*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R3 Owner's Lounge

And good price is?

 

I have 2x 512GB Intel 600p NVMe drives RAID0 for boot and a 2TB Samsung 850 EVO ssd for games/storage!

 

About 1.85k dollars with taxes.

 

Bueno!
Planning to order the same model. Estimated delivery is when?

 

So, I recieved my replacement laptop today, looks wise its nice, but.... The fans stay spinning no matter what. Idle its about 55 on the CPU but it will randomly spike to 90c and the fans kick in higher. The cores seem to be within 5 degrees of each other. But why am I getting the high 90c spike? is it windows finalizing the installs in the background?

Also if i open anything, like battle net launcher chrome it will ramp up and then randomly the fans stop.

 

So on idle it spikes to 90c? Have you tried benchmarking or game testing? What's your Bios?

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

 

They told me by email that the can not offer a replacement because of backlight bleed, only a refund. Shall I call them?

 

alright, I'm too busy to read through 36 pages of this thread one by one. Could someone be kind enough to list me all the faults that are apparent with this unit? thank you! also, will I need to get a bigger backpack for this? I have one that fits traditional 15inch laptops fine.

 

I'm sticking with the original Toshiba for the OS disk, but I've bought a 1TB Intel 600P for games. Good read speeds for the price (which is basically the same as a SATA SSD), and write speed isn't that important to me.

 

The non-gsync screens have major lightbleeds, and all units seem to suffer from heat issues, repasting sometimes helps. The gsync display has drivers issues.
They are 12.3" by 15", so check your backpack size. It is bigger than a typical 15".

 

-4K IPS panel is plagued with light-bleed (seems to be an issue across all brands)
-1080p panel is hit or miss with light-bleed
-i7 6820HK overheats (pretty much all laptop brands have this problem) rulette wheel if you get "hot cores"
-i7 6700H can overheat in some cases (2 cases reported) re-pasting should solve this
-Driver and software issues that need addressing

Remember that forum posters are generally people with problems (in their laptop). Probably many people with no problems at all, but who knows.

 

the bios is 1.02 in game the cpu was at 75ish, but it was at max fans, the old one would hit 90 but the fans didnt sound near as high. The fan profile thing is off too. I closed out of the game and its still at 65 and the fans wont quiet down. I am about to do a clean install of windows. Idling it is using 30-40 percent now

 

Can you tell me what games you are playing and their temps(average and max)?

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

 

right now i was playing wow, the temps on the new one were 80s with the cpu and 68 with gpu, fans almost full speed, the old one 55 across the board no fans on lol .

 

Hmm I see.

Do you have demanding games like Witcher 3 or Battlefield 1 or Crysis 3? If you do, can you try those games and see temps?

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

 

ill put witcher on after the install and let you know

 

Anyone has tested how many hours of web, youtube, office is possible on battery with the 120hz?

 

Ok. Try to run it within 20 to 30 mins. It will show the temps or how consistent it is.

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

 

What is the best program to read the temps when testing?

 

yea its showing core 0 spiking to 90 when the rest are in the 60s

 

I had long sessions in Battlefield 1 and the GPU was always <70C, the CPU (6700) 88C max but on average 70-80C.

The GPU cooling is impressive but the backlight bleed is unacceptable.

 

Hmm that's odd. Maybe Bios is not reading the temps right?

Let me know what you find out for Witcher 3. If it averages between 70to 85, it means the unit improved. My experience was it was 80 to 96 lel

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

 

It's good your temps are cool. Good good.

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

 

its weird I opened it up to take the hdd out, its a little quieter, but it still ramps up. Now I underclocked it and its still ramping up. My Paste will get here tomorrow. All i Have is artic silver and I am not putting that on the laptop.

 

why is there such an issue with the cpu. I thought the cooling system was supposed to be better than the previous model.

what were the temps on R2 like?

 

Ok, I got some news for you, friends. I am not sure if they are trying to fib me or what but this is what Alienware Tech Support said:

"We were actually checking the maximum temperatures for this processor and according to Intel and our Engineering team, this new generation of processors can run up to 100 C degrees completely fine."

I don't know what to say.....

 

Only me finding the top corners on the front (the ones level with the keyboard) to be REALLY sharp? All other corners aren't though but just the ones that matter.

 

It is better, but pascal has more thermal density (more watt, less surface area on die). Liquid metal is a must for this generation of laptops!

Consider liquid metal (and my service) if you want to lower temps by at least 15c. The effort and liquid metal is a huge investment towards the longevity and performance of pascal machines!

 

Wtf? I mean, technically it's true, it can run up to 100C without completely dying, but that's not the same as not having any throttling...

Nope, mine aren't sharp at all.

The thing is that it's not the GPU that's the problem. 120W GPU is being kept sub 80C (even sub 70C in most cases), but the 45W CPU is what's struggling and running up to 95C before throttling, even in CPU stress tests where the GPU isn't even being used.

 

CPU is even smaller die than the GPU, harder to cool if you push beyond 60w (6820HK).

GPU is best kept at 50c or lower, pascal will throttle clock -13mhz for every 5c above 49c before any voltage/power limitations.

 

So I repasted with some zalman around he house it's idling at 55 on both right now. Had to run out so I have some games downloading and I check it with teamviewer. What's everyone's idle temps.

 

It's not just the 6820HK having problems though. Sorry, but it's a bit frustrating that people are suggesting it's only the 6820HK, yet everyone I've read of who has received the 120Hz screen in the AW15 with 6700HQ has really bad thermal problems, and so far none of them have been solved by repasting (although it does help a little bit). They're all throttling back to 2.6GHz with stock voltage, and even after undervolting most of the time they're not able to hold the full 3.1GHz turboboost, and definitely not if it's a full stress test including GPU.

 

if you have the 6700hq, should return it to dell and buy another one with 120hz and 6820hk (available as of now)

6700hq is a crap cpu that nobody should buy, it's a piece of trash!



that said, maybe the CPU thermal paste is too much? could attribute to gap between die and copper

 

Wait what? That config is available in the US? It's not available in Australia yet... Need to work out if it's worth the upgrade cost to me though; when I bought my laptop there were bugs in their configuration tool which made it a lot cheaper. Same config now would cost $600 more, and that's before even adding the extra cost for the 6820HK.

Edit: how do you get this configuration with the 6820HK and 120Hz screen even in the US? Do you have a link?

Edit 2: fairly sure it's still not available. None of the configurations here allow you to select it: http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-15-laptop

As I said, repasting hasn't solved the issue for any of us with the 120Hz screen. Or are you saying the factory build had too much paste to start with and that's caused a gap?

 

The 6820hk and 120hz screen configuration is not available in Canada as well.

Considering the 6820hk appears to be an issue as is would that make t twice as bad for the 120hz? Kidding!

 

That is a very strong statement. What makes you say that? Is this one of those overclockers performance junkie thing, or we talking normal gaming?

Should those of us considering the AW 13 go for the i5 quad core in that case?

 

It's one of those overclocker performance junkie things. The reality is that for 90+% of gamers the 6700HQ is perfectly adequate, assuming it's not being hampered by overheating issues.

There's no reason to go for the i5 quad core over the 6700HQ, unless the AW13 also can't handle the heat of the 6700HQ; I'd either wait and see what the first batch looks like for temps, or order one with the 6700HQ keeping in mind you might need to return it if it too suffers the same fate as the current batch of AW15 laptops.

 

3.1GHz isn't going to get you guys that far forwards.

100 more for better cpu isn't asking much.








@triturbo

Here is fan assembly for you

Spoiler

 

CPU performance has rarely been that impactful on gaming performance. Personally I think it'll be fine for at least the next few years.

If I could get the 6820HK for an extra $100 then sure, I'd absolutely be going for it, but there are two issues with that.
1. The 6820HK still isn't available with the 120Hz screen. You said it was, but I can't find anywhere where it is. Are you able to provide a link / screenshot where you can configure the 6820HK with the 120Hz 15" panel?
2. With the price I got for my current build, even if they offered the 6820HK now it would be ~$700 AUD more (~$500 USD). That's a lot to pay for just a better CPU that isn't going to make much difference for most games.

 

So to sum up the new 2016 generation has the following?

1. Good GPU cooling
2. Really bad CPU temperatures
3. Bad CPU throttling
4. Bad lightbleed

 

+ Fake heatsink taped on the real working one as the pict. Allowing the cooling too look more powerful out. Neither soldered onto the real heatsink or used in conjunction with thermal pads!!

 

Both cooling is really good if u repaste CPU and gpu. With Stock Paste its not useable

 

Monitor Name: Sharp [Unknown Model: SHP1450]
Monitor Name (Manuf): LQ156D1 [DELL P/N: KY9JH]
Serial Number: Unknown
Date Of Manufacture: Week: 36, Year: 2015
Monitor Hardware ID: Monitor\SHP1450

As reported by HWinfo

 

At least it is the smaller one that is fake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

These are the corners I'm talking about. On my AW15 they are noticeable sharper/pointier than the other corners.

 

I do agree that the plastic edge that meets the base could be "sanded" down but I don't find it a problem for my usage. I am noticing the backspace key sounds/doesn't feel as nice as the other keys, but only sometimes...

 

Thanks. Then I know it is not just mine but indeed a common problem. Then how much of a problem it is could be argued, ironically all other corners seem to be good, only the ones that really matter that isn't.

 

Does the DELL update ever find any actual updates or missing software? Is it safe to assume that the drivers that Windows Update finds and installs during Windows reinstallation is as good as those found on DELLs webbsite?

 

Can confirm after a reinstallation that the Palm rejection is indeed the problem and that it has nothing to do with the Delay selection mentioned above in a previous answer. Turn of Palm Rejection it it will go away....but then of course you will start to have problems since the Palm Rejection is really there for a reason.

Does this mean that DELL has managed to build a gaming laptop that can't really be used to game on sufficiently unless you plug in external components like an external mouse? That would be kind of ironic even though I myself would probably never try to game with the build in touch pad unless it was very cramped for space or similar (in which case I probably wouldn't try to game a FPS or something like that).