New Alienwares 2016

The configurator I saw had the 1TB+1TB as $600 more iirc and the 512GB as I think $500 more. Definitely worth getting the 1TB version, assuming the configurator wasn't wrong.

 

of course it's wrong, you can only pay for that with your liver!

 

The online configurator has the 512 GB PCIe SSD + 1 TB HDD as $550 more than the HDD. Nonetheless, the savings are there. However, the price difference between the two in the Alpha R2 and 17 R4 (last I remembered) is much larger.
Also, Alienware changed their homepage. Take a look.

 

I agree. The issue I have with the BGA posts from Mr Fox and Cass Ole is not that they dislike BGA, but they don't consider that there are reasons why people would prefer the BGA chips. Personally, I care about performance, battery life and portability. A desktop chip simply isn't going to give me anywhere near the battery life that an AW 15 with 99Wh battery running a 6700HQ/6820HK is going to give. As for MXM, yes, I agree that it's preferable. However it's not something that I require in order to choose what laptop I buy. I am quite ok with the idea of buying a new laptop every few years rather than upgrading the existing one.

So tell me, if you were looking to buy a relatively portable laptop with high performance and long battery life, what would you recommend? If it's not something using BGA, then you've given the wrong answer.

Comments like "BGA filth" and "we care enough to not just walk away and let people make tragic mistakes" are not respectful at all. You don't respect people by completely dismissing what is important to them.

This isn't an open-ended or broad topic. This isn't a "what should I buy" thread, or "which laptop is most upgradeable", or "are Alienware products reliable", etc. It is specifically about the new Alienware products in 2016 (ie, those recently announced). Starting tangents about BGA or past Alienware products is unwarranted.

 

The posts from Case Ole were helpful to me in particular. I'm no stranger to the two-headed (or more) beast that is Dell support. But hearing those specific experiences from what to me was a relatively objective point of view was helpful. I've seen Dell support on the consumer side as well as enterprise (but not Gaming). I couldn't believe how amazing their enterprise support was when I needed it. They went way, way way above and beyond to keep me as a customer when they could have backed off a little. "Looks like a hard drive spare needs replacing, we will 1 day ship you one and send a tech to install it. Oh and looks like your tape backup spat an error out. Could be nothing but we are sending you a new one anyway. Oh and while the tech is there how about we clean the server out get all the dust bunnies and make sure everything is connected properly just to be safe."

Consumer side: "Thank you for calling, your call is important and will be answered in the order it was received......................................................................."

Anyway just my two cents and it does matter for this discussion. I would never want to buy one of these if I didn't know all the good and bad about it first. Not when it costs $2000+

 

for something to have good battery life, it doesn't have to be trash

6700T is rated at 35TDP without user undervolt, and runs faster than a 6700HQ (45w)

 

Awesome. Thanks for saying so. Some people are looking for useful information and want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. I have had a number of people thank me that did not even know what BGA is and they were looking for something more substantial. Alienware's reputation was built on something different than what they sell today. Not that BGA is bad if that is what you're looking for. If it is not, then it is really bad to find out too late that you paid big bucks for something that cannot be easily repaired or upgraded because of the CPU and GPU being soldered to the motherboard.

Brother @Cass-Olé is right in the thick of things with some direct contacts to Dell/Alienware and very active at Alienware Arena. He is a wealth of valuable information, especially where service failures and design defects are concerned.

 

I'm not trying to suggest that the posts/opinions aren't valid, but if you have a look at the thread the last 7 pages alone (nearly 20%) have been almost entirely about discussing BGA or experiences with other products. For people who come to the thread looking for information about the new Alienware products (ie, what the thread topic is specifically about) it's rather frustrating to scroll and page through dozens of posts about things that aren't anything to do with the new products. And ignoring isn't an option given that you still have to go through the responses to their posts (and yes, I'm aware I'm contributing to that).

Fair point, but TDP doesn't give you the entire story (ie, both 6700HQ and 6820HK have 45W TDP, but obviously the 6820HK can consume more). I'd want to see actual benchmarks of power consumption to know the difference. Also, AFAIK they don't offer that as an option in any LGA laptops. Yes, you could swap it yourself, but that's not always a viable option (ie, local warranty could be affected).

Again though, I object to the suggestion that BGA chips are "trash". They may not suit everyone's needs, but they certainly suit the needs of a lot of people.

 

you can see the eurocom commander for example, 6h advertised battery life out of a 62wh (Q170/6700T)

if changing something in a system voids the overall warranty (everything that was included with the original machine) then I'd suggest you avoid that particular seller/company

6700HQ is only 3.1GHz max, the 6700T is a bit faster than that

intel's TDP estimation is accurate within 5-8w, and since the 6700T is a much better binned chip for low voltage operation, I think you can get a healthy undervolt out of it

 

This is still driving this thread further off topic, but I was also referring to gaming performance. Ie, if you want good CPU & GPU performance with a large battery (90Wh+) then the only options available atm are BGA options. Yes, it would be nice if companies like Alienware provided more options available utilising chips like the 6700T, but they don't. That doesn't mean everyone should be avoiding these products (which is what Cass Ole and Mr Fox seem to be suggesting).

 

I do a lot of video editing for work along with a lot of other CPU intensive tasks so having the power is very important for my productivity. I'm a firm believer from first hand knowledge that the 6820HK can hold its own, but it's not able to run at clocks higher than what I've tested to get the most out of shaving off as much time as possible during my work flow.

The 6700K I have right now is running at 4.6GHz and I've been able to under volt it on stock clocks to -225mv on both the core and the cache which dropped the temps significantly.

I also game at 1440p and I must have fps that are no lower than 100fps, which is the absolute minimum. The gtx 1080 in the new R4 should be on par in the GPU department.

I'll have an in depth review soon and will make sure to link you. It's going to be very in depth and honest. There are things that I don't like about the machine, but there are other things that make up for it ...it's complicated haha.


::iunlock::

 

I'll have a review up soon.

::iunlock::

 

The 6820HK usually hit a wall around 4.3-ish GHz

 

Yea, same here but for a mobile chip it's respectable as we know from experience.

With better cooling the 6820HK can be pushed further no doubt. How about that closed loop cooler eh? lol...jk

::iunlock::

 

And 4.4 GHz on all 4 cores 24/7 is almost impossible. = A medium to low OC on 6700K with a nice undervolt

 

It's just unfortunate that mobile chips aren't what they used to be. My 2920XM, 2960XM, 3920XM, 3940XM and 4930MX had no problem handling 4.8GHz for benching and 4.3GHz used to be my 24/7 daily driver overclock with all five of them. And, the M18xR2 could run for 6 hours on battery using IGFX. I only needed it to maybe 2 or 3 times the whole time I owned it, but it was still able to.

 

msrp 1000 chip vs msrp 390 chip

what you expect?


but we've come a long way from having overclockable mobile cpu in 1000 range to 390.

the XM series used to be just a binned desktop i7-K series, that's why I couldn't justify paying the excessively inflated price

 

I never paid MSRP. I got them as system pulls for pennies on the dollar. The 3920XM was less that half MSRP and the 2920XM was about 75% less than MSRP. 4790K and 6700K are cheap as well... about the same price as a BGA CPU in the same series that is not nearly as good.

 

The 6820HK is the best mobile chip available lMO due to it being unlocked and it having proved to be good for what it is.

It's sad that it's the only viable option, unlike before where there were many as you've mentioned.

::iunlock::

 

The Skylake has a stock voltage that is horrible in the first place, the thing can handle easily a -100mV I didn't understand intel on that case, they want to go slimmer, with more battery life and end up messing the factory settings, but I'm ready to bet that Kaby lake will have a battery boost thanks to a magic factory undervolting . tic - toc - scam (?)

 

Yeah but all past chips clock higher. Their IPC is not very good anymore. My 2500K@5ghz is trash now even at those speeds. Battlefield 1 is constantly running with a 100% cpu load while my GPU is stuck at 70% load because of it.

 

So can someone ask them what kind of thermal paste they used on the new aw17 ? Coz im planning to buy from hidevolution and I might tell them to change it and can someone tell me why did they solder the gpu and cpu besides making it cost efficient ? Does it improve cooling ? And im planning the buy the new samsung ssd 960 evo so will it fit ? I think I saw in the video they had one slot with copper for the ssd ? Is it only one slot for ssd ?

 

2 SSD slots and they use standard factory paste. But I wouldnt let Hidevolution paste it. Someone is messing with your brand new laptop then.

 

Im pretty sure when I checked the video there was one slot with copper for ssd

 

The other one was already occupied

 

I think it does have msata ssd slot too right ? So its 3 ssd's ?

 

Soldered gpu and cpu mean normally thinner/slimmer laptop design aka Apple!! Will thinner design mean improved cooling? Not in my book!! Read the law of physics

 

So its basically stupid ok thank you

 

It jsut depends the heatsinks. Non soldered means more space is needed for connectors and the PCB boards. If they make it slimmer by just removing that it will cool the same. If they make the heatsinks also more slim it will be worse.

The new Alienwares are slimmer but also have a larger footprint. They just squashed the laptop a little bit so in the end its the same size.

 

Put it the other way. If Dell rather increased the thickness of the chassis and used thicker but same heatsink as the new, you would get colder hardware. Plain physics?
And thinner design means of course less place for implementing a second 2.5" slot. A lot of people have lying older 2.5 inches ssd's from older laptops they hope they can use. You can only use one of them in the AW laptop cabinet. Of course you can buy a usb box for the other one or pay for newer M.2 ssd's(if you need more storage place). Same with only 2 ram slots.
In physics..., is smaller the same as less!!

 

Yeah but then you go into the territory of laptops they dont believe that sell well (not the laptops I would buy, but that is just me).

 

Yeah I know And I know you prefer laptops with size smaller than 17". Also the smaller laptops like 13 and 14 inches laptops use only 2 ram slots and only one 2.5 inches ssd slots besides M.2 slot. They have to do it this way because of physics laws. Same with the cooling

 

As long as it has a way better cooling than my aw17 with 880m I dont care about thinner or thicker, they have added way too many features to compete with msi and asus so they r back in the game im just hoping the cooling would really be significant

 

There are two paths available:

• Do and get less with less
• Do and get more with more

The former is status quo and the latter is rare, especially with notebooks. One has to make a choice about what is most important. The stuff that aims for an imaginary middle option usually excels at delivering disappointment more than anything else.

 

One of the most important factors but often overseen reason why I stick with Alienware. Is the keyboard. It is the only gaming laptop I have used with decent keytravel. I develop websites 60% of my time so having a good keyboard is essential for me. It is crazy how much it matters and is often neglected by a lot of manufacturers. Only MSI does this pretty well next to Dell but has a lower keytravel distance compared to the Alienware's which almost feel like a good decent desktop keyboard.

 

They really need to work on improving their service delivery. Using social media is good and bad. When they have a good showing (which seems extremely rare now) it's a positive. A public spectacle like this poor fellow's nightmare certainly doesn't win any Brownie points, but it certainly is helpful to folks that are shopping for a new computer.

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/p/19990418/20942481#20942481

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/dell_svc.html

 

You can now order them from Dell in the USA.

So I did.

 

Yeah but there is no QHD neither the 1080 plus I cant tell if the FHD has g-sync its not written wether its 120hz or 75hz

 

Witness the difference an expansive 17-inch LCD screen can make with supported FHD, QHD and UHD resolution options – all with anti-glare finish.
The 17" QHD 120Hz display is designed to deliver the smoothest gaming experience with 4ms response time, wide viewing angles, 400 nits of brightness, and NVIDIA G-Sync technology on select modules. NVIDIA G-Sync delivers the smoothest a fastest experience ever thanks to its ability to synchronize display refresh rates to the GPU in your GeForce GTX-powered PC, eliminating screen tearing and minimizing both display stutter and input lag.

and below that it says...

17.3 inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display with Tobii IR Eye-tracking

400? 300? heh

I'm not to concerned about it. We shall see what shows up!

 

the technical support **** SUCK i have asked them about the FHD screen does it have G-sync they dont **** know for each answer they take a ***** 10mins and WTF WHY DOES IT COME WITH A CHARGER OF 180W !!!!! I DONT THINK ITS ENOUGH FOR GTX 1080 , my god damn 880m have a god damn 240w charger WTF IS THIS ****

 

Infuriating that the 15" doesn't offer the 120hz screen. Like what's the f**king point of advertising it if you aren't going to offer it?

 

OMG WTF IS THIS **** THE G-SYNC IS ONLY FOR QHD !!!! AND 180W IS NOT GOD DAMN ENOUGH TO POWER IT !!! those guys r idiots or what !!!!!!

 

Does it say 180watts on the specs anywhere? I couldn't find it. But if it is 180watts I agree.. I top out my MSI GT62VR with 6700HQ and 1070 at almost 220watts as is on their 230watter.

 

This is just messed up really I have spoken to the dell experts and they have told me about this !!! I think im gonna pass on this **** laptop after this crap I saw

 

Pretty sure the 15 will come with a regular FHD 120Hz panel. The 17 comes with 120Hz, QHD, GSYNC.

 

Speak with a sales person that knows his stuff.

ALso regarding the Gsync not all panels in all sizes come with Gsync functionality. But it should be more clear in the configurator though.

 

I don't believe so. In the section under screens, it mentions the options as FHD, FHD 120hz, and QHD, and it states the 120hz screen has 400 nits where the screen listed in the configurator clearly states it's only 300 nits. So that leads me to believe the FHD screen listed is the standard 60hz, which is useless to me right now. At this point, I might as well just get the Sager, as the Alienware is significantly more expensive and doesn't offer all that much more. The only reason I'm even considering the Alienware is for the 120hz screen. But if it doesn't have that, then the Sager is probably the better option at this point.

 

GTX 1070 comes with a 240w charger.

Spoiler: GTX 1070 Detail View

Module Description S
Alienware 15 R3 Alienware 15 R3
Operating System Windows 10 Home 64bit English
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz )
Display 15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display
Memory 8GB DDR4 at 2400MHz (1x8GB)
Hard Drive 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
Wireless Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Primary Battery Lithium Ion (99 Wh) Battery
Operating System Recovery Options No OS Recovery Disc Included
Keyboard English Backlit Keyboard, powered by AlienFX
Cable US Power Cord
AC Adapter Alienware 240W AC Adapter

So too does the RX 470.

Spoiler: RX 470 Detail View

Module Description
Alienware 17 R4 Alienware 17 R4
Operating System Windows 10 Home 64bit English
Video Card AMD Radeon™ RX 470 with 8GB GDDR5
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
Display 17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display with Tobii IR Eye-tracking
Memory 16GB DDR4 at 2400MHz (2x8GB)
Hard Drive 128GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
Wireless Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Primary Battery Lithium Ion (68 Wh) Battery
Operating System Recovery Options No OS Recovery Disc Included
Keyboard English Keyboard
AC Adapter Alienware 240W AC Adapter

However, the GTX 1060 comes with the 180w charger.

Spoiler: GTX 1060 Detail View

Module Description Show Details
Alienware 15 R3 Alienware 15 R3
Operating System Windows 10 Home 64bit English
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
Display 15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display
Memory 16GB DDR4 at 2400MHz (2x8GB)
Hard Drive 128GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
Wireless Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Primary Battery Lithium Ion (68 Wh) Battery
Operating System Recovery Options No OS Recovery Disc Included
Keyboard English Backlit Keyboard, powered by AlienFX
Cable US Power Cord
AC Adapter Alienware 180W AC Adapter

 

From what I heard, there will be multiple FHD options available.

 

There will be for the 15, but the 120 Hz option isn't available at the moment. Same goes for the QHD 120Hz for the 17.