*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

Switch between igp and graphic card. I'm sure that your laptop run on your Intel graphic card

Fn F7 or something like that to switch

 

When I press Fn+F7 it says Not supported with GSYNC LCD panel

 

And indeed it isn't.

 

If you try to install a new time Dell nvidia driver is it ok ?

 

Same here for both the notebook and desktop versions for the 1070

 

The dell nvidia drivers installs fine without any problem

 

Well...Looks like the Dec 2nd delivery date is not possible. My status just updated to 12/5/2016. The whole major shipment from overseas being delivered stateside on the 2nd of December is holding some truth in there. Seems like nothing on this laptop is really made in the USA at all. Just drop-shipping from an overseas production house. That's really disappointing.

 

Hmm. Yes, it is. Sounds like our laptops may be "complete" per Dell's website, just overseas. Greaaattttt. These better be flawless*.

*my definition of flawless includes my own repasting and potential heatsink bending as I consider them not too time-consuming to make the notebook shine, a la iunlock.

 

Idk why mine hasnt updated it still says december 2nd. I called dell and went on there live chat to see if i could get a real date and was told the 6th by chat and the 7th by phone.

 

Mine didn't update till a couple hours ago. Seems like status updates are coming based on when the laptop was ordered. Mine was on the 22nd about 12 hours later than the user who 1st reported the delay who purchased on the 21st.

Could easily be a delay in shipping from china to the ports in Mexico or west coast. Have a suspicious there is no testing done stateside prior to shipping. They're most likely tested by the build house and then packaged for sale. So we're all just waiting for the large pallets of these to hit the major distribution points stateside before being individually shipped to the final destination.

 

I ordered 17 R4 with 1080 on the 21st around 2:30pm PST. DELL site says my status is still confirmed but in the small writing it says my order is complete and has shipped. it also shows the tracking number for FedEx. FedEx shows the shipping label has been generated but hasn't picked up yet but estimated dilivery is 12/02. I'm hopeful but we will see

 

That's a good sign. You migh be a lucky early adopter. Now for more reinforcement, does your order allow to request for a cancellation? If not then your order is almost ready to set sail.

 

Make sense i ordered 2 days after you. So ill probably get a updated estimate tomorrow.

 

At this time it won't let me request a cancellation. Overall this seems a lot faster then my last laptop order in 2011 for a m17x R3. I vaguely remember it taking a month or so

 

yes Dell has definitely streamlined ("Mainstreamed") their enthusiast line; some good some bad. Those notebooks from 2011 were really of fantastic quality. Looks like you ordered just a few hours before me and hopefully in your case that makes the difference. It's looking like you may be the only one on the forums getting the 1080 early. Please let us know your progress!

 

Looking into a AW17 mostly for the AGA.

17.3" UHD
i7-6820HK
4K Screen
16GB RAM
512 SSD + 1TB HDD
Killer 1435 WIFI + BT
$2204.99, with tax it's $2330.15

I found $50 off, but I was wondering if there's like 10% coupons or $X off if you spend over 1000/2000.

Other than coupon knowledge, does anyone have any hardware suggestions or notable things before I make the purchase?

 

I'm freaking exited but yes I'll definitely post with updates

 

where do people see what stage of production their laptop is?

 

click on your dell purchase ID number in the bottom right.

 

well then thats weird.
they have withdrawn the funds from bank already
the laptop is complete (i didnt change anything so thats prbly why)
and the sales agent who created my order gave me next day shipping so im not sure what the delay is

 

Yeah i would take that with a grain of salt to be honest. I ordered mine on the 24th and its said order complete since the 25th, was supposed to be here on the 1st yet i called yesterday and they told me it was still being built and wouldnt be to me till the 6th. Your probably better off to call them to find out whats actually going on.

 

Hi everyone,

Just got my Alienware 17 R4 with UHD display today (Sharp). Everything else seems to be good so far apart from the UHD screen.

The UHD display seems to be showing everything really warm, saturated with a reddish tint. I have tried a couple of Colour profiles (adobe and one I found online for R3) ICC by adding them in Colour management settings but no luck screen remains the same.

My FHD Display on the 17 R3 seems way better than this UHD at the moment until I find a solution.

any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Decided to check one more time before bed. Dell's site has updated to show mine as shipped. FedEx has picked it up and shows scheduled delivery of my 17 R4 with 1080 on Dec 5th

 

What about temp peak on CPU for new users of AW17 + GTX1080
Everyone have the problem or not ?

 

I ran another firestrike and made sure that G-Sync was off, I remember doing this the first run as well. And I still get 14429. When I have time, probably in about a week orso, I'll try to repaste it. I think this is really a necessitate.

In the 'old days' when I repasted the cpu, I used something like a creditcard and spread it across the chip. Here in the forum you say I need a 'dab'. So do I need to put a thick drop of the stuff on it and let it spread by pressing the heatsink on it?

Would this suffice?
Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound

Yes, unfortunately this problem remains.

I'd like to do some fps tests, can I just use Fraps or do you guys recommend another program?

 

nPulse, benchmarks will improve with re-pasting and overclocking, are you happy overall with the laptop?

 

to everyone waiting for their an aw17. Mine (replacement machine) is in preproduction (france) for 4 days. Dell tell me they are out of stock.
Config :
6820hk
1070
UHD
16Go 2400
256SSD

 

Which part is out of stock?

 

they don't tell me the part

But if a lot of people are waiting for the new gtx1080, I think it is the CPU 6820HK ...

 

Are you from the US? What date did you order yours?

I think for the people waiting for the 1080, its the 1440p screen thats delaying everything. I read alienware found new screens that fix the banding issues.

 

ok so I don't know witch part is late for mine

 

Nope. Alienware said on twitter today that they claim the banding issues are a small percentage and they will replace screens affected but there's no new model.

It's probably the HK motherboards.

 

I run mine in dedicated Nvidia GPU mode ... I use both the laptop screen and an external monitor (via displayport) at the same time ... I have never seen the Intel GPU Panel icon in the tray when running this way. Only when I switch out of dedicated Nvidia mode do I see the Intel icon in the tray ...

 

AFAIK the Intel GPU is disabled once you plug in an external monitor. Or always if having a GSYNC model.

 

I'm in the US and I ordered mine on the 21st

 

I found out the other day that the Thunderbolt 3 port is connected to the Intel GPU. So any kind of device connected to that port (dock, USB-C video output, etc) will use the Intel GPU, even in dedicated graphics mode. There is a chance that the QHD panel is wired differently, because I am pretty sure that the HD530 was not in the device manager.

 

I ordered a AW 17 with the 1080 and it has also shipped and has been picked up the carrier (FedEX). So it's on the way!! I have overnight shipping. The expected delivery date is tomorrow (12/2). I think it is because I paid for express (Maybe that is why hennessys's wont be delivered until the 5th. At least you know they are now shipping (From CA apparently).

I plan to repaste as soon as I get it and will try to remember to post a picture of the heatsink, if someone else doesnt before me. G'luck.

 

Glad to hear yours shipped. Maybe i will have some luck and mine will be sent out today too. Everyone else seemed to get updated shipping times with the 5th, but mine still says the 2nd.

 

Awesome. Yeah I forgot to request the express shipping when I was on the phone with them. fedex tracking is weird it says it could be here by the 3rd but 5th is scheduled.

 

Mine shipped out, but says its not going to be here till monday. So much for it being the 2nd.

EDIT: I called dell and said something about it, and they gave me $100 off the order. So anyone who still has the 2nd listed as there date, and its not going to show up till monday. It might be worth your time to call and say something.

 

I will be getting mine tomorrow. I am very concerned with the temperature issues that people are having. Can someone please point me in the right direction for what thermal paste or pads I need to purchase in order to re paste my machine? From the videos I was watching it does not look complicated to disassemble. Is thermal paste better than thermal pads?

 

WOO HOO!!! Shipped!!! Arriving Tomorrow via FedEx

Package Origin is MOUNT JULIET, TN USA. That's near Nashville IIRC. Since it's close to Memphis and Memphis is THE main 2nd air and 1 day air terminal for Fed Ex and I think UPS also has a presence there...next day AIR is what the expedited shipping is. NICE!!!!!

Package weighs 18 lbs / 8.16 kgs. Signature required. 16x9x13 in. (Not sure on metric sizing)

Samsung 950 Pro I have....Thermal compound and Pads...pads may come in tomorrow. The Grizzly won't show until Tuesday as of now...damn. I think I have some Gelid or Tuniq TX-2. Would hate to have to spend $40 in Thermal pads twice to get this re-paste/tear-down done.

Paste and Pads serve 2 different purposes. You'll need both to do a proper re-paste. Well....I'll caveat it like this: IF the pads are not destroyed during tear down, you could just need Paste for the GPU and CPU dies. BUT, there's some better more heat conducing pads vs stock that can help and it's one of those things that you just upgrade while in there.

Here's the pads and paste I just ordered off of Amazon...I didn't do much cross-shopping so there could be better pricing or vendor to use. But the shipping convenience and usually lowest price always steers me to Amazon.

Pads: (you'll need 1 of each thickness (0.5mm and 1.0mm), Paste and then this is always a good purchase to make: Artic Cleaning Solution.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZSJQDYA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZSJQLME/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Paste I chose: Grizzly Kryonaut:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011F7W3LU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ANNSJU9W28Y9J

Cleaning solutiuon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087X738E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You could use cheaper/different pads and paste. Gelid is an excellent choice. A little hard to spread but warm some water, put the tube in a zip lock bag, and let it sit in the warm/Hot water to soften the compound to make it easier to spread. (By Warm/Hot I mean no more than 150-160F/65-70C). Being that these are exposed dies with no metal heat spreader, you can't just put a bead in the center and squash it. You'll want to spread a thicker than normal layer across the whole die to make sure it's making the best contact with the cold plate on the heatsink.

iunlock wrote up a nice re-paste thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5r3-disassembly-repaste-guide-results.797373/

 

Wow that was very informative thank you very much! I will order. Why do i need 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm?

 

i went through twitter, the chat, and phone. they each had a different story xD

chat disconnect on me because they were trying to deny that my laptop is built
twitter said there was a hold, to call finance
finance said there is no hold that its being built

i pushed finance, who kept trying to just shove me off to another department. they finally 3-wayed the Customer Care department where the guy said my delivery date is Dec 7 (my order page says dec 9-19).

btw the guy on the 3way was the same exact guy who had cancelled my order and was suppouse to call me the next day/never did (i didnt mention anything cos i dont want my order messed up again)


i swear dell is the worst. idk how you guys are able to do exchanges when its this hard just to get my order

 

2 different Z heights of the components under the thermal pads. Z height is just the tallness of the component or how high it protrudes from the base of the main board. The cold plate/heatsink assembly needs to maintain a certain overall height to be properly flat. The 2 main thermal pad areas cover the VRM modules/ power stage and the other covers the memory modules.

On the 1070 it's mainly 0.5 for the memory area and 1.0 for the VRM area. VRM are very controlled in manufacturing but the chokes not as much and placement can be just ever slightly off so they used a thicker pad in that slightly less critical area. Memory definitely gets hot and they are much more controllable so they are more precise and they can use a thinner thermal pad.

Now the 1080 is new though. Will need to verify no major changes in the design. I have some Artic thermal pad sheets I can use in case something isn't the same.

Will need to do a teardown and verify for everyone. Will also be sending my data and pics to iunlock for 2nd party verification and he can use that information to update his repaste thread.

 

Mine shipped today! It'll be here the 5th. Also, for the Dell thermal goop that needs cleaned up, how/what do you use to clean it off the chip surrounding the die? I see in iunlock's guide he has the electric tape over the chip parts surrounding the die. Should I use arcticlean on that (the green PCB part) too?

 

Thermal goop can be wiped off with a paper towel to get the bulk off there. You can use denatured alcohol to clean the surface. For the area around the CPU/ GPU dies, be careful being rough. Those 0202 surface mount components can be broken off. To clean, a q-tip with alcohol can be used. Let the alcohol sit for about 10 seconds and then clean it up.

That artic cleaning solution is a 2 part deal. Uses a slightly acidic formula like oranges to break down the compounds and then after the area is cleaned, the 2nd bottle is a neutralizer. Very good stuff. Really hard to mess up with that stuff. A couple drops is all you need. You'll see the clear liquid get cloudy as it's working.

As for the electrical tape, it's because he is using a liquid metal...aka the thermal compound IS very very conductive. He did that to prevent any of the liquid metal from touching and shorting out components. The very best thermal compound, but carries some risk.

For most users...an excellent paste should suffice. They have a high electrical resistance, but excellent thermal conductivity. Still don't want to just spread a crap ton with no care though. Pastes can still be capacitive. Only way that would happen is to just squeeze a tube of paste over the socket. Taking about 3-4 minutes to apply it right...no issues overall.

 

FYI, Mine (1080) shipped today as well. It will be here tomorrow.

 

NICE!!!

Here's a decent recent video about thermal compounds vs pads.

 

Thanks! And I plan on using Conductonaut for my repaste. So using arcticlean on the surface mount components won't be detrimental before i put the electrical tape on? I just didn't want that cleaner to eat through anything, haha.