*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R2/R3 Owner's Lounge

Sucks that you have to wait in line again, but that's part of life! Hopefully not issues the second time around.

I'm dying for mine, every time I check the status and see it still in production I get a bit crazier!

 

Nope working fine here.

Ehhhhhh I wouldn't have done the last bit haha. Windows 8 manages SSDs perfectly fine, and to be honest you don't really need the magician software.

Well it's just an annoyance, I mean the computer works fine otherwise so it's not like something major is broken where the laptop is unusable.

Just now that I know its there, I'm always going to know its there so might as well get it replaced while I still can. And thats why I chose alienware lol. No arguing, no hassle. I called them, the rep apologized for sending me a system with issues, asked me to send them some pictures just for proof for their internal software and then sent me over to exchange to get a new system ordered. Pretty much a painless problem that took a 5-10min phone call to get solved.

Hahaha I know, it's like you have ADD. Every couple of hours I'd check it and go oh god whhyyyy

 

I know I had a knot in my stomach about it the first couple days until I noticed the ones in stock ready to ship on Amazon... but I was lucky that all I wanted was the base model that i was going to upgrade myself.

Ah well... it is not a huge issue just annoying due to my habit.

Really? Any downsides? I thought it would just change a few setting on how widows deals with data.

 

Nah it just shuts off and starts a few services which Samsung thinks improves performance but really it doesn't do anything lol. Windows handles SSDs just fine by itself and is far more intelligent at doing so than with Windows 7 (which is probably why the samsung magician software was created).

 

I don't blame you, you want the computer to be PERFECT. You pay a fair chunk of change for these laptops, so you want the BEST when it comes to you in quality.

I just hope when my new one comes I have no issues with it because I don't want to go through what I went through all over again, maybe if I have to, they'll at least listen this time...I hope. But then again, the executives told me not to deal with the regular reps any more, e-mail or call them if I have any issues LOL, I'd hate to disturb them though before going through regular avenues.

I have the order details set up in a tab in my browser and every time i look at it i go "oh maybe..." then i refresh and go "oh damn". Then I wake up and be like, ok surely something must update. NOPE. Then when I don't check it for a day or two it'll probably ship.

 

Yea my replacement took ridiculously long to ship, I put in the order on the 5th, it was nearly 3 weeks of waiting.

 

Hahaha I did exactly the same thing.

Wake up, check my phone...get sad...check it later in the day...get sad...check it again...get sad.

The rep told me 5-10 business days for the laptop to be in production.

So we'll see haha

 

That is waaaay too long. I'd cry the entire time. At least they replaced it I guess. With Asus, I'd wait 2 weeks for it to be fixed, only to have it shipped back with either the same problem or a new one. With asus "replaced part" means nothing, though because they never ended up replacing anything you could tell since the wear on the trackpad was exactly the same. So it was two weeks to sit with Asus while they looked at it and did nothing basically lol.

You know I wouldn't check it nearly as often if I figured Dell's "Text when it ships" or "E-mail when it ships/updates" worked. I had both enabled for my last build and had several reps sign me up for it, but I didn't get any notice when it shipped so I have to manually do it myself! I even when to the shipper's website and entered my "reference numbers" to see if it shipped yet and had no update but nope

 

Hi,
I need your advice again. I got my AW last week and I've noticed few issues: red pixel on the screen, light bleed, weird noise coming out of left speaker or subwoofer and power drainage while gaming. I have rang Dell Customer Service today and they said that they have no parts and gave me two options:
- full refund
- live with it
What should i do? I like my Alienware, I just want to get it fixed.
Any advice please?

 

Have you called Alienware support instead of Dell? They're a bit better at dealing with things. To tell you to live with it is insulting, to offer the refund for no reason when they made no attempts to fix it imo is insulting also.

You know, the upper management at Dell would absolutely be irritated that you were told that instead of being offered to have it fixed.

 

That's odd and makes no sense. Did you call Dell or Alienware?

The alienware support number is: 800-254-3692

They're US based and are far more helpful.

 

The guy didn't say "live with it" he said: "we have no parts, so we don't know when we can fix it, it could be weeks or months". I live in the UK, I've rang this number 0844-338-1000.

 

Ah oops my bad then.

I'd call them back and see what another rep says.

Or try this number: 0800 2799751

 

The power drain while gaming if you are using A02 is normal, it's how the crappy hybrid bios works. I would push for a system replacement, they normally will do that for you. That' what they did for me, I just went on the chat and requested it.

 

They should offer you a new build in this case, I agree.

 

I can confirm if you forgot to buy the 20 dollar usb drive with windows 8 loaded on it when you bought your r2, they will send you that and the ssd slot screws for free. They actually overnight it

 

You run the benchmark test with memory, not with the ssd. No wonder it gets a higher score.

 

I do not know what you are saying...

 

RAPID mode uses system memory like a separate drive cache to help speed up performance.

 

I see. Though to be honest I still do not really understand what that means.

Do you mean it used RAM to make data transfer in the SSD faster? If so then the benchmark test and RAPID are still valid... it moves bits faster not matter how it does it. Also I never use more then 50% of the 16GB anyways (again assuming you mean RAM)... so it is a win. But really I would not notice either way I am sure (RAPID on or off).

 

Yes that's basically what it does. Purists don't believe that using that for a benchmark gives real results because it uses more than the SSD itself's power and they want the numbers of the SSD by itself, if you know what I mean. But meh, if it works for you who cares.

 

I get it. Yeah I would not say the "SSD" is that fast I guess, I would just say my data moves that fast and that is what is important... not what or how it is doing it Not going to get hung up on the details if there is no real downsides for me in them.

Thanks for the info, always like learning more about how everything works.

 

Well technically you do because Windows does exactly the same thing.

The way RAPID and caching work is that Windows / Samsung firmware detects which files you access the most often, then when you load up Windows it'll copy those files over to the ram and hold them there. So now when you want to open that program / file it can be accessed much faster.

So even though you think you're only using 2gb, Windows is actually using up that remaining 14gb (if you have 16gb) for cached stuff. Now when a program needs more memory, windows just gets rid of the cache and replaces it as necessary. So your ram is always being fully used otherwise its just a waste =)

So after using RAPID mode for a little bit on my 850 Evo I can say that under certain situations it does make a difference. Now the difference isn't massive by any means but it seems that it's a little bit faster opening some programs / files. But I could also be imaging it because it's hardly a scientific test haha and also the firmware / OS are still learning which files to cache and which to not.

 

CRAPID not RAPID..Read post #50... http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...o-vs-840-evo-msata.759759/page-3#post-9783534
Edit: Several have experienced corrupt files with the use of Rapid (Crapid) .. you find much written about Rapid if you Google ..
Have a chat with Matrix Leader6 as he knows a lot about this ..

 

We did talk about that... that was the EVo 840. Apparently the 850 works better with it. They talk about how the issues were fixed for the new model below:

Just saw a review of these and the guys were saying in some instances the 850 EVO 500GB model is faster then the 850 Pro 500GB model. Kind of neat.

 

Little off topic but I had a quick question.

Why do they not make laptops with actual desktop graphics cards. The board size cannot be so much bigger that they could not build a notebook around it in comparable size (or does a company already do this?)... or has it always a power/wattage and battery issue?

I only ask this as (this may sound silly) but I buy my laptops as a in room mobile desktop solution for the most part. So I can move my laptop around my room or house... I hardly ever travel with it and when I do I rarely use it on battery.

I know that mobile GPUs are getting very close to desktop ones anyways so in a couple/few years they may be completely on par due to the ever shrinking size and power consumption but I was just curious if those reasons were why and if any company or modding company builds notebooks with desktop GPUs.

 

There's actually a lot of reasons.

1. Like you mentioned, size. Desktop graphics cards aren't exactly small so to build a laptop with a desktop graphics card would make it pretty thick / bulky.
2. Power. A desktop uses a lot more power than laptop, so you'll need a pretty hefty power supply.
3. Heat. Even though some laptops have decent cooling solutions, a desktop GPU will simply overheat in an enclosed laptop case. Same thing with the CPU.
4. It kindoff defeats the entire point of a laptop lol. The reason I bought a gaming laptop over a gaming PC is so that I can play anywhere, as opposed to just at a desk at home.
5. Cost / demand. I don't know many people who bought buy a laptop that has a full on desktop graphics card inside it. It just won't be cost feasible. I mean you get some laptops that come close like the ones from Eurocom but still they're a very niche product. If you really want a """""portable""""" pc that uses a desktop GPU why not just build your own with a microatx board / case? Then all you'll need is a monitor.

It'll just be unreasonable with current technology. Granted as technology improves this might change but for now, nope.

 

Really? The desktop cards internally are not that thick are they (i mean the board is probably comparable in size)? I mean the cards I see in pics are housed and are very thick but that is because they have a housing and even more crap added on (like a screen and cooling).

Heat makes sense... also has to do with power consumption as well.

It does not defeat the purpose... my situation is that I do not have room for a"desk" and essentially have to use a tray on my bed or couch (and house... as I said in-room and in home mobility is all I really care about as even if I move around or take it with me I am always on the power cord anyways). Also it is nice if I do happen to have to go somewhere i can get my work done... but the fact is most people are not gaming of the cord so they are in the same boat as me anyways (as it does not make much sense with very short gaming time and very much reduced GPU power like Ultra to Medium). Also the old Alienwares were unbelievably thick... so obviously that was not a real dealbreaker issue for people.

How could the cost be unreasonable compared to what we already pay? From what i can tell desktop graphics cards are not more expensive then mobile ones... if anything it is the other way around sometimes. Isn't the regular GTX 980 only like $550 or so? I have seen 980m upgrade kits at $1,000...

But from the numbers a GTX 980m is very close to the regular GTX 980... so maybe they will be the exact same for desktop and mobile in a couple years.

 

But that's the thing. Most GPUs are what? 1-2" thick? That would take up the entire thickness of the laptop, and then you have all the other computers that will need to fit in the space. You will just end up with a very thick, bulky, heavy laptop once you add everything in and the cooling necessary to stop the card overheating.

Well they'd have to be even thicker and heavier lol. Like go grab a desktop GPU and put it next to your laptop, you'll see what I mean and that's just one component.

It's not just about the cost, its also about supply/demand. How many people do you think will buy that device?

I mean people are criticizing Alienware for making their laptops upgradeable with the R2. But the biggest complaint alienware got with the R1s was that the laptop was too thick / too heavy. There simply aren't going to be many people who will spend that kindoff money for a laptop that's essentially completely unportable. I mean think of how heavy most desktop PCs are. Your leg would fall asleep 2 mins into gaming lol.

I mean if you want a laptop that gets close to a desktop this is probably your best bet: http://www.eurocom.com/ec/configure(1,224,0)ec . It uses a desktop CPU (i7 extreme edition) and you can fit 2 GPUs. But it will be quite expensive.

Not even close. A GTX 980M is almost identical to the desktop 770. The desktop 980 will still run circles around it.

 

I would think the graphics card board itself is actually close to the 980m in size (maybe longer and a bit wider but not thicker)... it is a housing, fan, and screen from what i can tell that is all that thickness of a desktop card. They do not build them as small as then can because they do not need to as it t is going in a tower and most of that thickness is the housing and adapter. Maybe someone else can chime in on that as I do not think you are right on that... but I could be wrong of coarse.

We already buy devices like this is my point and if I am right about the card size (the actual board) then it would not make the new R2's any bigger then the old ones with the CD drive. There are also not many people gaming with the laptop in their laps very often if at all... just like my point about people not really buying these to game not on the power cord.

I knew laptops like Origin have desktop CPUs now... but that is not what really what we need. At least form my limited understanding. From what I can tell my CPU is barely being used when gaming with my GPU is maxed.

Well "very close" was a relative term... I mean as far as mobile to desktop was concerned the numbers are now very close.


Personally I think they could easily design a laptop of the same size to house one. But I think the issue as you and I pointed out is power, and because of power, heat. But since they are making them more energy effective and more processing power in and ever smaller package they will possibly be the same card in a few years.

 

I'd say the issue is majorly heat dissipation. Fans on the GPUs are generally better at removing the heat and the cases are open and remove more heat than a closed laptop could. It just won't work out for now. I don't even think a lot of motherboards would be able to accept the full power needed to power a desktop GPU without frying something yet. I think they'd have to change to new boards.

The cost of R&D for this for mobile would be expensive for the time being for some manufacturers. Maybe in the future, nothing like this is as easy as it seems to appear.

 

Yeah exactly what i was thinking.

Well yeah I know R&D would cost money... but they just completely re-designed the new 17 (completely new everything down to the board if I am not mistaken).

But they are very close at being able to make mobile cards run the same with less power so I think that might be the future for all, even desktops in 5 years ( just mean they may use the same cards due to how small an powerful they will keep getting).

 

What's everyone's experience with sending a unit back to Dell? The whole display has a nice bright border now. I'm not sure what happened. I take it with me daily, in the backpack. But it hasn't been dropped or squished, or anything like that. The display just bleeds progressively more light it seems. At first it was the corners, first the right, then the left. Now it is in between the corners. My only option is to send it back for repairs.

 

Have you called them yet to see what the options are, or did you already ask and they said you can only send it in for repairs? Did you just get it, is it under warranty?

 

Not yet, no. Yeah, just got it this month.

 

The should offer to have you send it in or have a repair technician sent to you (usually next day with replacement parts). But you may want to see if they should just send you a whole new unit.

Your best bet right now is to call and see what they say.

 

Yes but a design like that has been done a million times. The BGA design is tried and true in many different lines, it requires less money and time to get done.
To integrate a desktop GPU would have to most likely have to spend a lot of money on a developing a new custom motherboard to test this. It'd be very expensive then to figure out how to dissipate heat appropriately would be more work. I don't think it's really worth the effort considering heat would be the main issue. Unfortunately the way the laptop industry is going is thinner is better, not many users are convinced that a large thick laptop is good because it has a desktop GPU when you have thin laptops like the Razers who have "power GPUs" also.

I don't think alienware has the money to spend for the R&D it would take for the integration of a desktop GPU in a laptop. It's not feasible at this time, developing a new motherboard would be a huge expense. Just using a BGA capable board is simple since it's been done so much.

 

Actually, a 970M (10000) is about on par with a desktop 770 (10500).

A 980M (12500) is close to a desktop 970 (13500).

The numbers in brackets are 3DMark11 P scores.


In regards to desktop GPUs in laptops, heat is a big issue. I mean, they have issues cooling a mobile i7 as it is. Everything else can be accommodated (Clevo has a laptop with desktop CPU support). But dissipating that heat is really what's holding everything back.

 

Well either way we are pretty far from my original question and have moved in heavy speculation and guessing territory (as in neither of us have a clue of how hard or expensive this would be or how different the setup would have to be and how that would affect R&D, ect ect).

Yeah that is what i was saying... as in the smaller cards will become the standard.

 

I know what we must do.

 

Hi AW owners. I need your help. I just bought AW17 from BesyBuy Canada. CPU is i74710, GPU is 980M, 16G ram, 128/1TB drive. I have 2 questions:
1. How do I tell if this is AW17 R2?
2. I used the express to install the os. It ended up in the 1 TB HDD instead of the 128GB ssd. How do I change that. I can do the backup to USB, but do not know how to proceed from there. Is there something in the user guide with some details?

 

I think the easiest way is the "Amplifier" port on the back. I could be wrong but I think that was new on the R2? Also I think the 900 series card was not available on the R1's (not the 980m anyways)... so based on that yours is an R2.

 

Well if it's full stock, which it would be from BestBuy, it would be an R2 based on the 980M. You can use CPU-Z to look at the info of the computer too to find out what the machine is.


Easiest way to install is burn the Windows 7 or 8 ISO to a flashdrive then boot into the flashdrive from start up and then run it through there to install to the 128 GB ssd.

 

Thanks chev and bnosam. I'll check it out. My grandson is downloading his games now. Will I loose it if I reinstall from the USB ISO?

 

Press F2 while booting to enter BIOS, at the main page you will see the Product Name that shows your exact model, not in my case but this is another story

You will loose all your data if you have 1 HDD and you perform a new Windows installation.

Use a USB hard-disk to backup everything you want/need to.

 

Back up what you want to keep on a USB thumbdrive or whichever device you'd like, then reinstall windows where you wish. Any data present on a drive you install windows on will be lost.

 

OK. Thanks. Not much harm done. Just wish the express install is smarter to detect the SSD.

 

You would think but I guess not. My guess is it just detects the biggest drive and goes "OK I see a lot of space so I'm going to install here."

 

The only AW17 that comes with a 980M is the R2. So it's an R2.

 

You can use the alien respawn software that comes with the laptop and it will create a usb restore, then boot up and select to boot from the usb on the bios I think you press f12, from there is follow instructions and select the ssd as the target source to install windows