m18 R1, constant issues

I have a Alienware R17  it will play netflix now but not with out delays.  It will stop and start.   The sound will stop.  I do not have these problems with a NVidia zotac 520 

MY old dell plays netflix flawlessly.  this Alienware keeps freezing up.  When I turn this alienware on it makes this weird fluttery noise in the speaker.  that stops until I turn the sound off. 

It used to blink when I hooked it to be big screen.  Now the blinking stopped and now it will stop and start quickly and the sound will stop.  It freezes up when I try to play.  Its really not working and I have lost hope that it will ever work right.   I like it for 3d modeling with blender.  It does that well.  But do not buy one of these to play games as it will just take up many hours of your time.  You will never get it to be right.  Alienware don't work for games.  Maybe the brand new ones work for a few years ?? Do they work when they are new ? and then after a few years they stop working right ?    You take one of these apart and it is just AMAZING how well made these are.  You can put 2 hard drives and I think 2 more of the  m1chip style ssd drives.  Everything is so incredibly well made yet the things cant do what they are intended to do.  It reminds me of that space shuttle in 1986  I want to know what the true reason is for this.  Why are these machines that are made to do one thing the best ever yet they will not.  What ever is causing these laptops that are high end and supposed to be the ultimate and very best for playing games but yet they won't be any good for games.  WHY ?  We need to know why, all of us need to know.     

My M18 R1 has also been plagued with issues.

1st, kept BSOD, self-troubleshot it, bad memory slots, pins weren’t making good contact.

Dell sent memory when I said it needed a new MB.

When memory approved, they sent a tech to install them.

The tech verified it was bad slots, requested a new MB.

New MB arrived, tech came back to install it, no issues, luckily.

Then the 300W PS went kaput so they sent me a new one, but, since Dell now has slimline 300W PS they ship with these laptops, they would not send me a slimline, they sent another large, heavy brick PS which will probably bite the dust again.

Then Dell sends me what they called a Proactive email as they called it telling me the LCD is bad on some M18’s and may go dark were sending me a replacement LCD & hinge.

Literally days after I replied to Dell to send the replacement LCD, my screen went dark, just as they said some may do.

New LCD hinge arrived, Dell tech installs it & smack dab in the center of the screen are a lot of bad pixels and, get this, now the M18 is slow to respond, on everything! All from replacing an LCD!

It’s like the refresh rate isn’t the same, yet Nvidia reports it is the same as the old LCD.

I’m waiting on the 2nd LCD replacement.

The palm rest has an issue the Dell is arguing about.

Seems that nice matte finish is just a coating over the plastic and it started flaking off.

Dell claims it is a scratch & due to wear & tear & would not replace it.

I’ve been back on force with Dell many times reminding them that 1st it’s a chip as the coating is flaking off, & that when I renewed my service contract, which I usually never do but this laptop has had issues so I figured I’d extend to protect my over $3500 purchase, I also bought accidental damage protection & they still don’t want to honor the warranty!

I honestly think this may be my last Alienware & I’ll go back to ROG & I never had any issues those rigs.

So so sorry:(

About to send my m-18 for 2nd service.... 

First time had an issue where the trackpad was not even, one of the corners was 1/8" down.

When it came back, they replaced the trackpad, some screws were missing (from factory, I did not open the system) and they replaced its heat sink, not sure why... 

Anyhow, since i got it back, I have being experiencing system freezes at least once a day, blue screens and mouse (trackpad ) is non responsive or lagging... 

I also have M15 r7  and had 0 issues, which leads me to believe something is not right with M18's :(

Currently logging every freeze and have videos to support it, will be sending it for repair very soon here!

Also, will be extending the premium support for another 2 years, by its behavior, I WILL NEED THOSE EXTRA YEARS OF SUPPORT, UNFORTUNATLY:( 

Good luck with your M18!

This is gonna be my third time shipping it back to them. They had replace motherboard 2 times already, and always that i call customer service, its hard to understand them. 1st time i shpped USB and BSOD error. 2nd video card not recognized, 3rd the newest one same issue

This thing and windows 11 are the worst computer I've ever had! I feel like we're going backwards, aren't newer models supposed to be better than their predecessors? Mine does not go to sleep, stays on with the fans doing i dont know what so if i put it in my bag it heats up the bag and drains the battery for no reason not to mention crashing every single time. So I have to shut the computer down or deal with crashes, which it crashes on average about 3 times a day anyway, and a blue screen every 2 or 3 days regardless. I honestly don't think I've ever owned a bigger <Profanity is never allowed on our Forum. DELL-Admin>. Extremely disapointed with Windows 11, I think I might try putting Windows 10 on this to see what happens.

Issues happen on the M16 as well, I've tried all but replacing the laptop. I believe the stuttering may be associated with thermal throttling and that the crashes are due to overheating. I am no expert though, just what i think from observing my laptop and you guys/gals info

Won't be buying Alienware again.  Multiple returns of new M-18 R1 for crashes that I spent hours on the phone with tech trouble shooting.  They did a terrible job on this computer, and I fear for most of us that this will end with premature failure and it's just not worth the hassle/cost or continued problems to fix.  And their foreign based tech support leaves everything to be desired with no ability to speak to someone who actually has English as a first language.

@managelrn​ I gave them remote access and they are looking into it literally right now. Apparently the log for the issues is control panel/system and security/ Security and maintenance. It shows that I have a hardware failure. Now that may or may not have been the case for you but it seems like a bad batch of, I’m assuming SSD, but this is my first time buying and I will never again. I thought I was snagging a deal, now I know why it was cheap. I’ll stick with ROG as they have never failed me before

I have the same stuttering issue in games but with the AMD 7900m version. Basically everything except the quiet preset is guaranteed to start a repeating stuttering cycle with audio crackling and fps tanking, repeating every few seconds. Totally unplayable. It is just shocking how badly they messed up such an expensive laptop. So I am stuck loosing out on like 30% of the performance of the dGPU because it can't handle even the "balanced preset" which is supposedly the one with the rated power levels and clocks. The fact that so many people have this and after 2 years this hasn't been fixed makes me think it can't be fixed. Not to mention the constant black screen/smarmux problems even with current drivers. 

my best advice for the future, use another brand

@section94​ after 4 “fixes” in like a month they finally decided to replace the whole unit. They gave me the same thing but upgraded me to a 5080. I believe they said there wasn’t enough to get the same model. The problem still persists. I had to use a cooling pad for a bit. I did an extreme debloat of windows and ensured that the bottom was always elevated and that seems to work. I agree that it’s the CPU, overheating, and spiking above limits. I would recommend to get PTM7950 and use it. Amazon link here-> https://a.co/d/6kfz92g

this thermal pad is super easy to apply and you don’t have to worry about adding too much thermal paste as it’s a pad. There are some spots that already have thermal padding but I suggest you replace it too. There is a video on youtube that will show you exactly how and where all the screws are. All together, if you get a decent repair kit, probably like $30-$40. Hope this helps, I know it’s extremely frustrating. I will ensure that I never buy dell products again. 

@Passive Aggression​ 

I have already repasted and I am using a Thermaltake massive extreme cooler. The video I linked was running AC Valhalla in the background, with that cooler at 2000 rpm, CPU temps at 68C (all other temps fine too) and the stuttering was STILL happening! That leads me to think its a power spiking issue. 

It may be. Have you tried other power bricks? Maybe these are faulty or the system is drawing to much power to for the gpu. I gave up on mine, and it now seems to work fine. I used some nvidia settings to change performance and it works right, but I rarely use it. 

@Passive Aggression​ 

I have the original massive power brick and a slimq 330w aftermarket gan charger. Happens with both.

In addition to the video above take a look at this, specifically the timestamp I am pointing at which is seconds after the stuttering starts. Look at that PPT FAST limit.