I'm currently using an almost 3-year old Dell m1330 (13.1" 1600x900, weighing around 2.1-2.3kg) with a 9-cell battery (up to 6-7 hours depending on usage), and am thinking of replacing it with either the M11x or the M15x. My main requirement would be portability (carry it to office daily, where I use it together with my dual-LCD screen desktop PC) as in addition to work usage, I also carry it with me for my international trips (work+holiday, approximately 4-6 trips per year, totalling around 40-50 days per annum travelling by air). I like the size/weight of the M11x but it does have a lower res screen than my current m1330 and I have read about the hinge issues. I like the quad-core CPU for the M15x and the higher res, but it's larger and about double the weight of the M11x/m1330, which would make it less portable. When I travel, my backpack usually carries my laptop, a DSLR+battery pack, flash unit, HD camcorder, small digicam, batteries (for all 3 cameras & flash), etc. so the weight does add up.

My main PC usage would be work (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook), surfing, movies & music (when travelling), and sometimes gaming (when travelling). It doesn't seem like I need an Alienware, but hey, I like Alienware, and I've always wanted one, so now I am going to get one. Cost is not a big issue, but I would'nt want to pay too big a premium for a tiny incremental gain in performance/capacity.

I'd like to ask the experts here, your opinion of which (M11x or M15x) I should go for. I have spec'ed a M11x and a M15x below which would most likely be the one I would get if I were to get one today.

M11x - RM6,235
- As mentioned in this thread earlier, depending on how you start configuring, you can end up with different prices even with the same exact specs. The other config I tried, with the same specs, ended up with RM6,339
- If I had spec'ed this one with 3GB RAM it would have been slightly cheaper, but I wanted to spec'ed it the same as the US version to compare prices and also confirm what I read earlier about getting 2 different prices with same specs depending on which option you started with


Out of curiousity, I spec'ed the same exact M11x on the Dell USA website and got a price of US$1,664 (RM5,183 as of 24/10; even allowing for FX conversion charges, that is a HUGE price difference, over RM1k cheaper, the Americans are lucky to get it so cheap; do Malaysian-bought Alienware machines come from the US or from Dell in Penang?)
- the only difference is that the US version gets personalized Alienware plates (see red highlight) while the Malaysian version gets generic plates.


M15x - RM7,989 (US version, same specs - US$2,408 = RM7,500)
- again the US version gets personalized plates which the Malaysian version does not get


So... M11x or M15x? Portability (size & weight) with a smaller screen (and potential hinge problem) or larger screen but with double the weight?

Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

Forgot to add:
I don't really need to use this laptop for gaming at home, as I have a Q9550/GTX275 rig with a 24" 1920x1200 Dell monitor for that (upgrading next year to the latest/greatest CPU/GPU/triple monitor setup).