CES: Meet Alienware's Newest Tiny God of Laptops

[Rigs83]

CES: Meet Alienware's Newest Tiny God of Laptops

Meet the Dell Alienware M11X: Its screen is under 11", its price tag is under $1000, and it can run Crysis on high at 50 FPS.

I remember back in college, my friend Nick had an Alienware gaming laptop that he used to play the high-end games of the time like Far Cry and Half-Life 2. That thing was a beast - and it felt like one, too. It was huge and heavy and was "portable" in name only. But now, at CES, Alienware has unveiled the M11X [http://www.alienware.com/microsite/m11x/m11x.aspx?source=ECH0023], the antithesis of Nick's old behemoth: It's the size of a Netbook, but it has "the graphics power of a 15-inch laptop."

With six hours of battery life (2 of hardcore gaming with a secondary Nvidia GPU that can be switched on without having to reboot), this little beast can run Crysis at 50 FPS on high at 720p resolution, and Call of Duty at 30 (CoD more taxing than Crysis, huh?). It also won't break the bank if you decide to pick it up, reportedly costing less than $1000 - supposedly with specs maxed - when it hits stores within a month or so.

Gizmodo has a hands-on [http://gizmodo.com/5442786/alienware-m11x-hands+on-fast-ride-in-a-short-machine] of the little beast - as well as some actual images of it being held and running, and not in a black featureless void with a simulated screenshot - from CES, and it sounds pretty killer, with ports and slots that belie its teeny tiny little framework.

Oops, will you look at that - I dropped my old laptop off the balcony down two stories onto concrete. Clumsy me. Guess I'm in the market for a new one!

[blockquote]AT CES DELL UNVEILS FIRST "ALL POWERFUL" ULTRA MOBILE GAMING SYSTEM

· The Alienware M11x, the most powerful 11-inch gaming laptop in the universe - as easy to carry as it is powerful, making high-performance gaming accessible to all.

Alienware M11x
· The Alienware M11x demonstrates the graphics power of a 15-inch laptop in an 11-inch form factor
· Play all of your games and media, whether at home or away, at HD 720p resolution
· With the Alienware M11x, gamers can enjoy the feel of the gaming without compromise anywhere they go.
[/blockquote]

(Gizmodo [http://gizmodo.com/5442711/dell-alienware-m11x-is-sub+1000-alienware-netbook])

Permalink

You drooling idiot. First, it can't play Crysis at 50fps. That's crap. Nowhere does it say that. Other than in your post. Secondly, those frame rates are at 1280x720, which is a pathetic resolution for a gamer. Consoles run at that res on high-def TVs, and they use old hardware. 1680x1050 is commonly recognized as the MINIMUM acceptable resolution for PC gaming. This is a netbook. It has an 11 inch screen. This is fine for old dosbox games or minesweeper, but to buy a netbook for playing CoD or crysis is like buying a turbocharged Toyota Prius to try and lap the Nurburgring in under 10 mins. It defeats the purpose of the vehicle, it makes you look like a retard, and it can't do it.

For the price of this, you could get a desktop that would blow it away AND a netbook. Which means you could game and enjoy the functionality of a netbook. Because you are essentially NEVER going to game on the move. To play one of the FPS games you listed properly, you're going to need to connect a mouse. Which means you need a decent flat surface and enough room. Which leaves me asking, "Why not buy a normal laptop, you moron?" or a desktop. Netbooks are designed for portability. They're small, not very powerful, and great for taking notes in meetings/lectures or checking your email.

The 15-inch power/11-inch form factor thing is also retarded. Just staggeringly so. NEVER quote product quality from the manufacturer's site. They're not going to tell the truth if it's shit, are they? Which it is. It is pointless and crap. Useless. There is no use for this product. Only idiots would buy it. You can buy a normal desktop and a netbook for that price, and have better functionality for their individual tasks. One can play games better, and one is more portable and costs, oh, I don't know, A THIRD OF THE PRICE.

Stop talking out of your arse.

I was quoting the hands-on writeup from Gizmodo, something that you'd actually known if you'd clicked the links.

At any rate, calling staff members "drooling idiots" is a big no-no. You are the weakest link; don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Chill pills for every one!

 

[Rigs83]

I am going to buy one just to play Star War the Old Republic on it.

 

[era81]

My 18 inch I buy power Battalion 101 wants to laugh at this thing unfortantly it can't because after twentyfive hundred bucks down I still owed twentyfive hundred bucks. I heard the battery life on the Alienware M11x is a joke.

 

[Lord Thodin]

O god.....is that droll forming?

 

[Horticulture]

This certainly fills an interesting market niche. Those of you hoping to hook up a larger monitor might be disappointed in the performance, though. The 335M, according to notebookcheck [http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-335M.24060.0.html], is a hair slower than a 9700M GTS-plenty of power for most games at the internal screen's native 720p, but a little weak for demanding games at current desktop resolutions (1680x1050+).

None of this stops me from wanting to upgrade from my Atom-based netbook to this. That's where the price tag comes in

 

[Leaper]

Somehow I don't believe it can run Crysis at 50 fps. And (gaming) laptop with 11 inch screen? No thaks.

 

[Sharky200]

man i wish i could get my hands on one of those it will be the end of lag. (i hope)

 

[Dudeakoff]

You could easily get better for at least $200 less (if I'm converting correctly), and that's for a pre-built desktop.
Nothing to see here folks, more over-priced Alienware stuff, how they've managed to become successful in a niche of what I thought were well-informed people (those that buy high-end PCs) I'll never know.

 

[blue heartless]

I'm not impressed. The m15x is still the more impressive machine, even if it costs more. The m17x is still obviously the greatest gaming machine available to date*.

*This does not include the awesome gaming kits the one can build for themselves.

 

[orangeapples]

wow, I must have issues. I read, "Meet the aliens' newest tiny God, Lapras."

 

[samsonguy920]

I have to say, as awesome as that sounds, there has to be a flipside. Though I won't choose to be as crass and juvenile as some other thread colleagues. The idea though of a laptop that could run Crysis decently if not awesomely at less than $1000 is something I would like. I will keep my eyes open for that. But not Alienware. I am done with Dell.

wow, I must have issues. I read, "Meet the aliens' newest tiny God, Lapras."

You may not want to, word is that Lapras demands Prima Nocte and all the best doughnutage in your county, should you decide to take him/her/it as your god. Which is defined in the aliens' bible as by just meeting the guy. No loopholes. And bring your own magnifying glass on a cloudy day.

 

[Terramax]

It's made by Dell, ughn... no thanks. I've owned 2 Dell laptops and it's always ended in disaster. The 2nd one, all the 2nd hand shops refused to buy it off of me because it was a Dell and they're notorious for being, well, the worst.

 

[karmapolizei]

I get the appeal - for people who attend LANs or switch between locations (say, college and parents' place) frequently, this might be the thing. But myself, I'm perfectly happy with a gaming-capable desktop and a neat, affordable subnotebook for working, interwebs and an occasional HL2 or indie game. That's me spending $1000, and not even all at once.

Plus, this thing is hideous.

 

[Sevre]

Alienware doing a decent priced laptop that's actually worth it? Has hell frozen over?

 

[Nimbus]

At THAT resolution, anything could run Crysis maxed. Seriously, not impressive at all.

 

[Asehujiko]

...and in a few months exactly the same laptop will come out under another brand name and be $500 cheaper. Hand crafted logos cost that kind of money.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Gah, I just got a new Laptop.


CCCCUUURRRRSSSSEEESSSS

 

[NLS]

Too bad I'm short on cash and actually don't need a laptop

 

[AceDiamond]

I sorta feel like this is way too good to be true. As a former customer of Dell I can say without really joking too much "I wonder how long it'll take to burst into flames". I mean sure it's kind of a cool idea, having gaming power at a netbook size, but Alienware's aren't exactly the best in terms of keeping their computers running cool.

However, if this does do what they say it does and works the way it's being advertised? Well that is a pretty good achievement.

 

[Gasaraki]

*sigh* i just went to the site and after you add the processor, ram, disc drive and all that stuff it's about 2,500$...
damn it alienware you lied!