The new direction Alienware has taken

Hey since I read in a previous post your comming from amd are you aware of how to use the nvidia control panel . That is a pivotal tool for using nvidia chips.

1.) in your 3d global settings make sure you're settings are set to nvidia discrete not auto, performance mode is set to prefer maximum performance, your display mode is set to single display mode, triple buffer on and verticale sync is adaptive and make sure your power settings are on high performance that should help your fps in all your games

Also ubisoft games are junk they don't utilize Optimus properly and is a issue on pretty much all laptops so most game will attempt to run mostly off the integrated gpu which is another reason why your 980m may not be going above 540mhz try those settings in you're control panel and let us now how that works for you

 

I don't have one of those machines bud, I'm still happy with my m17x r3 and my x99 desktop for now. I'm playing the waiting game to see some more reviews before I buy anything.

 

Probably throttling from lack of power. A single 980M needs a 330W AC adapter for full high-performance function and at least 240W for the most basic use.

 

180W does for the 980M at stock in a machine, 230W does for a lower level voltage bump (up to 1.1v ish levels) and 330W is required if you go balls to the wall

 

Mr fox first things first you're the man you've helped me out a lot in the past with my last alienware thank you !

Secondly im curious why do you have the 980m sli i you're m18xr2 and not the m18? Wouldn't the performance be better in the newer of the machines and I thought the cooling was a little improved in the new chassy??

 

No, the M18xR2 totally smokes the Alienware 18 at almost everything. Newer is not necessarily better. That applies to everything, including hardware and drivers. The latest ain't necessarily the greatest. Another example is X79 and Sandy-E in desktop world. It wasn't until X99 and 5960X that anything else was "as good" at delivering face-melting brute force. The stuff in between was and does offer mediocre performance. In the mobile realm, Ivy XM still rules the roost. Even the cooling system is better in the M18xR2. Unfortunately, 980M doesn't work 100% correctly in any Alienware right now. NVIDIA changed something in Maxwell that doesn't play nice with Alienware's system BIOS, and since Alienware no longer supports either 18" beast it may never get fixed. I am going to be buying a Clevo P570WM to put the 980M SLI into and that will be backed by a 4960X or 4930K hex core CPU.

 

The only Alienware equal to the previous generation is the Alienware 17 R1. In some ways it's actually better. For example, the SATA connectors are really nice, and I believe the build quality is a bit better. The "ease" of upgrading is also a bit better. The only problem is Haswell (being so hot and power hungry). Too bad Ivy Bridge doesn't work.

The Alienware 18 is not an upgrade to the M18x R2 by any means. The M18x R2 remains a legend.

The Alienware 17 R2 is a joke.

 

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They must have seriously screwed the pooch to make you delve away from alienware you where a true loyalist .. I never owned a 18 I had the m17xr2/3 and now the 4 looking to decide what I want to go with i may just break away from laptops now and go with the Area 51 since they are actually surprisingly well priced comapared to how much it would cost to build a tower of the same spec

Can I ask what is the key difference in the 18xr2 I love the design of the older alienware for sure I'm not a fan of the new design I have a 3920xm gtx 780m in my alienware r4 it just gets old modifying vbios everytime I want to upgrade my drivers.. That being said im looking to buy the 17r2 with the 4980hq and gtx 980m and use my 330watt brick I have for my r4

My question do you think it's worth it to sell my r4 which is a absolute champ for the new model or hang on to it and buy a 980m because you can't really argue how impressive the maxwell gpus are the 980m destroys the 780m out of the water

 

Hey! Bite your tongue Mr. Fox lol. Seriously though I REALLY hope you are wrong about that. Unfortunately what scares me most about the Alienation collapsing is now that leaves allot less competition which is never a good thing... Which could in fact lead to exactly what you said

 

Clevo already has a bunch of machines with the BGA mess... they just still offer their older socketed machines as well upgraded to the 900 series.......... for now. On the plus side their BGA machines are priced super cheap, you can get a decent 15.6" machine w/980m for $1600.

 

Let's use this thread and leverage the power of the poll. As justified as the hate and discontent may be, we don't need multiple gripe threads. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...opinion-new-alienware-2015-model-line-up.html

Instead of merging them, I will just lock this one.