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M11x review - GNandGS

post #1 of 18
Thread Starter 
Been looking at this model for some time. Given the uncertainties of refresh config/price in my market I took the bait. Been using 17" Dell systems for years but the battery life attracted me with this system. Portability WITH power was appealing.

Specs:

This is a "loaded" system. Dell Malaysia, even the online ordering, prepackages systems with items that are options in other markets. Ex: bluetooth. What I do NOT have by purchasing from retail is a bundled extended warranty or mobile broadband option.
...some of the important bits...
SU7300 CPU
4GB Ram
Nvidia GeForce GT 335M
500GB HD
Win7 HomePrem 64

What's in the Box:

In my case, there were extra items. Though not IN the box, they were included. DVD writer, backpack, and a collection of laptop extras (mouse/pad/cooler etc). Otherwise its standard fare....

Laptop, power supply (65w), Media, soft sleeve, manual, warranty info.

The box itself was well done. Good design, well protected, and the presentation or "teaser" as you dig in to get at the system was attractive

Design

Great! May not be for everyone. Default color zones in red was a no-go for me. The M11x is much less likely to grab attention though than the larger siblings.

Screen:

Similar screen quality to other glossy screens. You might not like the reflections but this depends on you use. For me no problem.

Keyboard

No keypad (dont need) but you can always move to external KB or even just external keypad if needed.

Keys are backlit and one of the zones you can change colors for. Each key is sized ok except for arrow keys. Should be bigger but VERY difficult to do given case size. A smaller shift key and losing one of the windows keys might have helped.

You may see some uneven looking keys. This is sometimes an illusion but other users have reported that there is actually a bowing effect that has some keys higher than others. Im not seeing any issue yet.

Touchpad

One of the best touchpad setups I've used. Well done.

Features:

System has a good list of features for ME, you might have different tastes. One big thing I have to have is BT.

Multimedia Keys

Volume controls and other AW specific functions are in the top row activated by FN (Function) button.

LEDS

Lots of LEDs!
Zone lighting
Active camera
Connectivity
Charge level
Charge state
... more!

Wifi

No issues with wifi that I can tell. Performance is normal.

Speakers

Average. Not sure if better than other small systems! Compared to the larger Dell systems I was using the M11x is not as nice to listen too or as loud.

Input and Output Ports

Front:

zip zero nada

Webcam Pictures

Not testing but appears to be average.

Right Side:

2USB, 3 audio. Depending on what is used for connection and if you are right handed you may finding yourself moving mouse hand to a less natural position.


Left Side:

1USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, Multi-Card reader, Firewire


Rear:

Power!


Bottom:

Big vent/fan visible

Benchmarks

Not yet!

Size and Weight

Compared to? Certainly much easier than prior system!

Heat and Noise

No issues. You might notice fan noise if in quiet environment

Battery Life

Good! Looks like my config at the moment will give 4hrs+


Software

Facial Recognition! I like it, others do not.
LED/look&feel controls
Graphic switching is software so I include here

Accessories

Bundled into the price was the DELL branded USB DVD r/w, carry bag, accessories kit


Pros: In list form, summarize the pros
Everything everyone else says.

Cons: In list form, summarize the cons
Poor quality control on assembly and MB/CPU issues with overclock. Support was great though and issues are resolved.

Conclusion:
I like it!
LL
LL
LL
LL
LL
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LL
LL
LL
post #2 of 18
Thread Starter 
I mentioned there were issues... yes! Its true! Lets tell the whole story though:

The Dell store (authorized reseller) had a friendly sales staff so things went quite smooth.

Nearly anything is negotiated in Malaysia and laptops are no different. I had come prepared to haggle using a printout I had taken from the Dell online store. Clever me right? Not so much. Because this market doesnt have all the config options online and ZERO for retail the pricing is pretty much a constant. No coupons for online to play with (usually) means that retail shop might be best value.

Anywho, I had a printout showing a price less than what I was being quoted after haggling. Throwing that out all triumphant I showed the sales rep the sheet to prove that yes, Dell online was a better price. The punchline is that he quite simply stated that it didnt include the "extras". Doh! The online price didnt include the DVD burner or accessories kit. If included in the online price would be just slightly higher than the retail shop. Naturally since there is very little config online the rep knew everything in advance. So NO I was NOT clever that day.

First problem was that I had purchased on a Thursday while on an errand for work and did not have time (working!) to test anything. The sales rep had booted into BIOS for me before leaving store but that was all. Friday morning I was leaving town and planned to take the system along. Get home late Thurs all excited!

What the *@$&!


Hrrm... diag tool


If you looked closely at the above, its saying basically that the HD is dead/gone/missing.

Not sure if I would end up returning the unit or not I opted to not open anything but contact support. Here is where non US purchases can get a bit painful: no after hours support and no chat option for this unit/market. I falsified the service tag and got some chat going. Nice guy. Tried. Not able to assist and couldnt find my actual service tag in system.

Well its 10pm so what to do? Fix it my self thats what. It just HAD to be a connection issue!



Yeah, the screws were not mounted for the SATA bracket. The panel had held it all in place. At first glance I didnt see the screws and just pushed the drive back into place. It fit snug but the gap reminded me of back-in-the-day laptop service I used to do and some systems would have a rubber/foam spacer in cases like this so I started to make my own when I spotted the screws. Button it up and IT WORKED!

During the weekend I discovered that when overclocked the system would not boot. It would get to "Starting Windows" and just hang. Same place every time. Never a BSOD. Turn off OC and all is well.

Call Dell support (Malaysia) Monday and again got friendly support person. This guy was on the ball and after determining I had already checked for matching memory and BIOS update he states that all we can do is have a tech come out. I ask what his instructions for the tech to bring are and he says the MB! Good I say as the online consensus is exactly that response is required.

Next day a tech calls and comes out and swaps the bits over.



He had not serviced a lot of these systems and it wasnt clear if mine was #1 or not. Methodical approach to disassembly made me feel better though and we chatted some about what other issues are showing in system. My problem is rare he says but guessed its because the unit sales are lower here. He DID say a number of graphic cards had failed but guessed again that in those cases the users are OC'ing the GT335!

After assembly we loaded up a utility to load the CPU. Tech waited for about 7 minutes of 90% CPU before I commented that he need not wait longer. We both checked the casing for extreme temps and noted nothing unusual and he left. Test finished normally.



Its now a been 3dmark tested and I just finished encoding some video all ok so far. No hinge/screen or KB issues EXCEPT that I think one corner of kb might be higher than the others.
post #3 of 18
Very nice

cheers ...
post #4 of 18
Nice! Welcome to the club.
post #5 of 18
Thread Starter 
Thanks! I have a theory about the KBs that is the kb frame gets warped or bent. I should have taken a closer look at it when apart to see how it was made.

Anyway what little bit I see in the KB is very minor. If it bothers me later I'll pull it and see.
post #6 of 18
I would think that they have enough experience now at AW/Dell about assembling and packing up this cool machine. Hope that was all the issue you were having.

cheers ...
post #7 of 18
Indexed!

cheers ...
post #8 of 18
Thread Starter 
Added some benchmarks but let me first comment on extended warranty options for Malaysian market...

If you buy retail you CANNOT get extended warranty plans from the retailer. I knew this in advance but did not realize the price would be so different.

Online:
3-year Premier Service with 3-year CompleteCover = RM 470 (2yr is <400)

After retail purchase:
3-year Premier Service with 3-year CompleteCover = RM 1,700 (2yr is 1,350)

But HEY they emailed me an RM50 discount voucher! Bleh. Really disappointed with this and plan to see if I can negotiate this down. The warranty extension for Inspiron is RM769 for the 2 year version of above for retail buyers so it should be at least like that.

Being in Malaysia you cannot engage the same support/sales channels - at least not on a Saturday.
post #9 of 18
Thread Starter 
The newer benchmarks will be verified soon enough so now some comments based on a comparison I just did with a Dell Studio 1558...

"Studio 1558 i5-M520 @ 2.4GHz with 4GB@1066 Ram"
Bootup to Facial Recognition search: same
Loading to desktop after login: same
Loading Adobe Illustrator CS4: Studio=30sec / M11x=33sec
Loading Adobe Photoshop64: Forgot to time
Loading Adobe Photoshop64 (cached): Studio=3sec / M11x=5sec
No contest for 3dmark06/Vantage the M11x does much better. Studio performs like my old E1705

Encoding. In order to be consistent and save me a lot of hassle I used a benchmark utility. Realizing of course that what application is used will skew the results up or down I bring:

x264 HD BENCHMARK 3.0 RESULTS

M11x encode...
Quote:
Results for x264.exe r1342
--------------------------
encoded 1442 frames, 22.73 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 22.63 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 22.47 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 22.93 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 5.33 fps, 3970.94 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 5.43 fps, 3971.12 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 5.42 fps, 3970.90 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 5.43 fps, 3971.41 kb/s
Studio 1558 encode...
Quote:
Results for x264.exe r1342
--------------------------
encoded 1442 frames, 42.66 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 42.81 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 42.58 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 42.44 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 11.92 fps, 3970.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 11.93 fps, 3971.71 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 11.98 fps, 3971.63 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 12.00 fps, 3972.08 kb/s
i-series starts to shine here. I think with exception of a few applications that can use the video card this will be common. I might try an actual file in actual application after a bit.

Both systems using W7HP64bit
post #10 of 18
Thread Starter 
DV camera to AVI via firewire results in 2.26GB AVI file...

Convert AVI to SD WMV video of approx 250mb via Windows7 Movie Maker...

M11x: 8 minutes
Studio: 4 minutes
post #11 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by GNandGS View Post
Added some benchmarks but let me first comment on extended warranty options for Malaysian market...

If you buy retail you CANNOT get extended warranty plans from the retailer. I knew this in advance but did not realize the price would be so different.

Online:
3-year Premier Service with 3-year CompleteCover = RM 470 (2yr is <400)

After retail purchase:
3-year Premier Service with 3-year CompleteCover = RM 1,700 (2yr is 1,350)

But HEY they emailed me an RM50 discount voucher! Bleh. Really disappointed with this and plan to see if I can negotiate this down. The warranty extension for Inspiron is RM769 for the 2 year version of above for retail buyers so it should be at least like that.

Being in Malaysia you cannot engage the same support/sales channels - at least not on a Saturday.
Brilliant tip here GNandGS.

cheers ...
post #12 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by GNandGS View Post
The newer benchmarks will be verified soon enough so now some comments based on a comparison I just did with a Dell Studio 1558...

"Studio 1558 i5-M520 @ 2.4GHz with 4GB@1066 Ram and Samsung HM500 HD"
Bootup to Facial Recognition search: same
Loading to desktop after login: same
Loading Adobe Illustrator CS4: Studio=30sec / M11x=33sec
Loading Adobe Photoshop64: Forgot to time
Loading Adobe Photoshop64 (cached): Studio=3sec / M11x=5sec
No contest for 3dmark06/Vantage the M11x does much better. Studio performs like my old E1705

Encoding. In order to be consistent and save me a lot of hassle I used a benchmark utility. Realizing of course that what application is used will skew the results up or down I bring:

x264 HD BENCHMARK 3.0 RESULTS

M11x encode...


Studio 1558 encode...


i-series starts to shine here. I think with exception of a few applications that can use the video card this will be common. I might try an actual file in actual application after a bit.

Both systems using W7HP64bit
It would be interesting when some members here with a refresh m11x (core-i5) take on this test and update the benchmark.

cheers ...
post #13 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
It would be interesting when some members here with a refresh m11x (core-i5) take on this test and update the benchmark.

cheers ...


Kind of curious to see what the ULV Core i-series processors are like compared to my C2D ULV.
post #14 of 18
Thread Starter 
Im very curious too... I think though that for encoding tasks there will not be much diff across brands when similar supported hardware is used.
post #15 of 18
BIOS and chipset drivers play a large role in how a comp performs to its full potential.

cheers ...
post #16 of 18

External Disc Drive??

thanks for your review! I see lots of good video's about this MX11 laptop and Dell is running a good deal now where its delivered for $715 w/ 4 gb ram and 250 gb HD w/ bluetooth. i really don't want to splurge for the external harddrive but wondering if that's what everyone is doing if they are using this for gaming? I have some PC games on disc already. any other way I can use these games on the MX11 w/o buying the external drive? Yes, this kind of sounds dumb, but I have to ask if its possible?

I'm assuming everyone is downloading their games and buying them online if they are not using the external disc drive?

Any way to share the disc drive on one of my home PCs and install the game on the mx11 via the local network??

Thanks for your help in advance!

Rov
post #17 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by VTXRover View Post
thanks for your review! I see lots of good video's about this MX11 laptop and Dell is running a good deal now where its delivered for $715 w/ 4 gb ram and 250 gb HD w/ bluetooth. i really don't want to splurge for the external harddrive but wondering if that's what everyone is doing if they are using this for gaming? I have some PC games on disc already. any other way I can use these games on the MX11 w/o buying the external drive? Yes, this kind of sounds dumb, but I have to ask if its possible?

I'm assuming everyone is downloading their games and buying them online if they are not using the external disc drive?

Any way to share the disc drive on one of my home PCs and install the game on the mx11 via the local network??

Thanks for your help in advance!

Rov

You should be able to install games on network drives but:

- most profiles are being saved to local registries (security, licensing issue)
- can experience slow down during main game engines (levels, game data ...) access over the network

cheers ...
post #18 of 18
Thread Starter 
For install I have an external CD drive... none of my games were purchased online. If you have good luck with steam or other online sources then that will work and you can skip the ext CD setup. I say get one anyway though.
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