Alienware 13 Pre-Release Speculation Thread

I was about to order then I saw no i7 option. Maaaaaaaan.... disapointed.

 

The option should be added later, but when's later? Who knows but Alienware.

 

How to enter the sweepstake? I watched the livestream till the product reveal and then closed it, so missed the sweepstake info.

 

I'll PM you the instructions. Since this sweeps is supposed to be special, I rather keep it that way.
If anyone else wants the link and mostly watched the twitch, PM me so I can respond.

 

I wanted to get one but without at least a higher end ulv i7 like the 4578U I'll pass for now. The 4210U is weaker than a G3258 and I've experienced bottlenecking on a gtx 470 with that cpu in non-cpu intensive games. I can only imagine how much worse it will be with a slower cpu and faster gpu.

 

Honestly it still has potential. Even if they don't have a quad core i7 option this year, perhaps they will next year. Its the first generation of the product, there are probably kinks and problems that will need to get ironed out for the next revision. Then they can add to it.

 

Perfect example of hating and embarrassing yourself, next!

 

Hi guys, I was looking at the Alienware 13 config options and I couldn't find an option to extend warranty. Am I just being dim and can't find it or is there no way to extend it with the 13? Thanks in advance

 

Which region are you from? The AUS and US sites have warranty options, as far as I have checked.

 

I am from UK and I can't find it anywhere. Really don't want to make such a purchase without a 2 year warranty minimum

 

I remember some users at my forum stating that within the UK, you have 2 to 5 years of warranty as said by law. I would check up on that to see if it is true, though.
However, after purchase, you can always extend your warranty.

 

Ah ok. That sounds good! I will contact dell regarding the price of 13 warranty extension. Many thanks for the help

 

Do any testers have one of these for review yet?

 

Well the manuals for the 13 and GA are up, and in regards to the storage options, well, have a look.

Other than that, the charger measures at 130 watts like the Alpha, and each screen has different dimensions. Never knew that kind of thing existed, but okay. The laptop is actually shorter with a higher res. screen, shortest being with the touch screen. The lightest is with the FHD screen, while the heaviest is with the QHD screen. Could be some weird measuring that happened.
As of now, the manual only lists the i5 and the GTX 860m. Nothing about an i3 or i7.
However, and someone answer me this, what does Alien Adrenaline do in the recent laptops? Because it seems to adjust RAM and GPU clock speeds. Does it adjust CPU clock speeds as well? I think I see that ability on the 13's page, but I'm not sure.
As well, it seems as if any version Command Center has compatibility with the GA.

Potential hack incoming for older Alienware laptops?

 

What a wasted opportunity by Dell. I would have purchased this with the 860M had it come with an HQ CPU.

Also, LMAO at this:

 

Yeah i7 should help ... a bit ... 600MHz difference between i5 and i7 and 4MB cache vs 3MB.

 

Anyone know if Alienware has a student discount or a loyalty program for those with past Alienware purchases?

 

Hi I am new here! I cant seem to figure out how to send a PM on this forum.

I also watched the twitch live stream but was cut off when the train went underground.
Can you please also send me the instructions?

Thanks!

 

Since you don't have enough posts, you cannot send PMs (this is what I understand). Sorry. I rather have it kept in secret rather than open in public.

Well there's Dell advantage, You'd get 4% off the 13, and double if you finance the laptop.

 

I'm kinda tinking on getting one 13��

 

Can I slap in a 1 TB ssd or 2 M.2 512 gb ssds in Raid 0 and call it a day in this machine?

 

Does the amplifier work with internal display or only external? It doesn't plainly say on their website but I bet only external monitors are compatible.

"Powerful capability: Outfitted with up to an Intel® Core™ i5 U processor for full-throttle action" = LMAO

 

Works on the internal display as well.

 

Pretty much.

 

kind off topic here, but I just found this hilarious comment from this apple fan on anandtech. although his comments is 99% full of complete bs, he did mention something real in the end.
@Mr. Fox you might wanna check this guy out

now that AW hopped on the soldered train, I wonder what happens next

 

You have to remember, in a laptop like the new AW13, the soldered CPU/GPU has more to do with space than anything else. When they're building a slim, small 13 inch notebook, CPU/GPU sockets take up precious room and would make their desired form factor otherwise impossible. When looking at the AW13, you have to remember that the system itself is built on a compromise. We have yet to see what Alienware is going to do with the AW17 and AW18 and quite frankly I find it hard to believe that they would completely alienate their core customers that want upgradeable units. In the 17 and 18 since there's room to spare by design, it would serve little purpose to push throw away systems. Also, the dude you quoted was an idiot, I'm not even going to address that nonsense.

 

So what is our verdict on the graphics "amplifier"? I personally think it's pretty cool, especially since I travel a lot, I could take it with me and still run decent graphics and have my Area 51 for my desktop when I'm at home.

 

I don't know if GA will have a future, i prefer a laptop with high performance like AW17-18. Maybe new lighter version will be the solution. The AW13 is cool cause is very portable, but GA not

Also i think it's expensive. Suppose i buy now the AW13, after 2 years becomes obsolete? Ok no problem i'll take GA with GTX 980 (or better), but i've spent about 1.000$. I prefer buy a brand new AW13 with updated (and better) hardware.

 

eGPU setups can be quite handy to turn a laptop that hasn't got a decent gpu into something that is gaming capable. But the 13 has got a decent gpu and the dual core ulv i5 already has a hard time keeping up with the 860m, so in the current state of the 13 it is completely useless.

 

Can you point me to any proofs, tests, reviews etc?

OK, found the proof here.

 

The manual, download the manual! Also Check in YouTube!

Check this link. http://beta.techradar.com/reviews/p...tops-and-netbooks/alienware-13-1270655/review

 

I know this could be a stretch and pointless, but I brought up an idea on Ideastorm that can make a quad-core 13 more of a reality to sell. If you want it to happen, then read the idea and vote it up so that Dell/Alienware can see it.

 

That is disappointing, I was about to pull the trigger but found only the i5 cpu.....

They are doing the same with the M11x again, there is going to be R2, with i7, then probably 9XX GPUs in R3.
I may now consider getting the Gigabyte P34Gv2 instead.

 

But with an i7 it'd be pretty worth it?

 

You get extra 4% off through Dell EPP plus 10% back in gift card with Dell advantage if you pay using the Dell preferred account.

 

By now we only have the i5 listed. It could change in the future, however we have no info on that yet.

 

FWIW, I bet we see the i7 with 900-series offering.

I know the feeling of disappointment, I was stoked expecting some kind of i7 quad option for a AW 13 and a gift under the tree... now Alienware has ruined my Christmas... way to go AW

 

sarcasm aside I do wanna point out that AW 13 has enough space in the z axis to fit in a PGA socketed CPU, while on board 860m is inevitable, there's simply no excuse for them to go with soldered CPU. also what do you think why do I quoted that dude? because I take him seriously at all lol?

 

I was confused about that, so thanks. I did omit the rewards thing because it doesn't really factor into the price of the laptop itself.

 

Only if it is a quad core i7 but even the lowest spec one has a tdp of 37w vs 15w for a dual core. Let's just hope the cooling system however was designed for something more than just a dual core core and cpu's like the i7-4712HQ will be an option.

Unfortunately there is an excuse, the AW13 was probably designed with cpu's that have a 15W tdp (U series) and Intel only offers them in a BGA package. Now they could have designed it to be used with a full voltage cpu but then they would have make the cooling system a lot larger thus enlarging the whole system and making it thicker (and nowadays the consumer wants a slim sleek machine instead of a bulky big machine like the 14)

And yes the Clevo W230SS as an example has got a full voltage quad core cpu but that system is 32mm in height vs the 26 for the AW 13.

 

Ideally, we would want a ULV Quad, but it seems to be far away still.

In this review on trusted; Alienware 13 - Full Review and Benchmarks , the AW13 gets around 40 minutes more of battery, but the Razer is using the highest Quad full vottage CPU, so I wonder if Alienware in the future can find a compromise?


Still though I love what Alienware is doing, is that they are making sure that their games under no throttle. It's clear that many gaming laptops who try to be portable can't handle it. It's too taxing without cooling pads and all sorts of loops. I personally rather just have a less powerful system but with more longevity due to lower temperatures and consistent performance due to lack of throttling. That's not to say that I am not open for it being as powerful as possible as that of course is really nice.
This is just the first time in a long time I have seen a company lax on the thinness, and weight and instead acknowledge that heat durability and battery are real enemies when it comes to construction, design and mobility respectively. I think Razer Blade 14 would have been a much better notebook had it just been half a inch thicker and half a pound heavier. Then you would still have the footprint, but you could get that extra cooling in there to make it run cool even when under pressure. 90-95 degrees within 10 minutes of working or gaming is just too crazy.
Yeah it's true that the thermal max is 105 or sometimes even 110, but pushing it that far is not gonna sit well for the components in the long haul, which of course is a dealbreaker if you want to use it over several years.



I see AW13 as a steam machine away from home. Even with the amplifier I dont see it replacing a Desktop rig. It's more like a complimentary system. This is the small, portable yet decently powerful thing that is big enough to do decent work, schooling and movie watching as well as gaming. It doesnt break the bank but its build well, and it will let you get some gaming at reduced settings when you are away from home. if you spend a lot of time at the girlfriend, or if your parents are divorced or many hours at work, the amplifier really makes sense, particularly if you have old graphics cards you dont know what to do with.

I am really in love with what AW13 is, though I guess I am not in the market for one for at least a year, but I cant wait to see the R2 and R3 revisions of this product. To me it's very promising. We all know that picking the 11-inch and 14-inch categories had something to do with little competition in these footprint ranges and that made it so much easier for marketing to call M11x and M14x the most powerful 11-inch and 14-inch systems in the world.
13-Inch machines have always been the most ideal form factor, in my opinion as the realm between something that is not a burden to carry around every day, and something which is big enough to get actual sh*t done on. the screen of a 13-inch is roughly the size of a A4 paper in dimensions and having it on a lap is for most people means they dont have to cram their arms inwardly like with smaller notebooks, or outwardly like with the bigger ones. It just fits, and now energy consumption with kepler, and even more so with maxwell is coming so much down that we can begin to forget the horrible days of 8400 and 8600m GT that so many of us dread. The laptop market was such incredible bull around 10 years ago. And this amplifier marks a launch of something we have been talking about since Apple first really pushed Thunderbolt.
Even today its still expensive, but the technology shows a lot of promise, and AW allowing you to use whatever graphic card you want (so long its not over the Watt limit) is a nice thing of them to do, though it would have been nice had they not used a proprietary plug for the Amplifier, but I guess their R&D don't want people using the amplifier on other laptop brands, which makes sense given the millions they must have invested in testing and manufacturing this, but still.



I hope quality remains consistent on AW13. I hope the hinge problems of M11x is behind us, that temperatures are low, and that these ULV CPUs actually are up to snuff. Assassins Creed and Dragon Age Inquisition will be good test benches of this i5 CPU later this month, not to mention GTA5 when it hits early next year. I never expect a company to aim 100% right the first time, but I like the way Alienware prioritizes. Many gaming laptops have irresponsible specs due to throttling headroom and that is not mentioned on a lot of review sites because the people reviewing the products are not testing them long enough to really see that. Throttling and downclocking really sucks. Low thermal headroom really sucks, and that is something I wish more reviewers would pay attention to.
I see Anandtech paying attention, and I feel Lisa from Mobile Tech is also good, but there are other sites like TheVerge where I just roll my eyes.

 

Well this says it all (but keep in mind it's from laptopmag and their reviews compared to those of notebookcheck are kinda poor):

On the BioShock Infinite test, the Alienware 13 notched 76 fps on low at 1080p, beating the 63 fps category average. Neverthless, this rig was easily surpassed by both the Y50-70 (96 fps)

The y50 has the exact same gpu but sports a full voltage quad core, so clearly the ulv is bottlenecking the gpu as expected. And Bioshock infinite is a game that isn't really cpu bound.

 

I find it hard to believe the AW 13 will be a successful product considering pretty much everything about it is either obsolete or bottlenecked, and overpriced because of that. Personally, I don't expect to see an AW 13 R2. It just seems like one of those things that just doesn't last. Alienware has stooped to a new low.

They should have redesigned the AW 14 like the AW 13, and then put some decent hardware in it. That would be one hell of a 14" notebook. :thumbsup:

 

Going to have to break this down into smaller pieces.

I wonder how much we can optimize the battery life of the 13. It might be the GTX 860m that is pulling the numbers down as I expected at least more than 6 hours (my current laptop can get 7 at most). And other than that, to use a full-voltage laptop, they would have to up their cooling in the 13 (something I suggested they do on Ideastorm, but ehh...). I don't think the reason there isn't a full voltage CPU in there is because they don't want to but because the 13 wouldn't be able to cool it and the GTX 860m at adequate temperatures.
I agree with the new approach Alienware has taken with the portable laptop market. Longevity over power, but to deliver that power at home, the existence of the Graphics Amplifier comes into to play (albeit, it isn't the best solution). I rather have a laptop live long enough for me to sell it in a few years. And added power when I get home? As long as it's above 60 FPS, sounds good to me.

Well that's the odd part. The 13" gaming laptop market only has 2 laptops (well 3 if you count the Aorus X3, but that's a 13.3" screen on a 14" laptop chassis): the 13 and the Clevo W230SS, and soon enough the MSI GS30 will join the foray. In screen size, the 13 doesn't have much competition. However, once you lump it with ultra-portable gaming laptops, it doesn't look so great for the 13.
Nonetheless, an R2 is inevitable since it has to be updated with Broadwell and the 900m series. I still think the 14" size is the ideal comfort for a laptop, but then again, I never have used a 13" laptop.
The GA has to be proprietary unless Alienware releases and custom cable-to-Thunderport adapter. It could happen, but it also may cost alot for a cable. Still, I doubt the GA would limit itself to the 13.

I think the 13 will succeed in those regards; however, I think the launch of the 13 was poorly executed, as well as the GA. I am sure releasing limited edition 14 with GTX 860m and delaying the 13 to January would have been a better scenario. They had the GTX 860ms in stock thanks to the Alpha, so why not use them? But sadly, that was not the case. The 13 has been receiving some mixed reception, and it has potential to be a good gaming laptop, but the timing of the 13 couldn't have been worse. Still, to those who are early adopters, they could give us insight on what the 13 holds. It hasn't gone onto consumer hands yet, so we'll need to wait for the people who buy them, rather than the reviewers, to make a judgment.

 

ahem, gigabyte, ahem, razer, ahem msi

 

The i7 offered will still only be dual core.

 

Oh yeah. Complete face palm. A "what were they thinking" moment. I was going to buy the 13 and the amplifier and then I saw the pathetic CPU offering and the last gen underwhelming 860M. I have been waiting and just too little. The amplifier is a really exciting tech advancement only to be grounded by a laptop that is completely disappointing. Alienware needs to desperately step up their game.

 

Sky Diver benchmark for 13.
Cloud Gate benchmark for 13.
Fire Strike benchmark for 13.
Icestorm not found, which explains why it doesn't have a 3DMark score.
All use R9 290x as the GPU.

 

I suppose we'll only see dual core options because of thermal limits in a 13" form factor. Dell doesn't like to take risks when it comes to burning laps. I'd recommend holding off until Broadwell is released. The change to 14nm + the mobile efficiencies will likely allow for a quad core option while remaining within thermal specs. Just speculation, but in the past Alienware hasn't been overly slow in adapting new techs, releasing updates alongside Intel's major releases. GTX 960m is also likely to be added at the same time. Q1 2015 is my guess for a refresh across the Alienware suite.

 

hi guys,

if there is going to be an r2 / r3 for this, any guess on the estimated launch / availability?