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

I've locked a deal in on Dell Outlet for 6820HK / 16 GB/ 1TB SSD / 1TB HDD / 240Watt / FHD Screen / 3 year warranty @ 2000$ all in with next day shipping (1,000$ less than the machine in my spec, which will go back to dell UK).

While I enjoy the UHD screen in windows, in games it is just a nightmare. The latest games wont run at 4k, they have to run at 1080p, and the upscaling for me is too difficult to get used to on a gaming machine which is its primary purpose..

My experience has been that the upscaling from 1080p is very noticable and gives me blocky graphics on the UHD screen, and the main purpose of the machine is to game, and it will be gimped on that.. even though i prefer the brightness and the resolution for desktop of the UHD screen.

In addition to the intel drivers crashing during scrolling (Come on DELL) this is tough to justify as a 3,000$ laptop right now.

2,000$ is ok though with 3 year coverage.

Fingers crossed I get a unit with an LG FHD.

 

I just got a alienware 15. they sent the wrong order twice now. 2 models with the 965m instead of what I paid for which was a 970m. I live in Canada. The 1st I returned right the 2nd I have had for the last week or so and have a huge concern with it. 1st off its shocking they could send the wrong one twice. the second laptop I got has had big issues. the biggest one is that it constantly buzzes like a light saber/static noise if its is moved at all its very weird and scares me for when my proper laptop arrives. It has also had many driver display fails and has even had an error once where it shows the upside down smiley face. What should I do ? I want to be excited for my proper configuration but this week long experience has scared me. What should I do should I be worried? Should alienware compensate me for sending 2 incorrect orders and one of them experiences technical issues? I haven't even gamed just youtube and email.. my tablet can handle that with no problem. I want to love my alienware! Thanks guys

 

My first alienware had an issue with the screen, butbthey sent a replacement right away and let me use that one in the meantime. It arrived in 11 days. The second unit is perfect, although after the last windows uodate I've noticed an occasional stutter on fallout. I've had no new issues related to the hardware, however.

 

I'm really hoping I don't get any issues in the future. its too bad I didn't receive the proper configuration the first 2 times but as long as the 3rd one coming is perfect ill be very happy. So far from my time just barley using it ive really been struggling with the grease I don't know the best way to maintain it, if you rub to hard will that scratch it if you use a microfiber cloth and tablet spray cleaner? So far I like everyhhing else about the laptop but like I said the 2nd laptop was a big dud with lots of crashes, and the buzzing was very loud the second you moved it up or down. Scares me a lot as I plan on having this alienware 15 for years to come... thanks guys any help or comments is much appreciated.

 

I'm planning to get the external GPU case, because I'm planning on getting a 3440x1440 monitor. So I need more horse power.
My question is though. I never use Dell his drivers when it comes to GPU's.
So Can I use the latest nvidia drivers on the external GPU that I will be running, Because the drivers tend to get optimized quite often for game releases.

Because I really still would prefer to own a laptop instead of a desktop. but I'm starting to get out of options here as I really want to have one of those new curved ultra-wide monitors with g-sync.

 

Well - after accepting my slightly dim samsung panel for what it is.. and being actually happy there's 0 backlight bleed - I've found a stuck pixel right in the middle of the screen

Time to enter into "dell hell" of screen swapping! (FHD Panel)

 

Sorry if these have been asked before, hard to try and catch up with 246 pages.

I'm interested in getting the R2 with Thunberbolt 3. I'm seeing some refurbished laptops on eBay with the i7-6700HQ but with a 965m. Is there a R2 rev 1 and 2? Since the new i7-6700HQs come with the 970m. Will these older R2's still have TB3?

I definitely need to upgrade the screen for photoshop work if I got this laptop, I really want a Samsung LTN156HL01 screen (high sRGB coverage, low delta color errors)

 

So I just bought a refurb on ebay for a great price (i7 with 970m). Will be upgrading with HyperX 16GB 2400mhz RAM, Samsung 840 M.2 250GB SSD, Crucial 960GB SSD, and the LTN156HL01-102 ASAP.

Future additions will include the Graphics Amplifier with AMD r9 390 and a LG 27MC67 (or 27UD68) 4k IPS freesync monitor.

My only other option in the price range with USB-C was the Msi PE60 6QE (only 960m) and no guarantee that a GPU dock will work with it soon, so I wouldn't even be able to get 30+ FPS in 1080p and max settings.

My current XPS 15 i7 lasted me just shy of 5 years, looking forward to the upgrade.

 

How exactly do you plan on transitioning to M.2 SSD from the 1TB. I also purchased the AW15R2 with a 1TB HD and I purchased 1xSamsung 850 EVO M.2 SSD and 1xSamsung 950 PRO M.2 SSD, still trying to decide which one to keep-- by my plan is to keep Windows on the M.2 SSD and use the 1TB as secondary storage. So again, Im just confused on how to move/clone,etc. my current HD to the M.2 SSD: alien-spawn, Samsung's on software, or just start from scratch.

 

If all goes to plan I'll do a clean install onto the 250GB M.2 for Win 10, program files and page file. Then I'm going to pull out the stock 1TB (5400rpm) and put in the Crucial 960GB SSD I've had laying around for a year.

I was going to clone the 600GB HDD in my current laptop to the 960GB SSD, but my current Win 8 install is all jacked up so I'm just going to start from scratch and then just copy over all my old files, then sell the AW 1TB 5400 HDD.

 

I can confirm this 1920x1080 screen is plug and play for those that have the 970m GPU (should be fine for the other GPUs as well):

http://www.panelook.com/B156HAN01.2_AUO_15.6_LCM_overview_19049.html

Purchased one from here for under $40 - appear to be lots left:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171713910184?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


Mine came a little dirty but had no dead pixels or bleed. Beautiful screen - much nicer than the stock 1920x1080 ips.

 

You installed this on your R2?

 

Are you use you ordered the samsung panel? Distributors have a small clause that states tehy can send whateve rpanel they have in stock.

Its a lottery within the lottery

 

Yes - took about 10 minutes. Much brighter panel with better color gamut.

 

Thanks for the info. Can you specify which one is which?

The first link is: LG?

Second link from eBay is: Samsung?

 

It is an AUO panel. The samsung is the laptop model # it came from. This panel was used in a number of laptops.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

I'd buy if I were you. In the UK I can't get that model IPS and it's the better of the lot

 

I have ordered an LG FHD Panel from a supplier (300 Nits, Model LP156WF6) From a UK supplier for 50£ (2 year warranty). I'll be installing it in my laptop this week and can share the outcome. Cheers

 

I bought the "Samsung" panel from ebay, it's a used panel with the appropriate Samsung stickers on the back w/ model #. I'll have it installed Tuesday and check hwinfo to see if it's legit. I tried calibrating the stock Samsung screen and the results were horrible. I could get 120 cd/m2 at 63% brightness which is plenty for me, and could achieve 2.2 gamma average and 6500k, but I literally couldn't bare to look at the screen and had to revert back to the stock colors. I guess that's what happens when the panel is only capable of only ~60% of sRGB.

Does anyone know how to add a scroll zone to the touchpad instead of the 2 finger scroll? I tried installing an older Synaptics driver from my old XPS that has scroll zones but didn't work. Any 3rd party software?

I'm pretty happy overall, have the 1.25TB of SSD working great, OS installed on the M.2 drive with no problem. I also downloaded a white theme for AlienFX to have white backlit keys to match my XPS.

RAM usage has only been about 4GB for most tasks so I'll wait a while to upgrade to 16GB.

 

How complicated did you find it was to replace the screen (specifically the disconnecting / reconnecting of the small ribbons)?

 

I'll have that answer by tomorrow night. If I don't post until Wednesday, that means it was harder than I thought lol. From the videos I've seen disconnecting the ribbons wasn't that hard, there's just some tape you have to peel up that's securing it.

 

was the best panel, but cost a leg. i read that was an IGZIO panel 100% adobe

 

So I've got a 15r2 and a Samsung 250gb SSD on the way.

When it comes to installing Windows, basically all I need to do is use the USB Recovery stick I got from Dell, and within that setup 1) Format the 1TB HDD so it's "clean," and 2) Format the new SSD and tell it to install to that, correct?

Are there any other quirks I need to be made aware of when doing this installation on an Alienware?

 

Basically you pop off the bezel and then remove the 4 screws holding the panel. Then you remove the eDP connector. Takes about 10 minutes.

 

you didn't remove the palm rest, hinges, and display assembly?

 

Hi guys

I have just joined the AW15 (R1) club! This will be my first Alienware machine and my first impression are that, this machine isn't nearly as "fat" as I was led to believe!

I got a decent deal on the Outlet (UK) however, after ordering the machine with a GTX 970m, I have been sent one with an AMD m390 . It also turns out that the SSD listed is not the one I have, the service tag states that it has a Samsung PM851 512GB SSD but the machine has a SanDisk X300 512GB SSD. The SSD is less of an issue but the GPU is a massive no go for me.

As this was an Outlet machine and I can see that they do not have another AW15, let alone one with the proper specs as ordered, what do you guys think will be done to rectify this?

I'm in the middle of a complaint with Gigabyte due to the poorly built machine I currently have (in sig), I really don't fancy going through the same with Dell.

Edit:

So Dell can't do much other than return and refund, they asked if some "compensation" would help retain me as a customer but couldn't get an alternative machine for me.

So my ownership of an AW machine was short lived..... "I'll be back"..........

 

Does anyone have a part nbr for an FHD or UHD touch (or even QHD etc) replacement screen that fits the 15 R2? Or would any 15.6 screen fit. I wanted to swap my UHD screen to a touch screen..

 

any 40 pin screen should work for you if you have the UHD as you have the 40 pin Dell eDP connector. However I doubt a touch screen will work at all as you have the r2.

 

The R1 had touchscreen capability, so shouldnt swapping in either an R1 screen or similar screen work the same?

 

How do you expect touch screen to work on the r2, via the eDP port?

 

How is an R1 screen connected?

 

to be honest I have no idea. Not sure if the digitiser just communicates to the computer via the eDP port or what

 

Thats what Im thinking. The digitizer is built into the screen itself and is just connected the same way. Once proper drivers are installed, I would think it would work. I just dont want to buy a screen that wont fit/work.

 

Did you order your 256 m2 drive with the laptop from dell? or can you tell me what type of m2 ssd drive comes with the r2 if you get it from dell? Id like to order a 2nd that matches.

 

I'm pretty sure they ship with Samsung SM951 PCIe SSD's. I bought one off eBay to put in my desktop and that came out of a Dell....

 

hey if you find out let me know and I'll do the same when pascal drops!

 

Pascal.......mmmmmm.....can't wait.

So FHD, UHD and Touch screen panels all interchangeable eh? I'm surprised.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

well I think it depends on if you have the 40pin to 30 pin eDP cable or 40pin to 40pin eDP cable

 

Nope - not required on the FHD screen. Not sure about the 4k but it should be the same.

 

Im not positive that the screens are interchangeable just due to the fact that its hard to confirm, but I dont see why it wouldnt be unless there are additional inputs required for the digitizer. I was hoping someone with more knowledge on the differences between touch and non-touch monitors connectors would chime in.

 

A quick tutorial on removing the FHD screen on the Alienware 15 R2 Skylake:

1. Begin by removing the bezel on either side of screen. It should come up fairly easily as no adhesive is used on the sides or top. There is adhesive used on the bottom of the bezel where the ALIENWARE logo is - use some care when removing this portion of the bezel. Also, make sure the screen is open all the way before removing the bottom part of the bezel.



2. This is what you will see with the bezel removed:



3. Remove the 4 screws holding the panel in place and remove the panel letting it rest on the back of the bezel/keyboard




4. Remove the eDP cable - note the small clasp:



5. After removing the eDP cable you can now remove the LCD panel:

 

is the FHD 30 or 40pin eDP cable? UHD is 40 pin eDP right?

 

Is it possible to connect the aw 15 to a gsync external monitor? Some say its not possible because of optimus.

Sent from my SM-N910S using Tapatalk

 

The FHD uses a 30 pin connector on the panel side.

 

I picked up one of these to replace the original 1080p panel is my 15R2:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171713910184?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

They are used but are plug and play, mine came with no dead pixels or light bleed. It is an AUO panel - model B156HAN01.2 . google the model number for more info. This panel scores fairly high according to this - 9th one down:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Best-Notebook-Displays-As-Reviewed-By-Notebookcheck.120541.0.html

 

i grabbed the 4k version because the problems I was reading about the FHD and the fact that the 4k was the only config that came with the 6820hk from dell.

 

Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of scaling even on windows 10. Plus, the 4k screens seem to have serious light bleed issues. Hopefully you received a good screen! But for under $40, replacing the screen was a no-brainer for me. I do use a 40" 4k panel though - at 40" 4k is perfect!

 

Im probably going to swap it with an FHD panel if I have issues, however, I dont know if the connector is 30 or 40pin for the UHD model.

 

Hi Guys

Ok so just manged to swap out my FHD screen.

A special middle finger to dell for having stripped the lower right screw in my laptop display bezel, made the whole thing way way worse than it needed to be, for reference I managed to get the screw out with a 5 MM Bit on my freaking DRILL (Yes i just drilled into my alienware 15 R2) to get the damned screw out

I'm currently taking deep bretahs here. I even tried crazy glue and got a fingerprint worth on the bottom of my AW -_- that was me spazzing out, glue was a bad idea to begin with and i deserve it

So if you guys have stripped screws on your AW 15 go with the 5mm bit for your drill.

Anyway the screen: 300 nits, vibrant colors, and god damn it was worth it i'm feeling a lot better about this pc now. only had the screen for a few mins now but looks good far far brighter. will need to find a creative way to get rid of the super glue on my chassis without damaging the plastic now.