M11x, Alienware dream is real

Although not comparable to the seniors but with good performance and starting price of only 800 USD, M11x is a "real dream" for many gamers .

M11x is a mobile gaming machine that has been waiting for a long time by gamers because of its smaller size than previous Alienware models, while the price is not high. Configured to include a low-voltage Core 2 Duo processor combined with an NVIDIA GT335M graphics chip, M11x is one of the smallest but most powerful laptops on the market. The product of this line starts at $ 799, the model tested by Engadget below has a detailed configuration including a Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor with 1.3 GHz speed, 4GB of RAM for $ 949. (in the US market).

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The machine has a pit design. Photo: Engadget .

Despite owning an 11.6-inch screen, the M11x exterior gives a bigger feel (weighs up to 2 kg) and is quite pitiful. The device is designed with straight lines and definitive masculine blocks. The front edge of the device is swept down with two speakers with LED lights on both sides very similar to the famous Chevrolet Camaro. Instead of glossy black paint, the inside surface of the armrest, Alienware has designed a soft rough surface that feels comfortable during use.

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M11x is quite full of floating ports. Photo: Engadget .

In the surrounding edges, M11x is fully equipped with connection ports. The left side is VGA, USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, memory card reader, FireWire. Next to the right include the mic jack, 2 headphone jacks and two USB ports. The back only includes the grille frame and power jack. Meanwhile, on the bottom there will be a piece of metal attached to the machine as a commemorative product from the manufacturer Alienware.

M11x does not use chiclet keyboard, instead is a brilliant keyboard backlight system and is designed relatively flat with the most convenient button layout for gaming. With the AlienFX LED effect, users can also choose different colors for LED lights or create effects such as flashing or switching between two colors for keyboard backlight, Alienware icon, power button and speaker. This effect may not be very useful but extremely interesting.

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Keyboard with brilliant backlight. Photo: Engadget .

One of the pity in M11x is that there is no dedicated menu system for entertainment or quick access to the application, the Shift button is also a bit small. In return, the arrow keys are larger than usual, the touchpad system is also very responsive and accurate even without the multi-touch feature.

Alienware's new product with LED backlight screen size of 11.6 inches resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels displays bright, sharp and especially has a good horizontal viewing angle. Although the vertical viewing angle is not really good, but compared to the price range of computers such as M11x today, the screen that it owns really has outstanding quality.

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Touchpad does not support multi-point but sensitive and accurate. Photo: Engadget .

The M11x version was tested by Engadget with hardware including Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor with 1.3 GHz speed, and NVIDIA GT335M graphics card with the feature of converting graphics chips to improve the efficiency of using the device. .

When turning off the GT335M graphics card via GMA integrated graphics chip, M11x provides the same performance as most other low-voltage (ULV) laptops. The machine achieved 2,698 points with PCMarkVantage3 and only 654 points with 3DMark06.

Model PCMarkVantage 3DMark06 Alienware M11x battery life (1.3GHz Core 2 Duo, GMA) 26896544.5Alienware M11x (1.3GHz Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA GT 335M) 31415593N / ASony VAIO Z (2.53GHz Core i5, NVIDIA GT 330M) 994961934: 25ASUS UL50Vf with NVIDIA Optimus (1.3GHz Core 2 Duo, integrated GMA) 37248276: 10ASUS UL50Vf with NVIDIA Optimus (1.3GHz Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA G210M) 404934383: 57Lenovo ThinkPad Edge (1.3GHz Core 2 Duo, GMA) 29559055: 12Acer Aspire 5738PG ( 2.55GHz Core 2 Duo, ATI Radeon 4570) 40493098N / A

However, when fully open by switching to Nvidia GT335M graphics card, the score with the PCMarkVantage3 program increased to 3,141 points and to 5,593 points with 3DMark06 (but still much lower than the 6,100). points that Alienware announced). Continuing to experiment with the game Crysis, the device runs at the default resolution, 2x anti-aliasing reaches at Very High setting at 8 frames / sec, High level is 15 frames / second, 20 to 30 frames per second at Medium and cannot set the 4x AA Very High setting. With the BioShock game at the highest setting, it reaches 120 frames per second, when the game scene has a lot of water or action phase, this speed drops to 55 frames per second.

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Alienware brand is enough to "satisfy" many gamers. Photo: Engadget .

When switching to GMA 4500 MHD graphics chip, with low voltage processor support, the machine has an average continuous use of about 4 hours and 30 minutes. However, when using Nvidia GT335M, the machine emits significantly greater heat and battery life is only about 2 hours. So if gamers want a longer time to use when moving a lot, they may have to buy themselves a second battery. A little unfortunate is that NVIDIA Optimus conversion technology on M11x is not really good, the graphics chip converter uses a bit slow and sometimes incorrectly.

If only evaluating performance, of course M11x cannot match its "terrible" siblings but overall, in terms of price, performance and products in the same line, M11x has no Player level. Of course, if you weigh, battery life is not the most important condition when a person wants to own it.