*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

I decided to send you my Alienware 17r4 I sent the tracking info to you via email I think you can really wake this thing up. I'm excited to see how it runs !!! It will be there tomo with signature !! Thanks again !!


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I haven't experienced that problem but it should be as easy as clicking the zone you want to change on the right and then simply clicking the color on the color wheel on the left. Are you saying that when you do this you see no visual confirmation onscreen that something has changed? If so, then that would seem to be a definite issue.

I would personally have never bought my AW17 if I could not have turned off the side lights (by simply selecting them and then applying the color "black" to them.

Best of luck; hope you get it figured out.

 

And my nightmare continues...

I was supposed to get an answer regarding if they send me an exchange unit for their faulty one they sent me latest yesterday - and of course I didn't get an answer!
After I sent them another email telling them I haven't heard anything back from anyone in a while they told me their manager sent me an email, but the problem is I have never received anything from anybody else but from this one person at Dell!
Of course I told him again how frustrating this is and he told me their manager will contact me asap (that was yesterday).
Asap means a lot for them, but for sure not as soon as possible.
How incompetent are those guys?

I am considering multiple steps to complain to Dell, Alienware, CR, BBB, my cc company... - if you have any other institutions I should contact let me know. I am gathering all the information right now and just wait for their final answer.

I only want them to treat me like a valued customer who paid $3,000 for a bad device, but if they can't do this I will do and try my best to prevent something like that happening to somebody else.

I never ever experienced such a screw up with any other pc company or any company in general (and I am quite old ~40).

I will keep you posted, let's see what their next step is.
If you have any tips meanwhile, it would be very appreciated.

 

Must say that with all the problems with this and other current gaming laptops, I am seriously thinking about just not buy any but instead getting a desktop. This year should be the year when laptop GPUs caught up with desktop GPUs...and they almost did. To bad the rest of the laptops seem to s-uck in one way or the other, despite astronomical prices. I mean come on, a $US3000 laptop and they dont even manage to mount the CPU correctly...

Anyone else thinking the same thing?

 

a replacement can take up to 30 days to get sent out, they're building one from scratch

 

I think reading too much into the relatively few issues which persons discuss in forums like this is sort of erroneous. I say "relatively" as compared to the sum total of users who actually purchase gaming laptops world wide? The number of folks who publicly vent about various problems they are experiencing is astronomically low. I think it's a feat of extraordinary skill and engineering that any of this **** works at all. I'm in awe of the persons who design and build not only laptops but desktop gear in general.

So no. I don't agree at all.

I have a near 3 year old MSI GS70 Stealth Pro that I still absolutely love and refuse to sell/let go of, even though it's mostly been put on the shelf since buying my AW17. My particular AW17 machine has been pretty much flawless as far as I'm concerned and I consider it the best laptop I've ever owned. I've owned tons of other laptops, among them a certain Sony Vaio VPCCB machine that literally chugged on for almost 10 years and had multiple drinks spilled on it and always came back to life after a (really) rinsing and drying of the internals. Every desktop I've owned has also been mostly okay (barring the occasional failed DRAM stick here and there or maybe some failed fans). I had a Acer xb271hu monitor that had horrible back light bleed but I just returned it till I got a good one and I'm still using it and love it.

So I feel that those among the community who become permanently jaded are simply not understanding the dynamics of production. Sure, there are better and worse quality control and manufacturing processes and some companies get it right while others might drop the ball here and there (Dell and your tri-mount cold plate? I'm talking at you! ;-) ) ... but if I have faith in a product and mostly love it, then I stick with the company (again, Dell ... ) ...

But I would say it's the same situation with any sort of mass production ... be it cars or parachutes or tires or even sex toys ... LOL ... (had to throw that in because I have a "girlfriend" who quite literally had a glass, motorized dildo burn up on her) ...

But I don't read too much in to online negative static regarding any product as I understand there will *always* be issues and no product is perfect.

I've recently built a new 6700K gaming desktop and I swear it was the most stressful experience ever. It's the first desktop I've built in about five years and between getting acquainted with the differences in overclocking Skylake vs Sandybridge and the plain knowledge that among the gazillion components I bought, the chances that something would not work were always there ... I lost sleep man.

So if you have the money? Shoot man ... buy a gaming laptop *and* build a pimping desktop. That's what I've done over the past few months..

And personally? I'm stoked.

;-)

 

I am not complaining about why it takes so long to get my replacement, I am complaining about that they didn't even decide yet if I get one!
And that after all the screw ups from their side!
They sent me a bad product, I complained.
They sent a technician to repair it, he couldn't repair everything (and he said he complain and ask for an exchange himself), I complained.
I spent over 12 h on calls, chats, emails communicating with them.
I complain about them sending out bad products bc they have apparently not enough control over their QC department and then they give me a run around!
I complain bc this whole experience has been s**t show and I was very patient in the beginning!
But enough is enough, they need to take responsibility for their mistakes like any other company who puts some pride in their products!
I complain in the hope they understand that they are doing wrong (to some at least) and change things so you or others don't have to deal with the things I had to deal with so far.

 

They told me the same I ended up having them repair the whole thing they also gave me 200 credit and 2 year accidental warranty so I figured if they would be that good about it I would keep the Alienware.. I'll prob keep both ..


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well if you need two computers then I don't see why not



@TigerEnte ask for a manager and talk about your issue

 

If you want to compare notes, check out my scores for my 6700K desktop on hwbot.org! AIO cooler in push/pull benching at 51/48. Same handle.

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I actually enjoyed reading your reply. No hard feelings. We're all entitled to our own opinions and my point from the quote you've provided was a clear message in that I'm not in this game to hate, but rather in it for the love of the sport.

My quote about MXM's was to illustrate the fact that we're all in the same boat, LGA or BGA... either form factor, everyone needs to upgrade eventually. For those with the LGA now will get by with one generation, which isn't really an upgrade, but what happens after that? Same thing...will need to sell the unit to get a new one. So the level of emphasis being put on how much superior LGA is to BGA is moot as most of the attacks are directed toward pointing out the whole solder madness. (Which I agree....it's sickening.)

I'm neutral when it comes to the debate as I have an appreciation for both for what they offer. Does that mean that I agree with the solder madness? Of course not, but that isn't going to stop me from taking whatever I can get my hands on to the limit.

I've said it many times and I'll say it again. The only thing AW is hanging on by is the fact that it still offers an unlocked CPU. If, the AW did not have one you'd be seeing me under the hood of the MSI (which I'm very interested in.)

Also, don't forget that I've taken an LGA to the limits and have shown the awesomeness of that as well with a delidded 6700K monster and LM magic. Review. Dedlid.

You're absolutely right about them abandoning ship here and I don't agree with that as well. We're also aware of the free lunch...trust me. What we haven't disclosed yet, let alone the many emails and PM's I've received of people confused about Dell trying to claim like they've found the issue on their own....???.... When @hmscott and I have put up the thread on this issue long before any public announcement from Dell, which still hasn't been released, has raised a lot of eye brows. Of course thanks to everyone here who has contributed as well.

So again, I'm in for the love of the sport, not the politics. However, this does not mean that I will remain silent if there is something that needs to be said. To start...

"What's up with not following through with the GPU power limits Dell?"

 

I appreciate your input and agree with the points being made. However, just to clear some things up, I am not a part of the problem, rather I've been providing proof of Dell's shortcomings and have been offering a solution to the known problems, to a certain degree.

Also, don't think for once that I'd ever pay a premium for these machines. Never have and never will pay sticker. We'll just leave it at that.

And for the record, just so that we're on the same page, I'm all for unblinding the blind, which is why I dedicate my time to do what I do, along with the selected others who have supported the data.

I'm fully aware of the reasonings behind why there is bashing going on, but my point is that it'd be more constructive to stay on topic in these threads that are dedicated for specific purposes. Opinions and information still can be shared, but it's how it's being addressed/delivered is what I'm trying to point out.

No brand loyalty here.


::iunlock::

 

Have you asked Mr. Azor @Alienware-Frank or Umar on social media WHY Gtx1080 came with lower TDP than promised? This would be very interesting to know(The reason they chose as they did)!! Not that they will fix what they promised earlier.

 

A 180w limit, 10w bump up from 170w shipping limit isn't enough.

AW should up the 1080 limit to 240w, for true OC joy.

And, AW should keep the 6820 limit at 95w (?) - and not reduce it when increasing the 1080 to 240w.

 

I'm interested in the reason WHY they chose as they did It is not enough to say that this will be fixed later. This should have been in order when you purchased This is like a entice offers. To draw customers. When you finally are in the store, the price is set incorrectly with intent. Aka fraud

 

I agree. 10w isn't going to be a miracle. Having pushed the 6820HK to 100w, I'd take the trade off of shaving a little off the CPU to up the GPU.

::iunlock::

 

True.

::iunlock::

 

I just sent him a message on twitter we will see what he says .....


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Already done, they promised (again) that he will contact me within the next 3 days...
Let's see what he is going to tell me.
I will keep you updated.

 

PART 2: ALIENWARE ENGINEERS SPEAK OUT - NEW THERMAL PASTE/PANEL ISSUES /BIOS 1.08
Published on Dec 23, 2016
PART 2: "Have your say" interview with iunlock and his team at LiquidHertz. They talked with Alienware's engineers for two hours about the new bios 1.08, new thermal paste and pads and the QHD panel banding issue. Here they share their findings and what temperatures we can expect from the new paste that Alienware is applying.

 

Well I have finally got a chance to do some testing after the windows reload. Received it on Tuesday(Shipped out on Dec 15).
Bios 1.08
6820HK
1070
8GB ram

Core 0 and 2 are 15 degrees higher then the other two. So they didn't fix the unevenness of the heatsink, at least on my machine. Machine is stable at 41x but I'm getting 90+ temps on 0 and 2 cores. I get throttling on the GPU because of power issues(I am OC this a bit). I'm not happy one bit. They knew the issues and still shipped this machine.

 

Try without overclock at all cores set to 3.6

 

Great video


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@iunlock
Do you see them fixing the power issue to make it a little more par with msi ?


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what power issue?

the mistake done with 1.0.6 has largely been fixed with 1.0.8

 

I shouldn't say power issues my bad .. power pull from the 1080 being 170w


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Ah that.

LHz will be having a team meeting with the engineers soon and we'll try to get info on this.

@iunlock

 

I sure do hope so, but at this point if it's going to be a measly 10w then it's almost not worth it unless they at least go to 200w.

I am confident that the cooling system is more than capable as my GPU stays in the mid 50C's at max when gaming. Even with very demanding titles like Witcher 3 - Maxed everything with Hairworks on, I have yet to see it go past 57C on the GPU so there is definitely a lot of head room there.

Perhaps there should be two different types of bios...one official and one for enthusiasts. It's ironic that you ask because I'm actually talking to @Mobius 1 about this right at this moment....he brought up a good point. Give us a non official enthusiast bios with a disclaimer and we'll gladly take it.

 

Great info guys !! Thanks . I sent Azor a tweet as well let's see he he wrights back


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I don't think he's in charge of this...

 

Here is his reply


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That's a bit of a backtrack, it's been said that the AW 1080 was 180w before this.

And, I thought the 1070 was 150w. What does AW allow for their 1070?

 

I am curious about this as well. Did they gimp the 1070 too?

 

The man bragged about 180W from first launch. And offered less. Fraud!! And said other OEM's used lower specification on on their Gtx1080. AW offer max powa aka crippled TDP. Talk about turning himself in the head with a hammer. And why talk about a validation now? Because buyers ask why they crippling the performance?

 

I had this 1070 (which is for sale btw) for over a month, two machines one being a replacement.

It's not crippled for sure, but I don't think it's running at full bore either. Default Founders Edition GTX1070 runs at 150w, while the one in 15R3 runs around 110w (maybe the 17 has higher?).

 

I would agree. The ironic thing is that given team LHZ's work, the cooling system on these seem more the adequate to handle some additional TDP output. As long as my outlet 17r4 has the fix in place when it arrives next week, I will try a repaste with grizzly kryonaut and post the results.

 

Off topic, but I noticed everyone uses 3DMark for their testing and I noticed that it is on sale for less than $5 US on Steam.

 

I have used the free versions, downloadable from futuremark.com for many years, for sharing benchmark results - create a login and save results there - as many people can't afford it (or are too cheap to pay) we all mostly share the freely available futuremark benchmark(s) test results.

Someone in another thread mentioned there was a bundle of "something + 3dmark" on Steam today as well

Update:
3DMark + VRMark BUNDLE, 3DMark Time Spy upgrade

 

I use the free ones as well from 3DMark from their website as well, just wanted to throw it out there that if someone wanted the full versions they are less than $5 when normally $30 I think.

 

I did and I still get the core difference.

 

I have gotten my 1080 R4 to 176W with no Overclock. I fail to see the problem.
Frank seems to often know less then his product managers. Hes the business side of things. Yes he should know this info but there are better sources that even he turns to to find this information out.
I will confirm this.

 

Max I'm getting is 170 w with an OC


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Still a crippled 1080 vs. same graphics from the competitors. See Msi eg... 220w vs. 170 or as you say 176w. But you obviously mean this is ok? Oh"well. I remember 780m in my Aw17. About 1 year later pushed AW out new Bios A7 or A8 with slightly higher Power for the graphics. Before this... Dellienware's 780m performed less than graphics from the other OEM's. The history repeats as you can see. Or maybe I have missed something? Even with a validated 180w TDP, is this lower than Aw' competitors although Dellienware said they use crippled 1080.

 

Completely not on topic with the above posts but thought I'd add ... anyone wanting to use Kryonaut to repaste their AW's? ... *definitely* put the tube of paste in some super hot water for about 3 minutes before squeezing it out (not boiling but super hot) ... it is *so* much easier to work with ...

 

Are the clocks sticking and the performance happening?

Well What I mean is I have the clocks and performance expected just at a lower TDP.
There have been some buddies of mine at 165W with the same performance and clocks as me.
So let me ask you this, and I'm truly asking because I guess I don't know...
Say I have a 1080 card that is running at 2000Mhz and hitting 175W
and have another 1080 card also running at 2000Mhz but hitting 190W.
Is there a FPS performance difference? I mean the clocks are the same just the TDP that was hit is different.
I'm pretty sure that if a processor of any kind is still hitting their expected clock speeds at a lower TDP, then they are just more efficient when it comes to heat and power. (i.e. better silicon)
Its when the processor is hitting a TDP and stopping it from further clock speeds etc that is when it becomes a problem.

Also just to throw this out there for education. I think people get confused on rated TDP and think power draw the max power draw of the card etc.
TDP is actually a measurement of how much heat a processor will output under a load. Usual TDP ratings are also listed not for peak power under extreme situations but rather a maximum rating for real world applications.

Here is a good video everyone should watch.


Either way we will bring this up to the engineers, seems like a great topic.

 

Thanks - I just ordered some for my Alienware 17r4 arriving next week. I ran out of mx4 and thought I would give the Kryonuat a try given the good reviews on it. Also, I noticed you had a 1080p ips panel at 100hz on your 17r4 signature. Is the standard ips 1080p panel overclockable on the 17r4?

 

17R4 with the 1070 was around 130w, but was still able to manage some pretty decent bench (graphics scores.)

Repost of what @DeeX said:

"Are the clocks sticking and the performance happening?

Well What I mean is I have the clocks and performance expected just at a lower TDP.
There have been some buddies of mine at 165W with the same performance and clocks as me.
So let me ask you this, and I'm truly asking because I guess I don't know...
Say I have a 1080 card that is running at 2000Mhz and hitting 175W
and have another 1080 card also running at 2000Mhz but hitting 190W.
Is there a FPS performance difference? I mean the clocks are the same just the TDP that was hit is different.
I'm pretty sure that if a processor of any kind is still hitting their expected clock speeds at a lower TDP, then they are just more efficient when it comes to heat and power. (i.e. better silicon)
Its when the processor is hitting a TDP and stopping it from further clock speeds etc that is when it becomes a problem.

Also just to throw this out there for education. I think people get confused on rated TDP and think power draw the max power draw of the card etc.
TDP is actually a measurement of how much heat a processor will output under a load. Usual TDP ratings are also listed not for peak power under extreme situations but rather a maximum rating for real world applications.

Here is a good video everyone should watch.


Either way we will bring this up to the engineers, seems like a great topic. "

Although I don't agree with limiting any hardware, the clocks seem to be holding at a lower TDP so that's no different than under volting our CPU's to run more efficiently in a way.... The point is, we as the end user should be the ones to dictate how much power our GPU sees, and not the OEM.

Regardless, I've already shown what my personal units can do even at these lower TDP's, which @DeeX has gracefully explained so that people understand the difference...

I know we refer to it as it being crippled, but it's also important to understand fuel efficiency.

Here's my AW17R4 - GTX 1070 at ~130W


Here's my AW17R4 - GTX 1080 at ~174W


If you look at other OEM's with higher TDP's, I've seen very little in the GTX 1080 (6820HK) category to pull past 18K's in Fire Strike...

It's worth getting it. Especially with being able to turn off the dumb demo haha...that in itself is worth more than $5

Indeed and sounds great.

 

Wow. Your Firstrike score on the Alienware 1070/6820HK destroys the Omen 1070/6700HQ. My buddies Omen was getting around 15900 on graphics and 8900 on physics and 4800 combined.

 

First... look at Razer's 1080 graphics scores. A tragic show!! Is it because Razer have a lower TDP limit on their 1080 graphics? Or is it because the graphics is less efficient than other OEM's graphics?

Second. After what I've seen, so provide AW's 1080 model lower graphics score than some other brands graphics. See previous posts.

As long as you can hold decent temp and GRAPHICS TDP is higher. I presume you can hold higher clock speed if you can hold ok max temp. Pascal performs best at the lowest possible temperature. Higher TDP will gain you higher possibility for higher scores. Eg. Can 1080 in AW give you well over 25000 in 3DM Firestrike graphics score?

 

Pardon my lack of details regarding model numbers ... but I know that Dell is using two 1080p IPS panels in their AW17 machines ... one is from LG (which I have) and this one seems to be very consistent with overclocking to 100hz. Mine does it easily with no artifacts or scan lines or anything else. Just about everyone else I've talked to can also get there's to 90hz to 100hz refresh as well. And the LG panel tests just fine at testufo.com.

That said...

There is another panel that they are using though, not sure of the manufacturer, but it's not LG .. and it doesn't do 100hz at all.

So unfortunately, unless you have some "back road connections" available to you? It's a lottery ...

If you get the LG panel, though? I'm pretty sure it will overclock nicely ...

Best of luck...

joel