Are there any new Alienware models in the works? [Speculations and Wish List]

Looks like a couple have tried to make an m11x tablet, but have run into brick walls.

I found several articles from recent months where AW has said they are interested in making a tablet, but they simply don't think the harware to make a good gaming experience can be fitted into a decent form factor tablet yet.


This is the Fiona "gaming" tablet that razer is supposed to be launching at the end of this year.

 

I really would LOVE if they brought back a 15 inch Alienware. I like what Origin PC does: 11, 15, and 17

 

Yeah, would love an m17x with a 1920x1200 screen.

 

I wouldn't mind an even higher resolution. Maybe double 1080p? Just a thought for the next hardware refresh.

 

Eurocom's Scorpius beats AW's m17xr4 and m18x r2 by a lot.

Hopefully AW will come up with something awesome

this winter .

 

That's really never gonna happen..

 

It meats the m17x r4, but not the m18x r2. M18x r2 is the same, except it can fit more hard drive space in it, its also got an actual aluminum chassis.

 

It's also four kilograms heavier, you know.


Still, I want a new, redesigned M15x, that slots in at <3.5kg and fits all the best features of the M17x and M15x. This would be the most likely thing to keep me with Alienware.

 

I had thought that the M18x having an aluminium chassis might have been a tad bit lighter than the M17x ?

 

Um. No.

The M17x is about 4.5kg, 4kg in some optimistic cases. The M18x is, according to Dell, 5.4kg.

So, sorry, my bad, I seem to have mistakenly remembered the M18x at 8kg, but even at 5.4kg it's a lot heavier than the 17.3" P370EM Scorpius or the more common Clevo P170EM derivatives (which closer to the ballpark of about 3.8kg).

Aluminum is lighter than steel, or the magnesium alloy frame of the M15x of old, but it's still heavier than a composite or plastic frame.
That said, the M18x probably feels sturdier than a Clevo would, but that's not saying that Clevos don't feel like tanks in their own right.

 

I to wish they would make a new m15x.

 

I agree...I want a smaller model where you can upgrade both the processor and video card...CPU and GPU for the experts out there.

 

Actually magnesium is almost half as dense as aluminum which makes the former a lot lighter.

The P370EM is ~2Kg lighter than the M18x but the fact that the former has a plastic chassis, makes it a deal breaker for me and many others.
But let's focus on the bright side, at least consumers get to chose between similar equipped systems in a lighter body with smaller screen and a heavier, quality built chassis with a 18" screen.

 

magnesium..lol what every one wants what vw bug engines were made out of?
me im a GAMER! look every body can have what they want .. but for me i didnt buy this laptop for its portability.. but is my m18x portable? hell yes (I think I can manage it) i wouldn't care if it was 25 pounds.. tbh I want something stupidly crazy..
like a 24 inch hell even a 26-28 inch screen in a lappy.. like i said im a gamer and I want some thing that is truely a desktop top replacement that I can carry around..
god id be happy with a 23inch alienware..
bigger is better when it comes to gaming laptops.. I hate the thought of people wanting a macbook alienware hybrid.. where are you going to cram all the goodies you want at??
closest thing ive seen to what you guys are wanting is the Razor..but then again I think my m18x stops it..

 

I think the main goal is to get the M18x to the weight and thickness of the current M17x, and the M17x down to 1-1.5 inches in thickness and to shave at least a pound off of it. It will be a while yet before you can fit a high end graphics cards in something as thin as the blade.

 

Given what apple has done with their rMBP, there is no reason why Alienware couldn't/shouldn't make a ultrabook-ish platform on the 15" or 13" platforms.

 

That's not the purpose of Alienware. They're meant to be high-performance DTRs, not ultra-portables. Neither does everyone belong in every market, nor should they try (and fail).

 

That kind of a moot point when you look at the m14x, which has literally a quarter the power the 15 inch laptops several other brands have.

 

And the equivalent power of a 11.6" Clevo, while less than half that of the 15.6" Clevo, for a 14.1" notebook. What's your point? Not to mention the M14x is too large and bulky to even be considered a standard 14" laptop. Face it, friend. Alienware ain't too great on the conservative form factor side of things, and they weren't meant to be. It's just how they roll.

 

I'm actually glad Alienware has not burned a lot of calories and money focused on building ordinary computers, and I hope that continues to be the case. The market is already saturated with them and every company is competing for the business of those shopping for mediocre machines. I would much prefer that they focus all of their energy and resources on high performance systems exclusively, continue to do that extremely well, and let other brands be the masters of mediocrity competing for the business of casual gamers. In the current economic environment, it would be smart on their part to focus at being the best in the business at what the brand has been recognized for... high performance gaming systems. There is very little competition in this realm.

 

Exactly. There's a market for mobile gaming, and they look to Alienware most of the time. They wouldn't want to lose that value by spending time on more systems that are simpler, just to cater to more customers that wouldn't consider them anyway. Imagine what'd happen to their brand value! They're only capitalizing on their strengths, and that's precisely what they should be doing!

 

Personally, as I've said many times, I see my desktop to be irreplaceable by a notebook and my true performance machine.

And I had gone for Alienware because I needed a system that was high performance and did not compromise on service (I'm less than impressed with local service centres for ASUS and MSI). But my M14x is too underpowered for its weight (and has a whole inch and a half less of actually useful screen space), whereas the M17x is too heavy for its performance and lacking in a number of elements.


You guys talk a lot about Alienware's strengths and how the other machines are mediocre, yet Alienware has obvious and severe faults and disadvantages, severe lack of relative portability being foremost. Consider that Alienware themselves advertise their notebooks (or, "laptops", rather) as portable gaming machines. But they fall terribly short on this metric, and to call them "laptops" is stretching the definition considering that not a single member of the line up can be used on a lap comfortably without possibly overheating the machine or affecting your future with a family. Or breaking your legs.
A notebook computer, first and foremost, is a form factor intended to be portable and transportable. This is why they have batteries and fold and it is true that some are marketed as desktop replacements. Alienware does not quite do that. Saying that they match the power of a desktop does not mean that they are being marketed as a desktop replacement.

 

What I really want to see on the next evolution of the M17X is the a higher resolution screen such as on the macs. It's not normal a brand like Alienware is still not proposing such screens....

 

23 INCH 3d 240HRZ SCREEN AND ALL THE GOODIES YOU CAN THINK OF.. IS WHAT I WANT!

 

Honestly, anything above the m18x would cater to a niche market far to small for a company like Dell to support. I could see a smaller, more boutique company doing something crazy like that, but not today's dell.

 

1920x1080 is enough for me on a 17.3". I do not think a 4 megapixel screen is necessary on a gaming notebook... Especially when you consider that Alienware isn't quite fitting the necessary hardware to drive that screen in the first place.

Also, in general use, a "retina" resolution screen is just a headache to use, screen elements become far too small to use comfortably.

 

An option wouldn't hurt but I would rather have an anti/semi-glare RGBLED IPS 1080p screen than a WLED high res panel.

 

Perhaps you are looking at the Razer Blade?

I don't think Clevo or Sager or any rebranding gaming laptop out there can offer you a significantly less heavier laptop. If you buy a G75 or a Clevo 17.3", they will probably have similar weight. Technically, the point you are criticizing here can be applied for all gaming laptop, except the Razer Blade. And honestly, there is a market out there for mediocre laptop that compromises on performance for form factors. AW is just not really in that market.

I'm not saying this because I'm a M17x owner. Personally, I'm a very skinny guy. But I know what I'm getting and I'm prepared for it. If you do your research and know what you are getting, what the point of complaining about the weight?

If you don't really like your M14x, may be sell it and get a Macbook Air? Or perhaps, go to the gym and work out some more?

 

Would be a nice option. Would be even better if they could go from plexiglass to something that is a bit more durable like gorilla glass. I'd buy that in a heart beat.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

I have to agree on the fact of, what other machines offer the same performance in a lighter package?

 

Fixed it for ya.

 

the Razer Blade really pushes the limit on whats currently possible in laptops in terms of performance+portability.

Its not really the size of components that are an issue for laptops anymore like it was 10 years ago. Now its about cooling and batteries.

High performance systems demand powerful cooling, or else the thing will melt/catch on fire, that seriously limits the thinness and power of high end systems.

The other main issue is batteries. Ask anyone in the consumer electronics market what the slowest thing to improve has been, and what is hold a lot of things back, and they will tell you "BATTERIES!". Despite countless dollars and hours of development, batteries have improved at a snails pace compared to pretty much everything else in cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Until the new generation of batteries that use Silicone come out in several years, were stuck with brick like behemoths that take up to much space, get to hot, and don't last long enough.
Current batteries might be enough for people with desktops replacements that are almost always plugged into the wall, but for people with powerful laptops that are constantly on the go, the current battery crop is not enough. The m18x has a bloody 12 cell and only gets about 5 hours of battery life for crying out loud, and when gaming (on gimped settings mind you) it gets less than half that. They could probably fit a larger one in there, but then you would run into issues with airline regulations (a laptop battery withe more than 12 cells literally has enough lithium in it to make is classifiable as a small bomb). In the meantime, fairly power hungry components, such as GPU's and CPU's, have gotten more efficient, and gotten less demanding on power supplies in incremental steps, but it still isn't enough.

The cooling and battery issue combined are also responsible for laptop graphics cards being far weaker than the desktop ones of the same name.

In 10 years though, I am betting these issues will either be solved or will be far less limiting than they are now. laptops will finally start to truly bridge the performance and price gap between them and desktops to.

 

I thought it would be implied, since it would heat up like a and be worthless, but I guess it wasn't.

Edit/Note: Funny how it omits "Mo_fo" from the post

 

I like my M14x overall. I just don't like a lot of its design decisions. But given a lot of its disadvantages I would have bought something else had they not the sort of glaring faults (in ASUS and MSI's case, terrible warranty centres), or a Clevo P150EM/P170EM based machine, but I couldn't do the latter without paying costly international shipping and running the risk of having terribly difficult warranty issues (shipping it back to the States for a warranty claim or servicing would leave me without the machine for weeks, at worst, plus costing $200 each time). So, given my options, the M14x was the best and only option that ticked enough boxes that mattered. The M17x's speakers and sheer bulky waste of space did not appeal to me. Plus they wouldn't give me a configuration I found appealing for my pricepoint.

Razer Blade... yes, considered it. But for US$3000, with last year's specifications (the refresh hadn't been announced back then) and a cooling design that's just as bad as the M14x? The Blade was simply out of the question, it's specifications left far too much to be desired nor did I care for its apparent portability or Switchblade UI. I want a notebook at 3kg and not more, but I am willing by all means to carry a seventeen inch monster up to four kilograms. The M17x is 4.5kg and that's beyond my established willing limit. The G75 is also too heavy, it somehow gained an extra kilogram over the G73. The P170EM on the other hand is around 3.8kg and that's fine for me.
I'm hoping you are joking on the Macbook Air because 1. it is a Mac 2. it is useless for any of my high performance applications.

I have suggested via IdeaStorm and here several times that they ought to replace the glossy, cheap crap plastic they use on the screens with oleophobic, scratch-resistant (if not scratch-proof) glass such as Gorilla Glass. The current screen cover in use is simply unacceptable on something this expensive.

Again something that is almost necessary for a machine of this price. I do not exclusively use my Alienware for gaming. It is a portable workstation in primary application. And unfortunately it fails in many regards to this with a small, low-gamut screen and glossy coat.

 

Well, I would say that depends on who you ask. Personally, I can (and do) use my M18x on my lap comfortably. Though, I spent quite a few years working in construction, so I'm somewhat used to handling heavy equipment. I don't think it's possible to do any sort of gaming or intense activities on your lap, but it works for me when I'm typing documents or surfing the web. As far as portability, I just slide it into my Everki Titan and off I go. I owned an M17x R3 for about a year, and the M18x R2 for a couple months, but I've never ran into a portability issue with either. I think Mr. Fox does quite a bit of traveling with his M18x, as well. I see where you're coming from, but for performance systems I just don't follow that way of thinking. Personally, I'm a power user, and I wouldn't want my system to weigh any less if it meant sacrificing performance.

I won't comment on the M14x, because an Alienware laptop without an MXM slot isn't something that interests me.

 

Personally, as long as Alienware continue along the lines they've been travelling for the past couple of years, I'll be happy. There are only two things that I would really like to see in a new line.

1) I would love for them to bring the aluminium chassis back to the M17x. If my R1 fell off my bed, I'd be more worried about the wooden floor, and how it held up, vs. the state of the laptop, and I loved my R1 for that. I really appreciate when something is solidly built, because generally speaking, I don't baby my tech... at all.

2) A matte screen. I won't say that I wouldn't consider any Alienware laptop because they all have glossy screens, because that's not the case... But it's close. I just really hate all the reflections. What really kills me though is that they're using a matte panel to begin with. Would it kill them to offer a separate plastic bezel or something? Self install? Surely it can't be that much trouble for Alienware to produce this.


Edit (completely un-related point): Optimistic Prime, the U2410 is CCFL-backed, not RGB-LED. Don't ask me why I felt the need to mention it, haven't a clue myself.

 

Did I mention they need to update the Fn-shortcuts? The lack of a screen-backlight off function is an absolutely glaring oversight. Surely they don't expect me to close the lid when music is playing.

 

Razer Blade, Retina MBP, Asus U500,... they are all claiming to have great portability, small form factor and decent performance. But in reality, they all compromise on cooling and performance the most. For reference, graphics wise, the M18xR2 is more than 4x more powerful than any of those, not to mention the best cooling, long term upgradeability, support and extra features.

Yes, the AW's are big and heavy but that's about the only con. Personally, I don't mind the extra weight as long as my beast does everything I need.

A few days ago I had to setup 4 ThinkPad's (X1 Carbon) and while I liked the small form factor, the inferior screen, performance and lack of ports and features, turned me away very quickly.

M18x' screen has 100% sRGB and can be stripped from the glass cover to make it anti-glare. That's what I did to mine, BTW. Using mine as a hyper-v host to 30 VM's, lol. Yes, I'd still like to have the RGB LED IPS MATTE screen option...

Totally agree

A matte screen would be great, but if Dell at least removes the E2E glass from the lid - many will be happy.

 

Oh Alienware... You'd better be seriously considering this...

New "invisible glass" ends glossy versus matte dilemma - TechSpot News

 

WHOA! that stuff would be AWESOME on a laptop/computer monitor. If they can make it as tough as gorilla glass, I can definitely see them putting it on tablets and smart phones to.

 

Knowing companies and their margins-before-good-design-choices... No. Won't happen anytime soon.

 

Knowing AW , they will never invest in that . Or liquid cooling for laptops , despite that it would make their line shine more than ever

 

Y u no industry leader in innovation anymore dell?! /rage face

 

@Salanos

- I have started to consider an M14x-R2 - you mentioned the low color gamut of the M14x screen - any idea how it compares to the gamut on the M11x? By the way, how do you like the Nebula Red in person? I was always afraid it would look kind of a dull red with the soft touch...

One other question - does the M14x-R2 have any issues related to the color profile being maintained whilst gaming? This is a major sore point for me on my M11x-R2 which despite being run with Throttlestop and OC'd to a hair off maximum from day one still serves me on a daily use, but I was wondering if the M14x has any issues with color profiles?

 

I haven't had enough time with my M14x to play games with it so I can't say. But it should work with color profiles normally.

Its color range is better than the M11x as far as I know, but a 40% gamut is tiny irregardless.

As for Nebula Red, I absolutely adore it. It has a gorgeous vibrant specular that almost shines in bright light. It's more crimson, but as you expect it kind of dulls a bit in dim indoor lighting.
And it doesn't feel as rubbery as I'd expect to the touch, nor does it look like rubber, unlike the Stealth Black M17x I see at the store.

Look at the port area to see the shine I am referring to, it's got a matte finish overall rather than rubberized.

 

Thanks for your comments I appreciate it! I believe I read a note of yours in the past mentioning that the red coating was very different feeling from the black, good to know!

 

The "color profile" issue is one that happens with all nvidia powered systems. The color settings saved in the nvidia control panel are just for the desktop. As soon as you load up a game it reverts to a stock profile I believe. I know my 460m used to do this.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

Well... AW must step up their game , Eurocomm and MSI are way better options right now than a m17x / 18x unless you actually change the silly 2 g 680M to a 4g, why doesn't AW have 4 gig 680M omg....

 

What do you mean better options? Why are you so worked up over 2GB 680M? It's not a big deal man.....

 

yeah, the 4 GB cards cost more than 2 BG cards, and they produce more heat. The only way you would be able to tell the difference is if your playing on more than 3 monitors of extremely high resolution.