Alienware M18 Reddit Verdict: Beast Hardware, Broken Software

I have had my Alienware M18 R2 for a whole year now. My computer runs smoothly and very reliably, overclocking and stealth mode are both good for it and it continues to function like a normal computer. It has been supplying me 700GB game taste and storage well and both processing and downloading are very quick and efficient. Solid 10/10. This has been my third computer I've had in my life and overall, it's done a great job. I would buy this again if I have the time.

290 nits is way too low, i have mine at 300 nits, and it is below weak at day. I always have to shut the curtains

Gizmo has one of the best temperaments ever, rarely gets angry on screen, but he was pretty pissed after struggling with the $hitty Alienware Command Center (Which somehow doesn't have OC1 or OC2 options anymore, takes 2-3+ mins to load, frequently can't switch performance profiles, littered with bugs and nuisances etc). @ 2:18:15 "I think the way to overlock this system, is to 1) Do a factory Reset 2) Shut it down 3) Pack into the box 4) Send it back to Alienware 5) Then Buy something else"

290 nits? on a 3k+ laptop? unacceptable.

Feels premium in the hands. Very sturdy build.

GPU temps were great. CPU had one P-core that spiked in temps a lot. Bad CPU paste job probably. The rest of the cores had better temperatures. Still, in many games the temps on CPU was good too, or bad, depending on the game.

TPP for M18 R1 is 240W in Overdrive Mode (in AWCC6).

You'll hate this screen for the money lol. Updated main comment with display stats. Only 290 nits though!

Definitely not with this sub 300 nits display, only 165 hz refresh, and poor control software.

100% it's incredibly sturdy, heavy and built well.

At a glance, I agree with you that the paste is marginal especially with uneven CPU temp during a known all core load. The especially disconcerting thing is most people won't know this...many won't even notice. Kinda sucks they can't get this seemingly easy task right on such an expensive machine. Wouldn't stop me from buying it though.

Thanks for convincing me to cancel my order. I would have been really annoyed paying this much for the issues that this machine has. I'm happy I don't have to waste time returning it.

I've had my share of issues with my M18 R2, first one died 6 weeks into owning it, Dell sent a refurbed 2 weeks later the left shift key started sticking, Dell sent a repair ape, and he changed the keyboard and the screen got messed up, he admitted that this was his first M18 repair, sent it into the depot and they fixed it with another lcd screen, and that one had a bunch of stuck pixels.

Pretty much agree with everything Jared points out in this video. The laptop has great performance, but the screen really needed an upgrade this iteration. All the other major players have changed to higher quality screens and AW is just kind of in the dust on this model. Is it a complete deal breaker? No, but why not at this point just move to those panels if they are available. The sound is also really bad, they need to up the speakers, desperately.

I have good results as well I have the same model and specs as you do so for myself no need for a new laptop

Pleasantly and gratefully surprised how well the the latest Alienware laptop runs, not to mention how nice it looks

Hell yeah, brother. The Alienware family is good. I've had my Alienware 14 for 12 years and it's still going strong. (Had to do a motherboard replacement but that was cheap now)

Why oh why did Alienware make their screen 300 nits and 165hz compared to all other competitors with 500+ nits and 265hz… Seems to me they are just trying to make their margins wider charging a premium while cutting corners. Also- they just laid off a lot of their employees so to me customer support might start lacking as well.

GT77 display is so much better in all ways, except slower response rate for e-sports games

Yep. Expected this brightness level but in 2023, I'd take a 500 nits 100% sRGB LCD over a 100% DCI P3 coverage 300 nits screen.

They will use basically whatever they have on hand at the time, two systems may not have the exact same SSD manufacturers. I believe mine is a Kioksia SSD and I think I have seen Toshiba as well that others have mentioned. I did get Samsung in my M15R5, but it was Toshiba in another model.

My friend and I bought the 1Tb models. I got SK Hynix, he got Toshiba so it will depend. I would suspect that both will at least be the same brand since they are bought together.

Abysmal battery life (now ~20mins). Randomly does not start up/reboot. Goes into some diagnostic screen instead. Heard too many horror stories about Dell service so I hesitate to take advantage of the extended warranty I bought unless the thing just dies. This thing cost a small goddam fortune. Wouldn't recommend for the price!

Been using my m18r1 since 2023! Works great still! No issues!

Amazing my m16 has had 4 motherboard replacement under warranty lol 😂 so today I extended it because it expires in 30 days 😌

M18 when the AMD options are out, hopefully Alienware will offer a better screen on the M18 when they refresh it with the AMD options. Right now the poor quality screen options are the biggest thing holding me back from purchasing an M18.

Nvidia should have named that laptop's graphics card 4090 properly under the name 4080M. The laptop's 4090 is the same chip as the PC version of the 4080, but is limited to 175W while the 4080 goes to 320W. AMD labels their laptop graphics with M and S. The correct labels for laptops with nvidia graphics should be: 4090=4080M 175W, 4080=4070M TI 175W.

M16 R1 = 240W (65 + 175). M16 R2 = 175W (35 + 140). Area-51 16 = 240W (65 + 175). M18 R1 = 250W (75 + 175). M18 R2 = 270W (95 + 175). Area-51 18 = 280W (105 + 175).

I bought it and Im super happy, thank you so much! Laptop is mint.

Stock thermals are pretty dog$hit considering how big the chassis is and the 4 fans.. Guess Alienware never changes, never learns. 'Liquid Metal' 'Galleum' my ass, it was thermal throttling within 2 seconds of cinebench r23 at max fans. Even the Duo 16 with its subpar cooling did a better jump with temps (and the Zen 4 had a similar power limit), let alone a competent laptop like the Ge78 or the Gt77.

2 years in with my r1. Absolute beast of a laptop. I just recently bought an ac1250, and hooked it up to a 65' C4, so using the laptop for gaming compared to 4k HDR is LOL.

8 months here, and I absolutely love it! Solid piece of technology!

Mine started having problems roughly a year in (M18R2 i9 4090). I reached out to the tech support and they came down to my place for repairs 3 times, including a change of motherboard, thermal fan, ssd drive. Apart from the home repairs, I also had them on the phone for support and had to do a clean windows install in attempt to fix the issues and etc. Anyways the BSOD kept appearing regardless.

I love mine! It's played everything I've thrown at it perfectly.

M18r1 here too 4090 i9... had issue with one fan going off hence the cooling assembly was totally replaced .. and since then its smooth.. 1 year of ownership crossed ..now on extended warranty

I did plenty of research and went around for awhile but decided the x16 is the best experience. The x16 has a better screen, better speakers, thinner, etc. The m18 is slightly more powerful cpu.

I love it so far. Haven't done the testing everyone else does, but it runs any game I throw at it without breaking a sweat, fan noise isn't bad, exhaust coming out on the right side by the mouse is a minor annoyance but that's it. The stadium lighting on the back doesn't work at all and I've got no idea how to fix it currently which is very irritating for how much I paid. Overall I've loved it, minor complaints but performance wise it's been excellent.

The screen has minimal impact on power and the m18 can have up to a 360w charger. This is purely a cost decision on Dells behalf. I totally get them having this screen as the base screen but at least give us the chance to upgrade to a better/brighter option at a cost! Most users would be happy to pay it.

Myself, I would skip it as the GPU has just 8GB of VRAM and I believe it is limited to 115w. I wouldn't go less than a 3080 Ti, 4080 (12GB/150w), 5070 Ti. Those GPUs can run anything and have enough VRAM/Power to run anything quite well, anything less apart from a 3070 Ti will be a waste of money.

I have the M18 R2 (which is slightly newer, but essentially the same laptop) and I'm quite happy with it. It should be able to run any game now and in the near future (though maybe not at max specs). The CPU is a beast. The GPU is more than good enough. The only limitation is that 8 Gb of VRAM are not enough for 4k gaming.

Tearing it apart and ripping that Element 31 nonsense out is priority number One. Replacing all the thermal pads with K5 Paste, and using Conductonaut to put real LM on the CPU/GPU. Running up 64gb of ram, and then after all that enjoying the ice cold temps, ridiculous RAM and overclocking it to the bleeding edge of it's capability.

4080, 16GB (then swapped an 8 with a 32 for 40 total), 165hz hi-resolution. Don't game much, occasional civ/rpg. This is primarily a work machine since dell divides 'work' laptops as either 'you email a lot' or 'you're the lead astrophysicist for the manned Mars landing and get government funding.'

I got extended warranty with mine, I spilled coffee on it send to dell and they detailed it cleaned changed the heat sinks and send me back, I had like 2 months left in the warranty. I absolutely have no complains about that!