MacBook Air or Alienware M11x?

[Cerano]

Hey guys im really torn between the two now.

Im still waiting for SITEX which is a large computer exhibition in Singapore at the end of this month but as the price stands now

the MBA 11.6" 4GB Ram 64GB SSD is about $1500-1600 SGD

while the M11x is only 1680 SGD with a Core I5 1.033ghz with turbo to 1.80ghz and a GT 335M.. The 335M is easily twice as powerful as the 320M i checked on futuremark while the Core i5 is probably 2-3 times? maybe more powerful?

I respect the Apple's weight,form factor and looks that thus the fact that is a chick killer but the Alienware is pretty tempting now.

Cause its an alienware...

I dont know can anyone advise?

I dont do video editing, photo editing i only watch youtube vids, play games like MW2 and movies sometimes 1080p or less.

I carry it alot

 

[happyslayer]

The Alienware will game better

The 11.6 Air will be lighter, thinner, easier to carry.

The Alienware will run Windows7

the 11.6 Air Will run Mac OSX (and Windows7 in Bootcamp if you buy the media)

So, you must ask yourself...

Is gaming more important than weight, thinness and OSX?

Personally, I really prefer OSX to Win7, especially on laptops so the Air is and was my choice. Also if you install Windows7 in Bootcamp, it will still do a fair job gaming, even on the 320m because your resolution is only 1366x768.

But if gaming is your prime concern, go with the Alienware since it WILL game better and you wont be giving up hard drive space with an OSX partition and you can put more games on it.

Anyway, that's my take on it.

 

[Abstract]

Get the Alienware.

The computer is a tool. You have different needs than the typical MBA customer because you want to game. The Alienware has far better specs, and will do what you want.

 

[Cerano]

personally ive never owned a mac before so im quite curious
and i intend to bring this to class so im thinking the alienware's weight might be a problem (having said that the lighting is pretty cool)

however it will only be for when im out because I have an Ipad an Iphone and a windows primary at home

 

[Jaro65]

Since you plan on carrying it a lot, I would go with an MBA. The specs don't tell the whole story: it is one great machine.

 

[Abstract]

...and i intend to bring this to class so im thinking the alienware's weight might be a problem (having said that the lighting is pretty cool)

Nobody at MR has ever made the argument, even several months ago, that the 13" MBP is a fantastic laptop to bring to classes due to its light weight, small size, good battery life, and decent specs. Nope, nobody at all.

And now a 4.4lb laptop is "heavy" and not very portable. I guess people who lived in mid-2010 and earlier were just stronger than laptop owners in late-2010. Even 2 months ago, people carried 4.5 lb laptops to class.


If you want the MBA, then get the MBA. You don't need excuses. I thought you'd be better off with the 11.6" Alienware because it sounds like you want speed, and the Alienware will give you the ability to play games today and in the future. If speed isn't necessary, then just get the MBA.

I doubt the 4.4 lbs that you won't be able to carry it around in your backpack. I carry my 15" MBP around with me almost every day, and although I'm incredibly ripped and muscles bulge from every part of my body, I think average guys like yourself will be able to handle 4.4 lbs on your back.

 

[Cerano]

Nobody at MR has ever made the argument, even several months ago, that the 13" MBP is a fantastic laptop to bring to classes due to its light weight, small size, good battery life, and decent specs. Nope, nobody at all.

And now a 4.4lb laptop is "heavy" and not very portable. I guess people who lived in mid-2010 and earlier were just stronger than laptop owners in late-2010. Even 2 months ago, people carried 4.5 lb laptops to class.


If you want the MBA, then get the MBA. You don't need excuses. I thought you'd be better off with the 11.6" Alienware because it sounds like you want speed, and the Alienware will give you the ability to play games today and in the future. If speed isn't necessary, then just get the MBA.

I doubt the 4.4 lbs that you won't be able to carry it around in your backpack. I carry my 15" MBP around with me almost every day, and although I'm incredibly ripped and muscles bulge from every part of my body, I think average guys like yourself will be able to handle 4.4 lbs on your back.

+1

damn this is one hard decision

thing is i dont think its so much that i need the speed but rather that i feel im overpaying for a C2D system

 

[Cerano]

Since you plan on carrying it a lot, I would go with an MBA. The specs don't tell the whole story: it is one great machine.

thanks mate

 

[SidBala]

I carry a 6.6lb (MBP17) laptop to school everyday and I am not at all ripped and muscly. I think it is worth it for the sheer productivity it offers.

If the weight is your only concern, just get the Alienware. MBA is old tech - C2D?? My 4 year old BlackBook is faster than that.

Besides you want to do gaming.

Although one thing to consider is that the MBA does offer much better battery life, albeit at lower performance.

 

[major7]

If the weight is your concern get the Mac obviously... Alienware is heavy as hell! I considered having one in the past but as soon as i had one in my hands...oh boy....so much weight in a such a tiny thing....

Gaming -> Alienware

Anything Else -> Mac

Edit:

Alienware ... 2kg

Mac Air.......1,06 Kg

Edit 2:

I would get 2 mac's ))

 

[jahman]

Don't you think the keyboard on the M11x is hideous? It's back lit so why the hell did they have to paint white lines around all the keys? It's HIDEOUS! It may be a fantastic performer but I couldn't stare at that keyboard for hours. I'd throw up.

I've been carting a Dell XPS M1330 around for 3 years, which is a bit lighter than the Alienware and I've had enough of it. I'm not exactly a weakling either but have come to the conclusion that a nice, light machine for carrying around will be a god-send. If I were a student going to classes I'd go for the lighter option and use a desktop for gaming back in halls.

Cheers,

jahman

 

[Doc750]

Alienware+ iPad

/thread

 

[ImperialX]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

I carry a 6.6lb (MBP17) laptop to school everyday and I am not at all ripped and muscly. I think it is worth it for the sheer productivity it offers.

If the weight is your only concern, just get the Alienware. MBA is old tech - C2D?? My 4 year old BlackBook is faster than that.

Besides you want to do gaming.

Although one thing to consider is that the MBA does offer much better battery life, albeit at lower performance.

I doubt your 4 year old MacBook can beat the new MBA. Even without the SSD, the CPU and the RAM are not of the same class.

 

[KnightWRX]

while the Core i5 is probably 2-3 times? maybe more powerful?

No, not really. It's at most maybe 20-30% faster, in turbo mode, which means only 1 active core at 1.8 ghz (that frequency can only be achieved by turning off the 2nd core).

 

[Hankster]

You have to choose between playing games or ease of mobility. The Alienware will run games much better (I have one) but your MBA is easier to carry around.

If gaming is a must then go with the Alienware because you're going to be more ticked off when a game doesn't run smooth rather than having to carry around an extra two pounds in a bag.

 

[Cerano]

You have to choose between playing games or ease of mobility. The Alienware will run games much better (I have one) but your MBA is easier to carry around.

If gaming is a must then go with the Alienware because you're going to be more ticked off when a game doesn't run smooth rather than having to carry around an extra two pounds in a bag.

gaming isnt really a must i dont mind turning the settings down low because sometimes i wanna kill time in school by playing modern warfare 2. and i think chicks dig the mac better but thats about the appeal of it.

the only reason im asking is that im wondering if i should follow the heart or the mind.

i dont know where to view an actual alienware over here

 

[maflynn]

The alienware is better specs, and depending on your intended usage, the M11x could be better.

The MBA will run OSX and has advantages, but speed is not one of them.

 

[Hellhammer]

Alienware is 11" but at least 4.39lb while 11" MBA is 2.5lb, thus Alienware is 75.6% heavier. You will definitely notice the extra weight if you carry it a lot, thus I would get MBA if the weight is crucial.

 

[stockscalper]

You've got to be kidding? You're comparing a Yugo to a Porsche and don't know which one to buy?

 

[Over Achiever]

gaming isnt really a must i dont mind turning the settings down low because sometimes i wanna kill time in school by playing modern warfare 2. and i think chicks dig the mac better but thats about the appeal of it.

the only reason im asking is that im wondering if i should follow the heart or the mind.

i dont know where to view an actual alienware over here

Well, you're here in this forum which sounds like you want to get the MBA and need an extra "push", but from your needs, the Alienware is a better fit for you. 4.4 lbs is not "too heavy"

The only thing you have to remember to not regret your purchase. It's going to be a computer you'll be using for the next 2-4 years. Will you regret the performance? The portability? Most people adapt to what they eventually end up buying.

 

[iMpathetic]

The m11x makes a nice Mac...
I
have seen a few in person. They're not heavy at all. Hell, I carry a 9.5lb laptop to class every day. 4.4lbs is not bad at all, plus so much more of the computer is user-upgradeable!

 

[Durious]

I'm a matrix kind of person so I think what you need to do is make a matrix of what is important to you and assign it values (i.e. high, medium, low or 1,2,3) and then assign values to each machine for categories like weight, gaming, battery life, and any other items you may value and that should give you an idea of overall what's more suitable.

In terms of pure power if you are not gaming as much the MBA can do pretty much anything and easily and with NO HEAT.. I've used multiple apps for entire days without this sucker heating up until I load wow or starcraft 2. I am about 100% certain the M11x can't compete in that arena. But if you want to play games on high settings than m11x is the top choice.

Also consider what type of games you play today and check the system requirements, perhaps the MBA can play them well, if not than it'll at least allow you to figure out which way to go.

As for the poster referring to "weight" as not being an issue you need to consider that portability is huge especially depending on what your using it for (i.e. university, college, etc). I realize that perhaps 1-2-3-4 years ago 10lbs wasn't a big deal but were evolving and should take advantage of size and weight of products especially if it fits our needs. I used to have a XPS Gen 2 (around 10 lbs) 6-7 years ago and while it blew most desktops and other laptops away in performance the thing was huge and the battery life was terrible and heated up way to quickly and wasn't comfortable to use. Looking back the primary purpose of buying the machine was for school but I got sucked into "entertainment" factors too heavily when making my decision....

Anyh00t... just one guys opinion!

 

[maflynn]

You've got to be kidding? You're comparing a Yugo to a Porsche and don't know which one to buy?

Given the specs of both, it seems you're inferring that the MBA is a yugo

Clearly the MX11 being an core i5 is much much faster then the MBA.

Again, if speed/performance is the criteria for the OP, then yeah the MX11 makes perfect sense.

If OSX, weight, mobility is of higher value then the MBA makes sense.

 

[sectime]

You've got to be kidding? You're comparing a Yugo to a Porsche and don't know which one to buy?

Which is which, in your drive by opinion ??

 

[pvmacguy]

If the weight is your only concern, just get the Alienware. MBA is old tech - C2D?? My 4 year old BlackBook is faster than that.

Have you even used one of the new MBA's because I guarantee the new ones are far superior and will out preform your 4 year old blackbook. Even the graphics cards in the new MBA's are 10x faster than that intel garbage in your blackbook.