AlienwareTech @ E3 - Alpha SteamBox Console Replacement

Without three heatpipes on Alienware 17 we must use Liquid Ultra

 

I'm all poised to order my first Alienware laptop, just waiting to see if anything new is added to the 17 before I do so.

I'd like to get the order in soon since I need it before July 4th!

(Hopefully, this time I get to keep it too, 3rd time lucky and all that…I ordered one in 2007 but cancelled, then last year I ordered the 14 but cancelled due to it not being available for delivery when I needed it for a business trip so got a MacBook instead).

 

just looking for links and pictures and video if possible..

 

and im also looking for liquid cooling in a laptop!

 

E3 2014: Alienware Alpha Steam Machine Reborn as Windows-Based Console - IGN

http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/g53kig/alienware-e3-2014--access-live-steambox-demo

 

Wow. I'm speechless. And, I don't mean in a good way.

 

Yeah.. so much as for the Alienware brand for enthusiasts . Alienware ethos has obviosly changed. I just saw any hope of a R2 killer get flushed.

 

I had some scathing comments, but held them back out of respect. After watching the videos and reading the accompanying text, it certainly looks like they are taking deliberate and decisive steps toward self-extermination, so nothing else needs to be said. What their most devoted customers want and value most doesn't seem to matter any more.

 

I'm not sure I understand the issue specifically here re the negativity about the Steam thingy but if Dell/Alienware have done their market-research properly and this product is what the mass-market will be happy with (as opposed to knowing what is best or even, what they actually want) then the bean-counters will push it for profitability.

It is much like what has happened with Porsche in recent years. 911 die-hards bemoaned the arrival of the Boxster (now, arguably, the pick of the range) then, horror, a 4x4 SUV in Cayenne form and now the Macan just makes it worse. But they sell massively. It has proven to be a fantastic business move and it still sells 911's despite fears by the ultra fans that the Marque was being diminished and watered-down.

Same applies here, die-hard enthusiasts will keep a small, specialist company going that doesn't need huge profits and just wants to survive but Dell want to maximise profits and who can blame them - after all, that is their reason for being in business, they aren't here to keep a few ultra fans happy but to sell their products as widely as possible and the fact is, most people wouldn't know a Valve-based system from a Windows one.

 

So, that's it? No new laptop annoucements?

 

There's still 2 days for E3 so I wouldn't rule it out...

Mr Fox, no offense, but you are and most of the people on this forum are the tech enthusiasts who want overclocking GPU etc etc are maybe 1% of Alienware's customers... They don't have to care about you as we can see with their current actions... Its the 99% which gets them the money and as long as they can keep them happy, whatever you want they won't have to fullfill. Sadly, this is the case with buisness so if you really want all this, in the future, you will have to buy a Clevo machine..

 

Wait wait wait a second. This... stream machine peice of crap... is all their announcing...?... no way.....

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Not going to lie, I like it. windows based "steam machine". They made a custom interface of their own for this little console and I for one like that much better than the steam os... I can play all my games instead of just the supported ones.

 

I was hoping for a 15" or maybe a high-res screen option for the 17.

As it is, I bit the bullet today and ordered this:


N00AW703
Alienware 17 Base
4th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4910MQ processor (Quad Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1GHz) 17.3 inch (439.42 mm) 120Hz WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) TrueLife w/3D Bundle
Setup Instructions English
English Shipping Docs
Alienware 17 Anodized Aluminum - 3D
32GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz (4x8GB)
256GB mSATA SSD Boot + 1TB 5400RPM SATA 6Gb/s- NV
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (9.5mm)
BluRay Cyberlink Software for Windows 8 without media
240W AC Adapter
8-cell Lithium Ion (86 wHr) Battery
UK 250V Power Cord
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 880M graphics with 8GB total GDDR5
802.11ac Dual Band 2x2 AC WiFi +Bluetooth 4.0

The nice folk over at Dell assured me there would be no updates announced this week that would make me wish I had waited - I will cancel and start over if there is anything announced that I'd prefer and told them so.

 

I'm sure last year's sales were much lower then the previous generations. Why make no changes at all.. no improvements, nothing.

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Companies don't just stop improving and making products. They will do something with their laptops and desktops.

Maybe they're waiting for NVIDIA to announce Maxwell, to announce their refreshed lineup of laptop computers. Last year, when they launched their lineup, they only offered NVIDIA GPU's. So, perhaps this year they're planning to be the first one's to launch with NVIDIA Maxwell (20nm)? Still plenty of time... We still haven't seen a Maxwell 765M, 770M or 880M replacement. Those are the three main GPU's for all of the Alienware systems. They are probably waiting around for NVIDIA to stop diddling their thumbs.

---

EDIT: From what I've learned about E3, is that it's for announcing the launch of new products. An "R2" of the AW 14, AW 17 and AW 18 is technically not a new product. It's a refresh of a previously launched product. Therefore, they wouldn't show it at E3. You didn't see all of the releases of the M14x, M17x and M18x at E3, right? Maybe they were there, but weren't the main theme.

 

Simply updating new cards isn't improving the products that house them...

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Exactly my point. They won't just leave their products the same. Something will be done. Otherwise, what's the point?

The current GPU's offered in their systems are all 28nm. And they're all Kepler based - not new. So, technically, nothing has changed. They've just been "updated," so to speak.

 

Well I don't know about that, because going from the m18x r2 generation to the new generation, they improved nothing, they cut it down. No media bar, smaller battery, smaller box with no goddies, less hard drive space, less ports, no custom name plates. So yeah...

Edit: no more color.options either

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The new generation is exactly that - a new generation. It's an entirely new product. You're thinking of it wrong.

The AW 14, AW 17, and AW 18 are all "R1's" of new products. They're not "AW 14 R3, AW 17 R5, AW 18 R3" - that's a common misconception. This is why, last year at E3, they showed the new lineup because they're considered a new product.

The old generation is gone. This new generation will have R2's, R3's, and maybe even R4's just like the previous generation.

 

The new generation is supposed to be an improvement on the previous. This goes with nearly everything. The new generation cpu and gpu cards are improved at they not? New process means better performance right ? You won't see a 2000 car for fuel economy winning against a 2014 car built for fuel economy. Same is true in nearly everything. Nearly every other company is improving their lineup each year but alienware is cutting their line ip in optioms, features . Alienwares current generation is and big mess.

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The new generation of Alienware laptops is considered an improvement over the previous. The entire lineup has been redesigned from bottom up.

For "overclockers," it's not an improvement because of Intel, NVIDIA and AMD screwing around with re-branding. Alienware has nothing to do with that. The majority of their customers are not overclockers. To them it's new, improved, and awesome. To overclockers it's just ... new. Us "overclocking enthusiasts" are outliers in this market.

 

All the cuts i mentioned have nothing to do with overclocking.... So your telling me smaller box, no extras, less ports, less hard drive bays, less battery life, less features is considered an improvement ? How so .....? I can redesign a turd into a star shaped cookie. It's still a turd. Redesign doesn't mean improvement.

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Less ports? Only the AW 18 lost some stuff, if I remember correctly. They wanted to streamline their products.

I never said "redesign means improvement." I said the new generation is "considered" an improvement because of its new design. You can't think like an enthusiast or a customer, you have to think like a manufacturer.

 

I just want there to be a reason to buy new system.. Alienware keeps disappointing me

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There sort of is, if you think about the little things. Not much of a reason, but there's a reason: The AW 18 is all SATA III and USB 3.0, and has a "matte" 370-nit 1080p IPS display. The M18x R2 has two (2) SATA III ports and a bunch of USB 2.0 ports, and a regular 1080p "glossy" display.

Unfortunately, the AW 18 is an "R1." So, if you don't like those changes, odds are, you probably won't like the "R2" changes either. That's pretty much the most disappointing thing.

 

No because I value battery life, I need the 3 hard drive stack, I'm always on external monitors so I don't care too much about the screen, and I don't get much out of usb 3.0 because my mouse, keyboard, head set, and cooling pad don't care which their plugged into

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Have you ever considered the fact that they decreased the battery size because CPU's and GPU's are becoming much more efficient? Maxwell performs faster than Kepler and consumes about half the power to do so. They were anticipating changes to upcoming hardware released by Intel, NVIDIA and AMD.

So, technically, with those new hardware components by Intel, NVIDIA and AMD, you should see equal to or improved battery life, even with the smaller 8-cell battery. The reason you don't see this now is because they're all still running Kepler based products, and Haswell is a joke...

 

What would new cpus and gpus with more efficency have to do with less ports, no media bar, and no extra goodies ?

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I was referring to the battery life you value so much in your previous post.

By the way, you're replying faster than I am editing my posts above. So, you're missing some of what I'm saying. Sorry about that.

 

Oh sorry, bored at work on my phone and get the alerts lol

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So I assume nothing new this year at E3. I guess then an update of some sorts wont be out til the end of summer then?

 

Funny how they said they were packed up and ready to go. Showed up with one box lol

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m18x R2 actually has all USB 3 ports . About the only thing that's an upgrade on the 18 is all Sata 3 ports and arguably the IPS panel. But compared to what's been stripped out of the previous gen's m18's it's hardly a step in the right direction which ever way you slice it.

Whether intentional or not, going to a smaller battery hasn't played out well since Haswell is actually less efficient and well... Maxwell... is still no where to be seen. So that hasn't work out in the 18's favor either.

I think the 17 probably did best out of the refresh, especially since it now has a aluminum chassis.

 

Indeed, that's an option albeit one fraught with further compromises that are less than desirable. No offense taken. I don't have to be nice about it or "accept it" without complaining and making them look bad in public for making decisions people like me disagree with. Expect more complaining and derogatory comments until they get their act together and go back to doing things the right way again. I feel I have a moral duty to inform the public that what they are purchasing (or considering purchasing) for thousands of dollars is broken by design. Life would be good if they would just fix it and go back to being awesome again. It's a simple solution that's being overlooked, and one that could make everyone happy, not just overclockers. The current way of doing things feels like a betrayal, but only because I care about the brand and have been passionate about being an Alienware customer for a few years now. If I were a fickle consumer, I wouldn't really care about it.

Nice to see someone else with a brain. +1 Rep for being honest with your thoughts about it. If the only people that comment are those that like it they (Alienware) won't have a clue how messed up some of their customers think their "innovative thinking" has become.

Really? By whom? And by what measurement? I normally agree with you, but I think you're full of it here. Setting aside everything about overclocking, the new machines are still a massive downgrade. They have no features to speak of and they don't function correctly... not even at stock clock speeds. That cannot be regarded as improvement. Sorry... but, the truth needs to be spoken. The emperor has no clothes. They screwed up, big time. It hurts inside for me to have a reason to make such comments, but we cannot pretend.

 

I could not have stated this more eloquently myself, thank you. That Porsche analogy is spot on, and yes I do think the Cayenne is ridiculous even though I don't own a Porsche.

 

Well Dell and Porsche are well with in reason to make profits - but they won't get my $$$ if they keep releasing watered down products on their flagship range. Incidentally , have you noticed Porsche Boxter's are one of the fastest depreciating cars to date?

 

I thought the Porsche analogy was lame because releasing new products that appeal to additional people with different tastes is NEVER a legitimate excuse for doing a half-a$$ed job on everything else that put your brand on the map. You just don't get away with shirking your responsibilities to customers that contributed to brand success without getting a bloody nose or drawing back a bloody stump for such acts of betrayal.

I thinking complaining can and should be expected from those in dissent. It's healthy in every respect and to expect silence on it, whether it be 911 fans or Alienware M18x fans, is naive. The more vocal dissenters become, the better a company can gauge the merit of its actions. If they only listen to the voices of customers that like the new garbage they will miss opportunities to correct decision-making mistakes.

Ultimately, only time will tell if the decisions made today will end well. It doesn't really matter who likes it or who doesn't like it. What we like or dislike is irrelevant because the wheels are in motion now. Somebody or a group of somebodies will probably get a nice bonus for "innovation" even if the Alpha is the massive failure that I expect ( and hope) it will be. That's business... caring is a two-way street. Now, let's get those land mines planted on the tracks and get this train to gaming mediocrity derailed before the first one gets sold, LOL.

 

My succeeding posts later explained whom I was referring to. I mentioned you have to think as a manufacturer or business, and not a consumer or enthusiast.

With that being said, I agree it's not worthy of the title "improvement" over the previous generation as a consumer - specifically between the Alienware 18 and M18x (performance wise). In my opinion, the Alienware 17 is an improvement over the M17x in almost every aspect. This also seems to be the general consensus of Alienware 14 owners over the M14x. The only downside is the locked BIOS, which is oddly enough not as "locked down" as the Alienware 18. The Alienware 18 is the issue here, not the entire new generation.

 

Dunno about the Boxster depreciation rates but they are amazing cars, especially the new GTS. I have a 2010 911 Carrera S but then I prefer its classic lines and performance.

 

Acts of betrayal?


Have you read this before you hit the submit button? I don't understand why you're so upset. What did you expect for improvements to a laptop?

Apple has used the same unibody models for years, and only periodically updated their hardware, and they sell fine. I don't mind how often they update the laptop shell, so much as the hardware inside of it stays current...and I think that's basically the way that any/all system manufacturers/builders think. , how many people are still running ANTEC 900 cases even though the damn thing came out years ago?

 

Yes so much of this. Being on this forum tends to give me tunnel vision, but when I take a step back and think about the big picture I realize even the entire NBR population must not account for more than 10% of any company's marketshare at the absolute maximum (well maybe except Clevo). Sadly the 90% will always dictate the market direction because that's where the most money is to be made.

Well, if AW really does go mainstream in the future and Clevo is the only player left in town, what do you think is going to happen? (hint: Intel and nVidia)

 

Bottom line: I think it's safe to say that Alienware disappointed all of us for E3. And yes, that includes me. The SteamBox is cool and all, but really? Let's just hope they surprise us with something good when NVIDIA and AMD stop diddling around. Oh, and don't forget Intel. They're hiding behind the scenes using Broadwell for drink coasters.

All four of the major companies I've listed in this post are waiting for something... Let's just hope it's something worth waiting for.

 

Yup, acts of betrayal. I chose those words very carefully before hitting the submit button. The intent is to elicit thoughtfulness and reflection from those that read them... so, yeah... calculated to serve a specific purpose that serves everyone well, including Alienware.

For starters, I expect not doing a half-heiney'd job of anything. For example, I did not expect today's flagship, which costs more money, and built with more capable components, to be neutered on purpose and stand in the shadow of yesterday's flagship product in terms of performance and features.

Whether it's Porsche, Alienware or some other company, they have a moral obligation to their clients to maintain a standard of quality that has been a brand-defining hallmark. Retaining business is as important as building business, and the intelligent decision-makers in large corporations understand this. Innovation will only take you so far... and in the absence of quality and performance, it's a short trip.

There's nothing "quality" about the Alpha. Can you imagine what kind of abortion having a proprietary Alienware-exclusive NVIDIA GPU is going to be for PC gamers? That should be interesting, to say the least. Just look at all the drama surrounding this already with mainstream GPUs. Toss in a proprietary turd that relies on Alienware and NVIDIA does not directly support and you can count on seeing some interesting temper tantrums on the horizon, LOL. Ask a few Sony, Fujitsu, HP and other notebook owners that have products that cannot use reference drivers due to proprietary hardware excrement how they feel about it and I think you'll get an ear full of puke.

Good catch. It will be over. A cookie-cutter console approach will win and their bubblegum-chewing pantywaisted sissy-boy fans will have the last word in gaming. Something awesome will have been lost. I'm not OK with that. There is no reason the two cannot continue to co-exist. If mainstream becomes the only option, the enthusiasts will have nobody to blame but themselves for being silent and taking this lying down. This is how we end up in sad circumstances in other areas of life as well. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." You can substitute "evil" with any words relating to an enthusiast interests and that's what I'm talking about.

 

See as I typed my last post, I just realized how grim the situation actually is. If AW pulls out of the high performance market, most likely Clevo will stop trying and within a few years the "high performance laptop" will be all but extinct. (well they may keep the P570WM for the performance crown)

And if things keep going the way they are currently with Intel, MQ chips will end being a thing of the past, and we'll all be stuck with soldered BGA versions of Y or U junk that's "so efficient it will run on battery for 10 hours" (but do absolutely nothing else, oops we forgot to tell you that).

I need to stop thinking and get back to work lol

 

Can you elaborate on yesterdays vs todays flagship? Are you talking about AW18 vs AW17?

 

@n=1 - indeed, the situation has potential to become extremely grim for PC gaming and overclockers alike. If you're both, like me, it's a double-whammy.

@eXtreme Burrito! - no, the Alienware 17 is not a flagship product. It's the second-tier option, so that is an apples to oranges comparison. I'm talking about the Alienware 18 versus the Alienware M18xR2. This Haswell generation is the first time I can remember an example of Alienware's top shelf system going backwards and standing in the shadow of an end of life flagship product's performance. What is really stupefying about it is the fact that it does not appear to be an accident, and they haven't taken steps to remedy the problem. The M17xR4 was already moving in the wrong direction as an example of crippled product. Maybe is was a marketing experiment to see what they could get away with in terms of gimping. It's still not right and lacks proper support an XM CPU.

 

The solution? Lets all join kickstarter as a clan of laptop overclockers and form a new company. Lets call it Ware of Aliens or ExtraTerrestrialWare ETW for short and design minimalistic laptops with MXM slots and robust cooling with desktop level bios control. All we need is to partner with all three OEM companies and Noctua or Asetek for cooling solutions. Bang sorted. Boom.

I would totally do it if I had the know how, money and contacts. I'm actually satisfied with my R4 at the moment apart from 2 things - bios CPU TDP locked at 68w and WiHD with Nvidia cards. Actually thinking of moving to M18x R2 in light of recent E3 developments.

 

They're waiting for Apple to fold so they can come out with the next <del>Macbook Air</del> Wintel Surface Pro that will feature ULV Skylake and power-saving Maxwell so it will run on battery for 10 hours.

I would even go as far as to say they need each other. It used to be that AW would push the envelope on its own whether there was competition or not, but sadly that no longer seems to be the case.

 

I might be out of the loop, but I don't think I've ever understood the AW18 to be the flagship of the Alienware line.


Honestly, I still think you're overreacting a bit. I think it's awesome that you're passionate, but I mean...I still don't understand why the words "betrayal" would describe this situation. It's not like they cancelled your warranty, you just didn't get an entire lineup revamp/improvement, and that doesn't HAVE to happen at E3. It's also not like the lineups have gone stale or irrelevant.