*Official* Alienware Launch Discussion Thread

I just hope. That mine starts to be produced soon... Ordered 16/06

 

My AW 14 went into production 20 minutes after i placed the order.

 

Great because my 14 is still in pre-production.... What specs you got??

 

we're only 3 days apart. I ordered mine 6/13.

 

My initial order was the 14/06.. But for a weird reason i had to re-order that's when everything collapsed

 

Hopefully my 17" ships out soon since it has been "In Production" since 6/20. I'm thinking I should probably order an SSD to make it my boot drive (I was looking at Samsung 840 Pro 256GB-any thoughts?)

Also at what temperatures or time range should someone apply new thermal paste? Does Alienware do a decent job the first time or does it vary?

 

For me, as soon as I start to hear the CPU fan kick in (briefly) when doing things like opening windows, it's time for a CPU repaste. For the GPU it's a case of watching it to see if it is getting hotter over a period of time. With none of these machines in the hands of a bunch of people yet actual temps are not going to be available.

 

Update from dell manufacturing team related to my order..

"This is a newly launched system. So it is better to stick to the EDD as all such orders will take time to ship due to the numerous checks/tests in place."

 

They are saying that because there is issues with their order process at the moment. I ordered one on 6-11-13. It was in pre prod for 7 days. I cancelled it on 6-18, reordered 6-20. The order on 6-20-13 went into prod in 20 minutes.

The specs were $1349 model with a GTX 765m for $1265 USD after haggle and tax, also got NBD shipping and 5% GC

 

Hey guys, I am thinking of getting the AW17 with the 3D screen, as my previous M17x had a 3D screen and I truly find it hard to go back to '2D' gaming. However, I have heard many of you recommending to avoid 3D screens at all cost. Why is that?

As far as I can tell the only downsides are cost and the apparent inability to switch between dedicated and discrete graphics.

Any thoughts / advice?

 

Don't listen to them!!! I am the same as you, I got an R3 3D and was astounded at the quality and effect - always say the same as anyone that sees it. 'How can you go back to 'normal' gaming after seeing that?'
iGPU is disabled so poorer battery life and you loose your right to a treehugger pin (for excessive carbon footprint ) but other than that go for it. The new one appears to have anti-glare, the only complaint I have about my current machine.

Some people just don't see 3D correctly or it gives then headaches, you already know it works for you

Forgot: all those optimus problems with game switching, not going to get in the way of your gamine ever!

 

I loved 3d until i started noticing the crosstalk. IE seeing both images with both eyes. Helped me shooting rockets in the distance. Was way entertaining too.

 

Yeah, there's still a few titles that have crosstalk, anything that uses the Unreal 3 engine does this But Batman AC, Max Payne 3, Crysis 3, Metro (both of them) - perfect. I'm a happy bunny

 

Crosstalk seemed to happen only with certain games and with certain weapon styles. I am hoping that this is more to do with lazy '3D ready' programming than anything else. Fore example, I found 'Metro: Last Night' to be FLAWLESS in 3D! Truly amazing, however, Farcry 3 was so bad, it was unplayable in 3D.

I hope the trend would be towards better 3D game readiness, but I do have a niggling feeling that active shutter 3D will be considered a halfway house until glass-less 3D is truly ready, and hence not receiving the programming support it deserves.

Plus, ESPN recently announced they will be dropping 3D broadcasting soon... a sign of things to come?

 

Plenty of people on the MSI forums are satisfied with the cooling. Some of them claim to run their CPU and GPU heavily OCed all the time. Telling whether a defect exists in the cooling system or MSI has horrible quality control is difficult.

Of course. That's why I typed "feel." I know that magnesium can be durable.

 

Probably. 3D is a fad that just keeps coming back. It won't stick until we have holograms.

 

Also, was wondering about another thing. My previous M17x had a 3740QM processor, the AW17 config I am looking at would have the 4700MQ CPU. I was doing a spec comparison and it looks like other than lower power usage and supposedly slightly better cooling, there is no significant benefit in having the 4700MQ over the 3740QM CPU.

Take a look at: Intel Core i7 4700MQ vs 3740QM

So, in order for the new system to feel like an upgrade should I be looking at the 4800MQ?

 

Yeah, farcry 3 was a disappointment, especially as FC2 worked so well. The programmers do not have to do much at all for good 3D. Its all a matter of supplying the game data in a format that the software can work with. It's all there already if you think about it in a 3D perspective game

As for a broadcaster dropping 3D, not surprised, expensive for them and low customer take-up. Not up to the quality of a gaming PC at all. Hell, you only get 24hz at 1080i, rubbish for gaming as input lag is impossible to work with, although Crysis 3 has it's own 3DTV driver that somehow manages to give me 50hz at 1080 over HDMI, didn't think it was possible but it works very well

 

Which screen has the best color quality, the 17's 1080p 60hz or the 17's 1080p 3d 120hz? Is the 18's screen better still?

 

3-pipe heatsinks will most likely ship with XM CPU's the rest would use 2-pipes.

If you need advanced support with your order send me a PM and I'll look into it. Keep in mind that there's not much I can do about delays or setbacks, yet I can check if the order is "healthy" and not cancelled.

You can set your outer alien head or any other lightning zones to pulse or change color when you get an email

It gives coverage to your product within the country you purchased it. However, you can transfer it to your country (although warranty terms and limitations vary from one country to another).

Dell | Ownership Transfer

 

Really upgrading from an R4 to an AW 17 is pointless. Its just a Rehash. You'd be better off buying a 780 and throwing it in your R4

 

Hello Luis,

Can you give us gaming and benchmarking temperatures for the CPU/GPU (e.g. 4800mq and 780m) in the 17 and 18?

I'm interested in the same details about the screens as that user.

Thanks in advance.

 

I dunno. I returned my recently purchased R4 and ordered an AW 17. The key improvement for me is the non-glare screen. The R4 is truly terrible for glare. Of course, returning a recently purchased R4 and replacing an R4 with a new AW 17 are two separate decisions...

 

You'll be fine with a 4700MQ. All you get for another 170 USD is another 300Mhz on the 4800MQ. It really isn't worth it. Not unless you grab the 4900MQ because that has 2MB more Cache.

 

You'll be fine with a 4700MQ. All you get for another 170 USD is another 300Mhz on the 4800MQ. It really isn't worth it. Not unless you grab the 4900MQ because that has 2MB more Cache.

-GD Work machine ports suck here. Please delete double message.

 

If this is the case, the I find the following a little interesting.

3610qm = 4700mq
3720qm = 4800mq
3820qm = 4900mq
3920xm = 4930mx

Core i7 4800MQ vs 3720QM

4800mq beats is old Ivy predecessor (3720qm) by a very respectable margin. It also beats the 3820qm by some too.

There is no reason that couldn't be the case. But I think the CPU-Boss website is having me on.

 

That's exactly my situation! I had to return my R4 because I had soooo many problems with it, chassis and monitor quality issues, clicking plastics on palmrest and back LCD cover, wrong HDD in order, wrong RAM layout, faulty touchpad, misaligned radiator fins in the exhaust, misplaced/torn insulation foam on GPU and brightness & volume keys intermittently malfunctioning! Quality control on that machine was practically non existent!

It was an absolute abomination of a machine! I lost my faith in AW, but since the recent refresh I am trying to convince myself to give AW one last chance... Especially due to the structural redesign.

 

Damn that is terrible if that's true. What did AW did to your M17x R4?

 

Yup, terrible is an understatement... After almost 2 months, 2 engineer home visits, 7 components changed and a whole lot of back and forth via phone and e-mail they finally agreed to refund my purchase.

As it turned out, the courier came to pick up the machine the same day the new AW17 was announced!

 

I just got a call from Dell, they were apologizing that my order that i placed on 6-20-13 is still in production. Like thats all they called about. (Note: Its been in Production all 4 days.)

They'd have to offer me a sweet deal on a new machine in order for me to buy another after that.

 

A question for Luis: (or anyone else who might know)

Now that the media keys have been removed, I assume that the volume, brightness and other controls are accessed via the fn keys...
My question is, is that going to be a one or two handed operation like some other Dell laptops?

I find it interesting how after 're-designing' the keyboard there are no clear close-up photos of the whole keyboard on the AW/Dell site.

Thanks!

 

http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/06/alienware_18inch2_2013_1160-100041337-orig.png

 

My thoughts exactly!

Any AW rep reading this willing to right a wrong and restore my faith with a sweet AW17 deal? Pretty please?:hi2:

 

Up to 8Gb 1600Mhz DDR3L modules

It supports SATA III, you can set up a RAID 0.

The 3 ports are the mSATA, the regular hard drive and the optical drive's port. You can remove the optical drive to add a 3rd hard drive (using a caddy).

No real reason behind it. If you like 3D content go for it, if it makes you dizzy or you don't really care you should consider upgrading other components instead.

Unfortunately not, but I'm sure those will be posted as soon as some members get their hands on the new laptops

Updated the opener, check it out

 

make them ship faster then pl0x!

 

There seems to be a fair bit of confusion regards the 18 screen brightness. I know the opener says 350nit, however the UK web site says 400, and so do many peoples orders....Brother Luis....can we get 10000000% clarification wether its 350 or 400 or wether or not its a typo etc? - cheers buddy.

 

Well at least you managed to get your money back - but, I thought I had a bad R3 (that dell replaced) your problems trump mine!

It was a BTO machine and not an outlet purchase?

 

Are Nits the same as luminance? Front page says 400Nits, 350 Luminance.

Note: Color Gamut on the AW 14 is amazing compared to the 40% that used to be on the m14x R1 & R2

 

Belieeeve me I would if I could

It's 350, or at least that's what all the spec sheets I've seen so far state. Moreover, I've looked all over the UK site for the 400nit statement as I'd like to address that to avoid any further confusions but I can't seem to find it, can you provide a link please?

 

Link: Alienware 18 HD Gaming Laptop Details | Dell UK

 

Sure thing, Bro. If you click through this link Alienware Gaming dator - Gaming Datorer på sitt bästa | Alienware and configure an 18, if you look at the LCD option, it clearly states 400nit. Here's a screenie for ya with the full address in my browser:

 

Thanks guys! I'll get on it right away

 

People are getting 400 Nits named on their quotes.

Lol it still says TN too.

 

I have the 400nit in my quote as well... I really hope it's not a mistake.

 

It is. Luis just said its 350 Nit but it is however a PLS.

 

So my question was answered, the 17's 3d screen is better. I wish the 17's screen was like the 14's screen with a 700:1 contrast. Kinda sad about the 18's screen. Thought it would be better. I know it is PLS but the 17's screen seems better.

 

It was indeed BTO, I initially thought it might have been down to a disgruntled assembly line employee, trying to mess things up. However, after a few sub par replacement components that the engineer replaced the originals with I wasn't so sure...

Might sound silly, but the final nail in the coffin was when the engineer replaced my LCD cover with a new out of the box one... Guess what? the illuminated Alienware logo was not centered! It was misaligned to the right! The alien head was practically touching the edges around it!
It looked like a cheap Chinese knock off!

All I can think in retrospect was that, nearing the 2013 refresh, they pulled out all the 'iffy' stock the had lying around and distributed it to the repair centers without performing any kind of quality control...

BTW - I am in the UK, I have heard that we get 2nd tier service over here in comparison to the US/Canada... :-(

 

Well considering Dell is a US company. I think you would get 2nd tier service. Not trying to be rude, but they are going to place us first. I also think your assumption about the parts is more on than you think. Most of the parts used to repair a system are refurb parts.

Edit: I think somewhere in the warranty it states that you allow them to use refurb parts.

 

Sure seems to have been overlooked at some point in the QC process . They were dumping old stock before the release of the new models (IMO). They only sold 900 panels for weeks before the release. Of course it could have just been a shortage of parts but too convenient for me.

I've worked for 10 years in the US and Canada and am now back in the UK. I purchased only Dell laptops for my employer (around 500 of them) and this is my first dealings with them on a consumer level. I can say without doubt the service is equitable, even to business class US warranty. In fact I find the Indian help desk guys far more helpful than wherever dell run the US support from.

 

That last part suprises me a bit. I support programmers in india and they don't know anything about machines. They are legit taught to program with a pen and paper.

They request software they don't know how to use. Then request more when they see that teammates have it. They think having a full HDD will slow the machine down to a crawl when they have 1GB of RAM. I could go on and on.