alienware M11x

Features:
 MSRP: Starts at $799; $1099 as configured

• Hybrid graphics
• 11.6″, 1366×768 display
• Low-voltage CPU for extended battery life
•  

Pros:

• Powerful enough for most modern games at medium settings
• Very good-looking machine
• Plenty of ports

Cons:

The keyboard is attractive and the backlighting helpful (when it’s not blasting your eyes late at night), and I found it comfortable to type on, though a little soft. The trackpad is decent, though the buttons are really bad. They seem undersized and squishy, and I always felt I was being prevented from pushing them by the portion of the case surrounding them. Fortunately, as a gaming machine, it’s likely to have a mouse nearby, obviating this issue for the most part.

 

That’s for $1099, by the way. the $799 version has a normally clocked processor, 2GB of RAM, and a smaller hard drive. I feel that the processor is the main thing you’d want to upgrade, or you’ll see a definite performance hit.
As you may have noticed when I posted a gallery of glamor shots, the M11x is a very nice-looking machine. It feels very solid when you’re carrying it around, and I didn’t notice any disturbing bending or creaking when I picked it up from one corner. It’s extensively lit up, and you can choose pretty much any color for the keyboard, alien head, rear logo, and “vents” independently. Because you can’t vary the brightness, however, many of the colors seem over-the-top.

• Screen is very glossy and has limited sweet spot
• No optical drive can make for trouble
• Heavy for an ultraportable
• Processor: 1.3GHz Intel U7300 (overclocked to 1.73GHz)
• RAM: 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3
• GPU: NVIDIA GT 335M (switchable to Intel integrated)
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Storage: 500GB HDD
• Ports: 3xUSB 2.0, HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, IEEE1394, card reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro), 2×3.5mm, mic jack