*OFFICIAL* Alienware 13 R3 Owner's Lounge

Done with the repaste. Will monitor temps over the next few days, but it seems to have made a few degrees difference. Idling around 33 degrees atm.

 

Great stuff

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Well, Happy New Year guys. It's been fun up here ... ))
See you all next year

 

Sure has!

Not been without its bumps though, orders on hold, deliveries, thermal issues.........

Got mine here now, Temps sorted and can only look forward to all the great times ahead, getting through all the bloody games I've purchased through the steam sale
(Plus a few xmas gifts)

2017 shall be a great year!
(Cyberpunk 2077 in particular!)

Happy new year to all the great members on here

Hope you all have a good'un!


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It happened to me once , Overwatch just froze and had to restart the system..
never happened again..What is your avg FPS in Overwatch , I get around 60 in 1080P Ultra..I have seen videos people getting 70-90FPS.. I don't run in performance mode ..

 

Has anyone had any issues with burn-in so far on the OLED panel?

 

I have the same occasionally when playing a game with a headphone. Don't know why either unfortunally.

 

Which methode did you use for the paste and what brand did you use? I got GC extreme and planned to repaste tommorow using x method.

 

Used Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut with the pea method.

 

Do you guys use the computer with "cpu performance mode" on? My cpu temp reaches 90 and my gpu throttles at 92 without it playing overwatch.

 

I had this same issue. You have to re-install the audio driver.

 

You probably have the fps limiter on, without it I reach 90-110 fps on epic @1080p.

 

Are yo

Are you using the cpu performance mode?

 

Hah now I'm having a 4.7% battery wear on HWiNFO64 and 5% on HWMonitor... It was perfect not too long ago. I'm not too worried as I'm sure they can get me a replacement battery, but I must admit that it does kinda suck. I'm hoping that the wear isn't actually the case as other members have stated, but we'll see as time goes on!

HWMonitor is saying 76000 mWh designed capacity, and 72443 mWh Full Charge Capacity

 

Ye i get 70 to 90 as well. Initially i had the same as you and i wondered why. Go into settings and change the fps limit to custom. The default aligns itself with the display refresh rate and it wont go above 60.

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Suggest check bios for speed of stock ram then buy ram with same speed.

My experience is when both 2 ram were 2400, then it fail to power on. When 1 x 2133 + 1 x 2400, it start up normally with bios report both rams ran at 2133. My conclusion is it's compatible with 2133 only.

I also installed Samsung EVO 960 and its work perfectly. Only thing you check is RAID mode in BIOS may have to be disabled otherwise Windows 10 clean install program may not recognize he drive. I am not sure pls check it yourself. Also suggest download and install latest driver.


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Why are you only getting 70-90 fps? Do you have an i5? It's odd as my unit is hovering around 90-130ish on epic... unless you're running at 1440p

 

Hi can I install an Msata drive in the Alienware 13? I ordered a config with a 256GB SSD and am wondering how to expand storage. (I did not want the 180+180 option, but wanted a 256+256 option instead as I had an Msata drive from an upgraded computer) I hope I can use this..

If an extra PCIe stick is the only option, can I use the Samsung 960 EVO PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD? (MZ-V6E250BW) ? reviews say we need 4 PCI lanes to get the speed benefits, not sure if that applies in this case..

 

What really? Im running ultra and 1080p and thats what i get. I have an i7, 8gb ram. What other settings do you have?

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I only touched the fps limit (custom) and the graphical setting (epic) @ 1080p. What is your gpu temps?

 

My temps are low 70s.. Never gets too high. Thats wierd cause when I checked youtube he got a similar fps.

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I did a repaste on mine using IC Diamond. My CPU cores idle temp are 38c and max out 81c in OCCT. It is 12c cooler now, max was 93c before repaste.

My GPU's before and after repaste didn't change at all, max temp playing BF1 is still 91c. I was expecting a lower temp and fan noise but it didn't.

The reason I repasted was bec. of loud fan noise, don't know what else you could do to lower the GPU temp to around 80c.

 

How in the world are you reaching those numbers? All youtube videos an my computer maxes out at 60 to 80 (sometimes even dipping below 60) on EPIC. Are you sure they didnt give you a 1070 by mistake!? haha .

Did you overclock the GPU?

 

does anybody now if dell provide replacement or just a refund for a faulty pc ?

 

I did do a clean install of windows... not sure if that helped. I do have to disclose that I have thermal issues on both the cpu and gpu side. Cpu max at 89 and gpu at 91.

 

My gpu is perfect but my cpu had very high temps. Put into cpu performance and underclocked the cpu. Perfect temps now.

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Are your gpu temps without the cpu performanc mode enabled in the bios? If not, that temp is amazing stock.

I called alienware tech support for the thermal issues & throttle and they concluded that it was totally fine and that everything was running within the design parameters... where the cpu was good for 100 degrees and gpu was good for 96 degrees. [stock w/o performance fan enabled]

He told me the throttles that we viewed via remote takeover on overwatch was due to "heavy server traffic due to the holidays... and it only lasts for a few seconds, it's fine".

 

Cpu performance mode is on. But on these machines i havent seen many gpu temperature problems anyhow. But that FPS is crazy.

Could someone please check overwatch and report the fps they get on EPIC and 1080p? Thanks!

 

It's really odd... I've been testing with other games and it seems that overwatch is pushing the gpu to high temps for me. Other games like battlefield take the gpu to high 70s vs overwatch taking it to 91.

Edit: Nevermind, still the same.

 

I re-installed the driver with no change (I assume this driver from the Dell Support website? Audio_Driver_WTH94_WN32_6.0.1.7926_A00.EXE. Is this the correct driver?). Interstingly, for Total War Warhammer, the distortion stopped when I went to Alienware sound and changed the sample rate to 44.1 kHz. This did not work for other games or for itunes however. Really unsure about what to do here. An Alienware service person should be calling me this week to troubleshoot.

 

Which audio driver am I reinstalling? I get lots of crackles - the crackles also seem to influence FPS in actual games. I have the biggest problem with Battlefield 1. Every few seconds the audio crackles and I get a stutter/freeze in the game itself. It's annoying...several restarts usually clears it up...but it always finds its way back into the mix.

 

Yes, Realtek ALC3266 Audio Driver. If this doesn't solve it, you may have to do a fresh windows install via boot media.

 

I posted this over on the Aero 14 thread but wanted to post it hear as well. After using a friend's Alienware 13r2 for a couple of weeks, I have to say I love the form factor of these smaller laptops but needed more cpu power than the 6500u. I was also spoiled by the OLED screen.... Anyhow, with current pricing discounts and cash back sites, you can get an Alienware 13r3 with an i7, OLED screen, 1x8GB, 6700HQ, and a 256 nvme SSD for around $1450 tax included. A similar specked Aero 14 from Xotic PC with 256 sata m.2 ssd, 1x8 ram, 6700HQ for $1449.

I did place an order for the 13R3 but due to a shortage of OLED panels, it will not ship out until the end of Jan. In talking with Xotic PC, it seems they take a couple of weeks to ship as well. The Dell advantages for me are:
1. OLED screen
2. TB 3
3. Alienware graphics amp (already own one)
5. Two m.2 slots
6. NVME ssd - not a big factor for me as I cannot tell any difference between an NVME and SATA in real world use.

Advantages for the Aero 14:
1. Two year warranty - Dell has a 1 year onsite (I will use a citi card which will extend this another 24 months for free - nice perk for the card. Also would extend the Dell for 24 additional months as well)
2. Battery life - I need 5 hours and the Alienware seems to fall just short of this. This is one of the biggest advantages of the Aero over the Dell for me
3. Thermals - thermals seem better on the Aero from what owners are saying. Although I would do a repast on the Dell with Grizzly Conductonaut. The Aero seems fine without a re-paste and doing so would appear to void the warranty - please correct me if I am wrong.
4. Form factor and weight - although not a huge factor for me.

The biggest factor holding me back on the Dell is the battery life. Is anyone getting 5 hours using the intel GPU? Primary use unplugged would be eclipse and wifi.

 

Please tell me how to get it for $1450 I'm very interested and what coupon did you use as well

 

Use code LAPTOP100 for $100 off. Also, ebates had 15% cash back. If you have or sign up for Dell rewards you will also get a 5% gift card back from Dell (about $75).With the upgrade to the oled panel and i7 CPU it comes out to $1665. Total with coupon and ebates cash back is 1665 - 100 - 144 = $1420. Add in the Dell rewards gift card and it comes down to around $1345. Also used a citi card for 2% back and citi also extend the warranty for 24 months.

 

Note that this is the first day of the new quarter for ebates. Cash back will not be paid until May 15. I was able to put the order in yesterday for this to make the Feb 15 payout.

 

Thanks for the reply, Thats a great price considering its usually 1700 with that config. Imma wait and see what ces 2017 has to offer with alienware before i make the jump! Hopefully kaby lake will make an appearance

 

Not sure who was chatting about it, but my Overwatch performance seems abysmally low as well!

My machine gets a 9600 in 3dMark Fire Strike (standard) - just like it should according to NotebookCheck's GTX 1060 laptop GPU review. Many other games seems to run well within the norms. Although I do notice some significantly lower performance than expected in some titles. For example, for Overwatch, at 1080P/Ultra presets...I run 30-60FPS...not kidding. Meanwhile, in Ultra in Battlefield 1, I'm getting 60FPS (multiplayer) (although at times it drops to 45FPS). Witcher 3 runs as expected (high or ultra with hair works off is mid 60s).

AC:Syndicate also runs well below the norm. I should be getting 60fps at the high preset (1080P), but instead run around 30-44FPS?

THe ONLY thing I can think of is I'm currently only running with 1 8GB stick of DDR4 RAM. Would that really make a difference? I don't see how that would impact Overwatch. Overwatch should be screaming...so I don't get what's up here.

 

I was getting pretty bad performance in Overwatch too, but then I plugged in the charger and got 90+ fps on Epic settings at 1080p (If I remember correctly, it was definitely consistently over 60fps). In my case it seemed like it wasn't using the GTX 1060 when off the power, but then started to use it when it was plugged in. Maybe it's an Optimus issue? Anyone know of a fix for this?


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I'm not 100% on this, but Im sure I read somewhere that the 1060 is used on battery but gimps the clock down as it can't draw enough power?

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Are you on battery or plugged in?

I would also check the nvidia control panel for overwatch settings and see if v-sync or the like is on from there.

I am also on 8 gb ram and get 60-90 on overwatch EPIC.

 

Hi guys, i just received my laptop today i can't wait to come back home to open it

 

Nice 1, What a start to the year

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No, my overwatch performance is on AC power. I checked several games last night after playing a round. Outside of AC:Syndicate, all the others seemed within spec. I ran a Fire Strike benchmark, Witcher 3, Mad Max, Battlefield 1. So colore me confused. I checked overwatch settings too; I have the framerate limit based on "custom" and 300 FPS max and no Vsync at all.

AC Syndicate is also lower than it should be by a bout 25 FPS.

 

Ok...so, I've found the problem, and I was somewhat suspecting it.

I disabled the Killer 1535 wifi card in the device manager and PRESTO. No more stuttering in games, and also most games make a jump in FPS performance. Some moreso than others. Overwatch runs as it should (90sh FPS at 1440P and 140sh at 1080P). AC: Syndicate now runs around 60 FPS at High settings.

I haven't tried every game, but it's clear the Killer 1535 card I have is crap. I started to suspect it a few days back when downloading Overwatch and the actual WIFI signal would drop to zero and then completely lose connection with my Wireless network (with the little red X). I had to go into airplane mode and back out of it to restore connectivity.

I have downloaded the latest drivers for all aspects of the card from Dell's website within the last few days. Full restarts multiple times over. So you tell me what's up? I've heard extremely mixed reviews on Killer products, and ultimately the brand must get by by appearing to cater to l33t gamerz or something. I've got an Intel 8260 on the way. Now if I can convince Dell to give me a credit for upgrading to Killer 1535 that would be great.

 

Over the last days I tried the opolar lc06, to see if it would help the AW13 dispel some of that heat.
I've got to say that it is almost useless, as it might just lower the temps by 4 °C max, so it's not worth it. This also tells me that dell did a good engineering job on the AW13, just to ruin everything with that crappy paste job.
Regarding battery wear it went up to 13% and it seems to have stopped there. What should I do? Is battery wear covered by extended warranty?

 

It's weird cause I hear people have problems with the Killer card, but I haven't had any problems with it so far


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Can confirm Bluetooth driver/card also interferes...so I have a bad card overall? Or bad drivers? Not sure...likely also the Gigabit LAN part of the card chipset is also causing issues, but I can't disable every aspect and still play games online.

At times, everything works perfect (no stuttering), but framerates were generally a little lower than I would expect across the board, especially in online titles. I just tried using my Bluetooth Xbox controller in Dying Light and Battlefield 1, and in both cases framerates would tank on and off. My controller would also drop connection and at least in Dying Light the game would actually freeze!

Disabling Bluetooth controller - suddenly I'm getting 10-20 FPS more in both those games.

 

I doubt this is going to happen. It sounds like you have a bad card, but they aren't going to credit you because you decided to get something else. If you wanted a credit your best bet would have been to go through the tech support process... They would have probably sent you another card and if you could prove the issue was still happening, then MAYBE they could have issued some sort of partial credit.

I haven't had any issues with my card, but i have also heard the mixed reviews. I don't think this is Dell's fault as they are not the only manufacturer that has chosen to use this card. It would have been nice if there was at least one other option, but i'm not going to sweat ~$25 and I can still swap it out for something else if I want.

 

Ditto.
Has been rock solid for me.
Downloading team games at 8.9mb solidly. Brilliant card.

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