New Bios - 1.3.9 - Alienware 15R2/17R3

I dont know if i have a spider sense for this but i just checked the dell support site for the first time in a couple of months and see they posted a new bios 1.3.9 for us

Looks like Graphics Amplifier Fix here? and Marked Urgent?

Anyone try this or know what else has been updated here?

Dell Alienware 15R2/17R3 System BIOS
Fixes & Enhancements
Alienware Graphic Amplifier enhancement.
Version
Version 1.3.9, 1.3.9
Category
BIOS
Release date
04 Nov 2016
Last Updated
04 Nov 2016
Importance
Urgent

 

I have installed it. Didnt notice any different compared to the previous bios with the graphics amp. But it might be troubleshooting for people that do have some kind of problem.

However I reported a bug which caused stuttering with certain Intel HD drivers installed while using a 1070GTX on an external monitor. Going to re-test that. Maybe they fixed that.

edit: well that seems to be fixed now. Some users including me would have stutters while using an external monitor with a 1070GTX connected in Windows and various games (when using the latest drivers). Now this seems to be fixed.

 

The 13 R3 also got the 1.3.9 BIOS as well. Going to test later today, though.
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us...ls?productCode=alienware-13-r2&driverId=W3CJK
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us...ls?productCode=alienware-17-r3&driverId=TDV5V
The only difference in the notes is that the 13 R2 gets an OLED diagnostics.

 

Is this for 15 R3 as well?

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

 

Nope, or else it would be mentioned

 

Is it stable. I am still on 1.2.8 don't wanna risk anything. Also do these laptops have an option to disable IGPU? like the 17R4?

 

I highly recommend to go to at least 1.3.6, there are some power issues with older bios'es.

And nope you cannot disable the iGPU. that switch has to be made on a motherboard level.

 

I just want to ensure that 1.3.6 is absolutely stable and wont brick my system. Since I am not in states anymore and if this thing bricks I wont have anything my xps l702x finally died on me last week after 5 years (the power lights come on, the fan whirrs but the laptop shuts down after 3-4 seconds).

Thats disappointing. Seems like 17R4 users can disbale igpu with a simple fn+f7. Also have you tried undervolting you 6700HQ?

 

I'll try it. I've 5770 in AGA and was having stuttering issues.

 

I ran 1.3.6 for 2 months without problems. that bios came out to replace the bricking bioses.

I couldnt undervolt the 6700hq a lot. didnt bother with it after.

Isnt the 5770 really old? even the 965M is faster than that one.

 

Thank you Rinneh, I will do some thermal benchmarks on this bios and undervolting and move to 1.3.6 so I have a comparison and dont have any remorse later on. If both the bios versions are stable, i'd want the one which lowers the temps. As I live in a city where average temp is more than 30 degrees centigrade during the day time.

 

Hi, 1.3.9 bios update caused that my 15R2 ends with black screen (system responds, i can restart with alt f4 r and enter, but internal screen has no output..) after every wake up from sleep. After downgrade to 1.3.6 display wakes from sleep just fine. Anyone experienced that bug?

 

When the new 15R3 bios comes out, you will have to wait for some feedbacks because with dell you never know....

 

I will test this tomorrow for you.

 

Actually it is 5750 which was my prized OC'ed GPU that mined @220KH/s on LTC and gaming @40fps on high settings in Thief 4. Unfortunately, MB was bricked due to old age.
I was able to undervolt upto 190mV and after that it rebooted because of insufficient voltage. Now, its at defaults, since I was too many points in benchmarks and sacrificing points for 20C reduction isn't worth it. Removed latest version of Intel XTU because the scores are inconsistent across older versions.

 

It looks like since i installed this when i close my lid and my pc goes into standby, and wake it back up, i get a black screen. lovely!

 

YEs i have this problem also. Dell failure. 1.3.6 works eh? i'll have to downgrade then. DELL FAIL

 

Have you tried Restore Default values after BIOS update?

 

i have. no luck.

 

Very strange, I just tested it and I could resume it without problems 4 times in a row.

I wonder what causes this. I must add that I do not use a stock screen though.

 

If I may ask those who have a laptop sleep problem, are you connected to the Graphics Amp when putting the laptop to sleep?

 

I have the same screen as you. No idea!

 

No, this is when I use it off the amp.

When connected to the Amp, it works fine...

 

That is strange. What intel HDdriver are you on?

 

I'm not experiencing any black screens after sleeping.
Adding onto rinneh's question, is the iGPU driver from Intel directly or from Dell?

 

Mine is now the latest from windows update since i cannot block those anymore for some reason. from the top of my head the driver date was 7 october 2016.

 

Is hibernation enabled?

 

I have 1.3.6 on my R3 and have had no problems at all. Gonna hold of on 1.3.9 based on what I'm reading in this thread.

 

If you have windows 10 and say you cannot block updates, that is essentially correct, however there is a workaround to block updates. If you go into windows settings in windows 10 and change your internet connection to "metered" (that is, a connection that you would have to pay for downloads, for instance by the byte), windows 10 will not download updates automatically. Its a cheesy workaround, but I did this on my Alienware 15 R2 that has windows 10 installed, because I don't want automatic updates installed from Microsoft until I am sure they actually work. Alternately, if you have windows 10 professional, you can set your policies to not have automatic downloads.

Its only windows 10 home version that you cannot stop automatic updates (unless you use the "trick" to set your internet connection to metered).

 

I just installed bios 1.3.9 on my Alienware 15 R2. I figured I'll test it out for a while and go back to 1.3.6 (stable for 2 months) if I have issues. I've tried closing the lid to sleep and opening it back up without issues. Maybe it has something to do with my different hardware or maybe a different model panel?

 

Just disable WU in services.msc and when you need to update, enable WU and BITS and updates are downloaded automatically.

 

I get the same issue but for me, it only occurs when I change the power state during sleep. Ie plugging in the charger. Every other time it resumes without an issue. However it's been quite a consistent issue across all bios versions I've tried so it might just be me.

 

New Intel HD driver on dells support page for 15R2 solved that issue for me, maybe it will help others too

 

So I've been having a few glitches I didn't notice before with external monitors through the hdmi. I'm not sure if it's the bios or the brand new intel drivers Dell added to the drivers page. I've installed both within the last day or so.

 

What kind of glitches because I've been experiencing the same thing since my intel drivers got updated.

 

Movement for windows and playback on video doesn't seem as smooth. I set up a second monitor as an extended display and spotify would only show up as a black box on one of them. I had it freeze when switching display setup. When I disabled the intel drivers with external monitor so I can do full screen videos my laptop screen turned yellow. Stuff like that.

 

I had stuttering on my external screen until I used bios 1.3.9.

 

I had stuttering with newer intel drivers from intel's site on 1.3.6 but not with the previous set of drivers that Dell had on their download page.

 

I'm not noticing any problems when using the Graphics Amp with this BIOS, but I don't understand what enhancements were made because I noticed barely any on my Time Spy benchmark (and I would attribute that improvement to a newer driver I'm using).

 

Updated to the latest bios and noticed the same lag previously recorded before disabling intel drivers. Nothing seems different and i'll report back if I find anything.

 

This bios fixed my stutter issues with the latest intel drivers. the only enhancement that i noticed.

 

I didn't observe any stutters because I always downloaded drivers from Intel and Nvdia after clean install.

 

This bios bricked my machine. I've followed all the recovery guides but I called it last night. Did the bios update like I always do from the BIOS itself not within windows. It sat at the blue update screen for 10 minutes then came back to it beeping 7 times. Let it beep and it finally shut down. Turned it back on and the lights come on black screen shuts off.. and repeats that cycle exactly 5 times then ends with 7 beeps. Worked fine before the flash.. dang it.. and I can't find the new 13 R3 on amazon. ugh lol

 

Damn, that sucks so much. i dont understand why flashing a bios still can go wrong in this day and age.

 

seriously, as far as i'm aware it's still a working machine.. I just purchased the 13 R3 anyways.. I'll be selling my 15 soon for cheap so whatever.

 

Did you disable AV before flashing? It could be possible that some files weren't copied to RAM and ROM for successful flash. You could try removing the CMOS battery to load default values. If its covered under warranty, call a technician to take it apart.

 

Weird stuff with a Bios flash breaking the System. So far i feel really lucky, testing Apple OSX Sierra installation on the 15R2 and i had to flash most Bioses in a row (from 1.2.2 up to 1.3.6) to see which one works the best with that OS.

But no problem whatsoever.......At least so far (i'll stop tempting the devil!)

I know that i always have:
-Secure boot disabled
-OPROM disabled
-Boot Mode : UEFI

Maybe these options made a difference in preventing a break? No idea.

 

I installed the new bios a few days ago. Everything so far is good. I did have an issue where the computer wouldn't wake from sleep mode. Had to do a hard reset which prompted my hard drive (C) to get checked/repaired. This only happened once, and every other time I've pulled it out of sleep its been fine. By sleep mode, I mean shutting the lid while the comp is still on.

 

Hi i just wanted to update everyone here.

I had the issue where closing my screen with the new bios would lead to being unable to resume when i opened the lid (system hard drive activity was present, however, the screen did not respond to anything unless i turned the machine off.)

I upgraded to the latest dell intel drivers which they finally updated for the intel 530. Then i disconnected my AGA and tested it - I still had the issue of a blank screen on resume after this. However, I had done the intel driver install WHILE i was connected to the AGA graphics amp.

Since that i disconnected my 15R2 from the AGA, and reinstalled the new Dell intel drivers while in regular laptop mode (while the intel was driving my screen vs the AGA 1070GTX driving my screen before) Now the issue does not exist anymore i can resume just fine from wake with me 15R2.

 

I do all my bios flashing pre OS. I've tried all the usual things such as the CMOS. It just went out of warranty November 6th