New guy asking a few newbie questions,

Hi guys i've recently taken my first step into AW.

just a few questions for you guys,

Are there any AW essential programmes or files that are worth getting?

Also as only a newbie I was wondering if someone could tell me if I paid too much for my laptop (dell outlet)

for £1400 I got an AW 17 with the following spec :


Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4910MQ processor (Quad Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)
5G WiFi Broadcom 4352 802.11n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0 (SAF)
Windows® 8.1
32 GB Memory 1600MHz Dual Channel DDR3 (4x8GB)
1 TB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
5X Blu-Ray Disc (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM)
17.3 inch WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) TrueLife with 3D (120Hz)
256 GB Solid State Drive Full Mini Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 880M with 8 GB GDDR5

If anyone has any view on if i paid too much etc for it please let me know your thoughts or the same if you think i got a good deal.

thanks Richard

 

The price is ok for me. You have the top CPU and the amazing TrueLife screen, also 32Gb is a top spec. You can also upgrade GPU in the future if needed.

 

Thanks, just trying to get a feel for it atm, screen is nice but have nothing to compare it (gaming laptop wise) so its nice as far as i'm concerned!

 

The price is fine. I paid 3250 euro for mine (but it includes 4 years of warranty and accidental damage) around january 2015.

 

Hi there, welcome to the club! You have there the last of the 'real' Alienware 17's The AW17 R1. And is fully maxed for that model, great buy IMO.

Not to be a downer but the only potential issue is with the 880m. I'll let you research it but I have heard that the latest firmware from dell fixed a lot of the issues, but some users are still saying they can't get it to run at full speed consistently?

Use the Respawn software to make an emergency USB backup as soon as possible. Especially if you go for win 10. On that model Dell have announced that they support it .

If you keep it extend the warranty. The only company that sends engineers to you rather then shipping a problem to them. Low volume, high performance parts are not known for their longevity.

If you want to check out the 3D then get Batman Arkham Origins (should cheap on Steam) and prepare to be amazed - well I was! It is nothing like the rubbish you get on 3D TV's and for me it truly adds a new level of immersion - that display is awesome as well.

have fun .

 

Thanks MickyD!

those are the kind of tips ive been after as ive never been in a position to buy an AW before and being a long time mac user.

Thanks for the mini guide over my laptop, i wasnt too sure how high the specs could go as it's the 2014 model.

As I bought it from dell outlet its near enough brand new just last years model as far as i can tell.

Ive enquired about extending the warranty as i aim to keep it for a while.

Do you know if the 3d screen is active or passive? My TV is an active 3D tv so wondered if those 3d glasses would work with it.

Once again thanks!

 

You're very welcome.

The 3D is one of my 'things' so I know quite a bit about it!

It is an active system but only works with the Nvidia glasses. Briefly (I hope) the NV system uses two images generated in real time with 60hz to each eye. Hence the need for a refresh rate of 120hz. You can use the system to feed your 3D TV through a HDMI or Mini display port to HDMI cable. When you do this two new resolutions will be available on the windows desktop. 720p or 1080i. Selecting one of these and starting a game with the 3D active (more on this later) you can use the glasses that came with the TV on the TV. But, and it's a huge but, you get a picture that is translated into the TV system. Because this uses a single frame split vertically that is broken out to each eye the vertical resolution is effectively halved.

Add this to the atrocious refresh rate of 24hz @ 1080i and you are in for a poor experience. In an attempt to offset these restrictions a 3D TV has a bunch of clever software that fills in the gaps so it looks OK. Fine for watching a film but a disaster for gaming. All that smoothing takes time and a few milliseconds is enough to destroy gameplay. Input lag make on-line and most single player games useless.

To activate the 3D go to the Nvidia Control panel (right click anywhere on the desktop) and look under 'stereoscopic 3D' for a check box to turn it on. You will need to have it connected to your TV as the wizard wants you to identify images seen through glasses. This technology is called '3D TV Play' and you can check it out for details.

At 720p the refresh is still only 50hz but this is enough to stop lag and allow you to play a game in 3D.

Another thing is that because of the terrible source feed for 3D TV your eyes and brain are also working hard filling in gaps and maintaining perspective. Ever wonder why 3D films are so tiring, or cause headaches? None of this when 3d gaming on a 120hz panel. Full resolution and a refresh rate that is easy on the eyes.

If you didn't get the glasses then check out ebay or amazon for glasses only. They are expensive retail but if you can't find any PM me and I might be able to help.

Finally, for the ultimate AW 3D experience get one of the Metro Redux games. Right click on the Alienhead in the task bar and select 'allow 3rd party integration'. Down the lights and play with the glasses, some decent headphones, and steady nerves! The keyboard now reacts to situations so in 3D you get totally immersed. Get near something hot and the KB gradually lights up red. Hide and it goes black with gradual transition to full white when in sight. Creepy as hell

Phew, and I said 'briefly', haha. Ask away .