*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

I hope that's the case.

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Thats not hwo thermals work.........

You are still comparing hardware that is about 40% slower and uses far less power in a chassis that was originally designed to house a 1060GTX (and in some regions even a 1070 maxQ).

Try the OP15 with the 1060 and then we can continue this conversation I posted a link and you can see the surface temps there. I mean the hottest spot they measured is 76 on the bottom in the middle.

 

Returning the replacement m15 and waiting to see what comes out in the next few months. The replacement actually ran hotter. Keyboard was unbearable after an hour playing FFXIV.

As for the OP15 and 17, those are fantastic deals. Bob and Stephen did fantastic in-depth reviews on them. However, at the end of the day, they are warrantied by Walmart, which doesn't sit well with me. At least with Dell, support has been great. Better than Lenovo and Razer. Dell's biggest issue is sales. That department needs an overhaul. Felt like I was buying a new vehicle, not laptop. Those chassis in the OPs are well known but if something goes wrong I just don't trust Walmart to be able to fix it. I'm definitely ok spending the extra money. But, I can't blame anyone for getting them. Price to performance wise, it may just be the best deal out there.

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In most newer Dell PCs if GPU is hotter only then the fans ramps up otherwise CPU temps continue to rise to BDPROCHOT values and throttle down cpu clocks. Happens on my old AW( in my signature) too. GPU temps decide the fan speed.

 

This is not the case with the AW15r2/17r3, 15r3/17r4 and up etc

The fans turn on always if the CPU hits 60c. Cant remember from the AW15R1 that I also had but I think i would have noticed if the CPU would go all the way up to 80c and higher without any fans turning on. Simply turning on prime95 would always have turned my CPU fans no matter what from what I recall.

 

You've forgotten everything. The same temp curves are set from echo models and beyond including 17r5. Only in performance mode fans spin when temps are 60C otherwise its 80C for fans to spin at 2500-3500rpms. On linux fans starts at 90-95C CPU temps.

 

Same ****y with Aw17 and Aw18. Overclock your i7 Extreme and the fans start ramp up when temp is +90C. Too late if you run it with a nice overclock. Even stock. Everything have gone the wrong way since the 2013 models. At least you have the performance mode now. We had nothing outside Hwinfo fan control. Sad but true.

 

Dude I am typing this on a 15R3 and currently my CPU fan is spinning at low RPM because I have a lot of chrome tabs open and am unpacking a couple of winrar files. The fan is on and spinning.

What you say it simply not true. Unless you might have screwed around with the fan tables in HWinfo, the things you describe dont happen.

Here a screenshot with the fanspeeds when TSbench is running. No GPU load. Dont spread misinformation please.The RPM's mentioned in the circled boxes are the fanspeeds on which the fans are currently running when opening the box.

I never have CPU fan performance mode on.

-A higher PCH temp when writing to the SSD's causes my fans to spin
-CPU temp of around 55~60c causes the fans to spin
-and ofcourse non CPU but only GPU load causes the fans to spin.

What Vasudev states is incorrect. See my screenshot below.

 

not when linus, and own or disown reviewed them. that's already a + considering that with both reviewers all of AW laptops ran hot

 

nah he is actually right. My cpu and gpu als spin at that rpm when i put my fan profile on "Balanced". only on "Quit" or "Performance" it spins softer or harder. I can remember that my Alienware 2013/14 17 R5 also had a standard RPM speed of 26 and 2800 rpm (cpu and gpu) and it could ramp up to 4200 RPM for the CPU and 4500 RPM for the gpu. Those speeds are still being used today, which is logicall cause AW has been using the same heatsink manufacturer for how long.

my last year AW 17 r4 also used to spin on 4200 and 4500 MAX rpm and 2600 and 2800 when nothing is happening.

 

H emeans that the fans dont turn on at all when only the CPU is being stressed. which clearly isnt correct. The fans are both driven by the CPU, PCH and GPU temps. Not merely only by the GPU temps.

The guy from Disown also said it ran hot. same as the NBC rewiew. Which is logical ofcourse ,onyl so much you can do in a thin chassis.

 

watch from the 6.00 minute mark. There he litterally says that the fans run loud, but do a good job keeping the temps down. Even the surface temp is alot cooler than AW and it even as a mechanical keyboard. something AW has still nog been able to pull off.


Bob of all trades found it Single channel RAM was bottlenecking the cpu and it still does not run as hot as AW.

 

I didnt check the videos of the 17 inch version (because thats not comparable to the laptops I limit myself to).

LIke i mentioned before. the OP15 reaches very high surface temps.

 

I haven't messed with fan speed tables.Have you updated the BIOS to latest one or which version are you using?

So AWCC fan control works w/o wrecking TS and XTU? Do you have Passive or Super Silent mode?

 

I used both and know what I experienced and tested, no need to let others (reviews) tell me what I experienced in person. I got the temps to stay within the same limits and the M15 was no doubt warmer through the entire chassis.

You seem to think gaming / benching / max temps is the only scenario to consider. The GPU model is irrelevant as long as the temps are the same.

 

The new command center comes with 4 fan profiles. Performance is the most reactive one. Quit is around 2200 and 2500 max when gaming resulting around 30/35 db when gaming. Which is Nice! Performance mode maken my fans come up more quickly and can even ramp down to around 3700 and 3900 when gaming or even less sometimes (depens on my ambient temp)

But the fan profiles do work. Only silly thing AW did is tie the fan profile to a cpu performance profile. Making my CPU clock down more Otten on balanced and quit then on performance mode. Hence the lower noise on quit.

 

I did the same thing. I returned my m15 and will continue to use my r13 for now. I'm still on the market for a new gaming laptop. Lets see what comes out of CES 2019.

 

But thats not how thermals work. You can have a small chip spreading 65c of heat and a big chip spreading 65c of heat. Its not hard to get which one gives more heat to the air......My 1070GTX also is staying around 65c in general but you can bet the surrounding air is much hotter than that of a 1050 which is just a smaller source of heat. It's not the chip temperature that matters directly but how much your heatsink \s are extracting of that heat, 2 larger heatsinks at 65C make the laptop more hot compared to a tiny heatsink of 65C.

 

Always the latest as of the time I ditched the laptops, never had the fans not kicking in on CPU load alone and never used CPU performance mode because I hate how the fans dont turn off when idle.

 

You mean 1.0.5?

 

I just bought the m15 (Oct 2018 version) and I'm already having doubts. Can anyone help?

I sometimes spend long periods off-grid, and use one of those readily available DC-DC converters to power my past (mostly Asus) laptops from a 12 volts DC supply, instead of using the AC power adaptor. Effectively it converts 12 volts DC to 19.5 volts DC. It's always worked great, once you find a converter with a plug/tip that matches the DC plug that connects to the laptop's power socket. (Usually DC-DC converters come with a selection of tips to match the plugs of a variety of laptop manufacturers.)

So I'm now looking for a similar solution for my new m15, but there are a couple of snags:

1. The included m15 AC power supply is rated at 9.23 amps DC output which is quite a bit more than my past laptops, and more than the max output current of all of the DC-DC converters I can find. I don't think this will be a problem as I will probably just be using it to charge the m15 or using it for very light work, so I guess the current draw will be fairly low.

2. Does anyone know if the m15 DC power plug/tip is a standard Dell type? It is quite a bit bigger than my existing laptops, so I'm worried that it might be a new plug specifically for the m15 that I will not be able to find a match for in any DC-DC converter.

3. I've found mention that some/all Dell laptops have some sort of digital interface in their AC power supplies, so the laptop will refuse to work with non-Dell power supplies. This would obviously prevent me from using a DC-DC converter, Does anyone know if the m15 has this abomination, or should I be OK to use a "generic" power supply with it ?

Thanks for any helpful comments.

 

You can only use Dell branded PSU otherwise it'll throw a error Unknown adapter connected and harmful. You can use older Dell inspiron or precision or alienware PSU w/o any issue.

 

In this case, I wouldn't even raise the temp of the GPU above 40-50c in windows in the m15 and it would still end up warmer. Either way, the m15 doesn't allow a 1050 even if you are correct this is the sole cause of the difference (it's not), it's still a lack of options on behalf of the m15 in your best case scenario.

 

I'm hoping we see a i5 with the 2060 in it. If the m15 had that, I would be tempted to try it again. The current 8300H runs very well, on par with the 7700HQ, but cooler from what I've seen. If the leaks are to be believed, the 2060 will run 10-15% higher than the 1070. For 1080p gaming, that sounds pretty good to me.

 

a 1050 isnt really gamer grade anymore. So why would they offer one in a gaming laptop?

 

Because it sounds like their only option to keep the laptop cool to the touch?

 

All high performance gamin glaptops tend to get warm/hot on the keyboard deck. cant defy physics. If there is a GPU underneath your fingers that is running at 65~80c you will feel it when there is just barely a cm of space between your finger and the GPU and some surround 90c VRM's chokes etc next to it. You cannot avoid it.

 

Depends on the model. Some is a lot worse than others.

 

Yeah this is the case of that some m15's come with seriously problematic heatsinks. Heatsinks that cannot make contact with the main chip die because of a capacitor pushing the heatpipes up.

 

Will still be hot. If the chips run into 100C it will throttle down. Then up, then throttle down. With a sligtly better heatsink, it will run hot over longer periode... See where I go?

 

nah i think it should be able to cool the chips sufficiently. The heatsinks are almost of similar size as the full size 15 models. as long if the pressur eis good. i tshould cool down the components sufficiently. But now the CPU plate barely touches the CPU die. Its only thick thermal paste holding it together if you have a bad heatsink.

 

You pack same hardware in a lot smaller footprint/thickness. NVMe ssd's, PCH chips etc. All throw out heat. Not only Cpu, GPU and heatsink.

 

The full AW15R3/R4 wastes a lot of space because of the midframe, so the internal space is a lot smaller than might appear at first sight. Its only about 3mm/4mm thicker actually, but the mid frame, battery package (its housed in a plastic casing instead of just bare battery cells), mechanical HDD + the 99wh battery makes the space just as cramped. Later I will send you a photo of the heatsink of the AW15R3, the intake part of the heatsinks are just as thin as the M15, just the exhaust part of a tad higher because of the hinge forward frame.

 

Don't forget there is a reason Dell didn't throw out m15 with i9-8950Hk from the beginning. Or maybe they have learned from 15R4 ? But I doub't it. Even Dell's engineers could see how this would/could end.
Put it the other way... I'm sure they would done it due the added +$600 sales price if it was possible.

 

1. That's a gamble. If the laptop tries to draw more current than the power supply can provide it will either kill the PSU / blow a fuse / best case the PSU will handle it 'smartly' - I would always advise to use something that is rated equivalent or over the minimum requirement, whatever the hardware may be. A general rule of electronics is "don't f*ck with amperage".

2. No idea, sorry.

3. Also not so sure, but I have an old M14xR2 that *did* accept a 3rd party power supply in a sudden moment of need. That's 2012 though, so all bets are off.

Good luck! I hope the m15 works out for you, I'm on the precipice of purchasing one myself...

 

i agree with you up to a certain point. The picture sums up the problem in one glance. The R series has a block of copper at the end where the air flows through, that block is a solid block with fins where the air passes through. I think by removing that block off the exhaust, they've made it harder for the heatpipes to extract, or transfer the heat to where it is cold. the problem is that the m15 block. can fit four maybe five times within the 15 R4 exhaust block. That alone gives it a disadvantage, cause the now the copper exhaust block is intergraded where it is warm, and with the R series, it's a extra piece away from the heat.

the "badonkadonk" off the R series moves the heatsink away from the body, and away from all the heat, so there can be a temperature difference so the heat can really travel from warm to cold. not warm to warm (like the m15)

 

The i( is not a good idea in any 15inch laptop, they shouldnt have released it in the 15R4 either imo.

 

All thinner laptops (both 15 or 17 inches chassis) should have Intel® Core™ i5-8300H or Intel® Core™ i5-8400H Processor. A lot cheaper as well and they would throttle less. The thicker models should max have 6 core i7-8750H and power cap for less throttling.

 

true that, or really improve the heatsink and make a dual vapor chambered heatsink.

(This is not a heatsink, but a full vapor chamber design over the cpu and gpu from the razor blade 15)

 

I5 options at least would be great. But anyway I think the alienware M15 is still among the better thin and light gaming laptops.
Unlike some competitors (razer blade or msi GS65) they give you the opportunity to let your laptop run with higher temperatures and higher clockspeeds. The competitors have lower cpu clocks out of the box, therefore giving you better temps.
The Hexa I7 are generally hard to cool, even bigger chassis struggle to do so. High temperatures or tweaking with repasting are the price one has to pay for portability and mobility.
Almost every thin and light gaming laptop has its own problems, the zephyrus has the battery issue for example, other sacrifice performance.
If you want the maximum out of the components, you have to go big
And as long as you still get a decent clock speed (3,6 ghz or so with all cores) its still great, and technically is no thermal throttling.
I guess the only real solution for the problem will be 7nm.
Didnt even the 17 R5 struggle to cool the I9 down? Those chips are just hot (literally)

 

The 8400H is I think based on the specs even a more solid CPU than the 7700HQ I7 if it can keep its boost up.

 

I agree with you up to a ceetain point.

Having a laptop with a keyboard that becomes uncomfortably hot is not really a benefit over a CPU that's cooler but will live for much longer than any AW sourced CPU.

Heat + electronics = bad combination. A CPU that runs cool, can OC itself (with the right algorithm embedded within the kernel)

The hexa i7 are not hard to cool, the Asus zephyrus has proven it out of the box. A gaming laptop should not have long battery life, for that you would need to buy an ultrabook with an ULV processor, or a workstation. Gaming laptops are not being dubbed "desktop-replacement" for a reason. They're big, heavy but give alot off raw horse power.

That companies try to milk consumer by slapping "gaming" on a thin laptop does not make it a game-laptop. It's still a thin laptop.

If your CPU cannot reach it's boost speed because of heat, that implies that you cannot use that feature cause it's already crippled. That's like buying an iPhone xs or max or whatever for the cpu power but still limit your CPU because your battery cannot supply enough voltage and current to the CPU. So you limit the performance.

That's not a fix but a workaround. AW has not fixed anything in the last 5 years their Q&A went south, it only got worse. We even got a Twitter account using false advertisements just to get people to buy an broken Dell laptop.

The 17 R5 did not struggle to cool the CPU, the imbalance was still present. Without repasting I could game and OC to 4.4 Ghz on the CPU with the GPU active. Even made a reddit post about it. A BGA (Ball Grid Array) should not be running hot, cause if you game for more than a year @90C after a year of two your CPU will stop working due to the broken BGA's. And it's the BGA that transfers the electrical current from the CPU to the motherboard.

But I do agree if you repaste/repad/balance you can have a wicked machine, but not as the competitors. The m15 looks like a Lenovo Y720 to me, not an AW.

 

So I pulled the trigger on my order for an m15 today. It was a misfire. Apparently the red chassis are now out of stock (at least ordering from Dell Canada). Waiting to hear back from another rep tomorrow to pick up things.

I've scoured this thread. Partially I think I'm mad for committing to the m15 after reading various experiences - but it's not through ignorance that I choose to persevere; Sure something that can tick a few portable gaming boxes with wonderful refresh rates, but I'm mostly sold on the sub-1080 compromise of the sleeker build to hoof it around with me. That said for the first time I've been tempted by the notion of the AGA and a higher-res monitor to boost my reckless thin laptop purchase.

I'm not a fool. The AGA stuff is a mere pipe dream for me right now (hot CPUs kill 99.9% of all pipe dreams - regardless of the oven being inside or out of the kitchen). And if anyone from HID reads this please accept my apologies - whichever class of new laptop I wanted to go with I was always adamant of a repaste and clean boot with you guys as a minimum. The stock results I've seen around don't give me that compelling need for an instant solution (and I've a few friends that have been fortunate to get amazing results from mere teeny undervolting), so I've decided to get the stock and play with it to see what the deal is before making changes.

 

Tore my m15 apart and did liquid metal w/ a few coats of Conformal Coating over the exposed elements.





Also removed this garbage:



Temps dropped 37C under load from tapped out at 100C. Now sits around 67C under load.

GPU (1070) was also thermal throttling due to incorrect settings from the factory as it was set to 62C max. Alienware support never got back to me. Fixed it with Nvidia Inspector.

Last note, appear to be missing a thermal pad from the factory. Going to take another run through today and replace all of the thermal pads.

 

Might as well use SOIC test clip on both chips to mod and flash them. Smaller size is for GPU usually 128k to512k. You can check the model no. written on top of the chip.

 

Not really my bag.

 

Might as well use SOIC test clip on both chips and mod them and flash them. Smaller size is for GPU usually 128k to512k.

 

Say hello to m17

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...50h-coffee-lake.810891/page-121#post-10843121

 

Is there any chance you can advise how to change throttling point with Nvidia inspector? I noticed my 1070 is doing the same

 

They most likely going to make a new line of 15 and 17 with the rtx mxm graphics. I doubt the m15 and m17 is the only models they are going to have from now on.

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