Alienware 13 Pre-Release Speculation Thread

Hey guys,

Just noticed this on Engadget's website that Alienware are releasing the Alienware 13 for November.

Looks interesting.

The machine won't arrive until November, unfortunately, but for now, here's what we know: This little guy will weigh in at 4.5 pounds -- about two pounds lighter than the Alienware 14. It will also measure less than an inch thick, making it an obvious competitor to the super-thin Razer Blade. Similar to the Blade, which rocks a 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen, the Alienware 13 will be offered with a 2,560 x 1,440 touch panel. Keep it mind, though, that it will actually come standard with 1,366 x 768 resolution. There will also be an in-between 1080p option, according to Dell. Neither of those will support touch, however -- just something to consider as you're going through all the configuration options online.

On the inside, it makes use of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 860M GPU, and can be configured with either an SSD or a traditional hard drive. It will eventually rock Intel's next-gen Broadwell CPUs too, just not at launch. Keep it mind that these are still full-voltage processors, so while the Alienware 13 might have a smaller footprint, you probably shouldn't expect it to run any cooler. The battery, meanwhile, is rated for up to eight hours of video playback, though surely the runtime will drop once you're playing games unplugged. No word on price yet, or even full spec options. Dell says it'll reveal all that sometime... later, closer to when the machine goes on sale.

Some of the spec's like the resolution and touch-panel are interesting. As I'm guessing this could lay the ground work of things to come for the bigger Alienware laptops?

link: The Alienware 13 is the smallest and lightest gaming laptop in Dell's lineup

 

Sweet! It will have the 860M? That's sick for a 13" notebook. Hopefully later (when Broadwell comes out) they'll have the 900 series offered in this notebook.

Looks like they're finally refreshing their lineup. I knew they'd do something!

 

I wish we had alittle more details, but I will probably be getting this.

 

I wonder what GPU the Alienware 14 will have if this is getting the 860M. Obviously something more powerful. Interesting to think about.

Can't wait to see what they do this year.

 

I feel that most probably this 13 inch version will replace the 14 inch version, and they might announce a 15 inch version really soon ! No point selling a 13 inch and 14 inch at the same time right ?

 

Thicker and heavier than GS60/Gigabyte p34v2/razerblade/etc while having smaller screen(its almost 15 too in size with that huge bezel above/below screen) and actually weaker 870m vs alienware 860m and of course charging more being alienware vs gigabyte or y50 etc seems like it has 2msata too or something with no HD slot? crazy considering how thick its compared to other slim laptops with 860/870m

Unless the fans are quite and the GPU runs very cool this would be a complete failure, even if it did anyway MAXWELL 860m is very easy to cool, Gigabyte p34 v2 cool the 860m easily and people was able to overclock it to 870m performance with the available headroom

Of course if the plan was to add something like 970m in there and just using 860m "for now" it would be 100% a different story, 2KG laptop with 970m+ that run quite and cool does have a place in the market.

 

It depends. I'm sure the AW 14 is very profitable. They may not replace it. It would be nice if they made the AW 14 support an MXM GPU, which means it would be upgradeable. For example, the 970M. It shouldn't be too difficult to make that change. If they did this, it would make more sense to keep both.

However, I'm probably not going to be interested in this system unless it comes with the 900M series GPU's. If it can support an 860M, it can support the 900M variant. No sense in buying old technology. I'll at least wait until Broadwell hits the market. At that point, they may switch up both the CPU and GPU offered in this system.

 

I must say it looks fantastic! If this had a MXM GPU (which I'm betting it doesn't) I'd be all over it.

 

it makes no sense whatsoever to keep the 14 anymore, this is the new alienware 13 on top of the 14

 

To be honest, it makes less sense to make an Alienware 15 because of the Alienware 17. It would hurt the AW 17 sales, as the AW 15 will probably have a single GPU just like the AW 17. They would be very similar, in terms of performance.

What does that have to do with anything? The AW 13 is soldered and doesn't have an optical bay. The AW 14 may be changed to MXM, and will outperform the AW 13 no matter what because it can support a better GPU than the AW 13 ever will. I'm not saying they won't get rid of it, but replacing it entirely with the AW 13 doesn't seem logical to me.

 

It's logical because AW14 never had MXM you are just being wishful and i have already showed you 13 having almost identical size to the 14 duo its massive bezel, this is not sized like the 13macbook pro, realistically their new range would be this 13 + new 15 and 17

 

The AW 13 does not have an optical bay. Considering its size and form factor, it likely has an even less capable cooling system than the AW 14. It does make any sense to replace the Alienware 14 with this. It's going a step backwards in some areas. Adding an Alienware 15 would hurt Alienware 17 sales. Are you also suggesting they're now getting rid of the Alienware 18? I would be a bit shocked if they did that.

You think that having a 13" ultrabook gaming notebook without an optical drive, a 15" single GPU notebook, and a 17" single GPU notebook is an ideal and more "realistic" lineup? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of, in this regard.

 

Yes I think both these things will happen in AW's new quest for thin and light BGA goofiness.

I doubt a 15 will come out either. They've only just gotten rid of it.

 

Oh, god. I hope they don't go the "thin and light" route with their entire lineup. I'd hate that, unless they redesigned cooling throughout all of the systems.

 

Hope not. I pretty sure they're keen on cutting Razor's lunch in the P̶a̶p̶e̶r̶Light-weight category

 

I like to think that Dell is making enough money to support Alienware in an entirely new venture of releasing more than three laptops in their new lineup, but that probably isn't the case.

 

The Alienware 13 is not that "thin or light", I really doubt we'll see a huge sacrifice in cooling. I understand the comparisons to other "thin and light" gaming laptops, but if the price is right then I think it will do well. It should be cheaper than the Razer and Aorus offerings and probably closer to price of the Gigabyte P34G V2 and MSI GS60 Ghost and I think it can trade blows which each due to the differences. The Lenovo Y series is also a cheap option, but you sacrifice build quality.

 

Notice the ports on the rear

There is the hdmi, dp and then this really wide but thin port with ?3 lightning icons...reckon this is some tech by dell to allow an external gpu kit to power it's display ??

 

Optical drives are pretty much obsolete, it's 2015/end of 2014 when this thing is out, and considering how thick/huge it's for 13 laptop i wouldn't be surprised if its cooling was on par with the 14 (they have space for better heat pipes/bigger fan in wideness after removal of optical drive and this thing have 2msata slots reported for now so hd slot removed too)

This was alienweare lazy attempt to compete with razerblade/gs60/p34v2/upcoming asus slim laptop next month which is one of the slimmest laptops ever for gaming, they simply don't care anymore, the laptop simply doesn't need to be that huge to cool a laughable 860m maxwell. specially without HD slot/optical drive unless it's silent and has 10hour battery life this thing is a mess.

Alienware will not keep 13+14+17(possible but unlikely), performance wise 13 an 14 are identical and that's the main issue both have quad+x60m range gpu they wont release 14 but buffed 15 is likely and time will tell, got nothing else to add about 13-14 thing

 

@hsn: It won't be much longer. I suppose we'll find out soon enough. I'm not going to continue arguing about it.

For further discussion on the Alienware 13 Ultrabook, please post in this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/official-alienware-13-ultrabook-owners-lounge.770303/page-48

 

Oh great! Just what we needed... another Mickey Mouse disposable BGA laptop with a small screen that makes 2560x1440 too tiny to be useful without bumping the scaling (and thereby totally defeating the purpose of having a higher resolution). LOL, 1440p with a 13" display is going to be downright miserable with 100% scaling, not to mention the nasty slime accumulation from touch screen. This is a joke, but it's not funny... it's not April 1st any more. They need to stop playing with gimmicky garbage and focus on making beast laptops. Let the sissy boys and their baby sisters play with disposable Razer and Aorus toys that cannot be upgraded... give us more beast! Uphold the Alienware legend or get lost in obscurity like the performance-compromising brand options. If Alienware becomes more like Razer and Aorus there will be no reason to care about brand any more. When you stoop to the level of buying disposable systems you should shop based on price, not quality or brand name... if it's disposable, then doesn't matter what logo they slap on it because it will swiftly become obsolete and remain obsolete indefinitely.

Hands-on: New Alienware 13 is Alienware's thinnest gaming laptop yet | PCWorld

Core i5???? What??? In an Alienware??? :SLEEP:
I am not seeing CPU model numbers disclosed. Anyone care to venture a guess whether or not that is a BGA CPU as well as the GPU?

Definitely not future-proof. Last year's performance in a smaller package.

Entry level... yay... *yawn*, *burp*

For performance enthusiasts it is really disturbing to see moderate performance options like the Blade and EVO15-S being regarded as something worth aspiring to.

 

It doesnt, it feature Maxwell GTX 860M = Soldered.

----------------------------------------------------------------

@Mr Fox:
Its not really Dell`s fault that the smallest mainstream notebooks with the weakest hardware get the high res displays.

Not just Dell but pretty much any other brand would include the 17 or 18" display with higher res than 1080p if it ever existed.
Too much money and profit in the Macbook/XPS/Evny/insertrandomcheapnotebooknamehere because of the quantity sold I`m afraid. The real gamers are a minority compared so we are rarely heard :/

 

Completly pointless product in my opinion but at least the alienware head power button seems to be back....

 

If that's true, let's just shutter the doors and windows and go home. We don't needs a product that looks like an Alienware but behaves like a Macbook/XPS/Envy. Totally pointless endeavor. Shop based on price, not performance, when it comes to this kind of stuff. Unless they cut corners to make it cheaper, buying an XPS would be more intelligent if you wanted something average with a high res touchscreen and mid-range CPU and GPU that are soldered to the mobo. No sense in paying extra for a belly-button machine. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with being average, other than it's very boring and unimpressive, and certainly not worth paying extra for sake of vanity.

 

Read the article again... That's the speculation from the "journalist" that wrote the article ( "if it's like last year, expect to choose between i5 and i7 models."). The details other than the size, weight, and GPU haven't been announced yet. I don't expect the specs to be earth shattering, but respectable. I also expect Alienware to be shooting for mid-range/portable market as opposed to powerhouse.

 

Ha, I didn't notice that. Yeah, that's great.

 

Hi, According to cnet.com's hands-on it has intel ulv processors, so no quad cores! UGG! Will be passing this one by...

 

If that's the case, yeah, screw this.

 

That's what I meant by...

The choice is pretty easy...

 

I wasn't around when the M11x was out, but wouldn't this AW 13 be worse than the M11x if it doesn't have quad-core processors? What's the point?!

 

If it happens to be true, it's no less unforgivable than it was in the past. Smart people learn from their mistakes, not repeat them. I guess we'll see, but the fact that the 13 might exist is evidence they are not listening to their biggest fans. The 18 is still broken and the 17 isn't full fixed yet either. They need to focus on making thing right before diverting their focus to social experiments that cater to teenagers, little girls, cash-strapped college kids and low budget gamers like an Alienware 13.

 

ULV processors in an Alienware? WUT Well it'll truly be the "alien" in the Alienware lineup LOL

 

I was excited about this at first, but after reading that, hell no.

 

This just in ! Alienware has hit an all time low !

 

Just what I was thinking, lol.

 

Sorry if this is derailing the thread, but does anybody know what that port is? Clear photo here

 

Maybe it comes with an Apple charger?

 

What's the bet it's running the same internal junk as the upcoming AW steam box. From what I've read it's meant to have similar internals . AW perhaps gearing up for high volume production of slow disposable hardware ?

 

This sounds more like a typical mainstream notebook in Alienware clothes yes.

Soldered non upgradable GPU
ULV processor to keep the heat down but in the process bottleneck the GPU.

No wonder they went with the high res display. Gotta lure the people in somehow
Clevo's 13 inch got Quad core I think

 

That 13 inch Clevo you're referring to is the W230SS, and yes it uses socketed CPUs but still with a soldered GPU (although I don't think there is a single laptop in existence that's smaller than 15" and carries an MXM slot).

My first thought was "docking station".

This is also bad news for Clevo owners, because Clevo may also start chasing this "thin and light" fad and put less focus on the high performance laptops.

 

Gizmodo is saying it'll have copper heatsinks and dual fans. Could bode well for cooling, though I'm not incredibly knowledgable on the subject. Is the AW14 dual-fan? Just realised I know very little about Alienware's cooling systems.

 

The AW 14 is not. Makes me wonder if they'll change the AW 14 as well. Also, dual fans doesn't necessarily mean it will be good. The fans are going to be tiny little suckers.

Does anyone know what port this is? The elongated one.

 

A great opportunity for Alienware to distinguish itself as a superior brand and do something amazing, but nobody is doing it. My unscientific wild guess would be they cannot make money selling upgradable laptops so they are building in obsolescence. It also widens the gap between mediocre products and high end laptops. As long as mediocre doesn't replace or eliminate high end it may end up being OK because performance enthusiasts don't tolerate mediocrity.

Monkey see, monkey do. Hopefully, both brands can keep their priorities straight. It's OK to participate in a fad as long as they don't forget about the people that make their respective brands most relevant in a ocean full of mainstream products that are largely brand-irrelevant devices. Adding racing stripes and cutting the muffler off of a Ford Fiesta doesn't make it a Saleen Mustang. Giving an Ultrabook and Alienware silhouette doesn't make it a high performance system. To think anyone would be fooled by such a shenanigan is an insult to our intelligence.

 

This right there. Clevo can keep making throwaway ultrabooks for all I care as long as that doesn't mean the high performance models will start to suffer. But looking at what's happening with Alienware, I don't have high hopes that's going to be the case if both companies started giving in to this fad.

 

Thing is, is the Alienware brand dying? The brand that we all used to know? When you think about everything we know and love about Alienware seem's to be going. It seem's to be behind the times in regards to the likes of Clevo, Razor and the others. We've seriously lost the customization aspect of Alienware, it used to be awesome choosing your color, CPU, GPU, HDD, even factory installed software. Now it's just massed produced and for example in the UK you can only choose 5 different version's of the 17. I mean what is up with that! Add that to the fact that Alienware seem to be chasing the pact not leading it anymore. It's disappointing all round.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Alienware, I own the R5, owned the R4 (which I believe to be the better laptop) and I own an Alienware ALX so i'm not bashing a brand that I do enjoy.

Just noticed this on another review website.

The Alienware 13 will integrate Nvidia’s Maxwell architecture via the GTX 860M, a mobile GPU easily capable of smooth gaming at 1440p, and likely an available trio of Intel's INTC -0.23% Haswell-based Core i processors. It will also accommodate two SSDs, up to 16GB of system memory, 802.11ac Wireless, and the already excellent Klipsch audio present in last year’s Alienware notebooks. And of course it will ship with AlienwareFX lighting and their latest 4.0 version of the Command Center (which is a surprisingly useful piece of software).

They’ve designed this notebook with a “full throttle” cooling system — it’s an internal, copper, thermal solution designed to keep the hardware cool under heavy loads. It’s a problem thin and light notebooks are plagued with. Need proof? As sexy as the 2014 Razer Blade is, I just measured its hottest external point after just 20 minutes of gaming: 126 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s a scenario Alienware is actively working to avoid.

 

Yeah about that,

Razer is running kepler GTX870m not Maxwell GTX860m while having a thinner case , no special fans/heatsink required to cool the laughable maxwell GTX860m what is even more of a slap to the face some reporting the cpu will not be a quad core but ultrabook cpu, this thing is a failure before it even got released, by the time this thing is out razer/others might put a real maxwell 970m instead of 870m and laugh at alienware, only reason they revealed this laptop already because they don't want to lose more sales vs others, the thin and light laptops are selling like crazy now

 

So does anyone know what the strange port in the back does?

 

It sort of looks like a micro-DVI port, but it seems a bit too big (long) for that. Not sure what it is.

The MacBook Air has one:

 

No not that one, but the large port seen in the back of the laptop, Picture

Maybe some kind of dock connector or some kind of expansion port? I can't say that I recognize the symbol next to the port either.

 

That's what I was referring to. From left to right:

Micro-DVI, Mini-display Port, HDMI

That's what it looks like. I don't know what it is. None of the reviews mention it.