Alienware 15 FHD or QHD?

before ordering one, would like to ask your opinion.. I had the alienware 13 with UHD display, the graphic card on it couldnt handle games at UHD so i had to downscale the resolution and DPI in windows before each time i wanted to play, which was extremely annoying.. Im guessing the gtx 980m cant really handle games at 4k resolution with max graphic settings. So is there really a point in ordering the alienware 15 with the 4k screen or simply get the regular FHD?

 

I'm interested in the 4k display as well. Those that have received that screen, does it scale down to 1080p without any blurriness? Original poster: did your Alienware 13 scaled down without any visual negatives? Thanks for any input.

 

I had some issues if i didn't scale it myself to 1080p... like a tiny screen or can't click with the mouse etc...
in other words, had to do a lot of self rescaling myself before losing into a game...

 

QHD (which the 13 can have) = 1440p
UHD (which the 15 can have)= 2160p
The small screen issue is going to reappear on the UHD panel as well, and it'll be worse (as in smaller).

 

so the problems i encountered on the 13inch will only be worse on the 15 ?

 

I would only assume so, unless someone with a 15 4K can speak up. Granted, if you are playing at 4K, you wouldn't want to set everything at ultra with recent games. Maybe Medium to High.

 

I personally opted for the 1080p screen as scaling a 15" 4k screen in windows looks like crap to me, especially on apps that haven't been optimized yet, which is most of them. The alternative of running 4K natively on a 15" screen also doesn't work for me as it makes everything insanely tiny.

 

Pretty much.
4K is more for productivity than gaming, you can still play some games in 4K but that is more the exception than the rule.
Windows does not scale well with 4K either.
If your primary use is gaming/entertainment get the 1080P screen.

 

I'd personally go for the 1080p screen too.

The desktop GTX 980 can't handle many games at high settings at 4k.

Scaling, as has been mentioned, is shaky.

Unless you NEED a 3k/4k display for work purposes, I'd just stick to 1080p for now.

And if you do need such a high resolution display for work, I'd probably just get a good desktop and a nice 27"+ 4k display at that point.

 

If you plan to game on it, avoid 4k. It just won't have enough power to support it.

 

I have the 4K display and since I'm coming from a 3K display (Ghost Pro), I wasn't affected by the small icons whatsoever. I really enjoy the sharpness of the text/icons/windows and images while working. I play World of Warcraft in 4K but have the settings to high where I achieve 35-45fps consistently; this is with the Graphics Amplifier with my R9 290X. When I play Dragon Age - Inquistion, I get around 35-50fps with the GA. In short, you can't max the settings in game at 4k but it is certainly playable with the Graphics Amplifier with settings set to medium to high.

 

I still would love some clarity involving downscaling the 4k screens. Will the games auto scale without changing the screen's resolution (game software). If you lower the resolution on the laptop's internal controls, does 1080p look blurry when gaming? I won't be getting the amp till single gpus can drive AAA 4k games, so this questioning is focused solely on the usage of the discreet card. Thanks

 

Thanks for the replys. I think i will go with the 1080p screen. I have a desktop with 780 sli, and an UHD 27 inch display. If i want to game on higher resolution, i will just go to the PC. Was just wondering if it worth the extra 300$, but from my point ov view after reading your comments, its not

 

^^This. We definitely need an answer on this question from those with the 4K screens.

 

Yea, info on the 4k would be great. I already have the XPS 13 ('15), Alienware 14 and 18, all with matte/semi-matte(18) screens. To mix it up, this time, I'm considering the 4k screen despite the awful glare. I messed around with lower resolution settings, in my 1080p laptops, and things became noticeably blurry. If 1080p on the 4k screens appears blurry, then it would kinda ruin the laptop for gaming.

 

Funny, I have an AW 13 with the 1440p screen and 1080p content looks fine with 125% scaling in Windows 8.1

In theory, a 2160p screen should cleanly scale down to 1080p as it's an even 4x. I am (slowly) lining up the funds on the side for an AW 15, and am enamored with the TrueLife screen on my AW 13 and wish I could see how 1080p looks on the AW 15 using the 2160p screen.

 

I have the AW15 4k and find it amazing.

Work:
It helped me a lot at work as I was able to see my multiple screens at a time although very small, my monitoring tools does not actually need me to read the text. My screens at work grab my attention if I see something turn red - this is the time that I zoom in and use the Win Magnifier app. No problems so far.

Gaming:
I seldom play FPS games - having 2 young boys at home, I cant just allow them seeing me shoot people at the screen =)
I do a lot of city building / strategy games.
I only have the civ 5 installed from Steam and this is the first time I can see the map with all its wonderful details. Never thought I could see so much of the map and so much detail at the same time.
Haven't tried scaling down to 1080p yet as I havent got the need to do it yet.
Will let you know if I get across the need.

Normal use:
The screen is really glossy, stay away from light sources.
I am starting to like the Win 8.1 touch implementation, icons are actually easy to hit with my smallish finger.
The screen does not leave a lot of finger print impressions.
It is my first time seeing youtube videos in 4k -it looks really great. But the video pauses and I think I need to upgrade my router / ISP speed to handle that bigger bandwith.

Hope that helps!

 

Thanks for that great insight! Please keep us updated after you get to spend more time with it.

 

Curious... Is the 4k YouTube video skipping with the PSU plugged in?
4k video's take a little more CPU grunt. You may have been limited if you were running on battery only.

 

I believe the 4k video skip on youtube has more to do with my internet connection rather than the CPU not able to cope up.
The lag or skips happens when the red progress indicator bar is catches up with the grey bar (buffered data) so yep I think its the bandwidth.

 

I just got my 4k aw 15 in yesterday. I have had some problems downscaling it to 1080p with Crysis 3, it plays a lot better at high resolutions without aa. Getting around 30 fps at the beginning with all the rain coming down. If anyone has any questions or tests they would like me to do. I'll be playing around with it all weekend. Only had a few hours with it so far.

 

My 15 just shipped and I got 4k, the main reason is I have the ga to so thats good, but also the full hd has a plastic boarder around the screen where as the 4k does not its the aka glass from edge to edge. Which just like the m11x looks sexy.

 

I posted a comparo side by side of what this looks like in the AW 13 thread originally, not sure now where that is but if you can find it there is a pic side-by-side. I would add that the TrueLife screen simply lends a more up-scale look and feel to the laptop as well, the empty bezel look just looks weird after you have seen a TL screen in place.

 

your side by side is what made me go 4k lol so thank you sir. you need to get a 15 soon btw doc

oh and btw i want your m11 lol

 

I so want one even though I told myself I would wait for Silverlake before picking one up.... since I have the AW 13 to pull couch and dinner table duty, I am slowly selling of my M11x's and M14x-R2 (damn Ebay's new seller delays on selling for new people). The problem came in when I got used to the TrueLife screen, I look at my M14x-R2 screen now and I want to cry... it was fine for the time, but now... ugh

If my wife weren't so damn fussy about noise I would have traded my AW 13 in immediately for an AW 15, but I was very concerned about fan noise with the quad and 980m : /

 

Hey doc, that side by side pic of yours also made me pick 4k =)

 

@4k Guys: is it possible to do a photo from your desktop at 4k and downscaled to 1080p? does it look blury? cheers

 

This laptop is absolutely amazing. The quality is perfect. Coming from a machinist who has done a lot of mill work. This frame is high quality and more rigid then anything I've ever held In technology. I've tested Crysis 3,Far cry 3 and Alien isolation. Origin uplay and Steam. Downscaling takes a little work But once you get the zoom right games will play fine. Windows is blurred some because it isn't the native resolution. It hooks up to my 1080p tv and plays just fine. playing 1080p on the laptop just isn't worth it. 4k on low is way better and plays these games at a solid 30 fps. Crysis not so much but that game is overkill for any gpu atm. One mission to the next will produce different results. Dropping down to 2048x1536 downscales very well with the right zoom. I just don't enjoy 1080p after playing 4k and 3k. Looks bad imop.

 

Which configuration do you have of the AW 15 ? And even with the downscaling issues etc you would say the 4k display its worth the (lot more) money?

 

Yes, I have the 4k screen, I7-4710, gtx 980m and the 256 gig boot drive.

I'm playing Alien Isolation maxed out 4k 30-40 fps. More then I expected. Not a whole lot of people posting 4k benchmarks for this alienware

 

Can someone post that image? Tomorrow I will be ordering my aw15. I don't want to make a mistake that I will regret

 

Never mind I did find the difference between true life and matte screen.
But still I cannot choose. Pros cons I am certai of:
1080p cons:
- every 1080p screen has very bad ghoting issues
- significantly less quality
- matt screen and ugly screen sides (subjective)
- on 4k you can eun games on 1080p when not possible on native res. On thia acreen you are stuck at 1080pmax

4k cons:
- latest ans future AAA titels will not run smooth on native 4K
- directX 11 games do not scale correctly.
- significantly more expensive
- touchscreen feature that is charged that I won't use (subjective)

Don't know what to chose

 

i have to make the same desicion 4k or 1080p. I have many pros and cons for both displays. The most important for me:

4k:
-glare panel (i hate matte)
-better colours because of the glare finish
-glass in front of the panel -> looks more valent
-brighter

1080p:
-can play every game in nativ resolution

@quickshot: i think you can fix the DX11 problem if you choose 1080p as desktop resolution

and again: can sombody of the guys with 4k panel take a photo of your desktop downscaled to 1080p pls? cheers

 

Well, I think you want to ignore the idea of running 4K games on anything with even a 980m as it barely suffices without some serious tweaking. If you opt for the 4K screen I would plan on running everything at 1080p and getting it because 1) it looks very good and is easier on the eyes and brighter and 2) has touch, which you may not use but if you resell it I assure you people will go for touch over non-touch down the road if for no other reason it is an added feature.

From the few things I have read running games at 1080p on the 2160p screen will be fine since it is an even 4x.

 

,, If you opt for the 4K screen I would plan on running everything at 1080p and getting it because,,

and that is the Question does it look blurry on the 4k Screen to run it at 1080p? Photo woulld be nice ^^

 

@Docsteel it is indeed perfect ratio. But like there is mentioned before.many games (dx11 games) do not stretch 1080p to full screen. You instead get a small box with huge black borders.

I think I might go with the 1080p monitor after all. On youtube I saw the matte screen. At least it doesn't look too bad. And the fact that there is no 4K content to enjoy, many applications don't scale properly including games, and the fact that I barely will be able to run any game smoothly on 4K, which is only gonna become worsw with the release of newer games. As example I really look forward to mirrors edge 2. Beside that there ia the fact that 4k is 380€ more expensive.

And then I guess I will have to endure the ghosting. Perhaps it will be fixed after all if we have the slightest of luck. And my country offer always 1st year next business day warranty. So if screen needs replacement they will do it at my home.

I'm not a 100% satisfied but i don't know any better. I am still open for suggestions though

 

just got the 15 today, its amazing... its the FHD screen version. not regretting not getting the QHD.. no scaling or ghosting issues...
the screen is gorgeous.. and that's coming from a MacBook pro retina 15 and 13...
all games run smoothly on max settings except for assassins creed unity which is about 35 FPS on max settings...

 

Good to hear some postives about the 1080p display. Which configuration of the AW 15 did you get ?

 

the gtx 980m can handle games in 4k alien isolation is getting 40fps maxed out. Far cry 3 is getting 30fps locked in. Crysis 3 playes 2052x1536 with ease. I'm running this setup out of the box. No drivers nothing. Most games run at 30 fps on ps4. This gtx 980m can do whatever Xbox one can in1080p on 4k

 

Thats impressive, i knew they would put a gpu that could play games at 4k, maybe not 60fps, but they had to. Now i just hope i can run those games with my gtx 970m, hopefully i wont regret not getting the 980m

 

Yea, I had that debate with myself for a while. The gtx 970m is only a little better then the 880m. It still should be great to have if you plan on getting the graphics amplifier. The reason I got the 980m is because I want to wait until they announce their new chips. You have to realize with 4k AA doesn't do anything on a 15.6 inch screen. I spent a long time looking at the difference between low graphics quality and ultra on far cry and there isn't even a difference. you can run 4k with everything set to low and it wouldn't matter on pretty much any game. On a 50 inch tv you could tell but this screen is already over 200 ppi.

 

Thanks Nik. thats nice to know. i choose 970m mainly because gaming isnt the main reason why i got the laptop, so it should be enough! i hope i wont regret, anyways running games on low or medium settings will not bother me. Anyways i guess i could never be fully satisfied

 

I got the basic configuration with gtx 980m. that means 8GB of RAM and 1TB HDD. I added an SSD of my own once I got it, and will upgrade the ram later on myself as well. this machine is a beast... build quality is great too.
I had the alienware 13, had some issues with it so had to return it, got the alienware 15, and loving every moment...

 

Since you had both the 13 and 15, could you point out differences between them like in build quality, display quality and maybe other differences that you noticed ?
I would appreciate it since im not sure which one to buy.

 

Unless one lives in a cave, I can't see how anyone can tolerate those glossy mirrors. Any additional detail, of the 4k screen, will be lost while viewing one's reflection. Whenever I'm tempted by new tech, in glossy form, I immediately view my cell phone and think otherwise. I'm glad that some of you guys find favor with them, though.

 

I've had two computers with glossy screens. The only reason is because it's much higher quality. A 15 inch sheet of gorilla glass isn't cheap. As long as you keep it clean it's perfectly fine, I've compared mine to the alienware 14. That screen is very matte. Contrast is high and the nits are 300 instead of 350-4k display. This screen is bright and being 4k helps the already over contrast look that alienwares have.

 

I love my 4k screen its super sexy

 

Those wondering about the whole "huge black bars when downscaling", someone on my forum, with a bit of help, found out how to fix that issue.

I get "Scale to Full Screen", but I think it is the same. This also works for 13 owners with 1440p panels.

 

At the end of the day textures are textures. Textures on low will be uglier than Textures on ultra whether you're playing at 4K or 1080p. I personally downscale when gaming anyway so it's not a problem and these screens look fine while gaming at 1080p. What annoys me is the blurriness when apps with scaling. MATLAB/ Spotify they're all blurry.. Hopefully Windows 10 fixes that.

 

Game7a1, this is great news, as that was the only thing keeping me from ordering my 15!

Did you test this out to confirm?