*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

Speaking of @iunlock , i had my laptop done by him. His work is amazing. I got my laptop back from him a few days ago. I ran OCCT and prime95 (not at the same time) and boy, i just heard expletives coming out of my mouth (in a good way. hehehe). Before he worked on it my cores were 15 degrees or more apart. Now they track nicely and stay cool even when 4 cores are overclocked to 42x. His turnaround time was quick. His communication excellent. His attention to detail is just unbelievable. He also gave me 3 CPU overclock profiles and 2 screen calibration profiles. I couldn't ask for a better service.

 

Stock

Are you kidding? How did you manage that?

I have one dead pixel and one stuck pixel and I asked the returns person on the phone about an exchange and she wanted to send me to tech support.

I'd love to know how you got yours exchanged.

 

Those temps are not bad with stock paste as long as your core temps track closely.

I know most people use OCCT to stress test the CPU, but is there a consensus on what to use to test the GPU?

 

Back lifted 1" and 100% fans? Should clarify temps when discussing. Allowing increased airflow vs flat on desk drastically reduces temps.


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i called the 800 number and opted for the speak to rep. I simply told him I got the laptop and doing initial tests and noticed a few things but primarily the dead pixel was a deal breaker for me, especially considering Dell's 0 pixel policy. Literally 30 seconds later he comes back and says he'll send out a replacement under priority and I was to return my unit once i received it. I just asked nicely but firmly

 

I will try that Monday!

 

Well I think it worked. I got transferred around a bit but eventually got to the returns department and they created a service request asking for an exchange. I don't have the order number yet so hopefully that comes soon?

 

Awesome! I got an estimate delivery date 9/14-17 but they're reassuring me it'll be before 14. I do some work from home so they threw in expedited shipping for free.


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Did you get the new order number already? I don't see anything in my recent orders on Dell.com

 

One of their main depots is in Texas so things might be slower than normal, I'd give them another day or two and if you haven't gotten anything then I'd call them again and see what is going on.

 

yeah a new order has been placed on my dell.com account. it reads Your custom-built item is complete, I guess waiting on shipping now.

 

Hello all, long story short:

I have the GTX1080, 7820HK, 16GB RAM with G-Sync display and yesterday I bricked my unit doing a BIOS update. The update did warn me to disable any CPU performance level I had enabled in the BIOS, which I did. However, I didn't turn off the fan performance mode I had set. Could that explain why the update failed and the unit is now a 3.5k$ brick?

Also, is there any BIOS recovery mode or recovery possibility? I tried shorting the CLRP1 pins to no avail, didn't do anything. I also tried clearing CMOS settings, didn't do anything either. I get the dreaded 7 beeps on startup and no image at all.

A tech is supposed to come over, but all mobos are currently on backorder so I'm afraid it's gonna take a while, and Alienware doesn't want to offer a replacement unit.

Please advise.

 

I see it now. It has an order date of today and an estimated delivery of 9/15. They didn't email me a confirmation like they usually do. Let me know how your replacement turns out!

 

If you're outside the 30 day return window it is harder to get a replacement system without a technician visit. The tech can (and probably will) request a replacement if he's unable to bring it back to life, especially with boards on backorder. Be sure to explain how you need the PC for work/school and waiting for back orders isn't an option for you if it comes to that.

 

Thank you for your answer. I did explain to them that I use that PC for work and that I can't afford to wait days, or weeks for the parts to get replaced. I'll see how it goes when the technician comes over. It sucks though that there is no option to do any BIOS recovery as in previous generations :-(

 

Most probable cause is the GPU stuttering caused by poor GPU pad contact. Every laptop will likely have this issue with new GPU vbios, all heatsinks are different. Check this topic here for fix:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...gtx1080-in-game-random-stutter-freeze.804499/

 

Happy to report I no longer have this issue! Follow the following topic, took me 4 attempts with the pads in the end but runs great now. BF1 at QHD and ultra settings for 105 mins with CPU at 4.3GHz and GPU at 2GHz. Rock solid no throttling and no limits blown!

https://s26.postimg.org/u5bt78g09/105mins_BF1_LM_and_repad_4.3_GHz_-150m_V_GPU_1.jpg

 

Yep see my previous post.

 

Glad you got it working but I'm also glad I returned mine. 4 teardown attempts to get a laptop to work like it's supposed to out of the box, is not something I ever want to deal with. I'm pretty happy with the Aorus X7 DT anyways, so I'm glad Dell have me an excuse to return the AW and try this one out.

 

Just got an update, estimated delivery for tomorrow 9/13... Jeez they're fast.

 

Hey mate I've just seen this do you still need help or....?

 

i've got it sorted out. cheers

 

Cool what did you do and what were your results?

 

A 4k display in a 17"screen it's pointless for gaming... May as well get a QHD and have extra brightness, faster response, G-Sync and 120 FPS

 

Ph0 is the size you want

 

I've been reading a lot about the 17 R4, and was just wondering the current status of the thermal issues. Most of the threads and such I read about it were started a while ago (especially regarding i7 6xxx models), and then I see some comments saying issues were fixed with Kaby Lake. Are the production problems mostly ironed out now? Are the 1070 models any less problematic? I seem to see a lot less chatter about them. Thanks!

 

I think for most of us here the thermals is non-issue since we repaste. To be honest, I would never just go stock on any gaming notebook.

I think the biggest issue is stuttering on the 1080 models.

 

That makes sense. I just repasted my old laptop, so that's no biggie. I saw the thread about stuttering, looked like the OP edited to say that was also fixed. I keep going back and forth between a 1070 or 1080 with the qhd screen, but will probably go 1080 since I can get one for $2k with 8gb of ram and no ssd (obviously adding my own, plus another 8gb).

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That's literally what I ended up doing. Honestly a 7820hk, 1080, qhd, sub $2100 is pretty damn hard to beat. Add another $300 for ssd and ram it's a hell of a deal.


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Definitely. Yay for coupon codes, sale, and member site discounts stacking! I'm thinking of getting a 250gb 960evo for the ssd, myself.

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I was considering the 1tb crucial mx300. I know it's not as fast but honestly for what I do it's negligible and significantly more bang for your buck.


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Guys,

I've upgraded LCD from FHD to QHD. But now I can't adjust brightness. It is always 100%.

Can someone help to resolve this issue?

 

I'm seeing a lot of back on forth on whether or not the display port is connected to the iGpu or dGpu. Anyone know how it's set up on the 1080 variant? I'd love to connect it to an external monitor (or 2 ) and be able to run AAA games off the actualy 1080. Any insight?

thanks!

 

Same here

 

DisplayPort is connected to the nvidia GPU.

I've got mine connected to a 27" ASUS G-SYNC monitor via a mDP to DP cable and it looks fantastic! (And yes, g-sync works via DP on the external monitor)

 

That's good to hear!

Replacement is here! Gonna set it up and put it through the paces


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If that is the pg278q it is godlike with overdrive on normal.

 

Mine is the PG279Q with IPS panel.

 

Let us know how it turns out! My replacement is still in production...

 

Still a great screen. Ones of the best options if you like the color accuracy of ips screens. Its slowest gtg transition is much faster than the slowest gtg transition of my tn pannel. And its processing lag is estimated at 0.75ms. One of the lowest avaliable.

 

Hey, so I have a Alienware 17 (2017 model), and i successfully installed windows 7 ultimate on this beast. I have the intel graphics 630 hd updated successfully, but now for some reason, the nvidia drivers refuse to install, even if I download the driver for my card. How do I get around this ?

 

Did you try specific driver meant for W7? https://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/123223

 

If the windows 7 version of the drivers are not installing; You may want to download display driver uninstaller and boot in safe mode then wipe all nvidia driver and reboot again and then install.

 

I also have both the skylake and kabylake and I've managed to fix both the CPU core differential and GPU stutter in both. Also PCH mod done to both as well and this is also cured

 

After a several month long search of a worthy PC laptop for game/3d work I think the AW17 R4 has me won over.

I've tried the Razer Blade, the MSI GS63VR and 73VR and lastly the new GE73VR with varying degrees of disappointment over several things (screen, design, fan noise, speakers...). None of them impressed me much.

I ordered the 17 R4 7700/1070 version last week and just got it in yesterday. After a full day of setting up and testing out I can safely say I'm pretty much in love with this machine. The design is awesome; aggressive and gamer-like without falling into tackyness like MSI. The keyboard and side lighting looks amazing and although I dont *love* the rubbery plastic feel of the palmrest I can live with it (maybe put a dbrand skin on it?)

Performance and thermals so far have been great. I got the 7700/1070 version knowing that thermals would be under control and so far I am barely going over 72º on both CPU and GPU while playing PUBG and doing RealBench stress tests. This is with a -130mv underclock. I'm super happy with this although maybe in the future I will repaste if it can lower temps even more.

Fan noise is super controlled. Fans spin at 4200rpm and the noise is lower than on the previous MSIs I tested, but most of all its just a nicer sounding noise, like a whoosh instead of a whine. I won't even compare to the Razer Blade because that sounded like an F16.

I got the 120hz TN screen which I was a bit weary of because of previous TN panels and the fact that I work with 3D and video so want decent colors. I'm actually impressed. There is little color shifting when looking straight on, which used to be a huge issue on other TN panels; and once calibrated it looks quite good even if its not 100% sRGB. Gaming on 120hz is a DREAM.

Also, the speakers. After trying the GE73VR with its “giant speakers” and being super disappointed at the tin can sound due to them being downward facing and echoing inside the case I was super happy to hear the AW17 speakers. I’m super picky with sound quality and these sound pretty great, almost as good as my previous 15” MBP.

The only downside is that this machine is larger and heavier than what I wanted when I started my search for a PC laptop to replace my Macbook Pro, but honestly I'm not planning on travelling much with it so I'll take the extra weight happily since it checks all the other boxes.

I could go on and on, but I just wanted to give my positive review after the mostly negative feedback around here, which had me worried I would have to return the machine. My next step is to replace the 1TB HDD for an SSD and upgrade the RAM.

Also, does anyone know how to disable the power button LED? On the AlienFX app I can change the color, but it doesn't let me choose black for the alien head logo power button.

 

You can't disable the power button LED.

 

I kinda found a way to do it, by disabling the lights completely it also turns off the power led. It’s fine because it only bothers me during the day since it’s the only time I don’t light up the keyboard.

 

What kind of fps do you get in demanding games with the 1070/qhd combo?

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On PUBG I go from 50 to 110 depending on the place. It’s not very well optimized but I’d say I’m about 10–15fps below what I would get at 1080p

On Overwatch I rarely go below 90-100. Haven’t tried other games yet.

 

Thanks! I haven't seen as many reports about that build, and was curious. I keep going back and forth between the 1070 and 1080.

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