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

I'm having trouble finding instructions on how to do this. Can anyone link it to me? Thank you

 

I'll post that picture of it today morning. Its midnight now. So, bear with me.

 

READ!!

 

thank you. Man, that looks so complicated.... don't understand half the stuff

 

Follow above picture posted by @j95
If you're using mobile nvidia keep NvVAD folder otherwise you lose HDMI audio through dGPU.

 

Alienware 15 r2 owner here.

I am out of warranty and recently broke my screen. Was wondering if anyone can give me a few options for screen replacement (would install myself) and if now is a good time to possibly upgrade from the generic PnP 1920x1080 32bit screen it came with.
Laptop uses a GTX 970m (wish I got the 980m) and I do get quite a bit of screen tear in games. Always bitter I didn't get a laptop with g-sync and a better display haha. Any info would be greatly appreciated

 

I wish I knew what you mean by follow the above picture.... the folders on the right are from a downloaded driver. How do I install that driver? I tried already downloading these two files:



Installing the driver the normal way doesn't work.

These instructions look super complicated:


Is this the same as:

 

Do you have Teamviewer installed?

 

I can install it. I actually just followed all the last set of instructions and was able to install the driver. Not sure what to do with the INF file now.

 

INF AFAIK, only for MXM GPU on maxwell.

 

My CUDA DLL file seems to be different from the one pictured. I guess it's bc it's a different driver. Anything else I need to do? delete any folders?

 

Don't need INFs. Just proceed with the install.

 

Purchased a used 15r2 and it has the 1.3.12 BIOS. It has a 6820HK but is stuck at the 3.6 GHZ limit for overclocking. Does anyone know which BIOS allows for a custom overclock over 3.6 ghz without using the oc1, oc2 settings etc?

 

You need to enable CPU performance mode in BIOS, afterwards use either XTU or ThrottleStop to OC CPU.

 

Did all that - followed the guides on these forums. Intel XTU is showing 4 GHZ enabled on all 4 cores yet the CPU will not clock over 3.6 ghz for all 4 cores on any test/benchmark.

 

what are your temps?

 

Ok got everything to work. When I set the multiples in XTU to 4.1 on all cores it ramped above 3.6 to 4.1 - they were set on 4.0. Strange it was stuck on 3.6.

 

good.

 

Just let all of you khow that yesterday, Dell tech came to my house with something that they called brand new motherboard. This time they not only brought the mobo but also new fans, new heatsink, new 240W power brick and also new hdd and replaced all of them. Well, after all of that effort, the throttle still exist as today, I played the witcher 3 and it still down clock to somewhat 1.X - 2.1Ghz after 15' playing games. Firestrike combined test shows the same result.

 

Contact @judal57 he's the one who helped me fix and resolve AW 15 issues.

 

use throllestop. also you have to find the perfect undervolt for cpu core and cache. if you want to remove the problem entirely i highly suggest you to try liquid metal thermal paste like liquid ultra or Thermal Grizzly conductonaut. out there you can find a lot of videos showing how to make it properly, try fujipoly thermal pads. for your model all of them are 0,5mm. in my case i can play at 3,5ghz on all core without throtlling (BUT) without gpu OC. i prefer the gpu OC, so my daily profile is 3,2ghz on all cores and gpu OC (gtx970m as you) and all run perfect without any problem. i played witcher 3 too, but play a lot of PUBG at this moment. in fact my temperatures are so good that i dont need the custom fan profile anymore... i am using stock A09 fan tables :S. i use a steklo Xstand to let the fans take the proper air

 

Don't forget about neodymium magnets mod you did. Did Dell tweak the fan profile or did Winter/snow/cold temps did the job?

 

Hey guys, I'm thinking about passing on my Alienware r2 and wanted to clean it up a bit but I'm having a bit of trouble with the bios. It's not necessarily creating any problems but for some reason when I power on the laptop it seems to shut down while it's trying to post and then powers right back on by itself, then posts, then boots the OS. I don't really want to pass it on with this weird quirk. I tried updating the bios by launching the executable(.exe) update that I downloaded from Dell. But since it's doing this weird shut down thing while it's trying to post it seems to forget that it was updating in the 1st place after it shut down and then boots back up as if it never happened. I read that I should launch the bios update with a bootable flash drive using DDDP. Any opinions there? If not can someone walk me through really quick on what to do with this .exe file and the DDDP software. I know the bios update process can be sensitive so I just want someone who's familiar with it to give me a really quick walk through just to make sure I don't skip any steps, even if it is very simple. Thanks for any help guys.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

Dell Diagnostic ISO is not even needed. Just copy the BIOS EXE file to your FAT32 usb drive on root of the drive. Then turn on your PC, press f12 and before hitting Dell Flash Update plug in the usb drive and select the option. Use tab key to highlight each option in Dell Flash Update utility and choose correct usb drive and the exe and rest is automatic. Wait for 5 mins and everything is done. Make sure you have AC power connected.
EDIT: Pray to God that the flashing the BIOS will be a success. Thanks @Papusan

 

Hello!

1) My current bios is 1.3.9 Should I update to the latest 1.3.12?

2) Also, I did some research. I've found that the fans speed highly dependent on GPU temperature.
I started CPU stress test with XTU. During 20 min CPU temp was ~80C degree. And fans were spinning slowly!! During this test GPU temp was ~57C.
Then, I started GPU test with another program. When GPU temp reached 60(or 70, I don't remember exactly), the fans were spinning fast.
Did you notice it?

There is no fan control in native bios. Therefore, is it possible to control fans via custom bios such as prema mod?

 

I have 1.3.12 installed that fixes the HT bug issue. Anyway they will be releasing a new BIOS update with updated MEI Firmware to address the MEI exploits.
You can control fans using HWINFO.

 

What is HT bug issue? Also, I know about hwinfo. But I would like to do it via bios...

 

http://bfy.tw/FugT

Not possible. Dell is one of the few OEM's who don't want offer manual fan controll in their software.

 

The thing sis, that screenshot comes from Gigabyte. I owned that exact laptop and the fan control didnt even work.

Bios solutions would be better.

 

Yeah, software can be buggy. Can't speak for all brands new or old models if it work correctly or not. Most OEM's have some sort of fan controll in their software package nowadays (can't think all of them have software who dont work). Let the people have the option... Software or software in combination with Bios (make what will work best). But offer people Nothing is exactly what it is... Nothing, rinneh. Cheaper and easier push it's customers to use 3rd party software like Hwinfo. That was my point. Dell isn't less capable to make similar software than all the other OEM's. All is about the will, money and want.

 

Can bios update failure to brick our laptop?

 

Use Dell Flash Update utility. Copy the EXE to usb driver and Press F12 upon seeing Alienware Logo and select Dell BIOS Flash Update.
Use Tab key to select/highlight option to select usb drive and the File. By doing this the risk is lowest.
Make sure there is AC power or connect to UPS just in case electricity is down for any reason.

 

Unfortuantely it can, in some cases you can restore it. but not always. depends the laptop model and brick type.

 

Looking for a custom vbios for the GTX 970m

 

if you have the 2015 model like 15 R1 or 17R2 i can help you with that

 

Yes it is a 15 r2 with a 3GB GTX970m and an Intel i7 4720hq

 

I can to wake up the laptop from sleep by hitting power button and mouse , but I can't do it via keyboard. Why? Is it normal?

 

I have alienware 15 r2; radeon M390x.

what the **** the Intel HD Graphics are being used for a game I play called PSOBB- any known way to entirely turn off the Intel HD Graphics? I don't need the Intel graphics at all. it serves no purpose to me.

apparently PSOBB only runs on display adapter one, and you cannot make it work on a second graphics card in a dual GPU system. no matter what settings used, the system won't put PSOBB on the Radeon, even when you choose "high performance" in the old Radeon control panel that lets you pick which GPU the game is supposed to run on.

heard of possible custom BIOS for Alienware 15 R2 'unlocked' or something, which has option to disable Intel HD Graphics.

Intel HD Graphics run super slow, can't even run it at 1080p without frame rate dropping big time (had to drop to 720p), and can't turn on any advanced AA modes of the Radeon graphics- Intel control panel doesn't have **** for AA modes.

 

I think you're using really old drivers of Intel and AMD. Consider using DDU to wipe older drivers and installing new ones.

 

nope I have the latest released 2018. it's not a driver/software issue- many old games are hardcoded to work on the first GPU in the system. PSOBB is one of them. research PSOBB, it's a known issue that in Optimus/AMD configs with Intel HD Graphics, the discrete GPU cannot be used. what people with Alienware's have done before is install custom unlocked BIOS, which enables a disabled BIOS feature to "DISABLE INTEL HD GRAPHICS" so its no longer detected by Windows, and the discrete graphics is used for everything.

I don't know why Intel graphics is even there. like there's no benefit for gaming systems at all. the performance sucks balls so bad.. everything performs worse from desktop to apps and games with Intel HD Graphics.

 

Actually Intel GPU controls what/which apps must use Radeon GPU. Any luck configuring Switchable gfx profile to use dGPU while you're playing PSOBB.

 

there's absolutely no ability to configure switchable graphics on modern drivers that I know of- it's all auto configured. In the old Radeon control panel it had switchable graphics there, but it didn't recognize PSOBB as an app, so it couldn't be assigned to any particular GPU, only auto assigned to Intel HD Graphics. and no Intel driver does not control it. It only works if the game/software actually supports being switched to another graphics processor. PSOBB is one game that does not.

Here give it a shot. go to https://ephinea.pioneer2.net/ download it, install it, and try it.

you will never get it to switch from the Intel HD Graphics to dGPU. if you manage to, let me know!

 

Looks like nvidia doesn't have a game profile for that game in my driver 388.71. You can use nvidia inspector and download nvidia inspector profile and use search bar to see if there's a profile for ur game.

 

check this out https://www.pioneer2.net/community/threads/laptop-graphics-card.3838/

using profiles and stuff won't work for this game. some old games absolutely do not support running on anything but the default adapter. can't be changed unless you disable Intel HD Graphics entirely, unless NVidia or AMD somehow know how to fix their crappy driver to work for this game..

 

Good day,

I have a question about the drivers for Alienware 15 R1.

I need to reinstall my laptop and I saw somewhere a post where the user said that it's better to stick with the default Windows drivers, instead of the ones available on the Dell website, is it true?

I am not talking about the NVidia drivers, but about everything else, like wireless, sound, etc.

Or should I dowoad everything from the Dell support page and install it as soon as I finish installing Windows?

I am going to be installing the latest version of Windows 10, that I created using the Windows media tool.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

Get AW Command Center, AW OSD(made for 15 r3), KIONIXX freefall(Made for 15 r2 or 15 r3),Realtek sd card reader from Dell. Rest you can download from manufacturer's website such as Intel,nvidia,Killer driver suite etc..

 

Is KIONIXX freefall designed for the default HDD that comes with the machine?

Because I replaced the 1Tb drive that came with the machine for a 2Tb one from another manufacturer (I also gave an ssd installed).

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

I don't know. Its really optional driver. I feel the sensor is in the bracket containing 4 screws along with some spnge like padding.

 

Thanks.

An unrelated question, is it normal for the laptop to get really hot, on the left side?

I had it cleaned in December and the thermal paste was replaced with Arctic Silver 5 (couldn't get my hands on Thermal Grizzly, as I'm in Mexico right now).

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

AS5 is crap on laptops. Had similar experience where I had temps risen to 90s just after 2 weeks. So I switched to Maker gel nano from cooler master.
You can check this thread out and choose whichever paste is available to you and economical too. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...nd-apply-traditional-and-liquid-metal.806840/