Alienware New Model Speculation Thread

Save for part (As in the LCD casing) of the M11x, ALL Alienware machines are metal, magnesium to be exact. The only difference is that the exterior parts of the metal are often coated in some sort of plastic. As to why, you are just going to have to ask Alienware.

 

6970m crossfire, now that's impressive. I'm sure we are looking at a 2k and up laptop with the m18x.

 

lolz! hey now, I own a crappy old Mazda and pee like a girl...

 

Wait, none of the new Alienware laptops have the new i7-990x processors? Why not?

What are the specs of the new m14x and how long will the battery life be?

 

I'm pretty sure that the i7-990x is a desktop processor, assuming from the 130W TDP.

 

M17x R3 get +6hours reported by plenty of reviews online, this one is clear battery review

Idle (without WLAN, min brightness) 6h 9min
Surfing with WLAN 3h 34min
DVD 4h 26min
Load (maximum brightness) 1h 20min

Review Alienware M17x R3 (GTX 460M, i7-2630QM) Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

If m18x offered switchable graphics with intel gpu then it might reach 7hours due the bigger battery i think

 

What was the M14x's price when it was up on the Dell Canada site for a little while?

 

I also want to know this... and also the specs...

 

I expect 6970 crossfire to perform very similarly to the 485M SLI due to scaling.

 

The m14x specs have been posted many times already (along with m11x ones), look through the last 10-20 pages b/c I can't link on phone

As for price, I'm pretty sure it wasn't shown sorry. We only got the m18x price from the customization link I think ^.-

 

I mean the specs for the machine that was with price, but like you said, maybe it wasn't showed...

 

Don't think the price w/ specs was shown

But we do know the specs on the important stuff:
M11xR3 - 2nd gen ULV processor - GT 540M
M14x - 2nd gen Core i5/i7 processor - GT555M

 

Excellent!!! Speculation on the M18x-r2 has started

 

I just have to say that the gpu and cpu of the m18x-r2 were not invented yet!!!

 

Meaker - I don't understand what this means. What is scaling? The difference between a single 6970m and 485m is 5-10%. Are you saying it will be even less of a difference?

Frank

 

9 Cell vs. 12 Cell... idk, if CFX offers switchable, then we can expect 8 hours. DDDDDDDD

Suck on that Steve Jobs.

Overclocked to 4.0GHZ? Are we talking about a desktop processor here? Or a super clocked 2920xm....
Ideas anyone? (Look at the pictures thread, clearly says that it offers cpus oc'd to 4 ghz)

 

The M18x looks breathtaking. 18inches of pure power and a return to aluminum...

See sig

 

Before we get our hopes up, I think the 4 GHz might be just a single core OC of the 2920xm. In that case it's not a very large bump in speed and is more for marketing purposes. What we should all be counting on is Dell not locking down the 2920xm so that we can use ThrottleStop to raise the TDP. If we can do that, then M18x will be the performance champ of the notebook gaming world (even vs 980x in the x7200 despite less cores).

Just imagine: No lockbit on the 2920xm so we run that CPU at 4.0 GHz on ALL 4 cores, IGP for 5-6 hrs of battery life, 18.4" display with 80-90% NTSC gamut and 300 nit brightness, subwoofer, top notch cooling, alien fx + macro buttons, new sexy design, ALUMINUM/ALUMINIUM...drool. Clevo who?

 

I'm getting anxious for a release now.

 

The 2920xm is less powerful than a desktop 2600k which is equal to a 980x/990x so even with ThrottleStop I highly doubt you could best a desktop processor that also has unlocked multipliers. Sure in terms of gaming there is no difference between a 2920xm/960-990x/2600k but in terms of certain benchmarking there still is advantage to hex core processors in multi-threaded applications. Also unless you could disable both 6970s I doubt you could even reach 2 hours on just IGP and then seriously what is the point in owning a 18.4" just to watch movies on a plane? I'd like to see a nice 18.4" screen with a relatively high gamut but do they even exist at this point since Qosmio/x8100 are the only current 18.4" laptops.

 

That's why I made it a point to say "gaming". I realize in multithreaded apps, the 980x will win even vs an OC'd 2920xm but in the majority of games (or even applications) you won't see a difference. The way graphic switching works is by disabling the 6970Ms entirely. You switch over to the IGP and you see an immediate boost in battery life. So having dual 6970Ms in there won't affect battery life much if at all vs a single 6970M system. I get ~4.5-5 hours on my R3 right now with a single 6970M, with the M18x having a bigger battery, I see it pulling 5 hours as well provided it has IGP support--which is something those promotional photos neglected to mention so we may end up not having it at all.

Dell contracts out for it's own panels just like it did for the R2 RGB LEDs that no other manufacturer used (aside from Dell's own precision line). So it doesn't matter if Toshiba is the only one using an 18.4" right now.

 

The m18x does have a bigger screen to power though... but it will should net higher battery life if it can use the IGP. Although the weight is going to be a real brick... at least 12-14+ lbs?

 

Probably 12.5 lbs with dual 6970M is my guess. After thinking about it, I'm beginning to question if it will support integrated graphics. Even if it doesn't, I will still get it.

 

+1 Rep!!! That is sooooo true!

 

I'd return the m17x, but the m18x would be extremely out of my budget.

 

I'm more worried about what range of cpu's the mx18 will offer in the future. It seems that we have reached a point where going from a 2720qm to a 2920xm really doesn't offer much of an advantage in terms of gaming. Obviously we can't foresee the next line of cpu's but with the new 22nm Ivy coming Q4 2011 to Q1 2012 it leaves us questioning how long the chipset will last without Ivy Bridge support. When the Sandy Bridge E processors are released we might have a better indication of what kind of impact that this new chipset can really bring. But in reality I wonder if the mx18 can dethrone the x7200 but I think the 990x is just too much of a powerhouse that inflates benchmarks too much. In real world use I still think even the basic 2720qm will be fine but for people that also use their laptop for CAD/Compiling/ETC will the difference be enough to go Clevo. Another thing is seeing how long Dell will support the mx18 R1. The x7200 has gone through the nvidia 460, 480, 470 and 485 sli cards along nehalem i7 to westmere zeons. So I hope that dell with update the 6970 to the 7000's series that is supposed to be released Q1 of 2012 at 28nm.

 

Woah this thread is on FIRE!

In the span of 7 hours (just got off work) I've had to go through around 30-40 minutes of reading "catch-up" material LOL

--

To answer two questions a few pages back, when the M14/18 were posted on the Canadian site, only the 18's price was posted and not the 14's. We're still in the dark about the starting price, but I'm speculating 999$ (with 1366, i5-2nd gen, 250GB (?), 2GB ram). I assume it'll be around 1300$~ if we upgrade the screen and processor. Ram and HD can be "do it yourself" since Dell's prices for both are atrocious.

I'll be lurking on newegg deals in order to acquire a 500GB HD and 4GB of RAM.

Let's just hope Canadians don't get nailed for an extra 100$ on the stock model like they did with the M17 R3 and M18 since it's 0.95$ CDN for 1.00$ USD.

If anyone is tunning in now, the M18 stock was around 2020$ CDN when it was posted. Stock meaning a single 460m in it.

 

You might be surprised. I bet it starts at $1700-$1800.

 

Nope.

Starts at 2020$ Canadian.

I believe they added an extra 100$ for Canadians customers, so the US version will be 1920$-ish.

So place it in a range of 1920-2020$.

 

you guys realize that the Canadian dollar is "worth" more than the US dollar, right?

$2099

 

Yes we do, but Alienware doesn't see it this way for any other countries. They price hike Canada by 100$ and countries like Australia for almost twice the value.

The price by Alienware on the Dell-Canadian website for the M18X was 2020$, not 2099$.

 

2000 Canadian is about $1600 USD, that's not counting whatever Alienware adds to the Canadian price.

 

Is your post serious or are you trolling?

M17 R3 is 1599$ in Canada
M17 R3 is 1499$ in the US

Same thing with the M15. We pay 100$ more for all products (200$ more for the M11-R1) and 50$ more for certain upgrades such as the screen.

Even though it's 0.95$ CDN per 1.00$ USD, we still pay more.

The M18 was 2020$ CDN, therefore assuming the -100$ applies to US customers that happened with the M17-R3 and M15, it will be 1920$ for US customers.

 

Stock screen on the m18x was the 1080 60hz or was it the 900 like on the m17x?

 

Most likely 1080p given that it is just so big...don't know of any other resolutions being offered at 18"

 

I would have assumed so also. Probably just an option to upgrade to the 120hz screen.

 

It was 1080 60hz

I don't believe a 3D option was available, since it would take business away from the M17 R3.

 

That is one beautiful machine!!

 

Re-read my post. That was in comparison to the M15x, not in comparison to other 14" notebooks. The M15x is close to 10 pounds, and this is significantly less than that.

And, weight does not make it bigger than comparable notebooks.

Let's just drop this argument. We aren't going to agree.

 

Yeah. you have to connect a 3D capable monitor to the M18X through the HDMI port.

 

really excited about the upcoming AW lappy's had to read this thread 4 about an hour cause it has taken off and travelling at light speed.

 

I was comparing the m14x to my 13" hp (see specs in my signiture) and it is not much bigger at all. AW have done a great job. the only thing is that it is thicker but my hp has no optical drive so...
It only weighs 880g heavier too

 

Yeah sure they will be more profitable IF they are sold, you forgot that part. But how many are willing to pay double the money for the same performance? Which will Dell sell more 6970 Xfire or 485m SLI ? Trust me 90% of the people will go for the Xfire especially since apparently there are no added benefits for choosing the 485m SLI (no 3d).

 

How many people buying it are going to be knowledgeable technology enthusiasts like us?

There are plenty of people out there that would easily go for the 485M SLi if Dell labels it as the 'best' option (not a lie, it is the most powerful).

And you've also got the nVidia fanboys that would only buy a computer with nVidia GPUs, or believe that nVidia GPUs are always superior.

As demonstrated by kraeuchi7 and plenty of others in this thread who have asked about it, there is plenty of interest in the 485Ms.

 

Well actually apparently it's not the most powerful option, even notebookcheck's gaming performance's head to head which always seems to favor nvidia cards gave the upper hand the Xfire 6970 in the most demanding games, see for yourself:
Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech
And how many non gaming enthusiasts will even consider buying an Alienware laptop? And how many are willing to pay that much on a laptop they don't intend on using for extreme gaming?
I would much prefer getting an nvidia gpu trust me, but at that much price difference even I will choose the 6970 because it doesn't make any sense to go for nvidia this time.

 

Notebookcheck aren't exactly known for accurate benchmarks. In any case, I fully understand and agree with a lot of what you're saying.

Nevertheless, a gaming enthusiast doesn't always mean a tech enthusiast who's knowledgeable about these things. The two do often coincide, but nevertheless, there are still people who are willing to pay that extra. That's why there's interest in them. That's why Clevo have built a laptop with them; if they weren't profitable why did Clevo make a laptop with them?

 

Wide viewing angle FHD? Is it another marketing hype or can I hope for an IPS/VA?

 

Let's not forget that Dell doesn't pay the premium price we do, so you guys are talking about a 'big difference' that atm is not existent (since the cards are not part of the config) and might not be that significant when/IF the 485m will be available.
Also the ATI vs nVIDIA is pointless, personally I'm bound to CUDA .

 

Oh but they will not pay full price on the 6970 either.

 

Newsflash your currency is in the toilet and the canadian dollar is worth more.