*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R1/R2 Owner's Lounge

still waiting for my order from Dell, I ordered on the 9th, the wait is killing me currently says in production. hoping it changes this week.
currently using an old dell from 2007 slow as crap

 

still waiting for my order from Dell, I ordered on the 9th, the wait is killing me currently says in production. hoping it changes this week.
currently using an old dell from 2007 slow as crap

 

3 duplicate posts = you are so ready

 

sorry, just noticed that as well, its this old computer lol

 

My is in transit right now since friday. It says something along the words. "Agent is getting it, on its way to UPS facility"
I have read about it and ppl saying that it took up to 18 days for transport only ever since they saw that message, without any tracking update. Mainly ppl in Netherlands. Anyone had similar issue?

And can someone from belgiun, netherlands or someone else in the neighborhood countries who already received his pc can show me all the tracking process? Like all the info during tracking such as scanned at x etc.

EDIT: forgot to mention, there is no single info about the package and when the estimated delivery date is. So I'm confused

 

Quicksort, can't help you, i ordered mine in Poland the same day as you did and the order is still in production, i hope the 4k isnt delaying it by a lot!
by the way i noticed that on the Polish and Italian dell sites, the Alienware 15 is not even avaliable to order anymore, i hope thats not gonna mess up already ordered items, anyways i wonder why it's like that.

 

Yeah weird, my friend was about to order same laptop but was pissed when he saw that the 980m is not available anymore in belgium

 

I found out that the driver is buggy, BUT
- If you use IE, the gestures worked fine.
- If you use chrome it can be a pain in the arse.
Wait for a driver update. Meanwhile, use IE for web browsing if you must use the touchpad.

 

Feels OK when gaming... but I got a room temp of 9 celsius.

 

I agree, the only way to dodge problems of this nature is by using a mac.

 

Well, they got wifi problems with the newest Mac OSX ^^

 

@rojames30,

Just wondering whether you have had this resolved? I'm starting to find that my videos are stuttering as well but in IE, Chrome and VLC.

I can't remember the last thing that I changed before this started happening but I think it may have been a Windows Update... this is quite annoying...

Edit: I also have a 980M (also 16GB Ram, 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD, if that matters)

 

That problem really only affects a small number of people, and it has happened every major release of OS X in the 10 years that I've been using it. It's never affected me though, or to anyone I know personally and I mostly know Mac users. Its another case of the vocal minority posting about it a lot too. The same thing happens with every major release of iOS.

 

I've noticed that its also fine in firefox. Makes me wonder if its more of a chrome issue than a driver issue.

 

I experienced similar problems on an early iteration of my desktop. The browser problems should be resolved once you disable hardware acceleration in the browser settings. You might also need to do this in the flash player settings.

The VLC problem is probably related to the decoding setting. Try to disable hardware decoding in VLC.

I hope this helps.

 

I am so jealous of you Quicksort. Your laptop went through production much faster than mine which has been in production for 4 days now. Anyways, I have a newbie question on how to install a SSD drive. Would it be better to do a fresh install of Windows or just clone the drive with the included software?

 

Hey all-
Ordered 2/14; EDD 1/2
(how accurate is this estimate?)

AW 15
i7 CPU
8GB
1TB 5200
980m
UHD Touch Display
3-year alienware warranty

Free overnight.

Sub total: $2240.16
Total: $2424.98 (taxes)



Stacked AW/Dell, student coupons and programs for a ~18% total discount. Spoke to online chat and phone.

I may take pics when I get the machine...

Final upgrades through Amazon:
M550 512GB 2.5"
16GB DDR3 HyperX Impact (1.35V)

 

I would boot the laptop up, log in and then clone the drive. Thats what i plan to do

 

Thanks Djangi - I'll have a play with some of those settings later.

What I actually also discovered is that it is happening in games as well. I was playing Metro Last Light and got the same micro-stutter.

I have a feeling this might be deeper rooted

 

I have this problem with Netflix but on my M15 only!

 

I have read from notebookcheck external review, that AW 15 uses a creative sound card onboard instead of Realtech. Can any one confirm if it is true? and if yes, please post how better is creative sound card compared to realtech one.

 

It does use the creative sound card. It sounds fine... then again, I'm not really a audiophile.

 

@sabricaze


can some one give their views on creative vs realtek, if there are any real differences?

 

Found the solution to the micro stuttering!

Disable "Dell Diag Control Device" in Device Manager under "System Devices".

Source:
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19618460
http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/361186-audio-stutters-buzzing-caused-dpc-latency.html

 

Hey guys, after those initial disappointments, I have been really enjoying my 15. I've been playing Dying Light, a badda$$ game btw, on Ultra at 50-60 fps. The screen is beautiful and I've also been programming useful shortcuts on the macro keys. The "bandwidth control," (Killer app) that was slowing down my system, does continue to turn itself back on. Is there any way to permanently shut that "feature" down. Other than that annoyance and the "unavailable" replacement service door, things are looking good.

 

I would say the positioning and loudness of the 14's speakers are a tad better than the 15's. I found the Dolby control to be a little bit easier to use than the sound blast recon software, as well.

 

Hi guys I am about to purchase an Alienware 15 to replace my dead Alienware 17 which I received the full money back from my insurance company! I am getting this with a GTX 980M and the 1080P Screen! But before I do I would like to ask some questions.

1. Where are all the drivers for this system? On the Dell site I can see missing drivers like the OSD and card reader driver.

2. I heard the CPU/GPU are soldered on. Can I still repaste them even if they are soldered on?

3. Does the Alienware 15 have Dolby Home Theatre V4 like the other Alienwares?

4. Is it easy to gain access into the system components so I can do things like change out my RAM and HDD?

5. How is the 1080P IPS 1920X1080 screen on this machine?

 

I also have at the moment both alienware 14 and 15 and i'd say that speakers on the 14 are louder but quality sound and expecially bass are better on the 15.
I have a problem on the display. Some windows are blurry others are fine, here's a picture. Someone can explain me why?

wify proprieties and device manager in this pic

 

The answers are found in the forum for the most part.

1. On Dell website. Changing the OS may allow you to see other driver installations that you could not see before.

2. Yes, they are. It's a fairly new system. I doubt anyone tried yet.

3. No.

4. Yes, very.

5. For some, they are amazing. For others, there are serious ghosting issues. On mine, they're beautiful.

 

2. It will be more difficult than on your previous 17, but I'm sure someone will make a youtube instructional clip in time. I was able to paste my 14, which required taking the motherboard completely out. I'm sure the 15 is easier than that.

3. Sound Blaster Recon 3Di

5. My 1080p is great. Dying Light and Assassin's Creed Unity are beauties.

 

The 14's are unreal, as far as loudness. At 3/4 setting, they can raise the dead

 

Could you, by chance, post your specs on your AW 15? I am looking to buy one today and would really like advice on what to add on to the bill and what not to.

Thanks

 

Yea, I ordered the 1080p with the 980m. I only got it with 8gb of RAM and the 1tb HDD. I heard reviews on the heat given off by m.2 drives, so I wanted to add a nice SATA drive. I installed 16gb of Crucial Ballistix RAM (1866 mhz) and a 1tb Samsung 850 evo SSD( used the 840 evo in my A 14 and 18). If you are on a budget or don't feel like installing your own gear, I would definitely get 16gb of RAM and either the 256 or 512gb SSD. The m.2 SSD would act as a fast operating system boot drive, with the 1tb HDD for backup/non-essential storage. I would pick the 1080p screen, over the 4k, due to it being more conducive to gaming. The 1080p also trumps the 4k, in my opinion, due to its matte finish. I already have enough mirrors, around the house, so a glossy screen is not for me......

 

Ok thank you very much. I didnt know if I should go with the 980 or 970 seeing that I rarely play graphic intense games.

I would put my own Samsung Evo 850 ssd in it I would also install my own Crucial RAM too.

I have heard many issues with the ghosting and bleeding of the 1080p so its making me nervous but I know I cant do 4k as that would just be pointless for my needs (and I dont like the windows scaling).

How is the audio? Would I be able to attach my logitech 7.1 headset and get surround sound out of this laptop?

Thanks again man

 

I'm no audiophile, but I believe for 7.1 you need the 3 outlets like the 14, 17, and 18 came with. This year's models only have two headset/mic plugs. I would go ahead and spring for the 980m, as it can play most games at high/ultra with 40+ fps. You only live once, go for it all. My 1080p has no ghosting and is beautiful. The Alienware techs are looking into a solution for those that had any screen issues. The ghosting test videos featured erratic camera movements, which you would not duplicate in real life action. Welcome aboard, though judging by your sig you are already in the know.

 

double post

 

You should be able to disable the killer app, i would look in Control panel, admin tools, services, see if theres a service that automatically runs and then disable it

Still waiting for my 15 to come in, no update from dell yet

 

I had that throttling in steam with downloads on my previous laptop which was an MSI GT60. I figured out it was the killer program so I uninstalled it. Problem solved. After that I didn't feel like I was missing any worthwhile features so it was smooth sailing from then on.

 

get it with this.
8GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (2 x 4G) , NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 980M with 4GB GDDR5, Intel(R) i7-4710HQ [4th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4710HQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.50 GHz)],
15.6 inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS-Panel Anti-Glare 350-nits Display with Touch Technology. the
Warranty Support, that's up to you!

 

Could you describe this process? I tried to uninstall the killer app, but I lost all internet connectivity and had to do a system restore.

 

I feel bad that you lost your connection and had to restore. When I did it on my MSI I just uninstalled the killer network manager under programs and features in the control panel. I believe what I did was I found the drivers unaccompanied by the program and installed those instead. I pray that when my AW15 comes it is mostly bug free.

 

Could anyone please tell me how much disk space the laptop takes up in factory settings, day 1? I am trying to find out how many SSD GBs I will need purchase for the AW 15.

 

3, it has 5 port but you can use 3 only!

 

I would at least order a 240gb drive need room for future updates and patches

 

Why the 4k screen though? I would barely get 40fps on med-high settings WITH a 980m. I would be forced to buy the GA and put a gtx 980 in it ...even then it would struggle to run high-ultra settings.

Not to mention the hassle of trying to scale windows down to 1080p.

 

Order just changed to shipped

 

Lucky You I ordered 2/9 still in production

 

Everything is running fine in 4k I love it! I see the difference on skyrim! I have the GA and I'm waiting for the AMD 300 series to come out!

 

Same here still in production, i feel like its taking longer for Alienware to produce/deliever my laptop than when i bought my car lol.
I really wish they could be quicker with this.

Glad you point out that the 4k is running fine, enoug complaining about scaling or not being able to play on it. Some guys just rather have 4k glossy and work with scaling it down then having just a 1080p matte screen. Anyways guys that have the 4k already pointed out that can play with just the 980m.

 

You guys only waited for a week! Some of us here waited for at least 2 weeks!