Alienware with Coffee Lake

I was thinking of buying an Alienware 13 R3 today, but I was wondering if I should wait for the Coffee Lake refresh! Any thoughts?

 

I doubt we're going to see full CoffeeLake CPUs in laptops anytime soon. The same goes for Volta.

 

Not really. Coffee Lake mobile is reported to have drastically lower clockspeed at around 2GHz. If you need higher clockspeed, buy a 7820HK and OC it. If you need multi-core performance, the Ryzen 7 laptops are coming in a month and offer about double the performance of current mobile CPUs.

 

The only Cofee Lake laptop chips available now are the low power U series for ultra books. The Clevo resellers are starting to use the desktop parts in their designs if you want a large laptop like that then go for it!

The rumor is that Intel will be releasing the quad core H series coffee lake CPUs sometime in Q1/Q2 of 2018.

 

Coffee lake won't be this year. Maybe early next year but probably longer.

 

next year Q3/Q4 I think Alienware will once again have LGA mobile CPU and graphics cards. CoffeeLake is going to have a mobile lineup like Haswell did. Thank you AMD for bringing back some competition !

 

I dont think alienware is going to release coffee lake cpus in their laptops until volta comes out so they can release them together

 

8 core mobile cpu + mxm 1180 + amp support = good bye all other brands

But we will see if this actually becomes the case....

 

Mind you on desktop 20 cores 40 threads... 5.0Ghz.... GTX 1180 Ti...

 

Also can't take my desktop anywhere with me easily in my backpack.

 

true that ~!

 

@woodzstack Any news on when can we expect new Alienwares with Coffee Lake CPUs and hopefully more RAM ports?

 

I'd love to hear your source on this.....I really doubt Alienware will ever go back to LGA/MXM.

 

Im curious as to why you think that alienware will be bringing back lga gpus in their laptops?? Not bcuz i disagree with you only because i have also heard rumors of this and was curious what kind of info or rumors if any youve heard. Im on the alienware subreddit almost everyday and a guy who posts there named Umar is actually an dellienware employee. He posts on the boards quite frequently to ask us questions and talk about alienware products n what not. Hes pretty active on the boards.

But anyways on a particular post in the sub about future alienware offerings someone brought up that they would love to see alienware bring back socketed hardware in their laptops. Umar hinted that alienware "was working" on new laptops to bring back lga components back to their laptop lineup. I forget the name but whatever big computer event that takes place in January i when he said to keep a lookout.

 

It’s called CES and if Alienware reveals a LGA/MXM laptop at CES 2018 I will streak the White House lawn. It sounds ridiculous for them to go back to sockets after investing so much into BGA. So long as Frank Azor is there, BGA will be there as well.

 

@woodzstack said Intel will have coffee lake LGA Mobile lineup. So Intel is rumored to be bringing back LGA, not Alienware.

If Intel brings it back, then there is a good chance you are streaking

I agree that Alienware will never have LGA Desktop CPU in their notebooks.

I would not be surprised if AW builds another SLI monster though... They are one of the only "Gaming" brands without one now (MSI, Clevo, Acer, Gygabyte/Aorus, Asus all have one)

 

I'd be perfectly fine with mobile PGA cpus since they will be following the 6-core hype next year anyways.

If they make another 18" monster with SLI MXM GPUs and mobile PGA CPU I'll be hopping on the hype.

 

Intel LGA Mobile? 6-cores or 8-cores? Coffee or tiger?

 

well from what I see coffee lake isn't really impressive compaired to kaby lake your dollar per performance isn't worth the upgrade id go kaby lake its cheaper, virturally the same performance and is best band for your buck atm as far as cpu goes

 

I think Alienware has a lot more work to do than just new CPU and GPU. Like fixing the screen bezel inconsistency, lackluster displays, poor resistance to wear of the interior finish, and that 3 legged dog.
Honestly, the whole lineup needs an overhaul. Dell really needs to get them in line, and focus on slimming down and refining the designs.
Wishful thinking, i know.

 

I now have my third Alienware laptop and the interior finish has never worn down in any of those. are you cleaning them with alcohol or something? (because that eats the coating).

Displays depend on what the screen manufacturers deliver them, thos eare the same in all laptops.

The current line is imo much better than the prvious Echo line, and i already liked the Echo line.

 

Dell can accept or not displays that are not up to high end laptop range...
And he was pointing to LCD bezels making uneven pressure that results in "backlight bleeding".
And should we criticize some Chinese factory for making poor designed heatsinks?
Sorry, but Dell is to blame for selling flawed products not their supliers...

 

Again the heatsink issues are mostly fixed, if you can give me 10 recent examples of uneven core temps you can make an actual point. until that time more comments on reddit and this forum suggest that the uneven heatsink pressure is mostly fixed (or very strongly reduced).

Regarding the panels, the lowest quality panel (the one that I own by the way). Is an AUO 1080fhd panel for the 15inch version. Which has a peak brightness of 290~305 nits according to my colorimeter that I use for calibration. Contrast ratio seems to be near 800 (around 780 in my calibration test). Which suggests it is the B156HAN version 3. Which is an average panel, not bad, not the greatest either. The LG equivalent is better (I actually have one from my past Alienware without a matte coating, so a fully glossy version). The latter one had a contrast ratio of just over 1000. Still not the best panel. The best is a Samsung panel with 8 bit colors in this resolution space but has horrible ghosting issues and image retention issues.

Is that a really bad panel? Nah I dont think so. The LG 220nits panels are far worse. Could they used better? Well it is hard to source fhd panels nowadays and companies are currently mostly selling old stock. My guess is that AUO is one of the few left producing these. But thats just what I think. Not sure if there is anyone here that has more in depth knowledge about the current panel market. It is simply what a distributor told me when I wanted to buy a few panels for me and my friends to replace their 220 nits panels with during the AW15R2 days. The 4K panel is top of the line though, one of th ebest IGZO 4K variations in both the 15inch and 17inch laptop version. The 13inch has the wonderful Oled panel ofcourse and only one of the 2 laptops out there on the market that have an Oled panel (the other one is the Lenovo X).

Backlight bleed sucks, i have a little bit of it. I hope it will even out a bit after using the laptop longer. Not sure how the bezel makes it worse, IPS panels are already notorious for backlight bleed and all laptops have glued on bezels these days and almost all have those issues. I wish they would use those nice glass top layers again like in the old days or macbooks. Preferably glued on.

 

What Dell adverise for base LCD is 300 nit panels...
Acording to this review it it can be considered as false advertisement:

https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/alienware-17

It seems like Dell staff thinks their customers are sheeps...well guys step out of the flock, make them reconsider next time...

 

selective reading again, average brightness, display manufacturers note the peak brightness. which is often a bit more bright in the middle. average tend to be lower for EVERY laptop out there.

Also laptop mag really?

 

Really!
And Dell advertise LCD not manufacturer...

 

So they all advertise with peak brightness not average. Average can vary, manufacturings tolerances. So why you don go to every brand section on this forum and complain? send them an email. im sure they will listen to you!

 

Well I did sent mail to Gigabyte and they adjusted their web page within a week...

 

No. I have been cleaning it with the utmost of care. Slightly warm water on a microfiber cloth.
I am afraid to even use the laptop as a laptop, due to the permanent staining on the palmrest. Most of my 17r4's life has been on my desk hooked up to an external monitor and input devices.
Even the very little use my palmrest has seen at this point has left deep stains in the soft touch material.

And BTW... this is the 4th 17r4 I've had. Last one was a store display, and even with that level of abuse it had less damage to the palm ares than my current unit.

Dell claims that it is a cosmetic issue, and does not affect performance.
I'd argue that claim as I have avoided using the laptop as a laptop, for fear that I am ruining the palmrest finish.
It is a blame shifting tactic, and I do not appreciate it one bit.
A laptop that costs over $2k should NOT be susceptible to wear on a critical surface, especially with minimal use. I am highly displeased with the lack of responsibility Dell is exerting.

There are other laptop manufacturers that have better displays than the current AW lineup. Such as MSI, Gigabyte, etc.
That is not a good excuse for Dell, when other competing laptops have better offerings. My first unit had the LG panel (mid-late 6th gen 17r4), and that display was better than all 5 of the 1080p displays I've had so far. If only I had known then that Dell had stopped using the LG.

 

Additional 2 cores would be nice. The 8950HK looks like a beast...although they probably will not offer a k series on the 13".

 

@rinneh
That soft touch stuff sooooooo stupid to use. It actually reacts differently to different skin and sweat acidity (everyone's is a little different). Can also depend on diet.

I have oily skin, so it is hard to keep clean. I wish they just used the raw forged carbon that this thing is supposed to be made of.

No other competitor has better offering than the Samsung 13.3" OLED (there is no reason ever to get the enormously heavy AW 15 or 17 anyway). Besides IGZO IPS, everything else is from the stone age. Manufactures should be demanding better from suppliers; and pressure bezels have no reason to exist anymore.

 

Maybe consider a palmrest sticker?

 

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ro...laptopscoffee-lake-e-and-cascade-lake-sp.html

It seems it could be sooner then later

 

I’d love to see a coffee lake CPUs and new ampere GPUs in Alienware laptops but don’t expect them anytime soon, I hope I’m wrong .

 

lol consumer volta GPUs haven't even been announced yet, and you're talking about ampere?

 

Rumors have it that Volta will be skipped and go straight to ampere....lol

 

Sorry, seeing this post quite late. But the 1070 and 1080 options alone are reasons enough for the 15 and 17 inch option. Also im not a believer yet in long term Oled use. Igzo is just a way of manufacturing and not a quality indication. Some of the igzo panels that razer used are bordering TN quality.

 

Exactly. I've seen good TN panels, bad TN panels, good IPS panels, bad IPS panels, good IGZO panels, bad IGZO panels. The only bad OLED panels I've seen are the ones that get static burn in, but the colors are quite amazing, with an equally amazing response time. But I'm also waiting for the technology to mature before hopping on board. FWIW I have a PlayStation Vita with an OLED panel, it it's been running strong for years, and looks amazing still today.

 

The burn in is exactly what worries me. And my vita is going strong for years as well. My samsung smartphones did exhibit burn in quite quickly for some reason. A good ips is still the way to go for mw. But m 27inch 165hz tn panel isnt bad either after calibration. Not so good vertical viewing angles though.

 

I have considered that, but I am concerned that long term exposure of the skins adhesive layer would still cause damage to the soft-touch material.
The soft-touch material seems to have a very thin protective finish. Once that was worn, every time you try to clean the surface, it produces compounding microscratches in the material. Each successive cleaning will require heavier cleaning to rid all of the contaminates.

The point I am trying to convey is... Once the protective top layer is worn, the material has been compromised. From that point, it is only a matter of time till the finish is completely ruined. Of course, at which point the finish is beyond acceptable is subjective to the user.
Unless... you never touch the soft-touch finish.

 

Basically the same thing as every soft touch coating ever.

 

If you can get a good deal, buy it now.