*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R1/R2 Owner's Lounge

Put power plan to maximum performance.

 

I trynot change

 

????

 

Sorry my English, but I tried not change continues to 0.80 GHz

 

Set minimum and maximum processor state to 100% in advanced power management (high performance). Both battery and power.

 

does not work, only happens with 240W source, we leave more information

 

Run a reflash of bios. You can also put bios in default setting.

 

I put the a02, with default values and as usual, most do not

 

Run a Cinebench 11.5 test and monitor the clock speed and temperature with Hwinfo64. Set up Hwinfo such as picture and post the results.
http://downloads.guru3d.com/CineBENCH-11.5-download-2475.html

 

I could not use Hwinfo64 Monitoring BSOD when activated, instead I used CPUID HWmonitor
these are the results

 

Which version Hwinfo64 you tried to use?
The result is tragic... Test only with multi tread (all cores) Not single core and openGl.

 

Have you disabled/enabled the OC options in the BIOS (it can mess with turbo boost)?
Do you not have a 180w PSU at hand?

 

BTW OC should be enabled or disabled? It is enabled by default as far as I remember

 

the latest version you have on your web x64, I tried 1.16 pts, temperature and other remains as before without change

I have disabled, unchanged, if I have the 180W psu, but I consider using the 240W for performance boots

yes, I tried it with and without, and has not improved


I gather that is a problem in recognizing the PSU, either charge the battery

 

I just read a new review on this device with some serious complaints about thermals, even with the Core i5 model... I'm about to buy this thing for a great price but I need to hear people say that it isn't as bad as what they said, not even CLOSE. I mean 135°F (~57.22°C) on the bottom side of the case is unacceptable when under load, let alone 15 minutes of streaming HULU! This can't be right, but I need to make sure first.

Here is the link: http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/alienware-15-2015

 

I remember it getting abnormally warm during idle when I had it (both bottom and keyboard), don't have specific temps though.

 

I would try with the 180w PSU. Seems like that's one option you haven't tried yet.
Ignore the performance boost for now. We need to get that CPU to work properly.

 

with 180W PSU works fine, but I hate Dell sends me a 240W PSU and not work

 

Some more tests... http://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-15.137077.0.html

 

Hi everyone, I have not been on these forums for about 2 years now, just Ordered an upgrade to my r4. 15 w/ 980m. I wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions for the laptop, (i.e easy upgrades, things recommended to buy, performance tweaks etc.,) I already caught myself up with the 180PSU vs 240PSU debacle and will be requesting a 240 watt adapter when I get my computer. Again, great to be back on this forum. Only recognize a few old timers

 

hello, just got the aw 15 with i5-4210H and gtx970m, everything seems quite ok but I wanted to ask if its worth buying amplifier? or maybe the processor is too weak and it couldnt use the GA potential? If so, how may I upgrade it to the i7 and how much it would cost?

 

You can't upgrade your processor, it's soldered to the motherboard. You'll have to buy a new laptop if you want an i7.

 

well, I guess Im pretty f****d up then

 

How long have you had it and where'd you get it from?

You may still have time to return it.

 

The i5 on the 15 will be just fine for the GA. Unless you are an extreme gamer or work on software that actually utilize i7, you are perfectly fine with i5. I've been playing all the recent games with the i5 without any issues (with 970m).

By the time you'd feel the need to replace the CPU (in 4-5 years of time) you'd want to replace everything else as well anyway. Just replace the laptop. Paying 150+ dollars more for an i7 was not justifiable in my case. Think of it as... an investment for the future purchase. Why pay for extra if you don't need it?

Also speaking of the GA, I honestly don't think you need one now - maybe in the future. I suspect that you are not a hardcore gamer by the look of getting i5 and 970m in the first place... so be happy with what ya got and get the buyer's remorse outta the way Don't let some of these people sway you from your purchase. If you are happy with it... stick with it. They may have returned it for their problems, but you make your own decision. Also remember, often times, people with problems post here, and those that are happy with it... are probably busy enjoying it

 

Thanks for the answer, it made my day better ) I have another question - just downgraded bios from a01 to a00 and the cpu/gpu temperature changed dramatically. Iv'e played gta 5 at very high settings for few hours and max temperature for cpu was 71C and for gpu 60C while with a01 it was 10-15C higher. Maybe fans are working too much? now it spins almost all the time while on a01 it started to spin only at high temperature. Should I stick with a00, or rewrite to a newer bios version?

 

Stick with a00 for now.

 

Anybody tinkered with the vbios yet? People with MXM cards have been able to push the core to as high as 1400 Mhz. Any idea if the vbios is seperate or integrated with the bios? I hope it is seperate...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Is it just me or the 2015 AW15's boot speed is slow even with an SSD?

I have the OS (Windows 8.1 Pro) fresh installed onto the 128GB M.2 SSD on a new AW 15 (i7-4710mq, gtx 980m). Bios was set to AHCI btw. Installed latest drivers from Dell website and some directly from Intel/Nvidia. Latest patches applied.

When Windows boots up, the slow part occurs during the "spinning circle" screen. Normally on my desktop and other laptops equipped with SSD's, it would only spin once or twice before it boots into desktop. But on the AW15 it would spin like 5 full circles (10 "half" circles if you know what I mean), thus delaying the total boot time significantly (something like 24 seconds, which is very slow by the standard of Win8 + SSD).

I have the 1TB HDD replaced with a 1TB Crucial M550 SSD, and then tried loading the OS to that drive. Same thing, faster by maybe 1-2 seconds. Still many spins. So I know it's not the drive speed.

Any idea what's causing the slowness? Can you report your AW 15 2015's boot time with SSD + Win 8.1 from cold press to full desktop ready?

 

Using Samsung EVO 840 with Win 8.1 (before I went to win 7) it was less than 5 seconds, 10 max.

 

Not with cold boot... Hybrid Boot with win 8 "yes"

 

I'm talking about cold boot only. How many times does your Windows 8.1 boot screen circle spin?

I've been experimenting with some stuff, and found out that the Creative Recon 3Di audio driver alone adds about 6 seconds to boot time (2 full spins). If you guys want to try, uninstall it and see if your boot speed decreases.

 

Hello. I got my AW15 with the i7 processor, GTX 980 GPU and the 180W as well as the 240W (180 for office, 240 for home and gaming). Mine came with the A01 BIOS. I've been confused reading some posts here. What BIOS version would you recommend given I have the 240W PSU and the a01 BIOS?
Thanks in advance

 

I believe A00 is the best BIOS so far if you have the 240W PSU, as it will not try to draw extra power from the battery (thus decreasing its lifespan). It does run a bit noisier than A02 because it comeswith a more aggressive fan profile, but at the same time it will cool better as well.

 

Hi I'm new to the forums.
So i just got the 240W PSU on friday and because Dell forgot to send the cable that is compatible with the 240W PSU(I borrowed a compatible one from a friend) i got to keep both until they send me said cable. So today i been testing with both PSU's and i can confirm without bias that the A00 offers better performance, but my issue comes from the fact that the 240W one doesn't give the expected performance improovements in fact it seems that i got the same or better results with the 180W one.
Anyone has any ideas?

I got the 980 & 4710 one btw.

 

Which benchmark did you run and was the power options profile set to high performance?

 

The 240w run only with 75-80% because of the stupid bios.

 

Hi.
Thanks for the quick reply i have been testing only with the benchmark on games such as: re5 dx9, lostplanet extreme condition dx10 and s.t.a.l.k.e.r. Call of Prypiat and yes the power profile is set to high performance.

 

Not sure if those games are enough to show the small difference. The earlier results that showed improvements were 3D Mark I think, which is a synthetic benchmark that stresses both the GPU and CPU.

 

Well the benchmark on the Dx10 version on Lost Planet gives the computer a run for it's money on the A02 i saw the fps drop to 54ish and in the A00 bios remain above 60 but the average was superior with the 180 PSU showing something like 100 fps average on the 180W one and 80 fps on the 240W.

 

I see that must be the problem.
But everything runs way better with A00.

 

Give a big thanks to Dell....

 

Thanks for the quick reply! one more thing> I'm still on the A01 BIOS. When I play Dragon Age with everything maxed except AA, HWinfo64 shows CPU temps around 81C and GPU at 72C. The CPU won't go above 2800MHz. Is this because the game is more GPU bound than CPU bound? or do I have some limit or problem? are the temps ok? I'm new on the laptop gaming arena. I'm on the 240W PSU with the High performance profile.

Thanks in advance!

 

A00 is kinda fine in some games and iffy on others guess it's the 180W psu but got poor fps on payday just now.

 

I have it discovered the problem with my source 240W is not original dell, sorry and thanks for your help

 

Well i think that Delta makes all of the PSU's for Dell even if it says Dell on it.

 

No... Also Flextronics making Power units to Dell. Delta is mostly 330W.

 

Does anyone know how to clean the palm rest of the Alienware 15. I use an external keyboard with my laptop and touch it occasionally but it got a layer of grease/oil around the trackpad etc. The same is with my Mionix Naos 7000. These are all soft to touch but grease magnets :/. Any suggestions how to make them look new again?

 

What is the difference between the i5 and i7 version of this laptop? I am really wanting to buy one but I am super cheap and would love to save some $$ and get the i5. Do any games use the i7 (GTA V)? I want the laptop to last a few years and feel like the 970m would but I am not so sure about the i5.

 

Mobile i7 is typically quad core and can run 8 threads, mobile i5 is typically half the cores and threads. Nowadays more applications and games are optimized to take advantage of the i7 cores and threads. Safe to say GTA V is probably one of those games. Everyone wants to be as cheap as possible, but I'd pair the 970m with at least an i7 to keep it relevant longer.