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

On another note, I always take the approach of buy now wait latter. Tech is always going to get better and you will always get menu envy and upset in ur decision, so ahead and get the best you can afford for now, as in 2 years time, most tech is obsolete.

 

Nah, wasn't me. I think @MickyD1234 bought the AW 17 R2 coming from an M17x R4.

I had ordered an AW 15 when it first came out, but it was later cancelled because of some delay due to the screen. Didn't want to wait.

 

Wow the gloss screen looks very annoying, I'm glad I went with the matte 1080p.

Speaking of which, how do you calibrate the 1080p screen?

Very satisfied of the hardware so far. It is quite refreshing in comparison to all other laptops which desperately try to be Macbook clones, or bulky gaming laptops with the absolute cheapest components.

 

I bought this and really have found it useful. I've calibrated all of my laptops with great success. You never realize how washed out/saturated the colors are till after calibration (most displays/TVs). It is basically plug-and-play, as far as ease of operation.

http://www.amazon.com/Datacolor-Spyder4Pro-S4P100-Colorimeter-Calibration/dp/B006TF37H8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427146770&sr=8-1&keywords=spyder 4

 

In glossy screens defense, I believe the glass overlay (for touch input) is the primary culprit for reflections. My Alienware 18 has a True Life glossy display (non-touch), without the glass overlay, and it only has minor reflections. That is what I'm afraid of, though. As touchscreens become the norm, matte options may become even more scarce.

 

Well thank you, but I've already spent a lot of money and cannot justify spending $200 CDN more on a calibration tool.

 

I have also used this dvd/bluray program, which walks you through the various calibration settings. It includes plenty of visualizations to help find your sweet spot.

http://www.amazon.com/Disney-WOW-Wo...TF8&qid=1427163937&sr=8-1&keywords=disney+wow

 

how do you guys clean the matte screen

 

I'm thinking on getting an AW 15, but there are some custions left.
Is the rubered palm rest easy to clean?
Is the 1080 screnn good? I have heard a lot of people complaining of ghosting
Is the integrated battery a big disadvantage compared with removable batteies on other laptops?
Thanks a lot guys!!

 

Hi, is there anyone using the AW 15 to play Cities Skylines? This game just lags my AW 15 even when I have reduced the resolution to 1080p, and turned down the graphics settings. Hope to get some advise from the experts here =)

 

Hey guys just a quick gaming update I have the 980m and a 4k screen and here are the newest BF4 results:
@ 4k
medium - 55-65fps
High - 45-55fps
Ultra - 29 - 35fps

@ 1080p
ultra - 65 - 80fps

 

My Fire Strike benchmarks - looks like my unit's performance is at par with the rest.
I wonder why Cities Skylines lags so much - must be bad coding?

On battery: (5722)
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6349477

On PSU: (7121)
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6354206

 

Hello again guys, I just wanted to ask if anything is having really bad internet/game lag while using the laptop with wifi? I have already gotten rid of the killer manager thing but the laptop will lag online horribly at random times and then go back to normal. Any other device wont lag despite being connected to the same network.

 

Yea, those numbers are encouraging but Battlefield isn't a very demanding game. Give Assassin's Creed Unity a try, as I would like to see how well the 980m/4k handles that game. Watchdogs and GTA (upon release) would be other demanding games that would be worth a test, as well.

 

Shadowplay works perfectly. i made three videos and all have good quality. Only DSR is not avilable, which i believe is a desktop gpu feature.

 

Cheers, thanks for that!

 

Hello All,
this is my first post here, so welcome .

Yestarday I bought new Alien 15. It's my first gaming notebook, as previously I always used Desktops. I must say first impression of Alien 15 is great! Build quality and overall feeling is just wow. I also didn't noticed any issues like BSOD or someting like that, which I was very affraid of... However I observed two minor issues.

1. Clicks of CPU Fan when starting. As I read this topic it affects all Alienware 15 notebooks. Anyone found any solution or background of this? A02 not helped?
2. Windows out of the box didnt have GeForce Experience installed. I installed this app, but when check for new version of drived, no updated was found, however quite old driver was installed. I reinstalled then newer driver from nvidia webpage, but also no new driver found. I then installed newest driver (for Battlefield Hardline) with clean install option. I will see if any notification will be available when new driver will come. Anyone got similar thing with this app?

I also stick to bios A01, as most of you said A02 should be avioided...

Overal performance is great (i7+970M). Temps... In BF4 GPU got ~68-70C and CPU 88-91 (96 peak catched by HW monitor on one core). So they are not low... but I think acceptable.

So far I think this is great pace of hardware. Hope it will last for long time . If anyone got any questions I can try to share (if someone thinking right now buy or not to buy ;-))

 

Hi Durendal,
i've the same notebook with same "issues" regarding fan and cpu temps quite high.
For cpu temps I resolved partially going back to bios A00. Now max cpu temps are lower (and gpu temps also).

For fan click noise when it starts I think it's normal. With bios A02 you will notice maybe less this noise because fan starts not so often as before (and this is also way temps are generally higher).

 

Does anyone here have a video or a clear step-by-step guide on how to get into the CPU/GPU so I can repaste them with some better paste? The stock thermal compound done by Dell has always be atrocious >.<

 

Service manual:
http://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-pro...aptops//alienware-15_Service Manual_en-us.pdf

 

OK guys, I got my bag, I ended up getting the Alienware Vindicator Backpack 14" from the US sent over to the UK. the 14" bag is perfect in size and I would highly recommend to everyone looking for a backpack to get it.. it looks much better in real life than in the pictures.


Notice the laptop fits very well in the bag with little movement

 

I don't know what is going on with the Wi-Fi card on this because I have never seen this on a laptop before.

From time to time, it seems the connection will be completely lost, and all wi-fi connections become invisible. It seems the only thing that solves this is to reboot the computer.

It's incredibly frustrating.

 

I had the same issue on the new XPS15, sounds like a faulty wireless card, as no one else has the same issue of the stock drivers. I would just called dell, they will have someone out within a day or two to fix it.

 

I hope not, I don't want to have this shipped to Toronto or something. I don't like close to one of the large Canadian cities like Montreal or Toronto.

 

Hi Folks,

I basically love the Alienware 15. Got the 970m i7 Version, 16 gb ram and 512 gb ssd.


Had the 4k glossy Screen at first. Hated it, returned it and got the mate 1080p. The 4k Screen was just too glossy and maybe mine was faulty, but colors looked weird. Basically I feel that 4k Screens on Laptops are not right yet. And who really needs this ultra high resolution? The only place a felt it was really amazing was while watching Fotos. For gaming it is always a hassle with the scaling issues in lower resolutions. And in 4k with the 970m it was not really possible to play fluently.

I am very happy now with the mate Screen. The contrasts on a mate screen are just great!

Now to the downside of the laptop and if I dont find a solution will be the reason for returning it: The Laptop gets really EXCEPTIONALLY hot while simply browing the Internet or listening to Music.

I dont understand how Dell can build such a high quality premium Laptop and then have no idea on how to implement a reasonable cooling System!?

Has anyone found any way to solve or improve this issue?
I had the A0 and the A2 Bios Version installed. Didnt really make a difference.
Has someone tried to put a better paste on the CPU/cooler and did it have any postive results?
I was thinking that it actually might be the SSD which gets hot?

Tomjones456: Did you find some solution for these issues?

As great as the the rest of the Laptop is, if I wont find a solution for this It is is just really uncomfort sitting with the laptop on your lap and your skin starts burning just while browsing the Internet and no other programs open.
As an alternative I would go for the ASUS G751 which is the best laptop I have ever had in Hands. Everything about that laptop is amazing. The only Problem about the G751 is that it only comes in a 17 Inch Version which is too bulky for me and the red cooler grills in the back are just really gamechanging ugly.

 

Hi CeasarX. Well, temps are not higher than avarage of gamings I think. G751 is something different, but belive me it is far away Alien in my opinion. I got G751JT but returned it. Quality was medicore and there are lots of issues and complaints with them...

Do you also hear clicking of CPU fan when it's starts?

Other question to all. Anyone be able to update nvidia driver via GeForce experiance? It keep saying me that I have up to date, but there is version 347.88 available. When I perform autodetec from geforce webpage it found 970M but said me that my vendor of laptop want to update driver from its page. Strange thing. Is this connected and I will not be able to update driver via GE Exp? Only install new driver manually? (as I did with 347.88 finally)...

 

Well, I got my alienware 15 (my first gaming laptop) in Malaysia. I got the lowest spec model with the gtx970m. Have been using it for a few days and I can say that I'm pretty satisfied by it. Everything feels nice and premium. I intended this to be my all-in-one device of course and it works perfectly.

I will just highlight the issues I've encountered with this laptop.

1) The powershare usb will charge my phone but then the USB transfer cannot be detected. Other ports are fine. The USB transfer connection would just turn on and off. Due to this, I tried to play with the USB drivers a bit. this leads to a BSOD error popping up for two days. but it fixed itself when I rebooted it twice.
2) the base of the laptop runs hotter than I would have liked it. I'm on the A01 bios. The fans seem to work less due to some settings. Good thing it's quiet. I also have the creaking noise which some users have mentioned. no idea what is it about. I wonder if I should revert to the A00 bios?
3) Alienfx is a really nice touch but I find the software itself is a bit not user-friendly. You cannot freely adjust the colours but you must make a new theme each time.
4) battery life is not as high as I would have wanted (I'm a student) but it's usable for more than a few hours at least.

Everything else works as it should. No screen bleeding, excellent audio (with some adjustments), decent keyboard, premium workmanship.

on an unrelated note, I find that there are some lag during typing on this forum when it is trying to save the draft, resulting in missed keystrokes. Please tell me that this is normal and has nothing to do with my keyboard?

 

What is the best pasting method for the 980M and 4710HQ? Would it be a pea sized dot in the middle for the GPU and for the CPU a little line down the middle since it is rectangular rather than a square?

 

I think for mobile chips, as they don't have a metal lid, it's recommended to spread the paste thinly over the entire surface area of the chip.
You should also tint the heatsink.

Check here, scroll down till you find core i7 mobile/laptop processors:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_application_method.html#

 

A review of the 965M in the AW15 is up:

http://laptopmedia.com/review/nvidia-geforce-gtx-965m-benchmark-results-and-gaming-tests/

Not much of a review, but at least it's something!

 

It varies by paste. Read the directions. It is very important to follow those directions as all pastes have different thicknesses.

 

I will be getting some Gelid GC-3 Extreme thermal paste. Even though it says the method is to spread it I heard stories that spreading the paste is bad as it creates a lot of bubbles. I was going to get some IC Diamond but the last time I used that stuff it scratched up my 920XM and 680M quite a bit and rubbed off all the logo!

 

Always use a thin line with thermal grease and don't spread thermal grease on the processor chip or the heatsink. This is important... Do that on all types of thermal grease whether it is thick or thin.

 

Do you guys think the track pad on the AW 15 is too small? It looks tiny compared to the rest of the laptop. The track pad on the Alienware 13 is pretty big, and I like that.

 

Still waiting for my AW15, has been sitting at "work in progress" for 5 days now.

I am hoping to unplug and use on lap for short periods for time. Does this the 15 really get that hot just browsing the internet in that situation, or does it actually runs cool unplugged?

Also I hate loud fans, my AW14 was a pain with it constant fan spin ups and roaring fan when not under heavy load. With the AW15 BIOS that allows the fans to be more silent, is it only dreaded hybrid BIOS A02 that can allow this?

 

It's quiet but hot. Mine doesn't really get noisy but it does get a bit warm during normal activities. Not burning but still hotter than what anyone would expect.

 

Warm during normal activities? Mine is COLD during normal activities (surfing, movies, music, office, etc). Only when I play games it gets warm and running very intensive games makes it hot... but definitely not unbearable.

 

If you were to unplug it and run on battery on balance setting with a few basic applications and few browser tabs open, does the fan stay mostly in an off state?

 

Any feedback on this?

 

PPL, I have received my 240 watt power supply, however, my CPU still runs at 2.5 GHz while gaming instead of the turbo boost of 3,5 GHz which it's normally doing under normal use.
So I think this causes my firestrike Physics score to be 1500 points lower than it should be http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6413041

How can I prevent this from happening? (I am running on high performance, and both min and max processor power states are 100%)

 

Its ok to me, the clickable buttons are very big, maybe that takes part of the track pad away, but it doesnt seem small

 

All right, thanks. Maybe the 13's track pad just looks bigger because the laptop is smaller, lol.

 

This may sound way off base, but did you enable overclocking under the advanced section, under Graphics Amplifier, in the BIOS?

 

It is enabled by default. And it's set to 1000 if I can recall myself. And keep in mind that my alienware 15 has been clean installed, and I did not install the graphics amplifier driver, since I won't be using it anytime soon.

 

Well what would happen when you disabled the overclock setting?
Despite you not using the GA anytime soon, maybe there something in the BIOS that's causing a problem.

 

HOLY ****, that actually solved my problem. My firestrike score is increased SIGNIFICANTLY, and I was also monitoring my CPU cores, and all were using turbo boost this time.

Before disabling GA overclock in BIOS:
Firestrike score: 7953
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6413041

After disabling GA overclocking in BIOS:
Firestrike score: 8336
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6429694

Can't thank you enough, how did you even know this?

But anyway, impressive difference.

 

Well... I did remember someone on this forum (maybe on AWA, I forgot) saying something about the overclock for the GA attached causing problems for him. Once he disabled it, all was good for him.
Just a hunch, really.

 

Yes, it is dead silent for the most part.

 

That might be... I also thought the pad on the 13 was bigger than the 15. Not that much difference though.

 

Just got my AW 15 with the 240 power cord. Where and how did you change this BIOS? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.