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MacBook Air or Alienware M11x?
- Thread starter Cerano
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I've been looking over the MX11 and I have to say it is impressive. Basically at the same price point of the MBA, but you get a better GPU, CPU, and storage.
With that said, the case looks rather ungainly and that red backlit keyboard seems rather ugly. To be honest, I'd be a little self conscience in whipping that out at my local starbucks. The MBA is classy looking, and looks/feels solidly built.
My question is, how useful is a 11" gaming laptop, the case is large, and heavy. How useful will the GPU/CPU really be. For my needs raw speed is not crucial, at least not for the 11" laptop. That's why I have a quad core i7-930. I wonder how many folks who love to game will spend the $$ for a really great gaming rig. That means will they really want/use the MX11?
With that said, the case looks rather ungainly and that red backlit keyboard seems rather ugly. To be honest, I'd be a little self conscience in whipping that out at my local starbucks. The MBA is classy looking, and looks/feels solidly built.
My question is, how useful is a 11" gaming laptop, the case is large, and heavy. How useful will the GPU/CPU really be. For my needs raw speed is not crucial, at least not for the 11" laptop. That's why I have a quad core i7-930. I wonder how many folks who love to game will spend the $$ for a really great gaming rig. That means will they really want/use the MX11?
I don't know.. I mean, I was about to buy one, but I went in the other direction and got the laptop in my sig. Is a 4-ish pound 11 inch laptop with real hardware really considered heavy? Apple, you spoil us!
Clarification: You can change the colors of the lights or turn them off entirely.
It seems like the OP doesn't particularly have a need for an MBA. I'm not hating on it at all, I might be selling said laptop to pay for one!
If your needs are simple, the 11" MBA makes a great netbook replacement...even a slight upgrade.
If gaming is your number one consideration, I wouldn't consider any Mac in existence. The gaming library for Wintel computers is so much larger. Sure you can Bootcamp a Mac but its still not going to rival even cheap Windows notebooks.
If gaming is your number one consideration, I wouldn't consider any Mac in existence. The gaming library for Wintel computers is so much larger. Sure you can Bootcamp a Mac but its still not going to rival even cheap Windows notebooks.
gaming isnt really my biggest consideration
attractiveness is one of them, follow by speed and then weight.
ill be only playing MW2 on medium settings or so to kill time in school but most of the time its with youtube or word processing. no media encoding and stuff
attractiveness is one of them, follow by speed and then weight.
ill be only playing MW2 on medium settings or so to kill time in school but most of the time its with youtube or word processing. no media encoding and stuff
The macbook air will definitely benefit you more I think.
In terms of everyday speed, the SSD included with the macbook air will make it seem extremely zippy and fast/powerful.
The battery life of the macbook air is very good too, and will ultimately lead to less hassle.
The 320m will easily handle modern warfare2 in medium graphics at that resolution.
Alienware markets their computers as gaming machines, unlike apple, who markets their computers geared towards everyday usage and pro applications/workflows. The macbook air is every bit of a computer that's geared towards providing the optimal experience with everyday tasks.
In terms of everyday speed, the SSD included with the macbook air will make it seem extremely zippy and fast/powerful.
The battery life of the macbook air is very good too, and will ultimately lead to less hassle.
The 320m will easily handle modern warfare2 in medium graphics at that resolution.
Alienware markets their computers as gaming machines, unlike apple, who markets their computers geared towards everyday usage and pro applications/workflows. The macbook air is every bit of a computer that's geared towards providing the optimal experience with everyday tasks.
That's where you have to decide. The Alienware can do everything (system wise) the MBA can, but the MBA can't do everything the Alienware can do.
But, the MBA looks nicer and lasts longer for general tasks such as typing and browsing.
You have to decide what you're willing to give up.
If all you want to play is mw2 then go for the macbook air. My baseline 13inch can play mw2 at native res with no problem at all. (No AA, shadows. still looks like xbox 360 graphics!)
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attractiveness, speed, weight - you just described a Macbook Air.
this thing is beautiful, fast and light. it feels as fast as an iPad and definitely much faster than my iMac with 2.8GHz processor. windows and applications open and close in a blink of an eye. I very much doubt that any computer with Windows 7 can be faster than this in real life usage.
As an owner of both, if I had to choose between the two I'd pick the M11x. I paid less for M11x and it outpaces the MBA in every respect. Both score very high in attractiveness in my opinion. I also love that the M11x is rather unique among college users, everyone has a Mac at my university.
Portability wise the M11x isn't terrible, but its heavy for its size. It really boils down to what your needs are. I bought the M11x for gaming and it does that very well.
Portability wise the M11x isn't terrible, but its heavy for its size. It really boils down to what your needs are. I bought the M11x for gaming and it does that very well.
ImperialX said:
pvmacguy said:
I completely agree with you two on the graphics and RAM. But as far as the processor is concerned, the C2D in my 4 year old Blackbook dominates over the C2D in the MBA11.
My blackbook has a 2.0 GHz processor, albeit a merom. But even with a Penryn, MBA C2D simply cannot overcome the 600/400 Mhz deficiency in clock speed. Here is the notebookcheck comparison:
Unfortunately, they have no data on the 1.6Ghz version. But since they are based off the same core, scale up by 14%. Even then, it is still slower.
Sure, they are not of the same class(MBA's TDP is lower) but my point still stands. Apple is continuing to use what are essentially the same old processors in the MBAs and the MBP13.
Ugh... I wouldn't compare the MBA to a CR-Z. That car sucks in every way possible. It gets crappy mileage for a hybrid and is too heavy and underpowered to perform in any meaningly sporty fashion. I'd compare the MBA to maybe Mini or sporty 500 Abarth. Small, cute, chic and have a surprising amount of power under the hood.
Going back on topic, I'd be wary of the m11x. A lot of owners seem to be having issues with faulty hinges.
I completely agree with you two on the graphics and RAM. But as far as the processor is concerned, the C2D in my 4 year old Blackbook dominates over the C2D in the MBA11.
My blackbook has a 2.0 GHz processor, albeit a merom. But even with a Penryn, MBA C2D simply cannot overcome the 600/400 Mhz deficiency in clock speed. Here is the notebookcheck comparison:
Unfortunately, they have no data on the 1.6Ghz version. But since they are based off the same core, scale up by 14%. Even then, it is still slower.
Sure, they are not of the same class(MBA's TDP is lower) but my point still stands. Apple is continuing to use what are essentially the same old processors in the MBAs and the MBP13.
Ok, you've done the comparison against the low-end 11". Now do it against the high-end 2.13GHz C2D with 6MB of L2 and a 1066MHz FSB. I suspect that that will spank your Macs botty.
Cheers,
jahman
Guys you really need to stop comparing specs. This tiny thing doesn't need plenty of raw power to run Snow Leopard as smoothly as ever. This is true of most Macs but especially of the MBA. Put Windows 7 in it and maybe things will change, but all you need to do right now is try one. The only bottleneck here is just the user's brain and hands 