HP ENVY 14 vs. Alienware m11x

i have a hard time playing games on dx11 with my 5870 what makes u think you can with a 5650.

Screen on the m11x is tiny and gaming on it can be miserable for long periods of times, but in the end I think I'll stick with my m11x, because I value battery life the most and this is my go to portable machine and also I've got the m17x. If i had to choose only one laptop i'd prob pick the envy 14

 

As a recent college grad who had to go through the same deal, Ive learned it really depends on your situation. Here's a couple things to consider:

Do you have a decent desktop PC that you will be bringing? Depending on your line of work you might need alot of pure processor horsepower. This could cover that requirement.

What year of college are you in? Most people go to college for 4-5 years. If this is your first year, then you may very well find yourself upgrading once you graduate.

All that being said, I'll explain my situation. I have a decently powerful desktop rig that I used to do all my heavy hitting projects. When I needed a notebook for school, I opted for ultimate mobility but didn't want to sacrifice gaming completely, so I bought an Asus N10J. This was the first "gaming netbook" available before Ion showed up, featuring a discrete GPU (a weak one at that) coupled with an Atom N270. I got about 6 hours a charge on integrated graphics and it's small form factor made it a dream to carry from class to class. It was capable of doing very light image manipulation, handicapped only by it's tiny resolution. However, when I got back to the dorm Id copy over the project to my desktop. This setup worked great for me.

What I'm trying to say is, I wish the m11x was out two years ago! I'd snatch that thing up in a second. So if you have the processing means elsewhere, I'd say go for the more portable solution.

If you're close to finishing college however, you should probbly opt for the Envy 14 regardless, since you'll find yourself in a position where you need a good work laptop and would find the m11x lacking for the task. That's not even mentioning the over-gaudy appearance it has.

Anyway I hope this helps your decision. Cheers!

Edit: Just read that you decided to go with the Envy! I guess that's what I get for not reading te thread in it's entirety.

Edit 2: wow I really can't read, just re-read the OP and you said you were going into your last year. How I missed that the first time I'll never know. Fail.

Anyway you've made the right choice IMO

 

I am having the same issue. I am leaning more towards the Envy 14 too.

 

My beautifull little M11x-R2 just got back to dell yesterday, I was very impressed w/ how nicely the little machine felt and how solidly it was put together. Beyond the build quality I was horribly disapointed w/ the issues of optimus, I was able to play Diablo 2 just as well on this laptop as my 10 year old laptop, and some steam games wont kick the gpu on either.
I'll be placing an order for an envy 14 as soon as being cashback comes back!

 

haha diabo 2 isnt the most demanding game, i doubt u'd see a improvement with even the best desktops. No problems with optimus here since I have an r1. I'm curious how the envy 14 battery life is.

 

DirectX 11 is more than tessellation, which is the big feature the end user will see, and yes, it can take quite a bit of processsing power.

However, from what I understand it also can take full advantage of multi-core / multi-threaded CPU's for rendering plus better texture compression.

That being said, the M11x is a great little gaming laptop, but personally I'd have a hard time making it my primary laptop because of the screen size and resolution. But that's my own personal take. I need minimum 1600x900 (preferably 1680x1050, but that's the "ancient" 16:10 standard) for desktop applications.

I've ordered an Envy 14, and do think it is a better buy. Personally I think they could have packed the same guts (maybe minus the DVD drive) in a 13" package, and dropped a half pound off the thing, but it is what it is. I'm looking forward to it.

 

The 5650 is faster but the one in all Envy 14s are clocked at 450 which is equal to the 335m. The 5650 is still a little better in other areas.

 

I actually have a m11x and an envy 14 so if anyone wants me to compare benchmarks I am happy to if I have it.

 

the 15 clocks down on battery? or have you not changed the power setup with min/max on batt vs plugged in?




back to the thread, the 14 supports dx11 and will game *better* than a mx. i think you should look at the ENVY15 as it will game a whole lot better (no cd drive though) and is *on;y* an inch wider and .6in deeper than the 14 if you care about more power....

 

ahhh was so set on getting the envy 14 till the 1600x900 display stopped being offered damn it, now its m11x or envy 15

 

CPU clocking down has been a known issue with Envy 15 on battery for some time. It also doesn't support switchable graphics so battery life is a lot less than M11x or E14.

 

Give a try to asus u45
it got nvidia 310 optimus which is sufficient to play wow for more than 6 hours on a single charge.
Cons: same standard low resolution

 

As much as it might grow on me after buying it, I have to agree with cedricm. Iv often thought if there was different patterns to chose from how could this be a bad thing. Sometimes I think that having only this one pattern is strange, it would be like my last pick out of 10 different choices I Think. Who ever does the mill work on these cases, im sure it wouldnt be that hard to add a few different designs in there. Just looking at it, it dosnt seem like it would be difficult.

 

I Really like the 1600x900 radiance, im a big fan. Also wth, freedom was banned? rolf..