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

I have an Alienware M17x R4. I've heard that the soundcard on m17x r4 is pretty good but i'm wondering if the sound of my alienware can be improved with something like the new xonar u7 or an audiophile usb dac. I'm using audio technica ad900x as my headphones if anyone is wondering. Would like feedback from people who have tried similar laptops with external dacs.

TL;DR using m17x R4. Would i benefit from Xonar U7 or other external usbs? Using AD900x.

 

I get some low level vibration from under the palm rest from time to time.

Is it normal?

 

It just seems a little weird to me that it would start out of no where after a couple weeks of using the modded vbios with no issues. I'll try reflashing it and see if the stock bios makes a difference, though I'd prefer to not have to worry about temp throttling.

 

Voltran: It's probably the ODD/HDD spinning up. That, or the speakers.

 

I know it very probably is the HDD, what I don't like is that it's actually transmitting vibrations to the chassis implying that it's not perfectly stable. And it's not the HDD spinning up, unless it's spinning up for half an hour, it's probably just its regular spinning.

In my previous laptops, the HDD spinning had exactly zero noticeable sign.

 

Hi, I'm not up to speed on sound cards & external solutions like that, but you might get some solutions by posting in the M17xR3/R4 Owners Lounge too:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ware-m17x-r3-r4-owners-lounge-thread-451.html

 

I'm no expert, nor am I saying this is the reason, but isn' t the 17 an aluminum chassis? Plastic dampens sound and vibrations far better than aluminum does.

 

Good 3DMark scores there, looks like not everyone has the throttling problem. Looks like your result is pretty much in line with what is expected with a GTX 780M:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M - NotebookCheck.net Tech

 

The laptop speakers on my M17xR3 transmit some vibration to the laptop at high volumes, but you'd probably recognise the difference between that & HDD vibrations.

 

Thanks for the link..was wondering how it was.

 

Yep, no worries, that's a great site for learning about notebooks & graphics cards. It's where I've learned the most about the current GPU's in terms of specifications & performance. But, it's the threads like this one & others where I've learned how to mod my own laptop, so lot's of good sources of info in many places!

 

Yep, that is where the HDD is located.

 

Ok finally got my 17 and I am blown away! I was skeptical about getting a 17 inch because i thought it would be too big, BUT I LOVE THE SIZE!!! It's roomy (the keyboard) And its not too much bigger width wise (now the height yeaaaah lol). There is no flex under normal use and it really feels like a premium laptop. OH? Did I mention? ZERO FLEX IN THE LID!!!!!! (Thank you Aluminum/Magnesium Alloy). The only nit picking problem is the right click button at the bottom right corner sticks for a millisecond before resetting. I got two finger scrolling activated and I broke in the trackpad so its not too resistant, either way I still have my Sensei mouse. Oh the speakers? Let's just say I never had to set my speakers below 30% OMG THE SOUND'S AWESOME!!!!!!

One thing I notice: When I unplug I get a notification to Switch Graphics cards to save battery, but I do and it turns off iGPU. how do I know when Optimus is working and how do I stop this from showing up?

Also what things should I update?

 

I do, it's happening when the speakers are silent.

I also have a MacBook with an metal chassis, zero vibration.
And will I wouldn't say that the Alienware's finition is subpar, it's definitely worse than that of a MacBook Pro from 2010.

Do you also have vibrations from under the palm rest?

 

Just a little feedback for anyone wondering about, or interested in the "Neoprene Sleeve" for the Alienware 17: it barely fits the 17 and there's very little protection for the laptop itself. It's not a good investment for anyone planning to use it on a daily basis to take your laptop with you places. I'd say it's for home use (or extra padding for a bag) only.

 

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering whether anybody knew whether it was possible to make the AlienFX lighting flash when the laptop has gone into sleep mode?

Cheers

 

I also had that unplug quirk - I think you can just ignore it if you right click on desktop and can see both intel and nvidia config panels - it will be working as intended

 

So I reflashed my cards vbios today and when turning the computer on from fully off, it is still crashing on me. This problem started out of no where, was working fine for weeks with the modded vbios and now everytime I turn it on it is doing this for me regardless of what vbios I have. This is starting to scare me that it is something else.

 

Hi all,

I've been following this thread for a while now, and I must say that I was a bit anxious until my 17 arrived today.
I'd like to request some support in order to fully install my system without any further issues.
The first thing I did is do several windows update's (I have Win 8)
Second thing I did was to install the Nvidia experience in.
Should there be any other update procedure to preform ?

Another thing is, I'm not very experienced in hardware. But I would like to install a second HDD. Anyone got a detailed DIY for this noob ?
I can't even manage to get the bottom off...

 

What driver are you using?

 

Nvisia inspector shows 311.48, I'm using whatever the default one is that came on the driver CD with the computer. I'm going to update all of my drivers and stuff now, but drivers shouldn't be having an effect on it before bios even posts should it? I mean it has nothing to do with windows and it's drivers at that point.

 

May I ask why you're using a modded vBIOS? The latest A03 BIOS released by Dell seems to have resolved the temperature limit issues, if that was your reasoning behind it.

 

That shouldn't be the problem then.

All the latest ones have worked for me for a few days then the machine starts locking up - even in windows. The most stable WHQL is 314.22 and over in the NV forums this one is getting a lot of praise as the saviour for all the latest poor drivers. Might be worth a try, not that it makes sence it will work but sometimes just a change can fix problems

 

I did not know about this and was using the vbios from before. I reflashed to the stock vbios and updated to the new bios, and still have the same issue. I also tried updating my video card drivers to the newest 326 some people were talking about but no change. Maybe I'll just pull everything out and reseat it and see if that makes a difference.

 

Guys,

I've been following this thread for a while. Though I was a bit anxious in getting the system. Today my system arrived and everything was more then satisfying.
But I've encountered a few issues and questions during the installation and benchmark testings.
I've done every windows update possible and installed the new BIOS afterwards. Then I installed the 326 beta driver from NV.
Did a benchmark test and still got a very disappointing result (less then 5K)
I've got a feeling that i'm still missing a few drivers or something.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks

 

I'd say it does quite well, especially with keeping temperatures down. The fans are not loud at all.

 

How does the chassis feel? Weird question, but bear with bear with me:

My R1 felt extremely solid. Running a palm over the lid, and it felt like a thick sheet of metal - solid, cool, and gave a solid "thunk" when knocked on, with no wobbling or creaking, etc.

From what I've seen on Youtube, the 17's panels are quite a lot thinner. I'm wondering if they're only token aluminium, as it were.

 

You might need software installed for a bluray drive (if you have one) as mine didn't come with anything pre-installed. Other than that obviously anti-virus software then it's just whatever else you care to load up.

As for the HDD installed its super easy. I installed an additional one within 10 min. Unscrew the 2 screws on the bottom plate, then slide the bottom cover forward and off. Then there will be 2 HHD bays there. Figure out the empty one and unscrew the 4 screws attaching the casing. Throw in your HDD, screw it all back and slide the bottom cover back on (this is slightly tricky).

Last note is you will have to go into Computer Management to enable to the new drive as it won't show up by default. You'll need to enable it, format it then assign it a drive letter.

 

Thx for the reaction, btw sorry for the double post. Seems like everything has to be approved by a moderator or something

Ok I will give it a try tomorrow, i'm just a bit afraid to brake something...
Figured it couldn't be so hard to remove it but after several tries the plate looked very firm mounted and was a bit afraid to force it.

I noticed that after the BIOS upgrade and NV 326 drivers, still a weak benchmark result of 4-5K, any suggestions about that ?

Thanks !

 

It's solid. The build is pretty good.

My only problem with the 17 is having to remove the CPU and GPU just to replace the RAM or mSata SSD, which obviously requires a re-paste. Not sure why, but they made the 17 much more difficult to customize.

 

Thats about right. Using the stock Vbios (and A03), with 326 drivers I get at or just below 5k. The A03 bios does nothing for me with regards to the 780M, at least that I can notice. Its about the same as my M18x with a 680M. The A17 is smaller, slicker, very well built, not faster video though, in fact a few frames per sec (5-10) slower than the 680M playing COH2 (same settings).

 

First I'm going to assume you are talking 3D Mark 11 (Performance) when you said "did a benchmark test". Try running the benchmark in Dedicated GPU mode only (Fn F5) and see if you get better results. If so your issue may be Optimus related and you need to fiddle with a bunch of settings to get benchmarking in Optimus working correctly. If no better results in D GPU mode, then install a systems monitoring program like GPUz to get a log of what your GPU's load, Temps and clock rates are when your running tests.

I had an R1 with the Core 2 Quad and 280M, and I can say the New build quality is superior when it comes to the fine details. As for the aluminum lids + bottom on the new AW, its not as thick, but it definitely isn't sheet thin for show like the Samsung ones were. There is little to no flex in the screen and the hinges are more solid than I remember the R1's being. You have to remember that the R1's were much bigger and heavier, rivaling that of the 18's due to their SLI setup and over the top thickness to the aluminum.

 

Reference? Is this regarding the ports under the palmrest?

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks for that. I actually really liked that about the R1. Sure, it was heavy, but man was it solid. Good to hear the quality hasn't dropped though.

 

Test results
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4900MQ CPU @ 2.80GHz,Alienware 068R5X

Bios A03
NV 326
High performance power scheme

Noticed that my GPU temp is limited at 68° C

PS: Notice the remark Processor not recognized..

 

Ordered my new 17 a few days ago

16GB ram
GTX 780M
750GB + 64GB SSD Caching
Blu-ray
i7-4800MQ
120Hz WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) TrueLife w/3D Bundle

Was wondering what how long production usually takes. Does anyone have an opinion on the briefcase vs the backpack? Seems like the briefcase is the way to go for convenience.

 

I dunno, compared to the 18, the 17 is a dream to work on. When I wind up replacing the GPUs on my 18 next year or the year after, I'll have to basically tear the whole thing apart. I'd take a 5 minute repasting job to replace those parts over having to disassemble the palm rest and display assembly to replace GPUs.

 

View attachment GPU-Z Sensor Log.txt

My GPUz log

 

Where did you find that? According to Owner's Manual, you have to:
1 Remove the base cover.
2 Remove the battery.
3 Remove the primary hard drive.
4 Remove the secondary hard drive.
5 Remove the optical disc hard drive.
6 Remove the Palm Rest.

 

Very interesting log... For the fist half it seems normal with temps reaching 72 C no problem and clocks at the standard 849. Then at 2013-07-29 23:07:56 it begins to downclock sporadically at around 68-72 C. Not throttle mind you, as the clocks don't dramatically drop to cool it off, just a 100 or 200 MHz drop under full GPU load. Many users in this forum have had issues with benchmarking, but no problems in game. Try taking logs and frame-rates in a demanding game you have for 30 min. Also is this in Dedicated mode or Optimus mode? If 72 C is your "magic number" try downloading EVGA Percision X or Nvidia Inspector to change the GPU temp target.

 

And to remove the palm rest, you must remove the CPU, GPU and the GPU heat sink. The screws are inaccessible otherwise.

That is what I was told by Mr. Fox. He did a complete tear down of the 17.

 

so i have ordered the same spec
16GB ram
GTX 780M
750GB + 64GB SSD Caching
Blu-ray
i7-4800MQ
120Hz WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) TrueLife w/3D Bundle

quick question what is the problem with the computer now ? is it working under the performance or what?
how can i test whether the 3d is working? do we need to plug it into a 3d tv or the laptop screen already capable of doing 3d?
the other thing is that do we need to update any software when it came?
how can i check and make sure that i got all the parts of the laptop working fine? do i need to call dell support to check all the laptop or i just need to go to a local computer workshop to let them check it for me. Since i dont really understand about the software and hardware in deep. I thought that this laptop is ready to play laptop, you expect to just play with the amount that you pay for this high end gaming laptop.
thank you and hope that you guys can help me in answering this question.

 

I will also be joining the Alienware 17 family here are my specs
i7-4900mq
win 8
16gb ram
256msata boot + 750gb hdd
gtx 780m
anti-glare screen

the cool part is i saved about $750 using dell's mystery coupon that could save you 10%,20%or 30%. my was 20% and along with addition savings and member benefits

 

Just got the same coupon myself, but my system arrived two days ago.

 

what kind of coupon did you have? and whats the total did you get after the tax

 

Wow... Why is this happening to me now? I just got my system two days ago!

 

You should call Dell and tell them you will return your laptop and reorder it with the coupon. They will probably just refund you the difference since it would cost them money to ship your laptop back.

 

@ThatOldGuy

I will go and test with a demanding game. Only game I've played is SWTOR on Ultra but that doesn't seem to bother the 780m much..
Since I do not have a lot of experience in overclocking or tweaking, is there maybe a guide to set the GPU temp in inspector ?
Or is it a peace of cake ? Wouldn't like to brake my new best friend because I did something wrong with the settings

 

I also used the 20% off coupon and saved about 600 bucks. Got a 4700MQ with 780M GTX and 3 years warranty for $2,009.

 

Do you guys think it is worth getting the 4800MQ vs the 4700MQ? It will cost 300 dollars more. (Comes with 64 SSD + bluray)