New M17x R4, M14X R2 and M18X R2 are coming - Speculation thread.

Foto en details dunne Dell XPS 15 met Gorilla Glass verschenen | Core | Tweakers.net Nieuws

In Dutch. Just run it through google translate.

 

+rep for the nice read. Thats one nice looking laptop.

 

Just wondering, a lot of people have been predicting the announcements to come at PAX East.

My question is how do people know this? Looked at the schedule and don't see AW speaking at any of the times..
Has it been tradition? Or just more speculation?

 

One of the dell correspondents have specifically refer to PAX East for details to come out so yeah..l

 

it would be more of a " see it in the booth" thing than an actual panel discussion at PAX. I'm hoping to see some wonderful toys.

 

That is a slick looking machine. Nice to See Dell doing some refreshes.. their designs were getting a bit dated.

 

Text from the Alienware Facebook:

 

Not April. I am not allowed to tell you when, but it's not April.

So very true. IB is still going to be under (marketing) embargo for a while, so it's going to be funny to see how vendors display their next gen hardware without mentioning IB. Of course we can always point to the big Intel booth with IB on display.

 

Thats a bit of bummer man

 

Sorry to be the wet blanket. I just didn't want everyone getting all wound up for April and being disappointed when May 1 gets here and no new XPS. I'll tell you this- that Tweakers.net photo is very low quality. It doesn't do the thing justice. It's gorgeous, in my biased opinion.

 

Anyhow, dear Bill thanks for your words here.

Please, if it's possible, try to brinh here some pics and videos; since there are here some of us that (for many reasons) do not like/use Facebook... Instead, this forum rocks!

Edit: Well, yes, I forgot the 'AW Arena'... from 6 am 2 6pm... Shame on me!

 

I doubt he could give us any pictures (without losing his job at least) yet, but the information you've given is great. Knowing it won't be a while till we see the new AW line is pretty re-assuring.

If you hear anything about the M14x R2 though, let me know +rep for the info

 

I just hope the new Alienwares don't implement those terrible Apple-imitation buttonless clickpads that all the new laptops are using now. >.<

 

Doubt it, all of Dells new lineups are using normal touchpads. HP is the only one still using clickpads I think

 

I saw this xps notebook on display in tokyo - akihabara - dell shop... It looks better in real. Can t wait for M18x r2

 

I cannot wait!
Hoping to see some weight reduction or size reduction

 

Maybe we can get a nkyong1 in there to fumble with those new beasts

 

I wish that were true. But if the prototypes at CES are valid indicators, Toshiba's new Satellites will have buttonless clickpads, so will the new Sony ultrabook. Additionally, Asus uses it in their ultrabook and Samsung uses it on a lot of their new laptops (Chronos).

And I'm afraid according to the Dutch article about the new Dell XPS 15, it will have "integrated buttons". (At least that's what I recently read from someone who translated the Dutch).

Madness I say I'm not trying to be negative, but no clickpads I've used so far even come close to Apple's quality. They're all hard to press, unresponsive, cause the cursor to jump around, etc. I really hope this new Dell doesn't have a clickpad like that.

 

I bet they have multitouch touchpad, many are doing the two finger scroll and i think win8 supports and intergrate very well with multitouch commands

 

Two finger scroll and a few other gestures are enabled by software. Current models can do that with Synaptics Scrybe.

 

I just want the little Stick-Point thingy between the G and H keys.

 

Not gonna happen unless you buy the business line Mxx00

 

I'm SOL.

I don't care for touch pads at all. So I use a mouse.. I prefer a wireless mouse, but my laptop stand is at an angle.. so if i let go of my mouse, it falls in the floor.. So have to use a wired mouse..

Blah.. !!

 

It's between G, H and B and I love it too. It's most useful for me.

 

Best invention for Web-workers ever.. Heck.. i even photoshop with it..

 

I really hope they will offer matte screens this time around. I'm either getting an M17x or a Sager at the end of the summer. It's a tough choice for me, but it'll be much easier if I can get a matte screen on the M17x.

 

I don't think they will. One of the big design traits of Alienware's line since being bought by Dell is the edge-to-edge display (which I don't care about) which they'd lose by using a matte display (which I hope they use). We can always hope, but it's unlikely in the extreme, I think.

 

I wouldn't even need a matte screen, but at least something less glossy than what is currently offered. The Alienware screen is like a mirror. It's the most reflective screen I've ever seen on any laptop. It's more reflective than a MacBook Pro screen (and those are very reflective). The semi-gloss screen on the Sony VAIO SE would be perfect, but that's the only laptop I know of that uses a screen like that.

 

But the blacks are SOOOOOOO Deep at night time in the dark.

 

Hmm, I'm starting to wonder if I should cancel my current M17x R3 order and hold off for the R4.

Anyone have any idea how long off they are from being released? My issue is that my old M17 is dying and needs replacing soon...

Provided there aren't huge changes (like an RGBLED display or metal enclosure) for the R4 I don't mind taking the R3 now, hoping that I'll be able to stick a 7970M or 680M in at a later date. How likely is that?

 

There might be demo units in PAX East this weekend but they will not be available until (maybe late) summer.

The new standard 3.0c is backward compatible so you can still upgrade.

 

I suppose it all depends on whether the new GPUs will work with the system itself. And, of course, whether they fall into temperature constraints.

Late summer would be too late for me to order in any case if it takes weeks to produce. Looks like I'm going to be sticking with the R3.

I just hope that the R4 doesn't have improvements that'll make me regret this decision.

 

2-3 months ago, i would have told you to wait. Now that there is so much information out.. i say keep your order.

Considering the R4 will be using re-branded nVidia parts, the cooling should be identical, as well as the MXM slots as the R3's. You will probably have to pay a premium for the parts down the road, but i think you will have no problems upgrading.

But in all honesty, a top-end R4 will have the Same GPU as a top end R3, Similar CPU performance withing a few percent, and only offer a few updated IO options.

As it sits, you will probably only see a 5% increase in performance across the board.

Now.. when the 680M/7990M (or similar) parts hit, there will be a bump in performance.. but for now.. there is absolutely NO reason to wait months for a machine that is only marginally better in ancillary ways. The current R3, with the 120hz Screen and top end GPU is a MONSTER of a machine and about as good as it can get with current tech.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm more concerned with features such as a metal exterior (like the M18x, and the M17x R1/R2) and the R2's famous RGBLED screen being brought back, as I know the performance gain will be marginal at best.

I chose not to go with the 120Hz screen because I didn't want to mess around with fixing the 580M's throttle, and I wanted the GPU switching (can't use the Intel GPU with the 120Hz screen). I wonder if I'll regret that decision as well down the line, but oh well, there's no denying that this machine will satisfy my performance requirements for a while.

Well, at least it can max out almost every game out there apart from the rediculous loads you get with the likes of Metro 2033's maxed settings, which is more than can be said for my M17 (which could barely manage Crysis on High at 720p resolutions, let alone maxed at 1080p) so here's hoping it lasts longer than my M17.

 

I sold my M17x-R2 last week in hopes of getting an M18x-R2.

I knew from the beginning it would be a moderate wait and I wanted to sell my M17x before it lost more value. I'm really hoping to see an M18x revision this summer because as of right now, my Macbook is doing all the heavy lifting (which I'm also selling very soon so I can get one of the upcoming "unicorn" Macbooks 15, supposedly in April )

 

Glad I bought my m14x r1 now since it seems like it will be a bit of a wait. But very excited to see what Kepler's claimed huge TDP improvements will translate into for the m14x and m11x which have low TDP thresholds.
Does anybody know where we can get the latest information on the Kepler TDPs? Still no information that I can find out there. This would really help to speculate on what they might be planning on cramming into the r2.

 

The pictures I posted is the M17XR4 not the M18XR2. I rushed too fast with the uploading of pictures I mixed them up. Sorry

INTRODUCING THE ALIENWARE M17X R4 WITH GTX 680M
You can also find screenshots with a test of the GTX 675M which is going in to the R4. GTX 680M won`t probably arrive before June. Keep that in mind.

680M stock

680M overclocked (assuming I read the translation correct)


ALL CREDITS GOES TO Wesley-Alex
Source: http://dell.benyouhui.it168.com/thread-2046420-1-1.html
Translated source

 

Thanks so much for this!
This machine should kick a lot of a$$ ! Sadly, looks so far like no RGB screen option from following quote, althought still too early to tell...

"Screen there will be the 1600x900 WLED 1920x1080 1920x1080 WLEDs and 3D WLEDs select the sounds are the same, but the internal cable will be redesigned to use new materials, will further enhance the brightness and color, response speed will be much faster than before. (The brightness of a friend said to be brighter than M18xR1 too! "

That last piece "but the internal cable will be redesigned to use new materials, will further enhance the brightness and color" has me intrigued, cant wait to have more details on this... REP to you!

 

The pictures I posted is the M17XR4 not the M18XR2. I rushed too fast with the uploading of pictures I mixed them up. Sorry

 

Looks like the machine is basically the same, apart from the obvious change in motherboard to support Ivy Bridge. I think I'll stick with my R3, if it arrives in time. Maybe I'll stick a 680M in it down the line, if they aren't stupidly expensive.

 

I believe it makes sense for Dell to keep the same chassis instead of redesigning a new one. Doing the latter is costly and will significantly bring the prices up.

 

GTX 680M scores a little bit over 30% more than 580M in 3DMark11. If its a 75W TDP ( like this early chart suggested) then its a significant win for Kepler

GTX 680M


GTX 580M

6990M

Source: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Mobile-GPU-Comparison-GeForce-GTX-580M-and-Radeon-HD-6990M/3DMark11-Quick-Bat

 

Makes sense. I didn't think they'd change the chassis - and I'm glad in a way that they didn't, because now I'm not going to regret getting my R3...

Well, on second thoughts, seeing those 680M scores above might make me regret it. That thing looks seriously quick.

 

Evil, since as you are a laptop keeper (meaning once you get a laptop you tend to stick with it for some time) if I were you, I'd cancel my current M17x-R3 order. With the pictures being posted and seeing the results it doesn't make sense to me buying an older system. I think it's worth the wait, especially for someone like you, to get the absolute latest, being so close to release.

Think about it.

 

I have thought about it. The issue is that my M17 is on its way out. Its slave GPU appears to have blown, several of the ports no longer work, a speaker's stopped working, and a few other niggles as well. It needs replacing, really, and waiting is a risk when I need a new system before September - if these are released at the end of July, the build times would likely push it too far for me to be able to order. It'd suck if I had to buy an R3 in the summer because the R4 wasn't released yet, knowing that the R4 was just around the corner.

Plus, I got a pretty good deal on this system, and I highly doubt I'd be able to get an R4 with a 680M for this price (or even for several hundred pounds more). I'm on a budget unfortunately, I can't spend much more than what I did on this one.

Furthermore, the performance of my ordered R3 should be able to satisfy me for a long time. My M17 has barely lasted 3 years but it also struggled with maxing out modern games when I bought it - only just managed Crysis on high at 720p. The R3 on the other hand can max out most games out there and still manage very high settings at 1080p in the rest, so my thought is that it should in theory last longer (in terms of performance).

I'll wait to see if this machine arrives before my deadline first. If it doesn't, then it'll be cancelled, then I'll either end up picking up an R4 or a cheaper R3 in the summer. Or maybe I'll pick up a 680M in a year's time or so if it's affordable. In any case I doubt I'll be disappointed with what I get.

 

That is the fact that all models will use the eDP port and not just the 120Hz ones. Which means that Dell has found a way of getting switchable graphics to work with the digital port and not be bound by LVDS. It's great news. Dell are offering me a replacement and I'm not getting one until the 680m model comes out.

 

I will be upgrading to the 680M... No doubt about it. That is impressive.

 

Yes.. that is one of the big "Out of the blue" surprises. Didn't forsee the 680M being available for another 6 months.

 

There's a difference between demonstrating it and putting a working card into mass production, although it does mean we're closer than we thought to it.

Looks like I might be holding off and getting an R4 anyway, turns out the R3's motherboard is on backorder and if my system doesn't go into production in the next week, I'm going to have to cancel it.

 

Oh man, so excited! I bet the 680M overclocks like a beast too. I'm gonna wait for it.

Still nothing about the 7970M? What's going on...?