*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R3 Owner's Lounge

I have the 1st gen 15 R3 i7-6700HQ GTX1070. It's still going and plays all the latest games.

I'm needing to repaste once a year but I believe my heatsink has warped as the temps on the GPU have increased.

Has anyone replaced the whole heatsink before and where can I buy? I'm not sure if I trust most of the ebay offers.

This one is an expensive heatsink replacement and looks like a different design:
https://tinyurl.com/wutm4w9

 

Hi there!

Same config and I must say I that i too am enjoying the latest games at high settings with 60+ FPS. I did re paste mine this pas summer using Liquid Metal and I was very impressed by the temps.

Curious to see your results (and any responses related to the heatsink). Hope it all gets sorted out for you.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ble-dust-build-up.813509/page-4#post-10771364

@rnneh. You're a loser !
"When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."

NB "The images are from a brand new heatsink so it isn't brittle after Months in high temperature"
Therefore I did not "wrongly take it apart" as you'd imagined, it does NOT make logical sense to attempt opening/disassemble something which is #BrandNew.

No matter how many attempts to twist it around, we as owners of DELL Alienware devices now know for a fact that it's diabolical crap.

 

Hello all,

I have the first gen 15 r3 with i7 6700hq and GTX 1070. Soon I will get the Area 51M R2 if it is enough good for the price.
I need to upgrade the ram (currently at 16GB stock dell ram) because I work on this station and it is not enough for the work I do.
I am looking at G.Skill Ripjaws 32GB DDR4 3200MHz SODIMM memory.

The thing is that I want to use that RAM (G.Skill) on the Area 51M after I buy it. I know that my system is not supporting more than 2400mhz, but the question is - Will this ram (G.Skill) would run on my system even capped at 2400mhz?

I don't want to buy something that I am not sure it is working.

Thank you in advance!

 

I don't think 3200MHz is possible but Dell lists 15r3 running at 2667MHz, dunno if its Kabylake only or skylake/kabylake.

 

Yeah, I know the ram will not be running on 3200 Mhz. The thing that concerns me is that - if the system will boot with that ram - even on 2400 or 2667 Mhz.

I just want to use that RAM on my current laptop until I buy my future laptop even on lower speed :/

 

With Dell BIOS I can't promise. You might run it today, at some point later when you have urgent work to do on laptop, suddenly it gives 7 beeps of death or 3 beeps for no reason, then you come to conclusion its higher MHz RAM.

 

Edit:

Realized I was posting in the wrong thread. Apologies, this was regarding the newest model.

 

Carbonaut: a non-thermal paste definitive solution to the overheating

Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut is a high-performance thermal pad. You can learn more about it here.

Yes, its performance is no better than high-end thermal pastes. But it's very convenient because it requires no maintenance. It's reusable and doesn't deteriorate over time which makes the perfect thermal solution for laptops.

Manufacturers would get rid of a lot of headaches and maybe even improve the amount of time that a laptop spends in the assembly line if they used a solution like this.

Actual results

My laptop had a service around October 2019. Fast forward to the past few days and games became unplayable. I could only use it for light tasks. It has

Windows 10 1909
Intel i7-7700 HQ
GTX 1070
16 GB RAM @ 2400 MHz

These are the thermal interfaces, before and after (yeah, ****ty camera):

https://imgur.com/5dnJjzN

https://imgur.com/09s72eW

In what follow, both tests were done using the SupportAssist GPU Stress Test. I know that this test is not as demanding as any modern game. But the point I'm trying to get across is that the performance of this unit was so bad that you could see it even in this test.

Red is before and green is after.

Thermals:

https://imgur.com/4x6LiBx

CPU Clock Frequencies:

https://imgur.com/GSVoQNj

Temps are okay, but the improvement in CPU speed is dramatic. Not getting over 1 GHz was what was preventing me from playing games.

Considering that I'll never have to reapply, it's a very good deal.

 

So, fun fact: if you try to plug a G-Sync panel to a motherboard that doesn't support it, the laptop will give you an LCD Failure light pattern because it thinks the LCD is dead when it actually isn't.
I only know this because my 15 R3 is being repaired, and Dell sent the wrong motherboard (hopefully I get the right one next time).

 

Update: Dell sent the right motherboard this time. Back to using my Alienware again.
Update 2: Never mind. It died in its sleep.

 

After a couple more repairs and motherboard replacements, my 15 R3 is up and running. I wonder how many refurbished motherboards Dell holds for older products.

 

They have probably the shelves full if there is a known major flaw with a product. Cheaper than pushing out refurbished machines as replacement.

 

Does anyone know what the latest Nvidia driver is for the 1060? My GeForce experience is claiming it’s 446.14 but I feel that’s wrong cause the release date was 5/17/20

 

Just an FYI if anyone still has one of these, BIOS 1.10.0 has been released.
Microcode for Skylake is now on DC from D4 in the previous version.

Sent from my IN2013 using Tapatalk

 

FYI, this BIOS update for 15R3/17R4 will also disable undervolting.

 

I still have undervolting enabled on mine but it is the 6820HK so could be treated differently been an unlocked processor.

Sent from my IN2013 using Tapatalk

 

Is the 4K OLED screen matte or glossy and and when gaming at 1080p is there a huge difference between the other 1080p screens ?
I’m guessing being stuck at 60Hz offsets the superior contrast and brightness this screen has to offer

Moving on to the other 1080p options , 300hz vs 144hz with Gsync :

For gaming is there any noticeable difference in screen tearing with the higher refresh rate ? Obviously the Gsync screen will perform better when it comes to that aspect but will the higher refresh screen off set that ?
Haven’t really seen anyone try out both 1080p screens side by side but the 300hz 3ms seems better on paper but since I am coming from a Gsync screen and really love that feature worry that screen tearing might be more noticeable on the 300hz screen.
Thanks

 

I ordered an Alienware m15 r3 the end of October..

First arrived one arrived Nov 7th and within 24 hours it was over 100C each time I started it.. Dell support deemed it had something seriously wrong <fan, heat sync, motherboard, they were guessing> So.. they sent me a New one that I received Nov 18th.. This new one overheats only when on battery, not when plugged in.. and gives the message below.. so.. Dell sent me a new battery and a tech dude to install Nov 30th.. <by now I was more worried about dell deciding I screwed it up.. so yeah.. battery install done by a tech dude.. LOL .. And Now.. New battery overheats, shuts down and alienware support message says..

"This battery is temporary disable. please turn off the computer and try again when the unit is back to operational temperature."
<including misused english>

Dell support says.. Needs these updates, it will solve it.. Next day.. same problem.. New support guy at dell.. says.. it needs a Bios update.. which he does.. Next day, same issue.. Now they say.. lets put in a new motherboard.. and maybe a heat sync..

Question is.. do I let them just keep trying to fix it.. or tell them to send me a new replacement.. again.. I have 3 days to make up my mind within original the 30 day return period.. I am not feeling great love for the New Alienware quality control..

I own both a 2012 m17 r3 beast of a laptop <yes, apparently they recycled the numbers for this years model>.. and Love it but it doesn't run the newest games and it weighs 10 lbs.. And a 2018 desktop Aurora r8. I am not new to Alienware, just to Alienware that arrives broken..

Thanks..

 

My first AW laptop arrived with a wrong GPU. The second arrived with a faulty motherboard/GPU. It's safe to say their quality control is terrible.

BTW this is the 2016 15 R3 thread, there is another one dedicated to the 2019/2020 m15 R3:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...re-m15-r3-m17-r3-owners-lounge.833030/page-31

 

Honestly, your within your 30 days, send it back and reorder. WAY to many parts in a brand new machine to be comfortable with. I wouldn't be comfortable with that many visits / replacements on a machine that's less then a month old.

 

Thanks.. I will follow that one.

 

The problem is that due to the lead time to delivery with Dell/Alienware, people are much more invested, and consequently that much more frustrated and irrational in case of issues. You want to get this thing to work after a long wait, and you want to avoid a lengthy return and re-ordering process. This is why these machines should be built like tanks, with impeccable QC. Sadly, too many people find it's not the case. If it was an MSI or something from a local shop or Amazon, back it goes, and a new one arrives the next day or so - anything goes wrong with AW, it's an infuriating process to go through. The onsite support partially alleviates the issue, but honestly it's not a good look when you are buying a brand new 2k+ laptop with an expectation of a likely technician visit to get the machine sorted upon arrival.

 

Return it ASAP and order another one. You may need to roll the dice couple of times or several times to get good AW laptop or you can look at alternatives.

 

Anybody solved the problem with not working AlienFX on their's 15 r3?

After launching the Alienware command centre which starts at alienFX tab by default I am getting an error:

'object reference not set to an instance of an object'

and the only way to close it is by using task manager.

So far I have tried:

1.Reinstalling it.
2.Reinstalling windows
3.Reinstalling all the drivers
4.updating bios.
5.Holding the power button for 30 sec.

In fact, I have managed to get the lights working for a few seconds during one of the 'hold the power button' tries, however they turned off again as the laptop booted up.

Not much more info on the net regarding that problem.

By searching it clearly shows some .net framework? related issue, however I struggle to find out exactly what it is.

Regards

 

Any long-term solution for dead motherboard, on a 15r3? No power, no POST, voltage at the connector but no response.

 

Hello, I found one on the used market with 7700hq, gtx 1070 with full hd screen. How can I figure out if the panel is TN or IPS?
Seller lives in another city, so I'm able to see it individually.
Also, do you still suggest this laptop or should I bump up my budget and go for another laptop with 1660 Ti, sth. like Legion 5 maybe?

 

Guys, would you still get this laptop 2nd hand (7700HQ & GTX 1070) or should I add 200$ more and order a new Legion 5 2020 (4800H & 1660 Ti)?
I mostly play Snowrunner, RDR2, WoW.

 

Well.. I’ve just bought this laptop because the prices of other brand new laptops I mentioned have increased.
Okay, this thing has some issues about overheating as many others have already said.
I just let it run cinebench r23 for 10 minutes and the cpu can’t hang on at 3.4ghz on all cores, if it does the CPU temperature goes over 94C up to 98C. So, it stabilizes at around 3.2 GHz with 88C degree. Sometimes goes below 2.9 GHz with 82C degree.
I will do a detailed cleaning and re-paste the CPU and GPU.
Other than that what can I do?
Should I update the bios? It seems that bios has never been updated.
Should I enable cpu performance and fan mode in bios?
Btw, I’d like to undervolt the cpu but when I run Intel XTU, the voltage settings seem greyed out. How can I fix this?
edit: oh no, the bios version is 1.11.1 that should block the undervolting.

 

there is a new 1.12 BIOS. you can try if undervolting is still blocked. no harm trying since you are already on 1.11