With the new on-sale price and the amount of GPUs clearly stuck on shelves right now, we decided it was time to revisit Alienware! While you're here, check out our recent Deepcool Assassin IV review (for something positive) too! ua-cam.com/video/ukYhjjoJnfc/v-deo.html
i want the snowflake squarespace premade! share the tithe link or w.e. 0.010 us dollars commissions the tech overlords throw at us in great number we can soyface for $4 a month (kind of other side)
@@olebrumme6356 I'm starting to think 1.5-2K could be achieved, especially if you where going to match the rams lack of any heatsink, the chunky fan motors taking up most the airflow space that are probably worth $2 each. A dodgy used looking 4090 from goodness knows where (fair to say the one in the review wasn't new lol) 2.4k seems achievable.
@@Cogglesz Sadly the cheapest 4090 is about $1900 here. I'm just waiting for some prebuilds to be on sale and buy it without GPU, then reuse my 3070. Will be fine for 1440p.
Back when i worked at Best Buy many years ago, we had a big, flashy Alienware display. It always got the attention of kids wanting their first gaming machine. I’d always open the case and compare it to a case actually meant for a gaming build, asking how much they wanted to pay for a glowing alien logo and some custom bits of plastic. Then I’d point out the fans, and then ask them where the air is supposed to go. I’m kind of proud of the number of kids that I got to build their own, or let us build one for them, instead of buying a half assed prebuilt. Also since I had a Geek Squad that actually knew what they were doing, I knew we could deliver a better built machine every time.
Those kids are lucky, I had to learn the hard way and waste 1.5k on an alienware... and even then I had no guidance I had to learn how to build a decent rig by myself with no help
Especially when it’s brands that exist all over the world and not just a US one that I can’t buy in Europe anyway. Not that I ever buy pre builts. But I did consider it last year but I eventually decided against it because non were good enough. But if there were really good pre builts for a decent price, non proprietary parts and good cooling etc I would probably buy pre built because im not enjoying building PCs as much anymore compared to what I used to.
I always find it crazy watching these videos. The industrial design that has carried over with dell through the years, as far back as the late 90s dell XPS systems even. So much of this case feels like an office pc inside as opposed to a high end gaming pc.
Maybe that's not even a bad thing, it works well enough for the GPU. It really just seems like it's their attachment to that awful case which is really holding things back. There has to be a way to have an "alienware look" without strangling the CPU.
I am talking about things as far as even the way you remove the side panel my XPS with a Pentium 3 had the same spring loaded latch style. All they have done is change the colorway and added an alienware flare and curve. I owned an alienware back in 2001 I believe it was that was an experience closer to the Puget Systems build Steve showcased on the GN Extras channel. It came with a binder breaking down the build and everything in a custom Antec case. What dell has done is turned them into just another arm of their corporate machine.
I had an XPS 400 with a Pentium D, 2GB RAM and a deceivingly small Radeon of some sort with 128MB of VRAM. Iunno the spec anymore behind that. I say all that because: The hard drive sliders, the spring-loaded side panel, the flippy expansion slots, all of that, hasn't changed since 2005. It's even the same pale blue.
I'm still confused how they managed to get the refurbished video card.. and sell it for more money than the MSRP somehow.. it's like it's one thing if you're RMA is a refurbished or something like that.. and it's another if there's like some sort of discount involved. But.. more money.. it's like.. only that alien math that just doesn't seem to apply to our part of the universe it seems to come up with this company...
Dell is relying on the brand's legacy to push out sub-par, overpriced e-waste. Their stale and constricting case design appeals to people that just want to game/stream while not getting bogged down in the specs. It's "mo expensive means mo better". I imagine quite a few people in my generation remember drooling over the brand when they were kids, so then purchase one for their own kids. I coveted one in my 20's based on the case alone. Shit was like a UFO escape pod coated in glowing plasticised alien jizz
@@AdamIsUrqed I agree, they are trying to squeeze out the last bit of nostalgia they can from older gamers, who remember their heyday as the premium pre-built company, before Dell got their grubby hands on them.
Honestly I don't think it would have helped. The bottleneck here is the long-term power limit imposed by the BIOS, which still seems to be tuned for the older case design and is inappropriate for the improved design.
I have a feeling that the metal case under all the plastic isn't open either. I'd like to see them break the case down and see if it COULD be mechanically improved. You know, do Dell's job for them.
It wouldn't matter. Dell limits power so hard that thermals aren't an issue. And since all the settings are locked down in BIOS, more cooling wouldn't help.
Why would anyone pay anywhere close to that. Imagine the setup you could v have for 4 and a half grand that you have total control over. Alienware is overpriced shit still getting by on the name when they used to be cool and hardware was a lot less expensive, well made and a lot more exciting.
i cannot fathom spending 5 grand on a new prebuilt pc (in general) and NOT getting a new gpu. the inside of that gpu looked like it just recently got done building a sand castle. that's insane
Yeah, I watch the video and think it seems kinda cool actually, then I remember that I'm thinking in terms of $1500 prebuilts, where this level of heat management and proprietary parts isn't a death sentence. This with a Ryzen 7700 and a Radeon 7700 XTXTXTX could be alright.
I guess Dell had too much old stock and Alienware desktops being an underselling platform that they refuse to condemn those old stocks and decided to try to remarked it to earn some positive profits.
The thing I really love about GN is, it's like watching the tech video from the early 2000s. IDK, the vibe is just like that. Full of information, trustworthy, simple camera work - no cinematic thingy, just straight educational and on point. And he is using 60 frames for his content. As much as I remember, almost all tech videos on TV last time used this format. Dont know if it is intentional for him to make it looks like a classic tech video but yeah it worked.!
My main issue with it is really the looks they seem to be so fond of - it doesn't look "classy" or prestigious by any means, but early 2000s cheap plastic, cheap acrylic, teenager style and absolutely not like anything high end. A lot of that could already be changed by just switching to some more pleasant materials, stamped metal, matte finish, actual glass maybe, the front just mesh, they could still keep a curvy, unique look, just with a pinch more Apple maybe... but that should of course also come with a complete case redesign as far as functionality goes. A much cheaper custom build looks so much cleaner and classier, I really don't know who they're still selling their systems too.
I also find their loyalty to that style and case puzzling. Maybe Dell is riding the branding and nostalgia train, and their target audience are the people who always wanted a tacky alienware PC as a kid?
Also, it's not even a good version of that. I do like the 2005 candy pc look (the highest standard of which probably was the power Mac / Mac pro (I don't know which the name of that version is) in blue and white plastic), but the Alienware systems here are just a cheap plastic case with a cheap black motherboard - no style, and just generally an uninspired build
The original cases were a rounded shroud over a regular square case too,it's not like this could actually be cheaper to build worse than off the shelf parts.
Yeah that design is absolute cringe. Looks like it was designed by a 13 year old in 2005 or something. It's supposed to look "cool" and it just has that "How do you do, fellow kids" vibe to it that I could never bare to have in my room and have to look at everyday.
As someone who remembers Alienware from their early days, I really genuinely want them to become very legit again. As of right now they're mainly just good at making interesting (not always useful) cases and interior arrangements.
Once a company is bought out or sold, there is nothing left besides the name. Alienware will never be what it was 20+ years ago because all that remains is a trademarked name.
Same here. I had an Alienware rig from before they were purchased by Dell and it was legit. I reused and upgraded that thing many times until I finally retired it many years later. Oh how they have fallen...
My buddy works at bestbuy and they have lot of these damn Alienware R15's and 13's etc in stock still and can't get rid of them.He said tho lots like getting thier monitors tho and run out of stock on those.
Alienware makes most of its money on laptop and monitor sales, which they lead their respective markets, it's as if their desktops are merely an afterthought just to throw something at the desktop market
They have great engineers; it's the other roles (sales, marketing, management) that are the issue. Engineers' suggestions/recommendations are often ignored because they cost too much to implement.
It’s not always cost. Most of the times it’s just incompetence from management and ‘leaders’ at the company. Those ‘managers’ and ‘leaders’ simply Ignoring people who actually know what they are doing who are the reason the company is still alive.
The fact that Steve went on not 1 but 2 absolute tangents and they just faded to black on both had me rolling. Keep up the good work GN! your content keeps us all in the loop about the good the bad and the ugly in the pc world. Wish it was more of the former though… pc stuff been slipping lately. You must be our champion and help us hold them accountable.
My first computer was a hand me down Dell Dimension from 2002 that used a standard MATX mainboard and ATX power supply, and it was built better than the Alienware desktops you reviewed. Even at the height of the capacitor plague and using a Pentium 4 CPU (Socket 478) Dell made decent prebuilt PCs. The fact that they aren't using standard parts is a massive step backwards that needs to be corrected.
I know this one was pretty rough, but I bought an Alienware Aurora R7 back in 2017 with 0% financing for around $1800. Got an i7 8770k, 16GB RAM, and a 1070ti and honestly I was and am really happy with it. I just "retired" that machine after upgrading a bunch of the parts over the years and just bounced it to my wife for her, much MUCH more casual use. 6 years later and it's still going quite strong with 32GB RAM, and upgraded modular PSU, and a 3070 in there now.
I haven't watched the video yet, but I take apart probably between 30-60 old Dell prebuilts per day as part of my e-scrap job, so I would love to see if Dell is still doing weird, cheap stuff in what should be their high end consumer products. Edit: As far as the physical build construction goes, this is pretty impressive compared to their older desktops. Btw, those blue tabs are EVERYWHERE in every dell system I've ever torn down, they've probably been doing that for two decades. Servers too. Everything besides laptops is filled with blue plastic, and after a decade and a half or so those tabs become about as strong as a graham cracker. As far as the GPU dust goes, I really hope that is just from extended internal testing, because if they are putting used parts in a system and selling it as new for 4000+, that is a massive ethical problem.
Unless they're testing these systems at a rodeo or at Burning Man, this level of dust is inexcusable. Before assembly, the last place those parts have seen open air is a microchip clean room.
Love the fade in and out on Steve's rant. Reminds me of the microphone scene in Forrest Gump...lol Great job overall GN Team, I used to be a great fan of Alienware when it wasn't Dell.
Y’all this is a self made man. The level of detail and care in their videos is astounding. I am Very impressed and can say without a doubt this is the channel you need to watch. Steve, thank you for your service and thank you for your wonderful team.
I love alienware teardowns. I find the way they integrate all of the pieces with snap and spring fittings fascinating and looks fun to take apart... not so much fun to pay for.
that is something alienware is really doing an awesome job on and other SIs should learn from. They do many things incredibly well and then make baffling decisions elsewhere
I'd buy one if they were competitively priced and performed better, especially if I could get the option to skip the alien images all over. Those cases are really interesting, even if they don't work well for high airflow.
I think they engineered some pretty good latching mechanisms for sliding things in and out and it'd be great if they took those designs and just put them in better-designed cases - not only not let marketing dictate the content of the product descriptions, but also the products themselves.
What if a case manufacture out there actually take this concept and run with it. Engineered a case with pop out frame for all the standard component. That way the cable management is all done. And sell it as a premium product with premium look. I'm sure there are folks rich enough to pay for that. But the power supply is an issue as cable are not interchangable between different power supply.
Ah yes... the annual Dell/Alienware roast sponsored by GamersNexus. Loved the part where you explained how to solve the Riemann hypothesis. Amazing stuff.
In the last 18 months, I have had nothing but problems with Dell. This is the series of systems I have had, their replacements, and the current statuses of the equipment. m17 r3 failed and replaced with x17 r1. x17 r1 repair attempted twice, replaced with another x17 r1. that one had 3 attempts to fix it, all failed. Replaced with x17 r2. This system failed twice. Purchase refunded and put on DFS account despite account having been paid off over 2 years before. Was told I would have to wait 6 months before i could cash out the credit or purchase a new system. m17 r5 AMD. DOA. Replacement had problems with video card. Repair attempt failed. Returned for credit within 30 days of purchase. x17 r2 (didn't want to wait 6 months for $ of first machine). Repair attempted 4 times. Didn't fix it. Replaced with x17 r2, repaired twice, replaced with x17 r2. Current system. Have had issues with it and haven't had a fix in 3 months - constant contact with Dell asking what is going on but no repair has been attempted due to "part availability issues" blamed on the pandemic (still). I have tried the Executive Email carpet bombing technique in the attempt to get someone to escalate this. I have gotten nowhere with it. Oh, I have been a Dell certified tech since 1999. I recently led the Change Control Board at my employer to switch from Dell to HP as our primary vendor. Why? In the last 3 years, Dell's systems went from a 2.4% system failure rate to 6.8 whereas HP has gone from a 2.9 to 3.1%. Total cost of ownership due to the system failures have made it so Dell is not a good option compared to HP these days for business-class systems.
I've hated Dell computers for nearly my entire life. For some reason I've had 4 Dell laptops, only 1 I actually bought, the other 3 were from work. I legitimately don't know how Dell is still in business with how fucking awful their computers are. Their chargers used to somehow just fall apart, every time. It's like the plastic was self destructive or something.
you guys should add a smart drive dump to your tests to see how many power cycles the drives have or how long they've been powered on! that could be interesting.
The one thing I can offer Dell props on with this machine is the CMOS placement. That is really good placement and is extremely easy to access. So many modern boards make it needlessly really inconvenient if you ever need to clear CMOS, since it's buried under the video card. Or worse, under some heatsink because of visual flair.
@@toad7395 Jumping is what a clear cmos button does, it's what most buttons do actually, doing it with a screwdriver isn't risky or anything. Removing the battery can be an absolute bitch in a lot of systems, it's often clamped pretty tight in a spot where you can't reach it very well.
oh dang, i must be lucky my asus prime x470 pro mb is in the bottom right, but it still takes a screwdriver to bridge the pins (instead of just having a button like most mid to high tier boards I would guess).
Got an R15 in july. It started having random crashes a month later, proceeded to get exponentially worse. Replacing the GPU buys me a week or so of stable use before it starts to blackout. I have seen a reddit with another R15 case where both the original and a replacement both experienced these 'blackouts'. CPU, Motherboard, GPU, Fans, OS and Driver have all been refreshed till the support crew are scratching themselves silly. The only clue i have is from the engineer team who said that the second GPU was overheating. Now on my third GPU, the system has blacked out again. until just before it went into the shop, my device would only crash when running a game. when dell created a copy of the stats, and made to send it through remote assist, the system crashed. The most recent crashed occured while idle with steam and opera GX open in the background, and again while downloading 'critical' updates. My aurora 15 has now forgotten how to factory reset. The supervisor of the support team warns that the OS i was running was non-standard. I don't know if it's related to the buggy behaviors of the support apps, whether the latter is due to missing files/software, but at the end of the day... the system is acting up, Alienware command center is awol, and my computer is still shutting itself down randomly. The support team would have me believe that they haven't seen another case like this. I've seen another youtuber talk about this device, having been sent a replacement R15. I am not impressed with their record keeping, especially with a device with such a devastating error. 5k$? I got it for a sale at 2500$ and now it has dropped all the way to ~1500$ If this device is getting undercut by such a dramatic failure, why is is still on the market?
Ah yes a $4300 alienware. I've always wanted to spend an extra $1200 to have it built significantly worse than my 8 year old niece could do it but $1700 more was just out of my budget.
It's very interesting, I thought maybe Alienware got their shit together but it seems to not be the case. I built my PC with an amd 3700x and amd 6950xt and probably spent 1500 dollars or less than 2k at this point and it performs so good with awesome thermals with my watercooler and lian li case setup. I can't understand how this build costs so much outside the GPU. Where is the incentive to go this route?
It's almost like whatever discount you think that should have been applied for the refurbished video card was reversed.. it was more money for the dirty used video card.. I feel like that genuinely should be a thing people should be upset about... And it's really not the first time I've heard of it happening.. in fact it's starting to be a common place thing where my only surprise was.. so I know this has been happening a lot lately.. I should be more mad about this I guess right like that's not that's.. like that's that's not like legal unless you factor in a strange terms of service that requires a team of lawyers to fight or something like that kind of legal is it?
@@jakedill1304 idk, but unless otherwise stated the presumption of buying anything from any manufacturer is that they use new hardware, not repurposing the used one. legally, I mean. so if Dell does not specifically imply they might be using refurbished components in the ToS anywhere prior to purchase a simple legal action would suffice. in my opinion, that is.
It looks like they sent you a refurbed system. Not just the GPU and the top exit area being caked, but even the box looks well-worn. $4500 and they're sending a refurb is insane.
I got the i9-13900K and the RTX 4090 config with 4 TB of storage, a 3 year accidental damage warranty, all for $2,600 between coupons and cash back. I totally agree with everything in this review, but at this price it was difficult to pass up. Dropped in some 6000 MHz RAM and it worked great. So far im happy, but we'll see what happens. 70s on CPU and 65 on the GPU during gaming.
Alienware. One of the best examples of guys in suits who don't even type their own emails being in charge of a premium line meant to inspire awe, impress, and wow their customers. See also, Apple after Steve Jobs, Blizzard after Activision, and Disney after Iger.
I would love to see an interview with whoever is responsible for sticking to that case at Dell/Alienware and how they explain it. I would be shocked to hear that this "visual design" is attractive to most end users. And with all of the extra bits and bobs, I'd be similarly shocked if manufacturing (or buying) this case is less expensive than more practical alternatives. Truly wild and I'm just so curious.
I actually have to give props to Alienware for managing to make pcs so bad that I forced myself to learn how to build a pc to solve my issues of airflow and bottlenecking
This just makes me miss the good days of dell when they made the XPS 720 full tower out of like 1/4" thick metal and it looked like a legit piece of alien hardware.
You should do tear downs of servers if you get the chance. A lot of the same issues exist in the enterprise side (insane levels of mechanical over engineering and custom one off parts) with the added fun of configuration hell. For instance the dell T640 requires pulling the motherboard out to install a power interposer card so that you actually have the cabling for the GPUs (lol).
thing with servers is that they are constrained by the rack units so they cant just change the form factor however they want, and they also need to cool so much more power. In a desktop PC it doesnt matter as they can choose whichever dimensions are optimal and make everything fit properly. As such, sticking to a formfactor which is suboptimal when they can just expand or remodel them makes no sense.
it's all to make it easier to mass produce since all the systems are assembled by hand. They don't really expect you to ever disassemble them. Thats also why they use all sorts of proprietary shit. It sucks for us as consumers but hey you'll be more likely to pay them for servicing it so they don't care
@@AlexWinExperiments The only hard limit on racks is the width, and to a lesser extent, the depth. They could make a rack case that takes up the entire height of the rack if they wanted to. A 4-5u rack case is roughly equivalent in volume of a standard mid tower desktop case. It's entirely on them for stupid design if they want to cram all of that into a 2u case.
Keeping the same case likely relates to a point you made in your review of the Aurora one in the previous video. You said that it was over engineered to fix issues that they themselves created. All that cost of engineering it (As you put it, a sunk cost fallacy) probably just lead to them keeping it instead.
It's also part of their aesthetic. If they give up their (poor performing) 'iconic design, they give up some of their market 'identity.' Couple that with the sunk-cost you've highlighted, and the idea of redesigning their cases to achieve both form and function likely loses much of its appeal.
Alienware's wisdom surpasses all limits. Thank you for not overclocking my i9-13900KF. This is my third Alienware computer in the past 15 years, and I've never encountered any issues with them.
Love these i know you guys have a ton going on but hope you get some time on the bike trails. Thanks to the whole team for all the amazing content over the years.
Hey Steve, you were brutal with your review of the Alienware! The closeup shot of the dust inside the gpu was phenomenal! I'm sure Dell will have something to say about your video.
Great review. I don't think I'd even need 4k budget to build an absolute top tier desktop myself with top of the line parts. My 3080ti 5900x rig from years ago was maybe 3k max.
Bitlocker was enabled and they are pushing multiple UEFI firmware updates? That's quite brave* unless they somehow have a fallback/recovery mechanism to mitigate the potential problems that could arise 🤯🤷♂️ *Really really dangerous
Pretty sure the potential return-to-manufacturer fee is part of the pricetag, inconvenience for the buyer non-withstanding. Dell is large enough to swallow such factors easily. That being said, they should really start to listen. Alienware deserves to be an actual premium brand.
@@GreyGoshawk Issues of update/not to update aside, its how its done. Lets say a BIOS update takes 5 minutes and my UPS is good for 5 minutes and I really hope you see where I'm going with this. For those who need it spelled out: lets say your area gets hit with bad storms that tend to knock out the power. You have a UPS that is good enough for a few minutes to get the system shut down, but it needs to be done with some haste. Regardless, an automatic BIOS update hits and you loose power. Odds are good your BIOS is bricked. Now thats not a problem for my/high end systems, they have dual BIOS and flashback. So if somehow both get bricked I can just flash in a new one. Guess what 2 features Dell MBs don't have that might be really relevant to this.
Dell owns Alienware and has for a long time. Why does anyone except any kind of quality from Dell? Glad to see you reviewing pre-builts again Steve because there are millions of people that DO still expect a certain level of service from Dell.
I miss the old Alienware Aurora ALX case that had the mechanical top vents. Was the coolest case I've ever seen in person and part of me is sad to have sold the system. Current "Alienware" is nowhere near that level anymore.
Crazy how they are charging 4 to 5,000 USD for this pre-built... I'm glad I built my PC myself, I spent around 2,600, which is way less than this build. Building your own PC is the best route, not to mention all my components, including the case are way better than what is in this system.
That's great to hear the price has lowerd a bit, building your own PC is still more cost-effective and you get to pick your own PC parts, then build it up from scatch.@@yazal9884
Given that the power was restricted, how much power is the system using at the wall? That would have been useful information along with everything else in your review. I am curious if there is at least a significant power savings (less electrical power used in exchange for the lower performance) to go along with the low performance given the hardware used. Just my two cents and what I think should be included in the review to give as complete a picture as possible of the reviewed system.
Alienware racing in the "who can make the worst prebuilds every year" and it seems they won't lose the champion place again but sad that excluding all the bad stuff they did... Dell OEM cards... are really nice since Turing
My little brother saved up and had one built when we were in HS… I’m 36 now but I remember how cool I thought that Alienware was… purple case with a light up green alien head
I've been building my own PCs since... forever. Recently, I caved and ordered an Alienware R15 from Dell. I did this despite your very helpful and insightful review. Why? - I hate installing coolers and spreading thermal paste. I always feel like messing it up can be very expensive (despite never having once messed it up). - I stepped down the components. The R15 I ordered contains an RTX 4080 and the weaker CPU (i7 13700F) because your review said that in this case with Dell, the more expensive CPU is behaving like the performance profile of the weaker one. So I just went with the weaker one, and bumped the NVMe size to 1TB and the RAM to 32 GB. - They offered $600 off the total cost due to a sale. The brought the pre-built cost down to about what it would have cost me to get the parts individually, minus the stress of having to build it myself. Since it comes with a 1 year warranty, I figure I will know if it's a lemon within that year. I'm mostly going to use this PC for gaming, so I hope with the reduced power consumption the thermals are going to be OK. You did say the GPU configuration was one of the few things Dell got right. Since I won't be doing a lot of CPU intensive loads, I have my fingers crossed. The 4080 represents nearly a 3X performance upgrade from my 1080 (I don't even have the Ti).
That Win update pushing BIOSs is wild, almost got me bitlocked out of a Lenovo laptop I was working on! Luckily the user remembered the MS account used to set it up otherwise we'd have been screwed!
This video is just nitpicking. Especially the cooling system. The whole kelvin thing is nonsense. First of all...who measures anything in kelvin? The temperature difference is the same regardless of the unit of measurement. To claim that using celsius instead of kelvin is for marketing reasons is misleading.
I've got the R13 with a 3090 and the 1000w power supply and haven't had any issues and thermals have been perfect. Play at 4k max settings with no issues.
i bought this for 2900 yesterday .. intel i9-13900kf , nvidia rtx 4090 32gb ram (4800mhz) 1 Tb ssd, 1350 psu , liquid cooled.... its was one option below the most expensive one at 4500.. which had 64 gb of ram and 4 tb ssd .. the original listed price for mine was 3900.00 but they had it for 600 dollars off and with signing up for dell emails i got another 10 percent off which is another 300 off so i paid 2900 ish before taxes so while i understand the hate for alienware... as a fanboy i feel like i made out ok!
I copped the g516 last week. 5600x3d, 6650xt for $750. It’s basically this pc but micro atx, better cable management, the thermals aren’t shit, and the case has actual airflow. Pretty happy w the cop
I'm curious if by either removing the top panel entirely, or making your own holes, how much of a drop you'd achieve? A 240 aio is on the smaller side for a 13900k, a 280 is where I'd say is a minimum for a case like this. In before 2029 where they finally achieve an A rating for this case, only for a new case in 2030 that stays almost the same again for another 10 years.
Does not really matter in this situation since they are undervolting the CPU, and there does not seem to be a way to fix that in their BIOS if you were able to allow it to cool off better by drilling holes in the top of it.
Suiggestion: Make another video with this PC where you remove all plastic airflow obstruction from the top and front - use a Dremel to cut away bits if necessary - then do another round of basic thermal testing. Title the video: How to fix your AlienWare R15.
With the new on-sale price and the amount of GPUs clearly stuck on shelves right now, we decided it was time to revisit Alienware! While you're here, check out our recent Deepcool Assassin IV review (for something positive) too! ua-cam.com/video/ukYhjjoJnfc/v-deo.html
Where is snowflake?
Farenheit was invented in The Netherlands and we do not use it anynore for a long long time.
i want the snowflake squarespace premade! share the tithe link or w.e. 0.010 us dollars commissions the tech overlords throw at us in great number we can soyface for $4 a month (kind of other side)
I was waiting for the Riemann solution!
how long do these systems even last before hardware failures?
The fade to black as Steve goes on massive tangents absolutely kills me. You guys do great work!
Stopped the video to post that, LoL. I laughed really hard at that.
Twice even : ) Laughed hard on those. Thanks Steve!
i nearly died with the "and that's how you solve the Riemann hypothesis"
It's a nice touch to know that this video would've easily been hours long.
@@gmooney77100🫡lol
After hearing 4430$ I kept waiting for Steve to turn this futuristic box around so I could see where they mounted the second RTX4090 card.
Idd, can easily knock off $1000 building it yourself.
@@olebrumme6356 I'm starting to think 1.5-2K could be achieved, especially if you where going to match the rams lack of any heatsink, the chunky fan motors taking up most the airflow space that are probably worth $2 each. A dodgy used looking 4090 from goodness knows where (fair to say the one in the review wasn't new lol) 2.4k seems achievable.
@@Cogglesz Sadly the cheapest 4090 is about $1900 here. I'm just waiting for some prebuilds to be on sale and buy it without GPU, then reuse my 3070. Will be fine for 1440p.
@@dstarboi9965 It's either that or having food for like a year for me.
@@olebrumme6356 I don't think you can buy a prebuild without a GPU.
Back when i worked at Best Buy many years ago, we had a big, flashy Alienware display. It always got the attention of kids wanting their first gaming machine. I’d always open the case and compare it to a case actually meant for a gaming build, asking how much they wanted to pay for a glowing alien logo and some custom bits of plastic. Then I’d point out the fans, and then ask them where the air is supposed to go. I’m kind of proud of the number of kids that I got to build their own, or let us build one for them, instead of buying a half assed prebuilt. Also since I had a Geek Squad that actually knew what they were doing, I knew we could deliver a better built machine every time.
not all heroes wear capes
Those kids are lucky, I had to learn the hard way and waste 1.5k on an alienware... and even then I had no guidance I had to learn how to build a decent rig by myself with no help
@@Black_Aces When did you start PC gaming?
i just got one but its in the box, you think i should return it? its r15 i7
@@Black_Acesu think i should return mine? i got a r15 i7
That fade-out when Steve was getting heated... love it. I wonder how many hours have passed... :D
We need the full version somewhere!
He might've dropped some good design-philosohpy advice or funny personal stories among the ranting!
@@vikenemesh And he solved Riemann hypothesis, very cool Steve
Nice to see the prebuilt reviews again, always a fan of them
Thank you!
Just not the back exhaust one, that poor chap goes through a lot in these prebuilts
@@GamersNexusneed an hp omen review soon
I know I'll never buy a prebuilt, but it's always interesting to watch how a company can fumble a $4000+ system so badly
Especially when it’s brands that exist all over the world and not just a US one that I can’t buy in Europe anyway. Not that I ever buy pre builts. But I did consider it last year but I eventually decided against it because non were good enough. But if there were really good pre builts for a decent price, non proprietary parts and good cooling etc I would probably buy pre built because im not enjoying building PCs as much anymore compared to what I used to.
In summary, Dell has yet again overcharged their customers for a computer that underperforms, and nobody should buy this heap.
I always find it crazy watching these videos. The industrial design that has carried over with dell through the years, as far back as the late 90s dell XPS systems even. So much of this case feels like an office pc inside as opposed to a high end gaming pc.
Maybe that's not even a bad thing, it works well enough for the GPU. It really just seems like it's their attachment to that awful case which is really holding things back. There has to be a way to have an "alienware look" without strangling the CPU.
I am talking about things as far as even the way you remove the side panel my XPS with a Pentium 3 had the same spring loaded latch style. All they have done is change the colorway and added an alienware flare and curve. I owned an alienware back in 2001 I believe it was that was an experience closer to the Puget Systems build Steve showcased on the GN Extras channel. It came with a binder breaking down the build and everything in a custom Antec case. What dell has done is turned them into just another arm of their corporate machine.
I had an XPS 400 with a Pentium D, 2GB RAM and a deceivingly small Radeon of some sort with 128MB of VRAM. Iunno the spec anymore behind that. I say all that because: The hard drive sliders, the spring-loaded side panel, the flippy expansion slots, all of that, hasn't changed since 2005. It's even the same pale blue.
$4000+ and you still get matrix green ram sticks lmao Dell really know how to dress up a pig
Thanks Steve!
Good to see Alienware still sports the build quality and fair pricing they've always been known for.
I'm still confused how they managed to get the refurbished video card.. and sell it for more money than the MSRP somehow.. it's like it's one thing if you're RMA is a refurbished or something like that.. and it's another if there's like some sort of discount involved. But.. more money.. it's like.. only that alien math that just doesn't seem to apply to our part of the universe it seems to come up with this company...
But not worth the price, cut it in half, maybe.
Dell is relying on the brand's legacy to push out sub-par, overpriced e-waste. Their stale and constricting case design appeals to people that just want to game/stream while not getting bogged down in the specs. It's "mo expensive means mo better". I imagine quite a few people in my generation remember drooling over the brand when they were kids, so then purchase one for their own kids. I coveted one in my 20's based on the case alone. Shit was like a UFO escape pod coated in glowing plasticised alien jizz
yeah u can tell they put some time and resources into the MB this time
@@AdamIsUrqed I agree, they are trying to squeeze out the last bit of nostalgia they can from older gamers, who remember their heyday as the premium pre-built company, before Dell got their grubby hands on them.
I LOVE the Alienware prebuilt reviews, it’s like a bad car accident you just can’t stop watching.
💯% agreed 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I wouldn't want it any other way... other than dell somehow making good prebuilts but that seems unlikely
I like their cases. I wouldn't buy a prebuilt from Dell/Alienware though.
XD 😂
I can buy this rn for 2700 bucks is it worth it? It's the "liquid cooled" version
I’m guessing it wouldn’t have been practical, but it would have been interesting to see the results of taking a Dremel to the top of the case
I was hoping so bad for that or just ripping off the restrictive front panel as well.
Honestly I don't think it would have helped. The bottleneck here is the long-term power limit imposed by the BIOS, which still seems to be tuned for the older case design and is inappropriate for the improved design.
I have a feeling that the metal case under all the plastic isn't open either. I'd like to see them break the case down and see if it COULD be mechanically improved. You know, do Dell's job for them.
It wouldn't matter. Dell limits power so hard that thermals aren't an issue. And since all the settings are locked down in BIOS, more cooling wouldn't help.
Why would anyone pay anywhere close to that. Imagine the setup you could v have for 4 and a half grand that you have total control over. Alienware is overpriced shit still getting by on the name when they used to be cool and hardware was a lot less expensive, well made and a lot more exciting.
i cannot fathom spending 5 grand on a new prebuilt pc (in general) and NOT getting a new gpu. the inside of that gpu looked like it just recently got done building a sand castle. that's insane
Yeah, I watch the video and think it seems kinda cool actually, then I remember that I'm thinking in terms of $1500 prebuilts, where this level of heat management and proprietary parts isn't a death sentence. This with a Ryzen 7700 and a Radeon 7700 XTXTXTX could be alright.
@@emptyshirtWhy? There's so much better designs.
Like, at least do a high quality refurbish...
This should be flawless at $5k and look amazing... this looks so slapped together it's embarrassimg
I guess Dell had too much old stock and Alienware desktops being an underselling platform that they refuse to condemn those old stocks and decided to try to remarked it to earn some positive profits.
The thing I really love about GN is, it's like watching the tech video from the early 2000s. IDK, the vibe is just like that. Full of information, trustworthy, simple camera work - no cinematic thingy, just straight educational and on point. And he is using 60 frames for his content. As much as I remember, almost all tech videos on TV last time used this format. Dont know if it is intentional for him to make it looks like a classic tech video but yeah it worked.!
My main issue with it is really the looks they seem to be so fond of - it doesn't look "classy" or prestigious by any means, but early 2000s cheap plastic, cheap acrylic, teenager style and absolutely not like anything high end. A lot of that could already be changed by just switching to some more pleasant materials, stamped metal, matte finish, actual glass maybe, the front just mesh, they could still keep a curvy, unique look, just with a pinch more Apple maybe... but that should of course also come with a complete case redesign as far as functionality goes. A much cheaper custom build looks so much cleaner and classier, I really don't know who they're still selling their systems too.
I also find their loyalty to that style and case puzzling. Maybe Dell is riding the branding and nostalgia train, and their target audience are the people who always wanted a tacky alienware PC as a kid?
Also, it's not even a good version of that. I do like the 2005 candy pc look (the highest standard of which probably was the power Mac / Mac pro (I don't know which the name of that version is) in blue and white plastic), but the Alienware systems here are just a cheap plastic case with a cheap black motherboard - no style, and just generally an uninspired build
The original cases were a rounded shroud over a regular square case too,it's not like this could actually be cheaper to build worse than off the shelf parts.
Yeah that design is absolute cringe. Looks like it was designed by a 13 year old in 2005 or something. It's supposed to look "cool" and it just has that "How do you do, fellow kids" vibe to it that I could never bare to have in my room and have to look at everyday.
It always gave me Apple G3 power Mac vibes - without cool retro vibes
I’ve been binge watching your pre built videos in the last 2 days. Perfect timing!
Hoping we find another good one soon! We've found a few, but they really are like needles in a haystack.
@@GamersNexusI can't believe that they still sell these lol. That case is atrocious.
@@GamersNexus Looking forward to the puget systems secret shopping when it come out.
@@stephenn504 Maybe in the future. The one we bought recently wasn't secret shopped, though.
@@GamersNexus I thought you had mentioned you planned to do a secrete shopper. My mistake.
As someone who remembers Alienware from their early days, I really genuinely want them to become very legit again. As of right now they're mainly just good at making interesting (not always useful) cases and interior arrangements.
Once a company is bought out or sold, there is nothing left besides the name.
Alienware will never be what it was 20+ years ago because all that remains is a trademarked name.
Same here. I had an Alienware rig from before they were purchased by Dell and it was legit. I reused and upgraded that thing many times until I finally retired it many years later. Oh how they have fallen...
what where they like before?
@@willt3223 More like a good enthusiast build
Those days are long gone.
6:08 It's been decades. One does not simply make Alienware not be a meme. That's kind of their brand now.
Self inflicted, too
No love for companies, my brothers and sisters.
@@mukkah*Self-inflicted
Sigh.
They used to be so awesome too, then they sold themselves out to Dell like some 5$ whore.
@@dildojizzbaggins6969 looooooooooooooooool gtfo XD
Does anyone actually remember Alienware in their Prime?
I do...
It’s great to see GN keep Dells Alienware people employed by being the only buyers of Alienware Desktop computers 👍🥰💪. Thanks Steve! 😉
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂
The higher-margin the scam, the more I wonder....
My buddy works at bestbuy and they have lot of these damn Alienware R15's and 13's etc in stock still and can't get rid of them.He said tho lots like getting thier monitors tho and run out of stock on those.
Alienware makes most of its money on laptop and monitor sales, which they lead their respective markets, it's as if their desktops are merely an afterthought just to throw something at the desktop market
The craziest part is you can tell from their gpu construction that they actually have SOME competent engineers over at dell
They have great engineers; it's the other roles (sales, marketing, management) that are the issue. Engineers' suggestions/recommendations are often ignored because they cost too much to implement.
It’s not always cost.
Most of the times it’s just incompetence from management and ‘leaders’ at the company.
Those ‘managers’ and ‘leaders’ simply Ignoring people who actually know what they are doing who are the reason the company is still alive.
True its almost criminal
The fact that Steve went on not 1 but 2 absolute tangents and they just faded to black on both had me rolling. Keep up the good work GN! your content keeps us all in the loop about the good the bad and the ugly in the pc world. Wish it was more of the former though… pc stuff been slipping lately. You must be our champion and help us hold them accountable.
They should release the deleted footage as a separate video. I'd love to watch 30 minutes of Steve ranting about Dell's marketing. 😁
I especially loved the cut to the Riemann hypothesis and the aliens / Alienware nonsense 😄
Steve: Db is logarithmic....
Me: oh noooo
“…and that’s how you solve the Riemann hypothesis “
My first computer was a hand me down Dell Dimension from 2002 that used a standard MATX mainboard and ATX power supply, and it was built better than the Alienware desktops you reviewed. Even at the height of the capacitor plague and using a Pentium 4 CPU (Socket 478) Dell made decent prebuilt PCs. The fact that they aren't using standard parts is a massive step backwards that needs to be corrected.
Dell back in the day was great. But now, Dell has definitely taken a huge step back.
I know this one was pretty rough, but I bought an Alienware Aurora R7 back in 2017 with 0% financing for around $1800. Got an i7 8770k, 16GB RAM, and a 1070ti and honestly I was and am really happy with it. I just "retired" that machine after upgrading a bunch of the parts over the years and just bounced it to my wife for her, much MUCH more casual use. 6 years later and it's still going quite strong with 32GB RAM, and upgraded modular PSU, and a 3070 in there now.
alienware is fine. this dudes a baby.
I haven't watched the video yet, but I take apart probably between 30-60 old Dell prebuilts per day as part of my e-scrap job, so I would love to see if Dell is still doing weird, cheap stuff in what should be their high end consumer products. Edit: As far as the physical build construction goes, this is pretty impressive compared to their older desktops. Btw, those blue tabs are EVERYWHERE in every dell system I've ever torn down, they've probably been doing that for two decades. Servers too. Everything besides laptops is filled with blue plastic, and after a decade and a half or so those tabs become about as strong as a graham cracker. As far as the GPU dust goes, I really hope that is just from extended internal testing, because if they are putting used parts in a system and selling it as new for 4000+, that is a massive ethical problem.
Unless they're testing these systems at a rodeo or at Burning Man, this level of dust is inexcusable. Before assembly, the last place those parts have seen open air is a microchip clean room.
very much like packard bell in the late 90's, i warned people for months that the hdd's were refurb and no one listened, they eventually got sued.
Love the fade in and out on Steve's rant. Reminds me of the microphone scene in Forrest Gump...lol Great job overall GN Team, I used to be a great fan of Alienware when it wasn't Dell.
Y’all this is a self made man. The level of detail and care in their videos is astounding. I am
Very impressed and can say without a doubt this is the channel you need to watch.
Steve, thank you for your service and thank you for your wonderful team.
Steve is in his element in the pre-built videos. It is like watching a master at work.
I love alienware teardowns. I find the way they integrate all of the pieces with snap and spring fittings fascinating and looks fun to take apart... not so much fun to pay for.
that is something alienware is really doing an awesome job on and other SIs should learn from. They do many things incredibly well and then make baffling decisions elsewhere
@@d3fmetaltoo many fingers in the pie clearly
I'd buy one if they were competitively priced and performed better, especially if I could get the option to skip the alien images all over. Those cases are really interesting, even if they don't work well for high airflow.
I would love to see if the CPU performance improves with the roof cut off and a basic mesh filter put over it.
I think they engineered some pretty good latching mechanisms for sliding things in and out and it'd be great if they took those designs and just put them in better-designed cases - not only not let marketing dictate the content of the product descriptions, but also the products themselves.
I think the latches are the least of this products' worries
What if a case manufacture out there actually take this concept and run with it.
Engineered a case with pop out frame for all the standard component. That way the cable management is all done.
And sell it as a premium product with premium look.
I'm sure there are folks rich enough to pay for that.
But the power supply is an issue as cable are not interchangable between different power supply.
Let the carnage begin!
I'd love to see you build a system with off the shelf parts and a Fractal case or sth. and see how it stacks up in terms of price and performance.
Ah yes... the annual Dell/Alienware roast sponsored by GamersNexus.
Loved the part where you explained how to solve the Riemann hypothesis. Amazing stuff.
Lol its not really a roast, it's more of a slap to the face for dell to get their shit together and facts
In the last 18 months, I have had nothing but problems with Dell. This is the series of systems I have had, their replacements, and the current statuses of the equipment.
m17 r3 failed and replaced with x17 r1. x17 r1 repair attempted twice, replaced with another x17 r1. that one had 3 attempts to fix it, all failed. Replaced with x17 r2. This system failed twice. Purchase refunded and put on DFS account despite account having been paid off over 2 years before. Was told I would have to wait 6 months before i could cash out the credit or purchase a new system.
m17 r5 AMD. DOA. Replacement had problems with video card. Repair attempt failed. Returned for credit within 30 days of purchase.
x17 r2 (didn't want to wait 6 months for $ of first machine). Repair attempted 4 times. Didn't fix it. Replaced with x17 r2, repaired twice, replaced with x17 r2. Current system. Have had issues with it and haven't had a fix in 3 months - constant contact with Dell asking what is going on but no repair has been attempted due to "part availability issues" blamed on the pandemic (still).
I have tried the Executive Email carpet bombing technique in the attempt to get someone to escalate this. I have gotten nowhere with it.
Oh, I have been a Dell certified tech since 1999. I recently led the Change Control Board at my employer to switch from Dell to HP as our primary vendor. Why? In the last 3 years, Dell's systems went from a 2.4% system failure rate to 6.8 whereas HP has gone from a 2.9 to 3.1%. Total cost of ownership due to the system failures have made it so Dell is not a good option compared to HP these days for business-class systems.
I've hated Dell computers for nearly my entire life. For some reason I've had 4 Dell laptops, only 1 I actually bought, the other 3 were from work.
I legitimately don't know how Dell is still in business with how fucking awful their computers are. Their chargers used to somehow just fall apart, every time. It's like the plastic was self destructive or something.
It’s so nice to see these versus the Linus ones. Linus seems like a shill after watching Steve’s.
Or worse batteries becoming "Forbidden Capri Suns"
you guys should add a smart drive dump to your tests to see how many power cycles the drives have or how long they've been powered on! that could be interesting.
If it's any consolation, here in Hong Kong the R15 has been discontinued via the Dell HK website. Only the R16 is currently available.
The thing I appreciate most about Alienware is how they turn into Gamers Nexus comedy bits. Thanks Dell for making me laugh int the morning.
While thier laughing walking away with my money lol, as a playstation owner that's the first mistake we make going into pc gaming -$3200 rip
The one thing I can offer Dell props on with this machine is the CMOS placement. That is really good placement and is extremely easy to access. So many modern boards make it needlessly really inconvenient if you ever need to clear CMOS, since it's buried under the video card. Or worse, under some heatsink because of visual flair.
Clear CMOS button is going to be a feature I look for going forward, I don’t like messing around with jumpers or screwdrivers to short the circuit.
@@Terracronz don't you only need to pop out the battery? theres no need for jumpers or screwdrivers
@@toad7395 Jumping is what a clear cmos button does, it's what most buttons do actually, doing it with a screwdriver isn't risky or anything.
Removing the battery can be an absolute bitch in a lot of systems, it's often clamped pretty tight in a spot where you can't reach it very well.
I mod my case , add clear cmos button side reset button, acces with needle.
oh dang, i must be lucky my asus prime x470 pro mb is in the bottom right, but it still takes a screwdriver to bridge the pins (instead of just having a button like most mid to high tier boards I would guess).
Got an R15 in july. It started having random crashes a month later, proceeded to get exponentially worse. Replacing the GPU buys me a week or so of stable use before it starts to blackout. I have seen a reddit with another R15 case where both the original and a replacement both experienced these 'blackouts'. CPU, Motherboard, GPU, Fans, OS and Driver have all been refreshed till the support crew are scratching themselves silly.
The only clue i have is from the engineer team who said that the second GPU was overheating. Now on my third GPU, the system has blacked out again. until just before it went into the shop, my device would only crash when running a game. when dell created a copy of the stats, and made to send it through remote assist, the system crashed. The most recent crashed occured while idle with steam and opera GX open in the background, and again while downloading 'critical' updates.
My aurora 15 has now forgotten how to factory reset. The supervisor of the support team warns that the OS i was running was non-standard. I don't know if it's related to the buggy behaviors of the support apps, whether the latter is due to missing files/software, but at the end of the day... the system is acting up, Alienware command center is awol, and my computer is still shutting itself down randomly.
The support team would have me believe that they haven't seen another case like this. I've seen another youtuber talk about this device, having been sent a replacement R15. I am not impressed with their record keeping, especially with a device with such a devastating error.
5k$? I got it for a sale at 2500$ and now it has dropped all the way to ~1500$ If this device is getting undercut by such a dramatic failure, why is is still on the market?
Ah yes a $4300 alienware. I've always wanted to spend an extra $1200 to have it built significantly worse than my 8 year old niece could do it but $1700 more was just out of my budget.
It's very interesting, I thought maybe Alienware got their shit together but it seems to not be the case. I built my PC with an amd 3700x and amd 6950xt and probably spent 1500 dollars or less than 2k at this point and it performs so good with awesome thermals with my watercooler and lian li case setup. I can't understand how this build costs so much outside the GPU. Where is the incentive to go this route?
It's almost like whatever discount you think that should have been applied for the refurbished video card was reversed.. it was more money for the dirty used video card.. I feel like that genuinely should be a thing people should be upset about...
And it's really not the first time I've heard of it happening.. in fact it's starting to be a common place thing where my only surprise was.. so I know this has been happening a lot lately.. I should be more mad about this I guess right like that's not that's.. like that's that's not like legal unless you factor in a strange terms of service that requires a team of lawyers to fight or something like that kind of legal is it?
@@garrett1144 this isn't alienware, this is just rebuilt dell office case with plastic decorative elements on outside.
should just rename them to The Malware PC. because that's what it is if malware was embodied by a PC.
@@jakedill1304 idk, but unless otherwise stated the presumption of buying anything from any manufacturer is that they use new hardware, not repurposing the used one. legally, I mean. so if Dell does not specifically imply they might be using refurbished components in the ToS anywhere prior to purchase a simple legal action would suffice. in my opinion, that is.
It looks like they sent you a refurbed system. Not just the GPU and the top exit area being caked, but even the box looks well-worn. $4500 and they're sending a refurb is insane.
I got the i9-13900K and the RTX 4090 config with 4 TB of storage, a 3 year accidental damage warranty, all for $2,600 between coupons and cash back. I totally agree with everything in this review, but at this price it was difficult to pass up.
Dropped in some 6000 MHz RAM and it worked great. So far im happy, but we'll see what happens. 70s on CPU and 65 on the GPU during gaming.
Alienware. One of the best examples of guys in suits who don't even type their own emails being in charge of a premium line meant to inspire awe, impress, and wow their customers. See also, Apple after Steve Jobs, Blizzard after Activision, and Disney after Iger.
Alienware went to shit when dell bought them. Went from passionately building awesome powerful laptops. To only caring about the bottom line.
@@Apollo-ComputersThey've always been kinda bad and overpriced to be honest
"Yes, they've made improvements. No, they're not sufficient."
Keep up the work, Dell. You'll get it one of these years. _Thanks, Steve!_
It'd be fun to see how the the pre dell ALX would hold up against their new cases.
That was real Alienware.
@@The-i-Shakk Fun fact is those people who were top guys at Alienware before Dell bought them left and started OriginPC
I would love to see an interview with whoever is responsible for sticking to that case at Dell/Alienware and how they explain it. I would be shocked to hear that this "visual design" is attractive to most end users. And with all of the extra bits and bobs, I'd be similarly shocked if manufacturing (or buying) this case is less expensive than more practical alternatives. Truly wild and I'm just so curious.
Brand image probably
They have contracts with all the different manufacturers for all the bits and doodads.
My guess is they sell enough of these that they don't care what youtube videos like this have to say.
@@demonmonsterdaveSeriously, a few salesmen are very happy with dell locking into some kind of contract with their garbage 😂
@@muffinconsumer4431 I'm sure they are, and when the contract is cancelled prematurely, there will be a legal issue.
This is by far my favorite video series you guys do. Please keep them coming!
I actually have to give props to Alienware for managing to make pcs so bad that I forced myself to learn how to build a pc to solve my issues of airflow and bottlenecking
😂 same with hp it got me so mad I said fuck it learn to build my first PC. 🤧
@@EazyNuh640congrats, you now can enjoy your pc 😂
@@kazefw3834 yet had no issue on my first build
@@EazyNuh640 lessons I learn from my PC class teacher, prebuilt is only good if you need a fleet of PC with on site service
@@kazefw3834 oh that's crazy didn't know they had class for that I learn on UA-cam
This just makes me miss the good days of dell when they made the XPS 720 full tower out of like 1/4" thick metal and it looked like a legit piece of alien hardware.
You should do tear downs of servers if you get the chance. A lot of the same issues exist in the enterprise side (insane levels of mechanical over engineering and custom one off parts) with the added fun of configuration hell. For instance the dell T640 requires pulling the motherboard out to install a power interposer card so that you actually have the cabling for the GPUs (lol).
Dell is the problem 😅
thing with servers is that they are constrained by the rack units so they cant just change the form factor however they want, and they also need to cool so much more power.
In a desktop PC it doesnt matter as they can choose whichever dimensions are optimal and make everything fit properly. As such, sticking to a formfactor which is suboptimal when they can just expand or remodel them makes no sense.
it's all to make it easier to mass produce since all the systems are assembled by hand. They don't really expect you to ever disassemble them. Thats also why they use all sorts of proprietary shit. It sucks for us as consumers but hey you'll be more likely to pay them for servicing it so they don't care
@@AlexWinExperiments The only hard limit on racks is the width, and to a lesser extent, the depth. They could make a rack case that takes up the entire height of the rack if they wanted to.
A 4-5u rack case is roughly equivalent in volume of a standard mid tower desktop case. It's entirely on them for stupid design if they want to cram all of that into a 2u case.
Would love to see you guys do more pre-built reviews. I love how thorough and honest you guys are. Keep up the good work.
Love the 4090 with the green pcb, feels like a return to tradition.
Im a fan of your pre-built reviews. And it looks like that r15 needs as many fans as it can get for cooling.
Fading away like Steve is talking for hours is top shelf entertainment editing considering the video type
Ill be honest, I don't really know much about computers but you guys just present the information so well its just fun to watch your content.
I bet you know more then average person you are watching tech jesus all you need is confidence in your ability
Keeping the same case likely relates to a point you made in your review of the Aurora one in the previous video. You said that it was over engineered to fix issues that they themselves created. All that cost of engineering it (As you put it, a sunk cost fallacy) probably just lead to them keeping it instead.
It's also part of their aesthetic.
If they give up their (poor performing) 'iconic design, they give up some of their market 'identity.'
Couple that with the sunk-cost you've highlighted, and the idea of redesigning their cases to achieve both form and function likely loses much of its appeal.
Alienware's wisdom surpasses all limits. Thank you for not overclocking my i9-13900KF. This is my third Alienware computer in the past 15 years, and I've never encountered any issues with them.
Love these i know you guys have a ton going on but hope you get some time on the bike trails. Thanks to the whole team for all the amazing content over the years.
Love watching your prebuilt videos. Always interesting to see how manufacturers cut corners to save money.
Just got this with an i7-13700kf and Rtx4080. Usually I’ll avoid Alienware because of the reputation it has but I can’t say no to a sale of $1500
Hey Steve, you were brutal with your review of the Alienware! The closeup shot of the dust inside the gpu was phenomenal! I'm sure Dell will have something to say about your video.
They don’t care
Great review. I don't think I'd even need 4k budget to build an absolute top tier desktop myself with top of the line parts. My 3080ti 5900x rig from years ago was maybe 3k max.
Yh it's silly. Most of the time anything past 3k is them just adding random flashy cheap crap to up sell it.
theres a deal $2900 with 4090. tempting
Bitlocker was enabled and they are pushing multiple UEFI firmware updates? That's quite brave* unless they somehow have a fallback/recovery mechanism to mitigate the potential problems that could arise 🤯🤷♂️
*Really really dangerous
I'm sure they have a restore thumb drive (32GB) for $99 with free shipping when you call support.
Pretty sure the potential return-to-manufacturer fee is part of the pricetag, inconvenience for the buyer non-withstanding. Dell is large enough to swallow such factors easily. That being said, they should really start to listen. Alienware deserves to be an actual premium brand.
Really dangerous?
Not encrypting data at rest and ignoring security updates isn't?
@@GreyGoshawk Let's be honest, for most people using their gaming computers for playing games and other casual things only, it really isn't.
@@GreyGoshawk Issues of update/not to update aside, its how its done.
Lets say a BIOS update takes 5 minutes and my UPS is good for 5 minutes and I really hope you see where I'm going with this.
For those who need it spelled out: lets say your area gets hit with bad storms that tend to knock out the power. You have a UPS that is good enough for a few minutes to get the system shut down, but it needs to be done with some haste.
Regardless, an automatic BIOS update hits and you loose power. Odds are good your BIOS is bricked. Now thats not a problem for my/high end systems, they have dual BIOS and flashback. So if somehow both get bricked I can just flash in a new one. Guess what 2 features Dell MBs don't have that might be really relevant to this.
Considering the price of components going back to pre scalp prices, the prices of these pre builts astounds me.
there is a significant markup because of the customer support and warranty, but Alienware is adding thousands of dollars for no reason here
Bless you for keeping the box testing website in your squarespace ad ^.^
I miss the old, truly upgradable Alienware systems, especially the laptops where you could even replace the GPU/s
Anything post mid-2006 when Dell bought Alienware is trash.
I have the A51M R2 and I love it! But yeah most of the new stuff sucks
Dell owns Alienware and has for a long time. Why does anyone except any kind of quality from Dell? Glad to see you reviewing pre-builts again Steve because there are millions of people that DO still expect a certain level of service from Dell.
Prebuild reviews are really helpfull. Hope you make more of those, plus maybe adding comparisons to competitors
I miss the old Alienware Aurora ALX case that had the mechanical top vents. Was the coolest case I've ever seen in person and part of me is sad to have sold the system.
Current "Alienware" is nowhere near that level anymore.
I like how they sat everything on the piss so when the cooling system leaks it flows out the back quickly
Crazy how they are charging 4 to 5,000 USD for this pre-built... I'm glad I built my PC myself, I spent around 2,600, which is way less than this build. Building your own PC is the best route, not to mention all my components, including the case are way better than what is in this system.
Just ordered this with a 4090 and 7900x for 3k. Stupid good deal.
3k now
That's great to hear the price has lowerd a bit, building your own PC is still more cost-effective and you get to pick your own PC parts, then build it up from scatch.@@yazal9884
@@yazal9884 yup still couldn't build it for that price easy
Love these prebuilt reviews. Keep at it until someday we maybe find a company that isn't terrible.
steve: we wanted to stack the deck in alienwares favour.
alienware: *eats half of the cards, craps on table and asks for more money*
that cut at 4:33 is gold, they were like "he's doing it again, lets just come back when he's done" then snipped the rant out of the video.
Given that the power was restricted, how much power is the system using at the wall? That would have been useful information along with everything else in your review. I am curious if there is at least a significant power savings (less electrical power used in exchange for the lower performance) to go along with the low performance given the hardware used. Just my two cents and what I think should be included in the review to give as complete a picture as possible of the reviewed system.
Given that the AIO is seriously obstructed, I'd love to see how it works with a large dual tower, dual fan air cooler.
Same issue nowhere for the heat to go out of the case
Then you are trying to cool a 13900k in a small box with an aircooler. Probably even worse than this AIO.
I DO like how the case looks, they are so close and yet so far, they really, really just need to make the top open vented, maybe some day...
I really enjoy these prebuilt videos. GN you did an excellent job as always! Keep up the good work and hoping to see more of these!
I love watching Steve tear an Alienware apart while tearing Alienware apart. 😂
Alienware is out of their minds. Unreal.
another one bites the dust.
I love the fade outs when you're dropping bars. 😂
Those parts would make an excellent PC in a competently planned case. Really about the only thing you can say about it.
Not the RAM
They never fail to disappoint 👏
For 4400$ US dollars in Canada you can build a PC which can change time and space continuum!
Alienware racing in the "who can make the worst prebuilds every year" and it seems they won't lose the champion place again
but sad that excluding all the bad stuff they did... Dell OEM cards... are really nice since Turing
Man, I remember when Alienware was a respectable boutique builder over 20 years ago.
My little brother saved up and had one built when we were in HS… I’m 36 now but I remember how cool I thought that Alienware was… purple case with a light up green alien head
I've been building my own PCs since... forever. Recently, I caved and ordered an Alienware R15 from Dell. I did this despite your very helpful and insightful review. Why?
- I hate installing coolers and spreading thermal paste. I always feel like messing it up can be very expensive (despite never having once messed it up).
- I stepped down the components. The R15 I ordered contains an RTX 4080 and the weaker CPU (i7 13700F) because your review said that in this case with Dell, the more expensive CPU is behaving like the performance profile of the weaker one. So I just went with the weaker one, and bumped the NVMe size to 1TB and the RAM to 32 GB.
- They offered $600 off the total cost due to a sale. The brought the pre-built cost down to about what it would have cost me to get the parts individually, minus the stress of having to build it myself. Since it comes with a 1 year warranty, I figure I will know if it's a lemon within that year.
I'm mostly going to use this PC for gaming, so I hope with the reduced power consumption the thermals are going to be OK. You did say the GPU configuration was one of the few things Dell got right. Since I won't be doing a lot of CPU intensive loads, I have my fingers crossed. The 4080 represents nearly a 3X performance upgrade from my 1080 (I don't even have the Ti).
I knew Alienware was a scam when I speced and priced all the part separately and Alienware had a 45%+mark up on the build. Insane.
That Win update pushing BIOSs is wild, almost got me bitlocked out of a Lenovo laptop I was working on! Luckily the user remembered the MS account used to set it up otherwise we'd have been screwed!
The first thing I do on all machines I get my hands on is go in the bios and disable the bios upgrade. Businness laptops usually have that option
What is with the RAM lmao
The prebuilt reviews are cool. At one point all of us do a little prebuilt research just for fun, even if we have rigs we already like/can afford.
Now do the R16.
Awesome video! So alienware has the 4090 with AMD processor on sale rn for $2900 do you think thats a good buy? First gaming pc purchase ever btw 😅
GN is Frodo giving Gollum (Alienware) more chances to redeem itself than it has ever deserved
This video is just nitpicking. Especially the cooling system. The whole kelvin thing is nonsense. First of all...who measures anything in kelvin? The temperature difference is the same regardless of the unit of measurement. To claim that using celsius instead of kelvin is for marketing reasons is misleading.
Yup
FYI the, the 4090 + i9-13900KF is on sale currently for $2300 on Dell
So they farmed bitcoin with that 4090 before reselling I guess
I've got the R13 with a 3090 and the 1000w power supply and haven't had any issues and thermals have been perfect. Play at 4k max settings with no issues.
i bought this for 2900 yesterday .. intel i9-13900kf , nvidia rtx 4090 32gb ram (4800mhz) 1 Tb ssd, 1350 psu , liquid cooled.... its was one option below the most expensive one at 4500.. which had 64 gb of ram and 4 tb ssd .. the original listed price for mine was 3900.00 but they had it for 600 dollars off and with signing up for dell emails i got another 10 percent off which is another 300 off so i paid 2900 ish before taxes so while i understand the hate for alienware... as a fanboy i feel like i made out ok!
I copped the g516 last week. 5600x3d, 6650xt for $750. It’s basically this pc but micro atx, better cable management, the thermals aren’t shit, and the case has actual airflow. Pretty happy w the cop
its not basically this PC. they both run windows. thats about it.
I'm curious if by either removing the top panel entirely, or making your own holes, how much of a drop you'd achieve?
A 240 aio is on the smaller side for a 13900k, a 280 is where I'd say is a minimum for a case like this.
In before 2029 where they finally achieve an A rating for this case, only for a new case in 2030 that stays almost the same again for another 10 years.
I’m wondering this as well
It certainly needs more power though. Advertising wasn't a complete lie.
Does not really matter in this situation since they are undervolting the CPU, and there does not seem to be a way to fix that in their BIOS if you were able to allow it to cool off better by drilling holes in the top of it.
Suiggestion: Make another video with this PC where you remove all plastic airflow obstruction from the top and front - use a Dremel to cut away bits if necessary - then do another round of basic thermal testing. Title the video: How to fix your AlienWare R15.