*OFFICIAL* Alienware "Graphics Amplifier" Owner's Lounge and Benchmark Thread (All 13, 15 and 17)

Don't worry about the clock rate on the website. It basically scans your system before the run and since your GPU is not doing anything, the clock rate will be lower. This is normal. Once the benchmark starts and the GPU has to work, it will go to it's normal and boost clock. All is good.

 

The founder's edition fits and the Gigabyte G1 Gaming 1070 and 1080 fit without issues. (1070 is same dimensions as the 1080).

 

Make sure you are on BIOS 1.2.2, 1.2.8 or 1.2.15 that don't have the limited PCIE issue. Post a pic of your GPUZ, here is mine: Also make sure Windows is running in HIGH PERFORMANCE MODE, in the battery/power settings in control panel.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzj6JjnAJZjjdU9sWTc0QU9WX1U/view?usp=sharing

 

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to share some scores if it helps, I've upgraded to the GTX 1080. Here are my firestrike scores:

GTX 1080 ( 14913):
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/9363953

980TI, My Old Card ( 13175):
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/7146289

980m, Laptop GPU ( 8314):
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/7022079

These are all stock scores, no OC.

Thanks
Jeff.

 

Those graphics scores are so juicy, specially considering its on stock (980ti and 1080) , the processor is just gimping the heck out. AGA seems to be a nice implementation though.

 

Evga 1080 SC fits perfectly too.

 

So I did some logging with GPUZ while running Doom (OpenGL 4.5) with my GTX 1070 G1 Gaming by Gigabyte.

I am not running any overclocking because I cannot as it crashes the driver. Plus, the Gigabyte software does not read the card when it's in the Graphics Amp.

I'm seeing the following core clocks which are way above what is advertised by Gigabyte:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bzj6JjnAJZjjVmZyMjZwU2RKdTg

You can see it's hitting 1961.5MHz. That's awesome haha. Advertised by Gigabyte is:


Boost: 1822 MHz/ Base: 1620 MHz in OC Mode
Boost: 1784 MHz/ Base: 1594 MHz in Gaming Mode

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5916#sp


Anyone else seeing anything similar?

 

Getting less than 60fps on some scenes while playing Rise of the Tomb Raider on the 1080. 1080p, ultra settings, monitor connected to the card. Is this normal?

 

Hey guys,

To prevent my CPU throttling (i7 6700HQ) I have it on Speed Step/ Turbo Boost On via Biod/ Max power performance setting in Windows but I was wondering what would be the optimal Intel Power Balance in ThrottleStop? If I am running my GPU (GTX1080) straight to an external monitor does my integrated Intel graphics even need to draw power? Should I just give maximum power to the CPU?

Let me know your thoughts

Thanks!

 

Hi, I got a few question about the setup process. Could you please give me a list of the drivers i need? I have heard something about using a old BIOS version and not the newest Nvidia deriver. Cant i just use the newest one form GeForce Experience?

Thanks

 

I oc my 1070 to 1920mhz. Runs around 55 C

 

should i get asus strix gtx 1070 or 1080?

 

Hello everyone, I've got an AGA on the way and will be chasing a 1080 to drop in for my X51 R3. My question is: will a card that is 10.50" x 5.06" fit? I know the length is Ok but I am finding it difficult to get a solid number on the max height of cards that will still allow the lid to shut. I really want the EVGA FTW 1080 but is a little taller than some of the others. Thanks for any advice you can give me.

 

is the cpu going to bottlenecking issue? hows the cooling? external monitors only or can i still play it on the alienware laptop screen?

 

is the cpu going to bottlenecking issue? hows the cooling? external monitors only or can i still play it on the alienware laptop screen?

 

It doesn't physically fit. Check this

 

Borrowed from others:


and no, you can't fully close the lid.

 

Is there any real differences between all the different part numbers of the Amplifier? I've been thinking about getting one and want to make sure I pick up the best.

 

I've done exactly this but so far running valley i'm getting max 71C. Also before without doing these mods the max I saw my card get to was 74C. Using the corsair cx500M and same fan mentioned above.

 

Did you solve the reboot issue with your GA connected?

 

It's really random, recently it's been booting up just fine.

 

Sir, I'm kind of interested in the AW + AGA + GTX 1080 on it, but I want to know how it performs, the cooling, and do I need an external monitor in order to play with AGA? Is the CPU has a bottlenecking issue?

Thanks

 

All of your questions are answered on the previous pages of this thread.

1. Performs well, go back a few pages and see benchmarks.
2. Cooling is fine, you can get additional cooling by looking at what some people did with an aftermarket fan.
3. Read the product description for the AGA, you can use it with your laptop screen, but an external monitor is preferred as the performance will be better.
4. CPU yes, however, the PCIE 4x link speed and using the laptop display are the biggest bottle necks. PCIE 4x doesn't matter a much though.

 

without the lid you can put any card...

 

Of course you can, but then you have the lid stick up, or, if you remove it, it's exposed to the environment. So if you have pets, kids or something else happens like you trip or drop, bump or pull a cable by accident, there goes $800+ down the toilet.

I would suggest using the cover to protect everything. There will be those that that don't and that's their choice for sure and I see the reason for it, but it only takes one bad thing to go wrong and you're out a lot of money.

 

Thanks for the answers, probably go with the EVGA 1080 sc edition instead of the ftw, I definitely don't want the lid off or open. Now all I have to do is wait for stock.....

 

how many percent drop on performance when i don't use an external monitor?

 

Somewhere between 5% and 10%.

 

i dont own pets like dogs

 

Just ran a Fire Strike Ultra with my new 1080 FTW, graphics score of 5419, with a 206 MHz OC on the clock (from the 1607 MHz stock) and a 500 MHz boost on the memory.

 

wow, very nice. hopefully the sc will be close behind.

 

Yeah I boosted up to 2114 MHz, not sure what the highest people are getting with the 1080, but I know it's good considering the 5% loss of the AGA PCIe. I'm also running an internal 4k monitor.

 

Good results with 17r3 GA and 1070. I just got my amplifier and wanted to report good things so far. I am using this setup with the htc vive. Everything was plug and play.

I am running an msi gaming x 1070. I have no hope of closing the lid on the GA due to the power connectors. I'm just leaving it cracked open for now.

My specs
I7 6700hq
16 gigs ram
Bios .12
Nvidia drivers 368.81 (note I didn't need to update or change this driver to get the GA to work.)

Ran unigine heaven with the laptop display on and external monitor on. Then external display only, the laptop display only.

Results of 1920x1080 8xAA ultra extreme benchmark:
With laptop display on (Edit* and external display on): 65 fps (low 8 high 120) score 1600ish (can't remember, I didn't save these results, but I remember the fps numbers)

With laptop display off and external monitor: 90fps ( 25.4 low and 191.1 high) score 2280.

Edit* laptop display only: 89.4 fps (24.2 low 165.8 high)

Its in line with some other 1070 heaven results I've seen online out of desktops. Very pleased!! Not sure how it will do with firestrike or if Heaven is not the best test.

Vive is working as smoothly as when I had it hooked up to my pc with 2 1070s in sli.

Again, I am very pleased with this setup so far!!!

 

Wow, some people said it will be 5-10% decrease on performance but 90fps in an external display and down to 65fps in a laptop display that is like 25fps decrease, so that means 25% decrease on performance by using the laptop display. I don't get it, why it has to be connected to an external monitor to get the 100% performance out of the AGA, while we can only enjoy a roughly 75% performance on the laptop display, why not just make it 100% performance on each, this is so backwards.

Last time I was 100% interested now this really turns me off, babay Alienware, keep your ****e, you will not have ma money.

 

I was running both the external display and the laptop display at the same time for the first test. Maybe with no external display the results won't be so bad. I'll test it out and see.

Edit* 89 fps without external display. So right with the external display. Forgive my earlier, bad comparison.

 

Bandwidth constraints. The GPU data is being sent back and forth through the PCI interface, so you're effectively halving it. There's also Optimus to worry about as well since the eGPU doesn't fully control the laptop screen. It'll happen with any eGPU setup that runs at PCIe 3.0 x4, and given that the GTX 1080 consumes the most bandwidth, it'll no doubt suffer the most when going from external screen to internal screen.
That said, it is typically a 10% performance loss with just the laptop screen or a screen connected to the iGPU.

 

We need a video or picture reference for this one, if you can do that it will be much appreciated. How's the fan noise in the AGA? I saw some review and its like a vacuum cleaner.

I've also asked some AGA users to upload a benchmark of the GTX 1070 using the AGA in the laptop display only and one of them actually granted my request.

GTA V Benchmark:



(However he did not maxed out the advanced graphic settings, everything is off though.)

I've compared that to other GTA V benchmark of the GTX 1070 but on the desktop rig and they look to have a similar FPS.

I have no problem if its just a 10% decrease but as the user posted above before he edited it I was just shock how much FPS is lost using only the laptop display. After all, not all of us wants to use an external monitor.

 

Yes, but in his first "laptop monitor case", both the internal and external monitor were one, hence why I said "just the laptop screen". If you using both screens and they are connected to different GPUs, then results will be different (and as you said, since there are people who only want to use the laptop screen, such a benchmark he first posyed is irrelevant to you as it is under a different scenario).
If you look in my signature, you'll see a link to my analysis of the Graphics Amp. Granted, it is a bit old and was from using a 13 R1, but it is still relevant.

 

no before that he said that he use an internal monitor only for the first benchmark, now he edited it to both using the internal and external monitor and that is why its only 65fps totally understandable now.

Sorry about the rant that I made earlier but here is the reason as to why.....

I'm deciding which of the two laptop that I want to buy

Clevo P870DM with a single GTX 980 or a GTX 980m SLI, G-SYNC, and 6700K processor.

or

Alienware 15 or 17 with a GTX 970m or GTX 980m + AGA w/GTX 1070 or 1080, and 6700HQ processor.

I was leaning towards the Clevo simply because of its upgrade path on both GPU and CPU, but thinking that upgrading its GPU later down the road offers a lot of difficulty for me, there are no Clevo resellers in my country nor selling a Clevo parts or upgrade kit so I have to order abroad in order to buy those, rare Clevo users in which I can resell the old GPU so basically I will just leave it sitting there in the dust if ever I decided to upgrade to a latest GPU.

But once heard about the AGA...

I'm fine with the built in GTX 970m/980m on it with the AGA it will be more easier for me to buy and upgrade the GPU, and it's even more easier for me to resell the GPU to desktop users if I ever decided to upgrade to a newer GPU down the road.

CPU maybe the problem because you can't upgrade it and hearing the bottleneck issue, a 10-15% decrease is no problem but when I read that its more than 15% i was shock hence I go for a rant, thanks for the user above for clearing up the typo he made.

I will consider AW this time.

 

Is anyone having trouble install drivers for there graphics card. Just install the nvidia desktop.exe

 

Hi guys,

Just want to ask about the GTX 1070/1080

I made a mock customization in the alienware site for the amplifier, they have two options for the GPU card.

PNY XLR8 GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
PNY XLR8 GeForce® GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X

I have no idea what is good brand for a desktop graphics card, is PNY any good or should I just separately order the GPU from a different vendor?

Nevermind, they don't agree to ship to my country. I'll just look around in HIDEVO or XoticPC.

 

I have a PNY GTX 980, and it gets the job done.
However, and I noticed this on the US website, if there is a discount on the Graphics Amp, there is no discount on the Graphics Amp + Graphics Card option. Not sure why.

 

Why not consider getting the unlocked 6820hk vs the 6700hq?

 

theres nvidia gtx 1080 TI coming right?

 

It's expensive mate.

 

I know its off topic to discuss about this here but i have a question about the screen IPS panel on the Alienware 15, does it suffer from ghosting and or screen bleeding? if you would like to discuss please go here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/question-about-ghosting-and-which-screen-to-choose.794073/

thanks

 

Ya but so is a Clevo P870DM and if you are worried about the inability to not upgrade for the future, why not spend top dollar now? I can run my 6820hk at 4.2 (temps in the low 60s) while using my 1070 in the aga. You can always save up money for a future gpu in an aga

 

Update on my EVGA FTW 1080. If some of you remember I couldn't play my most recent games on the Founder's Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Need for Speed, and The Division. They all work now flawlessly, I did buy FireStrike and installed the DirectX 12 benchmark so maybe that updated my DX and fixed my issues, who knows.

I've settled on my final overclock, 1802 MHz base clock, peak boost at 2101 Mhz, 550 Mhz memory overclock, 130% power, 100% voltage, and fans go to 100% at 44C. Max of 62C so far. Highest FireStrike Ultra graphics score of 5465. I do have an upgraded Corsair CX650 PSU but I'm sure the stock Dell one can handle overclocking with ease.

I definitely recommend the 1080 FTW for those still on the fence. I don't have anything else to compare it to besides the Founder's Edition, but the fan is quiet at 100%, and my particular card overclocks well.

 

yes i know that mate. i was leaning towards the CLEVO a few months ago because of its upgradeability, with a bit of thinking and research I've changed my mind and switch in getting the aga instead, because the upgrade kit for the CLEVO cost as if you're buying a whole new laptop, the vga upgrade kit e.g GTX 980m already cost $1200...that cost more than a desktop GPU....I mean a GTX 1080 cost only $700 or something and in my country there are rare Clevo users, so that means whenever I want to upgrade the GPU or CPU on the Clevo it will hard for me to find a buyer for the old GPU/CPU you can't resell it to desktop users either.

Unlike the Graphics Amp. where it uses a full blown desktop GPU, it will be easy to upgrade and resell the old GPU from the AGA to desktop users.

Even with a release of a Pascal for the mobile it's going to be the same story and much more expensive than before.

I will probably get the 4K panel with no touch to save a few dolla to get the 6820HK.

The AW + AGA + GTX 1070 is a way to go and the best option for me at this point

 

FYI - you can get the amp through Dell epp for $136.79. Free 2 day shipping and 15% Dell rewards if you use your Dell preferred account as well - this will bring it down to $106ish. Use code code EXTRA10

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=eep&cs=6099&sku=452-BCFE