*Official* Alienware Launch Discussion Thread

Do any of the other settings need to be changed when using EVGA Precision or just the Temp Limit?

 

Some users report that it is just the temp limit that needs to be adjusted, then performance improved since there is no more throttle. You can look what they did on the official alienware 17 forums here on notebook review

 

Helpful suggestion. Would have been even more helpful if the units were not shipped with temp limits hampering performance. I understand that getting a product to market is complex but these seems like a fairly significant oversight. Why should end users have to go through an annoying learning curve just to get the computer to do what it is purpose built to do?

 

Fellows could you please clarify one thing for me, this GPU throttle issue can be fixed by the user? I was about to order a 14 but was put off by the GPU issue comments, but if it is something one can fix oneself without too much trouble then I am willing to learn the method and will still buy one, but does this fix endanger the GPU to overheat or melt the laptop, especially if you live in hot climates, or maybe void the warranty? Do you think Dell put the temp limits on purpose because it was afraid of the laptops melting? Thanks in advance.

 

I'm going to say on the 14, at least, yes. I was easily able to increase the temp limit and even overclock a bit the stock vbios and the stock drivers. I don't know on the 17 as I returned mine.

N

 

Yes you can on the 17 as well even in optimus mode

 

Anyone knows where i can download a iso of windows 8.. I updated to 8.1 and nothing is working anymore.. Gonna perform a clean install.. Damn

 

Is there any difference between the 4900MQ and the 4930MX besides higher frequency? Trying to decide if the MX will be worth the extra $500. Will be getting an 18 with dual 780Ms.

 

The 4930MX is unlocked, so you'll be able to overclock it to a much higher frequency.

 

Unless you are satisfied with ordinary performance or lack the financial means, that is $500 extremely well spent. It's a lot more affordable to have an Extreme CPU now than it was in years past. You should be able clock that bad boy up to 4.7 or 4.8GHz without a great deal of effort unless you live in a hot environment.

 

Yeah, I just wished they deliver their products as promised since they said that the laptops could run at Full TDP. 77c is certainly not the full TDP.

 

Has anyone with a new Alienware 14 or 17 attempted to use the Virtu MVP2.0 Software to determine if it is compatible with the Haswell IGP and latest NVIDIA GPUs? (It is not "official" but it may still work.) This would be interesting to know. A 30-day free trial is available for the Standard and Pro versions.

 

Oh, FYI, anyone who doesn't like the new Vindicator backpacks, I just bought an Orion at B&H Photo Video for $63. Looks like they have quite a few in stock.

And I decided to keep my 17, at least for the next year. Depending on how much of an improvement the 880 is, I might grab an 18 next year or wait another year. Spent the day with my 17 and performance is solid enough. Manage a minimum of 80fps and average of 100+ in BL2 on max everything, which is incredibly responsive on the 120Hz screen. Have to turn down the AA on newer games to keep average frame rates above 60, but that's no big deal.

 

Guys, I just wanna say thanks you for answering each other question. When ever I was looking for information about the M14x I came here first. I haven't got my Laptop yet, but I will have it today

Remember that it may appear that there only a few people posting here, there a lot more people reading it.

 

Congrats on your purchase! Enjoy your new beast! :thumbup:

 

Care to share other games you've seen good FPS on?

 

Skyrim, Dishonored, Max Payne 3, Bioshock Infinite (though it does drop down to around 40fps occasionally), Tomb Raider, BF3, etc. Really what it seems to have problems with is recent DX11 feature laden games. I can't for the life of me get decent frame rates in Metro 2033, though I'm hoping it's just a driver issue. If DX11 is turned on, I never get above 40fps and regularly dip below 30, even at medium settings. And in certain parts (ie, the Nazi outpost before Black Station) it drops down below 30 even at low settings. Haven't tried Last Light yet, but I assume it will have similar problems. Can't max out Crysis 2 or 3 and be comfortable with it, as it drops below 30fps too often. Turn AA off or turn the settings down a notch and both are very playable though.

 

I don't play with AA so I'm assuming that would help out quite a bit. Good to know a single 780 is doing so well.

 

So I decided to cancel my AW 17 yesterday due to the throttling problems every1 has been having. Called in today and got an awesome rep to get me an amazing discount on the 18. I added the 4930 mx, 4 yr accidental and it came with the dual 770’s. He discounted me 20% off the price before Taxes and somehow was able to give me 10% back for the EP GC which amounts to $400. I love this forum and I have his contact info if any1 wants a decent discount. BTW, he also told me that some of the reps are authorized to give 3 17% coupons per day.

 

I found this on Metro Last Light too

 

Even though I ordered 2 AW 14's, one is coming tomorrow morning and one is a day or two behind. Looks like i'm gonna have a jealous wife bc i'm not sharing lol

That is unless the screen bleed is bad, then its all hers

 

If I may ask, why did you order 2 AW 14's ? Nice anyways.

 

We both travel for work and like to skype/game together while were apart. We have to get the same exact one or well end up begging to trade all the time lol

 

That works for 770M as well.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz,Alienware 17

 

Quick questions for those who installed Samsung 840 Pro SSD:
1.) What is the size of the screws you used to secure the SSD into the hard drive caddy and 2.) where do you guys get the said screws (because I don't think they come with the SSD).

Thanks!

 

I used the same screws that was hoping the original hdd

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

Yesterday I canceled my AW 17 order due to the many complaints of the GPU throttling. Today I called in and after 3 reps, I finally got someone1 to give me a discount. Got 20% off my order plus 10% back in an EP GC. PM if you want his contact info, he won't disappoint. Thanks to every1's input on this forum, cant wait to get my beast. BTW, he also told me that certain reps have the option to hand out 17% discounts up to three times daily.

 

I have thought about that, but I think I'm going to use the original HDD as a secondary drive, so I still need to find 4 screws...
This leads to a third question: If I ever need Dell to troubleshoot my AW or something, do I have to have the original HDD used as the primary drive in my laptop?

 

You might, YannC. It depends on what the problem is. If you ever end up needing to send your system in for Depot repair, you will need to install the original parts.

 

The HDD caddy should have extra screws for the non used bay. If its like the R2 they should be there.

 

So what's the word on the m18 semi gloss screen folks? Can anyone give us their initial thoughts or small review on it please

Its at the top of my list for my primary rig mainly for photography and the odd game. A good screen would seal the deal for me pretty much..

Cheers

 

So what are peoples initial thoughts on the M18 screen quality ?
Its at the top of my list for my primary pc phtography first gaming second..
A good screen will seal the deal.

Cheers

 

This is very strange, I played Metro Last Light on my (late) R4 with the 675m, 3740qm and the 3d screen. It worked perfectly! super smooth, no overheating, no throttling, if I recall correctly the settings were almost maxed out on native res!

Looking to get an AW17, but don't want to buy an expensive downgrade!

 

What are you talking about? The 780M is much more powerfull than a 675M.

 

My 17 with the 780 arrived yesterday. No gaming yet but I am happy to say that the AG screen is a notable improvement over the outgoing model's mirror. Keyboard is also notably improved for, you know, actually typing words.

I am not too happy about the battery being so difficult to remove. Dell sold me the computer, and an accessory battery, on the representation that the battery is swappable like the outgoing model. It is not easily swappable and they sold me the battery for the outgoing model.

Dell is great about remedying problems...but they are not so great at providing accurate information upfront.

 

I know, that is exactly my point!

It is not about theoretical 'powerfullness' but rather a question to how it performs in real world.

One would expect the 780m to outperform the 675m in every possible aspect, but as it seems, for now, the throttling & temps issue make the theoretical performance irrelevant.

Obviously, we can find a work around for this issue by modding our own bios and effectively hacking it in order to gain the performance & stability expected. Not ideal but doable.

Also, my biggest concern is this:

Dell/Alienware engineers and designers may have their shortcomings, however, there must be a 'reason' why the restrictions and throttling occur, chances are this is not an oversight but a necessity. Assuming it's a necessity, I can think of one main reason that this happened, the cooling system / construction simply cannot handle heavy long term use of such a powerful GPU before it will cause some sort of damage to the system.

So, are they just stupid and made an error easily fixable by a simple BIOS mod? Or have they realized that the design simply prohibits cards like the 780m working at full capacity for prolonged periods?

If anyone can think of a another realistic reason why this issue exists, please do share!
And please, stop making excuses for Dell/Alienware saying that this is a new product, it will have teething problems, it's to be expected blah blah blah. Could you imagine people making that excuse for apple? Or have we just come to expect these kind of issues from them?

 

All I can say is that some of the Brothers like Harlon and Johnksss have made those 780m's absolutely sing without a hint of throttling. Nothing theoretical about it. Just flash your Bios if thats a possibility and and get on with it
Ill link you to Brother Johnksss disgustingly beast 3D Mark 11 score of 10343 from one 780m and let you marinate on it for a while

However these were both m18x r2's....

 

Cloudfire, we are listening. We have sent PM's to the folks who have mentioned symptoms to get more information like clock speeds to better understand what you are facing. If you all see anyone who we missed, please have them PM one of the NBR Reps with your details. Need to collect as much information as possible.

We are looking into it and will work to get a resolution/explanation as soon as possible.

 

Well I think I have finally made up my mind and will be getting a new AW18 with a 4930MX and dual 780Ms. Does anyone have a US rep that can give me a good deal? Thanks.

 

Do the new laptops come with driver's already installed? I was playing Surgery simulator when I noticed that I can only press 3 keys at once. What up with that?!

Is there a limite on how many keys I can press on the keyboard at once?

 

...I'm seriously beginning to rethink my purchase after reading some of this.....Just don't know if I need to be gambling with so much money. Any tips on which rep to use if I decided to do this again?

 

I installed the latest driver's but the problem is still there. Dell, please tell me, how can I fix this. Also when ever I raise or lower the volume/brightness in a game it always take me to my desktop.

I need help D:

 

Try clean install windows

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

Well that is very encouraging to hear Mark. Maybe you do have matured in to a better company this time.

SVL and the gang at TechInferno have modified your vbios, and from both them and the users who have tried it, there is no throttling that occur there. 3DMark score went from 6000 to 7500 with it, a score which is normal for GTX 780M based on MSI and Clevo 780M scores. Plus using PrecisionX to override the temps by choosing for example 90C as temperature target also gives 7500in 3DMark11 with alienware 17.
So it is pretty clear: the throttling symptom comes from the vbios you guys have made and put on the Dell 780M you put in Alienware 17.

Since you say you guys are listening I hope you dont have to recertify or have the guys in your lab run the 780M with a vbios with higher temp limit than 66C for many months before concluding it is safe for the system

I hope the people who have experienced throttling send Mark and Alienware reps here a log of your unit.
The faster this is resolved, the better. After all, everything else about the new notebooks is great.

Also, keep an eye on this thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/725044-new-alienware-14-gpu-core-clock-potential-throttling-issue-even-low-cpu-gpu-temps.html

 

Cloudfire is right. The problem is not with the hardware but with the vbios currently installed in the system since it is fixable via EVGA precision or SVL. 77c is really too low for a graphics card that's expected to run the latest games at the highest settings. Further, we were promised full TDP cards. I hope you guys at dell would upload a bios update to fix the problem. I'm more concerned for the folks who have been in this forum and not tried svl or precision, they would not get the best performance since their laptops would just throttle.

Anyway, please release an bios update. Oh, and can I ask if there is a new nvidia driver? I heard 320.49 from nvidia's site is not working. The 17 ships with 311 drivers. Thanks.

 

Double post

 

You know what funny? One of my keys feel off. My keyboard is mising a B now. I had my M14x for ONE day. :C

I hope they can fix it quick. I don't want to send it back to the factory.

 

Did the B button just come off?

 

My 17 is coming tomorrow! Yay!