Hands-on with the Alienware 13 and massive Graphics Amplifier

[Scorpus]

I was pretty surprised when two boxes arrived at my doorstep recently: one was a normal size for a laptop, and the other massive. In this video I take a first look at Alienware's new 13-inch gaming laptop, as well as the Graphics Amplifier, an external box housing a PSU and dedicated desktop graphics card for extra GPU horsepower.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/59355-alienware-13-graphics-amplifier-preview.html

 

[RustyTech]

Thank you for giving us a peak, Tim.
I'm not too sure why it would be better to have a gaming laptop plus a second rig, the graphics amplifier. Why not just get a good desktop computer? Perhaps I don't see the pros?

For those who would say the second rig is for gaming, than why have a laptop that bulky if you'll be connecting it to the second rig to to play games?

 

[BMfan]

Thank you for giving us a peak, Tim.
I'm not too sure why it would be better to have a gaming laptop plus a second rig, the graphics amplifier. Why not just get a good desktop computer? Perhaps I don't see the pros?

For those who would say the second rig is for gaming, than why have a laptop that bulky if you'll be connecting it to the second rig to to play games?

I'm with you on that.

 

[davislane1]

Thank you for giving us a peak, Tim.
I'm not too sure why it would be better to have a gaming laptop plus a second rig, the graphics amplifier. Why not just get a good desktop computer? Perhaps I don't see the pros?

For those who would say the second rig is for gaming, than why have a laptop that bulky if you'll be connecting it to the second rig to to play games?

If you are in the market for a gaming laptop, it stands to reason a proper desktop computer is not part of your options lineup for a specific reason. In this case, the additional rig gives you the PC performance you would be missing out on when at home. Depending on the hardware, this setup also costs less than purchasing both a high-spec laptop and PC.

 

[LNCPapa]

Awesome review Tim and right on time for me. Yesterday my VP told me to ask for a new laptop for use with the Oculus Rift so I can stop dragging my desktop around to events (had a technology symposium yesterday and they felt sorry for me since I brought my home rig in). They said to get something that I can leave at the office and only pull out during testing or an event and this looks like it would be just perfect for that need. I don't need a really nice screen since the main display that will be in use is the OR so the Graphics Amplifier is really the most important part.

 

[abysal]

4x PCIe? You gotta be kidding. Well that killed it for me.

 

[LNCPapa]

4x PCIe? You gotta be kidding. Well that killed it for me.

Read these old articles
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5458/the-radeon-hd-7970-reprise-pcie-bandwidth-overclocking-and-msaa
and
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Ivy_Bridge_PCI-Express_Scaling/3.html
and then consider that even with the small reduction in performance you're not going to get near that using only typical laptop GPUs. Remember that you're also limited to a single card so the need for really high bandwidth is even less.

 

[SuperVeloce]

Still... for that price 16x pcie should be a given. I was waiting for something like that for 10 years, but the price is ridiculous. You can get a pricey all aluminium midi tower and a good psu for that price.

 

[tipstir]

Interesting they're using Graphic Amp option with the Laptop. Can't wait for your review of it in action. Thanks for this review which was well done! Cheers!

 

[SirGCal]

I wanna know what the rest of that Star Wars Tee-shirt says!