The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
How can you be torn between a X5 and the AW17? It's like being torn between a large SUV and a small sportscar
Perhaps you ment the X7 V6 which is very tempting, really like the Aorus design although the laws of physics of course limits what the aorus chassis can do with heat an noise.
Based on knowledge and the fact that AW seem to make their laptops big and heavy enough to have proper cooling and a PSU big enough to handle the power need, what kind of difference could we expect between a 1070 and 1080? I know this is much speculation but are we talking 10%? 50%? 200%
Also, is it confirmed that in "low power mode" the 1080 wouldn't need more juice than a 1070, and thus would not cause more heat and fan noise than a 1070 in idle or close to idle mode? For someone like me that is interested in a gaming machine that would also serve as a workstation, that is kind of important.
Yes, but not if it wouldn't fare well in a hands on review, a vendor would send it after release - giving people a chance to buy it first before seeing a full review.
After reading so many about killer wireless cards which none confirmed that it lowers the ping therefore I bought Intel 8265 (30$) which is the newer version of 8260 and some ppl claim that it performs better and have lower ping and no disconnecting issues ,, so is there something wrong with what I did or I did make the right decision ?
Just placed my order $2401 total. specs below. if anyone needs help ordering pm me. I have a rep that helps me all the time.
Alienware 17 R4
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X
Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year
Hide itemized list
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)
Windows 10 Home-HE (64bit) English
17.3 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) 120Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits Display with Tobii IR Eye-tracking
32GB DDR4-2400MHz; up to 32GB (additional memory sold separately)
512GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Lithium Ion (99 Wh) Battery
No Option Included
English Backlit Keyboard, powered by AlienFX
Regulatory Label
Alienware 330W AC Adapter
US Power Cord
Dell.com Order
Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French)
Dell.com Order
Additional Software
Directship Info Mod
Shipping Material
Skylake Driver
Placemat (English,French,BRPT,Spanish)
N1435 & N1535 Wireless Driver
No FGA
Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Initial Year
Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
Energy Star not Included
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 Label
Hey guys, this seems to be one of the most active forums I could find for alienware laptops. I am currently using an ASUS g750 from 2013. I've been doing research on laptops with gtx 1080, and this is looking like the best option.
The TN panel is a big disappointment to me. I really wanted a 4k screen, but they don't want you to have it. I haven't used anything but IPS displays since my first IPS monitor. I see devildoc's price above and that can really sway someone to the dark side of inferior display technology. I don't personally need 120hz, but the resolution and the gpu are what I want.
My question is about their return policy or replacement policy? Can you buy a laptop now and get a replacement screen when they get the new panels? I would like to get the low prices I'm seeing on here, and judge this panel for myself if it's even worth the hassle.
Really debating on buying the 17 with the 1080 tomorrow. After dell rewards and ebates it would only be a little over 2k or $2400 with the 4 year warranty after its all said and done.
Im really worried about the temps and the panel lines everyone is talking about though. Also as much as a 120hz gsync panel is nice, i would have much rather had a 4K screen and better battery life.
Someone else asked about the return policy and im wondering the same thing. If i get it and im not happy is dell going to refund me for the total amount?
I have already initiated a return for a full refund to Dell for the one I have and ordered one with a 1080. It was hassle free as long as it is within 30 days of purchase. My question is if I am able to swap screen down the road for a 4k ($200 @ laptopscreen.com) or am I stuck with this QHD for good because of the motherboard.
You must tell them that you are not satisfied with the system due to performance otherwise nothing will be documented and perhaps then you will get charged with a 15% restocking fee.
Somebody over in the Clevo forum has tried a P775DM3-G upgrade from 1080p GSync to 4k GSync. He had mixed results, certain drivers would not let GSync be re-enabled. However he also had to upgrade the display cable as well.
I would guess that if Dell eventually ends up getting a GSync 4k panel certified on the AW17, you could probably get the spare parts and upgrade it yourself. You may also need a different display housing if the QHD panel does not mount the same way as the UHD panel does, or if the UHD panel is thicker. Hopefully the same cable will be used. I would hope that QHD @ 120hz would be enough bandwidth for UHD @ 60hz as well.
Frustrating. All this waiting for 1080 to be stuck with a TN panel.
Now have to hope that the AW kaby lakes come out within the first 3 months of 2017 without the TN. If that fails, I guess **** it, I'll keep my 2.5 grand and forget about this.
I see like 90% of the comments on their twitter is regarding the baffling choice of no 4k + 1080 config.
Let me tell you my personal reasons why I want 4K.
- 1: first of all I don't want 1080p, I have used it and am still using for quite a while, and having used larger resolutions I want to upgrade to a higher resolution. (so 1440p is actually evenly good for me as for 4K but I will tell you in a moment why I don't want the 1440p alienware offers)
- 2: Screen quality. IPS is bare minimum for me in terms of color reproduction. so I REFUSE to pay so much and get a TN panel (hence the reason I refuse to buy the 1440p screen alienware offers. I personally don't care about 120hz, and for me IPS > g-sync).
- 3: With the gtx 1080 you can actually run quite some games ultra 60 fps. E.g. from the ones I play: Overwatch, diablo 3, ... I mean even top games such as Rise of the tomb raider come quite close to 60 fps on ultra, so If I lower certain settings I care less about, it's an easy 60. + 4K is the next big thing. hell If I pay so much, why not get the best I can? And I'm not a freak in such terms. a game is still playable for me >45fps if I get significantly more picture quality in return.
On a side note. By far I would prefer the oled screen the alienware 13 offers, but the gtx 1060 falls a little too far behind for me.
It's the same panel as the one in EVGA SC17. It covers 100% sRGB and 87% AdobeRGB and has 370 nits brightness so it's comparable to IGZO AU Optronics panel and is great for photo editing but has a slow response time.
BTW: where are all the major reviews of the new Alienware 17? I figured the big review players would be all over this release but all I can find are the "early opinion" type write ups ...
...
Also, got Titanfall 2 for $32 yesterday ... (deal still available I think, buy from EA site and use code "TITAN20") ... the AW17 stomps it at 1080p. I stayed pegged at 144FPS @ highest settings with just about no fluctuations. Never went beyond 144fps which makes me think they've capped it ... my 1440p desktop with dual GTX980's jumps from 70FPS to 140FPS ... mad fluctuations...
For a tn panel it's good. It's above average viewing angles and contrast for a tn I'd say. Still doesn't compare to an ips in most things except it has way better response/refresh rate and gsync. The tn also suffers from the horizontal line issue. Basically you need to decide what's more important to you
While I'm not a fan of the scan lines (c'mon AUO) and feel that a 17 inch 120hz 1080p screen should also exist, refresh and smoothness will be far more noticeable to me than the lines. I took a look at the 1440p 120hz panel on a best buy model. It's color accuracy will need adjusted but beyond that I didn't feel it was that bad. I expect AUO to not release a monitor with scan lines again, but I know it's the only option for me right now, so I'll make do.
It's definitely not a bad looking panel and if you are coming from other tn panels I think you will be pretty happy with the picture quality and smoothness as long as you can deal with the lines
Guys, what are these "LINES" on the panel that everyone is talking about? Im not particularly experienced with this, and would like some clarification before i order my GTX 1080 Alienware 17
This panel isn't the first one AUO made that has scanlines. My old work laptop was a Latitude E6540 (Dell's business line) and it had a 15.6 inch AUO panel that had the scanlines. I noticed the similarities right away when I looked at the QHD screen in person on display at Best Buy.
The scanlines are not the end of the world. They are more noticeable if you go looking for them, but I would only really see them from day to day on darker, solid colors (mostly blue). Dell has a holiday return policy too so you will have about a month and a half to decide if the display quality is acceptable. Who knows, by then they may have more panel options available with the GTX 1080. I do not blame Alienware for releasing the QHD panel first. The GTX 1080 is a performance card, and I have many friends that prefer a higher refresh rate over wider color gamut or image quality in general. Nvidia probably has a backlog on GSync certifications, and because of their process lockdowns Dell isn't allowed to sell the 4k panel / GTX 1080 combo with GSync even though Clevo has it certified for their models.
So I have noticed that Dell has adjusted the configurations and now the only model with the GTX 1080 is the high end configuration starting with the 32GB RAM / 512GB PCIe SSD. So my config was $2400 before tax, but only has 8GB RAM and a 1TB HDD. It seems like with a bit of haggling I could probably cancel my current order and get the better configuration for ~$100-$150 more. Oh, does anyone know the brand of PCIe SSD dell has been using? If its a PM951 its probably not worth the hassle to cancel and reorder... edit: hmmm looks like the stock AW13 R3 drive was the Toshiba XG3. Probably worth it if its the same.
Umar confirmed on twitter that the 1080 version has a different heatsink which I assume is bigger? I asked him for pics but we'll see if he's allowed to take some or not.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
