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

You have some bad luck, wow.

 

I just saw this morning that shipping date on the 17 is now on january 11th !!! What is happening ? I am so glad I found one at the local futureshop yesterday !!!

 

Tell me about it!! I got lucky with Sam, but every single other rep I've dealt with at Dell is completely and utterly useless and incompetent,...either that or extremely lazy. One of the 2.

The thing that is the kicker is I got yo-yo's manager's email from one of his out of office replies and have included them on the past few back and forth's and have never, not once, had them step in and take over. They just continue to let this behavior happen, so my only assumption left is that they are just as bad as the front line....

 

It's month/day/year format, not day/month/year. :thumbsup: So, it's actually November 1st, 2013.

Most likely. From the experience you are having, I would assume that every representative you have spoken with is a low-level grunt working the phones.

After what you experienced, what I experienced was a breeze in comparison. I feel bad (and maybe a little embarrassed) for complaining so much now.

 

No no... on http://www.dell.com/ca/p/alienware-17/fs, it clearly written:

Estimated ship date:
11 Jan 2013

 

Ah, well, the U.S. site says November 1st.

 

Great, so I might not get my order until next year now...

 

Well.... it is Canadia.... lol

What specs are all you people going with?

I am sure it is all in what you are getting that is pushing things back further and further....

My estimated ship date is still the 21st...

 

Just an update on my 'testing' situation...

Been pretty busy, but trying to do some testing and gaming. So far, I've seen an average FPS of about 40 on Tomb Raider (everything maxed), running at stock. Battlefield 4 played smoothly on the Ultra settings preset. I'll try using Fraps tonight on BF4, and hopefully it will work because MSI Afterburner doesn't. After the first couple weeks, I plan to install a modded vBIOS and use a 330W PSU to do some serious overclocking and benching. Hopefully the integrity of the system holds up.

I am using the latest Beta NVIDIA driver, 331.xx something.

 

WOW Dude..................

That is crazy.. Now I see the ship date is January 11 2014??? Unreal

 

Hello everyone. I ordered my Alienware 17 base about a month ago and just received it a couple days ago. So far so good. Finally got Windows 7 updated and loaded up the new A05 bios. Still haven't pulled the trigger on the beta Nvidia drivers out of fear of losing control over the LED lighting (read a few posts on here about that happening with non-Dell released drivers). Here is my system:

Alienware 17 Base
16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M with 2GB GDDR5
Broadcom 4352 Driver
750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, English
Slot-Loading 8x SuperMulti Drive (DVDR/RW)
Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2 and Bluetooth 4.0
4th Generation Intel(R)Core(TM)i7-4700MQ processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Intel(R)Turbo Boost)
17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare Display

One of the first things I like to do when I get a new computer is to load up some old games so I can see what they look like on the ultra-hi settings my previous computer couldn't handle. So far I've loaded up The Witcher 2, Guild Wars 2, Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2. Set TW2 and GW2 to ultra setting just to see where the machines limits where. GW2 ran ok in hi-pop areas like Lions Arch and quite well out in the wild where there weren't so many PC's running around. Witcher 2 on the other hand kicked the crap out of my poor laptop It technically ran but it was pretty choppy. If I dropped the setting down to hi performance from ultra it ran smoothly.

I was a bit disappointed that games that were over a year old (2 years in Witcher's case) were able to stress the system so badly. I realize I 'ONLY' have a GTX 765 but its still the newest hardware released by Nvidia with 2 gigs of ram (twice what my desktop's card has). Anyway, long story short, I was able to weasel a $250 Dell coupon out of customer service due to delayed shipping and a couple other customer service issues and I was thinking about using it in part to purchase a 770m or a 780m video card to pep up the system a bit. My question is; is it even POSSIBLE to swap out video cards in the new 17's? I've been hearing people say they are integrated into the system and can't just be swapped out willy-nilly. I've always built my own desktop's so I'm comfortable poking around inside a computer but there's no way in hell I'm soldering anything. If that's the case I'll just live with the 765m. Other than the video card I plan on popping in another 2.5" sata drive (probably a 1tb) just to give myself some room to grow. I know it doesn't really sound like it but I'm very excited to own my Alienware 17! Thanks for the input guys!

 

Yeah, it's fairly easy to swap out the GPU for a different one. You just need to find a compatible MXM card and heatsink - ebay's upgradeyourlaptop seems to be the popular choice. Not exactly cheap though. As for performance, that is about what you should expect. The 765m isn't about to start competing with the Titan, and it basically takes a Titan to run The Witcher 2 @1080p60 maxed out. Yeah, it's a two year old game, but it was a game in the style of the first Crysis - in other words, it enjoyed murdering top-end desktop GPUs.

 

Hi
It is super easy. Takes about 15 minutes to do.
Take of the back cover
Take out the left fan
Unscrew the left heat sink with 4 screws
Pull out the heat sink
Take out 2 screws holding the video card in place and the video card will come out easy.
Hope that helps you

 

Hi again guys. Just an update. I mentioned before Dell installed W8 on the 750gb mechanical drive rather than the mSATA on my friend's new 17. Well, he phoned Dell but they were of no help and told him they don't send out Windows discs for outlet models. He tried everything including AlienRespawn and making an image but nothing worked so he bit the bullet and bought a copy of W7 Ultimate off eBay.

He set W7 up and got all updates done without any issues so now he finally has a system he's happy with BUT he wants to know how and what's required to get the background Alienware wallpaper and also the Alienhead logo when Windows starts up? Hopefully someone could kindly point us in the right direction.

Btw, he loves the laptop and it really is something in the flesh, so I'm uber jelly of all you Alienware 17 owners, though I love my own 14!

 

Ok...the 'designed to murder top-end GPU's' actually made me laugh out loud That does make me feel better. Like I said it'll run Witcher 2 on the Hi Performance preset with no problems and it looks GREAT. I'm just being greedy now. haha I went to look up how much a 780m costs and I can't even FIND them for sale. The only thing that comes up are the desktop versions and those things are like $600 (HOLY HELL!) I imagine the M versions are probably even more expensive since it seems like everything laptop related is always more So to get the most out of what I've got which driver should I be installing that wont screw with the Alienware LED system (or any of the other stock alienware features for that matter)?

 

Well, the 765M is still a good card, you just have to turn down some of the settings to keep it fluid. It's really expensive to upgrade to a 780M off ebay or wherever right now, and it's not really worth upgrading from your 765M to a 770M I don't think. If I was you, I'd just be happy for an awesome laptop, and turn down some settings in the games. Then, in a few years, when the 765M doesn't cut it anymore, then buy an upgrade GPU, probably from the next generation in 2-4 yrs time, and install that in your laptop. Installing a new driver may only increase performance in games by a few percent, nothing particularly significant, although performance improvements in the region of 20% aren't unheard for specific games.

 

So finally heard back about my system, the good guy that I've been dealing with was apologizing profusely about the yo-yo from the Executive Customer Service team and I guess after me calling him out on his last email and proving him wrong at every point he made, someone must have taken notice. The system will be built "early next week" and hopes to ship by mid-week. I might even have it by the end of the week next week!!

Finally some good news.....

 

Good to hear, as difficult as some Dell people can be... there are also very good and helpful ones that can get done! haha

Took me 6 tries to get a $3800 laptop down to $2998 after everything.... lol(also helped they took away the $200 gift cards and gave that price break into instant savings on the GPU and CPU... )

 

Same here, estimated delivery date is still Oct 21. And btw, I've also ordered mine last Sept 26. Good luck to the both of us. ^^

 

Glad to hear... Finally

 

Now the other yoyo replied and said that "while the expedition order has been placed there is no way to tell when it will be shipped, just that it will be shipped as soon as possible. Whenever more details are available, we will update you accordingly"

He also said about my request for a contact to escalate over his head, and I quote:

"Your escalation has already reached the highest point" lol, but I did manage to locate an email address for the Board of Directors.......which I included on my response asking why he didn't check on the expedition request prior to responding to me, or was it that he was trying to tell me that the "good guy" is lying to me?

I did ask for a little more clarification from the good guy, I may have been a little over-excited. I asked him to explain the process to me in a little more detail.

The order will begin being built at the beginning of the week. It does not take long to build, but they require 3 or 4 days as they want to "thoroughly test" it, especially because I've been so "vocal." They want to ensure absolutely no issues with it.

It will then take 3 or 4 days to ship. It is being built in the states, which I found odd because I know they do so in Toronto as well, though, seeing the latest update of EDD of January 11th on the Alienware page, maybe there was some parts difficulty in Canada and that's why it took so long to get an answer on my expedition request. If they had to arrange for my laptop to be built in a different than normal location, that would make sense.

This last part is pure speculation on my part. At any rate, I'm ecstatic that things are finally moving forward! I was actually at the point where I was going to get a line of credit at the bank and cancel my order altogether. I had checked earlier and knew I was eligible for one, but really wanted the Alienware.

 

Unbelievable what we go threw to get these alienware systems.... I guess it shows how good they really are or we would never put ourselves threw this torture...
I am just very happy that I don't have to go threw it anymore...
I hope you get some shipping info next week.

 

So are you liking your system? Did you try the 3D? If so how do you like it?

 

The system has been great so far. No issues with performance or anything related. Installed all of my SSD's fine and restored the system perfectly using AlienRespawn - no performance lost; boot time is approximately 12 seconds. The temperatures are a little warmer than what I'm comfortable with, but that's probably due to the fact that they expedited the production process and did a sloppy job. I'll do some benchmarks and decide from there whether or not I should re-paste.

I have not tried the 3D. I don't have any games that support it. I mainly bought the upgrade for the 120Hz TrueLife display itself, and I do love it. (You can see why here.) It seems as though you can change the screen from 60Hz to 120Hz, which is nice to be able to do. Maybe I'll give those 3D glasses a try tonight!

 

Awesome man, glad to hear!! I can't wait to try out the 3D on mine. I have a 59" 3D Samsung Plasma, but it will be nice to be able to lie in bed and use the 3D.

Quick question about the 60Hz to 120Hz, if you change it to 60 is the Nvidia Optimus available then? Or is this just a setting that's in Windows and resets when you reboot?

 

Super nice screenshots...
I also preordered battlefield 4 threw Dell. lol
I think the game is going to be amazing.

 

There's no Optimus. I'll try to explain how it is...

When I open NVIDIA Control Panel, the display is defaulted to 60Hz. However, while gaming, the graphics options say "1920x1080 120Hz", and allows me to choose 60Hz (if I want). So, I'm not sure if it changes by itself or what. I can choose to use either:

Spoiler

Ignore the "Ancor" display. That is my external monitor.

I'm not sure why it is like this. I do not see any direct benefit of being able to use 60Hz with a 120Hz display. It does not seem to help with battery life. Maybe someone knows? I'd like to know why.

P.S. I'm glad that they're finally making progress with your order, Red. :thumbsup:

 

If I use alienrespawn and make the recovery disks for my 17 . In all actuality I should be able to format my 256gb ssd boot drive and my 750gb hdd and then use the recovery disks to restore my computer to the way it was when I opened the box when it was brand new . Is it that easy or is their a catch.
Alienrespawn only uses 2 4.7gb DVDs to make my recovery disks. So it's only backing up 9.4 gbs of data. My 17 has to come with more than 9.4 gbs of data installed on it from the factory.

 

That's pretty much how it works. I've done it a lot of times over the past year with multiple systems.

 

Thanks for the info and thanks for the PS! I'm finally excited about this system rather than pi$$ed off! I've had a smile ear to ear since I received that email.

 

Thanks for response.
I just got thru making my recovery disks.
I had already changed my bios to a05 and updated windows and installed one game before doing so. Should that matter.

 

Encountered a small problem with my AW17-780m-120Hz... Occasionally (possibly after watching a video) the display will have a purplish overlay - which isn't displayed briefly over items that are repainted on the display. Changing the display resolution or refreshing the display doesn't seem to help - a system restart fixes the problem.

Has anyone else seen this? Not sure if this is a software or hardware problem...

If it recurs - may try updating to a newer NVidia driver...

 

Anyone have any experiences with skins like this one?

Special Laptop Black Carbon Skin Cover FOR NEW Dell Alienware 17 2013 M17X R5 | eBay

Was thinking of getting it but, of course, I'm always worried that it will look like crap after a couple of months.

 

To me I think that it is for the older model. The lines don't match the 2013 model.

 

Ya, I saw that to, but I meant more in general has anyone any experience with skins of this type on laptops?

 

I ordered my Alienware 17 on 9/22 and it arrived yesterday. Loving it so much!

 

In my opinion you'd just be covering up the beauty of the design by doing that, kind of a bit like buying clear plastic covering for your sofa, or fitting a bra to the front of your car to prevent stone chips!

I also see that it covers the bottom of the laptop too, leaving the vents free, but it will increase the temperatures inside the laptop because it will stop heat radiating off the bottom of the laptop (even if they have left the vents free). EDIT: actually, not sure if the bottom of laptop is covered or not from those diagrams.

 

Damn, that was quick. Friends with people in high places @ Dell?

Ya, I definitely would either mod it so it didn't cover the vents or not use the bottom piece. It is also slotted for the lights and Alien so you wouldn't be covering that up...

I thought the carbon fibre look would enhance the lid and keep it protected, but that's me.....I'm just curious as to how durable these skins are--ie, do they start peeling after a certain amount of time or do they stay stuck on...

 

Just a follow up, been installing all my programs on my A17 whew!!!
Anyway, The system has been running smoothly, SSD install went without a hitch, have Windows 8 as well as 7 loaded on 2 separate drives in the event of a disaster''
Noticed when I installed my SSD drive that the RAM slots under the back plate are empty so Dell must have loaded the RAM under the keyboard which is good news,
Now I won't have to remove so many parts just to upgrade the RAM..
This machine just smokes my old Studio 17 with the older i7 720Q..
My Windows performance score went threw the roof!!!
As I said I finally finished installing all my Video editing software and I am at present downloading a few of my games from STEAM...
Got a notice that a video driver update was available from NVidia but I ignored it since if I understand correctly they won't load without a Mod...

 

Question .
I have been playing crysis 3 and swtor for two days now and everything has been good. Crysis 3 has played flawlessly on all high settings. But stwor started just shutting down for no reason. So I tried switching from integrated graphics to dedicated graphics wich I've never tried until now and it says my computer has to reboot for changes to take affect . When computer comes back on everything is 3 or for times bigger than befor and looks like graphics are half the resolution as before. What's up with that

 

And is my computer using the graphics card to play the games if I'm in integrated graphics mode

 

We'll so much for that. 2 days with my computer and now it's broke. Keep getting the blue screen. I reboot and try to go into alien respawn and restore back to factory install but I get the blue screen before I have a chance to do it .now what do I do . Says windows is shutting down to keep from damaging my computer. This sucks

 

Keeps getting worse.
Now when I turn it on the lights and keyboard light up the fans go full blast and the screen stays black and that's it.
We'll looks like I'm in the middle of one of those horror stories that I been reading about.
Why me this sucks

 

We'll I guess that's al she wrote. It won't even turn on now.
I guess I can look at the bright side it didn't catch on fire yet. Emphasis on yet

 

What are my options. Can I send it back and wait another month and a half for a new one or will they just tear it apart and try to fix it.

 

Sorry to hear that. I don't hear that problem too much on the forms.
One thing I will say about Dell is there warranty is the best and also there alienware tech support.
So you wont have any worries about getting a new one but just the waiting time...

What is your specs that you bought?

 

They will send a tech to your home and fix it. That is a very fast service they offer.

 

My specs are.
4800mq processor
Gtx 770m .
256gb ssd boot with 750gb hdd
1920x1080 screen . Not 3d
1 year warranty. Should of got 3

2400 out the door with 300 dollar gift card

 

Do I have to call dell during buisness hours or is it 24/7

 

You have to call alienware tech support. They are open late