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

@sagarbhathwar: You have to fix it yourself, try tagging AW reps if you need help.
I had high temps on my laptop and I asked @judal57 help and bang, AW had very good temps after repaste because of @judal57's suggestion.
You have a beast but you should tame it yourself to get max. Performance out of the PC. Even @Papusan @judal57 @rinneh will agree( ie. putting aside BGA/LGA difference)
If you're afraid to repaste your PC, you could use it until your university exams are over and sent it to @iunlock @Mobius 1 @DeeX @zergslayer69 for repaste with metal paste or Kryonaut w/ lapped heatsinks and good thermal pads from Fujipoly.

 

I'm not sure of shipping charges for back and forth shipping of laptop to the US.
I could try to open myself but then if I screw up, I'm not sure if warranty holds

 

Almost worse than Dell tech who helped @VICKYGAMEBOY And this is the so-called Premium Support in several different places around the wold, Oh' well Here cost the same 4 year premium support almost 1250$

 

If you've accidental protection you can claim it, if you break something.

 

Don't have it. Well, nevermind

I'm also realising through some other posts that what dell promises is 2.6GHz and not 3.1GHz and they are fine even if temp is 100C?! Is that true? 2.6 is the max they support?

 

It is what Intel says according to their 6700HQ spec sheet. It is advertised as 45W TDP and not 56W considering the short turbo boost power window with time limit of 8 sec.
If you've friends in your class who opens up PCs or friends at diploma you could seek their help.

 

Max TDP I've seen on my laptop is 28W

 

Could indicate a problem with your unit. Did you use throttlestop by chance? Also make sure intel xtu service is set to manual.

 

Never used throttlestop. Uninstalled XTU.

 

Watt isnt equal to performance. If you have a good chip it wont use a higher core voltage thus lowering the power usage thus running cooler.

Just check if you have throttling, check in XTU how it throttles and then adjust what causes the problem.

 

It depends on how you describe performance. An unlocked processor will use more watts to achieve higher performance (Hence Watt = performance). A locked processor (with fixed locked clock speed) and good binning will not use up the max rated TDP to achieve the clock speed in a fixed load. It can not provide more performance. Aka by design.

From Wiki... "Performance (unlike watt) isn't an objective thing, it depends on what the computer is working on"

 

Thats true but far too often people link the watts it pulls to performance. It's all linked to the voltage needed and the IPC.

 

Exactly. An older CPU will not have the same performance per watt as a newer CPU. Everything has to be compared equally.

 

Hello,

First of all,i had AW 17 R2 980m with BIOS AW02 and 180W PSU.

this is my problem :
-Everything is fine when I use my laptop for browsing or office work,but my AW charger automatically unplugged when I playing games (NBA 2K17) from about 10 minutes playing (temp at 72'c),should I repaste my thermal paste and do cleaning stuff? or changing the BIOS?

I already in BIOS 06 back then,since it had the problem,i hope when i downgrade to BIOS 02 it will stop the problem,but it's not.

 

Check the internal dc power cable for burn marks.

 

I found nothing,already test with Power Supply Magnum Pro 375 W,and the problem still occur

 

The internal DC cable not external power supply. Pop open the bottom panel of the laptop (dont fully unscrew the screw or else you ruin the screws) just unscrew them until you hear a click and gently pull until thhe plastic clips are loose.

The Internal DC cable is the one next to the battery cable.

There are some faulty cables in circulation and they cause the power supply disconnecting while being under full load. Burn marks can be seen on the white plug often when that happens from heating up.

 

@Raaf Rifandi: Is the 980m Overclocked?

 

my bad
anyway,this is my Internal DC look like.
isn't my Internal DC look like normal?
and the other image show my temp when the battery automatically unplugged,if you mind too

 

Nope.

 

Look at the cable next to it. That one is the dc in cable and its brown from being burned. It needs to be replaced.

 

thanks,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-POWER-JA...931122?hash=item43f3503e32:g:k-UAAOSwPCVX~fWs
Is this a great deal?

FYI : My location is in indonesia

 

The price is okay, just make sure you turn express charging also off in bios and update to the latest version to prevent further troubles.

Greetings from a dutch indo!

 

wow,great to know it my friend !
sukses disana

 

Greetings everyone,

Please forgive me as this is my first post in this forum (I've also searched and haven't found a solid answer yet). I am trying to decide on whether or not to buy the Alienware Graphics Amplifier. I have looked at the video card compatibility document and noticed the new GTX 10 series supposedly is compatible, however I know that higher end cards require more than 375-460w. I've seen here and there that people have said they have gotten a 1070 or a 1080 to work with the AGA. I am curious as to how to get the 1070 or 1080 to work with the AGA when it only supports 375-460w. Is the PSU that comes with the AGA changeable or am I stuck with using a lower end GTX1060 to 1050?

I also considered the Asus XG Station 2 https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards-Accessory/ROG-XG-STATION-2/ however they don't appear to be available in the US currently.

 

The numbers you name is for a full PC not just 1 card. The AGA PSU is sufficient for any GPU out there at this moment. The 1070 and 1080 do not use more than 200 watts of power from the PSU.

 

Hi new drivers were just released for Intel and Nvidia GPUs anyone know what it is for?

Video_Driver_R9FR7_WN32_20.19.15.4531_A04.EXE
nVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-860M-960M-965M-970M-980M-Drive_VXHY0_WIN_21.21.13.7689_A02.EXE

 

if you see the numbers closely, its not the latest driver, for nvidia instance 3.7689 is 376.89 from official website, the current one is 382.05, and for intel its 4627, the one dell updated is 4531.. You can download from respective hardware sites for updated ones..

 

Intel's current one is now up in 4664

 

There is a bug in Intel latest GPU driver on optimus enabled lappies, whenever I close and open the lid, the usb devices refuse to get detected by Windows, only workaround is to shutdown the PC, wait for 5 secs and then boot up.
Also brightness option gets awfully low when i play game. I discovered the bug when I was doing my project presentation.

 

Strange ever since i bought my laptop in 2015 there have only ever been 1 or 2 gpu driver updates. Does anyone know why Dell releases vga drivers after so long? I think the last one was more than a year away. Any advantages over the ones we can download from the hardware sites?

Yeah Nvidia ones are way ahead of the current Dell ones not sure why.

Oh yeah, not sure if its because I just downloaded and installed the Dell Intel drivers (left Nvidia alone). But there is less stuttering in games now. In fact almost none whereas previously it was stuttering in Overwatch non stop.

 

Holy **** thanks for this info!

I sold the laptop in my sig to my roommate and he was having these issues playing player unknowns battlegrounds. He got a new charger and it didnt fix it. I told him to check the forums and he didnt and went and got an open box GTX 1070 alienware laptop for $1300 from Bestbuy.

He was so depressed that his laptop was broke, his USB ports would also stop working randomly. With this info I think we can fix it! His warranty had also recently expired.

 

Have always hated Optimus. Thank goodness for that I don't have this garbage. Before I opted for... 120hz 3D screen, now LGA. And NO Optimus

 

@Papusan: Its not a problem with optimus, I fixed the issue by disabling Contrast enhancement and Film mode detect in Intel HD GFX driver's Video Section.

 

No prob. It happened to quite a few users unfortunately. a new cable should fix it.

 

I fix it for you The issue is Optimus!! You can't fix it

 

Hi guys, I have the 17R2 4980hq, with BIOS A06, recently I just reapplied thermal paste on it, when the fan is blowing at full speed, the temp is fine, but when idle, or normal usage, the temp is too high. I read about the "Fan performance mode", but I can't find it, so is it not implemented in the "ancient" BIOS for 17R2?

The BIOS of 15R2 got updates, but 17R2 seems to be dead for a long time.

 

if im correct you have to revert to earlier BIOS like A00 to get those performance mode fan profile back, apart from that, i believe your thermal paste job must be done bad, which paste you used, and did u make sure heatsink seated properly.. heatsink on those models are easy to bend, make sure its perfectly seated and use a decent thermal paste like Gelid Extreme, Kryonaut, Cooler Master Nano gel..

 

Thanks for the answer, the "Fan performance mode" switch in bios means there is multiple fan profile stored in the bios, can be switched without flashing BIOS, guessing it's just for the 6xxx CPU, the 4xxx CPU is just dead for DELL.

I'm sure I applied my thermal paste pretty well, I did it 3 times, first 2 times using Arctic MX-4, the last time I use Cooler Master Extreme Fusion X1, I think it lasts longer than Nano on a laptop and 9.5W/mk is enough, I checked every time between different applications, it spreads really well, and I've got another tube of Shin Etsu X-23-7921-5, will try it after the X1 degrades. And if it's the thermal paste or the heat sink, the temperature won't be good at full load, but it's really good if the fan is doing it's job. So it must be the fan profile then.

The most annoying thing is that at the start of gaming or benchmarking, the fans kick in too late, so instead of the temperature rises to a steady state slowly, it suddenly goes really high, then after a while the fans slowly increase to a high speed, it drops down to a stable value. Before I change the thermal paste, this can cause throttling, that's why I applied thermal paste recently.

 

Dell just updated the BIOS for Alienware 17R2 today after a hiatus of more than 1 year and after you posted this. The irony lol

http://www.dell.com/support/Home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=WWFNN

 

They are committed to give people support for use with their Graphics Amplifier. Better support aka improved firmware for the actual EOL laptop is of none interest. Don't expect more than what the released notes say.

Fixes & Enhancements
Graphics Amplifier behavior enhancement.

 

i only can wish if they changed the PCH thermal values, so that people can have a machine which doesnt throttle, even on cheapest desktop boards you will find PCH having a small heatsink, so called southbridge.. poor alienware.. and i dont recomend people removing the keyboard backcover.. initially me and judal suggested thermal pads, but seems if u press hard, somehow it touches the motherboard circuits, and that could lead to short circuit.. unless u put 2mm pads almost everywhere.. the reason why older models had separation plastic part below keyboard, i loved my old M11X, the build quality except the screen hinge..

 

All previous AW socket models had cooling for the PCH chips. And No need for all types not very good home made crippled solutions... Even the newest models have PCH temp aruond +84C. Maybe not the biggest problem for all but for some will this result in instability. Cheapo solution. And the MB design make it problematic for Dell. But they could make it if they used their head

 

but you get better battery life with optimus. And you just have to give up 3d, vr, dsr, gsync, and also increase your input lag in games.

 

Did people really used 3d?......

I found it quite terrible. Dsr isnt widely used either. Input lag non existant. The only real downside is no gsync.

 

edited:
3d is sick with the right setup. $$$$$ dlp and good timings on glasses

input lag wont matter to most but it does make a difference in game. a big one actually. intel claims half a frame so 3ms at 144hz prolly best case. believe it or not that can be a big diff BUT if you are on a slow monitor with high graphics settings and low framerate you wont notice. add or minus 3ms to a pro csgo or overwatch players setup and they will notice right away. even if you don't notice why not have input lag lower. it still makes a diff. would you add 3ms to your monitor? how about your mouse? why your gpu/monitor interface then? and we don't even know it could be half a frame at 60hz so 8.3ms. more responsive is always better.

u didn't say anything about vr. I know these 980m are below the spec but i was still pissed when i found out my 2k$ laptop couldn't do vr.

dsr is nice esp in older games. games like diablo 3 that have horrible anti aliasing options. i use it in heroes of the storm cause otherwise the game would only use 1/4 of my gpu maxed out. game looks freaking great with dsr.

i mean i get what you are saying bro. to some people none of these things matter. im just glad my 17 r4 doesnt have optimus because i prefer the gaming technologies over battery life.

 

where PCH chip and how to cooling it ?

 

small square that looks like cpu near the bios battery and m.2 slot, hidden by chassis


need chassis removal to access

@iunlock has a guide picture, I forgot where again

 

Take a look

 

dank