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

Just got an amp, and Im trying to figure out the max size card I can fit. without modding. And! if i choose to mod, is there a good way to get an oversized card to fit? I would love to get the 1080 ti duke.

 

It will fit and it will work. the aga works like any other standard PCIe slot and the aga has enough power to power it. Its just a matter of drivers being released when they are officially released. Nothing is guaranteed before that.

 

@gunbolt i agree with @TomC69 wait to see how your 1070 handless the 144hz display. also i suggest you to improve the performance by making a repaste with liquid metal thermal paste and change the thermal pads with some high end ones like fujipoly 11W/mk. you will have room to overclock and increase the fps. also prepare your laptop with a stand to plug and play, maybe a stand like cooler master U3 plus and add some dust filters to the fans..... that will give you more time with your laptop and without needing to add the AGA.
i have an AGA with my 15 r1 and gtx 970m. all of my stuff use liquid metal thermal paste

 

Hello fellow Alienware-Owners,

I am the happy owner of an Alienware 15 R4 (i7 8750h, GTX1070, Non-G-Sync Display) and an Alienware Graphics Amplifier equipped with a Geforce GTX1060. Before that, I had an 15 R2 sporting an AMD Radeon M395X, which worked flawlessly with the AGA. With the 15 R4, however, I experience some issues. The first one being that the internal GPU (GTX1070) is not turned off when the AGA is connected. In addition to this, I experience micro-stuttering in 2D-Windows as well as games. I realized that this came from the GTX1070 and GTX1060 being active at the same time. Thus, I turned off the internal GTX1070 in the device manager, which resolved the stuttering problems. My question now is if any of you has experienced similar issues and can give me some advice. Despite disabling the GTX1070, I tried DDUing the Intel and Nvidia drivers and reinstalling them accordingly in offline-mode.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

yeah so I run into these kinds of problems when my GPUs (My internal 1070 & my AGA 1080 Ti) Aren't running the same Nvidia GPU driver Version.

For example, when they released the most recent driver about a week ago, i updated my 1070, and then later connected the laptop to the AGA and there were all kinds of issues until I updated the 1080 Ti driver to match.

Despite them using almost the same driver, you still have to do both.

So my advice to you would be to DDU both with and without the AGA attached, update your internal GPU with the AGA detatched first, then shut the system down, connect the AGA, and run GPU updates again using nvidia GeForce Experience.

Also just curious, why a 1060 in the AGA when the 1070 in your laptop is definitely more powerful?


edit: for reference I am using a 15 r4 w/ the 8750h and 1070 as well

 

Thank you for your feedback, Muezick!

First of all, your question is justified. I use the 1060 in the AGA because of my triple monitor setup and the fact that I would only like to plug a single cable into my laptop. Plus so far, I don't have any tasks that require the use of the 1070.

I did exactly as you said in your statement, and the device manager shows the same driver for both cards. However, when I tried to install the driver seperately with the AGA attached after installing it on my dGPU, the Nvidia setup simply uninstalled the Nvidia drivers instead of reinstalling them...

 

Hey Thank you for your answer.
I´ve got the monitor, its fantastic. The image quality and the resolution is astonishing!
I will buy a stand to improve ventilation and try to avoid AGA for now.

 

Hey thanks! Yes, 144hz its very good, very hard to get used with something worse and also the Quad HD res.

 

Hello Guys,
For those who asked, recently I bought the monitor ROG Strix XG32VQ to use with my R4 2017 with a GTX 1070.
I already have a AGA at home just waitining to be used, but I will avoid for now since the new VGA are coming and to be honest the 1070 is pretty decent.
As almost everybody else I had overheating issues, in fact I will tell the whole history regarding this laptop.

I am from Brazil and bought this unit in a Micro Center Store in Chicago.
The first software that I downloaded at the hotel was 3D Mark, the first run brought me something like 13500 points in fire extreme, when I ran for the second time the laptop booted up and my GTX 1070 was gone. (Attention on device manager)
I could not turn it on anymore. Since I didnt have time to check the laptop because I was in a business trip, I had this issue in my last day.
Since I new that the warranty is global, I came back to Brazil and transferred my warranty to here, it was an easu process (just a quick call to Dell). After some days a technican came to fix the laptop, he brought a refurbished motherboard with a new 7820hq + gtx 1070 and changed.
After the change I started to have therml throttling, overheating and BSOD´s, so I had to go thru another round of tests with Dell.
The technician came back with a new heatsink, now from the GTX 1080 instead of the 1070, much wider and robust.

*Check my thread here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...hese-normal-temps.809885/page-6#post-10625127

During the process I took advantange of the change and bought a Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut (I was afraid of the Kryonaut) and did a repaste, but I didn't change the thermal pads, the temperature have improved and I am also running with an undervold of 0,140 without the CPU Performance or overclock activated on the BIOS, so my highest clock is always something around 3,6Ghz.

You guys advice my to re open again to change the thermal pads + a stand (like CM) with extras fans ?

Since now I am running all the games on QuadHD res I am facining maximum temperature=s around 90 degrees but no thermal throttling. The GPU does not go above 60 degrees. The issue is always the CPU, and before on Full HD I believe the temperature was better then running on QHD.

Thanks all

Stefano

 

So you ran DDU two full times, once with AGA connected (For your 1060) and once with your AGA disconnected (For your 1070) ?

TBH you may not even need to run DDU unless you have some weird problem. I guess my point is, you need to run the GPU driver installer twice.

ALSO make sure you download the CORRECT Driver. Go to nvidia's website, download one driver for your 1070 and install that without AGA. Then go again and get the one for 1060 with aga. Also make sure the 1070 you download is the Mobile one.

Beyond that. only thing i can imagine trying is OS reload and/or BIOS updates.

 

When downloading the drivers, rename the mobile one to mobile and the desktop one to desktop. If you do not they will have the same file name.

I believe I also had to extract them (to separately named folders) and install them manually, letting it all run automatically was not working (think the driver thought it was already installed).

 

The mobile drivers are exactly the same as the desktop drivers in later version. The driver packages contain the same drivers. But you need to make sure that windows update doesnt interfere. First installing the intel gpu drivers and after the nvidia ones make rebooting with and without the AGA also more smoothly. Its absolutely not necessary to uninstall/reinstall drivers. If that is the case there is a windows/confugiration error. It can take up to a couple of minute's for windows to detect the new gpu mind tou with certsin driver versions.

 

Using a laptop stand for allowing more air underneath the laptop is quite beneficial when ambient temps high and can easily lower overall temps by 5c

 

Hi rinneh,

thank you for your feedback. I tried any of the described ways to install the driver, but the result was always the same: the internal GTX1070 did not disable. I suppose that it has something to do with the fact that the 15 R4 does not support Optimus and the internal GTX1070 always being connected to the internal LCD. Also, the internal display does not turn off while connected to the AGA, which my 15 R2 always did. Do you have any further suggestions? Thinking about having a technician come by.

 

Just so you know the techs tend to be utterly clueless and unfamiliar with the operation of these laptops. Some of them don’t even have the skill set to just replace parts of the system.

 

What happens when you press windows key+P and select second screen only?

 

My last inhouse Dell tech was great. Fixed things and made sure they worked before he left. So, not all are clueless/useless imho.

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_RTX_2080_Ti_PCI-Express_Scaling/
Looks like the high-end Turing GPUs will want a bit more bandwidth than Pascal and Vega (don't know about Volta).

 

Hi everyone. If someone could help me or point me to a page where to check it since there are a lot of pages.

I own currently Alienware 15 R2 6700HQ with 970M and I bought a Alienware Amplifier now. So I would like to buy a 1080. My question is how much can I expect to be better since I will be mostly using it for VR and game development in Unreal Engine not so much for gaming, and which are best versions of 1080 to put beside FE? Thank you all.

 

Pretty much all 1080s are within 5-10% of each other, or less. So at that point you should ask yourself how long you're going to have it, and worry more about who has the best warranty. EVGA has the best customer support and warranty in the business, so they're usually the ones I buy from with the expectation that I'll have a GPU for more than a year. They offer a whole lot of side services too, like pre paid cross shipping, extended warranties (I think 10 years is like 40 bucks) and step up programs, so that if another GPU comes out in the first 90 days after you buy your card ,you can send them your card, pay the difference and get a whole different better card.

The 1080 is like 4-5 times better than a 970m, also.

 

For relevance, this means running your 2080 Ti in an AGA will likely result in a greater performance loss than previous generations(and given the general lack of performance increase over previous generations, it's possible sticking to pascal cards for the AGA might be a better bet). I think I recall some one asking recently if a 2080 or 2080 Ti would work in the AGA. I wish I could go back and tell them this information now. How unfortunate.

 

Thanks for reply. So AA currently support any 1080 that I put in? And it will work? There are no problems like before? Regards.

 

I guess i'm not sure what "before" problems you might be referencing. I use a 1080 Ti in mine and it was literally just plug, install driver and play. Occasionally i have a minor issue with WoW beginning(At random, havent found direct cause yet) to stutter really hard until a reboot that started after the driver before last installed (399~) but that's the only issue i have, and it might not even be related to the AGA. Hard to say really. It's supposed to be the same exact thing as a PCIe x4 port, just external which means compatibility should be quite high.

 

I predicted this may be the case and got flamed for it. Shame - hope no one went out and spent $1200 for a card with the wrong expectations

 

While an AGA w/1080 (FE or blower types fit best) with an external monitor (you need this to avoid feeding back to the laptop display) you should get a nice increase for non-VR games/apps, probably ~50-100% improvement (depending on the app). However, you are unlikely to get the same performance improvement with VR. My guess would be 15-20% improvement. I think that part of the problem with VR is that it is not only very gpu demanding, it's also very cpu demanding. I kinda doubt that your older i7 6700hq 2.6ghz cpu is going to be up to the task.

For VR usage I suggest getting a proper desktop PC with a better/faster cpu (i7 8700k or better), 32gb ram, gtx1080ti gpu (maybe wait for 2080/2080ti's?). Do this, and maybe either sell your laptop (and maybe AGA) or just use the laptop for portable, non-VR requirements.

If you absolutely need a laptop full time for VR I suggest going for the highest end gaming laptops you can afford. For example, the AW 17r5 with i7 8750h, 32gb ram, gtx1080, standard 17.3in 1080p screen. That would be my current choice. This should give you enough grunt for some time to come and avoid using an AGA and external monitor. Later, you may consider using this with your AGA with a newer 2080 or 2080ti but it is currently unknown if this is going to boost your VR performance significantly. One advantage of the AGA is that it will take the load off the internal gpu and should result in lower laptop temps.

This is based on my Actual VR experience with my 17r4 w/1060 and AGA w/1080ti, and external monitor, using both WMR and Oculus Rift VR systems (WMR sucks imho). Take the time to review my earlier posts on this a few pages back for my details. Sorry but I do not intend to repeat these.

Good luck, whichever way you go.

 

Thanks for informations. Yes I will use with extended 1080p dual screens that I am currently using. Ok I will then avoid VR for this time and probably in next six months will buy a desktop PC for VR development. But you think I will see a lot of improvements inside Unreal Engine 4 with just regular 1080 with AGA? I own 970M 3GB now in my laptop. Once again thank you for your time and replies.

 

Ya, should be a bit better. Up to you if you think the $/performance is worth it.

 

Do VR applications use a **** load more RAM for some reason? lol... RAM prices have gotten a little better lately, but come on. Surely 16 is enough.

 

Vr works fine with the AGA as long if the games itself are well optimized. For example doom vr runs like a dream. Games that dont run well pretty much dont run well on very high end desktops as well.

 

So I decide to buy this GPU https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/asus-turbo-gtx-1080-ti.b4307

I saw some guy was saying that if you have Alienware 15 R2 with 6700HQ that I should not go above 1070 with AGA since my CPU will bottleneck and won't work like it should. So will I waste my money if I go with 1080 Ti?

 

Watch this. It's very informative and you'll see that CPU bottlenecking is no where near as horrific as people say it is. And most people saying such things have never tested it themselves. Yes it does exist. But you have to be using a pretty miss matched system for that to happen.

But, to more directly answer your question. Yes you will lose some frames for having 6700hq compared to the latest and greatest. But it is not gonna be like your 1080 ti will perform like a 1070. If you were using a cpu with only two cores then yes there would more of an issue. It also depends on the game and resolution. Higher resolution in games are more dependent on the GPU than the CPU.

 

Exactly my experiences. the 6700HQ is still a very competent CPU. CPU benchmarks arent an indication and measurement of real life gaming performance.

 

Glad that helped. I think the best way people should think of this is that when you go from say the 6700HQ to the 7700HQ you’re just getting a faster part. Not that the old CPU was bottlenecking. So after 4-5 generations of CPU’s go by it’s not a bottleneck that people see, but just a gradual increase in CPU power and efficiency.

I’ve always gone 3-4 generations on my desktop CPUs before upgrading. And after upgrading I’ve never thought “Wow this was and insane upgrade”. But it’s always fun to have a new CPU to overclock.

 

I'm sorry guys this is driving me crazy. I cant get the machine to use the external GPU and don't know to select it.

so far I have:

1. connected card snd amplifier
2. clean install of latest drivers
3. downloaded Alienware Amplifier software
4. connected external GPU to external monitor

I can see that device manager can see the card as can nvidia settings, how do I get it to use it though, also getting no image on my external monitor...

please help it's driving me insane!!!!!!!!

 

erm so it turns out that it helps if you connect the display cable properly... Oops

 

That’s awesome
I was about to walk you through some Windows settings....but checking the cable is a lot easier lol


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Very important haha. Going back to the previous topic about CPU throttling, I have an 6700hq with a gtx 1080 FE hybrid watercooled in my AGA and I haven't noticed any throttling. I recently tried out the R5 with the 8950HK and it did give me more frames because of the better CPU and it being unlocked, but not by much to be honest. I returned the R5 because of the core differential temp being too much (even after re-pasting and applying new pads, core 0,2,4 were giving me major issues) and am sticking with my AW R3, I recently did a fresh install of windows and it's helped greatly with better stability and performance out of the GTX 1080. Plus my R3 with the 6700hq runs a cool 70C max.

Some test bench after fresh install of windows that help with performance. https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/28919870?
https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/28868916?

 

I am trying to find results for 1080, 1070Ti, 1070, 980 and 980Ti for AGA but can't. Is there anywhere that someone did test on same machine for all graphics? Thanks

 

If you want to send me the cards i'll test them!

At this point I'd say there's no reason to waste time considering purchasing a 980/980ti. Of course each card tier up has better performance so it's really all about what your max budget is and how long you can wait for a price to come down or a deal to come along. Deals are certainly out there to be had on the 10-series especially with the new Turing cards out now

 

just look for normal benchmark reviews? you only got around a 2% performance loss with the AGA.

 

i would think 1070/1070ti should be the minimum for use in an AGA, since below that is likely going to not add and performance vs what your laptop already has.

 

glad to see that my cpu is not too bad for being a 4th generation processor
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/16457282

 

You all have OCD. Mine hits 100 while gaming, and I have no doubt I’ll buy a new laptop before my warranty expires


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Anyone else having issues with the new Nvidia drivers? I have an AW15 R1 with GTX 1070 on the AGA. I'm using an external monitor via HDMI.

Symptoms:
- CPU CORE 0 always at 100% usage
-Process named System Interrupt is using up a lot of CPU cycles
-Intermittent stuttering on Windows 10 desktop, especially when the start menu is open (probably caused by the animated tiles)

Temporary Fix:
-Ran Display Driver Uninstaller in Safe Mode
-Reverted back to driver version 398.82

 

I plan on using AGA for my 13R3 but don’t plan on using external display for the time being. I plan on getting 1080ti and just using AGA to get better performance and allow 13r3 to remain cooler in temps as the internal GPU will not be used. For those who are running this setup is it just plug and play ?

 

i saw the same process on my AW 15 r1 on AGA. i uninstalled and installed every driver , pushed back windows updates , etc etc. i dont know which one worked, but is fine now. also there is a new driver. i am gonna try it today

 

It’s usually plug and play. When you first set it up you might have to tinker but other than that I never have issues.

I have to caution you though - using the AGA to power the built in screen causes a big drop in performance since the AGA has to send the data BACK through the cable to your laptop.

Think of it as putting the end of a garden hose in your mouth, turning it on, and then trying to push the water back through the hose. Same concept.

So that 1080ti might be more like a 1070 level of performance. There’s already a small hit because the AGA only has 4 PCI lanes. Probably not as bad as a 1070 but you get the general idea.


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As long as get solid 60FPS on ultra settings and NO drops on whatever game I play I will be happy. Happy with solid 60FPS and my laptop temps colder

 

hey guys annoying me again.

finding some serious instability with the amplifier plugged in. So as a trouble shooting process I just wondered am I supposed to disable the other GPU's in device manager? (the intel 530 and laptop 1080).

thing is when everything works it's all buttery smooth without flaw, but I do notice games seem to take considerably longer to load for example....

Thanks

 

You should not have to disable anything in device manager. Sounds like you might have a driver issue. Try uninstalling Intel and Nvidida and then doing a clean install.