Expectations of the next releases of alienware laptops

Hi,
I'm an owner of the alienware 15 R1, I am planning to get a new one with the next release because of the reasons:
1: I got a keyboard layout I'm not very fond of
2: no M.2 pci-e
3: Screen still has quite a noticable ghosting.

So I am planning to buy a new one but only if it meets my expectations, so I also wanted to hear from you guys what your expectations are of the next alienware laptops. So not only the Alienwae 15, but also the 13, 17 or if you expect another one to release such as 14 or 18 feel free to add your opinion.

So About the alienware 15:
- I think It's safe to say that Nvidia will release the next lineup of GPU's this year, so of course I don't want to buy a new laptop with the same GPU (980m) I have right now
- It would have been nice to see an oled screen like the alienware 13 will soon have, but not very likely, but if not I'd still like to see a good IPS gsync monitor, now since alienware is not nvidia exclusive this also might be a little difficult to get. But want to see it nevertheless.

These are actually the only things I'd like to see as an addition, other than that, hardware wise, I think it's top notch, from keyboard to design to size, I'm satisfied. Don't care much about the thouchpad though as I practically never use it.

Also about the alienware 13:
- if it had a normal quad core CPU that doesn't have a low TDP, I'd get one of those too from my work, as a work laptop.

 

I think there will be a Gsync version and Pascal range of GPU's the cpu's will stay the same. A switch that an user can choose if he wants gsync or not would be the best. I rather have longer battery life with Optimus myself and all games run at a steady 60fps. So for me this is a good balance. But it depends what you want with your laptop. Thats why an user switch would be nice.

All IPS panels have a certain amount of ghosting. Only TN doesnt have that, but you lose a lot of the image quality ofcourse with TN. I dont notice the ghosting a lot though, I saw much worse. But I dont expect this to change. Oled still has **** load of burn in issues and it doesnt last as long. It may start out with 300nits of brightness. But it will end up with 200 a few years after.

Maybe an evolution of MXM in the future laptops will be nice. So a GPU swap is possible. But not with the loss of portability.

 

Any estimated time frame for the next release? I'm waiting for a better screen to drop into a 15, the current one was so bad for me I returned the machine and for a refund. Looking forward to the next iteration. Currently sitting with my old but gold M17xR3 FTW.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I think I would like to see a line of laptops where they've verified that the cpu can hit the level 3 overclock, or something similar. They can just brand them Alienware: Black Edition or something.

 

I would just change it myself. More control over the panel you want.

 

Woah woah woah, steady on there! Are you suggesting we trust Dell to do proper, verified overclocks?!

Anyway, the vast majority of us with the 6820HK can hit "Level 3". Just not using Dell's settings. @iunlock has had his rocking silly speeds! Mine is not quite so golden but I can get a stable 4.2GHz

 

Haha I agree. Trusting Dells OC settings is like having a monkey enter values on a keyboard and trusting it'll work. Heck, it might even be better than Dells to be honest.

Most people can hit OC Level 3 without issues with custom values. I've seen thermal throttling amongst others be the biggest culprit of BSOD or freezes. I'm also beginning to suspect the power adapter, although 240W may or may not be enough and seems sufficient...but?

I've been using my 330W PSU and have not had any issues with the OC settings that would lock up on 240W...crazy I know... I'm assuming the AW likes the extra hamster on the wheel inside of the 330W?

However, as we've mentioned before OC'ing too high even on the CPU isn't going to bring about a night and day difference in performance. I work with a lot of large files and rendering only to gain a few seconds at most on higher clocks. There's more unwanted heat than anything, which is not worth the trade off for the minimal gain in performance. (My highest benchmarks were achieved while on 4.0-4.1, not 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 or even 4.6 which has been my max OC so far.)

I've found 3.8 to be an excellent cruising speed. Lately I've been temp conservative crazy as you know haha....it's all about MPG for me while being able to get the most out of the silicon.

Powered by: Quad Core Exynos + 6820HK

 

Oh, I certainly can do my own overclock, I would just like them to deal with the silicon lottery rather then me.

 

True true... that'd be nice in being able to know before hand. I'd buy a Black Edition

Powered by: Quad Core Exynos + 6820HK

 

I don't think I will be able to do that and I live in Dubai these days and warranty here is literally non-existent. I am planning to hold on to my horses and wait for the Pascal generation to show up.

Do you think the current HK edition is worth it for us normal users or is it better to save some cash and get a HQ? I don't ever plan on benchmarking and will use the laptop just for gaming and watching porn. That's it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The HQ is sufficient even for intense gaming. The HK is really for bragging rights. JK....nah it does have its place for those like me who do a lot of rendering, editing and CPU intensive tasks. You can't go wrong either way.

 

i Want a RedOled 15.6" display (Full-hd)(glossy and tactile)(gorilla glass 4) with a gtx980 (200W) and i7 6820hk (and another keyboard, i was thinking in something more transparent like a plexiglass).... and definely a full aluminum chasis AMEN!

 

Interesting notes, I thought I'd subjectively go over them:

- Of course having the option of a touchscreen is nice, but like when 4K was just annoucned it was touchscreen, so the ones who wanted 4K had to have touchscreen. The ones who wanted full HD but also touchscreen had no choice but to get the 4K, so that I didn't like as I personally do not prefer touchscreen, but I can totally see why people like it, so having it as an option is great.

- I prefer matte screen, because alienware his matte finish is great, not too matte, not causing the pixels to redirect small colors, it looks very smooth. But I'm fine with glossy.

- That big of a gorilla glass is In my opinion overkill on a laptop, but hey, if you like touch of course why not.

- About the tactile feedback, not sure if that is applicable on a large screen that you aren't holding in your hand, you might not feel the tactile feedback, also since the screen is rather larger I don't know where the motors will be placed and till where they can reach, of course if this means a ticker screen and/or a screen that slightly shakes in order to get an actual feedback you can feel, it's a no go for me. But then again, I don't use touche screen on a laptop so not my cup of tea, but still an interesting suggestion.

- About the keyboard, I totally have to disagree with you, sure they can make changes to it's look, but they HAVE to keep the texture, the shape and travel distance, as the alienware keyboard is one of the best keyboards on a laptop I ever used, and I did use quite a lot laptops when working as helpdesk back at college. And about the plexi glass, sorry but no, if the light directly emits through the object it will be rather annoying. In alienware there is no brightness level of the keyboard, so I'm pretty sure it will brighter then your screen staring directly on those leds.

- About the aluminum chassis. I really like metal. The current ones do have a very thin layer of aluminum on it. Many people thought it was plastic, but I confirmed it with heat and electric conductivity of it. but it's a very thin layer. And the bottom is also not aluminum. Though I don't want the palm rest to be aluminum. I have used it before, I prefer soft touch finish like it is now, bot that is again a very subjective opinion. I'm fine if the cover alone is aluminum. Though I did thought the old designs with 3mm aluminum is slightly overkill if it adds too much weight.

 

The inside has metal though. The motherboard plate and highe mounting points are metal and also under the palmrest itself is a copper metal plate and a plate under the trackpad. The screen are 2 layers of metal though. The outside aluminium an the inside has another large sheet on which the hinges are mounted. I rather see metal used for structural parts than just outside panels that have no structural values whatsoever like on laptops such as the MSI ghost and Gigabyte series.

 

p870dm / p770dm / p750dm equal

 

new razer have chroma keyboard, each key can be changed. @QUICKSORT i was thinking on metal palm rest because in this moment the color of my palm rest changed from black to green :S the soft touch loose the color with the time and clean, the metal doesnt

 

Also...although I wouldn't use the touch screen feature, I would prefer a glass display as they are more solid, better built and sturdier.

If you look at any laptop that is touchscreen, it is much more solid...

My iMac and MBPr are a perfect example of the standards of how screens should look and feel....the bright, clear and vivid colors are a treat compared to boring mattes ....

My 4k display on my 17R3 is amazing though for a matte.

Powered by: Quad Core Exynos + 6820HK

 

Yeah i like it too when the screen is glued onto glass panel. Easier to clean and it maybe sound stupid it but it kinda makes sure no insects can get in. At the office 2 of my desktop screens suddenly had a small insect between the screen layers because they are attracted to light.

 

1 thing I forgot to mention, it would be awesome to see these bad boys in alienware laptops:

http://ark.intel.com/products/93354/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1575M-v5-8M-Cache-3_00-GHz
http://ark.intel.com/products/93359/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1545M-v5-8M-Cache-2_90-GHz
http://ark.intel.com/products/93358/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1515M-v5-8M-Cache-2_80-GHz

friggen newly released Xeon processors for laptops with a TDP of 45 watt.
Though the E3 1515M is what I would go for, as the other ones are way too expensive for the performance difference.

 

Not going to happen. Ever.

For something like that, you'd need to go to a much smaller boutique vendor.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

Last time I visited this forum I was about to order my Alienware 2015 (the beefy version with 4k and a gtx980m). Since my Alienware has recently died due to an angry cup of coffee I'm search for a new laptop again.

I must admit that Alienware 15 wasn't a perfect match. It's heavy it's noisy and the screen is insanely reflective,the maintenance hatch is rubbish, the power brick(240 watt) is humongous, and it's really expensive. Why am I still considering an Alienware you might ask. It has a strong case, it never let me down and most important, it has the best laptop keyboard I ever used.

I originally wanted to go for the 13 but since I'm a (game)developer the low voltage cpu is not up to par. Now that I'm looking for a new laptop I'm considering the 13 again. I really hope that it will get a decent upgrade. Since I develop for VR a GTX 1060 but I would prefer to see a cpu upgrade. If Gigabyte and Clevo(Sager, XMG, BTO, etc) can do it I don't see a reason why Alienware should stay behind.

 

Honestly, I'd consider other laptop brands.

From your post, I get that the laptop you want is:
>> Not heavy
>> Matte screen
>> Not hot and loud
>> Does not have huge power brick
>> Solid construction
>> Good keyboard
>> Owned 15" form factor, but would consider 13" form factor.
>> Need strong GPU
>> Need strong CPU

I'm a road warrior that works on my laptop all day, and games on my laptop at night in the hotel room. So my needs are similar to yours: Portable laptop (and power brick) with solid construction, good keyboard and touchpad, with enough power to run games without being incredibly loud.

My suggestion? Look into the Razer Blade. You can find a smaller laptop; you can find a more powerful laptop; but you can't find a smaller, more portable laptop.

Solid unibody aluminum construction, small power brick, Intel Core i7 6700HQ CPU, nVidia 970m GPU. It's up to you whether you want to wait for the nVidia Pascal GPU refresh. If you really want to target a specific model, try and get a 2015 Razer Blade with the 1080p matte screen. The 2016 Razer Blade models do not offer a matte screen option (just a 3200x1800 touchscreen). The 32x18 screen is fantastic; but if glossy bothers you, get matte instead.

 

You're quite spot on with that list although a matte screen is not mandatory. It might sound contradictory but I actually like glossy screens. It adds solidity of the build and it's easier to clean. It just that the glass on the Alienware 15 is glossy with a quadratic multiplier. I like macbook glossy. Touch is also useful for prototyping with touch interfaces but is not a requirement.

Considering the "New" Razer Blade, it was actually on top of my list but unfortunately it's not available in the Netherlands. Razer eventually decided to finally sell their laptops in the Netherlands but only offer the 2014 (pre-skylake) model for insane prices. The a 2014 QHD model with an 512GB sdd costs 3375 euros which converts to about 2.988 usd.

I also considered many other options but I keep getting back to the Alienware due to build quality, completeness of their systems. The options to add an external gpu is a plus . Did I mention the keyboard.

The list:

>> Razer Blade - I always wanted a macbook with a decent gpu
>> Alienware 13 - Small form factor gaming laptop, better cooling than competitors
>> XMG 14 inch - This German Clevo offers similar speccs to the Razer Blade. IO is all over the place.
>> BTO 15 inch - Dutch Clevo with pascal gpu. It's strong, its fast and affordable but I don't know about the Clevo body.
>> Dell XPS 15 - Great screen and keyboard, weak gpu.Throttles.

 

I hope they make laptops that don't look like toys.

however, my expectation is that they continue making laptops that look like toys.

 

Another interesting option is the Aorus X3 plus v6 which will have the new pascal 1060
More info here
http://www.aorus.com/Product/Features/X3 Plus v6

 

The XMG 14inch is the Gigabyte P34W. Terrible terrible build quality.

BTO is more expensive than XMG by the way. Some laptops up to 400 euro more expensive even.

 

I didn't know that both use the same body, which means that the XMG is off the list. I didn't include any MSI and Gigabyte laptops due to the bad build quality.

Is must disagree about the BTO pricing. The BTO XBook starts at 1429 euro while the XMG p507 starts at 1599. The base configs seem to be similar: 15.6 inch 1080p mat ips g-sync screen, 6700HQ, GTX 1060m, 8GB ram.

 

Specswise this laptop meets all the requirement. Unfortunately is does lack in build quality. It also has a bad keyboard/trackpad and lacks an ips display. Most important, it seems to run very hot. A laptop that runs 97 degrees under full load does not have a long life expectancy.
Sorry, I'm pretty picky.

 

Btw, thank you all for your feedback.

 

Oh when I checked the pricing some upgrade-able machines where priced much higher.

 

Maybe this is an exception. I'm not very familiar with Clevo barebones. BTO and XMG seem to have to have developed a good status over the years but it's hard to find good objective reviews. At least for the BTO models. They both do seem to do much better in their aftersales than the bigger companies.

I intend to visit BTO next week since they are not that far away from my office.

 

I double checked, the casing is different

http://imgur.com/a/0kvDk

 

A fellow dutchy

You are talking about the XMG C405 right? Your picture isnt working so hard to check.

But the C405 is the Gigabyte P34W but with the older V2 silver palmrest instead of the V3 and higher black palmrest.

This is how my P35W came out of the box



Linus from Linus tech tips addressed the issue as well.

 

Nop, the p406. The picture that I uploaded doesn't seem to be working, added a url instead.

 

Ah okay, that one is more durable I expect from how it looks disassembled. ITs a Clevo machine.

 

Concerning the Alienware 13, if it doesn't get upgraded with a 45 watt cpu it might get a Kaby Lake U cpu.

 

No IPS though and a short battery life. It's always something.

 

In the NBC review there was a IPS screen mentioned?

 

My mistake, it's the c406 that uses an ahva panel;

 

If i recall correctly AUO's AHVA is just their version of IPS?

 

AHVA is similar to IPS but not the same. Both have wide viewing angles. AHVA comes with faster response times, IPS with better color accuracy.

 

Out of those, I'd rank them as:

1) A Clevo laptop. They meet your requirements; they are decently built. The BTO 15" can be on the mildly heavy side (2.5kg) for the laptop.
The two major drawbacks of Clevo laptops are: (a) They are probably the blandest laptops you'll ever see. Plain, black / dark-grey plastic rectangles. (b) Cover your eyes, and start working on your leg squats, before you look at the gigantic power brick. It's probably half the size of the laptop.

2) 2016 Razer Blade (if you can find it). Meets all of your specs, and supports eGPU if you need a bit more GPU power for your VR development than what you can find in mobile. This also may be incredibly important, if whatever VR configuration you use runs into problems with Optimus graphics switching, and you require a direct output from a GPU instead.

I'd forget about the Alienware 13, or the Dell XPS 15. Alienware has gone downhill since Dell bought them; and the XPS 15 doesn't have the GPU power to drive VR.

 

Correct. Although I'd say that the difference between AHVA and IPS are minimal, unless you need hyper-color-accuracy (e.g. graphics, photo, or video design).

For anyone NOT doing professional graphics editing, both will be "good enough." And both will be a tremendous improvement over TN panels.

 

It's more a matter of convention I guess. I have always used IPS and am a bit reluctant to change. Don't change a winning team

 

I'm still curious about the Pax West announcements. I didn't expect pascal desktop gpus to hit mobile, maybe, just maybe....

And concerning the clevo, if it surpassed my expectations I might buy it. My main problem with the clevo is that it has to many minor issues that might become annoyances.

pros:
- quadcore
- gtx 1060 of 1070
- upgradability
- very affordable, about 800 euro less than my Alienware 15

cons:
- no 4k, 1440p, touch options
- The audio and ethernet sockets are on the right which conflicts with mouse movement.
- I prefer tenkeyless keyboard due to ergonomics. I use wasd code tkl keyboards at home/work.
- The power brick is bigger than the alienware 240 brick

Maybe I'm just looking for an excuse or am to reluctant to change. I guess I still haven't made up my mind about portability versus power. I have access to powerful desktop systems at work and have a decent build at home that is also VR capable. My laptop to be doesn't have to support VR, although it is a nice addition.

I think portability is winning

 

I have ordered a Clevo/Sager to replace my Alienware 15 r2. Typing this now on the AW and dreading losing this keyboard. This machine also has amazing build quality, and I know nothing can replace it, but I'm going to give Clevo a go. I do like the bland look of the Clevo, though. I am somewhat embarrassed to use my AW in public.

 

I know what you mean. Just got my Alienware r1 back from Dell, still broken unfortunately. Kind of hoping that it starts working again which is very unlikely with a fried mobo. Keyboard still feels great though.

Concerning the look, I used a Macbook pro before bought my Alienware. Always found it hard to accept that a high performance laptop must look like a spaceship. It's either that or some sort of concession. I do like the look of the 13, it's a bit more subtle.
Now I'm considering a clevo I must admit that I might miss the over the top spaceship design.

Which model/config did you order?
The XMG u507 (don't know the clevo model) seems to use a keyboard that is similar to the Alienware keyboards. It very heavy though an probably doesn't have a reinforced backplate.

 

I ordered the thinner/lighter one (Clevo p650rs-g/Sager np8153-s).

 

I know that you said that the Razer Blade isn't really an option for you... but I feel like I must re-insert myself here (giggity).

I use my 2015 Razer Blade for work, including meetings with C-level executives at some very large companies. I use a plain black round sticker on the lid to cover the Razer tri-snake logo; and I turn off the keyboard backlighting. When you do that, the Razer Blade looks just like any other business laptop; plain black rectangle, with no "flash" or "bling" to be seen. The laptop looks like a black 13" MacBook Pro.

Occasionally (about 10% of the time), people will notice my laptop and ask what it is. If I DON'T want them to know I'm a gamer (like the CEO that I'm trying to sell, I tell them that it's just a laptop from a boutique vendor called Razer, and I just like their stuff. If I DO want them to know I'm a gamer (like some IT guy that I can tell is also a fellow nerd), I'll give them the run down about the gaming prowess of the laptop. And it's a single laptop that I carry around, that can handle both work during the day, and gaming at night in the hotel. There's a reason why Linus has used a Razer Blade as his daily carry for the past 3 years

Have you looked into buying one off of eBay, and having it shipped to the Netherlands? eBay scams are far less frequent these days; especially when you buy from a seller that is obviously a company that uses eBay as their online marketplace (e.g. 1000+ reviews, 99.9% satisfaction. Someone like that isn't going to scam you). You can buy a 2015 Razer Blade at a significant discount (about $1400 USD, or $1300 EUR; or a 2016 Razer Blade for market rate (about $2000 USD, or 1750 EUR).

OR.... you could use this as an excuse to visit the US, and buy a Razer Blade while you're here. Go to a city with a Razer Store (like San Francisco), and you can use, touch, try the laptop in-person before you buy. And if you like it, you can just buy one in-person and walk out the store with it that day!

 

Working directly with managers and CEO's but I just always take my AW15 with me. They dont even notice it as long if the lights are off. Only that it is bigger. Than I simply say "It can do more because of it". In the end the work that I do counts luckily.