m15 R1, battery replacement? Should I upgrade 4 to 6 cell? Would it work?

Question

Hi All,

I think my battery has finally finished. It no longer charges, so I'm looking to replace it. Now my question is can I upgrade from the Dell 4-cell 60 Wh to the Dell 6-cell 90 Wh? Would I need to replace my power adapter as well?

I'm from the UK, so could anyone recommend a reliable store to purchase it from? The UK Dell store didn't show them as available.

Thanks in advance!

Tom

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Smithy1988 welcome to this free user-to-user Alienware laptop discussion forum.

Yes, you can upgrade from the OEM 4-cell 60 Wh (DP/N 1F22N) to the OEM 6-cell 90 Wh (DP/N XRGXX) battery provided that you are willing to stop using the slow 2.5-inch SATA HDD or SSD drive bay. The OEM 6-cell 90 Wh battery is dimensionally longer and occupies the full width of the laptop enclosure, see following image.

Dell has now decided not to provide replacement OEM batteries. Getting a valid new OEM battery is increasingly difficult. Recommend battery replacement purchase from Amazon.co.uk or eBay.co.uk who both provide extra purchase protection. Upon delivery, check white label, beneath square matrix year/month date should be less than six months old. Laptop without battery is designed to function as Desktop on ac adapter (charger) power which gives user time to get the genuine replacement OEM battery.

Alienware m15 R1 with Base cover removed.jpg

There are Dell ac adapter (charger) options of 130W, 180W and 240W. There are now 330W ac adapters. Upgrading the ac adapter power is usually based on what power hungry graphic applications and/or games are being used.

Both M.2 slots will accept a fast or ultrafast PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe drive and these should have the modern GPT partition format so that BIOS boot list UEFI can be enabled. The Crucial System Advisor database can be consulted to reveal what modern upgrades are compatible. Alienware m15 | Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | Crucial.com. The modern M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe drives are backwards compatible to run at PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe drive speeds. Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus is PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe and discounted purchase deals are available.

Smithy1988 · Answer

Hi Crimsom, thank you for the detailed response! I think as i never use this as an actual laptop the better charger maybe the answer? As when i did have battery it would drain plugged in quicker than it could charge.

It's got two M.2 and one SSD with 180W charger. Could you recommend the 330w charger model? Looks like that's the answer for me :).

Thanks again.

Tom

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Smithy1988 the Alienware m15 ac adapter (charger) has dc power cord with diagnostic LED plug 7.4mm o/d, 5.0mm i/d, with central wire. Search on Amazon.co.uk or eBay.co.uk for Dell 330W AC Adapter Charger (Includes: Dell 330-Watt AC Adapter with 7.4mm plug and UK Mains power cable) Dell P/N: Y90RR, GT1CX, XM3C3, R5MR2, etc. Example: Genuine 330W AC Adapter Charger For Dell Alienware M17 M18 M18x x51 X51 PSU | eBay Dell Power supply 330 watts for Alienware 17 R4 : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Alienware

m15 R1, battery replacement? Should I upgrade 4 to 6 cell? Would it work?

Was this post helpful?