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

Yep I'm also super picky You understood me very well. I think changeable gpu is the big difference for me. However if we think like as you think, it will cost more if we compare it with the graphic amp. + gtx 1070 or something like that.

Actually I had bad experiences with the Asus build quality. Ofcourse the model that I used wasn't high ending laptop (it was N550 series), but the quality shocked me. That's why I'm a little bit keeping my distance

 

Look for "Dell Outlet"

 

Okay thank you

 

Very true and how I see it. Don't know for sure but 880m to 980m mxm board was roughly $1300 when I looked, which is great you could upgrade, but $200 Alienware amplifier box and let's say $700 for a 1080, that's a whole lot cheaper and easier, plus warranty still 100% on it all.

Asus rog 75..... have all been stellar. But lately the flashy gold silver is horrendous and for whatever reason performance had dropped or other manufacturers upped their game. 3 years ago, asus 780m/880m models were top performers against all but sli config and their sleek black on black stealth was gorgeous. But, you always get what you pay for, cheaper is always cheaper somehow, maybe still quad i7 and 960/970m and $900, but areas do have to be cut somewhere. Some are fine with cheaper built but powerful and somewhat hot/loud, others feel the extra $500 spent on premium chassis and performance is worth it.

Dell referb is always a good option. I have horrible luck so would've personally go that route, but you do get quite the saving and same 1 year warranty, it really is a good bargain.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

Didn't see the 82° cpu temp or conditions of it, but it was with a 980ti in box. I can run a 2 hour render of 100% cpu and roughly 60% gpu constant load and not break 70 once. Gaming wise I don't think gpu has gone over 70s and cpu well below that. 82 is also 20 below throttling limit, so still pretty decent. My asus 750 couldn't render 5 min without cpu hitting 100 and throttling, my gt70 could render fine with temps in 90s (70s with Max fans), but gaming the 880 would peg 92C and throttle plus very very loud fans. The Asus 752 would also peg cpu throttling within 20 min, msi gs70 and xps15 9550 were throttling almost instantly without ever reaching even turbo boost on cpu. The Asus strix was decent but after 10 min or so I'd loose cpu turbo for remainder of render.

But my Alienware 17r3 stays a cool 70 or lower with anything thrown at it. So, I'm a happy camper. My new precision 7710 is only 2 weeks old and haven't really done much, but I note it idles higher, fans spin faster, but load is avg 60-65c. Will be playing with that more now that I'm back home from back to back customer site visits.

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Look a little better after!! These are real numbers... +82C without using the internal graphics card and with a weak low powered Cpu. The shared heatsink should have given a much lower CPU temp if the internal graphics isn't in use!! I run the same Firestrike bench but with 4.8 GHz OC on all 4, well below 60 degrees Celsius on cpu. Thinner laptop designs... Gives worse conditions for use of much better cooling. These are reeal facts!!

Spoiler: My Processor max temp in same Firestrike but with 4.8 GHz OC

 

I think this may be an anomaly. I don't reach these temps without an aga while gaming and I haven't seen a lot of people mentioning high temps with the r3. The r2 is definitely a different story

 

Perhaps something dealing with the ampmifier. Perhaps it takes cpu overhead of some other kind while running it? A 980ti none the less.

Also take in account ambient temps, laptop location, and hugely stock paste. I've seen several pictures of the paste stamped off center, caked, barely any, etc.

I'm not saying he's lying or anything, but I only hear of high temps in the alienware when it's with people with the 6820k and going for 4.5ghz and higher over clocks.

If it weren't so darn time consuming (and those stupid pull tab ribbons) I would've repasted mine already, regardless of good temps, just to know it was a good paste job. That's one awesome thing with the gt70 I had, best darn laptop to take apart I've ever had.

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My forward arrow key at the bottom edge of the keyboard has popped off a few times since new, I raised the issue with Dell, sent them hi-res images showing the clip is not right on one side of the key. I suggested they send me a key and I'll clip it on.

They replied today saying they cannot send me a key, they can only replace the whole keyboard, and they want me to run diagnostics!

That just sounds daft to me, as diagnostics can't report anything on a loose key top, and the key top can be replaced, I replace it every time it pops off!

I don't want my brand new laptop dismantled to replace the keyboard, I just want a new key top!

 

I was watching a YouTube video recently and noticed a weird issue with my AW R3 screen, I'm not sure if it's a scaling problem with windows or something is actually wrong with my screen. Whenever i put a video or youtube video in full screen i get a weird white line at the end of the right side of the screen like this. http://puu.sh/pCSaR/17918ac15c.jpg

 

Hi Klk450,

What resolution is that at?

Post your screen settings and I can try it here as I have the 980M and 4k screen too.

 

Nothing to worry about. That's just another lemon leaking lemon juice. Wipe off with tissue and stop complaining. Problem solved.

 

I'm at the native 4k 3840 x 2160 and while gaming the line doesn't appear but while watching videos it does.

Edit: I double checked and tried watching a full screen video on Microsoft edge and the line wasn't there so it's a scaling problem with chrome, all is good.

 

Funny, I always had that on my old XPS L502x but the Alienware 17 is so far picture perfect. There must be a solution somewhere in the web for this Chrome glitch but then again I managed to live with this for years without bothering to look for it...

Just searched for it, it's some high DPI settings issue. This is one possible solution (there are probably other ways as well though):

• Try adding the following to your Chrome shortcut. Right click on the Chrome Shortcut, go to properties and add the following line after chrome.exe in the Target Box:
  /high-dpi-support=1 /force-device-scale-factor=1

 

Hi Klk450,

I am using Chrome and have no scaling issues when running YouTube at 4k res. My version is:

Version 51.0.2704.103 m

If you're on the same version you can also try this:
http://superuser.com/questions/822429/how-to-start-chrome-without-plugins

 

Has anyone figured out way get the fans to crank to near full speed with a push of a button like the MSI laptops can do? That is maybe mapping it to one of the macro keys.

 

Ec firmware is fully locked in AW. Use Hwinfo64 fan control.

 

Have them send you the keyboard and install it yourself. Ask for "parts only service".

 

Hi DeeX,

Thanks

Would installing it myself void any warranties?

 

I asked tech support a similar question about whether or not re-pasting my cpu/gpu would void my warranty and received the answer of no it would not, unless you mess something up. Soooo yes and no

 

No, unless you break something in an obnoxious way. Even then so you could probably still get them to honor the warranty.

 

Apparently not says the support person!

-----------------------------------

Thank you for your reply.

I was waiting for your results from Support Assist diagnostic.

If you have no errors from it and you have no other issue with the system, we will gladly replace the keyboard by our onsite technician. The keyboard can be replaced only by Dell certified engineer.

Please send me also your contact address (work, school, home, other) and two phone numbers, where you are reachable /attendant from Monday to Friday between 9.00 AM – 5.00 PM.

In case you prefer any repair date, please let me know.

Please be aware that the address cannot be changed after the service call has been initialised.

Please keep in mind that your reply will be processed within 24 hours and the service intervention will be started afterwards. In case you prefer any repair date, please let me know.

Thank you for your co-operation.
I wish you a nice day.

 

So, I just received my Alienware 17 R3 yesterday and of course it has the screen bleed in the bottom left corner.

It is the 1080p IPS display and I am wondering if I should send it back or not since I paid quite a bit of money for it. I do notice that if I move the plastic bezel around that the bleed goes away. Could it be possible that the bezel is too tight on the screen?

Has anyone ever tried to fix this before?

 

Unless you're an OCD with LCD bleeding or the bleeding is really serious that it affects your usage and screen quality, I wouldn't go through the hassle. Mine have bleeding at the corner as well but I'll only see it if I'm in a completely dark room with a full black background on the screen, basically the bleeding test.

since you just got it yesterday it's totally up to you, but someone told me before you're gonna be very lucky to receive a unit with zero bleeding for the FHD panel.

 

Do you know, if I ever wanted to in the future, if replacing the screen myself would possibly fix the bleed issue?

I just don't want to regret not exchanging it after I am out of my 30 day grace period.

 

There's guides to replacing the LCD panel, as long you got your hands on the parts.

It's up to you whether to send it back for another unit within 30 days, but as I said previously bleeding seems to be apparent in the FHD models. If you manage to get 1 with no bleeding issues get a long warranty and keep it.

 

Yeah, totally understand. The bleed isn't bad and actually seemed smaller than when it started. I will probably deal with it and if I find it a problem I will file a warranty claim on it later. It is a super solid laptop otherwise!

 

I agree with ZeneticX I have been through an Alienware 15 R2, Alienware 17 R3 (returned due to dead pixel), and now my Alienware 17 R3 purchased second hand. They all had some screen bleed my current one being the minimal out the three. The 15 R2 was the worst screen bleed and even after replacing panel it had bleed in same exact spots. On the 17 R3 the issue appears to be more due the bezel cause slight pressure on screen where the bleeding parts are. You could take the bezel off and file down near where bleed spots are the clips slightly so it doesn't click in as tight. But honestly I would leave it as is because once you take the bezel off it will never fit the same around the Alienware logo because there is double sided tape there and it will get messed up and never stick the same. Also remember IPS will always have more bleed than TN displays.

 

Wow, glad you told me about the logo issue if you remove the bezel. I would be super bummed if I took it off and the logo got all jacked up.

Thanks for the heads up! I will probably just leave it be.

 

I had a bit of screen bleed in the dark on my 4k screen in both bottom corners, I pressed the bezel repeatedly for a bit and it's not there any more.

 

Just to let you guys know, the AW17R3 accepts the Dell PA-7E 210w. If Dell for whatever reason is being a dick about the 240W upgrade, buy the PA-7E from ebay.

 

Hello guys


My AW17 is having an odd behave. Every time I boot it up, the system freeze, it tests the left fan, then the right fan then unfreeze. That´s pretty annoying, anyone knows how to stop that?

 

Hi alexmutti,

Mine does that too!

 

mine also does that from time to time

 

Uninstall Dell Smart Assist Application. That symptom is the application performing hardware diagnostic every time the system is booted up.

 

100% correct.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

So what does this diagnostic scan do? @Alienware-L_Porras




@Mr. Fox @Prema @woodzstack

I encounter PWR throttling on 1.2v GTX970M - temps stay below 67c - I'd guess this is the VRMs overheating and throttling to prevent burnout?

1480core/1500mem 1.2v - Unigine Heaven 4K + Ultra + Max tesselation loop (doesn't happen in the beginning, overtime the PWR throttle develop and occur more frequently

 

You talking about the scan you can do from the diagnostics utility built into the bios when you turn the laptop on ?

Throttling is normal for new generations of hardware, it throttles for a split second in between doing work, also it's common for a GPU to follow the throttling patterns of the CPU.

If you do not have enough power for the system to draw on, it doesn;t matter how high you put the voltage, it's still not getting the power, and might throttle.

There's more we need to know, in order to help you.

 

The scan that is applied from the Dell diagnostics thing.

210W PA-7E, CPU not loaded

Heaven static (looking at dragon statue) does the same thing, throttle.

If load is low (ex, nothing to render), it will throttle "UTIL" instead of "PWR"

 

Hey guys!

I'm having a /minor/ problem with my Alienware 17 (4K, 6820, 980M). When the computer wakes from sleep, the screen distorts. This issue usually presents with a 1-second black screen before the screen shows up / a very short distortion, but in extreme cases it causes a distortion that can't be fixed without a reboot / several 'resets' (see picture). I've done some research, and this problem appears to be with the integrated Intel HD 530 chip. Has anyone noticed a similar issue / found a fix?

http://imgur.com/U1pDvJO

P.S.: this may also have something to do with power settings, as coming out of sleep without the power cable plugged in more often creates the distortion than doing so when it is plugged in. As the motherboard is brand new (the whole computer is) I doubt it is a hardware problem.

 

I wish I could help you further, but I do not know this benchmark very well, having stopped using it years ago.
I would try and reach STABLE OC's for your CPU. If it's power throttling, write down on a paper all the power wattage being used by various devices, and add that up for perspective. Whatever you do not know, is obviously inside that chunk of change that is undefined.
But from that, maybe you can paint a clear picture on where you can sacrifice some power. Like maybe small USB's can be instead powered by a powered HUB from an external monitor directly connected to the mDP port and keep the LCD on the laptop off too. The backlight, can take up some power. Do you need it ?
The fans can be almost replaced with a targus laptop cooler - and also powered by a USB hub. Maybe disabling the trackpad and keyboard when externals are plugged in, can be set by the AWCC to be automatically when detected. All that might add up to 20-30W extra to use, who knows. Maybe using external sound system from the SPDIF optical out for 5.1 would be better then using the built in speakers.
Try these things see if they make a difference. I could be completely wrong, on how to address your issue. I do not know that error code, but having power to spare is always good.

all those S states have always been an issue for people for many years. I have warned people a thousand times, if you do not want issues, just don't use suspend. Preferably use Hibernation if you have an SSD and absolutely NEED to resume as if nothing happened. I would suggest your better off, just shutting down.

in Windows, I've never ever heard of a version that was fault and bug free for suspend and low power states like your doing. It might not even be widows but how all the programs access low level hardware and power settings, who knows. either way, I know it's a feature people like on laptops but it breeds more issues then anything.

The reason why WINDOWS does not support sound cards the way they used to, giving them hardware control, is because of the number of issues MS gets for sound issues. I suspect the next thing they do is remove either suspend or hibernation, because it is also one of the largest ticket generators, and can corrupt almost anything on the system when it goes wrong too.

 

hey im on a 17 with a 4820hk and was hoping one of you could help me, one of my cores ( core 1 to be specific) is overheating and throttling yet none of my otheres seem to have any issues, only happens under heavy load, usually a game.

 

Anyone use the R3 with Linux? If so, does external video out work without any issues like tearing during videos?

 

I believe you mean 6820hk. What program are you using to monitor your core speed and temp? Are you overclocking? Are you reading a different voltage on core 1?

 

i am on the 6820hk my bad, and ive been using hwINFO, no overclocks although i have the fan and cpu on performance mode, Im not sure about the voltage though ill run another test and see. I appreciate the help.

 

sorry double post :[

 

I personally love using throttle stop for all the monitoring and clock controls. You could run that and take a screen shot and post it here for more info.

 

ahh ty, i was attempting to bait it with HW last night but couldn't get her to over heat and went to bed, ill give it another shot tho.

 

This could very well be a thermal paste issue as I've experienced this twice already, once on my 17R3 and another on one of my new Dell XPS.

When I had opened it up for a repaste the paste was very uneven and just terrible. It was very evident that there wasn't even coverage over the die.

I am willing to bet that it's a thermal paste issue from my experience.

You can click on my signature where it says 6820HK to have it link you to some pictures on my thread.

Just from the before and after temp pictures, it is clear that a repaste is mandatory.

Powered by: Quad Core Exynos + 6820HK

 

On the alienware 17 R3 how do you make a white theme or can't make one ?