*OFFICIAL* Alienware m17 Owner's Lounge

Just got an M17 and surprised to not find an empty drive caddy and SATA cable. Has anyone managed to work out what the part numbers are for them?

 

Alienware don't want SODIMM slots in their Gaming books. Everything has to be velded/soldered on the Motherboard. If you still want thinner 15 or 17 inch laptops from Dell who offer more ram than the 8/16GB soldered package you get with the new Alienware's... Go for the thinner XPS. Give a HUGE thanks to Frank Azor for this new move make it less upgradeable ( CEO for both Alienware and XPS line Dellbooks).

https://twitter.com/bagman317/status/1135251299728076801

 

"And as Frank says - improved thermals". I love that! As if his meaning means something else entirely. Which is does! Lmao!

 

Hi
Phone the sales dept and ask to order it ,The part number is DV811 i was able to order mine quite easily here in the uk price was about £30

 

Thanks, Dell gave me the part number 68WXJ....its not going well...They put me through to Upgrades.co.uk?? My old 17 R5 had them installed already!

 

Buahahahaahha!!! What the fffffff.....?! This came unexpected. And I thought these new Alienware notebooks were a "fine improvement" over the R1 (in design they are though), but I didn't expect the soldered RAM...

 

I wouldn’t call it unexpected. This was doomed to happen.

You forgot mentioning the smaller battery and no 2.5” ssd slot

 

Hi, guys anybody know the part number of the QHD(1440p) screen of M17? Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

He claims they didn't keep Frank Azor in the loop. . .I wonder if that was to make him look dumber than he already does. lol

 

Question: Under FX tab in Alienware Command Center on my m17 I have except two m17 devices also two m15 devices (see the attached picture, top right part of the picture). Is this normal?

 

Have to say having looked carefully that I like the keyboard design of the M17 r2 quite a bit. In fact with the larger touchpad area I kind of wish the 51m had this keyboard. I know the 51m has some better features, but overall the m17r2 has the better overall keyboard+trackpad vs the 51m

 

I don't understand how anyone can compare keyboards and trackpads without actually using them on both systems.

I quite like the current m15 keyboard. The fact that it's full size makes it more useful for work. Reviews compare it favourably against Macbook Pro. Don't fix it if it ain't broken, eh Alienware?

 

I hope it won't butterfly on you while typing your official docs.
Maybe Azor will change the keyboard to full touch screen keyboard and mouse. Bigger and massive Touch Bar/rectangle.

 

I can compare keyboards based on layout because I've been using them a long, long time. I'd agree that "feel" counts for a lot, and from that angle, there is no telling until you "try it". But layout is a big deal for me and if you use a trackpad, things like glass and surface area (but not too much surface area) are again things you can judge on sight. 51m is just a variant on classic AW keys we have seen and used on many models. So that really isn't much mystery.

 

I actually hate the classic AW layout because of the inconvenient placement of Ins, Home, End keys. The full size m15 R1 layout works much better.

 

the 51m is the least preferable to me between it and the m15 and m17

 

Holy balls, with a starting price of $2099 I am tempted to get a base Area 51M instead. The price difference covers ram upgrade and I already have a 1TB nvme SSD. The portability of the m17 R2 is nice but I am used to hauling around a M17X R4 and 17 R2 after that so weight is not an issue.

 

They are aimed at a different kind of user and market.

 

One of the reasons i like the R1 over the R2 more, i can't do without a num pad.

 

I have managed to bump my undervolt to 165mV with and actually run BF5, and my other games comfortably.... I have also pegged my CPU to boost only up to 3.7 GHZ to ease the temperatures but alas, I am still hitting 95 Degrees Maximum whilst playing BF5. I am also experiencing some rather terrible GPU throttling as well with said game. BF5 is just such a resource hungry title... anyways.. here are my latest temperature readings after doing an the entire Terailleur Campaign.... Do bear in mind I have Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut with Fujipoly Thermal Pads installed, as well as undervolted to 165mV, and boost clock limited to 3.7 Ghz. My fans have also been set to the maximum possible setting, and my ambient temperature is 29 Degrees Celsius.



My temps would normally stay within 85 Degrees to 88 Degrees Celsius, but it would occassionally spike up to 95 Degrees on certain scenes then immediately drop back down to 85 Degrees, of course with a drop in the Boost clock of both my GPU and CPU and a slight drop in FPS. And well, I was about to say I have not encountered any more BSODs, ever since I updated my WIFI Card driver.. but whilst I was creating this post, my laptop hit a BLUE Screen... I guess it could be my undervolt or something.. might as well drop back to 160mV and see how it goes...

 

I think LM has dried up, contact HIDevolution.

 

Those temps are terrible. What about the GPU.

What was the bluescreen error? - 165mV vs - 160mV is not going to make much difference.

 

My GPU was constantly hitting 85 Degrees Celsius, and of course that causes the clocks to drop, in turn taking a severe hit on my FPS.

As for the Blue Screen Error, it is "Driver_Power_State_Failure". I originally thought I solved it by updating the outdated Killer 1535 Driver that I had, since my laptop ran smoothly without any BSODs for quite sometime. Then, it suddenly hit a Blue screen as I was making my previous post.. At least there is a save feature. I would lower it back to 150mV..

 

Driver_Power_State_Failure is what I was seeing a lot with my faulty mobo. My guess is that it has nothing to do with the undervolt. You can review your bluescreens in support assistant, there should be a driver name. I imagine it's one of the Nvidia driver files.

I hope you manage to return this laptop

The GPU temps are terrible too, should be about 72C max for you with a decent non-LM paste. Was it supposed to be repasted with LM? 85C is the thermal throttling point.

 

Yes, I had it ordered with LM in the hopes to get the best thermals possible. Yeah.. I do not know is going wrong with it, just so many issues popping up. Looks like my only recourse now is to have it sent back to HIDevolution for repairs... I hope the entire unit itself does NOT need to be replaced.. cause the PH BOC counts that as a new purchase and I have to pay FULL taxes... >.> And I have already paid my fair share of taxes when I first bought this...

I am currently trying to negotiate with the corrupt crooks at the PH BOC.. I need a lot of documents to simply be able to get a chance at "Tax Exemption". It is not really tax exemption cause I have to pay 30% AD Valorem duty.. originally they told me it was 15% of the cost of the repair. :/ Those lying stealing.. Ugh... get this.. They need me to submit all sorts of documents, which includes the original Invoice detailing the actual price of the laptop... No big deal.. but I could only submit my Final Documents for APPROVAL after I have already shipped my laptop abroad... yes.. my laptop has already been sent back to the US, and they could still decline my Tax Exemption Request.. and charge me tax based on the FULL price of the laptop itself.. and since they have the original invoice, they know the actual price of my laptop... so yeah, 15% Customs Tax, plus 12% Value Added Tax, plus another 12% Extra Value Added Tax, plus "MISCELLANEOUS" Fees, and of course storage fees because they charge you for how long your package sits in their warehouse for inspection. There are so many horror stories about the PH BOC that two of their Chiefs have been sacked by the president of my country...

I would try to call again tomorrow.. since the BOC Representative I spoke to a while ago got very defensive especially when I inquired about the various laws.. since yeah.. they refuse to implement a new law signed by one of the former presidents.. a law that was approved three years ago... Oh wells... WE have to follow but they don't.

I would have a call with one of HIDevolution Technical Support Reps.. to see if there is something that could be done on my end...

 

So, it's supposed LM on the GPU as well??? Sounds like you've been had by the vendor bro. Perhaps in your case the laptop is simply overheating? Would HID be OK with you opening the laptop up, carefully cleaning it up/removing any LM alloy mess from the heatsink as much as possible, and applying something like Phobya Nanogrease Extreme?

Sorry to hear about the BoC nightmare..

 

Yeah.. hopefuly..these issues could be resolved without me having to shelve out more money.. the PH Bureau of Customs.. >.>

I am not sure, it could just be an uneven heatsink or possibly a fault in the components... And well, I am unsure about opening the laptop up myself, there is a reason why I made my order from an authorized reseller who could make modifications... I do not wish for my warranty to be void, especially given I do not have experience with actually opening up a laptop, yet alone even applying thermal paste. If the PH BOC could not give me a straight answer and actually allow me to have my laptop shipped abroad to be serviced by HID, I would try to contact DELL Technical Support in the Philippines to check if they have technicians who could apply premium thermal compounds...

 

You mean you could have ordered this laptop from Dell PH and thus avoid all this customs nonsense, but instead you chose to order it from the US just to get it repasted? OK...

Bear in mind the laptop is phenomenally easy to service and repaste, see the service manual. Repasting won't void warranty, Dell has repasting tutorial videos on their website and Frank Azor retweets people's repasted benchmarking feats.

Additionally, if local Dell support is available, why haven't you opened the ticket with them already. If they can come and swap the mobo, they would certainly apply your premium paste for you for a few $.

 

Actually.. this thing is not officially available in the Philippines but I could still get Technical Support here since I have a premium warranty.. I did contact them, but well, the Reps I spoke to so far told me to contact my retailer since this is a so called specialized unit. It is usually trial and error till I get an actual good representative. Although I am not sure how well the local technicians in my country could handle my laptop, Alienwares are RARE over here and most of the distributors and authorized DELL stores here are too scared to touch anything with Alienware on it. Parts might also be a problem... I was able to resolve my AWCC problem by contacting DELL US and DELL PH, and they actually took remote control of my laptop, but no on-site service yet. They told me to contact my retailer first if possible.

 

Sounds like a proper catch-22

 

Just FYI - the new M17 page is "live". Only 9750H cpu's and 2060 or 2070 gpu's at this time but at least you know.

 

Too bad it's only with the junk 60hz displays.

 

Soldered wifi, soldered ram, no 32GB ram options, few cpu options and no 2080's. I'd say this model is like week old leftovers.

 

This is an indication that your heatsink needs a serious lapping. You shouldn't use much LM as it's liquid. If you've put on a thin layer that was almost fully reflective (like a polished mirror) than it means it's your heatsink is the culprit. Lapping your heatsink and putting a small layer on the CPU and Heatsink should fill all the tiny gaps and imperfections your heatsink has. bringing the temps more in line with #4 and #5.

90C is only damaging if your average is 90C. your whole system runs quite good, just the occasional CPU spikes (that are too hot for the heatsink to contain) drives your temp up. Maybe attaching a copper plate off 100 mm x 100 x 10mm on top of your CPU can help it to dissipate more heat.

 

Did you mean 1mm copper plate?

 

noo i mean 10 mm. You could get away with an 1mm plate, but 10mm has alot more copper to suck up than 1mm. If you put it directly on top of the CPU side, it will have to heat up the heatsink + plate before the heat goes to the fins. If you have an small fan next to you (i have one cause i don't like the USB cool pads, i also bench without them making my heatsink and fans do all the work) by just creating a small temperature difference, the plate will give off it's heat to the air.

Same can be done, by routing the heat to the bottom plate. 1mm is fine, but because i generate around 220W easily, i have to add copper to my heatsink. (soon i'll build my own CPU and GPU heatsink without shared pipes. and by using round pipes).

 

Sure, thicker is better. Just saying there is no space for an extra 10mm plate, 1-2mm tops. Also the heatsink is shared between the GPU so would have to use two plates or a gigantic one, pad them, and then correctly align VRM and VRAM pads. Doable but not trivial. In that case probably best to use nickel-plated plate too since that won't react with LM.

None of this is really needed though. He should probably start over by first cleaning the existing LM mess, lapping, and applying a good thick paste. Go from there, retry the LM if needed.

 

There is ! (on the r5 don't know about the m17 You can remove the grill on the coverplate to create more space) but i 've but the plate ON top of my heatsink, not on the coldplate side. so all that with VRM and aligning is not neccesary. I think you misunderstood. maybe i should've describe it more clear.

 

The thermal mods were done by HID and I'm hoping they lap the hsf and polish it for perfect fit to prevent LM leaks.
@Flying Endeavor you can repaste using standard paste

 

There isn't that much space on top of the m15/m17 heatsink.




I couldn't even fit a 2.5mm high ssd heatsink without bending the PCB.
Thin and light foreva yo!

Besides how would you secure, let's say that 2mm plate, to keep it from sliding off and hitting the PCB, memory, or SSDs...

 

Yeah you're completely right. Thing is as tight as a women giving birth... That would be an 1.5mm plate then. Just to give the heatsink more copper to dissipate the heat to. Making it strain less (because having air flowing through a room can help the copper plate dissipate heat to the air already,) but thing is tight man..

i would've refunded it right away, but as @etern4l already said, he's in a real catch 22 position. Refund, and buy it without the mods, or ask a new heatsink would be the second/third option. What's up with HID lately ?

 

Yeah, I have been in constant contact with HIDevolution Tech Support, and they actually want to have my laptop sent back to further inspect the unit since I did avail of their Prepaid Shipping Service, but yeah, as much as possible we are going to try to avoid that since the PH Bureau of Customs is being a very big pain. For now I am testing the stability of the system to see if I would encounter any more BSODs after we did some tweaking with the BIOS and restored defaults, hopefully I won't see any more blue screens. Perhaps after a few days of testing, we could move to improving the thermals.. I am also going to make more attempts with the local PH Bureau of Customs... and secure my documents. I truly hope I get in contact with someone in the BOC with some sense of morality.

Wow.. whilst I was writing this article, I encounter the same BSOD.. Driver Power State Failure.. well.. I have also been encountering intermittent disconnections from my WIFI Card... Hmm... I would get in contact with HIDevolution again once they come back online... Shipping this back to them would be my last resort.

Also as an update, I just booted up my laptop after the BSOD, and I could no longer connect via WIFI. Upon checking the Device Manager Tab, my Killer 1535 is also no longer in the list of Network Adapters. I wonder if the heat from the CPU and GPU could affect the WIFI card, since it is so close to these components... Could I have gotten a faulty card.. it worked nicely when I first got this laptop... I had the best download speeds I ever had with any mobile device I used so far with it..

 

Tried Scan for hardware changes in Device manager? I doubt the wifi card would be killed by the heat. I expect you haven't run 100C 24/7.



See also https://windowsreport.com/driver-power-state-failure-windows-8-1-windows-10/

 

Install Debugging Tools For Windows using the SDK installer: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk

Run WinDbg, go to File->Open crash dump, open MEMORY.DMP in c:\windows\. It will analyse the dump and tell you which driver was responsible.

 

Thank you so much Papusan. Interestingly, when I rebooted my laptop again, everything was in order and my WIFI card is present and functioning. I guess there was some sort of hiccup in my system after the BSOD.

Thank you, I must pinpoint the cause of my BSODs..

 

So, what did WinDbg say about your crash dump? Attach the output here if you are unsure.

 

Crash, followed by missing wifi, followed by wifi returning to service after reboot. I'm getting bad feelings about that killer wifi card.

 

BTW I haven't had any issues with Killer WiFi in the m15, unlike the serious teething pain in the AW15 R2 (followed by years of smooth sailing).

Let's see what that driver power state failure BSOD was about, if @Flying Endeavor got around to investigating. If it's the Killer card, then of course the good news is that it can be cheaply and easily replaced in the R1.

 

Fair enough

 

Okay, it displayed a lot of information. I had a remote session with DELL and they would also be analyzing my crash dump files. Here are just some of what I found interesting:

"
BUGCHECK_P1: 3
BUGCHECK_P2: ffffe209a5d922b0
BUGCHECK_P3: ffffd08a9925f7b0
BUGCHECK_P4: ffffe209a5de0010
DRVPOWERSTATE_SUBCODE: 3
DRIVER_OBJECT: ffffe209a608ae10
IMAGE_NAME: HDAudBus.sys
DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0
MODULE_NAME: HDAudBus
FAULTING_MODULE: fffff80574ae0000 HDAudBus
"
"
ANALYSIS_SOURCE: KM
FAILURE_ID_HASH_STRING: km:0x9f_3_image_hdaudbus.sys
FAILURE_ID_HASH: {360d077d-1208-9ef3-2358-6a66e420c674}
"

I would also contact HIDevolution and bring this up with them, they could probably decypher this much better than I could and ever would.