[GadgetBoi]

Here is a review that may provide some good info for you:
Alienware M11x Notebook Review - Introduction - HardwareHeaven.com

[pablodiablo696996]

if u buy the ram and a solid state drive from an outside source u can save plenty.

[cstaats]

Through March 1, Alienware laptops are subject to 10% off for the EPP program. Just do a search on Bing for "dell epp" and the first link will take you to their site.

EPP is open to government employees, students, and any company that has an EPP contract with them.

My config is the base plus these addons:

+Core2Duo SU7300
+4GB RAM
+250GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
+Bluetooth 2.1+EDR

Total price shipped = $955

Wow. Saved me about $100 off the non-EPP config.

Cheers,
Charlie

[cstaats]

Woo! Just ordered my M11x.

Cheers,
Charlie

[markb]

starting price is US$799 or £749!! Tossers. That's a worse mark-up than Apple or Adobe, who are usually the biggest rip-offs.

[cstaats]

Originally Posted by markb

starting price is US$799 or £749!! Tossers. That's a worse mark-up than Apple or Adobe, who are usually the biggest rip-offs.

Mark,

First off dude, Mac is not a rip-off. You're just thinking short-term in regard to computer purchases. In the school where I work we have Macs that outlived PCs (that were about half the cost of the Macs) by 3+ years. Usually it was more like 5. Apple computers are 1) built better with better components and materials, 2) last longer than less expensive PCs, and 3) incorporate design that is unique and lasting, especially those that use metal casing.

But Macs aren't the topic here.

The M11x is a killer machine for the price because you are getting midrange gaming abilities for under $1k. In the US we have the Employee Purchase Program that saved me just over $100 on mine, making the model with the C2D, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD, and BT 2.1+EDR $955 shipped. That's not a bad deal if you ask me. Especially when you factor in the ability to plug in to a larger monitor at home. Plus, have you seen the battery life on it?

Cheers,
Charlie

[Snagtooth]

You tempted me greatly Charlie as I could have saved about $150 combined with my EPP and another coupon I had, but I survived the temptation.

I love the idea of the M11x, but with my little guy's love of Elmo, touch games and such I think the ipad is a much better fit for me in the long run. I know there are some Apple haters out there and understand the capabilities of the M11x far exceed the ipad, but in my case it really is a case of form and function meeting my needs better. Just wish the ipad had flash support and could do some minimal multi-tasking.

Anywhoo, report back and share some pics when you get yours. Who knows, maybe I can figure out a way to really justify both without the wife becoming seriously disgusted with me. LOL

[lauriem04]

Must we start up the "Why Macs are Better than PCs" debate again? I don't get the impression that markb was trying to cast aspersions on Macs or describing the hardware itself as a rip-off. I think he was just complaining about the mark-up in the currency conversion from dollars to pounds. I don't blame him for being upset about that, either - at today's exchange rate, $799 converts to a starting price of about 511 GBP. To go from there to a starting price of 749 GBP is a huge mark-up!

[cstaats]

Yeah, I can see that. The exchange rates can be pretty harsh. I know Steam was doing that with their prices on games. Kinda lame, but then again, if we want them to stay in business, they have to make their profit.

BTW I'm not a Mac fanboy here, just that I hear so much complaining about the cost of computers...people need to realize that it is better to wait, save up, buy a more expensive computer that will last than to get an el cheapo and get it home and expect it to run Crysis.

Just my 2c, that's all.

I apologize if offended anyone. :X

Cheers,
Charlie

[cstaats]

Originally Posted by Snagtooth

You tempted me greatly Charlie as I could have saved about $150 combined with my EPP and another coupon I had, but I survived the temptation.

I love the idea of the M11x, but with my little guy's love of Elmo, touch games and such I think the ipad is a much better fit for me in the long run. I know there are some Apple haters out there and understand the capabilities of the M11x far exceed the ipad, but in my case it really is a case of form and function meeting my needs better. Just wish the ipad had flash support and could do some minimal multi-tasking.

Anywhoo, report back and share some pics when you get yours. Who knows, maybe I can figure out a way to really justify both without the wife becoming seriously disgusted with me. LOL

I'll be sure to do that. Ever since I got my 11z dual-core I just couldn't help but really like the form factor. I can run Visual Studio on it for school, play a few basic games (limited by the 4500MHD) and listen to music all at once without a hiccup. For example, the other day I was transcoding a PostScript file to PDF, listening to music in the Zune software, and playing Serious Sam HD all at once and everything was running smooth as silk. That's with a Pentium SU4100 (1.3, 2MB cache) 2GB DDR2 RAM and a 5400RPM hard drive on Win7 Pro x64. The CPU temp jumped to 209F but it cam down quickly. And the 11z's active cooling is barely a step above passive. I know that 11.6" seems small, but that 1366x768 display on my 11z just works great. I'm excited that I'll have a small form factor laptop that can a) run virtualization b) runs 64-bit, c) uses DDR3 RAM and a 7200RPM drive, and d) can play most modern games at 30+ frames per second. Plus we get the best of both worlds by being able to turn off the discrete graphics and enable the Intel 4500M integrated for 6-8 hours of battery life. Plus the backlit keyboard is awesome. That's a big point for me anymore as it really helps when you're on the couch watching Netflix with the lights off.

What more could you ask for in a mobile laptop?

Cheers,
Charlie