Alienware Dock

Heck have 4 pci express lanes from the cpu going to the dock permanently if you want to keep it simple.

8x to the gpu
4x to dock
4x (2x + 2x) to pci express storage

Hopefully we see a re balance of pci express lanes for single card systems since they don't need full 16x speeds.

 

Listen to this video if you have time.
Didn't watch? The Graphics Amplifier has been in existence since the introduction of the m14x and m18x, 2011. The big reason why it didn't launch back then? Prevention of crashes and anything bad.
It's not like companies like these don't hide any secret products, but to imagine if the issue were to be resolved in, say 2012, what would Alienware laptops have been in the short past?

 

I still can't get round the lack of a quad mobile though, going for the U chip counters everything he was saying.

 

Yeah, that dual core U processor.

That's a good video and they have clearly done something amazing if you ignore the terrible choice in CPU. They deserve a lot of credit for what they have achieved with the direct PCI-e interconnect. It could have been far more excellent with a 4940MX, 240W AC adapter, etc. Considering this is their first shot at it, one could excuse the BGA 860M if they wanted an Ultrabook bad enough to put up with that for the sake of unavoidable form factor limitations.

This eGPU thing could be extremely cool if connected to a beast laptop with an Extreme CPU. It would be a perfect compliment to an Alienware 18 with 4940MX and 980M SLI, or an Alienware 17 with the same configuration. I would want whatever machine to which it is connected to be a wicked monster machine with or without the help of the Graphics Accelerator. The eGPU all by itself isn't awesome enough to make up the difference.

Ideally, the Graphics Accelerator would be more like having a grenade launcher to compliment a .50 caliber rail gun, rather than expecting a grenade launcher to make up for the primary weapon load-out being limited to a .22 caliber pea shooter.

 

According to the Tech Specs from Dell's website it's PCI-E x16

 

The wimpy dual core ULV CPU doesn't support x16 even though the dock itself does.

 

was actually wondering that... that's pretty ty then. Its not just Graphics performance that will suffer then.

 

Uh-huh. Very sad times for Alienware laptop enthusiasts. It seems there is really nothing to look forward to right now. Maybe after Christmas or New Year's Day something halfway decent will surface after everyone has given up and spent their money on something else.

 

I am selling all my alienwares now. I do not think I believe in the brand anymore at this moment, at least not enough to keep even the older more venerated well served equipment lying around. If a 17 comes out with what I said, I'll buy it. Maybe if its x16 i'll even believe in it. If it has upgradeability then I might even promote it. If if uses the graphics dock then I will even keep it, when its old.

to iterate:
x16 pci lane
removeable cpu/normal mobile cpu, even if its somehow AMD - but don't give us ULV crap. ing tablet use that .
i7 is a must
graphics adapter now is a must
5.1 sound is a must (analogue AND digital)

Triple pipe heatsinks for CPU and GPU STOCK

DP 1.3 /.HDMI 2.0

DDR4L

esata a plus , keep that. Fingerprint scanners are useless. HDMI in/out combo always nice.switch Klipsch with Harmon Kardon speakers.


Heck i have an idea for you DELL, make the graphics adapter more then just an adapter for 1 single gpu, make it capable of holding a pci-e card too. This way we can go friggin nuts with our own soundcards and not have to re-attach them everytime we dock/undock etc... THIS would be a great upgrade. Leave the option to use it for SLI even, basically extend the adapter to extend a desktop - and you would be making history. Seriously.

Here Del, let me do most the work for you...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=236633.0 take this splitter, make 2 x8 lanes , this would be better at the very moment on the 13. WHY ? because the ULV can not support x16 bandwidth anyways, it most likely will be bottlenecking, or maybe a new term should be called fr, one where its not limited to a maximum bandwidth but instead gets exponentially decreasing returns as if going steaper uphill or against the grain for every extra bit of powert he gpu has. anything less then a 560 GTX anyways. I would be willing to put money there. Maybe not too noticeable, but I bet a 980 would be notieably impacted against anouther mahcine setup similiar and compared head to head but without using a ULV CPU but at least using the X97 chipset

 

Rather than buying a product for the brand, go for the abilities of the model you are looking at and rate it for what it is.