*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

It means the guys at the warehouse saw your order, printed a label, stuck it on a box and tossed it into the hallway onto a stack of other laptops waiting to be shipped.

At this point, it is up to the Dell house-elf, James, to get your laptop from the hallway outside the warehouse to the shipping department. James is quite old, and rather forgetful, but also a very likeable fellow. But he can only carry one laptop at a time. And, he often stops to talk to the janitors and the guy that refills the vending machines in the break room. In fact, now that the election is over, you'll often find James in the break room chatting away with anyone who enters or no one at all (remember James is quite old and forgetful).

During the election, whenever a political ad ran on the break room TV, James would scowl, see the laptop box on the table beside him, and remember that he was supposed to take it to the shipping department. Back into the hall he went with the box and on his way to the nearest chimney with some floo powder in his pocket ready to take the box to the shipping department. So, during the election, it was not uncommon for laptops to be shipped within one or two weeks.

But, now that the election is over and we are well into the Holiday Season, James' side trips to the break room are a bit longer as he ends up watching reruns of Miracle on 37th Street and It's a Wonderful Life (his favorite) on A&E (remember there is a TV in the break room, and they have cable). And that stack of laptops in the hallway outside the warehouse just keeps getting bigger, which only gives James a headache. The poor guy could really use some help, but he's been the Dell house elf for decades now and he'll be d#$%ed if he'll let some young upstart intern interfere with his process.

At least, that's what I've been told

 

LMBO!!!!! Well done


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How many progress stages does yours show? Confirmed, Shipped, Delivered? If it only shows those three then "Your custom-built item is complete" just means that your order has been submitted for production. Some countries outside of the US show more info and actually show "in production" or something like that as one of the progress stages.

If you only have the three (Confirmed, Shipped, Delivered) then you'll have to contact customer support about order status to see if it's in production or not. That's what I had to do to get more information.

Don't be afraid to bother them. They can give you more details than your order progress screen can if you are limited to the three progress indications that I listed above.


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In France we can see stage 3 : "in pre production" and stage 4: "in production"

 

Aw no fair!!! Lol


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Mmmm...actually.... no it's not a waste of money. If you plan to run it stock out of box without doing anything to it then, yea...but you'll get that with any high end gaming laptop.

Have you seen my 1070 scores?

Muhahaha.... stay tuned. *tapping fingers together.*

Very nice! Looking forward to seeing some temps.

 

Email sent.

 

Sooo brothers I took the plunge and ordered an AW17 R4 6820HK / 1080 / QHD which at the time 10 days ago
had an estimated delivery date set to 16.12.2016 or earlier, however after being in Pre-Production status
ever since that day I contacted Dell CS today to check if there were any hold-ups.
Especially after reading about the due shortage of 1080's / possibly the screen earlier in this thread.

CS came back to me and said they had contacted the factory and got the following reply:

"order has been denied build, so it is currently not known when/if it will ship. Global Buyer Planner will investigate and decide if the order can be supported, but the investigation can take several days. Please come back in a few days and I will check the denied build report again"

Don't like the sound of this at all, has anyone in Europe (where I am located) had any similar response recently?

I believe they are manfactured at the factory in Limerick, Ireland over here, at least they are sent from there and my previous
AW's where shipped from there as well (and pretty fast at that).

I tried to set up the exact same spech today and basically at end of the order the availibility
was listed as "will be sent within 4-6 work days).
Ironically when i ordered 10 days ago this same status was at 8-12 work days so it has for whatever reason
been reduced when ordering, not matching up well with message I got from CS.

I informed the CS rep about this and he offered to cancel my order and have me setup a new order and I would have to
pay full price but would get refunded the added cost in order to receive the same discount I got during BF.

Can't see that being stuck at the end of the line again would be useful though, especially with this feedback from the factory
but CS was really not sure about any reason for this feedback from the factory other than having to wait for this "investigation.

o.o

 

My AW17 / 1080 shipped out today and arrives tomorrow - on the final day of my initial expected delivery date.

 

Several systems have shipped out today. Looks to be the 2nd wave for US customers.

::iunlock::

 

Ibuypower has the gt73vr on sale starting at 1799$ right now. Configure it with an Intel 600p 512gb SSD and a 1tb HDD for just a bit over 2k$.

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/MSI-GT73VR-Titan-Gaming-Laptop

 

I'm going to repaste with ic diamond that I have and always loved. Im really hoping it will get decent temp gains as I'd like to keep the system. It's much nicer aesthetically than my 18. I have no OC plans outside of running the 4.1ghz to make the cpu somewhat competitive so I'm hoping the repaste works. I took a bunch of pictures of the two machines and highlighted the differences but will have to upload later.

 

Congrats! Mine too actually. One day after my projected delivery though. Mine is shipping from Georgia. Is there a factory out there?

 

Congratulations to you too! Tomorrow is going to be a long day at work, and then I get to find out if it needs a repaste before it's even really usable.

 

I have been in a somewhat similar situation to yours, with my 13. I ordered on Nov 1st when it came out (after like 15 mins) and my delivery date was 28th. Well, on the 28th there was no delivery, except for an email saying my order was cancelled. No explanation, no nothing. 2 hours on the phone, being d**ked around with them passing me from Sales to Customer Care and I got no answers and no computer. The order also ate up my discount voucher and $120 of gift cards, all gone and not returned. They said I could re-order and the wait times would be far less (like for you) but in reality it has added 3 weeks to my initial delivery date.

Lessons learnt? 1) Don't touch their support, they'll mess things up for you (possibly too late for you, so you may as well continue if you want). 2) Re-ordering will almost definitely put you back in the queue no matter what they or the website says - if they don't cancel your order, 99% you are better off sitting on the one you have. Half or more of what the support says to you is absolute nonsense, during my 2 hours on the phone I heard that my order was cancelled by a) the fraud department, b) because of non-payment (they charged my bank...), c) back on the 1st of Nov, d) by me, and that it was in fact not cancelled.

Also, all AW laptops are manufactured in China (by Compal, AFAIK). That site in Ireland is only a distribution hub for them. Your tracking number will typically be from the hub that is closest to you, because they bulk ship from China factory to hub, and only at the hub you get your individual package sent to you directly with tracking code and all.

 

When you build it out to match the specs of the model from Amazon and Newegg it comes out only $50 cheaper and it says orders placed after 12/2 aren't guaranteed to ship before Christmas...

 

So i repasted my 1080 with thermal grizzy and half way with fuju thermal pads (didnt buy enough). It was way more work then i thought it would be. My sager laptop i repasted in like 20 minutes this one took 3 hours. It took me 15 minutes alone just to get the back panel off, i dont think i have even encountered clips so strong in my life. Then i finally put it all back together went to plug it in and realized i pinched the battery wire a bit putting the shell back on and now it wasnt long enough to reach. So i took it apart all over again and finally got it going. My advice for anyone doing this is triple check everything. This laptop isnt very forgiving with mistakes since something stupid like that can make you have to take it apart again. It was much easier to take apart a second time tho..haha

My temps in prime 95 actually went up, no clue why and it kind of worried me since it was the first test i picked.

Then i decided to play bf1 and it was a night and day difference. I had thermal shutdowns last night using alienwares overclock level 3. The temps were in the 95+ range until after about 20 minutes it hit 101 and shut down. Just played again with the same alienware overclock level 3 for over an hour and got this:




Thats a good 20+ degree drop on all cores. Then decided to overclock all 4 cores to 4.1 and got this:



So far so good with the repaste. Anything is better than the playdough dell put on it. I honestly dont even know what it was made off, ive never worked so hard to get thermal paste off in my life. It took me 20 minutes just to clean it off. Im surprised heat even transfers though it.

 

That's really good to hear this as I am just doing a repaste at this point. If I get those Temps, I'll likely keep the system. Thanks for posting this!

 

Bf1 is the only game ive tested so far, but thats pretty cpu demanding so i feel like its a good bench. Idk what is up with my prime numbers being higher, but i could care less aslong as my gaming temps are good. A repaste is definitely a must for this laptop. I bought it to run it at high clocks, and was pretty pissed it shut down last night. If the repaste didnt work i was seriously considering other options. Now my 4.1ghz temps match my stock 3.3ghz temps the laptop came with so im definilty happy so far.. If your wondering about the 1080 it tops out at 54c. Repasting only dropped the temps like 2c, really shows the cooling system does work. Its just we got stuck with a combination of ****ty paste and messed up pressure. If the pressure was all the same. I wouldnt doubt my highest cores would match the low ones. My fans calmed down too they were at full blast last night, but now its not even half as loud.

 

How can they charge so much, and have QC so freaking low?

 

Question. Isn't the same paste applied to the gpu and the cpu? gpu Temps are fantastic so are they just applying too much paste on the cpu coupled with the poor design of the hs? A few years ago, Dell paste was considered pretty good by some big overclockers in this community. Just trying to understand why it's only the cpu needing a repaste and a repaste of another type of product. I'm going to use IC Diamond but maybe people can just have a tech repaste the cpu at home for free if they don't want to do it themselves or pay someone else?

 

I don't think anyone has suggested not to repaste the GPU. Infact if you have a closer look at the 'Disassembly and Repaste Guide' thread you'll clearly see iunlock does both the GPU and CPU at the same time. I think the difference is that the GPU has a better fitting HS or is more tolerant of poorly fitting HS. But no means has it been suggested not to repaste the GPU with a different thermal compound

 

@iunklock : I have a problem for thermal pad... I can't buy it since france beacaus shipment are very high (about 60$...)
So i find this reference :

https://www.amazon.fr/Fujipoly-ther...d=1481104406&sr=8-1&keywords=Fujipoly+Extreme
1.0mm - 11w/mk

https://www.amazon.fr/thermique-fuj...d=1481104406&sr=8-3&keywords=Fujipoly+Extreme
1.0mm - 14w/mk (too high or not ?)

https://www.amazon.fr/thermique-fuj...d=1481104406&sr=8-4&keywords=Fujipoly+Extreme
0.5mm - 14w/mk

14w/mk is it too high or not ?

 

14.0w/mk are great! They have a higher thermal conductivity rating so the higher the number the better in terms of heat transfer. I've used 14.0's many times and they work very well. In realty, they all will work very well. Just keep in mind that the 11.0's will be squishier than the higher 17.0's which are more dense. So if you are dealing with very tight tolerances like on the four small vrm's on the CPU side (north end), then it's best to use 11.0's or 14.0's there than 17.0's. Hope that makes sense.

Good luck!

 

That's correct. Thanks for clarifying.

When taking off a heat sink, always repaste both the GPU and CPU. I have never heard of anyone only repasting the CPU. That is just odd.

Traditional paste wise use:

Grizzly Kyronaut or Gelid Extreme.

 

Hey bud. Though I'll repaste both, I'm not worried about the gpu. At least on mine, my gpu doesn't hit 65 under full load on stock paste. So it begs the question of possible inconsistent proper pasting of Dell paste. Again, at least a few years ago Fox and other top enthusiast beaches actually used Dell paste and there was no negative press about it. But things may definitely have changed. I'll be using my ic diamond for my repaste. I loved your reply on the other thread regarding percentage of owners who even monitor Temps and lack of reviewers mentioning the flawed design. I completely agree. Peace.

 

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. This is Grizzly Kyronaut yes?

As I've stated in several places in the threads, even without the bending of the tension arm, the temps are so much better and in respectable range that the differential becomes less of a factor, than comparing it to 99C to 89C. - Once again proved again with the screen shots by @Neal0790.

Good work...cheers mate.

 

Thank you for answer. I order 14w/mk in 0.5mm (x3) & 1mm (x2)

 

Sounds like a great stock paste job or HS fit there - no doubt what it should be out of the box for everyone. I suspect you're quite right - it's probably a combination of poor/inconsistent paste jobs and on the CPU side as @iunlock 's investigations have shown, it's just an incredibly ****ty tripod design for some bonkers reason. Good luck with the repaste man, really hope it works flawlessly for you.

 

Just some more quick pre-paste benches before I do my paste job now before work. I have a full patient list at the hospital to see until late this evening so post benching will occur with results posted later. I found this site I have never used before but they pool all the systems of similar component build and give you a percentile ranking amongst those only with similar builds/components. It's just a quick CPU/GPU/RAM/HDD test but I found it to be pretty useful. I didn't have time to do all my usual 3Dmark benches as I have to get this paste job done! The scores do show the 1080 working really well along with the other components. As I am not pasted, I am running near stock clocks on the CPU. My GPU only hit 51C during these tests. I definitely have a good GPU paste as I'm really not over 60c stock paste full load but I also haven't run many benchmarks or prolonged gaming yet due to the CPU. Happy Hump Day all.

UserBenchmarks: Game 115%, Desk 79%, Work 62%
CPU: Intel Core i7-6820HK - 84.5%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1080 (Mobile) - 152.1%
SSD: Sandisk X400 M.2 2280 128GB - 64.2%
HDD: HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5" 1TB - 76.8%
RAM: Unknown HMA81GS6AFR8N-UH 2x8GB - 77.2%
MBD: Alienware 17 R4

 

Because it's Dell.

But it could be worse

https://www.cnet.com/news/dell-laptops-in-electric-shock-shocker/

 

Bad heatsink placement design and dull paste used causing uneven temps. Common sense really and even a noob like me can understand.

It's already posted on this forum but I guess you didn't bother reading it.

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Hey Guys - just received my Alienware 171080 GTX highest spec build. Will run it through its paces soon with all the tests and will post up here - but just a quick question - the 2560x1440 screen is not supposed to be touchscreen - is it?

(And p.s. - the Scanlines ARE THERE, and they ARE ANNOYING - visible on the basic windows desktop screen (I am relocating to this laptop from a gorgeous AORUS X5, which had a great 4k screen, so the difference in quality on the alienware is definitely noticeable (worse) )

 

It's not touch screen.

I actually did not notice the scan lines unless I'm really near. On gaming for sure I do not see it.

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Hmmm. I have NO clue why you are writing this. I am not in the slightest inquiring about the uneven temps and have no idea why you are deducing that from what I wrote. I am well aware of the uneven temps caused by the odd triangle screw placement. I'm in the middle of my repaste. I was making a question that IF the CPU paste is same paste that is used on the GPU which is giving me fantastic temps, maybe the paste isn't necessarily terrible but just terribly applied. A good technician may be able to help those who can't repaste and isn't going to pay someone to do it. It has nothing to do with uneven temps. I guess this is a rather ironic post though...

Original post: "Question. Isn't the same paste applied to the gpu and the cpu? gpu Temps are fantastic so are they just applying too much paste on the cpu coupled with the poor design of the hs? A few years ago, Dell paste was considered pretty good by some big overclockers in this community. Just trying to understand why it's only the cpu needing a repaste and a repaste of another type of product. I'm going to use IC Diamond but maybe people can just have a tech repaste the cpu at home for free if they don't want to do it themselves or pay someone else?"

 

It's on the pics posted on this forum tho....

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Hey buddy, do you not see them on the main windows desktop screen? I literally see them everywhere, across Google Chrome buttons, across the STEAM menu solid colours, etc etc.

Is there a way to minimise their "glarity"? Like by doing a screen recalibration?

 

I have the Alienware logo screen. I see them if I'm near to the screen. It doesn't bother me I guess.

Have you tried gaming or watching a video?

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That again had nothing to do with my postulation I was just throwing out there for discussion and I have no idea what "it's on the pics posted on this forum tho..." means or has any relevance to my question. It had not been addressed.

 

> ask if GPU has same thermal paste used that CPU uses

> clear pics show his answer at the first post of the repaste thread

Daveh-chan, pls.. :^)

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Downloading a game to test out, but watching a 4k Youtube video - the effect is drastically minimised, yes, but they are definitely there. Can also see them pretty well from normal seating position on the still YOUTUBE images, that you would see on their website before clicking a video link.

My my... this sucks...

 

Yeah if it's clearly visible for you, it's a pain. Isn't the Aorus QHD having the same issue?

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I may be completely wrong with this but my assumption is that cpu just puts out alot more heat in a smaller area than the gpu. If you look at the pics the gpu die is about 2 to 3 times bigger. So it has alot more surface area to disperse heat. The cooling system is really well done, so combined with the extra area and even pressure it's probably dealing with the heat much better even on the crap paste gpu wise. The cpu is borked probably because of a combination of a small die, uneven pressure, crap paste dealing with more heat in a smaller area along with 2 cores heating up more than the other two causing them to heat up as well. I feel like if the cooling system was crap too we would be seeing much more of a temp difference doing a repaste on the gpu as well.

 

You're eyes have been spoiled and conditioned to luxury coming from that 4K screen. I know what you mean though....

@DeeX will tell you all about screens til' the cows come home... @zergslayer69 also has a lot of flight time with the first batches of QHD's....perhaps they can chime in....

But yes...the UHD's are gorgeous and I guess it's a give and take... lose some and gain some ... trade off.

 

Very good points. Yes, as I am dissecting through my system, the GPU paste is WAY better applied and maybe the surface size differences account for better dispersion (along with the other factors that aid GPU cooling). The CPU paste is TERRIBLY applied and am wondering if it's automated and maybe miscalculated by how much should be applied?! It's laughable enough I actually started laughing when looking at the paste wondering if I even had a CPU under all that "cake." However, it does still go to my point that MAYBE, the stock dell paste could be properly applied by a dell technician for some people who are unwilling to repaste themselves. It's worth a shot as it may not work or the technician may not be that good. I rarely use a tech so I have heard mixed stories.

 

It's definitely done by a machine and I think a human would do it much better. My gpu paste was done way better than my cpu. The paste of the cpu was cocked over to the left and the only part that touched the die was the top right of the pad. It probably would have cooled better of the die was actually in the center.

After repasting mine I'd say go with a technician if your not tech savvy. But if you have a clue what your doing and take your time it's better to do it yourself. I feel like a technician would rush it and you probably have less of a chance at breaking it.

 

OMG!!!!

Twitter AW tech support response : *facepalm*

 

The dell technician just left my house and he replaced my screen which had the red line. Now the new screen it has also the scanline effect but its a lot worse than the previous one. I can notice the lines from greater distance now. So this proves that not every screen is the same. Some are worse than others. I am thinking now to call dell again and ask to replace it one more time, but I dont know how many screens I must change to find a better one.

 

F-ucking unbelievable. Seriously considering cancel my AW17 R4 order now, this is turning into a joke

 

So...

My french vendor tell me that my order is blocked in "pré-production" because i ordered an i7-6820hk... Alienware manufacturing are doing modifications for these processors about temp problem. So delivery could be delayed.

Good news ????