*OFFICIAL* Alienware 18 Owner's Lounge Thread

Hey Privileged Folks,

My order, that I ordered on Sunday, moved from "pre-production" to "in-production" today. Looks like the line is moving for me thankfully. Delivery date is still 7/25/2013 with 2nd day shipping.

I also took advantage of the tablet offer (always make sure to keep the wife happy) and purchased the Latitude 10 tablet with my Alienware. It arrives 7/16/2013.

Looks like I'll be ordering the 840 pro once I get a shipped status. Amazon's price for the 840 pro 256 is very competitive ($233.77) and I'm a Prime customer so I'm going with them. Newegg was 6 bucks more. No one else seemed to be cheaper but if you know of a cheaper location please post. Seems like this is an upgrade many are doing.

Looking at the manual I'm very pleased with the in-depth documentation Alienware is providing for hardware. Looks very good for future upgrades. I am a laptop guy and will have the laptop in my master bedroom... need to get a good set of headphones. I think I like the logitech more than the Alienware but I am open to suggestions on that as well. Need the built in mic but all around in general.

Exciting times...

 

So whats is everyone going to do day 1 of their delivery?

Here's my breakdown...
1.Install Samsung 840 pro, make 750Gb drive secondary. Install Windows 8 Pro.
2.Learn Windows 8 pro lol... for the first time in my life I haven't been on the beta of a release much less wait until after full release.
3.Install Windows 8.1 preview. Looks like they've fixed some issues. Load Office, SQL server, VS 2012 and so e other dev apps I use.
4.Games... this I'm excited about. Crysis, Farcry, StarCraft and possibly even Age of Conan... I left AoC three years ago maybe I'll jump back in...

Anyone thinking cooling pad? Looks like they increased the size to maximize airflow and hopefully this means less heat and less fan noise...

Exciting times...

 

Then Why in the world am I still stuck in pre-production 2 weeks after I ordered!!!!!!!!!. AAAAh I feel like banging my head. Any chance if you could tell what config u ordered and from where?

 

It looks to me like who get their notebook shipped is pretty random lol

 

My order, that I ordered on 06/25/2013 moved from "pre-production" to "in-production" today. Looks like the line is moving for me too thankfully. Delivery date is still 7/26/2013 with 2nd day shipping. Muaaahahaha.

 

I think you are right. I ordered mine on June 13th. Expected delivery was July 24th. It would be a pleasant surprise to receive the system late this week or next week.

 

I ordered mine on the 18th, went into production on the 20th, and my delivery estimate is 7/30. Seems a bit odd...I think it should be first ordered, first served...just sayin' ;-P

 

Good news! My order has officially shipped. 2nd day delivery. Should have it Friday. I imagine many of you should be following..

 

Wow, there does seem to be some randomness in shipping. However I don't think we can compare apples to apples with our brethren across the pond or north of the border. Its funny I live a mile away from the old Alienware headquarters and factory in Miami and I used to laugh seeing them at Christmas clogging up the USPS office with orders... was always tempted to grab a box and make a run for it... either way it didn't seem very professional seeing a guy with 100 or so Alienware boxes at USPS...lol You would think Dell global logistics would have this pretty automated by now...

Ordered from US, Miami FL. I ordered the Intel® Core i7-4800 CPU, blu-ray optical drive, Dual 770M and 16gbs of RAM. Upgraded to Windows 8 Pro. Basically the third option on the US website for the 18.

 

Congrats on your purchase!

 

When you get it can you let us know if you can OC in the BIOS, if so to what degree..?
Thanks, I'm a little curious.

 

a lucky soul just got his AW17 !!! here is a unboxing

Alienware 17 Unboxing! - YouTube

 

You should mark that NWS because the idiot who filmed it drops F bombs every other sentence (probably wants to come off as an internet tough guy). Plus the genius used a narrow view to film it and it was so shaky that I felt like I might need to pop some Dramamine.

 

Yes. I am little curious of the OC ability as well.

 

Haha - that video reminds me of the Blair Witch Project....not very good at all.

 

And we have a nother nice vertical line video. Well looks like dell is starting to deliver. Still no word on my order however

 

Great, that dude got more footage of the floor than the actual notebook. Plus he held the phone the wrong way.

Still better than nothing I suppose

 

Another unboxeing, and i think one of the best out there, but still not in english, AHAHHAHAHA... no AW 18 though. I think its just going to be exactly the same just scalled up ( packageing wise )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q-4WdJLM4Q

 

Does anyone know why the option for 512GB mSATA Boot + 750GB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200 RPM) is a compatibility issue with Win8, but not Win7?

 

Why the hell did he film his unboxing through a letterbox?

 

That was pathetic. Potty mouth and camera skills are both serious social setbacks. Must have been a tough trailer park growing up or something.

 

Yeah, I saw that last night. I elected not to post it for those reasons. It's pretty bad, I think it represents the type of YouTuber I'm not too fond of.

 

Holy cannoli! That was ridiculous. while he assumed the audience wouldn't "give a s*** about its specs" we would actually have been more interested to hear those than his nonsensical blabber. Not to mention that he set the notebook right on the carpet, what a smart way to block the fans and fry it up. What can I say? A tech savvy at heart and genial movie director. We will hear more from this man because a new star was born. Stay tuned on upcoming Hollywood movie trailers.

 

well as far as that video goes I hope alienware sees it and just revokes his warranty... I mean hey lets just throw stuff around.... lets drop the system... lets be entirely to ruff with it and then complain if there is any thing wrong with it..
I had my system replaced and the one i returned misplaced.. ups guy came and picked it up from my house and thats the last i saw of it and nothing has ever come of it...
and to see this ungrateful (insert word he used in the video over and over) get a new machine and treat it like crap makes me sick and I dont hate on any doing there thing... but this is just like wow..

 

Um, I am going to take a wild guess here and assume that maybe it has something to do with Secure Boot garbage and the available SSD in question. The available SSD might not be on Micro$oft's Windows 8 "I love you" list. There is no explanation I can think of besides that. Windows 7 is not a Secure Poot compliant OS and it is therefore not subject to the will or control of Secure Boot like Windows 8 is. In order for a Windows 8 system to be "certified" (whoopidty do-dah) by Microsoft, it has to have certain features in the BIOS turned on to protect us from ourselves and others. Windows 8 works perfectly without those things turned on. Those things can be turned off, but then it is not "certified" LOL. You'll probably never get a straight and verifiable answer to this because OEMs feel it is important to show respect to Micro$oft as a business partner and a straight answer would make Micro$oft look bad for imposing Secure Boot compliance to be certified. OEMs need to ship Windows 8 in a "certifiable" configuration to do that. Either way, the compatibility issue with Windows 8 is a negative reflection on Micro$oft more than the SSD that works great with Windows 7 but not Windows 8. I might be full of baloney, but this is my guess.

 

hi guys.......they must have recently put it on the i love you list because i had no issues with that config, ordered 6/28 edd 7/26


Order Processing Pre-Production In Production Shipped Delivered

Alienware 18 BTX Base Mod
Status: In Production
Estimated Delivery Date: 7/26/2013
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Shipping Method: 2nd Business Day
Order Date: 6/28/2013
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What is included with this order?
Quantity Item Number Description
1
210-AAOW
Alienware 18 BTX Base Mod
1
370-AANP
32GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
1
580-ABEK
English Keyboard
1
490-BBHW
Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5 - NVIDIA SLI Enabled
1
658-BBOD
Broadcom 4352 Driver
1
400-AARR
750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s + 64GB mSATA SSD Caching
1
619-ACJX
Windows 8 Pro, 64-bit, English
1
429-AAFS
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW)
1
555-BBEQ
Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2 and Bluetooth 4.0
1
470-AAKG
US 125V Power Cord
1
340-ABEU
Documentation, English
1
421-1723
Soft Contracts Dell In-Home Hardware Agreement for Alienware
1
950-3337
1 Year Limited Warranty
1
950-9797
No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
1
994-3730
Warranty Support, Initial Year
1
995-6083
Dell Hardware Warranty Plus On-Site Service, Initial Year
1
995-6103
In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis, Parts and Labor On-Site Response, Initial Year
1
338-BCIC
Overclocked 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4930MX (8MB Cache, up to A.B GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
1
391-BBDS
18.4 inch (467.36mm) WLED FHD (1920 X 1080) TrueLife Display
1
451-BBCB
8-cell Lithium Ion (86 wHr) Battery
1
450-AAKK
330W A/C Adapter
1
640-BBLG
Alienware Command Center 3.0
1
320-BBDZ
Anodized Aluminum
1
328-BBEK
Shipping Box Alienware 18
1
658-BBOI
Resource DVD
1
800-BBEV
Thank you for Choosing Dell
1
430-XXYQ
Cyberlink Media Suite Essentials DVD
1
340-ADGB
Placemat English
1
332-1530
Dell.com Order
1
332-1530
Dell.com Order
1
658-BBNW
Additional Software
1
630-AAAU
Software: Microsoft Office 2013 Trial
1
817-BBBP
None Required
1
730-5458
Thank You for Choosing Dell
1
461-3259
$200 Dell Promo Gift Card - Arrives in 10-20 days, carries a 90 Day Exp. Terms at Dell.com/giftcard
1

Your Dell Advantage benefits have been applied. Don’t forget to select free 2nd business day shipping at checkout.

 

Hello

 

Santana,
You ordered the 750 GB HDD with the 64 GB cache. What albatross asked about was the 512GB mSATA Boot + 750GB HDD. Big difference, and as of right now it is still showing a compatibility error for windows 8.

 

ahhhhh.......my bad.

 

Finally official! I have accepted Dells offer for a replacement for my Jekyll & Hyde M18xR1 and will get a M18xR3

Originally offered with 770M's I opted to pay a little something extra myself and had them upgraded to 780M. I recon this thing is going going annihilate mostly anything thrown at it for the next year or two

Overclocked 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4900MQ
16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s + 64GB mSATA SSD Caching
Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5 - NVIDIA SLI Enabled

Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW)
330W A/C Adapter
UK 250V Power Cord
Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2
5G WiFi Broadcom 4352 802.11n/ac


Now for the long wait ...

Status: Pre-Production
Estimated Delivery Date: 30/07/2013

 

"This video has been removed by the user."

Dang, i was looking forward to seeing how bad this really was

 

My next laptop will definitely be an Alienware 18 (or what name it will have by than). Just ordered an Clevo with 780M SLI, since Alienware 18 was out of my budget. I am very jelous when I see everyone with these top-of-the-line specs.

 

Check my status today....ORDER CANCELLED!!!!!

Phoned the rep and he said it had been cancelled due to an error with the one year McAfee option???? . I told him if it wasn't sorted by tomorrow he could leave it cancelled. Well done Dell, you're about to lose 4K.

 

holycow batman! this is some serious ballsing up by dell ive seen past few weeks, they need to seriously sort things out, if i was michael i would certainly be looking at sorting the staff situation out

 

Just checked the website and the McAfee anti-virus option has been removed!!

 

3 Yrs accidental damage has also gone down to one year??

Scrap that last comment.....must have sand in my eyes.

 

Well...

I did it. I bought one. I bought a big one.

Alienware 18
4930MX
Dual 780m SLI
4 years + 4 years accidental Warranty
Windows 8
Everything else stock, or as cheap as possible in the third option.

After several days of negotiation I got what I wanted as far as a discount, as well as free NBD shipping.
I expect this baby to last me throughout grad school and a couple of years after that until Volta GPUs come out.

Holy moly.

In the mean time before it ships I think I'll look into a couple of 256 840 pros to stick in raid. How would the 64GB mSATA SSD Caching drive be affected? Should I format/use it as an OS drive/ remove it or?

I figure 16 gb of ram should be more than enough for anything and everything.

I've noticed everyone seems to like the Dell stock paste jobs, but at least on my m14xr1 I wasn't too satisfied and repasting it with Arctic mx-4 made a huge difference. What's the trend on the 18's?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

 

Congrats on the new inbound beast!

I'd actually grab a large HDD as well and use the mSata to cache it - 64gb is hardly decent storage space and you might as well use it to it's maximum potential, in my opinion.

The Dell TIM is good, when assembled correctly. Sometimes we have seen some poor factory work which has lead to some people having high temps - best thing to do is monitor it to start with to see how it performs. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

Man after reading the thread I wanted to see it; possibly saved 4 minutes of my life so prob turned out even. ;-)

 

Sweet! It's about time they pulled that horrible software. It's the first thing I remove on every new Dell. I consider it malware in and of itself, LOL. One less mess to clean up on a brand new computer is a good thing.

 

Just a quick update all! I just spoken to my rep who has spoken to tech and they have guaranteed him that my screen is indeed 400NIT like the order page and like my invoice and NOT 350NIT.

I'm still not sure to be honest - Often the rep information has been wrong so it could go either way.

 

My machine just got cancelled too. THIS MEANS WAR DELL!!!!!!!! THey say its some soft ware problem on both the 18 and the 17 . Any of u guys got ur machine, or got it pushed to production???

And for those who are in the same boat as me, whats the stat of ur machine after it got cancelled, i mean how did u go about with this situation. How many of u left it cancelled and how many of u are going thru the painfull extra wait?

 

What the hell, mine has been cancelled too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spec in signature.

I ordered mine the day of release (11th). Peed off to say the least!

UK here btw...

 

Still waiting for conformation that my AW 18 is in production. The UK rep i have been talking to said that order is fine and information will be send as soon as it goes into production. They have sent the transfer request to my bank and the amount is locked until dell sends me invoice and they get the money.

Might the cancellaitons be of the changes of the specs on the webpage ? they remove or change something and the sytem automaticly cancells all the orders that do not complie ?

 

Well thats what i dont get. My config is exactly same as yours, and im in the UK as well. But i have been slammed and have to wait for i dont know how long because of this cancelation. If ur process is going without any trouble, u should feel very very lucky dude.

 

Im not happy. Just had my order cancelled!
I ordered on the 19th for the 25th of July.
I called yesterday to find out what the delay was and they said my order was fine.
Just called the CS again and they haven't got a clue said someone will call me Monday

 

My order was just updated to nbd shipping and I didnt even request it. I ordered mine on 6/19. I really hope dell doesnt cancel my order would a pain, seeing as I am without a laptop now. Just incase you guys were wondering I got the m18 with 4800mq, 780m sli, 750gb hdd + 64bg cach and two years extended warranty.

 

Can't speak for other countries but here in the U.S. I ordered mine yesterday and after a confirmation call from Dell it went "into production" within an hour of the order. Estimated delivery date July 26th.

 

Exactly the same thing has happened to me today. Ordered on 24th june for 26th july delivery. I am not happy at the moment!

 

Just PM you regarding this. (I'm not allowed to post emails from my Rep) I also spoke to my rep again after reading your message and he got the international production sales team on the line and confirmed that there isn't even a plan in the future to provide the 400NIT screens.....he also asked for the name of you rep so he could correct them. Don't post on here.

Anyhow, we'll see.