*OFFICIAL* Alienware 18 Owner's Lounge Thread

Thanks for clearing that one up, jourdy. I think dazzy just meant that there were more stages in the production cycle - you have seven stages but the UK has less. Probably because of your location, maybe....

 

I think I actually like that stage layout better that the one we have here in the U.S. It gives you a better idea as to where your beast is and when you are going to get it!

 

Been a while since I have posted here (April 2011). I went through the miserable M17x R3 ordering/delivery process back then. I just ordered an stock Alienware 18 and got $150 knocked of the price and the standard gift card during a spirited haggling session with a Dell rep on the phone. I am very much looking forward to the larger screen for photo editing.....and a game now and again. Here is a screen shot of my order status......here we go again. This is a longer wait than last time. XO!

 

take those EDD with a pinch of salt. Some users are reporting next week delivery.

 

are you sure? can you give links for proofs?

maybe those are pre production units.

what alienware usually does is not take orders one by one, but group it with similar models and send it out to production facilities. those who get their laptops within 2 weeks just happened to order it within the cut off date.

 

Posted by prank1

 

If I receive mine before the end of the month.......pigs with little piggy jet packs with be doing formation flying over my house while hell is freezing over. That being said, I won't be complaining if they arrive early. Very keen to upgrade my system after a couple of years!

 

Order the beast today, wondering about two things :

1) Is the display on the new system is the same as the R1/2 ?
( WLED FHD (1080p) Truelife 400 Nit display ?

2) Against my wishes the system comes with windows 8. how bad is windows 8 for gaming ?


Thanks

 

Kamzan, no the display is different. It is no longer glossy, but "Truelife", a mixture between (supposedly) the best of the glossy and matte. I'm hearing that Windows 8 works just the same as Windows 7 for gaming. I haven't heard of any game that works for Windows 7 that doesn't work for Windows 8, and as always, you have the Compatibility Mode option for older games.
Congrats on the order!

 

Mine is supposedly coming on the 5th July according to AW - my order states 27th July so if it's early I won't be on this forum for a while

 

How did you find out your supposed EDD?

Mine is towards end of July as well...

hate the waiting game...

 

Hey guys, I am new to the pc gaming world and just ordered an alienware m 18. I am curious if any of you veterans would care to tell me if there is enough of a difference between i7-4800mq and the i7-4900mq overclocked to 4.0 ghz to warrant the almost ~US $330 price diffrrence? This is only for gaming and I will not be playing MMOs if it matters. I am not sure that the 300mhz and 2mb cache make enough of a difference for the price we pay. Money is not a problem, I just want to make sure I dont waste that when I could spend it on anything else in the world. I dont mind paying if it gives me a nice boost. Here are my specs
Description
Alienware 18 BTX Base Mod
16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5 - NVIDIA SLI Enabled
750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s + 64GB mSATA SSD Caching
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, English
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW
Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2 and Bluetooth 4.0
2 Year Limited Warranty
4th Gen Intel Core i7-4800MQ (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
18.4 inch (467.36 mm) WLED FHD (1080p) TrueLife PLS 350 Nit Display (1920 X 1080)

 

As I mentioned a few days ago, I got a chance a chance to head over to Fry's today to get a look at the GT70 and Alienware M18xr2 (for reference sake) and...

I've backtracked completely on wanting the GT70, dragon or dragonless. First off, WOW 17 inches is big. When the largest laptop you've ever owned is 15.6 inches, 17.3 inches is IMMENSE. The shape was not as flat as I thought it looked in the pictures, it has some odd angles on the sides that are not aesthetically pleasing. From the pictures I thought it would look like a bigger XPS m1530, a design I rather like. Unfortunately it's quite a bit thicker and angular than I imagined, and worst of all has a mostly cheap plastic feel to it. Even with the odd shape and size, If the whole thing were brushed aluminum I probably would have come out with a far more positive opinion about the chassis overall. Was not fond of the plastic shortcut touch buttons near the screen either, felt like a children's toy. What I LOVED though was the keyboard. Much better than the keyboard on the Alienware m14x I'm used to as well as the 18xr2 I tried out at the store. Steelseries does good work.

Now onto my 18x impressions, and how they correlate to a new 18 purchase. So yeah, the thing is huge, that's a given. However, after you've played around with a 17.3 inch model, switching to a model an inch bigger really doesn't make it seem that much more immense. Bottom line is anything bigger than 15 inches is going to feel huge to me at this point, so there's little reason not to pay a little bit more for the top of the line 18 inch model to sit on my desk. I have a Surface Pro that I lug around for work so portability is a non-issue. As far as the design, well it looked like a huge version of my m14x with some weird buttons on the sides. After touching the cheap plastic on the gt70 I can't wait for the prospect of having a fully metal frame on the new 18.

HOWEVER... the keyboard on the m18xr2 is awful... or at least awful by comparison to the Steelseries I tried out just a few minutes earlier. It's not 100% a deal-breaker, but if anybody has any insight on the new 18 keyboard (and of course I'll be furiously researching on the interwebs over the next few days) I'd love to hear it.

Bottom line: Alienware won my wallet this year, barring any unfortunate news that the edge cuts into your wrists or the keyboard is awful. Also, I don't see an inherent advantage to purchasing the 17 over the 18 considering how massive that laptop is anyway. I guess battery life and portability is better, but I'm not sure that the Alienware 17 is really the type of laptop you would want to be taking with you on a daily basis anyway to work or school etc. To each their own though.

I'll post again once I make a purchase :thumbsup:

 

that is as most balanced as you can get. its good thing you didn't go i7-4700 with 780m especially if you don't even play MMO, trust me you are better off saving 300 dollars for your next gen pc investment.

pc evolution is always constant, the best thing you can do as an average consumer is buy something that is of best value which also support longetivity at the same time. You picked the best load out from this year's 2013 lineup. anything above is extra but it does not warrant the upgrade per dollar. even if you have money to blow, i highly suggest you save up for maxwell line in the future - when i say future, i mean it's in a very foreseeable future.

 

if you are going to buy alienware, you should go with new model, i agree completely what you said about older 18x revsions...

 

Thanks for the quick answer and blessings .
Do u think that the color/contrast ratio be better comparing to the older models? Since i am not familiar with such a screen. Though it sounds very similar to apple macbook pro screens.

 

Hey!!, Well i Just did the exact thing that you aid not to, I went with the 780 SLI with the i7_4700 processor. Can you explain abit more what is the problem that i might face?

 

The new screens have been said to be gorgeous all IPS panels. Certainly going to be much better than the previous gen.

 

Id prefer to go more with extended warranty than a extreme cpu. More chance of parts being replaced due to extra cover than having a cpu go 300mhz quicker. Just my 2 cents

 

Yeah the GPU's are most important in my opinion and you really want to have a long warranty for them. If your CPU is letting you down later on you can buy one when they're cheaper on ebay. CPU's seem to be pretty much bullet proof these days and they are far cheaper to replace down the road.

 

aaah, How easy is it to replay a CPU within a Laptop. I am no expert but i do know my way arround a desktop no problem, and i have tried to access the CPU in some of my laptops before, and they are just insane. AW seems abit more accessable, the older versions. But i dont knw alot about the CPU upgradeable. Is it doable? This is my first AW and so i dont have much knowlege about it.

 

Should be a similar process to this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...sink-7970m-crossfire-upgrade.html#post8568526

A bit of a teardown, but quite straightforward enough.

 

Well when i saw the e3 videos, the guy showing off the machine undid a few screws and the main panel came right off from underneath. They have said these new designs make them much quicker for the engineers and customers to do repairs and upgrades.

 

Well all i can do i hope this new model is accessable. Also i happened to notice that u cannot takeout the battery in this new machine? am i right? and is the ram slots once again kind of screwed up like the r2? In that if i am not wrong, 2 slots where accessable just as u open the base, but the other 2 slot, you will need to open up all the keyboard area. Thats kind of a pain :/

 

I'd like to see a year down video of the new models. The R1/2's are a little time consuming to tear down and its definitely something you need to educate yourself in prior.
Does anyone know much about the CPU heatsinks on these new models?
Is it 4700/7800 single pipe, 4900 double, 4930 triple pipe?

 

i think they probably double pipe for the 4700,4800,4900, 4930 maybe triple. Maybe Luis can confirm this.

 

BTW just wanted to inform u guys, there is a video in youtube about an unboxing of the alienware 14. Ull get a good idea of what you might get with ur brand new machine. Its not the 18 i know, but wont be way of to what we will get. If u just search IGN 14 uboxing, u should get it

 

cant find anything on a 14 unboxing. a link perhaps ??

 

Alienware 14 Gaming Laptop Unboxing Video - IGN Video i hope that helps

 

Thanks for the link looks really nice. Look forward to the ful review and video.

 

I know that it got asked at some point on this thread, but it seems as though on the 17 there is triple pipe cooling for the GPU and the CPU has double pipe. I'm guessing the 18 will be the same. Check out this video breaking down a 17 at E3, especially the 2:57 mark. Stinking amazing how easy it will be to get inside our lappys.

 

Very nice. Extremely easy. I do wonder if its as easy and painless going the next step and accessing the CPU/GPU.

 

There is already a review by IGN on their site for the Alienware 14. But its just a day or 2 of use and they just published a review. I wont count on that. However they gave it a 8.6. Doesnt sound bad.

The Alienware 17 does look very easy to upgrade. If 18 is as easy then im a happy man!

 

Since the models first went up for sale all I have seen is the stock i7-4900MQ I have yet to a over clocked version offered. Maybe I missed it.

 

Well, it takes like 30 seconds to change the clock settings in the BIOS for the CPU. Press F2 at POST, change settings, press F10 and you're done. That's the only difference between the 4900MQ @ 4.0GHz and the 4900MQ @ 3.8Hz... about 30 seconds to change a couple of settings to make it run 4.0GHz. Otherwise, it's the same exact processor and there is nothing unique about the BIOS with the factory overclock option.

Maybe Alienware decided that charging extra for something like this wasn't the best approach for customers.

 

I agree. However I don't see why people in the states are saying it's not available. I just checked the AW site and the 4900MQ is listed at 4.0ghz.

 

I just checked on my 18, and it's now In Production. I was told by a Dell rep that once it goes into production, I can expect delivery within 7-10 days...here's hoping!!!

 

This might be impossible to answer but what are the odds fifteen months from now we can stick two maxwell gpus in?

 

If they are 100W MXM 3.0b, about 99.9% chance they will work flawlessly. My M18x R1 has run with 6970M CF, 6990M CF, 580M SLI, 7970M CF and 680M SLI, and we already know than 780M SLI will work. The M18x R1 was updated with an R2 Ivy Bridge motherboard initially running 2920XM (Sandy Bridge) and then upgraded to 3920XM. Upgrade friendliness is a distinctive advantage to buying Alienware. (Even older models, like the amazing M17x R2, have been upgraded with GPUs up to 680M, but power limitations are an issue with the 240W AC adapter. If the Maxwell GPUs are more than 100W, then it may become an impediment. The 300W AC adapter is just barely enough for a heavily overclocked Extreme CPU and overvolted/overclocked 680M SLI. It will be interesting to learn what the power demands of 780M SLI heavily overvolted/overclocked turns out to be, and whether or not the 330W AC adapter is powerful enough to support that.

 

Hey, Here they have a rendered representation of which im sure is the AW 18. CHeck the mark at 2:18 . So yeah according to this, its a 3 pipeing for the CPU and 2 (Thicker higher performance) pipeing for the GPU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUUy1HCQN3o

 

Thanks for that buddy. What I'm trying to find out is if all CPUs get the same 3 pipe HS. For the R2's it depended on the CPU. Only the extreme CPU's came with a 3 pipe. Same case for the gen?

 

Well tbh TboneSan i think at the launch event all those machines were maxed out, so i think that triple pipe was the extreme CPU or the overclocked one. Luis can you confirm this?? What heatsink/pipes come on the specific models.

 

Hello All - I'm not sure if this is the place to post my question … I was just wondering if my soon-to-be-delivered (hopefully) M18x R2 will be something that I can use and enjoy right out of the box or if I'm going to have to make a bunch of hardware and software upgrades and tweaks like you all do? My knowledge of computer hardware modifications is terrible - The only thing I've ever done is upgrade RAM.

You all are intimidating the heck out of me!!

I joined the forum a few days ago to gain more insight into these beasts. I'm so pumped to get this thing. I've watched about 15 "unboxing" videos!

I'm buying this laptop mostly for 3D modeling (Maya), video editing (Premier, After Effects), and Graphic design (PS, Illustrator). I got married 10 years ago and stopped gaming. Well I'm ready to get back into gaming again (yes. I'm still married). It seems like the M18x can handle just about anything I plan on throwing at it in terms of work and play without any modifications - At least I hope so?

Anyway I have a carrying case. Bioshock Infinite. Crysis 3. And Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon. But no laptop! I'm supposed to get it next week but from what I've read in these forums I'm not holding my breath ...

 

**ORDER UPDATE**

Just got off the phone to my rep. He has confirmed that my AW18 is not yet in production and they don't have a date planned for production yet. They are waiting on parts which are not in stock - I assume the 780m's but I'm not 100% sure. He cannot confirm a date currently. I ordered on the 11th june (release date) and although my EDD states 24th of July I was told on live chat to expect it by the 5th July - I assume I will miss this date by some way now.

If anyone else's order is still in pre-production and in the UK I guess your order will be in the same boat as mine.

To confirm, my specs are as follows:
780m SLI
i7-4700
750GB + 64 cache
8GB RAM

 

It's a little bit of a mess, regarding all these orders on hold or whatever. You would (well I would have) presumed that Dell would have ensured plenty of stock PRIOR to letting people order these machines.....I'm sure it would have been better to have waited and THEN launched, rather than launch and have many disgruntled customers.....

(wow, that was post number 8,000 for me!...god, I'm a right chatterbox! lol.... )

 

You guys need to hurry up and get your 18's so you can tell me how hot they run

 

Ive been told its the bloody LCD panels are not passing QC, and they havent had the go ahead from the factory yet to process the orders. Poor handling sofar.

 

Ahhh that could make sense actually.

Hasn't yours gone into production though?

 

Nah man still waiting. 5 days sofar.

 

Ah right, fair enough. I'd be interested to hear what spec AW18's have gone into production if anyone here can confirm?