*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R3 Owner's Lounge

Tried to get clarification on my order of 120Hz IPS screen. Worst customer service ever! Lady was rude like it was my fault! I have order confirmation showing one model and order status page showing something different. Their customer service is terrible!!!


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I just received my Alienware 15 R3 yesterday (3/8).
I am kind of in a panic mode and need to test it properly by this weekend and would appreciate any advice/help.
I bought the unit in Japan so the return period is only 10 days instead of the 30 in US.

Config:
i7 7700HQ, 180GB M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD, 8GB 2400Hz, GTX-1070
Price:
224k JPY (~1950USD) [includes 3 year premium+accidental which can be transferred]
Needed the 3+ warranty to make it transferable
Japan doesn't give any special discounts on the laptop but it does in the warranty which cost me only ~150$ as compared to ~450$ in the US website.

I have a 512gb 850Pro which has a windows from a previous desktop. I have no idea how to install this into the laptop (I am assuming there would be some problems if there are 2 disks with 2 different windows id in the same laptop, am i wrong?)

I only had about 1 hour to play with the laptop yesterday, so I could only run OCCT and HWinfo64.
The temperatures touched 79 on one core and then the fan turned on. Then the temps never crossed 70 (tested for around an hour).
Averaged around 65.

I am yet to run anything for the GPU.
I am also yet to uninstall any bloatware, change/upgrade bios or do anything.

Any advice is welcome.
Thanks

 

Installation of the 850 Pro (I assume its 2.5" SATA) - is straight forward. Just remove the screws from the bottom panel and you can install the new drive. Once installed boot up the laptop and press F12 and boot off the main drive then you can format the extra drive in windows.

 

Regarding the BIOS - most people are sticking with v1.08 for now as later ones have some issues.

 

So I just tried to checked. My BIOS was v1.02
Tried installing v1.08 but got this error "Running on an unsupported system". Any idea what is wrong?
http://imgur.com/a/6gYvH


I also checked the bleed and I would not say this looks great by any means. Is this the norm or I just had a bad panel?
http://imgur.com/a/5ibt5

 

Just try again. Each person is different. In my experience, most genuinely want to help.

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Light bleed seems excessive. But a lot of em have this much. Also If I am right the camera makes it seem a lot more than what you see. Correct if wrong.

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Your correct. The camera makes it look worse than it actually is.
I am a little biased when I say it is bad, because I have worked in TV panel testing and I have seen some really good screens.

They are noticeable in a dark room on black screens but I can live with them. But if I am on the bad side of the spectrum for bleeds for this model, I would want to try my luck with another panel.

 

Which panel do you have? FHD, 120hz FHD or 4k UHD?

 

60Hz FHD

 

1.0.8 or 1.0.12 is the skylake bios. Kaby lake bios numbers are lower I forget what the most recent is tho.

Your temps are good.

The screen bleed I dunno it doesn't look great in the pic but I wouldn't recommend playing the unit lotto if it's not that bad in actuality, if it otherwise looks good and you have good temps. You could see if they will send a tech to do a screen swap or bezel adjust but I wouldn't send it to repair center for fear of them screwing something else up.


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It sure does look like the inner frame is pinching the screen a lot at the 2 corners on top. If it doesnt interfere with ur games and movie visually I guess its fine? My screen has pinching only at one corner.

What were ur browsing and gaming temps btw?

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Yes mine is Kaby, so I guess its time for dive and reread the forum.
iirc the latest on kaby was 1.05 (i may be wrong but latest is not the best, so i am not sure if i should update)

I agree with your point on the screen. Might call in support to adjust the bezel or swap if I am still bugged by the panel after a week of adjusting to it.

About temps, i tried a slight undervolt using throttlestop
-50mv decreased the temps
-75mv and -100mv decreased it to the extent my fans were barely audible. Did not try beyond -100mv. Is there a merit in finding the point where the undervolt is not stable? Also is there any merit in keeping it at -100mv if -75mv gives almost similar if not same temps
There is a core differential of ~8 deg but i remember reading on someone else's post that 8 deg should be fine with ~65 deg temps.

 

You cant remove a drive containing windows from windows: first of all you cant delete the efi partition.
You have to use PBE to do this, just use acronis or plug in a os installation pendrive and do it from command prompt.

 

Has anyone received a model with the 1tb ssd?
Does anyone know whats the model name of the 1tb ssd?

 

You can use diskpart from command prompt to do this or download easus partition manager for free.

 

8 deg temp diff is not a big deal. Your temps overall are good.

If you undervolt and run a stress test it may pass and then freeze when gaming. At least it did for me. But I'm like -150 mv or more. It was ok during stress at like -180 but would lock during gaming so -150 worked. I would just keep going down until it's unstable then back it down a bit.


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Based on the tests I have been doing with both undervolting and undervolting + overclocking... it seems like Nvidia may have literally chose the worst possible clocks on these GTX 1070 haha. Basically you can greatly undervolt and throw a little memory clock in and it will perform equal or better than stock. I've posted these before but I added some more testing:

(No turbo, simply means I have disabled CPU turbo mode in throttlestop)
14016 - undervolt to 1657 - no turbo
14034 - undervolt to 1735 - no turbo
14155 - undervolt - no turbo
14219 - stock
14213 - undervolt to 1518 - +400mem - no turbo
14276 - undervolt to 1600 - +500mem - no turbo
14303 - undervolt to 1518 - no turbo - mem +499
14329 - undervolt to 1600 - +500Mem, no turbo
14400 - 500mem - no turbo
14414 - 250mem +190 core - no turbo
14509 - 500mem +100core - no turbo
15143 - 250mem +190 core - turbo enabled

All the 'undervolts' are at 0.800. I am gonna run the Gears of War 4 benchmark once with stock and once with 0.800V @ 1500 core and no memory added to see the difference. I bet its very minimal judging by Heavensward benchmark. I prefer Heavensward because when all else showed my undervolt+overclock stable on my 970, Heavensward showed otherwise.

http://imgur.com/a/FiKGu

I wonder why there is so much variation, but higher scores with a undervolt + underclock on the GTX 1070s. I need to test with more in-game benchmarks.

Tested both Shadow of Mordor and Bioshock Infinite. Basically the stock clocks did better than the 0.800v, 1500 core and +0 memory by maybe 1-2fps across minimum and average, but on the 'Max' it might have as much as 10-20 more FPS, but that is only during very high FPS like 140+. Moving to 4K and 2560x1440 resolutions, stock had 1-2fps more on the average and Max.

tl;dr : lowering core clock by over 300 and undervolting to 0.800 shows slight performance impact unless using a 160Hz+ monitor. If/When I get bored I'll try stock voltage + 500-600Mem

 

Hey everyone,

So I just the the liquid metal repaste on my 7820hk.

Here are the results.
http://i.imgur.com/bFEYvmo.png

I even did the arm bend and everything. What is going on?! How can I fix this?

 

Is this some kind of joke? Your temps are pretty reasonable. You haven't added a overclock by the looks of it so I'm gonna assume you also didn't undervolt

 

The temps are pretty bad for liquid metal TIM.

It is undervolted. Take a look in the screenshot. Undervolted by 0.12.

I just tested it with The Division running and it went up to 80 on cores 0 and 2.

Cores 1 and 3 never got above 60.

What else can I do about the massive core imbalance?

 

To fix the temperature imbalance you have to physically fix the balance of the heatsink. Your temps aren't bad. You may be comparing your temperatures to that of people like iunlock, who have many laptops worth of experience with liquid metal and tightening the screws in the best ways. Also, raise up the back of your laptop, that too will drop temps a nice bit, iunlock also does that in his temperature monitoring

 

Hey guys I need a help ,
I received my 15 r3 1060 , 8gb ram , 6700hq
I run occt I got a max temp 74
And in overmatch game max 100 fps
At epic settings
130 on ultra
is that ok ?

 

Sounds good to me.

 

this is the bench mark of heaven test while OCCT runs in the background ,
is there anything wrong in the settings ?
what GTX driver version you recommend ?

 

I just spent the entire weekend balancing the heatsync.
Re-did the liquid metal tim, and BAM!
Awesome temps. Worth all the effort.

This was what it went to while playing the division.

http://i.imgur.com/4KMifrn.png

 

how do you balance your heatsink?? those are really nice temps!

 

Is there a shortage of parts for the 7820 Gtx 1070 with G sync 120Hz ? They keep delaying my delivery date and my unit is in production for about 8 days now

 

So looks like there is still hope for non gsync monitors for the AW15. Lets hope we can get some and maybe even a UHD option.

There was this tweet: "2) we're looking into a non-gsync monitor. No date"
https://twitter.com/aw_umar/status/839569194253488136

If people continue to tell AW they want non gsync options we will eventually get some. So let them know so they can sell it to us!

 

Hi all,
I'm about to move on from my 17R2 and get a 15R3 cause the 17R4 (just from comments I've read and videos watched) seems a bit too bulky for regular transportation. Does anyone have any experience with both machines and if so, how much difference is there in their dimensions/weights in regards to real world usage (fitting in backpacks etc), since I am often travelling to and from uni. I'm in the UK so there's no possibility of seeing them in a shop.

Additionally I've held off from my purchase because I've read about the possibility of a 120hz 1080p IPS display coming to the 15R3. This was on the Dell US site a week or so ago, but I've seen no mention of it on the UK site, so does anyone know any more about this? I would like to have a 120hz display for gaming, but as I do a fair amount of photo editing in my spare time I'm not interested in a TN panel

 

The 15R3 has a pretty large foot print for what it is. I would take the 17R3 in this case as the 15R3 isn't really that much smaller.

::iunlock::

 

Gonna have to agree. I would have went with the 13R3 had I known how big the 15R3 was. The 17R4 has much better heat distribution which results in quieter running. Not that my system at load is loud, I just prefer to have silence/next to silence at load (gaming). So yeah I'd say 13 or 17 too

 

Seeing as I don't have pressure paper, so I was not able to get the exact details like iunlock. BUT...

I was able to use some crap thermal paste I had laying around and used that to test the contact patch.
Applied the TIM using the dot method, so it would spread on its own based off pressure.
The uneven pressure was really obvious, all of the grease was pushed away from one of the corners because of how tight it was in that spot.

I then bent the HS in the direction needed based on the contact patch.
Did this a few times until I was happy with it. It also helps that I lapped the HS while I was on the war-path.

It should also be said that I removed the 0.1mm thermal pads from the FETs and used thermal compound, like a super thin pre-spread layer. I did not want over-spill.

Note: I do not recommend people bending the HS. Do this at your own risk.
I am an idiot in search of unrealistic temps from a laptop.

 

What was your finding, like was the top of the triangle (near the rear ports) the area that had the uneven/least pressure? Just curious. I also meant to use cheap paste and check this, basically forgot when it came down to it. That and I also get worried about stripping those tiny screws, once again the Tron light screws nearly got stripped on me. Had to put A Lot of pressure while turning to get them out

 

I agree with this, when I ordered my 15R3 (6820hk/1070gtx) back in September 2015, the 13R3 or the 17R4 with the 1080gtx were not yet available so I didn't really have any other choice. I would buy the 13R3 instead tbh if I could choose today.

 

I use a 144Hz monitor and and 50" TV though. I wouldn't consider 13" too small but others would, so definitely take that into consideration if the laptop screen will be your primary screen for gaming/workspace. Still, I would choose the 13 or 17, but if it was going to be my main screen, the 17 would be more enticing.

But obviously price increases/decreases with size too. If you need another monitor inside the budget (if any budget) then I'd recommend the 13 or 15 and buy a 144Hz 1080p.

The temperatures would be about 10-15C higher on the 15 vs 17, in my experience. Which is only 1-2 fan curve speed settings above the 17R4 when gaming. There is about 5-6 fan curve settings in total. Never had my Temps go above 80C but I'd like to think there is a speed setting for those that have reached 100C lol. Just adding some extra info in case it's useful in your decision

 

I just worry about how much life I would get out of the 13 vs a 15. I mean being able to have the 1070 vs a 1060 is pretty big and having the HK is that extra icing. I use my laptop for work but I also use it for travel. The 17is just too bit and heavy to ever be able to easily travel with. The 15 is going to be a monster, especially compared to my m11x but I do not believe it will be that heavy. Maybe I can find a store that has the 13 and the 15 in stock to compare them as I have only seen the 17 IRL

 

Appreciate all the input, the 13 is a no go for me, as the screen is just too small, even though I would really like an oled laptop. Additionally the 1060 isn't really enough of an upgrade over the 980m in my current machine, I want something that can max out all the latest titles for a while yet.

Although the 15r3 is the same weight and similar dimensions as my 17r2 , the 17r4 is the best part of a kg heavier, so I'm kinda concerned about this as my backpack is usually pretty hefty once I add the laptop to it. I would like extra power of a 1080 though, but on the UK site at least, the gtx1080 17r4 can only be purchased with the 1440p TN screen, and I'd much prefer an IPS panel.
In regards to cooling, my 17r2 has the 4980hq and tends to get pretty warm, and I don't mind doing a repaste in order to get slightly better temps, whichever machine I get, so it's not a massive concern for me

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What I will say about the TN panel though is that the extra brightness is great when your outside.

 

Yeah, the screws are kind of a b**** after the 3rd or 4th time you take apart the laptop.
I did not strip any screws, but one of the tron screws did start to chowder.
I'll order a new one eventually. I hope I'm done operating on this laptop.

Always use the right size and always use " positive pressure" on them tiny screws.

As for the HS:
http://i.imgur.com/hBrGfkx.jpg

The red patch marked was where the most pressure was.
The blue patch was basically not touching.


Also, forgot to post my most recent OCCT run.
Such even temps

http://i.imgur.com/0opn7zO.png

 

I feel like you are always best of screwing in the single screw first before doing the other 2. That way you can get all the pressure possible on that end before putting the other 2 in.

 

Think I'm gonna take the leap and buy the 15r3, I'll try it for a few days and return it if I'm not happy. I have a 512gb sata SSD that I plan to install in it in addition to a PCIE one, but I'm not sure if I should get the PCIE ssd from dell or buy my own separately, perhaps this https://www.scan.co.uk/products/512...pcie-30-(x4)-ssd-read-3000mb-s-write-1150mb-s.
Likewise I plan to get 32 gb of ram, is it worth buying that separately or is the difference negligible? I don't know what brand dell uses currently. Thanks all

 

Always buy separately if possible. You'll get better performance for same/cheaper. If I could I would buy these without RAM, HDD/SSD and OS haha

 

Not only overheating and uneven core temp... DELL'S PREFERED PCIE SSD'S overheating as well

 

Agreed, however sometimes the discount offered on the outlet site (which varies 10%/15%/20%) sometimes makes it more viable to buy it with the SSD. However, they use different manufacturers for the SSD so you don't know which one you will receive - so its a bit of a gamble.

 

so far they have used (but not limited to)

Samsung PM961 -
Toshiba -
Hynix SSD

for 512GB.

 

After playing on a 144hz monitor, I'm considering getting a TN panel Aw just to try it out, I feel like I'll miss the colours (my 17r2 has a glossy screen that's an extremely good display) but if it's too bad I'll return it. What are people's opinions of the TN panel in the 15r3?

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Edit: actually using my monitor there is not much difference 120 vs 144. But when I look at my small 15R3 120Hz screen, I barely see any difference in 60 vs 120.

Edit2: just checked again. Ok I do notice a difference but maybe due to the small size, its harder to see the differences in the aliens, but it's definitely less blurry. Unless my ASUS VG248QE is just spoiling me very much. Probably much more noticeable in videogames opposed to the ufotest

 

Owner of a 15 r3, had several small issues i rather not deal with ,awaiting a replacement

 

Don't pay extra from outlet. The SSD I received in my outlet 15R3 was over 500 days old and was as slow as sata from a nvme Dell branded drive!

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