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    *OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R4 Owner's Lounge

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by katalin_2003, Oct 24, 2016.

  1. Riktar

    Riktar Notebook Evangelist

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    I'd be worried about burn in on the task bar... But it would look glorious though.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  2. ShotOfB12

    ShotOfB12 Notebook Consultant

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    Thinking about a 17 r4 because I'm impulsive. I'm assuming a repaste/repad is in order but is that all that is necessary? Was 1080 stuttering just because of uneven heatsink contact?
     
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  3. pathfindercod

    pathfindercod Notebook Virtuoso

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    It would seem so.. the recent build I got with 7820 and 1080 has pretty close core temps and no stuttering in games.



     
  4. Maineiac12

    Maineiac12 Notebook Evangelist

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    You may not even need to repaste. I've gotten two systems in the past month and both have had good temps and no stuttering.

    *there is stuttering when using an external gsync monitor but that is an nvidia driver issue.
     
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  5. ShotOfB12

    ShotOfB12 Notebook Consultant

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    Do you know the manufacture dates of your laptops? Not ordering from dell so these systems might be older stock.
     
  6. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    Cheeky little update now all mods and upgrades are finished

    My Spec:
    • Alienware 17 R4
    • i7 7820HK
    • 32GB DDR4 RAM @ 2400
    • GTX 1080
    • 120Hz G-Sync 1ms QHD 400nits display
    • 512GB Toshiba XG5 NVME SSD
    • 1TB Samsung 960 EVO NVME SSD
    • 1TB HDD
    Mods:
    • Heatsink balance
    • Repaste with TG Grizzly Conductonaut (LM) using @iunlock guide and my own experience from doing this many times
    • Repad with Arctic 6 w/mK pads - Checking and rechecking to get this perfect then using K5 pro for the tiny gaps you can't see but the pad still wiggles
    • PCH mod from @iunlock
    • My own custom Toshiba XG5 NVME SSD heatsink mod
    • My own custom Samsung 960 EVO NVME SSD EK heatsink mod (see below)
    • Built my own Throttlestop profiles from scratch specifically for this CPU for battery (800MHz @ 0.7V) and performance (4.3GHz on all 4 cores @ =<1.2V)
    • Custom MSI AB voltage / frequency curve specifically for this GPU so its undervolted and overclocked up to 2GHz
    • Alienware custom nameplate from @Rairch
    Latest gaming test / benchmark:
    • 70 minutes of BF1 @ 1440p Ultra
    • Lowest average FPS from the 3 maps: 109FPS
    • CPU all four cores @ 4.3GHz solid and never dropping even for a second
    • CPU core max differential 2C
    • CPU core max temp - 79C
    • PCH max temp - 84.5C
    • Both SSDs 64C and 65C
    • GPU max temp - 69C
    • GPU average clock frequency - 1963MHz @ 0.96V
    • No stutter or throttling from CPU, GPU or SSD
    • Not one system limit reason or throttle sensor triggered in hwinfo
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Best piece of kit I've ever owned. So rewarding to make these changes and they make a real difference.

    Check this I tried 6 NVME SSDs, 3 of which were Samsung (2xPM961 and 2x960 EVO) and each time the Drive temperature 2 sensor (for the SSD POLARIS controller) would exceed 100C...

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    So I bought a popular NVME heatsink here in the UK and did a custom fit and shaved it down so it fit in the R4 (I ignored the pad placement instructions also as I put the thicker pad at the bottom so the height is lower overall and then an offcut of the thick bit over the polaris chip):
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Looks nice but... [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    A bit high so...
    ...get my grinder out and...
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Perfect fit :D

    So results with it fully installed:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Literally a 40C drop on the controller sensor! AMAZING!!!

    And a copy from my Toshiba XG5 SSD to this Samsung one (Samsung doing the write)...
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    53GB copied in less than 50 seconds :D

    Happy days! Gotta be said I'm loving this thing...
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2018
  7. Shark00n

    Shark00n Notebook Deity

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    Where did u see the panel was 1ms?
     
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  8. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    On the original spec when I bought the original 6820HK with the old QHD display. Of course they may have changed that now because I don't see it anymore. Wonder what the new ones are!?

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
     
  9. Liquid_Cooled

    Liquid_Cooled Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just got my 17 R4 a few days. Custom ordered 7700HQ, 1070, QHD, 16gb, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Killer 1535.

    I was pleasantly surprised my unit has no issues at all. The QHD panel has no banding at all, I believe all QHD panels made after March 2017 have the newer panel (391-BDFB). Viewing angles are surprisingly good for a TN panel and it's very bright. The temps are actually quite good out of the box. When I took off the bottom cover to put in an SSD I noticed my unit has the updated 138W SUNON heatsink with the fat heatpipes. I thought these were only used for the 7820 and 1080's but I'm happy to see it in mine. Running the stress test on XTU, max temp is 76C on the CPU, with only a max 5C difference between cores. GPU is at 64C max after 3 hours of Overwatch. No stuttering in games and fan noise isn't as loud as I thought it would be. I'm happy with these temps so I don't feel the need to repaste or undervolt. No issues with the Killer 1535 wifi either, very fast and stable. I did remove the Killer Management software though. I'm really happy with the laptop, it looks like Dell finally solved most of the issues.
     
  10. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    Recntly when i received a new heatsink from dell (due fluctuating temperatures and occasional thermal throttle) i bended the cpu arm repasted my cpu and gpu again and while i was busy rebuilding my laptop i noticed some gaps. i don't know if it's normal but it seems that the thermal pads do not make contact with the vrm's and other finfet chips. here a few pictures Inked20170914_154248_LI (2).jpg Inked20170914_154348_LI.jpg
     
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  11. alexnvidia

    alexnvidia Notebook Deity

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    what is your heatsink assembly DP/N, made, and revision? can u take a picture of the heatsink?

    refer to this thread for more info about differences in heatsink assembly
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...u-core-temperature-differential-issue.805062/
     
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  12. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Try arctic pads on select parts of heatsink instead of Fujipoly.
     
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  13. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    I haven't repaded yet, but i'm going to soon ! i thought with a repaste the job would be done, but here i am with a core differential of almost 20 degrees at core #0 and #2. i suspected that the north side of my cpu isn't being cooled properly due not enough pressure, but now it turns out it could also be the thermal pads not making any contact ! Yesterday when taking pictures of my heatsink, i bended the cpu arm of more contact, and it helped a little again. my only and biggest problem is that my temperatures can spike up from 75 c degrees to 97 (thermal throttle) and come back down. this is on 4.2 Ghz i7-7820HK. undervolted a -0.70Mv with throttle stop. my average temperatures are fine, just the spikes are a big problem (same behaviour on the 7700k according to various forums). i think i'll pad my cpu side of the heatsink. GPU (Gtx 1080) is fine though. even thoug is surps 189 watts sometimes i rarely get a Vrel (not even a drop in usage or other reported problems) but i do run on a vbios that i can't find on the internet so that's a little bit strange, but i'm happy

    another strange thing i noticed is during benching, HW info will register different values than OCCT. HW info says my cpu throttle's while in OCCT it does not reach the throttle speed for 1.0.9. bios.
     

    Attached Files:

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  14. Papusan

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

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    Nothing wrong with 7700K. Your problem is fan profiles(fan doesn’t respond quick enough on rapid load increase). Or cooling is ****y.
    As long both software don’t use same polling frequency for monitoring, results will be differently. Run Throttlestop and Limit Reason to see when your Cpu starts throttling. If you prefer Hwinfo64, change to faster polling frequency interval in settings.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2017
  15. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/paul-taylor/core-i7-7700k-temperature-spikes-enrage-users/

    https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/6gkong/7700k_temp_spikes_help/?st=j8ixv4wv&sh=95b9ae15

    https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/6f042g/i77700k_temps_too_high/?st=j8ixvyky&sh=a6caa4d7

    https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/c...way_too_high_looking/?st=j8ixwjh2&sh=ee0779b4

    there are a ton more of those just search on google intel i7 7700k temperature spikes and you'll find pages of people looking for help. even people with watercooling setups. thats not normal.

    when my temperture spikes my fan is already at 4300 rpm and it's benching for 2 or 3 minutes so it cannot be my fan. polling frequency is already set at 1000ms in HW info (where it was 2000ms)
     
  16. Papusan

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

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    FYI. My P870 contain 7700K :rolleyes: And how many 7700K is pushed out from Intel factory? 1.000-10.000-100.000-1.000.000... Or several millions? :rolleyes: And I have contact with owners of Clevo's + computers with mentioned Intel i7. Maybe time for you to make ready RMA? Not normal!!
     
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  17. hmscott

    hmscott Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    [Alienware 17R4 / 15R3] - Disassembly + Repaste Guide + Results

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5r3-disassembly-repaste-guide-results.797373/

    How to FIX AW17R4/15R3/13R3 CPU Core Temperature Differential Issue
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...u-core-temperature-differential-issue.805062/

    Warning: Some i7-6820HKs and i7-6700HQ have Uneven Core Temps due to Uneven Heatsink
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ven-core-temps-due-to-uneven-heatsink.797477/
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2017
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  18. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    i know there are alot of chips that intel already pushed out to the public, but that doesn't mean intel can make errors. What you're trying to do is exaclty what intel does. just because it doensn't affect (you) or the people you know it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. here another link for you so you can see that there are massive problems with the 7700k. and it's sadly worldwide. I'm currently based in the Netherlands, and the monkeys at dell won't let me RMA because overclocking is not good for my system and i should have had asked dell for permission to overclock. so now dell won't help me with anything because i overclocked my system. and no it does not matter that my chip is a hk or that i overclocked with the given profiles in the bios.

    https://www.extremetech.com/computi...g-issue-cluelessly-suggests-stop-overclocking

    http://wccftech.com/intel-i7-7700k-owners-flood-forums-with-overheating-complaints/

    just so you know the problems are real. Do not be the guy that acts like intel. i've given you more then enough info about this issue so it's not that i'm talkling out of my ass.

    again i know you have experience with LGA laptops and tuning them etc. But this problem is real and more real then you've thought. this is not something that has the do with the silicon lottery for overclocking this is an architecture error that (could) be solved with an BIOS update but intel has it too busy milking pc builders and consumers. please do not try to rectify the issue that is going on right know cause the things intel said are flat out wrong.

    https://www.techspot.com/news/69204-intel-responds-i7-7700k-high-temperate-issue-tells.html

    https://www.reddit.com/r/intel/comm...ues_or_sensor_issues/?st=j8ju9boc&sh=0a805766

    thanks for your help and suggestion
     
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  19. Maineiac12

    Maineiac12 Notebook Evangelist

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    You're not wrong. I think what @Papusan was trying to say is that he has experience with the 7700k and the behavior you're experiencing is not normal and you should exchange for a different system - hopefully that will solve your problem because not all of the chips are defective. Sounds like you got a bad one.
     
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  20. Papusan

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

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    It’s Dellienware’s damn duty to help you out with your laptop. They advertise Oveclocking as an great advantage for Your AW model in Netherland. If this is all you get from Alienware support... I will call it Scam. Or better Fraud!! Don’t let them fool you.
    8FB66329-5577-4F09-9374-AF82A915637B.jpeg

    Ask @Alienware-Wasserman or @Alienware-K_Castro for help.
    +rep
     
  21. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    Thanks for your reply, i know you're only trying to help me so i get it, but i was just informing that the problem is more widespread then people think it is ! he also gave me the advice to RMA for a new one wich is a legit advice, the only problem is that Intel does not "recognize" this problem. so if intel doesn't acknowledge their error, how do you expect dell to replace my whole motherboard.. that's not logical. and that was my point. maybe he wasn't as up to date as i am, his reponse just left be a bit baffled just like how intel responded. But i know he didn't mean it like that cause he has a 7700k without problems so maybe this is something new for him ! i don't blame him or anybody. the fact that you're trying to help me is already enough reason to talk respecfully to the people that already have a name oc'ing and optimizing BGA/LGA systems. i came from a 17 r5 (mid 2013) and now i have a 17 r4 so í'm just joining the party where as iunlock, prema, papusan etc already have made a name !

    You see ! and that was the problem, i even pointed out to their page wich suggests it is suitable for oc'ing, but they won't help me anymore ! i'll try to contact one of those and see if i can get help.

    i already knew of the problems before buying this laptop and i even called their customer support, just to verify that even though dellienware "changed" the heatsink design that even if i still encouter a problem that i could get help, and the lady assured my that i have 2 years consumer right (europen standard) and in the netherlands it can extend to three years. I do also have a lawyer (i'm on my own and companies in the netherlands like to threaten their citizens with penalty's and a bad credit rating and i''m only 20 years old without parents so.. yeah) and i never hesistate to give him a call or let him do his lawyer magic to get me my replacement. I personally think i have a bad chip, but even though i have a bad chip, the cooling in my laptop is more then capable enough to keep core #1 and #3 at a max of 81 and average 69. so it clearly indicates that my heatsink is warped (like hell). this would be my first and last BGA laptop i buy if the problems continue, i like how i could swap out my gpu or cpu in my ranger r5 :(

    thanks for your help though ! any other tips that could help me ? i'm seriously considering a repad to begin with and then LM but i move my laptop alot so LM would not be a safe bet right ?
     
  22. Maineiac12

    Maineiac12 Notebook Evangelist

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    For all your LM questions, @iunlock is the one to speak to. Since you're in the EU, @Pete Light is close to you in the U.K. And has experience.

    I've had good success dealing with AW support on Twitter. If you're not getting help through normal channels then tweet out a message and tag Frank Azor and Umar Khan. They can can usually get the ball rolling for you.
     
  23. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    thanks for the reply, using LM would not be my first time, but using it inside of a laptop would be ! i build pc's for people in my freetime and i only use conductonaut when building pc's and i've been doing it for almost three years now and never had a problem (yet) :). i've tried twitter and they've helped my by sending me a new heatsink and that's where my support ended. so it never helped me really fast forward one month and i'm still struggling with keeping my temps in check. i think i need a new mobo and i do not trust dell engineers with my laptop (i've always done everything myself) and i can't send it in to the depot (for something that should've been fixed from the factory IMO) but hey waht consumers say is never important, in the eyes of mig multinationals
     
  24. Jeniczek

    Jeniczek Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey Pete,

    mind sharing where you've got the XG5 SSD and the SSD cooling mod as well ( I dont mean the EK one, thats already pretty awesomely documented there by you).

    I have read a LOT of the stuff about R4 and the PCH/PAD/LM stuff and I will definately do that once I get the laptop. Can you please also tell me, what are the final PCH HS dimensions? One sources ( inc. yours) says, its 20x20x<=4, but then the others say, that you cant even fit two 2mil pads without having issues. Is there a heatsink, that just needs to be grinded and remains less then 4mil high and fits? Or do we really have to cut of some ribs completely?

    Last question if you dont mind, can you share more details on the HS balancing?

    Looks like I have won an auction for R4 with 7820HK and 1080, so the same setup as you and I would love to do most mods you have done to yours as well.

    Thank you very much for any answers. Hopefully my alien will end up with the same results as your awesome one.
     
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  25. nick2nick

    nick2nick Newbie

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    There is a Youtube video where Umar is talking about the Alienware Software Experience and if you use their software for OC and something goes wrong you are covered under warranty - not sure if that is helpful as I don't know if you (Rei) used their OC SW.
     
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  26. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    Hey I got the XG5 in a replacement R4. I raised a return on my original because of GPU stutter and in my new unit came the new Toshiba XG5 SSD. I'm the only one who has it as far as I know. Full name is "S.M.A.R.T.: KXG50ZNV512G NVMe TOSHIBA 512GB". It's gotta be said it's a massive improvement over the XG4, much closer to the Samsungs in terms of temperatures and performance is still 2TB/s, 1TB/s which is good.

    The custom SSD cooling mod I made consisted of multiple heatsinks cut to a custom fit and glued on. It just so happens I took some exact photos you're after just in case anyone was interested :)...

    Note the way I have done this mod is that it is completely un-doable if required.

    I ordered the following:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Then I followed the following steps:
    1. Peel off the sticker on the black chips and stick this on the back
    2. Clean the black chips with Arcticlean No.1 and a microfibre cloth
    3. Cut the heatsinks into the following lengths as follows using a junior hacksaw:
      [​IMG][​IMG]

    4. Grind down the fins to 3.0 - 3.5mm (I used a stone grinder I have)
    5. File down (just a regular nail file) the fins so there are no sharp, jagged edges or loose pieces of aluminium
    6. Wash heatsinks under the tap and dry them
    7. Lap the heatsinks a little (dry) and blow away any excess dust
    8. Spread a generous helping of Kyronaut evenly across all the black chips
    9. Glue the first heatsink on like this below (also detailed in yellow in the first pic above).
      [​IMG] [​IMG]

      IMPORTANT: Press a lot of pressure on the heatsink when the glue is setting and wait until dry

    10. Then I glued the next two heatsinks as shown in red in my first pic above
    11. Then I glued the far right (controller) heatsink. This was much harder because I needed a thin 1.1mm piece of double sided sticky adhesive inbetween so the glue didn't stick to the SSD board. This is also as shown in blue in my first pic above
    12. Now wait until the glue is dry then pop it in your system
    Of course more critical people may say "WTF are you doing with the heatsink walls being horizontal across the board", thing is that it was a lot less modifications / cuts to do it this way and since there is:
    • Absolutely no airflow on this part of the laptop
    • Almost no height to the heatsink walls anyway
    There was just no point in worrying about that, it just wouldn't make a difference.

    Results
    Before:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    After:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    A nice 15C temp drop on the exact same test! (even though temps weren't that bad before anyway) Happy days :D

    My PCH mod was 20x20x4mm I had to shave/grind it down and file it from 6mm high as shown below:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    This was a perfect fit and there is definitely enough room for a 4mm high heatsink (unless you have the R3 which is 1-2mm less I believe)

    Not right now, pm me as it may be easier to discuss this over VOIP

    Congrats! they are fantastic systems when sorted and I hope you get a good one! Any questions just ask...
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2018
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  27. Maineiac12

    Maineiac12 Notebook Evangelist

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    Do you have any more details on your PCH mod? How did you adhere the heatsink to the chip?

    I'm curious, what is a safe temp range for the PCH? And what happens when it starts to overheat. Mine is reaching 78c while gaming.
     
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  28. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    thanks ! that's very helpfull ! i strictly oc from within the bios and undervolt from throttlestop. this would make oc'ing easier !

    Got a new mobo today and look at the results !! this is done on the stock dell paste and with my old heatsink. finally i can start oc'ing and see if i can oc it to 4.8 :$ temps are now stable and well within the the safe ranges :) will test more and report back with the results. Thank you for your help it really helped me ! @Papusan @Maineiac12 @hmscott
     

    Attached Files:

  29. Perry8912

    Perry8912 Notebook Enthusiast

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    15R3 vs 17R4, Anyone want to share about the battery life please? Under light usage....
     
  30. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    Cool! I'd up your power limit though and test for longer than 4 mins in OCCT, 15 mins I find it's a good reference. Those temps are great for stock paste though congrats!

    For reference here is a 2hr OCCT run at 4.3 GHz with a -30mV on LM:
    [​IMG]

    Hey it's glue to the electric tape in my image on each four corners and kyronaut is between the die and heatsink.

    The PCH is apparently designed to run hot and temperatures well into the 90s is common. Personally I don't want any of my silicon getting that hot so I did the mod and now consider anything less than 90 acceptable and less than 80 desirable with any overclock. I'm not entirely happy with mine so i may cut out some of the structure and put a bigger heatsink in there in due course. When it gets real hot (high 90s i believe) it will start throttling and this can give you a stutter in game as I believe it gimps both the CPU and GPU (not entirely sure though)

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
     
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  31. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Please fix the typo, unless your SSD was transported from the future.!
     
  32. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    nice temps ! i did a quick benchmark just to see how it reacts to sudden pressure. it would throttle almost immediately after starting the benchmark sadly enough it crashed while it was benching for 13 minutes, but my usual time is 30 mins. if i can get it stable at 4.4 i would be very happy, especially when i'm "very" "close" to your temperatures already (for stock paste !). will upload more pictures soon !

    edit:

    about the powerlimits is 100 watts enough ? i've often seen the gpu pull 190+watts so don't wan't to take no juice away from my gpu
     
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  33. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    Here's another one @Rei Fukai with

    4.3GHz -150mV for 5 mins:

    [​IMG]

    Its just a limit, it doesn't take anything away from the GPU...
     
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  34. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    alright, will try next time. for a 25 minute run my temps seem fine on the stock paste. very qurious how it performs when it's repasted again with kryonaught, and repadded. for now it everything seems fine (apart from the core difference of #0 #2 agains #1 #3). i'm very happy, and will focus on trying to get 4.4 stable. i think round about the end of the month, i'll repaste and do some benchmarks again to see how it performs. thanks for the tip !
     

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  35. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    No problem, for reference I found I needed at least +20mV to get 4.4GHz

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
     
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  36. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    Same here. anything less then +20 is too unstable. now it really pushed the chip, overall still happy with the temperatures (i couldn't even run it on 4ghz without throttling) so for me to be able to run it on 4.4 ghz is really good ! (and it did not reach a 100C!) when i've repasted (and i think that a repad is neccesary due core differentials) i'm going to try 4.4 again and see if i can push it further.

    for now i'm very content with the results i got (even with the dell toothpaste as thermal paste) it throttle (for the first time) also only on core 1. i think it was my chip that was bad, cause i think i'll be able to make 4.4 ghz stable en lower the temperatures and core differentials
     

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  37. Wiz bit

    Wiz bit Notebook Consultant

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    I'd be interested to know has anyone bought the Alienware 17 4k with gysnc yet?

    The non gysnc versions are manufactured by Sharp (late 2016/17) and Auo (2015/16) - the Auo being brighter and slightly better panel.

    I suspect the gysnc is the Auo panel and similar to the AU Optronics B173ZAN01.0 (AUO109B) with gysnc enabled in the motherboard.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
  38. Spybreak

    Spybreak Notebook Enthusiast

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    I've done a bit of research and the "new" 4K Gsync has to be the B173ZAN01.0 because its the only panel I can find that has been certified for GSync in other laptop models. My theory is that it wasn't certified for Alienware but now it is, so they can start putting pairing it together with the Gsync mobo.

    I know some people have swapped the QHD panel for the AUO 4K before, I wonder if those who did are now able to activate GSync with it.
     
  39. insoz

    insoz Newbie

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    Hi, I'm new here. I got a refurb 17r4 gtx 1080 and I also have noticed very decent temperatures on stock cooling - assuming the previous owner didn't repaste it. In games I get low 70's on GPU/CPU. Synthetic load brings it up to high 70's or 80*C.

    There is however one unpleasant thing that I noticed that @iunlock has proven to solve - the power module overheating. I ran a synthetic GPU test in OCCT and after 4 minutes I starded getting hard stutters every few seconds with temps reaching high 70's.

    Looking at the plots it quie clear. Usage drops to 0% with no changes in clock speeds.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2017
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  40. alexnvidia

    alexnvidia Notebook Deity

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    iunlock did not solve this. in fact if you follow his repasting guide blindly, u run into a higher risk of getting gpu stuttering. read here http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...gtx1080-in-game-random-stutter-freeze.804499/
     
  41. insoz

    insoz Newbie

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    My bad, I messed up ;) It was you on OwnOrDisown's channel talking about it, right? Thanks for the link, I still have a lot to read here but I watched the interview.

    I would open it up and possibly mod the thermal pads / heatsink pressure arm but there are some more issues with my 17r4 that are annoying me. A broken piece in the rear radiator cover and issues with ligthting on the bottom of the screen (barely visible on the pictures). I did not buy a scratch and dent version ;o

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  42. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    @alexnvidia identified that the problem could be your VRM's overheating. Vrel stands for voltage reliability and it's one of the new pascal flags Nividia uses to tell the user why the gpu behaves like it behaves. i also get a VREL but not with the stutter. i've identified the problem to be that VREL is a combination of multiple warnings combined within one flag. For example i get a VREL when playing in 4K and gpu heavy games. Why VREL ? because i'm pushing the gpu already as hard as it can, and pushing it harder would mean my gpu would become unstable (mind you i play with a 150 core and 500 memory gpu oc)on the currennt voltage, so it downclocks itself till it goes away, and then boosts up again until hitting VREL. In your case it means that your VRM's are becoming unstable, but not due too much oc on a low voltage, but due heat.

    so what i advise you to do is follow @alexnvidia his guide for the repad, and see how it goes.
     
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  43. Wiz bit

    Wiz bit Notebook Consultant

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    Those are great temps for this setup.

    What heatsink does your unit have ? You can see by lifting the back off .. will likely be made by either Sunon or cci.

    Regards the stutter don't try to fix that by lowering clocks of the gpu - contact alienware support they will likely replace the motherboard.
     
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  44. Tanner208

    Tanner208 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Just got my new AW17R4 and ran my 1st benchmark:

    AW17R4 Config: i7 7820hk, GTX 1080, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, 16GB DDR4, QHD 120hz display

    OCd CPU to 4.4Ghz and OCd GPU to +150core and +250memory.

    Firestrike result was 17,777 with max CPU temp at 84c and max GPU 67c.

    Doesn't seem to be a lemon, thoughts? Keep running more tests?

    EDIT: 2nd benchmark:

    TimeSpy result was 6993 with max CPU temp at 89C and max GPU 64c.

    HW Monitor is giving me higher temps then intel tuning utility though. which one is more accurate?
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2017
  45. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    HWINFO is more accurate. Short benchmarks like that don't give you a true read on performance of the system over prolonged load of both the CPU and GPU. Can you run a game for an hour or two? Be interested to see your temps at that clock with BF1, Witcher, GTA V or the division.

    Are you on LM?
     
  46. Tanner208

    Tanner208 Notebook Enthusiast

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    ok i will run some and report back. sorry, im new at this. i assume LM means liquid metal for paste? if so, than no, im using stock atm. however, its on cooling pad and i live in a cold climate area
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2017
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  47. twin snakes

    twin snakes Notebook Consultant

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    Need some m2 2280 heatsink suggestions for my 960pro, damn its hot like a volcano (like 60-70 degrees), no throttle at all but still...
     
  48. Tanner208

    Tanner208 Notebook Enthusiast

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    These are my CPU temps after about an hr of GTA5 with all settings maxed out. I'm concerned now. This was at stock.
     

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  49. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    Here's mine:

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...4-owners-lounge.797457/page-692#post-10611493

    It's this heatsink:

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....me-heatsink-black-hs-001-ek.html?template=amp

    Really recommend it

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

    Yeah that's fairly typical, in fact the core differential isn't too bad!

    Of course you haven't show me the clock frequencies so I can't see how badly it's throttling but it will be at those temps. Also be useful to see your PCH and GPU temps and GPU clock frequency too

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 17, 2017
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  50. twin snakes

    twin snakes Notebook Consultant

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