*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R1/R2 Owner's Lounge

Just got my AW15, and have a couple of issues:
- Two-finger scrolling is extremely buggy. Reversing the direction does not work, and actually counters the scroll so that the page is not scrolled at all. Have tried to install the driver on Dell's page, but this was the same as the one in came with. I'm returning it in case I don't get the scrolling to work.
- I have the FHD-version, but text scaling is off in some windows, both in third-party apps and native windows such as device manager.

EDIT: Also have some dust specks behind the webcam glass. Not a huge issue, but the first time I've seen something like that.

 

The BIOS update fixes the underpowering issue. It'll still be beneficial to you depending on your usage.

 

Hey everyone! So I have had the Alienware 15 for over a week now and here are my initial thoughts so far:

The model that I have is with 16gb ram, gtx 970m with the 4k display + Graphics Amplifier (r9 290x)

Some thoughts:
- It is solidly built, no creaking sounds when opening up/ or closing the lid
- Even though the lid is made of plastic with carbon fiber fillings, it still is very tough (as a comparison, my MSI GS60 when applying some pressure on the outer lid, you can see the metal flex and the lid shake)
- The Tactx keyboard feels really nice, easy to press and displays no flexing when hard pressure is applied
- Touchpad feel is great but I rarely use it because I use my gaming mice most of the time
- The 4k, almost edge to edge display looks gorgeous when doing word processing, surfing the web... text/icons just look sharper... BUT when playing games, issues arise (even with the graphics amplifier).. like when when I try to play Assassin's Creed Unity via uPlay, the game scales to 1080p which appears like a small box in the middle of the screen and so does Far Cry 4...
- The Klipsch speakers are okay at medium levels but when you crank it up to max, you can really notice the lack of bass/fullness (but that can expected with the absence of a subwoofer)
- When playing League of Legends or World of Warcraft, the keyboard area gets mildly warm but that's about it..
- The fans ramp up when playing games but it isn't as loud as my MSI GS60 when at full load...
- When watching Youtube videos in 1440K+ quality, the video often stutters behind the sound even though the data bar has loaded sufficiently.. It doesn't happen all the time but I'm hoping that it isn't indicative of an issue with the MB or anything else..

I will have more thoughts as I use the 15 more over time..

 

The be fair, it is not so difficult to be more silent than the MSI GS60
Are the fans loud (can you hear them in a quiet room) when the laptop is in idle or when you surf the web?

 

Actually in a quiet room, I can barely hear it.. I have to be right at the desk but when it I'm playing a game using the dedicated gpu (970m), I can hear a humming but it's not annoying at all like the Graphics Amplifier or the MSI GS60..

 

That is good to hear.
What makes the graphics amp loud, is it the GPU fans or the case fans?

 

The one included with the Amp.. it does a good job though of cooling..

 

Okay finally have the sufficient amount of money to order my alienware 15. Was too late with ordering friday since I need an international Eng qwerty keyboard, so need a custom order. Hope the 200€ discount will remain on monday.

I ended up going with the gtx 980m and 1080p monitor.
I wanted 4K but there is not many content. And some dx11 games such as tomb raider, dying light do not strech out on the whole screen if you lower the res. It's a laptop after all 4k is tough on it. And i don't need touchscreen. In the ende 380€ for a screen is also a lot.

Though still don't know how the 5.1 surround works on the laptop with only 2 jacks.

Pff, sold my old laptop to buy this new one. Don't know if I can survive without a laptop for two weeks

 

I think 2 audio jacks are not enough for 5.1 surround sound, but you can use HDMI audio out to do this.
At least I survived 2 weeks without internet over last Christmas, so you should be fine without your laptop

Ok, thanks for your opinion!

 

Well in the specs it states that it is retaskable for analog audio. I know for certain that one jack is a 4 pole jack that support 3 channels. If the other one is also a 4 pole connector. It could theoretically support 6 channels in total. Though for that i would need 3 splitters. And there is no telling if I can change every channel to be redirected to the correct speakers. But then again, why would they make it so difficult and state it in the specs? A digital spid/f combo port would have been soo much easier

 

My bad, it is indeed possible. Sorry!

 

I'm running into the same issue.

 

How many people are having ghosting issues with their Alienware 15? I have been researching the laptop and have found that a good amount of people have the issue.

 

how do we get this bios update?

 

The official BIOS update for 15 and 17 will be releasing sometime next week. Right now the beta update only for the 17 has been released.
Download BIOS File: http://na.alienwarearena.com/forums...r2-beta-bios-for-hybrid-power-technology/last

 

Is the ghosting of the screen a major issue mainly on the 1080p, 4K screen, or both?

And can anyone confirm if the 980m can be even slightly overclocked? Like even a few mgz with msi afterburner or nvidia inspector?

 

Well from the the looks of it only people with the 1080p panel are reporting signs of ghosting. Found this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-15-display-ghosting.770392/
I would like to ask if anyone here with a 1080p screen is not having any ghosting issues at all?

 

Goddamit, apparently the ghosting issue is present on all systems. Some people just don't care/notice it.

Pff this is really bad. Getting extra money for the 4K monitor will be difficult even though i prefer glossy screen. And even if I get the 4k screen, then there is the issue of dx11 games not stretching when played on lower resolution.

Pff what to do

 

For those having an issue with DX11 games not running scaled properly with the 4K screen, try lowering the desktop res to 1080p before running the game and see if that works. This is the work around that the Lenovo owners had to do with the 4K Y50. It's not ideal but if it works for now, that's good enough until the issue is fixed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

For those having an issue with DX11 games not running scaled properly with the 4K screen, try lowering the desktop res to 1080p before running the game and see if that works. This is the work around that the Lenovo owners had to do with the 4K Y50. It's not ideal but if it works for now, that's good enough until the issue is fixed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yeah I feel you... especially since the 4K display cost almost 400 euro extra over here
Why dont they offer a 1440p display option for the AW 15.. I think for many people that would have been the best solution.

 

Unfortunately, I did just that when trying to run Dying Light and the game still displayed as a small box in the middle of the screen..

 

Is it fixed for the Lenovo 4K Y50?

 

As far as I know, no not yet.

 

Hi all,

I just received my AW15 yesterday. Swapped out the 1 TB HD with the 850 EVO and did a clean install of Win 8.1. Then installed most of the drivers from the Dell site.

I think I'm having some trouble with the Intel Graphics. The resolution doesn't appear to be scaling correctly. It's fuzzy when I'm on my desktop and run a program (i.e. Skype or Steam), but is fine when I am in a the game since it's using the dedicated graphics. Pic below. Left is from desktop. Right is from in game.

Any ideas how to resolve this? I'm a noob at this.

 

Since you probably reinstalled windows on you new drive, did you install both the intel hd and the geforce drivers?

 

Btw, order status is Send. Still in China though. Can't wait.

 

Finally ordered my laptop. Onlt payment option I could do was bank transfer.

But estemated arrival time is 3rd of March
1 MONTH without a laptop, how will I survive.

 

So which configuration did you finally choose, and why ?

 

So I am guessing it would be best to hold off on ordering the AW 15 until the ghosting issue is resolved?

 

Hey Quicksort!!! i got the same estimated arrival as you, 3rd! i really hope its gonna arrive before that, can't wait to have it, see what the screen is about, and finally use it!!!
I also wonder why only Bank Transfer, the website has a PayPal option, but maybe since i had a little discount thats the only work around!

 

So i went with i7 cpu and 980m gpu. Well i want power as a computer enthusiasts so yeah.
I took 1tb hard drive. I already have a 500gb so no need to pay extra. Also took 16gb ram as 8gb was not enough for dying light and my developing engine

Now the difficult part the monitor. I took the 1080p screen for the following reasons:
- I won't ever buy the graphics amplifier, i tend to buy a new laptop every 4 years, so running games on 4k wont be possible for me. And will only become worse with the release of newer games
- even though I don't like matte on youtube i saw that it's more a demi matte so that noisy colors on the screen was not present.
- (most important reason) I have no money to pay an extra 380€ it's even significantly more expensive than the 980m upgrade.
- I don't need touchescreen
- on 4k dx11 games cannot be played with lower resolution properly due to not scaling. There is a workaround which is a pain to do evet time you want to play
- Windows scaling is still bad
- 4k uses more power? Not sure if real issue though
- if ghosting gets a fix, i have next business day warranty for the 1st year so the fix will happen at my home for sure.
- 4k content is really low and it requires you to download more

That's about it why I chose 1080p.

I paid 1739€ for my system with the dell vip 10% discount

 

You made some excellent points Quicksort. I was really hesitant about the ghosting on the 1080p panel, but I guess I will just roll with it and get it fixed once dell figures it out. Will the 1 year warranty cover the screen ghosting?

 

Nice config man ! im thinking about the same config except 970m instead 980m, because on pc i dont game that much and 256 SSD + 1 tb HDD.

 

I would choose the 1080p monitor for the same reasons! Except that I plan to buy a graphics am in two to three years.
However, I'm not sure whether to go with the 970m or 980m. The 980m hast approximately 30% more performance, but cost +290€ (in Germany at least) and could make the laptop louder.

Where did you get the discount?

 

Thats the exact same toughts i had, i opted for the 4k hoping some more content (movies mostly, cameras are getting there) will be avaliable soon in the next 1 or 2 year, and i plan on keeping this laptop for as long as possible, and if i need to game with the 4k display i will buy the GA only. I think it will be easier to buy a GA with a good desktop gpu thats gonna be cheper next years, then buy a nex screen or a new laptop cuz i will regret not having the 4k screen. I dont have a 4k TV to hook it up too, if i had it i would prob go with the 1080p.
ofc its a matter of price also, i just choose to use those 400 extra euros for the display and not for the gpu, as gaming isnt my first option, and i like more glossy screen

 

In my case (belgium) i just googlrd dell vip belgium. You have the option to subscribe for news and discounts etc. Then you have to chose as what you subscribe. In my case I chose student, even though i finished college a few months ago though am still looking for a job. So I filled in my name and school name. I accepted and I received a mail with the coupon code.

 

Thank you very much
Although I'm currently a student, I didn't need to authenticate myself (could be since I'm currently at the university and they make an IP check). This could also work for other people in Germany, which are no students. Here is the link for Germany, it is not so obvious as for Belgium http://www.dell.com/learn/de/de/dedhs1/campaigns/dell-germany-student

 

had the same problem: 4k or 1080p:

i decided to go with the AW17 with offers me a glare 1080p screen problem solved

 

Are you mad? Paying 200€ for just a layer of coat?!?
And I don't like big laptops. 14 inch is my favorite 15 inch is my max limit.

And despite being bigger the alienware 17 has nothing extra to offer beside a little stronger CPU and the laptop is in total significantly more expensive. So it gets a big NOPE from me

 

Just ordered the new alienware 15 core i7 NVidia 980 with 1080p screen 8gb ran, and a 1tb drive
paid 1413.86 with tax so hopefully I got a decent deal

sad thing it says it will be delivered feb 25

hope I make a good decision

 

Quicksort, I'm glad you jumped onboard with the 15. I've actually seen you around other pc/gaming boards, due to the those hypnotic eyes on your signature/avatar. I already have the Alienware 14, 18, and new XPS 13, but have always wanted that perfect size of an Alienware 15 inch. I ordered the 15 with the 980m, 1080p, 8gb (already bought 16gb crucial ballistix) and crap 1tb HDD (will be trashed; bought samsung 850 evo 1tb). I also grabbed the amp, after Dell sent my Dell Preferred points (150 dollars). I assume that the amp is pointless with the 980m, until another gen or two of the desktop cards. Anybody know if the MSI gtx 980 would provide at least a 10 fps advantage over the 980m? Do new desktop cards follow the laptop gpu trend of launching a new card every year-year 1/2? By the way, before the A 15/17 were launched I really had no viable 15 inch option so I took a chance and grabbed the Clevo/Sager 650se. I returned it with a quickness, due to the utterly embarrassing build quality. The metal lid palmrest, for example, was so thin that it might as well been plastic. It had that Walmart-like hollow rattle that was produced when typing or simply tapping the palmrest. The lid had a good bit of flex like the gs60 ghost. I now know why soft touch coating is used on the Alienware models....

 

So how many drives does alienware 15 support ?

2 m.2 SSDs and 1 HDD ?

 

He1p that is correct

 

As Quicksort said earlier, I pretty much got the same configuration for the Alienware 15(where desktop replacement meets portability) but I got the 512gb SSD and 1TB HDD. Then the usuals...i7, gtx 980m, 16 gigs ram, 1080p display (4K is over-kill and not worth it especially if you are not planning to get the GA). And the bloody 180W PSU. I will get my system before 23rd. I am living in Australia so I will give currency conversions based on Australian dollars.
But the best part is the online price with all discounts etc was around AUD 3,615 or USD 2,819 or 2489 euro...pretty expensive. So what I did.....

I went on Dell online chat and acted as if I never heard of Alienware and asked questions like:
1) Is Alienware made of plastic like MSI.
2) Is Alienware a good brand.
3) Will Alienware die on me within the first month etc...

Probably this guy got pity on me and he gave the same configuration for AUD 2780 or USD 2168 or 1914 euro. So this was a steal since I was planning on getting a macbook pro and the price came to 3000 AUD. Forget Apple...went with Alienware.

Still waiting for the BIOS update tho'...

 

Bruh...gtx 980 is WAAAAY more powerful than gtx 980m. You won't get just 10 fps more. A gtx 980m can be compared to a gtx 780. Even then the 780 gives around 10-12 fps more than the 980m. Even a gtx 970 gives you 20 fps more. So looking into all this a gtx 980 will chew through your games etc...having a serious toll on your 60Hz screen.

Pretty much the rate of releasing new cards is the almost the same even though the desktop cards are released earlier. So the next update of the mobile gpus would be in 2016. I think the next architecture would be 'Skylake' for cpu and 'Pascal' for gpu as announced by Nvidia due in 2016.

But I wonder how game graphics would look like by 2020....I just can't seem to be liking the virtual reality crap.

 

I got the top spec AW15 for 2095USD with 4k display hehe
Well I guess chatting them is the real way to go

 

But why a 4k display? Did you buy a graphics amplifier? Are you a 4k video editor? If just for watching 4K videos etc...wasted :/

 

Work:
I have 3 monitors at work that I use for err... monitoring applications.
When I work from home, I can see all 3 monitors at the same time in my 4k screen.
It gets really small but I dont have to read the text. I just have to zoom in using the Win Magnifier App when I see any of my Monitoring Apps turn red.
The 4k display can actually show you around 6-9 screens at 1024p at the same time. So yeah I'd like to think that with my AW 15 I am more productive when I work from home. lol
Having a months old baby will get you more reasons to work from home and I have another toddler who is old enough to help me monitor my screens =)

Play:
I dont play FPS, my 4K works well on my favorite games CIV 5, Sim City or even RTS.
I see a whole lot more of the map with great detail.

And as a personal preference, the 4k screen just looks more awesome that the FHD with bezels.
I especially hate the huge bezel at the bottom of the screen, good thing its not as obvious in a 4k screen.

I am not buying the Graphics Amplifier, my birthday is coming up so I am trying to be really nice to my wife hehe.
I have a number of desktop GPUs lying around, would be nice if the GA allows CF.

 

The new BIOS will be posted soon on our main support site. We'll let you know when it's up!