Alienware 15 FHD or QHD?

Tested and confirmed. I even made two profiles for easy application. One for 1080p, and the other for Native (1440p).

 

How do games look when downscaled to 1920x1080 in fullscreen? Can you please post some pictures? Thx in advance.

 

Took two screenshots. The game I was running had the option to fit 1080p on the whole screen as opposed to having black bars, but when changing my profiles, I didn't notice a difference.
Mechwarrior Online. Medium Preset sans AA.
1080p

MWOClient 2015-02-11 17-38-26-35 by Game7a1 posted Feb 11, 2015 at 5:51 PM

1440p

MWOClient 2015-02-11 17-38-01-43 by Game7a1 posted Feb 11, 2015 at 5:51 PM

I do have Bioshock Infinite, Assasin's Creed Unity, Batman Arkham (all three out), and some other games if you want me to post screenshots of.

 

It

The link you provided is not working. Can you upload it to imgur please?
By the way do you have csgo on your system?
Thx

 

You're not able to see the media I posted?
Sorry, I don't.

 

I can't view it. When I click on either of your links it says "
NotebookReview - Error
You do not have permission to view media within this album."

 

Just changed it to public. Is it view-able now?

 

Yes, thanks but this does not show how it looks on the laptop. I should have clarified that I would like to see a picture of the game in 1080p on the screen. Can you take a picture with a smartphone etc?
Thx

 

Actually, it does look like that (if you look at the top left corner, then you'll spot one difference). But I can do something better.
Just give me a couple of minutes.
EDIT: Dang it. Tried with another game, and the difference is hard to notice. I think it might be more noticeable with a 4K screen, but 'll try the phone camera idea.

 

Problem 1:
I have a 4k screen and the colors appear to be washed out when I am on the Win 8.1 desktop and or browsing the internet via chrome.
I tried calibrating the colors last night but it just gave me a little improvement and it still looks washed out / colors not intense to me.
Anyone can point me to better procedures or freeware to help me calibrate the colors?

The colors are fine though when I run games ie Civ 5 - so could it just be a problem with the integrated graphics?

Problem 2:
I also have the video stutter problem when viewing them from the chrome browser. The problem is limited to embedded videos though because when I switch to viewing them on Youtube, they perfectly run fine.

I am guessing this is just a software issue that a Chrome update can fix.

 

While I wait for your pics can you confirm whether the lid on your aw15 is aluminium instead of plastic like techspot reviewer states on his youtube overview.
Thx

 

Even though I don't own a 15, if it is like the 13, it is made of very fine and smooth plastic, at least from what I felt.

 

Yep, I don't think it's aluminum. It's a very nicely finished plastic. It does look like aluminum though.

 

If your graphics card is working, properly, the 1080p screen is beautiful. You won't be disappointed.

 

Yea, it is plastic unlike the aluminum of the 14, 17, and 18. They really did go cheap...............

 

It's definitely a plastic, but doesnt seem like a cheap type of plastic. It's finished to look like aluminum and I find it can feel cold to the touch easily just like the aluminum on a MacBook Pro.

 

I see. A bit disappointed. Maybe the aluminium dented in the last years models? Or simply going cheaper.
What about the base? Is the external chassis all plastic?

Thx

 

The base is all plastic too. Its got a soft touch type finish on the wrist rests and such that fingerprints pretty easily. Even though the machine is pretty much all plastic, it still feels very very solid in my opinion.

 

Thx for the info. Is your aw15 the 1080p or the 4k? How is your screen in your opinion? I'm reading on the forum about ghosting issues on the 1080p and colour washing out on the 4k. A bit confused.

 

Yea, the plastic is definitely not cheap as far as plastic. The Clevo 650se featured the thinnest plastic and metal that I've seen, for comparison. The aluminum lid, of last year's lineup, felt similar and was susceptible to scratches (be careful of the alien logo, as it can be scratched by backpack zippers, etc (all models, last and new year's). It was probably a weight reduction decision, which is fine with me. A metal unibody frame would be awesome, but would probably weigh 10 pounds.

 

I got the 1080p screen and I can only see a small amount of ghosting if I'm looking for it and testing for it, in normal gameplay though I don't notice any at all. All in all its a very beautiful screen and I don't have any complaints with it, its not the best IPS screen I've used on a laptop but its nowhere near the worst either.

 

Yea, my 1080p doesn't have any noticeable ghosting either.

 

Which OS did you guys get?

 

I am running windows 8.1 on mine.

 

8.1

 

Man i was pretty sure i wanted 1080p and matt screen but the more i read and think about it the more i lean towards the QHD. Windows 10 is around the corner and touch might be used more and more. After all i will have this laptop for atleast 3-4 years to come. I am thinking to get the AW 15 with 980m + 16GB ram and 256 SSD. Think its a solid build. Last piece of the puzzle is the screen.......what do you guys think?

 

I would highly recommend it. I have the same setup besides the 16 gigs of ram. I get to about 75% use when running dying light with a bunch of other things running In the background. The gtx 980m is a great gpu, I see no point of upgrading anytime soon considering this is very close to a high end desktop with a gtx 780 in it. 4k screen is the way to go, you will get used to changing resolutions for gaming but it isn't bad. The build quality is amazing and the screen adds to that look. Compared to my old 14 the flat touchscreen makes it feel better. It can actually handle 4k, bioshock infinite actually plays at max settings in 4k without even being plugged in!Dying light without vsync gets anywhere from 34-24 fps it's playable but I would bump it down. It's struggle with new releases in 4k but so is the Xbox one in 1080p. Highly recommend this. And you can always get a desktop cards a few years down the line for a great 4k experience. If you had the titan x on this thing it would be insane. no sli but I like having one gpu, less power, better optimization and less expensive.

Another note is that this screen doesn't have 2560x1440 as an option. 16:9 is 1080p 2048x1152 then It jumps to 2160p.

 

Does the 4K actually have a grainy effect, like vertical lines running down the screen or something similar?

I found the following comments in the review and ratings section on the products sales website:
Cons:laptop design (imho), cheap plastic parts (edges/trim), touch panel causes a bit of graininess, some older games (civ 5 coh) do not auto scale, no option for 32gb memory, m.2 is not pcie

 

Yes there's some graininess. But no lines just a glimmer to it. You can tell on high contrast but it really isn't noticeable. 4k makes up for it. I'm not crazy about matte screens, the gloss from the touchscreen is much better then my Lenovo touchscreen. Higher nits then the regular 1080p screen also. People who say there's cheap parts are just disappointed they didn't stripe it in carbon fiber and made it non upgradable. This laptop is solid,very rigid. I have high end lenovos and compared it to the MacBook pro 15 inch. Just because it's plastic doesn't mean **** to me in that comparison. I love how solid it's compared to the "best built laptops" out there.

 

Sound over all good. Just wonder what you mean by glimmer?

Is it like the Toshiba P50T 4K UHD panel that has the sparkling red/green/blue effect on the panel, looks like its glimmering, e.g. white background can see a sparkling/glimmering to it?

 

Yea that's the best example of how it's.

 

Whoa that's not good. Thanks for letting me know, disaster averted. Going with the 1080p panel for noise free light colours and whites.

 

Disaster? You just said it sounds over all good. I've had the 14 and this screen is better imop. But it's all about what you want. I don't get where an ips display with a little bit of glimmer is a bad thing considering the ppi is around 150 and brightness is higher.

 

Don't get me wrong I very much like touchscreen based laptops and 4K looks awesome. I have even been temped to re-buy the toshiba based 4K model as has gone discontinued with 33% off over the last few days which is 4K, colours and resolution are excellent but the shimmer in the panel is not. Problem is the AW15 sound like it is in a simular state with the shimmer/sparkle/glimmer. It is much like a differnt form of dead pixels to me, or pieces of dust stuck behind a screen, when ever there is movement of the screen particularly with light colours and white backgrounds I end up focusing on the static pronouation of the red/green/blue between the glass and the panel, then go a bit crazy in the process.

 

I could say the same with the matte screen. Nothings perfect. Get whatever you feel is right. The 4k screen is more future proof with Windows 10 and new gpus that can handle 4k. if not you can always buy a new gpu in the future with the money saved. Either way you will be happy. just remember that there's hardly any 15 Inch 4k screens on the market and its value will last longer.

 

Though that would have to be through the dock as the internal gpu is soldered.

 

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a good screen, not sure what this glimmer thing is all about. Coming from MBP i'm a bit spoiled with perfection, so i hope it wont be some annoying thing on the edges of the screen that will make me regret the buy?

 

As mentioned, appears to be similar to the Toshiba P50T 4K screen (could even be the same model, LQ156D1JX01, but would doubt it as the AW15 is 350 nit) that has a grain/shimmer/glimmer or whatever you want to call it, would be best to go in store and check out P50T if they are much of a likeness in that regard.

 

I have not seen the P50T, and sadly there are no stores showing these laptops. Anyhow I'm sure it's fine. Worst case I have 14 days return right

 

Can someone with the 4K panel download HWinfo and then post the result of the monitor tab, primarily the panel make/model

http://www.hwinfo.com/

 

I have the 4k GTX980m 16gb configuration, and I can only say that the 4k monitor is _amazing_. I have been working on an old Alienware 15 1080p display for years, so I feel I have a very good side-by-side comparison, and the 4k monitor wins hands down. You will need the Windows 8.1 scaling support (without scaling, things get unreadable), but once you have it, you will NOT want to go back to 1080p. Especially not once you have the oooh-aaah experience when you download and view the first true 4k pictures on the net.

Gaming-wise I have no problem going 4k either. What you need to be aware of: Once you start playing in 4k, you can (and should) turn off antialiasing completely. The high resolution renders almost all jagging stairwell effects unnoticeable, and the resulting picture feels much more sharp and contrasted than the antialiased versions. Also, you gain some significant fps gains. For example, while playing World of Warcraft, I consistently stay above 40fps for a very smooth performance with an amazing look. Will try some more games soonish.

Initially, I only bought 4k in order to be able to watch 4k videos which will become the norm in 1-2 years, but it seems that even gaming is not out of the question for it, once you properly adapt the settings.

Awesome!

Now if only the speakers weren't such a terrible disappointment (slaps Klipsch)...

 

Using HWinfo or similar software, what is the model number of the panel?

 

This is what HWinfo tells me about the monitor:

Monitor Name: Sharp [Unknown Model: SHP1430]
Monitor Name (Manuf): LQ156D1 [DELL P/N: T41VN]

No serial number.

 

Anyone else with the UHD screen? How is it? I have had 2 exchanges for issue unrelated to the screen and I can tell you so far of the two 1080p screens I have had .. they both had horrible ghosting. This is compared to old M17,,m15..m14 and AW14 IPS screens.. I hear some people say their 1080p screens have no ghosting but this was 2 for 2 with ghosting. I was thinking of getting a 4k screen just to see if this would resolve the issue.

Also people with 4k have you tried 1080p resolution? How does it look? Good still or blurr?

 

Just wanted to add something that might matter. I had recently had exchanged a system from a 1080p to a 4k system. While I had both systems I did some testing and found out some interesting info.
I have also a 240w adaptor and a 180w.

I installed a game (World of Warcraft WOD) and I pulled up the FPS monitor. It was locked at 60 FPS with the 240W adaptor in.
The current scene was nothing too demanding and AA was off in the settings.
I unpluged the adaptor. The FPS dropped to about 25 - 30 FPS while on battery as expected.
Then I tried the 180w. To my surprise the FPS only went up to about 45 and the game seemed more blurry.

The reason why I figured this matters is the understanding of the PSU. I assumed that people were asking for a 240w PSU because under tremendous stress the system with throttle at some max breaking point. Well this seems to not be the case. It seems just having the 180w psu plugged in causes the the framerate to drop. I will look at the clocks of the cpu and gpu and see if anything changes and post back here.