Alienware M18X - Guessing the Launch Date

Good point.

As the power supplied was problematic on previous dual video cards + extreme processor configurations, it makes sense Dellianware are trying their very best to get this unit out without any power flaws, which would explain the delay, and the fact that the test unit for review was holding only one 460M, and no extreme processor.

And unfortunately, I am sure the Z68 chipset will only make it's way through the second revision of the M18X, the most likely M18Xr2, but I am very excited about this cache feature on SSDs, via the IRST, while I don't exactly understand how that works, looks promising, though. As already mentionned, can't wait to TRIM in RAID too...

As for being the guinea pig thing, aren't we used to be the bêta testers for those made-for-enthusiastics-only-products ?

 

No they had two 460's all along but for some reason the first time they benchmarked with a single card, the specs said 460m SLI all along, you must've missed it
Anyway better for us that way we have a direct comparison between single 460m and 2 of them is SLI.

 

Just got off the phone with a Dell rep and they did not want to talk about the M18X at all. As a matter of fact it almost felt like they did not even want to admit to it's existence. I was able to put my self on a callback request when it is available so it may be soon or they may have set the launch date. Best info I can share. It's like trying to get into Area 51 to find out if aliens exist!

 

It's part of their 'teasing'...

 

May 11th does have a nice ring to it, haha.

 

Nothing is more sexy sounding to my ears then May 1st. However, if I was putting money on it I'd guess May 25th.

 

25th eh? Why would you say 25th, just wondering?

 

There was something about a problem with the SLI bridge, so they went ahead and benched the single card.

 

Did you talk to an american rep, or some idiot from india?

 

I first called the number that was shown with the 21% coupon shown on slickdeals.net. It was through thier EPP program. In just 15 seconds I was talking with a very understandable english representative. Tried to price out an R3 and found out about the M18 right after making the quote. Called him back and started asking about the M18 and he remained silent finally saying "I cannot comment on that information". He did of a callback when it comes out though.
1-800-695-8133

 

Try talking to the Alienware branch in Nashville. They are the nicest, and they actually help you out.

 

I don't have any evidence that points towards the 25th. It's late enough in the month that I shouldn't be disappointed when we find out the real date.

 

I would hope it gets released in early May, just how the R3 was released in early March <3

 

I believe the r3 17 was introduced in Jan and was pulled because of the intel recall. There are a few people on these forums who ordered after they were shown at CES at the start of the year. I know I ordered my r3 on Jan 26th or there abouts and found out about the recall on Feb 1, and my order got pushed to EDD of April 18th. However I cancelled that one and I got one sooner by reordering when they became available on the site again.

However I am waiting with baited breath to even configure my 18x.

 

Guys there's something we forgot. In the presentation the Dell executive said that the M18X will be available in Japan after a week, so can it possibly launch in japan without being launched in the USA? Maybe available in may meant available at the start of may

 

Is there any videos uploaded on YouTube, vimeo, etc of the Alienware Conference? And Start of May? I hope you're right, cause that's 2 weeks.

 

Finally got it:
YouTube - Alienware Conference New Gadget M11x R3, M14x and M18x - 1 / 3
YouTube - Alienware Conference New Gadget M11x R3, M14x and M18x - 2 / 3
YouTube - Alienware Conference New Gadget M11x R3, M14x and M18x - 3 / 3

 

Ryan 23, you are indeed the man.

 

All I want are two things:

1- Release date as soon as possible
2- No shockers in the upgrade pricing especially Xfire 6970

 

All i got from those videos was "The all new M-e-lemon-ex" @.@... the androids mangled speech was mesmerising.

 

What was the pricing?

 

Quoted price for M18x? US$1999 is the only figure I've seen confirmed.

 

2000 dollars is a bit pricey. I got my R3 for around 2700, I hope I don't have to pay anything extra over 300+

 

The non Aussie NBR users may get a chuckle from this:

The Australian dollar has just hit a new high "US$1.07 " ...right...

Alienware M14x Base model
US Website: $1,199.00...
AU Website: $2,199.00...

Can someone please explain to me why there is a $1000 price difference? Yes consider this a rhetorical, it's cos we live in the land of the lucky. So, my yankie cousins, who would be so kind to hook us upside downers up with a sexy new M18x when they drop??

 

I'd choose the higher performing machine that cost less money.

I completely agree though that the Clevo's don't have the best designs, but they aren't as bad as your comparison lol, and coming from a professional IT environment, not just a pc gamer, I'll say the Alienware looks more like a kid's toy than a pc powerhouse. Love the stealth look but I think the audio controls and huge logos kind of discredit the Alienware design for most people who work in a professional environment. Explaining a perspective here on the design since you made the comparison of the two yourself. Yours was funny but pretty inaccurate. I think the Clevos are more like the BMW 7 Series and the Alienware looks like a Lambo owned by Missy Eliot.

 

Clevos are ugly bricks like a 1978 dodge. And please, this b.s. reason of being more professional looking is not only untrue but a lame excuse for Clevos crappy uninspired looks. Plus clevo has less features and crappy customer service.

 

I asked someone I know at Dell (no not some lame csr) and he said either 5-11 or 5-15 but the date is still a "moving target".

 

It's absolutely true, but if it just comes down to looks there's no way I can argue the Clevo over Alienware for pc gamers. My bad for making it seem like I tried to say Clevos look good. They don't in comparison to some of the big manufacturer notebooks on the market today, but they aren't as bad as that dodge, lol. Maybe if you grab one of the older dell Inspirons or XPS's that'd be more accurate example of a 1978 dodge. Those big gray silver slabs.

However, for the sake of argument go ahead and tell me about all the different offices you work in where that Alienware will fit right in as a professional computer, and not some kid's gaming laptop?

 

I work as a medical student doing rotations and I took my R2 everywhere--clinics, conferences, lectures given by hospital admins, you name it. It received tons of compliments from several older doctors. Unless you somehow don't consider doctors and hospital admins professionals I can call your claim pure b.s. Btw see this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/568307-pics-m17xr3-business-setting.html

P.s. Teenagers and kids can't afford these computers. Most of us are adult professionals.

 

True words!!
We're just tired of them grey macs(which BTW also have them bitten apple logo on the lid) and ugly laptops, that's not professional, that's simply tasteless .

ps: a BMW is nowhere near a clevo!

 

I'm pretty sure that looks is only one part of a laptop. Certainly if you are spending $2,000 to $4,000 on a laptop that you expect every part of the laptop to be amazing. But what happens when everyone gets their new mx18 and can't match the ugly x7200 stock 27,000 vantage score. I think you guys should be focusing more on the difference between the 2720qm and i7 960 if anything. Though to be honest, can even the 2720qm be overclocked compared to an i7 960?

 

I'm hoping for a launch date of 15 May, it would be the perfect birthday present!

 

Or.....maybe they are saying May and-like their EDD's-will actually come early!!!

Ditto!!!!!! Hope I can get one for about $3000-3200 spec'd. Twould be nice.

Uh, 2920XM in the M18. Pretty sure it could at least match the 960. Right???

 

From the performance angle remember that ONE 485M is about equal to dual 460's in SLI, so there is a large bump up in performance from better GPU's. Moreover, the 6970 is neck and neck with the 485, so that too, is going to be about double the SLI 460 scores you are seeing from the review.

So don't dwell too much on the review FPS scores, because they will get a lot bigger when 2x (your high end card of choice) come to play.

 

Yeah, $3000 is the mark for me, I think that should be able to easily get Xfire 6970, 2720, momentus XT 500 gb, 8gb ram, intel 6300.
Not interested about 2920xm, I don't benchmark, I play, so won't notice any difference at all.
And for people comparing 960 to the 2720, how about you forget for a moment about overclocking and consider their capabilities stock for stock! Most people are gamers not benchmarkers, and for them overclocking is an afterthought, me included, so what we're looking for is performance out of the box, and 2720's performance is so much higher than 960's at stock clocks.
So plz think about that when comparing the two chipsets.

 

Totality agree with you on that, thanks!!!

 

I mentioned the comparison between the 2702qm and i7 960 due to the price difference between those two cpus and the i7 990x/2920xm.

Benchmark Results: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 : Mobile Gaming: Can Core i7-2920XM Beat Desktop Core i7-980X?

Tomshardware shows us that yes the 2920xm is indeed a bit faster (3-5 fps) faster than a desktop 980x. Still they are both really close and with a 990x the results might be almost impossible to differentiate.

But doesn't the i7 960 give just about the same performance as the 980x in games so for gamers not able to opt for the superior 2920xm, will the 2720qm be close enough to the 2920xm to warrant a buy?

 

All this talk of getting 5 fps more or less when you're already at 100+ or 60+ seems pointless and meaningless to me (and probably a lot of other folks) when the huge fat elephant in the room is that one person gets 40 minutes on battery life while the other has the option to get 3-5 hours.

 

Conversely those 5fps can make all the difference in the world when playing a game in 3D and not wanting to get a headache, while using it as a desktop replacement - therefore it remaining plugged in the majority of it's life (even during travel since airports have outlets) making 40 minutes on battery 40 minutes you'll never use.

The only time battery has meant something to me was when I was adjusting myself for comfort and accidently pulled the plug out.

Point being, everyone has different needs and expectations, and the more information available the better to make a proper decision.

edit:
Hoping for May 2, but only because the first is a Sunday.

 

Nothing is released on a monday, so that guess should be a May 3rd.

 

May 14th would be better for mine!

 

a Thuesday yes ... but 10 or 24, i think ...

 

Bragging rights. I don't do much benching either. I have done some on my R3 just to see what it could do-but I ain't dry icing and liquid nitrogenizing anything just to get higher scores. Just like playing sometimes. I never 'RUN' mine OC'ed. Everything is always stock b/c like you say, there really is no point in it in real life.
That said-wouldn't it be cool to be able to say "I have the FASTEST mobile CPU on the planet"?

 

Earlier the better for me. I was hoping to go home this weekend and actually have a chance to return this R3 to exchange it for an M18X, but I have to wait

 

Release date doesn't mean you're gonna get it that day, you should count at least 2 more weeks to get it, so why would you want it to be released on the 14th not sooner?

 

................................... I am aware I cant actually get it on the release day.

 

I thought that when the Q9300 came with my M17. That feeling lasted for a couple of months.

 

An Irish Dell sales rep was trying to convince me today the the M18X is out this wkend. I was trying to find out when the Nebula Red version of the M17X R3 would be released in Ireland (we can only get the black version atm) and she was trying to get me to buy an M18X instead. I told her she couldn't be right about the release date though........could she?

 

I just chatted with a sales rep and she told me they were expected next week...

Sunday?

 

I hope it comes out soon. I would think definitely by the end of May. i'm still going to wait to order... i want to see how some things fall out first