*Prospective* News/Discussion: Alienware M18x R3

You try and fit 384bit mem on mxm-b...

 

3gigs of it would fit no problem. How do you think they fit 4 gigs of memory? They're on both sides of the card. They just take off 4 chips like with the 192bit cards and there you have it.
They should fit some better quality vrm's while they're at it. The current ones ware out fast if one desides to overvolt. They can definitely fit it into the stellar price they'll be asking for the 880m. lol

 

It's not the number of chips, it's the number of traces that's the killer. That's 50% more routing lines cramped already as it is expected to run at over 4ghz signaling speed and not interfere with other parts in the machine.

 

I'm sure they could solve it if they want to. Problem is they won't because it would cost too much. lol

Do you think they'll introduce another MXM format in the future? For Maxwell or Einstein maybe?

 

Actually I think 256bit cards do need to use chips both sides (2GB cards are double sided too), so you would have to cram in 50% more ram chips too.

4GB cards use chips with double density storage but have the same amount of bit connection to the chip (16x16).

The problem with wider buses is the larger power draw and minimum chip sizes for all those connections that you bring onto the table. High speed 256bit connections are the sweet spot for notebooks IMO.

 

You're the tech expert Meaker. I'm not too knowladgeable on that part. The 7970m only uses ram on the upper side btw.

I still hold what I said about the 780m needing more bandwidth though. Or atleast ram that overclocks VERY well.

 

So it does, I don't know everything But yes it's the underlying traces that are the issue (and pin count on the BGA though the 480M showed that can be overcome, though while it supported 384bit all MXM modules were 256bit).

We could maybe see some higher rated low power GDDR5.

 

We'll see an MXM 4.0 sooner or later. If laptops switch to 2560x1440 or even higher than extra bandwidth will be a must have.

Until than I'm keeping my hopes up for the 780m and that higher rated low voltage gddr5.

 

The current MXM format supports the full output of displayport and internal displayport exists now for panels so a new slot is not needed (1080p 120hz supported).

The panel manufacturers just need to pull their finger out and create something new.

The 120hz panel has an internal DP connection on the M17X on a different motherboard plug (but no optimus when it is used).

 

I'd love to see some better quality screens on future gaming laptops. Even smart phones are besting them now when it comes to contrast and black levels.
It would be nice to have a 120hz screen for the next m18x. It would finally allow people to use their gpu's to their full potential

 

The problem is getting the panels made, if the M18X is the only machine using it then no one will produce such a small number.

 

Would be nice if Dell launched an 18.4" multimedia notebook for 3d movie watching.
Than we could have that screen in the m18x. I just hope there will be an R4.
Planning to get one with the 880m's. Maxwell's target is an 80% perf/watt improvement over Kepler.
That would be an awesome leap for us notebook users.

 

this is why we need a m20x

btw 8990m is just a possibility, naming obviously only going up to 8970m unless AMD decides to do something awesome. take a look at roadmap chart on this page AMD Radeon HD 8000M series gets detailed, numbers and specs galore :: TweakTown USA Edition see 8800 series are out in Q1, theres a chance the one above in Q2 is 8900 when comparing it to 7000 series. just a slim chance there maybe 8990 no?

 

Um, no we don't, LOL. Don't start the M20x, M22x, M32x crap again... please.

 

8800m is a rebrand of the 7800m series.

 

8800m again, brings back memories of my HP HDX 20.1" laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS

 

Hold on now... I know the idea is unpopular with some, but he is not the only one that would love having a slightly larger beast. I think there are more of us out there than the detractors think. The larger size could include more than a larger screen. It could house more awesome internal components as well. In its current form factor, the M18x is plenty portable in my view. A little bit larger would not be a big deal and the trade-off for more performance would be fair. A desktop Extreme CPU and a cooling system to chill it well would be one thing. At least one additional drive bay (not mSATA) would be another nice thing. For the right components, I would even go for little thicker chassis, too. We need a higher capacity AC adapter, too... I'd like to see that bumped to 500W. The only real challenge would be finding a backpack or computer bag that would work well. There are few good bags and backpacks for the M18x.

 

How about a 3D monitor ala M17x, then this would be the most perfect laptop ever built. Won't mind a bigger laptop as well, as for resoultion 1920 x 1080 is fine.

 

I'm sure an M19x wouldn't be much different, and they could probably upgrade a lot more - a larger PSU would indeed be nice - but 20" or larger is absurd in my opinion. You're getting up to 15 pounds or more in a laptop at that point. A 19" laptop seems plausible to me, but anything more would be ridiculous. Anyway, I was trying to get at the fact that this thread is about the M18x, not new models to replace it.

 

only problem is with the 120 hertz screen it disables the integrated video. Which for some would be ok but I like using it on long flights to watch a couple movies or work on school.

 

I agree with you. Going overboard with some crazy desktop cpu machine has no point. The current m18x is more than good enough for what it was designed for witch is mobile gaming without performance restrictions. If they put a hex or octa core desktop cpu into some crazy huge 20" notebook that would drive the price into the sky,kill mobility and sales as well.
They wouldn't sell more than a few hundred world wide. Too big,too heavy,too expensive. If people want desktop cpu's in a laptop they can always go for that ugly plastic box Clevo has.

 

i got both HDX and dell xps m2010, 15 lbs is nothing LOL. i managed to have an esata / usb 3 expresscard power line directly soldered onto a usb port internally so its kinda an upgrade, but loses an usb 2.0 =) can't get enough of the big screen man.

that aside, m19x would be quite a bit different, well that is if they dont take away m18x. I wouldn't mind they re mod heatsink in m18x, it isn't all that efficient tbh, instead of having 1 fan doing away with 1 heatsink, they could easily have dual fan together cooling 1 bigger heatsink connects either two GPU, or 1 CPU and GPU, like something in g74sx.

I got a 2920xm in g74sx and CPU temp load under 55C =/

better cooling, better keyboard, better usb/esata. and bigger screen

 

I really wouldn't mind them introducing a larger model(witch isn't gonna happen because of what I said in my previous comment)as long as they kept the m18x as it is with the mobile cpu's and the great build quality.
As for heatsink design. The current ones are very good. The cpu could use a quad heat pipe heatsink with more surface area on the fins for added OC potential.
The gpu heatsinks are fine as they are now though if they'd fit a larger cpu cooler they'd have room for a larger gpu heatsink as well.

 

I believe that only applies to systems like the M17x R3/R4 with hybrid switchable graphics. If my understanding is correct, Optimus and Enduro do not work. I think it should still be possible with the M18x manual switching.

 

I think 3D screen is over hyped, I would not purchase one but thats me 1 person of maybe couple thousands. how many of you actually went for 3D? or 120ghz screen

 

For me it would be about playing games at 120fps though I'd probably watch a few 3d movies too.
The m18x is fully capable of playing games at 120fps so it would be nice to have one.

 

thought humans eye cant tell difference between anything above 60fps, or was it 30?

 

The average person sees online 20-30 FPS, but it can be as high as 120 for some people. So, a 120Hz screen is about the maximum for the human eye.

I know I can see a difference from a 60Hz screen to 120Hz. I'd probably get a 120Hz screen just because they're brighter and "seem" more clear. But the current screens are pretty good for a laptop.

 

That's one of the stupidest misconceptions of recent time. The human eye isn't limited by fps.
When fps drops from 120 to say 80 you see lag or at least I do.

 

It's not limited by FPS, you make it sound like our eyes run at 60Hz with v-sync enabled.

But our brains can only process up to a certain amount of visual data per second, which amounts to roughly 20-30 FPS in any given second, if you do the math. (Don't quote me on this, I read it online.)

 

No no. We can only consciously perceive that much. It differs from person to person though. If we lived our lives in slow mo we'd perceive much more of the info our eyes pick up.
Anyway. I can tell the difference when the framerate drops and I'm pretty sure most others can as well. Try it out and you'll see what I'm talking about!

 

Ah, yes, okay. Well, I've already said that I notice a difference. I'd like to see the option of a 120Hz screen, but not for more than $250. Anymore than that and I'd rather buy a 24" external LED 3D monitor. So, as long as the price is right, I'm in. But this may also require a larger PSU.

I'd honestly much rather see everything be SATA III, better heat-sinks and double-ball bearing fans for smoother/quieter cooling. A slightly larger PSU wouldn't hurt either, perhaps 60W more (390W PSU).

 

Ahh we're doing a wishlist now?

Well my main wish is that they make an R4 so I can buy it with 880m's.

Otherwise I fully agree with what you wrote. 400 Watt psu would be nice and better cpu cooling for the XM's as stock and as an option for the lower cpu's.
I'd be more than happy to pay a hundred extra for a quad heat pipe heatsink.

 

The thing that made me choose the M17x over the M18x was the 120Hz screen.

I wish I had SLI, if only the M18x would have had 120Hz that would be insane! I think the cooling is already fantastic, and the noise of the fans doesn't bother me at all.. don't even notice it with game volume turned up

So IMO an M18x with a 120Hz display, would be the most beast thing on the planet.

 

Um, that's what this thread is for.

 

Well obviously but most of the suff people are asking here will never get in the production model.

A 120hz screen and a better psu is realistic though.

 

tbh single to triple pipes heatsink isn't that far different. single pipe is much wider than 1 copper pipe on the triple heatsink. if I were to say its about 1.5x the cooling capability. for actual number like how much it'll able to transfer that I do not know =/

if they can somehow make it 4 pipe heatsink then I'll be glad to buy it and overclock lol.

 

I think it's safe to say those three pipes can transfer twice as much heat. Since now we have the option for a slight overclock on non XM models they would be nice to have as an option.

 

it should be about time when Dell release info on specs of it's next alienware line up, maybe this month to april/may

 

LMAO look at this GeForce 700 Series - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia look at the spec on GTX TITAN LOL

also scroll down to see 730m, low config core but clock is high umm, picturing what 780m would be like.

 

what happened to that blog that used to leak this info or at least get it to us a little early?

 

I was thinking the same.

 

also eurocom offers a 600W (2x 300W) AC Adapter; Auto-switching 100-240V w/Converter Box (for Maximum XTU/OC/SLI Performance) is this feasable for are systems? does it work as intended?
they also let you select desktop and server cpus in the laptop.. (3.20 GHz (up to 3.80); Intel Core i7-3930K; 6C/12T; 12MB L3; 5GT/s; FCLGA2011; 32nm; 130W)

so i built an imaginary system on there site to see price comparison.. i wonder how this would rate against are systems.. and the price is under 5k..just above 4k for this mock up.


System and Display EUROCOM Panther 4.0
Choose your LCD Display 17.3-inch (43.9cm); FHD 1920x1080; GLOSSY (Glare); 90% NTSC; AUO B173HW01 V.4; 500:1; LVDS; Backlight LED
Professional Display Calibration Service Optional - choose from the options below:
Built-in Web Camera 2.0 Megapixels; FHD 1920x1080; 30fps; w/ Samsung HD controller
Biometric Fingerprint Device Integrated Fingerprint Reader for Secure Data Access and Easy Management of Passwords
Embedded Security Chip Embedded TPM 1.2 (Trusted Platform Module) Security Chip for Data Encryption
GPU / Graphics Technology Discrete GPU; Modular MXM 3.0b; Upgradeable; Dual VGA support (SLI and CF); up to 100W per card
VGA Graphics Options - Choose the one that you need and/or want SLI; 8GB; 2x 4GB GDDR5; NVIDIA GTX 680M (N13E-GTX); 1344 CUDA; 256-bit; VRAM 1800MHz; GPU 720MHz; Kepler (28nm); MXM 3.0b;100Wx2
Upgradeable Processor (CPU) with Diamond 24 Thermal Paste 3.20 GHz (up to 3.80); Intel Core i7-3930K; 6C/12T; 12MB L3; 5GT/s; FCLGA2011; 32nm; 130W
Memory (RAM) Configuration - Fully Upgradeable 16GB; 2x 8GB; DDR3-1600 PC-12800; 204pin - 2 SODIMMs
Graphics eXpansion Modules for 2-3 External Displays None - Choose from the options below
DisplayPort Adapters, Cables and Converters None - choose from the options below:
USB 3.0 Built-in 3x USB 3.0 and 2x USB 2.0 Ports
Internal Card Reader 9-in-1 Card Reader; MMC/RSMMC; SD/MiniSD/SDHC/SDXC; MS/MS Pro/MS Duo
1st Hard Drive. Choose Regular, Solid State or Hybrid Drive: 750GB; SSHD; Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid ST750LX003; SATA-600; 7,200rpm; 8GB SLC NAND Flash
2nd Hard Drive Choose your 2nd Hard Drive from the options below...
3rd Hard Drive Choose your 3rd Hard Drive from the options below:
4th Hard Drive 4th HDD co-shared with Optical Drive; no internal ODD available if 4th HDD selected; external ODD available
Extra Hard Drive Bracket(s) None - Choose from options below
Hard Drive(s) Setup i.e. Multiple Partitions, RAID 0/1/5/10 None - Choose from the options below
Choose Your Keyboard (Language) Backlit; English; USA/Canada; QWERTY
Operating System(s) None - Choose from the options below for Pre-install or install your own
Optical Drive 6x Blu-Ray WRITER; Tray; SATA; Panasonic UJ-260; BDXL 100/128GB media support; w/ software
TV Tuner (Internal and/or External) None - Choose from the options below
Bluetooth for Wireless Devices None - Choose from the options below
Wireless LAN 2-in-1 Module; 802.11b/g/n WLAN + Bluetooth 3.0; Half Mini-Card PCIe; Azure
ExpressCard Slot for External PCI Express Devices Built-in ExpressCard/54 slot - Choose EC/34 or EC/54 Adapter
Office and Business Productivity Software None - Choose from the options below
Built-in Subwoofer Built-in Subwoofer Module
Standard Battery (internal) Panther series Polymer Smart Li-Ion battery; 78.44Wh
Standard AC Adapter 600W (2x 300W) AC Adapter; Auto-switching 100-240V w/Converter Box (for Maximum XTU/OC/SLI Performance)
Standard Power Cord - included USA / Canada
Carrying Case None - Choose from the options below
Choose Your Warranty Plan 1 Year Return to Factory Depot with 1 Year of Tech Support

 

Stock for stock the Clevo will have a slight edge. OC'ed the M18x will annihilate it in all but CPU multi-threaded benches. That's my guess, based on the fact that Clevo didn't do any major changes to the heatsinks, which means, the CPU can barely hold its top frequency without overheating. You might be able to push it closer to 4ghz on all cores but that would be it, IMHO.

 

You mean this blog:

Dell News and more - All about Dell - News, Tips, Tricks, Secrets, and more...

I think this guys sources run dry. After the M18x leaks, Alienware/Dell has been very careful.

 

We are about 4 months (at least) away from the refresh. Wait 2 more months and you will start seeing some leaks

 

the leaks on GPU desktop part seems to be huge. a good 25% is expected which imo is pretty good, maybe we can see mobile card improve too.

 

Yeah... Dellienware is using adult antileak diapers now...

 

somehow i have a feeling R3 is getting some massive changes lol. just by adding or changing few ports everything gets changed too. surprises always good

 

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