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

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Mr. Fox, Dec 10, 2014.

  1. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    Yes. The Dell BIOS-level overclocking profiles max out at something like 4.1, but you can push it higher using Intel XTU.

    If you look at the XTU benchmarking data online, though, there's barely any benefit to overclocking more than a little. There just isn't much real headroom in the CPU for it. Maybe if someone releases an aftermarket CPU cooler kit for the 17 R3?

    The GTX 980M 8GB GPU is more of a bottleneck in Fallout 4 anyway.
     
  2. Gamespy

    Gamespy Notebook Enthusiast

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    Got best model aw17r3 but 980m 4bg not 8. Theres difference at all... Stil play new games at 4k at 40 to 60fps. More than enough power. Didnt overclock at all. Even better fps at fan performance mode. Fhd is flowles and laptop newer hetas too much. Sry for bad english :). Five mounth and still not disapointed at aw. Maby ill buy GA next year and only maby. Rly no need for more power. Yes its 4k screen but w10 optimised so much from firs time i used laptop. Even fckin League of legends got 4k support... 4k will be 100%optimised soon. :). I hope i helped. Yes its hard to get aw that works ( my first didnt work properly) but when you got one your gf got good competition xD
     
  3. STARION6

    STARION6 Notebook Geek

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    Hello Guys! I am on my second Alienware after selling my beloved M17xR3. I have the 17 R3 with the i7-6700hq and the GTX 970. I have a couple questions. First off let me say that even though I had a few issues to work out, I love my laptop. The performance and the thermals are outstanding! The non glare HD screen is great and very bright! All in a thin and lighter package. For my use the GTX 970 is perfect.

    So first I removed the standard HDD and installed the 500GB Samsung 850 evo! A great ssd which I recommend to anyone on this forum. My very first problem as I was attempting a clean install with the Windows 10 recovery usb stick, the pc would not boot from it! Tried just about everything but could not get windows to boot so I had to go with cloning. Last Sunday I purchased the Samsung 950 pro 256GB and found out there is no screw to hold the ssd in place. I had to improvise with an eyeglass repair kit screw. Once again tried clean install of windows 10 and it refused to boot from the recovery stick. Had to go with cloning again. Also if I go back to raid in the bios, the pc will not boot at all. Had to stay with AHIC. I am getting great performance from the 950 but the bios and the Intel rapid storage will not recognize my 950. Is there anything I can to fix this? Appreciate any help or suggestions I can get in this matter!
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2016
  4. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    I have a 500GB Samsung 850 Evo as well, and did a clean install.

    The trick with USB bootintg is to use Rufus to burn the recovery ISO to USB, and make sure to format as EFI instead of MBR. This is because the 17 R3 has an EFI BIOS.

    Also, AHCI is potentially better than RAID if you are not trying to pair multiple drives in a RAID configuration.

    I highly suggest installing the Samsung Magician utility to help with Windows tuning and to enable RAPID mode for more performance.
     
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  5. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    Crapid mode so you risking corrupt files if computer shuts down or turning off the PC before memory writes to SSD / HDD? Nice. Formula to create more work. No thanks. You should perhaps have a chat with @tilleroftheearth
     
  6. sagarbhathwar

    sagarbhathwar Notebook Consultant

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    Mentioning that you are unable to boot from recovery USB poses some ambiguity. Is your USB not even being shown in the list of bootable drives or, if you can see the USB media under the bootable devices, you are not able to boot into it?

    If your USB isn't shown, then, try a different USB stick.

    If you are unable to boot into the usb drive though it's shown, trying using https://rufus.akeo.ie/ as Hunter said, burn the iso to the USB disk using GPT partitioning scheme for UEFI. It should work.
    Even try Windows 7 USB creator - https://wudt.codeplex.com/ . Works like a charm after 6 years.

    Regarding your raid/ahci configuration, you are better of with AHCI since your RAID configuration will be bottlenecked by the slower of the two disk(you surely don't want that). RAID configuration is best only when you have two identical disks.

    And regarding the Intel RST, I don't know. Both RST and Samsung Magician fails to recognize my Samsung PM951. Anyone know why?
     
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  7. STARION6

    STARION6 Notebook Geek

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    Thank for the reply. To be honest I don't know what Rufus is and how to format as EFI. I just did the windows 10 recovery usb stick. I did install the Samsung Magician and it works fine.
     
  8. STARION6

    STARION6 Notebook Geek

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    Thank you! Well that was my problem! I could not get the bios to show the USB listed as a bootable device. Something I had no problem with the windows 7 disk on my older M17xr3. I mean once I insert the USB stick I just can't understand why it is not recognized by bios as a bootable device and added to the list!
     
  9. sagarbhathwar

    sagarbhathwar Notebook Consultant

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    This asks us how you created the recovery media in the first place. That's why, rufus was suggested since it works really well with anything.

    Coming to what's rufus is, its a handy utility to create bootable usb media. https://rufus.akeo.ie/ - Download it from here. Under "Partition Scheme and target system type", choose "GPT partition Scheme for UEFI".

    Oh and I just realised. Did you format your drive as fat32? Because that is the most compatible(though I doubt formatting it as NTFS will cause problems)

    Try with rufus. It will surely work
     
  10. iunlock

    iunlock 7980XE @ 5.4GHz

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    Yes indeed. You've probably ran across my posts and screen shots. I've achieved 4.6 on my silicon. My daily driver is at 4.1 and it is solid....the 6820hk is quite a beast.
     
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  11. iunlock

    iunlock 7980XE @ 5.4GHz

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    I've done some extensive testing with my 6820hk and have a thread on OC'ING ....not all the silicons are created equal, but the settings I have posted on there are a good base to work from....I wouldn't use xtu to adjust multipliers unless your adjusting down, as you'll be capped to whatever is set in bios. Strange I know....
     
  12. iunlock

    iunlock 7980XE @ 5.4GHz

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    Congrats!

    Regarding the m.2 and windows install...I have a thread on this with solutions...

    Update
    : Here is the link to the thread. Post #80

    I'm on my phone right now, otherwise I'd link you...just look up my user ID and the threads I've created...you'll find it, as it should be on the first or second page.....once find the thread the solution is on post #80 ....I at least remember that much lol...

    Hope that helps....
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2016
  13. iunlock

    iunlock 7980XE @ 5.4GHz

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    Correct, regarding it being best to have two identical sticks for RAID....just wanted to add, "...also best to make sure they are two identical m.2 ports...or don't bother..." - like you've said about it bottlenecking....

    Which unfortunately for the newer AW 15R2 and 17R3, the two m.2 ports are 2x and 4x.... thus not worth RAID. It's a waste IMO....

    Also, I wouldn't use Intel Rapid or Samsung Magician. It's artificial and invites a high risk of data loss compared to not using it.

    Both my m.2 950 pro and 850 pro ssd's are running without the two softwares and it's running great....

    As for your Samsung pm951... I have the solution on my post. (sorry I'm on my phone using crappatalk...otherwise I'd link ya....post #80 on my thread when you find it.)

    Update: Here is the link to the thread. Post #80
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2016
  14. sagarbhathwar

    sagarbhathwar Notebook Consultant

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    Oh pls put up the solution asap. Would like to use the Samsung magician

    Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
     
  15. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    Not worried about power loss on a battery-equipped laptop.
     
  16. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    I noticed the same thing with my Samsung 128GB Samsung SSD included with the laptop. I guess it just doesn't support OEM drives.
     
  17. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    See:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/samsung-magician-v4-9-5.786702/#post-10179886

    Power loss not required to corrupt data. In the above example I was lucky it didn't corrupt any system files.

    Running the Samsung Magician optimizations is reason enough to re-install the O/S for me (never runs properly afterwards, even if you try to 'undo' anything).

    The worst part about CRAPID? It actually makes your system slower when it's running.

    Have you tested for yourself (on a clean Windows install without running SM 'optimizations' first) how the system responds to RAPID on vs. off?


     
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  18. altecX

    altecX Notebook Deity

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    Not only that but I've done a few SSD benchmarks with Write-cache on and off on my Samsung SSD equipped Surface Pro 4. There is VERY little difference in benchmarks, and 0 difference in actual usage.
     
  19. zergslayer69

    zergslayer69 Liquid Hz

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    Yikes, I only have samsung magician installed. I haven't used any sort of optimization feature. If I uninstall it now am I safe? Or merely installing the program has screwed me?
     
  20. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    As long as you have not used any of the optimization functions of Os, then should everything be ok. Disable and initiated only if you check for new firmware.
     
  21. zergslayer69

    zergslayer69 Liquid Hz

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    I got a friend using the 840 evo (2.5 version) and has samsung magician installed. Should I tell them to uninstall also or is it just a 950 pro thing?
     
  22. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    Samsung Magician is bloatware intended for the vast majority of Samsung's SSD's. It is enough that you disable. If you need this to check for new firmware then you just have to activate. Firmware can be found at Samsung support no matter if this become relevant. Uninstall If you can find and flash newer firmware itself.
     
  23. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    As Papusan has already stated...

    If you haven't used the optimization features and haven't turned on RAPID, you should be fine. Installing the program is required only when your supported Samsung SSD needs a firmware update (and... don't rush into those too quick either), except for that instance, Magician is uninstalled from my systems too (w/Samsung SSD's).

    This is not so much a specific SSD 'thing' as a warning about any third party utility that optimizes or otherwise changes an O/S' defaults in the name of 'performance'.

    Samsung or any other third party utility writer simply cannot match MS (or any other O/S, for that matter) for the ability to fully comprehend, setup and optimize the O/S better than the O/S manufacturer themselves.

    If they could, they would have an O/S themselves. ;)

     
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  24. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    Should be very careful to flash new firmware once this is launched... Last time bricked a lots of 850 Pro SSD's. After all the brick problems, pulled Samsung the newest firmware away from their download site. Since this problems there haven't been a new firmware for 850 Pro SSD's.
     
  25. Derek712

    Derek712 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Could someone with an i7-6700hq please screenshot their pcmark score and details so a can pinpoint the cause of my score in the 2700s? I've run every update I can think of and changed performance options every way I can think of.
     
  26. STARION6

    STARION6 Notebook Geek

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    Thank you I will give it a try. I mean it is well known that with ssd's a clean install is the way to go! I wish the manufacturers would stop installing obsolete Hdd's in performance laptops to save a couple of $!
    The highly respected online magazine " The SSD review" ran extensive tests on the Samsung rapid mode and found little or any speed improvements on day to day use. Only with very large file transfers it made a difference. I also use "over provisioning on both my 850 and 950 ssd's!
     
  27. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    I've disabled RAPID mode and so far I haven't noticed a difference.

    Windows seems to have turned write cache buffer flushing back on on it's own. On the advice of a tweak site I re-enabled Superfetch, as it reportedly works different (or maybe auto-disables?) on Windows 10 and is recommended by Microsoft and Intel to remain enabled even for SSDs.
     
  28. Gladstone Manning

    Gladstone Manning Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello dear Alienware owners, I'm wondering who of you has installed more than the stock 8GB or 16GB of ram in your machines.

    I just got my Alienware 17R3 yesterday and MAN am I in love. I had most of the common problems people are mentioning here and in forums, and did the common driver updates, now she runs like a dream.

    I use Photoshop cs6 and Maya to create concept art. With the current 16GB, photoshop files above 6"x6"@ 300dpi start to stutter and lag when I make brush strokes with my Wacom pen. I've always had 24-32GB ram and I've never had that problem until now.

    I called Dell today, and according to two different customer service reps, I cannot install more than 16GB of ram into this machine (Alienware AW17R3-8342SLV, i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz Processor, 16 GB DDR4, 2 TB Samsung 850 PRO + 256 GB SSD Storage, 17.3 Inch UHD, Windows 10 Home) without: 1. Voiding the 3 year premium warranty (purchased for $550) 2. the different frequencies of ram could ruin the motherboard.

    Has anyone learned otherwise?

    Crucial's website says plain-as-day that this 32GB kit is compatible with the 17R3: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/alienware-17-r3/CT7892000
    I called the Crucial rep and was told that they test these extensively, and that most likely Dell is covering their butts. He also said to only buy one 16GB of Crucial ram just in case it got too hot... not cool? Not sure what to do here.

    Any input or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!!
     
  29. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    Have you checked on your actual RAM usage in Windows task manager? I'd be shocked if any one app was using more than 4-8GB, and Windows itself shouldn't use more than 4GB or so if you're not running a bunch of stuff in the background.
     
  30. Gladstone Manning

    Gladstone Manning Notebook Enthusiast

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    For sure! It's an option in photoshop to extend the ram usage (let photoshop use a lot of ram so it can render brush strokes in real time). I'm scraping the RAM ceiling with photoshop right now.
     
  31. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    Don't jack the RAM usage usage too high, or you won't be leaving enough for Windows. Maybe try loading fewer plugins/presets?
     
  32. sagarbhathwar

    sagarbhathwar Notebook Consultant

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    Woah! Dell lied to you about 16GB limit.

    See http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-17-r3/pd?oc=dkcwg04m&model_id=alienware-17-r3 Dell offers 32GB too!

    So, surely they are trying to cover their butts.

    As per the Crucial rep, try with 1x16GB RAM first, then go with 2x16GB (Rest assured, both RAMs should be EXACTLY the same since anything even slight difference by a single clock-cycle can dive you into trouble). As per running hot, can you really help it? You are doing heavy duty with PS!
     
  33. Gladstone Manning

    Gladstone Manning Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi there, thanks for the reply. Are you recommending I just remove one of the stock 8GB cards and insert the Crucial 16GB, for a total of 24GB as a test? Or remove all current ram and just add the 16GB? Thanks
     
  34. sagarbhathwar

    sagarbhathwar Notebook Consultant

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    Remove all the current ram and try with one stick of the 16GB.

    You do not want to introduce conflict between two different RAMs
     
  35. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    Mixing dissimilar RAM is possible but usually not worth the trouble of trying to get the computer to run both sticks at the timings required by the slowest / highest latency of the two sticks. You also lose the benefit of dual-channel acceleration.
     
  36. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    Buy 2x16GB and use both. Dell cover their butt. <If> something happens... Just put back your older ram from Dell ;) Dell will only have your money. They sell 2x16GB ram for an very high price.
     
  37. Gladstone Manning

    Gladstone Manning Notebook Enthusiast

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    Alrighty,

    I called Crucial again and both Crucial reps have now confirmed that they've tested the 16x2 GB kits and they work fine in the 17r3.

    He followed that by saying " However, If Dell tells you it will void the warranty and possibly ruin the motherboard, I would advise against messing with the ram at all."

    So, both Dell and Crucial are in "Cover their butts" mode, and I still only have opinions on the issue, no verifiable facts yet. No offense meant to anyone who has answered, but "It will work" and "It should work" make me nervous. You're right Papusan, I could do that swap if there was a problem, but that includes up to a month of being without a computer if I need to send it in... I don't want to be without my precious if ya know what I mean.

    So, the topic is still open! If anyone here has installed 32GB of Crucial (or any brand) RAM into their 17r3, and it works fine without overheating, please let me know! Thank you!!
     
  38. altecX

    altecX Notebook Deity

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    Why is this even a topic again? its been mentioned a few times that people are running 32GB just fine.

    Also, how the hell would running 32gb of RAM overheat a laptop?

    This whole conversation screams of "I don't understand how technology works!'
     
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  39. sagarbhathwar

    sagarbhathwar Notebook Consultant

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    Didn't I show you in the Dell site that Dell itself sells 32gb ram on 17 r3. What's stopping you then, even when crucial is telling you that they have "extensively tested 32gb on r3 and it works fine"?
     
  40. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    Low power memory use the same 1.2v. And if you buy ram with same clock speed as Dells Oem models, there shouldn't be any difference between them. This is bullcrap from Dell. Even ram with higher ram speed like 2400 shouldn't be a problem. Run and buy. Remember Dell also said earlier that this Aw models couldn't use more than 16GB. They said this because their models wasn't designed for more. Why listen to **** from DELLIENWARE? If this so called high end laptop will be heated up from slightly faster and more ram.... Sell it.
     
  41. iunlock

    iunlock 7980XE @ 5.4GHz

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    I have a thread on this with a confirmed list of 32GB options with the help of fellows AW owners submitting the confirmation.

    I have the G.Skill 32GB (16x2) sticks and they run great.

    Also I too am a heavy Adobe product user.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2016
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  42. STARION6

    STARION6 Notebook Geek

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    I don't get the need for using more then 16GB of ram as even 8GB is sufficient for most tasks. Really overkill!
     
  43. Derek712

    Derek712 Notebook Virtuoso

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    If all you do is play a game our browse the internet, yes, 8 is fine. But if you multitask a lot and use memory consuming programs, 16gb is a must. 32gb is appropriate if you do all that and more and want a lagless experience. I can certainly understand a person or two needing 32gb but most probably will not. In his case though, yes it's needed.
     
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  44. Robbo99999

    Robbo99999 Notebook Prophet

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    I think you need 16GB RAM to be absolutely fine for gaming - Batman Arkham Knight under Windows 10 it's recommended by the Developers recently to have at least 12GB RAM, and the requirement is only gonna grow over the next few years.
     
  45. dblkk

    dblkk Notebook Evangelist

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    I have 32gb and normal day sit around 20gb used. Few vm's open, few virtual desktops with a few chrome each, some kind of video or photo editor, and usually xsplit broadcaster in the background.

    When I go full out video editing, I'll have 3 or 4 adobe programs open and working, normal ram usage 75%ish, have maxed 32gb ram several times as well.

    Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
     
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  46. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    Windows 10 is actually less demanding than Windows 7, as Microsoft has optimized parts of the OS for use on mobile devices and convertible netbook-tablet hybrids.

    The problem here is that Adobe products are legendary for being poorly-optimized system hogs. They reserve however much system RAM you configure them to grab, even if they're not using it, which prevents other programs from being able to access it. The choices are to either install ridiculous amounts of RAM so that Adobe can do nothing with it, or run fewer things at the same time, or configure Photoshop to reserve less RAM.

    My idle usage is around 4GB, with almost 1GB used by Firefox. Games only use 2-4GB currently, although this is likely to increase with new generation console ports.
     
  47. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    So I noticed that X3: Terran Conflict stubbornly refuses to run on my GTX 980M 8GB, instead running on the integrated Intel GPU - even if I configure the nVidia drivers to prefer the nVidia GPU for all applications, x3tc.exe, and the game folder. I can tell this is happening because the game does not use Vsync unless I activate Vsync in the Intel GPU driver settings. Toggling Vsync in the nVidia GPU driver settings has no effect; the game runs at >400FPS in menus and >100FPS in-game (with max settings). With Vsync enabled in the Intel settings I get 60FPS.

    It's really annoying that Dell keeps the Intel GPU in the loop when a dedicated GPU is installed. I don't care about saving power because it's a gaming laptop that will be connected to AC power 99.9% of the time.

    I've submitted a bug report to nVidia, but I'm sure they will just say they can't replicate the issue. That's what they always say.
     
    jackie89 likes this.
  48. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    It's cheaper to route every output through the intel iGPU and let the dGPU only do the 3d calculation.

    And it's to get people like you buy the AGA because you need a solution to bypass the iGPU.
     
  49. dblkk

    dblkk Notebook Evangelist

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    By Adobe products I mean premier pro, with after effects to make titles and changes, and photosshop open quick for a photo edit, then the other video edit program can't remember. But I have and use all adobe video photo and Web programs, and they all kind of lean on one another and intertwine nicely. Problem for ram is that they're all big programs doing full rendering. Not bad or poorly optimized or anything, just a state of fact.

    Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
     
  50. STARION6

    STARION6 Notebook Geek

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    Hey guys! Does anybody know where to purchase a proper size screw to hold down the the Samsung 950 pro SSD stick on my 17r3? Incredible neither Samsung or Dell provides one! Had to use one from an eyeglass repair kit but the head of the screw is too small and it is barely holding!
     
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