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

I called tech support and they had me remove back and unplug battery and plug it back in. Still nothing . He said motherboard was no good and they would order new one and when it came in they would come and fix it. I just hope the guy that fixes it puts all the screws back in where they came out and it right .

 

Hey I was able to install the New Beta 331.40 drivers from Nvidia with no problems straight from the website..Noticed a jump in my games FPS..
Laptop in running great with the new drivers....

 

Would be cool if you could record video of the repair process and upload on youtube.

I am still undecided between getting AW 17 with 120hz screen, AW 18, Clevo P177SM with NTSC 90% or Asus G750JH. Right now my shopping cart at dell.no says it's out of the 256gb ssd + 750gb hdd option.

 

Woah' nice and congrats! Btw. uhm just wonderin what was your estimated delivery date? Did it arrive a week earlier than your EDD?

 

Woah' nice and congrats! Btw. uhm just wonderin what was your estimated delivery date? Did they arrive a week earlier than your EDD?

 

You cqn check my posts.i had also had a very bad experience with my alienware 17 & the tech who came to fix it screwed it completely.its not that all tech do that.may be i had bad luck hence i simply got it replaced with a new one as we can opt for refund or replacement within 21days of purchase.

 

I'd second this option. If you are having mobo issues this early in the game, I'd refuse the tech and demand a complete replacement. I would also gently suggest, that due to the major inconvenience and issues this early on, that rather than just asking for your money back completely, that they, as a sign of good will, bump your warranty up to three years or you'll be taking your money back and going elsewhere. (I'm not suggesting that you actually take your money back and go elsewhere, just suggest to them that it is a very real possibility).

 

Have to agree, refuse the tech service and demand a replacement..
Its within the 21 day window and a replacement would be in order.
Also as stated get your warranty coverage updated as well as complete care for 3 years if possible as compensation..

 

Hello guys! I've got a new alienware 17 r5 4900qm with 780gtx.
It's perfect, i've updated bios osd and nvidia drivers.
I've a problem....(sorry for my english! i'm an italian user) when i close the lid, and after 2 hours, the notebook just...wakes up. automatically.
It remains waked for 30 minutes, and after some minutes it wakes up again lol.
I checked the configuration of intel rapid start and..there is a timer of 120minutes! But...why? Dell set a configuration that wakes up the alienware after 120 minutes? lol?
I don't know, i can just turn off the notebook and it's all ok, but..what do you think?

Thanks!

 

Um, I think that 120 minutes is the setting to put the computer into hibernate. After being asleep for 120 minutes, it hibernates.

 

i wish that...but..not

after 120 minutes, my alienware magically wakes up (alienfx becomes on, and also the led of my razer death adder)
After 3-4 hours becomes hot (more or less, cause the display is closed), so i think that it's not normal.

120 minutes is also the "timer" of the app "intel rapid start manager"....i don't know! :/

 

The default setting is for the system to move from S3 (sleep) to S4 (hibernation) state after 120 minutes using Intel Rapid Start.

If it doesn't quickly go into hibernation when it wakes up at 120 minutes, there could be a problem with your hibernation partition. This could happen if the partitions on the system's primary SSD have been modified.

If Rapid Start is having a problem - it might be logged in the Event Viewer.

 

Encountered a problem last night with networking over Ethernet. When trying to copy a large file from my new AW17 to another Windows 8 PC over wired Ethernet - the copy would hang when it began moving a 75MB file. I can copy the file locally on the AW17 - but copying to any share on the other system would hang after beginning the file transfer.

I disconnected the Ethernet - and was able to do the copy over wireless.

I suspect the problem is either with the default settings for the Killer Ethernet adapter or with the driver (which is using the driver that came with the system a week ago).

Anyone else see this problem (and find a solution)?

 

thank you for your answer.
yeah i think that you're right.

The problem is...that after 120 minutes...it simply wakes up and doesn't go into hibernation.

What you suggest? (by the way, the intel start partition is ok...there is a 32gb partition in my ssd that i think is for that, i don't touch anything)

oh my god!!!! yeah!!!

i modify the bios and the configuration of the intel rapid start, then, i put them to the default configuration and now..it..just..works!! lol
the mistery of the intel bugs

thanks guys, i love u lol..that crazy problem! bios ok, app ok, partition is ok ('cause they created them..and I chaged nothing..)...but doesn't work. Now with the same configuration yes..

 

Just received another "update."

Apparently, there is another mysterious part shortage, even though half a dozen of you received your system last week. I've asked what part they are short, but no response.....

EDIT: OK, I just lost it,. Apparently the part they are short is the Nvidia 3d Kit! !!! They can't send me my laptop, which is apparently ready to go because of a freaking pair of glasses?

I instructed them to ship the laptop immediately and ship the glasses whenever they have them in stock. I have 3 pairs of active shutter glasses for my 3d TV, so if I really feel the need to test the 3D before the Nvidia glasses arrive, I'm covered.

Just to be sure I'm correct, is there anyone here that can verify a part number for me?

RKP9V- KIT, CVR, HNG-UP, NV, 3D, AW17R1

Edit: apparently this is a hinge cover kit. , of all the rotten luck... Lol

 

Oh my, I haven't resolved yet....
I put 1minute in the intel rapid start app (in windows) and all it's ok.
Sleep, wakes up after 1 min then ibernation.

If I set 120 minutes...it just wakes up.
Oh my god what do you think?
Partition seems ok, in the EFI I've intel rapid start on with a delay of 2hours. Like the windows app, 120 minutes..
Hmm...in efi I've "entry on s3 rtc wake" on 2 hours like the windows app. It's ok?

 

Found a workaround to the wired networking problem. After disabling the "Large Send Offload" settings in the E2200 driver, the large file copies started working. It may not be a problem with the AW17 - but could be a problem with the combination of my desktop, the AW17 and the network switch through which they're connected.

At least I found a simple solution...

 

NBC has posted the test.

Test Alienware 17 (Haswell) Notebook - Notebookcheck.com Tests

In short: fan profile, battery life, and cooling need work. Seems like ASUS is selling the overall better notebook this time. Besides the plastic frame, flexible lid, thick ventilation, low upgrade-ability, and inferior warranty, of course.

The pains of buying gaming laptops.

 

A05 seems to have fixed fan profile. as for cooling. mine has excellent cooling. peaking at 72c at full load, but this was after I repasted with Tuniq TX-4. something that is much harder to do with the Asus (I originally wanted to buy an ASUS however, the way it's built turned me off). MSI would have been great as I have owned a lot of MSI laptops (and Asus), I just don't find the single fan setup sufficient even after repasting. Sager, I would say, would be the better competitor against Alienware.

 

Hmm, so I slightly overclocked my GPU and ran 3DMark 11 and the score dropped 300 points. Weird... Am I already exceeding voltage limits with the 780M?

 

You may find what caused it to wake up with this.

Great! I'm glad you could find the culprit.

 

thank you! i will try.

edit: i checked the log viewer and..oh my god.
There isn't the reason of the wake up...just when i opened the lid, but the originally wake up no...

mm...i don't know guys!

Intel rapid start is activated in the EFI, with a delay of 2 hours.
The windows app of intel rapid start in on with a delay of 120 minutes (2 hours)
Partition seems ok 'cause if i set 1minutes it works (?? omg)

what do you think? :/ do you have intel rapid start too?

 

We'll the tech came to my house today to replace my motherboard on my 6 day old alienware 17 . I kind of felt bad for the guy because he spent an hour completely tearing my laptop apart and putting it back together just to push the power button and watch it boot half way up then just go completely dead again . He spent 3 hours total trying to get it to work and I'm still in the same boat I was in before he got here. He called his boss and told him what was up and his boss told him to ask me if I wanted to send it to the depot to be fixed . What ever that place is . I laughed at him and said who in there right mind would send a brand new 6 day old laptop off to some depot to be fixed. That's just rediculous .and he agreed with me on that. So they are supposed to call me tommorrow to see what they can do. I told the tech I wanted a brand new one exactly like mine or my money back end of story . He said that was up to dell to decide.
If they don't give me a brand new one I will get my money back and go buy another gaming laptop somewhere else with better specs for cheaper .

As far as warranty service goes dell got a tech out to try to repair my laptop in only a day and a half so that was at least a good thing

 

Only 6 days old make them take it back and have them built you a new one or get your money back.
Don't send it to the depot and don't let them send a tech to your house a again tell them what you want !

 

Just placed an order for an Alienware 17 with Gtx780m, but I'm a little scared after seeing the temperatures in the review of Notebookcheck.

All owners thereof have the same temperatures with standard thermal paste?

It´s completly disaster compared with M17xR4 & R3...

 

LOL, that review is absurd. The AW 17 does not get that hot unless the ambient temperature in the room is like 90 degrees and you are blocking the fans. I guarantee you that it will not reach anywhere near that... I've got no idea why they are seeing such high temperatures. Something is wrong there...

 

Got this in my e-mail just now.

Alienware 17 R1
Save 30% on any Dell Outlet Alienware 17 R1 priced at $2,179 with coupon* code below!

Was $2,179.00 Now $1,525.30



Certified Refurbished
Intel Core 4th Generation i7-4800MQ processor
16GB memory
750GB hard drive
16x Blu-ray Disc
17.3-inch WLED FHD display
Windows 7 Home Premium
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5
Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2 and Bluetooth 4.0
8-cell battery



Limited time, while supplies last.
Coupon code:
LBM95P975?SC2N
Please call 1-888-518-3355 to purchase!

 

I keep picking up the phone to call and order (which I'm sure I'll be told they don't have any of these and bait me with something else), but have reservations.
In a nutshell, what are the major issues with the AW 17 R1? This looks like a killer config for cheap, but how is the LCD quality, for instance?

 

It seems like a pretty good deal to me, we have a coupon for the Outlet M17xR3, m14x R1 and m18x R1 here.

 

If only there were any at the Outlet. Coupons are great, but need inventory!

 

It changes frequently, I saw some m17x R3 yesterday as well as m14x but you need to keep checking every now and then.

 

I know. I'm no Outlet noob, that's for sure! The thing is, the Outlet inventory rarely refreshes during a promo, but the morning after the promo expires, magically there are lots of whatever was just gone the day before!

Funny how that works!

 

I had the same thought that coupons are great but there is never any inventory. What you want to do is call Dell outlet directly. The 30% off coupon hit this morning and all Alienware 17's were gone. I called up dell outlet, and within 10 minutes of being on the phone, I was able to get the 17 with the 780m, ssd, blu-ray player, 16gb ram for just over $1500. I think its a pretty good deal. Gotta take the time to call or go on the chat. Never assume there is no inventory based off the website itself.

 

What size SSD were you able to get for $1500? assume that all aw 17s are 1080 p now?

 

I called dell to find out what they were going to do with my dead laptop. The tech said they would send a box and I would send it to be fixed and I told them no way. I want a new one or my money back . Then he said something about someone calling me back with my new system specs within 2 days. I noticed on their website they no longer have a 17 with the 4800mq processor wich I have now. Also they no longer have the 256bg boot + 750gb Hdd option wich I have now. Nor the blueray drive for the 17 . Unless I'm looking in the wrong place. What happens now . Can someone point me to the website that let's you choose your options for the 17 like upgrading hdd's or optional blue ray drive please.

Edit.
Sorry I posted this in the wrong thread. Is was supposed to go in alienware 17 owners lounge thread but put here by accident and don't know how to move it.

 

Any information on your order yet?

 

Can someone point me to the alienware website that let's you choose your options like different hard drive options or optional blue ray drive or windows 7 or 8 . For alienware 17 please . I can only find the website that gives you three diverent 17 packages and it don't let you change or upgrade specific options.

 

I just noticed that too. Also no 3D option. Maybe they are updating the website but who knows....

 

Hey there everyone, I just bought an Alienware 17 and am so far very happy with it. I know I am a little late to the party, but better late then never, huh? lol

Things I've noticed are:

Better build quality than my past laptops- This thing is easier to get into, seems much more sturdier and less plasticky and flimsy. (see sig for my most 2 recent laptops.) While I feel a little like I overpayed, (I am used to Asus and cheaper brands) They just don't feel as sturdy as this Alienware.

Runs cool- I wouldn't say it's cooler then my past models, but since the vents are far larger on the bottom it allows better use of a cooling pad, so with a cooling pad I am sure it would run far cooler. I am waiting on a Coolermaster Notepal U3 to test out.

I love the customization on the lighting. Most laptops have backlight keyboards, but you can't customize them, with this I can have any of the color choices at pretty much any time! Or go for a rainbow of colors!

Specs/ Overall- This is a different story, I bought a Toshiba Qosmio and an Asus G750 that had both the same cpu and gpu as the Alienware. They cost about $1400 and $1500 respectfully, whereas I got the Alienware for $1800. (I couldn't wait for anything to be ordered, as my previous laptop was on the verge of dying (Samsung) and I needed something now.) Anyhow, the Toshiba even had the same amount of ram and had 2x 500GB HDD's (No raid) for far less, but it also heated up a good bit, try over 10C MORE on idle over what the Alienware gets. The Asus just felt plain flimsy. The Asus also matched the Alienware on HDD at 1x 750GB HDD. Biggest issue was the Asus had Windows 8 and the Alienware has Windows 7 which I am happier with. I also like how all the ports are placed relatively out of my way, I always hated when laptop makers put usb, or audio ports on the right hand side and all the way towards where a mouse would be. So yes I did play the field some and all I got was disappointed. Yes the Alienware cost a good $300-$400 more then my past 2 trials. But with the build quality of the casing and extras you get, I think it's worth it. Plus I got something in the box I never thought I would see again, Traditional Restore Discs! That actually made my day! It means even if I screw up the partitions (which it seems there was no restore partition on mine, but no complaints.) I can still restore the laptop!

Now the Alienware did come with Windows 7 x64 so it had full support for 7, which does work in it's favor. I has resigned to giving into 8 but didn't need to. That's not all, the build quality is far better. The screen doesn't flex like the Toshiba, Asus or any of my past laptops. The overall case seems sturdier. It is stupid easy to get into the laptop to clean it out, or to do upgrades. It's like they WANT you to upgrade it, unlike Toshiba or Asus who tends to just open up the hdd and ram bays. I can actually take out the fans and replace them should the need arise. (I am not 100% certain how easy it is to get to the Msata slot, but considering a Msata SSD cost a little more than a traditional SSD I went the traditional SSD route for now. As a 250GB SSD and a 750GB HDD are plenty for me for now. I did do the upgrade myself and it was really easy. I was also surprised to see they included everything needed to slap another HDD in. Unlike the others.


The next thing I wouldn't mind doing though would be to upgrade to a Blu-ray drive, but that isn't a must as I do have an External USB 3.0 Blueray drive.


Anyhow, anything else and I'll post or such. Thanks for reading my short and probably not to organized post, lol.

 

Nope, still waiting on the part to come in......I asked for an update from the escalation team, but they couldn't be bothered to even reply to me unless I cc [email protected], though they are very kind in their reply when I do that....

If the build quality wasn't so amazing I would have given up and cancelled it long ago...

@Player2

If you go to the Canadian website, you can still customize, however I warn you in advance, there isn't a whole lot of choices:

Alienware 17 Full HD Gaming Laptop Details | Dell Canada

I noticed they took down the EDD date on the Canadian site, it went from 1 month out to Jan 11 to being gone altogether now....

This one works as well:

Alienware 17 Gaming Laptop | Dell

Shows an EDD of Oct 31st. I guess the parts shortage I'm experiencing only applies to Canadian customers.

 

Hi guys,

I got my AW17 last week. Just a recap on the build I ordered:

4900MQ (factory overclocked to 3Ghz/4Ghz)
790M / 16GB / 64GB SSD + 2 * 750GB 7200RPM Raid 0
120Hz screen
Windows 7

I've been very impressed with it so far, have been playing Skyrim on ultra and Final fantasy XIV on 'high end desktop'. While I didn't buy the screen specifically for 3D, was very impressed with how well the 3D works with practically no set up.

The only issue I have had is that it runs a bit hotter than I am comfortable with. After a couple of hours of playing FF XIV the GPU max was 80C and the CPU max was 92C (both are between 40C and 50C at idle, room temps ~28C). This is on my CM Storm 17 cooling mat, with the fans on max. I was kinda hoping that since these are high end gaming laptops, that they would spent the extra few dollars on decent thermal paste in the factory, but I am wondering if maybe that isn't the case as I am noticing some of you have already repasted yours. I feel hesitant to do this on my week old system, however.

I have sent an email to tech support at the beginning of the week, in the hopes that maybe a tech can repaste it for me under warranty (maybe I could offer the tech some arctic silver ) to avoid potentially voiding my warranty -- but I haven't received any response. Somehow I doubt they will want to send someone out when nothing is technically broken... but I think I'm being fairly reasonable in expecting my high end gaming laptop not to have a shortened lifespan due to a bad pasting job in the factory.

I think these temps genuinely are high, from what I've read so far, but keen to hear opinions from fellow AW17 owners

 

Thanks for the links rednek that's what I was looking for. Thumbs up

 

Typo! There's no 790M, I think you mean 780M.

Nice system.

 

Hehe oops. Yep, I meant the 780m

What do you think about my temps? Would you recommend a repaste? Is that likely to void my warranty?

I downloaded the service manual and I have to say, I am very impressed with how the internals are laid out. When I repasted my old HP envy it took hours because I had to remove the palmrest and keyboard. Low insertion force connectors

 

Hmm, those aren't ideal temperatures. If I were in your position, I would re-paste, just to be safe.

After a proper re-paste using good paste, you should see temperatures in the 80's (at the most) for the CPU and temperatures in the low 70's (at the most) for the GPU. I recommend using IC Diamond thermal paste. Re-pasting will not void the warranty as long as it is done correctly. Damage due to a 'bad paste job' is not covered.

 

Where did you find the service manual? I wouldn't mind having a glance at it....

Or are you talking about the owners manual? This one:

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...laptops/alienware-17_Owner's Manual_en-us.pdf

EDIT: I just took a quick read through. That is the most comprehensive owners manual I've ever seen!! With that manual, you can follow step by step exactly how to strip it bare down to the chasis....just amazing!

 

Yep that's the one. Very very impressed. 120ish pages of pretty clear pictures of how to disassemble and reassemble pretty much anything you'd need to. Very refreshing attitude towards the end user IMO.

I'll see if I can order some IC diamond paste. I've never seen it before -- I've only ever seen/used arctic silver. I wonder how it compares.

Thanks for the response. I don't think I'll wait for support after all

 

Good find! Get your system yet?

 

We don't want to go there.....lol

I asked the escalation team for an update and was basically told to shut up and wait. When they know, they will tell me.

The good guy that I've been dealing with was kind of enough to tell me that the part that is short should be in on Oct. 14th. Hopefully it won't be long to ship after that. I'm starting to think that there really was no expedition request placed as it looks more and more like I won't receive my laptop until the latest EDD of Oct. 23rd.

It better be pristine when it's received.....

 

We don't want to go there.....lol

I asked the escalation team for an update and was basically told to shut up and wait. When they know, they will tell me.

The good guy that I've been dealing with was kind of enough to tell me that the part that is short should be in on Oct. 14th. Hopefully it won't be long to ship after that. I'm starting to think that there really was no expedition request placed as it looks more and more like I won't receive my laptop until the latest EDD of Oct. 23rd.

It better be pristine when it's received.....