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

[IamTechknow]

Looks like from the second spec sheet in the first post, the laptop could feature the new AMD Zen 4 HX "Dragon Range" CPUs. I'm curious to see how it compares to the Intel HX CPUs when given the same GPU, especially with their huge L3 cache.

 

Unfortunately it looks like AMD's mobile graphics offering maxes out at the RX 7600M XT which goes up to only 120W so we'll see next month 

[ssj92]

It is going to feature dragon range. They will not be out until Q2 2023 though. 

[ssj92]

i9 13980HX is official for m18, good. 

 

[serpro69]

On 2/1/2023 at 10:05 PM, ssj92 said:

i9 13980HX is official for m18, good. 

 

 

Source?

 

I also see a lot of reviews mentioning that M18/M16 with 4080 should be available on Feb 9th, but none of them mention the source of these rumors. I guess we'll find out soon enough :D 

[ssj92]

5 hours ago, serpro69 said:

 

Source?

 

I also see a lot of reviews mentioning that M18/M16 with 4080 should be available on Feb 9th, but none of them mention the source of these rumors. I guess we'll find out soon enough 😄

Official spec sheet has been updated:

 

[PHVM_BR]

5 hours ago, serpro69 said:

 

Source?

 

I also see a lot of reviews mentioning that M18/M16 with 4080 should be available on Feb 9th, but none of them mention the source of these rumors. I guess we'll find out soon enough 😄

Alienware m16 QHD+ 240Hz Gaming Laptop 13th Gen Core i9 16GB Memory NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 1TB SSD Dark Metallic Moon AWM16-9272BLK-PUS - Best Buy

[ssj92]

2 minutes ago, PHVM_BR said:

Alienware m16 QHD+ 240Hz Gaming Laptop 13th Gen Core i9 16GB Memory NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 1TB SSD Dark Metallic Moon AWM16-9272BLK-PUS - Best Buy

The price isn't too bad. But it's m16 not m18, still gotta wait =/

 

Hope the 4090 doesn't take too long to release 

[ssj92]

Taking a look at this pic, I see two 2280 NVMe slots, three 2230 size M.2 slots. Most likely

 

2x 2280 M.2 NVMe

2x 2230 M.2 NVMe

1x 2230 M.2 for Wi-Fi/BT

 

so that's probably why it is "up to 9tb"

 

[1610ftw]

On 2/3/2023 at 9:52 PM, ssj92 said:

Taking a look at this pic, I see two 2280 NVMe slots, three 2230 size M.2 slots. Most likely

 

2x 2280 M.2 NVMe

2x 2230 M.2 NVMe

1x 2230 M.2 for Wi-Fi/BT

 

so that's probably why it is "up to 9tb"

 

 

Thanks for that, crossed off the (now empty) list.

 

Who would have thought that we would get 18" screens back with neither proper storage nor memory options and BGA only. Notebook manufacturers effortlessly turn everything into a huge disappointment these days.

[Maxware79]

I'm not surprised at all with full BGA systems. There's no way things will go backwards (backwards as far as manufacturers are concerned, not the enthusiast consumer). 

[ssj92]

7 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

 

Thanks for that, crossed off the (now empty) list.

 

Who would have thought that we would get 18" screens back with neither proper storage nor memory options and BGA only. Notebook manufacturers effortlessly turn everything into a huge disappointment these days.

The picture is from m16 not m18, but I assume they share a similar motherboard. We will finally find out next week though.

 

Also, I find it crazy that most name brands such as Samsung, SK Hynix, etc. are only selling 2TB NVMe SSDs. Like...what?? Where are the 4TB drives and 8TB drives. 

 

Saberant has 4TB/8TB drives for awhile now, but Samsung still doesn't have a 4TB, crazy. 

[At0mX]

 

[1610ftw]

Just now, ssj92 said:

The picture is from m16 not m18, but I assume they share a similar motherboard. We will finally find out next week though.

 

Also, I find it crazy that most name brands such as Samsung, SK Hynix, etc. are only selling 2TB NVMe SSDs. Like...what?? Where are the 4TB drives and 8TB drives. 

 

Saberant has 4TB/8TB drives for awhile now, but Samsung still doesn't have a 4TB, crazy. 

 

That was cruel 😄 

 

The M18 should be at least 1.5" wider so that could just be enough to offer 4 full length SSDs.

Still I am not fond of the idea to not easily reach the CPU and GPU because they are installed the other way round.

 

Agreed on the scarcity of 4 or 8TB NVME SSDs - it is about time that we get more manufacturers who offer 4 and 8TB.

 

[win32asmguy]

On 2/3/2023 at 10:57 AM, ssj92 said:

The price isn't too bad. But it's m16 not m18, still gotta wait =/

 

Hope the 4090 doesn't take too long to release 

 

I hope they have a config with the 13980HX, 4090, 1920x1200 screen, membrane keyboard and otherwise basic specs for memory and storage, for under 4000usd. It would be worth a test to check out linux compatibility and hopefully is not too noisy under office or gaming scenarios. It would be great if we could somehow convince Dell to support Windows 10 on this model. I cannot really understand the point of including those M.2 2230 SSD slots. May as well just left them out as those drives are neither performant or high capacity. At least the wifi is not soldered..

[At0mX]

Question: the GPU, will it also be BGA or do you believe it could be a daughter card (MXM style) ?

 

I'm amazed at how there are 3 other brands (Acer, Asus, Razer) besides AW are coming up with 18 inch laptops this year, whereas before it was only AW!

 

 

[Aaron44126]

1 hour ago, At0mX said:

Question: the GPU, will it also be BGA or do you believe it could be a daughter card (MXM style) ?

 

Looking at the motherboard render above, there is no indication that the GPU is off on a separate card.  (Dell usually does these sorts of renders properly, with regard to how the system is actually put together.)  In any case, if Dell did separate the GPU, I have no doubt that they'd use their proprietary DGFF "pseudo-standard" and that it would not be interchangeable with systems from other manufacturers (and likely not even interchangeable with other older Alienware/Precision systems that also use DGFF).

[ssj92]

1 hour ago, At0mX said:

Question: the GPU, will it also be BGA or do you believe it could be a daughter card (MXM style) ?

 

I'm amazed at how there are 3 other brands (Acer, Asus, Razer) besides AW are coming up with 18 inch laptops this year, whereas before it was only AW!

 

 

It's BGA. ALL laptops in 2023 (even Clevo) is full bga now. 

 

  

1 hour ago, win32asmguy said:

 

I hope they have a config with the 13980HX, 4090, 1920x1200 screen, membrane keyboard and otherwise basic specs for memory and storage, for under 4000usd. It would be worth a test to check out linux compatibility and hopefully is not too noisy under office or gaming scenarios. It would be great if we could somehow convince Dell to support Windows 10 on this model. I cannot really understand the point of including those M.2 2230 SSD slots. May as well just left them out as those drives are neither performant or high capacity. At least the wifi is not soldered..

 

That should be possible. I did that with Area-51m R1 and that was my plan with m18 

[ssj92]

It's official. 

 

2x 2280 

2x 2230

 

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/alienware-m18-r1-laptop/alienware-m18-r1-setup-and-specifications/storage?guid=guid-a00459e0-2a64-449c-9f02-581bf2e3c2cf&lang=en-us

 

 

Perhaps if I get rid of that fan on the side, I can install 2280s in the 2230 slots lol

 

 

Don't cry @1610ftw looks like there's two ways to install 2280 inside the 2230 slot. 

 

Either remove that size fan or get a m.2 extension cable and stick the ssds somewhere else lol

[Maxware79]

Just if anyone is interested, the m series is the 'no frills' performance line while the x series is designed to be the thinner/lighter range with some more experimental innovations. 

At this stage it doesn't look like there will be a x18.

Also, the m18 is not considered to be the 'Flagship' system. Alienware don't consider any system or product line to be the Flagship. 

[i.bakar]

18 minutes ago, Maxware79 said:

Just if anyone is interested, the m series is the 'no frills' performance line while the x series is designed to be the thinner/lighter range with some more experimental innovations. 

At this stage it doesn't look like there will be a x18.

Also, the m18 is not considered to be the 'Flagship' system. Alienware don't consider any system or product line to be the Flagship. 

well yes i agree with what u said but i think the X series is going to come after the M18 in 2 years or so .. i beleive they will do a similar to what they have done with the 17 series earlier. however i beleive it will be a 18 laptop comming as a flagship from alienware...

i guess they are testing the market with this m18 to see if they should go for an 18  flagship later 

[Maxware79]

Like I said, Dell/Alienware aren't pushing any one system or product line as 'Flagship'. This has come directly from them. They want two separate laptop lines which are directed at different markets rather than one line being considered better than the other. General perception is that the x line is the 'better' line though.  

 

I hope there is an x18 but, from what I've been told, there is no plan for one just yet. 

[Sniffy]

What's the 

On 2/4/2023 at 6:52 AM, ssj92 said:

Taking a look at this pic, I see two 2280 NVMe slots, three 2230 size M.2 slots. Most likely

 

2x 2280 M.2 NVMe

2x 2230 M.2 NVMe

1x 2230 M.2 for Wi-Fi/BT

 

so that's probably why it is "up to 9tb"

 

 

What's that tiny 4th fan for in this render? Memory cooling?

[At0mX]

Hey,

Anyone got their hands on the beast?

Any decent reviews out there including how the sound system works out?

Thanks

[ssj92]

My friend and I just ordered ours yesterday. 

 

i9 13900HX

32GB RAM

1TB SSD

QHD 165Hz 

RTX 4090 

 

Arriving April 5th 

 

Unfortunately 13980HX isn't available yet with m18. If it becomes available before my order goes to production I may cancel and get it with 13980HX. 

[simon h]

This is not fair....i was rich when i bought my last Alienware M18 r2 for £3,800 and now im covid broke at the moment.