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Dell Alienware M11x Netbook Review – 6.75/7

Dell’s announcement of their new netbook earlier this year at the CES was pathbreaking. The M11x is a brilliant combination of form, features and price. Other makers were wondering how Dell managed to pull it off with comments like “Dell did what!?” floating around. Well, what Dell (and Alienware) did is make a sub $1000 gaming beast. It’s not a netbook that plays games a bit better than others; its a gaming netbook. Period. New games like World of Warcraft, Modern Warfare 2 and even Crysis can be played at more than acceptable frame rates. The M11x has whipped up a frenzy of interest in the 2 odd months since its been announced and other netbook makers are sure to try to get in on this action. Acer’s announcement of the 532G with ION 2 is an example.

Coming back to the M11x, this thing is built as one user called it “like a brick”. The base specifications include the Intel SU4100 processor (a CULV processor), nVidia GeForce GT335M graphics chipset, 2GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive. What Dell also has on offer is the superior Core 2 SU7300 processor and upgrades to 8GB of RAM and to 500GB of hard drive space. The netbook also has an Intel GS45 graphics chip with switching technology. This means users can enjoy battery life upto 7.5 hours while not gaming, and 2.5 hours with dedicated gaming.

Dell Alienware M11x Netbook Review – Top Features

• Plays almost all games – The main worry pre-release is whether the M11x would play new-age games at an acceptable quality. The people have spoken. It does.
• Laser etched nameplates – The M11x comes personalized with your name laser etched on a silver patch (in the US). How friggin cool is that!
• Superb build quality – Made of magnesium alloy and combined with black matte plastics. Feels solid and durable.
• Customizable LED lighting – The keyboard, alienware head on the lid and above the keyboard, and the intake vents are all very cool design elements. Users can further tweak these by deciding what colors they want their netbook lit up by.

Dell Alienware M11x Netbook Review – Drawbacks and things to keep in mind

• Lack of an included mouse – Since this was targetted as a gaming netbook, a matching mouse unit should have been offered along with every purchase of an M11x.
• Restore CD – For a netbook that doesn’t feature a CD drive, its quite amazing that they couldn’t offer a restore USB.

Dell Alienware M11x Netbook Review – Ratings

1. Price and Value for money – 1.0 Star. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but its a breakthrough product with a great design, customizable touches and unrivalled performance (for its size).
2. Speed and Performance – 1.0 Star. Kicks other netbook butt. The processor can be overclocked with BIOS settings to make it even more fast.
3. Screen – 1.0 Star. The 11.6 inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution has nice colors, contrasts and viewing angles. All we would have wished for is a matte option.
4. Keyboard, Touchpad, Useability – 1.0 Star. The keyboard is awesome, featuring perfectly sized keys with great traction. The touchpad is large and responsive.
5. Portability and Battery Life – 0.75 Star. For what it is, the weight and battery are great. But on a comparision they lose out.
6. Looks and Design – 1.0 Star. The M11x, like all Alienware PCs has a great, unique look. It’s also sturdy as hell.
7. Connectivity and Extensibility – 1.0 Star. Well covered on this front with adequate ports, HDMI and Bluetooth.

This gives the M11x an overall rating of 6.75 out of 7 Stars.

Dell Alienware M11x Netbook Review – Our Recommendation

We’re going to keep this short and sweet. The M11x is a fantastic netbook and well worth the price premium that it commands. If you have the money and are concerned with graphics performance – this is the netbook to get. It’s available at the Dell website.

Dell Alienware M11x Netbook Review – What have buyers said?

Pros:

1. ” Semi-suprisingly, I can play WOW and Global Agenda with graphics turned up. Suprisingly, I can also play Bad Company 2 and Aion…and actually enjoy it (with graphics low-med)!”
2. “ It feels like a brick and would probably give someone brain damage if used as a weapon.”
3. “ I LOVE the fact that you can get about 6-9 hours on the discrete graphics and over 3 hours during high end gaming.”

Cons:

1. ” The huge bezel around the lcd bothers me a lot”
2. “ I, like many of you, think the processor is a little underpowered and a little outdated.”

Dell Alienware M11x Netbook Review – Technical Specifications

• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium / Professional / Ultimate
• CPU: 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 / 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300
• Display & Graphics: 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 HD Widescreen Display, nVidia GeForce GT335M
• RAM: 2GB / 4GB/ 8GB DDR3
• Storage: 160GB /250GB / 320GB / 500GB / 256GB SSD
• Connectivity: 3-in-one card reader, 802.11b/g/n, Ethernet LAN (RJ-45), HDMI, 3 x USB 2.0 Ports, Bluetooth 2.1
• Battery: 6-cell Li-ion Battery
• Weight: 4.39lbs
• Colors: Black, Red
• Price: Starts at $799

Filed under: Dell Netbook Review