*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

Update to my issue with the AGA and the m15, Alienware Premium Support couldn't figure it out, they pretty much did everything I had already done to try and fix it. Alienware is now replacing my machine hopefully it was just a bad machine or could be that Alienware needs to release a new bios or drivers for it to work. Still looking for anyone else with an AGA to test.

AGA + 2080 ti and m15 bsods everytime graphic intensive app loads, clean windows install done, drivers updated and still continues to BSOD. AGA + 2080 TI works fine in my 17r4.

 

Just received mine.

As expected, Windows would not activate during setup. I created a local account and can confirm that killing all Killer related services via Task Manager works. I have uninstalled the Killer suite and rebooted. So far, everything seems ok. I've only had it about 30 minutes, so lots more to do but at least it activated ok. Turning on my Microsoft account afterwards was painless.

Keyboard feels ok, not like the XPS as I was expecting. About like the G7. Trackpad is smooth, not as good as the Razer Blade but still good.

As mentioned, they do NOT include a screw for the second m.2 slot and my WD 1tb did not come with one. Luckily, I had one around the house but both Dell and WD should include one.

 

Thanks will let you know how it goes

 

So what do you think of it so far?

At first I wasn’t keen on the keyboard as I mentioned in my initial thoughts but it has been growing on me as I have continued to use it (although I would still prefer an xps keyboard and layout)

 

So far so good! Keyboard is easy to type on with little adjustment needed from my normal keyboard on my work computer to the m15. My Blade needed adjustment on my part to go back and forth from. Keys don't feel as crisp as a XPS or Thinkpad, but like it.

So far I've:
- Updated Windows from Home to Pro using a key, not a fresh install.
- Updated all drivers
- Removed Killer software. Windows Store tried to download it again, so I deleted it from there as well.

Only issues so far:
- As mentioned, couldn't activate Windows. Created a local account and killed running Killer software. RESOLVED
- No screw for the second m.2 slot. Had one around the house. RESOLVED.
- Tiles kept coming back after a reboot. Had to delete a registry key to get it to resolve. This also removed an empty group called Alienware+ that was annoying. RESOLVED

Machine is very snappy and definitely feels good. Glossy bezels doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Temps during updates and installs so far has been in the high to mid 50's. Already better than the Blade which was in the 70s. I'll do more testing tonight as wife, work, and schoolwork allow. So far, pretty happy with the purchase.

 

Can anyone post an Amazon link to m.2 screw in US? I'm not sure which size is the correct one, I get my m15 tomorrow

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

Believe the size is: CM2x3-3.3

I'd buy the cheapest you can.

 

Checked HWiNFO

Stock OS drive (I upgraded to the 512 at purchase): KXG50ZNV512G NVMe TOSHIBA 512GB
Stock ram (default at purchase): SK Hynix HMA81GS6CJR8N-VK
Screen (upgraded to the 144hz at purchase): AU Optronics [Unknown Model: AUO80ED] B156HAN

 

So after contacting Dell for a heatsink for m.2 I was ready to have to purchase as I didn't order either m15 with any HDD upgrade they sent out the first to a repair shop. Then today they decided they would just send me the next one. They stated.

"We recently received an update information from our engineering team, the heatsinks does not come with the unit if the unit is not ordered with and SSD from sales department adding that 128GB/256GB SDDs do not need the heatsink, please let me know how big is your SSD going to be in the computer so I can check with my manager if we can do an exception on this request"



Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

Quick thermal update:

Playing FFXIV (the MMO) for about 30 minutes, GPU max temp was 72. CPU did hit 90 and throttled down to the 70s. This is on balanced mode. Fans got loud once it hit 90 and then tampered down in the 70s. I did download some other games and will check those out soon. FFXV and the Blade didn't get along, so I'll check that out. FFXIV is not an intense game and was more hopping on to check for a medium house for the wife (she's jealous of mine )

Screen is great and definitely an improvement over my previous laptops. This is my first 144hz screen and I'm impressed.