It turns out that Alienware will have the Haswell based notebooks with USB 3.1 and HDMI 2.0 among some other tricks to coexist with the Skylake version of the notebooks.
The Alienware 13 inch is the smallest of the three to get the Skylake processor. The company has informed us that this 2.058 Kg (4.537 Lbs) notebook by default comes with the Intel Core i5-6200U Dual-Core with 3MB Cache, up to 2.8GHz with Turbo Boost. The company also offers Intel Core i7-6500U Dual-Core, 4MB Cache with up to 3.1GHz with Turbo Boost.
The notebooks ships by default with 13.3 inch HD 1366 x 768 TN Anti-Glare 200-nits Display but we suggest that you go for 13.3 inch FHD 1920 x 1080 IPS Anti-Glare 220-nits display. If you want over the top display you should chose 13.3 inch QHD+ 3200 x 1800 IGZO IPS TrueLife 400-nits display with Touch Technology, but have in mind that Geforce 965M is not enough to enable decent gaming at such a high pixel density.
This new notebook comes with 52 wHr battery and it is possible to get an upgrade to 62 wHr. Nvidia’s Geforce GTX 960M with 2GB GDDR5 remains the standard and the best graphics option the company has to offer. You can get the machine with 8 to 16GB or RAM, up to 512GB PCIe SSD boot + 128GB mSATA SSD storage and the choice of Windows 8 or Windows 10, both 32 and 64-bit.
Alienware 15 is shipping with three choices of Skylake processors, all quad core. The slowest of them is the Core i5 6300HQ, Quad-Core with 6MB Cache and up to 3.2GHz with Turbo Boost as s standard option. The runner up has the Core i5 6700HQ, Quad-Core with 6MB Cache and up to 3.5GHz with Turbo Boost. The fastest option is Intel Core i7 6820HK, Quad-Core with 8MB Cache and Dynamically Overclocking up to 4.1GHz.
At its best, the machine can pack 16GB DDR4L RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD boot + 1TB 7200RPM storage and GeForce GTX 980M with 4GB GDDR5. The basic Alienware 15 comes with Geforce GTX 965M with 2GB GDDR5 plus the Intel integrated HD 530 graphics that sits on the CPU. The company also offers Geforce GTX 970M with 3GB GDDR5 and brand new AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB GDDR5 as a GPU alternative. Alienware 15 ships with 15.6 inch FHD 1920 x 1080 IPS Anti-Glare 220-nits display and later this year the company will offer 4K capable IGZO option too.
Alienware 17 is also getting its Skylake version. This 3.780 Kg. (8.33 Lbs.) notebook is getting a choice of two quad cores. On a standard machine you will get the Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad-Core with 6MB Cache, and up to 3.5GHz with Turbo Boost and a faster option with Intel Core i7-6820HK Quad-Core with 8MB Cache and dynamically overclocked CPU up to 4.4GHz. This machine comes with a choice of 17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits or 17.3 inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IGZO IPS Anti-Glare 400-nits display.
It is possible to get this gaming powerhouse with 8, 12 or 16GB or RAM, a choice of storage options goes all the way to 1TB PCIe SSD boot + 1TB 7200RPM storage and a choice between Geforce GTX 970M with 3GB GDDR5 and Geforce GTX 980M with 4GB GDDR5.
They all share an updated design, USB type C 3.1 speed capable connector with daisy chain support including display and Thunderbold 3. It also comes with HDMI 2.0, Killer WiFi and LAN.
You should be able to preorder these systems soon and Alienware plans to ship them later this month.