*Official* Alienware Launch Discussion Thread

Good look at them but lol the overuse of the word 'subtle'. Yeah it is - and I don't want subtle - I like the in-your-face of my R4! That's marketing for you, RIP for me

 

Tell you what stevie im stuck between the 14 and 18 at the moment. 14" for the price in my budget with 1920 IPS and 765m but on the other hand 18" for the dual gfx cards and better futureproof upgrades but much more expensive.Really could do with some benchmarks of the 14" with 765m to make me mind up.

 

Been lurking around these boards for a week to see my replacement options for my GX640. I'm quite liking what seems to be the superior build quality of the Alienware 17 versus the MSI GT70 and Sager 9390, although the price difference between similar configurations is rather steep (I always go for a 3 year warranty, a nearly $400 upgrade for Alienware instead of around $150 for Sager). Also waiting for full reviews including gaming benchmarks, noise, and heat values for the Alienware and the Sager 9390 equipped with an AMD 8970m whenever it's released.

Have you seen these?
Alienware 14 Review | Gaming Laptop Reviews
Alienware M14x Review: The Best or Worst Portable Gaming Laptop?
Hands-on Alienware 14 review - new gaming laptop first impressions

Also a nice site I've been using for comparing multiple GPUs at once across games: Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - NotebookCheck.net Tech
One caveat I've noticed is the values for the 7970m include benchmarks from a system where it was quite clearly bottlenecked by the AMD CPU. Ignoring said benchmarks increases its average, though not quite up to the level of the 680m of course.

Cheers.

 

That's a BIG size increase. I can see 14 and 17 like what I had, but that is the 18, that's considered more like a desktop laptop. If you're looking for a laptop with better performance, it'd be more between the 17 and 18. If you want more portability with good gaming performance then you want the 14

 

Thanks dkris for your comment. Its more money that anything, i have a msi GE70 at the moment and the gtx 660m is okish, but im sure the 765m is a massive leap over that and the 14" is alot lighter smaller and better. Like i say its price more than anything.

 

Stevie,

Very good wrench in the mix of things. I have been on ebay numerous times over the past few months mulling over upgrading my R1. Unfortunately, I just couldn't swing 1,200-1,400ish for the GPU upgrade and the 500ish for the XM CPU in cash. I really don't like putting things on a CC. This computer would be on a DPA paid in a year with 0% interest. The 680m SLI is a beast. I am more intrigued with the new design, screen upgrade and hopefully 30% improvement in performance once these cards get a real driver and newer games come out. Many GPus tend to show their power when the big guns come out (or when the drivers are just given much more priority than the older cards to get people to upgrade lol). fortunately I still have some time to think about:
1. Keeping the system and my m18x R1 for collection
2. Keeping the system and selling my R1 (which is pristine and just awesome)
3. Not purchasing at all and maybe looking at just upgrading my rig like you stated very well.

Cheers.

 

You can go on ebay and get two 680M for 1150 and an 2920xm for 450. I was asking myself the same question, upgrade or buy a new machine? I use an external monitor, so the screen was not a selling point. I decided on the upgrade solution since drivers and VBIOS are already developed for maximum 680M performance. I also installed an unlocked bios, triple pipe heatsink for my 2920XM. I am guessing I would have to spend a pretty good chunk of change to buy a new 18 that matches or beats my upgraded one performance wise.

 

If i was to get a 17 R4 now, i assume i will lose out on the new hardware and performance by 15% ? would it still be worth it ? i don't game everyday but i like to game over the weekends.

i prefer the R4 for the design and i think i can manage a good deal on a loaded R4. The 3rd gen processors are still not bad.

comments, suggestions are appreciated.

PS - i would be getting 7970M as the graphic card.

 

I would avoid AMD graphics cards, they're drivers are not as updated nearly as much as NVidias and NVidias drivers are way better. My last laptop was AMD (so I'm not completely biased towards one or other) and I got a chance to use the 680m's for 2 months and there was a big difference in driver support. I'd go for the new model, the look will grow on you and you can get more power for the same price.

When comparing the r4 680m to the new 17 with 780m there is roughly a 30% performance increase.

 

Im considering the alienware 14 at the moment due to funds over a alienware 18. Only one review said the temp on the chassis and rear vent were high and the verge review said otherwise. Might sit it out to see NBR users own benchmarks and reviews first.The 765m seems to get good high/ultra mixed settings on most games with decent fps @ native res. Im sure those extra shaders and and gpuboost 2.0 is helping alot. Im coming from a MSI GE70 with a GTX660M so im sure im going to see a massive improvement over my current machine.

 

thank you ! that helps ! so now AMD is out of question, i had read that the AMD gpu was better than the 680m, but after you posted i read that AMD does have driver issues so your absolutely bang on with your point.

 

I would imagine if you kept the 768p monitor the 765M would drive the snot out of it. 1080p would be starting to stretch limits at higher detail levels in some games.

 

Very true mate, still got premature drivers for the 700m series at the moment im sure 3 months down the line were going to see some nice improvements even with the 1080p res.

 

Dazzy, have you thought of a 17 with a 780m maybe?

 

We are in the same boat. I have the money to buy a new m18x max out, but It will cost me $5,000.
I keep thinking. you know my hard earned money. Lol

 

Normally I would agree about the drivers, I moved from AMD some years ago because of driver woes BUT Nvidia have released a real pile of p** with their latest WHQL driver. Not only have users of new cards been left with unplayable cards, older ones have been burning out. NV have known about this for at least two weeks now and still they publish this driver.
See https://forums.geforce.com/default/...-driver-feedback-thread-released-5-23-13-/69/ for over 1K of problem posts. They have thrown away their driver advantage I'm afraid.

 

Thing is stevie a 17 with 780m is still way too out of the budget. Awaiting on rep i contacted getting back to me. He works 12pm to 9pm mon-friday, got all next week off so plenty of time to work on a deal

 

I would recommend a base AW 17 in that case, just with a 1080p screen; you should be able to get that for 1500 or less if haggled right. That will give you room for future upgrades on the GPU due to the MXM card.

 

Are the new AW models switchable or still have options to turn off what I consider to be the worst thing to happen to high end notebook/gaming, AMD and Nvidia giving in to Intel's bullying, crap muxxless? I know Asus 17" model won't support switchable, but Clevo and MSI have sold their souls to Intel. Has AW completed their deal with the devil or kept the option to allow their customer to decide?

Thanks.

 

Yea im going to try haggling ofcourse, thanks to stevie`s help, and everyone else so far, maybe a 17 might be good idea, could get the 780m later on, but its budget yet again, altho i did want a 18 with SLI gtx 765m`s as base but £1999 as base price is alot.

 

But they're probably still better than the AMD drivers...lol.

No problem. If you're gonna spend thousands on a new system you might as well get the latest the greatest hardware. Go for the new model, you'll be happy you did in the end.

 

I'm not sure if this would be under the right thread (although it might since they are new systems)...Where do you guys get mobile graphic cards from. I don't really find anyone that sells mobile cards like thew new 780M outside of a few ebay listings. Do you just call up Alienware when they release a new card and purchase it directly?

 

One question just sprung to mind, would dell take the 765m`s in SLI back as a discount to a 780m SLI config later on. Not too sure about that.

 

Nah, mate. They aren't into buying back parts, unfortuantely.

 

The 14 and 18 have muxes, so the 17 should as well.

 

eBay like you said. You'll have an extremely hard time finding them elsewhere. You can try Alienware but they'll charge a you premium for the upgrade. It's probably best to follow a tutorial video on youtube and upgrade yourself. They might send an Alienware tech out to your house to watch you do the upgrade and maybe help a bit. I think an Alienware tech has to be present for major upgrades or you'll void the warranty.

 

Historically I would agree but I have not seen this level of issues since the first Vista driver (maybe the win8 code is trashing it). Of course the old adage 'one bad apple...' applies but if you leave the bad 'apple' there then you're ruining the crop!

I'm a big NV fan having built multi GPU desktops (quad Sli +Physics) that just worked out-of-the-boxes but this keeping quiet and pretending that it is not destroying cards has me mad. Look at the pics of the guy that had a resistor melt itself off the card and burn through the fan!!! Could be just a coincidence but there is enough evidence in that thread to say that the driver is overloading (overvolting?) cards!

 

You don't void the warranty unless you damage the system.However you need to have the stock parts to redeem the warranty.

 

Exactly what Dell UK told me when I asked about a 680m upgrade. I can change memory or HD's myself but to retain warranty (to include the new card) their engineer has to install it.

 

Yeah, if you are buying the cards from Dell, they might insist on a tech doing the install. If you buy off Ebay, and you keep the original cards, Dell never need know that you installed upgrade cards yourself. Remember, opening you machine and working on it yourself does not void warranty. Of course, if you break something in the process, the old chestnut of "you break it, you buy it" comes into play.

Plenty of guys here who have bought and installed themselves.....let's face it, most of us are completely OCD about our babies and would take more time/care than a tech would in the first place.

 

Question about calling and speaking to an AW rep: are you able to configure a model to your liking and place the order directly over the phone, or is it just a help line, and you still gotta go through the website to order?

 

Basically, you will deal with a 'telephone' rep until you settle on a configuration and place the order - no website stuff involved.

 

lol exaggerate much? Since all notebooks have Nvidia GPUs and Optimus which works, its not really nescessary.

But yeah they have all MUX so you can disable the evil Optimus

 

The M18x family has never had Optimus or Enduro. It is a manual switching mux design where you choose between either IGFX or discrete graphics, but never hybrid switching like the other Alienware models. But yes, the ability to disable the IGFX and use solely the discrete GPU is an Alienware advantage across all models. The display output is not routed through the IGFX like so many (perhaps all) of the competing products. The ability to disable Optimus and Enduro is a real plus.

 

Ok maybe not 18 but 17 have it

Alienware just posted a picture on the facebook page where they said this picture clearly showed how good the IPS screen is on the new models. Great viewing angle indeed. I reckon this is the Alienware 18 since it have numpad?

 

Wow, that is a really good viewing angle. Amazing, isn't it? I don't know a reason why anyone would need that much viewing angle, but it's no less amazing.

 

Both 17 & 18 have numpad. Difference is on the left side the 18 has 6 more programable keys

 

I can think of ways to make that viewing angle useful. Say you and your significant other are watching a movie or youtube video online. Or you have a friend over and they are watching your gameplay in action but don't want to quite get in your way. Or you go afk and you look over from the side while your multi tasking to see if anyone messaged you or is trying to kill you while your away... Looks amazing though, I want one so bad.

 

And the picture shown on the laptop looks like to be the one with the Alienware tablet and phone designs:

 

I think it's a 17. The 18 doesn't have the color offset around the camera, at least in the pics on the Alienware site. Really hope it's the 17 anyways, because that viewing angle is killer.

EDIT: Just checked my bank account and I'm confused as hell. Transferred the money over to my checking from my savings on Tuesday to make the purchase, and it went through, deducting the total from my balance as shown by BofA's site. Dell confirmed payment and my order went into pre-production. Checking my balance on BofA's website right now, it says I was never charged. My order remains in pre-production on Dell's site. Guess I've got to call on Monday and see if everything is still good.

 

Made my order the day the new models were released.
I decided to go with the Alienware M17X which was priced at $2098.00
After speaking to the dell associate for close to an 1 hour my final cost was $1800.00 + 2nd day shipping + $200 dell promo card
The only issue I have is whether or not I should call him back to upgrade my processor from the 4700MQ to the 4800MQ... Any advice?

210-AAPS

Alienware 17 Base
1

370-AANN

16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
1

580-ABEG

English Keyboard
1

490-BBGS

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M with 3GB GDDR5
1

658-BBOD

Broadcom 4352 Driver
1

400-AATG

750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
1

619-ACMQ

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, English
1

429-AAGC

Slot-Loading 8x SuperMulti Drive (DVDR/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

954-4168

Dell Hardware Warranty Plus On-Site Service, Initial Year
1

954-4191

In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis, Parts and Labor On-Site Response, Initial Year
1

951-6520

Accidental Damage Service, 1 Year
1

338-BCHU

4th Gen Intel Core i7-4700MQ (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost) (Standard)
1

391-BBEM

17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare Display
1

451-BBCB

8-cell Lithium Ion (86 wHr) Battery
1

450-AAJI

240W AC Adapter
1

354-BBBB

LCD Back Cover (WLAN) Alienware 17
1

640-BBLC

Alienware Command Center 3.0
1

658-BBNS

System Software for Alienware M17xR1
1

340-ADEL

Alienware 17 Anodized Aluminum
1

.

 

Personally, I would sooner put that money towards upgrading to the 780m .

 

I think you should be ok - I believe you only get charged when its shipped or that is what I was told (UK)

 

Your fine. I had a friend who bought dell. It isn't like most sites, it does pending for a while to make sure you have the money-- then it will release the funds, and after they ship the item the funds will be given to them. Which could take weeks. Just make sure to leave the money there or they won't ship it...

 

It is a 17. Notice the grain, weak reflections and the strip around the webcam.

 

Nice to know mate, I ordered mine on friday and no withdraw on my account yet... the strange part is that i can't see the order status on my dell account.. that's strange.. but maybe because its a weekend they haven't changed the status...

another question, for those who ordered a 14 like me... what is the expected delivery date for UK buyers?

 

Its either the 18 or the 14. 17 doesnt have IPS, the other ones do. Since it have touchpad it have to be the alienware 18.

 

I wonder how well it retains colors at that angle.

 

Well on the Alienware 18, it looks pretty good from this video. He jiggles the machine about a fair bit, we can get a good view of the colourwheel for AlienFX and it doesn't appear to fade much, even at wide viewing angles. He also opens and closes the lid, too - vertical viewing angles look good as well, as far as we can tell.....

 

Well I will order the new M18X very!!!
Mostly because the sound system on my R1 is terrible...