*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R3 Owner's Lounge

keep a copy of service manual in hand and some videos of disassembly from iunlock and others who have repasted their machines. It could be some wires that connects monitor to the board hasn't latched properly.

 

Thank you for your answer Vasudev.

I just found out that the speakers are also not working at all.. And at some point they start making a loud crakling noise that I can't turn off even by pressing mute so I have to turn off the computer... Great! ...

Is the speakers also a wire that the Dell tech might have forgot to reconnect ?

 

It could be possible. I referred the service manual because I forgot about it.

 

Hi. I am waiting for my alienware 15 r3 with nvidia 1070. It has 32gb ram and the 256 pci ssd. Wondering if you have the ssd read /write speeds for that drive? Seen some on the new xps 9560 and they are insanely fast.
Thanks

 

You didn't test the unit before the tech left ?

 

Yes we did but he said he cannot fix that and I will have to contact Dell again on Monday

 

This looks like a case they will ship out a new one. I would not let them repair it again. Demand a new one sent. You gave them an opportunity to get it right and fixed. They do have good customer support and will listen to your frustration.

 

These are all definitely possible. I sent mine to service center and got heatsink and screen replaced.

Came back and the 120 hz screen wouldn't run at 120, it was super washed out and dim overall and at max brightness setting it would drop to super dim. Something clearly wasn't hooked up right inside. Tech came and replaced screen but that wasn't the issue. He didn't open up the bottom to see if something was wrong in there. Then one of the fans wasn't working either.

They sent me a replacement after that. Just make them send you a replacement. I got a 7700 upgrade since the 6700 are not available anymore so that's nice. But they wouldn't let me go up to a 7820 even tho 6820 wasn't available with the 120 hz and if it was I would have gotten it.

 

I am trying to do a clean install of Windows 10 on my new Alienware 15 r3 with Kaby Lake. The laptop/drivers have been very buggy out of the box, and I literally refreshed Windows twice within one week.

When I attempt the clean install, I turn off UEFI and turn on legacy. However, the USB stick with Windows 10 (not ISO), I can only get to around the initial license acceptance screen. It doesn't install and prompts me to remove the USB stick, restart, and then insert again.

I am trying to install this on the 128GB m.2 ssd. Do I need to disconnect the mechanical hard drive to do this?

 

From my experience, they will frustrate you more but be persistent. Their customer service is good, but not amazing. They will try to make you deal with the problem by constantly asking you to send it in for repair, but deny that. You shouldn't have to go without your laptop for 2-3 weeks cuz of someone else's inability to repair/quality control

 

Did you change from RAID to AHCI, I recommend you to turn on UEFI with Secure Boot Disabled. Try pressing f12 on startup, you will under boot options: UEFI "Your drive name, example Kingston XXXX"

 

Don't turn off UEFI you lose a lot of support and capability when you do.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the advice. Got Windows 10 installed cleanly. I'm still wary about downloading Alienware fx drivers/software as they were crashing constantly before I decided to start clean.

Any advice on what drivers to download. I would like to leave it as clean as possible with the exception of Alienware fx (assuming it is not completely unstable). Regardless, things are running much better now.

 

I manually cleaned up my computer to get rid of all the unwanted software and I also went into the component services and turn off any automatic services that were running that I didn't need. My machines is nice and lean and working like a champ even without over clocking.

 

Has the initial production problems with the screen bleed / faulty bezels been solved now with the AW15 R3? Does the AW15 R3 have the same problems with fault heat sinks causing uneven core temps as the bigger brother AW17 R4?

 

No, I literally just got my 7700HQ 15R3 and the bezel is already separating lol. Heatsinks, idk, there's way too many variables for one to truly say "they are bent". Try to do star patterns and tighten by 1/4-1/3 turns.

 

I repasted a 13R3 and the heatsink had number 1-7 on the heatsink to let you know which order to tighten the screws. Very helpful Alienware noted that

 

Well, that I think is for the techs to meet the "good enough" thermals. It would be a pain in the ass to test the different methods. Mostly cuz you have to open the lid to turn it on. I may do different tests anyway but if there was a outside button I'd def do them all, since I have a HDMI cord readily available so I wouldn't have to flip the laptop over/screw on the bottom lid

 

Same here, 7700HQ, bezel already becoming unglued in the same day I received it. Not really sure how to get this one fixed. Pushing it back in place does no good, I've heard some people suggesting double sided tape but then they later went back and said that doesn't hold either. I suppose I could crazy glue it or something but that's pretty ghetto for a brand new computer. Not sure why they moved away from clips on the bottom portion, would have saved all of the issues with people getting bad 'screen bleed' from the bezel being forced unevenly, as well as issues with it peeling off. Probably helps Dell cut costs by like 5 cents a machine so that their profit margin can be 99.99% instead of 99.98%.

 

Got my AWR3 in December. Perfect thermals but bezel started splitting from lcd on arrival and the LCD had light bleed. Kept the laptop since I couldn't wait. Dell tried to fix it 4 times. The first time, the technician made it worse. The second time they sent the technician to just reseat the bezel which just made it worse. The 3rd time, they sent a senior tech who was worse than any of the ones before him and he didn't listen to any of my suggestions and came with a broken LCD due to improper transport on his part and just replaced the bezel. Which means that the film on the bottom of the current LCD was badly damaged let the light through not to mention he also partly manhandle the cables. Finally Dell asked me to drop it off at their tech support who did the best job but the bezel is still not perfect and is coming off a little and I have light bleed. I use an external monitor which makes it better but I don't think anyone in Dell can actually fix this properly unless it comes from the factory.


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Thanks for your answer, I have send an email to Dell and also contacted AW on FB I hope they will send a new one because this is gettin ridiculous. I have it since end of december, almost 2 months that I can't use it... We will see tomorrow what the answer will be, I'll keep you updated.

I have tried to check if the wires were in place at the bottom of the screen but yeah they seems to bere in place but the brigthness is still at max, impossible to use the PC in a dark room without sunglasses...

Edit: I ve done a lot of resarch on internet about the screen brightness, try everything and I really dont understand how is that possible that the brightness is stuck on max regardless of the settings.. I have updated everything, also the Intel graphic card even if it is a Gsync panel. The screen is working nice at 120Hz 60Fps on witcher 3 but damn this brightness is blinding me...

 

I'm curious to know how the AW15 compares to the AW17 regarding temperature and noise after repasting it. Couldn't find a thread with benchmarks of a repasted AW15 (GXT1070).

 

You can find some information here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...e-pasting-and-overclocking-experience.800173/

 

I see you have the same set up I have just bought (though you have double the storage whereas I have double the ram at 2400mhz). Anyway, trying to get a grip on SSD speeds. Have you tested those at all? Mine still in transit. Also, whats the 4K display like - is it bright enough?

thanks

 

I didn't test the SSD on a benchmark, but it's quite fast as it's an NVMe. I got a Toshiba but the thing is that they don't indicate the exact model number anywhere, I guess that it is an RD400? No ssd firmware for Toshibas available on the Dell/AW website either. I can try to run a benchmark later and add the results on the other topic I made.

The 4k display is super bright, in fact at the maximum it's not easy to stare at it in the dark, so you need to lower brightness

 

Thanks for responding. Was wondering if you had run crystal mark (free) to test read /write speeds. If you are interested to test please do so! Otherwise no worries. Thanks

 

Just check Dell.com for drivers related to 15 r3 or Cassini models. Under Firmware you will get a FW for the NVMe drive either Hynix or Toshiba.

 

I can only see the following firmwares: SK Hynix SC308, SanDisk X400, LITEONIT Solid State Drive, SK Hynix PC300 PCIe NVMe for the A15R3 on the official Dell website. Nothing related to Toshiba

 

Use Aida64 or Hwinfo to determine your ssd model. Search up the hardware manufacturer and see if there is updates for your model.

 

Sorry I thought there was a FW update for Toshiba XG or RD series SSD.

I forgot about HWInfo and AIDA64. Thanks @Papusan

 

Helo
is it safe, if AW15R3 still plugin everyday, even though the battery is FULL?

 

Yes no problem. It will be taken care of by Dell OSD app that charges your battery optimally so that its long lasting.

 

Hey everyone,

So I just placed my order for the new 15 R3. (Yay!)
BUT, I know that there are some things to look out for:

1. Backlight bleed
2. Uneven cooling of the cores
3. Re-apply thermal paste with LM
4. Check Bios
5. Check for Micron chips

Did I miss anything?

Specs are as followed:
7820HK
GTX 1070
16GB DDR4 2400
256 SSD
1TB HDD
1080p IPS with G-Sync

 

That's pretty much everything is covered.

 

Awesome. So TL;DR for the fixes...
I read back a few pages along with the major posts, but I want to make sure I got this right.

1. No fix for backlight bleed?
2. Bend third arm for CPU cooler
3. Grizzly Conductonaut and new thermal pads (Thansk iunlock for the walkthrough)
4. 1.08 Bios fix for 1.06?
5. DDU stock driver, install new drivers?

 

I couldn't get the newest Nvidia drivers to work while completely removing Nvidia drivers. If you too can't, I'd go back on Dell's website and download their Nvidia driver and then upgrade to the newest Nvidia while having "clean installation" select. Idk if the arm needs to be bent anymore, my temps are within 3-5C and I didn't bend it. I would check your stock load temps and if there is a HUGE temp difference, it may need a bent arm, or there just may be incorrectly sized pads

 

Even non Gsync drivers aren't that great either. Stick with whatever Dell provides.

 

Make sure Dell OSD app is running in admin mode. I forgot to add it.

 

I assume you mean by following these steps: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431742.aspx

Does that still work on windows 10 or has the process changed?

 

Yeah the process is same.

 

just received my r3. lovely. however there is backlight bleed and the ssd speeds are average i would say for pcie

 

SSD speeds are quite normal. If you need more write invest in 960 pro/evo. The speeds you've got is better than PM951.

 

That's why you don't pay for it and add your own for less/equal cost but more speed + reliability. I mean for some I know that's not a option. But its literally as easy as removing 8 screws. (7 on bottom, 1 for SSD). As long as your house isn't like the house from Jumanji with rainforest humidity, you'd just touch a piece of metal with both hands and then put the SSD in.

 

What does this do? Never seen anybody else mention it. And also, what is the Dell OSD app?
Edit: mb, didn't see I double posted

 

Intention is if you're plugged in all the time, battery needn't be charged to 100% all the time, it will be charged to 80%,95% etc.

 

Ohh, can you explain this a bit better? Like which program it is or if it came with the default software shipped with the laptop?

 

helo
how to activated?
im not found this app at my AW 15 R3,
please guide..

 

Goto C:\program files\ Alienware on screen display. IIRC, the app is called Desktop.exe or something, run as admin. You'll notice that Desktop mode charge is turned off if you aren't in admin mode or super user mode. Hit enable. Just make you change the runtime properties of the app. Right click the app > Properties > Compatibilty > Click Change settings for users at the bottom > tick Run as admin option.

 

if i plugin,
my battery always automatically charged to 100%,
i cant stop that..

my other laptop (other brand)
only charging when battery lower than 90%.
if the battery at 90% above the status is "plugin not charging"
i dont know why Alienware not have this function

 

whats also annoying is how out of date the drivers are. Surely as part of the build they should ship with latest drivers on their own website?

Other observations in my very limited time:

• screen plenty bright
• struggling to get used to a smaller keyboard (my old laptop and work laptop have numpads)
• the keyboard is lovely
• the shortcut keys are getting hit a lot by accident
• what does fn+F1 do? Doesnt seem to do anything. As a "predator" esk sign!
• Was disappointed with relatively low write speeds. My non pci ssd on my old laptop is 50% faster than it (but read is far faster (x3) on this laptop)
• Graphics card is amazing
• uHD resolution is very very nice.

Not sure whether the bleed on the LCD is noticeable unless its a pitch black screen. Will review later when its darker to see if its an issue, and call dell