Alienware 17 R1 Screen Distortion. (Flickering)

Hey there , I got an Alienware 17 R1 and since 1 month I'm experiencing screen distortion (mostly red and blue pixels flickering all the time, the problem persists in bios too) as shown in the picture on the link below.

https://imgur.com/a/OpRD3Fk

It occured randomly while gaming , I then instantly tried an external monitor and there wasn't any distortion at all.

I then brought the laptop and had both the LCD and the LCD cable replaced but the problem still occurs. (Was a total rip off and a waste of money apparently)

If anyone could help me or have any idea on what the problem might be , I'd be more than glad.

(I've tried 3 different panels , 3 LVDs and 2 different GPUs and the problem still persists , the only thing I haven't replaced is the motherboard itself.)

 

Well your current trial and error has ruled out the panel and the cable, as well as GPU since it doesnt happen on a secondary monitor.

The only thing left is the motherboard.

 

Have you ran the laptop on integrated gpu?

 

Yes , I've done that aswell. Same problem. I'm just unsure on whether is the motherboard or not as I even had a local repair center (supposed to have experience on Alienwares) have my motherboard checked and they could find nothing wrong on it. I'm kinda confused.

 

Try reflashing the bios ....

 

Will do. I will post an update later today.

 

Done but sadly nothing changed. :c

 

What are your panel settings? Maybe somehow it forced a profile that the panel cant output?

 

https://imgur.com/a/9kLsLYq

I've uploaded a picture from Intel HD Graphics , I've also thought about what you said , I wanted to drop the refresh rate(wanted to try 40 instead of 60) by creating a custom resolution but sadly Intel HD G won't let me do that and since the system is running on optimus , I can't force it through nvidia control panel.

 

Try running in PEG mode, Fn + F5 I think (I am not at my Ranger atm)

The system will prompt a reboot if you used the right Fn combo

 

Did it , created a custom resolution on 40 Hz and surprisingly the flickering completely stopped. I'm actually kinda shocked , any ideas why would the 60 hz cause such an issue?

 

That's odd. I don't know what else to advise to you. You said you already switch out a few lcds ...

 

The flickering still exists , it's just not visible on 40hz. I can still see it a bit in bios but once Windows boot you can't notice it at all. It sure is a temporary solution but I need to find the cause and fix it for good. Hands crossed that someone else can assist me on this even though I'm afraid that my motherboard is the cause.

As for the screens , I've bought a completely new one and have tried 3 more panels , the problem persists with every of the 5 (counting my old main panel)screens in total therefore I strongly doubt it's a LCD issue , same goes for the LVDS.

 

See if you can go up to 45 or 50hz that way your at least a little bit closer to 60hz.

I still suspect the motherboard is likely faulty

 

I can go up to 43 without any distortion , after that it becomes a hell again.

Are you certain about the motherboard? I believe the same but I don't wanna spend another 200 bucks for nothing. Was thinking to contact dell out of warranty support , any experience with 'em?

 

There is the motherboard > GPU > Cable > Panel

You already tested or replaced the last three, and it still occurs under PEG mode which eliminated the integrated graphics of the CPU as well.

You could also remove the GPU altogether if you havent already and force to run on Intel HD since you have the LVDS panel that shouldnt be a problem.

If the problem still occurs after that, then it should be the motherboard as all other factors would've been accounted for. PEG mode was to test the GPU without integrated to which you still have the problem, you've also run SG or optimus mode which runs the integrated together with the GPU as you know. Now I would suggest trying integrated only just only because its the last test that comes to mind that doesnt involve a monetary investment.

 

I've tried that already. Still the same issue , however , what is odd is that the flickering of the optimus mode and the flickering of the PEG mode are completely different. While on optimus (at 60hz) the flickering is like the pictures I've posted but on the PEG mode it is completely unusable , it makes everything dark blue.

Anyway , any experience with dell out of warranty support? Not sure if I should give it a shot.

 

Nope, I dont let others service my machines.

Well what do you think is more logical, That both Intel HD and GPU are partially failing at the same time in the same manner or the motherboard which ties both of them together is failing?

Out of warranty support sounds even more expensive IMHO, but then again Im quite cheap on certain things.

 

Alright I will get a new motherboard and I really hope it does fix the issue.

By the way , do you have any idea where I could find a compatible motherboard within Europe?(besides Ebay/Amazon/PartsPeople as they all ship from the US) I'm in Italy currently so ordering one from US is not an option due to the high customs.

Thanks for your time!

 

You could use Dell Online chat and see if they have any left, besides a local shop Im not sure where else you would be able to get a board. Theres always Chinese exports too but I never ordered those kinds of parts from that part of the world lol

 

Nah not even going to bother ordering something from Asia as the delivery ETAs they give are biblical. Over 2 months.

 

Thats a crying shame, I was able to get some things from there recently and took about 7-10 days.

I would just try and find the best location you can and start from there unless a local Dell warehouse has that part.