Alienware M18X - Guessing the Launch Date

I don't know if a thread like this was made or not, and if it was im very sorry. I wanted to make this thread, because I wanted to get your opinion on when this laptop is going to be released. ""zor said today that it will be released in May, but when in May :\ - Someone on here told me it might be before May 16th, which is a good guess but what do you guys think? Post your thoughts!

 

Exactly my main concern, I mean I'm selling My R3 while it's still in its box (didn't even open it ), been working on a crappy old HP laptop my company provided me with for the past 3 months after my own laptop died on me, so I'm beginning to forget what pc gaming even feels like (luckily my ps3 is here to help me through this tough phase).
So I was soooo eager to order today, only to find out the M18X won't release till may
Therefore I'm so anxious to find out when exactly it will launch, but I'm fearing it won't be before mid may since that's when the Z68 is due to be released
Hope I'm wrong...

 

5-11-11
10char

 

I was Hoping it would be released today so I can cancel my order for the M17x-R3 but seems that was a bust. sadly I am in the same position as ryan23 but it seems I am just gonna keep my m17x-r3.

Even if is release the 16th of may it would take at least 1 month and one week to get to us( taking same production time as the m17x-R3) So We would end up getting a laptop in 3rd week of June?

 

Hey, M18x isn't listed on the Dell US website yet. How do we have a subforum for it? :tongue:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/569340-m18x-m14x-shown-canada-website.html#post7360653

 

But it's "officially" official now
And really there are so many questions regarding this model that a subforum dedicated to it had to be created

 

i just hope its released the first week of May, so I only have to wait 2 weeks to buy it, then a week to get it.

 

5-24 is my guess.

 

More than a month away I was going to order an M17X today, but thought that I could wait.

 

May 18. Why?

Well, May starts with M, thus M18, and if you take the a out of May, you get A for alienware, and the y in May is the letter right before X in the alphabet. So Alienware M18x...when filtered through my top secret encryption software spits out, MAX 18 and that is of course May 18th.

Truthfully I have no clue, I just want it here soon, so I can order it, the more time till it goes up, the more time I have to let my mind wander with stupid stuff like the above

 

Good Guess , really creative. I agree with your theory

 

That was hilarious Ynot! LOL!

 

May 18, very creative ahahaha. I just hope its the first week of May.

 

how much are you selling yours for? pm me

 

I would sell you my R3, but i need to return it to AW so I can pay the price difference for my M18X.

 

I don't mean to be flaming, and I used to own an XPS which I loved, other than how often the damn motherboard would stop working, but why would someone buy an Alienware at this point over a Clevo? Can't you get a better computer from Clevo than you can from Alienware, and potentially cheaper?

I too anxiously looked for the specs of the M18x but was hugely disappointed with the geforce 460's..?!

 

I haven't seen a Clevo yet that I would consider "better" than an M17x R2, but I don't think it's flaming for you to express your personal preference. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion. The Clevo x7200 is pretty ordinary looking, but it does have some killer internal components. Is the chassis made of aluminum or plastic?

I love my M17x R2 and was extremely disappointed about the profound compromises in quality found in the R3. But, I'm very excited about the M18x with CrossFireX. I love the fact that it is not smaller than my R2, not lighter than my R2, and not made of plastic. It seems to be another true performance enthusiast's computer that lives up to the reputation the M17x R1 and R2 are famous for.

If I wanted smaller, lighter, mediocre and made of plastic, I'd just go buy a very ordinary, blasé and less expensive laptop at BestBuy, Microcenter or Fry's. I am very pleased that Alienware has not abandoned their hardcore monster laptop fans.

 

12-12-12 ?? JK i say may 10

 

Aluminum mostly, to the best of my knowledge.
I was a huge fan of Dell's until I learned of Clevos, and still am I guess of the Alienware's since those replaced the high end XPS's from Dell, but the Alienware laptops just don't seem to compete well anymore from my perspective. Perhaps Dell continues to sell laptops to the high end consumer because they simply are unaware of better brands, like I was? It is also my understanding that at one time Alienware would purchase and rebrand Clevo laptops as Alienwares. I do understand brand loyalty though and Alienware still has a decent name.

I customized a laptop on Avadirect's website (Not the cheapest place to buy a good Clevo) and on Alienware's Website. I found that a higher spec Clevo was cheaper than a maxed out Alienware, and the Clevo still had higher end options I didn't choose. I'm just posting this to explain my perspective:

Clevo: i7-2920XM Extreme Quad Core
Alienware: i7-2820QM

Clevo: Radion HD6970
Alienware: Radion HD6970

Clevo: 16gb DDR3 RAM
Alienware: 16gb DDR3 RAM

Clevo: 750gb 7200RPM HD
Alienware: 750gb 7200RPM HD

Clevo: $3,126.50
Alienware: $3,279.00

The Clevo used in this comparison was the 2nd best Clevo offered, the P170HM, and I did not max out the options. The Alienware used was their highest spec 17x with hardware options maxed out. The x7200 you see in my sig is the highest end Clevo offered and Alienware/Dell does not offer anything in this class.

I guess the question could be quality of Alienware vs Clevo, the personal reviews though seem to suggest Clevo, or specific resellers of theirs, offer higher quality service and products than Dell.

If you think I made an error in comparisons or failed to consider something important offered by the Alienware please let me know if ya have the time.

I'm a huge notebook geek and have lusted after the highest end laptops since I was a kid, plan on purchasing the best one I can find next month, and would love to be shown why I'm wrong choosing the clevo (Not being sarcastic here)

P.S. I've stolen your dog pooping apple pic. kthx

 

I don't think anyone ever bought an Alienware because it's the cheapest, we buy Alienwares because we want to have a beastly game machine, that also looks amazing, and has a cool factor unmatched by other companies.

 

The Alienwares sure do have the most unique/debatably-best styling on their laptops out of everyone, I'll give them that. They also have the best or widest known public image in the gaming-notebook industry I think.

 

The simple answer at this point is NO.


You really need to look at a lot of the old posts on the Sager forums, some of the What laptop I should buy forums and these forums to get your answer. Using information from 5 years ago is not accurate today.

There are a ton of people who have moved from going with Sager to Alienware, me included. You can look up some of my old posts as well as some I've seen from others here and even on the SAger forums

I have yet to find anyone selling their Alienware M17x R3 for a Sager 8170.
Zippo, nil, nothing...

In terms of price, the Alienware at times is CHEAPER than the Sager for a ton of reasons posted many times over.

Please read or search before posting old blanket ignorant information from 5 years ago.

Oh yeah, Sager is still waiting for their 6970 I believe...and are dealing with their computer freeze issues.

Also, you can easily haggle with Dell and get from 10-30% off. Some people here bought the M17x R3 for 30% off list. Not to mention easy to find coupons...better support, etc...Just do a quick search or look at some of my old posts. Been through this before and so has a ton of other people here and in the Sager forums.

 

This thread is getting a bit off topic, this thread is for the release date of the M18X, with rumors, guesses, etc.

 

I did quite a bit of research and my information, especially what I just posted, is current.

Telling me to go read through all your posting history and do searches for complaints on Alienware and Clevo/Sager, which coincidentally I've already done, is a cop out.

You're saying my information is ignorant yet you post nothing to actually support your claims.

The Clevo's are higher end computers made by a consistently better reviewed company. I've not only owned several top-of-the-line XPS's, but also managed networks with over 1200 Dells. You can't win an argument by mentioning a "Freezing" issue on a Clevo model as evidence their quality is worse than Alienware or Dell.

Also, why do I need to look at older Sager forum posts and not current posts? You tell me not to use outdated information and then point me towards outdated information.

I would suggest you haven't found anyone selling their Alienware's for Clevos because most people buying Alienwares aren't aware of Clevos, or they did the research and purchased the 8170 first, but that is just a guess based on things like.. it being a higher performing and better built machine (based on user feedback), and less expensive.

I came into this thread to discuss the differences and genuinely figure out why people are preferring Alienware, which so far I've gathered is because they didn't know about Clevo, they trust the Alienware brand/image more since it's larger and better known, Alienware is aesthetically more appealing to specific people, or for your reasons.. because a few years ago there were apparently poor reviews for Sagers.

Clevo resellers will also give discounts over the phone for various reasons by the way. So far I don't see an actual technical reason to get an Alienware over a similar Clevo.

Since I don't want to turn this into a huge flame war I'll go ahead and stop posting more in this thread except to reply answering questions someone may ask.

 

Yeah, my bad. I doubt the moderators would encourage a debate over this anyway. I was just curious as to why someone would choose the Alienware.

 

Glad you like the dog! I thought it was pretty cool.

I would not say you're "wrong choosing the clevo" and I did not take your invitation to be proven wrong as sarcasm. I would consider that your personal preference and I respect that. However, I will not be burning any calories on your invitation simply because I'm not interested in attempting to persuade you to think differently than what you do. It's OK to be a Clevo fan-boy, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm an Alienware fan-boy. When all the dust settles, opposing opinions are pretty much irrelevant and all that really matters is that you're satisfied with what you've got. So, with that understanding I will simply respond by saying thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

I have heard there are a number of technical problems with the Clevo and Asus gaming laptops. I started out with an XPS M1730 and that thing was a POS. It had a solid chassis build quality, but it was very unreliable and I am not interested in going down that road again. I received the R2 as a replacement for the M1730. I've never been more pleased with a computer than I am with my R2.

I have no incentive whatsoever to move away from Alienware, as I am very happy with the product and service. I opted for the upgraded 4-year Complete Care next-day on-site warranty, and the value I received for that extra money was pretty great. I find it hard to believe that Clevo would be able to improve upon the service Dell has provided to me, but I would not go as far as saying that it's impossible.

All things being relatively equal on the performance front, I would still choose an R2 or M18x over a competing brand for the Alienware design, and gladly pay a few bucks more for the unmatched good looks and brand name.

As I mentioned before, I'm pretty stoked about the M18x. I'm looking forward to seeing what the early adopters have to share with us. Hopefully, there will not be any big customer let-downs like there was with crummy build quality of the R3. I'm an early enthusiast, but not an early adopter. I never been one to be overly-eager to spend a lot of my hard earned money on something before the version 1.0 bugs are worked out.

 

Every company's got its issues.... my Alienware M11xR1 has pretty much fallen apart (and overheats), to make no mention of the hinge issue but it was a well built machine

It comes down to what hardware you want.. a 6970M + 2nd gen Core i7 in a 15.6" form factor makes the NP8150 very attractive to me, but if you are willing to go up to the 17"/18" form factors, the M17xR3 and M18x are incredible for their price

 

Last post by me on this here since this is off topic, you can read "1" of my messages here since search is actually hard to use on these forums:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...0856-alienware-m17x-r3-vs-sager-np8170-7.html

There are various reasons, both technical and not technical. When I said older, I mean older within the last 2 months tops! The few year ago comment was about Alienware being a LOT more expensive a few years back compared to now...

 

No, you actually did. This topic is about the M18x launch date and not about Clevo vs Alienware which you can address in the "Which notebook should I buy section" where all empirical evidence of problematic lines of laptops can be shown there.

I hope the mod comes through and comes and clean this up after seeing two abysmal arguments that;

1) XPS line = AW
2) Clevo is an inherently less problematic laptop company

 

Okay let me make this very brief so we can go back to our thread's topic.
First, price wise Clevo/Sager is by no means cheaper, yes when configuring online it's a bit cheaper, but call Dell and haggle a bit and see how much cheaper the Alienware becomes.
Second, you asked for reasons to buy an Alienware over a clevo? Here you go: MUCH better screen (and that's not including the R2's RGB led screen which is in another league), better speakers, better keyboard, better looks, better support, more ports (HDMI in/out for instance), etc.
The screen, keyboard and speakers alone are enough to seal the deal for me, these are the things you use the most in a laptop, and in the Alienware laptop they are top notch.
And finally as far as performance goes, they are so similar that it's irrelevant to buy one over the other for its better performance, because both are great performing machines, so what it's gonna come down to are the things you notice in every day use, which I mentioned before.
I hope the idea is very clear now so that we can close this discussion and get back on topic, or we can discuss this elsewhere.

 

can't wait for m18x release , btw I don't see any laptop out there has beautiful keyboard like Alienware yet , most of them are white , NP8170 doesn't glow in dark lol , I'll still chose Alienware , no one screw with alienware

 

While I appreciate your enthusiasm for your newly ordered machine, what you are doing ( even if you dont believe you are ) is pretty much trolling in an attempt to start some sort of my computer is better then yours thread.

Coming to another forum with an agenda and pre-set conclusions will net you a lot of negative responses. If what you really desire is an open discussion of differences then you have approached this topic in the wrong way.

For me, while I appreciate clevo/sager for their specs, price point and performance, it boiled down to visual appeal to me and confidence in the warranty. I like the way Alienwares look and I have decided I am willing to pay extra for that look, which is what I am in fact doing by choosing Alienware. I also like how Dell has so far handled warranty issues for me.

I was going to order a sager a few months back, but I couldnt bring myself to do it, as I do not like their cases, and the same could be said for origin. ( former alienware heads who formed a new custom gaming machine company ) While many of these machines equal or exceed the specs on paper, I didnt feel connected to or attracted to the machine and for me, that doesnt work. If I am going to be using the machine, I want it to make me want to pick it up, and enjoy looking at it.

Now as to if you like the style and design, thats a personal preference thing and one that is all about the consumer. Some people say Alienwares are nothing but overpriced boxes of flashy lights. Hey, thats their opinion. I quite enjoy them and their style.

Some might say its style over substance but I disagree, I believe Alienware offers both, good substance and good style and you pay extra for getting both imo and I am okay with that.

 

Only you don't pay extra anymore to get an Alienware over a clevo, might have been the case at one point in time, not now.

 

Briefly off topic: X7200 looks like this:



And Alienware looks like this:


Let's say the two above have relative same price points, same engines under the hood, same reliability, same customer services. Which one would you choose?

Is that clear and enough for why we choose Alienware?

And don't bring out $100-$200 difference in price. Because you would save a lot more than that with an AW when X-mas comes. Who needs an X-mas tree with 12 zones lighting LED ready to serve?

Back to the topic: I guess September That when I'll buy M18x

 

+1 rep just for the Lamborghini's pics, not to mention the good point you made

 

^^^What he/she said.

Love it, love it, love it! Exactly!!!! And the tail lights kinda resemble the speakers on M17x's.

 

I'm going with M(ay)18 as my guess for the release date.

 

Beside the good reasons posted here, try to imagine which other brand (in the world) offer a NBD worldwide in site warranty service like Dellienware... Which I, as almost a 20 years Dell consumer, have being enjoying and even in very inaccesible sites (like in the middle of the waters at the Peruvian Amazon river...)
Yeahh, almost forgot it: I also think May 18 is a good day (like any other)...

 

I think Alienware will wait until they get more life out of the battery first. I heard about some chipset Intel will release in May that could help out a laptop that size deal with power issues. Sorry I can't find the exact posts, but it made me think about the coincidental timing.

 

Since the M18X will be launched only in May, it makes sense to me that it would be announced somewhat along with an IT show/fair...

There's the Computex in Taipei running from May 31st to June the 4th 2011...

Thre's the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in LA running from June 7th to June 9th 2011...

Both of them are mostly in June, only the Computex begins on May 31st...

So, if not before, I would assume the M18X will be presented on May 31st at the Computex...

This timeframe would allow them to fine tune their baby, so it's most likely ready on launch date...

Just a thought though !

 

Back in February was reported that the new Intel’s Z68 chipset has entered production stage and the “launch” of the Z68 may be starting May… Maybe the Aliens at Dellienware are expecting this launch to start landing the new alien mothership in our front yards?

 

While we would all love to see that happens, it's not likely since their manual is already ready (...) and states clearly this guy will be on HM67...:



But hey, it's free to hope & wish !

 

Manuals always can be "updated"...

 

Absolutely true, especially when the baby is not even born...

However, I fear the "update" will concern the M18Xr 2 instead of the M18Xr 1's manual...

Time only will tell...

 

something to speculate about:
"CEBIT 2011 is going on in Hannover, Germany and boards based on Intel’s upcoming Z68 chipset have been showcased there. The boards were displayed by different vendors which include P8PZ68-V Pro from Asus, Z68A-GD80 from MSI and Z68X-UD4H from Gigabyte." [...] All of the boards included the LucidLogix Vertu chip which will allow the board to switch the load from the CPU to a discrete graphics solution allowing the CPU to process other tasks. The Z68 chipset is almost identical to the P67 and H67 chip with the difference only being the RST (Rapid Storage Technology) SSD caching feature. This feature allows paging and caching to take place on SSD’s instead of hard drives making a small performance boot, This feature can only be useful if you’re using a SSD and could also prove useful on laptops. "
Source: http://wccftech.com/2011/03/03/boards-based-intels-upcoming-z68-chipset-revealed-cebit-2011/
So, we still can hope!

 

i think the delay is for the PSU or for the graphic card .

 

Not soon enough is the date. I will be available for my upgrade probably when the R2 is out, which is hopefully Ivy.

 

I highly doubt a Z68 chipset in the M18x for now. I don't think there is a mobile version of the chipset yet and the desktop version is already delayed even further to May 11th (according to softpedia)

I am concerned that the delay of the M18x has to do with the SLI configurations for the 6970Ms. I found it quite strange that the first ever review of the system has a single 460m in it when one of the most important features of the M18x is SLI.

In short...I am afraid we are going to be Dells guinea pigs again for the quality control of the M18x

 

Actually that review was updated with 460m SLI benchmarks, re-check it out:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1160/pg11/alienware-m18x-laptop-review-3dmark-11.html

 

Yeah thats true I see that now. So what a happened? Did they get an additional 460m later on or did they just run a single 460m in the first review. I could swear the system specs of their review unit yesterday said single 460m.