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

unless you plan to seriously overclock the HK prcessor on the AW 17; the 7700HQ will perform almost identical in practicle applications.

Except for the odd un-optimized game. CPU performance is not going to bottleneck anything. Even with an un-optimized game; the bottleneck will occur at over 100 FPS with the current gen of games

 

I am not so sure of this... If the HQ can't run turbo on all 4 cores then it could be a bottleneck indeed. That is the difference with the HK. The HK is not all about OC, its also able to burst on all cores which is major as most games can use 4 cores and future games are going to use that more often, even more so in VR applications.

Then again, bottleneck is a harsh word. I don't think it will really make something unplayable... you just may have to dial some settings back.

 

My sincere apologies if this has been asked before. I'm using the AGA with a GTX1070 on a M17xr3. If I try to start the machine with any active usb connections I get a blank screen till I unplug the AGA.

Starting up without connecting the USB and subsequently adding connections works. Is this a known issue and is there a solution? Many Thanks..

 

I keep several things plugged into my aga while booting. Hmm, you may want to try each usb connection 1 by 1 and maybe find out which device is causing the issue. Also make sure you are on the newest bios and aga driver.

 

It sounds like one of your USB devices is drawing too much power, try one at a time. What version of the 1070 did you get as it may draw more power than standard 1070 cards?

 

I'm using this -
EVGA - SuperClocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card

I had connected a powered USB hub to the AGA, that's why I was hoping power draw would not be an issue.

I cannot connect the HDMI cable to the AGA either. This results in a blank screen also on bootup.

I now strictly use the AGA as a connection to the Video card and use my M17x for HDMI and USB connections.

If the 1070 is drawing this much power I wonder if this thing would even work when hooked up with a 1080 or a Titan..Is changing the AGA power supply a feasible option?

 

the 1070 is less than 200w tdp cap, the aga is 460w psu, it'll be fine
even the titan is cap at 250w tdp

 

I have the 17 r3 with the graphics amp and a GTX 1070. When I power my system on, the system bootloops 1 time and then boots into Windows. This happens everytime I power up my system with the graphics amp connected. The thing that bothers me also is, when I turn my system off, disconnect the graphics amp, and then turn my laptop on, my laptop bootloops 2 times(it only bootloops 1 time with the amp connected) and then boots into Windows. Once this happens and I turn my laptop off and then back on again, it boots normally. I updated my BIOS to the latest one on Dell support site. Any ideas?

 

Yeah this is actually normal behaviour. It powers on, turns off, and then back on right?

I found it surprising as well. But it seems that the laptop is checking if there is an amp connected and then restarts with the internal Nvidia GPU disabled.

 

Yes it does power on, turns off and right back on. Thanks for replying, I feel a little better now.

 

Yep completely normal behavior. When booting with the Amp, your bios sets a config to detect the eGPU. When you boot up with the amp disconnected, that's the config it tries to boot up with, doesn't detect the eGPU and reboots to load your dGPU.

 

About the bootloop thing, dell talks about it in their service notes. They mention that if you ever disconnect it while its running, you have to restart twice. Not sure exactly why. I did unplug it once before taking out the amp, then when I booted it the computer freaked out, I had to plug the amp to get it restarted... they are serious about it restarting again after disconnect.

With that said, the alienware version is not as plug-play as the razer core, but its functionallity is much better and its cheaper. I love the amp and TBH, if alienware didn't have this I would have probably gone to a different brand a while back.

 

Has anyone upgraded to 1.09 on their Cassini models and had it cripple AGA performance? Mine went from a regular 122fps to 8fps... had to roll back to 1.08

 

Hi, I'm new to this forum been a pc gamer for long time building rigs for myself/family/friends I consider it a hobby I enjoy the tinkering lol. Just been out of seen for 2 years catching. I recently purchased the AW17R4-4554SLV with g-sync at 1440p 120hz. G-sync is awesome but looking for higher fps for use of my Sammy 4k TV via hdmi from the AGA. I ordered the AGA and trying to decide what gtx 1080 to get I like EVGA. What's the best one to get without having to mod the AGA for fitment? Also, is the set-up a pretty smooth gaming experience and how much performance is really lost from like a desktop pc with like an oc 7700k vs the 6700hq inside the r17? Most games these days are gpu power bound anyway correct less cpu? I'm sorry for the questions just been over seas serving our country and trying decide to keep alienware r17 (just purchased yesterday at BB) or return it build new desktop pc with all new up to date 7700k and 1080 gpu ddr4 etc hardware?? Thanks in advance just looking for less head ache and more gaming!

 

AGA can fit 10.5 in cards. EVGA GTX 1080 will fit perfectly as opposed to the MSI version for example.

 

Can the 6700

O
Ok Thanks!

 

FWIW my 1080 is 11 in and it fits perfectly, even with a custom un-modular power supply installed.

 

Hi mate, as long as the card is similar to the reference design 1080, I.e it doesn't have massive cooler fans it should be ok. They still work without the lid closed though. Performance loss is usually around 5 percent when using an AGA and an external monitor, 10 if you use the notebook screen. That said if you don't need a notebook just get a desktop for less hassle. Thanks for your service!

 

The AGA has been around for over two years now? What are thoughts on when a R2 version will be released? Not sure what dell's track record is regarding timing of version 2's of hardware.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I don't think they will make an R2 for a while. If they would have they would have done it with this current gen and the refresh and done away with the dedicated port. Really the current setup is about as good as it gets seeing as they don't want to make a thunderbolt version.

 

Maybe with the AGA R2 you will get full x16 pcie slot, just maybe <3

 

And lose out on some ports? I think x8 is best.

 

depends though

I think there should be a mode to fully disconnect (electrically) the dGPU and run fully on the AGA with all bandwidth redirected

 

I went ahead took the aw bac for return to bestbuy that had the 6700 and 1070 gtx in it with the 1440p gsync. I orederd directly through DELL and got a really good deal!!!! Heres order details:

Description
Quantity

Alienware 17 R4
1
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X
1
Premium Support with Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis, 4 Year
4
Premium Support, 4 Year
4
Hide itemized list
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)
Windows 10 Home-HE (64bit) English
17.3 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) 120Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits Display with Tobii IR Eye-tracking
16GB DDR4-2400MHz; up to 32GB (additional memory sold separately)
512GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Lithium Ion (99 Wh) Battery
No Option Included
English Backlit Keyboard, powered by AlienFX
Regulatory Label
Alienware 330W AC Adapter
US Power Cord
Dell.com Order
Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French)
Dell.com Order
Additional Software
Directship Info Mod
Shipping Material
Skylake Driver
Placemat (English,French,BRPT,Spanish)
N1435 & N1535 Wireless Driver
No FGA
Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Initial Year
Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
Energy Star not Included
Intel Core i7 Processor Label

I got this deal for $2601 shipped to my house within 7-10 days! I was going buy the amp with a dedicated 1080 gtx but after calling and gettting them down on the price I couldn't think twice. In 2 years I will buy an amp with the newest gtx card and be set. I believe the faster processor(plus can be overclocked and cool that 6820 with some new paste get some big gains! Can't wait to recieve it!

 

Hey guys

I have the ANW15-7493SLV (970m, 4720HQ, UHD touchscreen), and for Xmas I got (well, on backorder rn) a CF791!!!! (3440x1440 34" Freesync). So I was thinking about purchasing a AGA + a GPU to go with it. I'd really like to put a R9 Fury in it, specifically a
SAPPHIRE NITRO Radeon R9 Fury Tri-X OC+
(the one on sale for 399.99 @ Newegg)

However, this card is not supported (supposedly too big) Does anyone have experience putting this card/another Fury inside?

In addition, this card is supposed to be too big, with dimensions of 12.09" x 4.92". However, the 7990 is supported (length 12") and AIB 390s are supported (the MSI one is a bit over 5" in width). So.... What part of this card doesn't fit? I've searched this forum, Reddit, and Googled extensively, to no avail.

Thanks!

 

Buy another card, Fury is old generation.

 

http://www.dell.com/support/Article...gc=SM&cid=60909&lid=776959920&linkId=33363491
Found this while browsing the DCF. A bit more up-to-date than my table.

 

Lol I would like decent performance for a decent price. Right now, a new Fury is 349.99 CAD for performance that is ~980 Ti. (newegg.ca with a $50 email discount). Vega isn't coming for a bit, and I'll be getting a CF791 in a few weeks that I would have to run with a 970m (~960 desktop)

 

I have a gtx 1080 in my amp using evga precision x to overclock card but not reading info from card in precision x??? It see's it but the bars to increase mhz and memory oc are shaded out??? tried msi afterburner too same result??? How can I overclock this card in windows????

 

Disregard guys!!! I fixed it sees it in msi and presicion x and im able oc! I love the amp and this set-up!!! 4k gaming on 55 Samsung OLED is incredible on this aw machine!!!

 

I have another question.

I found that after measuring the inside of an actual Graphics Amplifier, a card up to 12.1" will fit. However, the card I was thinking of purchasing is no longer on sale. I found another R9 Fury version, the Asus Strixx, but this card is 11.8" x 5.42".... Does anyone have experience putting a card of that height inside the Amplifier? What did you have to modify to fit the card inside?

 

If the card is too high you have to cut those plastic tabs off in the top corners. And use low profile cables.

 

Does anyone know if replacement parts for the graphic amplifier can be purchased anywhere? I bought a second hand one and it works perfectly, but someone removed the front hinge. I feel it would be more secure if it were on there... Thanks. (Both elbow hinges and the main one in the middle are missing)

 

Get the "superclocked " evga. The ftw is too tall to get the lid closed. I have the superclocked one an it works beautifully. As far as performance goes, I don't have anything to compare it to but I can run Elite Dangerous on VR high settings with my Rift no problem. Those settings with my internal 970 were completely unplayable.

 

Be sure you're careful with the ACX series superclock cards with non reference pcb, they're known to catch fire.

 

Its unfortunately more widespread. Some other cards too. But current evga cards should be fixed and have thermals pads between the vrm and backplates now.

But yeah indeed. Check the batches well.

 

So, this is something I just found out.
When I use my RX 480 in my GA and have the computer sleep for a long period of time, it will disconnect. Sometimes, the fans will go full blast. Being curious, I put the computer back to sleep, disconnected the cable, then reconnected, and the RX 480 gets re-connected. I don't know why it does this, but it's a solution.

 

I would strongly advise not unplugging the cable unless the computer is off. I am not sure if AMD is different, but on my AW13 it won't go to sleep at all when the AGA is plugged in.

 

I know the risks of unplugging the cable; however, I'm not unplugging it when it's awake. Only when it's asleep. It seems (not 100% sure) to be treated as if it were off. As well, I know the sleep function mostly works fine with Nvidia GPUs as I never had this kind of problem with my GTX 980 (although the fan would stay on).
I'm using the 13 R2, and only the Skylake + Kaby Lake models have the sleep option (for the cho line, need a more recent BIOS). The Haswell + Broadwell laptops do not.

 

I didn't know that only Skylake+ could sleep. So no problem disconnecting while sleeping, thats good to know.

 

Hi all,

I got the AGA with a Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1 gaming for a month now. I got this one over other custom 1080s (for example the MSI) because of the size. It fits in the AGA very nicely.

The card's main drawback is supposed to be the fan noise, but to me it seems the noise pales in comparison to the noise of the AGA's own fan.

I was thinking of replacing that fan with a bigger one, but actually anybody tried to switch off that fan instead of replacing and can share his long-term experience with heat and noise ?

 

what ? what driver are you talking about ?

 

So, something else interesting about having an AMD GPU in the GA. I had my laptop awake when I disconnected the cable, but instead of it restarting, it just resumed as normal. Obviously I had no dGPU, but it seemed to be completely usable. Might be a good way to conserve battery life. Even Command Center detected that the GA was disconnected.
After putting it back to sleep and reconnecting the cable, the AMD GPU was recognized and everything proceeded as normal (no restart).

He likely means the AGA software. It should be under Applications in the Dell Driver list.

 

More discoveries I have made with my AMD GPU and my 13 R2 (should work with Skylake + Kaby Lake models).

1. If the cable is disconnected, it is possible to replace the AMD GPU with another AMD GPU. In my case, I replaced my RX 480 with my R9 285, and it worked without a problem. Doing the reverse (R9 285 -> RX 480) also went smoothly. No glitches, no driver crashes.
2. AMD's XConnect software treats the Graphics Amplifier as if it was a TB3 Device. I say this because you can remove the GA cable when the laptop is awake and... the AMD GPU disappears, but no restart. Likewise, you can connect the cable with the GPU in it, and it'll re-enable the GPU.

I'm thinking the 2 things above are due to the GA's Software improvements + and laptop BIOS changes to the GA. The laptop should have two modes: Normal and Graphics Amp Connected. As long as it's the latter, the actions I have done should be possible on other compatible/capable laptops. Don't know about Nvidia's side of things since I don't have 2 Nvidia GPUs (and the one I have is in my desktop, which is stored away).

 

Hi,

I feel my GA with EVGA 1080 SC is running slow.

On the AW 17r3 6700HQ I get the following Firestrike 1.1 scores:

Overall: 13,183
Graphics: 18,574
Physics: 8,539

I get a warning that "Your GPU is ready to rumble, but your CPU doesn't want to play"

Does anyone else have this issue?
Will it make a decent difference if I upgrade to the latest Alienware with a 7820 processor?

Thanks

 

Yeah its running a bit slow. My results are better with a 1070GTX

http://www.3dmark.com/fs/11413715

Make sure you have the latest version running though. Also check in HWinfo if your GPU is actually running at pci express 3.0 4X speeds.

Your physics should be higher because its the same CPU s mine. All laptop CPU's show that message. Only the top end desktop CPU's dont have the not ready for brawl trophy.

 

Also make sure you're running the benchmark on an external monitor.

 

I was running internal 4k monitor. Would that affect the CPU score?

 

I dont know about the cpu score but it affects the gpu yes.

 

So I have a question. If I had an Alienware 17R4 with a 1070 inside, am I assuming correctly that there would be very little, if any difference between that and hooking up the Amplifer to it and using the desktop GTX 1070? From what I've seen it appears that the laptop 1070 has like ~5-10% less performance than the desktop, but if you use the Amplifier you lose right around that same amount of performance in the desktop cards, correct?