Our quick take
First Look
We’ve never been the biggest fans in the world of Alienware’s big alien head design - finding it a bit gaudy and - if we’re frank - a little embarrassing. Thankfully the company has toned it down considerably since being bought by Dell in 2006. Even so, Alienware laptops can’t be described as “subtle”. Essentially, you’ll either love or hate it - the problem is that if you hate it then there aren’t too many alternatives - most other gaming machines have similar design. The 11-inch screen is clear, bright and crisp. Viewing angles are good, but while we couldn’t fault the contrast ratio in the dark rooms we tested it in, this is obviously a portable machine and we weren’t able to see how it performs in sunlight. Not great, we’d imagine, but no worse than other laptops. The weight is worth remarking on. While the M11x is the size of a netbook, it weighs more like a regular laptop - about 1.8kg. For comparison, the 10-inch Acer Aspire One weighs 1kg - nearly half as much. It’s not going to break your back - it’s still portable - but don’t expect not to feel it if you’re lugging the machine around a lot in your bag.
To recap
Real 3D gaming on the go becomes a viable option
