Deevu's Quick Guide to Buying YOUR M11x

[DeeVu]

Up to date as of: March 25, 2012 @ 2:41PM

Hey guys,

I've received my M11x R3 last month and now can safely say that I have used and played with every single revision of this wonderful machine. Therefore... I have decided to do a quick guide to help future buyers of the M11x.

To begin there are three models of the Alienware M11x by Dell **. The R1, R2, and R3. All of the three separate revisions are annotated with an "R" and their corresponding numbers.

Note: The R4 speculation has begun and it would be reasonable to assume they are considering a Keplar GPU by nvidia to put in it. If you can wait several months for an upgrade I would wait for this laptop to be released. It would have CONSIDERABLE increases in performance if it were to include this Graphics Card.

How do you differentiate each revision?-
R1 - Revision 1: (No longer on sale through Dell)
This model generally has the SU7300 Core 2 Duo processor (CPU) and always has the Nvidia Gt335m graphics card (GPU).
R2 - Revision 2: (No longer on sale through Dell)
This model generally has the i5-520M or i7-640M CPUs (though others are available such as the lesser: i3 330UM, and U5400) as well as also containing the Nvidia Gt335m GPUs.
R3 - Revision 3:
This is the newest model and has the most up to date processors. This model typically has the i5-2537M, i5-2467m, i7-2617M, or i7-2637m CPUs and always has the Nvidia GT540m GPU.
R4 - Revision 4 (speculative - coming soon):
This model has not been released yet and could be coming out within the next 2-4months. Thoughts are that it will have a keplar NVidia model GPU.

But I've heard about the M14x, M17x and M18x Models, what are those?
The M14x, M17x and M18x are larger models by Alienware. They are 14, 17 and 18 inches respectively. Each one performs quite differently and they are heavily based on personal preference. The m14x performs 20% better in general than a fully geared M11x. The base M14x price is roughly around the price of full M11x. The M17x is a cheaper version of the M18x, it can handle most games and is for the person that wants a bigger machine that can handle everything like the M18x but is on money restraints. The M18x is a dual GPU system that performs 3 to 5 times better than the M11x but is twice to three times more expensive and almost 2-3 heavier (depending on bags and such). Its all by preference and money. But anyway... moving on to the best computer (in my opinion) The M11x...

What's the difference between the i5 and i7 and should I go for the lesser i3 models?
The difference between the i5 and i7 is not much at all. You will not gain much except for maybe 5fps (frames per second) in many situations. IF YOU CAN HELP IT, do not go for the i3 model. The i3 model does not have turbo boost technology. This means it loses 20% or more of its effectiveness. Essentially it means that if you have an R3 with an i3 processor you essentially have a very slightly more powerful R2 CPU. Always opt in for the i5 or i7 models if you can.

What does my M11x Look Like?
Other than giving you a picture, all of the 3 models have the same general shape and basic ports (for the most part)-
1. All revisions have a 11.6'' screen capable of 1366x768 resolution (720p). The R1 and R2 have slightly less vibrant displays (not that noticeble).
2. All revisions make use of the AlienFX Command Center allowing the use of fully customizable color changing keyboard and speaker grilles.
3. The R1, R2, and R3 all containing 3 USB ports. One is on the left side and two are on the right side. The R1 and R2 only have USB2.0 ports. The R3, however, uses USB3.0 technology with the 2 USB ports on the right side. All three are powered though reviews frequently misinterpret a useful function that keeps the left USB port powered on when the system is off until the battery reached 10%.
4. All revisions have one microphone attached above the screen with integrated sound. The R3 has a second microphone used for noise cancelation. There are also 2 headphone jacks and 1 microphone jack to make use of external speakers, headsets or microphones.
5. The R1 is the only model to have VGA, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
6. The R2 and R3 do not have VGA (only HDMI and DisplayPort).
7. All revisions have a standard ethernet (RJ45 port) and SD card slot.

Price to Performance Ratio:
The big question I am always asked is whether or not it is worth the $200-400 between each model. Here I will discuss what you will get for each system in terms of performance.
M11x R1 ("Don't care what the graphics look like" Gamer") - Pricing Varies - No longer for sale except through a 3rd part/Outlet Sale: This computer makes use of Hybrid Switching Drivers which allows you to turn on and off your graphics card on demand. When you have your graphics card off you will gain approximately 3-5hours of extra work while performance suffers (mainly used for notes and light workloads such as browsing the internet). These drivers cannot be upgraded on a normal bases from the Nvidia website as they are released specifically from Dell.
When it comes to gaming this computer has almost reached its end. The CPU of this computer is several years old and is the bottleneck (what holds the computer back) in most of the situations. There are several mods that can be done to increase performance such as a GPU overclock but when it comes to the CPU you are pretty much stuck unless you want to open up your laptop.
This model can pretty much tackle games up to Bad Company 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops on low settings. The games which are very CPU intensive will be the ones that take the heaviest hit. Games being released in today's market such as Warhammer 40k: Space Marine and Human Revolution will all need to be played on low settings to get at least 25fps.
Though the performance lacks this is the best model when it comes to battery life. The R1 with some tweaks can get as much as 7 to 8 hours of battery life when keeping the GPU off.
For $500 its a nice computer for someone in college who desires a laptop that can play games fairly while staying on without a plug when taking notes.
M11x R2 (Market Crowd: Average Gamers) - Pricing Varies - No longer for sale except through a 3rd part/Outlet Sale: This laptop is the laptop for the "average joe" computer consumer. Between all of the leaps between models you will notice the biggest improvement in performance when getting an R2. When it comes to fundamentals this and the R3 use Nvidia's Optimus technology. This is where the computer switches the discrete GPU on and off when needed. Furthermore you can update your drivers to the most recent Nvidia release. This computer tends to play most games on medium or high settings without issue. Typically you will not want any shadows enabled in any game as this will take the biggest punch in your system. Bad Company 2 can play on High Settings with shadows on Low getting around 30-50fps (scenario permitting) which is an incredible jump from the R1 considering it gets in the 20s to 30s on low settings.
M11x R3 (Market Crowd: Portable Enthusiast Gamers) - $900-1400: This is the enthusiasts laptop and not much can be said except that it can play every game on the market today at medium or high settings. In best terms the R3 plays Bad Company 2 gets about 30-50fps on All High and in Crisis it packs a punch at Enthusiast level so long as you take the Shaders down a couple notches.
When it's all said and done there is a revision for everyone. The R2 and R3 get less battery life but not by much. Typically the R2 and R3 get about 5-6 hours when browsing and taking notes on an airplane or college setting.

Can I upgrade my M11x?
There are only five things that you can upgrade in the M11x:
1. The RAM (memory)
2. The Hard Drive
3. The WLAN card (WiFi)
4. The WWAN card (mobile internet)
5. The bluetooth
YOU CANNOT UPGRADE THE CPU OR GPU - THEY ARE SOLDERED INTO THE MOTHERBOARD.

Should I use Dell's Outlet to purchase my M11x if money is tight?
I have heard nothing but good things about this option. The only thing I suggest is only purchasing Certified Refurbished models. The other ones are crap :P *side note: The outlet has some M11x R3s stating they have the GT550M. This is a confirmed typo and you should read it as a 540m.

Drivers:
What is a driver? It is software that "controls" your hardware. ie: Your Graphics Card. In most cases updating your drivers will lead to a better experience and performance with your machine.
The sites for Dell Drivers are as follows:
Drivers for the M11x R1
Drivers for the M11x R2
Drivers for the M11x R3

The graphics driver for the R2 and R3 can further be updated from the Nvidia website. The R1 has a different type of graphics card switching as mentioned earlier and thus must switch the BIOS graphics to discrete before installing these drivers from the Nvidia site. The drivers Dell releases for the R1 are modified for the R1 only.
The Nvidia website for drivers is located: Here. Located the GeoForce 335m or 540m respectively.

Issues reguarding each model?
R1 - There was a hinge issue that affected the screen hinges but they are easily replaced by a Dell tech while you are in warranty. or by depot service when you are outside warranty. Also, many are unable to operate reliably with the factory overclock enabled in the BIOS setup. They not advertised with the faster overclock in all countries so Dell's support regarding regarding the issue varies. Even with a stable overclock some Flash videos will appear corrupt when using Intel graphics and Flash hardware acceleration while overclocked. There is a known issue with closing the lid while manually entering sleep (often causes a hard lock on a black screen). If you have changed the default lid sensor behavior and manually trigger sleep, allow it to finish entering sleep mode before closing the lid.
R2 - The hinge issue as well. Also very few laptops are affected by an error when playing certain games where it causes a Blue Screen (nvlddmkm.sys) on newer Nvidia Drivers. The only solution was to underclock your GPU. It is very hard to get it to Blue Screen while on a service call because it usually happens between 15min to 3 hours in gameplay of any of a number of games. This issue is not as common but has been mentioned on this forum
R3 - None so far. Hinges are fixed and no issues with BSODs (blue screens).


That is all that I can think of for my quick guide on the three models. Feel free to comment and suggest other topics to add. I will do my best to update with your information as I see fit.

Good luck,
DeeVu

Additional Information:

Sata:
R1/R2: Only SATA2 Support
R3: Support for SATA3
*Credit to MassiveOverkill*


LAN Capabilities:
R1/R2: 10/100 (cisco) LAN
R3: Gigabit LAN
*Credit to MassiveOverkill*
What's the difference? Cisco Vs. Gigabit

Memory (R3):
"6GB of memory (on the m11x r3 anyway) runs in asynchronous dual-channel (accoring to CPU-Z). That means, getting a 6GB unit 4GB of it is running in dual-channel and 2GB of it in single-channel. 6GB has the benefits of 4GB of dual-channel plus 2 extra GB for memory intense applications. "
*Credit to Piedmont*

I see an option for Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio, what is this? Refer below:
"Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled" What is that? Is this Necessary?

Direct X:
The R1 and R2 can only make use of Direct X 9 and 10 (DX9 and 10) games
While the R3 can make use of Direct X 11 (DX11).
This is another bonus to the R3 as DX11 is better optimized for gaming and improves visual quality. Therefore you get about 10-20fps more out of DX11 while having more eye candy
*Credit to Rypac*

Battery Facts:
All three use Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) Batteries
These tend to degrade during discharging (especially beyond 40%)
Charging typically has no effect on degradation even at 100%.

Hard Drives:
All three revisions use 2.5inch Hard Drives that adhere to Sata2 or Sata3 (depending on Revision, see above).

** Disclaimer: Dell has terrible customer support so do not be surprised spending excessive time on the phone with them should you find the slightest error with your computer unless it is blatantly obvious like a hinge issue.

[DeeVu]

*reserved For Additional Topics*

I was informed that you can only choose:

So, what you're telling me, I should save my money and get the 1gb with the i5 vs the i7 and 2 gb vram? Wouldn't the difference between them be more visable in the long run? Would me getting the i7 and 2 gb vram be future proofing enough to warrent the additional cost?

I think I understand Beanman1000 Deevu. When I purchased my R3 the video care either 1gb or 2gb wasnt an option it all depended on which CPU you got. The i7 comes with the 2gb GPU and the i5 comes with the 1gb GPU. There was no way to choose the GPU other then that way.

In laymens terms-
1) the i5 with the 540m with 1gb of VRAM
2) the i7 with the 540m with 2gb of VRAM

So to rephrase, if you can afford the i7 model then go for it. If you cannot then go for the i5. The gain will be minimal at best for right now. In the future you may see more significant gains when you deal with games that are right on the border of playability. The VRAM will not impact your performance only the i5 or i7 will in the future.


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The R1 and R2 can be upgraded to add internal Bluetooth with a Dell Wireless DW365 adapter and the that R3 requires the DW375 adapter. Unlike the DW365, the DW375 requires a motherboard-specific special cable to connect but I found that the cable was already included (may not always be the case). They are available cheaply on eBay (under $20) but usually do not include an appropriate screw. Dell charges $40 to order the 365 and, last I checked, did not offer the 375. You can usually salvage a screw from a less important and more easily accessible place in the computer. You need to make sure it is enabled in the system BIOS/CMOS setup. Even though it may work without installing software, you may need to download the full software/Bluetooth stack from Dell. In my case, the service tag tried to give me M11X R1/2 downloads for my M11X R3 and I needed to manually specify the model (needed the file to get A2DP to work though my mouse worked fine without it for months).

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Screen protectors:

AG2 Screen Protector by Green Onion

[Steven]

Very nice guide.
A+

[KurtH]

+rep man. Now for all of you who think you know and have been battling me about the performance diffrence from R1 to R3 saying its only like 5 frame diffrence EAT IT! Good job DEEVU!

[DeeVu]

R1 to R3 saying its only like 5 frame diffrence

Where did it say this? I just said the difference between i5 to i7 was 5fps AT MOST.

The R1 and R3 can be as much as 40-50fps on the same settings. Its closer once you increase the quality on the R3.

[MassiveOverkill]

Nice, but you want to make the distinction that the R3 has gigabit LAN, whereas the R1 and R2 only have 10\100. R3 also supports SATA III 6.0 Gb\sec.

[DeeVu]

Thanks. Added.

[GNandGS]

Target markets will change by force as available money and available systems differ. Each Revision is targeted at enthusiast when new.

That said, it will be easier to direct those asking the question here instead of repeating topics.

[Rypac]

This is a great guide DeeVu, it'll help heaps of newcomers decide which M11x best suits their needs. This is what NBR should be all about, +rep.

I vote that this should be stickied as well!

[DeeVu]

This is a great guide DeeVu, it'll help heaps of newcomers decide which M11x best suits their needs. This is what NBR should be all about, +rep.

I vote that this should be stickied as well!

Haha thanks.
I've never had a thread be stickied :P That'd be cool. Bucket list would have something checked off for sure!