AW17 R1

Dell has some 2013 17R1 systems available. Is this a good deal?

http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-17/pd?oc=dkcwg08&model_id=alienware-17

Or is the technology outdated and obsolete? I have always wanted an Alienware but I'm reading lots of negative stuff about the new builds. The lack of an internal optical drive on the new stuff is an issue for me and adding an external drive defeats the purpose.

 

Personally, I wouldn't spend $1749 on a machine with an 860m. You'd be better off buying from the likes of Ebay where you could grab a 17 R1 with something like a 780m, 4910mq. 32gb, blu ray and warranty for around the same kinda price bracket.

The technology is by no means obsolete. It may have been replaced, but newer is not necessarily better. If you have no plans to change any internal components yourself (eg. upgrading GPU etc) then the fact of BGA soldered on parts might not be an issue for you. The biggest thing, as I see it for you, is the optical drive issue. If you cannot live without a built in ODD, then you have ruled out the new models right away. If that is the case, I think you could get a better R1 for that kinda money elsewhere.....

 

I'd pull the trigger on a 17 R1 anytime. However, as steviejones133 says... There may be better deals on eBay.

 

There are plenty of r2s in the outlet now and here is a coupon for 25% off:

ALIENWARE25%

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2201&fid=100982

 

I wouldn't buy any new Alienware machines period... Now they're no different from the rest of the market and are totally overpriced... These old R1's are totally overpriced and so are the AW18.. I won't buy BGA junk so no AW17 R2 for me..

 

Thanks for everyones response. I will continue to research before making a decision.

Unfortunately, I have to pull the trigger on something as my current laptop took a tumble.

I will look into the outlet and appreciate the discount code.

 

Can someone give me an opinion of this build? Specifically the Video card performance?

Alienware 17 R1

• Processor: Intel Core 4th Generation i7-4710MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
• Windows 8.1
• 1 TB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
• 80 GB mSATA SSD Caching Drive
• 16 GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (8GBx2) Memory
• 17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare Display
• Slot-Load Dual Layer Blu-ray Combo (BR-ROM, DVD+/-RW, CD-RW)
• AMD Radeon R9 M290X with 4GB GDDR5
• Alienware 17 R1

EDIT: I hope it's not a bad decision but I was able to use the ALIENWARE25% code to get this system new from the outlet. I had to pull the trigger on something...

 

The M290x is a capable card. Although it might not handle every game using highest settings at 1080, you should be able to play most games well. Basically, the M290x is a rebranded 8970m, which was basically a rebranded 7970m with some small clock increases. It's slightly behind a single GTX 780m in terms of performance.

All in all, it's a capable machine, and at least with it not being a soldered BGA turd like the new 17, you can upgrade the GPU at a later date if you chose to do so. As prices come down, you might want to consider a GTX980m or GTX970m at some point - it has been proven to work on the R1 platform with a bit of tweaking.

I'd say if you got it at a good price, be happy with it now and maybe upgrade it later down the line....if you wanted to.

 

After all was said and done I paid about 1400$ before taxes, using the discount code. I'm excited to get the computer and feel that if it lasts 3-4 years I will have gotten my value out of it.
I'm not a huge PC gamer anymore (partially from not having a capable machine, but primarily time) but I enjoyed the Diablo series so will get Diablo 3 and my daughter will love being able to play Sims 4. I hope it will run those titles acceptable.
I really appreciate the responses and especially the discount code.
I made one error during the purchase process in that I did not register for the dell advantage program prior to the purchase, which would have given me a 10% reward card and free second day shipping when using dell financing.
If anyone else is reading. Make sure you create your advantage account and are logged into it prior to adding the item to your cart and finalizing the purchase. Apparently there is no mechanism to do this after the fact (within a few minutes).

I tried to resolve it by calling dell and got routed from rep to rep for about an hour. The last rep told me that I was mistaken. When I offered to email him the link to the page on the outlet website he then stated that my only option was to cancel the order and redo it. Since this was the only system on the outlet that met my budget/build requirements I opted not to risk it. I did comment that it took four reps, an hour of my time, and he was contradicting what I could clearly read in front of me and did not seem to be an unreasonable request to the first three reps I spoke with who transferred me, at which point he became ambivalent and stated that it was on me for not being sure of the price.... So what went from a "can't do it" "don't know anything about it" now became my fault for not following the process correctly... As he realized he had contradicted himself, he then offered a courtesy discount of an additional 50$ for my time. I have a reference number and that I am to call once I receive the system to get the credit. I get it that his job is to make money for his company. No fault there. But I don't like it when people play stupid with me and it seems like a fairly simple issue to simply connect the advantage club to a purchase made a few hours prior, without the have to "cancel" and "reorder" response. Maybe not. I'm fortunate enough that +/- 100$ is not going to change my quality of life so not going to sweat it any more than that. I'll have a few beers and fill the car up and move on..... the stripper will only get singles tonight.. lol

Anyway thanks again for everyone's help.

 

I'm curious if my operating system will be installed on the 80g ssd or the 1T hard-drive.

 

Probably on your hdd, but one never knows. Several have experienced that the os installed on the small m-sata. Buy yourself a decent 256 gb ssd so you install Windows on this instead.

 

That's kind of what I figure I will do. Last time I built a system everything was still using IDE cables. I see now there are many different standards. I guess I will wait until it is in my hands before I order anything to make sure I get the right stuff.
Can you recommend a online supplier to order from?
Will 16gb ram be sufficient or should I get 2 more 8gb sticks?
Does AW ship install disks with the systems?
Sorry for all the noob questions. I am really excited to get this. Supposed to be here on Tuesday.

 

Windows is already installed on hdd (hidden recovery partition). Windows key is programmed into the motherboard. It does not come with an installation disk but you could ordered a usb / cd with windows if you paid extra when you bought the PC.
Where you buy a ssd depends on where you live. Many use newegg.com and Amazon.com.
16gb ram is fine. 8gb memory is really enough, but more is said better.

 

Since this system was from the outlet there was no option to add anything or make any changes. I certainly want to have backup media in hand just in case. I will contact them and see if it's possible to order it.
Thanks for all your help.
I have used both Newegg and Amazon in the past. That makes it easy.

 

Recommend SanDisk Extreme PRO or Samsung 850 Pro if you want one off the best ssd. Otherwise Crucial mx100 a very good / cheap choice.

 

Do these use the m.2 format that looks like a memory stick or the format that looks like a hd with a sata cable?

I guess I should get on youtube and watch some videos. (that's what my 11 year old daughter just said.....lol)

 

Aw17 R1 use 2pc 2.5 "standard ssd and 1pc M-sata. Buy a 2.5" SSD... M.2 standard came in Aw17R2
If you use win 8
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...all-order-guide-for-alienware-systems.716372/

 

So if I understand I will have two 2.5" SSD empty when I get my machine, and the M-sata will have the supplied 80gb ssd in it already? Is the 1T hd in a different bay?
Does the computer support RAID if I were to purchase 2 identical ssd?

98$ shipped amazon prime.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-I...e=UTF8&qid=1429930989&sr=1-1&keywords=2.5+ssd

 

AW17 comes with 1 hdd and 1m sata installed. You have 1 extra 2.5 "space available. In addition, you can also replace bd player with a SSD if you obtain a ssd tray intended for your AW.
Do not like Samsung Evo ssd who use tlc nand. Do not rely enough on the new model as the previous Evo have / had problems...
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra...F8&qid=1429931663&sr=1-5&keywords=sandisk+ssd
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX100...e=UTF8&qid=1429932264&sr=1-1&keywords=crucial

 

From my experience with this system, the 80GB mSATA SSD is used as a caching drive (so the BIOS option is set to RAID).

Might not be the case for all these systems though.

 

Raid is the selected BIOS setup in any case for previous Aw model I think. Also if you get a new motherboard to replace the old to your AW laptops, the BIOS set up to raid by default.

 

@Papusan you moron! Don't recommend that TLC junk Sandisk Ultra... It's either the Crucial MX100/200 or the Sandisk Extreme Pro

I'm joking about you being a moron, no offense meant!

 

Im considering just getting two ssd's and putting the stock hd in my external caddy for backup purposes.

 

Anything is better than Samsung Evo. HaHa. Although it is launched a new 850 Evo, I do not want to recommend it. I do not want anything other than a ssd with mlc nand. I think you know this very well.. If he should choose between an SSD drive with tlc garbage nand = garbage bga hardware, I keep still on Sandisk. But you're absolutely right. I mean Sandisk Extreme Pro or Samsung 850 Pro is the best choice with Crucial MX100 / 200 as number 2 .. HaHa. not as number 3... I also have 2 pack 256GB OCZ Vector ssd's that I bought once they were launched i think in 2012. I think these ssd disks also is a very good product. I will never accept a ssd disk with tlc nand. Rather pay 30 -40 -50 % more for a top ssd. That people still want to buy a brand new untested Evo ssd after former garbage model, I don't understand that people ... But as you know; People also buy BGA processors ... Which I think is insane.

 

Im officially lost...lol

 

NO No... Consider 2 or 3 pieces Crucial MX100/200 and replace also the slow hdd when you get the new Aw. Why use slow old-fashioned technology? Have you some money so choose the best you gan get (As Gillette says)

 

Crucial MX100 budget and fair performance and Crucial BX100 is for pure budget, bang for buck. While MX200 is their flagship sibling to the older Crucial M550.
Samsung 840PRO is MLC and should be fair and 850PRO is the new gen 3D V-Nand MLC but is top notch product $$$. But all Evo drives as said by tom and papusan are TLC based, those samsung TLC drives are plagued with horrible issues. And Sandisk Extreme PRO is also another top notch MLC drive, I guess TLC should be fine for a normal user but the MLC drives from Crucial are very much better than those of other offerings with a better price tag for performance too.

Peformance, Endurance of SSD : SLC (single cell) > MLC (mullti cell) > TLC (triple cell)

 

My new machine arrived tonight and I'm very happy so far. For now I'm just going to leave the hardware alone and learn my way around 8.1

I was surprised that there was no invoice or any paperwork in the box. I received the computer, a pamphlet on the warranty, and I was pleasantly surprised to also get a Windows 8.1 Recovery Media disk.

Is this disk a complete install of Windows 8.1 or do I still need to use the Alienrespawn utility to create my own recovery disks?

I also went to the product support page and allowed it to detect my service tag? There many updates available. What is the position on installing these? Should I do all of them or leave it alone for now. One in particular was a BIOS update to A14? Is that recommended?

Likely I will play with the system, and then at some point I want to be able to get it back to a fresh condition as it was received. What is the best way to do this?

Thanks again for everyone's assistance.

 

Im getting real poor graphics performance. Heres a link to a benchmark.
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6809351?

Any suggestions?

 

Test also with 3Dmark11 and 3DMark Fire Strike as well. Maybe this was the score from iGPU. You run an old graphics drivers. Try graphics driver 14.301.1001.0 or 14.501.1003.0. These drivers are used in 3DMark with normal scores. Your driver is 13.251.3.5000

 

Yes, I spoke with a support tech who logged on remotely and demonstrated how to assign the dedicated video card. I feel pretty stupid but I was stumped as this is new to me. I guess I just assumed that because there is a video card installed the machine would use it by default.

Benchmark is much better now.
http://www.3dmark.com/sd/3005844

I'll give the updated drivers a go. When I update them is it ok to just install them or do I need to use a utility such as DDU to remove the current drivers first?

 

I use DDu but you may well try without. If you get problems or a lower score than what you already have or someone else's score, then you can use DDu afterwards. Test both 3Dmark11 and 3DMark Fire Strike before switching driver so that you have something and compare with...
Edit: This is my 3Dmark11 score you can beat... http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9860543