*OFFICIAL* Alienware 18 Owner's Lounge Thread

yeah I have MacBook Air 13" right now to supplement my Alienware 18 when it gets here but if the rMBP gets updated to the new Haswell line I'll probably exchange and upgrade (yay 60 day return window with Best Buy)

 

Nice! If I had some extra money, I would get a 13@ rMBP as a supplement.. but looks like I will "limit" myself to an Asus ultrabook or so.

I guess new MBPs will be announce in iPhone 5S' event and release end of Sept-early Oct....

 

I supplemented my AW 18 with a AW 14.. sold my retina MBP

 

I wanted something much thinner and lighter

 

If I can get a good-price AW14, off eBay or something, I may do that...

Irrelevant: I can't believe how easy to scratch the new AWs are! Dunno for previous models, but the new ones are really easy. I accidental hited one corner with my Deathadder mouse. The mouse didn't get a scratch, the AW got a rather large for the hit scratch!

 

No, the older ones are not easy to scratch at all. I'm not sure why the new models seem to be so easy to scratch. If you can't dig your fingernail into the edge of the surface, it might buff out. It might be the color shows scuff marks more readily, but even our really old M17xR2 still looks almost new.

 

Yep and that's why I'm stepping back from there laptops.

 

Maybe its' the black the finish. The whole laptop feels well-built in terms of construction, minor a few areas there and here. However the easiness to scratch this laptop made me paranoid! I plan keeping the laptop in my cooler, safety in my room. Not due to its' size, but more like to keep the cosmetic condition as mint as possible.

The rubberised finish, looks good, feels great but it is imo a fingerprints and scratches magnet.

 

I think the palm rest shows fingerprints a little easier than the M18xR1/R2 palm rest because the surface is a little more porous than the M18xR1/R2 and it has a flatter satin finish. It might "temper" (not sure if that's the right word) over time to show less after absorbing body oils. I'm wondering if something like Armor All wipes might make the palm rest more resistant to showing finger prints if used in moderation? It may be that the deep black (M17xR2) and gunmetal (M18xR1/R2) colors absorb more light and show fewer scuffs. All have an anodized finish, but the silver lid on the 18 does tend to show evidence of abrasion more readily.

 

How's the battery life on the AW18? 1 - 2 hours, browsing, etc.?

 

I haven't tested mine on battery yet. I just got alll the mechanical drives out and adding ssd's now. So far a pkextor m5m mSata (256gb) for boot and a couple apps and just got one 512gb 840 pro.. Deciding to get another one for raid 0. Not sure yet... I might get a chance to use it at work Tuesday and will see how long the battery lasts surfing, email and music..

 

Sounds good, I would appreciate it.

I'm interested in purchasing an AW18 but I don't want to buy the 1TB SSD (4x 256GB) bundle for nearly $6,000 (with 4 years of warranty). I can't wait until those 780M's become available... And I hope they start offering other configurations soon.

There's a lot of good information on this forum. I've been reading about power draw with the 780M SLI and 4930MX bundle, and it would seem that their "potential" is somewhat limited, which is unfortunate.

 

I got lucky and just got mine before the limited stock issue hit. I opted for te 4800 and 780 sli. I try updating my sig but it always says its to long when I type it.

 

It would actually be cool is they offered a bare bones/white box option that included basic chassis parts, heat sinks, drive caddies, etc... with no CPU, no RAM, no drives, no GPUs and allowed customers to menu shop for those components in-house or go get their own from somewhere else.

 

That would be really cool for us Fox and would certainly help in these dried out situations. But I think that would be a little more, chaotic, warranty wise, for a big company like Dell, in their point of view.

 

Also, given the fact that they seem to be selling like hot cakes under the current tiered structure, Dell would shoot themselves in the foot if they offered configurations without the components they make most money on. I think it would be akin to asking if you could buy a Ferarri without an engine - they just won't do it.

 

You're right. It probably would be difficult to manage and probably be very chaotic warranty wise. That's not their kind of business model and I doubt it would fly. But, it would be really cool for us. Just wishful thinking on my part. The only laptops you can buy that way are poorly constructed.

 

In general, limiting configurations and accessories yields a stabler and more reliable chassis. That might be why Alienware has removed the front grills, alien head power button, and ports like ExpressCard. The locked-down OS, minimal connectivity, and unibody metal chassis are much of why Macbooks have reputations for reliability and quality. When you use Macbooks as mobile workstations, the failure rates spike; cooling is not great. However, I commend Apple for knowing what it wants to achieve better than any other laptop vendor.

Since the lights and gimmicks are prone to malfunction, it would be nice if Alienware were to remove all of them and focus on building the highest-quality chassis with the most ports, best cooling and support, and highest performance possible.

 

The thing is, if you do that, you probably end up in another Dell segment that already exists to a degree in relation to high performance - Precision range - apart from the option of gaming gpu's, they are Dell's flagship performance mobile unit. I imagine making one more similar to the other would be bad business practice as it would detract from sales of one or the other...

Making Alienware 'less Alienware' probably wouldn't fly too well with AW enthusiasts like the majority of us here.

 

I agree with steviejones. They can change the design on the flashy LEDs, the alienware head and such, move them around a bit, but not remove those features completely.

If they did that on the Alienware 18, it wouldnt look that much different from Clevo P375SM.

 

Hey cloudfuego, are sure you agree with Steve. On that? Hehehe. Just kd.

 

That would be kinda cool but like Cloud also stated that would be kinda chaotic lol if they could just bring back the ala cart setup they had with the previous M18x that would be so AWESOME! But it would also be awesome to allow us to purchase the shell to the system as a stand alone for us that like modding

 

I think I took that one lol. I really agree with steve though

I dont want Alienware to become a generic brand that just purchase casing from a different manufacturer, slap on the logo and call it a day.

They can do flashy designs as long as its done right. I think I have said what I mean about Alienware 18 against R2, so I'll stop here instead of repeating myself

 

I think dell is using a different manufacturer for the new M18.

 

I guess so.

Even buyers of workstations get more for the price than AW buyers do: business-rugged chassis, long battery life, security features, better screens, more options at the point of sale, more ports, better warranty and support. We get a slightly edgier design, BIOS CPU overclocking, and better performance in gaming and non-business applications for a similar price. You can get even better gaming performance in an outlet Precision workstation as a new Alienware for the same price, and I assume that Dell Business outlet is more reliable than AW outlet.

I'm not the first person to gripe about this, but...

Retaining the m18x's five hard drive slots, ExpressCard, and eSATA would have made for a good selling point. AW 18 owners have much better gaming performance than any mobile workstation at least.

 

Anyone know of any coupons going on at the moment or in the near future? Little brother decided he wanted a base 18 for his birthday in October, and I'm trying to get the best price so he can throw in a nice SSD, and start saving up for Maxwell GPUs next year.

 

The Precision line is indeed powerful, but their chassis design isn't much different from a Cleve/Sager barebone. It reminds me the boxy look laptops had 10 years ago. Plus you pay the price premium for a Quadro card. A Quadro card will outperform a 780M in CUDA apps, but will be outperformed in games. For the same price as a Precision with descent specs, you can get an AW18 with SLI for even better gaming-side performance. I was using Quadro cards for CUDA-processing back at University, they are fantastic; reliable and fast. I think AW17 shares the same screen btw with the M6700.

A few years ago, I remember Dell was allowing XPS line to be configure. You could more or less get the same specs on an XPS 17 as in an AW m17, for much less. For better or the worse Dell dropped that.

What doesn't make "sense" to me is the AW14 price. The low-end model is only £50 less than the 2nd tier in the UK webpage and to start-with, the price is too high for a such system. For more than £200 less you can get an Insprion 15R, with better performance and a less bulky built -as I assume, AW14 buyers need portability over raw power.

I personally think of Dell like Volkswagen, they have their own premium cars lines, like Passat (high-end Inspiron 15R & 17R and XPS series). They still offer better performance/ built-quality through Dell Business lines (like Audi is fo VW), but for the people willing to pay for the best performance they have Alienware (like Buggati for VW) as a more "autonomous" subsidiary.

Dell is the best think that happen to AW, as AW got access to Dell's supply lines and manufacture plans allowing to expand beyond the US market and most importantly, design their own systems from scratch -instead of waiting for Clevo and then build on-top of their designs. However for full fairness, I believe we should treat AW as a different company, when we compare it with Dell's own branded laptops. Afterall that is why we get a 24/7 customer support line, unlike other Dell services.

The main issue with companies such as Dell, is that different subsidiaries don't usually communicate together well-enough. They always seem to compete with each other; thus you get this "overlapping" between Dell Home and Dell Business lines...

 

I hate the fact that AW18 only has 2x2.5" slots available, I wanted alienware to add another 2.5" slot and give us 4x2.5", not less, but at least we still have SLI . Want to run 2x256Gb RAID0 and 750Gb HDD. But I finally gave in and ordered AW18 with following specs:

- Overclocked i7-4930MX
- 32GB DDR3L 1600Mhz
- 2x750GB 7200rpm + 64GB mSATA
- BD-ROM
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M 4Gb DDR5 SLI
- 330W AC Adapter
- Win7 Ultimate 64bit
- First 2Yr support including nights and weekends
- 3rd-4th yr support without weekends and nights

Already have 2x 256GB Samsung P830's sitting here, but not 100% sure at this time, might just throw in a 480gb msata and call it a day.

 

You can remove the BD-Rom and get an extra SATA-3 slot for the HDD!

 

@Vs3054. When did you order?

 

I'm in the reverse situation, mine won't come with a blu-ray drive but I want one

 

Same here. We have to call dell and order the DVD optical drive base, and order the BR drive from newegg.

 

I went to tiger direct here in Chicago, besides the poor customer service and morons that helped me, I played with a 17 for a few. The laptop is phenomenal, I LOVE the screen, the feel of the keyboard and palm rest feels good on the hands the keyboard also has no flex. I'm ordering mine when I get back. No doubts haha

 

Then you can buy one from eBay or any other place. As long as it is a slot-loading one, it should be ok... I think Samsung ones are a perfect fit.

I agree about the keyboard and the palm rest. The keyboard is one of the best I had so far. While not a mechanical one, it certainly doesn't feel like a cheap, membranine one. I think this is mainly due to a metal plate bellow the main keyboard area that adds support and feedback to the keys. The only complain about it, that the keys are a bit to flat -personal preferences.

The palmrest also feels great, much better than my aluminium MBP's palm rest. However it is super-easy to scratch and a fingerprint magnet, so be careful!

 

I'm new to slot-loading drives, do I have to worry about a bezel or anything?

 

Typically, no bezel is used on an internal slot-load drive. If you get a slot-load with a bezel, you will need to carefully remove it prior to installation. While it most likely will not, there is a chance it might fit with the bezel left on with the new Alienware machines, so you can give a try. It won't fit with the older machines because there's not enough space between the drive and chassis.

If you decide to put it into an external enclosure later on and use the internal bay for an extra hard drive, you'll be very glad you have the bezel. In fact, it would be better to intentionally buy a slot load that comes with a bezel for that very reason. They can sometimes be hard to find.

Unless you do an inordinate amount of work with optical disks and need the convenience of internal installation, you'd probably benefit a lot more from having an extra internal hard drive and only connect the optical drive to a USB port when you need to use it.

 

Since there was some talk about ditching the order they had on the Alienware 18 because of some new Haswell CPUs coming, here are the details about the new ones.

None of these CPUs will be offered by Alienware. There is only one new Quad core, but its a soldered CPU plus the only new thing it features is HD5200, which is the fastest IGP.

 

Hi boys and girls. Can you say "$900 motherboard?"

I'm glad they aren't going to offer these crappy processors.

 

There are more models coming, like the 4850HQ and the 4950HQ not on your list. As I said before: No reason for AW to provide them, they just include HD5200 and to do that, they trade 200MHz from their speed. Even Wikipedia includes a complete list of them; they were announced and expected this fall since Haswell anouncement. Thus the delay in Apple refreshing their MBP line and in general, most PC manufactures other than their high-end (with dedicated graphics) haven't refresh their consumer line-ups.

 

Alienware cant offer them. HQ means BGA. Only Asus screw their customers over by using soldered CPUs in their high end notebooks.
Intel offer two revisions of a new architecture. The other one, won`t be here until early next year. That is when we get real replacements, kinda like 3840MQ vs 3820MQ, or 3940XM vs 3920XM.

I laughed out loud.
Yeah, expensive as hell and you are locked with it forever. Well unless you know how to change the MB

 

Yep you are right. Just extending why we don't need them I feel sorry for people who cancelled their orders based on a rumour!

 

I like watching my blu-rays while traveling and it's much easier when the laptop has a blu-ray drive ^_^

 

Yes, I surely can, but I will be travelling a lot in coming months, so bluray drive is quite essential for watching blurays/DVDs on the go. I do have a external bd-re drive, so possibility of installing a hdd inside odd slot is quite high.

Just got the çonfirmation email yesterday. I am told it will be 14-21 days to get it delivered to me.

When I enquired 2 weeks ago, I was told there is 4-8weeks wait on 780's, yesterday I was told there is no delay, so not sure what to believe. To be honest, I am not in any rush, so even if it takes 2 months, I can wait, as long as I get my aw18 before year end

 

any thoughts on this drive?

Slot in SATA UJ 265 6X Blu Ray Burner Drive for Dell Alienware M15X M17x M18x | eBay

seems like a pretty good deal on a blu-ray burner

edit: would I need a bracket though? :-s

 

Ahh fair enough.

Nice! My order was placed on the 27th, with EDD 03/10/13! On AW's webpage a 780M SLI system has an EDD of 16/09... so I asked Dell whenever they will change my EDD. They said no due to shortage in parts, we have to wait!

I am confused now, people with EDDs before me will they get a "priority" over mine? If not, my EDD should be around 16/09, but still the system is in pre-production!

 

It looks to thick? Maybe just one of the pics it is in a bracket of some kind?

 

That one looks like, it's from m15x, recent ones I have seen in m17xr4/m18xr2 are quite slim but one from m15x does fit, not sure if it will fit in new line though.

Edit: closer inspection points out, the manufacturing year is 2012, so I got no idea whether its genuinely thick or just images make it look thick ?

Edit: I haven't read much about it, but does aw18 still retain the dmc slot for wihd? Just thinking of getting mpcie to USB and then USB to msata, to keep 64gb for basic data after I add a bigger msata.

 

It should fit fine. My BD-RE that used to be internal is a UJ235A.

If your 18 ships without any optical drive, yes, you will need to buy an ODD bracket to install. You will also need a ODD SATA cable. The ODD has a smaller SATA port than HDD/SSD, so if you have a HDD there now, the SATA cable will not fit the ODD.

 

I'll just stick with my original plan of hopefully ordering it from Dell Spare Parts using the gift card from buying the Alienware 18 so that it'll just come with everything I need

 

I too am getting the version without a BR drive, and at first I was going to try and order the parts to put one in, but then changed my mind when I thought:

1) Every laptop I have owned has outlasted the laser on the CD/DVD/BR drive, and I end up having to replace it or deal with an empty dead slot until I get my next machine.

2) For the infrequent number of times I actually use that kind of media, I could just buy a USB 3.0 external drive that also allows me to burn (BD-R or BD-RE)

3) I don't need or want the extra noise, moving parts, or battery drain.

So I've gotten over my need for built blu-ray!