What users want in the M18x R2

Carbon fiber would have made this thing cost hundreds if not thousands more. I'd be all for weight savings though, I do think the 12lbs is rather excessive and unnecessary, and they could have a much better chassis that is thinner and lighter while giving even better cooling, but I expect the chassis will be unchanged for the R2.

I do like tray loading CD/DVD drives for the cases of a disc getting stuck, but the slot-load seems to be pretty standard these days and for an occasional-use piece of hardware, is probably okay. Personally I think the CD-ROM is way outdated, not unlike the floppy drives of years past. With 2-3TB hard drives and 2-64GB USB drives, storing stuff on 750MB discs is silly. blu-ray would be an option if it wasn't a proprietary format owned by Sony. Maybe purple-ray will jack up the storage capacity of a compact disc so they are still relevant, but I'd rather have the space for two more 750GB hard drives. External USB CD-DVD burners are $20-30. Unless you use the CD/DVD drive fairly often or need a DVD/BR drive to play movies, the external might be the better option in a lot of ways, including repair/replacement/cost.

 

Well that's why I mentioned top of the line - meaning money isn't taken into account. Just look at the Vaio Z... Maybe come up with limited editions? I'd definitely buy one.

 

The only way to have some hope for a RGB LED panel is to go back to 17". If Dell were to order a special screen for the M18x the price would go significantly higher. Still, I'd grab one with an IPS 30-bit RGBLED MAtte even if it costs 500-600$ extra...

 

About lightweight components I think the chassis is not what affects the most, there are very many components whose weight is not controllable by Dellienware. So I think that even with a carbon chassis grams earned would not a large enough difference to justify the increase in the base price.
Although it is a machine at the top there are different configuration best suited for limited budgets.

@ Fortnax
Fortnax like you, I would take the option of the best RGB screen at any price!
Do you Know why the 18" RGB (120hz too) screens are not already constructed ?

 

I just answered this question in the above post, it is not cost-effective for Dell to produce such a panel to please the minority. With the 17" RGBLED the situation was different, it already existed and was deployed in mobile workstations not just the M17xR2, thus it was cheaper and Dell didn't need to team up with LG or Samsung to create it just for them. There's no such demand for 18" panels and no reason for screen manufacturers to make one.

 

@AIkimox

Yes I know that.

My question was, why the screens constructors doesn't already offers 18" RGB 120Hz screens. I think there's a market for that, and definitly doesn't need to create a new technology or learn a new fabrication process.

 

Well Alienware could sure work vertically with other manufacturers to cut down on weight IMO...

Oh oh, it would also be interesting to see a built in projector hahah. And whatever happened to that cool Logitech display panel (ala XPS M1730)?

 

Vertically or not, there is no demand (100 forum users do not represent the majority, sorry) for higher gamut panels. Lenovo has left the high end mobile workstation market and Dell is going to follow soon, even the M6600 flagship doesn't have the RGBLED screen. This alone would give you a hint of what's the tendency, but just to clarify - the era of powerhouse laptops is coming to its end. There's only one 17"+ laptop in the world with a good RGBLED panel still available - the HP 8760w.

In addition, I seriously doubt there will be a M18xR2 or any other 18" gaming laptop refresh. There's a talk that most 17"+ laptops will be gone by 2013.
I'm not even sure there will be a high-end mobile GPU refresh after the 7xxx/6xxM.

 

I agree there's little chance of getting an 18.4" RGB LED, because the M18x is one of the few 18.4" notebooks on the market. Toshiba abandoned the 18.4" size and now only makes 17.3", HP dropped the 18.4" earlier still.

Maybe the 15.4" will be the only size for RGB LED screens, but I don't see 17.3" notebooks going anywhere, they are rather abundant. If anything, I'm expecting a 120Hz 17.3" RGB LED to be made if 18.4"'s go extinct and 17.3" becomes the largest size available. Gaming and Media use will drive that market as they have in the past.

The question is whether the 16:10 17" screens will still be around in the Macs for the next batch, now that HP will no longer have a notebook lineup to use them. If not, when the new MacBooks show up, it'll be interesting to see what they use, and if 18.4" screens show up at all.

I don't doubt there will be a M18x R2 though, Dell has way too much invested to just drop it after a year and a half (not to mention no other mobile dual-GPU system). It may only be a hardware update with Ivy Bridge CPUs, Nvidia 600M series and AMD 7000M series GPUs, faster memory, bigger hard drives, and USB 3.0 everywhere, but it'll happen unless the supply of 18.4" screens evaporates. I would expect there to be a Dell-branded 18.4" XPS notebook or similar if Dell wants to keep making the M18x and keep the quantity of screens up to keep their cost per part down.

The only way I see the M18x going away is if the M17x gets another redesign back to what the M17x R2 was, but with a 17.3" screen. It could very well happen with an R5, or with a redesign/rename of the whole lineup.

I wouldn't mind too much if the screens go BACK to 16:10 17's though. But the 18.4" is rather nice, it's the same height as a 17", but wider.

 

I pray that you are wrong

 

a docking station connector on the bottom like Dell's business laptops. Would make it so convenient to have dual monitors and all your peripherals connected with just 1 simple click when using it at home instead of having to make multiple connections.

 

OK I add it

 

I like the thread, and suggest having a Blu-Ray writer, as opposed to it being only a BR-reader. I also agree with the desire for it to be tray-loading, vice slot-driven.

 

Yes I add it too !

 

Have to say none of the things on the list are on my "Got to have list", but some of the features of the Z68 chipset would be pretty cool. Not sure if Intel is planning on releasing a mobile version. Especially INTEL SMART RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY.

 

@JTOverath
I put into red what I thought that was necessary

I also agree with a new chipset and I think that a better enhancement of SLI-Optimus technology or stuff like that.
So I think that instead of asking a new chipset, it's better now clarify what technology we want.

 

Just the screen upgrade would be enough for me. It's the one thing I can say is the downside compared to everything else M18x offers.

 

Totally agree! and a docking station with an integrated cooler... that can close the deal!

 

I agree with this.

 

Just one request, change the 4 pin jack setup for the fans, they are too fragile and they brake off if you tried to pry them out no matter how gentle you are with them. It should more sturdy and bulkier, not frail plasticy struty thingys. There is ample amount of space to have PC like sturdy pin jacks for CPU fans/case fans.

Just too expensive, your laptop's production cost will not be sustainable even at twice the cost of what it is now.

Carbon fibre baking and curing is not for these purposes unless Alienware wants to be a ultra rich boutique brand with a customer base of less then 1000 word wide.

 

I add the 4 pin jack setup

 

Yep, this and a 120Hz 3d screen. The screen is the reason I've also been considering a 17x r3.

 

I know that this has been included (in some way) but I would like to reaffirm some crucial 'details'...

An RGB-LED or an IPS-RGB-LED display panel with better (higher) DPI...

The so called 'HD' is a placebo adopted for the motion picture industry... Now, honestly: How many hours a day we look at movies (with the HD form factor) on the laptop or DTR and how many hours we work on those machines?

So, please, Dellienware: pay more attention to the costumers and bring back the useful 1920x1280 (at least) or even a higher one (2560x1440 in a 18.4").. This is REAL HD (or WUXGA?).

At least, give the consumer the option to decide and configure!!! Standards maybe good ( maybe) for HP, Lenovo, and alike... not for state-of-the-art boutique configurable machines like the Alienware's.

BTW: in WUXGA we can look at any motion picture in better than HD without any problems... but it become more dificult to work in the 'castrated' HD at just 1900x1080 in a 18.4" form factor...

 

There's no way we'd get an IPS panel in a notebook, but if we did it sure would cost a lot. Those who need IPS usually have an external IPS monitor.

They won't be getting an oddball resolution like 1920 x 1280 either. 2560 x 1440 on such a tiny screen would be way, way too much and make text unreadable and pictures smaller than postage stamps. An 18" screen with a 1920 x 1200 resolution might be something, but they'd probably just go back to 17" screens if the 16:10 format ever came back.

Dell is making a 16:10 1920 x 1200 external IPS monitor now in the U2412. People can vote with their wallets, and if this becomes a good seller, maybe they will get the message and more WUXGA monitors and screens will be made.

I do like the 16:9 18.4" though. It's the same 9 inch height as a 17" WUXGA, but the extra width makes films and shows that much bigger onscreen. I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer it to the 17", and I was hardcore against the loss of 16:10 screens on everything when it was happening. I do think 16:9 sucks for smaller screens though, especially at very low resolutions where it's hard to see everything already. High resolutions aren't much better for smaller screens either.

 

I see the BluRay writable is already on the list. It's just silly that this is not an option on the M18x. I've got the Panasonic BD-RE UJ235A from my M17x R2 in the M18x and it works fine... simple bolt-in upgrade. Unless this drive is no longer available, they should provide it as an option now, and on the M18x R2.

 

I add Fingerprint Reader.

I have one on my current laptop and I can not do without it now !

 

@Alienware,

There are couple of notebooks with a 30-bit IPS RGB LED screen.
BTW, I don't want to break the NDA but we are expecting similar panel to arrive for testing in M18x end Sept. - early Oct.

 

Whooo Aikimox, that's an amazing news ! (little question : is this possible futur screen @ 120Hz and matte ?)

 

Any current notebooks? I thought it was just the old workstations with 16:10 screens that had them.

It'd be incredible if an IPS panel made it into a gaming notebook. I'm pretty sure they'd go for a less expensive RGB LED with a faster response time before an IPS, even if the gamut and color accuracy was better.

 

Possible from Dell? - Dunno. I'm not even researching the 120hz option since the IPS RGBLED is the top priority now.

The HP8760w, 8560w and Dell Precision M4600 are the three current gen workstations with that panel.

The response time is no longer a huge problem for IPS panels. Still, I'd rather have 1billion colors and perfect viewing angles

 

I still have one of those "oddball resolution like the 1920 x 1280"... in a "such a tiny screen" like a 15" form factor... and for work and/or looking at movies... have no problems at all. My colleagues at many universities are also working heavily with those 'antiquities'...

The 16:9 was impossed not by the consumers but by the manufacturers. The 16:10 has been required by the consumers that, beside looking at movies, do some work too and need better resolutions. if they can supply the 1920x1280 res in a 15"... then in a 17"... more logical that they can supply such resolution in a 18"... The users that want to look at movies can do it without any problems... if editing "unreadable" text or pictures "smaller than postage stamps" become an issue for some one, then every program today have zoom level that can be easily configured... but when the resolution is too low... as in the actual 18" display... the level of detail will suffer a lot. When the resolution is higher and crystal clear (as in a IPS RGB-LED 1920x1280 or higher if we are dealing with an 18.4" panel), it's possible to zoom even 200% or further without loosing any of those crucial details.

Again: A modern state-of-the-art DTR like the Alienware is not used 'just' for gaming or movies. It deserves a much better and higher resolution in its panels. So the end user.

 

An updated OSD that does not crash Aero is something we need in the M18x R1 as well as the R2. One change I would like to see with an updated OSD is elimination of the prompt for graphics switching when you change from AC to DC or vice versa.

With OSD currently disabled from loading with Windows on my system currently, I really like not being prompted for that. I hope they just turn that off. I don't want my computer to suggest that I do anything and find it irksome. It's just an unnecessary mouse click that I'd prefer go away forever.

 

Not sure if this has already been mentioned but modular video card enclosures would be really great. Slide out the old card enclosure, pop in the new video card and slide it back in. Booyah!

 

It would be enough to make the internals easily accessible, remove a back plate and have direct access to CPU/GPU/etc.

 

The modules will be with the fan + heatsink assembly. More like a SAS HDD aye?

 

Any one of these suggestions would be a satisfactory improvement. Quick and easy access to clean out dust bunnies, re-paste heat sinks, or swap out parts would be awesome. Merely having complete access with the removal of a single panel should be a fairly simple chassis to engineer.

 

Indeed. You could have spare enclosures so a complete video card change could literally take seconds.

 

I've modified the point 9 in HARDWARE section from the first Port of this thread :
9) Easy way to access component (RAM(4 Slots), GPU, CPU)

Are you ok with this formulation ?

 

With easy access, the extreme benchers would need an external display for everything as theyd have to turn their laptops upside down for the dice, liquid nitrogen etc but I guess the benefits for most outweigh this.

 

An external monitor is recommended since it has its own PSU, this way the built in monitor won't be drawing from the same PSU as the rest of the components that participate to the benchmark session, letting you draw more juice.

But I would love to have them accessible either from the top either on the bottom not both (i.e. CPU from the top and GPUs from the bottom and viceversa)

 

We already have MXM 3.0. That's about as good as it's going to get for mobile GPUs, at least until we get external gaming-level video cards or enclosures that support actual desktop cards.

Internal access for the M18x would be greatly improved if it just used an arrangment more similar to the M17x R3. Pop the bottom cover off that and you have access to everything except the upper memory slots.

I seriously doubt they will make any changes to the chassis that would allow for a different internal arrangement of components, but if Ivy Bridge makes for a new motherboard, maybe it'll cause some changes.

 

The technology has been around ever since PCI-Express went mainstream.

But its never going to happen as long as there is a demand for high end boutique laptops in the market.

Also will never happen as long as main stream gaming capability is in demand on a laptop.

They are selling 174$ desktop chips (6870s) as mobile parts (6970Ms) for 450USD+. Its a huge mark up giving them good profits.

Its all pure business.


Though I find this strategy flawed. They could make more money if they allowed external PSU powered enclosures for desktop cards from all performance ranges right to the very top line cards. More people would buy it and use the technology. And having a standard port for it for all Manufacturers is no complex feat. Can be done right now if they wished.

Again it would go against their business model. Such a concept can extend the life of various laptops and people will be mostly upgrading their video cards rather than chase a new laptop altogether every few years. Which means slow down in new CPU tech adaptation, slow down in over all laptop unit sales.

Just business..it stinks but that's business.

 

I add in the Hardware absolutly need :
4) No ghost keys when using keyboard (Allow 3 simultaneous key pressed)

And I add a green comment on the Aero Bug line to say that it's resolved :YES:

 

Since many on this forum are still experience the bug, i remove the green words DONE with OSD update from the OSD line

 

Along with all the other keyboard woes that we have already, it'd be nice if they fixed the keyboard and touchpad ring so that they are slightly more recessed and don't make contact with the screen cover glass when the lid is closed.

It sure is annoying getting oil lines on the screen from the right side touchpad trim and the key edges every time you close the screen to transport.


I also want fan settings in the BIOS that don't turn the GPU fan/fans on full blast even at just 70*C temps when gaming. The fans should step up speed only as needed to move air to keep it cool.

 

Stop using the screen cover glass, lol

Seriously, Dell should make an option without that glass, the screen behind it is gorgeous, crisp and anti-glare. After removing it, I'm a happy camper.

 

I rather like the cover glass, it was part of the reason I went with an Alienware. It's an interesting solution to protecting the screen from people who can't help themselves from stabbing their finger ON the screen to point at something. Haven't had this problem with the M18x yet though, apparently since it looks expensive and I'm ready to grab fingers before they make it to the screen.

Still, it's an extra expense that makes no other sense and just adds cost and weight. A recessed screen with matte/glossy options would be great, and a lot easier to remove with a snap-in bezel like the old style.

But the ALIENWARE logo in the glass looks cool too.

 

Well, one thing I liked about that glass is the ability to use it as a mirror to shave my beard

 

I add :
16) No contact between the screen and the touchpad ring when lid is closed

Is that ok like that ?

 

Or gorilla glass or something of that nature.