*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

So, my repair was a success. No idea what exactly happened, but the new motherboard fixed it. The technician was pretty good. It was his first m15, but he said he's worked on other Alienware laptops before. I haven't benchmarked or anything, but he seems to have done a good job with the thermal paste because temps seem lower. I'm glad it's working again.

 

PCIe 3.0 x4 is equal to PCIe 2.0 X8 which was more than enough for pretty much any card for a long time. It is definitely "good enough" and also "as good as it is going to get" for a laptop anyways so no point in griping over it. As stated, it will not be as fast as a desktop, but if that is what you need than you are in the wrong forum anyways.

 

Thanks, it will be easier to make a decision now.

 

Honestly, it's all down to what you are looking for. For me, I went with the m15 because of portability. I move it around my house 1-2x a day between my home office and gaming room and then travel with it around the country. While at home and just gaming, I have it set up to use an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor. I plan to buy the AGA here in the future once the 20** cards stabilize and come down in price some. I'll hook it up to my gaming set up. From my understanding, it's not much bigger than the GPU itself, just wide enough to fit in a PSU and fan. Can easily hide that under a desk or something. That way, I'll get the best of both worlds. A portable laptop and high end gaming while at home. Honestly, I could have just went with the 1060 and achieved the same results, but felt the 1070 had better resale and would last me a tad longer (that 15-20% gain in FPS means nothing today, but 2-3 years from now it will to a degree).

I'm not sure your goal, but this was the ideal solution for me on paper and for the most part, still is. As far as 15 R4 v. m15, they both have their pros/cons. The m15, to me is more appealing due to the portability. However, if you're considering a desktop then that opens up a whole new conversation. Of course, you can build it and save a good amount of money, or go with the prebuilts. One thing I've found as I get older and life keeps me busy, building your own is a heck of a lot of fun and a great feeling, until something goes wrong. I had a dying PC earlier this year that I had built a couple of years ago. Pain in the rear. Prebuilts, just like laptops, elevates this. Again, it's all to what is best for you. One piece of advice, if you go desktop and build it yourself, PCPartPicker is one of the best tools you can use.

 

The AGA is the size of a full size shoe box roughly, not terribly small or space efficient for what it houses. Just an FYI

 

I gotta say the 1070 max q undervolts and overclocks pretty good. I have 1712 MHz at 873mv running max 73c on any game I've thrown at it. After lower CPU max boost to 3.7 and undervolt of -135 and accepting it for now max CPU temps are about 86c I am really enjoying my m15.

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New issue on my m15 today. Hardwired installed of using wireless, I randomly get kicked out of games. Today I loaded up a game and used CMD to ping Google continuously. After only being online for a few minutes, I was kicked. At the same time, I started seeing lost packets. The PC is plugged directly into my router, as is my wifes computer. She's not having any issues, and changing out cables hasn't resolved it. I did find by manually checking that a new driver was available. Hoping that resolves it.

 

Many new drivers chipset and a thermal framework on Dell site.

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It says something about a m17, you think alienware is making a thin version of the aw17

 

i wouldn't be happy with that if you see how absymal the current 17 R line runs. The m17 will only be worse, due to it being thinner, and less copper for cooling. Just compare the m15 to the 15 r4, two completely different machines, both run bad from factory. and even with some heavy tuning, people still need to downclock their cpu (or gpu) making you pay not a price for the portability or R&D costs, but for the the privilige of owning a AW product.

 

So did some more testing today. Easily able to reproduce after a few minutes of playing a game. So far, ESO, Overwatch, and STO all do the same. After about 1-2 minutes in game, I'm kicked. Doing a 500 count ping test to Google during the same time shows packet loss right around the time of the kick. Funnily enough, I found that I can only experience this and reproduce it if I'm using the USB port right beside the ethernet port. Not using that port? Can't reproduce and stable connection (500 pings). I also noticed my keyboard lights were cutting on and off while using the port, so it may be more of a bad port than anything. Been putting off sitting on the phone with AW as it is, but probably time to suck it up.

 

Strange man, do you have the latest chipset drivers installed? Also of you have killer installed, delete it and install the software of killer itself. You can find it on the killer website. And you could also to try to delete the driver in device manager and then update it through device manager to see of that helps.

 

Yeah, everything is up to date and only Killer drivers installed - no software. Updated Killer directly through Device Manager as Dell showed it up to date. Also tried my USB ports to ensure their drivers were good.

Just spent the last hour with Dell. They didn't go over the ethernet issue much - literally assumed it was due to my system overheating. Did a few tests and confirmed heat issues (shocker). As a doh moment for me, I did forget to disable my undervolt when I called them and they literally said you have great temps. Disabled my undervolt and within minutes he admitted that's not the case. They want to send a tech out to replace my heatsink and fans. Today is my last day to return, which crazy 30 days has flown by. Waiting for the returns department to open up in 2 hours and will see what they can do. Strongly considering going the R4 route if they make a good deal on it.

 

Dell has already listed
the m17 in their support page long time ago. Of course it will come. Either with 1080Max-Q or 2080Max-Q graphics. And Dell has talked about welding on a unlocked i9-8950Hk on the MB as well. Expect Hot hardware. Not in the way you think or hope it means.

 

Aaaahhh, he was planning this from the beginning ! That's why when i retweeted him with: https://twitter.com/AzorFrank/status/1073619809030426624 he did not react anymore lol

 

Internet never forget +Rep and (Merry Christmas to all) bruh.

 

Lol it sure never does ! You to brother

 

Talked to returns. They have offered to ship out a replacement within a week or refund it outright. Tried to see if we can make a deal on the R4 and they wanted about $450 extra compared to the m15, everything the same except GPU since the R4 has the OC 1070 compared to max-q. Have a call in to a manager, but not optimistic. Leaning towards outright refund and waiting to see what CES has to offer.

 

Looks like the m15 will also be getting a 240 hz display.

 

This might sound daft but are you sure the ethernet cable isn't moving at all? I can see how the m15 is too thin for a normal ethernet connector but the solution they have used seems to rely on spring pressure from the flap in the bottom of the case to hold the cable against the pins on the open top socket.

 

I don't think that's a good idea, 1080p is mostly CPU limited and we can't even use the CPU at full throttle...

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Not daft at all. I thought as much to as it's not terribly firm in there. I have it very stationary on my desk using the amazon laptop stand. Tried swapping cables. I can recreate it within a minute or two. It's funny. I tried loading up a game today, without anything in the USB port. No issues for at least 10 minutes. Then, plugged in a cable to the USB port right beside and within a minute, loss of connection.

 

I agree. Seems completely unnecessary.

 

So I was planning to insert a 2,5" SSD just to see that I didn't get a cabinet or datacable. Called them and they said that it is not included and costs 60 bucks as a spare part (Sweden) lol.

Anyone encountered this issue and found a cheaper alternative?

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Did you get the big battery? Or did you order SSD only?

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Received my replacement unit today. 1 week turn around, not to bad.

Few observations as I get it updated and set up:
- Windows activated out of the box, no issues as seen before
- Bios and AW software were all out of date. Looks like they are using an old image.
- Nvidia drivers were from September
- Temps just doing updates, no software installs, were in the 70s. Largest difference between cores was 8c.

I have already decided if this gets as hot as my first one, it's going back for a refund and I'll wait for next years offerings. Hopefully some manufacturer comes up with a good cooling solution.

 

Grab Overpowered laptops if you just want a gaming laptop that's plugged in always and is thin too.
I don't think AW will survive much longer.

 

The end is near.

 

Don't get too dramatic. Alienware is.not going anywhere. They are the longest standing gaming brand and backed by Dell which is certainly not going anywhere. They are having the same issues anyone trying to make a thin gaming laptop is having.

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No just SSD since I had a deal for a second M.2 and a 2,5" elsewhere

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Overpowered laptops are tongfang barebones and run very very hot and also loud with no fans turning off when idle.

 

But AW also has same issues out of the box and considering the price of Overpowered laptops and 2 years of warranty covering all USA its a sweet deal. You have sd card reader, 2x M.2 SSD PCIe or SATA and one 2.5" HDD at $800-900$.

 

Well it's probably not what some people want to hear but I am actually enjoying my m15 - been playing Battlefield 1 and now BF V at 60-70 fps at 3440x1440 with a bit of GPU overclock. Sure the fans are running like crazy and it's pumping out enough hot air to make popcorn, but it's stable.

And when it's off my desk and on my lap for a bit of surfing it is IMHO a very nice bit of kit - lovely screen and decent keyboard and trackpad.

I'm sure CES will bring new shiny stuff with great on paper specs but physics hasn't changed - many watts in a small space will be hard to cool...

 

Theyvare worse, not that the m15 is free of tgermal issues. Butbwith ancopper shim it can be fixed. The tongfang cannot.... And the price you mention is of the 1050 model. Thats really poor gpu performance.

 

Being a member here that swapped from the M15 to the OP15, it sounds like you're just using wishful thinking. The OP15 is fine for the price. There are sacrifices to both laptops, the biggest difference being you're paying more for the sacrifices when you choose the M15.

My OP15 not only runs cooler (largely due to the 8300H & 1050, but where are my options for those on the M15?), but it's lighter and is equally expandable to the M15 as far as internals. Did I prefer the build of the M15? Sure, but at least my laptop doesn't turn into an oven on my lap, it manages heat way better. It didn't even need any "fixing" from that perspective, so not sure what you're talking about.

 

OP 17 priced at 1350$ with 4 year warranty with 2TB HDD,32GB 2667MHz and 256GB SSD https://www.walmart.com/ip/OVERPOWE...256-SSD-2TB-HDD-32GB-RAM-Windows-10/887474519
OP 15 priced at 850$ with 4 year warranty https://www.walmart.com/ip/OVERPOWE...hguid=532743d2-a1e-16809bf31c2ced&athena=true
I think 1060 is better than 1050.

 

Both 8300H and 1050 cannot be compared in terms of thermal perfomance, given the same hardware I'm pretty sure the m15 would perform very well. It's pretty hard to cool a 6/12 i7 and the m15 does a pretty good job in keeping the clock rates high. Keep in mind that is a turbo boost, not regular speed, even desktops can have a hard time with it in itx builds.

 

They have just slashed the prices it seems but it is also out of stock. Dont expect it to come back. Other tongfang resellers sell the 1060 versions for around 1500usd excl of taxes. And still its an inferior machine.

 

The stock has been replenished.

 

Ofcourse if you got a low range version of the OP15 it performs cooler. The GPU it is housing in your unit is producing 40~50watt vs a GPU60~70watt 1060GTXGPU. The CPU is also much less demanding in your unit. So thats like a very invalid comparison. I was in the market for a Tongfang barebone a while back because I am in foreign countries for extended times and if my laptop breaks down, i simply cant do my work and I will be in trouble. Thus I was looking for a second laptop which is thinner than my current AW15R3 but offers performance in the same ballpark at least, tested a Tongfang from the Dutch reseller Alternate. but it just was throttling very heavily, very loud as well and the fans never turned off even while idling. Battery life wasnt great (but not a dealbreaker), no TB3 (kinda a dealbreaker) so I returned it. Granted it was about 300 euro's cheaper than a comparable M15 now but still, the performance was hampered, and the case did feel hot with the 1060 and Core I7. It does feel like a better made chassis than any Clevo out there imo. so if they can get the cooling better, add TB3, ditch the mechanical drive for a better battery. They actually would be on my list for a second laptop. So no I am not biased. It was close for being my second laptop. The M15 seems to have a design flaw which I hope AW will fix in later batches. The inductors on the CPU side push the heatsink up and the only fix is a copper shim. A reddit user caught it and I could fix it with a shim on a friend his laptop. The thermals where pretty good for the size after. So yeah I rather would buy an M15 even though that bezel is horrible looking, cheap glossy plastic. But I will wait for the 20XXGTX laptops for now until I buy a new one and who knows. Maybe Tongfang brings something better to the table. Their build quality itself did impress me for the money. Just the heatsink couldnt do what I expect it to do and no tb3.

This is what NBC had to say about the 1060GTX version https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schen...-Tongfang-GK5CN6Z-Laptop-Review.315660.0.html

 

I see it as of out of stock...... I jsut checked when you posted the link. (the 15inch)

 

I was referring 17" which has more slots.

 

That unit didnt receive that much coverage. The OP15 started selling after some youtube channels made videos about it It actually started at 1599usd originally.

 

The M15 got warm just using windows, it wasn't related to max temps, but how it permeated the laptop. As far as max temps, of course the 8300H & 1050 won't top out as high, but as a whole the OP15 keeps the heat away from the user much better than the M15 which is where I was making my comments. With both the M15 and the OP15 at the exact same temperatures, the OP15 is much more pleasant experience when used on your lap or when using the touchpad & kb as far as heat.

I actually tried to cancel the OP15 but it was shipped to me anyway, and I received it after I already returned the M15 so I just decided to try it anyway. Glad I did.

 

Hey does anyone know if the 2 fans on the m15 are the same model? Also does anyone know the part number? Can it be found online somewhere other than Dell? I noticed that the left fan has a lot more coil whine than the right. I don't think it was always this way and I'm also not sure if the fans can be separated from the heat sink Assembly. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated, after a repaste the temps are a LOT more stable (plus undervolt obviously) and I want to reduce the coil whine if possible because I don't think that coil whine was always there.

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Hmm are you sure you're not just hearing more motor noise after having moved the fans when you removed the heatsink to repaste? Coil whine is usually generated by fixed inductors isn't it?

 

The noise was there before the repaste. I downloaded a sound meter app on my phone and put the mic next to the fans. I get significantly louder fans on the left side than the right by 15 DB and this is at Max fan speed (performance profile)

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Yeah sorry, I'm talking about the fan noise.

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The fans will spin at different speeds depending on whether the GPU or CPU is hotter. The fan on that side will speed up as needed. At least that is how it works on my 15 R3

 

IIRC there was something in the promo material about the two fans being different but I can't seem to find a link.