Soldato
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- 19 Dec 2008
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Alienware M11x
- Thread starter Raikiri
- Start date
That would be the perfect little go-getter, if not for the lack of Optimus, and glare screen... Can only hope!
i5, GT 335M, 12'' matte screen, I'm so in!
Indeed, I've been looking for a new laptop for a while now, and really there isn't one on the market today that completely fills all my criteria, the nearest is the Sony Vaio Z, but that's just too expensive really and has a number of issues with drivers it would seem from my reading, not to mention the fact that Linux support is ...questionable on it, due to the customised switchable graphics etc.
Maybe eventually my perfect laptop will appear.
I do like this Alienware, the concept is great and I can even live with the looks (coming from someone who thinks an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad T series is the best looking laptop design) ...but the execution leaves a little to be desired really, for a start the cpu is just too weak, also I'd like a higher resolution screen (even at this size) and based on past experience with Dell ...missing screws and such and getting anything done about it without an on-site warranty is a damn nightmare ...why the hell are there missing screws in the first place ...get some quality control damn it!
I am still debating weather to buy it or not, I'm leaning towards not ...mostly due to the cpu really, I don't do a huge amount of gaming on my laptop typically and when I do it's only when I go away from home for a while, but when I do I do like to play some games ...mainly Eve Online which I'm sure this will deal with fine but sometimes due to lack of an internet connection or indeed just when the mood takes me I like to play some single player games and the one game I do like to play solo more than any other is Supreme Commander Forged Alliance ….I really can't see this machine handling that with a lot of AI units tearing the map up. I also like to play Sins of a Solar Empire single player, I think it would handle that up to a point, but even then a lot of AI in the later game would probably cause serious slowdowns.
Actually every game I play single player is a strategy game of some sort, even Heroes 5 ...although being turn based I knows this would deal with that ok.
Also I would want to run a virtual machine on this at times, and the cpu isn't really going to be up to that I think.
Has anyone tried this machine with Supreme Commander FA ? ...just out of interest. Real feedback would be far better than me guessing what it may or may not do.
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2009
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there is talk of a i5 + optimus upgrade over the summer. I'm in no hurry, so I'll wait and see
I have an M11x and love it. I like you also thought the CPU would not cut it and I would just end up using it for movies/music.
I have been completely surprised by what it can manage! I mostly play RTS games and figured I would be limited to old games but so far I have played:
SC FA (dont expect an 8 player setens with cpu but I have been playing online and isis with 3 cpu no problem)
DOW2 - perfect
COH - I play with settings maxed and again perfect
SC2 - perfect
Empire total war - plays well but you cant enable all effects, but this is the same of all mid range laptops (ie 9600m/ 4670/ 5650 etc etc)
Games it hates are bad console ports ie GTA4 and BFBC2 (note I am not saying BFBC2 is bad just that it has been ported with quad core in mind and hates dual cores)
Other plus points with the m11x is the speakers are actually decent and I use it for a portable music player at work. 8 hours on integrated and I can even game on nvidia for about 3hrs (I actually forgot to plug it in and played SC2 for a couple of hours before even realising I was on battery)
The size is great and gaming on an 11" screen is a lot better than I thought it would be
Thanks for the thoughts ninja2000, I'm surprised it manages a lot of that stuff aswell as you say it does.
I'm not sure anyone here is looking to buy into any Alienware 'hype' ...they just have a very interesting subcompact notebook that has certain capabilities that go beyond most.
I'm not sure anyone here is looking to buy into any Alienware 'hype' ...they just have a very interesting subcompact notebook that has certain capabilities that go beyond most.
I was surprised as well, I was expecting to only be playing old games. As it is I use this more than my DTR purely as it is so portable. I can sit on the sofa and play without annoying my wife and without having to grapple with a 17" monster, cooling pad and massive power block.
nayanshah - I didnt buy this because of any hype around the machine. I have had my share of netbooks and none of them impressed me. I also didnt buy this with the intention to game. I bought this laptop as I travel a lot so needed portability and battery life but still with enough power to complete tasks without getting frustrated (ie atom, when I use my wifes mini 311 I want to throw it out the window!). But from having this laptop it has totally exceeded my expectations. Being able to play modern games was just the icing on the cake.
Now dont get me wrong, I wouldnt want this for my only PC (as I play some quite demanding games and do a lot of encoding which the ULV dont like as much as my quad) but it does fit its role as a portable gaming machine perfectly
nayanshah - I didnt buy this because of any hype around the machine. I have had my share of netbooks and none of them impressed me. I also didnt buy this with the intention to game. I bought this laptop as I travel a lot so needed portability and battery life but still with enough power to complete tasks without getting frustrated (ie atom, when I use my wifes mini 311 I want to throw it out the window!). But from having this laptop it has totally exceeded my expectations. Being able to play modern games was just the icing on the cake.
Now dont get me wrong, I wouldnt want this for my only PC (as I play some quite demanding games and do a lot of encoding which the ULV dont like as much as my quad) but it does fit its role as a portable gaming machine perfectly
just my two cents.
I have had the Alienware m11x for just over a week. I must say it's a great machine and for the size very powerful.
I have noticed that the processor at 1.3GHz does lag a little when using Windows 7 however when I overclock the processor using the BIOS it's a lot more responsive.
Gaming is a joy though, I installed most of the games I have on steam ranging from TF2 - MW2. Each game runs very well. I am hoping to give it a proper workout for gaming over this weekend.
The build quality is very nice and I do like the hard/rubber plastic that it uses for the palmrest. Screen is also very sharp and colourfull.
One thing I don't like about the system is the fan, it can come on at the most random times. For example I was using the system last night the CPU cores were at 34-37 degrees and the fan was on full pelt. This morning I use the system and the temps are around the same and no fan at all.
No doubt the system can get hot and with a 7200rpm hdd you can fell the heat coming from that area but it's a small price to pay for having a portable and powerful laptop.
I have had the Alienware m11x for just over a week. I must say it's a great machine and for the size very powerful.
I have noticed that the processor at 1.3GHz does lag a little when using Windows 7 however when I overclock the processor using the BIOS it's a lot more responsive.
Gaming is a joy though, I installed most of the games I have on steam ranging from TF2 - MW2. Each game runs very well. I am hoping to give it a proper workout for gaming over this weekend.
The build quality is very nice and I do like the hard/rubber plastic that it uses for the palmrest. Screen is also very sharp and colourfull.
One thing I don't like about the system is the fan, it can come on at the most random times. For example I was using the system last night the CPU cores were at 34-37 degrees and the fan was on full pelt. This morning I use the system and the temps are around the same and no fan at all.
No doubt the system can get hot and with a 7200rpm hdd you can fell the heat coming from that area but it's a small price to pay for having a portable and powerful laptop.
Thats strange, I dont get that weird fan behaviour! When on integrated my fan rarely comes on at all. If on nvidia the fan comes on/off quite often but not loud. Only if I am gaming does the fan ramp up.
What BIOS are you on? I know a lot of people are complaining about fan issues on A03, I am still on A01 for this reason
What BIOS are you on? I know a lot of people are complaining about fan issues on A03, I am still on A01 for this reason
New BIOS is released for the m11x (R03) perhaps try that?