When are the new Alienwares with Maxwell coming?

Yeah, advanced phone support? No thank you!

More just how much the companies like Unisys charge them for this service. Your Dell rep will be a HP rep at his next call, they just need a bunch of OEM certifications. Swapping out a MB with soldered components will be so easy on a nicely designed laptop like (I hope) AW come up with.

 

Hope so. Unheard of? Nothing's lowly about a CS grad.

 

Alienware 15 or MSI GE62 ?

 

I've thought about this for a long time - over several months. Do you prefer ASUS over Sager/Clevo? You can upgrade as you please with the Sager.I like the AW build - otherwise I'd have easily gone with the Sager NP9752/ NP9772. I'm still considering Sager though. They come with the desktop processor - which I value as much as the 980m GPU.

 

Not sure but the AW 15 support shows this, same on the 17, at least here in the U.S. for the new models:

View or print Dell's Limited Hardware Warranty here.
In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis and Other Services Information.
Service Contract Pricing and Purchasing a System without a Service Contract.

That reads just like it always has. I have in fact already had a motherboard replacement on my AW 13 (looongg story).

 

Uh....I've just noticed the CD-drive is also gone!?

Also, CNET says this about the 17

If that isn't quite large enough for you, consider the Alienware 17. It's a pound heavier but only slightly thicker, and the base model offers a fourth-generation quad-core Core i7 CPU. There is no 4K option on the 17-inch display, but you'll be hard pressed to find hardware that can comfortably tackle 4K resolutions at a decent clip, so that makes sense here.

 

Since both use soldered components: AW15
In my opinion the GT/GS series from MSI are the only ones worth considering.

 

Yes, this ticked me off too... I occasionally need one even today while on the road. I don't mind not having one, but I would rather opt out of one than no option. I have an external BluRay ironically because when I ordered my M17x-R2 at the time they were out of BluRay players....

 

Good grief, I haven't even boarded the ship when it sank. Didn't even have a chance to use a non neutered Alienware. T.T

 

Get an USB CD ROM

 

Yeah, it might be just another screw up on the blurb. This was released some time ago and an AW rep on twitter said it was a typo. I thought, more of a possibility .

I'll be calling in my order anyway so I have a recording of the transaction and any mis-information supplied.

I am wondering now about the GA. They say the CPU overclocks when it's plugged in. Strange option unless it's more to do with power draw limits - once you add an externally powered device the certification is no longer a requirement. I'll see if it works on an empty GA?

 

Read my amended text

Yeah, it was annoying to see OC'ing only available in the AW 13 for this same reason... I kind of have suspicion people will complain enough to the point Dellienware releases a bios unlock for this sans G/A.

lot of online sellers still have the prior versions...

 

What happened to the hdmi in ?

 

To not have a 4k on the AW17 is more to do with the lack of a 17-inch 4k screen available on the market than anything else. You can get a GA to support running games on the 4k.

 

Gamers! You only want the 4k display if the following are true:

1. You love touchscreens and don't care about lowering settings in games.
2. You plan to purchase the Graphics Amplifier with a desktop GTX 780 or better.

The GTX 780 struggles at 4k, barely reaching 35 FPS with MSAA disabled. The 980M won't be able to handle it that well on its own. The 1080p screen in combination with the 980M will last you a long time, and you'll be able to max out all of the settings. The "high-res" screen basically decreases the usefulness/life of the laptop (for gaming).

Also, keep in mind, this display upgrade may also decrease battery life.

 

I can't help but notice the things you dont get.

No 32gb RAM option
Poor GPU options
Poor CPU options
No HDMI in
No CD-ROM/BLU-RAY drive.
Still only 4 USB ports.
Limited screen options
All hard drives are 5400RPM and even the option is seriously lacking.
And...you don't even get the restore disc anymore, but get charged to have Windows on a USB drive.

I was looking forward to the new Alienware - but I think I'm gonna skip this generation.

It's quite sad to see this...

View attachment 119576

 

More likely it will come from the modders. Dell wouldn't give us access to the fan tables a while ago when the 580m was frying. It was mooted but never happened. All to do with changing the thermal characteristics after certification (and they found an alternative - paste it properly!).

Also of course they will not be keen on making one of the G/A's selling points go away.

 

The TrueLife screen quality (ignoring touch) is significantly better looking than the IPS panel, there is a good reason for it even with reducing the resolution down a bit. 2560x1440 is going to look and run pretty well on a 980m I would think. I can't see how it's going to decrease the usefulness or life realistically for how long the systems are relevant though.

 

New games demand more power. The GPU is soldered. Your display is 4k. The GPU already struggles with older games.
=
Decreased life of the product.

Lowering the resolution is only going to cause problems. This also defeats the purpose of the display in the first place - "I'm going to spend another $300 on a 4k display, but I'll lower it to 1080p." That doesn't make any sense to me. That's like purchasing a 120Hz monitor but only using 60Hz. But hey, it's your money. Go for it. :thumbsup:

P.S. If you plan to get the GA, this doesn't apply to you. Read my post above.

 

With GPUs being soldered now on Alienware (correct me if I'm wrong about this understanding), then I don't see why I'd choose Alienware over say any other high performance laptop with good build quality like those from Asus (G751), apart from the ability to use the Graphics Amplifier - but that would just make me want to build a desktop instead. I think Alienware have lost some appeal for me. Either a desktop or an upgradeable laptop like Clevo/MSI for me next time.

 

Good point - I think you are right, the mod community will make it happen -

 

For the life of the product do you seriously expect to burn out the GPU in three to four years? If so better get that warranty going ( which I do regardless because my play machines are also work machines). I am sure Dellienware has looked at component lifetimes with that resolution and they are not going to kill video cards in that short a time on average.

It does make sense from the perspective of better resolution coupled with better image quality; if that doesn't make sense or matter to you I can't explain it any better. You have to see how much better the TrueLife is to appreciate it. Just saying for most, 1080p is sufficient, for those wanting a bit more out of the display even not running at max resolution it does have it's place.

 

Lemme get this straight. Alienware is soldering both CPU and GPU now? Did they go full retard?

 

I've owned TrueLife displays before. If they offered TrueLife at 1080p, that would be the best option.

The game won't look good at 20 FPS no matter what display you have. 60+ FPS at 1080p is much better than 20 FPS at 4k.

 

This is news? They are going the route Intel is selling them on. I think they in the end will have no choice like everyone else including Sager/Clevo, MSI, etc. etc., but they could have held off another round and not *ahem* Alienated so many performance tuners.

You're missing the point or not reading - the TrueLife coupled with a 980m run at say say 2560x1440p will run reasonably well in many cases (its not going to be 20fps). Going to 1080p you get the benefit of touch (inherent to Windows 8, like it or not) and the better looking screen. I can say that running the lowly despised dual-core AW 13 at 1440p with no AA it's actually runs reasonably well and looks good to boot as an example. Running FXAA as an option work well too, if it works well enough for a particular game.

 

Intel didnt force them to solder the GPUs...
Its a big deal for many people

 

Excuse me. I am just an outsider rubberbecking at the bloodbathe.

Edit: I see what you did there heehee.

 

Very true, but they do have awesome support, dedicated staff and phone lines, in-home fix.. oh, that appears to be going away. Noticed the AW reps here that posted many help messages on a daily basis disappeared in the last couple of months. Hopefully it was just an order to keep their heads down until all the flack over BGA dies down?

 

Haha, pun appreciated!

 

They always say, "for gamers who don't want to compromise...blah blah" in their videos. That's crap. The entire lineup is compromisation, lol.

Last year was a step backwards. Now they've just fallen down the stairs.

Spoiler

 

Better to buy a new AW17 R1 and upgrade the GPU imo.
Or like you say, buy other brands indeed.

But each to its own. There are probably many people not planning to upgrade the hardware anyway, so they are happy happy. But it sort of leave a bad taste in my mouth that this happend to Alienware. That they went fully soldered right after Asus.

 

I'll still follow reviews of these new Alienwares with interest, and I hope they hold on to their build quality & cooling performance (for OC'ability) - although these are more anorexic style laptops so cooling might not be up to normal Alienware standards, moving in the wrong direction. Hopefully they'll get innovative or very efficient with the cooling system design to offset the restraints of a thin chassis. Looking forward to reading the reviews! Are you gonna pull the trigger on an A17 as soon as they come on the UK website?

 

By the way since we are bringing it up, is it confirmed that the GPUs are soldered or are people still assuming??

 

I've seen many people get the 4k just for an overall better experience - if not only for the high-resolution gaming. I cannot imagine that the laptop manufacturers (Gigabyte, Sager, AW) have the 4k display available with the 970m/980m knowing that the life and performance of the GPU is going to decrease in the process - over a significantly shorter period of time than it would have otherwise. If they did, then there are some serious issues with design/testing and marketing strategy. I'd like to think this is not the case, since there are several other much inferior (in config) laptops - aimed towards the more casual gamer / business user - that already come with 3k and 4k displays, nowadays. Surely, the life of laptop components cannot decrease that dramatically just because of the screen they are attached to. Also, I'm sure the manufacturers already know that none of the demanding games can run at 4k with just a single 980m.

 

ASUS isn't fully soldered though. CPU is, but GPU uses MXM slot with proprietary PCB design.

 

I feel that the weight on the Alienware 13 and 17 is nice for their size, but 3.2kg for 15 inch is kinda disappointing.

 

I'm assuming! But, that assumption was fueled by suspicions of that move combined with the new Alienware GPU's being 4GB versions rather 8GB: 4GB=soldered, 8GB=MXM. Those were my assumptions. That's the pattern of VRAM vs soldered & MXM we've seen with Maxwell so far right?

EDIT: although octiceps last post reminded me that Asus is a type of MXM style board and that's 4GB on the 980M I think. So far it looks like conventional MXM is 8GB though. To me that looks like Alienware is gonna be soldered. (I'm ready to forgive Alienware if I've got this all wrong!)

EDIT 2: although Asus P35x is soldered 8GB 980M! Hmm, we haven't seen a standard MXM board with 4GB on the 980M yet though - so that makes me think soldered for Alienware.

 

Uh, WUT? LOL not sure if naive, uninformed, or just in plain denial.

 

Anyone know if the 15 will support mSATA drives?

 

I am not sure what you are trying to say. I am not the most knowledgeable with the hardware, I agree.

 

It supports 2x M.2 SSD's and 1x 2.5" drive.

No mSATA. No Optical.

 

Thanks.

Do you know if the issue with Crucial 2.5" SSDs was ever solved with the 13?

 

Yeah, I'm ready for a new challenge .

 

Yes - I was really hoping outside of the AW 13 line they would go this route. I think in the end one day there will be no more MXM slot tech produced, but we are still a few years away from that.

Even though an AW 18 doesn't make sense for my lifestyle, I mourn it's passing unless Alienware surprises us. Really wish they would formally announce discontinuations instead of just silently taking things off the site.

 

This frustrates me when people are telling people that they can't game at 4k resolution. Let me tell you a secret...you don't have to game at 4k resolution, you can use 4k screen resolution for other options.

Let's say...Autocad, 4k videos, image editing, photoshop, coding, multitasking with 4 windows, and many more. 4k is NOT only for gaming...you can use 4k for other purposes and I'm happy they at least offered it.

I'm loving those 92wh batteries, I hope we can get decent battery life out of these laptops.

 

I think some of this discussion started from something J.Dre said in his post. J.Dre was referring to the fact that the useful life of the GPU is diminished at 4K, not the ACTUAL life. 'Useful' life in as much as playable framerates for games over the coming years - future proofing. 'Actual' life being how long the GPU will function for before malfunction. 'Useful Life' of 980M decreased by using 4K screen assuming you're gonna game at that high resolution.

 

Let's just say, if the assumptions you made in this post were true, we would not be in the sorry state we're in today. Basically, you're giving these companies too much credit despite their history of anti-consumer practices which have really come to a head recently.

 

No idea. I'm sure someone in the Alienware 13 sub-forum can answer that.

M.2 SSD's seem pointless to me. They're expensive and small in capacity. I only see the benefit of having them to cache an HDD. A Samsung 850 PRO is much better option for the premium they're charging - they charge $300 more for the M.2 SSD AW 15 than the standard 1TB HDD.

 

I've got an MX100 sitting around that I'd like to use in the 15, but I guess we'll see.

 

What would you guys pick at $1500, the 15 or the 17?