I have been looking at this item for quite a while and finally pulled the trigger. My concerns with the speed of the processor on the Core 2 rather than i5 and i7 and the high price were my only reason not to buy. After reading about the battery hit taken on this with the faster processors and the price dropping about $100 so that the price difference with the i7 become quite large, I decided to go with the Core 2 and I am glad I did.
First off, the screen is glossy and only of average brightness but the viewing angles and the ability to turn the contrast all the way up and still see a good picture a plus. Second, there is no bluetooth but there are so many tiny dongles these days it isn't a huge issue for your mouse or headphones just use of one the three usb ports. Third, the reason to buy this is for gaming and I am happy to say I was able to load all my games on the spacious 320gb hard drive with room to spare and they are all playable anywhere from medium to ultra settings. I play almost exclusively real-time strategy titles such as StarCraft II and the Command and Conquer titles. They all run really good.
The build quality is phenomenal on this thing. It is fun to just look at and admire. Being able to change the lighting in five zones and in various ways makes night computing perfect. The small keyboard is a little tougher to type on than a chic-lit style on a netbook but the razor sharp backlighting makes it work out fine after a little practice. Touch typing works great. The wrist area does not show fingerprints, the mouse has a great texture and really soft press buttons but I use an external mouse.
My first unit did not work the second day. It went black screen on me and Amazon shipped me a replacement the very next day that has been perfect. I also went into the bios on the second one and enabled turbo mode and it works no blue screens.
I spent all day loading up my gaming titles and look forward to playing on the go and around the house a lot more now. I was also pleased that 1080p YouTube worked flawlessly and my programs seem snappy. So far, so good, enjoying it. The kids love it too and like to change the keyboard to pink for the girls and incredible hulk green for the boys.
A fun toy, I hope to enjoy for a long time, and recommend.
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Dell's m11x is a wonderful, fast gaming laptop with one FATAL flaw: it has a design defect; the screen hinges separate from the chassis with normal use. This defect has occurred in a LOT of computers. Close to 100 are listed on one fan website alone. So far, Dell has not acknowledged this defect, nor have they affected reasonable solutions like extending the warranty on the hinges and tasking an engineer to design a permanent fix. Let me state this again; this is a design defect on the part of Dell and not the fault of the users. Check out the fan forums on Notebookreview or other websites if you need more feedback. This is a great little computer but Dell needs to own up to their design mistake.
Best Deals for Alienware AM11X-2894CSB 11.6-Inch Laptop (Cosmic Black)
Alienware m11x is most powerful 11.6" laptop in the market comparing with all other 11.6"/12.1" netbooks/laptops.
I would give this laptop 5 stars if I write this review in the begining of 2010 because it comes with Intel C2D SU7300 (Performance closer to Intel C2D T5670) and Nvidia GT335m (Performance closer to ATI5730) provding good enough computing power plus graphic engine to play all current PC games at least mid graphic setting.
Why do I only give 3 stars for it after half year?
Because Alienware m11x has the 2nd generation and current amazon price is higher.
The 2nd generation comes with i5 or i7 processors instead of original C2D SU7300, and Dell normally proivde discount coupon to the customer.
I purchased my i5-520um, Nvidia GT335, 4GB Ram, 160GB HDD, and Bluetooth m11x per "$920 + tax" after 100 off coupon from Dell.
Let's compare with another similar model Lenovo U160, which is also 11.6"/12.1" laptop with i5/i7, but its selling price is $1000+ without any GPU. As you already knew, Alienware gives you i5/i7 with GPU (Nvidia GT335m) and better cost.
Beside powerful specs, m11x is easier 11.6" laptop for you to upgrade memory, hard drive, and wifi card. It's the reason I choose 2.5" 160GB hard drive. You can easy get a 2.5" 500GB hard drive in between $50 to $60 to replace the 160GB one without paying Dell like $100. You can check youtube, and find out how easy that you can change those components inside Alienware m11x and how hard for you to change componetns within other 12.1" laptop/netbook hard drive such as ASUS EEE PC 12" series. Alienware did a great job providing user easier way to upgrade the system.
Well, we know that price is higher than EEE PC and other 12.1"/11.6" netbook, but it's a i5/i7/C2D LAPTOP (NOT A NETBOOK) with Nvidia GT335m and up to 8 hours battery life making a unbeatable conditions for user.
Currently, DELL Price is $949 for i5 alienware m11x (2GB Ram + 160GB Hard drive) before all upgrades and discount coupon. For C2D SU7300 m11x (2GB Ram + 160GB Hard drive) starts from $799. That isn't a final cost because Dell keeps providing discount coupons very offen.
I would say current Amazon posted Alienware SU7300, 4GM Ram, and 320GB hard driver making a good combination, but $999 is too high (You can m11x i5 version as $999). If they can cost down SU7300 m11x in between $849 and $899, it will be very worth to buy it.
If you have budget more than $800 for a thin, light, and powerful gaming laptop. It will be the best choice.
Honest reviews on Alienware AM11X-2894CSB 11.6-Inch Laptop (Cosmic Black)
This thing is perfect for me. Its light, compact, long battery life, and has the GPU needed to play my games on medium settings. I sometimes have to carry alot of other gear so the compactness and light weight is very nice. I have used the ASUS G73 series (they make great desktop replacment systems and are very powerful) but those are WAY to big and heavy for my intended use. I wont get into the lights issue as that has already been covered in other reviews.
I did ALOT of research before this purchase. I really wanted the R2 version with the i7 processor and optimus. However I went to several forums and there are many problems with the i5/i7, optimus, and DX10 when it comes to games like Civ V. The R1 has manually switching (FN+F6) and drivers that work really well with DX10. I really like the manually switching to save battery life when doing mundane tasks that dont need the 335M GPU. I also downloaded the updated BIOS (A05) and all the other drivers from the dell website and they all work fine.
I played the Civ V demo with everything on medium with textures and water on high at max resolution and it was very smooth. Company of Heroes online (the best RTS EVER made, its free and its even better than SC2!) plays perfectly on this machine. It also came with Portal for free on Steam, and it plays flawlessly with everything on high. I dont play very many FPS on PC because I have a 360 and PS3 and thats what all of my friends have. I also have a custom gaming desktop rig that I built my self using MSI parts so if I want to do some heavy PC gaming at home I use that.
After I updated the BIOS I was able to overclock the CPU to 1.6 according to CPUZ (great program). The overclocked Core Duo is comparable to an i3 when it comes to speed, the i5/i7 really isnt that much faster, and the battery life takes a big hit too. Some games run better on the R1 and a few R2 users have even traded in their systems to go back to the R1.
The R2 version from will cost you around $1200 out the door with the same specs (except the processor and bluetooth) as this one on amazon. The R1 comes in cosmic black vs the R2 soft touch stealth black. You cant really go wrong the R1 or R2 but there is a well documented hinge issue on both machines if you look on other forums such as . I guess I got a good one because the screen does NOT touch the keyboard on mine. Also the screen is really glossy. I dont use this outdoors so it is not an issue for me but it could be a deal breaker for others.
So if you need a light, extremely portable laptop, and want to play some Company of Heroes, SC2, or Civ V on the move, get the M11x. If you want a big, super powerful, heavy, low battery life destop replacement then look elsewhere.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Alienware AM11X-2894CSB 11.6-Inch Laptop (Cosmic Black)
Update:
Now after owning for about 15 months, during which its never been dropped or compromised, I've had 4 critical issues. The hinge broke twice (replaced twice, each time requiring 5 hours of my time), the mother board fried once, and more recently the battery is again having a connection problem that causes the laptop to shut off on its own when on battery power. Called and was told to replace the battery (at my expense, even though I had a four warranty a faulty battery is considered a peripheral and it not covered). Not exaggerating, I'm put in 30 hours on the phone or troubleshooting b/c of Dell's poor workmanship/engineering. I'm just going to sell this junk on ebay and get another computer. please pass on the "new" Dell owned alienware. It's cheaper, looks pretty, has great specs, but it's junk.
I'd had this for about 8 months. The honeymoon is over for this computer and Alienware in general:
1) The hinge is broken due to an engineering problem (google "m11x hinge"). I've been waiting for them to fix it/address it for weeks to months now. I've spent many unnecessary hours waiting to talk to CS or getting no useful help from Customer Service. I was hung up on twice by the their service team.
2) the computer shuts off on its own (even after turning off the accelerator). I spent hours trying to fix it with their service team. the technician they sent said he was confused and could not help me and to 'call back' to open another service issue.
3) even when purchasing the thing, it was close to a 3 hour process over the phone.
4) the computer feels 'junky'. The parts (side panels), hinge, stoppers, etc are made of a cheaper plastics, glues, and have already noticeably begun to fall apart. All stoppers on teh bottom computer have come off, and one of the top stoppers that rests between the keyboard and screen has popped off.
As context, I had, cared for, and used a Dell XPS for 5 years straight with no issues due to my mishandling of the product. This is a clearly sub-quality product.
Buy another computer, and I would advise not an Alienware. It is really not worth it.
