*OFFICIAL* M14x Owner's Lounge Thread - READ BEFORE POSTING

[howard911s]

Can someone please comment on the fan noise? I understand the noise is loud while gaming/under load which is fine.

My concern is the fan noise while idle or just doing office document, watching youtube (flash) and browsing the internet. Is it loud, does it go up and down like first generation M11x does or is it pretty much silent during aforementioned conditions?

Thanks...

[BrightLightColdSteel]

The fan noise at idle, web surfing, doing document things is nearly non existent.

[alroar]

i dont sign that.

websurfing and ideling on "Low Power" Energy Profile keeps the fan off for most of the time. on mid-heavy multi-tabbing and videos it kicks the fan on to lowest speed for ~1-2 minutes.

i just hope dell releases a better fan control then just "off - mid loud - hairdryer"

[howard911s]

Thank you both for the response, 1 is silent 1 is low fan noise...I can live with both Will get mine tomorrow~!

[Erock618]

Hey all, I am not an owner of this laptop. I am actually wondering whether or not I should get this due to the varying opinions each person has! Well anyways, I am going to college this fall and I wanted to build a desktop gaming rig, but for college, I feel it is best to obviously get a laptop. I am a gamer, a big one and I would LOVE to have a laptop to satisfy my needs as well as help me school wise(Im majoring in computer science...programming!).

My parents are willing to pay half for this laptop so I want to keep it under 1600 for their sake at least haha.

So my main question is: What specs for this laptop would be ideal for me if I want to play games with amazing quality that runs fast?(ie: Team Fortress 2, HOPEFULLY Skyrim, Portal, Battlefield, etc.) AND should I bother getting the Microsoft Office 2010 add-on? I really feel as If I should buy it for a lower price..

[xDARKNESS]

@Erock I am actually on the same boat as you. Can't decide between the m11x and the m14x. But whatever. It should play all the games you listed with generous performance. As for the Microsoft 2010, I would skip it.

1) As a college student, most universities offer many different types of software free of charge, so that would be the best option, its freeee.

2) There are free alternatives you can find online that work the same and look almost identical to micrsoft office apps.

[clienterror]

@Erock I am actually on the same boat as you. Can't decide between the m11x and the m14x. But whatever. It should play all the games you listed with generous performance. As for the Microsoft 2010, I would skip it.

1) As a college student, most universities offer many different types of software free of charge, so that would be the best option, its freeee.

2) There are free alternatives you can find online that work the same and look almost identical to micrsoft office apps.

I own a m11x r2 and a m14x and the m11x r2 is for sale if that tells you anything. My m11x with the super charge thing was hitting around mid 8000's in 3d mark 06 and my m14x is hitting low 15000's OCed stable. The m11x is a great netbook? gaming PC but TBH playing BC2 on it was horrible, and I don't mean performance wise I mean screen size wise. The m14x really isn't that much bigger and you get nearly double the 3d mark score, bigger screen that you can actually game on, optical drive (Or second HD), and WAY WAY better sound. That's something else, the sound on the m11x is pretty wimpy and relys on a desk to bounce sound. the m14x has amazing sound, when I first tried it I literally double blinked and took a step back. The m17x IMO is not very portable, I carried my G73 to work for about 6 months before I threw in the towel and bought my m11x. I think I would have originally got a m14x vs a m11x to begin with but it wasn't an option. Just my .02 but I think the m14x is an amazingly rounded gaming laptop and really lands right in the sweet spot between the m11 and the m17 (The m15x IMO was a lot closer to a m17x).

[xDARKNESS]

I own a m11x r2 and a m14x and the m11x r2 is for sale if that tells you anything. My m11x with the super charge thing was hitting around mid 8000's in 3d mark 06 and my m14x is hitting low 15000's OCed stable. The m11x is a great netbook? gaming PC but TBH playing BC2 on it was horrible, and I don't mean performance wise I mean screen size wise. The m14x really isn't that much bigger and you get nearly double the 3d mark score, bigger screen that you can actually game on, optical drive (Or second HD), and WAY WAY better sound. That's something else, the sound on the m11x is pretty wimpy and relys on a desk to bounce sound. the m14x has amazing sound, when I first tried it I literally double blinked and took a step back. The m17x IMO is not very portable, I carried my G73 to work for about 6 months before I threw in the towel and bought my m11x. I think I would have originally got a m14x vs a m11x to begin with but it wasn't an option. Just my .02 but I think the m14x is an amazingly rounded gaming laptop and really lands right in the sweet spot between the m11 and the m17 (The m15x IMO was a lot closer to a m17x).

Darn you. Just Darn you. I was set on the m14x, but I decided to go a little cheaper and smaller. I kept on changing my mind this past month between the 11 and 14 and finally decided on the 11. You are one of the only posters on here that gave a very nice description of both and your preference, and now I am back to being hesitant. Thanks.

I am mostly a console gamer, but I do the occasional pc gaming.
Starcraft 2, half lives*, crysis 2, witcher 2, portal 2.
I am not worried about performance, hell for some reason I don't really care about graphics either(im weird) but your emphasis on the screen makes me worry. Is it really that bad to try and play on? I have a 17'' gateway 900p so perhaps it would be hard to adjust to the 11''.

Do you think the m14x would be a nuisance to be at college with? And is the battery life sufficient?

[nkdv]

Darn you. Just Darn you. I was set on the m14x, but I decided to go a little cheaper and smaller. I kept on changing my mind this past month between the 11 and 14 and finally decided on the 11. You are one of the only posters on here that gave a very nice description of both and your preference, and now I am back to being hesitant....

...Do you think the m14x would be a nuisance to be at college with? And is the battery life sufficient?

hehe, some tight confusion you've gotten yourself into Hey if it helps, I'll tell you what I've decided. I wanted the m11x a LOT, cos its so portable, comparatively lighter and for the battery life. But then, I think the screen size and the power just doesn't cut it for me. I need to be able to play newer games at decent settings and decent frames, and I wanted the i7 upgrade all the way, SO I've settled for the m14x.

Oh yeah, I'm starting college too, this fall. Apparently the m14x gives 6 hours with all bells and whistles turned off and brightness dimmed to the lowest level , which is fine by me for word, internet, etc since most laptops I've used [vaios, toshibas, macs, hps] can't get past the 3hour mark under the same settings. I wondered if I should sacrifice power for 2 hours more on the m11x and I can't find myself saying YES to that lol. M14x all the way for me, this summer. I think you won't be disappointed with it, either

The only thing I can't settle for now is whether to get the 2720 over the 2630, since I'll probably get 1866 or higher freq RAM sometime in the future...

EDIT:

Hey, and if it helps, the m14x can run crysis 2 , starcraft 2 and whatever else at 30fps AT LEAST even on really high / max settings!

[pokemon123]

Sorry if this has been asked before but. Is the 6gb from Dell dual channel or single channel? Also what are the advantages of dual and single? Thanks in advance