Alienware New Model Speculation Thread

Engadget article about M11xR3 leaked specs

 

It's not in Hello kitty pink!!!

Funny how people get excited about a Gaming Notebook without a GPU.

Sorry that's not funny, it's just sad.

Moderator is going to be busy deleting posts today.

 

Still just speculation.

Nothing different here than other 'New M11x threads'.

Also, rather than get a 3G card internal get a Nokia N8 using TMobile, tell them you have a non-smartphone, pay $9.99 for monthly 3G, and then download Jokiuspot for the N8 and youve got an exremely fast hotspot for only $9.99 per month.

Cant do this using the iphone cause ATT is sending out notices that they are going to hit your hard with extra fees.

 

dunno if this is true or not but..
this fuels my aggression against technology.

And yes, same price point might lead to a "no-gpu" resolution?
or a $200 add for a GT550m 2GB.. to keep the power consumption to a minimum..?

 

I just use Bluetooth or USB on my mobile phone to use 3G
NZD10.00 per 100MB. Works like a treat.

One day, I'll get in my car with 3G mobile and M11xR1 and see if it can do handoff between towers without dropping the signal.

 

if it doesnt have a dedicated gpu then my r1 is still faster. and theres no reason to upgrade. although the intel HD 3000 isnt bad at all i heard.

 

Guys, it's still the same source- that dell-labs blog being shutdown by Dell.

 

@DavyGT

oh awesome, makes me feel better that i have an r1 LOL. with all the r3 speculation it kinda makes me regret getting it sometimes. but oh well. its fast enough for me.

 

Don't regret the R1! I still have mine and love it!

 

Disappointing if the video card doesn't get upgraded as well.

 

Or you can root most Android phones and use the Wireless Tether app for free. In my case, I get free 4G on my laptop by tethering through my EVO.

 

Needs a better video card to get me to upgrade then again, I'm quite happy with my R2

 

the gpu in the r1 and r2 is just fine. its equal to an hd 5650. and when you overclock it, even better. doesnt need an upgrade. but sometimes i think my r1 is obsolete, even tho i got it last month. just because all of this r3 speculation

 

i would love to know what GPU it uses and how the R3 compares overall!

 

This is only speculations, we will no nothing for sure untill dell tells us.

 

Out of curiosity does anyone know how well the current 11x gpu stacks up to integrated on sandybridge?

 

The IGP in the SandyBridge is amazing for an Intel integrated graphics processor, but thats about it. The Intel HD 3000 in the the SandyBridge processor is comparable to a Nvidia 320M, which is also an IGP.

The GT 335M has 1GB of dedicated ram and is significantly more powerful.
The CPU in the M11x R1 & R2 has been pretty weak, so the Sandy Bridge upgrade is nice, but obvious. It will be interesting to see what GPU it has next gen.

 

i wouldnt care if it had to same gpu to be honest. the gt 335 is awesome, who needs more then that? it can run olmost all games on high on the m11x at native res. plus, if you wanna play 1080p...really...get yourself a nice desktop for that.

 

The 335 is only 50% faster than Sandy Bridge IGP- gone are days when midrange graphics are significantly faster (200-300% minimum.)

The R2 CPU is not pretty weak with TS and SetPLL- The i7s are fast enough to compare to full voltage Arrandales and the i5 can take on low end i3s. The R1 with a pinmod does ok as well- at least it's no longer CPU bottlenecked in games as much. I bet a nicely OC'd i7 R2 would make it very tough for Sandy Bridge to beat, where it's primary advantage over the previous generation, high clockspeeds, is negated. Yes, they can overclock too, but you're looking at 5% increase at most- the M17x R3 guys are getting more or less that.

 

This is just speculation so...

What would be a good and reasonable GPU update for the M11x R3? Radeon 6700 series? GT 525m? Just wondering, what's the difference between the GT 500m series and the 400m series? They got refreshed really fast.

 

At the very least the GPU will be named different with slight improvements. Nvidia is great at this. Eg. 8800GT, 9800GT, 250 GTS.

 

50% faster based on a ultra low voltage i7 + 335m vs the normal mobile version of a Sandy Bridge i5. Also those game benchmarks show the m11x R2 is up to 75% ~faster than a 2011 MBP 13" i5.

The R2 i7 640um CPU is slower than a C2D T9500. The i7 640um trades performance for low power & low heat.

 

There are no benchmarks for the CULV Sandy Bridge so I picked the slowest Sandy Bridge.

My i5 with TS is faster then a T9500, at least in Cinebench, the only CPU bench I tried. A Core 2 Duo with similar clocks will be beaten in multithreaded benchmarks. Edit: I'll upload that benchmark result when I get home.

 

Yeah, AMD 66xx or 67xx series (6830 as well) and the 525M from Nvidia are candidates. Although it is a bit of a mystery right now what GPU they will/can use. We have to wait and see. I hope for a pleasant surprise.

I don't know about the difference between the 500M and 400M series. Seems like just a name change to make it look "newer tech".

 

I'm not sure this effects the mobile chips, but...

The desktop 4-series was initially suffering from poor yields, which caused increased heat, and disabled cuda cores, this was mostly fixed by release of the desktop 460.

The 5-series were refinements made on the fixes to improve the GPU cores to be more stable, so essentially, it's what the first fermi cores SHOULD have been. BUT the mobile chips were released well after the desktop lineups so for all I know, the 460m has all the improvement made on the manufacturing level.

Basically, the 5-series should have either higher clocks, or decreased power draw/heat, as well as more cores due to not having to disable as many cores (ie- 480 vs 580 desktop cards). Again this isn't the holy son speaking or something, just what I understand from reading way too many hardware reviews...

 

The GT 555m would get slaughtered. The 485m and 6970m are beasts. The 460m soundly kicks the GT 555m's but, and the 485m is roughly equal to 460m sli.

 

OK folks.. lets bring everyone back down a bit for a little "come to Jesus" meeting. Please remember, that while SB claims to walk on water, turn sand into bread, and heal the sick... It only has the max turbo features for about 56 seconds or so. After that it clocks back down to a more mainstream level. So yes, they score very high in short demos that only take about 60 to 90 seconds to finish. (not talking XM series here of course)

My first thoughts about an R3 now would be what unclewebb can do with the processors installed in the system. What are the OC limits? Also what GPU offerings will they have? I have been and always will be about CONTROL over my machine. So the model that offers me most control over performance will probably be the one I go for. (I probably still would never get anything smaller than 14 or 15 but that is due to migraines)

Thoughts?

 

I just found this on google..

Dell Alienware M11x R3 Gaming Laptop Updated by Sandy Bridge, Expected or Not - Free device drivers Download

claims it will have a GT 540M. if that is true then it would be a great improvement unless its downclocked

 

Unclewebb said he couldn't do much with TS on the XM SB as Intel gave more control of the CPU to the OEM. Hopefully TPL is unlocked at least so we won't have an early R2 situation.

While SB can overclock, it can't go very far. About a 5mhz overclock at best, as one clock generator controls USB, PCIe and every other clock making stability very hard.

 

eww... that pretty crappy. if i cant overclock a pc i wont buy it. 5mhz isnt worth the overclock.

 

Assuming the M14x has a 1600x900 screen and a GT 555M w/ 192-bit GDDR5, that would be quite the potent combo.

I'd say the best you should expect is the AMD 6650M. But, if the Macbooks can handle the 6750M, it may be on the table, for the thicker M11x.

 

Why don't they just announce all the info? I don't get it, if people knew what was coming maybe they would wait for it to be released instead of potentially buying another computer from another maker that is already released.

Just show us everything!

 

That's one way to see it. But another group of people will buy the R2 instead. Announcing the R3 too early will lead to a halt in sales of R2. If they can, they hope to sell you the R2, and make you upgrade to the R3 later. By staying sharp, watching out for reliable rumor/leaks, some of us can avoid making a purchase right before the R3 arrives...

 

He also said he fears the thermal limits are hardware locked this time. If that is the case, Dell can't do much about it either. We just have to wait for a newer chipset that allows better BCLK clocking. This initial generation of Sandy Bridge seems to be a real downer for overclockers, in all aspects.

 

I guess but you would have to be pretty uninformed to buy an R2 now lol.

So any guesses on GPU? Are ATI 6550M or GT 540M plausible?

 

It's been confirmed the R3 exists, have fixed hinges, and most likely and reasonably have Sandy Bridge and other up to date components. But we are still missing a solid rumor regarding its launch date. Some rumors points to early April, and that's what I am hoping for right now.

Direct2Dell blog also said they will update many models with Sandy Bridge the coming weeks. I would say the chance is still "fair" that we see a R3 in April.

The 540M has a TDP of 35W according to notebookcheck.net. I believe the currently used 335M has TDP 23W. So I don't think they can handle the 540M, thermalwise. But I hope to be surprised.

The AMD alternatives usually have better performance per Watt, so we might see something from the 66xx or even 67xx series.

 

Rather have a Llano based m11x than just sandy bridge with Intel HD 3000

 

Is another thread about this already, but it contains some M11x hidden info I think: Interview

Basically, he says the M11x will have soft touch on the palm rest. He mentions a 35W GPU. And he says Alienware will have a nice new lineup soon. I assume he means the M14x and M18x, and likely the M11xR3.

Not sure about soft touch palm rest... it might peel and look terrible rather quickly. But the other stuff is good to hear.

 

While I'm not much for the soft touch - I have to admit I loved the aluminium chassis on my M17x - I can see the wisdom of it in something like the M11/14x. I just hope they don't ditch the silver this time round like they did with the M17x-R3. That was such a wonderful looking colour!

 

I too love the Lunar Silver... it is very impressive in person, the problem is the pics just don't do it justice. With soft-touch I think it would just look... grey... not too much to get excited over.

 

I think I have come to the decision that if Alienware decides to skimp out on the aluminum chassis on the M18x and opt for the soft-touch plastic (signs are pointing in this direction), I am just going to go ahead and get an R2, even if I am missing out on new tech. The R2 will still have a superior screen with the RGB greatness, and its build quality will be much better. I also realllly want lunar silver, which the plastic would obviously not look good with. Alienware should make the M18x for the people who want more quality to come out of their hard earned money, not cheap materials that lessen the lifespan.

EDIT: I meant R2, not R3. I'd take the M18x over an R3 and the R2 over the M18x, if things play out badly (which I hope they don't).

 

silver looks good on the m11x r2 which is not aluminum...
it doesnt get finger prints like black too

 

Trust me, the M11x silver is nothing compared to the Anodized Alum Silver of the M17x R1 and R2

 

Well, structurally I suspect they are both pretty equal, the plastic is lighter... but IMHO is not as nice looking with the soft touch. The RGB LED is hard to give up once you have it.... that for certain. I have a feeling we may see an RGB LED in the M18x... and if there's an option on the M14x for one, I WILL sell my R1 and get one for sure.

These guys are both right - they are quite different.

I have both, and the Lunar Shadow of the M11x is essentially a painted on, enamel surface that is like a grey with metallic fleck, but it does a good job of hiding finger prints (unlike my black R1). The Lunar Silver of the M17x-R2 being anodized aluminum is a very classy look and doesn't show fingerprints unless you get an excessive amount of oil on it. It is more like a just fine metal without the fleck but nice very, very fine surface texture to it.

 

And the black M17x R3 is nothing compared to the R2. Even my wife (and she doesn't care at all about them), says my R2 was prettier. Build quality is better in the R2. But performance and technology are pwned by the R3.

 

Shouldn't that be "pwned"

 

Painted plastic, and anodized aluminum are two entirely different things...

 

It would be really nice to have a R3 made out mostly out of aluminum. The plastic chassis did feel cheaper than I expected on the R2.

 

Personally I'd rather not, and besides the palm rest and chassis is made of magnesium (a lighter metal than aluminum, and the palm rest is coated with plastic BTW). I enjoy having a light laptop over feeling cold, heavy metal. I wouldn't mind the lid/shell being made of a lighter material like fiberglass, or carbon fiber, but that would be too much to ask for a laptop that starts below $1K.

 

Where are you getting an R3 starting for less than $1000? I wish they woulda stuck with the aluminum or went with carbon fiber. That would be real nice.