*OFFICIAL* Alienware 13 R1/R2 Owner's Lounge

No. Understandable for the one SATA bay configs, but it could work with dual M.2 bay configs.
That said, I don't even know if there is a RAID controller or whatever is needed for RAID on the laptop. I know the AW15 and 17 R2 are capable of doing RAID (the functionality is disabled in the BIOS), but for the 13, I don't think the functionality even exists.
@abcdlaptop Check this thread. I think @sabricaze owned a base 13 for a while, so maybe he can vouch in an opinion.

 

Well, that settles that. Seems a bit pointless to have two SSD's if you can't RAID them, IMO.

Thanks.

 

But do you think 700$ is a fair price for this configuration (4thgen corei5 ulv, 500gb hard disk and 720p screen) or am i better off with something like Lenovo y40 or y50? I dont mind using an external monitor if the price is good because i can't find anything similar in this budget. Thanks

 

Well... there is one use for having two SSDs (at least I find it useful).
Having two OSes on the laptop. I find having a dual OS laptop handy, mainly for running older programs or bug checking.

Both Lenovo laptops do have 1080p screens, so while the AW13 is inbetween both laptops in terms of overall power, I would consider the Lenovo laptop unless you find a good deal on a 1080p AW13.

 

Thanks. I will just try to haggle with the dell sales rep to see if they give me some extra discount on the screen upgrade. I have heard that works sometimes. Its just that I have heard bad things about the y50 screen and it comes closer to 850$ while the y40 gpu is slightly underpowered.

 

Have you also checked out the notebookcheck.net review of the Y50 they always do a pretty accurate review.
if you can I would try to get the 1080p screen. If you find that you can't get the price close enough remember that you can improve the lower screen with some changing of color settings and also there is always the HDMI port for a better monitor.

Also keep in mind that although you are looking at about the same price the Lenovo Y50 and the Alienware 13 are two very different notebooks:

Lenovo Y50/Alienware 13
1. larger screen which is good as you get older , but also more weight to carry around.

2. Y50 has a better CPU more able to leverage the power of the GPU. The GPU and heat will be the limiting factor with the Y50. But the 47tdp CPU will result in a shorter battery life. So far with wifi on and balanced and half brightness I seem to get 4.5 hours more conservative settings 5+. When running the Nvida GPU I ran FSX with a PMDG 777 for 2hrs 12 min before 10% battery warning.

3. I have seen the Y50 and tried it. It's a nice machine although the keyboard did not impress me with the depth of key travel. The Alienware has a better keyboard not to mention that at some point you will get tired of looking at the red glow and wish for a different color. Yes I am a sucker for bright and flashing lights. The build quality seems to be better on the Alienware.

Have you thought about a Sager NP7338?

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. I am actually looking for something with the best value for money and at 700$ the alienware was at the sweet spot for me. I will have to make compromises in this budget so I was willing to go with the low res screen because i couldn't find anythingelse with 860m at this price. The y50 after taxes would be closer to 900$ which is a little over what i want to spend. I think sager np7338 with 860m is no longer available at xoticpc and the one with 960m is again around 900. The only reason i am favoring the aw13 is that even if i spend a couple hundred more i still would be getting something with the 860m and so i assume the gaming performance wont be too different.

 

Hi guys

Long time lurker, first time poster

Finally got my AW13 laptop in the UK - specs:

i7-5500U
8Gb DDR3
1Tb SATA HDD
GTX 960M (yes!)
1080p screen

Have to say, an amazing laptop

I ordered 2 weeks ago, through our works Dell Partnership, I ordered the i7 with GTX 860M, but got bumped (even though all the order sheets, etc say 860M) to the 960M.

First thing I did was upgrade the HDD to a Samsung 850 Evo 500Gb - that made a massive difference.

Very happy. Very fast laptop, plays games at high on 1080p very well.

Also FYI - ran CPUZ and the BIOS says A03 BIOS (date 02/06/2015) - but didnt see this as available on the support pages yet.

 

Most likely a BIOS for the 960m.
If you see anything different from has been said in this thread, do tell. It's getting weird that Alienware has factory-only BIOSes.

 

Now boot 'er up and get us some benchmarks!

 

no worries, new to this game, tell me what to load and benchmark and I will do my best

 

Go ahead and get 3DMark ( http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark?_ga=1.259564298.1287828997.1427292115) and then run the default Fire Strike benchmark - it's the most exhaustive out of the tests it has. Don't worry about the frames, it is a killer task for any computer. Then go ahead and post the final result over at http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/official-alienware-13-benchmark-thread.770315/page-2

I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

P.S. make sure that you have the latest Nvidia drivers.

 

done and posted

 

I have access to a 960m powered 1440p AW13 as well as a 860m powered 786 AW13 and thought you might be interested to see the differences in the screens, at least as best as my camera phone will allow.

Can you tell which screen is which?





In case anyone is interested, here's the details.
Both screen are max brightness on battery power only.
For color reference:
This is the picture, as shown in IE full screen more: http://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/thailand_beach_sunset-wide.jpg
The "alienware" name on the screen in Green (7th position from black clockwise on the color wheel) is on the 1440p screen
The "alienware" name on the screen in Purple/Blue (1st position from black counter-clockwise on the color wheel) is for the 768p screen.

Yes, my camera phone isn't great, but it's all I've got. If anyone has any specific requests just let me know.
Size restraints means I can't upload all the photos, but I think you'll get the gist.

If anyone as any specific requests while I have access to both just let me know and I'll try to accommodate.


Cheers

 

i wonder if someone with a 960m could make a backup of their A03 bios and post it here...
also check out my battery life in attachment lol...

 

That's pretty hax. LOL

 

I would like to thank Mr. Castro and Alienware for the ease of returning the old computer and exchanging for the new one. Just remember not to be like me and don't get impatient and wait for the return label. The exchanged computer had the i5 5200u CPU and the GTX 960M GPU not much for a upgrade but Ill take what I can get.

The screen was still a disappointment but I guess I can live with it. It still seems to have dark edges to the sides, maybe if I didn't have a Lenovo Thinkpad with touch screen sitting next to it this would not be as noticeable. The rest of the computer is just the great build quality that I have come to expect from Alienware. I also own a Sager and the build quality of the Alienware is what keeps me coming back.

Am getting about 4.25-5.25 hour battery life (factory power save and 1/2 screen brightness wifi on ) out of this one unlike the old one that was showing 14% battery wear after 2 weeks use. The new computer is still showing 0% battery ware after 1 week.

 

Hi, I was wondering, was that drive by any chance a black2 ssd+hdd? I'm used to and sdd+hdd combo on my current 12,5" thinkpad, and moving to the A13 I was hoping i could get the same setup, and the black2 seems to be the only option out there with this laptop, or a hybrid HDD which is not the same thins by far. Thanks.

EDIT: As you can clearly see I registered solely for this piece of info, I'd really appreciate the info if you can share it.

 

I am curious why don't you want just a ssd only and for extra storage you could always use a external drive.

 

That's certainly a possibility, but i got accustomed to having a 256gb ssd for the os and video editing software, and a 750GB drive for "cold" file storage, games and whatnot. I like small laptops and really prefer not to have to carry around and external drive (of which i have many) everytime I go to a client, and there is always the chance of just forgetting it.
And it's sad that on my 2012 12,5" thinkpad i was able to have an msata ssd and a sata drive and this bigger little beast doesn't have a true m2 onboard port and instead relies on a sata-m2 adaptor.
If i can't fit the black2 on the A13 i'll probably just get a 512ssd and use an external drive for bulk storage, but that's a lot pricier and far less elegant or practical solution, and i really don't need all my storage to be fast, just the os, software and cache, scratch disk, swap, etc.

 

Have you looked at the Sager np7338. The sager is about the same size and has room for 2 MSATA drives and a hard drive at the same time.

 

No, I hadn't been able to find anything gaming capable under 14", thanks for the tip!
I'd still like to know if fitting a 9,5mm drive on the alienware 13 is feasible.
And where can I buy that Sager, on their website they seem to have the newer model, which although better I don't really need the performance bump given the price. Do they sell them in store like bestbut? And how is the build-quality of sager notebooks, worse, better or on-par with alienware? Thanks again.

 

Ok, unless someone tells me the build-quality is bad, I'm going with the Sager, msata+sata is way easier and better than trying to put a black2 drive, and the price is similar. Any feedback on Sager?

 

So am I missing something with the AW13 touchpad? As far as I can tell the entire touchpad is the 'button' and clicking it on the bottom right or left indicate the type of click you're trying to do. If I want to both right AND left click it doesn't seem to be possible. I understand that the majority of people don't use a touchpad for gaming but for mobility purposes I'd assumed that gaming wouldn't REQUIRE an external mouse.

 

I've always regarded my AW13's touchpad as something that's simply there and its there when my external mouse isn't. I've tried gaming with it in BattleField Hardline and let's just say I actually utilized the backplating under the keyboard. While gaming doesn't require an external mouse, it's highly suggested for anything that needs speed and precision.

 

Agreed, but I think my gaming habits are far different from the typical Alienware owner. I just want to be able to sit on the couch next to my wife while she watches a little TV and play a 20-30 minute session of Skyrim or Arkham City or, heck, Magicka. I'm starting to think my hardcore gaming days are done

 

Although I've never tried it, you could always look for a Bluetooth game controller and game through that. I know I've tried using the touchpad for Arkham City and I've had problems doing counters/attacks. Plus with a Bluetooth controller, there shouldn't be an additional adapter to plug into your machine, just sync and go. At least in an ideal world.

 

I have a black2 in mine and while its a tight fit it works perfectly!! Just make sure you get the aw13 with the harddrive as you'll need hdd caddy

Ps u will need to shave off some insulating foam to make it fit

 

Well that's good to know, thanks for confirming that. Now it's just a matter of deciding between the AW13 with the black2 or the Sager with both the SATA & mSATA drivers. Any word on the build quality between the two brands?

 

Only 7mm fit in the bay.
But in my case, i only have a Vertex 3 (9.5mm) i get out the top, sand the rest of the box and he fit ^^

 

Ok, I don't exactly understand how you made it fit, but I think I could manage aswell with a little work. I'd still like to know someones opinion on Alienware vs Sager(Clevo) on build quality.

 

Anybody having troubles with their battery? I'm seeming to think there may be an issue with my battery, aside from the 3.5% wear it has.

 

ordered a maxed out 13 today! Should be here by the 21st. Bought it now that I am traveling a lot for work.

 

Totally worth it!! I almost maxed out my setup...minus the hdd/ssd bc I got an amazing deal on my black2. I don't know anything about sanding the box. I did have to remove some foam used to deaden the vibrations to get it to fit. I haven't come across any huge increase in vibration or sound.

 

About to place my order soon. Anyone had any idea if there is any real world difference between the Broadwell i5-5200 vs i7-5500 ? Of concern is gaming performance when paired w 960m and battery life?

Btw, the sales rep in my country says that only "860m " is available for now though technically its a 960m. Is there any way to flash and update the chip ?

Thanks for any advice.

 

I hope they add 13.9" screen option (just like Aorus V3 plus) to AW 13.
If not this year, maybe the next one.

 

As far as I know, it's the same chip with a differents vBios, the only new chips are the 970 and 980, the 960 is basically a rebranding. So there shouldm't be much of a difference. But I may be mistaking.

 

Wouldn't that just be an AW14 R2, but smaller?

 

Maybe he means a bigger screen-size in the same laptop size, like the XPS infinity display with very little bezel? Just guessing.

 

Yes, thats it.
It would be amazing if they bring borderless screen into Alienware.
They don't need to make smaller/thiner laptop that will compromise its specs.
but why don't put the biggest screen that would fit into laptop?

 

@Game7a1
i tested my battery today(high performance,batteryboost disabled) with minimum brightness and alienfx backlight set to dim, playing watch dogs 1440p and got 1 hour and 9 minutes
seems kinda low also i did overclock(clock= +135,memory=+200)
and in power saver or balanced mode i get mixed battery life roughly 5 hrs on intel graphics,but sometimes it will be 2-3 hrs or even 7 hrs(i just cant understand this laptop), will test some more later...

 

What kind of troubles?

I get mixed life too. Even though I do the same kinds of things, my power consumption varies widely...sometimes ~7,000mWh, sometimes ~20,000mWh, and anywhere in between. Though the consumption isn't varying while in use. For example, if it boots up using around 7,000mWh it will stay around that number the rest of the time. If it boots up using around 16,000mWh it will stay around that number the rest of the time. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

What you describe is my problem. There's something wrong the laptop if my idle battery life is only 6 hours (almost everything kept at a minimum).

 

so i did another test; power saver mode, tdp level low, intel graphics set to maximum battery, max processor state 99%,min processor state 1%, 860m disabled, alienfx backlight dim, minimum brightness
played the hunger games part 2&3 1080p back to back on media player classic x64 with a torrent downloading in tixati;
got 5 hours 19 mins and 16 secs(with 2% reserve battery and auto sleep at 3%)

my moneys on the intel drivers not working correctly and/or the wifi chip(draws 3.3 volts)...
will test balanced mode next with alienfx disabled and no torrent downloading

finally the best battery life ive gotten was when batterybar was showing a draw of about 2600 mV windows showed expected battery life of 11 hrs but i got about 9 maybe 10 hrs, btw this happens rarely...

 

Well, I could test each iGPU drivers out there from Microsoft, Intel, and Dell on my Windows 7 M.2 to see if there are differences.

 

@Game7a1
i tried but it just wont install , hope you have better luck...
EDIT: I managed to install the latest driver for intel hd 55oo ,by downloading the zip file from intel,extracting it and manually installing it via device manager, will test now

 

I was able to install the iGPU driver (from Dell; havcen't tried from Intel) after uninstalling all my GPU drivers (except for my AMD since it is being dormant).
No change, but I did find something interesting. My CPU clock speeds were always at the max no matter the percent utilization I put it at in my battery plan in Windows 7 (Win8 is not affected from what I tested in a short time span). I think the issue is deeper than Windows itself and may be the BIOS. Possibly due to the overclock settings, which doesn't seem to work.
However, there have been times where I've seen my CPU go beyond 3 GHZ and hit 3.15 GHZ on both cores. Might be an error in the HWMonitor reading, but something tells me that might not be the case.
EDIT: Just did a little "load" test. High performance battery plan, so I shouldn't have much battery life. The laptop was acting as a hotspot (only way to get internet access for my gaming consoles/handheld). Windows said I would get about 2.5 hours or less than 3 hours. And after doing some math, I find out that I can get a bit over 3 hours.

 

ok so after i updated the igpu driver im getting better performance on flash heavy sites eg.kissanime
also before flash player would crash if i would right click on the player, on anything except youtube and after the update its fixed, battery wise i got 6 hours 19 minutes watching hd youtube videos(kissanime) on balanced mode with alienfx off and max tdp level 3 otherwise everything is same as my power saver plan, i think you should try the latest update from intel, laptop feels a bit quicker too

 

I just had the weirdest thing happen to me.
So essentially, I drained the battery from my testing (after the idling, I just resumed using the laptop for web browing and did a bit of on-battery gaming. It's not too bad as the CPU goes around 2 GHz but the 860m performs slightly worse, and by slightly, I mean still using GPU Boost to a lesser extent). Well... down to 1 to 5%, but still. So I plugged in the charger. First thing I notice, Turbo Boost doesn't work. I thought it was an OS issue, so I went to my Win7 OS. Nope, not an OS. I thought it was a BIOS issue, so I went to the overclocking section. Nope, nothing changed. Then once my battery got to around 20%, turbo boost is back. Okay, so a power savings method right (right? Someone please tell me if this is right or not). Now we get to the weird thing.
Then... my 3.5% wear disappears. I have the full 52 wHr battery to use. Batterybar and HWMonitor show the max capacity as the design capacity.
So... how did that happen? Is some part of the battery actually reserved or something?

 

yes by default 5% battery is reserved see attached pic...