Alienware 15 Skylake finally arrived with DDR4

Exciting times, keen to order new Skylake AW15. CPU options

i5-6300HQ - 4 cores 4 threads 6MB first true low option quad core
i7-6700HQ - 4 cores 8 threads 6MB run of the mill quad with usual hyper-threading
i7-6820HK - 4 cores 8 threads 8MB looks like is unlocked for overclocking, only select-able with AMD graphics

DDR4 of course, and as already with the new options just out PCIe SSD

http://www.dell.com/nz/p/alienware-15-r2/pd?ref=PD_OC

See now there actually is a 240W power supply option, no doubt that will be for the 980M

Disappointing is the 220-nits panel, this will be dismal at best, that is the kind of brightness you get on a low end HP 1366 x 768 piece of junk. The panels use to be 300-nits. Anyone know anything about these likely replacement panels?

 

whoa thats weird, a 220nits screen panel.......that is just sad. Luckily I have one of the last with the 300nits panels then.

 

It's indeed for the 980m. We will continue to offer both, 1 for the 970m and the other for the 980m.

 

That is good news for those world wide for the PSU.

The display panel is holding me back from placing an order, the panel brightness spec is terrible for such a higher-end product. Can you please give us some light on the panel, why the big downgrade from excellent 300-nits to a poor 220-nits for the new model, are they not the same panel anymore, lost cost budget panel?

 

Anyone know when these will be for sale in the US?

 

They are already for sale. While the configuration page shows Haswell processors, you will get a Skylake processor (check the invoice/order status page).

 

Is the 220-nits panel a typo or not, kind of suspect it something that is generally not marked wrong is actually added in the first place?

 

220nits is hardly visible in a fairly well lit office. If this is the case, then its the worst choice Alienware ever made in my opinion. Love my AW15. Well balanced machine, but only with the 300nits or higher panels.

 

This is a bit disconcerting: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-6700HQ+@+2.60GHz

 

LOOOLLLL

I think I found the reason:
# of Samples 1

 

J.Dre, there is only 1 data sample, it is a single anomaly. It can't possibly be that low.

Hover over the perf line for the CPU to see how many samples there are:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/laptop.html

 

Yeah, I'm aware it's only one sample. It's still somewhat unsettling.

Hope to see more soon.

 

The guy from dell that answered a question before has done a runner soon as I questioned the 220-nits panel, kind of like no comment, bad for sales to talk about it, might scare the punters away.

 

Seems like no one care to much as cannot be ordered in the US, but I have ordered mine in NZ.

Options:

i7-6820HK
16GB DDR4
680M
256GB PCIe SSD

240W is provided with the 980M and even if configured with 970M

These 4 options just about doubled the price, crazy. Would normal buy my own RAM and SSD, but these two are new tech and not like I can get any cheaper over here, even if was for sale.

 

Seems like no one care to much as cannot be ordered in the US, but I have ordered mine in NZ.

Options:

i7-6820HK
16GB DDR4
680M
256GB PCIe SSD

240W is provided with the 980M and even if configured with 970M

These 4 options just about doubled the price, crazy. Would normal buy my own RAM and SSD, but these two are new tech and not like I can get any cheaper over here, even if was for sale.

 

Here's another review of the 6700HQ putting it below the 4720HQ: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-Notebook-Processor.149420.0.html

Looks like the best thing about Skylake is stability and power consumption. Performance doesn't increase by much at all - less than 5%.

 

Lucky for me that I am not getting the i7-6700 rather the unlocked version, less power consumption should translate into better overclock

 

The 6820HK should offer great stability when overclocking. However, Alienware seems to have some serious thermal throttling issues. Hope you don't experience that.

 

Yeah that is what I am most concerned about, as I selected the 980M, otherwise I never seen any problems with the 970M with the older Haswell.
Although they have meant to fix that in the last BIOS update right? If so then should be gone with the new Skylake hardware (maybe difference BIOS). Also considered that now Dell are actually shipping 240W with both the 970M and 980M new Skylake models.

In any case, I intend to game not all of the time and mostly tap into the CPU, therefore the 6820HK has the entire heat sink and fans to dissipate heat from, which a 100W GPU usually shares with, but if the GPU is not running then more thermals for the CPU

btw. the 6820HK is only an option with the 980M, therefore no choice but to pay extra for the 980M to even be able to select the 6820HK

 

Ended up getting a sweet deal on this Alienware 17. $2500 after taxes and overnight shipping:

Quantity Item Number Description
1 210-AFFV Alienware 17
1" class="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Hide itemized list
1 370-ACDF 16GB Dual Channel DDR4 2133MHz (8GBx2)
1 580-ACWN English Keyboard
1 583-BCQG Alienware 6 programmable Macro module keys
1 490-BCLJ NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 980M with 4GB GDDR5
1 555-BCRW Killer Wireless 1535 Driver
1 400-AJSL 1TB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM (Storage)
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)
1 803-1714 Premium Support, 2 Years
1 801-2185 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Initial Year
1 975-3461 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Extended Year(s)
1 803-1696 Premium Support with Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year Extended
1 803-1695 Premium Support with Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year
1 338-BHXB Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.4GHz)
1 391-BCMX 17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS-Panel Anti-Glare 300-nits Display
1 750-AALQ No Controller
1 451-BBMW 8 Cell 92W Hour Battery
1 340-ACQQ No Option Included
1 450-AAJI 240W AC Adapter
2 332-1530 Dell.com Order
1 658-BCUO Additional Software
1 525-0016 Dropbox, Digital Delivery, 20GB for 1 year Promotion
1 340-AAPP Directship Info Mod
1 340-ATTO Alienware 17 R2 Shipping box
1 332-1286 US Order
1 631-AATV Intel Driver
1 340-ASNH Placemat (English,French,BRPT,Spanish)
1 817-BBBB No FGA
1 389-BHPD Regulatory Label
1 658-BCSC Microsoft Office Software Image
1 817-BBBP None Included
1 389-BHGE Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 Processor Label

 

Nice, looks like it is fully loaded. It will be interesting to see how the larger 8MB cache helps if anything, as the Haswell was only 6MB even on the higher end parts

 

It'll help most with the GA connected and a GTX 980 or higher. The 6820HK will also shine in that area. Won't make a difference with mobile Maxwell.

 

So excited to finally see an i5 Quad core mobile. Even if i just got my AW 15 R1 today. I guess an i7 4710hq 16gb 128gb ssd 1tb hdd gtx 970m and 1080p for $1200 wasn't bad though.

 

Yea the i5 quad is a break through, especially now that is the same price as the old i5 quad, is exciting, don't need hyperthreading to play games, 4 real cores is enough.

Nothing wrong with that setup, if you can buy for cheap then do it by all means, ain't missing out on much considering it the end of the old and start of the new. Transition points aren't usaually mind blowing, later on the goodness shine through though.

 

Did you buy used? 1200 is great for those specs.

 

Coming soon to me! Cant wait