*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

The thing is I'm receiving the item later today. Ordered it thru HIDEVOLUTION 3 days ago. (Props to them btw from U.S. to Mid.East in 3 days).

Ill check the temps when I receive it later.

 

Not knocking HIDevo but you're better off ordering from Dell.

Never buy Alienware other from Dell.

 

Little update on my side.
Just got a call from Dell in order to confirm my identity. The guy said that I should have a phone call from the delivery guy during this week.
I asked how that would be possible as if I am correct, the laptops are put together in china.

That makes me think it's a unit they have in stock and I am really worried on receiving a faulty heatsink/thermal unit or even a refurb...

 

Why is that? While everyone else was having tons of issues (heat, lightbleed, separated bezels, squeaky keyboard, etc), my AW 17r4 came with none. And the repaste job they did was fantastic.

edit: And I ordered mine in early November, before the supposed fixes from Dell/AW

 

Had the same problem and opened a ticket with Killer. They told me there is a bug in the current driver version and to downgrade to an earlier version. It has been stable for me since doing that. Here's the links to it.

Please download the INF package for driver version 12.0.0.230 here:
www.killernetworking.com/support/Killer-Wireless-AC_INF_12.0.0.230.zip

Then extract the package and install via Device Manager. If you need some guidance on how to install a driver via Device Manager, please refer to the first article this page of our knowledge base (Installing drivers without Killer feature set):
http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads/knowledge-base?view=topic&id=4

 

Hi guys. I just talk to the manager and here is what he said: they won't replace the system again and all I can do is take my money or fix the laptop. As he said the system can be replaced only after they fix it but I got the same problem. They want me to send them my laptop or they will send parts to a guy that should come to my home and do everything here (if I understood everything correct).

 

I'm trying to under volt my 6820hk with the intel utility but for some reason it's set at zero and won't let me lower it.. right now it's on adaptive voltage and not letting me change it .. is there away I can get this fixed to I can do a under volt


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Just wondering when it's safe to order the 120HZ screen without banding. Or what their replacement process is if you ordered one with banding....

 

Just an update on my replacement machine, I received late last week (6820HK, 1070) on 1.08 bios. Still an issue with temps so I repasted over the weekend. It did have the 0.1 MM thermal pad but on some of the others it had the plastic that the thermal pads are shipped on (complete fail). Also no manual applied paste but the same old square of paste like the original. Not sure why AW is still doing this? They knew it was a replacement for heat issues and they still sent me a fouled up machine.

 

I know when I checked before, they were like $200 above Alienware's prices and that's before you negotiate with Dell for a discount. That may be what he's thinking? Although I looked just a bit ago and there didn't seem to be such a large disparity anymore.

 

Thanks for posting! I will give this a shot.

 

Can you put your laptop in dedicated gpu only mode and reboot it. This check the blue lines at the bottom where the open window indicators are on the taskbar. Thats where I am seeing the issue.

I am wondering if theres two seperate connections to the display, one from each gpu and the connection straight from the 1070 to the display is messed up.

 

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Looks like there is a new audio driver today... It seems like it sounds quite a bit better than it did before... could be just me though. I also got the alienware sound center back, it was gone with the last driver.

 

Safe to buy a refurb you think?

 

Yes


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Yes, actually I personally spoke to Frank and to another Dell insider close to the situation.
They both informed me this is actively being worked on.
They have ran into some validation issues with nvidia (nvidia's fault) but rest assured it is close to completion.

Also to clear the air, Frank was correct that the reference spec for the mobile nVidia is indeed 150w TDP.
However that is just a reference, most vendors do obviously raise the TDP etc.

 

The Refurb 17 I picked up has the new thermals.... runs like a champ, even with the HK processor and 1070.

 

Look man. They have to keep fixing it. Usually their policy is to replace it after a couple of failed repairs. If you have the dell premuim warranty they give great service. The problem is their management somehow lets people get broken computers and they sometimes fix/replace them with broken parts and computers aswell. But the support people are nice and seem to have the fear of god in them that they will not provide good enough phone service. Just be nice and clearly show them the problem and they will fix it untill they get it right.

 

Took 4 months to get a swap of my m18x r2, i sent it 4 times until finally, they agreed to do someting more efficiency : swap. 4 months ! With a premium warranty, it's a shame. Was my worst experience with any after-sale service.

And its not end yet because if my temps are great, i got a **** tons of lightbleed on my screen. I know for sure that's my very last Alienware laptop. Im glad i didnt pay for it, 2600€ for a laptop with so many issues, it's a joke.

 

While the FHD IPS is certainly crisp and clean, what are everyone's thoughts on the 25ms response time, especially for gaming? I have confirmed this response time with Dell and while I'm new to the study of laptop screens it seems a bit high.

I read this for reference: http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-3148118/response-time-lcd-display-notebook.html

 

No problem. Idk why people are so obsessed by the response time but unless you want to be on the top 5 CS:GO players in the world, it shouldnt be an issue. And even i you want to, i dont see how it can be a problem. I had a pretty good screen when i had my " desktop time " and i dont see the slighty difference between then and now with my 25ms display.

 

That's what I like to hear. Tnx

 

Does anyone know if it's possible to mod the aw 17 onboard audio chip with a high end dac?

 

25ms is totally fine for gaming. It's worth highlighting thou that dell are shipping the 1080p panels from 3 different manufactures, mine was made by auo, and isn't great, as per my previous post. I was hoping for lgphillips or che-Mei panel.

 

Now they telling me you can't return the laptop cause it's more than 30 days. I talk to the manager yesterday and he said I can return it and a guy from technical support said I got 10 days. Just lying to people, I hate them.

 

You TRAITOR! Only two nights ago you were telling me how much you prefer the Alienware!

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Am I the only one that finds this disappointing? The current limit is 170W. It's a complete waste of time raising this 10W, like what is that even in a game like 1-2FPS..., why can't we have 200W like the MSI? before and after repaste with LM my GPU temp berely changed. Both in the 60s under max load...

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Just a heads up, the Custom Nameplate Poll has ended and its a great outcome!

43 'Hell Yes' Votes to get these plates manufactured! Amazing result for everyone!

If anyone hasn't seen the thread
Any love for a Custom AW Nameplate? (Poll)
or is interested in a custom plate. Please PM me your required plate details, name & shipping details over by end of week!

Again, thanks to all for the support over the last week! Great stuff!

Cheers

Rairch

 

What is crazy is that my 1070 has hit a peak of 161W a week or so ago while gaming for about 5 hours on Diablo 3. I usually average around 130-140W, but that day it reached 161W. I would think that the 1080 GTX would at least hit like 200-210W especially seeing that its power supply is 90W's more than the 1070 GTX's.

 

Hey sorry to derail this thread but I've been reading this board over the last week and a half or so and I don't really know what to think. I bought the R4 17 QHD 1070 about a week and a half ago from Best Buy and I have a few more days to decide whether or not I'll keep it. I love almost everything about it, no obvious defects and the build quality feels incredible. However I do have the scanlines on the screen, and the bezel along the bottom right shows what looks like pressure marks so I think the screen might be a little tight. Neither are very noticeable or bothersome in use, I really have to look to see them. My main concern is that one of my CPU cores runs about 10-15C hotter than the other 3 under load. Is that really something to worry about? I was going to return it and try another machine but I'm worried it'll be worse than this one in other ways. Also, I've left HWINFO running while gaming to check temps under load and after a while my machine froze and the fans went crazy so I shut it off. Happened twice so I haven't used the program since. I was hoping there would be a new run of machines with fixed thermals and screens but I'm not sure now. Are these issues something to be concerned with? If not for these issues I would be in love with this thing, not sure whether I never should have come here or to be happy I did while I can still return it!

Edit: The temps are generally pretty good, GPU rarely hits 70C and I don't think the CPU does either. Admittedly I haven't checked the CPU in a while but reading this forum around the time that I was monitoring it had me reassured that they were within acceptable range. Right now just running Firefox has the cores between 43-47C. I'm just worried about the uneven temps.

Just ran GTA V for about 30 minutes on max settings, CPU temps afterwards showed difference of 15C between highest and lowest temps.

 

I think that 10 degrees is not too bad. Some people (myself included) have seen upwards of 15 variance. All in all, if its cool, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

Mine was close to 20 degrees different and after Gelid Extreme, new pads and the arm bending mod I'm down to about 7-9 deg difference depending on what app or game I'm playing.

 

It took about a month to get mine replaced. When I had to send it in it was there and back in 1 week. Besides that it was usually fixed by a tech at my apt. One time they delayed because they had windows keys on backorder (wtf) but besides that the techs were there in 1-3 business days. Took about a week and a half between the time I requested a replacement and the time I got it. Maybe I just got lucky but I got really excellent service. The temps were good on my laptop when i got it. The screen I like alot too QHD.

 

Thanks for replying! That's what I've been seeing, also that the temps are uneven between cores 0-2 and 1-3. Only my 3rd core is out of range. Posters here have been saying that uneven cores are damaging to the CPU, but I really don't know why or how. Will it cause long-term damage? I'm probably not going to repaste or change out the screen, so will this be OK over the next 3-5 years? What exactly is the issue with uneven temps? Thanks again for the response, that is admittedly what I wanted to hear!

 

Forgive my ignorance but is that good? Sounds similar to mine but I was under the impression that greater than about 5C variance between cores was unacceptable.

 

I'm no expert but looking at it logically, heat = damage. More heat = more wear. An uneven core can cause the entire processor to go bad or throttle, but if your temps are under control, then you should be fine. you have a warranty, I would make a special note to contact CS near the end of the warranty to look into the temps and re-evaluate.

 

So now you can return it?

 

No, I can't. That is the problem and I don't know what to do.

 

Hi!

As I understand the fans on this laptop stops when idling? How much does it take for them to start? Do they remain off when browsing and such?

Br J

 

Did you buy it from Dell?

If you cant return it then they have to understand that they have to restore it to mint condition and since it has scratches everywhere they will be better of just replacing it. You paid for a new laptop and that what you should get. I dont know how it works in the US but do you have someone to turn to in theese matters? In sweden we have a company that works with consumer rights.

 

I understand this all, but they don't. I ordered it on the Dell website. I don't have anyone to do anything.

 

Well that is really bad customer service. Take the technician then and have them restore the laptop. I know you are not happy with this but there is nothing else to do it seems. Maybe they can fix the screen bezel and replace the chassi.

 

I'm telling you this is easy peasy. You just need to talk to the correct people.

 

Fans only stop when Bios's setting CPU Peformance mode is disabled and temps are quite low (under ~50°C) . If enabled the fans will keep rotating slowly even if temps are low.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't know them.

 

Is it just the voltage offset that isn't changeable, or is it everything?

Try uninstalling XTU, reboot, and reinstall Run As Administrator, then reboot and try again.

 

Wow, more QC problems. I would report those specifics to AW so they know and can follow up with manufacturing to get better QC coverage.

So, you didn't say, did you get it all fixed up? Do you have good even temps across cores now?

 

So I talked with the tech team about my light bleed issue, which is small. I also asked if they could replace the screen with the LG FHD screen instead of the Chi Mei FHD screen and they told me no. They said that they have to put the same screen inside of it that I already have. This was my main reason why I wanted to get it to swap it out. The screen bleed isn't that bad, but I was hoping to get the better LG FHD screen. Should I risk it or not? Also, I had to push hard to get a on site tech because they wanted me to send it in.

 

Generally the light bleed issue is caused by "pinching" of the panel at the "attachment" points located around the frame under the bezel, it's not a panel failure / problem.

If you can get in home service it's unlikely that person will be trained or experience with adjusting the attachment points to stop pinching. Unfortunately the same goes for sending it in.

You can try getting someone in and coaching them on trying to adjust the attachment points at the center of the radius of the corner / point where the light flare is coming from, but he may not be able to fix it.