Cast your vote or opinion on the new Alienware 2015 model line up!!

Ramzay, please don't come here acting like you know Alienware better than all of us. You are a new owner defending your purchase, which is completely understandable. What Alienware is doing is beneath them in every aspect. There is not one thing they have done that exemplifies what Alienware is known for.

 

Well does everyone remember the 360's red ring of death, while bonding the chip to the board to the will help, it will still unsolder from the board under the right conditions. Unfortunately BGA is probably here to stay because it is the cheapest way to solve a lot of problems with the number of pins on future generations of chips. One thing we try an hope for is that they make a zif socket that is reliable.

BTW the graphics adapter is a just a dock. We all know how docking stations stood the test of time.

 

I'm not defending anything. I'm simply stating that you shouldn't go around calling these machines "a joke", when, relative to every other current offering, they're not.

You may feel they're a joke compared to past AW machines (which it appears they are), and that's fine.

Hence qualifying your statement.

And pulling the "knowing Alienware better than all of us" card? Please. As far as arguments go, that's pretty weak.

It occurs to me this isn't about "me defending my purchase" (which I cancelled, by the way). It's more about people here really wanting to promote their view that these new machines "are a joke", and taking offense any time somebody points out that, compared to all other current offerings by their competitors, they aren't. Are you that upset that not everybody is in an uproar over these changes?

Once again, different strokes for different folks. You feel they're a joke, I don't. And there are people who agree with you, just as there are people who agree with me.

Being in disagreement is fine. Attempting to invalidate my comments and opinions because I'm not a long-time user is not.

EDIT: Actually, we're not totally in disagreement. We both agree the machines aren't what they used to be. I'm just acknowledging that they're still good compared to all the other new models being offered by other companies.

 

It is a joke, a really bad one. There is nothing that makes an Alienware stand out anymore except some for fancy lighting. They are now just a cookie cutter laptop you can buy cheaper without lights. While it is an interesting product, the graphics adapter is useless for me, because it is not easy to travel with. It in no way helps mobile gaming one bit, it is plain and simple a docking station and anything over 15" should not be required to have one.

I really think the executive that came up with this brilliant plan is put out to pasture for this.

 

I liked the previous models. I like the current models too. I just wish that they get rid of these stupid oil attracting palm rests.

You're entitled to your own opinion - there is really no need to argue about this. Nothing will change. Then again, you guys won't stop anyway.

 

Not to be offensive, but you are part of the problem in so many aspects. Just sitting there and not trying is why companies and the government get away with screwing people over. Apathy is the death of progress.

 

Ramzay, there's no competition. The Clevo P770ZM beats the Alienware 17 R2 hands down on pretty much every front, except build quality and warranty.


Also, aren't the soldered 980M's weaker than the MXM 980M's?

 

Can you not do a mod to replace the PSU, isn't the GA just a box with a PSU and PCIe slot?

 

That's what I was thinking. Can't be that hard to rip the guts out of the GA box and wire in something 'better'.....

 

You are taking it way too dramatically. I love both - there is no need to step up and have *anything* fixed. Furthermore, little argument in this little pond is not going to change anything.

In fact, you know what, no offense, but this is just stupidity at best.

 

Do you know what we are even fighting for? Everything is soldered to the motherboard, no changing of the CPU or the GPU and the dropping of the 18. I like my M18x R2, and when I finally want to replace it I would like to not be tied to carrying a brick in my backpack just to play games. Docking stations suck, they did in the past and they do now. Alienware is no longer a innovator in the pc scene, they are no different then the cookie cutters that their parent company puts out.

we all know a good example of what happens to BGA sockets with high temps, everyone say xbox 360.

Take your apathy elsewere, like a mac forum.

 

Yeah guys, it's not going to be a big problem just a shame that their starting point is not even capable of using the latest DT card without modding.

It's a way off for now but I'm hoping I can fit in a water loop with a small rad and water-cool a card in it - just to see if I can, I need a new dremel though .

 

The point you're missing here is alienware stood out because they where not EVERYONE ELSE alienware was prided as being the company that's sold ENTHUSIEST laptops that where not like everyone else I along with most alienware bought them because they where upgradable highly overclockable and and had the looks that set them apart from everyone else so stating that we are blowing his out of proportion based on what OTHERS ARE DOING is not fair

And pointing out the "not everyone upgrades their machines" card is not applicable here either because poeple would have still bought the r2 even if it was still upgradable so they are only loosing business... Dell shut the door on all its power users and in turn basically just single handed threw out the window everything that made them great

They have gone nothing but down hill since being acquired by dell... We went from having a sli m17x to this bga junk... They advertise these as the most powerful laptop on the planet yet they ship with a power brick that cannot even run the laptops efficiently

These laptops are junk they come with top end parts that don't even run properly without buying the proper power brick..... Think about what I just said and let it sink in

 

So you're taking one example and using that as the proof that everything else is better?

 

On the contrary, I get that point, very well. I never said these laptops were better than what Alienware used to make. My entire point (which seems lost on some here) is that Alienware isn't "junk", not when compared to the current options on the market.

And in case you hadn't noticed, most other laptops out there with the new 900M series cards come with 180w power supplies. Which further supports my argument - AW is still good compared to what's out there.

Better than what they used to be? Of course not. I never said that, and don't support that argument. For some reason, people seem to think that's what I'm saying. Apparently, saying anything other than "OMG these laptops are now junk" is heresy. Saying something logical and rational, such as "they suck compared to what they used to be, but are still pretty good by today's standards, and compared to the competition" apparently just does't fly on these forums. Interesting.

Perhaps YOU should think about what I just said, and let it sink in.

 

I get your point, and don't disagree with. The whole gaming and high performance laptop market is in shambles right now. In comparison to the rest of the junk, it's no worse. Almost everything available is unacceptable regardless of brand.

Compared to what we expect, and what many already possess, it's definitely junk.

Some of us intend to take a stand against jokebooks based on principle and not accept the current lackluster offerings. I think it is unrealistic to expect everyone to do that. Some people don't care about performance as much as having something petite to play with on the go. Does it make them part of the problem rather than part of the solution? Probably so, but it's not my place or anyone else's to pounce on them for having a difference of opinion. Nobody should be singling you out for accepting it or criticizing you. Exchanging views is fine, but that's were it should end... agreeing to disagree. Even an open exchange of views has potential to create animosity if people interpret expression of a dissenting view as being a personal attack. Sometimes it is hard to interpret an aggressive response any differently than being a personal attack. Sorry if it feels like you were ganged up on. I hope I did not contribute to your feeling that way.

 

Agreed. As someone else so eloquently put, these are now just glorified ASUS laptops.

I'm very disappointed that they removed the optical drive. And two of the RAM slots. And one 2.5" bay.

You know what, if it wasn't for the warranty and build quality, I'd probably go for the ASUS.
I'm currently using a Clevo, and I can say that the build quality doesn't compare to my ASUS ROG, let alone a AW. It's slim and light, and cool and quiet. But it just feels flimsy in comparison.

 

Alienware models right now is mediocre. Lol

Fact is, the previous AW models were amazing for their price and performance. It's for the enthusiasts like Brother FoX or Johnkss, etc. Now, they are selling overpriced soldered products that you can't upgrade CPU or GPU. LmAo!!!

If Alienware sells these BgA laptops for a very cheap price, I would understand but that's not what they are doing.

I don't wanna parrot but this is best option:

Get an excellent condition of M18x R2 or AW 18. Get the best specs.

Or do what I did....

Buy the Sager NP9377 S, baby. Or get the Clevo model that has the desktop CPU. Want a thin yet powerful lAptop that is small? Get the MSI Ghost

The new designs of the AW are not bad though.

 

The New Alienware 17r2 = Windows Me ... Only worse.

 

It is not the people that buy what they want thats the problem it is the people that are apathetic and just give in to the defeatist attitude before they even try, while spewing out nonsense to convince others that there is nothing that can be done. You never know what you can achieve until you try, even if you do not win at least you tried, but do nothing and it is an automatic loss.

 

I agree with that, too. That applies to many things. It's a moral and morale issue... a reason that evil and injustice run rampant and imbeciles get re-elected.

 

Lol imagine if the 9 series card would support nvidia optimus, dell will be going muxless to save money and route all lanes to the igpu. :thumbsup:

 

I think with Skylake, Windows 10, AMD stuff, Maxwell refresh, end of the year is a good time for poor people like me who want to buy and hold forever. :x I think the upcoming performance boosts will be at the point to comfortably hold 60 FPS + in any game for a long time coming. Especially since I don't think socketed stuff will be around much longer there after so it will be end of the road.

 

It does support Optimus. People are already using 980M in the M17xR4 and AW17 with Optimus. Or, are you talking about running the eGPU through Optimus? That would really suck.

 

I won't be surprised if that would be the case, in the older Alienware systems the display interface was muxed between the IGP and DGP as you already would know. So either one could use the display interface to transmit display data.

However the GA is nothing more than just a pcie slot that connect to the pcie bus on the mainboard by a cable. Any Edp, LVSD or other low voltage display signal would not able to pass through this cable due to it's length. Even if it could be done any desktop GPU in the GA is not designed to transmit display data over a pcie bus.

So the only way to do it is to use either Optimus or Enduro (so you can copy the framebuffer to the igp that is connected to the display interface). And while Optimus isn't that bad Enduro certainly is. So making it even worse when using any AMD card.

Edit:

http://www.cnet.com/pictures/dells-alienware-17-ces-pictures/9/

I don't see any I/D GFX function anymore (F5 at the 17 R1 and F7 on my R4). So my gues it muxless, making it even more .

And checked the keyboard layout on the Dell site:
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-17-r2/pd

.... it's dead Jim...

 

YOURE still missing the point to justify you're purchase.. I don't care what other company's are doing and either do most of the people on these forums . these machines are JUNK they score lower then every competitor on the market, they ship with power bricks that are inadequate for the components I side them and while this may be acceptable for other company's I never thought alie ware would fall in that bunch. Mix that in with the lack of optical drive, only 2 ram slots and only 1 2.5 bay and you get a price of junk that alienware is trying to market as the best laptop money can buy... There is nothing enthusiast about these and I'm not trying to strike a war with you I'm just laying down facts and there are benchmarks on this website that prove this fact.... Even the moderator of this site himself calls these junk and he is the definition of a laid ware enthusiest....

 

Actually, Mr Fox agreed with me, if you had bothered to read.

Because, you see, I agreed that the new models are junk compared to past AW offerings.

I just also pointed out that compared to today's laptops being offered by competitors, they aren't junk.

For some reason, you seem incapable of comprehending the relative difference. Compared to the other junk "BGA turds", these are still pretty good. Compared to older AW models, they suck.

What part of that is hard to understand?

And if you had read, you'd have seen the part where I cancelled my order.

I'm seriously done here. No point in arguing with you. I understand and agree these new models suck compared to previous AW models. Some here can't seem to understand that compared to the current competition, they're not bad at all.

These aren't mutually exclusive points of view, yet you treat them as such.

 

I can not understand that someone would pay $ 4,234 for a full-featured Alienware and g/a with this soldered hardware garbage ... Building a gaming rig yourself, buy one Clevo with desktop processor and real socket graphics or keep your previous Alienware laptop ...

 

Indeed, Ramzay... indeed. The problem is an industry-wide cancer. Alienware's garbage is no better or worse. It's all pretty much the same trash that the OEMs are peddling. Alienware made an effort to be different with the eGPU. Unfortunately, that's not enough to make up for the rest of the machine behind a crippled turd. So, you can buy a crippled Alienware with an eGPU, or a crippled something else without an eGPU, or do the right thing and take a stand against the filth. Either buy used or buy one of the few remaining good machines that does not use low-TDP BGA garbage.

We are sliding down a slippery slope and the latest junk is just a test of what the gamer-boy market is willing to put up with. We should all avoid being shortsighted and do our part to ensure that sales of the BGA garbage breaks all records of failure and costs the industry billions of dollars in unsellable products rotting on warehouse shelves for thinking that we might be stupid enough to not notice. Once the "box of filth" is opened it's going to be difficult to get it closed again. We need to show them what it is like trying to control a herd of cats. The leaders of the industry deserve to be financially devastated for their lack discernment and indiscretion.

 

Think of how many people have just purchased Alienware with old BGA processor that comes to regret when the new (Skylake before time ?) processors coming to market next Winter(7-8mnt)? Although Broadwell/Skylake comes as soldered processor, there is a new generation processor that performs better. Then everyone enjoy themselves with the old technology (BGA Hotwell processor's) and old outdated BGA gtx980m. Alienware laptop came out many months after gtx980m and other Laptop brand's . Gtx980m is now almost an old graphics card now. All hardware, is going to be new for the fall along with new Win 10..New processor, GPU and Win 10. Idiocy buying a new Alienware 17 now .. Already outdated soldered (gar) hardware.

 

Assuming one doesn't (or can't) spend more than, say, $1500 USD, what would you suggest?

The only problem with buying "the good stuff" is that it's expensive.

I know some would say "either buy the good stuff, or don't buy anything at all". But that isn't an option for me. I have a budget, I buy the best I can find within that price range.

Additionally, for somebody like me, I couldn't care less if I can upgrade the components or not. In 1-3 years time, I'm just going to sell the machine and upgrade to a whole new laptop - regardless of whether or not my laptop supports CPU/GPU upgrades. That's just the way I roll.

Now, I'd rather have a quality machine than a turd, obviously. But that quality machine has to fit within my budget. And it has to have a nice 17" IPS panel, as well as a good i7 CPU and something along the lines of a GTX 970M. For around $1500 USD, with a warranty. If a turd is the best I can afford (used OR new), then a turd is what I will buy. I will not deny myself PC gaming simply because what I can afford doesn't fit into somebody else's definition of "quality". That's like telling somebody that if they can't afford a new BMW, they should either buy a used BMW or not buy a car at all - they definitely should NOT even consider a Honda. This is partly how Clevo got started. They offered people with, um, "lesser" financial means the ability to experience good (decent?) laptop gaming. Obviously, a price was paid in terms of build quality and warranty/support. But there was a market for that sort of thing, and it took off. Much like there was (and is) a market for higher-end machines, like the ones Alienware used to produce.

This might be the reason Dell is following ASUS. The majority of people simply can't afford to spend over $2k on a gaming laptop. It's not that they don't care about quality - it's that they can't afford it. So these people can either buy the best laptop they can afford, or not buy anything at all, since their budget doesn't allow them to buy "the good stuff". And the machines AW are producing now (which is, pretty much, a glorified ASUS ROG, as another user here put it) are popular because they fall within the price range most people can stomach. Find me a machine that meets all my criteria (used or new) and is what you would call a "quality" laptop, and I'll buy it.

What I don't get is why me wanting to buy a good gaming laptop for around $1500 USD would pressure companies to stop producing higher-end machines.

I mean, I buy a Hyundai Sonata, yet you don't see Mercedes/BMW/Maserati all of a sudden starting to produce only entry-level cars. I shop at Wal-Mart, yet the Hugo Boss store at my local shopping mall is alive and well.

You also have to realize that you can't expect people to pay a premium for socketed CPUs/GPUs only because some other people want it. Paying for quality? Sure, why not. Paying for a product I don't want nor care about? Why?

If your definition of quality simply means sockets, then you're asking a majority of people to pay for something only a minority care about. I'd rather the market stay innovative and satisfy the needs of all, but I'm not going to go broke, or simply avoid buying a laptop, simply to satisfy the needs of a relative few.

If your definition of quality means solid build, good materials, high-performance parts, good cooling, good warranty/support, etc...then you've got a lot of people (I would bet) on your side.

When all is said and done, however, there's no reason the market can't have budget-friendly gaming laptops (Clevo, ASUS, etc.) and higher-end, premium machines (the good old Alienware). I understand some are angry about the direction AW is headed, but you should be blaming Dell for that. Don't go blaming people like me, who are just trying to get the best gaming laptop they can afford. I never told Alienware to stop producing top-notch hardware and start mimicking ASUS. I was perfectly content buying an ASUS or Clevo - because I don't care about sockets vs BGA, and I won't pay a premium for it. I just want an all-around solid machine.

In the end, I'm all about choice. Everybody should be free to choose what they want, and how they want to spend their money (as long as nothing illegal is going on, obviously). As such, I wouldn't worry too much. The market is good at responding to signals. If there's a (profitable) market for the kind of products AW used to produce, you can bet some company will gladly step in to take your money.

 

I've had a BGA machine die on me before, and it was going to cost me as much as a new laptop to fix, so obvious, modular components win for me. No modularity, no buy. I have been modular since 2009 with MSI's MS-1722 laptop that replaced a dead HP-Compaq laptop that had soldered graphics.

 

AW has been on a slippery slope for some time now and have finally reached the bottom in a fiery explosion!
Don't get me wrong they look great but going with soldered hardware really is a huge turn off for most, my last AW purchase was a M15x and damn I wish I kept it.
I was always willing to overlook there higher prices for cutting edge hardware but they seem to be offering components that are a generation behind in some cases which is foolish.
AW you have lost your way and it looks like you will be lost forever.

 

Food for thought... something all 980M-powered jokebook shoppers need to keep in mind before they land on a specific brand.

The question is presented at the end of the video.

<iframe width='853' height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mpHOWJUZVdQ?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

 

Just a note to anyone disappointed in the new systems: You can write a product review on the actual Alienware 15/17 page by simply signing in to your Dell account. They need to be approved, so don't go overboard, lol. Maybe when their products start having 3/5 stars on the product pages, they'll start taking us more seriously. At that point, sales are being affected. The last generation always had nearly 5/5 stars.

 

The simple fact that they need to be reviewed means that (to me, anyway) any reviews that are deemed 'not satisfactory' will be omitted. Censorship at its very best in the interest of sales. I know if it were me, I would not publish bad reviews about the product I was trying to sell........might as well shoot myself in the foot if I did that, eh?

There's obviously a reason the last gen had 5/5..........yet they were far from perfect also, what with 'hot' Haswell and sucky 880m's....

Food for thought.



Probably 100 cats were surveyed, yet whittled down to the best reviews, then published - as if. Not once in the above video did I hear ANY cat say he/she preferred Whiskas cat food over the other junk on the market.....just some actor in a coat spouting garbage about how good it is......Just goes to show, you can't trust marketing people

 

The 880M's came late. At that time, nobody was buying them because Maxwell was all over the place. There are a few bad reviews already on there. So, I'm hoping mine isn't omitted. I will post back after a few days.

My review is well within a respectable boundary in regards to opinion, and it's based on sound facts and experience. It's not like I'm some random guy that decided to bash Alienware for the hell of it. It should be approved...

 

Let's hope it is published, Bro.......fingers crossed!

 

Yeah, can't trust those shifty kitty cats, either. They will say literally anything for a buck.

 

It was published. Just checked: Alienware 17 Notebook | Dell

Go, go, write!

 

So, previous reviews were 5/5 stars...and they were all approved by Dell. Gee, wonder if that had anything to do with it...

Thought to be fair, current reviews are around 3/5. So I guess Dell is allowing reviews to go through.

 

Did that actually show a single 980M drawing 270W? Or did I read that wrong?

 

Maxwell mobile is similar to the desktop - low power consumption at idle and high power consumption overclocked. Seems like they improved idle/stock power consumption, but did nothing about overclocking. I'm not surprised to see that. The GTX 980 required more power than the 780Ti at the same level of overclock, lol.

 

Wow, I'm surprised. Good write up though, mate.

 

Yes, that is exactly what it shows. I have two in my system and that is with SLI disabled, so the second GPU is drawing next to nothing. When I was testing vBIOS mods and overclocking a single 980M I was pulling up to 350W with just one GPU installed. Here is an example of that in a 3DMark11 Test 1 run.

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bwdqi25LDwZyZVQ2ekpFYVk4Z28/preview" width='640' height="480"></iframe>

 

So that's total power consumption of the system yes?

What's the TDP of the CPU you're using in that system?

Could you run that test again at stock speeds, just for funsies?

 

I luje the specs of the line up for this uear

 

How about this instead? Will that work?

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9349774

<iframe width='853' height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/s4zXCut58FY?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

 

You bought one? That does surprise me... But your test is now rock solid - thanks.

 

Nope, I did not buy one and do not plan to because of the BGA components. I am just borrowing this one to see what I can extract from it. It belongs to a friend that doesn't need it right now. Helping people that have one (including the owner of this one) will be easier if I have a chance to tinker with it for a little while. It does, in fact, run like it is supposed to when it has enough power to get the job done. The 330W AC adapter even straightens out the lackluster behavior the 4980HQ CPU has with the standard AC adapter. I'm overclocking it using XTU and ThrottleStop, and it holds clocks speeds under 100% load with the 330W AC adapter. As a result, the Physics score is decent. The CPU throttles down to about 3.2GHz in 3DMark11 with a 180W or 240W AC adapter and the Physics score is not impressive at all. If the BGA vBIOS gets fully unlocked like the MXM flavor it is going to all but exhaust a 330W AC adapter with a big overclock/overvolt. Even 240W won't cut it for a 980M overclocker.

The nice thing is the BIOS sees, identifies and correctly uses the 330W AC adapter. The 17r2 acts like it was born to use the 330W adapter, so that will be very helpful knowledge for new 17r2 owners. I am just borrowing one of my 330W spares from my 18" beast menagerie for testing. I am wondering if the 330W AC adapter does something to trick the BIOS into thinking it has a eGPU connected or what, because the CPU behavior is notably different.