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Graphics Hardware

Dell Alienware Area-51m Packs Desktop Hardware Into Powerful, Upgradeable Laptop (hothardware.com) 89

Posted by BeauHD from the now-we're-talking dept.
MojoKid writes: Dell just unveiled its latest desktop-replacement class notebook, the new Alienware Area-51m. Unlike most other notebooks, however, the Area-51m is actually packing an array of desktop-class hardware. Intel's Core i9-9900K is an available CPU option, for example, and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2080 will be offered in the machine as well. The Area-51m also supports up to 64GB of RAM via quad SO-DIMM slots, multiple NVMe M.2 solid state drives and a SATA drive can be installed, and numerous 17.3" display options will be available as well, including a 144Hz IPS G-SYNC model. The Alienware Area-51m is also upgradeable, thanks to the use of socketed desktop processors and a custom GPU module. The machine will be available starting January 29th in two color options, Lunar Light and Dark Side of the Moon.
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Dell Alienware Area-51m Packs Desktop Hardware Into Powerful, Upgradeable Laptop More

Dell Alienware Area-51m Packs Desktop Hardware Into Powerful, Upgradeable Laptop

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  • 90 WHr battery (Score:3)

    by vchoy ( 134429 ) on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @02:05AM (#57929320)

    which probably equates to a good uninterruptible power supply (UPS), giving about 30mins to 1 hour of battery time if this bad boy runs at full overclocked and full power speeds.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      which probably equates to a good uninterruptible power supply (UPS), giving about 30mins to 1 hour of battery time if this bad boy runs at full overclocked and full power speeds.

      Then don't run it at full overclocked full power speed.

      Sometimes it is nice to have the capacity to make heavy calculations but that doesn't need that you have to use it.
      If the power consumption you get while typing in your text editor of choice is the same as a lower end laptop then there isn't really a downside to being able to use more power when needed.

    • Good luck getting thirty minutes out of it - the i9-9900K sucks down 95W all by itself.

      • Icelake is such a new series of Intel parts, only the vanguard CPUs were released (in december(?)). There are modifications to those CPUs soon to be released, including an ultra-power efficient laptop CPU version of the i9-9900. You'd probably want to buy the laptop with an previous generation CPU like an i7-8850H, (which has a "cruising" wattage of 45W, but still 6 cores!), confident that when the Icelake low power CPUs come out, you can upgrade to them. Or even wait for the generation after Icelake, bu

    • isn't the reason I need a big case with big fans all about cooling?

      Do they throttle this?

      Does it sound like I'm clinging to the chain link fence on Mako beach as the jet engine wash blows over me?

    • These systems really shouldn't be called Laptops but Mobile Workstations. I have a High End Performance Laptop myself, and the battery on it is about as good as a UPS. I Keep it plugged in most of the time, and unplug it with enough power to get to the next spot, (That is when I am running it on full). If I cripple it, with switching to Integrated Video and 1080p resolution, then I can get a normal laptop time of 4-6 hours of usage. But running on full power is is only about 30 minutes.

      Much like how we h

  • Missing Detail... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ambvai ( 1106941 ) on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @02:42AM (#57929398)

    There's a rather notable tidbit I didn't see in this article that I saw from another: "Alienware is using its proprietary Dell Graphics Form Factor (DGFF) cards for GPUs in the Area-51m, and since neither Nvidia nor AMD has promised that they’ll make future chips compatible with that format, Alienware can’t promise future upgrades either."

    • Additional Missing Details... (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Starting price of $2,549.
      Screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
      No nipples.

      It's really sad older laptops had better vertical resolutions and input controls. Thus this machine won't tempt me to upgrade from my aging frankinpad (a type of modded thinkpad). There's a market need not being met...

      • For a gaming machine with a 17 inch screen, 1080p is fine. If they were targeting it as a portable workstation I would agree, but for games it makes a lot of sense. Wide screen with high refresh and acceptable resolution is fine.

      • > Screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

        From what I understand, panel availability is the main problem. I believe that as of this moment, there's exactly one company that manufactures 17.3" panels with higher resolution than 1920x1080. The panels are 2560x1440 (not 3840x2160), are limited to 60hz, and apparently are known for having poor contrast & saturation.

        I think part of the problem is also that nobody wants to go to the trouble of making a display capable of 2160p120, but making one capable of

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      There's a rather notable tidbit I didn't see in this article that I saw from another: "Alienware is using its proprietary Dell Graphics Form Factor (DGFF) cards for GPUs in the Area-51m, and since neither Nvidia nor AMD has promised that theyâ(TM)ll make future chips compatible with that format, Alienware canâ(TM)t promise future upgrades either."

      Not to mention there WAS an interchangable GPU formfactor out there - it's called MXM [wikipedia.org]. It's designed for laptops and both nVidia and AMD supported it, as

  • That you can upgrade doesn't matter. (Score:3)

    by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @03:02AM (#57929444) Homepage Journal

    The worthwhile upgrades will be on another socket and chipset anyways. It will be interesting for like the 2nd or 3rd potato gamer owner down the line though.

    Also - laptops have had tried to have standards for upgrading gpu for like 16 years now with little success - availability of an upgrade when you would want it is very unlikely.

    It does offer more cpu options though. But that's about it. who cares? there's several laptops now with 2080 if you want that.

  • Damn it, someone finally came out with a laptop that has good specs, a G-sync 144hz display, and a RTX videocard that ISN'T a Quadro... then ruined it by using a keyboard that doesn't have a pointer stick. :-(

  • Why only 1TB? (Score:3)

    by darkain ( 749283 ) on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @03:26AM (#57929484) Homepage

    Why is this thing capped at only 1TB of storage? That's how much I have in my 7 year old 10" netbook that I upgraded. The laptop in the article is a fucking beast, there are 5TB SFF drives now, why don't those work?

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Dell has shipped desktop replacement laptops before that thermal throttle down to the performance of a much more modest processor. I have one.

  • 'Nuff sed.

  • MXM GPUs where not really that changeable and this seems to be the same way with the custom to the system cooling setup.

  • Years ago I bought an alienware because the job I had refused to replace the faulty sony vaio they gave me. The alienware had a replaceable video card, as far as I know no replacement cards were ever made. The video was a joke, it overheated at settings well below what the specs on the card should be able to handle. Beyond that alienware had made a very poor design choice on the LCD backlight switch would would stay stuck down after the screen was opened. Alienware also refused to let anyone send their

  • They put it into a "laptop". With huge "finger doing the air quotes thing" around that word.

  • The implication from the summary "packs desktop hardware into upgradeable laptop" while TECHNICALLY accurate is misleading, in my view.

    It implies strongly that the laptop is using desktop-components to be upgradeable. It isn't.

    It has a swappable module that contains desktop-caliber graphics modules...not like the bog-standard video card you could buy from Microcenter. Certainly, these modules have to be crafted and sold to you solely by Alienware. At Alienware prices.

    This is expected to retail for $2549

  • At 410 mm (16.1") wide, 402 mm (15.8") deep, 43mm (1.7") thick and, according to the product page, and average weight of 4.4 Kg (9.7 lb), the term "laptop" seems to be a bit of a stretch. Perhaps "transportable" might be a better term.

  • Cool. 300 watts. Huge heat blower in the back. You can even dry your hair with it or blow away fellow coffee shop guys yacking on the phone opposite to you. Nice is the small form factor graphics cards. Maybe that technology will also transfer to desktops.
  • This laptop weighs almost 9 pounds and has a price starting over $2,500. Who exactly is the target market here? It doesn't seem that it would be very practical for anyone at that point. I'm surprised it isn't sold with Porsche, Lamborghini, or Bugatti logos on it.

    • I'm surprised it isn't sold with Porsche, Lamborghini, or Bugatti logos on it.

      I am too. It could really drive down the sale price of the laptop with corporate sponsorship.

      • I'm surprised it isn't sold with Porsche, Lamborghini, or Bugatti logos on it.

        I am too. It could really drive down the sale price of the laptop with corporate sponsorship.

        I was referring more to how those three luxury / performance car companies (and many others of course) have become "lifestyle brands" more than anything now. You can easily find Porsche branded t-shirts, Lamborghini branded wallets, Bugatti branded sunglasses, etc at every store in town. The brands represent luxury and excess even for people who cannot afford their products, or more so they represent excessive spending for those who buy only the branded trinkets. A laptop that is an excessive luxury ite

        • I thought I was just piling on the snark. NASCAR is a ridiculously expensive sport. The teams make money by the companies you mentioned putting logos on the cars. Frankly, I think only an antarctic, jungle, or desert scientist that "really" needed to crush ridiculous numbers in a short period of time, in remote locations, could possibly consider getting a 9lb, power sucking monstrosity. Anyone else would really have to consider themselves f--king stupid.

    • College students who want a minimally-compromised gaming system they can easily lug to their parents house for weekend visits and holidays?

      Kids in high school who want a computer they can easily haul over to a friend's house?

      People whose jobs require "travel" in the sense of "living in some city besides the one where you officially live, for days, weeks or months at a time... but not LITERALLY living out of a suitcase and running through airport terminals every day"?

      People whose jobs involve "real" content-

      • College students who want a minimally-compromised gaming system they can easily lug to their parents house for weekend visits and holidays?

        Kids in high school who want a computer they can easily haul over to a friend's house?

        Those are two cases of especially spoiled kids you describe, there. Do they drive daddy's Jag to these events?

        People whose jobs require "travel" in the sense of "living in some city besides the one where you officially live, for days, weeks or months at a time... but not LITERALLY living out of a suitcase and running through airport terminals every day"?

        Those people would likely find the ~9 pound weight of this system to be a bigger hindrance than the benefit they would get from it. Road warriors tend to focus more on weight than GPU performance.

        People whose jobs involve "real" content-creation work that a mere laptop is inadequate for, but still want to have some degree of luggability so they can do demos outside of their office without the risk of having it not work properly on a lesser computer (or the need to waste hours ensuring that the demo DOES work properly on a lesser, more portable computer, making sure they give themselves enough time to fix whatever doesn't work if it DOESN'T work properly on the other computer)?

        Competent content creators know how to display their content on systems that are not on the bleeding edge of performance. If they need to render something they have access to other more sensible hardw

    • People who want a bunch of computing resources, can't/don't want to operate it remotely and don't work in a fixed location.

      It's a lot more conviniant to grab a big laptop from the back of your car and set it up on a desk at a temporary work location then to do the same with a desktop and it's associated collection of perhiperals and cables.

  • the reason replaceable desktop grade graphics never caught on in gaming laptops wasn't just the proprietary form factors it was that if you did even moderate gaming then after a few years the heat made the PCB warp and the memory chips came loose. Then you could bake it for 10 minutes and then throw it up on ebay since it would work for the 2-4 weeks their guarantee lasted.

    There was some standardization around replaceable cards but they were still expensive as heck because of fewer sales and the added c

  • I really have to wonder who's buying these machines. They are quite expensive for the specs. I understand the need for portability, but you could easily build something that fit into a briefcase or two for good portability while still keeping the cost more affordable and getting much better performance. It's not like you can really plan them unplugged anyway. Most of them required dual external power supplies and don't get more than an hour unplugged, if that. We used to have LAN parties just fine when a

  • It probably sounds like a 1U server when running too.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Most "gaming laptops" can only run for about an hour on battery, unless you throttle them way back. Yes, gaming still requires wires!

  • Trusting Dell hardware is like trusting Facebook anti-malware. Once customers can't trust you not to deliberately and repeatedly screw them, your brand name has been permanently poisoned and the kiss of death *should* follow.

    Regardless of the wishes of the many, for me, Dell is forever dead.

    It's a shame Alienware too was lost to the Dark Side of Dell.

  • An actual desk. Four legs unfold from the bottom of the laptop ... Pretty fancy if you ask me.

  • ...and the same stuff will be available in a Clevo chassis for much less than Dell are charging.

    I use one of Clevo's previous generation machines with an i7-6700K and a GTX 1080, with a 17" 4K screen. It's absolutely gorgeous, even if it does weigh half a ton!

    The price of that was something like £1000 (~$1270) less than the big-brands were charging.

    (And yes, you're lucky to get an hour out of it on battery, even just surfing the Web. It's designed to be plugged in, perhaps in an airport lounge or a ho

    • I have an older Clevo, the D900T. Other vendors sold it as the M7700.

      Weighed a ton but an absolute beast back in the day. Still going strong now for general office stuff and games from that era.

      Wish I'd bought more memory though.

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