Alienware M15 (Brand New Slim Model) - Gamescom 2018

fujipoly are not hard, some references yes, but do you know they make hundreds of different thermal pads for different applications ?
i have some fujipoly thermal pads above Vram on both sides of the motherboard

 

How much warmer did your keyboard get?

 

I corrected my previous post. Alphacool are not hard. Typo.

 

nothing, in fact less as before, i think that the plastic it had increase the heat. but do you need to use a lot of thermal pads as me to avoid contact of the motherboard with the metal plate (directly). it also help to reduce temperatures of the pch, gpu and cpu. not by much, but expect a 3°C reduce on all of them

 

@propeldragon
with the mods i have made, my pc doensnt get hot anymore under any condition
the most remarkable is that the heat that come from the AC-DC plug dissapeared, (i think is because i changed the AC-DC cable), also i can play with the 180W adapter with gpu and cpu overclocked without battery draining or getting hot(back panel area).
i am actually runing the performance power plan and i have my cpu always at 3,5-3,6ghz on all cores.

 

what type of cables did you use for the AC-DC cable?

 

I think your PC will get hot/jealous when AW 13 r3 is near it!

He used battery cable from dead battery.

 

hmm strange. the cable gauge of the battery was the same i think?

 

i made that mod too, but i fianlly used a new AC-DC cable from ebay. i noticed that the cables are a little bit ticker
maybe its a new revision or a generic one with better quality than stock.

edit:

it was really difficult to bend, i think due to ticker wires

 

Nevermind...it's the i9-8950hk config that is not available anymore

 

I actually do like the existing alienware laptops, I have to admit that the bezels are a little too wide, (Though I don't mind if it's the glossy panel, as they aren't that much standing out then, because they have a one piece glossy cover over the complete display surface, not just the panel, but also the bezels).
But I hope that if they do change all the models, that they won't end up like the M15. too much compromises.

So if you guys haven't already seen, there are new nvidia mobile GPU's leaked. The ones leaked so far:

• 2080 MAX-Q
• 2070
• 2070 MAX-Q
• 2060 Ti
• 2060
• 2050 Ti
• 2050

It's confirmed that these are all for laptops.
Knowing this, this is what I wish for.

I want the current alienware 15 or 17 laptop. Just like they are, with their lights, the new per key lit keyboard, etc. (FYI, I do think the thickness of those are actually really good for a Powerhouse gaming machine, also like the fact that the thickness is uniform, I hate shapes that are thicker in one place, and slimmer elsewhere, which mostly is, like from thick backside to thin chin)But these are the thing's I'd wish for:
- I want a 2070 or better, possibly the highest I can get that doesn't throttle
- Like I said, with either thinner bezels or with the glossy cover.
- 1440p screen with at least 120hz rr, that is either OLED, or VA Panel with Quantum Dot. And that with G-Sync

To this, and I'm sold.

That's why I actually LOVE the alienware 13, it comes pretty darn close to those specs, only it's a little too small for daily use, especially at 1440p, + the GTX 1060 is too much of a downgrade for my daily use, coming from a 1080 ti desktop.
Nonetheless, I love the alienware 13 so much, that I got it from my job as my professional machine a couple months back.

I am most likely going to buy the next alienware release that comes with the RTX gpu's, and get rid of my desktop. I hope that I'll like what they'll have to offer.

 

Was there a new leak I missed somewhere? Where is the source to those leaked models? I'd like to take a look. It was my understanding we wouldn't be getting 20XX series but 11XX series for mobile.

 

https://wccftech.com/exclusive-nvidia-rtx-mobility-graphics-cards-lineup-leaked/

 

And notebookcheck has picked it up:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Nvidia-RTX-2000-series-Mobility-GPU-lineup-leaked.337912.0.html

 

If this 15 gets updated with 2070 then I may be interested. Sounds like a solid GPU.

 

Yeah i doubt it's going to be able to have a 2070, tdp will be too high.. 2070maxq sure.

You can see in the notebookcheck link the photo shows only the 17 inchers having a 2070.

Seems like a 2080 non maxq isn't going to be a thing, expectedly.... this means we're not going to be getting even a 1080ti performance in the next mobile refresh.

 

and the 2070 is reportedly only performing slightly faster than 1080 desktop card. If the laptop 2070 is slightly tuned down then its even worse....

Wanted to upgrade the GPU in my AGA but not use for it now I feel.

 

Just watched the AMA. Given the nudges, winks and smiles i think its fair to say we're getting 2070 max q in this chassis. Also the fact they designed it for the 1080 max q says it can handle more.

The worry would be the cost. If they went with vapour chamber cooling as well as 2070 max q for instance that could add another £200 to the machine top end!

 

How long do you keep a laptop? Say 2 years? Is 200 more over that lifespan really so much of a problem? It probably makes sense to just save up for an extra month before purchase so you can get the right config out of the gate. These are NOT terribly upgradeable so best to go balls out and avoid regrets and buyers remorse. At least that is my thoughts on the matter. (Storage and Ram ARE upgradeable, so don't over pay Dell for those any more than you have to )

 

I'm trying to save up! accidentally booked a holiday to Hawaii last night using avios and went up from there! So probably a good thing the max q cards will be out in feb/march! gives me time to save back up!

Basically nothing is set til they advise us of the price. If its £2000 with max 1070, then thtas the same as razer who already have a vapour chamber. So maybe, and weirdly, Razer might be better set up. tho i'm hoping the new cryo tech 2.0 is worth its salt!

 

Yeah I would love to wait out to get a 2070 but I have a $300 gift card and 17% off coupon that both expire December 1st so I will see what they have to offer when they release these new models next week. Hoping that the delay for the release was because of the 8th Gen CPU shortages.

 

Ya, this vs the razer will come down to cooling performance. Otherwise they are very similar laptops. Obviously that is not speaking to customer service and support which is a different discussion. And the fact I already have several spare Dell chargers and an AGA I can reuse with the m15

 

With that setup I'd go for 1070 Max-Q, 144hz 1080p display and i7 8850H. I don't think you'll see the 2070 Max-Q models until March probably.

 

Did they release out the specs yet?

 

Next week is when it is supposed to be orderable, I don't think there are much unknown on specs in the mean time? What do you need to know.

 

I think Oct 26th they will? It's sometime next week.

It'll have i5 or i7 up to 8850H,
1050, 1050 Ti, 1060, 1070 Max-Q,
8GB ram up to 16gb(idk about 32).
1080p 60hz, 144hz or 4K 60hz.
1.4mm key travel keyboard with num pad,
60whr battery (or 90Whr if you don't want the 2.5" HDD bay).
Supports up to 2 M.2 NVMe/SATA SSDs. & 1 2.5" HDD(With 60Whr battery only)
180W AC Adapter

starting $1,299

 

Very safe bet it will support 32 GB of RAM (via 2x 16 GB DIMMs)

Won't be more though. When they refresh some day to 9000 series, maybe then will go to 64 GB

 

Sorry I meant everything I listed should be options from Dell. If I remember, my AW13 ran 32GB of ram but dell only offered up to 16GB.

 

Wasn't it just the 1060 and 1070 Max Q ? I thought they said the 1050 was not an option.

 

Awesome, I guess I be looking to go with this:

Core i7 8850H
GTX 1070 Max-Q
8GB ram or 16GB (I have 2x 16 gig sticks sitting around.)
1080p 144hz Screen
90WHr battery since I have 2x m.2 drives I plan to use.

 

Dell does offer up to 32 GB of RAM on the AW 13. Just checked.

According to this Dell Blog post, the GTX 1050 Ti will be an option (in November). Nothing about a GTX 1050, though.
That said, I don't remember Alienware sayingf\ the m15 would have an i7-8850H.

 

Saw this video posted on facebook by Alienware:



Assuming it is an accurate representation of the cooling, I am encouraged, actually looks more capable than what my 15 R3 has. Cooling was biggest concern with the new design.

 

iMPrOVeD COolINg!!! They say this everytime.

I've learned to just ignore it until we see them in-hand.

 

I was ignoring their pitch and looking at the actual design, the way the heat pipes are laid out, where the screws are, the amount of fins for heat exchange and how they are configured relative to the heat pipes and fans.

 

17hrs battery on idle?? Dynamic overclocking in thin chassis and I think it'll overheat like in the ad.
I can get 20 hrs on idle on 92Wh. Just kidding...

 

Dynamic overclocking - sounds like throttling when needed to me

I accept that most of the time unless tuned, these laptops will throttle these days unfortunately

 

Well to be fair, if you have the heatsink pressing down well enough on the chip dies it does cool very well. The latter is harder to archive with the stock pads unfortunately.

 

The heatsink design looks way better and should perform great. The look reminds me of aorus. I think only dell using the wrong thermal pad size could mess this up.

 

Looks like a old dell Inspiron laptop kinda

 

That screenshot was the exact instant I paused the video to analyze haha

 

Looks like the same heatsink used to cool 7700HQ and 1050 Ti. When both CPU/GPU are working together, fans prefer to spin max for GPU leaving CPU for dead and temp rises upto 90C.

 

They have shown more of the chassis in their latest video and the bottom plate/frame is also magnesium, reminds me of the Vaio laptops which where made exceptionally well with the same materials and construction style.

The onyl thing that I dont like of this laptop is just pretty much the shiny screen bezel.

Hmm this shouldnt be the case. I mean the fans react to both the GPU and CPU's temps but also the PCH temps.

But even with the CPU running on max load with prime95 shouldnt warant high fan speeds. So in each case the CPU should be sufficiently cool. With or without the GPU under load.

 

Its a nice looking machine but honestly to me they are just thrashing. They could have spent the same amount of R&D and redesigned the cooling systems of the current 13, 15, and 17 to work better. They could have added non-garbage FHD 120hz+ display options to the 15 and 17. They could have enabled the mux to work in the new coffee lake models so you could use GSync while doing long gaming sessions, and reboot to Optimus without GSync if you need the battery life. Asus has this working on the GM501 so it is not impossible.

Maybe I am just unhappy that we have yet another thin and light option that will never be comfortable me to use (noise and keyboard temperature wise) while gaming under load, instead of fixing easier problems that exist with the current lineup..

 

Join us....the rest of the disgruntled former Alienware owners. @Mr. Fox , @Papusan , @Ultra Male

 

It’s just tragic seeing Dell bring in the old “m” naming for this thin and light piece of junk.

We will have to see if the model can perform equal as the XPS. Because on Notebookcheck you can see the real Dell branded models have better processor performance than their more expensive Alienware gaming models.

 

Im curious because you have the R4 alienware which is pretty much the same as my 15R3. Did you try a repad? Because afterwards and on other models that I did the temps are nothing more than good.

Imo it was always the quality control and thermal pads they chose but the base heatsink itself is good.

 

No company will invest engineering resources to improve an old product. It makes more sense to bring something new to market that has those fixes in it. They have (allegedly) fixed the cooling and the TN screens. They don't care about G-sync as they preferred Optimus and battery life over it - their words pretty much. If you want G-sync, you can still use an external monitor to enjoy it. Adding MUX adds both complexity and cost they likely wanted to avoid. You will note that the GM501 is an expensive laptop. They also are likely trying to avoid having multiple sets of motherboards to support like they did in the past generation with the g-sync and non g-sync boards. I would wait to see how it reviews before getting too upset, but you get what they give you. Don't like it, have to wait a few years for the new generation or look at other brands.

 

Best to look at another brand if you want something special. There nothing special to look at here. Just another poorly engineered piece of garbage riding on the coat tails of the reputation of a once-great brand that is slowly dying as it moves closer to the bottom of the castrated turdbook abyss. There are equally crappy options available in other brands, but none that used to be as great. It is more grievous for Alienware considering there was a time when they were great. Most of the other brands have never made great notebooks and most have been garbage all along.

 

Even in their prime, Alienware was still just selling branded ODM stuff from Flextronics and Clevo same as everyone does today (XoticPC, Sager, Origin, anyone who is not MSI ,Gigabyte, Asus, Acer, or Razer pretty much that is in the gaming notebook space - left out HP and Lenovo because they are not serious entries). What set them apart was their customer service and their attention to quality and detail. Their first truly novel designs (to me) were immediately after Dell acquired them, that first generation with the M17x, M15x, M18x, M11x were fantastic notebooks, they have been normalizing the brand though ever since then. The M17x was an amazing notebook and the fastest in the world at the time - the ONLY negative on it was the nvidia chipset. For a period, I had the fastest 3DMark Vantage run in the world for a notebook on mine back in 2009. Good luck doing that today in an Alienware....

If you want the old Alienware feel, I think right now that would be Origin - the 3 founders were all ex-Alienware guys from before Dell came in.

The challenge, is that everyone gets to pull from the same parts bin for chipsets, CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, screens, etc. Making a quality laptop that is cooled well, sturdy, reliable, and pleasant to use is what will differentiate each company. They all have the same Core i7 and Geforce chips inside.

 

I beg to differ, Alienware came into its prime with the introduction of the M17x R2 and M18x R2. Alienwares were just rebranded clevos before, but Dell took the company and vastly improved the performance, fit, and finish of the brand up from 2009-2013. All the clevo heatsink fit and finish problems were non-existent on the Alienware platform. Chassis materials were superb. The BIOS (once unlocked) had a host of customization, and the available standard port configuration was rich and functional. From there on, it has slid down further and further, starting with the bastardized Alienware 18 and 17 R1 with secure signed BIOS, removal of several ports for absolutely no reason other than to cut costs, then fully castrating them from by deprecating the 18 inch line and BGA'ing the hell out of the rest of the line up. I'm very fortunate to have taken part of the experience of old Dell Alienware. The unboxing was a spectacle in and of itself, my entire family gathered round to watch me unpack the M18x R1, with an amazingly designed box, the leather bound user manual, cap, mousepad, sleeve, stickers, SPDIF connector, engraved plate on the bottom, etc. It screamed boutique, niche, bespoke. M17x R2 materials are second only to the razer blade, the entire damn chassis and lid were made out of very thick and sturdy aluminum.

Alienware now operates, feels, and looks like any other MSI, gigabyte, acer, clevo "gaming" notebook. This latest model is proof of the madness continuing to descend further and further. Where is the bottom? Soon enough Alienware will be indistinguishable from Dell's XPS lineup.