so you cannot use an msata SSD. This is confirmed already by owners including myself . The only available hard drive slot is the standard 2.5" SATA slot.

If you need the space and can't afford a big SSD, try the Hitachi Travelstar 7K1000. That's what I am running in mine and it is fast, quiet and does not vibrate at all. I previously had a WD Black 750GB and it was slower than the 7K1000 and vibrated like crazy in the M11X.

8GB RAM is also supported on this laptop.

You can use that WWAN slot for a mini pci-e to USB adapter so you can hide a wireless mouse nano receiver or nano sized flash storage inside the case and free up a USB slot.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-PCI-E-...442085?hash=item3ac20887a5:g:3KMAAOSwiYFXGPqK

 

Alright that makes sense. Ill definitly puck one up just incase i can think of somthing to use it for... Maybe a bluetooth dongle. Thanks

Just out of curiosity. Do you know of any computer safe spraypaint? I saw some dude online paint a macbook black with a removeable plastic spray. (Reason my m11x has some scuffs and scratches). Also has anyone overclocked it?

 

Your laptop should already have a Bluetooth module.

The M11X is a bit harder to paint than some other Alienware models of the same generation. This is because the clear screen cover is held to the lid with double sided tape and it has to be removed to properly paint the lid. You can try masking it, but you'll run the risk of getting some paint on the screen cover. The bottom base is easier. A member here did an incredible job with some rifle paint which is super durable, but expensive. You may just be better off buying new panels on e-bay, but remember the screen comes as complete assembly.

Here's a vid of someone removing the clear cover. Keep in mind that when you need to put it back you are bound to end up with plenty of dust and debris between the cover and screen.

 

Just an update
Just got it in- needs a little work i just finisged installing the first batch of win7 updates. Alos im trying to personalize the boot screen and the logon screen. The boot screen works fine but i cant change the logon screen tweeks logon says (acess denied) i have tried to do this manualy with no sucess. Anyway onto the more inportant things. Its loud wich should be fixed if i do what another user did and mod the heatsink. The screen has keyboard scratches (dont know how to fix that without replacing it so ill probibly leave it)
So the plan is
1.get a new hdd (this one is clicking)
2.upgrade to 8gb ram
3.mod heatsink
4.overclock cpu
5.figure out why blue tooth isnt working ot replace the wifi combo card.
6. Clean the sticky keys...

 

*Mods, please consider moving this the the M11X subforum


If you are upgrading the RAM, I can confirm that the Hynix HMT35156CFR8C-H9 modules as well as the G.Skill
F3-10666CL9D-8GBSQ both work and don't exhibit any problems.

The M11X heatsink is actually quite beefy and very capable of cooling the system well. Re-apply the thermal paste with some quality paste like Gelid GC-Extreme and clean the fins. The problem with the fan noise does not have to do with the heatsink. The problem is the small fan is downright noisy even at low RPMs and the fan profile makes the fan speed up when the CPU and/or the GPU start hitting the high 40s C. Make sure you are on the latest BIOS for your model, and have re-pasted. You may also override the stock fan profiles by using HWinfo's fan settings but you run the risk of overheating if not done right.

Screen cover scratches are common on these. You can replace the entire screen but I advise against trying to replace just the cover. If the rubber cushions are worn out or missing, the screen cover will touch against the keyboard keys, eventually causing scuffs and scratches.

The R1 CPU can be overclocked via the BIOS, but there is also a further pinmod you can do. There's a tutorial somewhere here on NBR but I advise you not to do this as it's not worth the risk imo. Just use the BIOS overclock feature.

The BT adapter is a little module connected with a pin header to the motherboard. It may be dead, but if you're going to repaste, you might as well check to make sure it's plugged in properly.

Good luck with your new system and check out the Alienware M11X forum here on NBR.

 

So ive started to upgrade it and i saw that theres a cor 2 duo virsion of this motherboard can i use this to replace my old one. I think this ones a pentium

 

Not worth it imo, unless your original motherboard is fried. Both are more or less the same processors except the Core2 supports Intel VT and has 1MB more cache. Performance between the two won't even be noticeable.

 

Ok thank you i need to replace the mobo but it was eather $50 for the pentium or $150 for the core 2.

 

Go for the cheaper one. Again, both are pretty much the same. Not worth an extra $100.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-SU4100-vs-Intel-Core2-Duo-SU7300

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/84...vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_Mobile_SU4100.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/m11x-su4100-vs-su7300.457820/

 

See:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=600&cmp[]=599

Is it even worth the $50? (Not to me).

 

Ok ya its a little better but not $75 better. Thank you guys.

 

Also im having an issue cloning my hdd to a better hdd how would i get past the (can not clone bad sector) issue

 

You shouldn't be cloning a HDD with a bad sector (or not) on it, imo. That totally defeats the purpose of a new drive.

Here is your chance to do a clean install.

 

I did a clean install when i got the pc... But the origanal hdd 5400 rpm 250gb was clicking and slow. I just recived my replacement seagate 500gb 7200rpm drive. Im just having an issue with it. If worse comes to worse i can try a clean install i just need to find all the drivers and a way to move the games over

 

New drive=new clean install. Anything else is just problems waiting to happen.

 

Then can i move the games over after?

 

I don't know of any modern program (or game) that you can just 'move over'.

Need to reinstall those too.

 

You can back up and import a Steam library without needing to re-download everything. Back up the "steamapps" folder to your media of choice, do a clean install of the Steam client after restoring the operating system, then copy the backup to the correct directory. The only thing you miss by doing this is having the games themselves appear in the add/remove programs section of control panel, but this is not a big deal because trying to uninstall a game that way simply launches the Steam client, which asks if you want to delete all the files. It's exactly the same as right-clicking on the game within Steam and selecting "remove all content" or whatever it's exactly called.

 

As long as the bad block isn't part of the steam library, then this is the way to go (but how would you know...).

 

Steam can check for bad or missing files and download them. Although while I don't want to question your choice of laptop why M11x R1? For gaming, any modern netbook will be more powerful than the 335m.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

Indeed, this M11x is a museum piece.. Almost useless for gaming lol..