AW15 240w vs 180w

Okay guys I got my AW15 yesterday. I have turned it on and install 3d Mark 11 Basic edition and 3dMark

I have both 180Watt PSU and 240watt. I have not done anything else so there is no AV and I have not updated any drivers or BIOS

Drivers:
GPU 980m
Nvidia: 344.73
Bios: A01
Set to High performance in power management.


3DMark 11 (run1/run2)
180w= P10212 / 10221
240w = P10314 / 10344

3dMark Firestrick (run1/run2)

180w = 7860 / 7962
240w = 8090 / 8064

Well thats just some basic testing I will let you guys know more as I record more.

The system its self is lovely the only thing that disappoints me is the screen, I had an AW18 before and the screen was beautiful the ghosting on this 1080p AW15 is so horrific that I am actually thinking of sending it back.

Edit for some reason after running all the 3D tests the ghosting has improved....?

 

what GPU?

 

980m Sorry I updated it

 

Thanks for the good post and data. Do you think it would be worth upgrading to that more powerful power supply just for daily use.

Ie. No gaming

 

It would not be worth it, but then again why have an alienware if you wont game?

 

I do, but lately I have been on
My ps4. So I could hold off on this upgrade if not totally necessary.

 

You might as well get it ordered, if you don't need to use it in the mean time no rush, but you'll at least have it on hand.

 

You can get the PSU for free from Alienware. It was shared in the AMA thread. No need to waste money on something that should have come with the system in the first place.

 

Is the power supply issue only if your AW 15 has the 980M? I ordered an AW 15 with the 970M and want to make sure the power supply is sufficient. What is the part # for the upgraded 240w power supply? I also have an AW M17x-R3 with a 240w power supply, is it the same one the AW 15 can use?

 

The 970M doesn't need much power. It'll be fine.

 

It does use a decent chunk less unless you start really throwing volts at it.

 

Thanks for sharing! Seems like they are actually very close.

 

You'll notice it more in games. Benchmarks aren't going to show much.

 

Only if you are in the US & Canada or so it seems......maybe it does have something to do with EU legislation and CE approval, but still, if you are outside of the afore mentioned territories, you might find it extrememly hard to get Dell to give you one for free or even sell you one.

 

You can usually find genuine ones around for not too much at least.

 

I ordered a 240w power supply the same day with my system, I had to pay for it but they sold me it without an issue.

 

Funny how that can't GIVE you a 240w in the EU (you're in the UK, right?) because of the supposed "legislation" and "red tape" intimating that "it hasn't been validated blah blah blah" ......but Dell are happy to SELL you one at the blink of an eye..........

 

You shouldn't be so mad about not being able to get a free PSU. You should be mad about why you need one in the first place. You bought defective hardware.

 

Had I been denied a free upgrade to a 240W by Dell, I'd returned the defective laptop right away ....

 

I'm not mad as I didn't buy the defective hardware!

Seriously, yeah...I can see how the hardware can be deemed defective, given the nature of many posts here about 180w/240w. What I fail to understand is how Dell discriminates between rectifying the defect from region to region, giving one region free exchanges and expecting another region to pay for them. Surely they are the same machines and PSU's worldwide, no?

Had I bought one, like Brother Papusan said, I'd return the whole shebang had I been denied the same treatment as other regions.

 

Everyone should be fully aware now that the laptop does not work properly without hybrid bios or 240W power supply... Why should some be denied a 240W while others get? Why should I troubled with a laptop battery that wear faster due hybrid bios, while others have a laptop with a battery that lasts their expected life?

 

Considering this PSU issue, their benchmarks, advertisements, and all battery life claims are possibly invalid. It's against the law to false advertise. You may be able to file a suit against them if you own an Alienware 15 and don't get the performance they promise or advertise.

Not sure what idiot came up with the idea of offering inadequate power supplies. Potentially a huge mistake. You're risking lawsuits, returns, and extra warranty requests because customers may think something is wrong, etc.

 

Notebook Review think there is something wrong with the AW17R2 they tested, but this I do not believe. Aw17R2 was tested with bios A2. It is no wonder that the power consumption is low if the laptop uses both electricity and battery under max load.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-17-R2-Notebook-Review.140380.0.html

 

Take into consideration the battery consumption during load, then the numbers look more realistic (unless MSI's solution did suck 200+ watts in conjucntion with the battery usage).
As for suing Alienware, that's going to be hard to do as their numbers are mostly percentages. If one wants to compare numbers, they only have Alienware's Tomb Raider Benchmark and the videos they have posted using the AW15.
One would also need multiple AW15's to compare with their other benchmarks that are percentage based (unless one wants to park 2 cores to simulate an i5-4210H).

 

Not saying it will happen, just saying they're risking it to save a few dollars - unnecessary risk taking with great consequences

 

^^^ Pict...
Msi's former 180w power supply managed to deliver 203w AFTER battery came under 30% because of hybrid bios so that the charger could charge a bit again ...

 

Yes I am in the UK. It works I always have two power supplies anyway so I am not that fussed.

 

I have the alienware 17 R2 bought in 2015 with the nvidia 980m graphics card

I was just sent the 240w power supply after troubleshooting with tech support.

Here are my benchmarks with the 180w psu and the 240w psu as well as the a00 and a05 bios.



BENCHMARKED WITH "3Dmark 11 Basic Edition"

180w & a00 bios:

Graphics- 12489 Physics- 7634 Combined- 5937



240w & a00 bios:

Graphics- 12365 Physics- 7514 Combined- 7456



180w & a05 bios:

Graphics- 12232 Physics- 7434 Combined- 7377



240w & a05 bios:

Graphics- 12220 Physics- 7434 Combined- 7516



You can see that most of the scores are the same. The main difference is with the a00 bios (which doesn't draw from the battery) the combined score is significantly lower (on the 180w). The system clearly needs more than 180w and 240w is even still a bit lower than it should have ideally.

You will not notice a huge difference without the 180w vs the 240w in performance with the hybrid a05 bios.

HOWEVER you will be using your battery while plugged in and under heavy load. This will give you a shorter battery life and potentially even shut your system down while you are using it as confirmed by this article: " http://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-17-R2-Notebook-Review.140380.0.html" (scroll down to the temperature section)

HOW TO GET YOUR 240w power supply:

I highly recommend that you request the 240w power supply by telling dell tech support that your performance is not what it should be. Have a combined benchmark ready like 3Dmark 11 ready when working with them to demonstrate the issue and start with the a00 bios on your computer.

ALSO IMPORTANT!!!! The fan profile for this machine is a bit modest and to preserve your parts i recommend that you use something like hwinfo to set your fans on the highest setting. Tech support will even tell you that 3Dmark 11 is risky for your system. It should not be for any system with proper cooling. All of this; the fans, the under-powered power supply, and the crappy bios fix are dells responsibility and unfortunately they (together as a related system) are a huge shortcoming for this computer. Dell is not the only company that has made this mistake though.

 

Dell had the opportunity to learn from MSI's mistake and all criticism they received from review sites about the weak 180w psu, NOS battery boost aka hybrid bios and Msi Gt70. Dell engineers should have learned to read reviews sites. LOL. Then this would not have happened. Who knows?

 

Also in Italy (EU) they have started to ship the 240w for free. Some friends of mine called the tech support and they have sent the new PSU.

 

I wonder and hope you guys check and upvote this link below:
http://www.ideastorm.com/idea2ReadIdea?v=1432006980935&Id=087700000009mDXAAY

If this is upvote enough, Dell will need to pay attention into this problems. Heating issues.
I tested GTA V with A05 and 240W psu, my temperature go up to 96C (room: 26C), It looks like I have already screwed it.

 

Hey guys, with all the fuzz about the 180w, do you know if I can/need to request a 240w PSU, if I own a laptop with these specs?

i7 4720HQ, 16GB RAM, 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD, GTX 970M, 1080p, 180w PSU

 

Hey guys I also have the m17R2 laptop but with the gtx970m (3GB) and with a 180W power supply. Should I also upgrade to the 240W psu as well? Thanks.

 

970m = 180w
980m = 240w

 

If I were you; Iwould demanded a 240W for free. Costs nothing to try.

 

Same here, A05, 4710HQ, 970M & 240W playing Witcher 3 CPU gets up to 92 room is around 21.