Getting a 17R4 as replacement from R2

Hi all,

After having my 17R2 (4720HQ/980m) with severe CPU throttling issues for 2 years I was told that I'm being sent a replacement laptop with the following specs:

- Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.8GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
- 17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits, Enabled
- 16GB, DDR4, 2400MHz; up to 32GB
- 256GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
- 240W AC Adapter
- Lithium Ion (99 Wh) Battery
- NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
- Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1

I've already confirmed the system and it's expected to arrive in 4-6 weeks. Is there anything I should know about the system before it arrives? I looked up and couldn't find any throttling or whatsoever. I'm really looking forward to finally have a non-throttling system.

Thanks in advance!

 

Check for temperature core differential issue, SSD heating issue esp. Toshiba ones.
Overall good package. You live in the US with 2 yrs warranty?

 

I've seen a few threads on this matter, it was a bit of a disappointment to see that Alienware still has design flaws but I reckon that the issue doesn't cause CPU throttling or at least the CPU can be undervolted to bypass throttling. I hope it's not a significant issue.

Couldn't find much info on this one yet but in the worst case I hope buying a new, good SSD would solve the problem

Actually no, I reside in Turkey and the laptop was a gift to me (so I am not even the official owner); but I've been contacting DELL for a full year now! They tried replacing many parts but it didn't resolve the problem and I'm told that they shouldn't actually do this but they considered my situation as a very rare case as I've understood so they are doing this for customer happiness.

 

really really nice !!!!! i am jealous!!!!

 

Thank you I am also very happy and excited. I'm just hoping that it won't be another letdown by DELL. So far I've seen a few problems with the laptop but they seem to be minor, that is they don't cause throttling (I'm hoping I'm not wrong)

 

As far as SSD is concerned, ask them if its Samsung PM961 or Hynix ones, these SSD don't throttle much under heavy load. You can even ask for SSD replacement if the current one is Toshiba, they would give you a Samsung or Hynix or LiteON SSDs.

 

Finally got my laptop. I can't believe what I've been missing. No throttling, no core temp differential, minor backlight bleed which I don't care at all, SSD seems to heat up to mid 60's but that doesn't seem troublesome. Eye tracking is awesome. All is good! Very good product.

 

enjoy your new laptop.ssd temp at 60 degrees is not too bad nut not very good either! all my ssd's stay under 40 at idle and goes to max 50 at full load. enjoy!

 

Thanks, and true that. If I run into any problems I'll probably get a fast NVMe SSD as a replacement. The SSD itself is not very fast

 

Wait a second, i have a toshiba drive and i just checked the temps, i'm getting around 70 degrees max. Should i be worried? Do you think Dell would replace it if i brought it up or is it running "within spec"?

 

Hmm have toshiba also and was doing a 100 gb transfer... thing hit 86c. Guess I'll give them a call. I wonder if they can just send me one of those copper plates I see in some disassembly videos... how come these plates seem to be given out randomly for systems?

 

even me.. new GTX1070.. haha.. thats a beast.. but i got a R2 replacement, with extra boosted specs.. from 970M to 980M 4GB to 980M8GB with 6700HQ and 16GB RAM instead of 8GB on the intitial one, along with 256GB NVMe SSD.. now i cant expect a R3...

 

This is my PM951 Benchmarks, its not that bad, not that good, it gets overheated quickly even with thermal pads, due to no vent on older 15 R2/R3.. after overheating its a mess, it runs at super slow transfer speed, temps were around 80-90c Easily.. due to high ambient temps.. I head 960 Pro runs bit cooler.. or the crucial ones..

 

Well, don't buy 15 r3/17 r4 because of SSD overheat and worse CPU temps.
I'm thinking of BIOS mod for 15 r2 enabling HWP, cTDP control in BIOS and latest microcode BA to fix HT bug. I enabled the said values in BIOS, don't know if it actually works or not. Another hurdle is signing BIOS, dunno how I will achieve that?

 

do not get worried.i tested mine with 100gb game iso transfer. I have transferred from 4tb Samsung evo to nvme ssd Samsung 960 evo.ive got 70 degree temps near the end so I guess is normal at those temps while transferring large files.

 

i will not buy any laptops. im making new designs on my own.. just for fun.. regarding BD prochot, its the worst thing intel brought to laptop chipsets.. PCH cannot be passively cooled on R1/R2 models, especailly with high ambient, and that triggers signal to CPU... to lock it down to 800mhz.. with latest intel ME firmware update and driver update throttle point is 84c..
http://www.win-raid.com/t596f39-Intel-Management-Engine-Drivers-Firmware-amp-System-Tools.html
Ive already Updated to Lates 11.7 ME firmware.. and regarding microcode update, i dont think dell will publish any bios for older systems.. unless we force them and let them know in social media.. they can even change BD proc Temp Limits.. but i doubt they will.. Signing BIOS.. a big heck thing which is almost impossible..

 

You can disable bd prochot in ThrottleStop.


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Thanks, Yes i know that.. what im trying to say is they should give a hardware level fix or atleast BIOS update with such fixes..

 

IIRC, the PCH will trigger throttling when it touches 85C and for cpu TT trip point is set at 95C.

 

Yes ur right, 84-85c, i tried using shadowplay ON and shadowplay OFF, due to load on drives when recording etc, PCH Temp difference around 3-5C.. this is with ambient of 26C.. so imagine a 30C + ambient.. surely this will trip.. i modded with almost every single thing, but sadly ambient plays big role, only connecting the pch die with a copper strip to the end of heatsink fins makes difference.. Passive Aluminium Ultra thin heatsink doesnt work for me.. it keeps temps cool for sometime, but it doesnt have vent to dissipate the heat.. sad..

 

Mod BIOS then. The values from the BIOS themselves. You can design custom fan, set passive cooling to lower temps or switch to Active Cooling Policy, HWP states, HT on/off, Set iGPU memory and etc. For updating uCode i used UBU. Even I can upgrade IRST to 15.2 natively in BIOS and Use Dell 15 r3 drivers for max performance. But, I don't how to validate custom BIOS and even they need valid Signing key.
Actually removing all telemetry from drivers does improve temps and helps keeping system very quiet and stable.

 

im not sure which programs allows you to do that.. UBU - you mean ubuntu ?? lol.. sorry im not good at programming languages.. well if you have done something, so PM me the mods you have tried.. ill try as well..

 

I never was good at programing. UBU -> UEFI BIOS updater created by members of Win-raid.
Problem is, I don't how to check BIOS if its safe or not? Can't risk the M/B bricking. So far, I managed to update the microcode and add some option to BIOS which was hidden. Intel GOP driver was not updated since UBU reported some errors with it being incompatible with Skylake.
Don't feel bad, I'm working on getting some developer resource/white-papers, hardly I understood anything whilst reading.

 

They can put lower limits for BD PROCHOT if Dell is bothered with too much complains about high temp and overheating. The lazy mans work!! Working always. They can also deny everything in firmware so you can't writing to the registers. Yoo are doomed!!

 

they dont care for customers once they are done launching and sales is over... yeah they care a bit.. bug fixes etc.. but not the major faults in Hardware sides. flaws etc.. godamn cant they hire a proper team for RND.. so many freelancers willing to do mods, designs.. Dell Becoming like Hell to gamers.. Area 51 another disaster.. i rather build a threadripper custom built..

 

Really nice that you got a new one. I'm using 15R1 and also have a throttling when playing games. Do you think I should ask Dell for a replacement?

 

Well, I was out of warranty, outside of the country of purchase and I'm not even the official owner of this laptop and yet I got this laptop for free. To be fair, I've been contacting DELL for a year now and believe me this result wasn't an easy one to get but the 17r4 - at least the one I'm given - is free of problems and I still cannot believe the performance of this laptop. I'd definitely contact DELL at least for a replacement without issues.

 

I'm also out of warranty and I bought this machine from a reseller as I can't buy it directly from dell site. The only thing I have is the warranty from this reseller. They replaced my faulty screen, which is nice but they don't think throttling down to 0.8ghz is a machine fault and it's just normal as the laptop running hot. So I think I should buy the new warranty plan and ask Dell to fix/replace my lap.

 

Show your temperatures to them. The thing is, it is not the CPU that is running hot, it's the PCH and that's because of the faulty design of the laptop. Show your CPU temps (it shouldn't be above 80 C) to them and tell them it's not only you.

DELL replaced my motherboard and the issue still did persist. I had to deal with them a lot. Hell, I remember having almost a fight over the phone.

 

Thanks for your advice. Well, I just tried bios A08 and there's no cpu throttling like before, temp is still normal (under 70*C) and all cores run at 3.x ghz all the time but cpu usage is lower than before. Never seen this machine using cpu over 70% when gaming even with BF1.

Update: I was wrong. The cpu still throttle after 30 minutes when recoding the game.

 

Just an update.
I brought my machine to Dell VietNam and they replaced for a new mobo. This mobo still has the same throttling and also after took my machine back, the macro key's light not working anymore. Yesterday I brought it back to them and told them the problem hasn't been fixed. Today they called me and said that they will look into the light problem. About the throttling, they said it could be because of my games or the internet connection (how could the internet connection affects the cpu?) as the new mobo passed their tests (ePSA test).
What should I do now? Point them to some threads about this problem in forum and keep asking for a replacment?