*OFFICIAL* Alienware 18 Owner's Lounge Thread

these r the fixes included in A04

[BIOS]
Fix:
1. Fix CPU can't keep at low speed after resume from S3 with Speedstep disabled.
2. System lack brightness setting feature with AMD card.
3. System Logo display three icons after resume cold boot only AMD Gfx card.
4. System logo display on the left after resume cold boot only AMD Gfx card.
Modify:
1. Fix sometime RAID OROM UI disappears after boot mode change.
2. Force disable the bus master bit at first time initial for Win8.1 requirement.
3. Update Intel GOP 5.0.1035.
4. Update Intel VBIOS 2178.
5. Disable VGA ASPM L1.
6. Dynamic control ASPM for AMD&NV Graphics.
Add:
1. Add Admin password authentication in Boot Manager.
2. Add new MXM AMD Neptune support.
3. Add New Nvidia N15 MXM Card support.
4. Add N15 MXM SIS for Nvidia New MXM Card.

[EC]
Add:
1. Add AMD MXM:
SMBus address:0x98 for thermal.
Modify:
1. Modify AMD MXM address to 0x52 for new AMD MXM card.
2. Add AMD MXM OCP action for 100W card.

 

There's a lot more valuable input about A04 in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...l-k-alienware-18-system-bios-a04-release.html

It doesn't fix some of the issues that needed to be fixed, but the fan tables are actually working a little bit better. Still a work in progress. We still need to see the CPU default power settings fixed and removal of whatever is blocking manual fan controls.

If they want us to be truly satisfied with the product they will have to remove the garbage that is blocking us from flashing the BIOS to expose the hidden menus. Will have to see if svl7 can determine whether or not that has been addressed or maybe they loosened the reigns a bit with A04 so we can implement some kind of exploit to change the variables or expose the hidden menus through an EFI shell command.

 

I think it did fix the wireless. I'm now running the Broadcom and getting the speeds my b/g usb is too.

 

Just got my Alienware 18 yesterday. Information should be in signature below, but just in case:

Intel Core i7-4930MX (4.3GHz Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache) | Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5 SLI | 32GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz | 750GB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s + 80GB mSATA SSD Caching | Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW) | 18.4" WLED FHD 1920x1080 TrueLife Display | 5G WiFi Broadcom 4352 802.11n/ac | Bluetooth 4.0 driver

Set me back a little under $3675. I upgraded to this from a M17xR2, which I still use.

I'm installing a 2-year-old new-in-box Samsung 830 512 for the boot with the original 750GB WD Black as a storage.

I'll be researching to see what mSATA card to get next.

 

Congrats on the new laptop but I really like the M17x R2 in your sig. Any Nebula Red Alienware produced has a special place in my heart. I see you always choose the correct cpu . Enjoy your beast and post up some decent benchmarks.

 

PSA for people.

What do I know, I opened up my machine for fan and heatsink cleaning, which I do about twice a month because I am too free. Then after I put everything back, it started to beep 7 times, which according to the beep table it's CPU error.

I was beginning to think that the liquid metal TIM might have shorted and killed the CPU, until I opened her up and found that 1 ribbon cable wasn't connected properly. It's just very slightly, out of place, misaligned.

So yeah just check when there's a problem.

 

Question: Is the AW 18 worth it? I've read about AW purposely under clocking, and limiting the bios. But after seeing Hohum only paid a little more than what i would pay for a nice clevo build with R m290x im starting to wonder is it worth it. Does the AW 18 have a design flaw? Should i take the chance for the price?

 

Love my 18, 14 and now 17.. Soon to add one more to the heard a older 18xr2...

From what I see and hear no more issues than any other high performance machine builder.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I don't even trust the beep table that much lol ive seen so many different problem but caused by something else. like a memory failure beep code caused by a defective cpu etc.

 

I know that this might not belong here but can anybody create a recovery disc (from alienrespawn) for an alienware 18 with the gtx 770 card? It also has the 4800mq processor. My recovery partition got deleted because I'm stupid and installed the os on my ssd then wiped the hdd. You can message me so I can download the ISO (from a created torrent or something in that matter) and burn it to a disc. Your help would be greatly appreciated

 

Hello guys.
I have one question and i need your help with decision. Tomorrow after 3 weeks HID Evolution will send new A18 to me because that problem i had (black screen of death). They said to me that one GTX 780M card was faulty so i got that problem. Because system was new i didn't want new GPU but new system. In any case Dell sent it to them. Back to my question then. When i've first ordered A18 i got it with Killer 1103 wireless card and i had some problems with it. Signal dropped here and there without any particular reason. So now i have option to replace that one 1103 for another 1103 or to take Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 or Intel Wireless-AC 7260 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n 2x2 (i dont have AC router). So can you tell me what is best option for me? Will i notice difference between 1103 and 6300 in real life things? Like downloads or playing games? What is your recommendation? If you can please answer me because i have one day to decide Thank you.

 

The difference you will notice between them is the Intel WiFi generally works correctly and Killer does not. Unless you have an AC router and all of the connect devices are running AC speeds the AC WiFi card has nothing to offer and you're better off with 3x3 MIMO. I'd recommend going with the Ultimate-N 6300. It is an excellent product and generally trouble-free.

 

Thank you Mr. Fox. I'll do that.

 

Has anyone installed 3rd hdd in odd bay without using official dell module ?

I have used my odd less than 5 times and I am considering adding a third hdd but cannot find official dell parts, dell aus has 8 weeks wait

 

Yeah. I got the dell HD ODD kit, works great. Im not sure how third party kits work in the machine.. I assume you can't drew them down, I might be and am probably wrong..

 

I guess only thing is you loose Bluetooth.

 

I just got this set up on my XPS One 2720 desktop and will be doing it on my M18xR2 next. Maybe then I might have more of a reason to boot into Windows 8.1 (which I very seldom do now). For those that are wishing they had ordered their new Alienware 18 with Windows 7 instead... this might help. Also see the additional tips (links) for fixing Windows 8/8.1 in the index linked in the lower right corner of my signature.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I almost never use ODD... probably about that many times in 2 years for me. It would not surprise me to see it go the way of cassette tapes before long... just too limited in capacity (even BluRay) and too slow to be of much value in a computing environment.

Using an ordinary aftermarket ODD to HDD caddy works just as well as the Dell kit. I would do whichever is cheaper. I have been using one in my M18xR1/R2 for a long time and prank1 installed one in his new 18. Here is where he posted about it in this very thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-18-owners-lounge-thread-85.html#post9289626

 

btw Mr. Fox I have been meaning to ask, just how much space in height does new AW18 ODD have compare to r1/r2?. I am thinking of grabbing AW18 when broadwell revision comes out with newer chipset, they are removing VRM off the CPU so it'll run cooler on top of another die shrink. I still wanna do the storage mod lol

 

I have not measured it. Next time I take the bottom cover off, I'll take some photos for you.

That's good news about Broadwell. Getting those dad-gum VRMs back on the mobo where they belong certainly is a step in the right direction. Maybe the moron(s) that thought it would be good to do that for Haswell learned their lesson about making garbage. Hopefully, Intel will be releasing a CPU that will kick the hind end off of Sandy and Ivy... finally. I hope they don't focus on energy efficiency at all... just focus on extreme performance at the expense of energy efficiency. Probably not since we're talking mobile CPU and there would be a ton of whining crybabies about that, but it never hurts to hope for something better.

 

sad thing is intel putting the VRM and think they can control how well their chip OC by convincing consumers we no longer need high end mobo to achieve OC. just another one of their failed plan at controlling market. I wouldn't mind energy efficiency as long as performance isn't sacrificed but its how people want to see, wouldn't hurt to have a tiny bit faster chip that runs very cool, and can save a lot of battery life for use when theres no power. increase that 3-4 hrs battery life from R1 to say 5-6 hrs would be awesome.

and finally deciding factor is once again the interior design of AW18 with broadwell CPU. it maybe again something from R1 to R2 jump just few changes with very similar interior layout. or due to VRM off the die, mobo will be incompatible so they may make something entirely new to support that as well as the new M.2 SSD socket that runs on pcie speed. oh and the BIOS too of course.


edit: theres a very good chance haswell E which might come with clevo laptop will have VRM removed from the die which will be similar to haswell refresh or broadwell so without VRM and iGPU it can probably OC very well.

 

Got it set up for Windows 8.1 on the M18xR2 now as well as the XPS desktop... much better visual experience with Aero transparency. It's looks just like my tweaks did with Windows 8 before Micro$oft broke everything a second time with 8.1.

Spoiler

 

Odd bay is almost 22mm thick. With a custom odd adapter, one can install those 2tb drives, easily

 

was there any news about the screen compatibility between the R1 and the 18x? I remeber some one saying that the pin out was the same and that the plug was the same..

 

the thing is chassis (hard portion) goes directly above the ODD and its in the middle, unlike r1/r2 where it's just near the bottom with huge amount of empty space inside. there are quite a few things i'd like to fit in tthere lol. are you able to take picture with some measurements?

 

No promises, but will try to get some pics (I am pulling 80hrs+ a week at work), yes chassis does go on top of odd, hence I said custom odd-hdd adapter is needed. I would have shaved a bit of chassis but the screw for holding odd is right there and it will cause issues if I ever want to go back and use an odd.

Right now I have 2x msata ssd's around the odd, and both are fully bootable, as per my signature

I have win7 on 256gb msata, 2x 750gb hdd's in raid0 and 2x 64gb msata's for Backtrack and few other tools. Currently contemplating, replacing bd-rom with either 512gb ssd for games or just chuck in another 750gb for 3x750gb raid0. Not sure which way it will end up going though.

 

thats amazing. you gotta show me some pics to see how it'll all fit. the new AW has limited sata ports so I kinda dont wanna waste them on HDD, make it all SSD and you're GAME!

 

Hey guys Im thinking about ordering an base model 18 and then upgrading the CPU and GPU when the power issues get sorted out. I know you can get the 4900MQ for about 500 right now, and it looks like the upgrade is pretty easy? Also, Fox where are we getting NVidia 780M's these days? I know you did the R2. Are these a pain to swap? They look modular on the base plate schematics. Thanks!

 

I would say the best deal is to probably get a used 4930 or 4900 with the 780's that has a 3-4 year warranty and upgrade to the new Bios 04 and whatever else in the future. Otherwise when you upgrade the base model to a V8 Turbo with 7 speed transmission you don't have to discard the V6 and 5 speed transmission and end up spending and extra about 500 on non-extreme CPU and about 2000 on a pair of 780's, unless of course you go the used route, but then you end up having to pay for repairs to the upgraded add-ons for the next few years if anything happens to your rig.

 

Hello Guys. I've just received my new A18 . Can you tell me is this normal on LCD, has any one got the same problem ? View attachment 109201 View attachment 109202

 

Sorry for the crap quality images (iphone 4 for the win )

Here you can see the bottom cover removed and how cables are routed to the side (i purposefully kept the length of the cables a bit long for servicing purposes).


Here you can see, how one of the msata is kept, all wrapped up in masking tape.


Here, second msata ssd is sandwiched between ODD and ODD bracket.


Still enough space, to add a usb hub and 1-2 usb nano drives, win8 compatible ones will be nice, since they show up as HDD's

 

I would say it's not right. There seems to be an excessive amount of backlight bleed / glow from your panel. If you've only recently got it, I'd be contacting Dell about it.

 

That's an issue to report for certain.

 

Hi Liverpool2

good thing about Alienware customer support is there available 24/7 so give them a call.

Don't stress bud I'm sure they'll sort it out.

 

Here you go...

Photo shows that bottom cover fits fine over dual HDD caddy moved to ODD bay...
​

As an FYI, the dual HDD caddy will fit in the ODD bay. The screw holes appear to line up with the existing holes. You would just need to take the screws out and turn them over because they are facing the wrong direction. The bottom cover fits fine with the HDD caddy in the ODD bay. There is about 7/8" space to work with.

What are the two extra mSATA drives connected to? I tried using the primary SATA cable (for the dual HDD caddy) attached to the SATA connector on the motherboard for the ODD and that did not work. The drives in the caddy were not recognized in the BIOS with the cable attached to that SATA connection.

 

FYI - temporarily installed my new Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB 2133 CL11 in the Alienware 18. It works fine, but runs a maximum of 1866... cannot seem to get it to run 2133 even though it does so without any effort in the M18xR2. It's about 3,500-4,000MB/s slower in the 18 than it is installed in the M18xR2. But, it's about 3,500MB/s faster than the stock Dell DDR3-1600 in the 18.

Stock Dell Memory - DDR3L-1600

Corsair Vengeance DDR3L-2133 (only functions at 1866)

 

So Mr. Fox, do you have 2 dual HDD caddy on the 18? I'd like to get another one so I can add another SSD.

What's the part number for the caddy and the cable, is it these 2?
PXGTW HDD Bracket
FMJH7 HDD FPC cable

 

Guys do you thing if I ask Dell to sent me a new LCD for Alienware 18 as my is broken and tell them I'll install it myself, will they go for it ?

 

They might, not sure where they draw the line. For my old M18xR1 they sent out a new keyboard and expected me to fit it myself (which I did)

 

Yeah, they might do - if you ask nicely LOL. One things for sure, they'll want the faulty one back......

 

You gotta love the M18xR2! The more I read about experiences AW 18, the more I think the R2 is the perfect high performance portable! :thumbsup:

I'm guessing your R2 is going to be getting some new 2133 memory?

 

Oh yes it did... The Vengeance was only in the 18 long enough to see how it worked. I bought it for the M18xR2 and never intended to leave it in the 18. It's not a suitable extreme benching candidate so it would be a total waste of money (in my opinion) leaving that crazy fast/expensive memory installed. It plays games perfectly fine with the stock Dell DDR3L-1600.

Yes, if I understand what you are asking... the above parts should be for the main (dual HDD) setup.

These are the conversion ODD to HDD kit:
RJF2Y 2ND HDD Bracket for ODD bay
R64M2 2ND HDD FPC for ODD bay (SATA cable)

But no to your first question. As far as I know the SATA port that serves the ODD will not accommodate two HDD/SSD. I connected the dual HDD caddy with drives and cable to that SATA port and the drives were not not recognized in the Intel OROM Utility or inside of the BIOS. I was hoping that would work. The photo only shows the parts fit perfectly. Maybe I did something wrong. It would be totally awesome if it worked and you could have 4 2.5" drives plus mSATA.

 

What a shame, maybe they designed the chassis to accommodate 2 2.5" drives in the ODD bay, but then shortly before releasing found out that something was wrong/something was designed wrongly on the mainboard and gave up on the idea.

 

theres should be enough space to fit 1 more 2.5 (5 to 7mm) and 1 more msata in the new 18 from the looks of it. if the design doesnt change for broadwell and next gen GPU, a mod could be done via pcie slot. if its pcie 3.0 on the wifi, we're looking at almost 800 MB/s read/write at the same time.

 

Funnily enough they never did ask for the original keyboard in return. They shipped the system with a US keyboard rather than UK. It still sits in a closet somewhere. Hmm could perhaps ebay it.

 

Good news: I was speaking with Dell 2 day ago. Dell is waiting for new Alienware 18 LCD version/revision which will arrive in couple of weeks Cant wait

 

Nice, I am still trying to source the caddy and dell Australia still has long delays

Yep, the connectors are mechanically and electrically compatible but looks like dell abandoned the idea to put dual hdd's in odd slot, only reason I can think of is due to power issues. When I tried it, sometimes laptop will not even boot and will need few power drain cycles, other times it would work but no detection of hdd's (in odd slot).

I connected the msata's to wihd slot and did custom cabling.

Off topic, this might be of concern to you brother

Lol, I made a thread on this topic when aw18 was barely 2-3 months old and went in quite deep thoughts on what seems like it was designed and then abandoned by dell.

And yes both pcie slots gets power before post and hence both are bootable, unlike previous gens, where power was supplied after post and hence no bootable mpcie slots.

Not 100% sure if slots are 3.0, any way of testing ?

 

Aww so it's confirmed that the 18 won't be able to run 4 2.5" drives?

Power issue seems likely. The system is running very short on power anyway...

We need Maxwell GPU to come around.

 

Technically NO
Without modding YES

You can have following running (according to my measurements and calculations with multimeters)-
2 x 2.5" Normal dual caddy
1 x 2.5" ODD Bay
1 x msata standard bay
1 x msata off WIHD slot over USB
1 x 2.5" off WIHD slot over USB

WIHD slot has just enough power and after usb converter, I had around 3.5A left at 5V, so can run both.

Personally, I have been running 2x msata SSD's off WIHD slot (for around 3 months now) and both are bootable and run without any issue, temps are around 60C, so all good.

Still trying to find a caddy for installing dual HDD's in ODD bay and running one off ODD cable and second off WIHD slot

 

What adapter do I need to run mSATA on the WIHD slot? Could you show a link to eBay?