*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

The specs really are quite mediocre.

686:1 contrast ratio
0.5 black level
55% AdobeRGB, 84% sRGB

Unacceptable in 2016. The color banding issue just pushes it to horrible.

Aorus, Alienware, and Clevo really should grab the 1080p panel MSI is using, if they must have a 17.3" 120Hz panel.

 

If you mainly use an external monitor for "serious work" and just want an ok built in screen for web browsing and some light office work, would it then be good enough? I mainly dislike the "muddy" look of the matte 4k screen in the AW15 and prefer sharp text even if it is a bit "blocky"

Sent from my ASUS_A001 using Tapatalk

 

I got the 120 because it's bright, has fast refresh, gsync and I think 1440 is the perfect resolution. When I'm at home I will hook it up to a good IPS panel. I'm hoping some of the high refresh IPs panels go on sale for black Friday as well I'd love to pick one up.

 

I had the 4K on the r3 (very similar panel)
I had the QHD r4

If you thought the 4K was muddy your going to hate the QHD trust me

 

what screen would you recommend for the 17R4? What did you think of the 4K screen on the R3?

seems that way

 

Thing is, I don't use an external monitor. I use sole my laptop. Getting a monitor means also getting a separate keyboard and a laptop stand. Just seems like quite a hassle just because I don't like the screen of the laptop. Because I rarely do serious work on my laptop, and even then even though multiple monitors is very helpful for programming, 1 is also enough. At my work I have a separate laptop and a separate monitor. And outside of my work it's mainly using my laptop for entertainment.

Also The most I paid for my laptop never exceeded the price of 1700€ so far. This is the first time I'm going for a little luxury. Buying the AW 17 as it is with the GTX 1080 and Qhd screen (+ discount from my work place) I end up at 2800€
Paying that much you expect everything to be exactly like you want, especially when you know the same laptop offers different configurations with better options. Yet not the exact combination you want.

 

they'd better offer the 1080 with 4K soon for the 17R4 or they will lose sales

 

Just to avoid any confusion here, I don't think that 4K screens in general are muddy (although you could argue how practical they are on a small laptop screen) but the 4K in my current Dell 15 R3 is just worse than a matte 4K normally is. Seems amazing that there seem to be no good LCD panel options for these computers (probably with the exception of the OLED for the 13" but that is to small for me), even if you like me are ready to spend money to get the best possible.

 

Should be on the 21/11 AW_Umar said on twitter that the
UK site had gone live "a bit early" and that's why all the options are not yet available

So it's coming on 21st

Have not seen the 1080p ips in the flesh but heard good things

I would go 4K myself or 1080 if you could live with the lower res
The 4K looks great and text and general windows use is super sharp, except chrome always looked a bit sh1t to be honest not sure why that was

For me it would depend on a few variables if I was just using the laptop screen then

1070 - 1080P IPS
1080 - 4K

External monitor and occasional laptop

1070 - 1080P & AGA plus desktop card
1080 - I wouldn't waste my money personally

 

Thank you sir, thank you!! Finally some good news!

 

https://twitter.com/Blessf11/status/798605115980529665

umar didn't really confirm anything

 

Sorry my bad it was @Alienware themselves that alluded to the fact that they hadn't released all options

https://twitter.com/alienware/status/798611176393306112

 

thanks, its also interesting they straight off recommend the TN qhd over the 4K.

 

while im waiting for the 1080 model i might just end up with a 1070 anyways, i only have $3000 to spend and based on the price in the uk and sweeden for their 1080 models its way over $3000.


hopefully the 10% off + $200 discount wont expire by the 21st :/ and idk if you guys noticed but ETA for these models is christmas.

yeah i saw that, but the gtx 1080 with the Qhd screen is already overpriced as it is compared to sager/msi/aorus's gtx 1080 models

 

I might be the exception on the AW 17 1080p IPS screen ... but it's right up there with the best IPS desktop screens/panels I've used. I'm not sure if it's the smaller laptop screen but text and everything just looks impossibly crisp and solid.

Colors are ridiculous, contrast and "pop" is through the roof. I simply won't be able to go back to a TN laptop after this screen. No clouding, no backlight bleed. I've wasted five hours over the past weekend just browsing high res storm cloud images for use as a background LMFAO!! True story...

And when overclocked to 100hz? It's about as much fun as I can imagine having when gaming on a laptop screen. Then again, I lean towards max quality in game first and then try and eek out as much high refresh rate and FPS as I can get while maintaining that standard of quality ... Witcher 3 running Ultra at 100+ FPS is just fine for me ... even with the IPS screens not so great response times ... the 100hz refresh rate totally makes up for it ...

...

re: 4K vs 1080p on a laptop?

I'm personally staying with 1080p ... it's plenty for me when dealing with what I consider, still, a *tiny* computer screen (I have 48" 4K Samsung TV and 27" 1440p gaming screen at home... 4K just seems so "crammed in there" on a laptop (I tested a late model Dell 4K office laptop for a while a few months ago) ...

...

 

Exactly this

No way I'd pay all that money to play on a gtx 1080 laptop, the 1070 / 1080P ips would me my choice now having seen the QHD spot on explanation.

 

s1rrah, thanks for your input on the 1080p IPS, this is the kind of feedback most useful for those undecided. Seems like they don't have a configuration of that panel with the 6820hk though, at least in europe.

 

damn look at the us prices now, big difference.

gtx 1060 1080p/8gb/1tb hdd [$1,449.99]
gtx 1060 1080p/16gb/128gb + 1tb hdd [$1,499.99]
gtx 1070 Qhd/16gb/128gb+1tb hdd [$1,999.99]
gtx 1070 Uhd/16gb/256gb+1tb hdd [$2,149.99]
gtx 1070 Uhd/32gb/512gb+1tb hdd w/6820hk [$2,399.99]

add any discount/promos you have and you could probably get the base model for $1300 with tax and shipping

 

do you mean that the prices dropped today? And by how much

 

to be honest im not sure if they actually dropped, since they keep messing with the prices (ex: theyll say its $1549.99 - $100 discount then they'll change it to $1649.99 - -$200)

ive had my eye on the most expensive one, which was $2799.99 + the 10% off promo and today its $2399.99 but idk if they took the 10% promo away

 

I fully second your feelings. I have the BB 2727 model with the 1080P (not sure if there is variety in the 1080, but it is an LG /Philips made panel), and i was immediately blown away by the screen. Is is very sharp, with excellent viewing angles and color rendition (to my untrained eye.. i would love to find the real specs to see just how much gamut it has). Likewise, no bleed makes it great for games (currently trying out The Division again.... ehh..). Ironically, i just replaced a Razor Stealth 4k; and sure, while the pixels here are much bigger, it compares in every other way, and i have no regrets at all..

I will put on my ignorant hat for a second.. any advise on how you got the panel to 100hz? I have seen lots of old guides referencing things like powerstrip, etc, but i am curious what the modern approach is.
EDIT: Nevermind - found your nicely written mini guide here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...16-owners-lounge.797457/page-36#post-10380317
Thanks!

 

The prices did drop but they've deactivated all the 10% off coupons I had, including the military discount. I just built the exact same machine I ordered last week and it is $179 more today than I paid last week. It seems they are switching from high prices with coupons to an instant discount which isn't as good as the coupon deal.

Maybe a rep can apply additional discounts but the self service prices seem to be a net increase.

 

Hello All!

I am in the UK and use the British Dell Store.

I just ordered the Alienware 17 R4 with the brand new 1080, all top spec, through the website, but noticed something out of the ordinary.

For the screen option, the ONLY one available, is the 17.3 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) 120Hz TN Anti-Glare 400-nits NVIDIA G-SYNC enabled w/Tobii Eye-tracking. Cant select any other.

But lower models of the 17 with the 1060 and 1070 have a higher option of 17.3 inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display with Tobii IR Eye-tracking (Which i presume is the 4k option?)

Is there any reason for this, or do you think this is a technical oversight on the website? I have been trying to talk to Dell Customer support 3 times now in order to upgrade my order to the 4K screen, but none of the dudes there seem to know.

Anyone here can advise anything?

Thank you in advance,

Warm Regards,

Vas.

 

Vas, that is my dream machine. And to answer your question, I think it might be a technical oversight. Alienware on Twitter stated the GTX 1080 unit went live a little early and doesn't have complete options available yet. Gaahhhh I want this machine to be perfect. Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut and my toolkit has already arrived.

 

Alienware said on Twitter yesterday that the U.K. site released too early and there will be more configs available on the official 11/21 date

 

Thank you very much for that update guys! I will call Dell up and cancel the Order, and await for monday next week.

Warm Regards,

Vas

 

No worries ... but I can't reiterate enough that the panel lotto on these is just like any other monitor/panel lotto ... some users are going to get cherry screens and others might have backlight bleed or worse ... but among IPS screens (I've owned/own a few) ... this one is bangin' ..

Best,
joel

 

there's no active 10% codes right now. Some models were cheaper with it than now.

they're really trying to push out those 6700's though.... much better savings with those versions.

 

Are you still on default installation of Windows? When I reinstalled Windows I noticed the colors did not pop as much any more making me believe that Dell perhaps boosted the settings a bit as well in their installation. Thats not to say that the 1080 isnt a good screen, I have no idea, but mainly the negative feedback seem to be about the QHD and the 4K

First Trump and now a TN screen with excellent viewing angles? What are the world commng to?

 

Except it is an IPS panel.. so....

 

Ah, I see

 

I always manually calibrate. I've re installed Windows 3 times in the past week ... LOL as I can't decide what SSD's I want to use ... but colors could certainly seem different after a re install but it would most certainly have to do with a software profile (.ICC or otherwise). Also, various programs like Adobe Photoshop will sneak in their own gamma adjustments at startup if your not careful.

After re install? Either calibrate with some decent calibration hardware or simply go through the super simple but decently effective, Win 10 Display Calibration app.

Here's a pretty decent guide; this uses nothing but tools built in to Windows so you should def try it: http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/calibrate-monitor-windows-10

...

 

you could just save your profile to a usb, so each time you reinstall you just use your usb stick

found out what deal is
umar: UK had a unique opportunity to launch early and we encouraged it. NA launch is during thanksgiving week.


not sure how i feel about that as a NA resident

 

Just a few general observations over the past week as I've re configured my system two or three time (3 different clean installs) ...

I suspect either the Alienware software (Command Center, AlienFX, etc.) or the Killer Network Software (not the driver but the associated software suite from Killer) ... might have been causing me general operating system sluggishness and other weird behavior like taking over a minute to shutdown or annoyingly hanging up when doing simple things like right clicking the Recycle Bin to empty it ...etc. ... just lots of strange hangups and freezes that were seriously bugging me after coming from a Win 7 machine that's worked flawlessly over the past 2 years.

The first two clean installs, I consistently encountered these random issues at the OS level and when just generally interacting with the system. On the second clean OS install, the hangups got so bad I couldn't even use the machine.

On the 3rd clean install, I did not install any of the Alienware software or any of the available Killer Network software suite available at the Dell site (thankfully, my lighting preferences were saved to the hardware level because all that is the same, even without re installing the Alienware softs.). And the system currently is running 100% better and completely hiccup free.

Again, the only thing that changed was not installing any of the Dell softs (Dell Foundation Serv, etc.) ... any of the Alienware softs (command center, etc.) or any of the Killer Software. BTW: when clean installing Windows 10? The necessary drivers to make the Killer network wifi/ethernet will install just fine and are listed appropriately in Device Manager (I'm assuming these are just Microsoft provided drivers on the Win 10 DVD).

Otherwise? If it's the Alienware softs, then I'd expect them to iron out the kinks eventually ... I'm personally not put off even a little bit at not having access to the AlienFX as I only use Keyboard back lighting anyway. The Killer Software Suite doesn't mean anything to me either as long as the MS drivers are functioning fine. I remember having MAJOR issues with the Killer Software on my MSI GS70 as well ... and as with this install on the AW, I simply disabled the Killer Software/Services manually and left the drivers.

So just some notes on the chance anybody might be having the same sort of software/OS issues.

...

PSA?? : all of the above could be totally wrong and it might have been something else entirely; I *was* pulling drives out and putting them in and pulling them out and putting new ones in ... and ... so who knows.

Just didn't want to bum anybodies stoke on their in transit rigs ...

 

See my post. There is something wrong with the Killer software. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...16-owners-lounge.797457/page-10#post-10373366

 

Thanks. Yes, I remember that post...

BTW: I too am still curious if anybody has found a way to manually control the fans on the AW17? I know about the bios settings but I'm looking for something software based and that can be used from within the operating system ...

 

Are all the display options for the 17 R4 and 15 R3 matte displays? Currently have the 15 R3 with 4K screen and its really grainy/muddy, more so than matte screens usually are. Is the 17 R4 4K display the same brand and model or at least similar to the one on the 15 R3?

I've asked that several times in the 15 R3 thread, so far no usable answers unfortunately. Can't even find a way to monitor the fans.

 

matte

15 4K is LQ156D1JW04 (25ms, 60hz, 90%-ish sRGB)

17 4K is (I believe) B173ZAN01.0 (25ms, 60hz, 95-100% Adobe RGB)



@improwise - can use HWInfo but the max speed will be lower than what is allowed on the bios

 

On the AW 17 1080p IPS panel? I can't really see the anti glare coating (grain) at all ... in fact, it reminds me of the coating on my Acer XBU270HU IPS desktop screen which is more so what I would call "slightly glossy" more than full anti glare.

The coating on my Asus TN panel that I'm using at work right now looks noticeably grainy compared to the AW 17 IPS. I like the light coating on the AW as it doesn't detract from the color/contrast nearly as much ... this is probably a decision made by LG (panel manufacturer) rather than Dell ... but I'm not sure ... I like it, though ...

 

Yes, I am thinking of downgrading to a FHD panel, either on a new AW17 R4 or a new AW15 R3. 4K on something as small as a 17" or even 15" is just silly really although Dell makes it even more silly by not allowing free selection of components.

 

I bought the FHD screen as well. The QHD was tempting, but I think the FHD will hold out longer in the highest setting when it comes to gaming.

 

What about brightness with the FHD? Is it enough? I am a bit of a sucker for brightness and a vibrant image but the QHD seems scary with all its problems.

Sent from my ASUS_A001 using Tapatalk

 

I'm not sure, I bought mine yesterday. I'll report back when I receive mine

 

I find the 1080p IPS panel to be what I would consider "very bright" ... it actually hurts my eyes at times, depending on ambient lighting. I'm not sure what the rated NITs are but it's def the brightest laptop panel I've ever owned. It's dramatically brighter than my MSI GS70 TN panel.

 

I originally wanted the AW15 because of the size and weight but I have been offered an AW17 i7-6700hq, 16gb memory, 256gb SSD, gtx 1060, IPS display and 3 year warranty for just £1500. Thoughts? I'm pretty sure the price is nice but the size and weight are discouraging. The shop does not currently offer the AW15..

 

They're both big to be honest the 17 is not that much bigger

 

And for the low/close pricedifferences here in the US I would go for the 17.

 

Does not fit.

 

this launch isnt going very well for dell uk.
only tn panel with 1080 because 1) its only available with the 6820hk 2) which in only compatible with g sync mobos

 

So I have a comparison I'd like to ask about. I have this desktop:

- i7 4770k
- 16gb RAM
- Samsung SSD
- GTX 1070

When comparing it to this Alienware

- i7 6770HQ
- 16gb RAM
- SSD
- Amplifier w/ the 1070

How much of a "real world" difference is there going to be between these two when playing games at 3440 x 1440? I don't absolutely "max" out everything, I tend to turn down AA and turn things like DoF and Motion Blur off. The desktop above tends to run everything really well, I imagine the laptop would do the same, correct? I don't doubt that the desktop would provide slightly better performance, but in real world performance would they really be all that much different? Are we talking like a 5-7% difference?