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

What gets me it is the exact same layout as the R3/R4 and they are offering a XM chip, either the new XMs must run cooler at OC speeds or the sink is the much more improved, because there is no room for a three pipe in that beast.

 

Is that yours cf?

 

I hope for the latter. Not a chance that an -mx will run at decent temperatures even at stock in the old m17x.

The mediocre CPU cooling might have been Dell's way of forcing consumers to buy the m18x. Now that Dell has locked down configurations, I think that refusing to improve it it will only drive people to ASUS and Clevo...

 

Ob Boy, u gotta take videos and lots of pictures. Which screen did u get? How is it?

 

Nope unfortunately its not mine. Just posted it for other to see the pretty lights

Im sure we will see some user reviews tomorrow. I think there are several people who got their shipped few days back

 

The i7 4930MX has a max TDP of 57W according to intel. I can run my humble 2630QM at 56W for hours on Prime95 and the temperatures don't go over 83 degC, so maybe the A17 cooling system will be fine with the 4930MX (at stock at least). (Normally my 2630QM wouldn't be able to operate at such a high TDP indefinitely and would downclock, but I've modified it using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility & a program called Throttlestop so that it can run at 56W for ever effectively)

Folks have been adding Extreme processors in these M17's for quite some time, and overclocking them too, here's one link (related to an M17xR3, and where I learned how to run my 2630QM above it's standard TDP limits):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-2960xm-cpus-m17x-r3-without-modded-bios.html

So, I think the CPU cooling systems have always been pretty good in these things!

 

Okay I'll post here for my questions... I had originally started out wanting a 17 because of price and performance, than Mr. fox and a couple others talked me into the 18 with 770's. Doing more research and more reading, I don't really want the 770's much any more. So my question is, will a 17 with a single 780 do really well with the new up coming games? My other option at this point is to go for a M18x R2 with 680 SLI. I don't have 3,300 to spend on a laptop, more over I don't really want to unless I someone how can manage to do so.

 

I'm the same boat... I called the Dell rep and based on what he said I'm guessing that "partially shipped"means Dell has completed the build and packaging and its sitting in their shipping department waiting to be picked up by FedEx (I'm sure delayed by the holiday.). FedEx's site says it will be delivered tomorrow (fingers crossed)... I'm not sure where the Dell manufacturing facility is but I believe it's in Asia...if that's the case it would already be in transit to the U.S.in order to be on my doorstep Monday afternoon.

 

They certainly made swapping out the optical drive more accessible.

 

This might interest people:

½ñÔçÉϸյ½µÄÐÂ17 À´·¢¿ªÏäͼ_´÷¶ûAlienwareÍâÐÇÈËÂÛ̳

OP writes that the screen is the anti-glare version of the m17x r3/r4 screen. What a surprise.

 

According to Benyouhui the screen is the LG LP173WF1-TLC1.

Here is information about it: LG Display LP173WF1-TLC1 Overview - Panelook.com

Here it is for sale: LG Philips LP173WF1 TL C1 Laptop LCD Screen Full HD | eBay

Here is a review of the screen:
AnandTech | AVADirect's Clevo X7200 Redux: AMD 6970M CF Takes the Crown


Basically:
Horrible Contrast
Bad white and black
Stellar Colour accuracy
Dead on 72% Gamut

Not sure what to think.

 

No, I'm pretty sure this is it:

Review Dell Precision M6700 Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

It matches up almost exactly to Dell's specifications: 500:1 contrast, 72% gamut, 300 nits. Putting the x7200 screen in this would be asinine, because Dell sources a much better panel for budget models.

The one you linked is also glossy.

 

Nope that is not the screen. The Precision use the "LGD02DA", you can see from the thread at benyouhui you linked to yourself that it is "LP173WF1".
X7200 use that screen.

You see from this thread that X7200 either use Hannstar or LG, the same screen that the guy at benyouhui writes about.
I found out that the LP173WF1 comes in both glossy and matte.

 

It would be really good if the panel is easily swappable.

 

The OP also wrote "LGD02DA."

The reviews I have read suggest that the screen is good, one suggesting that it's better than the MSI screen, which is silly for a screen with 200:1 contrast and poor blacks. Also, Dell has no reason to install a mediocre screen and report three times its real contrast and higher brightness. That's a great way to earn lawsuits and turn away loads of customers. If it already recycles a decent screen for other models (including the m17x r3/r4, Precision m6700, and cheap Inspirons), why use a terrible one for a $2000+ laptop?

I think that waiting for an Anandtech or Notebookcheck review would be better than arguing about this.

Note: LP173WF1 refers to multiple screens.

 

I hope Dell's minimalistic packaging offers enough protection for such an expensive laptop.

Box exterior


Box interior 1st layer


Box interior 2nd layer - 180W power supply for gtx 765m.


Glossy Screen 1


Glossy Screen 2


Overview


Source: ebay UK - m17x r5

 

Indeed.. Agreed completely

 

Hey guys, so I cancelled my order for the Clevo P370SM, and yet again I was thinking about getting an Alienware 17 (since they don't sell the 18 in the Netherlands). I have got a question though: If I manualy add my own aftermarket SSD in this laptop, will it void my warranty yes or no?

 

Not much but here's an Unboxing Video for the Alienware 17 I did this morning. Nothing special but here it is.
Alienware 17 Unboxing - YouTube

 

That's a nice laptop you got there.

 

Thx for the unboxing. I would never have unboxed it in that situation XD
Anyway plz post picture of underside with back cover removed. Is it a 770m or 780m?

 

Thank you very much!
It's a i7-4700MQ, GTX 780m, 16GB, 750GB HDD, 1920x1080 spec

 

Yeah, I know I should have been a bit more safe. I did an unboxing of my M17X r1 years back in the parking lot and was feeling a little sentimental this morning.
It's a 780m. Give me a few and ill take a pic.

http://www.youtube.com/edit?ns=1&video_id=-p2F8flbGwk M17X r1 Parking lot unboxing

 

Yeah lets just wait and see.

lol didnt even had time to get home before making an unboxing video

 

They really dialed down the 'unboxing' experience Alienware used to be known for. "Cool, I got a hat and mousepad!" Not anymore... Next thing you know, they'll be delivered in a bubble wrapped manila envelope with an Alienware sticker on the outside! (Just kidding.)

Oh well, the system looks great, Kevin. Thanks for sharing!

 

Generally the answer would be no. It does not void your warranty. I did something similar to an R2 I owned a couple of years ago and Dell / Alienware continued to cover me but that was in Australia. It might do to check on your local Dell website.

 

Got my AW 17 today. Very sleek machine, 4800, 16GB, 780M, 1080p and 256 + 750.

I noticed mine came with a Liteon SSD, the model is LMT-256M6M. I know nothing about this drive and can't find much info. Would it be worth upgrading to a Samsung 840 Pro for additional performance benefits?

 

No, it wouldn't be worth it.

Nice system.

 

Could anyone of you guys comment on what you think about the screen?

 

Yes, please. How's the new screen? Both the regular and 120Hz true life.

 

Does the mSATA slot run at full SATA III speeds or is it still limited to SATA II like basically every other gaming laptop? I have one on the way and would like to get a ~250GB mSATA drive so I can use all the hard drive slots, but only if it will be able to run at full speed.

 

Since you can do SATA 6GB/s SSD quad-play (4 x 256GB), I assume all are SATA III.

 

I'd also like screen impressions (particularly if anyone has an IPS monitor they can compare to), as well as thoughts on the speakers.

 

It's very nice. I'm coming from an l702x with the 3d screen and this is much better. Very clear with good color and contrast, viewing angles are ok too but it is still TN so my expectations were met.

 

Are you talking about the Alienware's 60hz or 120hz 3D screen? How do the speakers compare to those of your XPS?

 

Nope, I replaced my drives with 2 ssd's and I'm having my r17xr4 replaced after many issues(none dealing with HDD)
they are taking forever with the process and I have to call every other day to get anything done but at least it looks like they will be replacing it with a new alienware 17.

 

Mine is the non-3d screen. The speakers are louder and clearer than the l702x but the lack of a subwoofer is very apparent. The dolby software seems useful.

 

Nope, I replaced my drives with 2 ssd's and I'm having my r17xr4 replaced after many issues(none dealing with HDD)
they are taking forever with the process and I have to call every other day to get anything done but at least it looks like they will be replacing it with a new alienware 17.

 

I got mine today. Colors seem pretty good. I'm so used to glossy that I have to decide if I'm ok with matte now. My desktop monitor and my living room TV are glossy....

Its definitely a very bright screen - brighter than my m17xr4's non-3d panel. There is no way it is the 200nit screen mentioned a few posts ago. Its definitely brighter than 200nits. Its brighter than my macbook air 13.

My primary concern is the terrible low scores in 3dmark11. I got P6506 on one run and P6180 on another. nvidia drivers (from nvidia.com) won't install for the 780m. The installed driver is 311.48 so that is pretty old and may be the cause of the trouble. I have tried it on both balanced power and performance power.

My m17xr4 680M at stock did better than this. Somethings very wrong here and dell needs to get this fixed or there are going to be a lot of returns.

N

 

I highly doubt anything is wrong with it. 'Out of box' scores will never be impressive. My M18x R2 with dual 680M's scores 10,000 out of the box, and I thought that was low at the time considering brother John gets more than 15,000. But then I realized he tweaked the hell out of his setup and "unleashed the hidden power" behind the cards.

6,500 seems about right with old and unoptimized drivers.

 

Gotta disagree - the 17xr4 680m out of the box scored 6200-6300 - the 780m is supposed to be substantially faster than the 680m. Other notebooks with the 780m are getting well into the 7000's without crazy tweaking. I'm certain something is wrong - whether its a bios problem or driver problem is the question. And how fast dell gets a fix out.

 

You're using old drivers that were made before the 700 series was out. What do you expect? Don't freak out just yet.

 

Except that so are the other laptops getting much higher scores. Nobody has newer drivers for these yet. nvidia's own drivers won't install.

PS - I think a bit of freaking out is ok - spending $2000 to get the latest and great and finding out its no faster is not cool.

 

You can't install the 320.49 drivers? I don't know what's up with that.

Hope someone can help you out.

 

Does anybody know if it's possible to keep the trackpad light on on all the time?
ie- not dimmed/off when not in use????
I don't want to use the trackpad at all really but I do love the light and wish there was a way it could always be lit up. Didn't see anything in AW fx regarding this.

Any suggestions?

 

Oddly, this is in the BIOS - there is an option to force it on all the time there. There is not however an option to leave it off all the time (which would be my preference).

 

First sign this may be as simple as dell getting the newer nvidia drivers to install (the ones on nvidia.com won't install despite saying they work for the 780m).

I turned off optimus (Fn+F5) and the score went up to 6900. Another 10% wouldn't be out of the realm of reasonableness since dell is shipping these with 311.48 which is positively ancient. Newer drivers would also improve optimus.

Come on nvidia/dell - get your flagship some newer drivers!!!!

N

 

That is odd you can't keep it off....
Many thanks! I will check in the BIOS.

 

My Alienware 17 ordered on 6/27 shipped today... that seems pretty fast... excited though!