Hoping for a Mac version right out of the box!

[Genocidicbunny]

The Alienware's CPU is much faster. Mobile i7's and i5's run at a low speed for general tasks, but when needed can hit well over 3gHz. MBP loses on CPU.

The RAM speed difference is nil really. 1066 vs 800 mHz makes little difference for a C2D, so you might as well say that both are running at 800. MBP barely wins this one -- there is a speed difference, but its not anything noticeable to the user.

LCD: 768p at 11" is better than 800p at 13". Higher ppi.

Graphics cards: you seem to omit this, but it is important. The MBP has a nVidia 320M, while the M11X has a 335M. The 335M is about 70% more powerful in raw processing power compared to the 320M. Its a Gt2xx core, vs an old 8x core for the 320M (Essentially a rebranded 8400M) The m11X also has 1GB dedicated VRAM while the MBP has only 256MB dedicated VRAM, which means the MBP loses part of it's ram to the graphics, further slowing them down.

To cancel out OS differences and compare only the hardware, lets go with cheapest OS and just put linux on it. Winners bolded.
M11X:
Core i5 520UM @ 1.06gHz nominal
4GB DDR3 800mHz
250GB @ 7200RPM
nVidia 335M GPU
1366x768 11" LCD -- higher ppi is better, as long as it's within reason. Also has more pixels overall with 1.049MP
Cost: 1049$
--You don't need bluetooth and there is an internal optical drive built in. What you were looking at was an external.

MBP:
C2D @ 2.4gHz
4GB DDR3 1066mHz
250GB @ 5400RPM
nVidia 320M GPU
1280x800 13" LCD -- 1.024MP
Cost: 1199$

So then, is OSX worth that much of a price premium? Thats up to you to decide. You're going to be getting inferior hardware for the same money though.

 

[civ_king]

The Alienware's CPU is much faster. Mobile i7's and i5's run at a low speed for general tasks, but when needed can hit well over 3gHz. MBP loses on CPU.

The RAM speed difference is nil really. 1066 vs 800 mHz makes little difference for a C2D, so you might as well say that both are running at 800. MBP barely wins this one -- there is a speed difference, but its not anything noticeable to the user.

LCD: 768p at 11" is better than 800p at 13". Higher ppi.

Graphics cards: you seem to omit this, but it is important. The MBP has a nVidia 320M, while the M11X has a 335M. The 335M is about 70% more powerful in raw processing power compared to the 320M. Its a Gt2xx core, vs an old 8x core for the 320M (Essentially a rebranded 8400M) The m11X also has 1GB dedicated VRAM while the MBP has only 256MB dedicated VRAM, which means the MBP loses part of it's ram to the graphics, further slowing them down.

To cancel out OS differences and compare only the hardware, lets go with cheapest OS and just put linux on it. Winners bolded.
M11X:
Core i5 520UM @ 1.06gHz nominal
4GB DDR3 800mHz
250GB @ 7200RPM
nVidia 335M GPU
1366x768 11" LCD -- higher ppi is better, as long as it's within reason. Also has more pixels overall with 1.049MP
Cost: 1049$
--You don't need bluetooth and there is an internal optical drive built in. What you were looking at was an external.

MBP:
C2D @ 2.4gHz
4GB DDR3 1066mHz
250GB @ 5400RPM
nVidia 320M GPU
1280x800 13" LCD -- 1.024MP
Cost: 1199$

So then, is OSX worth that much of a price premium? Thats up to you to decide. You're going to be getting inferior hardware for the same money though.

Intel® Core™ i5 520UM (3M Cache, 1.066 GHZ with 1.866 GHz Max Turbo Frequency)

System does not come with a DVD or CD Drive. The external drive below is needed to access DVD or CD media. Drive may be required for OS recovery.

I thought I acknowledged the GPU, but I must have accidentally deleted it

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I thought I acknowledged the GPU, but I must have accidentally deleted it

My bad about rhe CPU. I must have been thinking of the mobile i7's. Either way, the i5 is still quite a bit faster than the C2D, but it also draws less power. M11X still wins that, although not by as much.

External drive: I searched high and low on the dell page for any sign of that and couldnt find anything about lack of built in optical drive. On the external drive subpage it just asks to select an external drive. Either way, you can find an external for much less than what Dell offers. The 11" form factor is also pretty cramped and stuffing an optical drive in there would limit some other options. Its an issue with the form factor, not necessarily the laptop itself.

 

[civ_king]

My bad about rhe CPU. I must have been thinking of the mobile i7's. Either way, the i5 is still quite a bit faster than the C2D, but it also draws less power. M11X still wins that, although not by as much.

External drive: I searched high and low on the dell page for any sign of that and couldnt find anything about lack of built in optical drive. On the external drive subpage it just asks to select an external drive. Either way, you can find an external for much less than what Dell offers. The 11" form factor is also pretty cramped and stuffing an optical drive in there would limit some other options. Its an issue with the form factor, not necessarily the laptop itself.

Wow, I didn't realize that the Core iXs have a 25%+ boost of the C2Ds (that breaks it even).

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Yeah, they're quite a bit faster. 50% boost isnt impossible.

 

[civ_king]

Yeah, they're quite a bit faster. 50% boost isnt impossible.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Yep, this why they're worth that little price premium over C2D's. Not only do they draw less power but they're also more powerful when needed.

Intel really did a number with this architecture.