*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R2/R3 Owner's Lounge

Interesting read right there.
Thing is, My crappy CPU will hold its turbo boost indefinitely when benching or converting videos.
It's only when using the GPU at the same time that it will temporarily disable its turbo boost. Temperatures are still low 70c when it happens too.

 

It is possible for Dell engineers to program the BIOS to throttle either processor or GPU if both are in use... Quite ingenious. Much can be destroyed with a rotten fancy hybrid bios. When Dell is playing with a "modern" hybrid bios that they never used in Aw laptops before, anything can happen. Blame it on Dell . Dell must also satisfy many laptop buyers who not have a 240W power supply. Dell is not going to fix all the problems (either will not or they can't fix this nonsense). Almost half a year now since the new models were launched for sale, and the only thing that has happened is launching 4 crippled bios. Throttling the hardware has been done in the computer industry for years.

 

wow it's getter better every minute, the more I read here about stuff the less likely I will ever buy any PC at all in the future lol

 

This topics are so depressing that dell is offering an extra 10% discount on several markets. I think the base model is almost cheaper than latest asus or clevo laptops comparing specs... Maybe new models for xmas?

Anyway, I'd like to ask a question to those who own it and are using it at least since a month or so: a random regular user who plans to use it moderately for gaming should really worry that much about heating? I know it's not an easy question, but do you think that higher temps will actually shorten the lifespan of the device?

Do external cooling devices offer some help? What would you suggest using?

And how would you judge your overall experience on a daily basis? Does heating affect just surfing onling or watching movies too?

Do you have some tricks/tips for those who plan to get one now?

 

I'm still waiting for my AW 17 to ship, by the time I hope my 240 watt psu will come the same day too. I spent a little time to negotiate with Alienware tech. And he agreed to send it to me.

I have a small tip for someone that is not know that you can still get your service tag when your order still in-production (Dell need your service tag to send you the psu). In the order detail from Dell site, look for "View Packing Slip" in the right panel. From there you can find your service tag at some stage.

I will probably test it when I receive it. Read a lot of review and have a bad reputation of new Dell AW. But this is my first AW so I hope I will enjoy it sometimes.

 

The 240w PSU is needed with the 970m?

Also, I forgot to ask, is it easy for a newbie to add a m.2 SSD and re-installing there the OS? can you suggest some models that include the right screw (I just learned screws are difficult to find )

 

It is not needed for the 970m. You can install SSD manually, but you may want to request Dell to send you the screw. I read somewhere here or where I don't remember. You can request dell for that too.

 

I'd like to know about the cooling pads also, but I hate the way they all look. I've got many many fans at home from my desktop building days I'm sure I could use but not sure how I'd go about building my own.

As for movies and surfing I'd say temps will be pretty high if you're on A04 BIOS. Just idling my CPU was running around 60. So movies would probably bring it to like 70.

A00 BIOS is awesome though. Fans actually work now.

 

I tried both the A00 and A04 Bios and didnt' see a significant temperature difference between the two.

Also, with respect to my earlier post re: throttling, looks like I fixed it. I read on a forum that BF4 can sometimes react to Chrome being open causing spikes in CPU usage. I had noted the CPU spiking to 100% just as the GPU throttled back. Wasn't sure if that was the cause of the GPU slowing down or the result of it (CPU needing to fill in the gap) Anyhow, closed Chrome after launching the game and it seems fine now. Played two games with no slow down. But this might be an issue with the game and not the system I am hoping anyhow.

I'll keep plugging away at it. Although I have been thinking about flipping this unit for an Asus G751JY Going to head over to that community and see what people are saying.

-M

 

You'd be heading into the same boat CPU-wise. I have to keep singing Clevo's praises right now, not because I want to marry them, but because they offer machines nobody else on the market does. Their thin models have no cooling/throttling issues (except the 47W CPU limit) and their thicker machines with the desktop chips are the best single GPU systems on the market.

 

@ KalEl91

If you worry about overheating, don't get a laptop (you can't change the fans), buy a prebuilt PC. I had to get one because I play on my bed with the laptop in front of me, I can't sit very long in a chair. I saw that there is also mini ITX builds but the cases are cramped, the fan noise is loud & there is not that many options considering the hardware compatibility. I was pretty much forced to get a laptop. The good thing about an ATX case is that you can just get a more efficient fan & be done with it. I had overheating problems in the summer on my very old PC that had an Althon & a freezer CPU cooler. I bought a new fan (sadly very loud because I was super noob at that time) & problems gone.

There is not much you could do to decrease heat with a laptop as far as I know. There is fans you can buy that blow under the laptop but they didn't really do much on my old one so I just put them away. You can also get an angled piece of plastic with holes in it so that the laptop doesn't sit directly under the table & has some air, so the hot air can get away better. I heard reducing the voltage on CPU can also help but you will also lose performance or something, I haven't tried that yet because I don't do overclocking or similar things.

Perfomance wise I have different kind of problems & I don't know what is really causing them. Just on HotS right now fps was going crazy, that doesn't happen usually. Frames dropped to 0 & the game froze for a short amount, then it fluctuating around 50-60. I can't tell if that was a problem of the game though. The other problem I had so far is in Witcher 1 I get constant minilags when I walk around. That could be a problem related to Windows 7 but I'm not sure.

Overall I'm not that happy for something so expensive. I wish I could just switch to normal PC but I just can't. I wouldn't care if they made the laptop more bulky so it gets a bigger fan & more room to cool of the whole thing because I don't use the battery anways when I play. They already left out the DvD drive & I'm happy with that but it doesn't seem enough, the CPU seems to get too hot. I can't recommend this laptop at all right now especially not with that entry price (which I did buy it at). My old 700€ laptop hold out 5 years & the only problem I had there was that the fan was making unbearable noise which could have been easily replaced but we just added oil every few months & problem solved.

If you have other options just build your own PC & if you are a newbie, buy a prebuilt PC.

 

Has anyone had any luck undervolting the 4980HQ? How would I go about doing so? What about stability tests? Is Prime 95 still a viable choice? Intel Burn Test? I haven't OC'd a CPU in about 4+ years. Things must have changed. Lol.

 

Hey guys is keeping my fans set to 5,000rpm's a bad idea how long will the fans last? And could it cause any other damage?

 

What're you using to set your fan speed?

 

HWinfo

 

What is best; Swap fan's or motherboards(processor and gpu ar soldered) because of heat issues? The fans are intended to last +10,000 hours or 3 years. Your choice .

 

Hope you have some good noise canceling headphones and understanding housemates as well

 

These fans are replaceable once they break right?

 

Keep the volume all the way up and it's not too bad I just don't want to damage other parts by keeping fan rpm high.

 

I know that, it's not my first laptop. Would be my first AW though. What I'm asking is that I don't know if I should be a lotworried. I mean, without stressing it too much, will it last at least 3-4 years? Or the CPU (and what it's attached to it ) will have a short life beacause of overheating? I don't know if previous AW had similar issues, if they did, did they last? I mean, does make it sense to choose Dell because of reliability/durability?

Perfomance wise, I don't have great expectations or needs. It would be almost overkill an AW, but I would choose it to avoid upgrading in 2-3 years (if it last...). So if throttling will make it last longer, I hail the throttling The only thing I care is that it has to last long (excluding exceptional scenarios of course that could always happen)

Learning that the CPU gets hot in the Asus is what kept me away from it so far. Clevos are very good, but the assistance level is not even remotely comparable. And the price (one of the main reason one would consider them in the past) is not cheap anymore, they cost the same or even more.

 

Alienware has become a cheap brand now... It does not matter anymore what laptop brand you choose. The most you buy is just as woeful and with the same pitiful trottled BGA hardware and thin design with subsequent poorer cooling. Other brand has at least their own software so that you can manual control the fans.

 

Putting the heating aside for a moment, 8GB of ram will be generally enough right?

Now they offer it with 1TB 7.2k HDD; is it really worth it adding an m2 SSD? Experiences/suggestions about that?

 

I have 8 GB right now & you can always upgrade later if you want. I didn't get 16 because it would just sit there & be useless the whole time. The moment video games need 8+GB is the moment the CPU & GPU will already be a bottleneck in that laptop, I guess, I can't tell for sure.

All I know about lifetime is that more heat reduces the overall lifetime of the hardware. I'm not sure about that since it get's tossed around in forums a lot without actual proof or something. But this is kinda the reason why we even care about heat in the first place. I could just let this baby (CPU) run on 95 degrees constantly but I don't feel like finding out a few years later what the result will be.

 

Hello,
Just yesterday I ordered the alienware 17 R2 with the refund money I got from my alienware 18(the 18 had motherboard and heat problems since day 1 and I got it refunded after a year).
They are sending the laptop with the 180W adaptor.I talked to them all day about sending me the 240W one but they refused.They said after the system is delivered and I have problems I can ask for one from the technical support IF my reason is seen valid.I really don't wanna bother myself with all these tests and all after I buy the laptop and the least I want is to deal with the Dell representatives.Any ideas from where can I get 240W power supply for the alienware r2 2015 ?

Alienware 17R2
Memory 16GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (2x8GB)
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M with 4GB GDDR5
Driver Killer 1525 Driver
Hard Drive 512GB m.2 SSD + 1TB 7.2k
Operating System Windows 8.1 (64Bit) English
Wireless Killer Wireless Card 1525
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 4980HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 4.0GHz w/ Turbo Boost)

 

Ebay or Amazon.

 

I got mine Friday and talked to them Monday about the 240w and told them I bought a top of the line laptop and that I felt that the adapter wasn't adequate for the specs of the machine. Guy danced around it a few times then said it was approved. They shipped it out yesterday FedEx Standard Overnight and I got it today, for free.

Someone on another forum said Dells CS is weird in that you can talk to one rep and he'll deny you but another might say OK. If you feel like being on hold for 45 minutes like I was you cab try again once the laptop comes in. Just tell them your CPU is running hot, since it will most likely be running A03 or A04 BIOS and that you want to downgrade to A00 so the fans spin up better and that from what you read online you need the 240w for best performance on A00.

Worked for me.

 

Would any 240W adapter for Alienware 17 work for it ? There are plenty online but I'm not sure if they are compatible.

 

Thanks I will try that.

 

Has anyone received the 240w from Dell recently? The one I was using up until this point was a Flextronics unit with their name on the back, the new one has Dell's name and a different part number.

Would it be so far fetched to think Dell went with a cheaper supplier on the later models? Lol.

 

Would the 240w benefit the gtx 970m at all?

 

Yes, I have an old spare from my old M17X R2 and it works fine. so any should be ok

 

Here's the picture of the two 240w's side by side. The older one that my buddy gave me is the Flextronics one, as you can see it has a different model and P/N as well as an A02 on the white portion of the label on the bottom, where the newer Dell branded one says A03. I hope this isn't another case of Dell "fixing" things with their revisions.

Don't want to plug this thing in and have it burn my house down.

From what I've seen on the forums, no.

 

Regarding the high temperatures some folks are concerned about, I personally just decided to get a laptop cooling pad (as a precautionary step) and that has done wonders for my 17R2. CPU temps are in the 30-40C range when idle and in the 60-70 C range when gaming (GPU temps have never been an issue). There's about a 10-15C difference for me with and without the pad. I have a 4980/980m with the 240W PSU and running A00 bios.

 

My CPU will low idle at 39C lowest core as it is, but gaming will hit 85C. As you said GPU was never a problem.

What pad are you using?

 

I'm using the Targus HD3 Gaming Chill Mat (link below). It was the only decent one I could find that supported a 17.3 inch laptop. No complaints so far.

http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Gaming-18-Inch-Laptop-AWE57US/dp/B003ZSHKJ8

BTW, for anyone thinking about buying an Alienware, or anything on the dell home site for that matter, Discover card sometimes has a 10% cash back reward when using their card (they had it available the last two months - i'm not sure what the current status is).

It actually got me $215 back. Anyway, i thought that was a neat deal so decided to share. If it's not currently available, I'm sure it'll be back soon.

 

I've been just keeping my fans at 5,000rpms and it keeps my gpu about 58c and cpu at about 64c when gaming

 

Take out MSI and that's exactly what I wanted to post.

 

I guess you could get the 240w psu very fast if you point them towards a review that has also found this problem. All I could find is this, not very convincing but a first step:



I'm already using a laptop cooling pad but I haven't used the fans since they didn't seem to do anything on my old laptop. I guess that was because it had very small & almost no air intakes underneath. I will use them on this laptop & see if it does something.

 

Can't hurt to try. These chips need everything they can get. Maybe we should be running these on LN2? Lol.

 

The majority of 240W power supply Dell use for old Aw17 is from Flextronics. 330W = Delta.

 

Well, Delta is making the 240w now for Dell under Rev A03. Hope its a good unit.

 

Ok I did use the extra fans & the temps where a little bit lower but the real problem is that the laptop fans don't bother doing much until it reaches 80 degrees which kinda defeats the purpose. I did Cinebench & the laptop fans didn't even bother to go out of idle temp fan speed until I did the CPU load test a 5th time (in a row). Is there any way to change the laptop fan speed? I would like them to start cooling at 70 degress & not 80 or wanna do some other fancy stuff...

It seems like that the fan profile of A02 is not the greatest. Just in case anybody is to lazy to read my other posts a while back. Without the extra fans the CPU goes instantly up to 95 degress when I start the Cinebench test just once & it takes a while until the CPU reaches 81 degrees & stays there, with the fans fully blowing (at least it sounds loud).

 

Test with Wprime 1024(and put 8 treads) This is a much longer stress test for the processor.

 

Have you tried A00? The fans seem to spin up a little quicker. Someone also said you can adjust fans in HWInfo. I haven't used my laptop since Monday so I can't confirm.

In another thread an Alienware rep said they are working on a BIOS that will deal with the heat. So they say. We'll see what else it breaks.

 

Reps post and my reply. Let's see what answer we get. If any.

 

Will Aoo help with heat on the 970m with the 180watt? Getting sick of browsing the web and having my cpu reach 75C

 

That's good news. If it's better than A00 I can die a happy man

 

Don't get your hopes up yet. I've been an Alienware owner for less than a week and I'm already disappointed. I came from a low spec Asus G55. Only had a 3610QM and a 660M but it was a hell of a lot less trouble than this

With the way they're going their solution will be to cut 10w off the TDP limit. Lol.

 

It won't help the 970M so much since the GPU cooling seems fine, the fan profile on A00 is much better for the CPU. My idle went from around 60°C to ~40°C. Load temps only dropped 5°, but its something.

 

Literally only browsing the web right now and my CPU sits around 75°C. I turned my fans to 2,600 rpm in hwinfo and now I'm at around 40-50