Alienware New Model Speculation Thread

I think soft-touch on a palm rest would be a great idea. If it's done in a high quality fashion then there should be no peeling etc. If there is, that's what your warranty is for! I hate gloss/fingerprints! I'm all for soft-touch finish.

 

If someone is extremely worried about "not too expensive" you'd be best off to wait a few months. Honestly the first people in the door trying to buy something don't normally get the best prices. Best price would be to buy these models when the new ones come out in 2012. But folks probably don't want to wait that long. But if you are needing better pricing, wait a few months till discounts kick in.

For me, I have to wait till the 485M's (or 580M if they just decide to to a number upgrade to the chip) comes in SLI, so I'm settling in for the waiting process.

 

The memory on m14x is finally GDDR3 or 5? someone can ask agents?

 

1.5 GB -> 192 bit memory bus -> GDDR3

If it was 1 GB, then 128 bit and GDDR5.

 

Nothing is released on a monday, that's a fact.

 

Can someone in the UK call Dell and ask what chipset the M18x uses? If it's P67 we lose IGP support and Quick Sync. If by some miracle Intel gave them Z68, we get IGP + CPU overclocking + Quick Sync.

 

Probably will get the same configuration as your sig except for the extreme processor, don't really need it and way too expensive for me

 

I wont' be getting the extreme processor right away either IF I buy the M18x at this point. If it has P67 I'll be seriously contemplating waiting on M18x-R2.

 

What would be your turnoff if it's the P67? Lack of IGP or quick sink?

 

Z68: CPU OC'ing, IGP/Quick Sync, Mixing discrete + IGP for encoding (e.g. using Lucidlogix Virtu), HDD/SSD Caching, SLI/Xfire.

P67: CPU OC'ing only, SLi/Xfire.


Pretty big difference between the two chipsets. The Z68 is supposed to be available May 8th. If Dell somehow struck a deal with Intel, they could have conceivably included it in M18x. However, seeing that NONE of the gallery photos advertise battery life, I'm pretty certain we're stuck with P67 and Dell will probably use Z68 in M18x-R2.

 

lack of IGP will make me not happy for sure, but the reason most of us want this laptop is for a DTR for me anyway, 18.4" is to darn big to move for much, TONS better then moving desktop but this aint your typical notebook its just flat out BIG and thats the end, thats why most of us want it but when i use it for a presentation maybe 2 of 365 days of the year... i would really like my powerpoint/3dmodel to use the IGP and not 2x 6970/485m to do somthing thats going to use at most 5% of those super powerful GPUs but it will not however turn me off of buying it. the G73 had no IGP and lasts 1.5-2h at most when not doing gaming, just web and other applications. thats why i didnt get that, if the m18x gets more then 3 hours of battery i will be darn happy with that on 2x dedicated GPUs

 

It has to be missing some options after all the sibeam option is missing. I hope it's available when the M18/M14 are officially released.

 

I won't have the money to purchase the M18x anytime soon, so I will most likely be waiting until the R2 is released. Hopefully by then, it would be upgraded to Ivy Bridge processors and the Z68 chipset at the least. Those two upgrades right there would make the wait worth it if the price does not get a huge hike. Are there any planned GPUs coming out within the next year that could be a viable upgrade from the 485m's or the 6970m's?

 

Well for me it doesn't make any difference, the benefits of the Z68 don't intervene in any way with my reasons for buying this laptop: best performance for gaming, 18" screen (lack of 120hz would be a pity but as long as the display is of great quality it should be okay) and I like my laptop to have the biggest and best screen possible, great build quality, great speakers, great looks (such a tough choice between black and red ).
I don't care about IGP, the laptop is staying on my desk, and although I travel a lot I'm always plugged wherever I am.
So in every conceivable way the M18X appeals to me, once I heard it was officially coming the R3 looked so "normal" to me.
Hope the wait won't be long because as it is I've been waiting for soooooo long!

 

Hey Joker when do you think the R2 will be released or Igp functionality will be added, possibly at E3 in June?

 

There is no way that they would release the mx18 R1 with p67 and then in June announcing an R2 immediately after with Z68. Expect the Z68 next year unless Alienware somehow managed to get intel a deal similar to ati with the 6970 coming to the mx17 r3 before sager.

 

They might save it for Ivy Bridge next year which makes more sense. Then again when they released M11x-R1, they released M11x-R2 like 5 months later. So with the M18x-R2, it's possible that it could be updated by September though I'd say most likely next year. I'll be disappointed without Z68 because it'll make it a somewhat glorified M17x-R2 sans the RGB LED. Decisions decisions...

 

as much as i hate to say this. i really cant wait to see the packaging, because this is the new flagship i wonder if it will have the leather bound manual like the m17xr2 which all of you know was the previous flagship. it will be interesting to see whats included

 

Yeah I'm definitely disappointed with the lack of the Z68 board similar to changing from a i7 960 desktop cpu to a 2600k. Sure its cheaper to go the 2600k if you don't already have a i7 960 and want to upgrade but going from a high level i7 is meaningless. That's what I'm worried about especially since Alienware's biggest competition is Clevo x7200 (17.3" vs. 18.4") that uses desktop i7s. Are there going to be any advantages of going the mx18 route since UK dell has the 2820qm and 6970 xfire at about 2,500 euros.

 

Nvidia just created a only version 192bit with gddr3?

That does not make much sense, because nvidia do that?

 

Really digging the M18x as a potential desktop replacement... 6970M CrossFire + i7 2720QM. Go w/ newegg on the RAM upgrade and SSD upgrade, do the cheap Dell option for the Seagate XT 500GB as the secondary hard drive

The memory totals are going to tell you the bus width

Just like the GTX 580 desktop is 384-bit and has 1.5 GB of RAM, a GTX 560 Ti has 1GB of RAM w/ 256-bit, etc.

The 555M is 192-bit w/ 1.5 GB

 

The Alienware M18x has features and support the X7200 lacks. Some of those include:

• Wireless HDMI support (when they finaly release it)
• HDMI 1.4
• Bigger display
• Backlit KB + AlienFx
• Dell Warranty
• Aluminum construction of M18x vs Aluminum paneling of X7200 (chasis is still plastic AFAIK)
• Full keyboard + Alienware Tactx Macro Keys

The biggest advantage of X7200 is a desktop processor but since it eats so much power, the X7200 requires dual PSU's just to power SLi cards + a high end processor--pretty ridiculous. IMO, the X7200 isn't much competition for M18x, AW has Clevo beat easily. If you need a desktop processor, build a cheap HTPC with a 2600K. Otherwise for mobility purposes, M18x is the clear winner.

 

Could there be two graphics cards?
I'm not very computer savvy but 1.5 + 1.5 = 3....

 

Hey Joker, even though the alienwares dont have wireless HDMI support yet, do they have the chip installed and are just waiting for bios/driver support or do they not have the hardware for it installed yet?

 

the only option currently available on alienware is intel's widi (intel igp + intel wifi), until the sibeam wirelesshd technology is released. curiously enough, both the M17x R3 & M14x R1 are featured product on the front page of the wirelesshd site...

 

555m doesn't support sli

I'm not sure how true that is, but as long as it's 1.5GB or more GDDR5, it should be good.

Always good to have extra money in your bank for whenever you might need it.

 

Just to be sure on a few things:

1) The M17x R3 uses an H67 motherboard only right? (since it supports switching to IGP)
2) The M18x will use the P67 motherboard only because P67 is the only chipset so far that supports dual-GPUs? And if it does use the P67 mobo, it will not support switchable graphics?

 

We don't have confirmation of the M18x chipset yet. But yeah if it's P67, then no IGP support.

 

So are the only options for the M18x basically just the P67 or the "unlikely" Z68? HM67 doesn't support dual-GPUs right?

*Edited with the correct names, thanks Joker

 

Mm I do not think we understand each other, that it has to do with the memory bus with memory speed?

no matter how 192bit bus, only determines that the memory is 768mb which are also 1.5 GB or 3GB etc.

but that has nothing to do with memory speed to mount, they can put to 1.5GB 192bit and GDDR5, to my knowledge there is no limitation

then if nv put GDDR3 only, because it? the only answer is possibly an issue very high economic cost if an option is GDDR5

 

Maybe the ZM68 is why the M18x has been delayed so much? That would be truly awesomeness

IGP AND CF Graphics with 2 6970m's

 

i was told by numerous reps that tuesday the 19th was going to be release date unless a zombie Apocalypse broke out

 

Or they are just wrong.....only time will tell

 

yeah... but i still cant see them having almost all the config pages up almost a month ahead of time... that chipset dosent release until almost mid may... idk just saying, i thing the r2 will have the z68 for sure but i think AW wants the m18x ASAP

 

Yup. Lots and LOTS of websites are claiming it's the 19th. Others are claiming it's the 21st of this month.

Also, I noticed alot of people are comparing overclocked AW systems vs stock of the new releases. Either compare overclock vs overclock or stock vs stock instead of giving the illusion that old-gen systems are superior to new gen. I know some of you have a hard time accepting that your systems are "old tech", however it doesn't mean you should bash new tech

Prime example of this is saying an M11X-R1 pinmodded/overclocked is almost as good as a M11X-R3 stock, which is ridiculous to claim since you're comparing it to a stock system that not a single person owns.

 

Yes. And also some people trying to compare m11xr3 vs m14x. There is no point of comparison. m11x r3 cpu and gpu are far away from m14x r1...

 

In their defense....the SB chips pretty much can't overclock unless the 2920xm due to the change in architecture....so it is a little valid....

Although most people who benchmark and overclock enough also know that it is not worth running overclocked all the time....I would in a heartbeat upgrade to an M18x if I did not have to worry about things like selling my M17x r1 and buying a new laptop....

 

Mine's old tech, but awesome tech! Can't wait for the m11x r3 to go up on Dell Australia, then I can figure out how much damage I'm in for and prepare! Last time I went for the cheapest model, this time I want to go full blown.

 

I do understand the comparison with OC vs stock. The m11x r3 isn't going o be OC'able, except for the GPU. I do think that the OC'd R2, with the VMod and i7 wil be about the same as the new one,
and due to the fact that the r2 will be cheaper, it is reasonable.

 

I think the speculative prices for both the M11/14 are quite good. The M14X's screen upgrade also looks very affordable @ 60 British Pounds ...I thought they would force us to pay 150$+ for it I don't expect to pay more than 1300$ after screen upgrade ...*prays* lol

 

Yes, both CPUs are weak... But there are other important difference. USB 3.0, Directx 11 support, Ram with 1333 MHz, Intel HD Graphics 3000, HDMI 1.4, and more...

 

Haha, HEUR, you beat me to it! I was just about to post this

If I'm not mistaken, the R1/R2 M11X's will not be able to play the new BF3 due to no DX11 support, eh? (that's what I've gathered from the BF forums), which is another great reason to upgrade.

 

Valid point, just remember so far Australia's pricing for Alienware machines has been double that of America's in the past. So I'm REALLYYYYY hoping this isn't the case with this batch.

 

you want to play BF3 on a laptop.... RORFL...


BTW its DX10/11

 

I will not buy new.
I had my lesson when I purchased my M15x for over 2000$. Now I can get a better model for less less than a thousand dollar with little use..
Still the prices are interesting, like you said Voodooi, 60 pounds for the 900p screen is a sweet price. I remember skipping the screen upgrade on the M15x since it was $150!
So I'll more than likely get a used M14x in a year or so. There's no hurry!

 

If that's the case:
hidevolution.com - Alienware M17x R.3 R3 non-3D Custom Built to Order
and import from US once they post the new units, providing the addition of...
AUSTRALIA
Duties 0-17.5%
GST 10%

...comes out cheaper in the end.

 

Gotcha. What's wrong with BF3 on a laptop? I'm sure the majority of us on these boards will be at least attempting it and that the new AW units will successfully play it (new M11/14 medium settings at least and M18 on ultra)

 

Where did you pull those figures from? Also, do those guys transfer the warranty overseas, that would be the biggest deal breaker for me. I like to have at least a year of warranty, because that's usually where things go wrong...

But yeah, I'm hoping in an attempt to get some more sales they'll try and bring the prices down seeing as our dollar is so flippin' strong at the moment.

 

I found those figures through a quick google search on the Ask website.

As for the warranty, AW claims you need 3 years for it to work anywhere in the world at any given time, however that wasn't the case for me, as I purchased it from the US with 1 year, filled out a warranty transfer form online on the Dell website, and then used a warranty claim in Canada a few months later to get my hinges replaced on the R1

Reference form: http://support.dell.com/support/top...ansfer_form1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1

 

I think if your Australian like myself the best chances of getting these systems at a reasonable price is if your traveling to the states. Fortunately that's what I think I'll be doing with family soon.