ANY NEW LAPTOPS IN THE WORKS?

Cuz why have an AW if you ain't putting everything on and setting it on high performance

In all my years of mobile gaming I don't believe that I used laptop battery more than 3-5% of the time.

 

I know, but if you are going to do that don't expect your battery to last 5 hours and complain if it doesn't...

 

you don't have to if you're going to use it mobile
by turn on power saving mode and tweaking power plans on alienwares you can easily squeeze out almost 6-7 hours battery life from the newer AWs
with the older m15x you'll be lucky if you get 3 hours battery life

 

Hybrid anything where having stellar performance is critical almost always means failure or massive compromise. If you want good results, don't send a little boy to do a man's job, don't use a steak knife as a screwdriver, and don't use a rock to drive nails. Nothing wrong with any of those things as long as you do not abuse them by using them for a purpose they are not equipped to handle.

 

I think when it comes to battery life and small laptops, the target demographic is different than the target demographic to those who buy DTRs (17.3" to 18.4") laptops. Those who buy the big laptops are more willing to stay in place while those who buy a small laptop are more prone/have to be mobile.
As well, I won't see some college student/commuter who loves PC gaming lugging around an Alienware 18 or MSI GT80 TITAN but most likely a Clevo W230SS or Razer Blade (I'm just name-dropping here, but I hope you get the idea). Hence why the small gaming laptops need to have some focus on battery life, to appeal to the on-the-go people. DTR's focus is power, stability, and, well, power again.
As for the 15" laptops, they appeal to almost anybody. Gaming laptop, mini DTR, etc. Too versatile for me to think of a sole demographic.

 

The problem is an absence of acceptable options. There is almost NOTHING for performance laptop enthusiasts to be happy about. We are left with the options of tolerating what we find unacceptable, massively lowering our standards to match the mainstream masses, or simply abandoning the concept of high performance in a portable package entirely. Our options have dwindled to the point that all of the laptop-hating desktop gamers are going to finally be totally justified in their criticism that paints all laptops with the same brush. All of their trolling hatred, which was a reflection of their ignorance and used to be applicable to only SOME so-called gaming notebooks, is on the verge of becoming prophetic and universally applicable to all gaming notebooks we are left to choose from. These are dark days... very dark. Other than a few Clevos with CPU sockets and slots, there are NO HIGH PERFORMANCE notebooks available from any OEM. We are completely surrounded by downgrades and have no reason to be happy. While power-sipping BGA configurations with a svelte profile that do not fail miserably at playing games may serve a valid purpose for some consumers, they are not an acceptable substitution for a real high performance notebook, and they never will be.

We would be out of our minds to think that people that love desktops with massively overclocked X and K CPUs and multiple super-clocked GPUs stuffed into water-cooled towers with 1.5kW PSUs would be happy about being left with nothing but an Alienware Alpha or a Gigabyte BRIX to play with, but this is EXACTLY what is happening right now now, in principle, in the land of laptops. Telling them they can plug an eGPU into a port to compensate for everything they are losing is just going to piss them off even more... same here. Some might even buy an Alpha instead of an XBOX or PS4 as an extra play toy, but take away their monster and you've made a bitter enemy of what could have been a content customer with an extra gadget to tinker with.

 

Fully agree with Mr.Fox
The only option for hardcore laptop enthusiast right now are clevo based laptops with socketted cpus and mxm GPUs
Imagine when the next generation of mobile GPUs is going to be released, all the current alienware lineup will be stuck without any upgrades (unless you consider the usage of graphics amplifier which make it desktop bound) while older models could possibly be upgraded.

 

There are a few options for hardcore enthusiasts, it just depends on your flavour.

 

Well... we do know Alienware is making a tablet, but what kind is a different question. An Android tablet, which everyone who resides in the 15, 17 and 18 sections despises, or a Windows tablet, a la Razer Edge, which technically is still the most powerful tablet thanks to its discrete GPU, the GT 640m LE, being more powerful than the Intel HD 6000 and HD 5500. Or a hybrid, but that'll be very unlikely. I forget who called it off, but Intel was initially supportive of such an idea.
If the tablet is a Windows tablet, it is doubtful the tablet would have an Iris (Pro) GPU since the CPUs that have them are too hot for a tablet. But hey, who knows. It'll be an interesting addition so long as it isn't ridiculous.

 

Tragic ending... truly sad in every sense of the word.

A year or so back we were cracking jokes about this. Little did we know it was a prophecy of doom.

" Eli Eli lama sabachthani!"
*thunder and lightning*
" It is finished!"

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I thought it was the end when Alienware would announce a phone...

 

If they release a tablet, they might as well release a phone, too. Mediocrity has no limits.

 

Okay, I have to question two things. Why does, rather should, Alienware have to specialize only in Personal Computers? And why does something below (weaker, in most cases) a PC count towards "mediocrity"?
The same applies for other computer companies too. What if Clevo or MSI released a Windows tablet? Would they be considered worse than before?

 

Those are legitimate questions. I'll respond with another question.

Why does Alienware no longer offer products that are appealing to performance enthusiasts?

Adding extra products would be fine. The rub is what they no longer bring to the table and the abandonment of an entire segment of customers... arguably, the segment that is the primary reason the brand has existed up until now. They no longer have anything for sale that we want. Offering a "gaming" tablet is like adding insult to injury or rubbing salt into a wound, but the core problem is brand degradation and pandering to the mainstream. The brand still has loads of style, but it has lost substance for the performance enthusiasts. Like some of their lesser competitors have for quite some time (ASUS, MSI, Razer) mediocrity is all they offer now in their notebook product line.

Yes, Clevo or MSI would be worse than before if they stopped selling enthusiast grade products with socket-mounted unlocked CPUs and MXM slots. MSI is already in the "no good for performance enthusiasts" category based on their decision to use BGA CPUs in what could have been a really nice product. If the MSI Titan had incorporated a simple mobile Extreme CPU, a desktop quad like the Clevo "Batman" laptop or, even better, the hexacore CPU in the P570WM, it would have been king of the mountain. They cheaped out with a BGA turd CPU, so they only qualify for partial credit with the Titan.

 

I agree with Mr. Fox - what Dell/Alienware have done could be likened to BMW only offering Mini's to everyone, when they are also the parent company (now) of Rolls Royce. Just because more people want or can afford a Mini, or choose to buy one due to their economical nature vs. performance, does not detract from those who want a Rolls Royce. I liken a Mini to a tablet or other low performance machine. There is nothing inherently wrong with them, just that when you are used to having the choice of Rolls Royce on the table, being forced to chew on a Mini leaves a sour taste in ones mouth.

 

A. .... I got nothing.
B. Well, what I meant was the tablet to compliment the lineup as opposed to being a front-runner of the lineup (adding extra products, as you said), like the GA is currently (there's no denying that: the Graphics Amplifier is a front-runner given how much Alienware advertises it). I have some issues with Alienware today, but them highlighting a tablet like the GA would be beyond ridiculous. The main issue I have with the lineup is primarily the AW17 R2. Like you said (or implied... I forgot), with the 17 R2 being more consumer rather than enthusiast, Alienware punched loyalists in the stomach, so to speak. A betrayal, if you will. I had something similar with the Aurora after the Area 51 was temporarily discontinued. It doesn't represent the apex of what Alienware can do. It was a microATX computer, not an ATX computer like the Area 51. The 17 R2 is a single GPU computer with 16 GB of RAM. That's a step-down from the 17 R1 and 18.
Well, that needs to be fixed. Too bad it'll take months, or possibly years.

 

I think we can all agree that there is nothing wrong with AW broadening the range. I don't even personally subscribe to the "jack-of-all-trades, master of none" school of thought here. Clevo have shown that a fallacy with their breadth of offerings.
Simply AW have totally killed their enthusiast offerings all together in favor of high turnover junk food entertainment devices more closely resembling fashion accessories.

 

HAHAHA. You made my day, Great bro Fox.

 

Alienware changed focus due to the restructuring of dell, the idea was to target a larger market with a 15 inch (most popular size), share the motherboard with the 17 to lower costs and use the GA to try and cater to at least some more of the previous market. BGA parts let you reduce size to interest more people too.

 

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that ALIENWARE used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those LAPTOPS dance
And maybe ID be happy for a while

But February made me shiver
With every LAPTOP THEY deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his CRIPPLED CARD
But something touched me deep inside
The day the ALIENWARE died.

So SAY, bye bye, to my alienware pride
tried to over clock my 4940 but it had died
And them good ole boys mr fox and johnksss were drinking whiskey 'n rye
Singin' this'll be the day that Alienware died
This'll be the day that they died..

 

Speaking of "Alienware replacements" look at this little bitty Alpha-killing bad boy.

CyberPower have three different models to choose from... ranging in price from $499 to $1419.

STEAM MACHINE X | Cyberpower PC
HARDWARE:
- CPU: Intel Core i7 4.0 GHz
- CPU Socket Type: LGA 1150
- Motherboard: Intel Z97 Chipset
- Storage: 1TB SATA III HDD
- Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600 MHz
- GPU: NVIDIA GTX 980 4GB GDDR5
- 600W Power Supply

Sadly, given the 4GB vRAM it's probably a non-upgradable BGA turd like most of the disposable new crap. But man, way better specs, especially the "X" model.

 

Huh? The GTX 980 has always had 4 GB of VRAM. Even then, that machine seems to have an internal PSU that is upgrade-able.
Not sure if you should compare the Steam Machine X to the Alpha when the Steam Machine I is a more suitable comparison given that the X can be at least almost double of any Alpha Steam Machine.
(Then again, you thought it was fair to compare the AW13 to the m18xR1, so I feel like this won't get anywhere.)

 

Ah, good catch. It has no "M" at the end. I missed that. Looks like all of them have desktop GPUs.
Wow, must be a tightly crapped interior, LOL. Too bad they don't offer one with dual 980M MXM modules instead.

 

I will say that since it can house a GTX 980, it's already doing better than the X51, which can house a GTX 970 without any chassis modding. And that's not even a validated upgrade by Alienware.

 

Yeah, as a reasonably stout gaming machine for folks on a limited budget, that's a really decent option. The 600W PSU is a good selling point. That wimpy 330W AC adapter has been an Achilles' heel for the X51 same as it has been for dual-GPU laptops. Alienware needs to make note of this. The competition is stealing the show now... not only in laptops, but also these baby desktop beasts. They need to get with the program if they want to see continued patronage from performance enthusiasts. If their only goal is to appeal to basic PC gamers and console converts, they are probably doing well enough on their current path to keep the lights and water turned on. They've all but blown it with performance enthusiasts at this point, as they don't have anything meaningful to offer us at this time.

 

Not sure what to make of this but Alienware has released new laptops in the middle east. They are called Eco line and are apparently different from the R series.

http://www.tbreak.com/alienware-launches-new-eco-gaming-notebooks-in-dubai/

 

Clarification before the enthusiasts here try to rip the name: the code-name of the new lineup is Echo, so the editor may have forgotten the h after the E. In the invoice for my GA, it was called the Echo Docking Station.

 

That is 100% true about code name Echo. The "Eco" thing is either a typo or misunderstanding. There is no reason to discuss it further.

 

So whats the difference between the R and Echo series?

I tried looking up the echo series but came up blank. Its not even mentioned anywhere on Alienware site. Looks like Alienware are not interested themselves in the product

 

I would be down for a 980TI model if I wasn't already set

 

I don't think Alienware would be so open about the codenames of their products. As I said, I found Echo in my invoice, so the codename does make an appearance.
Oh, and if you google alienware echo, you will see the codename in three of the first four searches.
When they're talking about the "R" series, they most likely mean the 14 R1 / 17 R1 / 18 R1. Or the series before.

 

Seems like the code names are always easy to spot on the invoices. It has been this way for a long time. I don't think it's a guarded secret or those names would not appear on the invoices. M18xR1 was "Avenger" and M18xR2 was Avenger Mk II" while the Alienware 18 was "Viking" and "Ranger" was the Alienware 17 (pre-BGA) code name. I actually like some of the code names. I think they are kind of cool.

 

Those code names conjure up a rugged image. Echo... empty room.

 

Its almost as if Dell and alienware themselves knew that not many people would be buying these