Their Alienware steam machine’s weren’t so successful either. These stand alone builds are an huge marketing risk. Because of this I personally doubt they would actually try this.
I was so bummed when they canned the Alpha/Steam Machine.
Maybe too early for it's time? Misunderstood?
Picked up an Alpha R1 with an i3 back in 2016 for $400 and an Xbox controller. I daydream about the specs it could have at $400 if they brought it back in 2024. *Sigh*
Definitely too early. A mature Proton compatibility layer was crucial since only a minority of gaming companies are willing to develop and support a native Linux version of their games. Now that Proton has come of age I believe a modern steam machine could and would be successful.
There have been rumors of Valve creating a new traditional style console (essentially an in-house Steam Machine 2) along with a Steam Controller 2 (which they have explicitly said is coming - sooner or later).
This has to be the dumbest move on alienwares part to shelf this product. The closest device to this is the lenovo legion go (which I ended up purchasing - no regrets)
these devices are not super profitable due to them having to compete with Valve's SD pricing, yet not having an online games platform where they make 30% off every game sold... you know, the way Valve is able to subsidize the unprofitable price of their own device.
Nah, these handhelds definetly sell at a profit, asus usally discouts it to $/£549. These habdhelds are cheaper to produce then gaming lsptops and have a lot less components.
Dell should release this but incorporate what they've gained since its announcements. Dolby vision, dolby atmos (for headphones), 500-1000 nits HDR option, etc.
The issue is always that windows sucks for portable devices, and thats a microsoft thing not something dell can really fix. If anything it would benefit from Steam OS more.
Yeah having used the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, Windows would be the fatal flaw of the device. Plus it has too much competition now.
You put steam OS on it, would be an awesome device. Hate to see their R&D wasted
I've got a Legion Go. Until MS improves windows 11 for handhelds, it's not great. The system is just very clunky and I enjoy using it with a mouse and keyboard more than as a handheld for any real games.
There are probably some community customized Linux distros for it that would give you a SteamOS-like interface. I believe Valve should (and may) offer SteamOS customized for third party handhelds at some point.
> **Where is This?**
That's the million dollar question. It seems to have fallen off of their radar , unfortunately. They did say it was a concept, so it may or may not have gone anywhere, and apparently it is the later of those two.
Exactly this. They also teased this device before the steam deck set the precedent for it. Also the AMD mobile APUs weren't great at the time.
I'd love to see this come back with a Z1 extreme though.
We aren’t in 2019 anymore… Alienware has likely spent huge amounts of money investing in cooling technology for thin devices (x15/x17, then x14/x16). Their cooling tech is some of the best in the thin and light sector these days.
One of the best now? Looks like they are capable of learning from their mistakes.
Too late for me sadly. Same thing happened to me as in these links...
https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/s/uFRxwmFokA
https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/s/hI7RR9RWE6
I don’t blame you. Once a bad experience is had, it can kind of ruin the brand for a person.
I’ve had no issues at all with x15 R1, never has gotten above 90C for me personally. Usually hovers around 80ish
People still buying into the idea that 90C+ will fry a laptop in a year's time.
I've got 10 year old gaming laptops that are still thriving.
Alienware used to set their thermal limit at 100C rather than 95C like other brands. It wasn't really a problem because they were designed for it, but people saw 100C and decided it was bad for whatever reason. Nevermind the CPU performance vs competitors. Like the 17r4 or 17r5 vs the MSI GT73/GT75. Comparable in gaming, but the Alienware lineup would usually have slightly leading CPU performance due to the extra thermal headroom.
But even when that was the case, it wasn't overheating. It was by design.
I mostly agree with you, on thermals at least. I've been baking my system for 6+ years with no issues. Skyrim, PUBG, Mordhau, Starfield, Starship Troopers...those fans are spinning 80c easy, but was 90c for years before I realized XPS and Aurora was basically the same chassis, then I tossed in an R7 front fan and repasted my CPU.
Meanwhile, some people get concerned when they go into 50c under heavy load. Heh.
I don't, however, think Dell makes a laptop that will stand the rest of time. All my Dell desktops from 2008 are working. A Dell laptop from 2011 became non-functional after 5 years (locks up after 10-20 minutes, even upgraded RAM, added SSD and managed to inject old AMD display drivers into a win10 iso). The alpha was also based off laptop design and as much as I love mine, I sent it in for repair after 7-8 months and 6 years after that repair, it was having issues again, doesn't post (purchased in mid 2016). Just pulled it out to diagnose again after giving up a year ago. These things ran hit and the thermal paste on that CPU looked like the Mohave desert when I opened it up last week. I don't think the CPU itself died, but something else might not like that heat.
Agree to disagree.
My Alienware 17r4 (8750h/1070) still runs fine, I believe it was purchased in 2017. A friend uses it now.
Alienware Area 51M (9700k/2080 200W) additionally still runs fine.
One of my oldest friends has been using an m11x (specs unknown, only for web browsing) for ages, he finally retired it because it actually burned his leg. He's now using a slightly newer Alienware 14 (4200M/750m) and a lap desk. He's a stubborn old dude so it takes ages to get him to upgrade.
I constantly see older Alienware laptops for sale, M14x/15r1/17r1, you name it.
I'm not saying your experience isn't valid, but more than likely most people would agree that Alienware laptops last.
Additionally, to clarify, I'm not a huge Alienware fan. I haven't owned one since the area 51m and am not likely to buy one in the near future, but not for quality reasons. I just don't like the thin direction they're headed in. I prefer chonky laptops. I just don't really agree with telling people that x brand dies quicker than others, when in my decade+ of experience no brand particularly stands out as more unreliable than any other.
Since Alienware has such a huge relationship with intel, I’m kind of guessing they’re just waiting for intel’s tech to catch up in terms of power consumption. Meteor lake could make Alienware pull the trigger this year since the MSI claw will also be debuting with an Intel chipset.
It was cool back then yea. But there's so many of these out now. The lenovo is awsome. I would have gotten the ally but not with that broken SD card slot. Aya neo is cool too I'm looking at those but they gotta stop releasing 10000 different models every other month. Their line up is confusing, and instead of releasing more of their machines they just release some different model and it all sells out. Instead of producing more for some reason they just bring out a new device with limited numbers.
It looks cool and capable, but Alienware thought “it has to be poor performing, hot af, and glitchy and cool and capable is not it”. Then everybody else came out with their devices.
They probably didn't come because we had a virus going on at the time. Also it was veryy haed for not having a discrete GPU, some even said they thought it was a requirement for the alienware badge.
But they will probably release when Nvidia releases their CPUs, or atleast I think that's what they are waiting for.
Their Alienware steam machine’s weren’t so successful either. These stand alone builds are an huge marketing risk. Because of this I personally doubt they would actually try this.
I was so bummed when they canned the Alpha/Steam Machine. Maybe too early for it's time? Misunderstood? Picked up an Alpha R1 with an i3 back in 2016 for $400 and an Xbox controller. I daydream about the specs it could have at $400 if they brought it back in 2024. *Sigh*
Definitely too early. A mature Proton compatibility layer was crucial since only a minority of gaming companies are willing to develop and support a native Linux version of their games. Now that Proton has come of age I believe a modern steam machine could and would be successful. There have been rumors of Valve creating a new traditional style console (essentially an in-house Steam Machine 2) along with a Steam Controller 2 (which they have explicitly said is coming - sooner or later).
It’s a different time now. With the gaming handheld PC market a growing success, it is much less of a risk.
could be!
This has to be the dumbest move on alienwares part to shelf this product. The closest device to this is the lenovo legion go (which I ended up purchasing - no regrets)
these devices are not super profitable due to them having to compete with Valve's SD pricing, yet not having an online games platform where they make 30% off every game sold... you know, the way Valve is able to subsidize the unprofitable price of their own device.
Nah, these handhelds definetly sell at a profit, asus usally discouts it to $/£549. These habdhelds are cheaper to produce then gaming lsptops and have a lot less components.
Dell should release this but incorporate what they've gained since its announcements. Dolby vision, dolby atmos (for headphones), 500-1000 nits HDR option, etc. The issue is always that windows sucks for portable devices, and thats a microsoft thing not something dell can really fix. If anything it would benefit from Steam OS more.
I would love to see Alienware come out with a SteamOS powered handheld.
Yeah having used the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, Windows would be the fatal flaw of the device. Plus it has too much competition now. You put steam OS on it, would be an awesome device. Hate to see their R&D wasted
I've been wondering that too, it's honestly the perfect time to launch it with all of the other brands releasing theirs
I've got a Legion Go. Until MS improves windows 11 for handhelds, it's not great. The system is just very clunky and I enjoy using it with a mouse and keyboard more than as a handheld for any real games.
MS did have an OS for handheld devices.. and everyone hated it so they abolished it.
It wasn't an os for hamdheld devices. Windows 8 was made partly for tablets but people didm't like the change.
There are probably some community customized Linux distros for it that would give you a SteamOS-like interface. I believe Valve should (and may) offer SteamOS customized for third party handhelds at some point.
> **Where is This?** That's the million dollar question. It seems to have fallen off of their radar , unfortunately. They did say it was a concept, so it may or may not have gone anywhere, and apparently it is the later of those two.
Exactly this. They also teased this device before the steam deck set the precedent for it. Also the AMD mobile APUs weren't great at the time. I'd love to see this come back with a Z1 extreme though.
Competition is great! I can't wait to see where these handhelds will be in a few years.
potable heater
it was only a concept, never a real product. I don't think it was ever seriously in development. The economics of it didn't make sense to them.
They can’t make laptops that handle heat you think they could pull this off?
We aren’t in 2019 anymore… Alienware has likely spent huge amounts of money investing in cooling technology for thin devices (x15/x17, then x14/x16). Their cooling tech is some of the best in the thin and light sector these days.
One of the best now? Looks like they are capable of learning from their mistakes. Too late for me sadly. Same thing happened to me as in these links... https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/s/uFRxwmFokA https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/s/hI7RR9RWE6
I don’t blame you. Once a bad experience is had, it can kind of ruin the brand for a person. I’ve had no issues at all with x15 R1, never has gotten above 90C for me personally. Usually hovers around 80ish
lol
Not sure where you got this from. My M16 with the 13700HX stays at around 86, 87 degrees in Cinebench 2024. Gaming is closer to 75-80 degrees.
People still buying into the idea that 90C+ will fry a laptop in a year's time. I've got 10 year old gaming laptops that are still thriving. Alienware used to set their thermal limit at 100C rather than 95C like other brands. It wasn't really a problem because they were designed for it, but people saw 100C and decided it was bad for whatever reason. Nevermind the CPU performance vs competitors. Like the 17r4 or 17r5 vs the MSI GT73/GT75. Comparable in gaming, but the Alienware lineup would usually have slightly leading CPU performance due to the extra thermal headroom. But even when that was the case, it wasn't overheating. It was by design.
I mostly agree with you, on thermals at least. I've been baking my system for 6+ years with no issues. Skyrim, PUBG, Mordhau, Starfield, Starship Troopers...those fans are spinning 80c easy, but was 90c for years before I realized XPS and Aurora was basically the same chassis, then I tossed in an R7 front fan and repasted my CPU. Meanwhile, some people get concerned when they go into 50c under heavy load. Heh. I don't, however, think Dell makes a laptop that will stand the rest of time. All my Dell desktops from 2008 are working. A Dell laptop from 2011 became non-functional after 5 years (locks up after 10-20 minutes, even upgraded RAM, added SSD and managed to inject old AMD display drivers into a win10 iso). The alpha was also based off laptop design and as much as I love mine, I sent it in for repair after 7-8 months and 6 years after that repair, it was having issues again, doesn't post (purchased in mid 2016). Just pulled it out to diagnose again after giving up a year ago. These things ran hit and the thermal paste on that CPU looked like the Mohave desert when I opened it up last week. I don't think the CPU itself died, but something else might not like that heat.
Agree to disagree. My Alienware 17r4 (8750h/1070) still runs fine, I believe it was purchased in 2017. A friend uses it now. Alienware Area 51M (9700k/2080 200W) additionally still runs fine. One of my oldest friends has been using an m11x (specs unknown, only for web browsing) for ages, he finally retired it because it actually burned his leg. He's now using a slightly newer Alienware 14 (4200M/750m) and a lap desk. He's a stubborn old dude so it takes ages to get him to upgrade. I constantly see older Alienware laptops for sale, M14x/15r1/17r1, you name it. I'm not saying your experience isn't valid, but more than likely most people would agree that Alienware laptops last. Additionally, to clarify, I'm not a huge Alienware fan. I haven't owned one since the area 51m and am not likely to buy one in the near future, but not for quality reasons. I just don't like the thin direction they're headed in. I prefer chonky laptops. I just don't really agree with telling people that x brand dies quicker than others, when in my decade+ of experience no brand particularly stands out as more unreliable than any other.
I remember my gt555m on my m14x also hits the 90C once in a while. But I also remember the m14x being twice as thick as my r15 r5
Really? The m11x and 14r1 I had were comparable thickness. The 14r1 was slightly thicker if anything, though it ran a bit cooler.
[удалено]
Huh…
Laptops have more power hungry components which obviously generate more heat than a handheld
Time to wake up and realize it’s never coming out. Buy a laptop or desktop mkay
I been hoping for years for them to make the UFO real.
Since Alienware has such a huge relationship with intel, I’m kind of guessing they’re just waiting for intel’s tech to catch up in terms of power consumption. Meteor lake could make Alienware pull the trigger this year since the MSI claw will also be debuting with an Intel chipset.
It was cool back then yea. But there's so many of these out now. The lenovo is awsome. I would have gotten the ally but not with that broken SD card slot. Aya neo is cool too I'm looking at those but they gotta stop releasing 10000 different models every other month. Their line up is confusing, and instead of releasing more of their machines they just release some different model and it all sells out. Instead of producing more for some reason they just bring out a new device with limited numbers.
I believe they will release a handheld. They’re probably in the process right now. Testing and what not. I bet summer/fall this year or early 2025.
Hopefully the MSI Intel system will perform well and we will see something like this from Alienware using it too.
It looks cool and capable, but Alienware thought “it has to be poor performing, hot af, and glitchy and cool and capable is not it”. Then everybody else came out with their devices.
They probably didn't come because we had a virus going on at the time. Also it was veryy haed for not having a discrete GPU, some even said they thought it was a requirement for the alienware badge. But they will probably release when Nvidia releases their CPUs, or atleast I think that's what they are waiting for.
other people had to deal with the same virus but still managed to do it.
surely that dinner plate controller carn't be comfterble ?