Why the unique Alienware Area-51m will be a gamble for Dell

[Redaktion]

The MXM form factor preceding DGFF never took off even though it was marketed for its versatility and ability to support future GPUs. If Dell isn't careful, they may repeat the same mistakes and run into a wall with DGFF once Nvidia launches a Turing successor.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Why-the-unique-Alienware-Area-51m-will-be-a-gamble-for-Dell.393351.0.html

[John Doe]

Dell already used proprietary graphics format before in their Precision workstations (e.g. M6400, M6500) before they switched back to MXM starting with M6600. Since Nvidia stopped making new MXM designs and the last one is power limited to somewhat over 100W, Dell will introduce the DGFF design into it's Precision line as well for the Quadro cards used there.

One benefit of the dedicated card, besides upgrades, is that if the card dies (which isn't such a rare occurrence), it can be relatively easy to replace it. But, when you have your new thin and light laptop with a soldered GPU and CPU, you'll have to buy a new motherboard with both CPU and GPU on it and this costs like a new laptop almost.

Plus, if you have a G-Sync screen, it's connected directly to the dedicated card, rather than the integrated Intel one, so you can't use your laptop with a dead GPU.

[VP]

IMHO, it's a dead-end branch of the mobile GPU evolution. Solutions based on external GPUs connected via Thunderbolt are way more viable and versatile and will eventually satisfy those who'd like to upgrade their laptops with more graphics processing power. These solutions already offer true versatility and higher compatibility across different manufacturers and it's obvious that in near future they'll become just universal so you won't even need to purchase a laptop on steroids (a typical high-end gaming laptop) to have an opportunity to connect it to a powerful GPU when you wish to engage into demanding gaming of production activity.

[sticky]

In the past, MXM has never been what it was actually intended to be. The concept was DOA from launch due to pricing, compatibility, availability, reliability, and an endless list of issues.

eGPUs enabled by TB3 protocol is a good point. Another inevitability is the advance of cloud gaming / GPU computing which is almost here. When the cost of cloud computing are reduced to the point of being practically negligible, majority of people won't be buying gaming PCs and consoles anymore. It's just a matter of time.

A for effort and what sounds like honesty from Dell's interviews, but they're sailing against the wind.

[John Doe]

IMHO, it's a dead-end branch of the mobile GPU evolution. Solutions based on external GPUs connected via Thunderbolt are way more viable and versatile and will eventually satisfy those who'd like to upgrade their laptops with more graphics processing power.

The problem with these TB3 solutions is that there's not enough bandwidth or something, so the performance losses can be pretty high (like 25%). The Alienware proprietary external solution has much lower losses (up to 5% loss or so) as it skips the need to route everything through a bandwidth limited TB3 controller.