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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shangshang - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
gaming laptop is so out of fashion at this point. I'll take the ipad2 toy anyday.theda3g0 - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
"out of fashion"?? What does fashion have to do with it? This is the most functional ultra-portable gaming laptop available on the market. It's about function, not fashion. (though the lights and flashy gimmicks might imply otherwise)NicodemusMM - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
Actually for certain aspects the light are functional.. at least one of them. I've run into situations where such a small form factor and a lighted keyboard are very handy. Mine gets used very little for gaming, but as a PC to interface with machines that may be in dark, enclosed areas it's paid for itself many times over.~ Nicodemus
The0ne - Monday, July 25, 2011 - link
Fashion and gaming laptop? Are you serious? Ipad2 over a gaming laptop? To begin comparing the two together? Just wow...Alienware is their trademark, hence the keyword "ALIEN". If you want a non-alien gaming laptop go Asus, Clevo and what not. Why must there always be someone that don't understand how trademarks and logo's work.
sulhogar - Saturday, August 27, 2011 - link
Being in fashion isn't the most important thing for everyone. Some of us have to find a portable gaming laptop to bring with them on a submarine, where space is limited.redchar - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
Ever since the r1, I've seen the m11x as the only laptop that makes sense (for my needs). Most of the benefits of both a netbook and a full-sized laptop, without the drawbacks of each. You get around the battery life you would expect from a netbook or similar, at not much larger than the size of a netbook, too, but yet you get enough power to do everything you might want to do on a mobile device. Sure, you would not be getting top performance for autocad or some compute-heavy professional work, but that's not really the point of most laptops - and people who wish to do that should be looking for a monster-sized desktop replacement style laptop. Also unless someone really needs to go and max crysis 2 output to an external display, the m11xr3 should provide an excellent mobile experience, be it a college laptop for note-taking (would benefit from relative portability and battery life), a movie-playing computer on the go or to squeeze some gaming in, I think the m11x series is just great. It may not be the prettiest device (well, the r1 grew on me over time, it's not as ugly as I originally thought), but I like to recommend the m11x to my friends and family - unless they are opposed to such a small device, and just need something a bit bigger.failquail - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
I broadly agree with most of that.Never could get past the incredible uglyness of the chassis though.
In the end i went for the lower specced Lenovo x100e and spent the price difference on a SSD for it.
Netbook size and weight chassis, but speed of a larger notebook. (would love the newer fusion-based versions for my next one though)
redchar - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
I was reluctant to buy the r1 at first, but when I looked around I could find nothing that suited me better - I wanted something netbook-sized, with long life, but as powerful as possible, for around $1000. At first I thought it looked like some riced-up computer-equivalent of a honda civic, but over the months I've grown used to the look. The LED lights can be disabled completely, or enabled for individual areas. If you disable the lights for all but the keyboard, and have the keyboard LEDs to be white, it looks a lot less ugly. With all lights off, and the device closed, it doesn't look as ugly as I used to think. A small, mostly smooth black laptop if you think about it - a lot less uglier than some of the previous alienware designs with crazy ribs on the lid. It reminds me a bit of a ferrari, actually. You know - overall it will certainly stick out, but as long as you don't go out of your way to enable all the LEDs to make it look like a kids civic, the curves aren't too bad, or at least I can put up with them since the m11x has so many other great features.I'm not sure that I ever looked for the lenovo x100e when I was searching for a machine of that size. It certainly looks like a fine replacement for a netbook, and is a bit more visually appealing than the m11x, but I think I prefer the bit of ugliness associated with the m11x than to being stuck with an athlon neo. My previous laptop was an ion netbook - wouldn't feel like too much of an upgrade.
Aikouka - Monday, July 25, 2011 - link
The only thing I'd like to see more of was touched on in the article. In my Dell M1530, I have an OCZ SSD, which I rather like the overall speed that it brings to the system, but I dislike the fact that I'm stuck with just a 120GB SSD. To get a laptop with two HDD bays, I've found that you typically have to go with a 17" laptop or larger.I wouldn't mind the 14" or 15" models with an option to remove the optical drive in lieu of another HDD. Right now, I'm toting around a WD Elements SE 500GB HDD as my secondary drive for my laptop.
FlyBri - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
Seriously, I don't get it. Can we please have a few laptop manufacturers give us consumers some high end displays to choose from? Specifically for me, I want more choices when it comes to 15.6" laptops with an option for a high quality 1080p, where the rest of the laptop is also high end as well.But even if it's not 1080p, many of the screens on laptops are just plain sh*t. Look at all the reviews here on AnandTech...all you see in the "display" section of reviews is how bad most of these laptop screen are. As much as I hate to say it, this is where Apple truly shines. You get a high end display, and the rest of the laptop also feels extremely high end and well built. The Samsung Series 9 is finally starting a trend, and the new Dell (bleh, hate Dell), but come on HP, Acer, Asus, etc....GET WITH IT!