M17x R4 dying

Several issues have been taking over my beloved M17x R4 (early 2012) over the course of the last couple days, and I've never had these issues happen before:
1. ATi 7970M decided to work just fine again...out of the blue after talking with Dell support. Now its back to its old tricks of dying under load.
2. Random shut offs. I have no idea where this is coming from. Doesn't matter if dGPU or iGPU, but under cases of load, it will simply shut off. Thermals are perfectly fine, I'd expect power to be fine too, nothing is modified in the hardware other than the addition of a intel x25-M ssd.
3. Sound is dying more frequently now. It takes several reboots or even a CMOS drain to get it to come back.

I have warranty. What I want to know is this: Is Dell still fixing M17x R4s or are they being exchanged out for M17s? I really cannot go to a nvidia graphics card, i hate the chassis design of the M17, and haswell is meh compared to IVB. 780M and 880M have proven to be troublesome. Will Dell exchange for M17x R4/ M18x R2 in the case of insufficient parts? If a rep could get me some more information, that would be great.

 

If you were only having one of those issues, maybe two, I'd suspect those individual components. But seeing as there are audio, graphics, and power problems, I'm going to go with a faulty/dying motherboard. You will definitely want to call them again and tell them all of these issues, and say you suspect the motherboard may be going bad.

If they can't fix it, they'll probably replace it. If it comes to that, you'll most likely get an Alienware 17 with the M290x.

 

Yeah I'm really hoping a few replacement parts will do it or exchange for another system of the same generation. The whole no unlocked bios, charger moved to the side instead of the back, a slew of other designs that I don't agree with, hot intel CPUs, etc makes me not want the 17 at all. I didn't know they even sold the 17 with a M290x....must not be a common option.

 

They've been selling the M290x for a while now. They're still selling it on the American Alienware website.

I know of a few people on here that have it. It's a little better than the 7970M.

 

I would wipe and re-install windows, following up with all drivers in the proper order.

 

Already done, its a fresh install on the X25-E ssd. Windows 7 ultimate, stock dell drivers except for video which is using the latest 14.9 WHQL, the latest Intel chipset and video drivers, and latest soundblaster recon drivers

 

780M troublesome? How so? I haven't had a lick of trouble with GTX 780M SLI in the Alienware M18xR2 or the Alienware 18. In fact, it is the best GPU I have ever had, hands down. Blows everything else away and it's extremely stable even when heavily overclocked. Thankfully, it's nothing like the goofed up 880M product.

Is there something weird with a M17xR4 when fitted with a GTX 780M?

 

I had this same issue with my m17x R1. I took it apart several times with no success. But I had the GTX 260M. I suspect it's the lead less solder.

 

I think its more along the lines of he has to be a AMD fanboi because of all the professional programmes he has to use... He mentioned this another thread but AMD Raedon cards perform much better in those programs than NVIDIA GeForce cards... I think that's what he must have meant by troublesome..

 

Its hard to be a "fanboi" when the proof is in the pudding.... Radeons roast the GTX series in professional work. Quadro is a different story.

I thought the 780M also had heat issues, though not on the same magnitude as the 880M. I know the 680M is a superb card (in terms of reliability, temps)

 

The 780M is fine. It's great, in fact.

It is warmer than the 680M because it has more cores and a higher clock speed. It's far from "hot." My 780M doesn't even exceed 70C in 3DMark 11. The Alienware paste is also pretty bad.

You most likely won't get a 780M or 880M replacement for that. I think that's very unlikely with the M290x still available.

 

I would be very happy with a R9 M290X, but I"m still sticking to the 17x R4 or 18x R2 if possible

 

The only way your going to get another R4 is if they have a refurb kicking around in stock somewhere which is highly unlikely since the new 17's have been around for so long now. Also if your in Canada, it will be a new machine as they can't give us refurbs. Not sure why you want to stay with the AMD's as they have a horrible track record but to each his own I guess. The 17 does take some getting used to but take it from someone who had an R4 and was upgraded to a 17...it isn't that bad but to each their own. The R4 had a slew of MB issues , especially with the Creative sound card that was always a massive hit and miss and I am glad to be rid of that particular gremlin. In terms of getting a 780m, I would agree that you are more then likely going to be offered an R9 card but I also had the 7970m and they tried to give me a 770m as the R9 wasn't an option at the time, it wasn't even out yet and they had no AMD options and I stuck my foot down and got the 780m as I wasn't willing to go with an inferior GPU to what I had. As with the others not sure where you got the 780m's being bad from as there have not been any major issues that I am aware of, but you are right to stay away from the 880m as it has issues as long as a football field. As for not wanting Haswell, yes it is warm and no it does not OC as well as Ivy but unless your really into OCing you CPU then I don't see it being a major issue. Just get some good thermal paste and repaste the stock stuff when you get it and you will be fine.

I would imagine they may try to replace the MB first anyway's provided they have any spares kicking around.

 

Ugh. Is there anyway they'd just replace the 7970M with a R9 M290X? I need CPU to be overclocked, emulation is CPU heavy. I also was spoiled by edge to edge glass, the idea of going back to a bezel is less than pleasurable.

 

Highly doubtful as the 290x was never intended for the R4. I am sure it could be made to work but all Alienware will do is plug it into the system and the system will reject it and that will be the end of it. The thing about adding GPU's to system's that were never designed for them is although they may work usually you end up modifying drivers and such to force the system to accept it which would probably be the case in this respect. Either way, what if it is the MB? A new GPU won't fix that and with all the trouble your having my money is on a failed MB....unfortunately those were quite common on the R4...I saw two bad ones myself, one was a replacement board that was dead right out of the box.

The other thing to take into account is that Alienware's service techs can be less then reliable to say the least. There are plenty of reports on the forums of people who have let techs in to fix their laptop and had them cause more problems then they fixed. I am not saying they are all bad but in my case I won't let them near my computer ever again, but I am more then qualified to tear mine down completely and put it back to together again. Letting them service your own laptop is another story....they might let you do it for some stuff ( I just changed out my keyboard and palmrest) but you will have to accept that if you break anything then your SOL.

 

I'd sooner have the depot work on my laptop than the local guy they dispatch, it was a horror show watching him work on my computer (on more than one occasion, I might add). I'm guessing a swap to the M18x R2 is also out of the question, as those are probably extinct too by now.

Checking the refurb page on the dell outlet, there is nothing for anything other than the 18. No 17, M17x R4 or R3, M18x R1 or R2, or even the 14 and M14x. Don't know if that's a reflection of internal stock or not.

 

So the response from "Dell Executive Support" has been lackluster at best. I'm constantly switching between class and work, and I've told them that email is pretty much the only way to reach me (within THEIR working hours), and yet they call every day in the middle of my class or during my shift at work, or they call my house, even AFTER they acknowledge my request for email communication. I have had NO progress in getting this resolved.