*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

I also had the same issue you were having, did the VBios downgrade and it works perfectly.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-17r4-1080-overclocked-vbios-issue.802964/page-5

Thanks Zer0K and Derek712

 

FYI thanks for the repaste guide. i did it last night as i'm getting a replacement unit so i thought i would try it on this unit so if i broke something it wouldn't be a big deal. All went perfect. temps haven't gone higher than 80. appreciate your effort.

 

I wonder if anyone is having problems with the keyboard not registering the buttons being pressed. Already uninstalled the keyboard drivers, updated the BIOS and did not solve the problem.
The problem sometimes disappears after several reboots.

What can end the problem?
How to make a Recovery to factory setting?

Sent from mTalk

 

It could be a loose ribbon wire. Often times it is when dealing with keys acting funny...

 

The keys that are not working: WASDG, 456, F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, Ctrl, left Shift, FN, Windows Key.

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Did you open up to repaste?

When I repasted, I somehow got TIM on the ribbon cable end and cleaned it up with an alcohol wipe and it cleared my issues.

 

No! I took the computer keyboard was working fine! Rebooted it and parraram keys, restarted the computer but a few times and it started working again, after another reboot the keyboard stopped working. I don't know what can be!

Sent from mTalk

 

Mine did this out of the box too. Pretty much the same keys didn't work.

A new keyboard didn't help so the motherboard was diagnosed as faulty. They had no spare parts available so it had to go back for a refund.

I bought a new one and that's been fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I bought an AW17 R1 but after 5 months and plenty of on site tech interventions it still wouldn't work so Dell refunded me. I'm now in the process of ordering an R4 with the highest spec possible other than the external graphics amp. Are these more or less reliable now or am I going to be tearing my hair out again trying to get a working version?

I've had an M17x R2 for the last 7 years which has been so reliable that I find myself drawn back to the brand, despite the negative R1 experience.

 

I'm going to have to make the switch from the country of origin of the notebook! And I hope that dell support to resolve my problem. I hope that my motherboard is not the cause of the problem

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The short answer is yes there are issues but they are not acrost the board. If you get the dell premium support and are nice and knowledgeable when you talk to the staff they should be able to do something like swap out a screen if something is wrong with it.

The real advantages of these systems are the keyboard and chasis. And of course dells permium support as long as you are nice to the techs is one of the best. The cooling system can be amazing but often out of the box it is far from that.

A concern i would have is the electrical design of these. The recent alienwares have a pattern of being shipped with underpowered power supplies, draining the battery while plugged in, and just plain old not being able to support the power thier cpu and gpu need sometimes. As you can even see with the posts before this, the vbios with the higher power limits is causing issues. And this is just one example.

I can say that my system had adequate everything out the box but it uses lower power components 6700hq and 1070 and still drians the battery while gaming. It was also a refirbished replacement for my horrible 17 r2.

If you want to put in a little love (repaste) these can be great systems. They have issues but i wouldnt say that they make these worth avoiding if you really want what they offer.

My 2c: if you want a top tier laptop i would check out the clevo page and see whats going on with those systems. I mean options like cherry picked delided desktop processors, vapor tube cooling, they probably put out the full power spec of thier components, the option to use modded bioses and upgrade the cpu if you want. I dont think people say thier outsides are as nice but they are really doing stuff no other laptops are doing on the inside.

 

Stock clevo's are horrible. If you go that route make sure you buy one from a @Prema partner shop to get a custom bios. Even yes clevo's are having issues with heatsinks being warped as well and finish issues. They are great machines if you buy from a partner and a shop like @Donald@HIDevolution that truly sets the machines up and test them thoroughly before shipping.

That being said all highend laptop manufacturers seem to be having these issues right now in some degree or another. Pick your poison...

 

I found a Clevo P870 KM1-G with 2x GTX1080's (SLI) in Germany at what seems to be an interesting price but the main issue for me is warranty because I will mainly use the machine for business. If it goes wrong, which they all do at some time or another, I simply cannot afford for the machine to be sent away. If I could have lived with that I would have gone down the MSI GT73VR-7RF route.

The thing about Alienware, even though they are far from the best on the market, is that they just about build them the way the customer wants them and they provide next day on site service. If every manufacturer did that they would grab a much better slice of the market, IMHO.

One very odd thing about Dell's Premium warranty option is that they offer 50% discount if you opt for 3 years but zero if you opt for 4 years!

Coming back to the reliability aspect of the R4's, I'm guessing that most people posting on the forum are doing so because they have problems but I imagine that they do not represent the majority of AW customers. So, are there 1000's of happy bunnies out there somewhere or is it that they haven't discovered this forum and are sharing their gripes somewhere else?

 

I decided against clevo because let's face it, the outside is something we gonna have to deal with all the time, regardless of the amazing hardware in it.

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Well yeah but then again, the older Alienware M17x R1 and R2 were much nicer designs than the current models. I mean you got a real aluminium cover, front customizable independently lit speaker vents, a less ostentatiously lit touchpad and a palmrest that didn't scream "your fingerprints are FUGLY!!!"

Talking about Clevo's, has anyone had any experience with Xidax which looks remarkably similar to a Clevo?

 

You may want to ask over in the clevo section and not clog up the AW section.

 

My replacement parts were somehow delayed for almost another month. Pretty sure it'll only get fixed in the beginning of june if all goes accordingly.
Already asked my customer service rep to at least prepare a new battery too so I don't need to wait a whole other month for it to be replaced.

F*ck! I would have returned the system if I could get anything close to it for the same price, but I can't. Only GTX 1070s and crummy 60Hz 4K screens that don't interest me the least... An MSI or Asus with a GTX 1080 will easily cost me 500€ more.

At least with the old vBIOS I can game on it a few days. But I can't use it anywhere else without the power adapter... It's a 2800€ paperweight most of the time...

 

main advantage of the "old" alienwars was 18'' screen, this was a real machine. and if image of the laptop is important then of course latest alienwares look like a strange toys. even asus looks much better conceptually. and asus is not so bad internally. but of course alienware wins with the "real" ips screen and better starting configuration so you can add later everything what you want - memory, ssd, wifi etc without lost in the price of the components which you don't need.

 

yes, clevo is really good option. if it'd be just possible to buy it with the one 780W AC Power Adapter, not buying it as an "extra" "accessory"

 

I wonder if there is any HWinfo64 tutorial?
Which programs should I install to monitor the AW17R4 ??

 

Corect. Clevo barbones are sold under several names.

 

think going to charge 50% more when people send dirty laptops in

few have come in conditions where I wouldn't even touch it

 

Eww, that's minging. I'd feel embarrassed if I sent in a dirty laptop.

Are you talking about the internals...dust and fluff or actually the external condition of the laptop? Someone may well be such a n00b they aren't comfortable opening their laptop and not know what state it's like inside.

 

I can only imagine... I've gotten a couple gross ones myself. One in particular I felt compelled to wipe down with a dozen baby wipes just to make it "touchable"

 

Hey I am getting my 17r4 Friday and I was curious what bags are y'all using to carry it around. I had an under armor bag that barely fit the 15r3. I really don't want the Alienware backpack. It's too gamey looking when going through the airport.

 

I really don't like the Alienware Vindicator backpack... It looks good in photos and Alienware markets it as being version 2.0, just for the 17R4, but it's just a rebranded Vindicator 18'' backpack.
It's really good quality and has a lot of organization built into it but ultimately it's just way too big for me.

I searched a lot before finding a nice replacement. Now I'm using a Targus Strike backpack and it's pretty good. I got it for 65€ and for that price you can't beat it. Some stores sell it for 100€ which I think is a bit too pricey.
There isn't much info on the web about it so here's some pics:



This is what I fit in it:
- Alienware 17R4
- Zalman aluminum 17" cooler
- 17 R4 charger and cable
- iPhone charger and cable
- Nintendo Switch
- Nintendo Switch charger
- Notebook
- Calculator
- Pens
- Pocket knife
- WD Passport Ultra HDD
- Sennheiser HD650 (big ass headphones)
- 5m ethernet cable
- Sunglasses
- Keys
- Mouse
- Assorted cables
- Steelseries QcK+ mousepad
- Pack of ciggies and a lighter
- 1L bottle of water


With all of this inside it gets pretty full but there's still some space. And it's still comfortable to carry.
Here's a pic of it full, Jack Russell for scale:


And compared to an EMPTY Vindicator 2.0:



Hope this helps, I'm happy with my purchase. Not too gamey, not too expensive, nice quality and it even has a waterproof sleeve you can fit over it in a pinch!

 

I just found the perfect backpack for my needs prior to flying out of state this week. I ordered the Everki Titan off amazon which the 17R4 fits perfectly. Snug, not loose, and not tight where I would start worrying about seams bursting. The laptop compartment is made of a soft orange colored felt material so no chance of scratches. The entire length of the laptop fits inside the internal sleeve, and the sleeve sits below the zipper line so there is also no risk of getting any scratches from the zippers. There is a video on the product page on amazon as well as the manufacturers website that shows off the interior as well as the TSA checkpoint feature where the laptop compartment can be unzipped and folded outwards so the laptop never has to leave the sleeve when going through the xray machine. I'll post some pics when I get the chance today.

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/oWgUu

Manufacturer's video detailing the features as well as how it looks when worn.

 

I've actually been eyeing that one as well. Did you get the 17" or 18" version?

Sucks that I'm shopping for a bag yet again. I was so happy with my ebags since it holds most 17" laptops, but not this one unfortunately.

 

It is the 18.4in, non roller version. During my searches, a lot of the 17in rated backpacks don't fit the 17R4 so I decided to limit my searches to 18 and above to be safe. I was able to fit my 17R4, my old XPS 17, both sets of chargers and several pairs of clothes/toiletry items. My previous backpack was a old swissgear 17 laptop backpack and it could fit the XPS but not the 17R4. I wanted a biiig backpack and this one fit the bill.

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/oWgUu

 

Thanks a lot for the information, truly helpful. I carry the switch around with me too so I was curious about that. But I couldn't get a good comparison between the dog and the bag can I get one with a banana?... lol kidding I'm hoping that Targua has other colors.

 

I tried with a banana but he ate it.

You can get it in any color you want so long as it's black.

 

^ pretty much

 

Ordered that heatsink too. Not sure when it'll arrive.

Did run into another small issue. The spacebar doesn't always register my presses. Almost never if I use it on the far left or far right sides (near alt), the close I get to the center, the better it registers. Not sure why. They are sending a repair person next week to replace the keyboard. Seems it's a known issue. Support also suggested replacing the motherboard but I said it's most likely not the motherboard since it does register in the center.

Do you think the repair guy will say anything about the repaste? (and the PCH mod)
(and I'm 80% positive I had the keyboard issues before the repaste, just not 100%)

 

He might. You should be fine though. I lied but you can probably just be honest and be fine. Ive heard that you can and also that you can't take apart your machine for a repaste. I think they just make it up on the spot.

 

I wanted to reopen the system to double check the repaste anyhow. I had some irrational fear that I used too much liquid metal and even though the tape protects everything it's nagging a little When I have it open I'll probably just remove the PCH mod so he can't complain about presure or something like that.

 

Does anyone have an idea on how to fix this battery issue I've been having?
The Alien logo flashes orange, every time I turn the PC on I get a Dell ePSA warning saying the battery is not connected, in the BIOS the battery is an "Not a Dell battery".
I've disconnected it, pressed the power button for 1 minute and reconnected it, no change. Updated BIOS and no change...

 

Switch to Legacy and disable secure boot, sometimes it worked wonders according to @VICKYGAMEBOY

 

Reseat the battery connection.

 

so, i got my m17r4 today, so far its a meh situation, the 15r3 had the 960 drive in it, now i have the toshiba. Laptop itself is nice, no coil whine no backlight bleed. the windows installed on it was so damn buggy, so I wiped everything and installed a clean windows. So far I can only undervolt to -110mv . I started playing The surge and the cpu was hitting about 75 and the gpu was at 80. Without a repaste and only an undervolt is this normal? I have the 7820 and the 1080 in it. Will repasting actually drop it lower?

 

Depending on the type of paste and if you repad, I'm sure the temps can be dropped even further. My cpu temps would hit 89ish C stock so that sounds about right. Do you experience any stuttering or freezes after playing games for an extended time?

 

And reinstall Windows? No thanks!
I switched to legacy, it failed to boot but the battery not detected ePSA warning still came up before BIOS access.

I already did that, 2 or 3 times. Does the battery cable also have a connection on the battery itself or is it soldered in?

 

Weird.... I normally hit MAX temp at 75 and GPU is around 60.... but that is with me running Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility test and Heaven Benchmark 4.0 ultra settings at the same time.
The laptop and some components come broken. lol i just undervolted to -.0.035 v

Step 1) check if you have any uneven cores. simple way to check it is by overclocking all cores to 4.0 then bumping it up slowly to see if temps hit 75 Guide:

step 2) repaste and you might need to bend.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5r3-disassembly-repaste-guide-results.797373/

WARNING don't use liquid metal till the ****ers at alinware change your SSD. that is broken. I exchanging communication about trying to switch the SSD out for a samsung. I think its the case with all there toshiba SSD but Dell Alienware wont switch it. Could someone talk to Dell Alienware about it? its like there laptop screen

For disclosure: I put liquid metal on it. kind of risky being that this is the first time I ever did something like this but yeah.... why wait why not dive right in. (my left side usb stopped working. This is why you never give a noob liquid metal. BUT then again this is why this forum is for so.... someone pointed out what i missed.... and that is fixed XD everything works)

also after reading your post i undervaulted to -0.080 v at 4.3

 

so, i undervolted and repasted. everything is nice, 71c on both with rise of the tombraider vs 80 plus. But now i introduced some coil whine on the gpu side. Did not have it before but i have it now. I opened the back up and listened for it. Thought I might of overtighted the screws (just tightened to where they were snug on the stop) and even backed off a quarter turn. Will it go away or am I stuck with this coil whine.

 

It took me a while to arrive. I think it comes from China.

I changed the motherboard too and before arming I told the technician: "wait, I'll apply LM and these thermal pads." He said "no problem, whatever you say" I apply LM and change the thermal pads. The technician only dismantled and reassembled. But I live in Argentina ... I do not know how it will be where you live.

 

Providing 2-day (1-day if at all possible) repaste turnover time for the summer.

 

I never hinted at reinstall, just change the EFI settings and see how it goes.

 

Yeah I did that

 

17 R4 6820HK (Conductunaut+Fujipoly 17W/mk+PCH) + AGA GTX 1080ti

 

Anyone know if there's a way to configure Optimus on these laptops or are the QHD and 4k motherboards physically different?