Alienware M11x R3: Portable Powerhouse
by Dustin Sklavos on July 22, 2011 1:15 AM ESTConclusion: An Ultraportable Demon
When Jarred reviewed the Alienware M11x R2, he was so pleased with it that he did the most sensible thing he could: compiled a wish list for the next generation model. Improved connectivity, a better screen, and DirectX 11-class graphics. There was no excuse for omission of gigabit ethernet in the R2, but there wasn't a good, power-optimized DX11 solution on hand at the time either. In upgrading the M11x, Alienware has fixed everything that matters and bolstered everything else. Gigabit ethernet, Bluetooth 3.0 as an optional upgrade, USB 3.0, and the improved NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M all work alongside the shiny new Sandy Bridge low voltage processor to provide the most gaming performance per square inch one could conceivably pack into a modern laptop.
Well, almost everything's been fixed. The screen continues to be a major sore spot for the M11x R3, and if anything, it's only gotten worse. While Alienware seems to have gunned for netbook-of-the-year with the M11x's design, the 11.6" screen seems like more of a formality than a legitimately practical decision. The bezel's huge, and could easily accommodate at least a 12.1" screen or better. The move to a 12" screen also brings IPS technology to the table; if Lenovo can pack that into their ThinkPad X201, we don't see why Dell can't source those screens for a premium piece of kit like the M11x. Of course, then it's not the M11x, it's the M12x, but we'd be willing to increment the model number by one if it means a vast improvement on the one part of the M11x that most desperately needs attention.
Since most of our requests have been addressed by the M11x R3, it seems only fitting to continue looking Alienware's gift horse in the mouth and asking for more. My wish list includes three things. The first is the obvious one: improving that screen. My second is one that I think has a better shot of happening, and that's an inclusion of an mSATA SSD as a system drive alongside the 2.5" HDD for storage. Like a lot of you I'm a big proponent of mSATA becoming fairly universal in modern notebooks: even if the notebook doesn't ship with an mSATA SSD, the option would be greatly appreciated.
My third request is going to extend to the M11x R3's big brother, the M14x. While having the intakes on the bottom of the notebook is fine for land monsters like the M17x and M18x, notebooks as small as these two should be usable on the user's lap, period. I don't like having that intake someplace where it can be easily blocked off, and the "wind tunnel" style cooling that Intel pioneered and Toshiba employs with their Tecra R840 and Portege R830 looks like the kind of redesign the M11x and M14x desperately need. Understanding the inside of the M11x is pretty cramped to begin with, finding some way to improve the cooling system to further reduce noise and allow the notebook to better be used as an actual laptop would still be appreciated.
As for the M11x R3 itself? Well, the M11x R2 was an Editor's Choice Silver winner, and certainly easy enough to recommend. Everything is up (except the pricetag for a decent configuration), and you're still not going to find a more portable gaming solution. It should be a shoo-in for Editor's Choice again, but in the process of updating everything Alienware still left one of the most grievous problems with the M11x untouched...again. In fact, it was worse than untouched, it was actually exacerbated. The panel in our review unit has defied the odds and is somehow worse than its predecessors in every metric but brightness. Jarred's gone back and forth over things like this before, and unfortunately I have to agree with him: the first time is forgivable, but we're on the R3 and the screen is still dire.
The R3 is easy to recommend over the R2. It's absolutely worth the money, definitely the best one Alienware's released thus far, and an easy sell for the portable gamer. The $999 stock configuration can easily be left unchanged; the i5-2537M isn't too much slower than the i7-2617M, 4GB of DDR3 is enough to game, the 320GB 7200-RPM hard drive is on the smallish side but still decent, and adding an additional 1GB of video memory to the GT 540M is a waste. So while the base price has gone up over time, the actual cost of getting a good configuration seems to have dropped. If you were interested in the M11x, the R3 is awesome.
But we can't reward complacency. Our biggest gripe with the previous two has only gotten worse with time. Fix the screen, Alienware, and you've probably got a Silver award in your future. Tweak the cooling and you'll go Gold.
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Tchamber - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
This is a lot of performance for a 11" computer. When i look at laptops at my local electronics superstore, i always think that 1080 resulution on even a 15.6" screen is too uch, everything is so small i invariably change to lower resolutio. If you need that though, hp offers it on their website. And this is written on my ipad, and it's no substitute for my m17x :) i hate typing on this thing.sviola - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
Well, you should look into Sony Vaio's line of notebooks. My wife has a SR model (the updated line is call SB now, if I'm not mistaken) and its screen is very good. Rivals with Apple's offering.werewolf23 - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
Try the Lenovo W520, 15" and beats the M11 in every regard.plewis00 - Saturday, July 23, 2011 - link
I had the M11x R1 and it was pretty good apart from the hinges snapping three times in a year (in a lawsuit with Dell over that), but the screen was utterly appalling, it actually hurts my eyes it's that bad.Then while we're told that there are no good 11" 'netbook-sized' screens, as much as I hate to admit it, the screen on the Macbook Air 11" is truly stunning - in fact one thing Apple is worryingly consistent with is the quality of their screens, sure you pay a premium for it but just as when I moved from the Dell XPS 15 with base 768p screen to one with the B+RGLED 1080p one, I'm starting to think the difference is justified.
I wonder if anyone fancies trying to replace the M11x screen with one from a Macbook Air 11"? As long as Apple hasn't pulled off any proprietary rubbish with the screen, which I guess is unlikely as they're almost all industry-standard. Any ideas?
S0me1X - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
4.4 pounds and 1.3 inches thick? For comparison:- Macbook Pro 13 is 4.5 pounds and 0.95 inches thick.
- Thinkpad T420s is 4.0 pounds and 1.05 inches thick.
- Macbook Air 11 is 2.4 pounds and 0.68 inches thick (the only ultraportable in this list)
Ultraportable should be reserve for notebooks under 3.5 pounds (preferably under 3) and 1 inch thick.
Sazar - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
It is a gaming ultra-portable. None of the items you have listed are gaming products. Apples and Oranges.Btw, if you want the thinnest ultra-portable out there, get your hands on a Dell Adamo XPS.
redchar - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
I disagree. There aren't really any laptops out these days that are thick enough that they would cease to be portable. It's not like decades ago when they used to make brick-thick 'portable' computers. 1.3 inches does not stop the m11x from being portable, in the same way that the macbook air being .68 inches thick does not make it any more portable. Whether or not someone is able to carry their laptop with them should never come down to whether or not it can fit in a manila envelope. What IS important, I believe, is screen size. 17" mammoth laptops are hardly portable, as screen dimension really makes laptops a lot less portable than simply a fraction of an inch difference in thickness. Likewise, I own an m11x r1, and sure, it is relatively heavy for its size, but only relatively. It is not heavy to the point that it is unportable. If someone is unable to carry it around simply because it weighs 4 pounds then that's a real problem - and I'm no body builder.So for me, I consider laptops around 12" screen size or under to be 'ultraportable', as screen size ultimately decides whether you can or cannot stuff it in whatever luggage you have, or how comfortably it will fit under your arm on-the-go. Companies should be less worried about thickness - to a point - as with the m11x that thickness goes to good use with performance and battery life.
Guspaz - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
That's the problem, though, this isn't really an 11.6" laptop. The chassis could easily fit a larger screen; a 12.5" screen should be no problem. It's not as bad as some laptops (like the ridiculously enormous bezel on the Lenovo X1), but it underscores how silly the screen in the m11x really is. Not only is it smaller than it should be, it's a TN panel. Not only is it a TN panel, it's a *bad* TN panel.Is 1366x768 enough for an 11.6" (or 12.5") screen? Probably, but with Sony putting 1920x1080 screens into 13.1" laptops, it wouldn't be unreasonable to see something slightly higher. 1600x900? Or something a bit less, but still more tan 1366x768?
redchar - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
The resolution is perfect as is. You want to keep the framerate of games decently high, and thats one way to do it.I notice that the bezel is pretty large, and I feel that it could fit a 12.x size screen in it, but I don't mind -too- much as I can't think of a better laptop for the size, at least for my purposes. The 11.6 is probably there either because its popular, or for the ability to claim it as the fastest 11.6 laptop.
Sure, a TN is disappointing, but alienware doesn't really target people that care about screen quality. It's not that there is no reason to have a nice display to match the laptop, but it's not on alienware's priority list. Personally I don't care too much, either. It's a portable device, and so I'm not expecting perfection.. so if I had to choose, I would put up with bad screen quality over bad performance. The m11x is a powerful little machine, so I am willing to put up with the poor display after everything else it gives me.
But as the review did say, since everything else is nearly perfect, it's not too much to ask for a better display in the future, huh?
LordanSS - Saturday, July 23, 2011 - link
I always see people complaining about the screens being TN on these gaming notebooks... some asking for IPS or some other higher quality option. But these are gaming notebooks, and I ask you: what about the screen response times?3ms-5ms GTG response times are common on TN panels, but ISP ones usually are on the 10ms+ range (like that Apple Cinemadisplay they just released, 12ms). Ghosting becomes a real issue at that point, if you are *playing a game*, like a First Person Shooter, with very fast-paced action or image movement.
I'm sorry, but as far as *gaming* goes, TN is much more than adequate. If you want to do work or watch movies, I agree that a different tech would be more apropriate, but like I said before: this is a *gaming* notebook.