Alienware 2018

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Hi all,
I've not found any reviews of the new Alienware's (believe they have just been released?).
There are a few about youtube talking about the MSI GS65 and Gigabyte Auro 15x, so I was wondering what you all thought about how the Alienware compares? Initially I never thought of them because (for some reason) I thought they had poor battery life (I take the laptop around for films and things while Im away), but just noticed its a 99wh battery, which is actually bigger than the others. But runs g-sync, which makes it worse? Possibly? The GTX1070 isn't MaxQ and is apparently overclocked (to unknown amounts). So performance should be better than either of the others.

Comparing prices, I can get an Alienware 15" with 32gb, 512ssd, i7-8750H, GTX1070 8gb OC, for 2200 GBP (my current MSI doesnt have a pound button on the keyboard, actually incredibly annoying).

Or all the above, but an i9-8950HK for 2500 GBP.

MSI GS65, with the above i7, MaxQ 1070, 512SSD, 144hz screen for 2400 GBP (which is pricey I thought).
Or
Gigabyte Aero 15x, exactly the same as the MSI but 16GB RAM from here for 2200 GBP (seems a much better deal than the MSI)


The only downside I can see is a slightly lower spec screen (120hz vs 144), but is this going to be much of a difference? And *possibly* less battery life. ALso for nearly the same price as the MSI I could get an i9 (future proof).
Im assuming it will be a long time before the next gen Nvidia comes out for laptops so no point in waiting?
Any thoughts?
Thanks
 
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I've been looking at the same laptops too, here's what I've gleaned so far...

MSI GS65
Cons - Expensive, difficult to get into should you want to upgrade, no numeric keypad, central power button and some flex on the speaker grill, MSI aftercare, only one SSD
Pros - Extremely good looking, excellent specs inc 32GB RAM, decent IO, thin bezels equating to 14" footprint for 15.6" laptop

GIGABYTE AERO 15X
Cons - Webcam positioning, noticeable backlight bleed, difficult to get into should you want to upgrade, only one SSD
Pros - Good looking, decent specs inc. only 16GB RAM, decent IO, numeric keypad, GIGABYTE rep on these boards, thin bezels equating to 14" footprint for 15.6" laptop

Alienware 15
Cons - Much bigger than both, no numeric keypad, least attractive of the three (subjective),
Pros - Cheapest of the three, better CPU and GPU, Alienware GPU amplifier port (faster than Thunderbolt), contains SSD and HDD

Personally it's between the GS65 and Alienware for me, though I'm veering towards the GS65. I had a GS63 Stealth and loved the size, the idea of a 14" footprint with such raw horsepower makes it a very attractive proposition plus the new chassis looks far more adult. The only things that bother me are MSI aftercare but hopefully one shouldn't need it and the difficulty getting into the machine to upgrade, necessitating the 32GB model.

The Alienware does make a compelling argument, you could get the i9 for cheaper and access to internals is okay. The GPU amplifier port is extremely attractive as it's fast than TB3 but it's dull by today's standards and fat.

Rumours of the 1180 coming out in July time are quite common, so I'd wager that laptops would then be a month or two after that, so possibly September but that's only my guess.
 
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The lack of a second hard drive is putting me off the msi, there's a lot more configurability (real word?) With the alienware which I like.
You make a good point about the external graphics card, I hadn't considered that which makes the a little more attractive.
September isn't too long to wait for the possibility of a more impressive card, but depends how much better it is.
Theres so much flex in the msi, my current one is ridiculous.
I've heard its hard to get into the new msi, but I'm sure there will be a way.

Edit: what are your thoughts on the screens? Will it be a noticeable difference do you think?
 
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The lack of a second hard drive is putting me off the msi, there's a lot more configurability (real word?) With the alienware which I like.
You make a good point about the external graphics card, I hadn't considered that which makes the a little more attractive.
September isn't too long to wait for the possibility of a more impressive card, but depends how much better it is.
Theres so much flex in the msi, my current one is ridiculous.
I've heard its hard to get into the new msi, but I'm sure there will be a way.

Edit: what are your thoughts on the screens? Will it be a noticeable difference do you think?

In theory, if you were to opt for the Alienware with an i9 and a 1070 you could always add a 11** card via the graphics amp, you could also do it via TB3 but from what I've seen you lose about 30-40% performance. In terms of 11** perf increase, early leaks suggest a 50% improvement - 1080 vs 1180 (if they're to be believed).

I think the difference between screens is purely preference.

144hz @ 1080p - 120hz @ 1080p - 60hz @ 4K.

144hz vs 120hz the difference is minimal, so really it's between the quality of the screens, the AERO 15X seems to suffer from bleed quite badly, no such issues with the MSI have been reported... yet. That being said the quality of the screen on my Stealth was decent but only 60hz.

60hz @ 4K is useful for professional media/creativity folk but less so for gamers, factoring in screen size and additional GPU grunt that's needed means the 4K option isn't ideal for gamers.

Below is an image of the AERO 15X backlight bleed (taken from Reddit).

EnU2SP2.png
 
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Apparently they made the GS65 easier to access the internals, so they said haha. No one seems to agree.
I would rather have the space for a traditional hdd instead of a second overly priced ssd tbh. Which only the Alienware offers. And I wouldn't go for a 4k screen. Both MSI and Aero seem to have really nice screens, but that bleed looks pretty poor :/
Im not sure if adding a new gen Geforce would be worth it as an external, just because of the price of the case and new card. Price to performance wouldn't add up to don't think. And I'm not sure to believe a whole 50% improvement :/ If its 30-40% decline in performance externally, that nearly negates it ha.
I think I will wait another month or two for more realistic results on new graphic cards, but the Alienware is so far looking like a much better option at the moment, puretly for the hdd, better graphics card and possible i9. I hate tech, there's always something new around the corner to wait for haha.
 
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Sadly the 13 is discontinued - I'm selling mine to get the new 15 although I will miss the OLED display. I did consider the new MSI GS65 Stealth, but ruled it out in the end. Support is important for me and only Dell have offer on-site warranty in my region. I do wish the likes of MSI and Gigabyte would up their game in this regard.
 
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HELLO

I have justed ordered my Alienware Area51m...which is at the moment between London and China. DELL Tracking system not very precise. Anyway given the outrageous amount Dell charges for warranty extensions from 1 year (I mean these can't be reflective of the actual statistical measurement of unit failure over the period), I am looking at third party warranty extensions. Found a company in UK called MendIT, but I have yet to purchase anything. Does anyone have any suggestions as I blew all my budget on the actual unit. CHEERS!!!
 
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HELLO

I have justed ordered my Alienware Area51m...which is at the moment between London and China. DELL Tracking system not very precise. Anyway given the outrageous amount Dell charges for warranty extensions from 1 year (I mean these can't be reflective of the actual statistical measurement of unit failure over the period), I am looking at third party warranty extensions. Found a company in UK called MendIT, but I have yet to purchase anything. Does anyone have any suggestions as I blew all my budget on the actual unit. CHEERS!!!

Avoid MendIT.

Personal anecdote only:

MendIT are a partner to some laptop manufacturers. I sent them a laptop that I had damaged for repair. They returned it to me running at 100*C idle. That's how bad the thermal paste job they had done was. The battery was not connected fully, a screw missing from the bottom of the laptop, and they did not return with the outer protective box that I had sent it to them in.

They had the laptop back and forth over the first 6 months of me owning it trying to fix these issues, and it ended up being with them longer than it was with me.

Seriously unimpressed.



Just out of interest, what made you go for the Alienware over the equivalent Clevo with exactly the same spec (or better the Clevos have more drive options than Alienware, and still have desktop cpu etc), when the Clevo comes in roughly a grand cheaper and is built in the UK?
 
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Well good question, I had my own issues with my last pc specialist built laptop which also ended up spending a large amount of time in repair. Perhaps it was also my bad luck but went off them. What was the end result did they fix it in the end. Any other recommendation? Hate to crawl back to Dell and pay over £300 for 1 more year. Then again have heard a few Dell horror stories.
 
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There are numerous other manufacturers offering the desktop cpu and gpu combo, but none that I would recommend over Clevo (and their builders).

For warranty, nope.
 
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Thanks but the dye is cast so to speak on the Area51m. Was referring to third party warranty or repair. Mendit seems to have a hit or miss rep.
 
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Sorry confused? You are using their warranty.

Hi AJVP, I lease my Alienware equipment directly from Dell and have done for about 6 years. I usually buy a new Alienware laptop whenever they refresh them.

In my experience with Dell they will haggle on the warranty extension, it is usually far better to call a couple of times and get a few quotes with different operators.

Benchmark rate is approx £100-£120 per year for a top end laptop, if you buy multi-year warranties.

I have never had to use my warranty on any of my laptops but it is nice to have peace of mind.
 
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Thanks...when I bought the 51m +1 year would cost me another £367 and +2 years £461. Will try to get an extension later, but unless they change their pricing policy for after purchase add ons this seems rediculous.
 
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