*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

0.5 and 1mm. Stacked them to make 1.5mm ones as per iunlocks guide

 

Oh, they sell 1.5 mm pads, guess I could just buy that?

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Cuz nobody with a AW15 cares and the 17 is a better buy for overclockers. My temps are in the mid 60s to low 70s when running both XTU and Heaven. All the CPU tests you guys do are JUST OCCT or XTU.

The guy you mentioned having the 5.4Ghz Clevo works for iBUYPOWER, it says it on his profile.

Well you see there are ways to save about 30% of Alienwares cost. I paid 1800$ for my laptop including 4 years of accidental damage, the original cost was about 2500-2600. Not counting cashback websites. Whereas Clevo is expensive af for same parts. When I was deciding on which laptop to buy, the Clevo with Thunderbolt3 was 2-300$ more than Alienware's normal price. So basically you can save nearly 1000$ vs not choosing Clevo, which when it comes to productivity and gaming, they have very similar performance. But I mean, if you want to pay almost 1K for the same exact hardware, then thats all you, afterall people buy Macbooks all the time too

 

Well my exchange delivery date came and went, so I called and the confused agent said he wasn't sure what the problem was, but he put in a third request and I should get the replacement in 2-3 weeks. Unfortunately, this will put me past the return policy date. And I'm not sure it will actually arrive this time... I've continued to tweet to Frank Azor, but he just hands it off to Alienware tech support that apologizes and says it will take as long as it takes.

Do you think I should just get a full refund and try again?

 

And you have to work in a computer shop to get a decent overclocker? Oh'well. Perhaps time to take a look at the Clevo OC thread if you want more and correct info.

Regarding prices ... Read this Thread and some of my posts. Why should I pay more for single graphics vs. SLI and more powa? I don't get it

And for the records... Your hardware idle temp with disabled Turbo boost is almost the same temp my downclocked cpu (6700hq clock speed) push wPRIME 1024M stress test

Edit. All this posting because I quoted the Q in post #5010

 

Update on my 2nd replacement: UHD screen looks amazing. However, I miss 120 hz SO MUCH. It's a huge pain going from 120 to 60hz. I can't overclock the display either. Guess I'll have to get an external display for higher refresh and gsync.

Btw, with optimus enabled, Windows is laggy and game performance is a bit lower compared to dgpu mode. I just used FN+F7 to go dgpu fully. Raised firestrike scores by 600 just by converting.

 

Why should I pay more for a single graphics vs SLI?

The problem for me is the SLI. Some games support it some don't. So instead of opting for SLI I would rather buy a external GPU with 1080ti.


I went for Alienware because

1) external GPU
2) it ticked more boxes for me.

Personally I would rather have Alienware charge me for 7820hk, gtx1080 and none of the other options. Send me a laptop with the drivers in a USB and no ram, no wifi and no hard drive..... then again this is just me.

As for working for a tech company... I think what he meant to say is that when you work for something like that, the general consenses is that you would be able to fine tune it or have connections that would help you out for free. A normal consumer won't be able to no matter how much he tries.

Last but not least. People buy MacBooks because of the OS and customer service, did you talk to Dell Alienware customer service, if you did you would know what I am talking about.

MacOS is like a really good driver with a really old car and windows is like a really bad driver with a 2017 Mercedes f1 car.

 

Maximum stripped down AW17 and the AW dock with 1080Ti cost $6100 here home vs. much lower $4435 for Clevo with 1080Sli. I know Sli don't support all games out there. But still, +$1600 cheaper for more power is a lot saved money.
Regarding working for tech company.... All persons or (normal consumer in your term), who like overclocking + have the skills can get very good results. 5.2GHz is pretty common. And you say normal consumers wont be able to do that

 

Alienware 17 R4 with
4 years HARDWARE + SOFTWARE SUPPORT
4 Years Accidental Damage Service
Alienware Graphics Amplifier
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-17-laptop/dkcwkblg055sb
+$3,193.98 (-5% cash back) = 3034.281 lets say
$3,035

SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 1TB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V6E1T0BW
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...vif4ytFlH84za_Cns6Q1QaAm9g8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds
+500

Intel 8265.NGWMG Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...F1364&cm_re=intel_8265-_-33-106-299-_-Product
$30

Vengeance® Series 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 SODIMM 2666MHz CL18 Memory Kit (CMSX32GX4M2A2666C18)
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengea...m-2666mhz-cl18-memory-kit-cmsx32gx4m2a2666c18
$275

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FOUNDERS EDITION, 11G-P4-6390, 11GB GDDR5X
http://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=11G-P4-6390-KR
$700

or
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 GAMING, 11G-P4-6696-KR, 11GB GDDR5X, iCX Technology - 9 Thermal Sensors & RGB LED G/P/M
http://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=11G-P4-6696-KR
$750
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Founders edition: $4540

FTW3: 4590

2x Samsung 960 EVO + ftw3: 5090

so..... $6100?

 

lets add in

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 2TB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E2T0B/AM
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...&cm_re=samsung_850_evo-_-20-147-441-_-Product
+661
----------------------------------------------------
$5751
$6100 -5751 = $349 short

 

Regarding prices ... Read this Thread and all of my following quotes. Can't compare prices in other countries vs. U.S

 

Hello @iunlock! I currently have LM and Fujipoly 11 applied on my 17r4. Is it convenient to apply this heatsink too? On which is supported the aluminum? Fujipoly Pad like in the copper method? Which is better to use? Copper or aluminum?

I have 17r4 + gtx 1070

Thks!

 

I tried to keep all the specs the same. It would be rude to compare Apples to Oranges so i put the link to sager down bellow subtract SSD RAM price reduce it to 8gb and you get about the same.

US prices

NP9876 NOTEBOOK
8GB DDR4 SDRAM at 2400MHz - 1 X 8GB
M.2 SSD DRIVE SLOT 1 = (none)
Sager 3 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty
http://www.sagernotebook.com/customize.php?productid=1234

$ 3,973.00

vs

Alienware 17 R4 with
4 years HARDWARE + SOFTWARE SUPPORT
4 Years Accidental Damage Service
Alienware Graphics Amplifier
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-17-laptop/dkcwkblg055sb
+$3,193.98 (-5% cash back) = 3034.281 lets say
$3,035 + 750 (FTW3) OR OR 1,200 Titan X = wha wha
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ 4,235

Sager comes with a i7-7700k and duel 1080 sli. So... IF you dont live in EU then you should be happy with either one? I do apologize for going off topic. No I do not think a average consumer would extensively overclock there CPU. Neither would they try liquid metal. In fact I think they would just leave the laptop as it is......

 

I forgot this, You could read @sagarbhathwar posts in this thread regarding DELL Alienware customer service-support service
For the records. I have still my Alienware 17 and know the Dell Tech Support team. You will find posts regarding this in one of the sub-forums if interested.

Edit. I compare Apple vs. Apples. I buying my machines were I live!! U.S have one of the best prices for electronics in the world. Other countries can't compete.

 

Also to anyone that is just joining us, don't be a dumbass. Don't max out the Alienware. They give you S_ _ T but they charge you a arm and a leg for it.

 

nooooooo........ um... DELL Customer service is the BEST. They are soo good they gave me a migraine once. lol they said no one under the name Umair works at AW lol.

 

What's the CPU model in 17 r4?

 

Alienware 17 R4 with GTX 1080 comes in i7 - 7820hk

 

Then it good. 7820Hk can OC to 4GHz easily.

 

You and I both were fortunate in having pretty darn good, original, QHD screens via the original spec.; how would compare that to this new-spec QHD you just received ?

 

How can I check my SSD temps?
I've tried HW Monitor, HW Info, Crystal Disk (doesn't even show the SSD) and Speedfan (shows the SSD permanently at 1ºC).
Tried updating the Toshiba SSD's firmware but it came from Alienware already with the latest version.
One odd thing, my 17 R4 came with 1.0.5 BIOS, I updated to 1.0.12 and yesterday to 1.0.14. Then I went to update the vBIOS and it says the VGA has the latest BIOS already... Shouldn't it only be updated when I had the 1.0.12 BIOS?

 

Try AIDA64 And take a look in Toshiba's website for new firmware.

 

Also doesn't work. The only one that shows up is the HGST HDD

 

If you have a toshiba m.2 there is a new firmware listed under your service tag on dells website.

 

Yeah I tried updating it but it says the latest fw version is already installed.

Can't find any support about this drive on the Toshiba website, not even proof of it's existence. Model number, serial number, nothing works...

 

The downside with big ODM's like eg Dell, Msi, Asus osv. No freedom of choice.

 

I think the new bios update took care of my stuttering issue.. removed the fps cap I set in overwatch (previously set it to 90fps to stop stuttering), and now it no longer stutters.

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Temps can only be read on AHCI setting and not on RAID.

 

Can someone help me figure this out?

Repasted with Conductonaut and new thermal pads. CPU tops at 82ºC, GPU at 73ºC after a good session of Doom at max settings, so the temps seem great, less fan noise too, which is great.
But still Doom freezes and hangs on me. They last for a few seconds and I really don't understand why...

Thought it might be the SSD, moved the game to the HDD, still hangs.
Thought it was Vulkan, but the same happens in OpenGL.
When I start the game everything is fine, after 10/15mins it starts acting up and the freezes get closer and closer together

I have latest drivers and BIOS.

 

Try setting a frame rate limit to like 90fps and see if that helps . That helped me in overwatch. But now I think the stuttering stopped. Maybe the paste settled a little better for me after a bit.

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Would you be able to provide a link to download wPrime v1.55? I absolutely cannot seem to locate it anywhere. I just got my laptop and would like to run this test and post my results.

 

Thanks man but that's not ok in my book. Why should I limit performance if I have a 1080...
Putting the CPU in performance level 3 in the BIOS also doesn't change things, I see drops to a min of 798Mhz although I'm not sure they are happening when the game hangs

 

Download HWINFO and RTSS from the Software Updates thread. Set up the software so you can monitor your hardware in real time on the screen.

 

Is anyone here already running the new BIOS? (ver. 1.0.9 for kabylake and 1.0.14 for skylake) if yes how does it work/any problems?

 

I've updated my 6700hq system to S1.0.14 seems like dell is very confident with the same FAN speeds from S1.0.12 (4200 CPU and 4400 GPU instead of 4700~4800 from S1.0.9 ) still I have not really tested game performance / temperatures

 

Hi guys, anyone know how many hours on battery AW 17 R4 with 7820HK, GTX 1080 and 4K screen w/o G-Sync (Nvidia Optimus)? I mean idle, min. brightness and everything is turned off. Somebody said here that AW is cheaper than Clevo, can someone tell more about this? At the moment AW 17 costs about 3700$ with such specs, and Clevo is 3000$, except SSD (it's 256Gb and probably SATA). Still don't know what to choose.

 

You can get it here: http://hwbot.org/benchmarks/processor (direct: https://hwbotdownloads.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/benchmarks/wPrime.zip)

 

Doom on ultra everything is actually a pretty tame game ... my 1080GTX has similar temps... actually - top's in the high 70's. You will need to use Witcher 3 or the new Mass Effect if you want to test for heat .... Both of my 7th gen R4's run in the 90's w/out undervolt although one runs a bit cooler .. maybe high 80's.

 

My temperature spikes improved with the new BIOS update. It now only spikes to ~95 degrees instead of over 100. I'll be repasting next week using iunlock's guide and will report back. While iUnlock has symbols next to necessary products, does anyone have an itemized shopping list?

 

I've got a 1.5 mm thermal pad from Arctic cooler in my Amazon shopping cart. I ordered Arctic MX-4 thermal paste and Artcic thermal paste remover from Newegg from before, and I have a spudger set. I think all I need now is to make sure I have the right size screwdrivers and I'm all set. I'll use the spudger to pry things open and carefully spread the thermal paste. I think his guide also mentioned 3m heat-resistant tape? I've got the GTX 1080 R4 coming soon and I'll see how it goes.

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Still it's a 15+C and 10+C improvement on cpu and gpu respectively.
But yeah, Doom at 2ak and max settings always above 120fps, it's heaven! Too bad I can't play for 10mins before the freezes start again...

 

Did you buy your own RAM or upgrade through Dell? Could it be a RAM issue or just a bad GPU? Doom being able to run at 120 fps at 2k on that QHD 120hz screen sounds like I made the right choice... If it runs cool and without issues.

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This is my amazon shopping cart. I've got all the tools for disassembly already. Am I missing anything? Is that tape what I am looking for?

 

Hi guys,

I'm in the UK and looking to purchase an Alienware 17 R4 from the Dell Outlet, i'm wondering whether i should get a 6700/1070 with an IPS 1080p screen or a 6820/1080 with a TN 1440p screen?

I've read the IPS screen has much better colour reproduction and can overclock to 100 hz.

Do the 6700/1070's have any heat/throttling issues with temps going over 90C with demanding games like the 6820/1080's do?

 

I think iunlock used 3m tape, not sure if it matters as I haven't started yet. I'm waiting on my laptop, it's been 6 days since I've ordered and they haven't notified me that they sent it yet. If you ask him, he'll let you know. Now I'm wondering if the 1.5mm thermal pad I'm getting is ok, or if I need to get the 1 and 0.5mm one like that and stack them.

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In the guide, he references both .5mm and 1mm tape in one of his pictures, so I think you'll need both. I could throw a 1.5mm on there too to avoid stacking, but I don't want three rolls of tape lying around afterward.

 

Oh, that's a good point. I haven't gone through the guide yet because my R4 isn't here yet. I might get all 3 I guess. It's only a 50mm square, so if that's what it takes then so be it.

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I replaced the tape from my screenshot above with the super 33+ electrical tape he has a picture of in the guide. What is good enough for him is good enough for me.

 

Upgraded thru Dell. System is as it came from the factory, minus LM repaste.
Actually when I set the CPU OC mode to lvl 3 in the BIOS it returned a RAM error when it restarted. Something about 1 stick missing but I restarted and it worked fine. I reseated the RAM just in case.


I can not play any games.


Even Overwatch starts freezing after 10minutes of playing, eventually crashes saying my rendering device has been lost...

God please don't let this be a lemon

 

Discovered a strange issue with my 17r4, couldn't output through HDMI. It would detect the external monitor but wouldn't output to it. Tried different monitors and different cables, no joy. Went through dell tell support, they tried everything from re-installing drivers to eventually formatting the computer, reinstalling windows.... and still nothing.
Had a tech come out today and replace the motherboard (sadly no updated processor, still skylake, lol) that solved it. HDMI now works!