Its been a long time since I last posted here. But need some advice and possibly opinions.

My Long serving AW M15X Motherboard has given way. It has served me well since Dec 2009 and went through 2 GPU Changes from the stock GTX 260M I got it with then.

My emails to DELL in Nov 2015 and Dec 2015 provided some hope that spare parts would be available for me to salvage this beast and one was available however they have now stopped responding to my emails even when I CC them to their superiors. Im guessing they rather not deal with part replacement and do more new sales. The sad thing is even in 2015, the AMD 6970M GPU in my M15x isn't half bad and still a well working laptop. The final straw was the overheating of the card that triggered an AUTO - OFF and this time there was no revival. Even Batt drain doesn't work, and plugging in the adapter will result in the adapter light going off. Lesson learnt is that when on load remember to pay attention to your temps.

Anybody with pointers and experience in this similar scenario, your advise is much appreciated.


Am considering getting the AW 15 R2 with the new SKYLAKE Proc however there are a few things I am considering:

1) I read reviews that the FULL HD IPS Screen is too DIM even at Max brightness. For those currently using this model can you verify or counter this claim?

2) In relations to #1 above, would it be better to go for the UHD 4K Screen?

3) The 6,999 option that comes with the 3GB GTX 970M looks tempting. Is a jump to the GTX 980M worth the additiona RM1K Plus?

Hope to get some feedback from the community here for someone whom has been out of touch. My usage will be mainly:

i) Photo and Video editing
ii) Gaming with a preference for HIGH if not ULTRA settings.
iii) Some amount of moving around which is why i picked the 15 over the 17. My current M15x is 4.5kg versus this new model which is 3.1kg.

Thanks for the input.

Anyone here using the Alienware 15 R2 that comes with the 1920x1080 IPS HD Screen @ 220 Nits? Reviews say that the screen is too dim for day use and suffers from flickering at low brightness. Anyone experience this? Its due to this downside that I'm considering upgrading to the 4K UHD Option for this model.

Thoughts anyone?

Thanks for the input. My only concern is that if the screen issue isn't noticable I might as well skip the UHD Ugrade and instead get a UHD TV/Monitor in future

Just that reviews said brightness is low for such a highend price and the flickering is bad at low brightness due to PWM inbuilt settings.

Of course with budget we would all go highest specs

I wouldn't think DELL are selling defected products as their name and reputation is at stake. However a discussion with a dealer who sells both Alienware and other brands such as ASUS ROG and MSI shed light that AW Motherboards don't last as long as they used to. I can't really give my opinion on this aside the fact my Alienware M15x bought in Dec 2009 lasted me until Aug 2015 even after multiple GPU changes I did myself as well as a couple of forced shutdowns by the system due to overheating.

With the new line/breed, I would be more carefull in terms of handling them day by day especially with Battery etc all built in.

Hi guys, anyone using the Alienware 15 R2? I just received mine but have yet the time to go through this beast due to work commitment save turning it on and generally checking that the GPU is what was ordered and the HD and Ram is in order.

Overall screen brightness is satisfactory for me so far but gonna test it more today.

Questions for those using R2.

1) Any issue with regards to the brightness of your screen in daylight?
2) Any issue with regards to colours and how it displays?
3) Comments on your screen?

Feedback is much appreciated.

Anyone here having issues with their KILLER Wireless Card? Auto deactivates itself under load and cannot be reactivated unless you restart.

anyone here facing restarting/bsod issue with Alienware 15 R2?

Mines just 1 month old and i get the occassional restart when i left my desk to make a drink and come back....

No problems in terms of brightness for me.

Funny thing is I used it mostly at 75% brightness.

Only issue was I had driver issues and BSOD a lot of times. Fixed it already with a driver update. New Driver for GPU also improved the 3D Marks results for the GTX 980M. Loving it so far. Much lighter than my M15x