*OFFICIAL* Alienware 13 R3 Owner's Lounge

Yeah I can download games at 14MB/s too, but it's pretty repeatable - peak performance is fine. I turn card on, get huge framerate issues. Disable Wireless/Bluetooth aspects of the card and everything works better. Even when things were working ok, I would quite often get the stuttering issue/framerate drops.

 

Yeah, that's what I figured...just annoyed I paid for the upgrade. 25 bucks to put the Intel card in there is chump change for the most part. I wonder if a normal uninstall process is fine, or should I run some sort of driver cleaner software?

 

That's crazy it's affecting framerates so much.
Wonder why it's only some cards?

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Can I get someone to give me screencaps of the Qualcomm Athers Bluetooth driver properties page, as well as the Killer Wireless driver properties?

Right now my BT is Driver Date: 8/30/2016 with Driver Version 10.0.0.279
Killer Wireless: 2/25/2016 with Driver Version 4.0.2.217

BTW, I noticed my driver version was later until I installed the offical driver install package from the Dell website for my Laptop - the install process said it was upgrading an older version, but when I looked at the 1535 driver it actually went from October back to this Feb 2016 driver. In both cases, the driver did not resolve any issues for me. It gave me heartache before and after driver installs.

I should also note that my crackling audio problems have also gone away since disabling the Killer card!

 

I got my new Alienware 13 over the weekend and I'm really loving it so far, battery wear is at 0% but I'm monitoring it closely to see what happens. I finally had a chance to fire up a game today and I'm having the same audio problem (popping & crackling) that a few others have experienced. It only happens while playing a game, normal youtube is fine. Whats weird is that not all games will do it. Out of the 4 games I have installed AoE 2 and Torchlight 2 have been fine but Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 have experienced the problem. Initially Torchlight 2 experienced the problem but after fiddling with the sampling rate it seemed to resolve itself however the Blizzard games audio problems remain. Switching between Gaming and Music also didn't resolve the issue.

 

Just used the "search online" function and my driver on the Wireless side was upgraded to 10/20/2016 and version 12.0.0.285. This was what I had before I installed the official Dell driver...

 

I repasted using GC Extreme. Unfortunatly no effect. :-( The CPU temps are still high. Before paste I could run 5 sec OCCT, now I can run 1,5 min. But core reaches 91 degrees.
Can anyone share how they run OCCT?
Running prime95 also reaches 91 degrees, but it now takes a lot longer.
Tried repaste with x and pea method, both not really helping.

 

How much paste are you using?

 

Like a thick peak. Made a picture.

Is it too much? And how should I screw back the screws? In sequential order or like a car tyre? Like 1-3-4-2. The service manual mention in sequential order.

 

This might be a year old, but I'm betting the real issue I'm having with the network adapter is software related.

http://www.pcgamer.com/motherboards-with-killer-network-adapters-arent-worth-your-money/

The conclusion states:

"Besides questionable test results, the software has a long history of annoying users, and while newer packages have filed off some of the sharp edges, I still experienced settings that would not retain changes after reboot and network rules that applied arbitrarily."

Apparently Killer's implementation of DPCs can cause major stalls in system operation - and the software that attempts to mux all it's settings together to serve up "gamers needs" ends up being a drain on the system. Obviously each one of our systems has a variant of software installed, so there might be something on mine that results in bad Killer software interference and a drain on processing resources. Ultimately, it sounds best to get the simple straightforward Intel setup in my system as it doesn't rely on any software backend constantly running in the system tray.

 

Can I get a link to the card your getting?

 

Completely interesting. I use a Bluetooth controller AND I have dying light. I'm going to check that out. I did think frames should be higher for a 1060 on preset max settings


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Pretty straightfoward, just search for Intel 8260 M.2, but here is an Amazon link:

http://a.co/aGAUy8E

 

I downloaded the latest drivers from Killer's websites, but those are the ones I already have installed. I also just tried to uninstall the Killer Network Suite, but I still get poor framerates as well as stutters and lurches in many titles regardless. So my theory that Killer Suite is causing the problems is wrong. I could have faulty hardware, but perhaps there are still calls at the driver level that result in these system pauses/freezes. I'll have the Intel card on Wednesday to test and share my results. If I can't resolve it, this system will be going back. It's unacceptably bad, especially the lurches in framerates.

Dying light was only a minor improvement (maybe 10 FPS), but I'm playing offline. This is also Dying Light EE, so I'm not sure what the impact of all the "Enhancements" are on overall performance i see elsewhere on the internet. But I saw several videos hitting the 90s in the game but I'm not sure if those are for the EE, or base edition of the game? Since there is no benchmark, I can't get a ton of control during each sequence.

EDIT: I did a few very similar runs in Dying Light:EE - with and w/o all the killer devices disabled. With it disabled, on mostly all High settings @1080p (I don't think it's max settings) - I averaged high 50s to low 60s for the most part.

EDIT 2: Decided to remove the Killer M.2 Card...using an external USB TP-Link Wireless Dongle. Dying Light now runs with the lowest FPS at around 60-65 FPS, but averages in the 70s. This is so weird.

When I enable Killer Devices (BT, Wireless, Gigabit); I get 30s to low 50s. I disabled/enabled, and it was completely repeatable. With it all disabled, the game was fine at around 60FPS. The lurches to the 30s are very noticeable in the game, at times it may have dipped below.

Sorry to spam this thread - I'll stop now until I get the Intel card to swap out.

 

How bad is the resolution scaling on the OLED model? I currently ordered a 15R3 1070 but I think I might cancel it and get the 13R3 OLED model + AGA even though the OLED model is back ordered until February.

Without the AGA, I would be playing games in 1080p on the 13R3. How bad is the resolution scaling from 1440p -> 1080p? That was a big problem with my rMBP. Downsizing the resolution to 1080p made it really blurry in Dota 2.

Also, what price point should I shoot for when calling Dell to haggle? I'd just be getting the base i7 model with OLED, maybe bump up the ram to 16gb. I was going to buy a m2 850 EVO as a secondary drive for more storage and install it myself.

 

I would say 1080P upscaled on the 13" OLED screen is near impossible to tell with native resolution. 1080P upscaled on my external IPS DELL LCD (27") isn't as great (obviously). I will say I've had some odd issues with some games not properly running in full-screen mode at less than native resolution. Mainly this has been with Ubisoft titles (Syndicate and The Division).

 

Thank you, I don't know much about OLED technology, and I didn't know how it handles scaling compared to a normal LCD monitor. But at 13" I probably wouldn't notice.

I just canceled my order and going to call Dell once I get home from work to order a 13R3 OLED.

 

One issue I've seen, is with games not running at the native 1440p.

This has been resolved by changing the windows scaling from 175% (or whatever you have it set at) to zero.

Seems some games go off the damn Windows scaling.

Other than that 1080p looks brilliant. Doom ultra is really nice (bit of an oxymoron that I guess, looks f#####g epic rather!)

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Nope, I've not changed modes (I suspect my numbers would be even better if that were the case).

 

I'm not sure of the exact cause but I've found that my framerate get cut in half when running on battery. There's a possibility that this could be fixed by tweaking a few setting but I'd rather play it safe and not stress the system too much.

 

It's a power level limit. The system will disable higher PL's. (I think PL3-5). So yeah, it effectively cuts power in half, and framerates as well. I like how quiet the system runs on battery though. Obviously you won't be able to hit 60fps in demanding games though without a big reduction in quality or resolution. I'd like a "quiet" profile on MAINS as well! Please Alienware!

 

You can also find the EXE for any game with issues and right click, open properties, then go to compatibility. There's a setting for "disable scaling for high DPI monitors" that will free the EXE from scaling problems, although it doesn't always solve issues. I still can't get Syndicate to scale right.

 

I am having the same issue. If I mute the audio and then test the speakers I hear a faint popping sound. I hear it when I start xcom and random times you would hear a short noise the popping sound accompanies it.

Edit: I think downloading and installing the drivers listed on the support page fixed the problem. They are one day older than the one's I had installed. (7/15 vs 7/16) http://www.dell.com/support/home/us...nware-13-laptop&languageCode=en&categoryId=AU

 

Is Tobii working for everyone? For me its great when I actually leave and it'll dim and shut off my display. But when im right in front fo the screen, it constantly wants to dim my display. Shouldn't it recognize that I'm in front of the screen?

 

I did come across that option the other day........ but unfortunately for me it doesn't work for any game

Adjusting the scaling back to zero was the only thing that gave me the full 1440p.

Bit annoying but only need to do this for a few games.

Strange that it looks to the scaling for the displays resolution though and not recognise it a native 1440p.

Great info though, took me awhile to find that compatibility option

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Thanks man, Im a little worried Id get the wrong connector if I decided to get one. Did this for the RAM and accidentally bought DDR3L2 or something. Ive been out of the computing game for too long and no idea what anything means anymore! Was much simpler back in the day.

So Im a little worried about the noise my fans make. Ive seen some videos on the internet and the fan noise they have is completely different. Theirs is like a low whooshing sound Id expect, my fan noise when it ramps up is a really high pitch whine, like a bearing is struggling slightly. My temperatures are fine and the fans seem to do the business. Its also not too loud, being completely silent at idle and manageable volume at full tilt. But its just a bit of an odd noise, not what Id expect from a laptop fan noise. Furthermore the pitch of the fans changes drastically if I close the lid, and becomes much higher pitch and sounds even more strained. The pitch/tone of the right fan is slightly weirder than the left.

Anyone else get this? What are the implications of having slightly shonky bearings in a fan? My temps are fine and all, but I dont want a fan to give up and it to cook my chips. Are they easy to replace?

 

Can you disabled software but have wireless card still work? Or is the problem in the drivers?

 

It's a bit hard to work mirroring what you did. I'm assuming you had v-sync off and this was at 1080p? You also say mostly high settings. So I don't no what isn't.
Basically. I kept the killer app enabled. Used a Bluetooth controller. Put the settings on quality minus film grain cos I can't stand that gritty look.
On 1440p I was getting around 40-50fps.
On 1080p I got around 90fps. But this was a test in one section so can't confirm it as gospel.
I'll try again same thing but without Bluetooth connection later as I ended up playing rainbow siege with my brother.
But yea list what you settings you actually used and what was off. It makes it hard to gauge when you change things from default high settings


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I am returning an MSI GS43VR due to microscuttering (unfortunately, replacing the WiFi card in that machine is a pain) and a dead pixel. I am thinking of getting this or wait for the leaked XPS 9560, but first, I got a couple of questions to ask.

How is the battery life on this with the OLED screen? Can yous squeeze 4-5 hours?

Other than the Killer WiFi card, any other major issues I should be aware of?

The machine itself is 2.6kg, how much is the adaptor?

 

No way your squeezing 4-5 hours out of this. I feel like maybe 3. But I got oled. But I don't put the brightness down so low because it's really dark otherwise. My unit was perfect...at least for me. I didn't need to repaste.
The only thing is the batter wear is random and may need monitoring.


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Thanks for the answer. The battery wear is a pit -I hate Dell's QC lottery.

 

So finally got a reply from dell regarding the battery issue.

I told them the issue of battery wear and they have been looking into this for a week (or so) a dell technical manager has stated that this is an issue and so are replacing my battery.
Unfortunately they wont ship it out to me as its a 'technical issue' hmmm
Still trying to get the battery shipped to me as its such an easy replacement.

 

So they want you to send the notebook back?

 

Yeah, I think some games aren't all that responsive to this setting. Syndicate acts the weirdest for me. Sliding the scaling bar to ZERO might solve it...but that's hella annoying.

The only setting reduced was "shadow map quality" I think (from very high to high). The sequence I ran was leaving Rais's "safe house" pretty early in the base game (lots of zombies outside). Are you playing the enhanced edition or base version of the game? I don't think EE has presets, but maybe I missed it?

I don't expect everyone to have issues! If your card is good, that's great. The fact my Wireless card would lose connection to WIFI (just happened again yesterday at a public hotspot) and that my Xbox controller would lose connection frequently indicates I had a dud piece of hardware. This is after multiple driver re-installs. I haven't done a windows reset, but that's always a last resort.

I know several folks have complained of micro-stutters, and crackling audio - and my current theory is this MIGHT be the DPC (deferred procedure calls) from Killer software on the system. Since removing or disabling the card, I do not get audio crackling (static pops) or any other stutters in system performance.

I should warn anyone...if you replace your wireless card, be very careful of the U.FL connectors on the antenna wires. I sheared off the cap on the M.2 card itself pulling off the main antenna lead. I need to clean the metal ring out of the antenna wire before I can install the new Intel 8260! Luckily, the antenna lead wires themselves are fine, but my Killer 1535 is now a dud because of that.

 

That's interesting, I feel like I easily get 4, and that average battery life is confirmed using the powercfg -batteryreport tool. I'm not even running the battery saver mode either. I think the OLED should be averaging around 4-4.5 hours max to the average user under light load.

 

My fans have slight high pitched whine at full load, depending on how the laptop is positioned. The acoustics are the best when sitting on a flat surface. The fans are the biggest dissapoitment to me with this laptop - but apparently they are quieter than the competition? I recorded 49-50 dB yesterday playing Dying Light. This was 12 inches from the front of the monitor too. Extra weird because my CPU gets to maybe 82C under full load, and my GPU never gets above 75-77C.

 

No, sorry.

They won't ship the battery for me to replace.
They have to send a tech out to carry the work out.

Not a big job at all.

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It's literally unscrewing several screws on the backpanel, removing SSD, disconnecting WiFi card, lifting the shroud, and lifting the disconnected battery. Don't know why Dell is pushing for a tech to do the replacement. If i were in your shoes, I would tell him to give me the battery and he can watch haha. I wouldn't trust those guys even w/my 4 year old M14x R2

 

Haha, yup.

I knew it was bad when I had to tell the tech that the motherboard does not need removing for battery install.
He just wouldn't believe me! After a good 5-10mins he said oh yeah the 13 is different to the rest of the range.......oh dear.

Worst case is (If they will not send a battery out) to have her all dismantled and ready for the new battery. He can plug it in and ill do her back up!

 

Do you have CPU or fan performance enabled? My GPU got up to 93C after 5 hours of OCCT+Prime95+Unigine Heaven without any performance settings but with an undervolt of -0.140. CPU reached up to 85C. Anyone think I should do an exchange, or should I just repaste? I saw one post saying that repasting doesn't help with the GPU temps which is making me hesitant. Can anyone post their GPU temps before and after a repaste?

 

At least if something wrong happens they cannot blame you.
So how much wear did you have? I'm at 13% at the moment.
Also is there any chance that you could get a repaste with battery replacement? I guess not but...

 

That's really high for the GPU. I'd aim for 65-72 max. Treat the GPU like your CPU and repaste. Seeing as the GPU shares the same heat sink with the CPU, it's all the more reason to do so.

 

Ditto, 13% here.
Don't see why not, just ask him to do it. Once the backs off its only the heat sink screws to take off. 10 min job, clean and reapply.

 

72 max you say?

Mine has now settled on 74 max load. Fans a tad on the loud side but headphones so doesn't bother me.
wouldn't mind getting the HWinfo fan control working with the 13.

 

I'll contact them and try to get a new battery and a repaste.

 

I would do, as 13% wear after a few weeks is just not right.
Give them proof of your temps for the repaste and im sure they'll sort it out for you.

 

I'm very particular so 72 is my threshold. Anything south of 80 is perfectly fine though. I believe the card auto-throttles at 82

 

Mine was 71 after the repaste.
Slightly creeped up to but won't go over 74 now. Happy with that.

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Neither fan performance mode or CPU performance mode enabled. Fan performance mode is ridiculous (max RPMs on the fans all the time). I haven't tried CPU performance mode, but my understanding is that makes the fans run 100% of the time?

CPU performance migth actually be better, since noise is minimal at lower RPMs. The fans are pretty impossible to hear unless you put your ear to the bottom of the laptop at their lowest settings. I could argue that fans on all the time might actually better since the bottom gets quite warm at times and uncomfortable on the lap. I'm not 100% sure what triggers fans to kick on, but when they do, the bottom gets cooled off quite nicely and it's more comfortable on the lap. But for the most part, when just browing the web, watching youtube, doing office work, the laptop is completely silent and the fans are off - it's just radiating a lot of heat off the bottom!

As for your temps - I'd just monitor to see if any sort of throttling is going on in games. Your temps are within Spec (100C is the max) - and 5 hours of 3 benchmarks running is a ridiculous test that in no way reflects how you will actually use the machine. Play your favorite demanding game for an hour and what are your max temps in HWInfo?

 

Thanks for your input, I'll try it on a flat surface. I havent got a Db meter but I dont think my fans are that loud, I only notice them when theyre spinning up and then they just sound a bit weird. Im pretty deaf though - too much clubbing.

I've yet to see my GPU break much past 75, although the most intense test of it I've done is ~11 hours of Civ 6 (OCCT didnt turn it on). Thats max temp, after fans ramp up and then back down it sits around 60-65. I got the new Doom last night so will give that a whirl, it might be higher? Although the 30ish mins I had it on last night didnt produce markedly different results to Civ 6. Ive got my fan on whatever it came out of the box in, which I assume is not performance enabled and I havent undervolted or repasted anything. My ambient temperature is at 19-21C. I usually have my computer on my lap on a metal frame with holes in which might help (I dont have a desk at home at the moment).

I dunno if this helps at all. But I would guess that if mine doesnt hit the 90s after an extended Doom session then there must either be a physical difference between the machines, me having it on my lap on that frame works a charm, or the room your playing in is really hot - that would be the logical conclusion right?

If it was a physical difference that makes yours hotter I would want an exchange, if I was in your position. Theres a lot of variables though. I'll play doom on a piece of wood or something later and let you know how that goes.