*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

Quick question-
If pricing were similar, would you go G7 w/ 2070MQ, 144Hz, 512, 16 GB ram, 90Whr (assume swapping out/adding ram to become dual channel),
OR
M15 w/ same specs except for 2060 instead?

I'll ask same question in G7 thread. Mods- I hope that's ok

 

Hello there,

I am a first time alienware owner but have known my way around computers for over 20 years now.
English is my second language, so please excuse grammar mistakes i am certainly bound to make
Long story short, i bought a used alienware 13r3 (OLED, 7700K, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD, gtx 1060) on ebay which unfortunately needed repair after only 2 weeks (the gtx 1060 was acting up, resulting in bsods everytime something graphics intense was going on).
Dell fortunately granted a repair free of charge - which is amazing when you consider that I was not the initial owner and the laptop was already 18 months old and out of the 1 year dell warranty.
Good thing is, I live in Germany and we have something over here called "Gewaehrleistungspflicht" - basically a "companys must grant warranty for 2 years"-rule. Although after 6 months after purchase usually the customer has to provide proof that the defect already existed at the time when the product was purchased. Which is pretty hard to do and often not worth the trouble.
Dell granted it anyway, without proof - so i got that going for me which is nice
Long story short, Dell repaired it - but here's the thing: UPS lost the repaired Alienware 13R3. D'oh!!
Lucky me, they they provided me with a brand new Alienware m15 free of charge
Specs:
- m15 with 8750H CPU
- 32GB RAM 2.667MHz
- GTX 1060
- 256 GB SSD
- 4K / UHD Panel
- 60 WH Battery

Been playing around with it for 2 weeks now and already swapped the 60WH Battery with the 90WH variant (Type XRGXX - if anybody wants to do the same, just call dell support and let them send it to you - it cost about 115 EURO here in Germany).
I got rid of the 256GB SSD as well and put a Samsung 970 PRO with 512 GB (Boot Drive) and a Samsung 970 EVO with 1 TB (Data) into that little monster.
Unfortunately, my AW did not come with a Heatsink for the SSD Slots - and Dell Support was not able to provide me with the Dual Heatsink some of you guys here were talking about.
My SSD temps are ok, so I will live without the heatsink for now.

I do like this machine, the temps are ok with stock paste (at least with an undervolt of -130mv and with the AW Command Center set to the Quiet Profile, therefore the cpu only draws 45w).
Am going to repaste though in the next few weeks to see if I can improve it furthermore.

Build Quality is great, considering it is a windows machine I do have a Macbook Pro as well, and say what you will, but Apple does nail it when it comes to build quality - although this comes at a price.
The only thing i really really dislike are the glossy bezels of this thing - who at alienware/dell decided that these ugly, cheap looking plasticky things are a good idea???!!
Not only do they look cheap, they obviously are cheap as well - after only 3 days i have a ton of micro scrratches on them. I first thought they were already there when i got it, but after swiping some dust off with a microfibre cloth they multiplied!
I could literally produce more scratches after every swipe with a microfibre cloth, and believe me - this microfibre cloth was clean and soft as only a microfibre cloth can be...i was speechless.
Fortunately you can only see these scratches when you hold the laptop at a certain angle into the light. But still...
Second thing about the bezels: The bottom bezel is obviously not attached to the screen very well, looks like a build / design flaw. And after researching some pictures/videos of the m15 it seems to be very common.
I know that this is simply cosmetic, but for a laptop this expensive i expect more. Granted, I did not really pay full price for it as stated earlier - but I would be very pissed if I did.
Here are some pictures of it for you to see what i mean - am curious if you guys have the same issue on your devices.



https://im*ur.com/9GEVLXT

https://im*ur.com/csIHdWq


(Replace im*ur with imgur - i dont know why, but the forum did not let me post the imgur-url)

Overall, I do like this machine - but as you might have noticed, I really hate that bezel
Unfortunately it seems that even the upcoming OLED option will not result in the same flush glass display (like the 13R3 OLED).
But to be honest - these "issues" are real first world problems. Just wanted to give a few impressions, your mileage may of course vary.

Just my 2 cents!
Cheers

 

Maybe g7 for built-in performance, but m15 for extras including graphics amplifier port and future growth/upgrades.

You're asking me to choose between better gpu and better build. I want both :/

EDIT: Thinking about the price point you're aiming at, if it was me, I'd consider an Area 51m with 2060. But I think you're going for better battery life and more portability.

 

Mini update: Del have acknowledged that there is an overheating issue on my laptop and are arranging for a engineer visit.

Have to say that Dell Support have been great so far. Granted they wanted lots of log files and tests done before they accepted thst there could be a fault...some of it trying to point to the cpu performing as specified (e.g. upto 100deg temps)...but once i sent the log files and testvresults, they didnt hesitate in organising an ebgiengi visit.

Dearly hope it is an easy fix...cos i love this laptop!!!

 

@Miko Skye Had you tried repasting yet?

I just tested my m15 again this morning, laying flat on my desk, the hottest core was 89 - 91 and the coolest core was 79 - 81 (can't remember exact temp tbh) big improvement over that last time I tested it. I then put it on the cooling pad and ran another test where the hottest core was 81 and the coolest core was 72 (saved a screenshot of that test). My only thought is perhaps burn-in was more impactful than expected. I still don't like the temp difference between cores but I know if I called support with these temps they'd just say it's within spec.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Alas, my technskills are not even close enugh for me to attempt a repaste

The good news is the tests i did for Dell left no doubt as to an overheating issue. So no chance of them saying it is operating within spec. They are going to swap out the heatsink and check everything else associated.

 

How old is your laptop? I just did a live chat that I was going to return it because of the heat and they are sending me an exchange, no questions asked lol. I even get to keep mine until I get the new one. Obviously they’ll charge you if you don’t send the old one.

 

Funny you should say that .I just received an email from Dell offering me that very option. Or a refund. Apparently the heat sink part is not available for a good few weeks.

 

Wow, I hope my replacement has a good heat sink then and it wasn’t the current batch that is bad as a whole..

 

I don't remeber if it was mentioned earlier, but did anyone try the 240W power adapter to check if the bettery drain is still there?

 

I checked, there is no battery drain. In fact the battery charges pretty quick, even during demanding games.

 

Thank you, that's reassuring. Is it also possible for you to check whether the TDP is limited when the battery is disconnected? This is the case with the G5 when only the 180W power adapter is used, but I am curious if it's the same with alienware on the 180 and 240 adapters.

 

I didn't disconnect the battery before when testing, but I did monitor the battery, it's charge level, and voltage. Here you can see the voltage fluctuates a little while its on, but no change in it's charge even during a pretty intense gaming session. I don't think it's limited based on this, but I can try later today.

 

It would be great if you could check it later. Thank you for you input!

 

Hey Guys, I require your input regarding the Alienware M15. Currently, this is the primary laptop I am aiming to get in a few months, but I am still rather undecisive over what configurations to get it with. I am debating whether to get the Alienware M15 with a GTX1070 Max Q along with a 1TB SSD, or one with an RTX2060 but only with the base 1TB SSHD.

Also, as a side note, how is the quality control of the monitors that you have right out of the box? Is there any noticeable Backlight Bleed or dead pixels? I am just curious to know.

 

Get the RTX 2060 and upgrade to an SSD later when you have more money.

There is a lot of backlight bleeding issues so get it from a reputed reseller who can check the screen for you before shipping it to you. HIDevolution has a minimize backlight bleeding option where they will ensure that you have 0 to minimal light bleeding for a 100 USD only If you plan to buy it locally though from Manila, that's a different story pare, its you and your luck.

Salamat Po

 

Wait a minute, woah, you know the Filipino language? O_O

And well, only a few resellers here offer the M15 and none of them have the same custom options as HIDEvolution. And yes, I do plan on getting the Alienware M15 from HIDevolution. I would rather get it from them than any of the local resellers here who would mark up the prices significantly without offering anything to justify the mark-up.

Is the quality control really that bad? Most unfortunate... If I would get the backlight bleed option, I would have to go with the M15 with a GTX1070MQ and 1TB SSHD to be able to stay within my allocated budget. I am trying to keep it below 135,000 PHP, or roughly below 2,600 USD.

 

Our nanny is Kabayan pare, I just know a few words

 

Hi, anyone please tell, if AW m15 has an option to disable hyperthreading?

 

I don't think so.

 

They actually added the option to disable hyper threading a month ago through a bios update. It is indeed available

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

Sorry for bothering you, but have you been able to check how the system behaves with the battery disconnected? Preferably with both the 180 and 240 power adapters.

 

No I haven't. I only got the 240w power adapter with my m15. I think only the lower gpu's come with the 180w. If I don't get a chance to try tonight, I won't get a chance at all. I'm sending it back and getting an area-51m. With a discount it was an even trade for a 2070 version.

On thing I did notice, is that by default, it was locked to 30fps while gaming on battery. I brought it to work to play some Devil May Cry 5 during lunch, which ran at 144+fps on the power supply.

 

I must have gotten lucky with my screen then. I ordered directly from dell and had zero backlight bleed on the 1080p/144hz option with nebula red. I keep trying to find some sort of light bleed by looking at it from angles i'd never use it and couldn't find any, I was simply amazed at the quality. And even though it was only a 1080p, the colors very vibrant, even at low brightness. The quality was simply ridiculous.

 

These 'only 1080p' comments on a 15" screen do make me LOL. I make the screen to be about 345x200mm in size which makes the pixels about 0.18x0.19mm - teeny-tiny in science-speak!

 

Why the swap to the 51m? I mean even if it’s the same price, it is a much bigger and heavier system that has a host of its own problems.

 

Excellent Thank you for the reply. Also.. How is the standard SSHD that DELL provides? Is it decent? And how bright does your sceen get? Some review sites say that the screen hits nearly 350 nits, whilst others say it only gets below 280 nits of brightness particularly for the 144hz panel. I am nearing the time wherein I would need to pull the trigger on a laptop and the M15 is the primary laptop I am gunning for.

 

I thought it came with the 180W and you got the bigger one later. If you don't get to check than it's OK. It's good that they started giving the bigger PSU, at least to some configurations now.

 

My results:

-150 UV
-100 Cache

Aida 64

30 mins stress test

https://www.bilder-upload.eu/bild-aee74b-1552476621.png.html

 

I pulled out an old 17" laptop I used 7 years ago. It's 8lbs and dimensions are bigger than the area-51m; I used to carry that thing around everywhere. When it's battery died, I carried the power brick.

Desktop power I can carry anywhere? yes please. tbh, it was a really tough decision. I really like the m15. I really liked everything about the one I received other than the pasting issues, which I expect as a possibility to happen with any factory built computer, I don't blame the m15 for that issue. My first few days with it before the cpu kept overheating were a dream. I would have been really happy if it had continued that way for the next few years. The m15 I ordered performed as expected.

The deciding factor was even better performance for the same price with more upgradeability and repairable parts. I personally don't have an issue with it's weight or size.

 

The SSHD it came with is ok. My last laptop had an M.2 PCI drive, so I was already used to ultra fast boot times. So booting up the m15 until I had cloned it to an NVMe was slower than I had gotten used to. I would say it booted in just under 30 seconds, but I never timed it. NVMe cold booted within 5 seconds after clone. I would recommend getting just the one 1TB SSHD if you're ok with the 60whr battery and adding an nvme yourself. Less expensive and better performance.

As for the screen, it was very bright, brighter than any of my needs. Even at the lowest brightness, colors were vibrant. Best 1080p display I've personally seen on a laptop and the 144hz refresh rate was amazing, be sure to turn off motion blur everywhere you can to experience just how crisp this display is.

 

Once again, thank you so much for your answers. And well, I have lived with an HDD my entire life, I could probably get used to slow loading and boot times, and I am alright with the 60WHR battery. I am just amazed on why DELL would only bundle the RTX2060 M15 with only a 180W power adapter. I guess I would also have to order a 240W one after I buy this laptop, hopefully that would be available locally.. I do not wish to deal with the Bureau of Customs here >.>

Also, that display sounds nice. I am so close to pulling the trigger on one. xD I really hope the RTX2060 in the M15 performs much better than the one with the GTX1070MQ. I am not really after RT, rather the raw performance in games.

 

You can always get an ssd down the line. A 1TB Intel nvme is like $100. Pretty cheap imo.

 

That is a possibility, but I am not really the type to open up a laptop, or any expensive device for that matter. I could just stick with the standard 256SSD and the 1TB SSHD when I do get this from HIDEvolution. Hopefully the SSHD is durable enough to last me a good couple of years.

 

So I just removed my SSD from the m15 to send it back, booted it up to the hybrid drive, had an issue, and alienware support software repaired the OS. After all that, I shut it down, then booted it up hitting the power button and the stopwatch at the same time. I booted twice this way and timed it both times. 20 - 21 seconds to the point of entering a password. Not bad for mechanical drive.

 

Indeed, that is decent I could live with that. xD I do hope that SSHD lives through everyday usage with me, since I would be travelling a lot with it. xD I am confident however that this laptop would be able to withstand whatever I could toss at it.

Also, thank you so much for testing it out. ^^ I am currently leaning more towards buying the M15 with the RTX2060 now, even it it would only come with a 256GB SSD and a 1TB SSHD.

 

It is very easy to add a ssd to this laptop. I'm confident you could do it!

 

Although, I am not really after the speed, to be honest, though it is a nice bonus. I am more after the durability and longevity xD I could always put the OS in the 256GB SSD and everything else in the 1TB SSHD. The only reason why I want an SSD is so that the laptop would essentially be safe from the vibrations of everyday commuting in my country. if I get an SSD, I would remove the SSHD from the system so there won't be any compromises. Hopefully, that does not void the warranty. My problem is, the local repair centers here look for every excuse to void your warranty and opening up a laptop is a sure fire way for that to happen. I do believe DELL alows users to upgrade their laptops, but I am not entirely sure regarding the details of their policy, especially for my region. This is the reason why I am ordering this from HIDEvolution, so they could configure the laptop almost the way I want whilst still having my warranty intact.

Although, I am still debating between the Alienware M15 or the ROG GL704. With the GL704, I could have it configured with a full RTX2070, and also a 1TB SSD. My only issue with that though is ASUS' customer service or rather lackluster customer service. Even inquiring about their international warranty, the PH ASUS customer service told me to contact their US Customer Service, and the US Customer Service told me to contact the PH Customer Service to get the answers I needed. That is just me inquiring regarding their Warranty coverages in my country if I buy the laptop from the US with their International Warranty, what more if I need to have a laptop repaired. xD

 

You're welcome. I'm confident the sshd will last, I've used similar sshd for years. If you're going for years, like me, I'd consider a 2070 unless you don't do a lot of heavy gaming.

Honestly, the SSD is super easy to add. Although I have decades experience taking apart laptops and all sorts of computing devices, it is literally removing 11 screws to get the bottom plate off. Insert the SSD into a blank spot, either steal a screw from the SSHD bay or buy a M2x3 (preferably with a large head), secure the drive with one screw. Close it back up.

Alienware is ridiculously good about letting consumers perform these kinds of upgrades without voiding warranties or anything. I purchased a 500GB 970 EVO, which was the fastest SSD available until the 970 plus was just released, for less than $100. If you play a lot of games with loading screens or long load times, it's a very effective upgrade.

 

Well, I would opt to replace the SSHD with the SSD if ever I do down that road. But if the SSHD is durable enough, even during commutes and just generally carrying the laptop around, then I would be more than happy with the SSHD. I could just allocate my funds elsewhere like for desktop upgrades. xD

Well, hopefully it doesn't void the warranty, but I would have to consult the local repair centers or DELL locally here to confirm. Although, what sort of software issues might I run into if I swap out the SSHD for an SSD? I am planning to get the Clean Install of Windows from HID, it would suck to have to reinstall everything to get my laptop up and running. I would have the OS installed on the seperate 256GB SSD, would I be able to swap out the SSHD without any issues to my OS?

And oh, I have also considered the RTX2070. I am also very much interested in the ASUS ROG Strix II with the RTX2070, that I could configure with an SSD straight from HIDEvolution. My main concern is their warranty >.> Been literally going back and forth between the ASUS PH Customer Service and the US Customer Service and I have still not gotten the answers I sought. And most online reviews so far paint a really bad picture regarding ASUS' customer service. Whereas DELL has a rather positive reputation when it comes to their warranty policies. That is the biggest reason why I am going for a DELL/Alienware system, cause I know I would be protected should something happen to my rather expensive laptop.

 

In that case, it might be a good plan to just use the SSHD until you're ready for an upgrade or it starts giving you issues. If you want to keep all your apps installed and everything swapping drives, you will have to clone the drive. There are free ways to do this. I cloned my SSHD to the SSD when I got it.

The main things that turned me off of the strix when I ordered the m15 was that there is no thunderbolt support and a tiny battery. And personally I don't care for how they do the WASD keys on the keyboard, but I could have overlooked that or gotten used to it. Also the warranty is better with Alienware.

When I ordered, I was looking at the strix, the triton 500, and the m15. zephyrus was out cause of so many things I don't like about it and razer is overpriced with fewer SSD slots. The reason I didn't go with the triton is that there is a "warranty void if removed" sticker to keep you from doing basic upgrades to memory and SSD. Not to mention, you really have to take it apart to get to get to those things. Also, there was no 2070 option.

 

Triton 500 also has a flipped motherboard so upgrades would be a pain even if warranty wasn't voided...

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

Yes, that's what I meant by you'd really have to take it apart to get to the upgradeable parts. Complete disassembly.

 

Yeah, I do not like Razer and I am not even considering their lineup. I also considered the Triton 500, but the reseller never really got back to me when I asked them if I could have the laptop configured with a bigger SSD and 16gb dual channel ram. I considered MSI, but then dropped them immediately after I had a chat with their technical support representative.. They told me that if I bought their laptop abroad, it might not get honored in my country because the laptop models I am interested in are not yet available in my country and that if I get a 2 year international warranty plan when I buy the laptop from the US, I would only have 1 year local warranty here in the Philippines. ASUS offers Global warranty but dealing with their customer service so far hhasbeen giving me headaches. I would try to call them up again later, hopefully they give me proper responses.. But after this.. I am more fearful of buying their laptop..

DELL has been the only one to actually deliver an actual good response. If I get the premium warranty, all I need to do is to transfer the warranty to my region and I am covered. I could even also extend the warranty should I desire. Pretty straight forward and I got the answers I needed quickly.

What turns me off from the AW m15 is how DELL essentially allows it to run up to 100 Degrees celsius for the CPU and also them shipping out this laptop with only a 180w Power brick for the GTX1060, GTX1070MQ, and even the RTX2060. But they have excellent warranty and actually helpful customer support.

As for the Strix GL704, I have very little to complain about it. It has a 17 inch screen but in the form factor of a 15 inch laptop, a full RTX2070, and it comes at a very good price, much better than that of the AW M15. My concerns regarding this laptop are the screen flex, the mostly plastic build (although I heard that it is built really well despite this), and their color scheme. I would have preferred a more professional uniform look for a laptop. Those are relatively minor issues but that pales to the biggest concern I have and that is for the ASUS' customer care. I really like the GL704 however.. Sigh..

 

To mitigate the thermal issue of the m15, you can have HID repaste for you if that is something you are uncomfortable with. You can alter the fan profiles to kick in sooner than where dell sets them to help too as well as undervolt the cpu. None of this should void your warranty.

Also, I feel obliged to tell you it was Intel that set 100 degrees as the limit for these CPUs, Dell is just passing that down from them. In the past, I think Dell has tried to keep them about 5 degrees lower anyway, so they didn't necessarily have to go with Intel's limit and I understand that frustration.

 

That is why I am ordering from HID. To have it repasted with LM. Even then however, the temperatures still get very hot. That being said, I would also undervolt it using throttlestop.

Yeah, I am well aware INTEL is the one who set the 100 Degree Celsius limit of the Chip, but I would have preferred if DELL would set it much lower than that in their laptop or have an option built in to be able to tweak the limit lower. I would just have to learn how to tinker with throttlestop. Running the CPU at it's maximum allowable temperature would not go well for it in terms of longevity, that is what I am concerned about. It maintains it's boost clock for longer and harder but at what cost.. Dell is just too aggressive with pushing the CPU to it's limits. It is most unfortunate that this is not one of those laptops that just works right out of the box.

 

Another reason I'm looking forward to getting my area-51m. If I burn out that cpu, I'll just replace it with another one. Going to be much cheaper than replacing the entire laptop and less annoying than dealing with support (I have yet to burn out an intel cpu in a laptop, but I do plan on overclocking this one )

 

Yeah, the Area-51M is a whole other beast of a laptop. XD

 

Guys, help!

I'm purchasing a m15 with 2070 max-q. I've seen an option for a GTX 1180 max-q.... i'm a little confused here, can't find that many info on the gtx 1180 max-q, does anyone know how it perfom compared to the RTX 2070 max-q?

thanks

 

I don't see any 1180 options. There have only been rumors surrounding the gtx 1180, some thought it was going to be next iteration, since the 20xx release some have thought it would be a 20xx series card without the ray tracing.

Where did you see this option?