Alienware 13 Pre-Release Speculation Thread

Any review on the speaker quality? How's the bass as well thanks

 

I'll see if I can get more games downloaded and installed.
The speakers are located on the let and right side of the notebook. This provides and creates a great stereo effect.
Sound has great clarity and gets pretty loud however bass is extremely lacking. I don't think the 13 has a sub-woofer.

 

2.0 speakers. No where to put the subwoofer.
A tried and true successor the the m11x line for sure... except with better thermals.
Speaking of thermals, a thread on here says Haswell ULV processors throttle at 70 C or at most 13w. Could you check on this with the 13? Maybe use Cinebench or something that is CPU based? Whenever you have time, of course.

 

I just ran a few bench's along with Cinebench and it didn't hit 70degs on the CPU.



NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-4210U Processor,Alienware 0VMGD7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-4210U Processor,Alienware 0VMGD7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-4210U Processor,Alienware 0VMGD7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-4210U Processor,Alienware 0VMGD7

 

Nice temps. That's one thing alienware does right. The laptop I"m currently on is burning my palm while I'm typing this and all I have open is a browser. Never again shall I buy a non-dellalienware brand of laptop...

 

Bf4 performance?!?!

 

100% utilization and at 61 C? Very good.
Benchmark scores aren't too bad, as well.

 

Would u say the speakers r better then the m11x? I don't need earth shattering sound but I always thought the speakers were horrible, were they even considered kliptch? R1 by the way

 

Only the m11x R3 had Klipsch speakers; the R1 and R2 had whatever audio-brand speakers.

 

Hello guys!

I would like to know if the i7 (u version) reaches higher temps than i5 (u version)?
Both with 15W? same battery life?

Most People stay in 8GB config? Why not 16GB?

Regards

 

For daily usage I think 8 will be more then enough memory but for gaming 16gb absolutely, I was only going to get the 8 but they through in the 16gb for free

 

People don't usually need more than 8GB's, and it's cheaper.

The memory they provide is OEM crap. You should go aftermarket and purchase Kingston or Crucial.

 

8 GB is fine for gaming purposes even today; on a more general purpose system (like a AW 14) where work use is involved even then most people will not know the difference. I however, make a practice of pumping mine up to max, because, well I work in IT. Very few games exist that come close to exceeding 8GB though even now. I just always minimize disk and memory on Alienwares to bring the cost down then go buy my own to bump it up. Like a lot of folks who get HDD's, I will swap it out with an SSD (probably within a week of getting it if I decide to keep it). This go round though I am not sure I see any real benefit in pushing memory to 16 GB on a dual-core system.

And that's another reason, they don't use very good memory all things being equal for the price!

 

~40 fps on ultra with a few things turned down on battlefield 4.

 

okay thanks guys! regarding...i5u vs i7u:
temperature? battery life? is there a big difference?

 

When you order the i7, the order details actually show a Broadwell dual-core ULV CPU. So, we don't know, yet.

If I had to guess... Should be cooler, more efficient, and perform about 20% faster than the i5-4210U.

 

Does generic oem ram really make that big of a difference compared to "real" expencive ram? Iv never had a problem with past computers

 

For gaming, no. For work, no. For benchmarking, yes.

 

Hey AA9510,

Yeh the 13 speakers are Klipsch and yes they are better than the M11x R1 speakers. :thumbsup:

I got the 8GB because they didn't give me the 16GB config for free and also because it was like $200 extra to upgrade to the 16GB RAM option. If I need more RAM i usually but it aftermarket as well.

I need to re-download BF4 - this could take a while on my super slow net connection.

 

Cool, which screen did you get?

 

I can't believe a gaming laptop has a touchscreen. Seems odd when you think about it.

 

Reborn, can u manually pick with graphics card to use, or how does it work?
Thanks

 

Touch games?

 

Ha, let me rephrase...

I can't believe an Alienware gaming laptop has a touchscreen. Seems odd when you think about it.

 

Ahh, the clarity makes more sense now. Who plays touch games on Alienwares?

 

I guess people who love Angry Birds.

 

Also keep in mind that even those who buy an alienware may not spend most of their time playing games. I definitely consider myself a gamer, I even run a gaming website. But gaming is in the single digit percentages when it comes to my total computer use time. I love games and wouldn't own a machine that couldn't run games, but I only actually game about 30 minutes a day - yet I'm still going to buy an alienware.

That being said, I personally probably wouldn't use the touchscreen much. But I know graphic editors that swear by them, so everyone has different preferences and uses even from the same machine.

 

I'm personally not a huge computer gamer...but I'm studying to be an engineer and these computers run our programs like a champ. I'm also vain so alienwares really are perfect for me. Alienfx ftw

 

We've been probed by aliens for too long!

It is time we Touch them back

But I wont get a touch screen, my toddlers will surely have their dirty fingers busy when they realize daddy's alien can be touched.

 

touch screens are overrated. also a touchscreen is extremely glossy which is annoying.
every laptop should have matte/antiglare option.

 

would choosing the 256gb M2 SSD over the 500gb/1tb HDD make the laptop lighter? 4.5 pounds for a 13inch still seem kind of heavy to me as i am a college student. i wish the alienware 13 would be somewhere around 4 pounds or less

 

Maybe, but it may not be noticeable.
Unless you carry tons of books, notebooks, and utensils along with your laptop everyday (seriously, how many classes do you have per day?), a 4.5 lb laptop with a couple of each thing I listed isn't that bad (unless you have a bad back).

 

Keep your opinion to yourself, as a Alienware M11X R1 owner. I would gladly accept touchscreen, the screen is glossy to begin with so I am used to them. I had been using a friend's laptop for a while and I enjoy using the touchscreen.

Sometimes it's quicker or easier to reach for the screen than the mouse especially when you're on the airplane and you don't have a lot rooms.

If you don't like the glossy/touchscreen? Don't get the Super-HD version, just get the full-hd verson and enjoy your matte/touchless screen.

 

I live off campus and its about a 15 min-20 min walk to get to class. i own a TPY 14 (bought it over thanksgiving but will be returning it because of the extremely glossy display) and its 4.2 pounds. its not too bad, but sometimes you have to carry the charger along with some other stuff/books/folders and that can get heavy.

 

Oh, you live off campus. Oops, assumed you lived on campus or else I wouldn't have factored in the charger (then again, if you can make the most out of the battery life, you wouldn't need to bring the charger).
Hmmm... well, 0.25 lbs won't be too noticeable on a back (if you use a messenger bag, I can't speak as how that experience is). You might not even notice it.

 

I'm looking for something similar, as I do have back problems. If you don't mind extending your budget a bit and don't need the micro DP port, check this out: XOTIC PC | GIGABYTE P34Gv2-CF2 - 14.0" Gaming Notebook with GTX 860M
That laptop weighs 3.57 pounds.

 

I've been waiting out on this laptop mainly because it's a gaming laptop with touch. After using my Razer Edge for a while but then going back and forth to my M11x r3...Touch is a serious advantage within my work environment. I could have easily purchased an MSI or Asus but they don't really have a dedicated gaming laptop that also has touch. (I ended up getting an Asus Windows transformer to tie me over until the i7 comes out for AW 13). I won't ever buy Razer again so tge Razer 14 is out of the question.

 

Am I correct that I read somewhere that the frame/casing is carbon based composite? I have a 6-7 year old Sony Vaio Z serie that is made of carbon and I think it is the best material for making durable laptops that still look clean and new(ish) after 6 years of usage... I saw someone earlier mention that it has a plastic case, so just to be sure.

I think I'm currently gonna wait and see what is going to become of the Alienware 13 and the MSI GS30. I really can't make up my mind on an ultra portable performance monster that can keep me company for an other 6 years. An other real alternative for me would be the Clevo w230st that even packs up to a i7-49xxMQ. But not sure about the build quality. The current Alienware 13 with its current cpu is ok for these day's, but in my opinion just does not have enough power to make it 4 years in the future. Thats my main concern.

A other question:
I really would like to know how big/heavy the powerbrick is. I really get devastated when seeing a powerbrick of, for example, a GS60.

Will be following this topic.

PS. In the Netherlands we also don't have a i7 U option yet, (to be honest, I would rather go for a Thinkpad T440s with a i7 U and a 860 in it because of the better build quality, longer battery live, and more business look. I really hope the AW 13 will come with a quardcore.)

EDIT: Srry.. T440s has a 730, not a 860... >.<... making this mistake a 2nd time now... >.<. So above statement is not true when looking at game performance.

 

I just got the 1080p IPS panel.

I can't switch GPU's i just does it automatically between the intel and 860m on the fly.
Pretty sure it uses Optimus.

In regards to the touchscreen. I think it is always good to have different options available to try and suit all users needs. I would have bought the UHD touch screen however it was an extra $419 upgrade. That was just way to steep for my liking!

I can't wait till the rest of you guys get your 13!!! :thumbsup:

Cheers.

 

@reborn2003

By any chance, do you have any real battery life data to report ? Probably the point that would make me buy it! Thanks mate =)

 

Mine is out for delivery! Full unboxing around noon

 

Hey Paul,

I'm still on the 13 running on battery and have been since 5:50pm today.
I've been running heaps of random tasks. Watching shows, heaps of web surfing, installing software/games and it still roughly has over 1hr left atm. Hope that helps.
Oh I have also been running on full screen brightness and AlienFX lights on the entire time.
Not too bad I reckon.
I would definitely be interested to see what kind of battery life the new broadwell CPUs and 960M brings.
As well as the performance gains!

Hey Sandman! I can't wait to see your results and overall review/opinion of the 13. :thumbsup:

 

Congrats Sandman !!! Pics, pics!

 

Would be nice to see an unboxing video of some sort.

 

Will do -- thanks man!

Oh man, i'm awful with video. Plus I'm not set up for it. Have you ever tried unboxing something with one hand? haha

 

Does anyone want to donate a 970 or 980 for testing? I'll send it back!

 

That really sounds too good to be true, since it's only a 52Wh battery (and about 3000mAh capacity) but I guess this is mostly due to the i5 low voltage CPU. Sorry to be a pain, but do you have BatteryBar app installed ? This excellent software monitors the battery capacity, lifetime remaining as well as the current discharge rate (in mW) - I'd be really interested in seeing what's the latter while you randomly use the lappy to compare with my P34G!

Thanks again =)

 

This one yeh https://batterybarpro.com/ ?

I'll give it a shot and report back results.
What are your current results with the P34G?

 

Congrats Sandman ! Pics, pics! Please Thanks.

 

Correct!

I used to get around 4 hours battery life, with the discharge rate fluctuating between 10mW up to 13mW in power saving mode/wifi ON/30% brightness - not the case on the screenshot =)