M11x Pre-Order Configuration Questions... Ask HERE

[hermitmaster]

I'll try running a pixel fixer app later. At least it's blue and not red or green.

[Yiddo]

I'll try running a pixel fixer app later. At least it's blue and not red or green.

Worse hours of my life running those programs and squeezing away at the panel, luckily my RMA was fast and they were out of stock of the stock ones and I got a high gamut anti glare replacement

[IKAS V]

Speaking of screens on the M11x, are they still using the same ones?
My buddies M11x screen quality is not that great, poor contrast and subpar color representation.

[Yiddo]

Speaking of screens on the M11x, are they still using the same ones?
My buddies M11x screen quality is not that great, poor contrast and subpar color representation.

They are certainly not great but far from being the worse compared to other netbook screens they do the job well. The brightness is more than enough but the black and whites could be better. The main problem is the glare but when you get past that you accept it for an 11 inch 1366x768 display which works well.

[PylinJ]

Going to purchase this model off of the Dell UK website.
Would these specs be okay to play games like Battlefield 3, Sims 3, Star Wars the old republic at smooth frame rate at at least Low/Medium settings or more?

Alienware M11x Stealth Black
Intel® Core™ i5 2467M (1.6GHz ,3MB Cache)
1GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M edit
6144MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM

Should I upgrade to the i7 processor? And would it make that much of a difference?

Also one little question to owners of the laptop, I'm currently using an 18 inch monitor, is downsizing to an 11 inch screen going to be difficult or is the screen size decent and I wont have to squint? :P Thanks

[Descalzo]

They say the i7 is not worth it unless it's a REALLY cheap upgrade. I can't personally vouch for those games but everybody who plays them seems satisfied.

As for the screen, I was surprised at how quick I adjusted from the 15" down to the 11.6. I only miss the extra screen when I do certain things at work, for which I use my 21" Cinema Display.

[Yiddo]

Going to purchase this model off of the Dell UK website.
Would these specs be okay to play games like Battlefield 3, Sims 3, Star Wars the old republic at smooth frame rate at at least Low/Medium settings or more?

Alienware M11x Stealth Black
Intel® Core™ i5 2467M (1.6GHz ,3MB Cache)
1GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M edit
6144MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM

Should I upgrade to the i7 processor? And would it make that much of a difference?

Also one little question to owners of the laptop, I'm currently using an 18 inch monitor, is downsizing to an 11 inch screen going to be difficult or is the screen size decent and I wont have to squint? :P Thanks

You will play all of those games comfortably depending on the settings you can play most at high settings for 25-35fps 35-45 if you can settle for medium. Skyrim run amazingly well Battlefield does require some lower settings but Star Wars and Sims 3 you will easily max out. The lower resolution means that you can run games at mucher higher settings than most would think and if you overclock as easy as mine does your going to see great results.

Dont bother with the I7 they are both Dual cores with 4 threads and you dont need more than 2.3ghz you will see 0 difference, put the money towards a good SATA III SSD. The ULV gets bad reviews but for general use and responsiveness I see minimal difference compared to my 2760QM it is only when I start pushing it that the quad shows its real worth but for a 17watt processor it performs superb.

[MooseOnFire]

Hello there, first I want to introduce myself and say hi to everyone. Im new here and found this section while searching for reviews and information on the alienware brand.

Ok please go easy on me as I dont fully understand all the technical jargon im afraid. I love games and am addicted but when it comes to the innards of the machine I fail like a noob lol. This could be a great place for me to start learning.

Ok my dilemma is I have researched over and over again for information on the models of the mx11 and want to buy one. I know this thread has been done before but I want (if its ok) people to hear my individual which i hope will help my decision.

I have seen the R1 going for £300 in london a lot with the R2 going for about 450-500. But now there is the R3 and with watching youtube found that even the older versions can run games today. Im not going to lie. Im poor, and this is a huge investement for me (as is for many people) but it gives me some hope and happinness to game when times are tough and need to forget things.

Trouble is I have about 700 for 1. which I know isnt a lot but need some help. Truthfully I need it to be fairly future proof. I cant afford another so soon. What does others have on here? And what should I look at to make it future proof-ish? what about a 4th revision from dell soon? I know the graphics card is needed and the turboboost so would have to be minimum i5. But i see all these numbers after a graphics card and dont know what they mean. And is an i5 with 1.6 going to better than an i7 with 1.5?

I even have seen an m11x r1 playing mass effect 3 online, and they did something to it pinmod i think? i have even seen r2 playing crysis and crysis 2 so it makes me think they are pretty good for games like diablo 3 and guild wars 2.

So many questions, i promise I have been through pages of information on here too. This is my final plea to write a thread that I understand some of you would be sick of to see.

Thank you in advanced.

[Yiddo]

Ideally the best model bang for buck is:

I5 2467M (the I7 in the UK is far too expensive and the difference in performance is minimal)
2GB RAM (upgrade to 4GB or 8GB yourself as Dell charge silly prices for RAM)
500GB HDD (Again upgrade yourself if you want a larger HDD or an SSD)
540M GT 1GB (the 2GB that comes with the I7 will do nothing mine has never used more than 500mb of VRAM)
Stock wireless + BT (Killer wireless only if you need it)

If you are short on money you have a few choices, you could look on the Dell Outlet for a model similiar and pick it up second hand or out of the box otherwise the above model goes for around £699 in the UK at the moment, i was lucky and got the March deal which included the killer wireless and a larger HDD and more RAM for £699 so call them up and tell them you are short on cash and what you looking for and get them to offer you a deal.

The R2 would be fine with the I7 and 335M GT but it is old tech and the 335M is falling into the class 3 gaming regions so you cannot really consider it as future proof anymore with the more demanding games on the way out. The 540M GT is the way to go at the moment.

[ejohnson]

You have come to the right place. THere is tons of info here on whats what.

I personally have a few r1s, they are great little machines and take just about anything I can toss at them.

My best suggestion is to get the cpu and gpu you want, then cheap out on the rest of the stuff. You can buy better aftermarket hard drives and ram.

The cpu and gpu are soldered to the motherboard, so they are not really replacable.

The r1 has the best battery life, I get just over 10 hours on mine (modded of course)
The r2 gets the worse battery life of the 3, has a outdated gpu, but has a good cpu.
The r3 has a better cpu and gpu.

Now, as for future models, dont be a future chaser. If your always waiting for the next best thing, you will never have anything.

I have gotten 2 years out of my r1s and both still look and work like new. Sure I cant play the newest games as high settings, but I can still play some of them.

The games you want to play now will play a big role in the computer you choose, so pick a few titles and check out youtube. Search "XXXXX m11x" XXXXX being the title of the game. Usually the person who posts the video will post their specs along with frame rates they are getting. Then in the comments under there you will see alot of people saying we wasted our money on a alienware... we call them "jealous"