Compared to its predecessor there haven't been any changes to the case. The M11x R3 is clad in a futuristic - as if this could be any different for Alienware - design tailored for gamers. Several (adaptable) illuminated elements not only provide for fast orientation in the dark, but also look neat during the day. The red model tested by us included a very elegant color shade, whether closed or open: The subnotebook is definitely an eye catcher. We particularly liked the robust and pleasant rubbery soft-touch surfaces, which cover the bottom of the case, as well as the sides, and the display lid.

From the perspective of the build quality, the M11x R3 is manufactured according to the typical high Alienware standard, whereby our pre-series device showed two small faults. On the one hand the subnotebook didn't completely stand on the table top, since the right front corner was slightly raised. On the other hand, the palm resting area was not perfectly flush with the soft-touch surface on the right side, which caused a very sharp edge as a result. The materials made a high quality impression, with the exception of the somewhat appearingly cheap plastic on the palm resting area, and the M11x R3 is for the most part superior to the competition in this respect.

This subnotebook scores additional points with its good stability, with the exception of the display, the case is very rigid. Dirt is not a term that the M11x R3 is familiar with for the most part, merely the glossy display quickly accumulates fingerprints. The (not completely quiet) hinges also perform their task well; when opening the display the base unit does not follow, and shaking of the base unit doesn't cause the display to wobble either. Due to the weight of just about two kilograms, and a size of 286 x 233 x 33 mm, the 11 inch subnotebook can be transported easily.

Connectivity

The range of interfaces has above all else had an update of the USB ports. Instead of the three USB 2.0 ports that are included with the the previous models, the M11x R3 only has one USB 2.0 port (left), but instead also has two modern USB 3.0 ports (right).

Other than this the interfaces are more or less identical compared to the previous revision. Thus there is a Kensington Lock, a DisplayPort, and an HDMI output on the left side towards the back, whereby the latter two support the operation of external monitors. Towards the front in contrast, are a Gigabit LAN port (previously Fast Ethernet LAN), a card reader, as well as a Firewire port. The final ports are two audio outputs and an audio input, which are located on the right side.

For a subnotebook the connectivity is hence thoroughly sufficient; compared to a fully fledged gaming notebook there is nevertheless no optical drive, VGA output, ExpressCard slot, or an eSATA port. The arrangement of the interfaces meanwhile is less than optimal. Those that have many cables connected will quickly find the use of a mouse confronted with spatial problems on both the left and right sides, since many of the interfaces are simply too far towards the front. As far as wireless is concerned, users have WLAN (a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth (version 3.0) available.

Included software

With regard to the pre-installed software Alienware - at least as far as its pre-series device is concerned - is relatively restrained. Users are somewhat spared from annoying popup messages. The system starts up and already operates relatively quickly in its delivered state, so that you can actually get started straight away after configuring Windows 7. The most important component of the included software is the so called Command Center. The clearly laid out and intuitive user interface allows the case illumination to be adjusted (AlienFX), as well as configuring the power options (AlienFusion), and the touchpad (AlienTouch).

Accessories

The delivery package of our tested device wasn't the final version. Not considering the surprisingly feeble 90 Watt battery, and a soft protective cover, the box was empty. According to Alienware, the retail version will also include a manual and storage media with the operating system.

Processor: Intel Core i7-2657M

When it comes to the CPU, Alienware has opted for an energy efficient ULV model (Ultra Low Voltage). Although the tool CPU-Z described the processor as Core i7-2630UM, this description is no longer accurate since Intel has changed the naming scheme, and the processor is called Core i7-2657M meanwhile. As with the other CPUs available for the M11x R3, this is dual-core.

The meager base clock speed of 1.6 GHz will unlikely knock anyones socks off, but overclocking up to 2.7 GHz (over 1000 MHz) does command some respect in comparison. The cache availability also doesn't need to be shy opposed to more powerful models with four MBytes of L3 cache, which is even bigger than some of the faster clocked Core i3 and i5 CPUs. Along with the automatically overclocking Turbo-Boost, there is of course also Hyper-Threading technology on board as well. This shows itself responsible for the simulation of two virtual cores, whereby the Core i7-2657M can process four threads simultaneously. A big advantage of the 32 nm manufactured CPU is also the low power consumption of 17 Watts maximum, which is only half as much as the 'normal' dual-core Core i3 and i5 series.

Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GT 540M

It is indeed astonishing how Alienware has once again managed to squeeze a gaming suitable graphics card into an 11 inch case. The third revision of the M11x no longer contains the dusty GeForce GT 335M, but instead the brand new GeForce GT 540M, a DirectX 11 capable mid-range model from Nvidia. The multi-faceted GeForce GT 540M currently finds itself used very often by manufacturers due to its good value for money.

Technically the GeForce 540M is based on Nvidia's modern Fermi-Architecture, and has 96 unified shaders as well as 1024 or 2048 MBytes of DDR3 video memory available. The memory interface is a bit disappointingly narrow though, since 128 bits often reach the limits with modern games. Fortunately Alienware didn't think it was necessary to reduce the clock speed; 672 MHz (core), 900 MHz (memory), and 1344 MHz (shader) are in line with the standard values. The power consumption is acceptable in light of the provided performance, a maximum of 35 Watts are drawn from the socket by the 40 nm manufactured graphics card. Nvidia is currently without competition as far as features are concerned, PhysX (physics acceleration), PureVideo HD (video acceleration), 3DTV Play, and 3D Vision (3D playback) are only some of the examples.

SSD Performance

Our tested device was equipped with the best hard drive option, in the form of a 256 GByte SSD. While the final version of Samsung's PM810 is supposed to be the driving force, we have to make due with the older PM800. The SSD doesn't only accelerate the boot process and general reaction time of the operating system, but also has a positive impact on the length of loading times and file transfers.

This is also confirmed by our measurements, with a sequential read rate of 214.5 MB/s, a sequential write rate of 173.4 MB/s, and an access time of 0.2 ms, these values are clearly superior to those of a traditional HDD. For SSD standards the performance of the Samsung PM800 is nevertheless not exceptional; Curcials RealSSD C300 for example plays in a different league. Samsungs new PM810 should bridge the gap to faster SSDs though (see Alienware M17x R3).

Verdict Performance

For its limited dimensions the M11x R3 has an astonishingly good performance. Processor and graphics intensive applications are usually sufficiently accelerated, and the SSD hard drive also gives a noticeable speed boost. It would be difficult to get more out of an 11 inch case, and Alienware has delivered sterling work.

Crysis 2

After over 3 years the up until now nicest PC game of all time has finally been replaced by a successor. Crysis 2 may lag behind a little in gaming and technical terms relative to the extremely high expectations, but you will nevertheless still be greeted by a very good ego-shooter. As already with its predecessor, the hardware demands of Crysis 2 are also quite considerable, and thus the maximum performance optically can only be achieved with a high-end GPU. The graphics performance with the 'Very High' preset causes too much of a strain for the GeForce GT 540M in the native resolution, and 26.6 fps on average are not enough for a games in the first-person perspective. The Dell XPS 15 (GeForce GT 540M & Core i5-2410M) manages an almost identical frame rate with 26.5 fps. It will be hard hard to get around using the preset 'High' and a reduced resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, which provides for 36.4 fps.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

The currently very popular action game Battlefield: Bad Company 2, also has lofty demands for the GeForce GT 540M. High details and four times anisotropic filtering (AF) are a little too much combined with the native resolution, since this leads to an approximate frame rate of 30.0 fps. This is more or less the same as the result from the Schenker XMG A501, which has a considerably more powerful Core i7-2630QM to assist the GeForce GT 540M, and manages 30.1 fps. Medium details can be reproduced pleasingly smoothly in return for quality compromises, providing for 41.2 fps on average in the native resolution.

Temperature

While the system noise has increased, the temperatures have noticeably decreased compared to the previous revision. In an idle state the average surface temperature of around 25°C, makes a pleasant working possible. Under load the top surface only gets marginally warmer up to a maximum of 32°C around the palm resting area, which is not all too much. The bottom gets particularly hot around the cooling fan, and with a maximum of 40°C this could get a bit uncomfortable on a lap after a while.

On the inside things are significantly hotter, with the graphics card reaching up to 93°C with a full load. The processor meanwhile reduced its clock speed from 1600 to 900 MHz during our several hour stress test with the tools Furmark and Prime (CPU throttling). Since the exertion caused by games is considerably lower than this though, these scenarios should not realistically occur in practice. Our benchmarks were all correctly completed.

Speakers

The sound system has been created by Alienware with co-operation from the american manufacturer Klipsch. The result are two stereo speakers that are hidden on the bottom of the case. Whereby the produced audio can definitely compete with bigger notebooks. Although there is the usual lack of bass, volume and presence, it is certainly enough for short stints on the go.

In order to enjoy the complete atmosphere of games or movies, users should nevertheless use external speakers along with an external monitor. Regardless of this we have to take our hats off, since the 11 inch subnotebook has a noticeably better audio quality than we expected. With the help of a comfortable and well structured software (see screenshot) the speakers can also be comprehensively configured. Especially the options from the MaxxAudio driver influence the audio significantly in some cases.

The excellent battery life is one of the biggest advantages of the M11x R3. The combination out of a halfway potent 8 cell battery (63Wh, screwed in), Nvidia's Optimus technology, and an energy efficient CPU, provides for a high level of mobility.

Especially impressive is the battery life when subjected to a low load, minimal brightness, and maximum power saving; the Readers Test from Battery Eater ran for just under 13 hours. If the brightness is increased to its maximum and the power saving options are scaled back a little bit, the M11x R3 still manages to stay on its feet for a long time without needing mains power. When browsing the web with WLAN the subnotebook lasted 7.5 hours.

Since this subnotebook is missing an optical drive, we had to resort to a video file (avi, no HD) on the hard drive for our movie test. The result: An excellent 6 hours and 40 minutes. Even under a high load the M11x R3 can still provide reasonable mobility; with 143 minutes of the Classic Test from Battery Eater, with the brightness set to maximum and the power saving options deactivated. The old M11x is significantly worse in a direct comparison, with the battery life only lasting half as long in an idle state.

Alienware has managed to produce a neat and for the most part impressive subnotebook with the M11x R3. The very well put together case with pleasant soft-touch surfaces, the numerous illuminated elements, as well as good input devices, draw the attention in a positive way. Compared to its predecessor, the new revision has also received a few other improvements on top of this. Along with better performance and low temperatures, there is above all also a much longer battery life.

The main point of criticism towards the M11x is still the less than ideal display. Although the brightness is somewhat better, the black level, contrast, and colors, as well as viewing angles, don't live up to our expectations. In defense of Alienware it is worth noting that the market simply isn't providing better display panels in the 11.6 inch format at present.

In addition to this, we find it hard to imagine why Alienware has not opted for a matte display surface for a device that is clearly intended for mobile use. Outdoors users will quickly be confronted with disturbing reflections, and the eyes are strained beyond their limits. The system noise is also a weak point on the subnotebook, since the cooling fan is definitely a little too loud under load.

Altogether the target market segment for the M11x R3 is a little uncertain. While most gamers will likely be more keen on a bigger device, users that are primarily interested in mobility will much prefer a matte display surface.

Aside from this, we would like to finish by stating that Alienware knows better than anyone else how to get as much performance into a possibly small case. Those that are looking for precisely this mixture could be content with the M11x R3. As far as subnotebooks are concerned at least, this 11 inch device is in a league of its own.