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 17 - Future Owner

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by povertynow, Jun 12, 2016.

  1. povertynow

    povertynow Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hey guys!

    I recently purchased an Alienware 17 R3 (it's supposed to get here May 20th), and I'm just wondering if anyone on this forum has any tips / general recommendations for out-of-the-box procedures I should do to make sure the system runs smoothly / at max possible potential.

    The system will be equipped with the 6720HQ, the 980M, and a 4K screen.

    I'm interested in any advise which relates to stable BIOS versions, whether it's advisable to do a fresh Windows install before use, etc etc. I've seen a lot of people who have had issues (I assume largely because they didn't bother trying to inform themselves about the complexities / quirks of the system), and were therefore left disappointed.

    Thanks in advance for any recommendations!
     
  2. Tony V

    Tony V Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    240
    Likes Received:
    52
    Trophy Points:
    41
    I would recommend a fresh install of windows. Followed by driver updates for ALL drivers applicable to system on the dell product support page. I am using the latest bios 1.2.14 and have no problems. I have heard others had issues with the external graphics amplifier not running at full speed on the latest bios, not sure if it still is a problem but I don't use the amplifier as of now.
     
  3. JerseyBoy

    JerseyBoy Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    6
    Messages:
    241
    Likes Received:
    99
    Trophy Points:
    41
    Hi povertynow,

    It's also worth getting some of the drivers direct from the hardware vendor sites, such as the NVidea driver, this is because the Dell site is only updated once Dell has tested the driver themselves and released it, this is always delayed due to the number of drivers Dell have to deal with across their range of systems, the drivers will almost certainly be newer on the vendor sites.

    Also have a look through recent topics on here for the 4k screen colour profile, unless you want to calibrate it yourself. There's a recent topic where someone posted two colour profiles that you can use.
     
  4. povertynow

    povertynow Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Really appreciate this guys. Would it be recommendable to Format -> Fresh Install -> Do initial drivers through Dell -> then upgrade relevant drivers through respective sites (Nvidia, Killer. etc), or should I just sidestep Dell entirely?

    I will definately make sure also to profile the panel.
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2016
  5. JerseyBoy

    JerseyBoy Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    6
    Messages:
    241
    Likes Received:
    99
    Trophy Points:
    41
    Hi povertynow,

    I updated through Dell first, to ensure all of the drivers were installed and none were missing, I then updated from the vendor sites to get the newest drivers where possible.
     
  6. Meerkat1990

    Meerkat1990 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I will be the lone voice in the wilderness recommending staying with the original load and updating the nvidia drivers directly from nvidia. Otherwise I don't change anything to start unless I see a problem. Some people have had issues with wifi disconnects and in the past I have abandoned the Killer wifi for the Intel 8260 but only when I've experienced too many disconnects that drivers could not correct.

    I personally do not care about wringing every last bit of performance from the system. I want it to work. I tend to clone the original drive first just so I have a full copy of how it came. I have a ton of extra drives laying about.

    The only other thing I do is uninstall any trial antivirus and use the default Microsoft product.

    Other than that I tend to leave the system as it arrived.
     
    JerseyBoy likes this.
  7. povertynow

    povertynow Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    So it arrived today! 8 beeps (screen problem) on first boot and it proceeded to freeze (unusable) on startup several hours later. Returning, unsure if I'll re-order this system.

    Thanks for the help though guys!
     
  8. Meerkat1990

    Meerkat1990 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Wow, sorry to hear that. Disappointing to be sure.
     
  9. povertynow

    povertynow Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I ended up getting it repaired (works like a dream now). Can anyone comment on whether it's OK to update the drivers for the processor / integrated GPU (Intel 530 I think it is). I'm just wondering, because obviously dell has some presets for the hardware in the bios and I just want to make sure I don't **** around too much with it.

    Any commentary is helpful!
     
  10. Meerkat1990

    Meerkat1990 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    16
    My Intel driver in Device Manager is sitting at Intel 31 Aug 2015, 10.18.15.4281

    Seems to be working fine so I have no reason to update it. Of course I'm still sitting at BIOS 1.2.3 as well since my system is working I don't want to mess with it.