*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

He has done some modifications to it which as he says puts it and 198W

 

Hey, if it's legit, then, why not? $100.00 is a lot of scratch, but if it's well machined and can help with temp control? Might as well write a review if you go that route. The 1080 can get warm, and 198W doesn't seem overdone, once gpu proc and memory clock start climbing, and even an oc on your I7? Seems about right.

 

I'll just buy and see, anyways if it doesn't work I'll send it back. I'll get back with a review once received.

 

Hi,

Completely new to the forums.

I recently got 3 different gaming laptops, including the brand new Alienware 17 R4 with GTX 1080, 7820HK, QHD TN screen, 16GB ram, and 120GB SSD (Samsung PM851). I returned all 3 computers, but decided I wanted the Alienware, but I’m not 100% sure about the configuration.

Q1: I think I’m going to go with the GTX 1070 instead of the 1080 even though the price difference will only be 200 Euro in my situation (Normally the price difference is 400 Euro), mainly because the 1080 only performs ~16% better, but has higher thermal. Is it crazy to forgo the 1080 when its only 200 Euro more, and the primary reason for preferring the 1070 is thermal dispersion?

Q2: Has anyone seen the difference or compared the FHD 300nit IPS panel and the UHD 400nit IPS Gsync panel on the 17 R4?

Q3: I have already tested the QHD TN panel, and didn’t notice any problems that others have been mentioning. It scales 1080p sources flawlessly. Windows scaling worked great as well. Gaming Witcher3 and Total War: Warhammer 2 on 1080p settings scales beautifully, and watching high quality 1080p movies (25GB MKV files) scaled perfectly. Absolutely no sharpness issues or grainy visuals compared to a 17-inch 1080p IPS panel right next to it playing the exact same video/game – but as expected the colour was a bit more vibrant on the IPS panel (but only a bit). So how is the scaling from 1080p content on the UHD IPS panel? Should I expect a similar quality of scaling as I saw with the QHD screen, or maybe even better?

Q4: I will exclusively be using my 17 R4 for gaming. I have other devices suited better for all other tasks, so close to 0 browsing or video watching. 90% of my game time is spent on strategy games like Total War and Civilization. Every now and then I will play single player games like Witcher, Diablo, Assassins creed, WoW (Yes, single player wow, quest/story-mode – no raiding). On very rare occasions I might play dota, but never online FPS-games. Is it silly to get the QHD TN panel for my kind of use? Are there other aspects with the IPS I haven’t noticed that make one or the other panel type more compelling for my needs?

Q5: I plan on getting the graphics amplifier, and will probably get a high end desktop GPU in 3 or 4 years if this laptop is still running smooth. Will the UHD or the QHD be most impressive for single player games in the future?

Cheers

 

@zeverus

As far as I know Graphics Amplifier can't fully utilise today top GPU, imagine next gen...
If you plan to upgrade GPU go with MXM...

 

amplifier is a no go, srsly better buy new laptop again then to go that route.. u will waste like 1000$ on whole amplifier setup and on end of the road the GPU in it wont even use its full potentional, more likely 50% or less..go watch videos and benchmarks about it, it aint worth it imho... atm is not good time for gaming laptops, not even 1 perform well in terms of thermals and performance, they usualy lack one of this 2 or both.. i still dont see laptop with 1080 in it with temps in high 60's and low 70's and CPU too. i wanted to get msi gt83 but gaved up, that thing is nuclear reactor, it has raw performance on 1080p (no gsync) with 1080 sli BUT its thermals are scarry, high 80's and even 90's on both CPU and GPU's and that thing has like best cooling of all of this ''gaming'' laptop line.

 

Mine is 58-62 on the GPU and 68-72 on the CPU with a 7820hk at stock....others have managed to get them even lower. It isn't that they can't do it, it's that poor quality paste and monkey's putting them together are making it difficult to get them to where they need to be. If you want to put in the effort you can get the temps more then within reason, but not everyone wants to do that and that is also understandable.

 

i could imagine MAYBE those temps if u put LM and u have extra cooler under laptop, why on earth would i pay like +2k$ and have to take mashine apart to make it run properly? its a no brainer. what laptop are you using? and in what games/settings u have those temps? what resolution, vsync on or off? u cant just put up i run in 70-60 np. u might run but in some light loads.

 

No liquid metal, I use Kryonaught as I didn't have good luck with the LM. People with LM jobs have better temps then I do. Games I run mostly are ARK, BF1, some Witcher 3, Overwatch. QHD, max settings, vsync off. I do have my laptop elevated by either a Cooler Master U3 or silicone feet when I am at work as I don't like carrying the cooling pad around. No your probably not going to get those temps stock, but that does not mean they are unobtainable. I understand that people don't want to take their laptops apart. Also the flip side is , even with a perfect paste job EVENTUALLY the stock paste is going to break down and need to be changed either way so I am just getting better stuff in there now and not needing to worry about it as soon down the road but I agree you shouldn't have to repaste out of the box.

 

ok in those games ur gpu runs really cool for laptop, i remmember on my old aw 18 with 880m sli, if i gaved laptop enough breathing space underneth, gpu's would max out on 72c on crysis 3,metro ll. cpu was always cool for some reason, never above 65c on loads ingames, it really never hit 70c. i7 4710mq. i really loved those temps on that laptop just 880m was a deal breaker xD

this temps were without repasting, i imagine if i put arctic silver or some really good paste i could have get even better temps, maybe.. cause aw 18 had really crappy fan tables, u couldnt controll em and stage 3 fire up when u reach 70c.

 

Thanks,

OK, So graphics amp is out of the question. Thanks for warning! Then it probably makes sense to get the GTX 1080. After a good repaste and putting in new thermal pads, is there a big thermal output difference between the 1070 and 1080?

 

in discription u have timestamps about cooling, temps, etc

GPU was cool but CPU hot hot probably cause CPU and GPU share heat pipes and i hate to see that.

 

Does anyone know what the serial numbers start with for the Alienware 17r4 with 7820hk 1080 motherboards 2nd revision?

I ask the question because Alienware support have advised that replacement motherboards due to heat issues and uneven core diffs should be replaced with 2nd revision motherboard and I want to check if the replacement motherboard is in indeed a 2nd revision...

To check the motherboard serial number I used command prompt - wmic

Can anyone who has bought an Alienware 17 gtx1080 7820hk from October onwards check their serial number ...? Also be interested in the version no AUxx

 

this is the first time i heard about replacing motherboard to resolve cpu core temperature differential issue. can you share more details and shed more light on this? or perhaps the transcript from the alienware tech support

 

those guys on phone are idiots, they try to resolve problem, when its not working their last meassure is, change motherboard, if thats not working, then change everything, if even that is not working then u can choose to return laptop. i had good guy on phone when i had my aw18 issues, he tryed with GPU replacing, when it didnt work, he said ok if u want u can send it back and we give u money back. plain and simple allthrough whole process lasted like 3 weeks till the card came from freakin china..

 

The motherboard has the cpu and gpu on.. core diff is caused my a) motherboard and or b) heatsink .. in the main...

 

They have already offered me money back for a system I bought in August. However I take my hat off to alienware they have been very helpful - I’d rather fix it given the price I got it for from the outlett. They offered a replacement motherboard and heatsink - but wanted me to wait for a 2nd revision was available...and I want to see if there is a way of checking the revision I got was a 2nd revision ..

For now I’m sticking with this, I don’t see any point in buying a new or 1 off the outlett now as the Alienware 17r5 will likely be announced soon ... maybe at ces ... then we can all move on from this tripod heatsink debacle

 

why dont u return it? wait for new r5 model with basicly 6 core 12 threads CPU.. u cant be more happy then with cpu like that. i would do it.

about em being helpfull, yeah, i had to rate the guy i spoke to, basicly fill up bunch of stupid things about how it all went and give him grades lol. i didnt wanna do it but they were bugging me till i did xDD

 

I tried to find info about new Alienware laptops for 2018, but cant find anything any where. Do you have any info about the new models roughly release date?

 

I have seen the Alienware QHD next to a Clevo FHD 60hz IPS, and the QHD looks great, but as expected colour is a bit more vibrat on the IPS, but only a little bit!

I will exclusively be using my 17 R4 for gaming, and 90% of my game time is spent on strategy games like Total War and Civilization. Every now and then I will play single player games like Witcher, Diablo, Assassins creed, WoW - no raiding. On very rare occasions I might play dota, but never online FPS-games.

Is it better to get the IPS panel instead of the QHD TN panel for my kind of use?

 

well no1 knows the release date, but i guess it wont be long since 8 gen on desktop is out for a while.. now main question is, should you wait for new line of GPU's or not? xD but that could last a bit if you decide to wait.

about TN or IPS pannels idk what to tell you, IPS pannel on my alienware 18 was always putting preassure on my eyes for some reason, i felt it but screen quality was top notch, i enjoyed it. if you care for refresh rate of pixels then you would go for TN (if u play fps games like cs:go or simmlar), TN's refresh rates are down to 1ms which is basicly instant. i dont care at all about refresh speeds so idk what to tell you. i went for dekstop pc now and picked TN pannel so i gonna see how that gonna suit my eyes i picked asus rog pg278qr

 

Last year (2017) - dell released the kaby lake revisions just after ces (3rd week jan)- however kaby lake is really skylake badged with higher clocks and 4k support really - so very easy to implement. Coffee Lake although still 14n process may require changes to the motherboard, which would not be a bad thing in the case of fixing the tripod heatsink design. I suspect heat will still be an issue with coffe lake given the extra cores on the unlocked Mobile i9 8950hk so would need a revision.

Prior to kaby lake was skylake which was implemented in September 15 (revision r3).

Dell may choose to wait for nvidia Volta, but maybe nvidia may annouce Volta release date at ces ..? We will know in a weeks time re nvidia, but I reckon it be March/April before Volta is available.

Ideally id like a revision asap as I never liked the look of the r4 compared to r2/r3 and while it’s sturdy they messed up with heatsink design and those rear exhaust fans imo. Nice 4k and or qhd ips semi glossy panel be nice option too rather than anti glare all the time...

 

Ohh crap. I got a 20% voucher for alienware that runs out on January 15'th. I might be able to get it prolonged, but probably no longer than the end of January. Would love to see something even more powerfull. Could it be that my voucher runs out January 15'th because they are bringing new items to the table on the 16th?

 

I’d hold fire and see what leaks come out - we will know more come this Sunday. I’m pretty sure msi along with some other manufacturers will have coffeelake i7 Mobile laptops ready to ship by end of January - maybe alienware too

 

i would wait even when they get new CPU's out, who knows what kind of flaws they might get, look aw17 issues with thermals at start and this tripod thing they tested, dont forget PSU issue as well.

 

Ah yes the psu with the gtx980m and haswell that was the a17 r2 ... to be fair they sent me a psu so that was easily fixed unlike the heat issue of the r4. It won’t stop me buying an r5 early on thou

 

dont mind video name, just hear what he thinks when new 11 series is coming out and what this dirty miners are doin.

 

And why are you sure TRIPOD don't follow next model? Bigger BGA package mean only less space on MB for the missing 4th leg. And more and more laptops use less than 4 screws for the cpu part of HS nowadays. Biggest possible batteries will come as nr.1 Thinner chassis means the battery's footprint has to be big. Hence the need for use of smaller MB.

 

I wouldn't go that far and completely discount it. Read some reviews and make the decision that works for you. I picked up an AGA few months ago for about $90 during a Dell sale plus points I'd accumulated from buying my AW and other stuff. A few years from now when this mobile 1080 becomes underpowered I'll be able to pick up a notably faster desktop card for $500 or so and extend the life of the laptop another couple years. That beats spending 3 grand on an entirely new laptop in my book.

 

The result of testing this modified cooling system (7820 + 1080 all the default settings, thermal grease - noname from China)

 

Did you see a reduction in temperature?

 

Is this with the "modded" HS assembly? What were your temps before?

 

so got a refurb 17 r4, Its in perfect condition, nothing wrong with it, no glow or light bleed, gaming its around 75c with a stable 125 mv undervolt. I do notice twice so far, given I have had the laptop for about 5 hours, when I alt-tab a weird red tint is on everything with white squares, at first I thought the GPU was fried and I restarted and it was normal. Second time I alt-tab and it did it, I let it sit, and the screen refreshed after 5-10 seconds and went back to normal. Temps were in the 70s on both the cpu and gpu and it went back to gaming normal. Is this a hardware failure? It kinda seems like a driver issue where it would crash and restart. When I get home I am going to do a clean install of the driver and see whats up.


https://imgur.com/a/Ex7xB

 

This is a review of one of the buyers of this cooling system in the Chinese forum. Before its replacement, the temperatures exceeded 85+. Unfortunately, I do not have more detailed information. But I do not see any difference with the official cooling system + liquid metal / quality thermal paste.

 

It looks like a stock HS just without the paint.
Where are they getting the 198W number from?

 

Sure looks like GPU artifacts...

 

The video card is dying. Return money or change your laptop

 

I iniated a return, I’m just going to wait till next gen with Volta and a cooler cpu

 

Or check some CLEVO resellers like P775 can go with desktop Coffee Lake and MXM GPU...

 

I had a replacement motherboard today my temps are great for stock paste (71c gtx1080) and 75c 7820hk after playing ac origins after 40 mins. Origins really pushes the cpu so is a good test.

But ... I’ve noticed thermal throttling (at least according to intel extreme) on the cpu at 71-75c - no higher.. is this a software temp read error? I’ve not known the 7820hk throttle at 75c, usually on these it’s mid 90c before it should throttle. Bios is 1.1.9. same has I had on my previous mobo, so this throttling isn’t something dell have implemented at bios level. I’ve attached an image.

Anyone know or experienced thermal throttling of their 7820hk at around 75c?

 

I'm still very curious about this, and I bet I'm not the only one.
Has anyone had any experience with this? Anyone willing to dish 100$ to test it out?

I do not experience any TT at 75-78C but it may be throttling for a different reason other than core temp.
Power circuitry can be running too hot. VRMs and Chokes are known to suffer in the 17 R4 if the heatsink isn't making perfect contact.
It might be a software error but I suspect you need a repad.

 

Hi guys,

sorry to interject but I picked up a Alienware 17 R4 used for a crazy good price, but I'm having some problems and not sure if the laptop is broken (hence getting it for a crazy good price) or if it's something I can solve...

Basically when I play Crysis 3 or DmC Devil May Cry which are old games at this point I'm having weird problems where the games seem to drop down to crazy low frame rates and then bounce back up constantly leaving the games unplayable. Other games seem fine - I don't have any new releases because I've been out the gaming loop for a while, but games like Witcher 3 and Metro 2033 seem absolutely fine and dont suffer from this stuttering...

Also is there any benchmark tools that would be recommended to check my system is working correctly?

specs are:

Alienware 17 R4 QHD 120Hz
6820HK (stock, latest bios)
16GB DDR4
GTX 1080
256 PCIe + 2TB 7200

Thanks very much

 

How good was this crazy good price?

Also, have you installled HWmonitor or HWinfo to see what your temps are? Have you done a clean install of the OS, etc?

 

Hi mate, I wouldn't like to say lol, incase it's a brick! Just installed HWmonitor as you suggested all temps seem in the 50c - I've done a fresh windows install updated the bios from the dell website, installled nvidia driver 388.71 and that's about it...

 

Honestly I don't know why then. Because I would assume Witcher 3 is more stressful than the other games you mentioned and that's running fine right?

 

Actually now that I've played it some more it also has mad dips down to 20-30 and then back up. On an interesting note I did a fresh driver install over the previous drivers and that has seemed to fix DmC but Crysis 3 is still crashing... I notice that CPU temps are going to 100c do I need a repaste?

Guess I really need to try something modern too, what would you recommend for test purposes?

Thanks.

 

Good old TT...check heat sinks...repaste in the process

 

As Nedooo says above it's thermal throttling for sure. In other words, your laptop is overheating, then slowing itself down in an attempt to cool itself, then speeding back up when things are below the throttle threshold. (The cycle just keeps repeating like this unless temps change.)

I had a GL503VS from Asus do the same thing before I returned it and bought an AW17 R4. Was running ok, then after 20 mins, everything would dip to around 40fps, then go back higher, then lower again, etc.

 

Any word on issues/performance impact with BIOS 1.2.3? Dell is linking it as the Spectre patch it looks like.