AW15 considerations/issues thus far, pre-purchase

Hey folks, so I have a bunch of credit with Dell (long story) and have been eagerly following most of their new releases to see if/when I should get a new machine. When I saw both the specs on the new 15 (and heck, the fact they even made a 15 again finally!) and the Graph. Amp., I thought, awesome, this is almost perfectly what I wanted!

Anyway, came on here as usual to read reviews, and here's the sense I have of what to be aware of before purchase. Please tell me if I'm missing anything major. (Also, worth noting, I have so much credit I can max this thing out and intend to if I purchase it. 980M, etc.)

Screen
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I still haven't seen a good break down between 4K glossy and regular HD matte. (Though admittedly I haven't looked in a week or two.) It seems most are getting the matte. I'd love to ideally have a 4K matte, but this isn't fantasy land. I know with the HD screen there are issues of light bleeding. Anything I'm missing here? I'm still leaning 4K, wanted to hear the latest.

Also,

AC unit
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I should request a 240 instead of a 185 or whatever it comes with since I'll have a 980M. Right?

Graphics Amplifier
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I'm a rare case where this does make financial sense to purchase, because A) again, I have the credit for it and B) I can get a 980GTX or Titan X gratis, thanks to work. So it's effectively a free boost for me.

That said, are people only actually getting 60-70% performance with this thing?

Networking
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This seems to be a perpetual bugbear with Alienwares, right? Network cards not performing up to snuff, etc. Anything I should know?

Lastly, if it makes a difference, I will be going Win 7 without question. Also, I intend to get this thing and run it out of the box, don't feel like going the extra step of personally upgrading the SSD, etc. once received, as I know some people do.

Okay! That's all of it. What else should I know, be on the lookout for, any systemic problems people seem to be experiencing, etc.?

Thanks!!!

 

Matte screens give me a headache and eye strain. I don't find colours "pop" as much as they should. The darks are too dark and I have to increase brightness/gamma in windows or games to see some things. So I avoid them, that's just my opinion though!

I'd request a 240W regardless to be sure.

The thing about the scaling on PCI-express is almost a non issue, depending on the resolution:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/7.html

Some people hae had network card issues I know for sure. It's a bit of a pain in the ass.

Read the forums a bit for general issues, none float to mind yet about the 15" from my reading, since I paid attention mostly to the 17, but I'm not sure if the 17 problems are in common with the 15's.

 

Hey there. My experience with the AW15 have been mostly positive from a subjective point of view.

Yes, I can confirm that there's light bleeding, but its been VERY minor compared to what others have seen ( sheesh )-- It hasn't bothered me as much, however. Others have experienced consistent rippling effects from the monitor bezels pressing against it. Matte screens are perfect for me just because I'm always gaming/working in a highly lit environment, so that helps with glare.

For you, though. The 4k would probably suit you really well as I've seen it in a Best Buy and looks to be calibrated out of the box MUCH better than the 1080P displays. But that's from my viewing experience. Owners of the 4k model may detail it A LOT better.

You're getting the 980M unit, the 240W PSU is a must imo.

I'd probably wait until Dell/Alienware irons out any glitches with the Graphics Amp. At this time, solutions are all over the place ranging from simple driver updates to just downright GPU compatibility. The Titan X may not even be supported by the Amp despite its power requirements.

The killer networking suite is junk right now. Then again, I've never had any good luck with the software. The hardware has functioned fine for me ( Save for the striped antenna cable that I found out when I was installed more RAM and another SSD ). Throughput has been consistent and high-performing ( Maintaining 150-200 MB local transfer on wired, wireless I'd have to get back to you once I get the RMA going ).

My advice is to forego the Killer management software and just have the barebones driver installed for the NIC.

 

This was extraordinarily useful- thanks!!!

Anyone else's input would also be very much appreciated!