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    Alienware 17 R1 vs R2

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Venat, Mar 6, 2015.

  1. Venat

    Venat Notebook Guru

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    I just got my R2 and have been running it side by side with my R1. Running side by side my R1 is running cooler and many games seem to optimize better.

    Here is the side by side:
    IMG_20150302_194714.jpg
    R1
    1600x900
    770m
    8gb
    Samsung SSD
    Latest BIOS

    R2
    1920x1080
    980m
    16 gb
    Kingston M.2
    A02

    Boot-up times seem better on the R1 as well. I'm not sure if it is the Intel RST SATA operation that's causing that any tips?

    The R2 gets very hot around the left hand side (keys 1-4). I also get a very strong electric smell from it as well.

    I also don't understand (well money~) why Dell is shipping these laptops with a 5200 RPM drive. This is the most limiting component. I've replaced mine with a proper hybrid drive and a M.2 boot. I suppose they needed to put something in the slot, a cheap drive or a sandwich... but I guess, someone ate the sandwich.
     
    Venat, Mar 6, 2015
    #1
  2. Game7a1

    Game7a1 ?

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    I would check to see on the R2 that everything is running off of the 980m instead of the iGPU (would be great to know the CPU models and the SSDs' size).
     
    Game7a1, Mar 6, 2015
    #2
  3. Venat

    Venat Notebook Guru

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    Got the info in my Sig. To be honest I'm not sure how to check which gpu it's using
     
    Venat, Mar 7, 2015
    #3
  4. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Nvidia control panel -> PhysX -> see which display are you connected on
     
    Mobius 1, Mar 7, 2015
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    Red Pyr4mid likes this.
  5. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    In the nvidia control panel in the tabs at the top you can select an indicator to run at the bottom right which can show a list of programs running on the dgpu.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Mar 7, 2015
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  6. Venat

    Venat Notebook Guru

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    You know maybe this was the case. I just switched it to always use the nvidia card. The integrated graphics are pretty good if they could run some of my games.

    The heat on the keyboard is still bothering me. I wonder how much this will shorten the system's lifespan? I needed a new PC because I wanted to hand down my R1 to my wife. To be fair though I am comparing the new laptop to a laptop that is only 1.5 years old.

    The speakers feel a bit as if they were inside a chef boyardees jar. If I have my head over the laptop the sound is a bit dulled.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2015
    Venat, Mar 7, 2015
    #6