The Alienware M11x is a thin and (somewhat) light notebook with an 11.6 inch display, an Intel CULV processor, and some seriously powerful graphics capabilities which make the M11x the first budget 11.6 inch laptop that gamers can truly love. And the folks at Hardware Heaven are apparently in love. They’ve published the first review of the M11x that I’ve seen, and they conclude that it’s one of the best products they’ve ever reviewed.

The laptop is a bit heavy for an ultraportable, weighing in at 4.5 pounds. And it has the same angular shape as other Alienware laptops, which might be a turnoff for those looking for a sleek machine for use on the go. But here’s where the Alienware M11x stands apart: It can handle 720p and 1080p HD video playback, and it can handle 3D video games at 720p resolutions.It also has a backlit keyboard, which is rare on a budget ultraportable.

The laptop has two graphics processors. For day to day tasks such as web browsing, Intel’s integrated graphics will probably do the trick. But when you want to play games, you can hit Fn+F6 to fire up the NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M GPU without rebooting. It features 1GB of dedicated video memory, DirectX 10.1 support, and Blu-Ray acceleration, among other features.It can handle recent games including Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Dirt 2 without breaking a sweat.

Of course, you’ll sacrifice some battery life if you switch from integrated to dedicated graphics. While you can surf the web for about 5.75 hours with integrated graphics, you’ll get less than 4 hours of HD video playback with the GeForce graphics, and just over 2 hours of gaming time.

The Alienware M11x is available for pre-order from Dell for $799 and up. Make sure to hit up Hardware Heaven for the complete review if you’re considering this laptop.

Update: IGN and Pocket Lint have also published reviews of the M11x.

via Netbook Choice

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13 replies on “Alienware M11x gaming ultraportable reviewed, loved”

  1. Nice specs and decent price, but heavy and boxy.

    Howeverm, anything over 4 lbs is a “mostly stay at home” device at which point there are other laptops you could get that have just as good of specs and just as good a screen with maybe a bigger screen for just a tiny bit more weight.

  2. Awesome machine, but man that’s a lot of money when you start adding features…

  3. Every reviewer seems to give this unit high marks. The battery life isn’t bad considering what it is doing. I give Alienware credit for trying something a bit different.

  4. “Dirt 2 without breaking a sweat” what an unusual game title.
    How about:
    “Dirt 4 2 with Sweets”?
    After all, it is almost Valentine’s Day.
    😉

    1. It’s saying that it can handle those games ‘without breaking a sweat’. That isn’t the game’s name!

  5. Pre-ordered this thing the minute it showed up on my employer discount site $800 is nice but 10% off is better. 😀

    Now it just needs to SHIP!

  6. Just from the specs alone, this would be one to watch..
    Does anyone know when an ultraportable model like this will appear for sale on PCtorque and other less “flashy” laptop sellers..
    Alienware is great but I’d be ok with a business laptop with similar specs and hardware that was not an Alienware gaming laptop etc.
    And, by the way, the inlcusion of Firewire is AWESOME!!!

  7. Great review, but to be fair, hardwareheaven gives excellent marks to all the laptops they review. Almost every laptop reviewed gets a reward or recommendation or editors choice.

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