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\"If You Don’t Have Haters, You Aren\'t Doing Anything Right,\" Alienware VP on Designing the New Area-51m and More
by：Fuyuang
2019-12-09
At CES 2019, Dell is one of the few PC manufacturers to showcase truly innovative products, and our favorite product is the Alienware region --
51 m gaming laptop.
It\'s not the brightest, biggest, smallest, or even the kindest laptop on CES, but what excites us is that this is the first time (in a long time)
We have a gaming laptop that can upgrade processors and graphics cards.
This makes it very close to the desktop.
One may want to replace, which in itself should get any PC player excited as most traditional gaming laptops won\'t let you upgrade the CPU and GPU as both components are soldered on the motherboard
The area of Alienware --
51 m is a tribute to the 2003 laptop, which has the same name and also comes with a desktop CPU and switchable graphics module, but the idea is out of date --until now.
Last week, after a keynote speech at Las Vegas CES 360, Gadgets 2019 caught up with Frank Azor, vice president and general manager of Dell, Frank ware, gaming and XPS.
We started with the new \"legendary\" design language, which is the cornerstone of this field --
51 m and other future Alienware products.
\"It usually takes about 18 months to develop a new platform,\" Azor explained . \".
The challenge is enormous.
We first challenged the team to make the world\'s most powerful gaming laptops, and they did a great job of providing architecture . . . . . . But we really think people can upgrade if we can make it, similar to desktop-
We started building 15-or-so years ago.
\"The new design of the laptop is more low-key --
In the down version of Dell\'s existing Alienware series, curves and pastel colors replace sharp, angular lines and timeless black patterns.
There are good reasons.
\"Today we have an important women\'s gaming community,\" Azor said . \".
\"Now, almost all of the game products designed are for men.
It doesn\'t have to soften, but between the color combination and the way we integrate AlienFX lighting [on the Area-51m]
, Compared to any other design we have done before, the design is more beneficial to the testing of the female player audience, which is intentional.
We have chosen a design that is more favorable to the female audience.
Some hardcore Alienware fans may be closed in the area --
The design of 51 m suggests a little softer, but Azor has a valid view.
If this data is worth mentioning, then women account for nearly 45% of the gaming population in the United States, and given that this is one of Dell\'s major markets, it is foolish to alienate women (pardon the pun)
A rapidly growing audience.
Another reason for this new design direction, according to Azor, is that now everyone is creating similar look products, led and aggressive look are the main ones.
As he said, it creates a \"same ocean \".
\"We want people to say that we want to be Polish --
I like that, or I hate that.
\"If you don\'t have haters then you don\'t do anything right,\" he said . \". . embed-container {
Relative position; padding-bottom: 56. 25%; height: 0;
Overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; }. embed-
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But apart from cosmetics, really make this area
The design and layout of the internal components are 51 metres apart. “They [the team]
\"I really have to think about how to make all the components at the bottom of the notebook accessible,\" he said . \".
\"How do they design it so that the components are actually modular and removable like the graphics card.
So we have to take advantage of some of the technologies that we have obtained from the commercial side, which are called DGFF [
Dell graphics form factor
Azor explained. Desktop accessories-
Class components in laptops also pose another challenge in power management.
The area of Alienware --
51 m has two power outlets and comes with two power adapters, each with different power depending on the configuration you purchased.
Azor tells us that the laptop is able to run regular operations and games on one power adapter, but you also need a second one for overclocking or using the \"max performance\" mode.
Let\'s take a look at the GPU, which is the most important component of any console.
Unlike the CPU, the Alienware Area-
51 m uses the mobile version of Nvidia\'s new GeForce RTX 20 series gpu.
Azor says the gpu has been overclocking so we should expect the desktop-
Level performance.
Custom GPUs are all in-house.
\"We worked with Nvidia and they approved the design, validated the design, tested the design --
But this is our exclusive design . \"
\"MXM is no longer an industry-supported design and it has been abandoned so we can\'t take advantage of it, so we have to create our own design.
\"Custom design essentially means that you rely on Dell for services and future upgrades.
Up to now, the Alienware region-
51 m only supports Nvidia graphics modules, but what Azor is willing to say is AMD \"I can\'t talk about it now \".
The new design is also considered a user.
Can be upgraded, which means you don\'t have to run to the service center for an upgrade.
\"We have actually made it very simple.
When you remove the bottom cover, there is information about the screws you need to remove [and]
What is the size of the screw?
\"This is very intuitive,\" Azor said . \".
\"Then the customer can upgrade it on their own or buy it with our service plan and we can send an on-
On-site technicians serve them, \"he added. . embed-container {
Relative position; padding-bottom: 56. 25%; height: 0;
Overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; }. embed-
Container iframe ,. embed-
Container object. embed-
Container embedding {
Position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
Dell will soon add \"upgrade kit\" options to its website, which users can purchase for this laptop.
It is said that the kit contains all the necessary instructions and additional materials, such as hot paste and any adapters or modifications that may be required to install a new GPU into the Alienware Area --51m.
However, future gaming desktops will often allow you to upgrade to next-generation components so you can keep up with the current game. Will the Area-
51 m also supports future GPUs, \"This is definitely our intention, but we can\'t commit yet,\" Azor said . \".
\"We do not have these future designs yet, and are able to review them and evaluate them to indicate that they will be supported.
We haven\'t arrived yet.
When we get these designs from Nvidia and AMD, we can tell people yes or no.
\"The fact that Azor mentioned AMD here may suggest that the team may be working on this option, which may be based only on the upcoming Navi architecture from GPU manufacturers.
\"There is enough variability within the system we designed [to]
Adapt to quite a wide range of engineering changes, \"he said.
\"There\'s room for a slightly larger GPU, a higher GPU . . . . . . There is hot clearance there.
Today it is used for overclocking, but if the next generation of TDP is higher then we have a lot of hot clearance space.
\"As strong as the Alienware region --
51 m probably, we did find some features that were clearly missing. For a no-holds-
Laptop for bar games, 17. 3-
Inch display can only zoom in to 1080 p or full size
HD resolution, which makes us feel a bit strange considering that the company\'s other Alienware laptops have 4 k resolution options.
Azor said it was because 17-
Only the full size narrow border inch panel is available
The current HD resolution, though he revealed a higher resolution \"will come by the end of the Year \".
\"It also made us feel a little strange without an SD card reader.
We know it\'s a \"game\" laptop, but most people usually want to use it for general tasks as well, in addition to playing games.
\"This is not a priority item on our list,\" Azor said . \".
\"We focus on the data of how customers use our products, and our game system is very large and the SD card is inserted into it.
\"We are not completely convinced of Dell\'s decision, but that is the case.
The area of Alienware --
Disassembly form of 51 m, showing all components within the Alienware Area
51 m is certainly one of Dell\'s most ambitious projects to date.
Even though considering that its starting price is high and that these custom graphics modules will cost you a lot of money when upgrading, it won\'t really get off the shelf.
Azor agreed.
\"It won\'t move the numbers,\" he said . \".
\"To be honest, this area
51 m will sell, will do very well.
It\'s a good product and we want to support it for a long time, but it\'s not a system that sells millions of units.
It is expensive, and its value proposition attracts the most discerning performance-centric enthusiasts.
\"Dell will slowly transition all of its Alienware products to this new \'legendary \'design language.
The company is already coming 55-
Inch 4 k OLED gaming display on CES is the first non-
Laptop products designed using \"legend.
\"We chose to show this design on the most extreme products we have, and then over time it will gradually drop to a lower price --
\"Band products,\" he said.
In the second part of this interview
Go out on Thursday-
We also introduced other gaming products from Dell, such as the brand new Alienware m17 and the brand new G-series laptop with Azor.
We also spoke to Justin leers, vice president of consumer design at Dell, about his views on Dell\'s new design language across the vertical industry, and the challenges of designing their smallest products
The new XPS 13 laptop webcam.
Disclosure: Dell sponsored flights and hotels for journalists to Las Vegas CES.
51 m gaming laptop.
It\'s not the brightest, biggest, smallest, or even the kindest laptop on CES, but what excites us is that this is the first time (in a long time)
We have a gaming laptop that can upgrade processors and graphics cards.
This makes it very close to the desktop.
One may want to replace, which in itself should get any PC player excited as most traditional gaming laptops won\'t let you upgrade the CPU and GPU as both components are soldered on the motherboard
The area of Alienware --
51 m is a tribute to the 2003 laptop, which has the same name and also comes with a desktop CPU and switchable graphics module, but the idea is out of date --until now.
Last week, after a keynote speech at Las Vegas CES 360, Gadgets 2019 caught up with Frank Azor, vice president and general manager of Dell, Frank ware, gaming and XPS.
We started with the new \"legendary\" design language, which is the cornerstone of this field --
51 m and other future Alienware products.
\"It usually takes about 18 months to develop a new platform,\" Azor explained . \".
The challenge is enormous.
We first challenged the team to make the world\'s most powerful gaming laptops, and they did a great job of providing architecture . . . . . . But we really think people can upgrade if we can make it, similar to desktop-
We started building 15-or-so years ago.
\"The new design of the laptop is more low-key --
In the down version of Dell\'s existing Alienware series, curves and pastel colors replace sharp, angular lines and timeless black patterns.
There are good reasons.
\"Today we have an important women\'s gaming community,\" Azor said . \".
\"Now, almost all of the game products designed are for men.
It doesn\'t have to soften, but between the color combination and the way we integrate AlienFX lighting [on the Area-51m]
, Compared to any other design we have done before, the design is more beneficial to the testing of the female player audience, which is intentional.
We have chosen a design that is more favorable to the female audience.
Some hardcore Alienware fans may be closed in the area --
The design of 51 m suggests a little softer, but Azor has a valid view.
If this data is worth mentioning, then women account for nearly 45% of the gaming population in the United States, and given that this is one of Dell\'s major markets, it is foolish to alienate women (pardon the pun)
A rapidly growing audience.
Another reason for this new design direction, according to Azor, is that now everyone is creating similar look products, led and aggressive look are the main ones.
As he said, it creates a \"same ocean \".
\"We want people to say that we want to be Polish --
I like that, or I hate that.
\"If you don\'t have haters then you don\'t do anything right,\" he said . \". . embed-container {
Relative position; padding-bottom: 56. 25%; height: 0;
Overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; }. embed-
Container iframe ,. embed-
Container object. embed-
Container embedding {
Position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
But apart from cosmetics, really make this area
The design and layout of the internal components are 51 metres apart. “They [the team]
\"I really have to think about how to make all the components at the bottom of the notebook accessible,\" he said . \".
\"How do they design it so that the components are actually modular and removable like the graphics card.
So we have to take advantage of some of the technologies that we have obtained from the commercial side, which are called DGFF [
Dell graphics form factor
Azor explained. Desktop accessories-
Class components in laptops also pose another challenge in power management.
The area of Alienware --
51 m has two power outlets and comes with two power adapters, each with different power depending on the configuration you purchased.
Azor tells us that the laptop is able to run regular operations and games on one power adapter, but you also need a second one for overclocking or using the \"max performance\" mode.
Let\'s take a look at the GPU, which is the most important component of any console.
Unlike the CPU, the Alienware Area-
51 m uses the mobile version of Nvidia\'s new GeForce RTX 20 series gpu.
Azor says the gpu has been overclocking so we should expect the desktop-
Level performance.
Custom GPUs are all in-house.
\"We worked with Nvidia and they approved the design, validated the design, tested the design --
But this is our exclusive design . \"
\"MXM is no longer an industry-supported design and it has been abandoned so we can\'t take advantage of it, so we have to create our own design.
\"Custom design essentially means that you rely on Dell for services and future upgrades.
Up to now, the Alienware region-
51 m only supports Nvidia graphics modules, but what Azor is willing to say is AMD \"I can\'t talk about it now \".
The new design is also considered a user.
Can be upgraded, which means you don\'t have to run to the service center for an upgrade.
\"We have actually made it very simple.
When you remove the bottom cover, there is information about the screws you need to remove [and]
What is the size of the screw?
\"This is very intuitive,\" Azor said . \".
\"Then the customer can upgrade it on their own or buy it with our service plan and we can send an on-
On-site technicians serve them, \"he added. . embed-container {
Relative position; padding-bottom: 56. 25%; height: 0;
Overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; }. embed-
Container iframe ,. embed-
Container object. embed-
Container embedding {
Position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
Dell will soon add \"upgrade kit\" options to its website, which users can purchase for this laptop.
It is said that the kit contains all the necessary instructions and additional materials, such as hot paste and any adapters or modifications that may be required to install a new GPU into the Alienware Area --51m.
However, future gaming desktops will often allow you to upgrade to next-generation components so you can keep up with the current game. Will the Area-
51 m also supports future GPUs, \"This is definitely our intention, but we can\'t commit yet,\" Azor said . \".
\"We do not have these future designs yet, and are able to review them and evaluate them to indicate that they will be supported.
We haven\'t arrived yet.
When we get these designs from Nvidia and AMD, we can tell people yes or no.
\"The fact that Azor mentioned AMD here may suggest that the team may be working on this option, which may be based only on the upcoming Navi architecture from GPU manufacturers.
\"There is enough variability within the system we designed [to]
Adapt to quite a wide range of engineering changes, \"he said.
\"There\'s room for a slightly larger GPU, a higher GPU . . . . . . There is hot clearance there.
Today it is used for overclocking, but if the next generation of TDP is higher then we have a lot of hot clearance space.
\"As strong as the Alienware region --
51 m probably, we did find some features that were clearly missing. For a no-holds-
Laptop for bar games, 17. 3-
Inch display can only zoom in to 1080 p or full size
HD resolution, which makes us feel a bit strange considering that the company\'s other Alienware laptops have 4 k resolution options.
Azor said it was because 17-
Only the full size narrow border inch panel is available
The current HD resolution, though he revealed a higher resolution \"will come by the end of the Year \".
\"It also made us feel a little strange without an SD card reader.
We know it\'s a \"game\" laptop, but most people usually want to use it for general tasks as well, in addition to playing games.
\"This is not a priority item on our list,\" Azor said . \".
\"We focus on the data of how customers use our products, and our game system is very large and the SD card is inserted into it.
\"We are not completely convinced of Dell\'s decision, but that is the case.
The area of Alienware --
Disassembly form of 51 m, showing all components within the Alienware Area
51 m is certainly one of Dell\'s most ambitious projects to date.
Even though considering that its starting price is high and that these custom graphics modules will cost you a lot of money when upgrading, it won\'t really get off the shelf.
Azor agreed.
\"It won\'t move the numbers,\" he said . \".
\"To be honest, this area
51 m will sell, will do very well.
It\'s a good product and we want to support it for a long time, but it\'s not a system that sells millions of units.
It is expensive, and its value proposition attracts the most discerning performance-centric enthusiasts.
\"Dell will slowly transition all of its Alienware products to this new \'legendary \'design language.
The company is already coming 55-
Inch 4 k OLED gaming display on CES is the first non-
Laptop products designed using \"legend.
\"We chose to show this design on the most extreme products we have, and then over time it will gradually drop to a lower price --
\"Band products,\" he said.
In the second part of this interview
Go out on Thursday-
We also introduced other gaming products from Dell, such as the brand new Alienware m17 and the brand new G-series laptop with Azor.
We also spoke to Justin leers, vice president of consumer design at Dell, about his views on Dell\'s new design language across the vertical industry, and the challenges of designing their smallest products
The new XPS 13 laptop webcam.
Disclosure: Dell sponsored flights and hotels for journalists to Las Vegas CES.
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