Upgrading the Alienware M11X Gaming Netbook for use in 2022
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- A little over a decade ago, Alienware decided to try and put out a gaming laptop that was different... The aimed to make it as small as possible. And so was born the Alienware M11X. Today we take a look at my original one, give it some much needed upgrade, and see what it can still be used for in 2022
0:00 Introduction
0:35 Specs
1:20 Laptop Walkthru
3:36 Some essential upgrades
5:55 The Daily Driver Experience
6:52 Back to Gaming
10:32 Conclusion and Outro
Patreon: / jcprintnplay
Twitter: / pnpretrospectiv
Tiktok: / printnplayprojects
Instagram: / jcprintnplay - Věda a technologie
Hey all! Try as I might, I couldn't get this laptop as clean as I wanted for camera. A combination of scuffs and what almost seemed like white paint were present on the body. Anyone else have some cleaning techniques they'd like to share? Post them here!
I believe googone might get the rubberized coated plastic off. Also try a magic eraser, that usually scrubs anything off.
want to ask whats the best replacement for our hard disk i wanted to upgrade it for 2022 it working fine but i heard that hard disk a limit of years that why i want to replace it to extend the life of my m11x r1..thanks
and also the battery are there any new battery compatible with our m11x..the brand as of now is samsung
@@shalltearbloodfallen5697 I haven't seen new Samsung batteries for it in a long time, unfortunately. There are some aftermarket ones available, but I haven't tried any of them, so I couldn't specifically vouch for one.
I have an M11x R1 from release day which is still in pristine Day 1 condition in 2023. I used it a lot but I babied the hell out of it and never actually used it anywhere other than my desk. I never used the keyboard or trackpad either and always covered it with a see through sheet of plastic. I guess I was weird back then with my stuff but the end result is a factory new looking M11x in the current day, hahah. I used to clean the M11x each day with a micro fibre cloth too to ensure there was no dust on it. I brought it out from storage recently and installed FireFox which allows the M11x to browse the web as well as it did in ‘10. I used it to Netflix binge a documentary over the last 2 days. It’s back in the cupboard now… I may remove the battery later this year so I can preserve the thing into the far future.
I have three m11x r3’s and still use them today. Incredible devices and there is a company that still sells all of the components and I mean everything. Incredible for its size!
Definitely going to have to track down an R3. I've heard nothing but good things!
Which company sells the components?
@@magicskaterboiSnake Oil & Co
I really want one, any chance you'll sell?
I recommend u to try Alienware m13x with GeForce 960m. This is fairytale
I've got the last model, i7 2637m, 8gb ram, GT 540m 2gb. Lovely little laptop that I still use for daily browsing and old school gaming. I'm even palying Diablo immortal on it and it runs well at low. Something about this laptop, I just love the design. Great vid.
Sounds like your machine is seeing plenty of attention! I love to hear that! And thanks for watching
Awesome video! I love these Alienware beasts, and this is such an interesting one.
Thanks man! And awesome to see you here!
great video. i dont see many people make videos on
these so this video is really good! keep it up! 👍👍
I wanted this laptop so bad. I'm glad it still holds up pretty well. Luckily 8 years later I was able to get an Alienware laptop that plays everything flawlessly.
Man i remember wanting one of these as a kid so bad. Loved small laptops/devices, my next fav was a fujitsu umpc
I've definitely always had a soft spot for compact pieces of tech. This thing fit the bill perfectly
Great channel! I have been resurrecting an old Clevo Alienware M7700 D900T that was given to me almost a decade ago, finally found a graphics card in Germany about a year ago. I don't game but I do like fixing things. I heard you mention Futureshop a couple of times, which is funny since I used to work at the Coquitlam Center store in home theatre sales 2003 and then as a home theatre installer 2010. I love all sorts of small form factor PC's and still use an Acer Aspire One ZG5 with an SSD cloned from the original drive with programs that allow to read the fault codes on my VW and Audi vehicles. Cheers!
Very nice! My wife worked in the appliance section at Future Shop back then, so I would see this beauty on display multiple times a week and couldn't help myself. And keep an eye for a certain blue ZG5 popping up on the channel. I went from the EeePC to it, and had a lot of fun with it. Sounds like you got great use out of yours!
Top notch video as always. You've such a great channel, I anticipate it'll keep growing as more people stumble upon it.
I can't help but see this computer as a souped up Eee PC. I'd have loved to have this one back in the day instead of the 1001HA. I did attempt to run Minecraft on that one and it performed about as well as this Alienware did with current day Minecraft. Happy days.
Looking forward to more videos from you!
So kind of you! Yeah, I have pulled this alienware out lots since I "retired" it plenty of fun when I got it originally, and surprisingly capable for things like basic 3d modeling.
Seriously though.. thanks for watching!
love it dude!! i literally just took my mx 11 out thinking of doing some upgrades and had the same problem with the hinges back in 2013 haha glad i looked this up first brought me baack to good times lol
Glad you enjoyed it! It's a fantastic machine to use. Always been a fan of small machines.
I had my hinges pop twice and had a Dell technician visit my home and replace the screen twice. The hinges I have now are flawless.
My hinges broke too. I ended up sending it on warranty to Dell to fix and they did a great job repairing. I try to be really careful with the hinges ever since
I bought m11x for personal collection of Alienware. Like it, small and powerfull
Here I am in 2022... watching this video on the M14X R1 (a bit bigger - made in 2011 in the Mars Red colour) ^_^ Even today... after a some major upgrades and refurbishment it's still an awesome piece of machinery! Sure, it shows it's age... but You can still see it;s willing to eat everthing you throw at it, as best as it can ^_^
Awesome video!!!
Awesome to hear so many stories of decade old Alienware machines still carrying their weight and holding their own!
I played a stupid number of games on this laptop, the M11x R1. One of the last games I played on it was SWTOR where maxed out a Jedi Knight and got to the endgame. Great memories with this awesome little guy.
Glad to hear about one that's been so thoroughly loved and thoroughly taken care of!
I got an engineering sample in 2015 (No I won't mention how I got it) and I ran that thing as my first gaming computer up until 2019. The CPU was underclocked, has no serial number, 16 gbs of ram, and an SSD. I was able to run Skyrim, Minecraft, and a shocking number of other titles I don't care to list off. I still have it and will always have it. My sister somehow, put win10 on it and it maxed out CPU usage at idle. Recently I have put Linux Fedora on it and it has returned to it's old glory. Not much use for it now, but I use it for remote steam play around my house when I don't wanna play at my desk on my main rig. And I use it for writing short stories. All in all 10/10
Always glad to hear about how much other people have enjoyed this design of machine. Small, powerful, fun... just makes me happy
still got my m11xr3 myself !
Hello, nice laptop, do you hace the stock sound effects? i miss the old sounds
Other great video👍
Poor thing, I hope that sooner or later those Frankenstein style bolts can be removed, it's a really nice design even today.
Sooner or later I will find a replacement shell and get it back to its former glory. It certainly deserves it, it has served me well!
This config is pretty close that the model I bought on release back in 2010 except i bumped it up to 8gb of Ram from the beginning. was one of my fav laptops. I just traded a buddy recently for his i7 m11x R2 and it's still a pretty good little machine. it kinda can run minecraft 1.18.1 at around 15-ish fps so I don't recommend it but Bedrock Minecraft runs above 30 fps if I had to guess. it was pretty fluid. good video. If you need a functioning screen assembly just let me know, I've still got it and it still works.... at least the screen does.
Thanks for sharing your upgrade. I just got one of these for free and I wanted to know what is the highest level of window will this device support? I am defiently going to do these upgrades as you have done. Thanks for your help.
I haven't tried for sure but, without TPM support, Windows 10 is the highest it will go officially. I didn't check all the drivers, but the GPU is supported in Windows 10, so it should be good!
What was the stuff that you used to upgrade and how much did it all cost? Also could you potential upgrade the motherboard?
Still have my R3 runs great. Plays older games of its release year fine, and good for a media machine. Upgraded it w/SSD and maxed w/16G RAM. At some point will swap out screen for IPS display and upgrade Wi-Fi card to 7260ac w/5G.
Bro, what mhz did you upgrade your ram to? I bought 1600mhz sticks but think I shoulda gotten 1333mhz, if it even matters
@@littledoodle5689 hey mine is 1600 too, doesn't matter it will down clock to 1333. Just installed Intel N7260 dual wireless 5G card (plug & play) now get 300mbps speed on this old bugger. Make sure to get one labeled "dual wireless" as another N7260 only does 2.4G. Found out the hard way.
"It me" 🤣🤣🤣
I had to rewind to catch that one. Very nice.
@@thecodeprofessor when I watched it the first time, before that clip, I was like...you...you did that 🤣🤣🤣
A year ago my m11x fan just stop and my laptop randomly shuts down, i dont really know much about computer, im planning to throw it away but when i see this video i just want to try to fix it and do some little upgrade, can you please share what kind of ram did you use? Mine only got x2gb ram, what exactly did you use?
just spent hours running driver and software updates, took it apart and did a deep clean. Got a plastic scraper and some bug remover and removed all of the sticky rubber coating... too bad 8gb ram is max.. mine already had an SSD... downloaded CCleaner and optimized the system.... turned off a lot of bloatware in the start-up menu.. Uninstalled some junk I never use. Cleaned up the registry.. Boot time is now 1 min 5 seconds...
I have the same model (which I bought in 2011) and there's lots of nostalgia for me with it hence why I still use it, albeit as a notebook if I wanna sit in the kitchen for example. Emails / Browsing all okay if you stick with Win 7. I also upgraded to an SSD drive and 8 gig ram (max supported unfortunately). I've had to replace the keyboard twice since I got it in 2010 as they are prone to dying. Overheating is always an issue with these machines although I think I just need to clean the fans etc which I'm planning to do soon. You can also buy wraps for them on a popular auction website which will make the case look better (you probably knew that). The touchpad for me is the worst part of the system. It's pretty poor and fades very quickly. I don't know if you can replace them.
I used mine for years, i love the design, keyboard, size, and looks.
it is extremely slow, but mine still works.
I put linux mint, 8gb ram, 256 gb ssd,
and sitll turn it on from time to time
My intel atom n570 netbook still works fine, probably use it as my main laptop since I accidentally spilled water on my core i7 laptop (it's dead!), thinking about buying alienware m11x
Basically, throw in 8GB of ram, an SSD, a lightweight linux distro and, if possible, perform a resistor swap mod to improve FSB speeds. Undervolting the CPU and overclocking the GPU can also be done. Display upgrades could be done but I'm not sure where you'd get compatible panels.
I picked this unit up $30 at auction and it powered up to find the HDD dead. But unit cleaned up and looks great with a tough rugged feel about it. The question is how much faster does the m11x boot up after changing to an SSD? As video shows 2.5 min boot time for old drive. Second, did you try or anyone else try to load win10 and any issues?
The boot time is under a minute now. It's not a direct comparison because the original drive did have a bit of bloatware in it, but everything just feels quicker now. Very happy with the upgrade.
The broken screen is so common, I was considering doing exactly the same things with the bolts for the screen since im so tired of it flopping off. Aside from that design fail I still love the laptop
I love it, too! It was quick and dirty and got me back up and running for about 4 dollars, so I call it a win
@@PNPRetro Now I need to figure out how to do a fresh install of windows 7, the original version I have has so much malware it's in dire need of a refresh
Games run much better with a monitor, than with the built in screen. A lot of that stutter is because of it.I know it defeats the purpose of getting a mobile PC, but I just thought I'd put it out there.
Hey, totally fair, it's always good to know the limitations of the integrated display.
Is that a thinkpad style metal frame inside too? Looks like the same dull grey material to me.
It might be! I'll have to check the next time I've got it apart
Bought a later model with an i7 as my first gaming computer. It played skyrim just fine and that was about all I was playing then. It seems like that early core 2 duo is pretty rough for trying to play any mildly demanding game with. I was thinking about buying another one as a portable for gaming on the fly. DOES IT RUN DOOM I WONDER lol
Haha. I mean... it'll run the original Doom... even Doom II, if you leave the window open to cool the CPU on a cold night
That's exactly what it is, the Core2Duo on this is awful compared to even the i5 you could get. The i7 version was a beast in a small format, but I had the i5 version and definitely was playing Skyrim on it, same with fallout etc.
the fact that im watching on the exact same laptop
Haha. Keep it running as long as you can! Any upgrades?
@@PNPRetro I get some good fps in minecraft and upgraded it to a core i7
Ahh, you must have the one that's a year or two newer. This one doesn't have a replaceable CPU. I believe both the R2 and R3 had socketed CPUs. Sounds like you are showing it some love!
I’m impressed with mine I got the r2 with the i7 I can play metro 2033 redux at low settings at native resolution for a average of 30 fps in combat and even higher when not in combat
Sounds great! Moving off of the Core2 processors was a huge boost. Hope to snag one at some point, too
I have an M17x R4 with 680m 2gb graphics card, it can play minecraft with constant 50-60 fps
That's a pretty awesome laptop, especially for the time period.
Does it have to be Windows 7? My unit (exact model) is running on Windows 10. My dad keeps telling me to have it on Windows 7 for it to have better performance. Should I listen to him?
Was thinking of upgrading the hardware too, thanks for the tutorial!
If you are happy with Windows 10 performance on it, it is a more capable operating system at this point. Windows 7 will be faster, but also way more out of date.
@@PNPRetro wow, didnt expect a reply. Thanks! I did a windows 10 reset, it’s working a bit faster now 😊
I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment! I hope it continues to serve you well
@@milcahwaygalaxy don't forget to disable background processes and autostart ups, that will be working a bit faster.
Would have cleaned up the heat sinks and put on new thermal paste and OC the CPU and GPU.
Great point! The thermal paste on the CPU was fresh (I tested the board before committing to the build) but I definitely forgot to pull the fan off and clean it out. Likewise, I will definitely re-apply for the GPU. Thanks for the suggestions!
I bricked mine. Doing a wipe and refresh. Power went off and it won’t boot now. Lol fun
Ugh that's terrible! No power at all or fails to boot to windows?
@@PNPRetro fails to boot windows.
Don't think the original owner would have been happy being called an Idiot.
As the original owner, I was fine with it.
Something something, you drilled holes in that laptop? :p
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
What if you put Linux on it?
(probably not a good idea because you'd lose the ability to change the lighting.)
I bought mine fully maxed out in 2011. After 2 years it took a dump on me. So it sat in the closet. I took it out a few months ago and it still runs Skyrim pretty well. Although I'm kinda used to an older computer anyway. My current rig is a
i7-4790k
16gb DDR3 RAM
1050ti
Much need upgrades. But I'm not a huge graphics guy. Much more of a story line kinda person and older games run just fine. Might get a new GPU just to get more fps since my CPU is barely getting used.
Hey, I've been surprised by how capable older i5 and i7 processors have been. My most recent build on the channel (a Star Trek Shuttle PC) uses an i5 4460, with a GTX650, and it's been able to handle basic browsing, a decent amount of gaming, a weekly project livestream, and even 3D modeling in Fusion 360. Overall, it's kind of impressive that it's still better than functional after almost ten years.
do you have the graphics drivers for the alienware m11x? I can't seem to change from the ''microsoft basic display adapter'' cause I can't find any drivers for it.
I should be able to link you to them. Which version of Windows?
@@PNPRetro oh i've gone from windows 7 to windows 10 cause I couldn't get passed the sign in password.
but I don't believe any drivers support above windows 7
@@yt-dman I could never get this system to not blue screen on windows 10. Only works properly on 7.
i played ragnarok online with this laptop..
I played the hell out of that game, and Gunbound! Which character was your favorite to play?
@@PNPRetro i played as a blacksmith on ragnarok and i like using the bommerang on the gunbound 😊😊😊
There's a mobile version of Gunbound now, too! I started playing again. Feels pretty close to me
@@PNPRetro really,will try to download it..may i ask if the samsung evo 870 compatible with the m11x?..my reason for replacing it is so i can use it as a bank for the tons of photos and videos of life events cause im targeting the faster read and write..is it worth it?
@@shalltearbloodfallen5697 Sorry about the delay in reply, I somehow missed yours. I think pretty much any available sata ssd should be compatible withe the m11x. Performance-wise, it does offer quite a boost. You'll still be slowed down by the processor, but upgrading to an SSD has definitely given me a good quality of life boost for it.
I dont understand your low fps on minecraft. My kids play Minecraft 1.12 with optifine mod on my old Asus EEE Pc 1015PN and it runs with 45-0 FPS there! But not all settings are on low. Maybe it did not run on the GT 335M.... My R3 plays it just fine, unfortunatly i only have the 1 GB Version of the GT 540M :-(
The Optifine mod has been recommended to me to increase FPS on older machines. Gonna give it a try and see how it goes!
@@PNPRetro because you asked. My M11X is one of the very first R3. It has a i7-2617M, 8GB RAM, the 1GB version of the 540M and a 1TB HDD. I run it on Windows 10 Pro. If you use it as a daily driver windows 7 isn't recommend due to security reasons. I like my mighty little beast. Suits my very mobile needs, still in mint condition. I use it to surf the web, sometimes I play Minecraft on it and to cut 1080p drone videos on the go. I think of tweaking it with a unlocked Bios, maybe raise RAM to 16 and to fit a 250 SSD.
Ahh man, I'd love to get my hands on one with an i7! The Core 2 Duo at the core of mine was always a little behind the times. Overall, I think mine is still my favorite out of all the computers I have owned.
Windows 7 definitely isn't the best from a security standpoint anymore. I'm keeping an eye out for a cheap copy of Windows 10 and am going to keep working on getting Minecraft working better on it. My nephews visit from time to time, and it would be fun if we could all play together.
Sounds like your r3 is seeing a lot of love. I hope it continues to serve you faithfully
There are 3 different types of i7 for the latest R3. The first ones with a 2617M, some models sent to journalists had a 2657M and the latest a 2637M which has +200Mhz on idle and Turbo compared with mine. And the later ones all had 2GB RAM version of the 540M. I would really like to find out if this is recognizeable in real life, or only for benchmarks... a motherboard upgrade would be possible for me... but it's mad what people call for a 11 year old hardware?!?! ... maybe you could make a topic on overclocking. Yours would work easily, unfortunatly the later sandy bridge models like mine have their multiplier locked. I never found a way to tweak up to 2637M specs...
@@PNPRetro Today i was playing around a little with my m11x, and when i had a look at cpu-z i realised I was always wrong about the VRAM. I do have a 2GB 540M ;-) Some games really use it. For example CS:GO uses around 1,6 GB VRAM, says MSI. But CPU and GPU are around 80°C when playing.... i sould really repaste it. What thermal paste would you guys suggest? I dont want to use liquid metal, only thermal paste please.
If anyone has an m11x r3 and is willing to part with it hit me up 🙏
soo for minecraft: try optifine
my old machine can get 3 digit fps with not much happenig sooo
Will definitely give it a shot!
Its like a macbook air for edgy teens.
Im here in 2023 with my 2nd hand M11X ❤❤
May it serve you well!