Customer Reviews

Alienware AM11x-826CSB Gaming Laptop (Cosmic Black)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Im loving this laptop. I was looking for something small to surf the web, project stuff on powerpoint, and play games from time to time. I chicked out a lot of net books.

I was close to getting the Eeepc 1215 dual core atom with Ion graphics for 499. This laptop was $775. After a lot of research I decided to get the considerable extra power this laptop offers. Im glad I did! This laptop runs stuff great, boots quick, and handles Dragon Age origns, portal and civ 5 just fine (though civ struggles with high settings. Most games run great on this with mid to high settings.

I love plugging it into my TV via HDMI and using a wireless mouse/ keyboard. Bliss!

This is a well built little laptop. It feels really solid, and seems like it will be able to handle the little bumps and bruises it may get while on the road.

Downside? Hmm... I would have loved for it to be even lighter. It is 4.5 pounds. I also would have liked Nvidia optimus auto switching, but switching the graphics is just an FN+F6 away.

Dell offers more powerfull configurations (i3, i5, i7) for more money, and you can get the base model of this laptop for 599 a limited time. The current price on amazon is still a solid deal with the 320 gig drive, and 4 gigs of ram, no tax and free shipping.

Overall I am very, very satisfied with this laptop. If you want to be able to play games, and have an ultraportable sized laptop, this is hard to beat. And it has an awesome backlit keyboard!

**EDIT ** Jan 2012
Just a quick note to say that this laptop is still going strong after a year, and a lot of use. Still love it!

Let's get one thing straight: I do not game. But this laptop is perfect for everyone. Everything that is red in the photo can be changed to any color you wish by going to the alienware command center icon that is preloaded on the computer. Currently on mine I have the keyboard set as white and everything else set as yellow. Its fast too, except for when you are first starting up the internet. Also, if you are thinking about buying this uou should really buy it on Alienware.Com where it's customizable.

P.S. Don't install the disk that comes with the laptop because I did that and it deleted all of the drivers. It took me several hours on Dell.Com and a wired internet connection (it deleted the wi-fi drivers) to get them back on my computer.

P.S.S. This computer doesn't have a tray for disks so you'll have to buy an external optical drive. I reccomend the Targus DVD-ROM External USB 2.0 Drive because its all around amazing.

I was not expecting this little laptop to run so smoothly especially running games like bioshock and mass effect 2 at the highest settings its completely amazing! and switching the gpu to save battery life is incredible. The only thing i do not like so far is the reflective screen and the speakers are not very good. but this computer runs games much better than i would DREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought my M11x directly from dell, when it first came out. I beefed up the specs getting the dual core, biggest HDD and more memory etc. The computer for its size was/is a powerful rig. It plays some of the most recent titles when adjusting the settings properly and it makes for great portable entertainment. Selling point obviously is its reduced size without compromising performance.

After just a couple of months I found out that this laptop suffers a terrible design defect.. the hinges break after some usage (even after a few months!). It is an issue that is very well documented, look it up online! It doesn't matter if you're the most careful person with your laptop (like I am) you WILL still experience the issue because the hinges are flawed!!!!

I paid top dollar for this computer (specially because I beefed up the specs), and I'm so disappointed at dell for selling defective hardware. Alienware is not what it used to be any more. I don't think I will be buying an Alienware any more or at least not one that has not been extensively reviewed and tested by someone else. I will stick to ASUS for some time, they seem to be getting a lot of things right lately (I'm a proud owner of a G53jx3de and it rocks!!!).

I am amazed to see how fast and beautiful this laptop is. I had 3 netbooks and 2 11 inch laptops and none of them satisfied me so i sold them and the last one i just return it back to lenovo.
Since i am almost 40 my eyes are starting to ask for glasses i thought the screen was going to be to small but i dont see the difference of my 2 other 13 inch laptops
The keyboard light works great when typing in the dark my wife likes to watch netflix in the living room and turn the lights off i had to hook up my usb light and look for the keys of my other laptops now i am set.
- the integrated video card can be changed with a press of a key and save battery with the shared video card built inn.
- the size is great once you get used to the screen in a few days you will be more than happy. it weights a little more than a ultra portable 13 inch and definitely more than a netbook but the built and sturdiness of this laptop is better than anything out there in the market only Mac's have this quality of built.
I use it for Internet, (chrome) and office documents they open in a blink of an eye .. i tried some of my old games like doom 3 and battlefield and they play at full quality.
- the battery will last you around 6 -7 hours without gaming and around 3 hours gaming.
- I carry my alienware on my alienware backpack to work and back on my bike and you don't notice the 5 or 6 pounds ..
all over if you have the extra $ and you want to save a few $$ since you are not buying the latest one with the newest processor this is a good choice.

It is important to keep in mind when using this machine that it is a small form factor notebook. Comparing this to a desktop will only end badly but for what it is it performs amazingly.

Upon receiving the item I quickly updated all the drivers to the latest version, enabled overclock in the bios and found a very nifty option to auto disable the track pad when an external mouse is connected.

After getting everything setup to my likings (colors on the keyboard and other such things) I installed world of warcraft and left4dead 2 (using the preinstalled steam client, which also includes portal free for all alienware owners). Left4Dead 2 runs amazingly well, I never saw any lag even with large numbers of zombies on the screen. I tested it at a local bar while enjoying a few drinks and had many people asking how such a small machine was able to game so well.

World of Warcraft runs well at very high setttings, I get a reasonable 50 to 60 fps most of the time with small drops when I enter major cities or raids. Most of the time it works great, note that it can only clock about 35 fps on ultra high from what I have seen. On the screen size though very high looks fine and its hard to tell the difference.

Overall this is a great machine with a lot to love about it as long as you realize that this is no desktop replacement if you are a serious gamer. Don't go selling your tower and then crying when this doesn't live up to your Radeon 6970.

I've been on the hunt for some time for a laptop that would fit certain specific requirements:
1) Small and Portable
2) Excellent battery life
3) Excellent gaming performance

The M11x, I'm happy to say, basically hits the mark on all of these points.

It fits the bill for being small and portable. It could be a little bit lighter and thinner, hopefully in a future generation that will be the case. The battery life is fantastic compared to what I've been used to. When I'm running on integrated graphics mode (function-F6 to switch), I can get upwards of 5 hours of run time. That's using my webcam, browsing the web on wi-fi, listening to music, etc. When I switch over to gaming mode, I can still get in a solid 2 hours or so of game time.

Which brings me to the performance. I love to play World of Warcraft on the go. Being an older game it isn't extremely demanding, but it's still a pretty game and kept somewhat up-to-date graphics wise. It runs nearly flawlessly on the M11x. There's an occasional hiccup due to loading, but I always get a fluid and solid 45-60 fps running on "Good" quality. I recently tried playing a more modern game though, "Battlefield bad company 2", and the performance was very poor, nearly unplayable by my standards.

Overall I'd say my experience has been, if the game is pre-2010 it should run very well, but the latest games might run only on low settings or hardly at all.

Maybe some day someone will create a laptop that is thin, light, has excellent gaming performance, excellent battery life and produces no heat.. let me know when it arrives. For now though, the M11x is as close as it gets, bar none.

As a former Alienware Tech Support rep, I knew what to expect from the computer I was buying, and knowing the company and its products was one of the reasons why I decided to buy this laptop. Just as when I worked with the company, the product has certainly met my high expectations, and in the few days that I have owned it, it has given me a great performance and I am very pleased with my purchase. This is the smallest of the Alienwares, and as such has a small screen, but aside from that, everything is as I remember and expected from a "bleeding edge" technology computer.

I have read of many having issues with their laptop hinges breaking but mine is perfectly fine and I have had it for almost a year and a half now. I love it and would recommend this laptop to anyone. :) It's very fast and works well.

i got this machine laptop like a month ago been using it like non stop for downloads and every day use and intense gaming i'v played all my games on this Machine
i was even surprised a Core 2 duo :P there is i5 and i7 but the C2D is like the cheapest am happy with it i'v played MW2 Black Ops
Bad Company 2 Starcraft II Rift Beta Section 8 Red alert Street Fighter IV Just Cause 2 Need for speed hot purist 2010 this laptop played like all of my games on high settings the only games that demanded the Core 2 duo to overclock is Bad Comapny 2 and Black Ops the Rest of the games were fine i also used a software called i think game booster helps with Frame rates a bit

Down sides is only the Core 2 duo thats it but u can go to notebookreview they have legit things on OC this little machine

About the Hinge Problem didnt encounter Any at all the Battery Life stays up for like from 5-8 hours
The Screen is Reflective but not much of a big deal

But this Laptop is Tiny XD XD
but it's a nice machine