*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

I don't have the laptop yet it's still being built but I do have the service tag.

Oh and I wouldn't come near Throttle Stop I hate it.

 

Hi,
i'm a new m15 i5-8300h owner, under stress test and with undervolting and stock Thermal paste, i've this max temperature on the cpu:

core 0 - 84°
core 1 - 68°
core 2 - 81°
core 3 - 71°


Do you think that this big temperature difference, between the core, is caused by thermal paste or thermal pad?...... or both?
thank you

 

Which stress test? Some single threaded tasks can really fire up core 0 higher than other cores, if you used Support assist. I recommend using AIDA64

 

AIDA 64

core 0 - 83°
core 1 - 68°
core 2 - 84°
core 3 - 70°

OCCT

core 0 - 84°
core 1 - 68°
core 2 - 84°
core 3 - 71°​

 

It does seem higher even after you've undervolted. Without undervolt, I think spikes to 90-92C correct? You can do a repaste.

 

you have an uneven thermal paste spread.

The X Cross method is the best in my experience as once the heatsink is fitted, it provides the maximum coverage with the least air bubbles

 

Without undervolt is a Pain

AIDA 64

core 0 - 96°
core 1 - 76°
core 2 - 96°
core 3 - 79°

I will repaste today after work.....i hope that thermal pad aren't the cause of bad contact

 

BGA chips, bruh. Ake rectangular naked die. Not square as desktop IHS. Use 3/4 line with thermal paste even on 4 core i5-8300h. Or just spread it on the die.

 

That's very bad... You should have asked Dell for new heatsink. Try IC diamond with 3/4 line like Papusan said.
Does the GPU have unusual temps?

 

1050Ti - furmark 4K 8x MSAA max temperature 75°.
I don't know what is the normal temperature for the gpu.

For the high temperature of the cpu, after repaste, if there is no change i'll contact dell.

 

When you open up. Check the thermal pads imprint from the components. Too much is bad, same also with no imprint. Too much means the thermal pads lift the heatsink off from the die.

 

I'll post photo. Ty

 

repaste done, temperature are Always much different betwen the core, later i check again the repast. now with stock setting the processore hit max 93° with no trothling, before how start anything the cpu start trothling.

AIDA 64 with undervolt

core 0 - 83° after 74°
core 1 - 68° after 64°
core 2 - 84° after 73°
core 3 - 70° after 65°

for gpu nothing as changed before 75° after 74°

idle temperature about 34°-36°

 

Have you checked in TS or HWINFO at what freq. or clocks (in MHz or GHz) does it run?
I think AIDA64 is concurrently stressing odd and even cores with different data or something else. I think a minor lapping might solve it. I believe you need to use PC like normal for few days after repaste to get consistent results and then use AIDA64. That way paste is somewhat mature and adjusts to constant changing temps, transition from low to high clocks and vice versa etc...

 

Same as before 3.88 ghz.

I think there Is a bada contact betwen heatsink and CPU/gpu

 

I feel a slight warp at one end is causing the difference. Maybe some mismatching thermal pad is the issue.

 

The pads in the CPU area are very pressed, After i post picture

Core 0 and 2 have High temp, Is possibile that they are near the "pad" area?

 

Wait? Are you switching to the m15 too? Stop copying me! Lol. Why did you decide to switch? I ended up moving my Area 51m so much that the giant power bricks became an annoyance.

Serious question has anyone bought the 90whr battery for this laptop separately or know the part number? Found a decent 2060 RTX model on amazon for $1600 and the only downside was the small battery.

 

d00d, where have you been? there is a long thread about this...but read the last part first then you can go through the details if you wish: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...vs-alienware-m15.827808/page-11#post-10884605

 

Dead to the world buddy. Busy at work so I haven't been on alot.

 

Guys, what temps are you getting while gaming and what are the CPU clock speeds like? Any thermal throttling?

 

You are still one switch away from the perfect beast - AW 13 R3, hehe. I feel like both the m15 and Area 51m lack some features and qualities to be considered worthy replacements/upgrades over the little OLED monstrosity. The 1060 is still a solid card when it comes to gaming. Worst case, can always slap a 2080 in the graphics amplifier and call it a day. But you keep the screen and mobility, have a decent battery life and overall great build quality.

As for the m15 temps situation, I suggest you guys take a closer look at the heatsink and its alignment with the die. Might have to resize the thermal pads and bend the HS arms to increase the pressure. I did that with my AW 13 and the result was a drop of 15 degrees across the board in addition to near equal core temps vs 10-12C difference (repasted, no HS pressure added). Looks like multiple AW models suffer from the same issue.

 

It's funny you say that as I've been eyeing the AW 13 forever. I was hoping it was going to get the 8750h but it got discontinued instead. But I was more or less considering doing what you suggested and use a graphics amp with it and call it a day.

I already order my M15 off amazon for $1600 with the 144hz screen and RTX 2060. So we'll see how it is. I can't recall if it was here or on reddit, but I know I saw someone used 1.5mm pads to replace the 2.5mm that the m15 comes with and it evened out the core temps on the 8750h. So I figure that combined with throttle stop should get it to where it should be. Only thing is I'll have to get the 90whr battery. Though I'll test the battery life first and judge that first hand. I may take advantage of the 2.5 hdd bay if it's in the 3hr range.

 

Just got my m15 today. The build quality appears to be fantastic, typical solid Alienware chassis. Love the size and weight. It's nearly only half the weight of my M15x and half the thickness.

Just ran Firestrike and Time Spy. My CPU does indeed get pretty hot. Temps well into the 90s. I usually use Arctic Silver 5 on my M15x's CPU and GPU. Thinking about doing the same for my m15 and finding a good undervolt for my CPU.

Gaming isn't a huge priority for me. I'm a software developer and do some video editing pretty regularly, but I do like playing some games to relax once or twice a week.

 

Sigh.. Looks like I would have to go with the Alienware M15 afterall.. The M17 might be a bit too big and heavy to be brought as a hand carry in an airplane..

How are the thermals? Any issues with the newer M15s lately? I honestly would prefer the M17, but alas.. I guess it is not meant to be.

 

i think i've to change the pad, Tomorrow arrive two pad with tickness of 1 and 1.5 mm.

Pad:


Pics of heatsink:

 

FRom the thermal pad imprint I see one side is under more pressure than another. Didn't dell remove the plastic film?

 

As soon as mine will arrive, i plan to give a try to K5 Pro instead of the pads, will let know about the results

 

I tried two m17’s with 1070’s both averaged 100c on cpu while gaming and throttled liked crazy. I have no doubt the m15 will be similar. My 13 OLED 13r3 is a little monster. Temps never get about 88c on cpu and low mid 70’s on gpu while gaming. For. 13” notebook and the storage, cooling and the OLED screen is amazing. To me possibly the best notebook they have made to date. My 17r4 never had temp issues. I expected it not to but the 13 I was kinda expecting it to but never has. If I keep waiting for the area 51m to arrive I’ll see how it does and adjust my statement if warranted, lol.

 

I don't know this product, TY i've ordered this instead of arctic Thermal pad

 

I'm using K5 Pro on my 17 R4 for everything but GPU and CPU (Conductonaut on them) and so far so good.

 

How did you apply the thermal paste? 3/4 line of the CPU die and X for GPU??

 

It's hardo to clean/remove?

 

Spread on die

 

For ICD just line or dot method will do. For gelid,Kryonaut, maker gel spread method gives best performance.

 

I haven't repasted yet, so i honestly don't know

 

K5 pro becomes a mess if you use too much and its quite thick too. You need to use quantity of alcohol or articlean 1 and 2 to get rid off it cleanly.

 

Not sure if it's worth the potential mess. High quality thermal pads like Fujipoly offer up to 20W/mk heat transfer which is at least 3 to 4 times better than K5. Personally, I wouldn't use Conductonaut either (or any other LM for that matter). With LM you are supposed to do it once and forget, but there's a risk of a bad thermal pad application, poor HS pressure, etc. The cost of LM related mess is huge on its own. I've repasted my laptops hundreds of times in the last 10 years, and to this day, with all the care and precision, I can't guarantee a perfect application each and every time. So I always leave myself a quick way out by not using LM. Less mess and fast clean-up/repaste/repad. Especially so, when dealing with AW products, where you have to adjust the HS and play with the pressure and pad thickness. You can have a perfect LM job, but coupled with mediocre thermal pads and poor HS pressure it won't save your system from overheating. On the flip side, using high quality pads, top thermal paste like Kryonaut, adjusting the HS, - the results will be great and you won't be reluctant to reopen the box each and every time there's a better paste/pads on the market. A holistic approach is always best in my view.

 

There have been reports of the USB port next to the Ethernet not working or disconnecting when using a LAN connection. Can anyone test it if it's working correctly now? Maybe it was a faulty unit or driver problem.

 

Well I got my unit in just before I left for work. Just had enough time to install a few things and some configurations. Early impressions coming from the Area 51m. Pretty damn good. I thought I'd hate the keyboard, but it has a pretty nice throw for a chicklet keyboard. Keys are still a touch small, but placement seems useable. Trackpad is better than the Area 51m. Since the lower part that is clickable is still useable as a track pad it's actually bigger than the area 51m's. Could do with a ring light though. Lol.

And the screen seemed to have even backlighting and no dead pixels. So aces! Once I get home I'll find out if mine is gonna need repasted.

 

Please post your system specs in your signature (feel free to copy/paste my signature and use it as a format)

Also, can you please show us a FireStrike score and temps both while FireStrike was running and in like a 30 minute gaming session.

Thanks

 

Of course. Once I get off work. And I'm gonna be using all neon green again so get your sun glasses ready.

 

Hello,

if anyone is interessted to upgrade the 2.5" hdd, i got my hdd caddy and cable today. The price was 35 euro for hdd caddy, cable and all the needed screws.

 

Need the smaller battery, correct? What’s part#’s?

Thanks

 

Yes you ned the 60 Wh battery, the part number is:

1x ASSY,BRKT,HDD,W/CBL,AWM15 - 68WXJ. Schrauben: 4x M3X3; 4x

 

How does one undervolt the CPU in Alienware laptops? Is there an option in the BIOS or do I need to undervolt using XTU?

Also, does XTU change the undervolt settings permanently in the BIOS or is it down via software everytime its service is started?

@iunlock @ssj92

 

Either use Throttle Stop or XTU, but not both at the same time ...they don't like each other lol...

XTU can act funny with the bios settings sometimes... It's often best to save the settings in XTU and load them upon boot.

 

Guide: Permanent XTU undervolt using PowerShell

 

What about the Alienware OC Control? Does that allow for undervolting and changing the power limits?

I am thinking of doing a -150mV undervolt when I get mine but I have no clue what should I set the power limits and ICCache Max for the 8750H

 

I think -100mv is max you'll get with the Alienware OC Control. Maxed out power limits if you use Performace fan profile in bios.