Your hard work and videos really helped me making my purchase decision for x15 r2. Waiting for it to be delivered and still keep on watching your videos. Thank-you for your efforts in making these videos and all the comparisons.
Great video as always David . I have Alienware m15 r2 as daily drivers and desktop replacement for a year now. Made some tweaks like changing the thermal paste etc Alienware do make great machines And thanks to honest reviewers who provide us great reviews
Great review. Thanks to your reviews I’m enjoying Alienware M15 R5 and I’m absolutely blown away with 3070 performance and 1440p 240hz panel picture. Only issue I’ve got with it is creak coming from left bottom screen corner when opening laptop. I found out that after uninstalling Alienware command centre fans don’t ramp up without any reason. GPU temperature while gaming is in low 70s, CPU in mid 80s. Amazed with design and performance.
Glad you are enjoying it and that qhd screen is just awesome, I feel sad when I use the x17’s 1080p after using that screen. Could the noise be coming from the hinge or is it plastic creaking?
@@MashITTech it’s not the hinge it’s plastic that isn’t properly glued in left bottom corner of screen. After pushing it and holding creek is gone. It’s nothing major because you only hear it when opening laptop, nevertheless Alienware price range screams quality and performance and it’s not acceptable. Saw few reviews where this issue was a thing as well so it’s just plastic cover quality issue.
As someone who’s had over 25 alienwares over the last 20 years .. my favourite is still the og 17r2 w/rgb because of the 1200p screen. I wanted the 17 r1 last year, but I wanted the 16:10 screen, and the power plug on the back as well as 1600p res.. I ended up with a legion 5 pro. It has all of that and replaceable WiFi memory and 2 m.2 slots.. none of that soldered garbage. I’ll be waiting for Alienware to do 16:10
They were definitely on a downward spiral with all sorts of stuff. But they are quickly improving and there's a huge sale right now on 11th gen for hundreds of dollars off.
I always wanted to buy Alienwnare, because it looks amazing and I ended up buying Legion 5 Pro as well and I cannot be more happy with it. It is powerful and I can play easily in 2K and also thermals are awesome! I can easily play without headphones. Fans are not annoying. More like wind in the forest. Really love it and it will be hard to beat by other brands. Looks are not that fancy like others, but if we are talking about thermals, performance. Nobody can get wrong with Legion
@@MashITTech Is it slower, than the competitor full spec? do you think any idea how i could build the power of it in a 27 inch 144p gaming monitor, with that nice slim power supply? dont want to lose any weight so maybe the fanss would be o top of the motherboard, at make the monitor stand from the weight of the laptops hardvare, what do you think? How is it possibble?
Thanks MashIT! Great video!!! Super thorough! This is incredibly helpful for those of us evaluating getting one of Alienware's configurations. I think you also did a great job voicing our concerns. If Dell follows your recommendations they'd make the closest thing to a perfect laptop in my opinion. I hope they're listening!
Awesome review. I've got my choice narrowed down to two laptops, the X17 R2 and the GE76 so I've been watching all the reviews I can on these machines and yours are some of the best. Also agree with you on the Negatives as well. No 1440p screen option sucks, especially when, as you stated, most or all of AW's competitors have it. And the RGB track pad is gone... Why? I'll add two more that you brought up earlier in the video and multiple other reviewers have complained about and that's the use of the garbage-ass speakers and completely out of date, 720p web cams. Seriously, Dell. People are spending a TON of money on these machines. You can afford to spend another $10-$20 per machine and include decent speakers and a 1080p webcam... especially at the volume purchasing you do. It is completely unacceptable for that low level of hardware at this price point.
Yeah, I don't know why they think we wont care about the speakers. I had a conference call with the Alienware engineering department a few days ago and I did point this out to them as well as the lack of QHD and awful command centre software (mind you msi software is just as bad
Great video as always! Clear and in-depth. I was curious though, did you have any screen bleeding at the bottom bezel? I had some on my X17 r1, sent it back and got one that had way less, but a bit still. 360hz screen And I totally agree with you about the low rez screen options and the incredible disappointment with the different track pad. I really hope they pay attention to your videos, if it wasn't for those 2 things it would be a perfect laptop. Its close but not quite there. Thanks
Excellent review, I agree with everything you said. I am very surprised by the thermals being very good with these new components. And 100% if people are only after a gaming laptop they should get the 11th gen x17 r1 with 3080, more than $1000 USD less, RGB trackpad and only 10% ish performance loss on average in gaming. But that 12900HK is incredible, it matches and passes a ryzen 9 5900X in multi core and single core 😋
Yeah I must admit the i9 performance is crazy, hoping to squeeze a bit more out of it with some tweaking! Throttlestop is not fully working with these 12th gen yet but there is some overcooking options in BIOS 👍
@Mash IT 12th gen is incredible. I look forward to your video on getting the most out of this. I actually upgraded my desktop recently, sold what I had with a ryzen 9 5900X, and built a new one with an i7 12700K + 3080. I wasn't expecting any major gains, but I'm blown away by the time I save in video rendering. I always use nvenc encoder and the 12700K helps the 3080 a lot more than the ryzen 9. Could be the DDR5 RAM too.
I am so tempted to sell my 11th gen desktop motherboard and cpu and do the same, struggling to find a decent motherboard as I wand ddr4 still until ddr5 improves in speed and gets cheaper. What did you get?
@@MashITTech My motherboard is the ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-E GAMING WIFI, and my RAM is the DDR5 G.SKILL 6000 CL40. They have the CL36 version for only slightly more money. I'm running the RAM at 4800 Mhz though, I haven't had the time to get the 6000Mhz working flawlessly as it doesn't work when you simply change the speed.
Thanks you MashIT! It's so bad that there is no qhd on the x17 😢! So I'm waiting for your review on the x15 r2. I hope it will be the solution to replace my old desktop. You did an incredible job as always. Thanks again. 🤘
I’m still on my R4 with the 1080p 360hz. For gaming I still prefer 1080p 360hz bc I can’t really tell in most games a big difference in visual quality stepping up to 1440p but I can tell smoothness in frame rates bc their 360hz is so responsive even without getting anywhere near that refresh rate. It’s noticeable for everything, work or play. But I agree I want a QHD option bc what I didn’t consider enough was my work which is mostly emails and spreadsheets but that extra resolution would allow me to get more on the screen when working. Nice review - I’ll wait for R3 and see if they address the screen options and those secondary keys backlight
Yes, that’s exactly how I see it, if you ONLY game the 1080p 360hz is a great option but if you are spending this much money you are probably going to be using it for other tasks too and that’s where 1080p looks long in the tooth. And why can’t dell just offer it as an option? It would fly off the shelves, they could still keep the base 1080p option
@@MashITTech agreed. I’m not sure why. Maybe they’re waiting on something to differentiate themselves in regards to screens since their sales don’t seem to be suffering with not offering more options
I recently ordered the r1 with the i9/3080 just for the 4k but mainly because it was like 600 usd cheaper (now out of stock). Wish I could get the ddr5 and 12th gen intel and obvs the Ti, and Ive been considering canceling my r1 order (order delayed of course) and getting the r2. But you've convinced me to stick with my r1, and I really appreciate it!! Now if only I can steal the r2 power pack instead of the literal brick! Thanks for the info man, sub'd!
I have the m15 r6, and love it, 16 gig ram (I upped it to 24), 1tb ssd, 3070, if your looking at the x17 and putting serious thought to it, then go for it, you won't be dissapointed.
@@MashITTech yeah I'm set for years with it, like you said, 4k gaming is so heavy on rescorces, I've really found the 1440p monitor and 60fps and upwards, is a real sweet spot for gaming.
@@diegovillavicencio3172 yes, It had 2 sticks of 8 gb ram in the slots both removable/swappable, was really hoping it was a lump of just 1x 16 lol, because I come in to a 260 pin stick of 16 gig ddr4 by pure chance, so I left an 8 in, took an 8 out, put a 16 in, now 24, as far as I'm aware it can max at 64gb, of course memory speed dependant.
@@nextgengaming7803 that's awesome! I'm looking for a cheaper second-hand Alienware to carry around and leave the X17 at home, so I was searching for a M14 R4, however the swappable rams of the R6 really just got my attention!
Great Review thorough and well presented!!! And thank you for the quick reply with my first question from 4 days ago! Thumbs way up for you and your channel!!
Amazing review David! Flow was really great and very well put together. The thumbnail was brilliant too! Did you have a lightbulb inside the computer for that?
on a laptop FHD is enough for me. 4k takes more wattage. if you want, buy a bigger 4k monitor with 100% SRGB, and plug that to your ext monitor when working @ your home.
Can I carry it anywhere I want? Yes. Is the design snazzy? Yes. Is the screen big enough for games and video production? Yes. Can I afford it? Yes. Is any laptop truly a perfect machine? No. Hitting the Order button now.
Great review yet again David ! Listen I know the speakers sound trash out of the box but if you tweak it in AWCC the difference is night & day. I manually adjusted the EQ, bass treble & all the knobs, and changed the audio mode from NORMAL to LOUD. Try and see for yourself.
Good advice but on the r2 they have removed the awcc eq! This I think is the cause of the problem, we now get Dolby atmos instead and I haven’t found a decent profile yet. Justin and I have been investigating this and if I get it sorted I will add it into the deep dive video I always do 👍
@@MashITTech damn that's a bummer ! I have the R5, speakers were obviously trash out of the box , decided to play around with audio settings, and I was astonished! Even posted it on reddit forum and many people said the same thing. It's a shme Dell tunes the speakers poorly from the factory. Anyways, I'm looking forward to your tweaks video, it helped me much when I got my R5!
Thanks for reviewing this behemoth rig! I've been planning to buy the x17 and do you think it's worth getting the 3080? I'm mostly gonna do 3d modeling, game play recording and editing.
I got the X17R2 wwiuth 12700H and GTX3060 package, if there is anything you may want to bench against always happy to help. Great video, i am watching it although i have already bought the lower end version.
The RGB track pad on the x17 R2 is actually installed on the laptop but restricted by software. All you have to do is enable it. It’s a shame they don’t make that obvious to the consumer
Have you managed to enable yours? I tried everything on my multiple units and there was nothing I could do to get it working but this was when they first launched, I don’t have a 3080ti now
Great video!! Still waiting for the 4k version which hopefully would launch in the following weeks? But I'm still not sure on CPU choice, I knew that i9 might have thermal issues, but I heard that only i9 could be undervolted using throttlestop this year. Any advice?
The i9 hk is unlocked but I still struggled with throttlestop. I couldn't adjust multipliers and the undervolts didn't seem to make a meaningful difference! I am hoping it is just the current beta of throttlestop doesn't know how to handle the mobile 12th gen yet
Hi Dave! Thank you for the review. Can you advise on how this compares with the x17 R1 with the previous gen i9 processor? It seems that had some issues with the thermals and users faced high temperatures with the i9 version of the X17 R1. Everyone seemed to be recommending to buy the X17 R1 with the i7 processor. But from where i come, the i7 models are available only with the 3070 GPU and 3080 option is available only with the i9 processor. How does the new i9 processor compare to those two R1 models? Would you recommend buying the X17 R1 with 3070 Graphics card (as i dont have any other option atm) or should I wait till this version hits the market ? I am really concerned about the thermals in the long run.
this is a tough question! the x17r1 i9 can run hot but with a bit of tweaking with throttle stop it is fine. The reason I recommend the i7 is because not only can that be tweaked with throttle stop, it can also be overclocked making the i9 almost pointless. Hope this helps but ask away if you want me to elaborate on anything
@@MashITTech Do you reckon that Dell will do the same thing they did with the R1 last year and unlock the i7? Either way, the i7 would still be a better purchase for value for both work and play, right? From what I understand, if they choose to keep it locked, it will still run cooler than the i9 and perform extremely similar as it’s the same chip really only missing the higher clock speeds, and if they do choose to unlock it, that would once again render the i9 chip essentially a waste of a few hundred bucks. Please feel free to correct any holes in my knowledge David-thanks!
Thanks for the cool video and review of this alienware. I was thinking on buying one of this stands for the laptop like the one you showed on your setup, but adding some fans on the stand to provide air to the bottom of the laptop, do you consider this a need for this alienware ? Would it improve their capabilities?
Nice review of the Alienware x17 R2, I want to get one of these but with my configuration it's like 6k so not sure about it, that's an awful lot to spend on a laptop with not so good audio or even a 4k screen.
I don't like that they removed the number pad from their 17" models. I use it every day for personal stuff, work and gaming. I'd love to get an M17 or X17, but until they give back the number pad.
Hey Mash, I am waiting for 'this' one, but it's the 165Hz version, everything else is the same. I am also waiting for the Odissey G7A LS28AG700NUXEN (it said 165Hz here, 4K, 1ms RT, tho I think it's 144Hz haha). I want to use this setup for work/study as well, hence the extra monitor. I am no professional player and don't even compete. It's just for the fun and excitement good quality stuff provides. My question: Do you think this setup is a good one or should I have picked the 360Hz? The quality of the notebook's screen alone isn't that good, given it's only 1080p. Does that bother a lot or is the quality still ok for, say, some working on the go? Thank you so much. Greetings from Germany.
The 1080p 165hz is still a great panel. I used the 165hz all last year in my r1 and really enjoyed it. The 360hz is slightly better but you sound like me in that you will regularly use an external screen too and I would put the money saved from the 369hz upgrade to a good external which are always better anyway 👍
@@MashITTech, yeah, that's what I was thinking about when I chose the 165Hz version - about the extra monitor I'd need to use anyway. So I picked Samsung's new Odissey G7A 28". BTW: you come with such good content and even read your subscribers' comments - I can't see your channel not blowing up soon. Thanks, Mate.
@@MashITTech, you haven't had one 'for a while'? I never had one - in my entire life😂😂. I also never had an AW. That's gonna be my first experience with these specs. But yeah, I will definitely let you know, once I've gotten these babies and sorted everything out.
This is a great and honest review, I totally agree. I have bought the top spec, with FHD 360 Hz. This display is amazing for gaming, but it's very bad for reading text on Windows. I'm software programmer and I'm annoyed with the pixelated aspects of text in the FHD display. I'll return my unit and buy the 4k version. I would love to see your review for the 4k edition, including gaming and scaling 1080p to 4k to speed up FPS.
@@MashITTech Glad to know you got the 4k version, I am in process of returning my x17 R2 i7 3080 ti 1080p 360hz and Im wondering if getting the 4k same config for only 220$ extra will be a better gaming and overall experience. the other option im thinking is asus scar strix 17 1440p 3070yi i9 32gb ddr5 1tb for 2300$ which like 1200$ less than the alienware 4k x17 r2 i7 3080ti 16gb ddr5. would love to know your opinion, thanks
@@ameerchehab my initial impressions of the 4K screen are very positive! It is a stunning panel. I haven’t games on it yet and I haven’t tested scaling but will do it asap. The scar is also a solid machine but the build quality isn’t as good as the Alienware. The price difference is hard to ignore though. I managed to get my x17 4K for a really good price in the uk (2200gbp) so it was a no brainer
Wow Dave, awesome deal here in US 4k 16gb ram 3080 ti i7 512gb for 3522$ after tax. I had the 4k 17 R1 before with i9 3080 was 2800$ same as what u paid for the R2. i enjoyed it a lot but had dead pixel and replacement never came so refunded in January, downside was no gsync on 4k R1. So waited for R2. I am traveling to Europe in 25 days and want to get my hands on a good laptop before i leave, there the prices for Alienware are double like 4000 euro or more. I appreciate early feedback on gaming, especially that i tried to push the 3080 ti to use 175watt by upscaling DSR to 4k on my 1080p 360hz in god of war but it only once went to 160 watts for a sec, mostly at 150watts, thats very weird the R1 on resident evil village was like 165watts all the time on 4k. Sorry for long replies. Appreciate again ur feedback
Yeah, it cuts through my blender low poly models with no problems at all, I am not the most demanding of user though. And I agree 4K is unnecessary and also leads to some scaling issues but I love the clarity of 2k at 17” which is why I think it’s the sweet spot
Thank you again for some excellent information and evaluation. I have similar (plus one) gripes and they may make me choose an MSI, Lenovo, or Razer. (1) No QHD!!!! (2) The lack of secondary key illumination. (3) No 3070Ti option! Really?! for $3k+ USD I expect more quality than this provides.
Was the Timespy score acquired with overclocking or at stock? Kinda looks like stock. I'm seeing some with this laptop were getting well into the 14,000's.
Totally stock, I never overclock in reviews as it would misrepresent the product. There is usually pretty good headroom on these cards so I can believe those high scores
Thanks for the great video as always! I have watched your Alienware deep dive video, that is great too! But I have a quick question about undervolt cpu X17, if undervolt too much, saved and the system not boot anymore, just un-plug battery to reset bios is enough? I am new to this, so would like to get some ideas before proceeding, and no luck for other place to find these infor
Fortunately if you save it after going to far it will still boot but if you open throttlestop it will crash. You need to wipe the throttlestop ini file and start a fresh with throttlestop. Hope this makes sense but feel free to add me on Instagram or Reddit to discuss 👍
@@MashITTech Thanks a lot! It make sense, really appreciate it! I will setup my first time use Reddit account, just to get connection and view useful post or discussion from your updates
Only bad thing long term is the Thermal compound. It just didnt last at all. About a year and it was hotting 100c on 2 cores others at 60 and spikes on the package of 113c. Liquid Metal and rolling back to Bios 1.8.2 gives you controll over the TPL and Voltage. Easily sustain 130w on the CPU now before it had gone down to 80w But will be trying PTM7950 later this week and after its had a few days to set in i hope it works at 90% as well. As right now i really cant transport it for fear of the liquid metal buggering off to make its own shorts. As when i opend it up the shield/gasket pretty much disintigrated. So right now its coverd with kapton. Changed out the SSD heatsinks for some copper plates. And have some thermal pads on top of them making contact with the bottom case. Makes a massive difference in the SSD temps! Stock Dell ones were useless. Other that that its been fine and AWCC is still as crappy as ever ! Best thing about it still is gaming in Quiet mode. 100w GPU 30w CPU. Cool temps, no noise and 70-80% of the performance.
THANKS MASHIT Great video. Question? I have dual AW3418DW monitors and want to see if the X17 R2 can power dual monitors with out a docking station??? like WD22TB4?? Please advise thank you
Just replied to you on the other thread but it's essentially the same answer. Just use the mini display port for one monitor and buy a usb to Display Port for the other
Nice review as usual!, I had a conversation with one of dell sales advisor few days ago and he told that x17 r2 QHD panel version is coming on 165 hrz at any time this year!!
Hey Mash, during the intro the game that you were playing the CPU & GOU temps are 80 degrees and plus is that normal? Will it affect the GPU or the CPU in anyway?
No these machines and components are good for it. Dell have been running them like this for years. We have to be thankful that dell allows us full boost at the expense of temps compared to other companies that throttle the system back. And if you don’t like the heat you can adjust it yourself to make it cooler
Best Keyboard was the Area 51m R2: - Per key RGB - Numpad - Secondary keys are always lit (even if the only layout is the US one and not the UK one. I prefer this over no light at all). - Macro Keys - Mechanical keyboard feel but without the mechanical sound. The Area 51m R1 keyboard was also pretty good, but not the best - I Loved the extra 3 ways macro block on the left and use it quite a lot. The R2 was defo the improvement. I ordered a X17 R2 with the newest i9 12900k and the RTX 3080Ti. Sadly after 1 week of testing it, I had returned it. It was running hotter than my R2 and all the scores were on PAR with The i9 10900K and RTX 2080 Super (With some tweaks the R2 actually scored higher than the X17 R2 -_- in gaming. On the X17 R2 there wasn't a lot of room to overclock & undervolt though as it was really hot no matter what... maybe I got an abysmal thermal paste application or... But I didn't want to open it for obvious reasons). The i9 12900K unfortunately cannot shine in this chassis as it does in a desktop :( It's a shame really because a bigger chassis like the Area 51M should have accommodate this CPU a loot better! However I did love the new slim power brick ;) I hope I can find and buy 2 of those for my Area 51m R2. So in the end... if you have an Area 51m R2 (or R1) even... the new X17 R2 doesn't really adds anything for 3800£. In some regards it's actually a downgrade... (not to mention the upgradability - video card dead - just swap that, or another CPU) which is a BIG shame and missed opportunity! I was really looking forward to the X17 R2.... but now I know I will be waiting 5 more years or something until Alienware actually makes a new "Area 51" equivalent ^_^
Hi David! Quick Question... the new 330W powerbrick, will it work with previous Gen x17 R1? I'm considering buying the new 330w... but would be of great help if you could confirm its compatible.
My boss ordered this for me with the same specs but with 64 GB of ram and 1 TB of storage. I was wondering how long it will take this beauty to be delivered. It’s been already 10 days and the order hasn’t been confirmed yet… can’t wait:(
Thank you for the review - thermals are definitely an issue / gripe though - I’ve just got the X17 R2 with the 12900HK, 3080 TI and the 300hz display - I must say that it’s a good laptop but the thermals are absolutely crazy. CPU hits 100c constantly and thermal throttles way too often. I’ve undervolted the core and cache voltages by 0.1000v which has helped a little bit but sheesh - there is no way in holy heck it’s going to hit the 5ghz boost 😂
Mine also have this issue. my i9 cpu performs much worse than many others‘ X17R2 i7！Cinebench r23 is only 16300. I think it may be becasue bad pasting by the workers. Maybe, the best way is just repasting……
Dell always let the laptops boost as much as possible until 100c. If you are uncomfortable with that you can change the value in BIOS. The CPUs are rated over 100c and apple has been doing this for years without issue
Hey, I plan on buying the X17 R2 soon, do you have any suggestion on whether I should get the i7 - 12700H or the i9 12900HK, The price does not matter and I will be connecting it to a 2k 240hz display.
if price really does not matter get the i9. It performs a little better than the i9 and also allows you to tweak the cpu. For anyone even remotely concerned by value I don't think its worth the extra though
Thanks! I'll go for the i7, and have there been any thermal issues you have experienced with either the i7 and the i9? I maybe won't go for the i9 since no laptop I know of can handle the heat given out by it.
Thanks MashIT! I love your Reviews. I just got my R2 delivered yesterday. What hings i have to be aware of ? How to increase the performance right out of the box ?
I will do a deep dive soon with any tweaks I find but so far just make sure you update through windows update then use the alienware updater to get all the drivers upto date. The function f1 enables performance mode which does give it a nice boost but puts the fans at max, I think it’s worth it though if you see gaming with a headset. Lastly prop the rear up when you are gaming as that little bit of airflow really makes a difference
I just received mine in the mail, waited 2 weeks and it was DOA....Dell told me I could exchange it for a new one but it would be another 2+week wait didn't even offer priority shipping on the replacement. Or take a day off of work so a technician could come take a look in 3-5 days. There has to be no quality control for it to have shipped to me. Literally wouldn't turn on completely unresponsive, no lights, no fans, no beeps nothing. This is my second Alienware with serious issues so I don't think it's just a one off. I would say look elsewhere for high end laptops.
Battery life is the worst part of these 12th gen laptops, they are worse than 11th gen and a lot worse than ryzen laptops. Unplugged you still get great cpu performance but the gpu is throttled back as there is no way the battery coould cope with 150w of gpu and 40w of cpu power
Hey David, super review once again :) I noticed you didn't compare your X17 R1 11980HK - rather than the 11800 model, any reason why? Did you also compare the M.2 speeds, as I've read these are 4th gen parts - so probably, close to twice the performance for both read / write. Could be a solid reason to upgrade for some, combined with Alderlake if you intend to use the unit for production tasks. For me, I won't be asking work to upgrade my unit from X17 R1 11980HK, with the 3080 as I use it primarily for gaming and VR in education and I would really miss the RGB track-pad.
Hi mark, only reason I didn’t compare is that I didn’t get the i9 in last year so didn’t have the results to put in my spreadsheet. I didn’t compare m.2 speeds as last year although the x17r1 had gen4 slots they put gen 3 drives in. I detailed that in a couple of videos and r1 owners can easily install their own gen4 drives and get the same speed as r2. I did show the speeds of the new gen 4 drives dell are providing in the unboxing 👍
I am thinking of getting this laptop for some general gaming. I might get an external monitor at some point. I am just struggling between some options mainly the screen 4k or 1920x1080 360hz. Also should i get the i9 or i7? I do want to spec it out with the 3080ti and 32g of ram. For storage probably 2t or should I get 2 stick of 1t? Thanks.
Get the i7, 3080ti and 4k, your eyes will thank you for it :) Also just get it with 1 ssd and add another later. I am currently making a guide on this as it is much cheaper than Dell 👍
Great review, thank you! I ordered mine about two weeks ago and yesterday I got notified it was ready and left the factory for the shipping, so about 16 more days to get here. It’s my first advanced gaming laptop so can’t wait!! I’m just worried about the shipping since it come from China and I live in Italy, so it’s a long route and the situation with the Ukraine war is quite tough at the moment. I hope it doesn’t encounter any problems by the way. What do you think Mash?
This shouldn’t cause you any problems, the laptops usually ship into Germany first then off to your respective country. In the U.K. this process normally takes a week so I figure it will be the same for you
Ordered I9 12900/3080ti. Took a month to receive the laptop even with express shipping. Dell forgot to ship it and luckily they reimbursed me for the express shipping. After receiving the laptop and charging it to full turned it on and instantly hit 100C on the cpu. During setup… I have owned the M17 r3 for quite sometime so I’m use to the heat these AW laptops and intel mobile chips can generate but the x17 r2 was very bad. I ran cinebench and 3dmark right off the bat to get a general idea what to expect with this machine. It got decent scores at first. But after the first few benchmarks the scores drastically dropped and on the cpu and gpu even on max fans. I always run TS on my M17 so I figured I’d try that. Nope, could not stop the throttling. So next tried running a few high demand games and programs(Steep, Adobe, RSlogixdesigner, Autodesk) and it was terrible. With the thermal throttle and consistent CPU temps at 100C the program just ran like garbage. I paid $4300 for this laptop and was very unhappy with it. I shipped it back 2 days after receiving it. It could have been a thermal paste issue or maybe configuration problem but if I’m gonna pay that kind of money I shouldn’t have to repaste or even run TS for simple tasks. It should perform great out of the box. Just want people to be aware that even though this machine has good specs doesn’t make it a good machine.
Sounds like a typical dell qc lottery! I have just received an x14 in for review and my thermals are really poor compared to others! Dell clearly are testing these properly before leaving the factory 😢
@@MashITTech awesome. After almost 9 months of owning an R1 I still haven’t managed to source a 2nd power supply. Now I want the new 330w one 🙁 please tell me how 😫
Hi Mash IT, may I ask what’s the SKU or Part Number for the new 330w small form factor adapter? I am thinking to order and buy one for my X17 R1. Thanks
The biggest annoyance on my X17 R1 is the position of the left FN key. It eats into the 'CTRL' key size, so when gaming I often hit FN instead. They should have put it on the right side, especially since this is a gaming focused keyboard. I also agree that the power plug should be at the back, and USB in its place, and headphone jack position is also not ideal as it gets in the way of the mouse. Otherwise a great machine. Great video thanks !
@@batmanonholiday4477 mainly the warranty. I got the 3 year onsite service. My first gaming laptop so I wanted peace of mind it would be reliable. I also liked the cooling system.
@@batmanonholiday4477 I did have some problems with it thermal throttling when I got it, but thanks to the warranty, Dell sent a guy to replace the board and since then it's been flawless. Much better than having to return it. Now I really like it, I've done a bunch of travel with it, gaming while I'm away. Its good for work too. At home I have a matching AW2721D monitor which the laptop can push at 2.5k no problem. I usually get 140-200 fps in Apex.
@@thedoble nice one, I like the idea of the on site warranty too and that you travel with it is promising. pity it isnt sold already with the liquid metal to cool the cpu, but i guess the air ventilators might do the job.
Hey I have a dilemma What should I buy?? Main Use gaming on a 27 inch QHD external monitor+ work considering all the aspects like thermals , performance , best value R1 x17 3070 R1 x17 3080 R2 x17 3070 ti R2 x17 3080 ti I7 Processor right ? Thank you
a lot depends on the price in your region. There is some amazing discounts on the r1 right now and if you are mostly gaming I would get an x17r1 i7 with 3080 for great bang for the buck. the 12th gen cpu is amazing but the prices are insane. I will do a video on this topic soon
And the secondaries are still not lit up... what were the engineers thinking? Giving RGB in the touchpad in the top of the range variants in same regions, and still forgetting about a proper keyboard lighting... And quite a few people pointed this out in the R1, so they had no "we didn't know" excuse not to fix this in the R2.
I've never been much of a PC gamer but I want to get into the laptop space but I don't exactly know what to go for since I'm debating between the Razer blade 15 qhd screen with 3070ti or a x15 qhd screen with a 3070ti but do you think I should get the x17 with the 4k display? I kind of wish that the x17 had a qhd because I would definitely settle on that. But I honestly dont know the razorblade had me settled but now that I'm looking into the x15 r2 and x17 r2 I don't know what to pick. 1080p screens are definitely off my list though
@@MashITTech I'll definitely be using the laptops screen for the most part but occasionally I will plug it into my TV just for a few select games. For the most part I want to use the laptop for a majority of gaming and some music production here and there.
I have an X17r1 with i9, 3080, 64 GB RAM. It had a minor screen defect. Dell sent me a brand new X17R2 as a replacement with same specs (but 3080Ti and updated chipset). I’m not sure which to keep. Do you have any thoughts which is the better keep?
if they sent you a r2 to replace a r1 then just smile and say thank you! Now if buying it then the r1 makes more sense because of the price but if Dell are giving you a R2 to replace an R1 you are getting MUCH MUCH better cpu performance for free and the new slim PSU. The only thing you loose is the RGB touchpad
Was super excited to get this. Placed an order for this and then cancelled a week later. Dell's customer service was so appalling it completely put turned me off.
As of today (22. March) 4K Panel on x17 r2 is available in my Country! (Denmark) Specs: 17,3" 4K (3840 x 2160) 165 Hz 4 ms with ComfortView Plus, NVIDIA G-SYNC and Advanced Optimus
Bootup always exacerbates this issues. Go into a dark room and watch a movie at your normal brightness (a dark movie is good like the dark knight rises) and if the bleed is bothersome here then exchange it. This is where you will notice the bleed the most in a real world use
@@MashITTech Great thanks, had my r1 x17 replaced under warranty... now just waiting for dell to transfer my extended warranty I purchased which is a nightmare!
Any idea why Dell removed the rgb touchpad? I feel like it was a downgrade from the R1 (I know R2 it’s faster) because it was a know Alienware feature most of us loved even if you pay extra for that. They should at least made it bigger then
I own one of the I9-12900HK's. I also own a couple Area 51M's, one 10900 and one 9900 I can compare it with. And the difference between the 10900 (that has an actual desktop vid card inside it, yet) and the 12900HK can barely be noticed if at all. And the 12900 does run even hotter than the Area 51M! I counted on using a good cooling pad though and temps are mostly under control. I just use Command center to under-clock the Area 51M but, some glitch in AW Command center won't let me do it to the 12900... (I have the "Wathai Dual Ball 3 x 120mm DC 12V Big Airflow Fan" I got from amazong for $40, it is pretty close to ideal but you have to modify some kind of mounting arrangement, to support the front of your comp underneath though.)
Hello! Today I was really happy to unbox the X17. Unfortunately, it is way too loud even in quiet mode. I mean, it runs on 62% fan speed when I do basically nothing with the laptop in quiet mode. Is there a way to make it really quiet, or do I miss something here?
Have you got the r1 or r2? The r1 is louder in idle than r2. My r2 is silent in idle! All I would suggest is make sure you are in Optimus mode (as dedicated rtx mode increases temps and therefore fan noise) and make sure there is nothing using your cpu in the background with task manager
@@MashITTech I got the R2 maxed out. Not sure what you mean by optimus mode - since my otions are german. I guess you mean balanced? But then the fans are still too loud with 62% CPU while doing nothing. My CPU is running at 2% (task manager) in "idle" I haven't installed anything yet. Pretty frustrating so far.
@@MashITTech Ah now I got you! Ok, but in the Bios the Mux Switch is enabled (Hybrid Graphics / Advanced Optimus) and in the Nvidia Control Panel it is set to auto and the iGPU seems to be used at the same time with the Geforce 3080ti. I run the laptop connected to a Thunderbolt 4 hub, which is connected to my 38 Monitor (3840x1600). After about 5 minutes, the fans spin up to 60%-70% in idle - doing nothing but browsing, btw. It seems that I can't fix this. Someone any idea?
Dave!! another question for you.. so i ordered the X17 r1.. with 32 gb DDR 4 3466 mhz xmp memory. can i put a 3200 mhz on the 2nd slot to make it 64? i know it doesnt match,, and what would be the issue with this? i cant seem to find the exact same memory module ,, i guess i can order through Dell.. but.. i need your advice pls.. ALSO, it is possible to use DDR5 modules in the future? thank u!!
hello mate, unfortunately you will probably receive 2x 16gb 3466 memory so if you want 64 you will need to remove your 2 sticks and install 2 x 32gb sticks. My advice is don't bother until you know you need more than 32gb. And lastly, no sorry. This CPU is DDR4 only but you are not missing out on much performance on DDR5 atm 👍
@@MashITTech thanks Dave! You are great and ur channel is my go to! Been to your country many times! My bro use to live in stoke on trent for about 10 yrs until he move to Melbourne, Australia. and my former gf lived in Birmingham! - hello from Chicago!
@@MashITTech hey Dave! So Chicago is one of the cities in the STATE of ILLINOIS,, Chicago being the Biggest. I live in the Suburbs,., and I’m about 40 mins from the city center( downtown Chicago to my house ). : ) SO your former company must be somewhere in the suburbs of Chicago? At least its in the state of ILLINOIS.. hehehe.
It's a nice laptop and it looks cool but man dell needs to listen to their customers. They should have just kept the keyboard from the m17 r3/r4. It had great travel and the keys look good with secondary backlite functions.
@@MashITTech I actually thought about getting the r1 but man it lacks so many features that I want in a laptop.I thought dell would listen and improve things on the r2 but they actually took more stuff away lol.
No, not at all! Dell just let it boost like crazy unlike other companies so although it hits 100c the cpu is allowed to use 130w of power! As an example my razer blade pro cpu is only allowed 65w boost
WOW I am about to wet myself in excitement. Have been hanging out for this exact review. So far all the laptops with 12th gen are terrible, maxing out their p cores at only around 3ghz under load. I am wondering if the X17 R2 can dissipate the 115 watts that the cpu can generate under it's maximum all core turbo. I haven't seen anything yet, just about to grab my vape, go to bed and watch this! I hope Alienware have nailed it. See you in 20 minutes hehe.......
Could you please tell me the part number of this new slim PSU ? I just bought a G15 5530 and it still comes with the huge power brick... i need the slim one for traveling! Thanks in advance!
I have the same model and I've found that I can only get full performance from the 3080TI when ACC Power is set to Full. It is still limited under 'Performance' Mode. I'm running Bios 1.2.0. I was overclocking the GPU to achieve 12.6K in Time Spy while running 'Balanced' & 'Performance'. When I changed to 'Full' I got over 14.1K in Time Spy (same overclock settings (+225/+350).
Wow nice overclock there. I have found I can get full performance in performance mode or max fan, balanced does lower my score. Haven’t really played with over liking gpu yet but hope mine does as well as yours
Sorry, not quite fimilair with the resolution, but what is QHD? google it, says it's quarter FHD which doesn't make sense, is it the other way to call 2k?
Your hard work and videos really helped me making my purchase decision for x15 r2. Waiting for it to be delivered and still keep on watching your videos. Thank-you for your efforts in making these videos and all the comparisons.
Great video as always David . I have Alienware m15 r2 as daily drivers and desktop replacement for a year now. Made some tweaks like changing the thermal paste etc
Alienware do make great machines
And thanks to honest reviewers who provide us great reviews
Thanks so much for the kind words Ahmed. And glad you are still enjoying the m15r2, I love that range still 👍
Changed the paste, eh! I was going to ask if anyone had done that, following Dave's XPS issues with the throttling of the CPU.
Hey Ahmed, I got the same system. What are the temps that you get on the CPU & GPU while running something like RDR2 on ultra settings?
Great review. Thanks to your reviews I’m enjoying Alienware M15 R5 and I’m absolutely blown away with 3070 performance and 1440p 240hz panel picture. Only issue I’ve got with it is creak coming from left bottom screen corner when opening laptop. I found out that after uninstalling Alienware command centre fans don’t ramp up without any reason. GPU temperature while gaming is in low 70s, CPU in mid 80s. Amazed with design and performance.
Glad you are enjoying it and that qhd screen is just awesome, I feel sad when I use the x17’s 1080p after using that screen. Could the noise be coming from the hinge or is it plastic creaking?
@@MashITTech it’s not the hinge it’s plastic that isn’t properly glued in left bottom corner of screen. After pushing it and holding creek is gone. It’s nothing major because you only hear it when opening laptop, nevertheless Alienware price range screams quality and performance and it’s not acceptable. Saw few reviews where this issue was a thing as well so it’s just plastic cover quality issue.
As someone who’s had over 25 alienwares over the last 20 years .. my favourite is still the og 17r2 w/rgb because of the 1200p screen.
I wanted the 17 r1 last year, but I wanted the 16:10 screen, and the power plug on the back as well as 1600p res.. I ended up with a legion 5 pro. It has all of that and replaceable WiFi memory and 2 m.2 slots.. none of that soldered garbage. I’ll be waiting for Alienware to do 16:10
M17x R2 had the 1200p RGBLED display. I also prefer the older Alienware laptops with MXM cards and socketed CPU's
They were definitely on a downward spiral with all sorts of stuff. But they are quickly improving and there's a huge sale right now on 11th gen for hundreds of dollars off.
I always wanted to buy Alienwnare, because it looks amazing and I ended up buying Legion 5 Pro as well and I cannot be more happy with it. It is powerful and I can play easily in 2K and also thermals are awesome! I can easily play without headphones. Fans are not annoying. More like wind in the forest. Really love it and it will be hard to beat by other brands. Looks are not that fancy like others, but if we are talking about thermals, performance. Nobody can get wrong with Legion
@@lincoln537 legion is one of the best gaming laptops with respect to its price. Awesome thermals. Not overpriced like the Alienware.
Fantastic review. Really looking forward to the external monitor test. It's great to see your channel grow. Thanks for the work you put into this.
Thanks a lot mate, I appreciate the kind words 😀
@@MashITTech Is it slower, than the competitor full spec? do you think any idea how i could build the power of it in a 27 inch 144p gaming monitor, with that nice slim power supply? dont want to lose any weight so maybe the fanss would be o top of the motherboard, at make the monitor stand from the weight of the laptops hardvare, what do you think? How is it possibble?
The other real question is,"is the discount price is reasonable when Black Friday Day comes" xD
Haha so true. You always need to wait for a good dell discount code 😂
Never buy a dell laptop without a discount ( I never have) …
That said I’m returning my x17 r2, 3080ti isn’t a meaningful upgrade over the 3080
When Black Friday comes, we will be talking about the new Ryzen CPUs and the RTX 4080 GPU.
@@MashITTech what's do you recommend for 1440p 240hz for powerful gaming don't worry about the money
Thanks MashIT! Great video!!! Super thorough! This is incredibly helpful for those of us evaluating getting one of Alienware's configurations. I think you also did a great job voicing our concerns. If Dell follows your recommendations they'd make the closest thing to a perfect laptop in my opinion. I hope they're listening!
I will also reach out to their Twitter team in the hope they take notice. And thanks for the kind words 👍
Awesome review.
I've got my choice narrowed down to two laptops, the X17 R2 and the GE76 so I've been watching all the reviews I can on these machines and yours are some of the best.
Also agree with you on the Negatives as well. No 1440p screen option sucks, especially when, as you stated, most or all of AW's competitors have it. And the RGB track pad is gone... Why?
I'll add two more that you brought up earlier in the video and multiple other reviewers have complained about and that's the use of the garbage-ass speakers and completely out of date, 720p web cams.
Seriously, Dell. People are spending a TON of money on these machines. You can afford to spend another $10-$20 per machine and include decent speakers and a 1080p webcam... especially at the volume purchasing you do. It is completely unacceptable for that low level of hardware at this price point.
Yeah, I don't know why they think we wont care about the speakers. I had a conference call with the Alienware engineering department a few days ago and I did point this out to them as well as the lack of QHD and awful command centre software (mind you msi software is just as bad
Great video as always! Clear and in-depth.
I was curious though, did you have any screen bleeding at the bottom bezel? I had some on my X17 r1, sent it back and got one that had way less, but a bit still. 360hz screen
And I totally agree with you about the low rez screen options and the incredible disappointment with the different track pad. I really hope they pay attention to your videos, if it wasn't for those 2 things it would be a perfect laptop. Its close but not quite there.
Thanks
Hi Martin, no excessive bleed on either of my r2's 360hz or 165hz panels!
Excellent review, I agree with everything you said.
I am very surprised by the thermals being very good with these new components.
And 100% if people are only after a gaming laptop they should get the 11th gen x17 r1 with 3080, more than $1000 USD less, RGB trackpad and only 10% ish performance loss on average in gaming.
But that 12900HK is incredible, it matches and passes a ryzen 9 5900X in multi core and single core 😋
Yeah I must admit the i9 performance is crazy, hoping to squeeze a bit more out of it with some tweaking! Throttlestop is not fully working with these 12th gen yet but there is some overcooking options in BIOS 👍
@Mash IT 12th gen is incredible. I look forward to your video on getting the most out of this.
I actually upgraded my desktop recently, sold what I had with a ryzen 9 5900X, and built a new one with an i7 12700K + 3080. I wasn't expecting any major gains, but I'm blown away by the time I save in video rendering. I always use nvenc encoder and the 12700K helps the 3080 a lot more than the ryzen 9. Could be the DDR5 RAM too.
I am so tempted to sell my 11th gen desktop motherboard and cpu and do the same, struggling to find a decent motherboard as I wand ddr4 still until ddr5 improves in speed and gets cheaper. What did you get?
@@MashITTech My motherboard is the ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-E GAMING WIFI, and my RAM is the DDR5 G.SKILL 6000 CL40. They have the CL36 version for only slightly more money.
I'm running the RAM at 4800 Mhz though, I haven't had the time to get the 6000Mhz working flawlessly as it doesn't work when you simply change the speed.
Thanks you MashIT! It's so bad that there is no qhd on the x17 😢!
So I'm waiting for your review on the x15 r2. I hope it will be the solution to replace my old desktop.
You did an incredible job as always. Thanks again. 🤘
Thanks so much for the kind words, it means a lot 😀 will be spending all weekend now working on the x15, review hopefully early next week 👍
Amazing review! I've been waiting for a full review of this laptop for a while.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it
I’m still on my R4 with the 1080p 360hz.
For gaming I still prefer 1080p 360hz bc I can’t really tell in most games a big difference in visual quality stepping up to 1440p but I can tell smoothness in frame rates bc their 360hz is so responsive even without getting anywhere near that refresh rate. It’s noticeable for everything, work or play. But I agree I want a QHD option bc what I didn’t consider enough was my work which is mostly emails and spreadsheets but that extra resolution would allow me to get more on the screen when working.
Nice review - I’ll wait for R3 and see if they address the screen options and those secondary keys backlight
Yes, that’s exactly how I see it, if you ONLY game the 1080p 360hz is a great option but if you are spending this much money you are probably going to be using it for other tasks too and that’s where 1080p looks long in the tooth. And why can’t dell just offer it as an option? It would fly off the shelves, they could still keep the base 1080p option
@@MashITTech agreed. I’m not sure why. Maybe they’re waiting on something to differentiate themselves in regards to screens since their sales don’t seem to be suffering with not offering more options
I recently ordered the r1 with the i9/3080 just for the 4k but mainly because it was like 600 usd cheaper (now out of stock). Wish I could get the ddr5 and 12th gen intel and obvs the Ti, and Ive been considering canceling my r1 order (order delayed of course) and getting the r2. But you've convinced me to stick with my r1, and I really appreciate it!! Now if only I can steal the r2 power pack instead of the literal brick! Thanks for the info man, sub'd!
I have the m15 r6, and love it, 16 gig ram (I upped it to 24), 1tb ssd, 3070, if your looking at the x17 and putting serious thought to it, then go for it, you won't be dissapointed.
Really glad you are enjoying the r6, the 11th gen is still a brilliant gaming chip imho
@@MashITTech yeah I'm set for years with it, like you said, 4k gaming is so heavy on rescorces, I've really found the 1440p monitor and 60fps and upwards, is a real sweet spot for gaming.
the m15 r6 has swappable ram slots?
@@diegovillavicencio3172 yes, It had 2 sticks of 8 gb ram in the slots both removable/swappable, was really hoping it was a lump of just 1x 16 lol, because I come in to a 260 pin stick of 16 gig ddr4 by pure chance, so I left an 8 in, took an 8 out, put a 16 in, now 24, as far as I'm aware it can max at 64gb, of course memory speed dependant.
@@nextgengaming7803 that's awesome! I'm looking for a cheaper second-hand Alienware to carry around and leave the X17 at home, so I was searching for a M14 R4, however the swappable rams of the R6 really just got my attention!
Great Review thorough and well presented!!! And thank you for the quick reply with my first question from 4 days ago! Thumbs way up for you and your channel!!
Thanks so much for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed the review 😀
Thanks for the review. Have the same exact thing arriving in about a week. Can't wait to try it out.
Amazing review David! Flow was really great and very well put together. The thumbnail was brilliant too! Did you have a lightbulb inside the computer for that?
Thanks a lot Justin, put a fair few hours into it as you can imagine 😂 and yes I used one of those mini led rgb lights for the effect 👍
Thanks for the great review. What are your thoughts or preferences on the difference between UHD and FHD on a 17-inch screen?
on a laptop FHD is enough for me. 4k takes more wattage. if you want, buy a bigger 4k monitor with 100% SRGB, and plug that to your ext monitor when working @ your home.
Can I carry it anywhere I want? Yes. Is the design snazzy? Yes. Is the screen big enough for games and video production? Yes. Can I afford it? Yes. Is any laptop truly a perfect machine? No. Hitting the Order button now.
Great review yet again David ! Listen I know the speakers sound trash out of the box but if you tweak it in AWCC the difference is night & day. I manually adjusted the EQ, bass treble & all the knobs, and changed the audio mode from NORMAL to LOUD. Try and see for yourself.
Good advice but on the r2 they have removed the awcc eq! This I think is the cause of the problem, we now get Dolby atmos instead and I haven’t found a decent profile yet. Justin and I have been investigating this and if I get it sorted I will add it into the deep dive video I always do 👍
@@MashITTech damn that's a bummer ! I have the R5, speakers were obviously trash out of the box , decided to play around with audio settings, and I was astonished! Even posted it on reddit forum and many people said the same thing. It's a shme Dell tunes the speakers poorly from the factory.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to your tweaks video, it helped me much when I got my R5!
Thanks for reviewing this behemoth rig! I've been planning to buy the x17 and do you think it's worth getting the 3080? I'm mostly gonna do 3d modeling, game play recording and editing.
I think the 3070ti will be the better choice for most when they add it but the 3080 is a solid choice if you plan to play at higher resolutions
Get the R1 instead for an absolute bargain
I got the X17R2 wwiuth 12700H and GTX3060 package, if there is anything you may want to bench against always happy to help. Great video, i am watching it although i have already bought the lower end version.
Yes please mate, are you on Instagram or Reddit? Would love to get some benchmarks from the 3060 version, it would be really appreciated 😀👍
@@MashITTech hiya! im not on instagram or reddit but i guess i can join, how can i help? Which bench marks are you particularly interested in? :)
I'm looking at getting this maxed out. 64 GB Ram, 4TB RAID SSD, and 4K screen. If you are going big may as well go all in.
Do it!
The RGB track pad on the x17 R2 is actually installed on the laptop but restricted by software. All you have to do is enable it. It’s a shame they don’t make that obvious to the consumer
Have you managed to enable yours? I tried everything on my multiple units and there was nothing I could do to get it working but this was when they first launched, I don’t have a 3080ti now
I like that they moved All the plug-ins to the back of the computer.
Great video!! Still waiting for the 4k version which hopefully would launch in the following weeks? But I'm still not sure on CPU choice, I knew that i9 might have thermal issues, but I heard that only i9 could be undervolted using throttlestop this year. Any advice?
The i9 hk is unlocked but I still struggled with throttlestop. I couldn't adjust multipliers and the undervolts didn't seem to make a meaningful difference! I am hoping it is just the current beta of throttlestop doesn't know how to handle the mobile 12th gen yet
@@MashITTechThanks for the information!
4K just launched today! Finally!!!
@@MashITTech Yay! Gonna place the order today!
@@MashITTech OH NO!!! Still unavailable in the US, neither any discount :(
Hi Dave! Thank you for the review. Can you advise on how this compares with the x17 R1 with the previous gen i9 processor? It seems that had some issues with the thermals and users faced high temperatures with the i9 version of the X17 R1. Everyone seemed to be recommending to buy the X17 R1 with the i7 processor. But from where i come, the i7 models are available only with the 3070 GPU and 3080 option is available only with the i9 processor. How does the new i9 processor compare to those two R1 models? Would you recommend buying the X17 R1 with 3070 Graphics card (as i dont have any other option atm) or should I wait till this version hits the market ? I am really concerned about the thermals in the long run.
this is a tough question! the x17r1 i9 can run hot but with a bit of tweaking with throttle stop it is fine. The reason I recommend the i7 is because not only can that be tweaked with throttle stop, it can also be overclocked making the i9 almost pointless. Hope this helps but ask away if you want me to elaborate on anything
@@MashITTech Do you reckon that Dell will do the same thing they did with the R1 last year and unlock the i7? Either way, the i7 would still be a better purchase for value for both work and play, right? From what I understand, if they choose to keep it locked, it will still run cooler than the i9 and perform extremely similar as it’s the same chip really only missing the higher clock speeds, and if they do choose to unlock it, that would once again render the i9 chip essentially a waste of a few hundred bucks. Please feel free to correct any holes in my knowledge David-thanks!
How future-upgradable is the Alienware X17 R2? (Once RTX 40 series or even RTX 50 series come out)
Are the CPU and GPU soldered on?
Thanks to your video I went ahead and ordered one. Got the i912hk with 32 gb model 3080ti. Love the channel content.
Thanks so much
@@MashITTech just got the machine. Trying to install a clean copy of windows 11 pro
@@OMNS777 It should be pretty straight forward. All the drivers are on Dells website and if you get stuck on anything give me a shout :)
Thanks for the cool video and review of this alienware. I was thinking on buying one of this stands for the laptop like the one you showed on your setup, but adding some fans on the stand to provide air to the bottom of the laptop, do you consider this a need for this alienware ? Would it improve their capabilities?
Nice review of the Alienware x17 R2, I want to get one of these but with my configuration it's like 6k so not sure about it, that's an awful lot to spend on a laptop with not so good audio or even a 4k screen.
Yeah, they really need to add that 4k option and drop the price a little! I guess this is early adopter tax
I don't like that they removed the number pad from their 17" models. I use it every day for personal stuff, work and gaming. I'd love to get an M17 or X17, but until they give back the number pad.
As a bigger dude with broad shoulders typing on my latop a lot...no number pad /wider keyboard is essential for me
Hey Mash, I am waiting for 'this' one, but it's the 165Hz version, everything else is the same. I am also waiting for the Odissey G7A LS28AG700NUXEN (it said 165Hz here, 4K, 1ms RT, tho I think it's 144Hz haha).
I want to use this setup for work/study as well, hence the extra monitor.
I am no professional player and don't even compete. It's just for the fun and excitement good quality stuff provides.
My question: Do you think this setup is a good one or should I have picked the 360Hz?
The quality of the notebook's screen alone isn't that good, given it's only 1080p. Does that bother a lot or is the quality still ok for, say, some working on the go?
Thank you so much.
Greetings from Germany.
The 1080p 165hz is still a great panel. I used the 165hz all last year in my r1 and really enjoyed it. The 360hz is slightly better but you sound like me in that you will regularly use an external screen too and I would put the money saved from the 369hz upgrade to a good external which are always better anyway 👍
@@MashITTech, yeah, that's what I was thinking about when I chose the 165Hz version - about the extra monitor I'd need to use anyway. So I picked Samsung's new Odissey G7A 28".
BTW: you come with such good content and even read your subscribers' comments - I can't see your channel not blowing up soon. Thanks, Mate.
@@el_witcher thanks that’s kind of you to say! Can you let me know how you get on with the g7? I haven’t had any Samsung monitors in for a while 👍
@@MashITTech, you haven't had one 'for a while'? I never had one - in my entire life😂😂. I also never had an AW. That's gonna be my first experience with these specs. But yeah, I will definitely let you know, once I've gotten these babies and sorted everything out.
This is a great and honest review, I totally agree. I have bought the top spec, with FHD 360 Hz. This display is amazing for gaming, but it's very bad for reading text on Windows. I'm software programmer and I'm annoyed with the pixelated aspects of text in the FHD display. I'll return my unit and buy the 4k version. I would love to see your review for the 4k edition, including gaming and scaling 1080p to 4k to speed up FPS.
My 4K unit just arrived so this will be coming very soon for you 👍
@@MashITTech Glad to know you got the 4k version, I am in process of returning my x17 R2 i7 3080 ti 1080p 360hz and Im wondering if getting the 4k same config for only 220$ extra will be a better gaming and overall experience. the other option im thinking is asus scar strix 17 1440p 3070yi i9 32gb ddr5 1tb for 2300$ which like 1200$ less than the alienware 4k x17 r2 i7 3080ti 16gb ddr5. would love to know your opinion, thanks
@@ameerchehab my initial impressions of the 4K screen are very positive! It is a stunning panel. I haven’t games on it yet and I haven’t tested scaling but will do it asap. The scar is also a solid machine but the build quality isn’t as good as the Alienware. The price difference is hard to ignore though. I managed to get my x17 4K for a really good price in the uk (2200gbp) so it was a no brainer
Wow Dave, awesome deal here in US 4k 16gb ram 3080 ti i7 512gb for 3522$ after tax. I had the 4k 17 R1 before with i9 3080 was 2800$ same as what u paid for the R2. i enjoyed it a lot but had dead pixel and replacement never came so refunded in January, downside was no gsync on 4k R1. So waited for R2. I am traveling to Europe in 25 days and want to get my hands on a good laptop before i leave, there the prices for Alienware are double like 4000 euro or more. I appreciate early feedback on gaming, especially that i tried to push the 3080 ti to use 175watt by upscaling DSR to 4k on my 1080p 360hz in god of war but it only once went to 160 watts for a sec, mostly at 150watts, thats very weird the R1 on resident evil village was like 165watts all the time on 4k. Sorry for long replies. Appreciate again ur feedback
@@MashITTech Where did you buy the x17 4k for £2.2k?
For 3D creators this machine is just perfect ( for 3d render in real time we don’t need 4K panel )
Yeah, it cuts through my blender low poly models with no problems at all, I am not the most demanding of user though. And I agree 4K is unnecessary and also leads to some scaling issues but I love the clarity of 2k at 17” which is why I think it’s the sweet spot
Thank you again for some excellent information and evaluation. I have similar (plus one) gripes and they may make me choose an MSI, Lenovo, or Razer. (1) No QHD!!!! (2) The lack of secondary key illumination. (3) No 3070Ti option! Really?! for $3k+ USD I expect more quality than this provides.
I am sure they will add 3070ti but I have no idea why the range is so limited at launch!
I havre been waiting for someone to review this!!
Was the Timespy score acquired with overclocking or at stock? Kinda looks like stock. I'm seeing some with this laptop were getting well into the 14,000's.
Totally stock, I never overclock in reviews as it would misrepresent the product. There is usually pretty good headroom on these cards so I can believe those high scores
Thanks for the great video as always! I have watched your Alienware deep dive video, that is great too! But I have a quick question about undervolt cpu X17, if undervolt too much, saved and the system not boot anymore, just un-plug battery to reset bios is enough? I am new to this, so would like to get some ideas before proceeding, and no luck for other place to find these infor
Fortunately if you save it after going to far it will still boot but if you open throttlestop it will crash. You need to wipe the throttlestop ini file and start a fresh with throttlestop. Hope this makes sense but feel free to add me on Instagram or Reddit to discuss 👍
@@MashITTech Thanks a lot! It make sense, really appreciate it! I will setup my first time use Reddit account, just to get connection and view useful post or discussion from your updates
Hey Mash IT? How well do you think the X17 r2 will handle with PCVR?
Only bad thing long term is the Thermal compound. It just didnt last at all. About a year and it was hotting 100c on 2 cores others at 60 and spikes on the package of 113c.
Liquid Metal and rolling back to Bios 1.8.2 gives you controll over the TPL and Voltage. Easily sustain 130w on the CPU now before it had gone down to 80w
But will be trying PTM7950 later this week and after its had a few days to set in i hope it works at 90% as well.
As right now i really cant transport it for fear of the liquid metal buggering off to make its own shorts.
As when i opend it up the shield/gasket pretty much disintigrated. So right now its coverd with kapton.
Changed out the SSD heatsinks for some copper plates. And have some thermal pads on top of them making contact with the bottom case. Makes a massive difference in the SSD temps!
Stock Dell ones were useless.
Other that that its been fine and AWCC is still as crappy as ever !
Best thing about it still is gaming in Quiet mode. 100w GPU 30w CPU. Cool temps, no noise and 70-80% of the performance.
THANKS MASHIT Great video. Question? I have dual AW3418DW monitors and want to see if the X17 R2 can power dual monitors with out a docking station??? like WD22TB4?? Please advise thank you
Just replied to you on the other thread but it's essentially the same answer. Just use the mini display port for one monitor and buy a usb to Display Port for the other
bought it, thanks for the info
Nice review as usual!, I had a conversation with one of dell sales advisor few days ago and he told that x17 r2 QHD panel version is coming on 165 hrz at any time this year!!
This would be amazing news! This is my biggest gripe with the laptop!
Wow r2 is surely a beast! Great review vlog as all the time, cheers mate!
Thank you mate.
Hey Mash, during the intro the game that you were playing the CPU & GOU temps are 80 degrees and plus is that normal? Will it affect the GPU or the CPU in anyway?
No these machines and components are good for it. Dell have been running them like this for years. We have to be thankful that dell allows us full boost at the expense of temps compared to other companies that throttle the system back. And if you don’t like the heat you can adjust it yourself to make it cooler
Thanks for the review!
I've got the i7 RTX 3080 Version and I really like its RGB Trackpad - does the 3080ti-Version no longer have the RGB Trackpad?
correct, its a real shame
Best Keyboard was the Area 51m R2:
- Per key RGB
- Numpad
- Secondary keys are always lit (even if the only layout is the US one and not the UK one. I prefer this over no light at all).
- Macro Keys
- Mechanical keyboard feel but without the mechanical sound.
The Area 51m R1 keyboard was also pretty good, but not the best - I Loved the extra 3 ways macro block on the left and use it quite a lot.
The R2 was defo the improvement.
I ordered a X17 R2 with the newest i9 12900k and the RTX 3080Ti. Sadly after 1 week of testing it, I had returned it. It was running hotter than my R2 and all the scores were on PAR with The i9 10900K and RTX 2080 Super (With some tweaks the R2 actually scored higher than the X17 R2 -_- in gaming. On the X17 R2 there wasn't a lot of room to overclock & undervolt though as it was really hot no matter what... maybe I got an abysmal thermal paste application or... But I didn't want to open it for obvious reasons).
The i9 12900K unfortunately cannot shine in this chassis as it does in a desktop :( It's a shame really because a bigger chassis like the Area 51M should have accommodate this CPU a loot better!
However I did love the new slim power brick ;) I hope I can find and buy 2 of those for my Area 51m R2.
So in the end... if you have an Area 51m R2 (or R1) even... the new X17 R2 doesn't really adds anything for 3800£. In some regards it's actually a downgrade... (not to mention the upgradability - video card dead - just swap that, or another CPU) which is a BIG shame and missed opportunity!
I was really looking forward to the X17 R2.... but now I know I will be waiting 5 more years or something until Alienware actually makes a new "Area 51" equivalent ^_^
Totally agree 51m r2 and m17r4 had the best keyboards (they were the same) no idea why dell took a step backwards 😢
Hi David! Quick Question... the new 330W powerbrick, will it work with previous Gen x17 R1?
I'm considering buying the new 330w... but would be of great help if you could confirm its compatible.
Yes it works perfectly, it even works with the m series alienware laptops 👍
My boss ordered this for me with the same specs but with 64 GB of ram and 1 TB of storage. I was wondering how long it will take this beauty to be delivered. It’s been already 10 days and the order hasn’t been confirmed yet… can’t wait:(
Wow I want your boss 😂 I find it normally takes about 3 weeks unless a part is out of stock which is quite common atm
@@MashITTech haha I know. I will use it for BIM and only for manufacturing purposes. Thanks for the info though. It will be a long wait for me :)
Amazing review!!!! , I was waiting it, have you seen m15 r7? I am interesting on that computer, but I don't know its TGP, do you casually know it?
No sorry, I am not sure but last year’s r6 was a bit lower than x17r1. I will get the r7 soon
Thank you for the review - thermals are definitely an issue / gripe though - I’ve just got the X17 R2 with the 12900HK, 3080 TI and the 300hz display - I must say that it’s a good laptop but the thermals are absolutely crazy. CPU hits 100c constantly and thermal throttles way too often. I’ve undervolted the core and cache voltages by 0.1000v which has helped a little bit but sheesh - there is no way in holy heck it’s going to hit the 5ghz boost 😂
I just got one as well. Thermals are fine IMO. It'll throttle when it needs to.
Mine also have this issue. my i9 cpu performs much worse than many others‘ X17R2 i7！Cinebench r23 is only 16300. I think it may be becasue bad pasting by the workers. Maybe, the best way is just repasting……
I have been waiting for this. wohooo!! great job Dave and MashIT!
Thanks mate 😀👍
Great Review! im really into that device but isnt 100°C (CPU) a little bit to hot for a laptop? (14:38) I wonder if the lifetime will suffer from that
Dell always let the laptops boost as much as possible until 100c. If you are uncomfortable with that you can change the value in BIOS. The CPUs are rated over 100c and apple has been doing this for years without issue
@@MashITTech okay, thanks for the answer!
Hey, I plan on buying the X17 R2 soon, do you have any suggestion on whether I should get the i7 - 12700H or the i9 12900HK, The price does not matter and I will be connecting it to a 2k 240hz display.
if price really does not matter get the i9. It performs a little better than the i9 and also allows you to tweak the cpu. For anyone even remotely concerned by value I don't think its worth the extra though
Thanks! I'll go for the i7, and have there been any thermal issues you have experienced with either the i7 and the i9? I maybe won't go for the i9 since no laptop I know of can handle the heat given out by it.
Thanks MashIT! I love your Reviews. I just got my R2 delivered yesterday. What hings i have to be aware of ? How to increase the performance right out of the box ?
I will do a deep dive soon with any tweaks I find but so far just make sure you update through windows update then use the alienware updater to get all the drivers upto date. The function f1 enables performance mode which does give it a nice boost but puts the fans at max, I think it’s worth it though if you see gaming with a headset. Lastly prop the rear up when you are gaming as that little bit of airflow really makes a difference
@Christopher Grugel, From when you ordered it, how long did it take for it to arrive?
I just received mine in the mail, waited 2 weeks and it was DOA....Dell told me I could exchange it for a new one but it would be another 2+week wait didn't even offer priority shipping on the replacement. Or take a day off of work so a technician could come take a look in 3-5 days. There has to be no quality control for it to have shipped to me. Literally wouldn't turn on completely unresponsive, no lights, no fans, no beeps nothing. This is my second Alienware with serious issues so I don't think it's just a one off. I would say look elsewhere for high end laptops.
Great review boss!
How is the battery life on this device? Also does it lose performance unplugged 🤔
Battery life is the worst part of these 12th gen laptops, they are worse than 11th gen and a lot worse than ryzen laptops. Unplugged you still get great cpu performance but the gpu is throttled back as there is no way the battery coould cope with 150w of gpu and 40w of cpu power
Hey David, super review once again :) I noticed you didn't compare your X17 R1 11980HK - rather than the 11800 model, any reason why? Did you also compare the M.2 speeds, as I've read these are 4th gen parts - so probably, close to twice the performance for both read / write. Could be a solid reason to upgrade for some, combined with Alderlake if you intend to use the unit for production tasks.
For me, I won't be asking work to upgrade my unit from X17 R1 11980HK, with the 3080 as I use it primarily for gaming and VR in education and I would really miss the RGB track-pad.
Hi mark, only reason I didn’t compare is that I didn’t get the i9 in last year so didn’t have the results to put in my spreadsheet. I didn’t compare m.2 speeds as last year although the x17r1 had gen4 slots they put gen 3 drives in. I detailed that in a couple of videos and r1 owners can easily install their own gen4 drives and get the same speed as r2. I did show the speeds of the new gen 4 drives dell are providing in the unboxing 👍
@@MashITTech Will check that out, thank-you. Good to know I can upgrade the M.2 drive to Gen 4! :)
what is the best gaming laptop? lienware X17 R2 3080TI 12900H and Lenovo Legion 7i 3080TI 12900H ?
I am thinking of getting this laptop for some general gaming. I might get an external monitor at some point. I am just struggling between some options mainly the screen 4k or 1920x1080 360hz. Also should i get the i9 or i7? I do want to spec it out with the 3080ti and 32g of ram. For storage probably 2t or should I get 2 stick of 1t? Thanks.
Get the i7, 3080ti and 4k, your eyes will thank you for it :) Also just get it with 1 ssd and add another later. I am currently making a guide on this as it is much cheaper than Dell 👍
Great review, thank you! I ordered mine about two weeks ago and yesterday I got notified it was ready and left the factory for the shipping, so about 16 more days to get here. It’s my first advanced gaming laptop so can’t wait!!
I’m just worried about the shipping since it come from China and I live in Italy, so it’s a long route and the situation with the Ukraine war is quite tough at the moment. I hope it doesn’t encounter any problems by the way.
What do you think Mash?
This shouldn’t cause you any problems, the laptops usually ship into Germany first then off to your respective country. In the U.K. this process normally takes a week so I figure it will be the same for you
@@MashITTech thanks a lot, finger crossed!
I prefer this design to the new m18 do you think Alienware will release something else this year in 17 inch or 18 Inch?
sadly I dont think they will. Everyone iOS crying out for the x18 too! no idea what they are thinking
Ordered I9 12900/3080ti. Took a month to receive the laptop even with express shipping. Dell forgot to ship it and luckily they reimbursed me for the express shipping. After receiving the laptop and charging it to full turned it on and instantly hit 100C on the cpu. During setup… I have owned the M17 r3 for quite sometime so I’m use to the heat these AW laptops and intel mobile chips can generate but the x17 r2 was very bad. I ran cinebench and 3dmark right off the bat to get a general idea what to expect with this machine. It got decent scores at first. But after the first few benchmarks the scores drastically dropped and on the cpu and gpu even on max fans. I always run TS on my M17 so I figured I’d try that. Nope, could not stop the throttling. So next tried running a few high demand games and programs(Steep, Adobe, RSlogixdesigner, Autodesk) and it was terrible. With the thermal throttle and consistent CPU temps at 100C the program just ran like garbage. I paid $4300 for this laptop and was very unhappy with it. I shipped it back 2 days after receiving it. It could have been a thermal paste issue or maybe configuration problem but if I’m gonna pay that kind of money I shouldn’t have to repaste or even run TS for simple tasks. It should perform great out of the box. Just want people to be aware that even though this machine has good specs doesn’t make it a good machine.
Sounds like a typical dell qc lottery! I have just received an x14 in for review and my thermals are really poor compared to others! Dell clearly are testing these properly before leaving the factory 😢
Nice review MashDavid ! Is the new 330 watts power brick compatible with the X17 R1 ? Thank you for your great work !
Thanks a lot mate 😀 and yes it is completely backwards compatible, tested it on x17, area 51m and m15 👍
@@MashITTech awesome. After almost 9 months of owning an R1 I still haven’t managed to source a 2nd power supply. Now I want the new 330w one 🙁 please tell me how 😫
Hi Mash IT, may I ask what’s the SKU or Part Number for the new 330w small form factor adapter? I am thinking to order and buy one for my X17 R1. Thanks
The biggest annoyance on my X17 R1 is the position of the left FN key. It eats into the 'CTRL' key size, so when gaming I often hit FN instead. They should have put it on the right side, especially since this is a gaming focused keyboard. I also agree that the power plug should be at the back, and USB in its place, and headphone jack position is also not ideal as it gets in the way of the mouse. Otherwise a great machine. Great video thanks !
why did you get it over the legion 7 or the asus rog strix scar 17? i am a bit torn between these three
@@batmanonholiday4477 mainly the warranty. I got the 3 year onsite service. My first gaming laptop so I wanted peace of mind it would be reliable. I also liked the cooling system.
@@thedoble i see how are yo finding it 7 months since you got it? any issues? i think 3 years warranty is a great deal.
@@batmanonholiday4477 I did have some problems with it thermal throttling when I got it, but thanks to the warranty, Dell sent a guy to replace the board and since then it's been flawless. Much better than having to return it. Now I really like it, I've done a bunch of travel with it, gaming while I'm away. Its good for work too. At home I have a matching AW2721D monitor which the laptop can push at 2.5k no problem. I usually get 140-200 fps in Apex.
@@thedoble nice one, I like the idea of the on site warranty too and that you travel with it is promising. pity it isnt sold already with the liquid metal to cool the cpu, but i guess the air ventilators might do the job.
Hey
I have a dilemma
What should I buy?? Main Use gaming on a 27 inch QHD external monitor+ work considering all the aspects like thermals , performance , best value
R1 x17 3070
R1 x17 3080
R2 x17 3070 ti
R2 x17 3080 ti
I7 Processor right ?
Thank you
a lot depends on the price in your region. There is some amazing discounts on the r1 right now and if you are mostly gaming I would get an x17r1 i7 with 3080 for great bang for the buck. the 12th gen cpu is amazing but the prices are insane. I will do a video on this topic soon
great job thanks for the detailed review ! enjoyed it!
And the secondaries are still not lit up... what were the engineers thinking? Giving RGB in the touchpad in the top of the range variants in same regions, and still forgetting about a proper keyboard lighting... And quite a few people pointed this out in the R1, so they had no "we didn't know" excuse not to fix this in the R2.
And even the previous m17r4 had these features and a better keyboard layout! No idea what is going on with them
Great video, would be interested to see which area the ddr5 ram truly shines.
I am going to be looking into this and also comparing the ddr5 4800 on the x17 to the 5200 on the x15👍
great review, when's the review coming for X15 R2?
Thanks a lot! Working on the x15 review at the moment, takes me a few days to do a thorough review so hopefully it will be out in midweek 👍
I've never been much of a PC gamer but I want to get into the laptop space but I don't exactly know what to go for since I'm debating between the Razer blade 15 qhd screen with 3070ti or a x15 qhd screen with a 3070ti but do you think I should get the x17 with the 4k display? I kind of wish that the x17 had a qhd because I would definitely settle on that. But I honestly dont know the razorblade had me settled but now that I'm looking into the x15 r2 and x17 r2 I don't know what to pick. 1080p screens are definitely off my list though
Will you be using the laptops screen mostly or the laptops screen? And what do you mostly plan on using the laptop for?
@@MashITTech I'll definitely be using the laptops screen for the most part but occasionally I will plug it into my TV just for a few select games. For the most part I want to use the laptop for a majority of gaming and some music production here and there.
Amazing review as always, top notch content 👌
Thank you mate 😀
I’m trying to decide between 3070 and 3080 is there much difference? Is the extra money worth it?
Did u find out😊 I wanna know too
I have an X17r1 with i9, 3080, 64 GB RAM. It had a minor screen defect. Dell sent me a brand new X17R2 as a replacement with same specs (but 3080Ti and updated chipset). I’m not sure which to keep. Do you have any thoughts which is the better keep?
if they sent you a r2 to replace a r1 then just smile and say thank you! Now if buying it then the r1 makes more sense because of the price but if Dell are giving you a R2 to replace an R1 you are getting MUCH MUCH better cpu performance for free and the new slim PSU. The only thing you loose is the RGB touchpad
the loss of the RGB trackpad is so sad! But I was worried about the i9 thermals with R2 compared to R1. What are your thoughts on that?
Was super excited to get this. Placed an order for this and then cancelled a week later. Dell's customer service was so appalling it completely put turned me off.
I need help, Macbook pro m1 vs x17 r2? the main use is software programming, in my country they have the same price, which one is the best?
What is the software you use to get the GPU and CPU performance up during gaming?
I use MSI afterburner which includes river tuner. Here is a guide I did for the m15r4 ua-cam.com/video/TOicQR5g7zU/v-deo.html
Great and thorough review as always!
Thanks so much 😀
As of today (22. March) 4K Panel on x17 r2 is available in my Country! (Denmark)
Specs: 17,3" 4K (3840 x 2160) 165 Hz 4 ms with ComfortView Plus, NVIDIA G-SYNC and Advanced Optimus
330W new brick is awesome .. i want one for my M17 R4
me too I wonder how much it cost...?
Do you think minor backlight bleeding on the 4k x17 i9 3080 during bootup is cause for concern? Or disregard?
Bootup always exacerbates this issues. Go into a dark room and watch a movie at your normal brightness (a dark movie is good like the dark knight rises) and if the bleed is bothersome here then exchange it. This is where you will notice the bleed the most in a real world use
@@MashITTech appreciate the response!!
wow cant believe that was only a year ago i saw your video on the r1
Yeah, doesn’t time fly!
Great review Dave! Finally changed the brick!
Thanks mate, how’s things?
@@MashITTech Great thanks, had my r1 x17 replaced under warranty... now just waiting for dell to transfer my extended warranty I purchased which is a nightmare!
Oh no! What happened?
Any idea why Dell removed the rgb touchpad? I feel like it was a downgrade from the R1 (I know R2 it’s faster) because it was a know Alienware feature most of us loved even if you pay extra for that. They should at least made it bigger then
I own one of the I9-12900HK's. I also own a couple Area 51M's, one 10900 and one 9900 I can compare it with. And the difference between the 10900 (that has an actual desktop vid card inside it, yet) and the 12900HK can barely be noticed if at all. And the 12900 does run even hotter than the Area 51M! I counted on using a good cooling pad though and temps are mostly under control. I just use Command center to under-clock the Area 51M but, some glitch in AW Command center won't let me do it to the 12900... (I have the "Wathai Dual Ball 3 x 120mm DC 12V Big Airflow Fan" I got from amazong for $40, it is pretty close to ideal but you have to modify some kind of mounting arrangement, to support the front of your comp underneath though.)
I have the choice between (ge76 i9 12th 3080ti 2022 120hz 4k) (Alienware x17 r2 3080ti 360hz 1080p i9 12th 2022) which one is best
Hello! Today I was really happy to unbox the X17. Unfortunately, it is way too loud even in quiet mode. I mean, it runs on 62% fan speed when I do basically nothing with the laptop in quiet mode. Is there a way to make it really quiet, or do I miss something here?
Have you got the r1 or r2? The r1 is louder in idle than r2. My r2 is silent in idle! All I would suggest is make sure you are in Optimus mode (as dedicated rtx mode increases temps and therefore fan noise) and make sure there is nothing using your cpu in the background with task manager
@@MashITTech I got the R2 maxed out. Not sure what you mean by optimus mode - since my otions are german. I guess you mean balanced? But then the fans are still too loud with 62% CPU while doing nothing. My CPU is running at 2% (task manager) in "idle" I haven't installed anything yet. Pretty frustrating so far.
No, I mean make sure you haven’t turned the mux switch to nvidia only or changed it to nvidia in advanced Optimus as that makes the system run hotter
@@MashITTech Ah now I got you! Ok, but in the Bios the Mux Switch is enabled (Hybrid Graphics / Advanced Optimus) and in the Nvidia Control Panel it is set to auto and the iGPU seems to be used at the same time with the Geforce 3080ti. I run the laptop connected to a Thunderbolt 4 hub, which is connected to my 38 Monitor (3840x1600). After about 5 minutes, the fans spin up to 60%-70% in idle - doing nothing but browsing, btw. It seems that I can't fix this. Someone any idea?
Dave!! another question for you.. so i ordered the X17 r1.. with 32 gb DDR 4 3466 mhz xmp memory. can i put a 3200 mhz on the 2nd slot to make it 64? i know it doesnt match,, and what would be the issue with this? i cant seem to find the exact same memory module ,, i guess i can order through Dell.. but.. i need your advice pls.. ALSO, it is possible to use DDR5 modules in the future? thank u!!
hello mate, unfortunately you will probably receive 2x 16gb 3466 memory so if you want 64 you will need to remove your 2 sticks and install 2 x 32gb sticks. My advice is don't bother until you know you need more than 32gb. And lastly, no sorry. This CPU is DDR4 only but you are not missing out on much performance on DDR5 atm 👍
@@MashITTech thanks Dave! You are great and ur channel is my go to! Been to your country many times! My bro use to live in stoke on trent for about 10 yrs until he move to Melbourne, Australia. and my former gf lived in Birmingham! - hello from Chicago!
@@RandzWRX hello to you in Chicago, I used to work for a company based in Illinois which isn’t too far from you isn’t it?
@@MashITTech hey Dave! So Chicago is one of the cities in the STATE of ILLINOIS,, Chicago being the Biggest. I live in the Suburbs,., and I’m about 40 mins from the city center( downtown Chicago to my house ). : ) SO your former company must be somewhere in the suburbs of Chicago? At least its in the state of ILLINOIS.. hehehe.
@@RandzWRX haha Geography clearly isn't my strong point :) It was a company called Anixter in Glenview which looks to be yes
It's a nice laptop and it looks cool but man dell needs to listen to their customers. They should have just kept the keyboard from the m17 r3/r4. It had great travel and the keys look good with secondary backlite functions.
Yup, not sure what they are thinking. I love going back to my area 51m r2 keyboard after using an x series
@@MashITTech I actually thought about getting the r1 but man it lacks so many features that I want in a laptop.I thought dell would listen and improve things on the r2 but they actually took more stuff away lol.
I’m curious about the thermals… do you find it to be throttling due to temps?
No, not at all! Dell just let it boost like crazy unlike other companies so although it hits 100c the cpu is allowed to use 130w of power! As an example my razer blade pro cpu is only allowed 65w boost
WOW I am about to wet myself in excitement. Have been hanging out for this exact review.
So far all the laptops with 12th gen are terrible, maxing out their p cores at only around 3ghz under load. I am wondering if the X17 R2 can dissipate the 115 watts that the cpu can generate under it's maximum all core turbo.
I haven't seen anything yet, just about to grab my vape, go to bed and watch this! I hope Alienware have nailed it. See you in 20 minutes hehe.......
Another excellent review. This is quickly becoming my favourite tech channel.
Thanks so much, really appreciate that 😀
Have you had a chance to look at the m15 r7 and what do you think of it?
Not yet sorry, still waiting for r7 and x14 as they were released later in the U.K. 😢
Currently using a ryzen 9 5900HX with a 3060 rog strix im well happy for the money
Could you please tell me the part number of this new slim PSU ? I just bought a G15 5530 and it still comes with the huge power brick... i need the slim one for traveling! Thanks in advance!
I have the same model and I've found that I can only get full performance from the 3080TI when ACC Power is set to Full. It is still limited under 'Performance' Mode. I'm running Bios 1.2.0. I was overclocking the GPU to achieve 12.6K in Time Spy while running 'Balanced' & 'Performance'. When I changed to 'Full' I got over 14.1K in Time Spy (same overclock settings (+225/+350).
Wow nice overclock there. I have found I can get full performance in performance mode or max fan, balanced does lower my score. Haven’t really played with over liking gpu yet but hope mine does as well as yours
Sorry, not quite fimilair with the resolution, but what is QHD? google it, says it's quarter FHD which doesn't make sense, is it the other way to call 2k?