Alienware M11x getting Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 upgrade next month, says Dell rep
By Ross Miller 
posted May 22nd 2010 10:52PM
posted May 22nd 2010 10:52PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted May 22nd 2010 10:52PM
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Yes!!
@theSynergist
Rated down for a camouflaged "first".
@everyone does what? i was happy because i was planning on buying one of these pretty soon. i don't care if i had the first comment..
fap - fap -fap - fap
^-^
@everyone does
Sir......it shall be you rated down for being so naive and ignorant of a fellow engadeters genuine enthusiasm.
Furthermore, you were the first to say "first," most likely caused by your jealous of not being.....first.
Good day
@theSynergist I was actually waiting for this. I actually feel the need for a laptop and/or a desktop, but this might be able to at least hold me over while upgrading my POS laptop and leaving me sans desktop. Oh, it's good to have tough decisions like this :).
@juanvaldez While I am in LERV with this as an amazing ultra-portable that I can easily stow behind me on the motorcycle, I don't think this would make an ideal desktop replacement notebook.
For that, I'd look at 17"s.
@Ducman69 Again, this is a hold-over, not really a "replacement" but I appreciate the comment anyways. The difference between the cost of the 11" and the 17" would actually be adding the cost of building my new comp, so I'd rather have both. Also, I'd be able to buy a sick TV/monitor (I know, I should get the monitor, but I might end up with a TV), which I also happen to be in the market for.
So, here's the most likely chronology...laptop+TV, 6 months desktop. I need to re-read when the new intel chipsets will roll out into MBs and decide how I'll deal with value/upgrade path.
Appreciate the feedback/suggestion. Let me know if you still think the same, as it'd be interesting to hear counterpoints to my logic (perhaps most with my TV where I know a gamer and comp enthusiast would want to shoot me for getting the TV).
@theSynergist
Damn! The CPU was the only thing really holding me back... but I bought a refurb Studio XPS 16 a month ago. Should have waited for this. I wonder how the battery life is with an i5.
@aznofazns The current M11X does 4-5hrs battery life in reviews IIRC.
The i5s are more efficient than the Core2s, and I would wager this is going to be using the announced ULV i5.
My money is on ~5hrs on integrated graphics. You'd wanna plug in when gaming though. =)
@theSynergist about time these bad boys get up to par!
oh boy...i just realized i sound like an ultra nerd AND a golfer at the same time B)
@Ducman69
hmm, i dont know, the screen is pretty nice, the entire laptop is weird, i mean, its a powerful beast, runs high end games AMAZINGLY well, but is slightly out of proportion, then again, if its a choice of the beast here with odd proportions, or a macbook with no enthusiasm but nice proportions, then i know which i prefer :P
@theSynergist Even before this update, M11x is the beast, seeing it having a bless of core i5 - i7 procs is the sweetest thing for gamers. First view- http://j.mp/m11-by-alienware-impressions
@theSynergist
Honest question: why might I want a *small* gaming machine? I'd think it would make more sense to have a big screen with a large, comfortable keyboard (+numpad for my all-important fireteam management needs) with a multi-button programmable mouse.
The 11' notebook doesn't seem to fill any of those roles :/
@The Madman Try doing that on an airplane.
@everyone does
someone has to be first, you know, or there won't be any comments...
@The Madman switchable graphics means it can be a portable laptop with gaming capabilities. Is it for the hardcore gamer? Probably not. But for someone like me that uses my laptop more for general purpose computing with some gaming sprinkled in it's perfect. The only reason I held off was because of the CPU. If they put optimus in there it'll be perfect for me.
I wonder why engadget cannot take a good picture of any product other than capple products? Do they employ crappy photographers? or does crapple pays for their photographers? I am sick of this.
@theSynergist
Yes!!... except did they say anything about adding a matte screen option?
@theSixFive and @iamlilysdad, thanks. I don't usually game when I'm out and about, but apparently some people do. My bad.
@The Madman The M11X is a hybrid machine.
The latest intel chips with hybrid graphics simply make for a great ultra-portable experience, but can also give you increased performance on the go. Whether or not this makes more sense to you than a bigger heavier 15" or 17" will depend on how mobile you are.
Kinda like a netbook w/ nitrous (no double-clutching required heh).
You can always easily plug in an external monitor and peripherals though at home. Power + HDMI + USB should be all it takes to plug in.
Now that's impressive.
@theSixFive Yeah a 40 min battery wonder indeed
@Eleazar Claimed a 6 hour battery life before even mentioning the upgraded processor. You think this drain the battery 1100% faster eh? And, not to mention they can actually put NVidia optimus in there to improve upon the old, and probably more than compensate for the new, battery performance/drain.
@Eleazar
this chipset is more energy efficient than the current ones anyway :)
@theSixFive
Not fully impressive.
They need the crappy Intel GMA.
But they need the awesome HD 5650 hybrid.
Also need Optimus or like, to be able to close the GPU that's not in-use (unlike my ASPIRE 4810TG).
Also, please put a keyboard decent enough for gaming and a touchpad that wins your heart.
If you want to go all-the-way:
1)Add in your own skin on top of Windows 7 thats simple, intutive and finger friendly.
2)Add a touchscreen (Capacitative with stylus is preferred)
3)Make it a tablet
OR a swivel-hinge to become tablet-ish
Now it will be really awesome
I see it comes with "windows" installed...
WOW, an i7 for the m11x? Awesome.
I just hope they don't forget to include nVidia Optimus in these newer versions.
@Tokume That'd be a bitch move on Alienware's part.
@Tokume Depends on which i7s, really. The power efficient i7s are slower than some of the i5 line.
@YpoCaramel Yeah, the CULV i7s are slower than regular i5s.
@iofthestorm
Yeah CULV i7's are slower than regular i5's but they give you couple fold increase in battery life. A good trade-off (infact no brainer) since you need to rely on an Ultraportable to last longer than work harder. Infact, i7-640UM/SU7300 are what most people need:
something that can do all ordinary tasks (video, browsing etc),
something that can do some intensive tasks (large file copy, media creation, games)
and something bearable (unlike Atoms).
But humans are greedy and always want more than they need.
Your Truly,
The Giant Cockaroach from Men in Black XD
Uhm. I kind of feel sorry (really sorry) for those who got one early. :(
@blitzkrieg no shit, I totally hyped this up around the office to the point where my boss got one and I backed out cause I wanted to wait for some other 10-12inchers to upgrade specs...
I hope he doesn't notice this post...
I got a 12.1inch i7 instead :)
@blitzkrieg That's exactly what I was thinking. I was about to buy one in April when engadget reported on a rumor of optimus maybe being available this summer...I decided to hold out just in case...man am I glad I did.
@blitzkrieg I got one back in March,and I really don't have much regret for waiting. After all if I played the waiting game I'd never decide on a PC, or a smartphone, or a car. Things are just going to get better with each revision, so all it boils down to is if you are satisfied with whats currently out.
@blitzkrieg
I am SO glad that I didn't buy one, although I do kinda wish that I didn't buy my Envy either. Not that it isn't good, just a little too expensive and more than I need.
Makes me think of a 1992 camaro.
@Decoy
You mean, FUCKING AWESOME??
Nice. Of course, they'll be of the ULV variety (and hardly deserving of the i7 moniker,) but still better than Core 2 Duo.
When I think of gaming, I think of laptops. and 11.6 inch screens. Really wish laptop manufacturers would speed up on fine tuning thin-and-light 13-15" laptops and MEETING their battery life claims rather than putting resources into...... gaming laptops.
@Luffy
I have an XPS m1330.
I wish I could come up with an i7 replacement for it.
@Luffy Fullsize gaming laptops exist, that market segment is more than covered.
A powerful ultra-portable though has not, and Alienware has filled that vacuum fantastically IMO.
The only question will be if they price it reasonably, and if they do, damn straight I'm preordering! =)
The i7 model won't have a battery (why bother?), but a 220V, 4-wire power cord does come standard.
@Ed T
I know ULV's a lot of letters, but you should try to keep up.
@jon On top of that I bet he doesn't even know there is a dual core i7 with similar power requirements to the i5's (the higher clock speed means a little bit more power drawn, but nothing like the quad core i7 beasts). There certainly will not be quad core i7s in the m11x anytime soon.
Lets point and laugh at him!
/point
/laugh
@Broderbund
Oh come on, this thing is fuglier than a clothes dryer, and like the dryer it deserves a 4-wire 220 power cord. Reminds me of the people who put a V8 engine in a Chevy Vega and thought they had accomplished something wonderful.
@Ed T
Since you are unaware that they are not putting a 920xm in it, let me break it down.
It's more like upgrading to a faster processor, but not the fastest, just faster, and then switchable graphics to compensate. Are you opposed to faster specs if it can maintain batttery life?
And lastly, battery life is really overrated. It's a gaming laptop. Are you planning on gaming for hours on end without an ac outlet?
I just don't understand the interest in this thing... It totally defeats the purpose of both a netbook and a gaming laptop imo.
@Poryhack By that you mean, it's too heavy and not a big enough screen (possibly resolution too)?
I can see an argument for wanting two dedicated devices if that's your preference, perhaps even if you didn't have either a gaming laptop or a netbook. However, the price was pretty good last round, the battery life can be improved with optimus (previously rated at 6 hours if I understood the video correctly). 2KG isn't really heavy. Really it's hard to get that much packed into something so small and light, so if the screen is too small for you I can see it being a non-starter. But, I don't doubt it's portability and/or its ability to run games.