Alienware 18, now with Maxwell GPUs (Officially) and a new BIOS

makes sense, even with a (theoretical) linear power increase my 4790K would draw 100W oced to 4.8ghz, but we all know its definitely gonna be more due to increased voltages. id say it should be in the area of around 115W (+13.5% voltage and +14.3% clocks)

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

We don't know. Probably, but until they start arriving in the hands of buyers, there is no way for us to know what, if anything, may have been updated. The M18xR2 and AW18 machines already support Maxwell, just not gracefully and with some limitations. With a BIOS and/or vBIOS update (which the AW18 980M SLI refresh will hopefully have) it may not have any GPU compatibility issues to deal with.

 

If it has new hardware, dell engineers may change low cost HDMI (switch?) to a new version and give us HDMI 2.0 output support. In current AW18 maxwell support limited to: second GPU cooller not working, HDMI 2.0 not working (maybe my UHD TV have issues), needs modifying GPU drivers inf, GPU's heatsinks requires modification.

Everything else running well.

 

We don't know any of this. No reason to speculate at this point, but it is unlikely there are any real changes except a GPU refresh and maybe (hopefully) updated firmware. Based on the configuration options, there appear to be no major hardware revisions. CPU and GPU refreshes are very common. Those component refreshes generally do not require other hardware changes to be supported.

 

I hope Frank relayed all our concerns to the engineering department when they decided to re-release the 18 and they fix the bios, power issues and fan control.

 

I was told that the Alienware engineer team did have some difficulties making the 970m and 980m work properly in the 18, so they needed time to fix those problems before announcing (or releasing, whichever) the laptop. I would think they have solved most of the problems with the new vBIOS and BIOS, and yes these two elements can be applied all Alienware 18 "Vikings" before 2015.
The absence of Windows 7 Pro as an option, though, does lead to credence that they were unable to get them functioning on Windows 7.

 

The body looks exactly the same in that video... I guess this is not getting any slimmer?

 

No, why would it? It's the AW18, just refreshed with updated hardware components.

And you should know better than to come here saying things like "slimmer" in regards to AW machines. But I won't be the one to comment on that. I'll let others do it.

 

Well AW did slim their 13/15/17 not very long ago, just wasn't sure if they had intentions of doing that to the 18. After reading through a few of these posts and learning that they are not adding amplifier support to the 18 I guess that is why its not getting a major overhaul.

 

Getting the 980m, and probably the 970m to work was a big project for the titans of the community. I started paying attention to it in or around December 2014, I think once it looked like Dell wasn't going to support the 980m in their pcs. On this forum and over at Techno Inferno people worked hard to get those Gpus to work. The process focused on the 17 and the AW18mx (the first 18 incher) there is a whole thread on this once they got it to work, the process was easy for the AW18. There is also a thread detailing the steps for the AW18, you would have to search for it, I can't post either I'm on my phone. For the AW18 some modding had to be done to the 2nd gpu heat shield and the use of HWINFO64, to control the 2nd gpu fan, became mandatory.


No idea about updated drivers. I'm of the opinion if it works don't mess with it.

 

It's the first Alienware 18 "R1" with Maxwell. That's it. This is not an R2 or a new model.

A lot of people seem to think this is the R2. It's not a new release. It's the old one.

 

Yup yup we had the Alienware m18x r1 then Alienware m18x r2 and now the AW18 (Maxwell's)...

 

It is indeed the old one. Frank Azor kept to his word.

 

I'm relieved to hear they are breathing new life into the AW18 product. Really hoping the resulting bios update fixes the fan tables and throttling issues though.

 

i wish a ep would get on here and answer some questions.. seems like any time you bring up an out standing issue here on the forums they go silent as of late.. well the last year..

 

does that mean we can make use of the dell bios to fix a few issues?

 

Don't know yet. We can only hope.

 

i hope so too

 

Thank God... I would be super upset if they made it slimmer. Since they already fed the thin and light fanboys some new slim junk this last go-round it would be a real shame to ruin their last real monster machine. Making it slimmer would necessitate compromises in one form or another, and that would really blow. Other than the fans being artificially crippled to make it quiet instead of cool, it has an excellent thermal management system and that would be gone if they made it slimmer. The heat sink radiators would have to be smaller and interior chassis circulation would have to be totally redesigned to evacuate hot air. Cramped spaces are never good for performance or serviceability. Plus, the sheer size of the M18xR1, M18xR2 and Alienware 18 is a major part of what makes them attractive to many of the people that want them.

Adding support for the Graphics Amplifier would serve no purpose with 980M SLI because 980M SLI already outperforms all single desktop GPU configurations with the possible exception of the Fury, 980Ti and Titan X. If you put anything less than one of those GPUs in the GA you would be lowering performance and more or less breaking even with one of those GPUs. If you were going to run on Intel Graphics and sell the 980M cards, only then would it make any sense to have it, and then it would be worthless as a notebook. At that point you would have been smarter to build a desktop with the $4000+ that was spent on a DTR that can't function as a DTR because it's anchored to a desk.

 

I didn't know that the 980's in SLI were that strong. Still though, do you think 330w PSU will handle all of that? As others have mentioned the single 980m puts quite a bit of stress on the 330w PSU as is but I guess if AW is going to do it, maybe the figured out a way to make it work. Still though, I guess I am happy that they got the 980's in there so that when the time comes, I can upgrade from my 290x's

 

Of COURSE a week after i order my Alienware 17.. either way, it's too much money for me to spend

 

Wait. There's no graphics amplifier port on the 18?

I understand that the Alienware 18 line is the most powerful alone but when compared to even the likes if the lesser Alienware 15 and the latest desktop GPU won't it have an uphill battle competing?

Desktop GPUS are considerably more powerful which means that BGA unit coupled with the Amplifier should always have superior performance.
No?

 

No. GTX 980M SLI performs better than almost any desktop GPU. A single GTX 980M is about on par with a desktop GTX 970. Not to mention the HQ CPUs can bottleneck/throttle.

Besides, why in gods name would you buy a laptop whose peak performance requires it being anchored to a desk for the GA? What's the point of a laptop then? A laptop with MXM sockets allows you to upgrade the GPU, which makes the GA pointless.

Not to mention the new AW lineup for 2015 is terrible compared to the older machines. Build quality is inferior, components used are inferior (and throttle), keyboard gets hot, a complete disassembly is required to do simple things like re-paste the CPU/GPU, they gave them a hybrid BIOS which drains the battery to compensate for the inadequate PSU (thereby shortening your battery's life).

But its ok right, because they made them "slimmer". Except that a Clevo P650SE/SG has the same components, better performance, comparable/better thermal management and is easier to service, and is usually cheaper in addition to being about half as thick as the AW. Oh, the Clevo has four RAM slots too. For some reason, they capped the new AW line at two RAM slots.

 

A Gtx980m Sli set up will set you back a small fortune.

Only the Gtx980m has problems with the power draw at 180W.
I purposefully chose the 970m.

The keyboard heat I've yet to confirm so can't comment. Fingers crossed.

I only game at home so the GA suits me perfectly. Just plug it in.
I like the whole hybrid abortion mess of everything.
Could be tidier but oh well.

In 5 years you'd be able to stick in a desktop GPU that would be next gen and at a fraction of the cost of the next big MXM cards released then too. Much easier installation.

8GB Ram is suitable for 95% of everything I'll use it for.
16GB Ram will an upgrade later down the line.

The plastic build quality of clevos bothers me a little too much.

Who knows.... Might end up also selling my 17 and just picking up a 13.

This enthusiast stuff can be very expensive.....

 

So will a laptop + GA/GPU.

If you only game at home, what's the point of a laptop + GA?

What do you think the new AW machines are made of?

In 5 years, your 970M will be largely useless, rendering your "gaming laptop" unable to game unless plugged into the GA.

A MXM setup would allow you to sell your old card, buy the newest one, and have a perfectly functional gaming machine that doesn't need to be connected to the GA to game.

The GA is a neat idea, but the problem is the newer 900M cards are pretty damned good. Spending $300 on the GA + $400 on a GPU is what's required to beat the performance of a single GTX 980M. Not worth it IMO. The only time I'd really see the GA being useful is if it could be used with other Dell laptops, like their Inspiron or XPS lines. Then you could have a slim, portable laptop with a iGPU that can be connected to the GA to game. But using the GA with a laptop that has a GPU that is powerful enough to run any game nowadays doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

 

Marginally... It will function with no GPU overclock. But, 330W is inadequate for 980M SLI, just as 180W is inadequate for a single 980M. We already have examples of Alienware 18 and M18xR2 owners using a single 330W AC adapter for 980M SLI without problems with regard to that. There's simply no overhead available for overclocking, but if you're going to mostly just play games and not overclocking it should be OK. As you can see from the video, overclocking 980M SLI can chew up a dual 330W adapter setup very easily.

 

Disagree.

You can pick up a Alienware 15/ 17 + GA + High End Card for around half the Alienware 18 line.
Especially if you go down the refurbished line.

The cheapest 980m I can find is £558.
You can buy the amplifier and a superb desktop GPU for less than that.

As amazing as laptops are, the single best desktop GPU will always be better value/ performer/ easier to upgrade vs the single best laptop MXM GPU. It's just the way it works.
The Gtx980 destroys the 980m.

I also don't sell old graphics cards as it's just not worth it/ the risk in my honest opinion.

The new Alienwares have better build quality than Clevos - I've sampled both.

Being able to take my big Alienware laptop around for work/ movies and then plug in back at home is still more portable than a desktop system.

In terms of longevity the GA is also superior purely on ease of maintainability.
One of the things that irritated me most about MXM slots is that there tended to be a "finite" end.

For example - The M18x R1 supports "only" up to the 780m line.

The GA would go beyond that.

 

Hey, ultimately its your money - you're entitled to throw it away on whatever you want.

If the new AW line + GA works for you, great. That's the beauty of choice.

 

Actually, you need to pick up at least a GTX 980Ti ($700) to come close to GTX 980M SLI. And a GA ($300). And an AW17 R2 that costs around $2200.

An AW18 with 980M SLI is around $3600. So they're close in price. In addition to the fact you're comparing a crippled BGA AW17 vs a AW18.

Unless prices in your neck of the woods are that far out of whack, in which case it really is unfortunate.

It's about 20-30% more powerful - I don't know that I'd call that "destroying it".

I've owned several AW17 R1, AW17 R2 and several new Clevo. Not sampled - owned.

I agree that even though they're worse than previous models, the new AW are overall better-built than the Clevos. But they're still plastic. And they still produce a lot of heat considering how much thicker they are. I still think the new AW machines have one of the better keyboards (though it gets hot, even when idle) and the screen hinge and lid is by far one of the best out there, along with the ASUS ROG G751. One of the most annoying aspects of the Clevo laptops (or any thin laptop) is that after being used to the thick, solid and sturdy hinges and lids on AW machines, they seem flimsy and cheap.

 

I agree on all the points you have said. I really enjoy the build quality of Alienware, and even the new ones that everyone loves to hate on are very well built machines.

 

The Alienware 17 R1 was my favorite of all the Alienware systems I've owned. The 3D/120Hz screen was simply amazing to have, and the build quality was well above average. Unfortunately, those days are over. Hopefully Dell resurrects the good enthusiast brand we once loved.

 

Well, people confuse "worse than previous AW" with just plain "bad".

There's no question they're inferior in pretty much all aspects to previous AW offerings - but they aren't worse than other machines currently on offer. In fact, once you factor in warranty/support, build quality and the discounts that are pretty much always available, they're a solid alternative.

 

One thing I am also disappointed with is the unboxing experience. The 2012 lineup was the last year Alienware really gave you a unique unboxing experience, unlike any other laptop manufacturer in the world. It was a premium, unique, built to order, gaming laptop which could not be bought on the shelf at Walmart. It was something you would sit at the kitchen table waiting for its arrival at the door, and even lose sleep over.

I'm truly honored to have experienced Alienware before it transformed. It was a great experience.

 

Yes, I just upgraded the default matte panel on my AW17 R1 to the 120Hz panel, and I upgraded it to the GTX 970M a month ago. But I'm toying with selling it. There are just too many problems that AW isn't fixing. Locked-down BIOS, unofficial support for the new Maxwell GPUs that require modded drivers, wonky fan tables, "white list", the fact I can't put in the new LG IPS panels...

I've yet to find another machine that comes close to its solid build quality, keyboard and just overall "feel". But there comes a time where you have to give up a few of those things for the really good G-SYNC IPS panels coming out, machines with proper fan tables (and thicker fan blades) and that have actual support for their future MXM upgrades.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-17-r2-quick-review.771355/

That's my review of the AW17 R2, you can see the box compared to the R1.

 

The 2012 experience was even better.



Good days. I was naive and believed Alienware could only get better, so I sold my M18x R2. Regret that decision every day.

 

Very nice. When I unboxed the 17R2, I didn't find it special - heck even opening up the ASUS G751 or MSI GT72 felt "more special".

Then again, when the laptop itself is nothing special anymore, why expect the unboxing experience to be any different?

@Alienware-L_Porras See, that's what people are craving. That unboxing. When the unboxing is that special, you know the machine will be too. Hopefully you guys bring that back with the AW18 2015.

 

Do you think you're using your laptop 5 years ahead and begin upgrading with an gpu in G/A for further use for another 2-3 years ?

 

I just sort of picked 5 years out of the sky.
For example, if you could connect the M14x R1 to the GA, even with the dated i5 it could keep up with most top end rigs. It's around 5 years old I believe.

When I say sampled, I meant owned briefly. Clevos in comparison feel cheap. Still great machines but lack the overall finish.

20 to 30% stock but overclock that Gtx 980 and you will leave the laptop equivalent in the dirt.

Going extreme in terms of CPUs would also be a waste of money.
You simply won't notice the difference game play wise.

Suffice to say I can't really see the 18 being the performance king anymore since the GA was introduced.
Performance wise it simply opens access to far greater power via desktop GPUs at a far lower cost.

Yes my soldered on gtx970m will reach its end much quicker than the Alienware 18 card offerings, but once I slap in the latest Desktop GPU in the GA the Alienware 17 rockets ahead.

 

It also depends on how you are measuring performance. Not everyone is using the same measuring stick and standards/expectations vary widely by user. When we say something is "Performance King" it has to be qualified with "king of what" in order to be accurate.

If playing games is the only measurement in question, even the most anemic system configuration that is shackled by an AMD turd CPU will do fine for that. As console ports have become so prevalent, the need for strong hardware to play games continues to diminish. DX12 should lower the bar even further to include more garbage in the game-capable mix. There will always be a few titles that benefit from beastly hardware, but most game developers are more interested in making money than quality software. To remain profitable, they need to support consoles and antiquated PC/laptop hardware configurations to keep their pool of buyers from shrinking to include only the most expensive configurations. Their sales would be in the toilet if every title's minimum requirements were a 4.0GHz hyper-threaded quad with 16GB of RAM, GTX 780 or newer, as such machines represent a small minority. Some people even go as far as to think of themselves as gamers playing on systems using Intel HD Graphics, so go figure.

However, when you consider overall system performance, the new AW machines that use the eGPU are as pathetic as are their like-spec'd competitors that don't have the option of a eGPU to help make up for their overall system performance deficiencies. The Alienware 18, M18xR2 and dual GPU Clevos with socketed Extreme, K and X CPUs still dominate everything else in laptop world without even having to try very hard. It's a total blood bath for everything founded upon pathetic BGA crap when they need to stand on their own. The eGPU doesn't make the underlying machine worth spit, it just helps it avoid sucking so bad without the eGPU as a crutch.

 

Just checked the Alienware site for options and the m18 is back!!! Thank you ...my confidence is restored.

 

That's my point though.

The Alienware 18 line both past and present is amazing.

But now that we have access to something that gives the lesser models a league that can can just barely be matched at stock by only the highest and incredibly expensive end of the 18.
What's the point?

The 18 has better build and overall CPU and cooling.
That's really it now when you look at it holistically. It can no longer be crowned performance king, which is the fundamental point of the Alienware brand.

And now Intel have shown off their desktop graphics card that's 150% more powerful than the current best GPU.

It may be a crutch but it's a crutch that it can beat to death its bigger brother with

 

Good move alienware....was about to buy elsewhere!!!

 

@Caladdon - Yeah, but part of what I said went right over your head or you are just ignoring it because what your saying is only accurate based on a narrow perspective. King of what? Certainly not physics performance... they fail miserably where that becomes important.

Now, apart from cost factor, I absolutely agree with your points for gaming. Yes, for gaming, especially MMORPG and stuff like that, for those that like it, literally anything XBOX/PS4/Alpha or higher spec will do. There's no point in buying a 980Ti or Titan or Fury for that. If you're not looking at an OSD readout and deriving satisfaction from seeing triple-digit framerates, as long as it looks nice and smooth on the TV screen, who cares if it is 30 FPS, 60 FPS or 120 FPS? Except for the hardcore performance folks, and most of use do care about physics performance in addition to a game that runs smoothly.

If all I were going to do is play games, I sure as heck wouldn't invest more than $400 to $700 in anything. A $500 Alpha is good enough for that. Why spend 10 times that amount for a beast if games are all that matters? If it needs to be tethered to an eGPU, then that raises the question of whether or not it makes any sense whatsoever. I am not saying anyone should or shouldn't spend their money any way they feel like it... by all means, do it and be happy, but my goodness... lots of money for something exotic-looking yet functionally crippled in the big picture view when a low or mid-range desktop/SteamBox and a sub-$500 consumer notebook or tablet for everything blasé can accomplish all of the same and maybe more for about half the cost.

People that buy/build the big beast machines (desktop or laptop) and spend lots of money on them do so because they want something that is king of a vast domain and they are very passionate about extreme performance and overclocking by ever measurement, including CPU. That, or they are just really wealthy, overly-materialistic and like to spend money willy-nilly to impress their friends. These new Alienware notebooks will never fit the bill no matter what kind of eGPU contraption they have been tethered to. They might fit the bill for the willy-nilly part, but not the overclocking, conquering, brute force passion part.

 

Being Alienware it's clear that I'm referring to performance in terms of gaming.

I did acknowledge all the points and I must say it sort of did roll over my head.

Yes you can have extreme series processors, but number crunching aside they have never been good value and in real world usage will only be noticeable during benches. I've yet to see any game or application where the extreme series made a noticeable difference compared to standard i7's.
You probably shave a few seconds off photo or video editing or the likes of that.

Even the i7 in my due to arrive system (i7 4720) is incredibly powerful and will outlast all other components in the laptop.

The Alienware 18 has in one swoop now lost its pedestal of gaming performance champion against the very smaller siblings it's always loomed over. It may be a big ugly box but the graphics amplifier is a tool that now gives us the power to fight desktops with their very same GPU's.
That is something that the Alienware 18 can never have and I'm very surprised at this.

And again is the cost, take my system for example.
The Alienware 17, Amp and a 980 could be had for easily under £1.2k which would leave me the funding to obtain a superior external mechanical keyboard, superior external monitor and superior headphones that beat every laptop audio system out there.

And when the new Alienware 18 launches I can almost guarantee that the equivalent "rival" system will still be over £1k+ more expensive than all the expenditure of the above for a far far lesser experience.

 

Yup, things are all goofed up now, LOL. Amazing how things can change in a year with the compromise-based business model in play. Everything available in the brand represents the need for a massive compromise in one area or another. There is literally nothing awesome by all measurement left to choose. The eGPU is a novelty that facilitates compromise with the underlying hardware, but still tethers what should be a completely mobile super-beast to a desk.

As I don't deal well with middle-ground solutions, I'm basically done with laptops at this point. What I have now is awesome, and I will ride these horses until they are longer useful and expire from being ridden hard and put up wet one too many times. But, I have no plans to upgrade, repair or replace them with anything portable. My next laptop (or mobile device) will be from Walmart or Best Buy, run Android or ChromeOS and cost around $500 max. It won't have all of the new Windoze bells and whistles like the fancy new keyloggers and Cortana crap. While it will have keyboard because I hate slimy touch screens, it won't play any games I am interested in playing. It will be adequate for email and web browsing. When it stops working, it will find its way into a local landfill and be replaced by something equally unimpressive and disposable.

My next "real computer" will have a 5960X (or whatever bests that monster CPU), tri- or -quad SLI, 1.2kW PSU and probably phase-change cooling, will cost about the same to build as a maxed out Alienware 18 or Eurocom Panther with an Extreme CPU and 980M SLI, not counting basic peripherals (which I have never had any use or desire for) such as monitor and keyboard. Instead of operating as a mobile assassin behind enemy lines, I will have to resort to lobbing in guided missiles from base camp.

 

And still with Win 7 and not Win 10 .

 

For the most part, yes. I may still need to install it to prove how bad it sucks compared to Windows 7. It's hard to argue with dual-boot comparisons when the only thing that changes in an otherwise static environment is the operating system. Plus, demonstrating how lame the product is might be characterized as one of the nicest features of a Windows 10 installation.

 

I noticed it says the estimated shipping date is nearly a month. That's quite a long time. It will be the end of September by then.

 

Maybe just in time for 990M release.