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

I rated D3 with 4 tbh But yeah I get what you mean. If the screen is THAT bad, I will switch my order to a 18 or cancel it...

 

Well its either the 120Hz screen on the 17" for me, or I will buy the Alienware 18 with PLS (IPS) screen. No doubt. The 120Hz is a new one I think because it is not glossy like before but have sort of matte finish. I hope it is good.
The screen in the Alienware 17 is not bad at all. Its just that its a standard screen, nothing special about it since you can find it on very cheap notebooks.

 

I am coming to AW from a 17" MBP with Anti-glossy 1980x1200 screen... I hope it will worth it. The 120Hz doesn't have Optimus and for that price range, I would had gone with the 18" the first place.

 

Well, I was going to keep the pc in non-optimus mode until dell gets the drivers sorted out. But two things occurred:

1) At some point with rebooting the system went back into optimus mode, without me hitting fn+f5 - this again automatically reinstalled 311.48.
2) Even when in non-optimus mode, it turns out the mini displayport does not function

 

1. Likely old drivers, and a bios fix will be had.
2. Thats odd if i recall the iGPU last gen didn't support Display port only the video card did and it went directly to the card instead of being routed to the iGPU. Maybe someone can correct me?

 

Could it be Windows 8 related?

 

Unless someone (AUO?) releases a 90%+ gamut 17-inch matte screen this year, you might not find a better one. The CMO1720 screen that competitors use apparently has better contrast, but it's not as accurate and grainier.

 

One thing you can do to avoid the frustration of the computer rolling back to old drivers is to remove all traces of NVidia Drivers, and then reinstall the one you want. I recommend uninstalling the driver via control panel (programs & features), and then using Driver Sweeper to rid any other NVidia elements. Normally it's not necessary to use Driver Sweeper when installing new drivers, but with the problems you're having I'd recommend giving it a shot! Who knows, maybe that's the source of your low benchmarks too (outside chance perhaps!).

 

You know, part of me wants to put in an SSD and try Windows 7 just for the heck of it, to find out, and part of me says I've wasted enough time with this; screw it and return it and keep my m17xr4. I'm torn

 

This may not be a bad idea. Can you help me out with a reliable link to DriverSweeper - the ones on google that seem recent point to something called Driver Fusion and they want $17.

 

Yes, I hope my suggestion works out for you, it's what I would do in your situation. Guru3d is a safe place to get it:

Guru3D - Driver Sweeper

In the program just choose the items you want cleaned, so tick the NVidia items, but you can leave the NVidia Chipset unchecked. Uninstall in the regular Windows control panel first until the computer loads up the 'Standard VGA Adapter', then use the Driver Sweeper. From memory, I think it helps to run Driver Sweeper as an administrator too.

 

What would happen if the Nvidia chipset is deleted?

 

That's a good question, and I don't know, but I have read that it's not a good idea to delete that item. Perhaps that item is not even part of our notebooks, so praps it wouldn't matter if you checked it. But safer not to check that for deletion I think, based on what I've read.

 

You are talking for the 120Hz or the standard Full HD Anti-glare one?

 

? 10 Char

 

Just in case anyone cares, I installed Win7 fresh on an SSD. I was able to get the 320.49 installed with my modded INF, but it flickered black all the time, so I removed the 320.49 and installed Dell's 311.48. Scored P5971 in 3dmark11 . In other words, it's not a Windows 8 vs Windows 7 thing. I think I'll wait a week or two to see if Dell or NVIDIA fixes this and if not, I'll send it back.

N

 

That's pretty frustrating. I hope the issue can be solved. Please keep us informed.

 

I take it that the clean installing the drivers as I suggested obviously didn't work then? A pity! I get P5500 in 3DMark11 myself, so there's something amiss with your laptop big time!

 

Im not sure but you can try asking in the gaming section in this forum in the 780m thread if other people are using the same driver as you that gave you the very low score. If they do, Dell and Nvidia have screwed up bigtime

 

Another member on this forum just posted a 3DMark 11 run with his 17 and got about 6,700 out of the box. His results can be seen here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...launch-discussion-thread-212.html#post9277542

 

One more suggestion, perhaps it's an Optimus issue. Has anyone gotten a 17 with the 120Hz screen yet? I hope I'll get mine tomorrow, will post results asap.

 

I can get 6900 under discrete graphics mode (non-optimus), I suspect thats what he did too....

 

Can anyone with a new 17 dump the bios for me? Also what's the vbios version on the cards?

 

Be glad to, what do I use to do that?

N

 

Download Download TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.7.2 | techPowerUp and run it and theres a little picture of the chip that holds the bios on it with a green arrow on the right side click it and download it and send it to svl7.

So AW 17 owners did you get extended warranties? Think its worth it? Quite a hefty price considering if the machine is well built you shouldnt need to use it at all.

 

Got it - thanks - had to run it in non-optimus mode. Working with svl7 to get him the regular bios as well...

 

Does anybody know the answer to this for sure? I don't want to order an mSATA drive for it if it's only going to run at SATA II speeds.

 

Do you guys know if it is possible to disable the battery from charging all the time? Don't know if I am missing it somewhere but I don't see an option in the bios.

 

PM'd you mine.

 

Does anyone have the 4800/4900MQ versions to test the 3dmark11 on?

 

Does anyone with the new AW 17 know what screws need to be removed to get off the keyboard to get at the mSATA slot? There is no teardown online that I can find yet

 

This might be your best option: ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_alienware_laptops/alienware-17_Owner's%20Manual_en-us.pdf

 

Got it fixed! svl7 said to try the modded 780m bios on techinferno. I installed that and then in nvidia inspector i can change the target temperature - it was set to 66 by dell, which it never went over before. I set it to 77. Now I get 7204 in 3dm11with the 311.48 drivers and optimus! Apparently, the temperature is the driving force with optimus. When optimus is off, it will go to 77 which results in the higher tests

svl7's post of the standard settings on tech inferno: http://www.techinferno.com/2013/06/29/unlocked-nvidia-gtx-780m-vbios/ show the default temp limit to be 62. This is not where the temp holds, but it is the ceiling where the fans go a bit louder. Dell has it set to 66 with optimus and 77 without optimus.

I did run the test with the new bios before changing anything in nvidia inspector and it was still 6000.

So, to recap:

Dell Optimus 66 degrees - ~P6000 3dm11
Dell NonOptimus 77 degrees - ~P7000 3dm11
Unlocked BIOS Optimus - 77 degress ~ P7200 3dm11

Dell Optimus 66 degrees - ~P6000 3dm11
Dell NonOptimus 77 degrees - ~P7000 3dm11
Unlocked BIOS Optimus - 77 degress ~ P7300 3dm11 - peaked at 77.
Unlocked BIOS Optimus - 92 degrees ~ P7300 3dm11 - but still peaked at 77. So apparently, 77 is nvidia's max temp.

N

 

Can't find it. Can I have the link please?

 

link was in the post, but kind of hard to see. Unlocked NVIDIA GTX 780M VBIOS - Tech|Inferno | Tech|Inferno

 

Now overclocking - +100 core +200 memory, Hit P7976 in 3dm11

Up to +120 / +240 - got P8198 - need to add voltage to go higher but I'm not sure how much so I'm stopping here. Peak temp was 82. But only briefly - dropped once fans started up.

3dmark.com/3dm11/6844174

N

 

Thanks. Just made an account and it seems like I don't have permission to download the file. I'll try again later.

 

you have to get 5 posts or donate $5. Its worth the $5 for me - i'm thrilled - optimus and fast nvidia - thats all I wanted to start with

 

Thanks again

 

Nice! Which driver are you using 311.48 or 320.49? Maybe the MSI GT70 scored a little higher because the run was tested on turbo mode? Can't wait to get mine :thumbsup:

 

All on 311.48 - cannot get 320.49 to install at all with optimus. We're at nvidia/dell's mercy on that, I think. This new bios does not change the ID of the card, so it doesn't affect the drivers.

By the way, to get the vbios installed, I had to be booted into optimus - it would not install in discrete mode AND I had to tell the nvidia control panel to prefer the nvidia card over intel in order for nvflash to see the card. Hope that helps somebody!

 

Is this an issue with just the 780m or also the 765 and 770? Anyone get one with a 770m yet? I got the 770m and I'll be getting mine tomorrow. What can I do to contribute? 3dmark?

I'm only about 3 years into the pc scene, but I've been able to follow along everything you guys have been discussing, for the most part, so let me know how I can help out

 

Anyone who has the new Alienware 17, did you change your HDD/ SSD on your own? Is it like the m17x just two screws bellow the battery to remove to bottom cover? Do extra disk connectors come with the machine?

I am about to order an SSD for my soon to come 17.

 

Hey guys, just finalised my 17 order. I went for 780M, 4800MQ and 3D as the added extras. The rep quoted me 7-10 days for the laptop to arrive; I don't believe him one bit but we'll see! As well as my m15x has served me it was definitely time for an upgrade. Managed to get about 14% off the price as well so I got it for a shade over £2100, with an Orion backpack thrown in for only £60. Can't wait!

 

Wow that is a good deal! I want to order a 17 with about the same specs. Do you have any tips on how I should go about to get that kind of discount? I'm kind of noob with negotiating prices

 

Hi! Well basically, I was having a lot of trouble finding a rep that would actually acknowledge that his company negotiated on price, but eventually I came across this thread by steviejones113 in the main Alienware forum:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/547949-saving-uk-buying-any-dell-aw-system-accessories-please-contribute.html

With the rep Stevie puts you in touch with you'll be able to negotiate a really good deal! If you aren't into haggling or speaking to reps, you could use the current codes from Dell VIP:
7% off system price : 2NN5Q19S3V1CD7
Free shipping : 7J0QRB?6CCKLLQ

That coupled with the instant savings on the website at the moment will give you a pretty good deal to start with those two codes aren't valid for much longer but I'm sure they will replace them pretty soon. Hope this helps!

 

Bahahaha, what the hell?!
Don't Dell know how powerful the GTX 780M really is? I could have understand that temperature limit on Alienware 17 if we were talking about a midrange GPU like GT 750M or something. But not a downclocked GTX 680.
Look at Clevo and their 17" with 780M. It goes over 66C under gaming without problems even though it is a dual fan like Alienware 17.

Whoever made that temperature limit on Dell BIOS need to be fired. You guys should demand a new BIOS update from Dell with higher temperature limit than 66C and 77C. It WILL cripple your performance in games as well as benchmarks bigtime. You shouldnt have to go to a third party like SVL to fix the problems.

This is pathetic and BS from Dell.

 

After reading multiple comments/experiences from AW17 owners, I am not sure of getting a Alienware 17. The benchmark is pretty bad, Bios is terrible and they recycled the same screen. I'm gonna be honest, I was going to be a new owner of The Alienware series thinking they're all high quality since it's pretty expensive. So I wanted to buy one. Now I don't know if I should. Maybe it's just that this is the first time they did this? Or it's like that from before. Either way, they should fix this problem and I damn well hope they notice this problem about the 3dm11

 

Maybe give it a week or two to see how it pans out. Dells responsiveness will show, they are targeting a new market I think, and lower comparable costs means more generic parts (but hopefully maintain the dedicated support).

 

That's what I'm gonna do. If they are STILL ignorant about the situations after weeks go by, I'm gonna change my order. Until then, I'll just wait