M11x R3

[unclewebb]

Many review sites have "accidentally" ended up with a M11x-R3 model that has a CPU that isn't available for purchase yet or a Core i7-2630UM ES which is not likely to ever be sold at the retail level.

NoteBookCheck: Whether Alienware will offer the Core i7-2657M to retail customers at some point is not certain at present.

Sure they run faster out of the box compared to an R2 out of the box but that doesn't tell the whole story. The UM CPUs in the R2 can be overclocked like crazy while the CPUs in the R3 have very limited overclocking abilities. Early benchmarks show that the M11x-R3 with a Core i7-2617M performs very similar to an overclocked Core i7-640UM that is in the R2. I'm sure there are some benchmarks where the R3 is a little quicker compared to an overclocked R2 but there are also longer benchmarks like wPrime 1024M where turbo boost automatically throttles back in the R3 so an overclocked R2 + ThrottleStop can finish this calculation over 100 seconds faster than the R3.

If you can find a good deal at the outlet for an R2 you might want to save some money and go for that.

[mw86]

I agree Unclewebb the M17XR2 from an outlet is one incredible system if you can find a good deal. The control over your overclocks is amazing with your program on a system like that.

[Nando]

A Kitguru review Alienware M11x R3 review (Core i7 2630UM) | KitGuru

really good actually

this is interesting, AW M11x vs Macbook '13 is "almost" the same size: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp8XF...eature=related

Another video: Alienware M14x - Crysis 2 Gameplay

Another review from Laptopmag: Alienware M14x Review

[mw86]

Hey one of the people on that first link, said they dropped theirs... If these Alienwares can take a drop test lol, that has to say something.

[StamatisX]

Did they try to see if it blends yet?

I feel sorry for the laptop though, I never have dropped a laptop in my life...

[unreal25]

I didn't like the KitGuru review- it doesn't give any actual con. I'd also like to argument this with couple of points:

- They mention the screen is excellent and has great color gamut. There are no numbers provided, however. Again, excellent is a very subjective thing. I'd say IPS is excellent. RGB LED is excellent. Most of the TN are decent, mediocre or crap. If we start rating things with great as a worst description, what's the point of doing it at all? That said Thinkpad X200 screen I had (matte TN) was better for me than M11x, because I could actually see stuff on it when I was outside - despite the fact that it certainly had all the numbers worse than M11x display.

- "The battery life is very strong." Errr.... welcome to 2011? < 5 hours just browsing the internet is pretty mediocre for an ultraportable laptop, especially the one based on Sandy Bridge platform. 2:50 watching the movie? I easily got 5-5.5 hours on M11x-R1. The results are really bad actually and are in line with bigger, more power hungry, laptops. (See: M17x-R3.) Also keep in mind here, the screen is extremely reflective - it takes some effort to find a decent angle to watch a movie.

- "keyboard is a good size". Unless they did some kind of remarkable redesign (from the pics it looks exactly the same as R1) - keyboard is actually extremely cramped. The best thing about it, it shows no flex (I don't see what 'little' flex they see there.) but I often find it annoying to try to type on it since the keys are so close together. I mean it sort of works, but its far from comfortable. I ended up pressing the wrong key very often.

Lastly, I wouldn't want to drop it. It may be well constructed on the inside, but I wouldn't be so sure about the cover.

[Brian]

I agree with most of your criticism, however, reviewers sometimes have to give subjective opinions on display quality because they don't have a colorimeter handy. I know for the R3 review I've been doing, I didn't have one available but instead I took photos of the displays viewing angles and left it to the reader to decide if they like it or not.

[Nando]

I agree with most of your criticism, however, reviewers sometimes have to give subjective opinions on display quality because they don't have a colorimeter handy. I know for the R3 review I've been doing, I didn't have one available but instead I took photos of the displays viewing angles and left it to the reader to decide if they like it or not.

exactly and i would add that everyone has their own ways of seeing things and their own needs and preferences, even is a bit complicated....the size, weight, colors, lights ...looks "cute", to small, to big...whatever....maybe it's a lot of information for some

[mw86]

True on those last three posts... "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

[unreal25]

Yes, I guess it depends what you're comparing it with. If until now, one has only used CRT displays, I'm sure the M11x display will look excellent. If you used for example Mac, the screen will be a significant downgrade (compared to pretty much any of their TN displays). My, personal, opinion is that M11x display belongs to low-end "Inspiron" line and certainly not in supposedly premium Alienware line. The display is still probably OK if its the same as R1, I even used it outside to watch a soccer world cup, although with a lot of trouble. On that scale, Macbook Pro's graphic performance is then also "excellent". Then again, a sort-of competitor, HP ENVY has a Radiance screen; is that one also excellent? Yes, but then it's quite a bit "more excellent" than M11x screen, isn't it?

I don't think a colorimeter is a necessity. Often it is informative to just put two (or few) laptops side by side and look at the same image. Who doesn't have a Macbook these days? Just saying, a decent reviewer will have some knowledge of the available screens today on laptops in the same or similar category.

Point being, lower your standards sufficiently and any laptop will get 5/5 stars in any category. With the hinge problem fixed, M11x is probably still a decent laptop. But to say that it has no cons, it's far, far from the truth. On that note, the only con they mention: starting price in the US is $1k, I think that's fine for what you get with it. (Again if that's a con, argument it with a bit cheaper laptop in this range that can deliver similar specs/build/performance.)

[senzazn12]

I am getting my M11X R3 tomorrow. I heard it is very strong on battery life but reviews say the screen is not that great. Although, the person that I bought it from told me that once he calibrated the M11X R3 screen, that the colors were much more beautiful and accurate. He even said viewing angles became more tolerable after calibration. I do have a Spyder 3 Express calibrator so hoping that when I calibrate the screen that it will look much better.

[foremi]

if you cant live with the stock display, you can direct swap in a LG LP116WH4(SL)(N2). I ordered mine from laptopscreen.com. Its an ips panel so viewing angles are significantly better, but its also brighter and has better colors.