Alienware 17 R4 GTX1080 in game random Stutter & Freeze

If you never experienced stutter then you might not have a defective machine.

 

wow you are right i don't know why i always assumed it was disabled, mine can hold around 1950Mhz at 1.0v, GPU temp dropped to 58C from 66C. Custom curve is no joke

 

After about 1 or 2 weeks of testing my new unit I'm sure it won't stutter anymore. Time for a repaste with LM and PCH mod.

Here's some photos of my heatsink and motherboard revision:




BTW my PCH temp was reaching 85ºC without any stuttering or thermal throttling what so ever. I still did the PCH mod, will update later on temps.

My SK Hynix is always around 50ºC, about 30ºC cooler than my previous Toshiba SSD

 

PCH mod only works for me when there is a laptop cooler. Without it, my PCH temp actually got higher

 

having a sink without a way to dissipate the heat is pretty much useless

did you use a small aluminum finned heatsink or only a copper shim?

 

I got lower temps on the PCH even without a cooler, but not by much.
CPU and GPU are steady under 85ºC with Conductonaut and Arctic pads. Seems stable.
It's freakin' hot in portugal. 35ºC at night. The CPU sits at ~52ºC at idle

 

damn
humidity %?

 

Not too bad, about 40%...

Maybe I spoke too soon. Since I repasted I've had two issues on Battlegrounds and BF1 where the fps drop to 20 for a while.
Gpu clocks remain stable, always around 1850MHz and 5ghz. The CPU drops to 800mhz.
It's weird 'cause the cpu itself is under 85C.
Maybe I shouldn't have replaced the cpu chokes pads. I left the white 0.1mm original and replaced the two white 1.5mm ones by arctic. Not sure if they are better or not.
Or maybe, because the fans are working a bit slower they are not cooling the other components so effectively.

 

choke pad should be left as is


the vrm pad can be replaced


also check your dc-in cable, maybe is dislodged?

 

Yeah I left the choke pad, replaced the other.

Scratch what I said. I removed the PCH heatsink and it's back to normal.
Weird behaviour

 

huh?

what heatsink did you use? do you have a picture of it so I can see?

 

Yeah it's weird af. But maybe that's why some people see stuttering when they have the laptop proped up and stuff...

Here's a pic, it's from my old mobo but it's the same setup.

 

is the symptom same as before? gpu load drop to 0% and perfcap register as vrel? from the way you described it, it sounds like it's different, GPU load remain but CPU dip to 800MHz.

your PCH heatsink looks really tall. how many mm is that?

 

disable bd prochot on throttlestop and see what happens

 

No, it's only on the CPU. The GPU stays normal.
I'm not sure, it's right on the limit. Barely touches the plastic cover

Maybe I'll try that sometime.
Right now I removed the PCH heatsink and the issue seems fixed. I'm going to keep it like that for now. Summer gets pretty crazy hot here sometimes, in a room with 3 or 4 other gaming laptops on the same table I prefer to be on the safe side.

 

Having the same issue on my 15r3. Should i ask for a replacement mobo or just do the vbios/ bios update?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

any vbios for my gtx 1070? experiencing the same thing no idea what to do now.

 

vbios for 1070 is the same for all type of alienware, 115w

 

Ok will update vbios and bios. Any idea how to do it SAFELY? I bricked my system when i updated my old 15r2. Fans went to max and screen just black.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

run the dell application


if the machine bricks, it's not your fault, dell created the application and they should pay for repair



but follow all the safety precaution from dell, plugged in machine, don't run any application when flashing

 

Yah i know but i dont want to be without a system for 3-5days if ever it bricks. Its kinda a hassle. But i guess ill try it maybe ill call them for a replacement first and do the update once the new mobo+technician visits me

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

or you can claim that you're completely tech blind and ask someone to come and flash bios for you

 

Noticed this issue yesterday while playing Doom on max settings for a few hours Was so smooth until it started stuttering.

I've already repasted with Kryonaut following iunlock's guide, the thermal pads seemed to have good contact. I guess I'm going to have to open it up again and check when I get fed up with the stuttering. It's such a nice machine, too bad there's so much work involved in getting it stable.

 

How did you fix that heat sink to the PCH? Did you glue it to the tape and fix the tape to the chip?

 

Glued the tape around the pch, put kryonaut on the pch and the heatsink on it, pressed down and glued with a dab of glue on each corner

 

Well I repasted again and made sure all thermal pads have at least some contact. Temps are better than before, but I still get the stutter. It does feel like it's less frequent though.

What next? Underclock the GPU so it draws less power? Dell support won't do anything about the stutter, will they?

 

Why wouldn't they?
You'll get a new unit immediately

 

Ok, but the new one might have the same issue. I guess that's why OP wanted to solve it himself?

 

depends on ur luck i guess, i had 3 so far and only 1 has stutter and that one was a reconditioned from dell outlet, it is probably the reason why it was returned the fist place. The 2 new ones afterwards (may 2017) no stutter issue. News ones come straight from shanghai

 

OP tried to solve it himself because his access to Dell Support is limited.
Ask for a new unit until you get one which absolutely does not freeze. Then you can start playing repastes and repads

Source: I had the same issue

 

@Shark00n is right, it is very difficult to make dell indian tech support understand what is stuttering and they will ask you to perform a battery of non related tests and come to the conclusion everything is fine because the measurable temperature for components like GPU and CPU are ok, which only increase your frustration. and in asia, it is far more difficult to get a replacement than in the states. which is why i did it myself.

I got my unit early May 2017. some of the skype calls i did with people having stuttering issues also got their units as recent as early june. so i think this issue is yet to be resolved at factory level. one guy had 2 replacements, both stuttering and he got fed up as well so he tried to fix it himself.

i actually had almost the same experience as you, after my first attempt the stutter started much later and less frequent. you can use GPUz to monitor the stuttering pattern. took me 3 attempts to get it right. believe me, it's no easy task.

Having said that, your best course of action now is to contact dell to resolve this mess. the reason i started this thread is not only meant as a fix but to create general awareness and a place to officially discuss this matter. and like every advice i had given before, my first recommendation is always to look for dell, unless you had given up on them.

 

Even with a stutter free unit imho a repaste and repad is a must, not necessarily liquid metal though. I used kryonaut and fujipoly. If one wants decent temps the unit needs to be opened up anyway. Factory paste job and pads are a catastrophy. The 17R4 has a very effective cooling system, but it needs some tuning in any way.

Gesendet von meinem SM-G955F mit Tapatalk

 

Has anyone tried checking whether it's G-SYNC related? Dell technician recommended turning it off as an option.

 

No, of course it's not. Happens with G-SYNC turned off as well.

 

Everyone has pretty much tried and rulled out everything. There are two ways to go about this:

-Ask for a return or refund - 100% success rate + more time for the customer to enjoy life

-Try repasting and repadding / 33.33(3)% success rate, customer loses valuable time of his life and will spend more than 50 bucks just on good fujipoly pads

 

Well I have an exchange incoming with 2 days before the end of my return window (if the new unit arrives as expected) to figure out whether or not the exchange will suffer from the same issues. If it doesn I'm going to get a return.

 

I guess you're right. Contacted Dell support, which is a pain because I bought my laptop in Sweden, but I'm actually in Latvia now. Got transferred several times because some people in Nordic support are dicks. But the guy I was transferred to was actually helpful, we ran some tests and tried some things and he could see that the temps are good (after my repaste and repad), but I'm still getting the stuttering issue. I also had a GPU-Z screenshot with the regular drops in GPU load visible. So he's thinking the heatsink should be replaced because some of the memory modules might be overheating (like suggested in this thread). But since I'm in Latvia he can't send a tech and will get back to me on who to contact here (the local Dell support number just transfers somewhere that's not Alienware premium support). Let's hope he does indeed get back to me.

By the way, today I got a memory corruption error CTD while playing DOOM, it was shown in a console window that appeared. Probably connected.

 

don't need to use fujipoly if you don't want to spend that much money, arctic pads work well (6w/mk)

sadly dell doesn't care

 

It's not a matter of getting an empty care cup. It's the law. You are entitled to a fully working unit out of the box

 

Well that's true, but with massive production count it's impossible to do that for each unit.

Example: I find my 17R4 to have a good heatsink that can overclock to 4.2 on stock paste, but another guy would overheat with a non overclocked cpu.

Ongoing issue is that some heatsink does not allow the machine to be used normally, that aspect in the production line should be fixed. The heatsink does not have to be 100% perfect, but keep the machine running stable within stock operation to satisfy most consumer.



Good/excellent QC is easier to do on a smaller scale production line such as clevo, since more time can be spared per unit to make sure it's fully working and do something to the heatsink as necessary.

Obsidian pc and hidevolution does that on the clevo they sell, and they do a damn good job at it.







The other option is that you pour a massive amount of money on production and have your own R&D, factory, QC, and assembly line. Thus having a more consistent product with fewer lemons.

 

What about the advertised overclock? Zero worth? Gamble that no one cares?

 

"up to 4.3"

well the "up to" thing is there, can't fault them if it overclocks to less than that

 

After i updated my vbios poof no more micro stutter! Amazing! Love this forum!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

What BIOS version did you update to?
(you can open System Information from within Windows and find the BIOS version there)

 

he was talking about the original vBIOS downgrade.

 

Well, ****... My R4 (from jan. 2017) recently started with these microstutters due to GPU throttling. I already had the same problem with my old R3 and hoped it wouldn't be the same issue with the R4, although I subconsciously assumed it was.
Anyway, good to know the solution is still the same (pasting/padding). Not gonna take the easy way of downgrading vBIOS and ignoring the thing... But is it just me or is the disassembly of the R4 a bit more difficult than that of the R3?

 

Is your R4 GTX1080? you might wanna fire up gpu z and watch the graph log to determine if your stuttering is indeed the same symptom as described in post #1.

Your best course of action now is to look for dell to resolve this issue. It is difficult to get right the first time, can be frustrating and success rate is higher with dell changing parts. unless of course if you are up for the challenge.

 

Yeah, it's a GTX1080. Problem is appeareing in more demanding games, and the GPU temp skyrockets to 84-90°C shortly before it starts.
I repadded/pasted my old R3 before, and it worked. Just the disassembly will be a bit more time consuming this time.
But if the success rate is better if you just have dell do it I'll consider doing that. Wasn't expecting them fo actually fix it, to be honest.

 

something is very wrong. your GPU is not making good contacts with the heatsink. GPU under full load during gaming at 180W should not exceed 70C and it typically hovers around 65C or lower. Disassembly on the R4 is typical of most alienware laptops - it's a pain in the axx. you can get dell to send u the parts and you can change the parts yourself. the hard part is to convince them you are having stuttering issue and having the patience to entertain their battery of standard useless tests.

 

Oh your computer is overheating and shutting down?

Please reinstall windows.

smh

s

m

h