[Alienware Refresh] Initial thoughts and impressions? Hit or a Miss?

Interested to see how the new machine performs, but I'm not really interested in buying one. my 15 r2 with a 980m is still more than powerful enough for on the occasional on the go gaming, and I got my desktop for my hard core gaming sessions.

 

When you have a good desktop, everything else is just a bonus. I agree, the 980M is plenty to provide a decent gaming experience when on the go.

 

I think my thing is that I wasn't wowed because of issues with the build quality.

Sure its sturdy but all the little things didn't give me that buzz of a new thing.

When the support wasn't Microsoft level that diminished any hope of wanting to get another.

Actually that's exactly it. The laptop spec is great, the GPU seems to work better than my 7990 in my desktop. But I know my desktop has zero flaws. I also know that the surface i own, any issues I get a replacement, not a engineer in wouldn't trust with a toaster.

I think I'd be inclined to go Razer next time as I had intended.

Anyways fingers crossed the new version is a solid improvement over the original.

 

Well if you have a beefy desktop, having an 980M machine as an extra for on the go action is quite a nice bonus.

THough my laptop (currently aw 15 r1 with 980M) is my main pc. Normally I don't buy every generation of laptops (each generation is for me the release of a new GPU). Normally I would have waited till like the 1180M, but since they are putting desktop grade GPU's and the addition of G-Sync, made me want to upgrade my laptop. So I'm most likely getting the AW 17. And depending on test results, issues and what not, I might still opt for a less likely asus Rog G800VI

 

All the support experience that I've had with Dell have been superb. Overnight shipments to correcting any issues until it was to my satisfaction. Not one complaint and this is why I wouldn't hesitate to go with Dell again. I have also dealt with M$ and I must say, Dell was much easier and smoother, at least for me.

I too have been thinking about the Razer and how well the Pascal will do in that unibody. That would be one heat challenge that I'd love to tackle. I've LM'ed my MBPr so I know what it can do, but we are talking about much more TDP here so we'll see....

Generally speaking, if there was ever a time for an upgrade, right now would be that time due to Pascal. The performance increase is off the charts, let alone it being a desktop chip all across the board.

 

With Dell here in the UK its always will send an engineer, being called within the first 14 days should be will replace it, not send an engineer who borks up the assembly.

'Oh is a highly trained dell engineer who knows what he's doing'

******** he's slapdash and careless.

Microsoft sent me 6 surface in total, OK all problematic but Microsoft didn't **** around.

Maybe its different state side.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

Ah that explains it. Yea, I'm sure the service quality varies depending on the location.

 

Pascal is quite the leap in terms of performance.
Just awaiting info now on price to see whether or not I can be swayed to make the jump.

 

Judging by the prices from MSI and Asus, it should be pretty close to it. Hopefully a little cheaper. That's always good.

 

Pascal's shelf-life is only a single year, so I'd actually recommend against upgrading if you have the 980M. Sure, the 1060 performs about 25% better, and the 1070 performs even more so. But when Volta is announced in May and launched in the summer, the 1060's successor (11-series) will be about 60%-70% better than the 980M.* Waiting another 9 months (and putting up with the 980M, which isn't even a poor card to begin with) will effectively give said person another 40%-50% performance increase over similar Pascal options in their price-range today.

*This puts the 11-series successor of the 1060 at roughly 40% better, performance-wise.

 

Good shout that's my plan. 2016 15r2 please lol

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

Don't get me wrong, there are still situations where I believe people should upgrade to or purchase Pascal. The market is moving faster than anticipated with Vega expected to hit the market around Q1 2017 and Cannonlake (10nm) coming in Q3 2017. It is very safe to assume NVIDIA plans to respond with Volta by Q3 2017 (with its announcement at GTC in May).

It's a very poor time to be in the market for a gaming PC.

 

So far the Alienware looks competitive, I'm watching with shocked interest. I've never once considered them before due to their typical price premium and childish styling. This model actually looks sleek and refined. Maybe they fired the designer?

Only thing so far I'm not too happy about is the ports being on the back. But if this 17 incher sits at about the price point of it's competition and thermal performance is good, we might have a winner.

Why so much hate for Tobii? Someone made a new way for gamers to game and you don't like it? BFHD. It makes this laptop unique when there's hardly anything besides design that can be different. All PC components are the same so Alienware found a way to stand out from the crowd. Cost is irrelevant at this point, you're already spending $2k+ so what's another $50?

 

agreed, no need to upgrade at the moment. Gonna skip pascal entirely on both the laptop and desktop front and settle for my 980 ti and 980m for now.

its just a useless piece of technology that I will more than likely never use and would rather not have to pay for. Same with the 3d spree that happened a couple years ago, not my cup of tea and not something I wanna pay for if I don't have to.

 

I just wish the tobii was an option. There are so many other areas I would want to put that money toward. That's just my opinion. Who knows, maybe in the future it'll become practical for something and I'll be glad that it's there.

It would have been much better IMO if the tobi sensor was something that you would clip onto the top of the screen lid (like an aftermarket web cam), that way it wouldn't leave all that bezel real estate on the bottom, which looks funny to me.

 

This reminds of ill-fated eSata ports on laptops. I never understood why that had to happen, what was the design decision. But ultimately, it didn't detract from the laptop overall. I had a good overall experience even though I never once used the eSata port.

Tobii could be the same. I seriously doubt most people will use it. Then again it hasn't been out long, there's not a lot of game support. Maybe it gets support and suddenly it's awesome. Like imagine playing league or Dota and instead of scrolling on the map, you just look with your eyes where you want to be and it goes there. I don't know.

I fail to see how this is like 3D though. 3D has been in movie theaters for decades. Consumer products with 3D fell out of fashion but as a technology, it is still in plenty of demand. Just a couple of weeks ago I read research about MIT or some similar group developing glasses free 3D for giant screens like movie theaters.

This Tobii thing (named after the guy in the office?) seems dissimilar in that it has not been done before. Nobody asked for it. I never told a game developer or hardware designer that I wish I could have my computer track my eyes. But without carp like this being done, we would never have gotten Nintendo Wii (I know, I know...didn't need that either). What else would we be missing out on, let's see...computer games as we know them, graphical user interfaces, twitch, and a plethora of other things there was no prior demand for.

I'm going to take a wait and see approach to it just like I am with these new Pascal laptops, especially AW. Time will tell whether the new laptops and Tobii are a fail or a success.

 

Well guys: Click here

Here are some early pricing (out) comparisons. I've been playing around with different configurations to get an idea of what we can expect for the overall pricing. I've noticed that it is a bit more ala carte in a way...well kinda...

Note: It's possible that my numbers are off and if it is then I'll update it, but please do go price it yourself if you have a moment...

Couple things I've noticed:

* There is an option to get a display unit without Tobii. Thank goodness. I wonder if this is true for the up coming QHD panel?

* The price for the 4K UHD w/ Frobii is outrageous. +$400?! Sheesh... Hope they offer 4K without Frobii.


Early Comparisons: (Blue = Better / Red = Falls Short / Grey = Equal)

________________________________

Clevo P775DM3 / Fager NP9172-S

* i7-6700K
* 1080 FHD w/ GSYNC
* GTX 1070
* 16GB RAM DDR4 2400MHz
* 256GB M.2 SSD
* Killer 1535
* 2 Year Warranty

…$2,114…NO TAX

w/ GTX 1080: $2,502

Options:

* 4K UHD w/ GSYNC is +$275

________________________________

Alienware 17R4:

* i7-6820HK
* 1080 FHD w/o GSYNC
* GTX 1070
* 16GB DDR4 2400MHz
* 256GB M.2 SSD + 1TB Paper Weight
* Killer 1525
* 2 Year Warranty

$2,474 + PLUS TAX $198 (Avg. 8%) =

...$2,672...

Options:

* 4K UHD w/ Fobii Eye Tracking is +$400

________________________________

Reality in terms of value to cost ratio:

* 6700K (socketed lga) > 6820HK (mobile bga)

* GTX 1080 for only $275 more on the DTR. How much more will GTX1080 be on the AW?

* 1080FHD has GSYNC on DTR

* Can paying $558 More for AW17R4 be justified?

________________________________

Current thoughts at this time and moment:

Well to be honest, as for the pricing it doesn't look good if the numbers on the pricing page is anywhere near accurate. There's no way that I can justify paying ~ $558 more at this point, however, that can change depending on the GTX 1080 and QHD variant. It's too early to tell.

I'd like to also add that the 2 Year Warranty for Dell is " Blue," because it is far superior than Clevo's 2 Year Warranty. This is a fact, so please let's not argue about this.

As I've said before, "Do not pay DTR prices for a bga machine." This is just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own, but please do the math and make a wise decision that best fits you and your needs.

Notice that the comparison is between the AW17R4 vs the Clevo P775DM3, which is not the bulky DTR, but the more slimmer and (IMO) cleaner looking one.

What are your thoughts?

 

All the talk about the next new technology is history repeating it self over and over. The new stuff always promises so much more so wait and wait. But reality is as long as I can remeber each new piece that comes out in reality brings incremental upgrades in speed. It's not going to be earth shattering no matter how you look at it. Does current gem play the games you play acceptably? If yes save money, if no buy what available that will. This watubg and hoping for what is promised on paper a few months from now is almost the definition of insanity. Wish for Friday then Monday hits fast, wish for Friday then Monday hits fast again. Wish your life away.

Alienware has a what November release date for 1080 powered notebooks?

 

Generally speaking that holds to be true, but to think a 980M is anywhere near a Pascal 1080....eeehh NO. If there ever was a time to upgrade mate, it is right now. This isn't a small incremental upgrade.

Of course if one is happy with what they currently have then more power to them. But to hold onto a 960M/970M/980M thinking that it's not worth it to upgrade would be comical and not true.

I do agree that the longer it takes for the OEM's to release their flagship like AW, the closer it is to Kaby Lake and Volta....The clock is ticking....however, that still doesn't mean that a Pascal should be skipped.

Mid November I think...

 

I've read a few threads people stating I'll skip 1080 because it's so close to the next release within a year and pascal didn't perform much over their 980 to justify the upgrade.

I for one am always on the upgrade bandwagon, I never care what's coming out 6-8-12 months from now. If it's new and it's faster I'm getting it now. Then I'll do it again soon as the next thing comes out. I just don't care for the speculation and oh should I wait or is it worth upgrading now or should I wait.. Oh but the new CPU or gpu will be so much faster in 8 months should I wait, they are promising xxxxx so I should wait.Never made much sense to me personally.

 

Typical Alienware mid November.. I stated a few times in other thread alienwaren is always late to the party. The 1080 for laptops will have been out what 4-5 maybe 6 months before they release the 1080 machine?

 

Well mate I'm sorry to say, but those people might be day dreaming, because a 1080 will walk circles around a 980.

Technology is a never ending cycle, nothing new there. The point here is that with Pascal, if there ever was a good time to upgrade, it would be now.

 

Prices are cheaper than I expected but there's no 120hz option up from what I see?

 

Earth shattering, no agreed but this particular GPU refresh is the biggest we've seen in years

a New 1070 notebook scores 7457 in firestrike extreme compared the older 980m at 4401, that huge tbh

a 1080 note book will likeley see over 100% performance increase

just sayin....

 

Not at this moment, but I'm sure the screen options will become available as we get closer to the release of the 17R4 GTX1080?

The prices will skyrocket once you start configuring it...

I hope Frobii is an option on the QHD and UHD...Not everyone wants it....SMH

 

Well I mean, I have a MSI GT62VR with 1070 that was $2100+ after tax so when I configure it similarly it's not far off and that's with a 6820HK thrown in.

 

Have you noticed that the other 1080 GTX laptops that are currently on the market didn't have 120Hz GSync panels on launch?
I think its probably likely that they would want to release a system with Gsync certified panels / GPU rather then release a system with out 120hz Gsync etc like other makers are doing.
Also there are several panels that simply are not on the market yet (i.e. 1440p 120hz Gsync)

I for one wouldn't go 100% on this pricing. For one it seems the configuration tool is under construction.
The configuration tool is also not linked from AW / Dells main page.
Also not all the panels are on the market /GSync Certified yet.
Too soon to judge.

 

Wasn't talking about g-sync panels. Absence of g-sync isn't a deal breaker. As long as it's 120hz panel I'm fine. I would rathe the horsepower to keep current and bear further games running 1080p at 120+ frames than worry about smoothing out subpar 30-60 fps performance.

 

BTW you can order the 17R4 now. Just got quoted with my military and corporate discounts:

Alienware 17 R4

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit English
Intel® Core™ i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display
16GB DDR4 at 2400MHz (2x8GB)
1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
6-Cell 99W Hour Battery
Alienware 240W AC Adapter
2 Years Premium Support
2 Years Accidental Damage Service

$1703.00 after tax and shipping.

 

Very nice mate!

I take it that you called Dell? When is the shipping date?

 

I sure did! EDD Is Sept. 27th

 

Very nice. We're all highly anticipating this new cooling system lol...

I do have a feeling that a repaste is going to be needed as usual, but who knows, if they put this much emphasis on the cooling system then I hope they took the extra measure to use a decent paste to compliment the design.

It would be a complete oxymoron to have good cooling system with crappy paste, but we've seen it time after time....so it's not beneath them The 17R3 was literally toothpaste. SMH....

 

Damn it's itching. Want to buy it but its too shoon to upgrade after just 1 year.

 

Do it do it do it. Oh wait, did I say something?

::iunlock::

 

hahaha i must stay strong. But I do really like those new units. Maybeif I can sell my old laptop.

 

Hurry while you can! ie...sell it before it depreciates... even taking a small loss would be a gain compared to the price drop it'll have once the new units are in full effect.

::iunlock::

 

Just have your laptop break down and get a system replacement. There, no money lost.
(How it's going to break down I don't know. That's for you to figure it out.)

 

hahaha nah, that goes against my principles. Feels like stealing. ALso this laptop is serving me incredibly well. Even though the DC in cable also has some burn marks as another user reported. But they are shipping a new cable to me. It seems to be because of express charging while gaming straining the cable too much. But that is just my personal theory.

 

Where did you call to order?

Could you screen your purchase confirmation email and just use paint to block out any sensitive information?

 

I did mean it as a joke.
But the temptation of getting a new, better laptop does hurt.

 

Sure let me see if I can make some time later today to do that.

Here is the itemized list of parts in my order:

Items in this order
Quantity Item Number Description
1 210-AJST Alienware 17 R4
1 370-ACSE 16GB DDR4 at 2400MHz (2x8GB)
1 580-AFPW English Backlit Keyboard, powered by AlienFX
1 490-BDHS NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
1 555-BDEP Killer N1435/1535 Driver
1 400-AHHF 1TB (64MB Cache) 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s
1 619-AHCR Windows 10 Pro (64bit) English
1 555-BCRM Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
1 450-AAGO US Power Cord
1 340-AGUD Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French)
1 975-3461 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Extended Year(s)
1 801-2185 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Initial Year
1 803-1696 Premium Support with Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year Extended
1 803-1714 Premium Support, 2 Years
1 803-1695 Premium Support with Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year
1 801-2198 Accidental Damage Service, 2 Years
1 338-BKFV Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)
1 391-BCXD 17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display
1 451-BBXO Lithium Ion (99 Wh) Battery
1 340-ACQQ No Option Included
1 389-BRFD Regulatory Label
1 450-AAJI 240W AC Adapter
2 332-1530 Dell.com Order
1 658-BCUO Additional Software
1 340-AAPP Directship Info Mod
1 340-BJOG Shipping Material
1 631-ABDT Skylake Driver
1 340-BJQZ Placemat (English,French,BRPT,Spanish)
1 817-BBBB No FGA
1 389-BHGE Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 Label
1 658-BCSC Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
1 817-BBBP None Included

 

The configurator doesn't work yet.

 

It worked earlier this morning. I think they got word people were ordering them now.

 

240w enough for 6820HK + 1070?

 

If it was truly a glitch they might cancel the order.
If this happens please let us know.

 

Will do, and trust me they will be getting an angry phone call from me then...

 

Well it can happen...
They have done it in the past when something happened by mistake.
The benefit would be perhaps on the 28th there will be the promised 120hz monitors.
Getting angry wont do anything. They would only cancel it if it was done by mistake and it was simply impossible to put the order in now.
Just because the system allowed it, doesn't mean it could have logistically get done.
I hope it does but can understand if it doesn't.

 

Haha yeah, I want too much stuff. Bought a EVGA 1070GTX FTW and a Acer Predator 27inch gsync monitor already this month.

 

Which 27in Predator? How do you like it?

 

The xb1 27inch TN version. Saw the ips version but it had so much ips glare that the viewing angles where actually worse. After calibrating it i got 99% srgb coverage (its an 8 bit 350nits panel btw). So pretty happy as long if you dont view the panel from a heavy upward angle. Money well spend.

Good brightness uniformity as well but its my second one. The first one had backlight bleed.