*Official* Alienware Launch Discussion Thread

Thanks, I'll try the laptop specific forums

 

Just flashed my vBIOS back to stock, and updated my BIOS to the one Dell released yesterday, and my performance is freaking pathetic. Did a run through of Arkham City and Skyrim, and barely managed acceptable frame rates in the latter. Looked at my GPU logs, and my core frequency is 771MHz for the most part, with occasional momentary spikes to ~900MHz. GPU usage is~40%, with spikes to ~60%. Temps never go above 60C. Will try flashing back to the modded vBIOS, because this is just awful.

EDIT: Scratch that. Had to adjust some settings and it seems much better than it was when I received it. Apologies for the screw up. Starting real testing to see if it really is better.

 

Well, I decided to go ahead and return it for an 18. Was just on the phone with my sales rep, though he said their manager is out right now and he'll have to call me back in a bit to finalize the discount. Went with a 4930MX, dual 780s, 16GB RAM, the mSATA SSD cache (and I'll install my own SSDs, since Dell's options are so overpriced), two years of warranty, Windows Ultimate, etc. Basically everything except for the SSDs. Delivery is looking like mid-August, which will be liable to kill me, but whatever. Worth it for a better machine. Looking at about a grand more without the warranty, which isn't so bad considering the CPU alone on a 17 would have been about $750 more. Dunno about warranty pricing yet.

 

Well, new one is ordered. Just under $1300 extra with the warranty, so still a healthy discount, with free NBD shipping and briefcase. Was much more difficult getting a discount this go round though. Took me about two hours in total to get something equivalent percentage wise versus about 15 minutes last time. The rep is basically saying they locked down the discounts for now. They've got authorization off the bat for $200 off anything over $2000, and I was offered that right away, but anything more takes a bit of running around. I also learned that the commission they make on every laptop over $2k is the same, so a lot of them are less motivated to help get those big discounts on large items. Estimated arrival date is August 13.

 

Hey,

If you already received your new Alienware you may have noticed that the touchpad comes with a heightened sensitivity level. If the initial setting is too sensitive for your taste you can always adjust it, here's how you do that:

How to Adjust the Touchpad Sensitivity on the new Alienware Systems

 

Thanks for the help Luis!

 

Notebookcheck's review of the 14 has been translated in case anyone's interested: Review Alienware 14 Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews.

 

Hi guys, I finally had the time to run tests on my Alienware 17 and here are the things I want to share about the throttling problem and the battery problems.

1. The throttling seems to be stress testing related. I ran different tests with MSI Combustor 2.5 all throttled except for "Tessy sphere on plane v2". Throttling occured at 71c. however on the Tessy plane v2 test, It went as far as 74c without throttling and temps never went up 74c. was getting a constant 847 mhz. This is with EVGA precision X on the background.

2. I also played and monitored temps and FPS with BF3, sniper ghost warrior 2, and Crysis 3. I set it at max settings and the FPS never really went down. was getting 60 FPS at BF3. temps at EVGA went as high as 80c without throttling and stayed at 80c.

3. if you will be using EVGA precision and you are the type who travels a lot on battery mode, DO NOT SET EVGA on "Start with windows". it will drain your battery significantly because EVGA voltage tuner.exe will activate. battery life on mine dropped from 4 hours and 45 mins to 2 hours with EVGA turned on and using optimus.

 

Are the new 17s and 18s being offered with a glossy tn panel? I hate matte panels because of that grainy/sparkling look they have and i'd rather have a much higher quality glossy tn panel.

 

They are very nice display panels. They are less reflective than the previous models with edge-to-edge display, but they don't have that grainy look, and they don't have the splotchy-looking ugliness when turned off that true matte displays often have.

 

Are you sure Mr. Fox? I had the new Alienware 14 with IPS panel a week ago and although the viewing angles and color gamut are great, the screen was grainy/sparkly and it had a yellowish tint and it had IPS backlight bleeding glow.

Are you sure the 17 or 18 screen are better than the AW14?

 

I had the m15x with a glossy screen and I the new screen is as good without the annoying reflections.

 

According to here: Review Alienware 14 Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews, the IPS screen on the 14 is made by AUO. The screen of the 18 is made by Samsung, and I am quoting another member here (I think Cloudflare, I apologize if I get your name wrong), who said that the screen on the 18 is the same screen as the Dell AIO ( Review Dell XPS 18 AIO Tablet - NotebookCheck.net Reviews). The max brightness of the Samsung panel is slightly higher, the rest are kind of similar.

 

The NotebookCheck review of the AW 14's AUO panel show that's it's definitely not "great" in terms of color gamut. For most people's needs it's quite adequate though. They're the only review site I trust for accurate testing and evaluation of laptop panels.

 

The AW18 display is just great! In my opinion it is way better than the M18x R2! It has bright colors, a very good black level but much less reflections!

 

Did the question change? I don't have access to an Alienware 14. I answered the original question about the 17 and 18, not the 14. Setting the Alienware 17, 18 and M18x next to each other I was able to say, "They are very nice display panels. They are less reflective than the previous models with edge-to-edge display, but they don't have that grainy look, and they don't have the splotchy-looking ugliness when turned off that true matte displays often have." So, yes... I am sure. And, I don't care for matte panels either... for the reasons mentioned.

I would expect the 18 to have better components than a 17, and the 17 to have better components than the 14. That would seem like a natural progression based on price and performance.

Personally, I prefer the glossy edge-to-edge display of my M18x over the bezel on the 17 and 18. Having less reflection is a nice thing, but the aesthetic superiority of the edge-to-edge display is a trade off. I have never been anything but very satisfied with the display on my M18x.

 

apologies if this has been asked before - how many SATAIII ports does the M18xR3 have? Can you do quad RAID with all SATA3 ports??

 

This Dell BS is really pushing one's patience and temper to its limit. Trying to get a 4930MX from Dell, placed the order, and the person made a mistake and put in 4800MQ instead. It took me 3 hours of calling which gets re-routed to India all the time just to cancel it. And now it's probably going to take me another few hours just to be able to order it again. The incompetency is high up with Dell it seems.

Alienware is good, but I wouldn't want to deal with Dell again after this. No wonder Steviejones133 decided to abandon AW.

 

Now imagine having to deal with India ALL the time for EVERYTHING......and also having to rely on them to decide your fate regarding replacement machines......might give you an idea of how I feel.....

Oh, and they abandoned me.....or left me no choice. Same difference.

 

I feel you man. I am gonna call in during evening here, where it will be midnight in India, in hope that it won't get routed there. They are so incompetent it's literally wasting my time talking to them. Then they re-route you endlessly through and through, I now call it the seven depths of the Hell of Dell.

 

Now imagine if they cannot route a call, cannot do simple things....how well do you think they deal with a replacement case? - and people here wonder why I got so frustrated in dealing with Dell EMEA...oh, and then factor in ten weeks of doing that, too - just for fun...

 

Still getting re-routed. I understand that if they can't understand something as simple as modify an order, at least let me re-order it. It's as simple as: I want to buy this, I give you money; then they say: ok, this is in stock/OOS, I will sell you this/not sell you this. Done. Deal.

After another 58 mins of rerouting, they hung up on me, again. It's like the third time today these bollocks hung up on me.

I am seriously considering buying from Puget Systems now, even though I have to pay 300 more. What good is a company that won't even let you place the order to buy something. Just to let you people know, chances are you will be the next in line for the same treatment if you buy from Dell.

 

Welcome to 'club EMEA' - where the customer is, well....probably too much of a hassle to deal with - hence dial tone 'drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr'

You wanna try exchanging a service tag or something remotely complex sometime....you will have hours, if not days, of 'fun'.

Side note: You might find this thread handy: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ice-details-inside-post-your-experiences.html

 

I might have a look there. The house that I have been staying just had a fire two days ago, and things are in a mess now. It looks like deserted house now. I will call Dell again later, and see how it goes. The rep replied and said the order was correct, but how is it that the description shows up as 4800MQ.

And I was right, you have to call in during really late afternoon or evening time (EST here). I got someone competent and finally managed to get my order in. I am no longer stuck in the hell of Dell of phone re-routing.

 

So I had a peek under the "bonnet" of my new m18 as I'm about to install my 256Gb SSD. During my inspection it struck me that I couldn't see the SSD caching device. I got the 750GB SATA + 64GB mSATA SSD Caching.

There was an empty slot under the 750GB HDD. I also lifted the battery and optical drive looking for it.

Anyone know where is it hiding ?

 

Some people say that it is under the keyboard..

 

Take the main bottom cover off, then the fan cover and it will be on the right side of the laptop. Look at the manual on Dell's site if you can't find it. It's very easy to find.

 

Ah, cheers. Was looking for an SSD not an mSATA card! Repped

 

I just ordered the Alienware 17 base version. It has the 1600X900 HD+ 900p display. It had the option to upgrade to 1920x1800 FHD 1080p but it was an extra 150$ and I really had a hard time just collecting money for the base version costing 1499$ without tax. I am a gamer and that is what the laptop would mostly be used for alongwith a bit of programming. I read in many forums that 1920x1080 is always better but I am not sure if I took the right decision or not. Can anyone suggest me if there would be major difference between both the resolutions or a minor one? Also I read somewhere that it doesn't matter as long as you don't have a 22 inch screen or higher where 1920x1080 would be definitely better. Also can the screen be upgraded later on after some months of use? or will I have to buy a new one just to get a better screen coz I would really love to upgrade to the 3D version in the near future.

 

I think personal preference has some aspect on this (1600x900 vs 1920x1080). I for one prefer 1900x1080. You could check out this thread on NBR for some discussion, though most seem to prefer 1080. http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/636010-1920x1080-vs-1600x900-preferred.html.

Although possible to upgrade later it will most likely be prohibitively expensive.

As for the 3D:I recall reading a few M17x owners that seemed not that happy with their 3D. Perhaps you could google this though.

 

Thanks a lot.I would look around and ask about my queries in that thread

 

Seems that thread is dead. The last post in that thread was on last year january ~.~

 

Yes, it was more to see what others had already written on the topic. I still think personal preference comes into this a lot. It also seems more natural on a large laptop such as the 17" with 1920x1080. Even for gaming only.

Perhaps there a local store you could go into and compare resolutions.

 

Yeah thanks I think that I will just go with the default 1600x900 at the moment. I am pretty sure that it cannot be that bad if within sometime after buying it I'd start disliking it then there is always the upgrade ^_^

 

.....which will cost a lot more than buying it at the outset. Remember, you can't increase a 1600x900 to 1920x1080, but you can reduce 1920x1080 to 1600x900 - also, if you think longer term, most people would look for 1920x1080 when buying, you would be shooting yourself in the foot for a future sale, and upgrading will cost you more.....personally, I'd grab it while it's hot...

 

This is excellent advice, I'd heed it if I were you.

 

Seriously - instead of $150 or whatever it is upfront it'll be closer to $450 and will involve completely disassembling your laptop. 50+ screws, ribbon cables, and thermal paste. IT IS'NT WORTH IT.

Something more - the 1600x900 panels typically have much worse color, brightness, contrast, etc - the kind of panel I'd expect on an entry-level toshiba, not a high-end laptop. Don't torture yourself.

 

does anyone know why the dual 780M upgrade has disappeared from all AW 18 models?

 

My guess is they are now out of stock...

On the screen, I'd go 1920x1080. Screen upgrades are not as easy as you think on laptops I feel, not to mention you have to find the part, etc...and do all the work and it'll cost a lot more as mentioned.

Also helps resale value since I'd assume most people for a 17" would go 1920x1080...For a 15", maybe it's more variable since the text starts getting really small.

 

So many replies suddenly actually I really do want the 1920x1080 but I am seriously not having even an extra dollar more than what I put into the laptop :'( it sucks!!! My life is a lie D:

 

Get what you can afford its easy to give advice to spend another persons money. Even if the advice given is good sound advice some people are on a tight budget and will be perfectly happy with a lower end system. Remember the low end is often a lot better than most other systems out there. Buy what you feel comfortable with and enjoy your new Alienware.

 

B but why is life so unfair >< it seems as if nothing you get is enough.Please give me your personal advice on this screen issue I'd hate it if after spending so much the display would suck!!!

 

Also it is my first gaming laptop and first Alienware ^_^

 

well that sucks , I hope they put the option back soon

I'm fine with it taking a while to get made but I would really like to get the order in...

 

Haggle or wait for a coupon. It's worth it.

 

I've already ordered it and it is in production. Maybe I am too late to do anything about it?

 

Not sure, but assuming you aren't married or have kids yet, wait till those come along and you can say goodbye to even more toys! Get all your toys before that.

That said, if you paid full price, I'd try to cancel. But I'm extremely cheap. As I mentioned many times, there was a 10, 20 or 30% off coupon about 2 weeks back so you can do the math and see how much your build would've cost.

It takes work to save money, but if you got little monies, you should work to save a lot more and get the best build for your buck...

 

Bad bad luck...I wish I would have gotten my hands on any one of those coupons ~.~ The only good thing that happened was me ordering my laptop on a tax free weekend so no tax also my girlfriend loves games and loves almost everything that I do so I am pretty sure that I'd continue buying more toys throughout my life

 

Hang onto her!

On topic though, don't beat yourself up about it. You've ordered a fantastic system and will still enjoy it. Besides, if you're in the US I belive you have the chance to return it within so and so many days should you reconsider

 

no really. I have 3 kids and I still buy a lot gadgets!