Goodbye

It is time to say goodbye to the Alienware forum. I am planning on buying a new computer in about two weeks and I am disappointed to say that Alienware is not on my shopping list. I want the fastest and the best and right now that means I will be buying a Clevo and not another Alienware. It is sad to say that Alienware seems to be on the road to mediocrity and in the future will be known for flashy lights and a solid build only and not for stunning performance.

To everyone who helped me along over the years with my dumb questions, many thanks. To those of you who still desire performance over brand name I guess I will run into you over in the Clevo forums at some time in the future

:hi2: :hi2: :hi2: :hi2: :hi2: :hi2:

 

Depending on what's presented in 2015, I may also be taking a break from Alienware laptops.

Good luck. Hope the Clevo does you well.

 

Not surprising to see people leaving unfortunately....The complete lack of customization that Alienware offers now is a really big turn off not to mention the locked down systems which does not bother me as I am not an overclocker but for others like Mr.Fox I can see why he is upset.

Alienware is also losing sales like a by holding out on the 900 series GPU's...I don't know what possibly reason they could have for holding out this long. Personally if I was to buy another laptop tomorrow it would probably be a Clevo as well.

 

The warranty of DELL is the best I've seen and thus, I will always to stick to Alienware. Aliens for life

 

I came to Alienware for the performance and found the warranty to be a pleasant surprise but the warranty and the build quality is not enough to keep me here. If they were offering a 980M today I would buy it but they aren't and so I will move on.

The limited build options have always annoyed me and while I am not an o/clocker myself the fact that Alienware are actively limiting the ability of enthusiasts to over clock plus the move to soldered GPU / CPUs indicates to me the direction that Alienware are heading. You add to that the new marketing outlets that they are using and it appears to me that Alienware are no longer aiming at the top of the market but are aligning themselves to somewhere below that. Which makes me a bit concerned for the Alienware brand because Dell already covers the middle and lower market segments and Alienware was, in my opinion, the flagship. If the flagship is no better than the rest of the market but carries a price premium it is not going to be selling for long before Dell ditches it. Only time will show if I am right. I hope not but the cynic in me thinks he sees the writing on the wall. If I am wrong and they do get their act together then in a couple of years time I may be buying another Alienware

Anyway none of that really matters at the moment because I need a computer and Alienware does not have anything that remotely fits the bill.

 

Just be prepared that the problem is not limited to Dellienware, but will be endemic to the industry shortly, Dell is just at the forefront. In time all of them will be in the same boat if BGA is as prevalent as the industry analysts are saying (and its coming to desktops too). The hope is it will be a trend that might reverse at some point, but likely not unless the builders (dell, asus, etc) push for the freedom to allow some new form of socketing. Frankly I blame MSI and Nvidia primarily and their ilk for this, as they caved to the new gamers who didn't yet understand the importance of handling thermals and took a shortcut to try to take market from Alienware by offering systems that were too thin to properly handle heat but looked oh so sexy. Dellienware has addressed the thermal vs. thin problem with thinner systems using BGA with the G/A option to try to work around the question, at least to a degree. While you may think Alienware's quality has dropped, you might just be surprised at Clevo/Sager's build quality... its frequently hit or miss based on a lot of reports. Some models seem very well built... others, not so much. But good luck I hope it works out.

 

Can't say you've made a bad choice. So far Clevo seems to be the only brand taking enthusiast customers a little more seriously, or at least keeping pace with technology as it releases. They have my respect for that. Alienware could have it all too, it's not like they don't ever read these forums, but they'd now rather follow a trend than put out serious pieces of equipment.
Also what's the deal with the media relations department? Finger on the pulse, they do not have. They seem to have the sloppiest bunch of drips at the helm. Look how many people are going to Clevo while they dose off. Not even a few crumbs of information to stop the hemorrhaging. Clever one there but "treat em mean, keep em keen" doesn't work with customers like it does with high school girls.

Limited options is another thing that sucks. But is a far lesser evil than disposable throw away soldered crap. That's just inexcusable.

 

I'm sorry mate but in my opinion that's a really silly thing to say. You're sticking with Dell just because they will offer you a good warranty even if that warranty is on bad products?

That attitude is exactly what lets Dell get away with offering sub-par machines, you might wanna rethink your priorities.

 

The only reason I bought my alienware 17 was because I could upgrade the cpu or gpu when I saw fit. If they would of had a soldered on cpu or gpu I would of never even given them a second thought. When I get ready to buy a new laptop in a few years I will be looking for who ever can offer me the latest hardware available in a system that can be upgraded to the latest and greatest the next year. I will compromise build quality and warranty for that. I don't care how good the alienware is built or how good the warranty is if it can't be upgraded it is of no use to me what so ever. And if no one is offering a fully upgradable system I will go to a desktop.
technology moves to fast to be spending 3000 or 4000 dollars on something that's only the latest and greatest for 6 months . And then your stuck with it until you spend another 3000 or 4000.
Stupid .

Just my 2 cents

My laptop originally came with a 770m . Had it for a year and bought a 780m from a member for 350 dollars and installed it and it's like having a new computer all over again for 350 dollars how sweat is that. Upgradability is everything when it comes to top end computers.

 

Derp. Forum Drama, okay goodbye.

 

I can understand you!

I don t need performance, but i m going to leave Alienware too for other things (probably silly but important for me).

I bought AW
-laptop
- desktop
- Monitor
- Keyboard
- mouse

to have a complete AW branded gaming setup.

Now they re leaving the tactX and optX brand and using Roccat gears. I dont like this, so .... Adieu ...


edit: i m not gonna change pc for years, so i am going to be an AW customer for long time, but not buyer

 

Should have done some research and 600 would have got you a 970M is approximately 1.8 times better then the 780M

 

I didn't want the headachs. 970m and 980M's to many problems right know. I use windows 7 and don't want to switch to 8. I hate windows 8. And 780m is 100% compatable and 0 problems. I don't know what 970m 3dmark 11 score can pull stock but I currently have p9000 3dmark 11 score . So price vs performance was great deal. I don't have to tweak driver files deal with overclocking problems ar anything .

 

There is a reason the logos are gone from my avatar and forum signature here, Tech|Inferno and my YouTube channel. I still love my old Alienware machines, but I'm no longer buying them and don't recommend them because they no longer build laptops that I consider to be acceptable products. I just cannot embrace the Fisher-Price jokebook gamer-boy thing they've got going on with the product line. I will not allow their product engineering decisions to diminish my computing experience, nor shall I lower my performance and product design standards to accommodate them. Time to move on and be thankful for the nice memories of what used to be a great brand that sold amazing products. Hopefully, some day they will make a comeback with laptops that real performance enthusiasts can take seriously.

Timing was not right for my budget to jump ship right at the moment, but my plans are for the Clevo P570WM3 (or an X99 dual-GPU successor to it) to replace my passion for Alienware's flagship machines. I am going to start looking for a great deal on one with 4930K, 120Hz display, dual 330W AC adapters and 780M SLI. I will just move my new 980M cards into the Clevo and put the 780M cards from the Clevo into the R2.

 

Yea I wanted a 980m bad . What I am hoping is when nvidia releases there next refresh of the 980m . 1080m or whatever they call it dell will be back on the wagon instead of being dragged behind it like a rag doll and offer it right away with there systems and will play nice with my mine and then I will jump on it . I have money for 980m right now . I have been saving for a year. Just not ready to make jump just yet. Believe it or not I am very happy with my 780m right now. But like everyone else her I am eager to have the latest and greatest. Can't help it I'm addicted now.lol.

Edit: by addicted I mean to high performance laptops not to alienware.

 

Well, it is done. I have placed an order for a Clevo P375SM-A with i7-4910, 2 x 980M, 2 TB mSATA and 16GB 1866 memory which I should pick up in 2 weeks.

edit. I have decided to buy a 500GB Sandisk Extreme Pro for my OS as well

 

Nice, sounds like a beast! Enjoy

 

Be prepared though. The machine isn't particulary silent. That being said other than that it's an amazing machine. Fan noise is the only complaint I have. Than again I haven't repasted and cleaned since 9 months. I'm feeling too lazy.

Also, you can try OC'ing your display. I managed to get my default 60HZ panel to a whopping 110HZ. No issues so far in the nearly 7-8 months I've been using it, and it's a pretty big difference.

 

Thanks for the tip. I am going to underclock the CPU for office work (I have been told that the CPU is the noisy one), to keep it quiet, and then let the beast loose at night while I play.

 

How much coin dropped on that config?

 

Just over $6,000 AUD.

 

Don't go! Stay with us!
We won't buy your used Clevo when you come back to Alienware

 

If he ever will. Alienware ed up realy hard this time.

 

damn thats a beast of a machine. I have to start saving for my new clevo p750zm! I've never had a computer even half as fast.

 

Been out of the loop for a bit. We have an Alienware house with my m18xr1 downstairs, my r2 upstairs, and my wife using my old m17xr1. Will be looking to upgrade this year since I can afford a new one every 3 years. Just blew through the Alienware website, that I haven't been to in maybe a year.

Am I seeing things correctly that they are no longer offering an 18" screen??? That right there has me disappointed, let alone the things you guys have mentioned here. Guess I'll be looking for a new company to go with, as well. Sad....

 

No more 18"
Read the comments on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDmTakhm3RU
They said no more 18" and no more SLI/Crossfire!

[...]...This has one GPU. We will no longer be updating the Alienware 18 and as such, new SLI notebook options are not something we are working on at this time. ...[...]

I like the actually Alienware line, but the 18" is missing!

 

Came across this thread by accident, but I am also in the market for a new gaming laptop. After googling Clevo, most of the reseller advertise Sager. Can anyone tell me the difference between two? Are they the same product just being branded differently?

 

Sager laptops are manufactured by Clevo. The former is just the biggest Clevo retailer but this is a subject for another thread

 

I'm leaving, too. There is nothing worth staying for. Maybe when they realize how tragic their decisions are and understand that real enthusiasts refuse to purchase machines with BGA mounted CPU and GPU they will repent and show us something worth buying. Until they offer a great big honking new machine with a CPU socket and GPU slots, numerous drive configuration option, Extreme mobile or desktop K/X CPU and SLI and CrossFire options, the Alienware name is scratched off of my list of options. Having nothing available to buy that delivers performance in equal or greater measure than my M18xR1, M18xR2 and the Alienware 18 is unacceptable.

 

They've pretty much left people who want performance laptops no choice but to go elsewhere.

 

I love my alienware laptop but I will be leaving on my next purchase also. There's no way I'm spending 2 grand on something I can't upgrade.

 

I think they wanna lose nerd customers like us, to gotcha more general purpose customers. The new design direction is show that. It's business strategy: lose 10% market share and try to get the rest 90%.

 

With the traditional Alienware demographic (enthusiasts) though, it's more like lose 90% to try to get the remaining 10%.

 

The enthusiast's adoption and high praise was their best form of advocacy for the brand. See how far they get now with these goofy soldered gimmicks.
Even if the AW brand didnt make them as much money as their other divisions, it reflected a favorably on Dell as a quality brand. Agruably that strategy can influence more sales in non-AW divisions.

 

I've never been an Alienware owner myself, but I remember when Alienware was the most respected brand in laptop gaming. I remember oogling over pictures of the 17 and constantly yapping with my buddies about how their notebooks had the latest components and extensive upgradabilty.
These days whenever someone brings up the name I simply sigh and tell them their products are over-priced garbage.

 

How sad is it that this is actualy true right now. The supposed premium you would pay for is now completely gone. They cheaped out on packaging, warranty... even the materials. I mean, compare the 18 R2 with the M18 to see what I'm talking about (I've never owned an Alienware before, but a close friend of mine has. I have envied hem ever since ). Now when you unbox your Alienware you don't get anything except your laptop and PSU. No extras what so ever. What happened to the mice and mousepads that used to come with them?

 

Sigh... *facepalm*

The ship is sinking.

 

If, when the Clevo needs replacing in a couple of years, Alienware have got their act together and are making a high performance 17" laptop then I will consider buying them again. The Alienwares I have had have been built much better than my last Clevo and the warranty has been wonderful and I have enjoyed owning them. Sadly though they are months behind Clevo with releasing the 900 series GPUs and I need to buy a new laptop now, so Clevo get my money.

I don't sell my old laptops ..... I give them to my daughter.

Hey! Who are you calling a nerd

I remember the way I felt unboxing my first Alienware, the R2, and it came with a mouse mat and a baseball cap and a couple of stickers and the packaging it came in was ..... well, awesome. It showed to me that the company was proud of their product and yes it was a bit more expensive than a similar spec'ed Clevo but the computer was better and you got these other goodies as well and I was suddenly one of the club; a proud Alienware owner.

Well that has all changed. The direction Alienware seems to be heading in means people with disposable income who want the fastest and are prepared to pay for it will not be buying Alienware in the future. I can honestly say that the 4 Alienwares I have owned have been the best constructed laptops I have ever owned and if they ever get their act together in the future I will happily buy them again.

My new laptop ships in three days

 

I too, will be saying farewell. I had been waiting for a new 17.. so that i can upgrade it when i need to, Coming from a 14, i heard that a 15 in was coming and got excited. then the news of not just soldered gpus, but cpus as well, i was kind of upset. But i said to myself, well at least the 17 won't have this. Then i found out. That was the final nail in the coffin. For what you get (or rather Don't get) it's too expensive. I can maybe see sucking it up if the laptop was 1000 bucks and another 5-800 for the amp, but no. it'd be way cheaper to build a desktop and buy another brand. I'v had my eye on the new clevo's. They seem really nice. Fair pricing too.

 

see if there's a 3rd party reseller that's sells the 2013 model and right now we need someone to buy this....

HIDevolution Alienware 17-HID24 NVIDIA GTX 980M 120Hz Gaming Laptop

so we can figure out how to get those with similar laptops to boot in dedicated mode.

 

It should boot in dedicated GPU mode with pure UEFI, but you might need an unlocked BIOS like the M17xR4 to do that. The setting to manually run in PEG (discrete) mode is found on a hidden menu. I haven't seen an example of where discrete graphics (no Optimus) is working on the Alienware 17 yet. It is really unfortunate that Alienware never released a BIOS without Secure Flash for the Alienware 17 and 18 so we could have svl7 open up the hidden menus. The only option is to remove the BIOS chip from the motherboard and replace it with a socketed chip so you can flash it with a programmer and then pop it into the BIOS chip socket.

 

Anybody else still have the hat they used to give out, or is it just me?

 

Is it just a lie that Hidevolution sell (In stock ready to ship!) Alienware 17 120hz monitor with gtx980m that works without problems? Or remove Hidevolution the BIOS chip from the motherboard and replace it with a programmed socketed chip when they sell this laptop? They also offer Win 7..

Edit:
Have by the way changed to a new profile signature.

 

Best ask them to clarify. I've found they respond to enquires pretty quickly.
New sig...?
The Liquid Ultra? What do you think? Amazing stuff isn't it..

 

Maybe I wrote wrong (user title) .. look over my Avatar.

 

I have three of them. I have three of the mouse pads as well.

 

I still use the cool, soft sleeve I got with the R4; mousepad is still in the box.

 

I gave my hat to my daughter and my mouse mat is nearly worn out
My computer should be in transit by now, just like me.

 

Why don't you just upgrade one of your past Alienwares? The M17x R4 with a 3940xm at 4.6ghz+ and 980M would be a potent beast!

Seems like you have more money than sense? Sorry man but judging from your sig and all......

 

Well I am impressed. I am in the office now with the Clevo and it is almost silent. It is no noisier than the AW17 that it replaced. I will experiment with under-volting the CPU but so far I don't think I need it unless I start playing EUIII or HoI III or something similar while I should be working

You may well be right about having more money than sense . Seriously though - I work in a remote world location where computer support is almost non-existent. I need my computer to work, all day every day and then play at night. I am prepared to pay the premium that I do to buy a new computer every 18 - 24 months not just for the newer tech but for the reliability.