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

Isnt there a way to more safely flash the bios? Because if there isnt a way to recover the bios as an user I rather not flash at all anymore.

 

thanks man
is it working?
and how much rpm should i add?

 

Hi Darkhan, I see you have the 4K screen. My only concern is that i will find things illegible... i see people posting to say that in some programs icons and text is so tiny. Is this the case ? How do you find that screen please ? It would be great to know as i am hoping to order this week. Thanks.

 

Anyone got the alienware 15 r2 echo 4k touchscreen?

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You're welcome!! I have not Aw Echo, but the principle should be the same. Ask others with the same Aw model about recommended fan speed.

 

hey thanks again for help
my cpu temps already fine now but my gpu temps seems weird, i never see it passing 80 c but now after rebenchmark with higher oc (+250/+450) tr2013 it passed 80 c O.O.
this is benchmark result with new cpu temps









screen taken with fraps
result seems okay however i am not comfortable with the temps
i cant use windows game dvr or another video capturing soft because my only 4 gb system ram lol

and just noticed history in firestrike pyshics score higher without turbo and using stock bios with mere oc at +135/+495 (6 ghz effective) i was able to hit 11k graphics and 9k overall score


so i was trying to record ultimate preset benchmark with 4 gb ram but it failed hahaha

 

So, I'm not too happy with Dell.
2/12/16 Received laptop. Bad 980M upon receipt, couldn't call until Monday, rep says he can not replace laptop and can only send mobo.
2/15/16 Called SUpport, on phone for 2+ hours. Multiple driver installs with BSOD's and freezes. Rep puts in order for new mobo. Promises call back on 2/17/16
2/17/16 No callback so I called. Was told by a rep it does not show in system for 2 to 3 days so there is nothing he can do(even though this is the 2nd day)
2/18/16 Called again after the 3 day mark the rep puts me on hold after having issues locating my laptop information.. 15 minutes later he hangs up....Had no time to call back
2/19/16 Called again got a different rep again who says I see your customer request but I see it was never submitted... Awesome.... New rep than wants to rerun all the tests again. I refuse and ask to just return the laptop, I am tired of wasting my time. He then decides to just approve the mobo order and is rushing it.. He gave me a dispatch number and said it should be installed by the tech by 2/24/16...

So I paid buku dollars for a broken system and then am lied to by 2 different reps because they do not want to deal with the issues...Worst of all I didn't even get anything for all of my trouble. Granted I never asked but I have spent probably 6 + hours on the phone and have been unable to use my shiny new laptop.... :'(

If it was just taking longer for the part I would not of been as mad/frustrated as I am right now but that 1 screwed up and then 2 more lied to me...

And with every rep I was VERY courteous and respectful never once was I nasty with any of them(Just thought I would add this before someone said they didn't want to deal with an irate customer)

...Had to vent haha....

 

you shouldve gotten complete care and just dropped your machine in water.. lol

 

Do you get a complete replacement if you have the accidental cover ?

 

I recently spent 6 minutes via chat message and got a brand new replacement motherboard and new 4k screen on a new alienware 15 r2 that was only two months old, didn't even have to call

 

How, when Dell does not support Alienware laptops via chat...?

 

Did anyone tried the Microsoft Dell-Alienware-Echo-15-R2-ANW15-8214SLV-Signature-Edition with 4k touchscreen and Skylake processor? I am not able to find a review of it

 

Dont you get tired of asking the same question over and over again?

 

I want to buy it to other country. The value with taxes is too high for me to risk. I want to hear from someone who bought it the opinion

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Anyone currently with a 4k panel installed, whether from factory or added, can you do a hwinfo or something and post the panel model#?

 

So I was playing with my 15 R2 to try to get the screen model for @intotheblue and found out my laptop will not run on battery. Immediately freezes when trying to run windows.. Lol how did this laptop even pass QC... So sad...

 

Stock UHD panel

 

Hi All

I have a Alienware 15 R2 for Christmas with the following specs , I have only used it a couple of times but so far I keep getting a blue screen and the machine reboots giving some message about power state failure , I have updated to A05 bios before I read this forum


also does anyone know why dell have removed the GTX90M option from all there alienware range , as speaking to Dell all I can get is we pulled that card due to technical issues.





i7-6700HQ
16GB Memory
256SSD 1TB
GTX980M 4GB

 

I also received the same issues and power state failure with blue screen. I am having my motherboard replaced today actually.

Can you try your laptop on battery, does it freeze immediately when it tried to use the 980M? Thats how mine started and now it freezes the second it boots up.

 

Hi Guys

I've noticed a couple of niggling issues of sort with my AW15 R2.

1: When I restart Windows (10 Pro x64) the laptop hangs at POST until it either reboots (and does the same thing) or I hit F2 and go into the BIOS, when I do the latter, none of my hard drives are listed.
If I shut down and then boot up again, everything is fine.

2: Sometimes my fans will "stick" at a certain speed. The funny thing about this is, when this happens and I run XTU, the fans will operate normally according to temps but when testing is finished the fans will revert to the "stuck" RPM. Again, rebooting sorts it out.

I wonder if my first issue is to do with the fact I don't have secureboot turned on?! I turned it off as I did a fresh, vanilla install and intended on dual booting a Linux distro which I hear aren't well supported(if at all) by secureboot.

No idea why the fans do what they do......... I'm thinking there might be an issue with the latest BIOS.

Anyone else having these quirks?

 

The latest BIOS update doesnt work for me so i revert back to the original BIOS.

I also revert back windows latest update build because it cause my system goes wrong.

You may want to try to revert back to the factory setting and see how it goes

 

I saw you mention in another post you are using samsung nvme drivers, on my XPS 15 when I switched to the samsung nvme driver it produced a couple of boot up issues - hangs, drive not detected and also gave me blue screens. Not sure if it's the same thing effecting you but I would assume as much.

 

What didn't work for you with regards to the latest bios?

I'm fairly certain windows is not the issue, it's a clean install with only the latest drivers.

I've reset to default settings in the BIOS several times already, if that's what you mean.

 

Those drivers only kick when windows is booting, the system hangs at POST so the NVMe drivers are not in play at that point. At least as far as I know!

edit: That said, I'll try removing them when I get home and see if that affects anything.

 

I will try the laptop now with just battery and try and get it to use the 980m ,



what do they change on the replacement mother board lower GPU ?


sucks how this brand new laptop with high spec is having this issue and now I am worried that dell have pulled the GTX980m because its a lemon and im stuck with it in my machine

 

its running a 3DMark fire strike test on battery now , I will update in a few mins


UPDATE didn't even get that far it stuck and froze loading then orange screen of death and power state failure and now its rebooting .




I have also noticed that alienware.co.uk have just updated there 15 R2 they are now offering the GTX980M again but the 8GB version

 

They replace the whole motherboard processor, gpu, etc.. It's all one piece. Almost a new computer haha.

Yeah mine wont even load the tests on AC power and barely turns on, when on battery.

I would call if I were you and get it taken care of while its under warranty, it will only get worse.

 

ive never had an issue with the GTX980m on my AW15...... battery or mains..??, its certainly not a generic issue with these cards..

 

To my knowledge this is not a widespread issue but I was receiving the same error as the other poster so whatever the issue was might be the same problem between the both of us, which is why I asked him to test on battery power.

My new motherboard has been installed but I had to leave and go to work while it is reinstalling windows and running its tests. Hopefully tonight I will have a positive update about it...

 

So I talked to Dell and they gave me a part number for the 40-pin to 40-pin eDP cable, gjmg7, but say they don't actually sell it lol.

So my quest for a 4k screen is kind of hosed there. Anyone have any ideas?

I'm actually going to be putting in a 3k screen if I can source the cable. Will be easier to read plus on a 15" the difference between 4k and 3k will be negligible but tax my GPU far less.

Edit: Bozo #1 couldn't sell it, Helpful Rep #1 could...no details in their system if it is the 40-pin cable, we'll find out soon.

 

Ok so it looks like the latest (1.2.7 A05) bios was indeed the cause of above issues. I have since rolled back to 1.2.2 A03 and have no issues rebooting and my fans appear to behave normally.

 

New motherboard fixed my issues. Woohoo... Laptop now works and runs well. Ran a little warmer than I wanted so I might have to take it back apart to repaste but otherwise looking good.

 

Brilliant news I am glad you have yours fixed, after spending a hour on the phone with Dell support ( advisor was brilliant) he went through a load of tests etc and said for me to do a clean windows install and if the problem still exists he will arrange for the mother board to be replaced.


nightmare Time ....

download windows 10 image copy to usb stick . no problem took 20 mins or so

reboot hold f12 boot of usb stick no problem


install os clean install from usb stick , two options , just delete files or clean wipe ,,,, DONT CLICK CLEAN WIPE lol takes 7 odd hours to install windows 10 .


only then to find out it has installed windows 10 to the 1TB drive and the 256ssd not even in the device list.


again re install windows from image this time remove 1TB hdd from laptop , which forced the image to go onto the SSD drive , re installed 1TB drive after windows has installed and all ok with drive setup now .


I am at the stage now where windows is downloading the 1511 update etc so I have not even got to the testing stages yet :-(



hopefully tonight I will be getting somewhere so I can update

 

UPDATE


Fresh install of Windows 10 and all drivers and so far running heaven and fire strike benchmarking tests I have had no reboots or errors , I will test for 24h to be sure

 

So my new mobo came with BIOS 1.2.3 which isn't even available on Dells site.. I cannot update it. I get a failure warning every time I try.. I am debating trying to go back to A00 than trying the latest but am scared there will be issues since it will not let me flash newer right now....

Anyone have any experience with 1.2.3?

 

I have 3 drives in my alienware 15r2
500 ssd evo850
256 m.2
256 m.2

one of the m.2 models only appeared, in order to see the 2nd one i had to install the intel rapid storage software

once installed the drive appeared fine

 

Mine is 1.2.3 as well. I have the .exe downloaded from Dell website.
I dont like the latest BIOS so Im staying on BIOS 1.2.3

 

i had 1.2.3 on mine too...... wish i bloody left it well alone, apart from the random PC crashes i endured while the machine was idle sometimes, it was perfect!!!

 

Maybe it is the windows that cause the crashes?

 

Entertaining this 15" laptop... is it closer to 6lbs or 7lbs? I've seen both. Also, I've read the 15" R2 screen is worse than its predecessor. What about the UHD model?? Does it make up for the decline in screen quality/brightness?

 

The r2's 4k screen is beautiful. The 1080p has nice colors after tweaking but it is not too bright.

After finally getting my machine up and running I noticed insanely bad backlight bleed. They are now sending me a new top half of the laptop after I sent them a picture... The only parts left of what they originally sent me now are :
Lower chassis portion with keyboard, Ram modules, Wireless card... Everything else has been replaced now..LOL

 

Holy crap. Well, at least they are working with you. Any idea on the weight question? Closer to 6 or 7lbs? I've always hated anything over 5 but I am entertaining something heavier this time.

 

Definitely closer to 7lbs if not a touch more.

 

When I get home from work I will throw it onto my shipping scale for ya.

 

Does anyone else's core temps fluctuate greatly? Between cores 1 and 4 I can have a 20 deg C difference. I need to repaste I imagine and will after my new screen is installed. I have also started to notice a high pitch wine when my cpu fan spins up and down... Hmm Will need to look at the heatsinks when I have it apart...

 

Did any of you forgo the "Premium Support" for the Limited Support? It saves $119 on a 15 R2..... Only main difference I see is it doesn't include the "proactive support" or extra tech support. But hardware is still covered as is on-site service for Alienware products.... I'm pretty tech savvy, but understand laptops are a different beast.

 

That high pitched whine is PWM modulation noise. I have it too. I think all 15R2's and 17R3's have it.

I have fluctuations of the package temperature at full load that jumps up and down 10c. I think the readout of XTU is a bit strange.

 

This laptop actually is not too bad. It is really straight forward on the inside of it also. So I have both supports eventhough I tried to cancel them (still waiting for it to go through) Everytime I called at the end of the conversation, it was "Oh I see you have premium support, would you like me to transfer you" and when they did they did the exact same things the other reps.. I really think it is just a make you feel warm and fuzzy inside but completely useless warranty haha.

The on site support though, man have I been using that..

Yeah this didn't sound like PWM noise. Sounded like something in my fan, so I took it apart again and double checked everything and could not find any issues but the noise is much quieter now.

I also repasted with Kryonaut and man, 10-15 deg C difference at idle and much much less temp spiking.. The difference is amazing. My fans don't even kick on unless I am gaming now. And I am typing this after watching youtube for 30 minutes with laptop laying on the bed with no fan underneath just to test. Idling at package tempo of 34 deg C. Use to idle close to 60 on a fan.

 

Lol is it the same dell serving you all? What level of contrast is this!

 

lol, well I'm still shocked at the service I got. Never had that happen before and I probably won't expect it again. I was honestly expecting to go through the gauntlet like he did...