Alienware's 'Phantom' concept became M11x, cranks through Left 4 Dead 2 on video

It's turning out to be quite the day for Alienware, eh? First we see that the M15x and M17x are finally up for order (with their swank Core i7s within), and now we've got the first public video of the M11x doing its thang. If you'll recall, we only had enough time at CES to snap a few quick pictures, but now that the starting-at-$799 ultraportable (or "netbook," if you must) is said to be "coming soon," it seems that parent company Dell is feeling pretty good about showing it off. An employee recently had the chance to sit down with what was originally coined the Phantom (full story awaits you in the Source link), and even though it can be hidden behind a standard sized magazine, this diminutive monster is still potent enough to cruise through Left 4 Dead 2 with nary a hiccup. Don't believe us? Check the video for yourself after the break.

See more video at our hub!

[brothaa Posted Jan 29th 2010 3:42PM]

I must say 15-25 fps on L4D2 is a little less impressive then i was hoping

What engine does L4D2 use?

[SolidSnake Posted Jan 29th 2010 4:53PM]

@Unverified User
The venerable but slightly outdated Source Engine, created in house by Valve. HalfLife 2, TF2, Portal etc all use it.

[ltksiva Posted Jan 29th 2010 4:02PM]

The price is right, the system looks capable, but its just a little too small. Is there any other budget gaming laptop that's similar but not quite so netbook sized, 13" or so?

[DerFranz Posted Jan 29th 2010 4:20PM]

Nice toy this little "Beast"!

[Frawley Posted Jan 29th 2010 4:27PM]

Left4Dead2 is hardly a benchmark game. It also seems like they had dynamic shadows turned off.

[jir0 Posted Jan 29th 2010 4:41PM]

@Frawley
i noticed they did turn of most of the details. and the framerate plummeted to 15 fps when the zombies came..

I just hoping that the video was done last year before CES.

[cruzer Posted Jan 29th 2010 4:59PM]

she said the average FPS is about 40-50 but fraps show 18-25 when there were a few zombies.

[Fox318 Posted Jan 29th 2010 6:03PM]

@cruzer I noticed that too. Maybe they have AA really high.

[TareG Posted Jan 29th 2010 5:07PM]

Framerate drops to 17-22 fps when there's action.... then climbs to 45-52 when nothing's going on. Not impressive, then again it's a netbook... still DO WANT.

[ryguy222 Posted Jan 29th 2010 5:18PM]

Yeah.. but 799 is the base price. To get a system with maybe 300 gb hdd or more, will add to the price.

Probably only comes with 2-3 gb of ram to start off.

So probably looking at around 1,300 bucks...
and ever since dell bought alienware, Alienware has gone down the tubes on quality.

I'm perfectly happy with my ASUS G50
It has a 2.4 ghz duo processor, a 9800gtx and can handle L4D2 on high settings without any hiccups.
Got it for 899
4gb of ram

[psykick5 Posted Jan 29th 2010 6:06PM]

*tear*

Awesome!

[ImVerified Posted Jan 29th 2010 6:34PM]

Has anyone happened to stumble upon Dell's rating on ResellerRatings? http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Dell

Wow. Just... Wow. I thought I was the only one with problems.

[specialbuddy Posted Jan 29th 2010 8:07PM]

It was 15-20 fps during the horde. That's still not that good for the size of the screen.

[think before you react Posted Jan 29th 2010 8:20PM]

Is this actually the $799 version- or the add-on version that can cost up to $2000? If it's the base model- NICE. If it's $1500 o more- eh.

[Chuck Dugan Posted Jan 30th 2010 6:22PM]

@think before you react they are saying that the maxed out version is under $1000, so $799 basic, $999 top

[eros18 Posted Jan 29th 2010 9:40PM]

Definitely buying this if the demo is actually around $799. I wouldn't mind around $1200 either. Huge fan of my current XPS M1210. Have not found another ultraportable that comes close to it.

[mcdoomington Posted Jan 29th 2010 10:09PM]

GET OUT OF THE SPITTER GOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!? MELEE FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!!

-me playing L4D2 with Katie from Alienware

[Napoleon357 Posted Jan 30th 2010 12:33PM]

How well will the M11x run Star Trek online?

[TCrimson05 Posted Jan 30th 2010 3:08PM]

:) this has me all warm inside....must buy. (and did i just see someone compare this to a hp mini?) lol