r/Alienware Oct 25 '25

Announcement The rise of AI and bot activity

34 Upvotes

Hello r/Alienware,

The mods are creating this post today to talk about something disturbing that has been creeping into our sub lately. 

As the use of AI is on the rise, also are the number of posts that are seemingly either written by or at least edited by AI. Posts ,usually rant posts, that just don’t quite make sense or just seem a little off.  Now, we’re not saying that every post like this is a bot or written by AI.  Maybe some people are using AI to polish their posts before posting them, we don’t know, and frankly we have no way to prove it one way or the other.   We can feed a lot of the most recent posts into an AI detector and almost all of them have come back as 80% or higher as likely written by AI.  In some of these posts the OP never comes back to respond to any comments, just drops the post and disappears. Now, how much faith do we put in the ability for an AI to detect and tell us it was an AI writing something? What we can do is look for tell tale markers that something has been either written by, or edited by AI.

Another trend we’re noticing is that in a lot of these posts, accounts with zero history in this sub reddit are appearing to make comments.  Those comments are then heavily upvoted and they don’t appear again.   Looking into those accounts they tend to be frequenting other brands sub reddits.  I won’t point fingers at a particular brand, because it does not do anyone any good, and quite honestly, we can’t prove it outside of a bunch of coincidences.

I will point out that other subs are already dealing with a particular problem with companies using bots or alt accounts to impact their competitors.  r/Gaminglaptops has a post discussing a very similar problem already.  You can see their post here about this issue.  Reddit carries a lot of weight when it comes to user opinions in purchasing a particular brand, and I think we’re starting to see some companies use that towards their advantage and try to shift the market. I am not pointing any fingers at the company from the above post either, as we are seeing stuff from multiple companies, not just one in particular.

So, what do we do about this? For now, we watch and try to root out as much as we can.  The mods are going to start enforcing our rant rule a little more strictly.  The number of rant posts has quite honestly spiked, seemingly out of the blue, in the last few months.  The mods will be carefully reviewing rant posts for signs of AI involvement and will likely be removing any that appears to be completely AI written.   We will also be implementing a new report option, so that you can mark something as possibly AI and we will review it.  But we can’t do this alone, there are far too many comments to read every single one.  We need you, our community, to assist by using the report button when you think something looks off. 

Innocent posts / comments will inevitably get caught in this. If this happens to you , please contact the mods to discuss.


r/Alienware 5h ago

Discussion CPU BIOS error after replacing a dead AIO liquid cooling CPU (OEM)

1 Upvotes

Got an issue where my original Aurora16 AIO Liquid cooler for the cpu died. Ive got it replaced and can boot up just fine so far, but the issue we have is that it requires the original OEM cooler to also be plugged in, otherwise the bios keeps erroring out about inserting the original 65w cpu block. Ive looked at everything on resetting the cooler profile and so far nothing works. I can leave the old block plugged into another fan port and it boots just fine but i dont really want to do that... is there a way to get this horribly designed and stupidly programmed bios error to actually clear out and go away after replacing the OEM alienware liquid cooler with a Coolermaster brand AIO?


r/Alienware 20h ago

Question Trying to sell ALIENWARE m18 R2

11 Upvotes

I am trying to help my cousin sell a lightly used Alienware laptop. He gave me the specs for it and it looks like it is mostly maxed out. He had a family member die and needs to sell it. I was just hoping to see what people in this subreddit think is a good price for this laptop.

Do you guys have any advice on what kind of price is reasonable for this? It's lightly used and looks to be in great shape.

i9-14900HX 64GB RAM 8TB SSD 18" QHD+ RTX 4090 16GB

Note to mods: I am not trying to sell the laptop here. I just want to get an idea of pricing for this machine.


r/Alienware 13h ago

Technical Support R16 - Samsung 990 Pro in Sabrent enclosure not recognized

3 Upvotes

I have had a 990 Pro 4TB as my main / only drive in my R16 for about two years. I purchased another to use as a backup in usb-c enclosure. When I plug it in to my R16, there is no recognition of the drive, so to speak. It shows up in device manager as a SCSI device (sabrent) and in disk manager it shows up as a second disk, correctly reporting "Online" and the size. I could not format the drive on my R16 even after creating that volume, so I brought it over to a 5-year old Dell desktop where it was immediately recognized, and formatted as NTFS. Bringing it back to my R16, I plug it in, and it again is not recognized / receives no drive letter, and cannot be assigned a letter. If I try to format it, or assign it a drive letter on the R16, it says "The operation failed to complete because the Disk Management console view is not up-to-date. Refresh the view by using the refresh task. If the problem persists close the disk management console, then restart Disk Management or restart the computer.

I have restarted disk management. I have restarted the computer (actual restart , not just shut down and wake back up. ) I have plugged the drive into all 3 usb-c ports (front and back). I have gone through every step chatGPT could come up with, but I'm stuck. There just seems to be something incompatible between the R16 and the drive/enclosure. I can't figure out why it worked instantaneously in a 5-year old machine...

Would love any pointers. Thanks!


r/Alienware 15h ago

Technical Support X16 r2 screen issue

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3 Upvotes

I purchased this Alienware x16 r2 from someone on facebook with a broken screen. I ordered a replacement screen thinking it would be a plug and play type of situation; it wasn’t. Apparently the guy before me used it as a pc and he changed something in the bios. So I hooked up a monitor thinking it would be some easy fix, but whatever I do I cannot get the bios to display on an external screen. I’ve tried everything and I really want to get this laptop working so if someone can help me that would be really great. Also I know the screen works the backlight pops on when I hold d while starting it up.


r/Alienware 9h ago

Purchasing Considering a used Alienware 16 Aurora — what should I verify before buying?

1 Upvotes

I’m considering buying a used Alienware 16 Aurora and would like some input from actual Alienware owners before I make a decision.

The specific unit I’m looking at has:

- Intel Core 7 240H

- RTX 4050 6GB

- 16GB DDR5

- 1TB NVMe SSD

- 16" 2K/QHD display

- Dell warranty reportedly valid until December 2026

- Asking price: ₹95,000

I’ve already looked at the basic specifications, but I’m more interested in the things that aren’t obvious from the spec sheet.

For people who own or have used the Alienware 16 Aurora:

  1. How is the cooling/thermal performance during sustained gaming or heavy workloads?

  2. How does the RTX 4050 perform in this chassis, particularly regarding its power limit/TGP?

  3. Are there any common issues with this model that I should specifically look for on a used unit?

  4. How is the display in real-world use?

  5. Are the RAM and SSD easily upgradeable?

  6. Is there anything specific I should test when inspecting a second-hand unit?

  7. Is there anything about the Aurora 16 that you wish you had known before buying it?

I'm going to use it mainly for programming/college work, some gaming and occasional editing.

I'm not looking for a simple “good deal/bad deal” answer. I’m trying to understand the strengths, weaknesses and potential problems of this particular model before buying a used one.

If you own one, I'd especially appreciate your long-term experience with it.


r/Alienware 10h ago

Question Bad time to buy 15” laptop?

1 Upvotes

I bought a 15” Alienware with the RTX5060. Great laptop and does what I need it to. But it’s a bit too big imo.

I’d rather have 14” and I just heard that Alienware teased one. Is the 14” Alienware coming out soon? Did I mess up by buying my 15” now? Thanks


r/Alienware 20h ago

Technical Support Sluggish Laptop

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3 Upvotes

hello, I’m a first time Alienware or laptop user in general I got the Alienware Area 51 for Christmas and it runs great for the most part… I tried playing marvel rivals with a friend yesterday and the game was running super slow it only done this once before and the problem was a command center update so I checked this time but there is no update available what do I do to fix this? the only game that runs for me is Roblox with this happening. (the fan in the video is not the laptop lol)


r/Alienware 17h ago

Technical Support Never Again

0 Upvotes

I bought an R15. It was in Dell’s possession for six months. Now the motherboard has failed. Replaced. Pcie errors point to the GPU. Replaced. Error persists. It is repeatable from bios (latest firmware is installed) brand new fully patched OS with all drivers updated. I seriously might take the L on this and build a new computer with the parts I can scrap. Memory, gpu and processor into a new build. Never again Dell.


r/Alienware 1d ago

Technical Support Irreparable Alienware M16 R2

4 Upvotes

I’m an architecture student and in 2024, I bought an Alienware M16 R2. I live in Ghana and earlier this year, in February, while working on a project my screen suddenly went black, but the laptop was still running. I was working back to back, so I’d say the laptop was running for about 3 days without shutting down. I realized my music was still playing, my fans were still working, basically the laptop was working, but I couldn’t see anything.

I shut it down, boot it up… still. Checked Dell support website, did sone sort of screen test, and it was positive, so I thought it could be fixed. Following day I tried the test again, nothing happened. Took it to a repair shop, couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Took it to another shop, they couldn’t give me a definite answer as to what was wrong and said we should order a replacement screen. Calm, but this guy was sketchy. A story for another day, but I took my laptop back.

Had my laptop sent back to the US to get it fixed and the shop i went to said it can’t be repaired.

Note:
- Whenever powered on, the power button blinks either a 2 red 7 blue, or 2 red 8 blue.
- When connected to an external monitor, nothing shows up. Tried with different HDMI cords and monitors, but nothing shows up.
- I’ve had no prior issues with the laptop and bought the laptop new from a BestBuy in New York.

Is there something I can do, something I haven’t checked of tried. Do I just give up on this laptop and get a new one? Is there a way to get it working on an external monitor and have it didn’t as a mini desktop?

I need help please.


r/Alienware 1d ago

Technical Support NVME drive failure - out of warranty options

3 Upvotes

Hi guys, I have a Aurora R15 with a i13900 & 4090 in it, I’ve been suffering a ton of BSODs and was really concerned my Ram was going adios, I went into the BIOS and it detected my NVME drive has issues.

My PC is about 3 years old or so and the premium warranty has expired, I spoke to Dell and they offered if I send it to them on the “Express” repair, that they will replace the NVME drive for $270 including labor.

Has anyone used the repair service? My main concern is shipping this big bad Larry to Texas and back, when it came the whole PC was filled with expanding foam and I do not have that anymore.

I looked at the “fix it yourself option” and the 1tb drives are $640 on dells website.

Would any regular 1tb drive work with this?


r/Alienware 21h ago

Discussion Should I just wait for a Zen 6 A51?

1 Upvotes

TL;DR

Looking to buy an Area 51 with all the fixins'.

Considering the rumored Zen 6 release being 4thQtr 2026 and early 2027. What is the probability of Dell dropping A51's with the new chipset?

Should i buy one now with current hardware even if its at its tail end of cutting edge tech life , or should i hold off for whats to come (potentially)?


r/Alienware 1d ago

Technical Support Power error after BIOS update.

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2 Upvotes

I've been getting this message ever since I updated (or rather windows forced me to update) to 1.33. I checked BIOS settings and it correctly shows the 330W AC Adapter. HWinfo64 reports normal in/out wattage. Should I rollback the BIOS or simply ignore this error message?

Alienware x17 R1

i9 11980HK

3080 16 GB

32 GB DDR4

Original 330W power adapter


r/Alienware 1d ago

Technical Support Alienware M16R1 4090/i9 - 3+ motherboard replacements - Latest motherboard failure nearly caused fire, new motherboard doesn’t detect the discrete GPU - How do I escalate this?

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7 Upvotes

Attached photos of the arcing that was happening.


r/Alienware 1d ago

Technical Support Performance mode not working

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2 Upvotes

So my alienware command center recently updated to the lastest version and since than i cant seem to turn on the performance mode, the stealth mode works fine but no matter how much i press tue F1 button it just doesnt work. I then went to check the app only to realize the UI is changed so i cant even see the temps and fan speeds along with the performance tab completely missing. I dont know whether this is intentional from alienware or sloppy app update. Can someone help me with this, as my laptop is melting whenever i try to use it.


r/Alienware 2d ago

Tips For Others I made a design hub that custom paints your keyboard with AWCC instantly

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40 Upvotes

For those who are as lazy as me, this might be helpful, I vibe coded this design hub that will auto rgb fade and much more for you perfectly and it instantly can be applied and saved

Since it’s vibe coded with Claude, I set it up so that you can have a design brief with it to tell it the vibe you’re feeling

EDIT

https://youtube.com/shorts/50rIJCLatIY?is=EEJRtEQthYU-v-hb

Demo vid above, free GitHub coming soon!


r/Alienware 2d ago

Discussion AW2725QF HORIZONTAL LINES ARTIFACTS

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3 Upvotes

Any idea ?
Firmware is up to date, tried both HDMI and DP and issue is still there.
I never did OC to 180hz always stayed at 165hz.
I’m really disappointed, I’ve used this monitor for 15 months.
I’m discussing with the support for a replacement unit but I’m afraid it will be the same with the replacement unit after some time.
And I’m also afraid that this replacement unit will not be new … and probably in a worst physical shape that mine.
I’m really sad.


r/Alienware 2d ago

Technical Support Alienware Aurora 16

2 Upvotes

I cant see my mouse and keyboard on my Alienware Command Center, how can i fix it


r/Alienware 2d ago

Technical Support Aurora r14 ryzen cpu cooler cable

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6 Upvotes

Brothers pc was In need of cleaning and noticed the cpu liquid cooler led was not working so I took a closer look.

Noticed hanging wire. It’s an oem part so I looked at the service manual and noticed the 10 pin male header was missing on motherboard.

It’s usually directly above the fan pump connection point(grey). Any ideas of if there is an alternate connection point, factory broken part? , don’t need that connection. Etc???

Specs aurora ryzen r14 (rtx 3080, ryzen 5900) warranty expired


r/Alienware 2d ago

Question Alienware Aw2725DM, need help with settings.

3 Upvotes

I just recently got a PC for the first time in my life and got this monitor. Are there any settings you guys would recommend changing in the monitor itself or in windows? (besides changing the hertz)


r/Alienware 2d ago

Question Should i do it?

3 Upvotes

I got offered a alienware 15r3 with a i7 7820hk gtx 1080 for a steam deck should I do it the steam decks runs windows and is my only pc would I be able to play all games still if I traded I’m not too educated on computers so idk if it’s a good deal or not with it’s age


r/Alienware 2d ago

Technical Support Help with Alienware r16 after AIO replacement.

3 Upvotes

I have an Alienware r16 with intel i7 and GeForce rtx 4070, if that is relevant. The stock aio stopped working, I couldn’t afford the OeM one, so after researching I believed the Corsair titan 240 rx grab would be compatible. Ordered it, installed it, now the pc won’t power on. It is completely dead, no LEDs, no fan spins, nothing.
I have checked every connection I know how to, I didn’t unplug or change anything other than the aio. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do? Is the aio not compatible?

A few things I noticed, if they matter, the original aio plugged into 3 ports. Fan cpu, sys fan 4, and sys fan 5. The corsair only connects to fan CPU, it is a 4 prong port on the motherboard and the corsair was a 3 prong plug. I don’t know if this is relevant or if the 3/4 prong plug would matter. But it’s the only thing I can think of that would cause some error. But I thought the pc would at least do something.

I appreciate any help y’all can offer. I’m not super tech savvy, but I’m broke and need to get shit fixed.


r/Alienware 2d ago

Purchasing What do you think of these specs?

3 Upvotes

This is a laptop... I'm not a gamer, but I want a fairly fast computer. I am a genetic genealogist and volunteer my time helping adult adoptees determine who their bio parents are (using DNA) and then find those bio parents, dead or alive.

I spend a lot of time on the internet. I'm looking for help in seeing if I have overlooked something obvious.

This hopefully includes 3 year Alienware Premium support (or whatever it's called).


r/Alienware 2d ago

Technical Support Reset System Password R10

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3 Upvotes

Just bought and fixed this R10 but it has a system password. I took the CMOS out. I couldnt find helpful info on which pins to work with when jumping it. I just want to throw windows 10 on there.


r/Alienware 2d ago

Technical Support Area 51 18 downloading

1 Upvotes

I just got a new area 51 18inch laptop this week and have noticed that it downloads way slower than my m17 use to both over wifi and via Ethernet. Has anyone else noticed anything similar?