*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

Yeah, the clocks drop down to base clock frequency due thermal throttling (you boil the chips). The score is equal or lower than stock clocked [email protected].

Cashe ratio follows the cores correctly with 3 bin lower clock speed for Kaby.

 

okay, thanks. So it all comes down to the heatsink. it needs to be balanced, but that would be a first for me, cause i've never done it before. Do certain screws need to be less tight than others, to even out the flat Heatsink Die surface ?

thank you for looking at my info/helping out

 

You can't have certain screws less tigh than others. They all have to be tighten down. Take a second look in the thread alienware-17-r4-gtx1080-in-game-random-stutter-freeze As well see what you can find of info in th e whole Alienware 13 / 15 / 17 forum

 

Hi !
I plan to re-repaste my rig in the next few days as I witnessed temps going back up a bit while gaming. This time I will do a lapping of the heatsink and try to insert some very thin foam around the CPU & GPU. I will also swap my Arctic pads for Thermal Grizzly ones.

Do you have any piece of advice regarding the lapping and also how to safely and properly remove LM ? I have 400, 600 and 1000 sandpaper and watched some vids but any thoughts are welcome.

BTW I tried 1.2.0 & 1.2.1 and as always it leads to a rise in temps especially for the PCH (I hit 100°C while playing the Division without cooling stand) AND the SSDs (like ~10° hotter). So I rolled back to 1.0.8...

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_MCz0G9b8s4ZGoxSnZHbVA5V1JfRHZNYkM1RDdpTjhjLUFR
This screwdriver from home depot. That was a year ago but they may still have it.

 

Yep but unfortunately you will find this from any gaming laptop manufacturer if you want to OC CPU and GPU, you'll need to open it up and put the effort in. Well worth it though!

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Exactly...
And no way Dell can have mine back hehe

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Use Artic Clean thermal paste remover, this stuff is genius level and works amazing.

lapping the heatsink you do figure 8's with 400 grit, all the way to 2500 grit to polish it in the long run.
Doesn't take more then a good 10-15 loops with the lower end, and more on the higher grits to get the perfect shine.

 

I beg to differ, for example the HP omen X with the same specs, has alot less problems then an AW 17 R4. Only trade-off is the amplifier port, alien fx and the warranty.

The omen can also be specced with a 120hz screen, a 7820HK and a 1080.

I've googled, and read reviews and it fares alot better then the AW 17 R4.

But hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I like the AW 17 R4 alot, but to be fair, there are enough other options without problems.

 

Your comparing a recent high end BGA laptop from HP to an M17X-R4 from 6 years ago ?
I still say the M17X-R4 beats it.

 

I fix it for you. Both are BGA.

 

Ahh damnit, I saw through corner of my eye ... so this is M17 R4 not M17X-R4 *facepalms*

I actually do not like either, I say they both loose. Fair enough ?The newer Alienware's have issues just like all the other BGA crap out there... I know a few good BGA laptops, but they do not pretend to be these crazy gaming desktop replacement laptops.

 

So after 1 year and 15 days my Alienware R4 starts with the following beeps.



15 days out of warranty! How annoying. Anyone know what the beeps are claiming has broken?

 

Based on info from this page you might have problems with LCD panel (light pattern: 2 red, 7 blue).

 

Thanks! I guess, I can try to reconnect it myself.

Edit: Anyone know a guide for this somewhere?

 

There is an official video of disassembly here:


And another related tutorial here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ome-uhd-display-alienware-r4-tutorial.800153/

 

Hey everyone. Been lurking this topic for a few days and ended up purchasing a AW17 R4 with 7820HK and GTX 1070 from the MS store. (It's on sale until January 2, 2018 in case anyone is still looking for $1799. I think the price is pretty good?)

Never had a chance to open it up, but I believe temps are ok on mine. (I've only had 1 night playing Destiny 2 on it for about 4 hours.) HW monitor showed the CPU was turbo'ing just fine and temps were below 80C, with GPU below 71C.

I was worried reading all the posts here, and after experiencing throttling and constant 100C on a GL503VS from Asus. (did underolting which helped temps, but had mild instablity, so I prolly got a bad one.)

Hopefully things will continue to be good tonight when I test out the AW17 some more. =)

 

hey guys. i have an opportunity to pickup an alienware 17 R4 with 7820hk, 1080 gtx, and the UHD 4k screen for a very good price (below $1400) with warranty still active. i'm worried about how well the 1080 gtx can handle the 4k screen for gaming? can anyone with this laptop give me some insite? the only current game i'm playing is destiny 2, the rest are all my backlog such as tombraider and steam games.

 

I own a GTX 1080 on my desktop and a 4K screen too, I use SLI and am able to pass 60FPS, but when I run single card (my processor is 6700K), it's not strong enough to go above 60FPS. It hits around 55FPS and dips to about 40FPS. You should see similar results if the laptop doesn't throttle, etc. for Destiny 2. (It's the game I'm playing currently too.)

Hope that info helps.

 

Hi there I have the 17 R4 with a 7820HK and GTX 1080 (both overclocked) and I run all games at 4K with high settings (no AA) no problems. Rarely dips below 60 FPS if at all depending on the game. I play a lot of BF1, Destiny 2, assassin's creed, the Division and F1 2017 for reference. Awesome machines!

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Merry Christmas to my Alienware fam! May you all have great times with loved ones.

 

Anyone installed the new BIOS Version SKL1.2.3_KBL1.2.3
It's supposed to address the new Intel vulnerability

 

sorry for super late response, i tried Tobii out in Dying Light and Distance, it works pretty dam well imo, thats just 2 games tho, plus its nice for windows hello

 

Just updated to it, everything works fine.

 

guess im out of the loop, what intel vulnerability? i havent updated my bios since i got mine, is there any point in doing so?

Edit: just checked my system, seems ima need the new bios then, i dont like updating bios in fear of bricking the system

 

https://www.wired.com/story/intel-management-engine-vulnerabilities-pcs-servers-iot/

 

ahh ty, well everything is up to date, latest bios and all, did a temp check and seems im still hovering around 65c on cpu while running small FFTs on prime95, 72c peak when gfx card is stressed at same time

 

What they DON'T say is that 1.2.3 BIOS is protected ! You cannot roll back to a previous one. I've been trying it and as always : big temps jump (+15° PCH, +10°SSD & CPU and +5°GPU). But when I try to re-install 1.0.8 I get an error message saying that I can't flash because current BIOS is protected. I'm mad at you AlienDell ! This is it ! I'm done with you !

 

I quote my self with a pict.

 

He took one for the team.. Someone must do it in the name of science!

 

ahh i see, ty for the info, for overclockers this will be a problem, however since im on a non overclock chip (6700hq) havent noticed any temp jumps

 

Same here, identical temps.

Unrelated but I wanted to tell you guys, after a month and half of screaming @AW they're finally sending out a tech to repaste (lol like this will make difference), replace the damaged rear ventilation and lid, replace the screen, and replace the speakers, and figure out what's up with the battery discharging even when plugged in. Looks like I'll finally get the "brand new" machine I dropped 2,000 for...

 

nice! thats good to hear

 

temps are the same for me on 7820hk.

Maybe even a little lower, though that is probably just from variance in ambient.

 

Unless 1.0.8 has faulty sensors readings EVERY single BIOS after this one makes my temps increase. Don't know why...

With 1.0.8, CPU is around 35°C, GPU is at 45°, SSDs are around 35° and PCH is at 44° while idling. This is the best BIOS so far IMO (at least for me).
With this one (or any other BTW), I have 40° CPU, 50°GPU, 50-55°SSDs and 58°(!!!!) for the PCH.

Good news is I still don't have any core differential though (thanks LM). And with the CPU set @ 3.6 with -130mV UV, my temps during OCCT 1h-stress test barely go above 60°C. Anyway, it hurts to admit that ingame I see no FPS change between 3.6 and 4.0 GHz. So...

Also I have huge diff between XTU and HWinfo temps. Especially for the GPU: XTU reading is almost 12° cooler. If someone can explain, I'm all ears.

I'm loosing patience. I really love my rig. I enjoy it even with its flaws. I trusted Alienware to improve things. I've spent HOURS (and €€€€...) lapping, repadding, repasting, testing, repeat... With this locked BIOS, it feels just like a big "thank you sucker" kick in the balls from Dell for enthusiasts and brand lovers...

 

I also updated to BIOS v1.2.3 and have no temperature changes at all.
@IXVIXXII maybe you forgot to lift the backside of the laptop or the space isn't enough for a proper ventilation?

 

Please don't say that each bios raised your temps higher without using an IR gun to monitor it. A Bios can NOT raise a SSD temperature. That's impossible.

Buy an IR gun and measure the temps then come back and report if the gun shows higher temps.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EI2BSEW/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=APAUX3HDKA8KA

Either user error, or you messed up somehow.

 

Look, I spend much time (more than I'd like) monitoring temps on my system and I garantee the values from HWinfo in my other post. How do you explain that after flashing from 1.0.8 to 1.2.3 (or any other one), SSDs temps in HWinfo jump from 35-36° to above 45° ? Same for the PCH : from 44° before flashing to 58-59° after... Overall the temp of the whole system goes up significantly.

 

And if it read as 99C, what would you say then?
Ever heard of sensor miscalibration?
Do what I say first and get some facts instead of relying on mainboard sensors. I'm done helping you.

 

It's also possible that vents and fans collected some dust, hence the raised temps. How long since you have cleaned them?

 

No, I use a laptop cooler and I try not to change the way I monitor temps and voltages. I tried both elevated and flat resting laptop and sadly both have advantages and flaws :

• If the laptop lays flat, air intake is forced in by the right side vent, creating a flow inside the case and thus cooling the PCH. But CPU & GPU temps increase because of the reduced airflow from outside.

• If you lift up the rear, more fresh air comes in for CPU & GPU, resulting in lower temps. But the PCH is less cooled due to the lack of airflow inside the laptop.

Ingame, without laptop cooler, I got high CPU and GPU temps but no throttle if my laptop stays flat. And if I raise the rear, I will definitly get throttling at some point because of the PCH heating (but it depends on the BIOS, some are more sensible than others to PROCHOT).After testing and depending on BIOS I can hit 95°C PCH without throttling and get stutter at 75°C with another version. Latter BIOS are less PCH sensitive.

I also did a full repad / repast this week. And cleaning too

Read my first post, that's exactly what I'm implying but it must tied to BIOS version :

 

@ IXVIXXII
Is it possible that your repasting repading etc...could leave wider gap between heatsink and processors?

 

I honestly don't know but I doubt it. I repasted and repaded several times and each time I did, I have tested pad thickness and contact with low cost elastic material to ensure a good and even pressure on both dies. CPU and GPU temps aren't alarming. I'm concerned about my PCH mainly (as it is responsible for throttling) and my SSDs lifespan.
Here's a 15mn OCCT burn I just did : 4.0GHz with a -25mV UV

 

You are right, those temps are great no way CPU and GPU could rise temps of the SSD and PCH.

 

Thanks
UV works really well. I have to test ingame though : it puts much more stress on the unit than benchmarks.

 

What is your ambient temps?
Your temps looks fine.

 

FWIW, from my experience I found the 6820HK to be so much worse for PCH temps than my 7820HK.

The 6820 used to get into the mid 90s for the PCH (even with iunlocks mod) but it never caused me throttling...

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Ambient is 23-24°C. Here's another run, 1 hour at 4.0GHz and -25mV :

You're right. With 1.0.8 It usually peaked at 80°C (on demanding games) but with newer BIOS, it goes beyond 90°C (but without throttling). I have the PCH mod too.
Destiny 2, Diablo III for example put little stress on the machine. But The Division or Ghost Recon WL are much more heavy. I'm DLing the latest Assassin's creed, which as I read, seems to be the same.

 

Hi guys I was on ebay the other day and stumbled across this.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CPU-Vacuum...17C-R4-Cooler-Fan-With-Heatsink-/253323164302
Has anyone tried this? Could I get any feedback thinking of getting it for my 17 R4 GTX 1080 I repasted and still getting high 80's without overclock on Need For Speed Payback maybe this will solve my problem.

 

That's not what you already have? I guess the 17r4 and 15r3 boards are fairly interchangeable. A good polish, and some well applied thermal compound should fit the bill.