*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

I hate to ask, but why do people hate 3 screw setups so much? Three is the magic number for kinematic repeatability and as you add more points of constraint you actually increase the chances of uneven fastening...

 

If you tighten the screw in a crosswise, it cannot be uneven. Also if you only have three mounting points, and you use a too thick VRM pad, it causes unevennes making the heatsink not sit flush with the cpu.

 

It can easily be uneven unless you're using a calibrated torque screwdriver to apply equal torque to each fastener...

And isn't not using the wrong thickness VRM pad the proper fix for the unevenness?

 

Uhh, no.

This may be for lugnuts, but he explains perfectly how and why

And offcoarse that's the fix, but you think Dell is gonna bother using the right thickness ?

That's why:

public object Tripod { get; set;}

Tripod = Uneven Core temps;

Uneven Core temps = True;

public static async class AWTripod()
{
If(Tripod.tostring().equals().True()
{
await DisplayAlert("Succes, you have uneven coretemps");
}
}

You'll get

public List<Notebookreviewgang> noteBookReviewGang = new List<Notebookreviewgang>();

List<Notebookreviewgang>()
}
(" @Papusan, @Mr.Fox, @Vasudev, @Vishtar Shooks, etc")
}

And they are more then happy to provide some input why a tripod will never cut it. When was the last time you saw core differentials on a desktop ?

 

Erm he says you need a torque wrench to get the torque the same and even before he mentions the tightening order...

Even the massive socket on my server MB has 3 screws for clamping the processor in evenly - no engineering reason why they couldn't have had 4 and they have both a torque spec and tightening order...

I just wish I had the torque screwdriver to have done it to spec.

 

Yes but we where not talking about HOW tight you must tight it, but about WHY you I need four screws. And his explanation explains why you need 4 screws.

Do you think AW uses a torq screwdriver when assembling these systems ?

When was the Last time manufacturers (of laptops) wrote down with how much torque you must tight a screw ?

Tightening a screw on torque is more neccessary on parts that move to even out the stresses that are exhibit on the screws. In a airplane the wrong loose screw it could mess up the whole plane even making it crash down, but a laptop only has a fan that's a moving part inside the laptop (or HDD drive) and even for the fans AW does not even portray how tight the screws must be, and FYI the screws do not prortrude just like how it does on desktop motherboards, it's a M2 x 3 screw, even if you use a torque screwdriver if you run out of thread it still won't sit flush. Just like how heatsinks are created, are not all screws equal. Especially on that small scale.

 

Just a note...LGA-2011 (primary server CPU socket for about 7 years now) uses 4 screws on the socket and cooling mounting....I have never seen/heard of a desktop or server using asymmetric mount points for cooling.

Torque on the screws is largely irrelevant in a laptop setting, you tighten them until the arm is flush against the stand off (which is also how any cooler I have ever installed in a server and desktop works...). Additional torque once bottomed out is just a shortcut to stripped threads - but no additional cooling benefit will be realized. As long as you always go finger tight and verify the arm from the heatsink is flush down against the standoff, you have optimized the pressure for that design. It may be a bad design, but you have installed it correctly. Those arms on laptops act as a spring of sorts and the tension they provide to the heatsink which converts to pressure against the die can be impacted by things like the angle of attachment as well as other factors like incorrectly sized thermal pads.

On tightening order, the screw positions are literally numbered in the order you should tighten them in....not rocket science.

 

LOL - I knew I'd be sorry I asked

If I wanted reliable results in maufacuturing, I would just equip all of my workers with torque screwdrivers - it'd be cheaper than any returns due to incorrect heatsink fastening - even if the screws are just meant to be _gently_ bottomed out.

And you're right - I wouldn't expect laptop manufacturers to provide users with torque specs for heatsinks if they exist - I'd expect manufacturers would want their customers to leave the heatsinks well alone - at least during warranty periods. I am pleasantly amazed that Alienware have a repair/disassembly manual available to download at all!

 

Fair enough - the AMD EPYC has just 3 screws to hold the CPU in the socket. They use 4 for the heatsink - which weighs about 700g and would probably fall off with fewer, but the heatsink is kept even with springs on each screw.

 

That socket is MASSIVE and seems overly complex (but I have lived pretty much exclusively in Intel land forever). The 3 screw portion is pretty much inconsequential to cooling, that is just to make sure that there is good pressure between the socket pins and the pads on the CPU - the use of a hinged design also makes the 3 screws more effective than a floating heatsink attached with 3 screws like *cough cough* "some" laptops have. When he talked about using the torque wrench to fasten everything and prevent damage - that was 100% so you do not damage the socket or strip any threads. Damaging a CPU socket requires an entire motherboard replacement. That is not a field repairable part. As I described above, he was still achieving flush contact between the standoffs and the heatsink (and the end of the threading on the screws) with the springs on the screws providing additional pressure balanced across the CPU IHS.

 

I think the m15 would benefit from having these installed

Laptop Cooling Feet, Improves Laptop Cooling Performance. Works with All laptops, Mobile workstations, Gaming. Alienware, Dell, Apple, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Razor, Asustec, Acer. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07772JBX1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PIQeCb82YEYP9

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I am currently using this stand from amazon on my m15 when I have it on my desk and hooked up to another monitor with a wired keyboard/mouse setup.
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...8&qid=1544727686&sr=1-4&keywords=laptop+stand
I have to say that this lowered my temps around 5c-10c while gaming, with the keyboard on the m15 actually being usable.

If anyone would like pictures I will post some later when I get home from work!

 

Looks great, I'd still need those portable feet though since I won't be using the laptop on my desk at home all the time (more like 40% of the time).

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I'm carrying around a 3D printed doorstop to lift the bottom of my m15 atm XD

 

I have been using a bottle cap lol, going to buy these feet later today cause it's a bother to keep track of the damn cap

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Seems like there is a new update for AWCC, maybe it might fix the fan profiles! Fingers crossed.

for those who want the link: https://www.dell.com/support/home/gh/en/ghbsdt1/product-support/product/alienware-m15-laptop/drivers

 

We should make a joke post with like fireproof mittens with the Alienware logo with someone taking the m15 out of an oven lol that would be like a GREAT Christmas card for Alienware XD

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Ooooo you have me excited now

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Hmm - has anyone else had trouble booting Linux since upgrading to the latest BIOS?

I can't think of anything else I've changed that might have broken my dual boot setup as I'm booting Windows through grub.

 

You should post a guide somewhere, I haven't tried dual booting but plan on it as soon as I get enough money for another m. 2

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Did it reset the secure boot flag maybe? That would be one thing to break your setup.

 

Thanks - I checked that and it's still set to disabled. Googling seems to suggest that Windows changing its fast boot flag can break Linux boots but I couldn't get the suggested fix to work for me.

It does seem to boot the kernel but the hangs.

I also see CPU thermal throttling messages during boot on occasion - not confidence inspiring!

 

Dell sometimes blocks Linux as first boot device. So, Boot menu entry 1 should be Windows and next entry can be Ubuntu/grub.

 

Never switch to Intel gpu in linux and update nvidia drivers since it screws up nvidia drivers. You might need to add nomodeset.

 

I wonder if Dell machines are now suffering from the same BIOS issue as Lenovo's. Maybe a long shot but try booting with the following added to grub (hit 'e' at the grub menu to add the line, then hit F10 to save and boot):
IVRS_IOAPIC[32]=00:14.0

 

Has anyone gotten the display to change to 120hz nicely? Ever time I did it worked for a little while but the the screen starts turning off and on. Super weird.

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I have a tri-fold wallet - when traveling I just prop up the back of my laptop with that to let it breathe more

 

Thanks but that didn't seem to help either.

I have some ACPI errors AE_ALREADY_EXISTS and an ACPI table load error to investigate...

 

Same error in Linux even before updating the bios. But it doesn't prevent the system to work, unless it may be cause why nvidia-prime doesn't allow me to boot successfully with the igpu (basically the nvidia card is not shutdown).

 

Did you try to boot with nomodeset activated? Maybe it hangs only for graphics reason.

 

Yes I tried that too. Right now I can't get the Ubuntu installer DVD to boot all the way anymore

 

So super weird things are going on. Last night I was playing Assassins creed odyssey and my CPU temps were around mid 70's with 84C highs (this was wonderful). I came home from lunch and my fans were running when the laptop screen was closed and it was ice cold in a 69F house. This is not good because when the CPU temps get below ambient temps that is when condensation occurs and things get wet when they are booted. Today I played for ten minutes to find my CPU was throttling and hitting 100C. I am soooo confused, hoping condensation wasn't formed between the cpu Die and the cooling pad. Reaching out to support on this one. These thermals are totally random with no consistency at all. On top of that, what turned the fans on the laptop when it was closed?!?! I did switch the fan speed to performance but that shouldn't cause the fan to kick on when the laptop is closed. FML.

I really want to keep the laptop but if I can't use it for what it was meant for then I might have to look elsewhere. I purchased this for the long haul.

 

Hello all,

I just put my order in for this laptop on HIDEvolutions site. Never ordered from them but the only upgrade they are doing is the ram. Are they pretty good about opening the system and getting it to the customer with no prints or smudges? Do they leave the protective plastic on at least ? Specs are below:

Nebula Red
144hz 1080P
8750H
1070 max q
256GB SSD
16GB 2666 dual channel
90wh battery

 

You do realize it is IMPOSSIBLE to cool below ambient if you are relying on air to take away heat (all air and water cooling)

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Was it really shutdown when closed or just resting? Could a windows update have happened while it was on but closed and then crashed leaving the fans on crazy?

I had mine undervolted via XTU - that doesn't seem to be sticky beyond reboots so perhaps your settings went away?

 

Thanks for notifying the group. I tested it on mine and it seems to still treat custom profiles the same as balanced, as far as I can tell.

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I'm going to give up trying for today - as the installer DVD is immutable I guess it must be something in my BIOS or on my disks that is breaking Ubuntu all of a sudden. I might nuke the Ubuntu partition and see if that fixes the installer.

 

Did you check if the raid went back on? For ubuntu the raid and secure boot were the only two things I had to disable.

 

Got me there! So I know that's not the problem.

No, it was resting with the lid closed. The fans turned on once last night so I opened and closed it and it went away. No updates at all. Then the fans were on again today when I came home for lunch. We will see if the fans are running again after work. Never undervolted the CPU, not even sure how to do that. Just did a repaste that seemed to work... for a day.

 

Anyone know how I can limit the power when the laptop is on battery?

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If you become a victim to theft let me know.

 

Well guys its been fun. Woke up today and went to check my email before I went to work and the laptop was dead. I had done a re paste 3 days ago and I had spent 2 nights in a row playing destiny 2 for about 4 hours each. Had been running with a -0.145 undervolt and right after the re paste rand 5 stress test loops (those are 20 runs each) of Time Spy Extreme and 1 hour of AIDA64 cpu stress test all without issue. Now I hit the power button and get a blink of the power and keyboard lights and a brief spin up of the fans then nothing. Tried removing ram, hard drives, disconnected the battery and cmos, only thing that changes is with out the battery connected and the power plugged in the power light just does a steady blink, no pattern. I already got my RMA from Dell and it will be on its way back tomorrow morning. My window to return it would be up on Friday so I guess I am glad this happened before then.

 

I might be joining you on this. The tech on the phone today told me that they (90C-100C) are "perfectly normal operating temperatures". If he cant agree there are problems, I will just end up buying the Alienware 13 r3. I hear it has much better reviews and thermals. Sad because I really like this laptops size and looks and I got for 1300 out the door. Pretty good deal but not if it is going to turn into a brick in 6 months.

 

Yikes! That sucks. I'm glad it at least happened during your return window. I hope they extend it for you so you have time to adequately test the new one.

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No replacement for me. Just getting a refund. Going to see what I can replace it with. I don't trust it at this point.

 

Yikes, too many problems on this thread.

At this point debating whether I should take the risk and keep my order or just cancel it..

 

Everyone's experience is going to be different. I am a happy owner of m15, a little undervolt and cap the CPU at 3.5 GHz on all cores and my temps don't go above 80 on the CPU or 75 on the gpu. All of my software works (except 3rd party alienfx lighting) and the laptop looks amazing. It is the best balance of performance and form factor for me.

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Same here. I am happy with mine - it suits my needs. I think this forum is probably not representative of the general m15 user population. People on here tend to be more technical and more picky about their computers. Probably have higher expectations as well.

My main complaint is the lack of fan control (which they might fix). I do think they could make it more clear in the marketing, etc about performance limitations and it needing tweaks to avoid high CPU temps. They could do a better job configuring it for use out of the box. Not enough of a complaint to make me want to go somewhere else and make more compromises to get the same form factor.

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Plus I like the fact this is not a "super thin" gaming laptop where the fan noise would be super loud and whiney and surface temps might be worse (like razerblade 15). I really love this laptop so far and I hope they keep improving the software over time.

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Played ACO again after work. CPU temps averaged 75C and and upper 60's for the GPU. No undervolting at all. So confused over here . Sucks we have to undervolt and cap the CPU. I feel like Dave2d owes all of us a steak dinner with unlimited drinks.