All stories eventually come true - Douglas Hayward
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Dell packs a gaming notebook into a netbook
DELL HAS LAUNCHED a rather odd but quite impressive gaming laptop packed into a form generally associated with a netbook.
Coming under the Alienware brand, the M11x was showcased at CES, but is now available to the roving masses. It packs in an Intel ultra low voltage Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor running at 1.3GHz, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory at 1066MHz, a Geforce GT 335M graphics card with 1GB of dedicated GDDR3 memory and your choice of a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive or a 256GB SSD.
As you might expect, the M11x runs 64-bit Window 7 Ultimate edition and packs in all the usual connectivity options in including 802.11n WiFi, HDMI, three USB ports, card reader and firewire as well as Displayport and an optional 3G modem available. All of this is stuffed into a chassis with an 11-inch screen and weighing in at around two kilograms.
Dell reckons that its 'mini beast' clocks up a respectable 3DMark 06 score of 6,100, although how it would fare under the much more current 3DMark Vantage will have to remain to be seen once we get one into our lab. It also boasts eight and half hours of battery life, but we only imagine that's not going to be the case when you're taking down Onyxia or headshotting noobs.
Reminiscent of Robin Williams' character of the genie in Disney's Aladdin who decries the plight of the genie by saying, "PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS! ... Itty-bitty living space," we're not quite sure who the M11x is trying to appeal to as the concept of playing some of the latest high-def games on such a small screen can't be all that attractive.
With the price tag starting at £749, whether or not the M11x will be a success remains to be seen, but regardless it's certainly an impressive feat of engineering. µ
Tags: Dell
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but if I'm paying an extra few hundred dollars for something just because it says Alienware on it, I'd at least like to get the "latest" GPU, even if it's just the latest die shrink of 3-year old tech. The 300 series *is* slightly faster, even if it's just from higher clocks and/or DDR5.
How in the HELL nV manages to keep hanging on in benchmarks by revising the 9-series is for another article, but just goes to show ATi has a ways to go if their latest 5000-series tech is head-to-head with the 300-series, die shrinks that they are.
Curremt Nvidia m335?
Please.. It's a rebranded 9800+.... <<
wow, what a feat of engineering.
too bad they can't seem to update their main 15" and 17" offerings with current-generation GPUs, or offer comparable specs to other gaming notebooks for the price.
right now this M11x is the only thing they have even close to worth the price, or with a current nV 300-series GPU.
"It packs in an Intel ultra low voltage Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor running at 1.3GHz"
No it does not, that CPU is an add-on for an extra $100
And please don't use terms like 'high-def games', as high-def games have been around a lot longer than high-def tv, high-def audio, high-def Blue Blocker sunglasses or high-def ice cream.
That's all. Thank you.
PS. I miss Fudo. Buy him out and bring him back, please.
Looks ok, and so long as it can play most games at medium settings I think it will appeal to quite a lot of gamers looking for a laptop.
I think the intended audience for this is someone that has a heavy duty-desktop rig, but wants something portable for when they have to leave the big beast at home.
It sounds like it blends battery life, usability, and game-playing muscle well to me. This is for someone who wants to be able to check on their WoW Account on the go, but then be able to shift into a netbook-like role when they don't need the high performance.
Throw in a rotating multi touch screen and this would really be a win machine.
Oh well, back to gaming on my touchsmart HP :)
Sounds like it would make an awesome workstation laptop. Wont have a battery life, but I think I've got just the use for that if the price is right.
I've played games on my 12" laptop, and I thought things were quite tiny. I wouldn't expect to play any MMORPG on this, you'll probably find the text quite hard to read.
11"? It should be fine for mindless FPS type games, not to mention this model has an icky 16:9 screen. I dunno, I just don't quite see it with this model, especially at this price.
As for the video in it, even though it's a doggedly slow card compared to standard desktop models, it probably won't have any trouble running a 1366x768 screen.
back to school for you mr WOW; the M11x is capable of 720p which IS high-def. you really should ensure you have full 'understanding' of the facts before you incorrectly correct someone and make yourself look foolish.
"we're not quite sure who the M11x is trying to appeal to as the concept of playing some of the latest high-def games..."
Probably trying to appeal to people with more understanding of high-def than a certain Mr. Williams
The front looks like Kitt form knight rider.
I think this will be my new "Netbook". Definitely more worth the money than an iPad, as it does quite a bit more and even with default specs (2GB RAM, 160GB, Windows 7 Home 64bit), you get a machine that can work and play.