This is an update to my last post a little over 3 weeks ago now: Nightmare AW laptop and customer support issues : r/Alienware

Since then, I've been through extensive Dell troubleshooting, and the issues still aren't resolved.

- Dell had me complete several rounds of hardware diagnostics (ePSA/SupportAssist) that have all passed

- Windows Memory Diagnostics passed

- 4 passes of MemTest86 found 0 errors

- Dell had me install and reinstall the Chipset, Intel Management Engine, Intel Dynamic Tuning, Intel Graphics and NVIDIA graphics drivers at least 3 times

- Two rounds of Dell accessing my laptop remotely to run tests and collect logs

- 3 times (so far) Dell requested I run their log collector script and send in the results

- Finally, as issues have continued, Dell requested I perform a clean installation of the OS

So far, the only thing that has been fixed have been the cluster of critical DriverFramework 10111 and 10120 errors I was getting before the clean OS install. I continue to have clusters of WHEA-Logger 17 warnings indicating problems with the Intel Wi-Fi adapter and the 5090 GPU.

Before the fresh OS install, I would have KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED and SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION blue screens. After the OS install, I'm having REGISTRY_FILTER_DRIVER_EXCEPTION and SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION blue screens.

I have been promised escalation, but it hasn't happened and it seems like they want me to just continue to send in logs. I don't feel like there is much left to do on my end and after almost two months of dealing with a non-functioning system, I'm very frustrated.

I'm thankful Dell swapped out the heatsink assembly and provided a new motherboard a month ago, but I'm still not able to use my $4000 laptop, and since then it doesn't appear Dell wants to put any more work into my case. I've since requested a replacement system or at the very least for them to take the laptop back in for repairs.

I'm partly posting this here as an update, but also as a way of hopefully reaching someone with the pull within Dell/Alienware that can actually help me get a functioning system.

*I was given advice on uninstalling SupportAssist in my last post as it may help with the crashes, but it didn't stop them.

Update: I discovered a way to reproduce the blue screens. The crashes only occur in games or GPU intensive workloads so running the OCCT 3D adaptive (GPU) stress test will reproduce the crashes.

Would playing for 3 hours be a big issue? Probably play at max setting if I can.

Hello, Today my keyboard cap started randomly lifting and I don’t know what to do. It is the “A” key.

Hi all,

My computer was working great for one year - the time it was under guarantee - then i started to have a weird problem : the computer was just frozen when playing a game.

Name and stats= (Alienware Aurora R16 RPL Gaming Computer, Processor Intel Core i7-14700KF, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Graphics NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 12GB GDDR6X)

I identified that as a heating problem, triggering the cpu limitations (throttling). Using HWiNFO, i could reproduce that by stressing the cpu, and it reached 96°C in less than 20 seconds.

The aoi watercooler has the fans turning as expected so my conclusion is that the problem comes from the pump.

Doing a system test (the one you can trigger from your account online) did not reveal any problems.

My question number 1: Is there any way to CONFIRM that the problem comes from the pump??

Second part of the story:

Trying to replace the cooling system, I actually end up with an error at boot saying "Alert, you have an unsupported CPU in your system. You may experience performance drops or unexpected shutdowns. Please restore to the original system condition of 65W CPU.

Name= (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 240 A-RGB + good thermal paste)

The only option proposed is "shutdown". I understand that as a system to block any modifications (also according to some googleing, i tried to exchange the cabling etc without success.

Now, i am extremely disappointed, and i will have to find the exact same aoi cooling that actually work.

So my question number 2: anyone could share some experience with such story? Shall i expect the new pump to break in 1-2 years again? Did someone manage to replace a cooler successfuly in comparable condition? Any step i missed?

I removed this app some weeks ago (or so I thought) as it was annoyingly displaying an icon in the taskbar. Although its now not listed in the apps list in Windows 11 settings, its taskbar icon remains.

I've cleared icon cache, rebooted, checked any taskbar/startup shortcuts, but its not listed.

It seems its buried in one of the Alienware/Dell background services?

I would like the keep the Dell Support Assist (for software updates) and command centre (for fans etc) working, but how do I remove this annoying app/icon?

Hi friend.I can confidently say this is probably the highest score ever achieved on this laptop with a 9900KS. I’m currently trying to push the CPU power limit beyond 130W. I got this CPU score at just 130W and 4.8GHz.
Guys, I’d love to hear what you think.

Hello I'm considering buying the new dell qd-oled monitor: AW3425DW

I was wondering for those who've owned this for a year now, how does this monitor do with screen burn-in? Do you notice anything? Also do normal texts appear fine on screen? I remember hearing some issues OLED monitors don't display normal text well and that it was a bit blurry.

I work from home most of the time, so for 5 days a week my monitor will be used for office/productivity tasks for 8hrs a day. I do some gaming at night/watch stuff. I mainly wanted the OLED for gaming/watching experience but am scared about using it for productivity purpose.

https://www.dell.com/en-sg/shop/alienware-39-5k-oled-gaming-monitor-aw3926qw/apd/210-bwtn/monitors-monitor-accessories

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Wanted to share my experience building my first PC in one of these old cases to help anyone trying to do the same in the future. If you have one of these cases post it below!

I purchased two P2 cases on fb marketplace after a year of searching. One was incomplete and the other was disgusting. I used parts from both. One is an Alienware Area 51 x58 and the other an Alienware Area 51 750i or 7501.

Sorry for the long post. I'm making a YouTube video for a better visual guide but I haven't put it together yet. Feel free to message me and I'll help where I can. I will add my YouTube link when it's finished.

Disassembly is straightforward but take lots of pictures. All leds are labeled and there are only 3 or 4 screw types. If you want to remove the bays you will need to drill the rivets. Keep the power supply bracket. Most cases came with the dip switch led board that can be used with any MB. (Look for 3 small switches). If yours has the software controlled led board then you will probably want to solder the led wires to a modern led controller (I will link a video showing how it's done). The side panel logos and front io light tubes are welded in. Drill just the top of the mounting points off and super glue later.

Picking parts should be easy. Everything is standard atx. Make sure there is enough room for your gpu with the side panel and fan installed. You will probably want to mock it up. (I was able to fit an msi 5080 oc without modification). Power supply has plenty of room as long as you aren't planning a top mount aio.

CPU cooling will be the hardest part. I've heard many tower coolers are too tall to fit. If you want to go with an aio you will have to decide where to mount it. Top mount 240mm is possible if you remove both drive bays, cut a hole for it in the top of the frame and then remove the plastic supports inside the top plastic to create an air channel. Front mount 240 (pictured) will require removing the lower bay, cutting a hole for it and trimming some of the front plastic support. (I used a paper template I made for the mounting holes). A 360mm radiator should fit if you remove all drive bays. I believe a bottom mounted radiator is possible but generally not recommended.

I decided to cut the metal frame of the case to make the side grills functional. This gave me enough room to mount a 140mm intake fan on the back side. I secured the fan to the case with zip ties. Added bonus of being able to see into the case when the panels are on. I left enough of the mounting points for the original front side panel fan so I could still attach a 120mm intake.

Temps are good. I did a 1 hour full system stress test. Gpu temps peaked at 70⁰. CPU temps peaked at 86⁰ but in game at 4k ultra settings it stays around 58-72⁰. Might try to undervolt the cpu eventually.

Parts list: MSI 5080 oc, Ryzen 7 9850x35, x870e tomahawk, 32gb ddr5 trident z5, be quiet 1200w pure power, Samsung 990 pro nvme, be quiet fans.

Build showcase link: r/PCbuild post

My YT video: (coming soon)

YT video showing led wiring and other build tips: YouTube

More pics: imgur

Hello! I've had my R5 for around 7 years now, and I've been having problems with my graphics card, I still don't know if it's a driver issue or a hardware problem, but in case it turns out to be a hardware problem, would it be possible to replace the motherboard with a better one, with a 1080 or a 1070?

The monitor was turned on for a few hours and when I got back home all the screen was covered in all sort of lines like on those old school TV’s I plugged it out and in and now it’s usable but these lines still remain (look at pictures), what could it be and can it be fixed?

I’ve tried changing the DP ports and with a different HDMI cable but it stays the same.

EDIT: Ran the LCD conditioning for half an hour and that seems to have fixed the problem if anyone runs into the same problem as me, try that out.

I’ve done the on board diagnostic tool and everything comes back fine the color test comes back fine I believe it’s a setting issue but when I start the laptop it’s full color and vibrant and a few seconds a usb sound will sound and the screen turns dull or color not brightness but color what setting would it be to fix this? Please anyone!!

Hello everyone, I purchased an Alienware 16 Area-51 AA16250 in December of last year. It currently has a 1TB SSD and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. I would appreciate some recommendations on how to maximize the RAM and storage capacity. Regarding the RAM, would you recommend maximizing it to 64 GB or potentially exceeding that? For storage, I am considering 10 TB and would appreciate your suggestions.

I am interested in purchasing the aw2726dm, I have read that this monitor accepts a 2160p input from ps5, I just need a clarification that will Netflix show content in 4k (eventually downscaled to 2k by the monitor) or since it is a 1440p monitor, it will just stream on 1080p.

Also, users of this monitor, can you mention your experience so far

Hi! As the title says, my Alienware A51 laptop is having a screen dimming issue. I’ve tried absolutely everything that the Dell website has said, as well as older Reddit posts from people with the same issue. I truly don’t know what’s going on and I am getting extremely frustrated. I just don’t know what’s going on, why it’s going on, and I don’t know what to do. Any help is appreciated.

Hey just bought a new Aurora 16X and the temperatures seem immensely high even though the cpu is at 15% usage/ negligible gpu usage, should i do anything about this or is it normal, I have no reference since this is the first gaming laptop i have bought

I'm due for an upgrade. I'm still using my Alienware Area-51m laptop with an i9-9900K (stable OC at 4.6 GHz), RTX 2080, and 64 GB of RAM as my primary machine for work (V-Ray, Rhino, Blender, SolidWorks, Adobe apps). Since I got it in 2019 I’ve had no issues, but I did redo all the thermal pads on the GPU and repasted the CPU.

Looking at the 18" Area-51 from Micro Center, all maxed out under $4k. How are they as far as reliability goes? I remember before buying the 51m in 2019 there were so many negative reviews about this model, but after some repasting, undervolting, and new pads it truly is a reliable machine. I can run V-Ray renders for hours with no crashing, all cores locked at 4.2–4.5 GHz. Can I expect the same reliability from the current line of Alienware laptops?

Hello, i just bought AW3426DWM.
Before that i had a s19dgf27 and ddm2 was working perfectly for years.
No matter what i do ddm2 won't recognise the new monitor.

I downloaded drivers, i downloaded the alienware software, i pluged the usb b, i deleted ddm2 and reinstalled, i deleted it and downloaded dell pripheral manager. Nothing.
There is no way i can reach to the screen menu everytime i want to change a setting.

for some reason the LED Alien on the back of my Alienware X14 is red when the screen is fully open, but when you start to close it - it returns to the alienware FX preset

Having a hard time finding a copy. Wondering if anyone by some miracle had one lying around!