*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R3 Owner's Lounge

Sorry, I keep forgetting to say, I'm in the UK.

So you think an exchange?

That was my first thought then on reflection figured I could live with it (though shouldn't have to) if I was compensated in some way - the gap worried me as could be more than a cosmetic issue though.

I'll give CS a call later today and request an exchange.

Thanks!

 

I have the same issue as you, did you find any solution yet to get rid of the "Checking media ..." ? It slow down my boot quite a lot

 

Go into the BIOS and change the boot order so the only one listed is the Windows boot.

 

I have a SSD Samsung 960 EVO 500 Gb for my 15r3.
I plugged it in and it is not recognized by Windows or Samsung magician but I can see the new SSD in the BIOS.
I tried to install the NVMe Driver from Samsung but it said the NVMe device is not connected.

In disk Manager I can see the SSD and if I format it in NTFS it then appear in Windows but still not recognized by Magician or NVMe driver

 

Update:

Laptop is being returned tomorrow, I should have the new one in two weeks so I'm told, and I got an additional 7% off (got 15% off when I originally bought it). Not a bad outcome really, just hope there are no issues with the replacement...

 

yeah but at mine aw 15r3 with FHD ips nowhere is advertised that is with gsync support... only at control panel, I dont know whitch is write

 

Hi, does the 7700HQ version still suffer from the CPU heat problems? How about the 7820HK?

TIA!

 

Any answer? thanks for reply.

 

I am thinking of getting this: http://www.ebags.com/product/mcklei.../117062?productid=1304520#ratings-and-reviews
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=03V-008S-00019

 

Is RAID turned off in BIOS? You can find that setting in BIOS as SATA operation. I prefer it to be AHCI.
Samsung Magician is not really needed, W10 can take care of that drive, so don't worry.

 

Excited to get my AW15 next week. Also ordered all the supplies to upgrade the HDDs and repaste. Although I will not be doing liquid metal I am sure it will be a big improvement over stock.

 

I ordered last Friday, just arrived yesterday. Sad to hear that Dell still uses such paste on these machines - everything else feels so premium and high quality.

What are my options? I'm open to doing a repaste, but I'm not confident on being able to take apart my entire laptop.

 

i need help guys. my laptop just wont adjust its brightness.
most guides online told me to update my Monitor and Display Adapter drivers on my device manager. and still nothing works.
here's some pics on the controls. i can use the OSD (Fn+F9/10) but still nothing happens
i can set the brightness to 0/25/50/100% but nothing still happens

http://imgur.com/RkD6cDi

http://imgur.com/XOa8bW6

http://imgur.com/Y4TUug6

 

Did you had your Motherboard replaced ? If yes, try this :

 

The mobo was not replaced. I just got this laptop and i was updating drivers when after i was prompted to restart, the problem appeared. This is the current options on my bios. I didnt change anything.. http://m.imgur.com/Ka8p4Bn

 

Can anyone possibly tell me why I can't seem to be able to chose my intel 600p as installation drive for a new windows 10 installation? I've used windows media creation tool to make a bootable USB drive. The intel ssd is visible when booting into windows and also in bios, but I simply can't chose it when trying to install windows
http://imgur.com/a/OTTcT

 

It was fixed by changing SATA operation in the bios from RAID to AHCI if anyone is having the same problem in the future http://imgur.com/a/KbXlk

 

Yup, I use the usb-c port for my mouse and keyboard via the Logitech port sharing dongle. and a 7 port Anker to connect the external SoundBlaster module, and HDMI for the external monitor. I still have 5 ports left for other goodies

 

Did you ever get this fixed? Support can be surprisingly good at times. Put in a support request to see if they can fix remote first, and if not, send it in for repairs. Don't do the home support thing, as there are way too many accounts of the tech making things worse.

 

For those with gsync panels, can anyone tell me when the integrated GPU (in my case, Intel HD 630) ever actually be used? My understanding was the gsync panel is connected directly to the internal GTX 1060.

 

The weird thing about the iGPU is, it does draw power SOMETIMES. I'm not sure when or why, but HWinfo64 shows it drawing voltage though most of the time it shows 0.000. I don't feel like unhiding it from HwInfo to get the number of which it draws but I am sure others will have seen it

 

Can you post the link from amazon thanks! Need one of those!

 

It is never used because it is not connected to anything. You could not use it even if you wanted to.

 

I'm very happy with the 15 r3 I received a few weeks ago. Replaced the hdd with a spare Mushkin 512 GB SSD, and replaced the 128GB SanDisk with a 256GB Evo 960. Fortunate enough to get fairly low cpu temps with the 6820, even with an oc, but gtx 1070 is constantly at 89-91c (stock settings with factory 378.xx drivers) while gaming or benchmarking. Got the fix for that, undergoing surgery today to install Conductonaut.

 

I figured... wasn't one of the key Kaby Lake benefits over Skylake the ability to watch Netflix 4K? Does that mean I can't even do that?

I also wonder with Gsync, does that mean if I hook up an AGA, the dGPU (internal) would still be used for the laptop screen assuming it's in Extend mode, and the AGA/eGPU would be for the external screen?

 

Just finished running a couple of benchmarks to see if the gpu would run cooler after the repasting. GPU temps on benchmarks dropped from 91c to 61c, while the cpu is running around 6-9c cooler. Well worth the hour and a few minutes to take it apart and apply the conductonaut. You can see the Dell quality application on the gpu. Thanks, to iunlock, and all of the forerunners for detailing how to do this fix. Your assistance is appreciated by many.

 

Hello folks, hopefully be joining you all in here soon!

I'm shopping for the right configuration and stumbled on one in the deals section that has me confused. I was looking at this config http://www.dell.com/uk/p/alienware-15-laptop/pd?oc=n00aw15r321&model_id=alienware and was going to add another 8GB of RAM, however I stumbled upon this:
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/alienware-15-laptop/pd?oc=n00aw15r325&model_id=alienware-15-laptop which seems to be a good deal in that it has the 120Hz screen, 16GB ram plus the internal SSD for way less than it would cost to upgrade the first config to that.

Is this just a great deal? I don't see any "money off", which makes me think perhaps its an older model or something. Is there anything it's missing compared to the one labeled R3? Can someone advise

Thanks!

 

Well, it's a new model. Sporting the KabyLake proc. Definitely a 15 R3. My unit was built in March with the unlocked SkyLake, I upgraded the drives (pcie M.2, and sata ssd, and ram for about $200, which brought me to $1675 total. I really love eBay. That looks about right, price wise, if going through Dell, and international, although I would do some searching for additional coupon codes. Maybe hit up a Dell rep if they are on here, somewhere.

 

It was more the fact that, when I upgrade the first link to the same specs, it comes to about £300 more! It made me think there was something else missing elsewhere but I can't spot anything.

 

I literally shopped, and shopped and shopped. Deals that looked too good to be true, generally were (scammers), and every time I read about a deal or coupon code for a new model, it was expired or non-applicable to my purchase. Finally, found the correct model with the specs I could live with, (or change on the cheep). But prolly spent close to a couple of days total researching, reading, comparing, etc. Time well spent, and now, my laptop beats up on my desktop. Good luck, Macaroon. I'm sure whatever you decide to go with will be a winner.

 

Thanks man, it's on Dell's site so I'd be surprised if it was dodgy! Just wanted to make sure there wasn't something I was missing. I'm using the Unidays student discount so getting 10% off which is good!

 

If you haven't bought it already, talk to Dell via chat and they'll give you 12% off instead of the 10. I asked if I could stack the unidays discount with their 10% off last month, but they said no. Still, 12% is better than 10 and every little helps

 

Nice! Is that just by asking for it? 2% at the cost of an alienware is decent money ha!

 

Yeah just ask if there's any extra discount you can get and they should give you it. I'm ordering one again on Monday (returned the last one cause I can't live without IPS) and I'm gonna ask them for 12% again

 

Has anyone experienced issues after windows KB4013418 update? I seem to be having very high CPU usage after it was installed! All 4 cores are running at 3.6GHz even while the system is idle!

 

Hello, new user here.

Wanted to share my experience with the 15 r3(6700hq & 1070) that I bought within a couple of weeks of its release. Got it in Malaysia & had to come back to my own country soon after. In hindsight, I should have bought a RoG, MSI or Acer; as they have official support in my country. Dell has none. But for years I heard good reviews from users about AW's build quality & competent technical support. So, took the risk & went for it right after the release in November 2016.

Here's my experience...

1. Overheating (you guys all know why & how). I already ordered the necessary pads & thermal grease(LM too) but couldn't do it soon enough for being busy.
2. Whole bunch of audio issues, finally had to remove all audio drivers & utilities except for the default one.
3. Temps reaching near 100 degrees while gaming. Left side of keyboard(CPU side) getting really uncomfortable.
4. Screen bleeding, badly. Don't really got the time to take the thing apart & do anything.
5. Finally, today... found that left ctrl & caps lock keys gone dead.
6. All the crap BIOS versions & the bugs(e.g. CPU fan test).

These are fixable, through AW support & hours of tinkering. Or in worst case scenario, I'll just sell the damn thing for very little money & get a professional Dell latitude or Lenovo in future. I'm not young enough to spend that much time with this.

AW laptops, outside north america, always costs more than their usual prices(for currency conversions & specific tariffs etc). This wasn't cheap, at least for me. Very recently I got a new Desktop setup for professional works, nearly similar specs(except any GPU). The performance I'm getting & the peace of mind compared to the laptop.... can't express in words! I always keep 5-6 VMs running with heavy load of CPU and RAM usage & the system unit just keeps performing rock solid, granted it's got a Linux for OS.

I didn't expect the laptop to perform anywhere near a similarly configured Desktop counterpart. But, for a unit costing over 2000 USD, the quality control has to be much better. Couple this with the mindless & daft support people of AW. I really don't have much clue about current gaming world. But....

If this is the current engineering & manufacturing level of standard practised in gaming industry, I don't know what to say. Utter incompetence...

 

What is the recommended way to OC and undervolt laptop CPUs? I understand the possibilities are BIOS, XTU & Throttlestop. As I've heard some people mention that Throttlestop is better than XTU because it uses less cycles, my initial plan is to raise the multiplier in BIOS and adjust the power in throttlestop, how does this sound? And lastly, which settings do I need to adjust in throttlestop to ensure a stable OC? 4ghz was the initial plan to hit and work from there.

 

Do the needful: http://forum.notebookreview.com/goto/post?id=10499803#post-10499803

 

Hey guys - could someone with a little more experience than I help me out here?

I want to order a 15 R3, but having some difficulties chosing between the 60hz IPS and 120hz TN(both Gsync's).
The laptop will be used 50% of the time away from the desk, but when at my desk it will be placed next to my u3014 monitor, which is why I'm kinda leaning towards the IPS.

I don't know how it is dealing with Dell in Denmark(will find out later), but they currently have a 7820hk/1070gtx/120hz/16gb with 256gb SSD+1tb HDD on sale. When I configure a similar specced machine, but with the cheaper 60hz IPS Gsync panel instead, the price is way higher.

I have never tried 120hz, so I don't know what I've been missing out on, which is why I come for advice here
I don't do anything other than basic tasks and gaming, so it's not that I absolutely need color accuracy, but I'm used to glorious colors on the displays I've owned(old AW M17x R2 with RGB display, Dell u2711 and now u3014), and I know I can't stand my dad's cheap Acer with a TN panel(bad colors and viewing angles), but from what I understand the panel Dell uses is of better quality?

Am I better off just waiting for a deal on an IPS equipped machine?

Thanks

 

I got the 120hz TN and returned it, soon will order the IPS. The TN panel is very good for a TN, and I was a big fan of its brightness, decent colours and the viewing angles are better than most TN screens I've used, however the deeper blacks and colours of my 17r2's touchscreen kept me from keeping it. Also the TN is £200 more in the UK so that factored into my decision. The 120hz is very smooth and noticeable in games, but in my opinion the slightly washed out colours (compared to my 17R2) are more noticeable, but I imagine this depends on personal preference, I use my laptop for everything from gaming to photography to watching films/uni work though, and don't have an external display yet. I wish they had an OLED screen on the 15, then I'd be a happy man!

Since it sounds like there's a good deal on the TN, I'd recommend getting it and seeing if you like it, returns are always an option. I read everything I could find on the internet about the 15r3 TN vs IPS, but it didn't help to make my mind up.

Hope this helped!

 

Thank you for your super fast reply - and it was just that kind of feedback I was looking for

I too have been reading on here about the IPS and TN panels, but there are as many opinions as there are members
I tend to agree on what some said that it's a gaming notebook, so of couse it has to have the 120hz panel, but then again, I can see others point of view when saying they will never touch a TN panel again, and so chooses to sacrifice the smoothness of the 120hz in order to get better colors.
You definitely helped me, and it sounds like we're looking for the same. I will ask Dell if a deal can be made on a IPS equipped machine with similar specs - if not, I will most likely try the TN, although I admit the thought of better colors sounds a bit better to me, but I might be surprised!

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I just got my 15 R3 with the TN 120Hz panel, and I'm switching from a previous IPS panel (Aorus X5 was the laptop). I'm loving it so far - the colors are indeed noticeably displayed differently, like using f.lux is less orange and slightly more washed out, but the 120Hz refresh more than makes up for it in my personal opinion. Angles and brightness are decent, but the refresh, coming from a 60Hz laptop monitor, makes general windows operation and web browsing so much more smooth, along with really fantastic gaming performance coupled with G-sync. The best part is that the GTX 1070 can max out all 120fps on highest settings (slightly heavier games will require some tweaking) for most of the titles on the market at FHD, so all that extra power is being put to good use. Really noticeable, and if you like gaming, it's definitely worth the higher refresh.

 

I'd mentioned it a few times but imo I'd go with a non Gsync 60hz for the optimus battery life and then just buy a cheap 144Hz for 200 (about the same cost as the 120Hz upgrade). best of both worlds unless you plan on gaming a lot away from home. And by cheap I mean something like the ASUS VG248QE, its no 'cheap' quality it just lacks a bunch of features of the newer screens (1080 vs 1440, not as great colors but I think they're good, upgrade-able to Gsync but they no longer sell the part on Nvidia website)

 

Thanks for your reply - again, really useful info
I just found some pictures from Reddit with both the IPS and TN panels next to each other, and I'll admit I thought the difference would be a lot bigger. It actually looks quite good for a TN(judged by pictures) - that, and you guys' info makes me less worried about buying the TN panel.
A 120hz IPS would've been a wonderful choice, but oh well
Almost beginning to worry about my u3014, if the experience with 120hz is so great

Thanks!

 

Thanks for your reply
A non-Gsync panel would've been great, but unfortunately Dell doesn't offer anything other than the 60hz IPS and 120hz TN here, and they both have Gsync

 

Where will you be buying the notebook? Usually you can call the local Dell dealer and talk to a manager if you can get a customized model.







Now for good news. If anyone need repaste service I can do it for you with free thermal pad upgrade.

I now provide FREE thermal pad upgrade to 6w/mk on top of the display calibration bonus.

Price for repaste have been greatly reduced until the end of summer.



If you don't want to pay for thermal pads, and get better deal for repasting service, now is the time.

 

Anyone doing repaste services in the Boston area? Not sure if I'd have the time to send my laptop out somewhere across the country, but if anyone's in the area I'd also be willing to pay extra to see how it's done in person, would be really cool to learn

 

Welcome to travel to NYC and I will show you, bus is cheap

Other than that, you can ship it to me!

 

I do not think that will matter the kaby lake 15s have never had a non gsync option. They simply do not and have not made motherboards that connect via the igpu. So while it is possible to perhaps get a different LCD screen it will not change the fact that you are going to be connected to the dgpu and will not have optimus.

 

Thanks for the useful info - it all makes sense then, as I was originally looking for a non-Gsync machine prior to posting here. What I don't understand is why there aren't any QHD/UHD panels available, when they did this move to all Gsync panels.

I tried contacting Dell, but apparently they shut down for the holidays, so I will have to wait to tuesday before I can hopefully order my 15 R3, but I'm pretty excited

Happy easter, and thanks for the help I received