The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Alienware 17x r4 struggles

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by Dogbiscuits, Jul 31, 2015.

  1. Dogbiscuits

    Dogbiscuits Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hello all, first post on here! ^.^

    So a friend of mine had his Dell Alienware 17x r4 in storage for about a year or so, but gave it to me because he got a better PC. So he did a fresh install of 8.1 (It was 7 when he got it) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M - when I switch it over with the fn+f7 [i/d gfx toggle/followed by a restart] - the entire screen gives off a redish/pinkish look to it. I've spent a lot of time online (past two days) trying to figure if it's a bad card, or something wrong that I've failed to notice. But according to the latest Catalyst that I've downloaded; I've got the latest driver.

    Mind you, I'm not the savviest on computer literacy, but I do have a good grip on a few things.
    Any help from the community would be great, because it's driving me bananas because I literally couldn't find anything on google about this.
    Thank you for any help or tips that you could provide!
     
    Dogbiscuits, Jul 31, 2015
    #1
  2. Zymphad

    Zymphad Zymphad

    Reputations:
    2,321
    Messages:
    4,165
    Likes Received:
    355
    Trophy Points:
    151
    Welcome to mobile gaming with AMD hell. It's a terrible experience, one I vow to never experience again.
     
    Zymphad, Jul 31, 2015
    #2
    D2 Ultima and Spartan@HIDevolution like this.
  3. Dogbiscuits

    Dogbiscuits Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Thanks
     
    Dogbiscuits, Jul 31, 2015
    #3
  4. Splintah

    Splintah Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    278
    Messages:
    1,948
    Likes Received:
    595
    Trophy Points:
    131
    Yea the 7970m is made of glass, pretty much every owner of them has had issues with them at some point in time, I had them in crossfire on my 18. I would change it out with a 780m if you can.
     
    Splintah, Jul 31, 2015
    #4
  5. Dogbiscuits

    Dogbiscuits Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    So is it an issue of modifying a file/reg/etc?
    Or does the card sound bad?
     
    Dogbiscuits, Jul 31, 2015
    #5
  6. octiceps

    octiceps Nimrod

    Reputations:
    3,147
    Messages:
    9,944
    Likes Received:
    4,194
    Trophy Points:
    431
    It's the actual hardware going bad.

    You could try baking the card. Might as well if you've got nothing to lose and the card simply isn't working.
     
    octiceps, Jul 31, 2015
    #6
    D2 Ultima likes this.
  7. thegh0sts

    thegh0sts Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    949
    Messages:
    7,700
    Likes Received:
    2,819
    Trophy Points:
    331
    look into a new card: a 780m, 970m, or a 980m are your best bets.
     
    thegh0sts, Aug 4, 2015
    #7
  8. Raidriar

    Raidriar ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

    Reputations:
    1,708
    Messages:
    5,820
    Likes Received:
    4,311
    Trophy Points:
    431
    yeah, sounds like the 7970M is dying. I suggest a 780M, as the 880M runs hot and the 980M requires UEFI and windows 8 or higher.
     
    Raidriar, Aug 4, 2015
    #8
  9. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

    Reputations:
    1,456
    Messages:
    8,707
    Likes Received:
    3,315
    Trophy Points:
    431
    The 970M is a great upgrade IMO over the 7970M... You do need a UEFI install and I think that Windows 7 works as long as you have a UEFI/GPT install.. See my thread in my signature with regards to upgrading to 970M..

    Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
     
    TomJGX, Aug 6, 2015
    #9
  10. mahalsk

    mahalsk Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    262
    Messages:
    286
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Also there is one more solution, when you are 100% sure that the card is faulty. Try to bake in the Owen like in this guide:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-dead-graphics-card-in-your-alienware.385973/

    At first it sound impossible to me, but when the card in my Clevo stopped working and I was out of warranty, I had nothing to loose.
    After baking the card, I put it back in and everything worked like new :) .
    That lasted for about 2 months, then it started to show the same simptoms as before, so I baked it again and it worked again like new :)
    I gave the whole laptop to my brother, and its still working till now, more than 6 months with no problem.
    Hope it helps
     
    mahalsk, Aug 7, 2015
    #10