The Beast Returns - Alienware m18 - i9 13980HK 24c/RTX 4090 Mobile

[ssj92]

Now back in BGA form unfortunately. This is probably going to be the best laptop at CES it's looking like, especially with Clevo's all bga X370.

 

I will be buying one and reviewing it. For now, enjoy the documents below. 

 

it will have:

 

Intel Core i9 13980HX (highest spec)

2xDDR5 So-DIMM Slots (Official support is 64GB, but if we get 64GB DIMMs it may change)

4x NVMe PCIe M.2 slots (Don't see why one couldn't do 4x 8TB NVMe SSDs instead of their 9TB claim)

RTX 4090 Laptop (150w + 25w Dynamic boost, has a 2040Mhz boost clock)

18" 2560x1600 165Hz or 18" 1920x1200 480hz display with 100% DCI-P3 Color Space

330w AC Adapter (uses same one we've used for the last decade with the option of the new SLIM version)

97Whr Battery (I am glad it's high capacity)

Full vapor chamber cooling on CPU & GPU 

 

My biggest concern will be sound quality. X16 is advertised with 6 speaker sound system but m18 doesn't have any mention of sound quality. 

 

You can access the full press kit with more pics and full size documents here: Alienware Revamps its Iconic Laptop Armada at CES 2023 (alienwarearena.com)

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[serpro69]

At first glance this looks like one of the best laptops this year will have to offer. I'm considering it as a "workstation replacement", precisions were are such a disappointment last year and I don't expect any miracles this time around.

Very interested to see some reviews once they're released and also thinking about going the AMD-route if they'll be good enough.

I'm also eyeing M16 because I'll probably go for portability if they both have same features and the only major differences are screen size and number of ports. Especially interested to hear about the cooling solution in M16.

 

PS: I think you've a typo on the CPU? (Both in the title and description)

[ssj92]

11 minutes ago, serpro69 said:

At first glance this looks like one of the best laptops this year will have to offer. I'm considering it as a "workstation replacement", precisions were are such a disappointment last year and I don't expect any miracles this time around.

Very interested to see some reviews once they're released and also thinking about going the AMD-route if they'll be good enough.

I'm also eyeing M16 because I'll probably go for portability if they both have same features and the only major differences are screen size and number of ports. Especially interested to hear about the cooling solution in M16.

 

PS: I think you've a typo on the CPU? (Both in the title and description)

Thanks, fixed typo. I am going Intel/nVidia personally. AMD won't have a competitor to RTX 4090 laptop, maybe 4080. Also I did some math and from my calculations, the i9 13980HX should beat out AMD'd 16c 7945HX cpu. 

 

If you are looking for portability, I may suggest the Alienware X16 instead. It should still provide most of the performance but in a thinner/lighter form factor. 

 

it is limited to 14 cores though (13900HK) so if you need all 24 cores, you will want a m16 or m18. 

 

m16 should provide most of the performance of m18. 

[simon h]

Looks quite slick. With 4x m.2's you could RAID 6 it. (4x8TB RAID 6)....I would be mad though, 1 more drive for 5x8TB RAID 10.... so close! Looking at the RAM, the options are up to dual channel 64GB 4800Mhz only. I would only go 16GB max here when buying the laptop. I say that because, i would be looking to replace their best 4800Mhz option with much better RAM....overclocked too no doubt, assume it has XMP in the bios. Best to then only have 16GB to dispose of and not 64GB, i think that would be prudent. In fact i would choose the lowest RAM and drives with a view to replace / add afterwards. 

[simon h]

So...see you in 11 years then......keep this forum open !!!

[serpro69]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:02 AM, ssj92 said:

Thanks, fixed typo. I am going Intel/nVidia personally. AMD won't have a competitor to RTX 4090 laptop, maybe 4080. Also I did some math and from my calculations, the i9 13980HX should beat out AMD'd 16c 7945HX cpu. 

 

If you are looking for portability, I may suggest the Alienware X16 instead. It should still provide most of the performance but in a thinner/lighter form factor. 

 

Yeah, I'm also thinking that the Intel CPU should beat AMD in performance if there's enough cooling.

On the GPU side, I probably care way less about it, and will likely not go for the top one unless the price makes sense.

 

Nah, I'm by no means looking for a "light and thin" laptop heh. I do like the M18, but it weighs around what, 4.5kg? That, plus charger, mouse, etc and I don't think it will be fun to carry to work daily lol. M16 in this case looks like a better alternative if it can provide the same performance.

 

Also, I don't think we're getting 13980HX, but rather 13900HX, isn't it? At least the specs only mention 13900HX. Although they seem to be pretty similar anyways, I don't really expect that much gain from 13980.

 

[serpro69]

I'm sure most who are interested in this laptop have already seen the initial "pre-reviews", but just to collect some links in this tread:

 

- https://www.tomshardware.com/news/alienware-m18-bigger-screens-ces-2023

- https://www.ultrabookreview.com/60886-alienware-m18-m16/

 

It's interesting that some reviews actually mention 13980HX. I still trust the official specs a bit more, but I guess time will tell :)

[electrosoft]

Such a monstrous beauty.

 

If you're into raw performance and big screens, this will effectively kill off every last true "DTR" Clevo model out there in every aspect (except noise maybe) as the 4090 mobile model represents the first major leap in performance in quite a while since Turing.

 

That i9-13980HX is going to be a wrecking ball for multi.

 

[ssj92]

It will be 13980HX trust me 😉 it will have both,

 

webcam is also 1080p apparently according to alienware. 

 

 

[1610ftw]

5 hours ago, electrosoft said:

Such a monstrous beauty.

 

If you're into raw performance and big screens, this will effectively kill off every last true "DTR" Clevo model out there in every aspect (except noise maybe) as the 4090 mobile model represents the first major leap in performance in quite a while since Turing.

 

That i9-13980HX is going to be a wrecking ball for multi.

 

 

It should be great - except if you need 128GB memory. Where else are we supposed to get that if not in the biggest DTR of this generation?

 

Looks like the MSI GT77 and its Creator variant will remain the only high performance options with 4 memory slots but they don't have an 18" screen...

[Komputers-Best]

I think they will not stop there, they will see how sales will go and then if you look at the old line, they will release a good-quality M18 R2.

[ssj92]

8 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

 

It should be great - except if you need 128GB memory. Where else are we supposed to get that if not in the biggest DTR of this generation?

 

Looks like the MSI GT77 and its Creator variant will remain the only high performance options with 4 memory slots but they don't have an 18" screen...

We will probably get 64GB SODIMMs like how we got higher capacity DDR3 and DDR4 modules later on. 

 

Who knows, maybe the spec sheet is wrong on the dimm slots too like how it was for the webcam lol 

[razor0601]

How much will it cost with RTX 4090 and highest CPU?

[serpro69]

49 minutes ago, razor0601 said:

How much will it cost with RTX 4090 and highest CPU?

 

This is the best info we have so far:

 

Quote

The Dell Alienware m18 and m16 are expected in stores around the end of Q1 2023, with the high-end configurations available first, starting at $2899 for the m18 and $2599 for the m16.

 

Something tells me that highest-end configs will be north of 3k USD, I can't see it being cheaper than that.

[electrosoft]

1 hour ago, razor0601 said:

How much will it cost with RTX 4090 and highest CPU?

 

18 minutes ago, serpro69 said:

 

This is the best info we have so far:

 

 

Something tells me that highest-end configs will be north of 3k USD, I can't see it being cheaper than that.

 

I'd expect a 13980HX + 4090 model to cost close to or over 4k.

 

 

[jaybee83]

all BGA Clevo X370? more info on that please so i can properly vomit and mourn.... 😅

[ssj92]

1 hour ago, jaybee83 said:

all BGA Clevo X370? more info on that please so i can properly vomit and mourn.... 😅

 

https://www.clevo.com.tw/product/product_content/1/30

 

 

@razor0601 my brand new Area-51m with i9-9900K & RTX 2080 was $3840, but I got a decent discount with my 4-year complete care warranty. 

 

I expect high end to be around $4k. 

[jaybee83]

13 hours ago, ssj92 said:

 

https://www.clevo.com.tw/product/product_content/1/30

 

 

@razor0601 my brand new Area-51m with i9-9900K & RTX 2080 was $3840, but I got a decent discount with my 4-year complete care warranty. 

 

I expect high end to be around $4k. 

 

whats wrong with this picture....? EXTREMELY LIGHTWEIGHT?! seriously?! *facepalm*

[1610ftw]

7 hours ago, jaybee83 said:

 

whats wrong with this picture....? EXTREMELY LIGHTWEIGHT?! seriously?! *facepalm*

It would be more honest to just retire the X-series. This is insulting.

 

[ssj92]

The fact that Clevo decided not to enter the 18" market like everyone else shows have they have fallen. 

 

The m18 will be one of the best options for sure. They used the thicker m chassis instead of lightweight x chassis.

 

I am still looking forward to get more info on the m18 as I want to know about the speakers too. 

[1610ftw]

On 1/8/2023 at 5:40 AM, ssj92 said:

We will probably get 64GB SODIMMs like how we got higher capacity DDR3 and DDR4 modules later on. 

 

Who knows, maybe the spec sheet is wrong on the dimm slots too like how it was for the webcam lol 

 

It would be nice to get those 64GB memory sticks but I will not bet the house on it 🙂

Alienware did away with 4 slots after the first 51m so I would be very surprised if they returned.

 

For my work I prefer 4 SSD slots, 4 memory slots and RGB lighting on the keyboard in order to color code certain shortcuts and currently only MSI produces such a machine and sadly with the new GT77 starting in February they will drop the 4th SSD slot.

[1610ftw]

11 hours ago, ssj92 said:

The fact that Clevo decided not to enter the 18" market like everyone else shows have they have fallen. 

 

Not sure if it would have been so easy for them to get access to those panels but it looks like they are going for thin and light anyway so a bigger panel would not have helped with that. Even back when Alienware, Asus and MSI still had 18.4" panels Clevo did only have 17.3 panels so I am not sure they would be willing to go that route even with a heavier model - missed opportunity in any case.

 

You can also see the level of excitement for it when you look at its thread in the Sager / Clevo section - oh wait, nobody bothered to start an X370 thread... 

[ssj92]

6 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

 

It would be nice to get those 64GB memory sticks but I will not bet the house on it 🙂

Alienware did away with 4 slots after the first 51m so I would be very surprised if they returned.

 

For my work I prefer 4 SSD slots, 4 memory slots and RGB lighting on the keyboard in order to color code certain shortcuts and currently only MSI produces such a machine and sadly with the new GT77 starting in February they will drop the 4th SSD slot.

Wow I didn’t realize the Area-51m R2 only has 2 sodimm slots. I can do 128gb on my R1 (have 64gb right now). 
 

My X58 board was supposed to do 12gb originally, then it did 24gb thanks to 4gb dimms, now I’m at 48gb thanks to 8gb dimms. It can happen with ddr5 as well. I remember it being mentioned somewhere when ddr5 was announced that we would be getting higher density ram. 
 

 

clevo did have an 18.4” laptop, the x8100. Their first all bga laptop the x270 never came out as far as I know. Most of us went to Clevo for their upgradable laptops. Now that no one offer it, it’s down to what laptop offers everything one wants. 

[Linux]

The sub-par 300nits on the display must be a typo? They cannot be serious with this in 2023.

[ssj92]

I see it as two ways.

 

1) It really is 300 nits typical brightness and the peak isn't accounted for (I honestly prefer measuring this way) so we are going to have a display that isn't that bright (which is weird because there are other 18" panels that are 240hz and higher brightness

 

2) It is a typo and we will be shocked (doubtful on this) 

 

I'm fairly confident this is the 2560x1600 panel:

 

N180GME-GAA Specification & Datasheets - Panelook.com