At CES 2019, Dell amazed the PC world by asserting the Alienware Space-51m, the corporate’s first gaming laptop computer that allowed customers to improve most of their elements, together with the processor and graphics card. This game-changing (pun meant) collection was Dell’s try at combining the upgradability of a desktop with the portability of a laptop computer.
Sadly, the Alienware Space-51m laptops by no means managed to hit their full potential, with Dell ditching the collection following the discharge of the second-generation R2 laptops. The place did Dell go fallacious?
What made the Alienware Space-51m distinctive
Dell’s Alienware laptops are recognized for his or her premium {hardware} and efficiency that may rival the processing energy of a high-end desktop. Nonetheless, the Achilles’ heel of just about each gaming laptop computer is that it is unattainable to improve the internals, which is a disgrace for a $2,000+ system. This implies your {hardware} will change into outdated as soon as CPU and GPU producers launch their newer chips.
In fact, laptop computer producers have tried to create upgradable laptops previously, and till 2020, there have been even a couple of laptops that featured replaceable MXM GPUs. Nonetheless, there wasn’t any trade commonplace for the improve process, and its complexity assorted from one laptop computer to a different. Generally, slotting in a brand new GPU could possibly be a breeze, however different occasions, you needed to drill holes within the chassis and lower the heatsink.
This made MXM graphics playing cards extra suited to DIY fanatics slightly than the common client. MXM know-how by no means managed to go mainstream both, and the excessive energy necessities of modern-day graphics playing cards pressured most laptop computer producers to ditch MXM GPUs after Nvidia’s Pascal collection.
Supply: Dell
Dell tried to capitalize on this example by working by itself model known as the Dell Graphics Kind Issue (DGFF). Whereas the process to improve the graphics card was a bit cumbersome, Dell offered intensive documentation, on high of guaranteeing that you just would not run into compatibility points so long as you used the official improve modules. The Alienware Space-51m laptops additionally supported the LGA 1151 socket, so you would theoretically substitute the CPUs as effectively.
Dell started advertising and marketing these laptops because the “first true desktop substitute,” capturing the curiosity of players all throughout the globe. Besides, effectively, there have been too many evident points with Dell’s new lineup that grew to become evident following its launch.
The Alienware Space-51m R1 wasn’t actually upgradable
When the first-generation Alienware Space-51m R1 laptops have been launched in early 2019, they have been powered by Intel’s ninth-generation processors. With the launch of the Tenth era proper across the nook, most customers who purchased the 51m laptops couldn’t wait to improve their processors. Sadly, Intel put a damper on the Space-51m’s “upgradable CPUs” shtick by mandating the LGA 1200 socket for his or her Tenth-generation processors. So, the one CPU improve that you would carry out was to interchange an i5 or i7 with an i9 belonging to Intel’s Ninth-gen CPU household.
Issues weren’t any completely different on the GPU entrance both. Whereas Dell managed to launch improve kits for its Nvidia DGFF graphics playing cards, you would swap to solely an RTX 2070 or RTX 2080 from the earlier era. This meant the one viable improve path concerned swapping out your graphics card for one more higher-end mannequin belonging to Nvidia’s 2000 collection, and even then, Dell refused to assist the Tremendous variants. In addition to, the high-end GPU modules have been extraordinarily overpriced, particularly when the bottom mannequin of the laptop computer value $2,549 on the time of its launch.
Second-gen Space-51m laptops did not fare any higher
Supply: Dell
Undaunted by the unfavorable reception of the primary gen 51m laptops, Dell determined to launch the second refresh of the 51m collection in Might 2020. Sadly, the Alienware Space-51m R2 household was affected by the exact same points that affected its predecessor. Whereas it received an inside overhaul with Intel’s Comet Lake processors and new Nvidia GPUs, the bottom mannequin solely featured a GTX 1660 Ti as an alternative of an RTX GPU.
As with the Space-51m R1, the CPU improve path was restricted to the upper finish fashions of the identical era. Likewise, the R2 allowed you to fit in an RTX 2070 Tremendous or RTX 2080 Tremendous DGFF GPU, although the laptops supplied no assist for the RTX 3000 graphics playing cards that have been launched later in 2020.
It’s attention-grabbing to notice that Dell additionally launched one other mannequin of the Space-51m R2 that shipped with the AMD Radeon RX 5700M GPU. However customers couldn’t even substitute it with a extra highly effective Radeon GPU as Dell by no means launched the DGFF modules for higher-end AMD graphics playing cards. So, the Space-51m R2 variants that got here with AMD GPUs lacked the very function that made the laptops distinctive.
Dell slowly phased out the laptops earlier than dealing with lawsuits from customers
Supply: Dell
By 2021, Dell had eliminated a lot of the improve modules for the Alienware Space-51m laptops from its web site, with different e-commerce platforms following go well with. At CES 2021, Dell unveiled its latest set of laptops, starting from the business-oriented Latitude 9420 to the highly effective Alienware m15 R4 and m17 R4 laptops. For the reason that firm by no means introduced an R3 refresh of the Alienware Space-51m, it was clear that Dell had moved on.
Sadly, the Alienware 51m laptops have been topic to 1 ultimate controversy earlier than they light from existence. Round June 2021, the corporate confronted a category motion lawsuit from a California resident over the false claims of the Alienware Space-51m R1’s “unprecedented upgradability.” Dell additionally confronted related lawsuits from different customers, although the case was dismissed in 2022. Within the official courtroom doc, he highlighted purchasers had agreed to the arbitration provision in Dell’s Phrases of Service once they pressed “Settle for” on the startup display screen of their 51m laptops, thus rendering their claims moot.
Are there different gamers within the upgradable laptops market?
Although most producers stopped releasing upgradable laptops after the Pascal lineup of GPUs, Framework stays one of many few corporations to launch modular laptops in recent times. The truth is, its very promoting level of is you can improve a lot of the elements. And sure, this consists of changing an older processor by slotting in a brand new mainboard with an up to date CPU. It even has a Chromebook model.
That mentioned, these laptops aren’t designed for gaming or heavy-duty computing. Positive, the most recent Framework 16 lets you slot within the AMD Radeon RX 7700S, however there is not any assist for extra highly effective graphics playing cards. So, it is protected to say that the upgradable gaming laptop computer market will stay in limbo for some time until different laptop computer producers deliver again MXM graphics playing cards or embrace the same know-how.
