*Official* Alienware Launch Discussion Thread

I had the key problem with key number 3 (#) loose and off when I received the new AW 17. I requested a replacement unit and still on waiting for the new shipment. It's unacceptable for new system having key issue.

 

It just jumped right off as I was typing. I could of put it back myself, but the clip is still on the key when it came off. I can't find a tutorial or anything to help me put the clip back into the keyboard.
Also I think my keyboard is a defect, It can only use 3 keys at once. I can't hold down on more then 3 keys! How can I game with such limits!!!

 

Migliogiorni

I do need the Rep info, I have been hunting for over a month for a deal on a fully decked M18x But best they offered me %2 off !!!

Please do send the contact info to my email: [email protected]

I can not PM you as I think we both have low number of posts

 

Wow! This is nice! Too bad in the UK, I could only get the £150 instant savings + £220 more discount through a random rep... (around 11%) for my AW17 with 4800MQ, 780M and 1 year accidental...

 

FYI new Nvidia beta drivers should work for the 780m's now. I just installed it successfully on my laptop.

 

Can you check the performance of the machine?

 

Send me a PM with your service tag, I'll send you a new keyboard right away.

 

I already called Dell and they told me they gonna send a guy over.

About the keyboard ghosting, Dell sais it normal... It normal that the maximum of keys you can press is three.... THREE!!!

Such power on a amazing laptop and just tiny problem can ruin the whole experience. There is so many games that require more then 3 keys at a time. I`m actually upset right now....

 

All USB keyboards got ghosting at one extend or another, however buttons used by games should have anti-ghosting...

 

But on the M14x there is no programmable bottons.

 

Programmable buttons don't have anything to do with this. Read this: Microsoft Applied Sciences Group it explains ghosting, in a well-written way.

 

I got 7194 on 3d mark 2011

 

So, with the new drivers that were posted this morning, here is what my system benched at on 3DMARK13. I suspect SLI wasn't running for this pull though: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz,Alienware Alienware 18

 

I wish the Alienware had a keyboard made for gaming. I'l try not to let it bother me too much.

 

On the 17 reviews I read, none reported such issue... they are sending you a new keyboard anyway, so it may be a defect on your own or just a driver issue... this is the problem with "launch" machines, whenever that is Apple, Dell, Sony or any other, software and hardware problems will be there for the first week(s)-month(s)....

 

I called dell about this issue. They say the matrix is build like that. They said there nothing I can do to fix it not broken.

I hope that AW will modifie there newer upcomming models. Cause this is a downer for me.

 

Confirmed - does exist on my 14. But its odd - its not all keys. I can hold down ASDW and some other keys still register. But, H does not for example. Very odd. I wonder if they can fix with a BIOS update.

Microsoft Applied Sciences Group

N

 

FYI, I updated my GPU driver to the new 326 beta this morning, and I saw a huge increase in performance, particularly in Metro 2033. Before I was averaging 30-40fps on low with DX11 turned on; now I'm easily pushing 60 for the most part, and rarely dropping below 47-48 at high with DX11 on. Haven't tried LL to see how the improvement there was, but I'm hoping it's similar. 3DMark11 scores are also higher by ~10% for the same clock settings, though now my core doesn't like going above ~+130MHz. Still at +350 for memory.

I also received my Orion backpack, and can confirm it's a great fit for the current 17. It's not up to par (particularly the shoulder straps) with my North Face, but that barely fits the 17, and it cost 3 times as much.

 

Did it have any impact on temperatures?

 

Your right! ASDW does work completely fine. I run a text on my broken keyboard and It seem to take 4 key at once, and ASDW do all register. I guess I've been jugging too hard on the M14x. It pretty good. It not enough to play surgery simulator but it will be fine for most games out there.

I feel less upset now.

 

Nope. Still topping out in the mid-high 70s in most games. 3DMark11 pushes it to the low 80s, as does Furmark, but you'll never see anything that stressful when gaming. Considering a repaste just to see if there's any improvement, but it's usually not worth bothering with, IME, unless the stock stuff is utter crap. Will probably wait for someone else to do it before I go through the effort.

They seem to have focused their efforts on eliminating ghosting from the main gaming keys, and ignoring it for the lesser used ones. Not a big deal, IMO. My 17 has ghosting problems with the right side of the keyboard.

 

Just out of curiosity, which games have you played? Max settings? OCed?

 

One more thing, has any of you guys raise or lowerd the volume during gaming? Because every time I do so it take me away from the game and back to my desktop.

 

I just loaded up Starcraft II and tried it. I had no problems on my Alienware 14. I tried brightness control too and had no issues. Is it on every game?

 

Is that with Optimus enabled and with stock vbios?

 

I got 7288 with Optimus and stock bios.

 

It a problem that seemed to fixed itself. weird. Ok then I am pretty happy with my new alienware M14x!

 

Thanks Mr. Cuddles! Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like we are seeing improvement by up to 10% just by going from 311.48 to the 326 beta.

 

If it was in Tomb Raider, I think there's a setting (Exclusive Fullscreen?) that makes the game do that. Every other game I've played I don't have that issue. (And for Tomb Raider it just required changing the setting, no harm there)

 

Some people are complaining that speakers on the AW are somewhat underwhelming. You can try my EQ in this post:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-18-owners-lounge-thread-93.html#post9292804

I have outlined the problems and try to fix some using the EQ. Anyone who has good ears try it and see how it goes.

 

Will do. The speakers are indeed lousy on my 17. I've been running an external DAC through a pair of Audioengine A5+s at home, though I've been trying to find a mobile solution.

EDIT: Tried the settings, and wound up bringing 500Hz down just a tad and upping the 1kHz range a bit to fill out the mids a bit. The 2kHz band is definitely the most offensive sounding, particularly when listening to any strings. No longer horrible, but still not fantastic. Could definitely use some more sub frequencies to bring out the bass. Sounds very subdued, and I tend to like a less prominent bass range. Not the biggest deal, since I don't listen plan on listening to much music on my 17, but a bit annoying when I do. Also, the compressor in the Dolby suite is god awful. Definitely turn it off.

 

Ive found this on my 17 too, its not too much of a problem though as once the volume is set i generally leave it there. The only game i've found that really bugs me when it does this is Hitman Absolution. To holster your weapon you have to press Caps Lock (as default) which takes me back to the desktop for a second then returns to the game. Easily fixed by changing the holster weapon key but still, kind of annoying at the time

 

It's not Isolated in the alienware 17s. My HP DV7, Asus and MSI GT683 Laptops does the same thing. they would go back to the desktop whenever I adjust the volume during gaming sessions. However, It just went away on my MSI Laptop (not sure if it's because of an update or that the laptop learns by itself, hehehe)

 

Sounds like Skynet too me! Its not tried to kill you in your sleep yet has it?!

 

Hahaha, not yet. but I'm prepared just in case it does decide to kill me. I'll just throw water at it

 

Water can be very dangerous when it get's in the wrong hands .

 

What, like in Gremlins?

 

Try this:
In regedit go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Widcomm > BTConfig > General

Find the value "KeyIndication" and set it to 0.

I just did a quick search and found this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...caps-lock-will-minimize-full-screen-game.html scroll to post 3 by Mr. Fox. Looks like it is a known issue and easy to fix...

 

Here my personal preset.


It has a bass feel to it. At least better then the original settings.

 

For anyone who cares, the brand new Nvidia beta driver released yesterday seems to be rock solid and boosted my 3D Mark score significantly on my 18 with SLI GTX780Ms

 

@PWn3R

Please run it again with sli disabled. I.e 1xGTX 780m.

 

Same with my single 780 17. About 7-8% higher for a given clock frequency, though my max stable overclock dropped by about 30MHz.

 

Since we all get the blu-ray drive standard, was there a blu-ray player included somewhere?
If so, I can't find it. Do we need to find our own? I've got VLC player and it doesn't support blu-ray, much less 3D.
Is there a 3D player from nvidia? All I saw was a photo gallery you can download.

 

I believe Power DVD 9 was included or 10. Not sure but I had an upgrade coupon for 13 that I used.

 

Quick noob question; Is it possible to set up one of the macro keys on the 17 to open a specific folder?

EDIT: Sorted, for some reason it wouldnt apply the folder shortcut until I rebooted however if I applied a shortcut to an application it worked instantly... strange but its working so im happy!

 

The audio/sound quality on these newer Alienware with the dolby isn't very good compared to the soundblaster recon on the older models. If you owned an r2 m14x or m17x r3/r4 then you will know what i'm talking about.

 

Yeah, I've noticed a lot of noise over the headphone jack. It's annoying for someone who likes listening to fairly quiet music...

 

PowerDVD 9 is included, though you need to upgrade to 13 if you want to watch pretty much any newer Blu Rays. Wouldn't play any of my more recent titles, and none of my 3D discs.

 

It wasn't installed, it's not on the resource CD and not available for download from the Alienware support site. Was it pre-installed for you?

 

Hello ppl,
Alienware has released its new line of laptops but unfortunately they aren't available and haven't been launched yet in India.
Alienware used to offer the BEST high-end laptops in india but unfortunately it seems that they have discontinued their laptop series.
I request all of you to pls sign this petition for the sake of my health and happiness. thank you.

http://goo.gl/5DWUR

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU. SPREAD THE WORD.