Planning to order an AW 15, but need some answer before final decision.

Hello everyone.

I plan to order an AW 15 sometime this month, however there are some questions I need to know before buying. Sorry if the question are already ask but I cant find any relevant thread within the first 3 pages.

This is the spec that I plan to get: i5 4210H, 16GB RAM, GTX 965M, FHD screen, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD.

1. Can the CPU & GPU be upgrade/replace (not soldered on the board)?
2. About the temperature - idle, average and load?
3. Do I need an external cooling fan or notebook cooler?
4. How does it perform on graphic intense games like Battlefield 4, The Witcher 2, Far Cry 4, Metro Last Light etc?
5. For the Graphic Amplifier, what happen when I plug in? Does it completely ignore both of the internal GPUs?

For me, I define smooth gameplay with the frame rate of 40 being "playable", 60 is optimal and because I have a 144 Hz monitor which I will be using it for gaming, can the GTX 965M get 60+ on a 1080p Mid/High setting or higher on games like Battlefield 4 64p Conquest Large for e.g?

Any issue I should be aware of before buying?

 

1. Both the CPU are GPU are soldered on, so you won't be able to replace them. I would HIGHLY push for a GTX 970M minimum, if you're going to get the AW15.

2. When I had my AW15, my temps ranged from anywhere between 45-50 C on idle ( CPU ) and 40 C( GPU ), full load it barely touched the 80s.

3. You'll be okay without it. Even with a notebook cooler, you won't see too big of a drop.

4. The configuration I had ( i7-4710HQ, GTX 970M ), I was able to play most games on mixed high-ultra settings and retain 60 FPS. BattleField 4, you won't have any issues maxing out without AA. Far Cry 4, I can imagine taking it mixed high-ultra, Metro Last Light is all high with some AA, no tessalation. TL;DR: with your config, you should be able to play mostly high settings and at a very comfortable frame rate.

5. I won't be able to comment on the Amplifier as I don't own one. But from what I've read, it's not as plug-n-play friendly as everyone hoped to be.

Most of the issues that you'll run into are software related. I /HATE/ the Killer Software suite, imo. So I would highly suggest uninstalling that. SupportAssist may also be the culprit behind random fan bursts and noise. Someone else might be able to comment on that. Otherwise, the machine is EXTREMELY light on bloatware, so I don't see you having any issues on that front. My personal suggestion is to push for an i7 quad core and GTX 970M if you want your AW15 to be a little more forward-thinking-- especially if you're looking at the graphics amplifier.

 

Is it possible that you can remove the 16gb ram and SSD and upgrade the processor and GPU? If it were me, I would do that since you can always upgrade the ram and SSD down the line. The GPU and processor are soldered so you will always be stuck with whatever config that you buy now.

 

You went for the wrong upgrades coming from Dell.

My AW15 that I purchased is i5, 8gb ram, 1tb hdd, and 970m.

You should not have any issue with the i5. CPU does not affect the frame rate much at all. All the games that I threw at it worked perfectly well in highest settings. This preference varies from person to person, though. Look up whether you would need this i7 in your system.

GPU is not something that I would upgrade later on, so I went ahead and upgraded that in my purchase. I would recommend upgrading to 970m with your conditions for a higher VRAM and of course, better performance.

I would not recommend the purchase with the upgraded RAM and SSD from Dell. Unless you can work out with the representative and got a hefty discount on your purchase, they are a waste of money. I upgraded my 8gb ram to 16gb by purchasing 2 of 8gb sticks from Newegg for 72 bucks (this was using a discount and coupon). Of course, I sold the original 2 of 4gb RAM sticks for 20 bucks each. So... basically saved 120 dollars on that RAM upgrade. Also, the SSD upgrade is something that you can do on your own for much cheaper as well. Save the money from these upgrades and get yourself a 970m.

 

One thing I totally forgot the mention is that I live in New Zealand and right now Dell NZ is doing a 16GB free RAM upgrade, this is why I list 16GB, the base configuration should be around 8GB. As for the SSD upgrade can you suggest me a good 256GB stick?

Well just as I thought when I first saw that teardown, I guess I should go for the 970 upgrade then.

I'll be sure to look out for that as well once I got a hold on that laptop. As for the CPU, if I get the 970M, somehow the CPU option get the i7 upgrade for free anyway so basically the spec would be i7 + 970M. And yeah I want this laptop to be my desktop replacement as well, so I guess I should get the i7 + 970M configuration.

 

As for the SSD, can I use this stick?

Samsung XP941 256GB AHCI PCIe 2.0 x4 M.2 SSD MZHPU256HCGL

 

No that's a PCI-E SSD.

Something similar to this will work: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-E...8&qid=1428546239&sr=8-5&keywords=m.2+sata+ssd

Basically you need a m.2 SSD that connects via the SATA3 interface, not PCI-E

 

So the AW15 only accept SATA? Too bad, because I thought it will take PCIE as well, oh well, the SATA still quite fast compare to the mechanical HDD. Thanks for taking time to look for the replacement

 

Yup no support for the PCI-E interface haha.

Basically our mobile processors only support PCI-E 16 lanes. The GPU uses 16 lanes by itself so there's no extra lanes for PCI-E SSDs. Now what Dell could have done is make the GPU use 8x PCI (there will be 0 performance loss) and then have 8 lanes open for PCI-E SSDs but there are a couple of drawbacks to those:

- Retail PCI-E SSDs are a little bit more expensive. The one you linked is an OEM drive, you will get 0 warranty support on it because Samsung knows you're not an OEM.
- PCI-E SSDs tend to get very very very hot. People have seen the NAND chips on the SM941, which is the PCI-E 3.0 version of that drive you linked, run at 100C. In a small enclosed space like a laptop that causes serious heat dissipation concerns.

 

Well I didnt know about this at all, good thing you mention it up, lol.

Yeah I also did some research into the heating problem, 100C is even worse than CPU overheating, it's all good if it's a desktop but it would be a BIG problem with a laptop. Again, rep+ for detail those out

 

Hahaha yeah. Imagine if you had 4 M.2 PCI-E SSDs in your Alienware.

I'm pretty sure that would melt the plastic LOL. The problem isn't with the chips themselves just that PCI-E is so fast that the chips are literally running at their fastest possible speed. Without any cooling these chips are going to run hot haha. Only way to avoid that would to be add some sort of active cooling or reduce the density of these drives.

 

Well they need to start focusing on efficiency of the cpu cores in the controller chips to keep power in check.

 

Oh yeah one more thing, what about the battery life? Because I intend this laptop to be my desktop and laptop (replace my Macbook air) replacement, as you may know the Macbook air is king when it come to battery life.

For example, because of how my school is now digitize everything, which mean we will have most MS office applications open with some web browsing for the school portal etc, do you think on the Balance Power option, will this last at least 4 hours? Or do I have to run it on Power Saver?

I know that the current gen is power efficient than the last gen, I used to have a M14xR1 and that laptop cant even last 3 hours even with the power saver on, so I'm a bit worry with the more powerful CPU and GPU version of the AW15.

 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-15-Notebook-Review.136667.0.html

Says with the 970M (which really will be disabled anyways unless you're playing games, hence draws 0 power) and the same CPU:

WiFi surfing: 4h26mins
Watching movies: 5hr05mins

But that was with the 1080p screen, I'm not sure how much power the 4k screen draws so that may affect battery life.

Hopefully someone who has the laptop with a 4k screen will be able to help you more.

Edit: Here's a review with a max specced version of the alienware 15: http://www.techspot.com/review/968-alienware-15/page5.html

 

Well no need, I only need to know for the 1080p one, I already had a 2K 144Hz monitor at home, that will be the one I'm using when I game. I'll be happy if it can last at least 4 hours since that's the average time I spend at school.

So for the 970M, does it mean it will get disable by default on battery?

 

Not necessarily. Your laptop has something called nvidia optimus. Basically when you're not playing games it disables the discrete GPU (your nvidia 970m) because its not needed and so saving you power. When you load up a game it'll switch over to the nvidia chip.

If you try gaming on battery you'll get over an hour.

 

You better get this within the next 2 hours before the free 16GB RAM upgrade goes away, as Friday the free upgrade will either go completely or change to something else likely not as good. The 970M option is only $96 nzd, so that alone simple no brainier. It actually changes the price up by $188, but you will be a fool not to get the base with the upgrade, the CPU automatically changes to the i7 quad core also with the 970M selection. Otherwise you will pay $2999 nzd, if you take the base model and upgrade to just 970M it will also inclusde i7 quad and cost just $2587

There is little point paying $2399 for a i5 dual core and 965M in a machine this size, when for $2587 you can get a quad core and 970M from just $188 dollars more.

The link below is the base model pre-selected with 970M and i7 quad core for cheaper:

http://www.dell.com/nz/p/alienware-15/pd#overrides=y5115a0nz:6~GTX970

Don't bother with the SSD, you will pay a premium from Dell, when you can just buy you own and configure it yourself, but isn't rocket science to clone a drive. If you cannot do that, then best that you buy from them, use the same link and add a M.2 up to 256GB (fairly reasonable if you don't know how to clone/migrate), don't go with the 512GB option as that is way overpriced.

 

Yup, I totally agree with you however, I will be missing out the RAM upgrade because i wont able to get it until my next payday, but I guess I can just always add any extra 8GB whenever I need.

As for the i7 970M combo, yeah come to think of it, only $188 dollar difference for a free i7 upgrade + a hefty more powerful GPU does really worth the upgrade. While for the SSD, well I guess I will be getting a Samsung 850 Evo 500GB from Amazon as Cookies981 suggest for an extra ~$250 would still cheaper than the 512GB option from Dell.

Oh wait, one more thing, how about the build quality of the laptop? I mean what does it made of? I saw from some video review stating that it will be aluminium brush lid with plastic (soft touch rubber) body, is it correct?

 

It's plastic.

Yeah the 850 evo will be faster than the one from Dell =)

 

To replace 8GB (2x 4GB) with 16GB (2x 8GB) will cost you about $220 in NZ, this upgrade has gone now it Friday, and was a better deal than the mediocre 128GB M.2 SSD which you can buy for about $130 NZ. In that case wait till next Friday, as appears over the last month to be alternating between either RAM or M.2 upgrade for free.

 

Are you sure that they will alternate? Because if so I'll wait for the deal again. Because from what I read from other thread, the SSD Dell include arent even worth it. Oh come to think of it, do you know what SSD do they use and what RAM do they sell? As this is my plan, if they do the SSD deal, I'll get my own RAM which is either Kingston or Corsair 2x8GB or if they do the RAM deal, I'll get the Samsung 850 Evo.

This is my backup plan - go for the base model with the i7 and 970M upgrade then get my own RAM (which is 16GB) and get the Samsung 850 Evo M.2 SSD. Can anyone suggest what should I do?

 

SSD brands from Dell/Alienware: Toshiba, LiteOn, and Samsung
As for RAM, could be Crucial, Kingston, Hynix, or some other brand. It's not top-gaming quality RAM and too expensive for what Dell charges for them (think "fine" as how good the RAM is), but they get the job done.

 

The SSD is a Samsung PM851 M.2

As for RAM. It really depends on which ones Dell pulls out. They've used Samsung, SK Hynix, Kingston, Hyundai.

That is what I would do. It's relatively simple and you'd save money in the long run.

 

Well as I guess with the RAM, similar to my old M14xR1, they use Hynix 2x4GB 1600, so for final decision for the RAM, should I still do the manual upgrade like Kingston or Corsair 2x8GB or should I just leave it? Do you think it will worth the upgrade from what Dell's original RAM?

 

Nope.

I mean if you're looking for absolute maximum performance with zero compromises then yeah. But in all honesty the difference between the slowest and fastest ram that your system can use is <5% . You won't see a performance difference in real life outside of benchmarks.

 

You have already said you don't have the money just yet, just wait till next Friday when the 16GB RAM comes around again. It has been alternating RAM then M.2 since the start of March ever Friday, I have been checking it.

Wait for free RAM, buy one M.2, be done with it.

 

I'm going for 2133mhz ram myself but my cpu will be pushing a titan-x and so some help for it will be good

 

I dont for now but I will by next week, as for the upgrade, it's all plan, so even if I say i would go for that, it wont be right on day one. But anyway, I'll just wait like you said for the free RAM upgrade.

2133Mhz is a bit overkill IMO, unless it's like I go for the 980M then it would make sense to go for the fastest possible.


Alright, I'd like to thanks everyone for the helpful comments. I'll buy it once the next free RAM upgrade comes

 

Ok lets get something straight.

Since you want to get the 4210H CPU. The maximum memory frequency it supports (without overclocking the memory bus) is 1600. You can get faster ram but all that would happen is the ram would declock down to 1600.

The ram can only operate at the frequency its talking to the CPU at. Not faster. Now I mentioned in my previous post that the difference between the fastest and slowest ram that your CPU supports is <5% and that's to do with CAS latency. Basically frequency is how fast the RAM can communicate with the CPU, CAS Latency is how fast the RAM can access the data and make it available for the CPU. Your laptop will have DDR3L 1600 CAS Latency 11 RAM. Now you can get 1600 CAS 9 but its really not that much faster, like I said its <5%.

Hence it's not really worth it to get faster ram unless your CPU supports it. Just get 1600 and save your money. If the CAS 9 ram is similar priced or cheaper to the CAS 11 one, then obviously get that =)

 

Okay, just an update, I call Dell NZ today to try my luck since the free RAM upgrade is only like yesterday, so it pay off with extra 7.5% discount on top.

Long story short, because of the RAM promotion expired, normally I would have to pay $2650 but thanks to the Sale Rep I was talking to, he offer me a 7.5% and thus I pay $2450 NZD for the i7 4710HQ, 970M, 16GB RAM and 1TB HDD. $200 off with a free RAM upgrade, basically this is even better deal than yesterday's.

So right now, all I need to do left is to buy the 850 Evo

 

Great =)

 

Yeah the stock AW DDR3L RAM is fine, just get the free upgrade from 8GB to 16GB next Friday, it will be maxed out, then be done with it.

Seriously gain nothing with RAM using a 970M even the 980M, waste of time any higher than 1600, AW model doesn't allow memory overclocking anyway.

Other than the base unit with just selecting the 970M automatically upgrade the processor to i7 quad. There isnt a better deal than this in NZ, any other upgrades are to expensive to jusfity.

Don't even think about trying to get the 980M as an upgrade, Dell NZ will not under any circumstances allow you to have the 240W power adapter, been down that road already, it will cost you about $230 NZ dollars to buy a power adapter, and you will have to lie and say you have a different older model of Alienware 17 to even buy it. I doubt you will be looking at this, but just a warning to NZ buyers.

 

Well, the order is complete, I already order it for $200 cheaper than what I suppose to pay. ( As state in my post above) So it's all good now.

 

I just got the laptop, now I know how you feel, and right now I'm trying to uninstall it as well but I cant seem to find it, can you show me some direction?

For the SupportAssist thing, can you explain what exactly is it? Also would I get any problem if I uninstall it?

 

It should be in Programs and Features labeled as: " Killer Networking Software Suite " -- It may remove the WiFi drivers, but your next reboot should install the same drivers without the suite.

SupportAssist is Dell's diagnostic and remote help software. For "troubleshooting" purposes, it runs a gamut of random tests on your machine and one of them involves pushing the CPU to full load momentarily, so this causes your fans to randomly burst from time to time. If you ever need any remote assistance from Dell for any reason, you can reinstall it off their website. But I suggest uninstalling it as its a nuisance and it cuts back on resource usage.

 

It wasn't any cheaper, in fact you likely got ripped off, the listed price is heavily inflated way above what we should pay in NZ compared to other markets. Dell are not interested in the NZ dollar, more likely just will convert to USD. The discount they gave you was meager at best, there was way more movement in it than that. With Dell ANZ combined Australia and New Zealand identical sales and almost the same website, take into account the NZD is almost on parity with the AUD, in NZ we are already paying 20% more. It is a win win for Dell no matter if they gave you 25% off.

 

I believe NZ does have higher sales tax IIRC though which impacts prices and a smaller island nation makes costs for transporting the machines higher too.

 

Of course it's still sort of a ripped off, but it's better than paying $200 extra.