Dell Alienware 13 Notebook Review

[Redaktion]

Small chassis, big performance? After products with 11 and 14 inches, the gaming experts from Alienware now offer a 13-inch product. Our article tries to focus on the question if a dual-core is sufficient for the GeForce GTX 860M and the external amplifier.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Alienware-13-Notebook-Review.133602.0.html

[Rinnnnn]

i5 4210U???  Wth is Dell thinking? They could just use a standard voltage CPU, at least the i5 4200M or maybe even i7 4700MQ.  If they wanted to use ULV CPU so badly, why not just use a very fast one, such as the i7 4558U

[Afshan akely]

Nice stuff overall found here, After some days ago, I need to install latest
Operating system windows 8.1 pro at my notebook, So I install with it
from my DVD suit, But with getting its activation, I saw product key was
lost.
I search at yours as well as many other sites to buy it, but its
all were free & blocked from Microsoft. Then One of my friend tell
me about ODosta Store
Where I bought, Which is working well now.

[jerome]

they probably designed the laptop bearing in mind that intel wouldn't have delayed the next gen broadwell low voltage processors, they could've put at least a 25-35w processor however, this is a failing laptop...

[Rinnnnn]

they probably designed the laptop bearing in mind that intel wouldn't have delayed the next gen broadwell low voltage processors, they could've put at least a 25-35w processor however, this is a failing laptop...

Indeed, a fail from Alienware. Better off waiting for the MSI GS30 - has a i7 4870HQ and intel iris pro 5200 and also the same graphics card dock just like this Alienware. But MSI GS30 has a better future proof with that powerful i7 4870HQ

[Expensive Mess]

Wow, this whole laptop concept from Alienware is just one expensive & inefficient mess - anyone with any kind of technical knowledge (especially the numpties of all the Dell Engineering Dept) would know that putting a weak dual core CPU in a gaming notebook with an 860M, let alone when combined with a desktop card in the Graphics Amplifier Box, is going to create a massive bottleneck & huge reduced performance!  They could have easily put in a decent i7 47W CPU into that notebook, and then this Graphics Amplifier concept would actually be worth it.  I'm flabbergasted by Dell's botch job on this - it makes me angry that they're going to be selling something where the GPUs (both the weak 860M and the desktop card in the Graphics Amplifier) will be choked & running severely inefficiently due to the joke of the low voltage dual core CPU.

Don't buy this laptop unless you have more dollars than brain cells!

[gary]

Got to agree, you would be mad to buy this DELL as a gaming notebook and brings into question the credibility of the review.

How could you recommend this as a gaming notebook when it fails to run games effectively.

Further, it is heavier, thicker and slower than the Gigabyte p34g v2 and has a smaller screen... come on guys get real with your reviews.

As for aesthetics, not everyone wants to flag they have a gaming computer, I would suggest most want a professional, powerful, light, compact notebook aka Macbook.. not a flashing light, transformer toyed and ugly badged device..

[Nguyễn Thế Phúc]

I guess they will be shipping the i7 4510U model in 2015 (according to the website)

[me]

Am I the only one thinking that luv processor is the best thing about this laptop.

My life is not all about gaming, most of the time  I do simple tasks like web browsing and programming. Battery life is very essential to me. I would not pay more for better cpu but i would pay more for 2k screen. It even surprise me when it run most of my game smoothly in 2k.

Just curious what tasks do you guys need faster cup for?

[gary]

Anyone who is in the creative professions, using graphics intensive processing, 3d modelling, rendering, real time animations, video, image and sound processing.

Me, I travel extensively around SE Asia, and as an architect want an professional looking, powerful, light, quality screen notebook.

Macbooks used to fit that bill but have fallen way behind in GPU performance and are now only style over substance. And personally I never liked the closed MAC ecosystem.

Battery life isnt so important to me, I plug into mains wherever I go and 2-3 hours is enough for any flights or unexpected presentations.

[Vlad Bieg]

"The maintainability leaves mixed impressions. The number of screws suggests that you can remove the whole bottom cover, but the mechanism is not really comprehensible (how and where can you separate the surfaces?), so we stopped our attempt to avoid any damage". You are joking, right? Have you ever used Dell Service Manuals (probably the best service docs in the business)? Here is the page you are after:
http://www.dell.com/support/manuals/us/en/19/Topic/alienware-13/Alienware13_SM-v1/en-us/GUID-E246699C-4134-4325-851E-909939FC1C2D

[Vlad Bieg]

PS to disassembling: this is better page:
http://www.dell.com/support/manuals/us/en/19/Topic/alienware-13/Alienware13_SM-v1/en-us/GUID-F60E45D5-F79A-4B40-89C0-198DACDE03DB

[Vlad Bieg]

PS to disassembling: this is better page:
http://www.dell.com/support/manuals/us/en/19/Topic/alienware-13/Alienware13_SM-v1/en-us/GUID-F60E45D5-F79A-4B40-89C0-198DACDE03DB

[KB]

This laptop is available now with up to an i7 5500u (broadwell). While this is also a 15 TDP, I have been able to run BS4 and Shadows at high detail, 2k, with 60fps. In the graphics amp, I have a mid-range GPU (r9 285) that allows ultra settings at 2k with the same fps. I take this little laptop with me on my extensive business trips. In the airport, plane, and hotel I can game very well.  At home, I plug it in to the GA and get great gaming on duel displays and full size keyboard and mouse. This is the point. Good enough gaming when mobile, and really good at home...on the same machine. Works for me.

[gamer]

Hey, will be there an updated review with i7-6500U CPU, please?!!!
I really wonder if the newest dual core CPU is still so much bottle-neck. The post above seems to confirm that now the laptop is really good but I'm not sure... I would like to see in the article how the numbers change when the latest CPU is used.