AW CES 2011 Discussion Thread

lol dude if the m11x does that who needs to spend 1000 more for a m15x lol

 

someone who wants 4 more inches of screen space?

 

£250 per inch ofc !

 

Dell must have cut Alienware's marketing budget to pay for the Hummer.

AW used to release more teasers when a new product launch was imminent.

 

then thank god it was only a hummer and not some other flashier car, or there would not even had a teaser. LOL

 

Dell and marketing don't exactly go together. Anyone who has the Dell streak since launch will know precisely what I am talking about!

 

Only 4 days to go though guys !

 

4 days... It's a long time right now.

 

Does anyone know what chanel will we get to see the CES Live on TV
I think G4 does it, is there another also ?

 

u can watch it on tv ?

cool

 

I am sure there will be video's here as well: Video Games, Game Reviews & News - G4tv.com

 

well even the local computer Store here is covering it lol

so maybe BB will as well

 

here's my guesses.

16:9. puts them on a level playing field and since most notebooks are adopting it the screen will probably be MUCh cheaper for Dell. Money talks.

Sound card moved to the front to give room for better cooling and ventilation. Cooler is always better right?

 

Gosh, we have gone slightly off topic by the looks of the last few posts.
Time to fuel the fire; place your bets on the basic spec of the new Alienware laptops that will be revealed during CES!
That should keep us entertained until CES starts..

Here's my entry, this would make sense since it would fit perfectly in the line-up alongside the M11x:

Alienware M14x

Intel Core i7 2630QM
2x2GB DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6950M
Seagate Momentus XT 250GB
No optical drive (optional External Blu Ray drive)
14" display with 1600x900 resolution
2x USB 3.0 / HDMI 1.4 / Displayport
~3 kg

Alienware M17x R3

Intel Core i7 2630QM
2x2GB DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6970M
Seagate Momentus XT 250GB
Internal Blu Ray drive
17" display with 1920x1080 resolution
2x USB 3.0 / HDMI 1.4 / Displayport
~5 kg

 

The addition of a Seagate Momentus XT option would be really nice, but I for one don't think they will do it, but you never know it would certainly give them good press.

I'd still prefer to see it as an M13x, but that is just me. I also would be surprised if they used that processor... I expect an M13/14x to most likely have the same CPU/GPU options the M11x-R2 has... it gives them better margin.

To me the M17x/M15x/M11x and now probably an M13/14x is quite a bit like the McDonalds margin strategy:

M17x : QuarterPounder
M15x : Double Cheeseburger
M13/14x : Cheeseburger
M11x : Large Soda

This is not a knock in any way, but an illustration of getting good margins going. To constantly upgrade HW but still not have costs that lock out the market they have to extend life of sales for a period. I expect we won't see an R-3 M11x for until summer, but the new M17x-R3 will herald the new line up, with possibly a prototype of an M13/M14x....

Like someone said before, there really is little teaser material going around for this year's CES for Alienware compared to past years....

 

If Alienware does make an "M13x or M14x" and if there is no internal disc drive then they better include a free external optical drive in the box. Many of us on this forum are willing to exchange better cooling for a disc drive but a majority of consumers will be whining, yelling, and complaining about the lack of an optical drive.

The M11x didn't include a disc drive in the box and it confused a lot of normal consumers. So ya, they should include an external drive to quell the complaints.

 

At the risk of sounding elitist, those folks should have read and thought about what they were buying. I for one was kind of glad to see it didn't have one, virtually any software worth having can be downloaded these days.... I expect the internal optical drives to go the way of the dodo before long... with maybe external Bluray having a decent future.

 

If there will be an M14x, it will have to replace the M15x. The size and weight would be so close they would compete with eachother if they would co-exist. A quad-core processor in the 14" form factor has been done before, by HP with the Envy 14 to be exact.
Alienware has proved with the M11x that they can be innovative. With that in mind, I don't see why they can't pair a 32nm quad with a high-end GPU in the 14" form factor.

If we will not see a replacement for the M15x at CES, I would put my money on an M13x (with a standard voltage SB dual core processor) reveal before March. The M11x would follow later, just in time for the new i5/i7 ULV refresh.
The low voltage processor in M11x R2 is still the limiting factor in gaming performance, that is the sacrifice Alienware makes in the M11x R2 for it's small size. A larger laptop will be able to accommodate a cooling system for a standard voltage processor and a larger battery.

I know a thing or two about marketing, so I do understand where you're coming from. I can't make any hard statement about the margins on Alienware products. However, after looking at the prices on Alienware products, margins have never been a problem for them if you ask me.

If you are familiar with Intel's Tick-Tock strategy, you would know they will use the same socket for two years. Ivy Bridge will only be a die-shrink that will not require drastic modifications to the mainboard. Alienware can design a motherboard now and use it as a base for the next 2 years. In the ever-changing world of technology, that is a considerable amount of time.

When you're trying to find the balance between performance and mobility, compromises are inevitable. You can only hope Alienware makes the right decisions that fit YOUR needs.

Personally I would love an external Blu Ray drive included in the box. If Alienware doesn't integrate an optical drive (which I doubt), it will probably be an optional extra. Most people just can't live with the idea of not having one integrated, because they don't realize it's virtually obsolete.

 

What would be the perfect CES 2011 announcement for you? Not what you SPECULATE Alienware would do... but what you wish for them to do. But make it realistic.

Mine would be a M15x R2 with:
560M GTX
8 GB 1666Mhz
1900x1200 RGB LED screen (i really want this)
Sandy Bridge Quad Core
Thinner design and less weight

All for around 2k.

Is 1666 Mhz even possible for laptops yet?

 

MAYBE it could be the M8X to challenge Apple's Ipad or the rumored Ipad 2.

or MAYBE its the new AlienPhone, in that case it would be called the M4X!

perhaps both would run on a new OS made by alienware based on linux, or android OS

XD

better yet the new M20x. because there is more space, its not as thick as the previous models. XD

or the M20x on steroids, the M40x, with a built-in xbox 360 inside!

 

Did it really? What are you basing that claim on?

 

Thin air


Look, it's free!!! ----->

 

Picked up the M11x R2 when it came out, loved it all year except one small complaint, the keyboard touches the screen. However slight it might be, it's annoying to open the laptop up to a screen of oil marks. I could be eating salad with freshly washed fingers, and the damned thing will still pick up every spot of oil on the finger tips over WASD.

Alot of companies did this tho, not just AW, I'm hoping it's a trend that will disappear.

I don't miss the optical drive one bit, I'd prefer an option for a non-glossy screen, but otherwise the m11x for me was purchased for long battery life and mobile gaming, both of which it does fantastically.

 

Simple solution to that is to keep the cloth thing that comes with the laptop. I have an R1, bought it when it was launched and to this day I have yet to see a keyboard print on my screen. Just keep that cloth thing in between and your fine.

 

So much for 16k Integrated 3d mark LOL

Found some BEANS !!!

Sandy bridge mobile Reviewed !

Intel?s Sandy Bridge: Upheaval in the Mobile Landscape - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

"What’s interesting to note about the ULV parts is that even the slowest i5-2537M (yeah, those code names are going to be easy to remember!) comes clocked higher than the outgoing i7-640UM, with more aggressive Turbo modes and a 1W lower TDP. Perhaps we’ll see an M11x R3 with 400M (or 500M?) graphics and one of these ULV chips?"

Those are good tasting beans my man.... !

Reading the article(s) it's pretty clear that the notebook market is just growing taking over some of the desktop, and long battery life and power is a must. I'm now even more convinced we might see an M11x-R3 on this technology soon enough since it's all about portable power and battery life. With the R-2's being a year old in what, March, then I imagine SB M11x-R3's might be on the market around that time?

 

Looks like the sandy bridge is very quick looking at the graph numbers but not as much as some exagerated. Standard increase for next gen IMO. 30% faster like some claiming looks dud because the clock speed are not that much quicker. Do we refer to the same screens? Memory tests obviously achieve higher scores due to faster RAM (DDR3-1600?) and more cache bandwidth. It will hardly affect real-world applications. The rest, CPUmark, Cinebench and Super Pi aren't as flattering as one expects. From the clockspeed it seems more of a 0-10% IPC improvement depending on model. More is only possible with applications that use AVX. I guess going from 45nm to 32nm is more about less power consumption initially than speed.


The integrated graphics improvement sounds like the best technological advancement but it's still miles off competing against dedicated. As a gamer this is the least important aspect of a laptop unless I want to switch anyway. A double increase of something that is utterly incompetent is still pretty mediocre.

By the way the 920xm won't look like the top dog it is now compared to the top sandy but it still looks like a pretty competitive processor for a good while. I will probably upgrade in a month or two because I can't possibly spend another $2500 on another laptop yet.

Also I really need to say that I severely dislike Intels branding. Following the i3, i5, i7 processors was already hard enough for most consumers let alone throwing more digits in there. It's just confusing and they don't even follow any traits.

 

Those scores look too low. A 920xm and gtx280 only get 13500?

 

The i7-2630qm beats it in almost every test and offers 7 hour battery life. The 920xm is history man.

IMO Anyone that pays $400 for one of those now is crazy.

 

Well the prices should drop quite sharply over the next few months once the new architecture is out. And do SB even work with throttlestop? I thought Intel were trying to stop that sort of thing and stamp out any overclocking. Hello amd lol. Even so, I didn't buy an m15x for power consumption it is always plugged in. I would of bought an m11x for that.

I'm sure SB's are great in peformance but personally I've got to be a bit more resourceful than shelling out for an entire new laptop for the new CPUs. If you can afford it then go for it. Personally if non of the 6000 series fit in the current m15x I still don't want to buy a new laptop til next year!

 

Exactly - that sort of is a must with mobile eh?

Means are down to the individual consumer, but new consumers always benefit the most - even if I could I would tend to hold off for a bit EXCEPT if an R3 M11x materializes... it would really get the most direct benefit for cost ATM... but lets hope for an M13x (maybe an M11x with a 13" screen?).

 

if the m17x provide similar batterie life (through switchable graphic or other mean) and dual 6970m (with a 4 way arch) i may not resist until haswell

 

Well it is impressive in the desktop space from what I have gathered, Sandy Bridge is going to be AMAZING for laptops very much closing the gap between desktop and laptop performance that existed with the first gen nehalem parts

 

Well, considering SB is supposed to replace all LGA1366 parts, save the Westmere hexes, I doubt it will really close the gap much. That, and LGA2011 is supposed to launch in a bit... In terms of single thread performance, however, laptops are still golden with desktops

 

Actually at the end of 2011.....that is not so close (especially as technology goes)

It is interesting though to see how much the socket 1155 stuff is catching the 1366 stuff.

 

Not really. The only real difference from Nehalem is the mid range launched first, instead of the high range (likely due to AMD's 45nm process finishing, and the likely Phenom II about to launch)

 

It closed the gap a bit....until companies start designing for laptops first and desktops second it won't change significantly though. We'll see what happens over the next few years, lets face it laptops are becoming much more popular.

 

My point was that the mid range sandy bridge is performing as well as the top of the line nehalem (bloomfield/gulftown) stuff did

 

Yes, this whole move really does show how Intel is perceiving the shift in the market, with more emphasis on mobile computing being desired.

 

About time IMO. seeing latops sold as desktop replacements, or peformance laptops, then finding they suffer from various limiting hardware designs has been a pet peeve of mine for some time.

 

AMD has spilled the beans on what the 6900M will be (underclocked Barts Pro) and someone posted a 18k score with it in 3dmark06 using a 920xm processor. So hopefully if the TDP isn't crazy, we can slap a few of those in an R2 without much trouble or a bios update.

 

You have to post a link...some of these guys don't leave the AW forums so they'd never find it on their own.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...rket-upgrades/545179-pics-mobility-6000m.html


Still think a single HD6900M can't hit 20K with a Sandy Bridge that scores 1K higher on the CPU?

 

It's hard to say, we still don't know any details about that picture. I'd be pleasantly surprised if that were the case but we'll just have to see in a few days. What I liked about that 3dmark06 score was the fact that it was running on a Clarksfield system which means those of us that aren't interested in SB can simply upgrade our video cards.

 

I wish they had shown GPU-Z in the screenshot. That would have answered a lot of my questions. If thats a single card run, Crossfire would be a heck of a gaming upgrade to the R2.

 

Well blackcomb is what the 5870m should have been in the first place. The 4870s had 256 bit bus and then AMD went ahead and scaled it back down to 128 bit and paired it with GDDR5 to make up for the loss in bandwidth + tacked on DX 11 (which is largely useless). Blackcomb fixes that by adding 256 bit bus back on along with improved tesselation (it's still the same evergreen architecture with some tweaks). Realistically I don't expect more than 30% gain over the 5870s so that 18k score for a single 6970M seems unrealistic but I'd love to be wrong.

 

Well I received my r2 just about a week ago. I'll be honest I bought the machine not knowing r3 was right around the corner. As usual I look into forums and stuff after I make a purchase. Props to Dell though, taking my r2 back free of charge No restocking fee at all. Paid for shipping too ! I got my ups labels today.

I am really sad the machine is sexy as hell but just cant help feeling dumb for not doing a bit of research and knowing about the r3. I've put up a lot of posts about not being happy with the i740qm I wasnt too happy with it as I felt the 940xm for $1k was just too much for me.

Im going to wait until Thursday morning to see what is announced and if its what i expect the r2 will go back.

excited for the r3 though... Im looking at the SSD, probably 4gb ram (upgrade to 8 myself), rgb led or 1200p if optional and the best gpu option for sure (sli/xfire).

 

batboy, let this post slide please. thanks!!
ok, here is a very detailed explanation in to sandy bridge. now given how alienware works with over clocking...sandy bridge should be a very nice fit indeed. give the first post a good read through
Sandy bridge OC Guide - XtremeSystems Forums
now if AW has even a partial of this..things will go over very well for over clocking everything.

side note. still debating on driving to ces right now...

 

Unless I am mistaken, there is NO word on an R3 ( M11x that is)... this is purely speculation at this point. My bad, I thought you were talking about the M11x, nevermind...

 

i called dell today, and enquired about m15x, asking if there was any up coming changes to be made for it. was told that m15x will remain as it is, and the only changes to be made will be to the m17x. and i ask if it would be avaliable for purchase immediately, he said stock will only arrive around late feb to early march.

dream of a m15x r2 has been shattered...

 

Lol like Dell reps know anything...take it with a grain of salt.