2013 Alienware Notebooks revealed

Sounds great tweak to an solid platform.

Would love higher res display
Higher density panels have made the way to Ultrabook - hope they make the way to 15.6/17.3" form factor.
But third-party app DPI scaling is a mess on Windows.
Few Game can take advantage of it, not enough GPU juice, and still fewer 4k content.
Even rMBP is only 2800x1800 - a bit far from 4k.
Not to mention higher battery demand / GPU kicking in more on high res.
To the extend one wonders if it's better to just buy a 2560x1600 30" external screen and be done with it.
Plus high DPI is restricted to tablets, where as OLED is still cost prohibitive and limited to phones.

Moreover 2013 is a rebrand year. So instead guess I'll say "Would love higher res, in the long run".

 

It's very blocky looking and not very sleek at all, I prefer the previous chassis. I was hoping for something with a bit of zip and brio but instead I find myself suddenly landed with the sort of design you'd expect from Sager/Clevo.

 

Yeah, I'll reserve final judgement for when I see proper videos of course, but from the above shots, I have to say I'm not a fan. I loved the futuristic supercar look of the R1, an the R3/R4 less so, but this... Doesn't scream Alienware. It more looks like Clevo with some light strips tacked on. The lid - if it didn't have that black strip - is the only part I feel is actually an improvement.*

*These views could well completely change upon further pictures/videos.

 

I don't mind that strip. As stated before: don't like it, remove it or replace it, paint it, plasti-dip it... I'm sure it serves a purpose, though, like keeping the screen/lid from hitting the keyboard.

 

Did anyone notice the poll on the source link on the opening post? - doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of people diggin' the new design aesthetics. Personally, I think the front makes it look too much like a brick - the kind of brick that made me not want to buy a Sager/Clevo inthe first place. It's not very streamlined looking from that perspective....

Still, will reserve final judgement until better quality images are released.

 

Clearly they are trying to reach out to a larger demographic and in today's PC market it makes sense.


I cannot tell you how many times over the years i have heard or read that Alienware computers are too flashy with the design and all the lights etc.

They are clearly trying too meet the needs of both the lovers and the haters.

Makes sense too me and it will probably not stop people from still buying one because with Dell you get the best support with at home warranty.

So for people looking to jump ship, once you have to mail in your laptop more then once and wait weeks or a month ? well yeah the story tells itself.

 

awesome post cloud thanks for the update

 

I kept checking if the new keyboard is really not going to be colorful, and based on that video I think we can just clarify that they will use a plain keyboard instead. I'm sad..

 

I agree, in fact I went to dells site top order a 17r4, but the 1080 screen is no longer a option guess I will call and see if I can still get my hands on one.

 

New design looks like POOP IMO.

Looks like a cyber power pc, or some cheap MSI knockoff...Interested to see what the new Sager's and MSI's will look like now.

Will probably just keep my M14xR2 for the foreseeable future.

 

Plastic is a lot lighter, just look at the iphone vs the Samsung galaxy.

 

From a random forum

1/4" x 2" x 2" piece

Aluminum = .098 lbs.
UHMW (Plastic) = .034 lbs.
Delrin (Plastic) = .051 lbs.

Delrin is a typical polymer (plastic)

 

Are you sure 'bout that? - if so, why don't we see plastic aeroplanes LOL

I think you quoted from here, right? http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread.php?159674-Aluminum-vs-Plastic-weight-information

What they don't say is about alloys, which can be a lot lighter, afaik.

 

I'll take 0.05lbs of Aluminum over plastic, any day. Anyway, the weight of systems these days is mostly the guts and battery, not the chassis.

Don't worry..., about a thing..., 'cause every lil' thing is gonna be all right.

 

Emerging from the silence to give my take:

IPS is good, hope for higher res is good, where's the 3D though?
Haswell and 700 series are a shoe in so no point in discussing that. Question that needs to be asked is whether we'll see the extreme CPU in the AW 17.
Design is in my own opinion fine. Remember guys, before Alienware was acquired by Dell, they were a Clevo reseller and they got away with it fine.
The original post-Dell lineup of the M15x and M17x R1/R2 looked like old fashioned muscle cars, the current gen look more like modern muscle cars like the 2012 Camaro or Mustang GT and the next gen look more like supercars like the Pagani Zonda or Koenigsegg which I have no problem with.
Ports are similar at least in the AW 17 which may mean that the mobo layout is only slightly redesigned, this may also mean that heatsinks may remain the same. Although I want to see a triple pipe.
We finally say goodbye to the VGA port. AW 18 no longer has an expresscard slot so it'll be a single unified mobo unlike the current M18x mobo that has a SD card and expresscard daughterboard.
I wonder if we'll get to see more audio partnerships. Personally after tweaking, the M17x R3 with Klipsch sounded better to me than the R4 with Creative. Here's me hoping that the AW 17 will have Harmon Kardon. Bose or Bang and Olufsen is too wishful.
And finally ALLELUIA for aluminium. Been getting sick of this damn soft touch rubber business.
Killer WiFi?

On another note, the new mobos will should have the right bios to control GPU Boost 2.0 which will kinda mean an end to overclocking and a new era of cooling optimisation. Because if it is the same with desktop GPUs, the GTX 780m for example will keep boosting until it reaches a heat threshold. Keep that threshold at bay and you'll get higher clocks.

Oh and official win8.

 

I think I trust this guy. From a radio control cars forum lol
Aluminum vs Plastic weight information

Stronger per pound though. Me likey

 

Haha now I just want to know base prices and a release date.

 

Hehehe, I think I trust him too.....maybe I' going nuts

Or maybe not: Laptop Shell: Magnesium alloy or Carbon Fiber

Possibly magnesium alloy vs aluminium.....

 

Looks really good. They'll have my money if the 17" comes in aluminum. If not ill probably get a msi.

 

Yeah magnesium is lighter than aluminum but its much softer I think. Aluminum is heavier but stronger. Magnesium alloy is strong though but heavier? I have no idea. Just give me something different than plastic and I`m satisfied

 

I'm with you on that one, Bro.....:thumbsup:

 

Ive been waiting for the refresh since march now as I nearly decided to take the plunge on a m18x r2. Decided to wait for haswell and 780m but if the new m18x is going to look like that then I think my money is going elsewhere. The main reason I wanted the alienware was for the design and flashy lights, but that appears to have been either removed or toned down. Very disappointed

 

Because plastic isn't strong enough to withstand pressure differentials with the constant change in altitude. In fact, airplanes undergo scheduled maintenance checks after a certain number of flight hours to make sure cracks haven't appeared in the fuselage.

Aluminum is still heavy, hence why we're seeing a transition to carbon fiber composites on newer generation of commercial airplanes such as the 787 and A350. Military airplanes saw the advantages of weight reduction many years ago.

 

Yeah, I was kinda joking with the whole plastic aeroplane bit.......although magnesium alloy has it's place in aviation, it's probably more so to do with gear casings and not fuselage, right? - you'd know more than me going by you avatar! - On a side note, I love the fact that we have such diversely intelligent folk here on NBR...brilliant stuff.

 

I would be amazed if Dell offered 95% gamut TN matte screens (with the option to downgrade to a lower gamut panel or upgrade to an IPS panel). Depending on price and quality of the IPS screen, I would probably go with that if I were to upgrade my r4.

It's becoming harder to justify paying the premium for an Alienware over an MSI: "MSI looks terrible" and "Dell warranty" are not as convincing as they were. I hope all of these "rumors" are true at the least. Either that or Alienware starts giving much larger discounts.

 

I was just teasing haha. Just went through an overhaul with this profile after realizing how old everything is on here; been at least 4 years since I last logged on lol. As the the new laptop line-I LOVE THE DESIGN! I wish I wasn't a broke college student haha!

 

No backlit keyboard? I am sad.

 

I'm sure it is, but it's not a fancy new feature, so they didn't emphasize on it - at least I hope.

 

My current take now that I got a chance to really take a closer look at the vid + pics:

1. Ugly design - I stand by my original statement on that. The base is blocky like Clevo but with gaudy light strips. The bottom of the lid has that ugly flat look in the corners. The front speaker grills are hideous.
2. Keyboard - looks like they got rid of their tried and true design and adapted the ugly (and uncomfortable) island style that Clevo and others use, huge fail there.
3. IPS is good in theory but like Quadzilla said, IPS has more input lag vs TN and can come equipped with really low gamut vs a high end TN panel. Finally IPS glow is a problem on many panels. So just because its IPS doesn't mean it'll be good and in fact, for gaming notebooks I think TN + 120 hz makes much more sense.
4. Aluminum build - That's a step in the right direction but I have a feeling the laptop will only be partially aluminum while the rest is cheap plastic.


Still waiting to see what the new cooling system looks like but so far I'm very unimpressed. And to the guy that said AW used to be a Clevo reseller, well duh, we know that and the only time I ever took interest in AW was after Dell took over and they introduced their own unique look. Going back to a Clevoesque design does nothing for me. If I want an ugly blocky laptop, I can go to any number of Clevo resellers. Now I kind of regret selling my M18x seeing how that is probably their last and best design for a long long time.

 

I will remain slightly optimistic till we see some high resolution shots of the machine all around and a tear down of it as well to find out what makes it tick. Sometimes things can look better in person as well but yeah it is a radical change for better or worse.

It certainly was a surprise to me that they stuck with the M18x at all considering many thought it was done for, so clearly it is a top seller and also sets them apart from the other brands out there.

Since i hate glass covered screens i am glad things are changing for the better in that area. Also it will be interesting to see if the M18x this time actually gets more then one screen choice.

 

I'm definitely looking forward to some high resolution shots and the cooling has me curious. Matte is a good choice and if they're smart, they'll offer TN + 120 hz as an option. I was surprised to see M18x too, last I heard it was on the chopping block so they must've changed their mind for now.

 

Glad to see some more info. I, for one, didn't expect the M18x to go away. It was something which set them apart and when you hear people constantly buying the M18x from the Depot to resell, Dell should be able to easily print money with that product. It really made no financial, economic sense to can that line and I'm glad that all the naysayers were, oh so wrong on this point...

Need to save more money <sigh>.

Thought the old keyboard did look a little gamey with the bright white lettering and this is probably better for the company.

 

com on ppl u gotta like this design

frankly this is something i would have expected out of TRON 3



just wanna know about the palm rest thingy, looks plastic :O

 

It looks like the power jack is on the left side now, instead of the back. For the life of me I cannot understand how hardware manufacturers think it is a good idea to put it on the side.

 

Not bad but still not sold on the new look, backlit touchpad and the light stripes around these looks like AW is still going for the "gamer" look but I think it just a bit too different than what we are used to.
As long as AW did a good job with thermals and offers good options I can overlook whether I really dig the new designs.
I hope AW offers good GPU options for the M14x and they use a MXM GPU .

 

I think that they absolutely nailed it with the design. I have been waiting to buy an Alienware since Feb now and boy am I pleased for waiting! The laptops look sooo sleek, stylish and uniform! I really hope the rainbow backlit keyboard is still there but all in all, a definite purchase for me. If I order a M18x 4930XM 780m SLI 32GB RAM with the best screen available, about how much would it set me back? And if I order it on June 11 how soon can I get my hands on it? Thanks!

 

True, yet sad..it looks like a copy of the MSI/clevo series mashed up with the look of a first gen AW range...I mean a glowing trackpad?. The only reason I'd buy it (which I prolly won't) is the power to cost issue, if its 50% better than the current range and the battery life (which is claimed to be a good 4 hrs igp/dgpu?? On the origin-haswell) but me thinks the looks will make me wait to expire the warranty on my current AW before I buy

 

lol @ ips... and the people worrying about it... this is what the users wanted i thought? well they did listen to ya..

 

I think the grilles on the R1 and R2 definitely look sleeker. I want to see if it has any new tricks or they have made improvements to cooling.

 

I just hope they won't drop 120 Hz 3D support in their new 17", don't care about ips for gaming though.

 

I feel exactly the same but i got told that it will still be there i dont like the new design over the r4 tho just doesnt look as good in my opinion the grills on the r4 make it look good!

 

I am not 100% sold on design, although side and back lighting is good and option for ips panel will be awesome.

My m17xr4 is less than 3 months old, so not gonna get upgraded anytime soon, m18x is still being made for me, so I have the option to cancel the order and get r3?? Hhhmmmm decisions decisions decisions......

 

besides a new chip set and a new cpu and a new gpu.. i am almost positive they deleted things from the new systems,, i saw some where that they got rid of the 3rd hdd drive.. and a few other things..

 

I hope that's not true. Right now I'm a very happy chappy for hanging on.

 

IPS? Not necessarily. Higher quality and less reflective screens? Yes.

 

I find it quite saddening to see some people already criticizing the "possible" IPS panel's quality. Innocent until proven guilty springs to my mind. There were a LOT of people on this forum who complained about the lack of this option and many users who actively pushed the idea forward. I think it's great that Dell have *maybe* listened to it's prospective customers. TN panels can also have their fair share of issues, so it's not like they are perfect either.

LG make some great panels, but they also make some poor ones, and they probably are the largest manufacturer of IPS panels, so it would be probable that Dell have used LG again. Still, it's unknown....NEC and Eizo seem to be the "professional's choice" when it comes to IPS technology - who knows, Dell may have approached them for the panel. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic on that one, but it's still a possibility.

Of course, their are also many different versions of IPS technology that are available, ranging from e-IPS (tend to be lower quality) upwards. For those who would like to read about them, have a look: TFT Central - of course, we don't know which type Dell may have used, but suffice to say, I would hope that it's a good one vs. a budget effort.

If Dell have gone with the same kind of approach with this screen as they have done with the new U3014, which replaced the U3011, that would be a good move. They've used an AH-IPS panel with a much less aggressive anti-glare coating - many users of the older UltraSharp range complained about graininess caused by the thick anti-glare coating - so from that perspective, I'll remain positive about the Alienware screen OPTION. Not every one will want it, but it would be very nice to have that option.

Anyway, I guess we can speculate about it until we are blue in the face - we won't actually know the quality and/or upsides/downsides to it until someone can get their hands on one and review it in a professional perspective. Until then, "mad props" go to Dell for bringing the option to Alienware - it's another plus point in my book.

If Dell get it right, then we can expect many happy customers. Other laptop vendors have introduced 1080p IPS technology with good results. You've just got to look at the likes of the Acer Aspire V3-571G-53238G1TMaii Notebook which has some NBR feedback over here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ace...me-gaming-laptop-ips-screen-those-budget.html. Dell have also dropped in IPS panels to the XPS 13, as well - reviewed here: Dell XPS 13 (Q1 2013) Ultrabook Review: What a Difference 1080p Makes

Note that both machines use LG panels to good effect.....I just hope to god that Dell haven't "covered up" all that IPS beauty with a glossy covering!

I'm gonna remain positive on this one.....one thing I have wondered about is wether or not Dell will introduce a touch screen into the Alienware range for the ardent Windows 8 fans out there....:laugh:

 

I assume that Dell gets bulk discounts on the IPS panels used in its Precisions and XPS models, so using one of those would make sense. Most of them are pretty good.

Still hoping for a 95% gamut TN matte screen. Even 120hz.

 

im 50/50 about the design

I wont be buying as i plan on keeping my m18x R2 and rebuilding my desktop.

 

Ehh im quite sad actually.
Im mostly interested in the 14" one as i used R1 and R2 aswell.

Still seeing ODD, useless in a small notebook, why not remoing it to reduce size and weight, or just improve cooling?
Still single fan cooling... No need to discuss as it sucked in R1/R2 too
And that box deisgn? God... ugly as , imagine an elegant slim aluminium notebook with all those flashy ligthnings, would be awesome (ohh wait its the new Razer Blade)
Not sure, but definitely still sporting a not GTX card, not to be a competitor for the M17x...

What most people whined about si still there. Same too big size, probably same weight, same cooling, with a mid-class GPU.

Ehh? Old stuffs in a new alu box, tho the marketing will still work, as i would probably get one sooner or later...

 

I'm most interested in the M14x as well, one thing that irked me were the loud fans of the R1/R2 and the mid level GPU, it needs an option with at least a 770M with improved cooling.
Need more info and price, hopefully we see them at E3.