*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R2/R3 Owner's Lounge

Thanks for your information @HunterZ0.

I will receive my machine in 2 weeks. Before that, I want to know some basic things about AW, because this is the first time I buy a gaming laptop and AW also:
-Do I need to install clean Window ?
-What should I do first when I receive the machine ?
-Which GPU driver source should I use ? From Dell or Nvidia ? If I want to install new driver, which driver I install first, Nvidia or Intel, to have Optimus ?

 

No, unless you want to. There was no bloatware pre-installed on mine, just some support software.

If you *do* want to reinstall, you can download a recovery image from Dell's web site. I used this to install Windows 10 Pro to my aftermarket SSD because I had trouble trying to migrate the existing install.

My advice:

• Boot it up
• Perform basic Windows configuration
• Update drivers
• Run a full 3DMark benchmark or a recent demanding game (Fallout 4, Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut, etc.) to make sure the CPU, RAM, GPU, and VRAM all work properly

Intel: I would recommend using the drivers from Dell, because they're frequently updated and it's a pain to find AND to install the ones from Intel's web site.
nVidia: I would recommend the drivers from nVidia, EXCEPT that GeForce 361.43 wouldn't install for me, so make sure to use the 361.60 hotfix release if there isn't something newer available by the time your laptop arrives.

It shouldn't matter which one you install first. I would probably recommend Intel, though, because it is the primary GPU in the system.

 

Bought the r2 a couple months ago but didnt have a lot of time to game on it at the time. Once I actually did game I noticed massive throttling and gpu drops/fps drops in game. Throttlestop helped a little but I eventually grew tired of this issue. They sent out another mobo and I couldnt even install the nvidia drivers with out bsod's. On to the third mobo that was installed today and there is artificats/weird random dots during every game I play. Super frustrated to say the least. Guess I will be moving on to my 4th mobo

 

I got the dots thing on my 17 R3 when it first arrived (generally followed by a full system freeze), and the Dell tech couldn't even reinstall the nVidia drivers without triggering a BSOD. They ended up sending me a whole new laptop with an upgrade CPU because a direct motherboard replacement would have required waiting for a back order.

I ordered the defective one on Black Friday and finally got the replacement about a week ago. Dell support is painfully slow. New laptop works great, though.

 

I don't mind waiting I just dislike the process. I also really don't like having some idiot tech guy coming to my house to replace the mobo, when he clearly has no experience with this laptop. Not to mention the dude scratched the **** out of the top of my laptop.

 

Wow, that's definitely lame! I'm really glad I got a full replacement then.

I had my own bad experience with home repair with my old XPS M1730: The guy came out while I was at work to replace a bad LCD panel, so my wife supervised. He ended up putting in a poor-quality and/or not technically compatible LG panel in which you could literally see no difference between yellow and green colors. I had to argue with Dell a bunch to get them to make it right, as they didn't want to roll a second technician - especially since I was right at the end of my warranty.

 

I just bought the AW 17 r3. Can anyone advise how to setup two m.2 ssd drives as raid 0? I'm currently using the 1.2.3 bios. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!

 

Does this old info still apply? http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN116365/EN

 

Hi,

Does anyone have a recovery image of their AW 17 R3(possible specs i7-6700hq, 970m and 256GB SSD) which was created as soon as they received their system, so that it can be installed on a new SSD if replaced? I would like an image as dell recovery disk is just a bare version of Windows with nothing in it.
Will someone be able to share the image through an ftp site or upload it on cloud so that I can download it?

Thank you

 

While I agree that the Dell-provided recovery image is bare Windows, these are the only relevant things that I noticed were missing:

• No Alienware support information questions asked during Windows setup
• Dell SupportAssist not preinstalled

I installed from the bare recovery image and didn't worry about it. SupportAssist doesn't seem that useful to have installed all the time, and may even reduce performance.

 

Hi guys,

Has any of you bought the new Alienware M17 R3 with specs like this one:

Alienware 17 R3 HID40-AUK1 (i7-6820HK 2.7-4.1GHz / GTX 980M 4GB / 17.3" FHD / 16GB RAM / 1TB HDD)

I have seen some comments on the sellers web page that stated "DONT BUY
The HD Video playback stutters and same for games.
This is with the Built In Display.
The reason for this is that the Laptop Display cannot work with the Nvidia Graphics card in the Laptop, the Laptop screen can ONLY work with the Intel Graphics.

If you connect this Laptop to another external screen via HDMI then the Nvidia Graphis IS used and all is ok

So to sum up:
NOT ok on the Laptop's own display as uses Intel Graphics.
IS ok on external screen via HDMI."

With more like: " Yes! I'm having the same issues with video stutter streaming movies from amazon, My 17R3 is a few days old from Dell.
Tech support couldn't fix it, was going to send someone round to replace the motherboard? And he thought it could be the HD intel graphics card. I asked why it had 2 graphic cards and he said to save power when NVidia not needed. Mine is going back, getting a refund. He's doing me a 15% discount if I re-order a new one.Tech support couldn't fix it, was going to send someone round to replace the motherboard? And he thought it could be the HD intel graphics card. I asked why it had 2 graphic cards and he said to save power when NVidia not needed. Mine is going back, getting a refund. He's doing me a 15% discount if I re-order a new one."

I really want one like that, and it is in the price range, but I am scared of the issues described above.

Any inputs on this?

 

Hi everyone, received my AW17 R3 with Win10 Home x64, i7-6820HK, GTX 980M 8GB, 16GB RAM, UHD IGZO IPS display, 256GB M2 SSD + 1TB 7200RPM HDD.
Didn't spend much time with it yet, been busy with work. Ran Skyrim at 4K, with High Res textures and every maxed, it's old game now and not very demanding but I didn't have anything else at hand, ran like a dream. Never went below 45FPS and GPU temps were 67C max.

I created a system image using Win10's own System Image Utility in it's factory state, has anyone else tested restoring with it?
Also, I can't seem to Advance Boot the system, it gets stuck at "Windows is getting ready, Please do not turn off the computer" screen. Do I need recovery disks to advance boot?

 

@b01ka: Yes, I have a 17 R3 with an 8GB GTX 980M. First of all, the Intel GPU is quite powerful and is fully capable of 1080p video playback. It's more powerful than the nVidia 8700M GT in my old XPS M1730 laptop.

Second, you can control which GPU is used to run an individual application, via either the nVidia driver control panel or by right-clicking the application in Windows Explorer and choosing which GPU to use.

I can watch streaming video in Firefox just fine, and am playing Fallout 4 regularly on Ultra settings.

Pairing a high-power nVidia/AMD GPU with a low-power Intel GPU is now a common thing in laptops. As long as you keep your OS and drivers updated it's not a big deal.

The ***ONLY*** issue I've had is that I sometimes get a black screen when trying to alt+tab or ctrl+alt+delete out of a full-screen game that is running on the nVidia GPU. Running in borderless windowed mode is the best workaround I've found.

 

No, I clean installed from the one provided by Dell on their web site instead.

I don't think so. You should be able to go to Start->Settings->Update&Security->Recovery->Advanced startup->Restart now. This may make use of a recovery partition that may have been installed as part of the Windows 10 installation process, but should not require external media.

 

Thanks @HunterZ0. AFAIK, there is no recovery partition in Windows 10, Microsoft has discontinued it to save space consumed (wasted they say) by such partition.
I'll try your suggestion when I'm home and report back.

 

FYI, advanced restart is the only way to enter safe mode in Windows 10, so it should definitely work no matter what.

 

I request again,

If someone has created a recovery image of the system as soon as they got their AW 17 R3(similar specs like 970m and 256GB SSD), please give me the recovery image. I would really like to get my system back to factory condition. Dell isn't helping me and telling me that once you have destroyed the OEM installation, its gone forever. But I believe they use one image to install the OS on the system in the first place.

Thank you

 

I swapped out with fresh install on 950 pro, with bios now on ACHI as well as the 2.5. I'm pretty sure that I'd have to take out 2.5 and 950 pro, switch bios back to raid, before I could then copy the recovery. And recovery is probably close to 15-20gb, my Internet isn't that fast and it would more than likely consume my Internet traffic for like a day to upload somewhere.
I'm assuming most are like I, have swapped out OS drive.
Your really best option us OS install and then driver install. That way your also guaranteed newest drivers as well. Good way to force yourself to stay current.

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Oh, well, if you can't, that's no problem. But I still hope someone(with no limit on bandwidth and no changes to hard disk) on this forum can provide me with the image. It would be really helpful for me. My kind request

Thanks

 

Yup, and understandable. I was just pointing out that simple request isn't really so simple for the majority on here.

So that your not thinking that we all here just don't care to help you. We do, just not so simple to do.

Might I ask, tho, why you don't just install OS then drivers?

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1)Factory recovery partition is gone and the only way to create it is by using clone of a similar notebook
2)All OEM settings are also destroyed. I would like to get back the OEM settings
3) I would just like to get the laptop back to factory state(OCD you see)

Anyways, I just hope someone can help me

I'm guessing it is simple for many. It's a 2 step process -1) Download clonezilla and clone the System 2) Upload it to cloud. Upload maybe maximum 20GB if freshly out of the box, and I guess uploading is unlimited in most places(atleast for ACT subscribers in India). Just hoping for help, and if not possible, will install OS and drivers

Thanks

 

I agree with dblkk that it's not worth stressing over.

 

Does anyone know if the 17 R3 is affected by this Skylake bug, and if Dell is likely to fix it via a BIOS update? http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-skylake-bug-bios-update,31088.html#xtor=RSS-181

 

I see,

So you need someone in India, with similar specs, to clone their hard drive (including recovery). They would then have to upload about 40-50gb (windows, drivers, and recovery) to a file share of sorts.

This would also have to be done before they set up their laptop (with their windows account, or anything else personal).

You would then need to get your windows key off your laptop now, and then once the above is done by someone and you were able to recover your laptop, you would then need to change the windows key to your windows key?

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I'm assuming regions need to be similar for drivers and possibly windows, this might not be the case.
I think that Alienware respawn is a backup type program of sorts. Perhaps a backup made with this program could get you minimally what you need to start (fresh windows with drivers ((perhaps, not sure))) and then you could run the respawn and set it up to save backup as a recovery portion?

If this is a possible solution, I'm not sure, then essentially that would open up to almost anyone that could assist you?

If someone else on here that knows, could verify?

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Is it possible to upgrade the screen on the Alienware 17 R2? I would like to put the R3s UHD screen into it? Getting into 4k video editing and it would be useful. I am quite technical and handy so I am only asking whether it's compatible.

 

Biggest things would be physical size of panel (dimensions) which should be similar. The physical cable would probably be the biggest 'if'. I'd say if you can find picture of your cable where it plugs into motherboard, and compare that to the R3.

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Question for those who purchased the R3 4K model from Bestbuy Canada / USA:

Does your laptop have a USB Type-C / Thunderbolt port?

I don't see it on the spec list (Bestbuy Canada). However, Dell site / Microsoft store specs list a USB Type-C port. Thanks.

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No, drivers aren't specific, windows isn't region specific either.

You don't need anything. I mean anyone can give me their image after cloning their system with clonezilla. Nothing is restrictive. It would be better if they could give an image which was created before installing any softwares since that would reduce the size of the image.

I'm guessing most could do that, if they have created an image before installing too many software. Only constraint would be if they can upload their image onto cloud.
Neither their personal files nor login info would be stored in the mail. It will only contain the softwares installed and partitioning schemes.

ALL IN ALL, it would be as simple as migrating from one computer to another, in this case, just helping me to get back my system to factory settings.

Request AW 17 Owners with SSD to please help me getting a (nearly) factory image

Thanks

 

I could use a factory image also. Wiped the 128 without thinking and the USB recovery drive included only has a basic windows 10 install and I've spent the whole day trying to figure out how to get all drivers to install (some just immediately error and stop installation like the command center for example). Thinking about "renting" one with same specs just so I can clone it over or something at this point.

Edit: now that I think about it, aren't each windows install unique to that machine regardless of the hardware specs?

 

@sagarbhathwar/zerglayer69: I got both Dell- and Microsoft-provided Windows images and Dell-provided drivers to clean install just fine on my 17 R3. I can try to help with any specific steps you guys are struggling with.

@sabesh: Is this it? It's on the right side of my 17 R3. Also, my laptop has Thunderbolt firmware and drivers installed.

 

Yup, that's it. Going by Bestbuy Canada's product pictures, that port is missing. Thx.

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Doing that did not bring my factory recovery partition and dell customer care says they can't get me back the recovery partition. The only way to bring it back is to take the clone of someone who has the factory OEM installation of windows. So, I'm looking for anyone who can give me their system image. And @zelglayer69, installation is not unique to a system, but can be cloned into another similar system. Confirmed by dell technicans.

Thanks

 

The Dell recovery partition doesn't do anything useful for you, seriously... Why not just reclaim the storage space for regular use?

 

Its best screen i ever seen

 

Hi, I'm worried about the battery on my AW17R3
I used to have an old Inspiron with removable battery, so I simply unplug the battery when I'm using it at home. The battery in AW17R3 is not removable without disassembling the laptop. I read that enabling the desktop mode battery charge will not let the battery charge to 100%, but when I enable it, my battery keeps charging to 100% and it says Fully charged (100%). Is it normal? I don't want to wear the battery prematurely.

Thank you

 

What are people using to stress test? I've been using XTU and found myself stable up to 40X on all cores. I haven't tried 41X yet.

 

I just noticed that the desktop mode description suggests that you have to leave it plugged in for 2 weeks before it will allow the battery to dip. That's a pretty steep requirement, as it sometimes gets accidentally unplugged (kids, de-tangling cables, etc.). I guess it's better than not having the feature at all.

I played with the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility a bit, but lost interest when I saw that the best user-submitted profiles were only a few percent increase in performance. It's cool that the i7-6820HK can overclock, but it doesn't seem to have much headroom for doing so.

Fallout 4 (the primary game I'm currently playing) seems to be GPU-bound anyway, so I'd get more from overclocking my GPU. Is that possible to do?

 

I have a question about coil whine. I am pretty unfamiliar with it and am not sure if I am experiencing it. Basically when I play a low intensity game like league of legends, my fans don't spool up... maybe a little, but nothing like playing a FPS. When gaming like this, I hear a metalic drone noise (I should probably record the noise). I also noticed that the noise goes away if the fans do come on which makes me think that maybe my fans are the culprit when they spin at a low rpm... like maybe they are out of sync or something. Can anyone shed some insight as to this issue? Does coil wine happen all the time or is it based upon useage like this? Thanks! (sidenote - 17R3 6820k/980m)

 

I think they are physically the same ( at least they look the same ). I think Dell/Alienware do modularize everything so I would be surprised if this is not a direct plug in replacement.

 

Whine is usually caused by voltage increases, or incorrect voltage, son some machines it's just normal (like the last gen XPS13), it is a high pitched almost screech from your machine, never very loud, but noticeable in a quiet room. it almost sounds like a super high pitched "eeeeeeeeeee" noise.

 

Thanks! Looks like I just have an off balance fan then. Now the real question... do I let an alienware tech come and tear up my machine and probably break something else or do I live with the noise... decisions decisions.

 

I'd pass on the tech....most of them are idiots. Legitimately. In all seriousness "most" are.....it'll do more harm than good.



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That would be why I would definitly check. Fact is also different motherboard due to haswell/Skylark, and perhaps because 1080p vs 4k having larger power draw and pixels to push, that the ribbon 'might' be different

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Everyone I've talked to from Alienware support has a latino name and even sounds like latino,not Indian. The tech guy coming to place when I called that company that fixes the warranty laptop was actually white over the phone. I need a motherboard replacement because of a faulty 980M. Thank God for warranties.

 

He referenced origin of India, stating upload speeds in India.

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Pass on the tech? Especially if covered under warranty? The worst that can happen is he gets his system replaced if they mess it up further.

 

Ah ok my bad

 

Is it an 8GB 980M? Which CPU do you have?

 

Depending on the situation, I'd demand AW to send the part so that I can replace it myself. I know that it can be done.

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