PART 2: ALIENWARE ENGINEERS SPEAK OUT - NEW THERMAL PASTE/PANEL ISSUES /BIOS 1.08

PART 2: "Have your say" interview with iunlock and his team at LiquidHertz. They talked with Alienware's engineers for two hours about the new bios 1.08, new thermal paste and pads and the QHD panel banding issue. Here they share their findings and what temperatures we can expect from the new paste that Alienware is applying.

[@rmendoza720]

Just got my alienware 17 r4 on October 17th and I was playing dragon age Inquisition and my CPU temps hit 97C so they haven't fixed a damn thing. This is on a 7820 h K and nvidia 1080

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks for letting us know, I have pinned your comment so others can see it straight away. This is probably the most frequently asked question I get ..

[@rmendoza720]

So i spent an hour and a half on the phone with tech support. They ran all their silly "stress" test and nothing happened. They said...play your little game and send us a picture of your temps. So i did and it hit 95c that time and they said...well oh...fook...send us your laptop so we can fix it. So...i am...and they damn well better fix it after paying almost $2700 BEFORE taxes. FYI...i am not an alienware hater. i have a 4 year old 17 r3 with 780m that is a BEAST....love that machine and its still kicking ass til this day. My wife bought their top of the line desktop almost 2 years ago with the 980 ti in it and it rocks. According to everyone and their mom....once you actually get a decent paste job it rocks....so...FU alienware for making a badass laptop then ruining it with garbage paste....so dumb.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yes, it is a shame. I do wish they made it easier to get in and do it yourself. Love my Clevo P870KM. Going to a thermal paste smackdown video - so easy to do on it. Just need to take the back off. That is how it should be.. I like Alienware too - I have had two 17" and a 15" with no issues (apart from one speaker failing). I just don't see me going back now - the desktop i7 7700k I have overclocked at 4.7 Ghz and get 83 deg in Timespy with auto fan and 66 deg C with max fan. That's with IC Diamond. Have the i7 8700k model coming in $3000 after taxes..

[@thegeekchief2941]

I hope they fix it. On mine, the temps are great out of the box but my 1080 is stuttering in games, I'm afraid to send mine in then get it back and it's overheating lol.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Havok C89 I hear you. Many people have said that the stuttering is caused by lifting the rear end. I did a video on it, a subscriber said his was caused by poor Thermal pad contact. If you haven't seen the video yet you might find it interesting.

[@manthancar2]

Wow! Just Wow! This video answered all our questions. It was the complete walkthrough of all this issues. I haven't seen any other channel who does that. This deserves a million views n subs!!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks Manthan ! It took quite a bit of editing. It was over 30 mins long at one point and I didn't want to cut much out as it was all useful info ! Appreciate your support !

[@manthancar2]

OWNORDISOWN Cheers! Merry Christmas!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Manthan Wadiwala Merry Christmas too!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

cr12 yep got one from Microcenter $1999. Should be here soon!

[@ryanjenkins9435]

Manthan Wadiwala it's a problem with his channel name, that's why he is undersubscribed

[@austinlasater8432]

this is good news, i was slightly worried about my R4 that's arriving in a few days, but now I can rest because it seems they have applied fixes to the possible troubled issues. Thanks for posting this! Also you've got some of the best reviews for laptops out there, needs a little work here and there, but nicely done for the few I've watched.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks Austin ! I've just bought another camera because the cheapo one I was using was bad in low light. Hope that improves visuals a little. Thanks for watching my stuff, appreciate it !

[@Ghost98RoCB]

Austin Lasater How is the laptop now?

[@sergegaming5738]

austin

[@twinturbo3461]

This channel is easily one of the best in terms of desktop/laptop PC hardware and it gets right down to the nitty-gritty of things in great in-depth detail. This channel should be over a million subscribers easily. Keep up the good work on delivering QUALITY CONTENT as you always have and the numbers will take care of themselves.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Twin Turbo Hi there! Thank you so much for your really nice comment ☺️ Glad you like my channel. I have a bunch of good stuff coming up including a complete analysis of the AW amplifier performance with 4 graphic cards versus a desktop, 3 more laptops and two interviews - using laptops in the music industry and modding laptops. Stay tuned!

[@sgt.keyboardwarrior2580]

Mann, I've been following your videos for quite a long time now and I seriously think that you're undersubscribed.

[@johncarlogulang6332]

Sgt. Keyboard Warrior ya steven's channel is awesome and informative.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks ! That means a lot to me :) You know, I see these young girls doing tech reviews and they have 4m subs. Perhaps I need to wear a wig , lol

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Cheers John ! I try to be as thorough as possible so it's a struggle to keep videos short as possible. My aim is 18-20 minutes without sacrificing details. I like these "Have Your Say" segments as it lets my subscribers voice their opinion and its the type of thing you can just listen to when making a cup of tea. If you have any ideas or things you want me to do please let me know.

[@sgt.keyboardwarrior2580]

OWNORDISOWN lol that's exactly what i was thinking about some chicks getting more subs for no apparent reason. Btw, keep up what you are doing with long and detailed videos, and show some more games in your videos for graphics demonstration if you can; you know those side by side game graphics comparison. That attracts a lot of views.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Sgt. Keyboard Warrior will do, I could probably have the game running in a side window with graphs to the right, that will keep the video lengths down. Thanks. Happy Christmas!

[@iunlock4261]

Steven you have an excellent channel and deserve more subscribers... and guys please do comment in letting us know what topics you would like covered in ep. 3? - Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Cheers mate. You guys are the stars of the show ! You and the rest of team LiquidHertz have done an amazing job !

[@seanmcc09]

This has absolutely has NOT been fixed by DELL. New systems are still going over 95c when gaming.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Mid by Northwest Do they still have the 3 scree heat sink design on the R5? I have a viewer with the i9 and it gets to 100 degrees. Real shame.

[@matdub5410]

my new r3 15 is hot. i have to manually put the power settings at 95% cpu so it wont boost. stay stock clocks. i want to take it apart just to see if anything is fixed at all.

[@pickles9774]

Laptop cooler hepls dramatically, while lifting the unit off the table a couple inches.

[@devonhc7770]

@@pickles9774 ugh , use a book instead those things are trash.

[@DavesCorner]

Hi OWNORDISOWN, I really appreciate the work that you've done. This video means a lot to me because I've been looking into the cooling issues of the 15 r3 and 17 r4. I contacted dell, but didn't get anywhere with them. They couldn't tell me if the issue had been resolved or when it would be resolved. I've invested time and money into Alienware machines, I currently use a 15 r1 with an AGA. Again thanks for all your hard work.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Dave j thanks Dave! Glad it has helped 😆 Thanks for watching!

[@DavesCorner]

I've been in contact with dell about the heating issue with the Alienware 15 r3. The rep told me that it doesn't void the warranty to repaste and that the issue has been fixed! Just thought I would update you with the information that I've been able to gather and hoping that you will be able to confirm this information. Again thanks for all your hard work.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Dave j Hi Dave, that is good to know, although how about if you break something whilst repasting? Yes, I believe Dell have fixed everything! Thanks for sharing ☺️

[@DavesCorner]

I will take a look into that, I hope that its covered under the accidental coverage. On another note, I checked the price of the Alienware 15 r3 with i7 7820hk and gtx 1070 has been dropped down to 2299.99. How long it will stay that price is iffy, their prices have been fluctuating a lot. I'm disappointed that Dell would even ship laptops with issues.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Dave j yes, I agree. They do have good sales though and I like have 18 months free credit with 10% back. If the new Kaby Lake ones are cool I think they can be a very good buy. That being said I love my MSI GT73VR, I'm editing my video where I do a battle between it, the GT62VR and my high one year old desktop. I can tell you the argument about building a desktop versus a notebook is getting less convincing, apart from the upgrade path of course..

[@jblasutavario9549]

what a great discussion. thanks Steve! nice one iunlock, DeeX and Mobius1. your work is recognised and appreciated. merry Christmas everyone.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

JBL Asutavario Cheers JBL! Merry Christmas to you too!

[@gregsimpson621]

Absolutely fantastic and informative review, follow up, etc! I'm so glad I found you on KZbin. I know probably 1% when compared to your vast knowledge base. I'm getting tired of waiting as I've been looking at laptops since August 2016. I initially almost went with Alienware 17 R4 but from your previous reviews, noted the thermal paste issues. I commented one time that when building on the Dell website that they offered 3 types of thermal paste and took a lot of heat from people saying I wasn't telling the truth. Now that was the week after Thanksgiving and much has changed. But I noticed how the Dell Representatives said "stock paste". Which would mean there is something better than "stock". I also found it quite refreshing to hear them say how they admired MSI's cooling system. You don't typically hear that from competitors. That just moved their credibility up a notch in my personal opinion. And their willingness to work with you on this video speaks volumes. Finally, they also admitted (reading between the lines) that due to the large size of Dell, that they must make a conscious decision and effort to put more emphasis on Alienware if they want to be competitive within the gaming laptop market. I think besides addressing the heat and screen issues, they are indeed doing some internal restructuring because they currently have been and are losing business to MSI. I also appreciate your link on the Lenevo you provided in one of your responses as that has been 1 of my 3 that I'm looking at. P.S. Yes; do a video with your wife performing the script as a test (for more views) because in all reality, I've learned more from you and your followers than anywhere else. I can't keep up. Thanks again!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Greg Simpson Thank you very much Greg! I'm glad you found my channel too ☺️ There is so much content out there it's hard for a small channel like mine to gain much traction. I do remember your comment about the 3 different pastes and they quickly took it down.. The feedback I am getting from everyone is overwhelmingly saying the new i7 7700hq models are nice and cool. I will be uploading my review on the Asus G752 i7 7820hk tonight. That laptop is fast but is hot and the hard drive makes an annoying rattle/vibration. I got my wife to do a cameo appearance in my last video and the feedback was positive. I think I'm slowly convincing her to help me out ☺️ Thanks again for your support!

[@hattrickster33]

As far as I can tell, the new systems have improved thermals. I bought the 15 R4 with the GTX 1070 and 8750h expecting I would need to repaste it with Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut or even liquid metal since the 8750h runs pretty hot. But it wasn't necessary at all. Even with the stock thermal paste, the maximum temperatures I get with the stress tests are around 85 C with 25 C ambient temperature. So it's not amazing but it's definitely acceptable. Undervolting would probably improve things further.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Great feedback ! Thanks for sharing :)

[@TheAgentAssassin]

Yeah my 13R3 runs cool BUT every time I run HWMonitor , I have upwards of 30c temp difference between core #3 and core #1 on the max temp readings. It's currently sitting in the upper 30s watching youtube. But the high reads 55c on core #3 and 72c on core #1 . 30 degrees!!! Time to re-paste and possibly shim.

[@celtrax]

Finally. Thanks to iunlock and to you sir for informing us.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Louie Fernandez Thanks for watching Louie!

[@exklimexklim]

I think those engineers aren't aware about Alienware's display brands. They're actually 2 different panels that alienware use for each model such IPS to IGZO. One is called LGD and the other called SDC. The LGDXXX panel is more común for not having bleeding but being less color accurate. The SDCXXX panel is way better for color accuracy but tend to have more bleeding. Many picky users will appreciate LGD panel, but SDC looks way better on gaming. unfortunately there's no way to know what kind of display we are getting before ordering since there's no option for that. About the thermal paste issue. That issue happened with the first 800 Bach units. They're currently 2 DELL manufacturers and soon as they received users report they've ordered one of the manufacturer to chance certain pads and paste to solve that problem. The majority of those 800 units went to refurbish departments than to outlet sells.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

exklim I must have gotten one of those first 800 units with my AW15 R3 then.. I assume they dual source the panels on case of supply issues?

[@exklimexklim]

OWNORDISOWN Exactly, specially in the Display market since take a bit longer to manufacture and have a heavy demand from many companies. Alienware also have dual source for their MOBO, which could affect in temps for about 5% difference and lifetime. Sometimes it's hard to keep up demand that you'll see shipping times to up to 30 days on the alienware website or others. If temps really matter to users they should consider having 8GB DDR4 RAM 2100mhz in Dual channel since those have less chips and will hit less over thermals, (preferable Hynix RAM) As well checking your GPU ASSIC Quality which became a bit hard to test since GPU-Z is no longer licensed by nvidia to provide that information, you might have to test it manually by monitoring GPU Volts Per Clock while GFX benching (Less Volts per Clock = better ASSIC = less heat = more performance) Even placing your M.2 SSD between down the battery to conserve thermals, As well having the benefit to run it at 4x PCIe. And final (Repasting)

[@ernievarhola5287]

Thank you for your great videos and help...I have contacted Alienware/Dell and they have agreed to have my unit sent in for repair. If anyone is interested in this process I can answer any questions. The call took approx 30 minutes. Will receive a shipping box with prepaid label in 1-2 business days...and will take about 5 business days to get it back in. Hopefully they address both the heat sink and thermal paste/pad issues, but I will include a note requesting both concerns be addressed. I had one core that was about 15° or more higher than the rest on the cpu and pretty high temps across the board. Manufacturer date was end of October. I really am thankful for this channel/iunlock and everyone who worked so hard to make the community aware of this problem because I usually don't make it a habit of monitoring temps and my $2000 laptop probably would have had a short life without this knowledge.

[@Gipish]

Is it worth trying to send in if I haven't had issues yet? thanks man

[@tehshzz]

I would not "send in" your system for repairs. I would only accept a system exchange or in the worst case an Onsite Tech. The "Depot" or "repair" center is not good. It is not a room full of highly trained Dell employees. Its a warehouse that has techs that repair many different brands of systems and they are not employed directly by Dell. They have been known to make things worse. At least with an onsite tech you can "hover" over him and watch him. How long have you had your system?

[@Gipish]

Andrew Deex thanks for your response. I have had it since the end of November so I do not believe they fully the cooling. So I don't know what to do...

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks Ernie! That's my aim, to help people make educated choices and decisions :) Thanks for watching my videos !

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Like I said in my last comment, what temperatures are you getting? If you have no problems I am sure you will be fine - Like Andrew says, if you send it in they may make it worse...

Great video! These kind of interviews are cool... I'll receive my AW 17 the 1st week of January, so I hope it'll have those issues fixed. Thanks lot for the information, and also thanks to iunlock and liquidhertz... Merry Christmas, too!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Cheers David ! Glad you like them. I enjoy doing them as I learn a lot from these guys too. Let us know what you would like to see in Part 3. I should also have one coming up on the 13" in the new Year. Have a good Christmas !

[@raygun369]

man, thank you for this! you are THE MOST in depth laptop reviewer on youtube!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks mate ! I try my best :)

[@sdushdiu]

Man....while they may remediate the CPU temperature issues, the issue with the screen is a deal killer for general overall (not just gaming) usage...a real shame. Looks like its the MSI GT73/83 for the win. GREAT series!!!

[@OMEN786]

I just received my AW 17 R4, and so far I have run 2 different stress tests. The CPU and GPU temperatures look good. The CPU temperatures range within 65 to 80 C. I think the thermal problem has been fixed! Cheers! :)

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Great! What CPU do you have?

[@OMEN786]

It's an i7 - 7700HQ

[@Dolphinsz]

I like how open everyone has been they have corrected this issue. I do think as you think the toby eye tracking is a massive gimick! i think the alienwear 17 gtx 1080 is a nice balance between that and the blade. adn i really hope these new temps dont cause the CPU and GPU to throttle like hell

[@OWNORDISOWN]

JooJoo Flop Me too. They make nice laptops and you have to admire how they have tried to reduce the thickness and adopt a new cooling system. The GPU is really cool so it shows that it has the potential 😆

[@Dolphinsz]

just waiting for the 4k version :)

[@Gipish]

Hey man thanks for the video. I have been using the Alienware 17R4 for about 2 weeks now. Mostly for Music production and video editing and I haven't really had any heating issues or anything yet but I am really worried I might have issues in the near future. What would you recommend doing? sending it to dell? Change the paste myself? Just wanted your input. Your channel helps so much :)

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Hi ! Thanks for watching my videos :) Video editing hits the CPU pretty hard. Even my MSI GT73VR hit a max of 91 last night when rendering my latest video..Do you know what temps you get ? The GPU runs cool, its the CPU that seems to take the hit. If you haven't installed them already use HWinfo64 or HWmonitor to check your CPU temp when doing your next video edit..

[@SteeltechPC]

Sharing this video on the Alienware Gamers group on Facebook. Another great video.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Steelvelvet cheers mate!

[@davideffiong1198]

So that's why my laptop was delayed from "engineering audits"! I'm getting it tomorrow as a replacement for my 15 R1, which has had tons of problems and two motherboard replacements.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

David Effiong We have a phrase "Good things come to those who wait" so hopefully you will have one with all the modifications. Good luck and thanks for watching my video!

[@davideffiong1198]

I'll find out today! I knew there was a good reason why my order was delayed by two weeks, but it's nice to know the details.

[@GHannel]

Hi man, what do you think, if i order one now will i get fixed one with thermal paste? or it's better to wait a bit until they implemet termal paste application in manufacturing process? i wached like all of your videos! You really deserve like way more views and subscribers!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

GHannel cheers mate! I am sure they are applying the said fixes but the concern I have is how much old inventory is in the pipeline.. Perhaps wait a couple more weeks.. Some of my viewers have some new ones coming in and they will be posting their findings.. Thanks for watching!

[@GHannel]

OWNORDISOWN Thank you very much for answering! Keep up great work!👍

[@MexximusUK]

GHannel I am waiting for delivery of my 3rd 1080 Fhd 15 inch at the moment... Light bleed issue.

[@Warlock_UK]

I'm hoping with my order being delayed for a week due to part supplies that it isn't old inventory and I'll get new gear - what's the best benchmark app to run to give you guys out-of-the-box feedback for a new 17?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I find gaming benchmarks such as Witcher 3 and Metro last light to be particularly taxing, the latter you can set it to run say 6 times and walk away. Cinebench is quick and taxes the CPU nicely, or use Handbrake to encode a video, that is free and you can monitor the temps and frequencies as it runs to see if it throttles.. it did on my AW17 GTX 1080..

[@Warlock_UK]

Woo, my build is leaving any day now so it sounds like I get the benefits of your work guys!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yippee! Great, let us know how it works out !

[@Warlock_UK]

OWNORDISOWN had it a week, brought to work to show to a co-worker and there's video corruption and doom crashes the laptop. I've taken photos but I think I'm going to push for my £2100 back.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Warlock M Yeh, saw your photo. That sucks big time. So sorry to hear that. Good luck on the replacement mate!

[@Warlock_UK]

OWNORDISOWN if it's the CPU I'll let them fix it. GPU... that's a refund I think.

[@Warlock_UK]

Phoned them up as the facebook support didn't have any info on how long a motherboard takes to order. Got to wait another 10 days for the new board. So, 3 weeks to arrive from ordering, 10 days working, 2 weeks wait to get a new board. :/ How the hell someone can manufacture something and not have any access to spare parts is beyond me.

[@firudinimanli4560]

Can they make a video, showing how to dissemble the laptop. It would be great to have the video instead of pictures.

[@AMindInOverdrive]

I bought a 17 R5 a few years ago, and I know this is a really old issue, and WELL known. I had to repaste mine due to fans spinning up and temps rising. A little high-quality paste fixed the issue. How can a company thrash their reputation so badly over a little paste??? Next laptop I buy will not be Dell/Alienware, because they obviously just don't care

[@liviup6660]

ive repasted my alienware 15 r3 last week.i used grizzly conductonaut liquid metal.now i play forza 3 horizon on ultra and my cpu is at 60° and the gpu at 50° with full brightness.also my laptop is so quiet now.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Wow, that is fantastic ! Thanks for sharing :)

[@edit1754]

Another thing I have to commend Alienware for is that all their QHD and 4K screens are 100% honest true-resolution displays. Manufacturers like ASUS and MSI have a tendency to use Pentile screens to cheat the ability to advertise high resolutions. Pentile screens downsample their purported resolutions onto only about half the number of actual pixels, and tend to look grainy and worse than lower-resolution true-resolution displays. The only reason Pentile displays exist is for deceptive advertising, and I'm glad Alienware doesn't stoop that low.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Good point! Thanks for sharing :)

[@parkerplenty3161]

Thank you so much for this information...I really appreciate all of the time and effort you guys put in on behalf of the consumers. I did have a few questions. What will they do to remedy this situation for customers who already purchased AW17 R4 / AW15 prior to 12/6/16? Should i just bring mine back and wait for the new revised unit with the fixes?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks Parker ! Are you having heat issues - high 90's, 100's ? If you are still within the return period you can send it back without question. If not, it is still covered under the warranty so they may swap it out for you. Most people don't want to do the repaste themselves but Team Liquid Hertz do offer those services and that is an avenue you could explore.. Thanks for watching !

[@ToneysReviews]

Do you think there would be an improvement if you were to cut the cooling system in half and then solder it; so you would have each fan cooling the GPU/CPU separately? It would get rid of the shared heat, but I am not sure if theses pipes are on some sort of loop for air flow.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yes, I have often though the same thing. Separate heat pipes works well in the MSI GT73VR and Sager NP9873 I tested.

[@dandyokta5050]

so alienware is a nope? coz im stuck beetwen alienware17 r4 (overheat) msi ge63vr 7rf raider (doesnt have g sync and not ips) asus rog gl503vs (fan is loud af ) wanna buy msi ge73vr 7rf raider which 17" but the product isnt available on my countrt yet :(

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Its really only the i7 7820hk model of the AW17 r4 that over heats, the i7 7700hq model is fine. Personally I would go Clevo P870TM - six cores, mxm GPU (upto 2 x GTX 1080), same QHD 120 hz panel as AW17 R4, 5 USB ports, 2 x TB3, 2 x display port, 2 x Ethernet ports. 3 x m.2 slots, 2 x 2.5" bays, upto 64GB RAM, and loudest speakers so far.. If not that then perhaps the GT75VR ?

[@ufade2]

I just wanted to share my experience I got my Alienware 17 r4 on December 7th 2017 and on a flat glass table in a 15.5 c room. After gaming approx 15 minutes I was hitting 95 c max temps this was on the 7700 model with a 1080. I knew that people had reported issues with the heat, but took a chance and was hoping for the best. I guess I could have re-pasted, but I don't think a end user should have to re-paste and pad a premium product at this price point. So it went back for a refund. Hoping I can find another option maybe I will look into MSI they seem to have good reviews, but I was kinda hoping for a 2560x1440 display seems like a sweet spot. Thank you for your videos!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

That sucks. Sorry to hear about that. How about the Sager NP9877 (Clevo P870TM). I have one and it is blazing fast (i7 8700k CPU). You can buy them already repasted. I will be reviewing mine.

[@ufade2]

Hey thanks for the advice I will check into that and look forward to the review of yours.

[@DingisMaximus]

did they mention why the 15 doesn't have a subwoofer

[@OWNORDISOWN]

DingisMaximus MO they didn't, I agree that is disappointing..

[@propeldragon]

Just got a 13 r3 and the thermal pad was the thick one and not that white .1 one. Getting it replaced Tuesday.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

propeldragon good luck mate!

[@RAMtrails]

so is the Alienware NOT recommended by you? It's a shame, the build looks super nice and sturdy

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Zimba's Doom Corner the new Kaby Lake models such as i7 7700hq are perfectly fine. Everyone says they are cool. I would still be cautious about getting an i7 6820hk model though..

[@juberpatel]

Hi Steven, thanks for holding this very helpful discussion. Do you have an update on this issue? If I buy the latest Alienware 17 R4 with 1080GTX, would you expect it to maintain temperatures in 60's like people were getting after repasting? Thanks!

[@thermalgeothermal451]

Very informative guys. I'm wondering if DELL fixed these issues with the introduction of the new Kaby Lake processors??

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thermal Geothermal Thanks, glad you liked it. The feedback I am getting from viewers is that even the new skylakes were running better. I'm sure they will not make the same mistakes with Kaby Lake. That would be awful. I have asked for some samples so I guess I will have to wait and see. Thanks for watching!

[@optimusy8102]

Has the Dell fixed the temperature issues on 15 or 17? Or are they going to fix it? Ps: really love your reviews. Always in-depth.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

YIYANG YANG Thanks mate! I can say with confidence that the i7 7700hq models are fine. The i7 7820hk is still a lottery though I'm afraid..

[@mikek2005]

I have the alienware 17 r4 with i7-7700hq and it runs very cool. The keyboard is so cool to the touch compared to other laptops, even during gaming. The only problem I'm having is slow boot time but maybe that is a software issue

[@OWNORDISOWN]

mike k nice Mike, thanks for sharing. My i7 7820hk doesn't unfortunately but it is hard to keep that cool...

[@mikek2005]

I bought my alienware 17 r4 in april 2017 and it has gtx 1070

[@emicit8514]

THANKS, for explain !!! GOOD DAY!!!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

No problem, thanks for watching !

[@vueheu6483]

Awesome video keep it up. I just want to know if they offer the new thermal pad for us existing customers.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Tuo Heu Thanks Tuo. That would certainly be a nice gesture.. But probably quite costly.. Can always give it a go though!

[@tehshzz]

They are replacing heat sinks with the new thermal pads on them. They also have been known to also be doing full system exchanges for those that just bought their system.

[@JPOG7TV]

glad Im buying this laptop after this video, now I don't have to necessarily repast immediately

[@OWNORDISOWN]

JPOG7 TV I did a follow up this video over the weekend. A subscriber who has isolated and solved game stuttering even after a successful repaste.. I learn a lot from you guys ☺️

[@kmorton54]

Great tech VLOG about the thermal issues on the 17 R4 model. You would recommend not getting the QHD 120Mhz TN panel?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thiek Niarb it's not the most colour accurate but it is good for gaming because of the refresh rate and 4ms response time. It is very smooth. It is also very bright so you can squeeze out just over 4 hours of battery at 15% brightness which is still viewable indoors.. My biggest complaint was that it doesn't support switchable graphics.. Thanks for watching my video!

[@sylphiexie]

Hello! Thank you for your videos they have really helped me understand what's going on with Alienware laptops, I have contacted Dell recently do you think the motherboard replacement will fix all the thermal paste and other related issues?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Shay Anth thanks Shay! From what I have read from recent viewers comments is that indeed the Temps are cooler by about 10 degrees max. That is good news. Also Kaby Lake has been announced and it might make sense to wait for those ones before buying one..

[@Merc3778]

so i have a "prefix" 17 r4 with a gtx1070 if i dont overclock the computer i should be ok with the laptops temperature?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

MERC-378 what temperatures do you get at load? You'll probably be ok, the cpu is supported be able to handle 100 degrees C OK but I for one wouldn't that to be the norm when gaming for hours. I guess, much depends on your usage situation.. I had one viewer who idle Temps were in the mid 70s and load was at 100. Something was clearly wrong there..

[@Merc3778]

OWNORDISOWN highest GPU has ever gotten was 77°C. Arma 3 Co-op (6hrs). At idle it sit no warmer than 40°C. The CPU yield similar results. 36 idle 68 under high load. Hottest temp was 80°C.The GPU and CPU like to average in the high 50s low 60s The laptop is only about 3 weeks old an im kinda new to all this so im learning as i go.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

MERC-378 your temperatures look ideal! No need to worry ☺️

[@Merc3778]

Ok good Thanks.

[@RYzerox]

Another Great Video ... Thank you very much for these information and i would like to know is a heat sink throttling issue fixed now ? is it safe to order on mid January? and i want to ask about the AW 17 r4 gtx 1080 ... will it has the 4k or FHD screen near future such as Feb or Mar ? because i heard that they work on it and i want a specific date to know if i should wait to order the 4k or to go ahead and order mid Jan

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks ! By all accounts they have improved it with this new thermal paste, probably the best you are going to get without using liquid metal like LiquidHertz use. Like Mobius 1 said in the video , the 4k screen is the best out there and I would be tempted to wait until you are able to order the configuration you want. If you are paying so much on these things you don't want to make any compromises.. Thanks for watching !

[@lakshyashankar2615]

@OWNorDISOWN Love your videos man!! Hey , i am strongly thinking of buying the AW15 R3 i7 7700 with GTX 1070. Has the overheating prob been resolved as i still see many people in forums complain about their recently bought AW models in regards to heating. Is the heating better in AW 17 R4 model or should i buy something else altogether. How would you compare an MSI gt62vr dominator with respect to these laptops?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks Lakshya ! Glad you like them :) I had an AW 17 R4 with an i7 6700hq/GTX and an AW13 R3 i7 7700hq/GTX 1060 and they were both cool. They certainly had the paste and pad issues with the 6th gen CPU's - especially the i7 6820hk models. From what I have seen thus far the i7 7700hq ones are running fine - the i7 7820hk is still hot - but it maintains high performance. Still, it was too hot for me without doing a good repaste. I had a GT62VR and AW15 R3 at the same time and did do a smack down - I thought the GT62VR was better value as it was cheaper at the time, and it had a subwoofer and sd card reader which the AW15 lacked. The trackpad was better on the AW15 and it is a nicer looking machine no doubt, albeit heavier. I will be uploading a video hopefully on Sunday on the MSI GP72MVR - refurb i7 7700hq/GTX 1070 at $1350. Great value, only bad pint is the battery life on it. The Gigabyte P57x is good too although lacks a subwoofer if I recall. If you have your heart set on the AW15 R3 i7 7700hq go for it, I do believe it will run well for you !

[@8peterp]

just re-pasted my 15 r3 with gelid extreme ,15-20C drop with intel burn test ,this test hit 95C before. brand new 1.08 bios but still had stamp ,really bad hardened ,dried out and thick thermal pads what I left there. can imagine Dell trying to get rid of old stock. difference between cores are still huge so have to do it again and order thermal tape

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Peter P. Yep, still a lottery. Glad you made some headway!

[@8peterp]

the PC is only 2 weeks old and temps started to get worse ,going into mid 90s even during playing games like dirt rally. just made a small video how looked like after taking off the heat-sink ,unbelievable. Dell made a big mistake trusting the manufacturer Compal with this task ,they could even use liquid metal and advertise how much they care about enthusiast users. Thanks for making these videos ,helps thousands ,keep up the great work

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Peter P. Cheers Peter!

[@Coffee_Caper]

I ordered my laptop (17 r4 1070 model) in August 2017 from best buy, I have always had thermal issues with my laptop, I sent it in for a thermal repaste in late 2018 , and that only slowed down the time to thermal throttle, I have lifted the laptop off the table/undervolted /turned off the turbo boost in bios/activated performance mode on the fans and to this day no avail, I read the pinned post about no changes in production , is the thermal pad replacement something I can do at home?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yes, iunlock has a guide on Notebook review actually.

[@simongarcia8694]

I was just about to buy the MSI GT73 ! before watching this video haha I think Im gonna wait I do really love the design from alienware

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Simon Garcia yes, it is a very nice design. I still prefer the MSI GT73VR though, not because of the looks which as we know there is no comparison. I like more USB ports, it has an SD card reader, you can control overclock and fans using buttons rather than going into the BIOS and you can switch to integrated graphics with a press of a button. Also, currently the MSI trounces the AW17 in benchmarks because of my models overheating. Hopefully the new paste and corrected heat sink will even that up.. Thanks for watching!

[@jaykim4586]

I'm planning to buy one for gaming but at the same time I'll be using it for photo and video editing and I'm worried if it's not color accurate. Is the UHD screen for Alienware 17 r4 color accurate? :(

[@OWNORDISOWN]

JK Milano I actually measure the colour accuracy at time frame 02:49 on my review kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ-WdJWCeNihn9k I have the Kaby Lake model in house and it runs cooler. Will be reviewing that shortly.. Just performance and Temps.

[@jaykim4586]

Just saw right now that the i7-7820hk with UHD option for AW 17 r4 is now gone in dell's website. There's still the UHD option for the i7-7700hq but will it have the same performance with the i7-7820hk? Does it work the same with the 15 r3 model? I don't know if my understanding is right. lol. Sorry coz I'm kinda new with all of these. Definitely gonna wait for your review. Big help. Thanks!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

JK Milano hey there. Yes, you will lose a little performance at stock speeds versus the i7 7700hq, the biggest difference will be when overclocked, even say at 4 ghz as the i7 7700hq will likely stay closer to about 3.4 ghz. I would keep checking the Dell website. They change things all the time. The fans in the 17 inch are larger than the 15 inch so I would try and get some review info first before buying that CPU in the 15 inch. The 17inch also has the subwoofer which the 15 doesnt.. And that does affect the audio.

[@skcopian]

Top end brands like Alienware or Razer should use liquid metal. The temps I've read about from people who've used it on laptops are unreal.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

The 6th Order I agree totally. I don't know why they go to such expense to design a top cooling solution only to skimp on the paste..

[@Drinkyoghurt]

I'm not so sure if Dell really addressed these issues. I just received my AW 13 R3 Skylake with i7 6700HQ and when I first tested it with 3dmark the core (Core0) would hit 92c! That's hot for a 3d gaming benchmark. Right now undervolted at -0.110mV and it runs maybe 79C now. I think the fact that the fans barely spin up until it hits 80c has something to do with this as well. My GPU is hitting about 84C which is manageable. I still have to do a repaste at some point but I think it's ok for now

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Drinkyoghurt hi, yes indeed. I was getting feedback elastic far back in January that the skylake models seemed untouched. The i7 7700hq models seem fine but there is still a bug question mark on the i7 7820hk. I have one of those coming in. Glad you can manage it by undervolting it. I agree the fan profile is probably set to try and keep it quiet rather than cool.. I think they assume that the average person doesn't check these things.. Thanks for watching, be sure to subscribe to watch more of my content 😁

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Sorry for the late reply, your message was in spam. I replied back on your video. Hopefully you can tighten up the fan or get it replaced..

[@justmeandtom2072]

Hi, I am not sure what to do with my 15R3. I have everything here for the repaste, except new pads. Should I send my unit back to have them repasting it and then add Conductonaut on top of that? Seems more sensible since the pads are one major problem here. What do you think? Cheers

[@OWNORDISOWN]

justmeandtom If you feel comfortable enough to do the repaste yourself I would be inclined to do that and see where the temperature are at. If there is any doubt in your mind about doing it yourself though I would definitely send it back, better to be safe than sorry..

[@justmeandtom2072]

OWNORDISOWN I would be able to do the repaste myself but I want the new thermal-pads as foundation. I'll send it back and repaste it afterwards if still needed. Thx for your fast response. Cheers

[@justmeandtom2072]

I was to unpatient and did the repaste already. The temps droped by a good amount. The thermal compound I used was Grizzly Conductonaut. I uploaded a video with before/after temps. You might want to check it out. Thank you very much for your videos, they helped a lot.

[@duppex3163]

Another great video with useful information. could you recommend a 15.6 120hz G-SYNC laptop. Alien R3 Also the Aorus but both seems to have to many problems at the moment.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Duppex Ellis Thanks! How about the Sager NP9152-S? One of my viewers just got a Sager and he loves it.. www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP9152-S.html

[@RayLancer]

I wonder if this affects the 13R3 since that's the model I'm looking at. I've seen people post about the high temperatures on Reddit for the 13R3 and I'm wondering if it had the same issue as the 15R3 and 17R4.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

RayLancer I just uploaded a video, another interview video with Exklim who has been looking at the AW13. Under normal load conditions its fine but under heavy loads it does get hot. He took it apart and the paste and Thermal pad thickness was OK. I hope to get one soon to fully test..

[@RayLancer]

I just noticed the video and I've watched it. From what I seen in the interview the AW13 should be fine for my gaming needs, under 75 under gaming load is acceptable.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

RayLancer Great, glad it helped you. Thanks for the sub too!

[@varsanx4]

Hey Nord! Thank you for your videos. I finally found the right channel for me to do research on the Alienware. Can you help me out? Do you think it's worth buying the Alienware 15 or should I go with something else due to the issues it has? I'll be buying it in the US but I'm from Asia so I can't do much replacing while I'm in the US.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

varsanx4 hey there! The feedback I'm getting on all models with the i7 7700hq cpu are very favourable. I had a report today if the i7 7820hk in the 17" still being hot and throttling. You might want to check out Best Buy, they often have open box deals. Thanks for finding my channel!

[@varsanx4]

Wow fast reply! Subbing you man great vids really. Isn't it risky buying open boxes? I have never tried to buy I guess buying it online is a bigger risk due to the fact if it has problems I wont have enough time to return it which is a bummer because AW is on sale till the 16th.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

varsanx4 lol, I try and reply as fast as I can 😆 Actually the AW17 i7 6700hk / gtx 1070 and Razer Blade were open boxes from Best Buy and they were fine. In reality I didn't really want to send them back but my wife would have strung me up if I didn't 😆. I don't know how long you would be in the States for but you should be able to stress test it within a few hours and it will still have the standard AW warranty..

[@varsanx4]

Thanks nord! Will look at that. BTW what stress test can I do at the store? So that I can have it ready when I go there.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

varsanx4 you can't stress test it at the store unfortunately. They have Geek Squad that certify that us works fine so it will power up etc. When you get to your hotel just fire it up, install say prime 95, cinebench R15, heaven benchmark, and say Hwinfo64 to measure your Temps and let it rip. You can also try Furmark too if you want to pound the GPu harder..

[@SeethTV]

Have they fixed all these problems ? @ownordisown because I'm a KZbinr my self and I was suppose to be releasing some videos and my Alienware just died on me doesn't even turn on. And I've been going through hell with customer support and having problems just trying to get a replacement in order, they compensated and upgraded me to a GTX 1080 but I just wanna make sure all this crap is fixed*. And another question im getting. A 7820hk with the 1080 is that having paste issues and all the old issues as well or all fixed?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

SeethTV Hi there, as luck would have it I am testing the very same laptop now. The temperatures are much better. 4.2 ghz seems to be the magic frequency, it still throttles and gets to 96 degrees doing my handbrake test but it maintains a high wattage. At 4.4 ghz it couldn't maintain the same level of performance. The temperature was recorded with max fan. At stock clocks the temperature was 80 degrees on the CPU. I used Throttlestop to get it to 4.6 but just couldn't hit it to do more than 60w. Using the BIOS the cpu package was at 77.7W and maintained better performance. I'll check your channel out.

[@SeethTV]

OWNorDISOWN Jesus Christ does it still have the heat sink and LCD issues?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

SeethTV temperatures are much better. My handbrake test does stress the cpu quite a lot and it takes a good 35 minutes so it's better than just doing a quick blast of Cinebench. Beforehand, even at stock it ran hot. This runs no hotter than the Asus G752vs or G701vi...dont get me wrong, I would like to see the temperatures lower with the turbo fan. I still have my game tests to do. I expect cooler temperatures there. Should have full results up shortly after Easter.

[@LSSRoshi]

Mine comes in next week. I really feel like Dell should be fixing the thermal pads for the heatsink and repasting for me. We shouldn't have to open up a brand new computer to fix it.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I agree totally. We should have to undervolt either, at these prices they should just work. That being said I have tried the i7 7820hk in the Asus G752vs, G701vi, AW17 R4 and Aorus x3 v7 and it runs hot in all. Guess I have to try an MSI GT73VR, lol.

[@thomasbeshaw855]

I have throttle issues when the max temp is only 70c. However in games like starcraft 2 and a few others like total war arena I get very bad fps drops and it is only around 70c temps. and according to intel XTU it has been hitting thermal throttle. I have never seen hotter temps than 80c but still hitting thermal trottle?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Perhaps its a power throttle? You can try increasing that in XTU and se if that helps. There have been cases too where the VRMs get too hot because of poor thermal pad contact and that throttles it, whilst the CPU is still cool. Also many have said that if the rear of the laptop is raised it causes frame drops.

[@luxrien]

How should I go about fixing the lightbleed that my 17in r4 is having? Its beginning to piss me off that its an issue on a product this expensive. Least it sounds like its pressure and not a defect

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Matthew Flores Yeh, I think pressure around the bezel causes it. I wouldn't attempt to fix it yourself though. They recognize it has been an issue and will issue an RMA for it..

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Matthew Flores it stands for Return Material Authorization. Companies raise them when an item needs to be returned.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Matthew Flores you are welcome Matt, anytime! Yes, I would hold off on any repasting for now. They will probably send you a new one and that may well run cool..

[@Abomin81onVlog]

So are Alienware/Dell doing a recall or something to reapply the thermal paste and pads or is it a diy job? if it's a recall situation do you think they'll swap my 1080p screen for a 4k screen if I pay the difference? a GTX 1070 is massive overkill for 1080p gaming.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I don't think they will be doing a recall as that will cost too much. If yours is still within its return period you can swap it out or get a refund then buy the model you want...Other than that , yes it is DIY job.iunlock and his team do repasting for a living and he will gladly help. Using a cooling pad helps too, perhaps by 10 degrees. Thanks for watching !

[@Abomin81onVlog]

OWNORDISOWN that will give me something to do over christmas if I can get the time. It's out of the return period I think as it was one of the launch batch.

[@TheTruckslover]

Ok, so lets say I buy a new AW 17 r4 with a gtx 1080 today (February 20th 2017) , by what i got from the video, it should have this temperature issue solved (with better thermal paste and better plate arm design from factory)? Up to the point in which we should be seeing those low temperatures and no more need to re-paste?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

elvc in theory.. But I heard of mixed reports about the i7 6700hq models. Got to bear in mind there are so many of the previous designed laptops in the supply chain, and the Gtx 1080 model only came out in November that I suspect many of then will have the same heating issue I had. The Kaby Lake i7 7820hk model won't be much longer and it is a very fast cpu, worth the wait in my opinion..

[@TheTruckslover]

Thanks for your answer! Guess ill wait then.

[@TheAceReviews]

Are the new Kaby Lake models going to pasted with new paste and have better temps and less noise? If so, I'd totally buy it in a heartbeat! :)

[@OWNORDISOWN]

TheAceReviews the feedback I'm getting is that the i7 7700hq models are running nice and cool! Don't know about the i7 7820hk yet though..

[@TheAceReviews]

Around 20 minutes your guests mentioned that the Alienware cooling system is unique and one of the best, does that also mean it's relatively quiet compared to other laptops? I understand that the fans will be audible but they aren't jet engines are they? xD I plan to buy one mid 2017, so if the temps will be better with new re-pastes and the fan noise isn't a nuisance, i'll definitely going go for it! :)

[@OWNORDISOWN]

TheAceReviews what they were referring to was the deign is such that it creates high pressure in enclosed cooling system so air is moved out more rapidly without having to spin the fans so fast. That was my understanding anyway. In my experience they certainly weren't loud, not silent but perfectly fine considering the smaller blades. I think my fans in the GT73VR are quiter at idle but the blades are about twice as big, lol. I think once they corrected the Thermal pad and paste issue things are much better. A look at their GPu Temps says it all really, they are the coolest I have seen, I think in part because it uses a bit less wattage too.

[@TheAceReviews]

Thanks so much for being a dedicated reviewer, and updater as well! Continue what you do! Great information that, from what my hours of research tell me, is exclusive to your channel on KZbin. Subbed, God bless! :)

[@OWNORDISOWN]

TheAceReviews Great, thanks! Appreciate your support 😆

[@centurionplay9880]

Hey guys, What about the sounds problems? I'm having problems with maybe my speakers and I found out that its happening around with others too.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I had one speaker on my AW15 R2 quit on me after 12 months.

[@thomasbeshaw855]

I was wondering when they would unlock memory timings and OC for locked (6700hq, 7700hq etc) cpu's. I have one alienware 17 r4 that allows (6700hq) me in intel XTU to change memory timings (stock memory at 14,14,30 verified by cpuz) but the other 17 R4 (7700hq) never gives me this option no matter what I try. Running in bios performance mode or not. The one that allows me to edit memory in XTU only allows me to do so in bios Performance mode. However according to bios they both have the same version of bios. I was wondering if there was a way to pull the bios from the version that allows memory editing and flash it onto the one that does not.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

It would probably brick it. I flashed my AW13 i7 7700hq once and it went wrong. I have another one, I'll load full version of XTU on and see if I get any joy.

[@JohanKustandi]

15:20 OH SHIT THAT FREAKS ME OUT. HAHAHA

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Johan Kustandi yes, indeed!

[@janppigaming1854]

Is there any other issues besides the thermal and backlight probs on the AW15 r3 i7 6700hq gtx1060? I got a great deal but im still deciding whether to take it or not.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Jandrey Austin Magsalay not that I know of. I had an i7 6700hq 17" and that ran cool as well. I think the main temperature issue was the HK processor models.. Good luck!

[@janppigaming1854]

OWNorDISOWN thanks man! Your videos helped me a lot on deciding. Keep up the good content 👌🏾

[@xeryan2747]

I get the answer I wanted. Nice video

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Ting Tiew Yik Great, glad it helped ☺️

[@Korinzu]

It's taken Dell over a month to send my 15 R3 unit, their corporate office informed me they will finally be shipping my unit within the next few days. As an average consumer, what can we use to test the nits, display, and thermals of the new unit, so we can give you the most accurate information? Also I noticed nothing was said about the really bad black light bleeding on the QHD screens, any word on this fix yet?

[@Korinzu]

Also can I put in a request to review the P37X V6!?!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I just bought a light meter to measure screen brightness. They seem to range in price greatly so don't know if the $30 one I bought will be accurate or not.. The display colours I use Spyder5Pro and that is easy to use. I will do a video on that. The temps can easily be monitored using HWMonitor or HWinfo. I am really hoping I can start getting samples. So far I have spent $12,100 on laptops, returning where possible. I have kept two laptops out of those...If I don't get samples I will ask my wife to buy some and return them...Sager seemed to express some interest, Xoticpc turned me down as did Alienware but I keep pushing ... Thanks for your support, without regular viewers and subscribers it makes my quest even harder! I'll add the P37x V6 to my list :)

[@Korinzu]

It finally arrived, and has minor blacklight bleeding... I can tell right out of the box. I wonder If I should request a replacement, or just live with it, since it took a month to get?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Korinzu If you notice it doing every day tasks or gaming and it bothers you you may want to exchange it. But if you only really see it on dark slow moving or still images then you probably will be okay. It's a tough call after waiting so long I know!

[@TS-jz5vh]

Good evening Ownordisown, I was wondering can you help with all this things that's going on with the new Alienware laptop. I just bought a Alienware 15 R3 with UHD (3840x2160), i7 6700, gtx 1070, 8 gb ram. What problems should I look for on my new laptop. I'm confused what's going on with the thermal and screen issue. This is my first Alienware laptop. Please help. Thank you.

[@OMEN786]

Overheat and light bleed. Hope everything is good!

[@281cubicinch4]

Hi, I have the 17 with the 1080. Two questions. first, i noticed the side vent on the left blow air while the side vent on the right next to the number pad pulls air. Shouldn't they bout be pulling air having the hot air exit through the rear? Second, I downloadrd the new 1.0.9 BIOS and installed it. It went through the restart, the 3 bar graphs after which it should restart. It didn't. the screen turned off but the fans remained running. It stayed in that state for 20 minutes. It never restarted. I called Dell and explained this to them. They told me to told me to hold down the power button for 10 seconds which shut it down. Then restarted and it booted fine. They connected to my computer and checked the bios. It showed 1.0.9 so they said it was fine. I'm not sure because I noticed poor performance gaming. I decided to go back to the 1.0.8 and the exact same thing occured. Had to manually shut down after the BIOS write and manually restart. It booted fine and showed it installed. Gaming performance was good again. Never had this happen installing a BIOS update. Is there something there I should be concerned about? I'm also hoping I have the fixed version with the thermal paste and pads.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

281 Cubicinch Hi there, thanks for watching my video! I'm interested to hear what temperatures you see on the cpu? Mine were crazy.. Feedback from my viewers so far are 5 say it is now good and 2 said theirs was bad. I think they have fixed it but there must be the odd bad one kicking about. Yeh, that BIOS thing sounded a bit unnerving, but it sounds as if it it just got stuck in a restart for some reason. I would keep it at 1.08, particularly since you said you had better performance. One of my viewers said his battery life took a big hit using 1.09. I like how they have an executable file to do the BIOS switch. I was used to having to flash it using a thumb drive. Makes it much easier.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Hi, I didn't answer your first question about the air vents on the AW17. The left one is for the CPU and pulls air from underneath and blows it out the back and left vents where there are two heat sinks. The right is the GPU, it sucks air from underneath and blows out the back. The right vent is mainly for show - I did a test by holding some tissue there and it hardly moves at all...

[@zzVVeeRReeKK]

Hi there! I´m currently waiting for my 17 R4, and it was sent from the factory today, on 25th. What do you think? Is it coming with fixed thermal issues?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Boris Makarov Hi Boris! It should have.. Let us know how you make out!

[@robertwatson2626]

Great video. . Thanks.. I just bought a 17R4 last week... Thinking I should cancel till I see if these issues have been corrected. .. will you be doing new test on the supposedly redesigned 17R4?? will be following this video series..!!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Robert Watson Thanks Robert! Yes, we will be doing a part 3 soon. I have been in touch with the CEO of Alienware and I am hopeful that when they return from CES I will be able to get some samples. I would like an Alienware 13 and a new GTX 1080 model with new paste as the one I had throttled like crazy. Thanks for watching and your support!

[@robertwatson2626]

Appreciate the work you do.. I realize the amount of time and effort you put in these videos. . What's your thoughts on the Alienware 17R4 I ordered last week.. ?? Thinking I should cancel and get the MSI.. about the same money.. around 3 grand ..

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Robert Watson Thanks Robert, yes full laptop reviews take me a week as I also have a full time job. It's the editing that kills me, I'm getting better but no matter what it takes ages 😥 you know I just uploaded a smackdown between the AW17 R4 and MSI GT73VR, gtx 1080 models. Some would view it as unfair as my AW was Thermal throttling but I can only use what I have. I bought both models. Take the throttling away and have switchable graphics on the QHD screen I would be tempted by the ALIENWARE as it is a classy machine..

[@jacobholm47]

I just received my A17 r4 with the 1080. Should I be expecting throttling? What should I do if I run into these issues.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Jacob Holm great, can you run some tests and see what temperatures you get? Pcmark 8 creative test is quite good as a cpu test or cinebench R15. Gaming wise I found that the Witcher 3 or crysis 3 were particularly taxing.. If you do see throttling then the only way to stop it is cool it down. Undervolting using XTU helps. (I will do a video on that), using a cooling pad or repasting. But yours should have the new paste so we all would like to hear your results ☺️

[@twinturbo3461]

In regards to Alienware, these puppies are not cheap and the average lifespan of any computer is 5 years, if people start looking to MSI for their laptop, Alienware stands to lose alot of business, atleast 5 years from a person who has already purchased a gaming laptop. Hope they get these issues resolved!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Twin Turbo the reports I'm getting on the Kaby Lake i7 7700hq models are good. Next week I get the i7 7820hk /gtx 1080 model and will test that. I had the i7 6820hk one and it was too hot and throttled badly. Alienware has a huge fan base, and it was good to see that they listened to the work of LiquidHertz and made the necessary changes. Frank Azor routinely checks forums and responds to people's questions which I think is great.

[@twinturbo3461]

Awesome news! Thanks bud.

[@ahmadalhassan6761]

I think I ruined the tron light cabled trying to remove it to detach the system board from the Alienware 15 r3 :-( can you anyone help me out please ? any tips on how to detach it property?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

steve A I have sent a message to iunlock. If anyone can help you he can.. Hope you can fix it!

[@mangold81]

Hi. Interesting video. Thanks for that. I received my AW 15 R3 just 4 days ago. As it looks already the newest drivers were installed as also the BIOS version 1.08. So I would expect to have the "fixed" version. My configuration: i7 6820HK, GTX 1070, 32GB RAM, 4k display. I'm running my CPU at the moment at max 3.9GHz (it should be the level 2 OC in the BIOS). I tried now to run OCCT (for 10min) and the clock stays quite stable at 3.59GHz but the max temperatures are at 89-97 degrees Celius but during the run usually between 79 and 90. The difference between the cores 0,2 and 1,3 is at around 4-10 degrees. Thermal Throttling happend sometimes on the cores 0 and 2. Later I will do the test without overclocking the CPU.

[@mangold81]

So. Without over clocking the CPU it runs at around 2.8-2.9GHz, the temperatures are around 64-71 degrees, max temperatures: 79-89. During the run of OCCT the difference betweeen the cores were around 1-8 degrees with an avarage of I would say 5 degrees.

[@tehshzz]

There is a chance you have the old thermal pad.

[@mangold81]

I thought the same. But: Without over clocking the CPU (still running at 3.2GHz during this test) and running the Gears of War 4 benchmark for at least 10 times, the temperatures stay below 80 degrees (average for the cores: 71,68,70,68). And what I was also not thinking about: I'm overclocking my GTX 1070 by 200MHz whats also generating some additional heat for sure (stays at around 68-71 degrees). So I think this looks not so bad. Specially the average temperatures of the cores are close to each other even during the reload of the benchmark specially the first core gets a heavy load.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

At stock you say it runs at 2.8-2.9Ghz.. shouldn't it be at 3.6Ghz if fully loaded? If I recall GOW4 isn't very demanding, have you tried Metro Last Light benchmark? Witcher 3 ? At 4Ghz I was hitting 97-100 degrees easily.. Can you run PCmark 8? It would be interesting to see if your score is higher than the MSI GT62VR I posted in my previous video (and thus higher than the AW17 i7 6820hk I tested). Thanks!

[@mangold81]

Hmmm. Right. Strange.I don't own Metro Last Light. But how can I benchmark Wither 3? Running it the cores gets throttlet and I get up to 97 degrees for the first core (the others around 90). But running at 4.1GHz I managed to get in 3DMark score in Fire Strike of 15286 points what I'm very happy about. But it looks like I got the "old" version. But a college of mine has the same laptop but without the K-cpu. He had problems with the cooling so Dell replaced his cpu, by a slower one. He has no chance to reach my score (using the same GPU), not even the "graphics score". So there is a difference between our laptops... So repasting would be maybe a good idea...

[@kmorton54]

Excellent VLOG. I was thinking of the 17 R4 with the 120HMz QHD display. Would it be better to get the stock IPS 1080P or the 4k?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thiek Niarb Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! My biggest disappointment on the QHD display was the fact you cannot switch to integrated graphics. People say that was because it was gsync. Is the 4k gsync? I'm not sure but by all accounts it has great colour accuracy. I've used the 1080p display and I thought it was nice, although I did have lightbleed. I'm always a fan of having good battery life so if the 4k had suitable graphics I would have that in a heartbeat. If not, the 1080p was just fine and people say they have been able to overclock it..

[@abrams313]

Hi OWNorDISOWN..I have been searching through the replies about the screen choices of the default screen with 300 NITS vs 400 NITS. I am trying to decide which screen to get with the Alienware 15? I'm also considering the 1060 or should I take the plunge to get the 1070 instead. Also thank you to you and everyone in getting Alienware to correct their heat issues of the CPU and GPU paste. I am capable of taking a computer apart, but would rather not go through a re-pasting a brand new machine if possible.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Allan Toy Hi Allan, thank you for watching my video and the sub! Yes, I'm pleased they have fixed it - the i7 7700hq models anyway. I still have mixed reports on the i7 7820hk but I have bought the 17" to test so we will see. The 1070 will be more future proof and if you go that route I would go the 120hz panel as you will generally get close to that in most games at 1080p. If you go the 1060 route your frame rates won't be as high but it's nice to have the high refresh rate as it does make it smoother so as a gamer I would prefer that.

[@abrams313]

Thanks OWNorDISOWN! I just wanted to get your insight on which screen to get. Also FYI, and you probably already know this, but I did just have an online chat and I asked about the current bios version being used on Alienware 15 models and it stated version S1.0.12 is currently being shipped out. Thanks again, and I will be watching for future reviews, etc.

[@cr-cm3hd]

Make a video of the Acer Predator 17 GX-792-7448 17.3" Gaming Laptop Computer - Black; Intel Core i7-7820HK Processor 2.90GHz; NVIDIA GeForce GTX1080 8GB GDDR5X VR Ready; 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM; 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD 7200 RPM BOB OF ALL LAPTOP PASTE you are A very GOOD MAN and your commentary is not SLOW👍👍👍👍 👍👍👍👍 👍👍👍👍 thanks BUT NEED THE BEST OF YOU TO TALK ON THE BEST VIDEO-CARD YET, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB GDDR5X, THE BEST Acer Predator 17 GX-792-7448 17.3" Gaming Laptop Computer - Black; Intel Core i7-7820HK Processor 2.90GHz; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X VR Ready; 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM; 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD DO REVIEW! Still UP IN THE AIR, stuck between the Acer Predators 17 GX & THE BEST ACER 21XX SLI, ALSO KNOWN AS Predator TNT'21XXTI DOUBLE TROUBLE KILLER XX THE WORLD.S FRIST TWIN GeForce GTX 1080 Ti with new GDDR5XX THE BEST NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB GDDR5XX, x2 DUAL SLI, Ti's THAT'S 22GB's of PURE-XX-POWER-PUNCH! OF TNT' DYNAMITE' BOB your Dynamite too! BOB PLEASE REVIEW THE .MicroCenter Acer Predator 17 GX-792-7448 17.3" Gaming Laptop Computer - Black; Intel Core i7-7820HK Processor 2.90GHz; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X VR Ready; 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM; 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD.@microcenter! www.microcenter.com/endeca/CompareV2.aspx?returnUrl=L3NlYXJjaC9zZWFyY2hfcmVzdWx0cy5hc3B4P049NDI5NDk2NzI4OCA0Mjk0ODYzMTQwIDU5NiA1OTQgNTk3IDQyOTQ5NjQ4ODMmcGFnZT0x

[@jackwillis6699]

Hey, nice video! I don't know if you remember but I posted on another video about getting a laptop, I went with a Asus. I unfortunately went with a 3rd party seller and it showed up with dead pixels. I'm considering getting this Alienware r4 with a qhd screen. Have these problems been fixed by now? I'm just gonna get my next one from Best Buy.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Jack Willis hi Jack, yes I remember that. I think if you go for an i7 7700hq one then you will be good plus Best Buy have a great return policy if needed.. Cheers!

[@jackwillis6699]

OWNorDISOWN cool, it looks like the 7700 is only another$100, but it's only available for pre order on their site at the moment. I guess I should just wait

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Jack Willis yes, as they say good things come to those that wait 😃

[@nayuki2020]

Hey! Any updates on the 7820HK model? I have been thinking about getting a new alienware laptop. Are there any difference on the thermal issues between 15r3 or 17r4 (Kabylake ones)? Or are there any other issues specific to ONE of the two? Also, is it necessary to get 7820HK with GTX1080? Or 7700HQ should work just fine without throttling the GTX1080? Planning to use it for about 3 or 5 years.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Phoebus just finishing up on the new i7 7820hk aw 17r4 with Gtx 1080. It runs hot, high 90s. Not so bad at stock clocks. Check our my video on the Acer Predator 17 X. That had an i7 7700hq and gtx 1080... Stock fans. Turbo fans don't make much difference. Putting a book under does help but best is a notebook cooler. Going to undervolt next

[@nayuki2020]

I just watched the video, very neat test results, thank you! The "high 90s" you have mentioned, is that 7820HK stock clocks or overclocked temp? Thanks so much for your info and advice, they are very helpful!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Phoebus, that was at 4ghz but even at stock it is hot eg Rainbow Six Siege 90 degrees, Ark Survival 93, BF1 at 96, Mafia 3 at 96.

[@nayuki2020]

thank you a lot man! love you channel~

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Phoebus you are welcome mate! Glad you like it 😊

[@julienespinoza6658]

so is it still a good choice to buy alienware 15 now? was the thermal issues been fixed by the manufacturers?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Julien Espinoza it might be prudent to wait a few weeks to make sure old inventory is used up but I believe that new models will be as good as they are going to be from the factory..

[@julienespinoza6658]

OWNORDISOWN thank you for your quick reply and informative video. You deserve more subs.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Julien Espinoza cheers Julien!

[@frohe4u]

I got mine 17 r4 few day ago. Withcher 3 1080p ultra after 5 minutes.... core#0 runs up to 96°C, core #2 94°C, core#1 and #3 up to 86°C.stress test under prime95 gives the same temperatures.dell stress test 76-81°C. Shipping date is 12/7/2016

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Juraj Kaiser Thanks for sharing your findings Juraj. Is that with the i7 6820hk? Looks like the new Kaby Lake 7th generation cpu's are cool. Looks a bit hot to me, what do you think you will do?

[@frohe4u]

It's the 6700hq paired with 1070. Don't know what to do actually. I'll call support for sure. But if they won't accept the claim... Either I find somebode who can repast for me or I'll pay dell to do it. But those would be the last money they will ever get from me. The funny thing is I waited till the end of january hoping the termal issues will be fixed by now...obviously I was wrong.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Juraj Kaiser when I returned by second one I cited that it throttled so bad it got beaten by a laptop half its price, which was true. Perhaps you compare Pc mark 8, Passmark, cinebench R15 scores to the ones on my GT62VR or even the Razer Blade which I will post this weekend or I can tell you the scores ahead of time if you like. No one wants a machine that isn't performing as fast as it should. They immediately gave me a return slip.

[@frohe4u]

I called a technical support this morning. We went through the standard dell diagnostic. All passed, so I've been told everything's ok. Fortunatelly I bought the device on the internet trough the local supplier which gives me an opportunity to return the goods within 14 days without any reason. So I'll try to return the NB today. If I'll get my money back I'll go for a different producer. Honestly, I don't want to spend days and weeks claiming an obvious issue with the device at this price tag (2950 eur) Which brand would you recommend? I've got a good experience with lenovo, don't know how the Y910 handles. Anyway, thak you for you interest and for all these helpful reviews you make

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Juraj Kaiser I like the look of the Lenovo Y720. Since I like VR I'm interested about it vr integration and i like how it has an Xbox wireless card in it so no dongle required.. I haven't tried one yet but will at some point. shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/legion-y-series/y720/?action=tests good luck!

[@tomsenn88]

I just ordered an r3 1070 7820hk. Will this have the problem still ? Should I still repaste or have they fixed it by now?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Hi Tom, I'm still having people with issues. I think they are using better paste now but that CPU gets hot when overclocked - it has on every machine I have tested - and takes some cooling. The issues I am hearing more of, perhaps because I did a video on it, was game stuttering or freezing because the thermal pads on the chokes and VRMs are not making good contact with the heat sink. I would try undervolting it first if you are having an issue. I have a tutorial in my play lists if you haven't done it before. Please let us know how you make out !

[@tomsenn88]

I repasted just because Im crazy. But now I am having stuttering. Specifically I will be playing a game on ultra settings and every 2-3 minutes there will be 3-5 seconds of stuttering so bad you cant move and then the frames shoot right back up. Im willing to try anything at this point!

[@SeethTV]

Good content netherless, try using vegas to edit much easier then adobe to be honest

[@OWNORDISOWN]

SeethTV Thanks, I use Magix. It was cheap and even an old dude like me was able to understand it ☺️

[@mechanicstutorials3791]

Alienware 15 with i7, 7700hq with gtx1060, planning to buy this one, is this into thermal throttling too or are these rectified ones??? should I go with it or should I go with msi Apache pro with same gtx 1060 , our place doesn't have an msi service center actually, so I am in a fix, what to do pl advice, I've already subscribed.. ..

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Idrees Mohad Hi Idrees, thanks for your sub and support! Yes, they have solved the problem with overheating on these new seven generation models so you should be good to go. I would go the Alienware route as they do have very good support and return policy. Also you can configure with a 99wh battery for extra battery life.

[@mechanicstutorials3791]

OWNorDISOWN thanks a tonne,,, I was dying to get a go ahead from you I just can't do away with the design of alienware... I'll promote your channel as much as I can, thanks for being such a support for All.... you're a Savior... all the luck....

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Idrees Mohad thanks Idrees! Yes, if any of your friends are interested in my stuff please share 😊 Good luck with your purchase!

[@nicolasgarcia2086]

If I were to order a Alienware 15 r3 would the pasting problem be fixed?? I'm kind of nervous in paying over 2000$ for a laptop that might have some overbearing problems:/ please get to me as fast as possible :D

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Nicolas garcia what cpu are you ordering? I think the paste is much better and am confident that the i7 7700hq models run cool. I'm sure the i7 7820hk ones will still be hot when overclocked because it is a hot cpu. That being said, people undervolt and use a cooling pad and it is fine.

[@nicolasgarcia2086]

OWNorDISOWN I'll be getting the i7-7700HQ which as your saying does run cooler which is the answer I was kind of looking for. Could you direct me to a video that proves they run cooler or could you possibly make one to prove they do?? Also thanks for answering didn't think you'd get to answer. But if you could just lead me to some reliable source that the cooling is AOK then that would also be fine.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I briefly tried the Alienware 13 OLED (it broke during a BIOS update) , it had an i7 7700hq cpu and it ran cool in the two tests I ran : Cinebench R15 was at 62 Deg and my Handbrake test at 66 degrees. That latter test encodes a 4GB file to MP4 over 40 minutes and tends to be a good indicator of overheating.

[@nicolasgarcia2086]

OWNorDISOWN so you would really be fine with anybody buying an Alienware 15 r3 i7-7700 CPU because your sure the issue has been fixed right ? I just wanna make sure nothing is wrong with this laptop because I'm really excited in getting this gaming beast also if I do start overheating what exactly would you recommend me do?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Nicolas garcia I am as sure as I can be that your temperatures will be fine. They do have occasional other issues, like I have one viewer who has the i7 6700hq and gtx 1070 and his games stutter occasionally but usually that happens more to the gtx 1080 model. Even then it is the minority. I would just recommend that you stress it within your two week period. Run many games, even push it hard say with the Heaven Benchmark and prince 95 running at the same time. If you see any issues Alienware will accept returns within the first 2 weeks..

[@jeffc6342]

How can I get in touch with iunlock to have my laptop fixed. You both mention that he does this but I could not find how to contact him.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Jeff C hi Jeff He actually has his own channel, iunlock guru, you should be able to drop him a message or post there. I know they are looking to get a channel set up for liquidhz but I don't think he has it set up yet. If you don't get an answer let me know and I will track him down for you ☺️

[@jeffc6342]

OWNORDISOWN hi and thanks for your message I left a message on one of his post too no answer yet put I'll let you know if he does and thanks for your help.

[@ryanchristensen1799]

Has anyone experienced screen flashing on their QHD panel? Its like the screen cuts off like its losing power but the rest of the laptop is operating fine. The test that really makes this apparent is Furmark benchmark running at 1440p every 15 to 30 secs the screen blacks out and comes back on repeatedly. Is this a PSU issue or is my card fubar or is furmark a bad glitchy program?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Ryan Christensen I haven't experienced that I'm afraid.. Sounds a bit like when you overclock it and you get the Nvidia driver error and it recovers.. Does it happen when you run furmark on battery?if it does its not the power supply then. Perhaps uninstall the Nvidia driver and reinstall? Let us know how you make out!

[@ryanchristensen1799]

Yeah its doing this with the unit plugged in. I just reinstalled the nvidia drivers last night to a new version with a clean install but I heavn't retested it yet. The gpu core never went over 63° during the test and my cpu cores were around 67- 78° C with fans reved up. Funny thing is that it also happened once during unigine heaven while I was freewalking around the long bridge to another floating land rock. The first time I ran furmark on this laptop straight out of the box it did not exzibit this anomoly at all and Ive read in various posts that furmark can possibly damage the gpu which im hpoing thats not the case. I have only 5 more days left before my exchange period runs out.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Ryan Christensen Hopefully the clean install will fix it then. Power supplies can fail of course, but I would have thought the battery would then drain as you are doing the test. Your temps were fine so I don't see damage to the GPU being an issue..If it happens in games after the reinstall then I would definitely talk to their tech support. You can also try running their diagnostics utility - it tests all the components..

[@KoreanBritish]

Hi, I ordered the the Alienware 17 r4 gtx 1070 (QHD) at the end of November and it was delivered on the the 8th of December. Do you think it'll have the new pasting?

[@tehshzz]

That's difficult to say with out looking. They said all past Dec 6th should have it. What are your core temps? I have you done any OCCT testing?

[@KoreanBritish]

Andrew Deex I'm currently on holiday and I will be back in mid January. Once I'm back I'll run the tests.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I thought you were going for the MSI? Hope all is well for you, I know you have been waiting ages !

[@KoreanBritish]

OWNORDISOWN I ended up getting an Alienware. I was swayed by your video comparing the Msi and Alienware. I was swayed by The build quality. Steven, How is your screen (QHD120) on the Alienware?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

KoreanBritish it's great for gaming, it really is. It is so smooth and crisp. I'm not a photo shop guy so the colour accuracy isn't as important to me really, although I would prefer it if wasn't as cold. I didn't notice any banding and light bleed was minimal in my opinion.. I think the resolution is perfect, and I do wish my MSI had that resolution 😕 Merry Christmas to you!

[@daiqiliu9971]

My cpu hits 90 degrees when i play games, so what pastes should i get and how thin should they be ?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I like Gelid GC Extreme and HIDevolution uses the same. Just apply a cross shape and you are good.

[@TheDavidjenn]

Did you try the 1.09 bios now? It just came out a couple days ago. Not sure it changed much though lol.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

CheekEman it hadn't come out at that point. Someone told me th he Temps went down a couple of degrees and someone said it made his battery life worse..

[@TheDavidjenn]

OWNORDISOWN No I know.. I was just asking if you tried it. I put it on but did not notice anything change. I did figure out why my Core0/2 and Core 1/3 were so far apart.. its Turbo Boost! I disabled it and now my cores are about 5c different (Turbo Boost makes it about 30c different!!!) I repasted mine with the Conductonaut and I noticed one of the Killer WiFi antenna ports broke off (the Aux one). I see your video mentions them knowing this is an issue so im going to reach out and see if they can replace the card. Thanks for that info! I was sure I did not break it myself!!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

CheekEman thanks for the info too! Good to know about turbo boost but that is a drastic measure severely limiting performance... Glad you did the repaste! Thanks for sharing your information ☺️

[@TheDavidjenn]

OWNORDISOWN No prob.. Really disabling turbo boost has had no affect on me while I game. I am getting the same FPS etc except now my temps are only 60-70c as compared to the 99c I would get :).. if I am ever doing anything CPU intensive, I could always just flip it back on.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

CheekEman Yeh, that's a good idea. Shame they don't have an external button to do to save going in the BIOS each time. Guess you could create a profile in XTU with the down clocked cpu..

[@lilaramtrivedi2414]

I am just months away from buying this piece, can anyone confirm the issue has been resolved or should I wait for some new models if they are going to be launched.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Lilaram Trivedi I suspect new models will be launched shortly. New cpus coming out next month

[@sabyasachighoshbabu640]

How can I select NVMe Protocol from Bios in Alienware 17 R3 System?

[@afistfulofpimples1745]

Simple

[@AntiSouless]

Why does it seem Alienware/Dell JACK the price up so heavily on the 1080? few days ago it was 2600 because they forced you to include stuff you don't need like 32gb ram , etc. And now it's 3600. But a week ago it was JUST a 400$ add on. Also when comparing msi, sager, aw etc, What is the cheapest laptop with 120hz g sync and a 1080?

[@chasnewcity9800]

They only offer it in a max config now look at all the other specs on that machine. Supply and demand. They figure since a ton of people want the 1080 they will only offer it via a max config making you the consumer pay more for 32gb of ram and 1 tb ssd. If you wait they will offer it with lower configs once they get more supply.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I got my AW17 GTX 1080 for $2800 after tax, the MSI was about $2900. The Sager NP9873-S is $2849 and I think the Asus G701vi is $3000 so they all seem to be about the same. Being able to switch to integrated graphics on the MSI GT73VR is a big plus for me.

[@PracticalInvesting]

Fuckinequality it's due to limited supply Blane nvidia

[@vyln1318]

My R4 17 is coming on December 7th and idk whether or not mine will have the same issues as others. My config has the 1080 w/7820HK and a QHD. Should I be prepared to repaste?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Vyln perhaps , mine ran hot. If you are not going to overclock then you will likely be fine. Under volt certainly.

[@vyln1318]

OWNorDISOWN Tech Decisions Made Easy I do plan on overclocking it but what temps should be expecting out of the box?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Vyln mine was hot at stock, 90 degrees so I needed to undervolt. Thermal throttling occurs around 93 degrees so ideally you want below that. I always aim to be below 90. Here is my review on it kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5-0kJ2khNaob80

[@verfai]

I am still getting reply’s to my vid on the bleed issue…They are still shipping things that they actually know are not running up to spec, they really dropped the ball imo, someone that has too much time and money should really take further steps against Dell with this. How can you be happy with a factory “fix” in higher 80s is beyond me, certainly if you know the other brands do mid 70s out of the box…The build quality and design being “the best in its class” is a load of BS…It’s the result, due to warranty issues, that should count, in a lot of countries repasting will void your warranty immediately!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I suspect that they still have models with defects in the supply chain which they want to purge first. Yes, high 80's is not great - I am hoping that is when overclocked, if not then I see no point either...

[@verfai]

well I don't care anymore ;), its actually loads of fun getting mad over something that is solved and behind you :) lol...I just feel so sorry for those out there that don't have the nerve to tell Dell they can stick AW up their xxx and just ask the money back, why I keep up the fight ;). Cheers and merry xmas mate :)

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Kristof Verfaillie Cheers, merry Christmas to you too!

[@elnutty]

how do we tell if our 17 r4 has the new thermal pad?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

The quickest way is to see if your temperatures are fine..if not then it might be hard to see visually if the pads are thinner, especially if you don't have anything to compare them to...Iunlock used pressure paper to see if there was good contact with the heatsink so you can try that...

[@Paulo-zr5zo]

Have they fixed their issues? i was planning to buy the cheapest 13 config... or wait for others i guess

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Paulo I just had someone say their 17" ordered on the 6th January runs at 99 degrees.. So that makes it 5 good and 3 bad from feedback from my viewers. That being said, I think the main risk is the higher power cpu's such as the i7 6820hk /i7 7820hk. I think the i5 7300hq in your configuration should be ok, that is a much lower powered cpu. They said they are going to send me a 13" sample towards the end of the month to review..

[@Paulo-zr5zo]

wow nice, i will wait for that video...

[@lucianosmurf7037]

My R4 I7 6800HQ/1070 came last week, hitting 69c stock on prime 95

[@tejasvaidya369]

I bought Alienware 17 R4 ..the eye tracking stopped working ... The tech support updated the bios and the laptop got bricked..they told me they will replace the battery and motherboard after 2 weeks .. Looks like many people faced it

[@OWNORDISOWN]

My AW13 got bricked with a BIOS update. I had the 7 bleeps of death. I tried everything but it was toast.

[@tejasvaidya369]

OWNorDISOWN Tech Decisions Made Easy i returned my laptop...dont know if I can trust these guys ..you can't have your gear serviced all the time with these issues right..what did you do with yours

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Tejas Vaidya I sent it back..it was most annoying.

[@marianopesa298]

i dont know if i should buy Alienware 17 or aorus x7 v6 , im confused . what would you recommend me?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

es simple , es android if the thermals max out in the high 80's when overclocked I would be tempted with the AW17. Notebookcheck reviewed the Aorus and it did well. It was very fast and didn't seem to Thermal throttle.. It had poor speakers though. I recommend the MSI GT73VR if you don't mind the extra thickness.

[@tehshzz]

MSI GT73VR is good indeed. However it does have MSI support which is not always the best. Also for the record the Aorus has been throttling. It has not been a thermal throttle but more of a power related throttle. It seems the systems with the 1080 come with the 230w power brick. Why? No idea. One might think we are Alienware fan boys but we are not. Its really simple. The warranty with on site techs and the exchanges they do when needed make Dell a strong preference. Every single system with a 1070 and 1080 we have had our hands on has had some sort of issue, either thermal or power related. Many of these problems have had workarounds/fixes for them. However again once you get them running as they should then you have your warranty. Do you want to mail in your system and wait a week or three to get your system back? The ONLY company that does onsite techs and parts only service is Dellienware. Food for thought. If I had to choose 2 systems it would be an Alienware 17 or a Clevo P775DM3. I might also consider a MSI GT73VR but feel I would end up with a Clevo before an MSI.

[@marianopesa298]

Andrew Deex indeed but for what ive seen aorus performs quité well with the 1070. i would buy Alienware but im not sure because so many people have reported very high temperatures .

[@MentalD-Fox]

es simple , es android aorus is certainly among the thinest performers, besides the usual brands the clevo/sager seem to be well reviewed.