*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 Ranger (2013) Owner's Lounge Thread

the 4700MQ and the 4910MQ are both 47w CPUs so i meant that the temps between the two should be around the same at stock.

 

If both run max 47 watts Tdp under load, it should not be a significant difference. But if you are lucky with the chip then you can bump down the core voltage and also get lower temp than stock. Then you can have lower temperature with the same multi and that your max clock speed keeps longer at 47w Tdp or increasing the multi and have the same temp as before...

 

i'm holding off on the CPU upgrade till this GPU driver BS has been dealt with. I might just get some gaming headphones and play away

 

does anyone have a good driver for the touchpad that support Windows 10 3 finger task view ?

 

so win 10 is fine for you?

 

yep i am on 353.50 didnt have any display issue though i scared to update the driver

 

Regarding the CPU Upgrade to an i7 49XX: why would you do this if you have a 47XX? It is really expensive, and you get at most 10% more computation power (check the benchmarks here).

 

Overclocking... Who talk about stock performance ? http://hwbot.org/hardware/processor/core_i7_4900mq/
At most 10% more computation power ? http://hwbot.org/submission/2852931_papusan_cinebench___r11.5_core_i7_4930mx_9.42_points VS More like +36%

 

Ok. So the i7-4900 does overclock better (EDIT: I guess the 49XX CPU's have a free multiplier, which means easy OC)? Or do you have to win the silicon lottery to get those results? And then their is the question if your Notebook can run the OC stable.
I'm really happy with my i7-4710, since it holds the turbo of ~3,3 GHz even under full load with all 8 threads maxed.

 

IIRC only the MX models are unlocked while the MQ models are not. Using XTU the 47xxMQ can be OCd +200MHz while the 48xx/49xxMQ can be +400MHz. The XM models have a higher TPD as well and, like any CPU, it is luck what voltage and clocks they will run at.

 

Delete.

 

Fixed that for you i7-49xxMQ = +600MHz OC potential . The same can in theory also be done with HQ chips too. But this is another deal . A useless Oc potential as a end result...

@einsteinchen Some info for you. Give a big thanks to @D2 Ultima http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/246907-how-mobile-i7-cpus-work/
Edit: @D2 Ultima it's important with correct info.. Or you can end up in the big BGA trap .

 

There's a metric ton of pages so I figure I'll just ask, what is the TDP limit of the entire Alienware 17 R5? Lets say I'm running a 330w PSU, where will it cap? 180w? 240w?

 

One in the thread experienced a cap at 240W. Possible this has something with the motherboard revision. I bench +265W. Do not confuse the "Elitist" AW17 with the BGA junk disturbed AW15/17R2 and 180w psu.

 

Do you use Kill-A-Watt to determine your watt usage? I actually just ordered one, figured it might be handy, haven't received it yet so I can't figure out my cap.

Problem was, when I had a 980m and my 4800mq @ +400mhz, my PSU would die due to too much power draw. My 980m had default bios, no overclock at all, while running 3dmark11. Sometimes it would succeed, sometimes it would die half way thru.

I've also used a 4940mx @ 4.3 with the 980m, that died, so I put the 4800mq in to see if it was too much TDP from the CPU, and it died again

 

Test with your Kill-a-watt when it arrives. I tested power consumption with the kill-a-watt earlier. Did you test both 240 and 330W with the same result? The test 1 is the heaviest in 3Dmark11.

 

I did both with 240w and 330w. I thought maybe the 330w had some weird failsafe for not being designed for the 17, so I tried 240w, same result

 

^^^ forgot to quote

 

Stock Gtx980m without Oc and a slightly Oc'd i7-4800mq should not cause hardware hitting a power limit.

 

Hi would like to ask if my current system below is safe to upgrade to GTX980M or GTX970M with latest driver from NVIDIA?

ALIENWARE 17 R1 2013
Intel Core i7-4700MQ processor
Windows 10 Pro
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M with 3GB GDDR5
60Hz Screen

 

Thanks for the link, but its TLDR at the moment for me
My initial argument was, that it is not worth upgrading from an i7-47XX to an i7-49XX IMHO. Whether you can OC the CPU and how much is currently no concern to me, since I rather have a stable and reliable system then a few more FPS in games. However, I know that some folks like to go balls to the wall with their notebooks, which is totally fine. I'm just offering a more conservative opinion on the topic.
Keep up the good work @D2 Ultima

 

hi well I am running standard 240watt ps with a 980m running at 200 MHz core and 400MHz on mem with the 4910 running at 4ghz on all cores scoring above 13k in 3dmark11 with 0 issues ..temps 69 on gpu and 76 on cpu so if you tried a different psu and same problem its unlikely that's the issue , maybe the Motherboard , when you say died do you mean the system turns off or just restarts ?

 

The PSU shuts off, the laptop continues to run on battery. I have to fully unplug the PSU for ~20 seconds then plug it back in to make it work again. Happened with 3 different PSUs (2x 240w, 1x 330w)

 

Hi had a similar problem on my 18 it would work on PSU and then for no reason cut out to batt and then one day it just would not even turn on mb failed hopefully that's not your issue ..on the 17 I had a weird issue regarding a similar event to you and it was because I turned on deskop charging ,and for some reason when the batt got to 100% it would shut of the power supply , so changing it standard charge sorted it and never had a problem since , I did it through windows but I think they might be a bios option also but cant remember been a while ..but it hopefully could be the cause ,,,basically desktop charging stops overcharging the batt , but for some weird reason every time it got to 100% on the battery it would shut off the psu regardless ..best way to check is to drain the batt to say 10% and then see what happens and if the psu keeps going regardless you know what the issue is , otherwise do not have any idea ..but the best of luck sorting it ..Cheers

 

Be very careful with windows 10 and anything Nvidia. there are still display killer issues with the AW17 and windows 10. Im running windows 10 and havent had an issue yet but it seems people running samsung ssd software or EVGA precision X are the main ones having this issue.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...illing-alienware-and-clevo-lcd-panels.779449/
or look here
https://forums.geforce.com/default/...samsung-and-lg-notebook-lcd-display-panels/1/

Safest bet is restore your old windows if you go ahead with it until the windows 10 issue is sorted out.

 

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of advice on upgrading my AW 17, I currently have the 860m and I'm considering getting the 880m or the 980m (should be in Bangkok in a few weeks so might pick one up cheap). Now I know I'll need to get the 3 pipe heatsink and thermal pads etc. What I was wondering was is this a straight upgrade or will I have to mess about with a custom bios or drivers? Also are the Clevo versions of the cards compatible, I think they should be as they use the same connector but it would be nice to get confirmation from someone that has done it before.

Also I would like to put in a blu-ray player if anyone knows a compatible part number.

 

Some people mentioned if it is in Optimus mode, the monitor EDID won't be corrupted, whereas in dedicated mode, the EDID will be. However, ever since I upgraded to Windows 10, I have been using dedicated mode, with latest nVidia driver.

Then, Dell posted this, where it lists down the part numbers of the monitors known to be affected by this issue.
http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN299581


I then checked my system configuration in Dell support page and found my monitor's part numbers as below.

Since the part numbers of my monitor are not in the list, maybe that's why my system is unaffected. But I should add that I've never used EVGA Precision X or any overclocking utility.

Those owning AW17 R1 perhaps can check their monitor part numbers to verify.

 

Hello, I have an Alienware 17 R1 (2013). I have a GTX 765m graphic card and want to upgrade it to GTX 980m graphics card (getting it for Christmas ). It came with windows 7 but I upgraded it to windows 10. Will my screen not work? I did use evga pecision x16 once just to try it out on my computer and fiddled around with it to see if it will make the gaming performance better on my computer. didn't do anything so uninstalled it. I also heard that it also can break the LCD Screen if used with windows 10 and 980 graphics card but for only certain ones. will mine break here's my part number for my LCD screen. If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it.

Here's my Screen Info:
60hts
Part Number: GYWN1
Description: LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY, 17.3HDF+, WLED, AG, LEGEND


Another thing I was worried about is I saw this post. saying that soon nvidia drivers will only be available though Geforce experience. I know I have to use modded drivers from now on when I do install the 980m. But should I even get the gtx 980m if it's going to be harder for people to mod drivers? I need help here guys I'm confused on what to do. Please give me help on this also.

Here's the link:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9721/...am-1080p-twitch-driver-update-changes-to-come

 

firstly you need to get a 3-pipe heatsink as yours will have come with a 2-pipe heatsink won't cut the mustard for dissapating heat!

 

A sale of your Aw17 and money you thought paying for a Gtx980m and 3 pipes heatsink can provide you soon a new Clevo.

 

You need to install a modified driver, that's about the extent of it. Doing so requires rebooting with driver signature enforcement disabled.

 

Sadly this is somewhat true, at least here (in $CAD).

A used AW17 R1 is about $1200, a GTX 980M + heatsink runs around $1200. For $2400 CAD, you're close to getting a new Clevo P770DM with a core I7-6700k, GTX 980M and G-SYNC with a really nice LG IPS panel.

 

I feel like Dell doesnt care about their market and customer anymore.

 

Thanks you everyone for getting back to me. I actually just reminded my parents and they said I can get a gaming laptop last night! (told them for Christmas and my birthday). Now I have a different question, What gaming laptop do you guys think I should get? Is Alienware a good brand of laptop or is there a better one? and my limit I on price is $2,000

Specs I'm Thinking of:

• 17.3 inch display
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M with 4GB GDDR5
• 16GB Dual Channel DDR4 at 2133MHz (8GBx2)
• Intel® Core™ i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz

Oh and one more question how much ram do you think I need? I really only want to play games on ultra settings on this computer. And I don't use Photoshop or adobe after effects, etc. But I do use A LOT of mods!

Thank you guys for helping me out.

 

You should probably go post a new thread in the appropriate forum.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/forums/what-notebook-should-i-buy.16/

 

Yeah. This started with the crippled Aw15/17r2 with fully BGA package. Only $$$$.

 

That's not something I want to be having to mess about with every time there is a new driver. I assume the 8GB 880m should be fine as long as I get the 3 pipe heatsink as some models came with that card?

Thanks for the advice.

 

Why the crippled one? Why not Gtx780m ? Better overclocker and less heat.

 

On the face of it double the memory and higher clock speed, other than that not really looked into the 780m.

 

I have a GTX 880M, and it is not faster than a 780M. Although I like the bigger memory since I got the new COD Black Ops 3 ^^

 

errrr....the 880M has terrible thermal issues that causes it to throttle so badly. if you want a decent overclocker with low temps and lots of VRAM: GET A 980M!!!

 

My 880M has no thermal throttling. I can game on it with boost clock @993MHz, however, this depends on the GPU you get. Throttling is a known issue for the 880M.

 

Well I can tell you one thing about the 880m... It runs hot! Even after repasting I was getting highs of up to 85 degrees...With the 980m, after an hour of benchmarks on 3dMarks, Haven/Valley the highest temp I got was 64 degrees... That's a MASSIVE 20 degrees difference.

 

I guess 980m it is then. So how comes I would have to run a modified driver for the 980m? I could understand if I had to modify the laptops BIOS to an unlocked one to allow the use of a card released after the original production but I don't get why a modified driver is required, I'd appreciate it if someone could point me in the direction of a good thread regarding this.

 

because it's not a configuration that's recognised by dell or nvidia.

 

I added a screenshot of Furmark + Prim95 running for 33 minutes on my AW 17 R1 (specs see below). Yes, it runs hot, but never above 82°C. And Yes, their is throttling, but most graphics cards throttle while running Furmark. Obviously, the 980m a superior card. However, I just wanted to show that their are some 880m cards that are not that bad

@Flash-Fire you will enjoy the 980m, but keep in mind that their are some hoops to jump though in order to get it working. Here is a tutorial on how to upgrade (since I have not upgraded yet, I cant tell if it is thorough).

 

Thanks guys for all your input. It's going to be difficult decision I think, both have their pro's & con's. Undoubtedly the 980 is the superior card but it's going 10 be around £200+ more expensive, then the issue of what happens when NVIDIA start only releasing drivers directly from GeForce Experience (not that their recent drivers have been a success). I think I might leave the upgrade till after Christmas & revisit it then.

 

hello, I'm doing a clean install and I'm not sure which drivers to install for the LAN and wireless. On the dell website it says I have: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000 b/g/n 1x2 MIMO Technology
but it doesn't say what my LAN card is. Which drivers should I use? Thanks!

Edit: I think I posted this in the wrong thread. I have an M17x-R3

 

Hey @air4cedude you should probably post in this thread but what you want to do is open device manager and see what driver you have already installed. From the dell support page this seems to be the only ethernet driver: Atheros AR8151

 

Thanks. Since it's a clean install there isn't a driver currently installed so device mananger is no help.