*Official* Alienware Launch Discussion Thread

I've decided i'm returning my AW 14, between stevies story and them not even having customer service on weekend but having sales and overall just don't want it now.

 

It's a temperature throttle. It happens @ 66 degrees on AW17 with Optimus and 77 degrees without Optimus. I don't know if AW14 has the same temperature throttle point as AW17 but you can use that as a guideline.

 

I'm sure that Dell is looking into it. These types of thing can't go unnoticed. I think it just a matter of time before Dell fix this issue.

 

Hi Overserver. Did you read my long post about my findings on the AW 14 core clock? I tested it again this time with another game CS:GO. The gpu core clock went from its 901mhz to 735mhz as soon as the gpu temp reaches 68c. Then the gpu temps starting falling down back to the 60-64c but the core clock never went up again back to its base or its normal turbo boost and it stayed around 700ish for 2-3 minutes then dropped down to 601mhz and my frames per sec kept dipping low and never went back up again unless I hit alt-tab to go back to desktop then it resets the gpu core clock back to 901mhz for a minute then it does the gpu core clock dipping again.


I'm so disappointed right now if this is a limit that Dell/Alienware put in place and I do hope i'm wrong and only a bug/glitch.

 

The words of frank Azor vice president of Alienware taken from this review..


http://www.pcworld.com/article/2041...its-all-new-gaming-notebook-lineup-at-e3.html


“Every part can run at its full TDP (thermal design power). A lot of manufacturers will throttle down the GPU when the CPU ramps up, and vice versa, thinking only one component needs to run full out at once. Our notebooks can run everything full tilt without anything needing to back off."

What a BS!!!!

 

It's not a glitch. This is what Optimus does, I believe. It's like the governor in a car, keeping the engine from overperforming and possibly doing harm. You can disable it.

 

Well, he wasn't lying. The CPU and GPU would run at their full TDPs without Dell's temperature limit on the GPU.

 

It is sort of ridiculous to try an improve efficiency at the sacrifice of performance in a gaming PC. I don't like it...not one bit.

 

How can I stop the gpu core clock from throttling and I want it running at constant base 800mhz if not the gpu boost to 901mhz?

 

Um, I think you will need a custom BIOS. You can get it from tech inferno? I'm not sure. Hope someone else can confirm.

Check out the benchmarking thread in the Alienware M18x sub-forum.

 

That's saddening, Kev. Truly. I hope my issues were not the main reason, as for the most part, you guys get great backup. Support which I am envious of. I've not seen many US customers have the same kind of experience as myself, so I think you can probably rest easy knowing that Dell US would have your back.....

 

Turning off Optimus doesn't fix it. The same issue is present, but at a higher throttle temp on my 17 with a 780M. Flashed my vBIOS and its gone.

 

is there a way to flash the bios back to stock?

 

Have you tweaked the fan profiles?

If the high temperatures and passing 77C aren't fan profile issues, then Alienware went from having the best GPU cooling solutions to the worst in a year, which seems bizarre. The m17x r3 and r4 run cooler with the 780m.

 

well this thread changed moods fast..

still a week to wait for me, makes me feel good dell has the "easy returns", no restocking fees etc, just in case

 

Anyone having problems with their 18?

 

Is it possible to "break" optimus? I had all default drivers installed, then installed the updated intel integrated driver and now have a strange feeling my NVidia card is always running. If I right click I can still see both control panels but in msi afterburner the memory clock goes between 135 and 405 and usage from 324 to 800 continuously (though card usage is at 0%)

Edit: I am an idiot - must be because the monitoring software activates the gpu and flicks between the two.

However, is there any need to update the intel drivers or just update nvidia (when the aw is actually recognised)

 

The ambient temperature in the room I was in was approximately 83 at the time those temps were recorded. No AC here in Flagstaff and it's been hot lately.

 

Sure there is. Just flash back the stock vBIOS exactly the same way you flashed the modded one. It is exactly the same process using a different ROM file. But, be sure to dump (save) your original vBIOS to a ROM file. Otherwise, you will have nothing available to flash.

 

Thanks for your response. How can I Save the original vBios?

 

Sorry, I should have mentioned that. You can dump it with NVFLASH or GPU-Z.

 

All, I don't know if anyone else has already conquered this issue, so I figured I'd ask. The installed driver version that came on the laptop was 311.48 and the latest is 320.49. I tried to install but I get the message that there is no compatible hardware on the system. I have tried reboot and binary gfx switch already. I see there are posts on the nVidia forums about this and there were a few people that had some luck with mucking about with the hardware ID information in some of the setup configuration files, but I didn't really want to go down that road. Has anyone else gotten it to install correctly? I tried making sure that the Intel driver is installed and up to date as well. It didn't make a difference.

 

I ran 3dmark 11 and my score was X1568...I'm I doing this right? I had to uncheck scan systeminfo, because 3dmark wouldnt load and lock up my whole system, forcing me to manually restart if i had "scansysteminfo" checked, not sure if this plays a role in me getting a low score. I have a base model 18.

 

It is more than likely due to Nvidia not including the new hardware ID in the driver, yet. It's common with new product refreshes. You can easily add this by modding the INF, but be sure to disable driver signature enforcement if you are on Windows 8. However, I imagine it won't be too long until a driver is released with the new ID.. probably the next driver update.

 

Thanks for the guide. What about the BIOS of the mainboard/machine? How do I backup a copy of that? The BIOS on Dell driver website is some kind of .exe, so I guess the .rom file is somehow packaged inside.

 

No its not what Optimus does.
Optimus have nothing to do with performance. It just a system that disables the GPU alltogether and use the IGP instead when the system sense the user does not game.
When you are gaming, Optimus does nothing to the GPU.

The last reports we have here from both 17 and 14 owners show that the temperature limit Dell put on the GPU is real and way too low. What is the point of buying a machine when they put a horsepower limiter on it? Reviews of the Alienware 17 with GTX 780M showed that it performed like GTX 680M in 3DMark11. Now owners are chiming in and saying it does the same in games, even worse in some games (like Tomb Raider)

Dell had way too much belief in the cooling systems on these new machines can overcome these powerful GPUs.

Alienware R3 with GTX 580M had also a temperature limit. Owners was mad at Dell but that still wasnt enough to make them remove or highten this limit. Not looking good for this generation either unless Dell have matured and start listening to customers this time.

Lets hope they do listen

 

Ha, I was misinformed then. Lesson learned: don't take advice from people on YouTube.

Yeah, I think it's ridiculous. If this is to become a common thing for Alienware, they may lose customers. And I bet a lot of gaming enthusiasts will opt out as well.

 

If a vBIOS update (or third-party mod) fixes it, then it's not a big deal. Opting out of a superior machine and settling for an overall inferior product would be like cutting off your nose despite your face. Those that are truly interested in getting the best performance from their video cards are running modded GPU firmware anyway, regardless of computer or GPU brand preference. I have used performance enhancing GPU firmware since 5870M CF. This is not limited to mobile... desktop GPUs can benefit from tweaks as well.

 

Is anyone else having trouble running Tomb Raider? I just got it during the Steam sale, and it freaks out and starts displaying a radial starburst pattern every 10 minutes or so... MSI Afterburner shows a peak GPU temperature of 54C, at 901mhz, about 700mb of memory used.

Link to video

I'm just wondering if it's the game/driver combination, or if my GPU is toast... I'm leaning towards the GPU being toast.

 

You're using stock vBIOS and driver right? Is this in dGPU only mode or iGPU/dGPU combo mode or both?

 

Of course, but as I was speaking in regards to the average consumer, who likes to game. (Which is who most of the sales of Alienware laptops are going to.) If they see better results with MSI as opposed to Alienware because of such issues - with similar specifications - it could result in them opting for another system. Not saying it will, just that it could.

For someone like you: who already knows Alienware; who already owns Alienware - you aren't going to switch because of this issue. But people being introduced into the gaming world may not see it how you would, and this should be a concern to Alienware.

This is my opinion on the situation. Others may not agree.

 

That's a valid opinion and I agree that it needs to be fixed. I expect that it will be. If my understanding is correct, an OEM cannot just take the vBIOS provided by NVIDIA and make whatever changes they feel would deliver the best performance. I believe it needs to be fixed at the firmware level by NVIDIA before it can be distributed by the OEM. The nice thing about end-user tweaks is that nothing needs the blessing of NVIDIA.

In some ways it is like automotive ECM programming. Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota, Nissan, etc. have regulations and restrictions, (especially where emissions and fuel economy are concerned,) but end users do not need to care about those impediments.

 

So is it only 14 and 17 user that are having temp problems and not 18?

 

Looks that way.

 

I'm not sure if I'm having temp "problems" per say, but I'm getting high temperatures in the 80's on my GPU that I'm not comfortable with and I'm pretty sure my CPU is hitting the 90's on my 18 when gaming on max settings with SLI enabled. I haven't checked the latter but it's pretty obvious from the scalding hot feeling at the back of the machine.

I'm going to try and repaste with Arctic MX-4 on Tuesday. If those temperatures are consistent I'm just going to return my rig however, since I'm convinced next year's Maxwell model will run cooler.

EDIT: Dual 780's and 4930mx.

EDIT2: PWn3R I noticed your post a few pages back about your temps. What settings were you running BF3 on? What processor are you using? 71/69 is far cooler than what I'm experiencing on games like Civ V and Sleeping Dogs with everything maxed out graphically. Have not tried BF3 however.

 

Stock everything, in iGPU/dGPU combo mode. And personally, if it's caused by being in switchable graphics mode, then that's a faulty part - whether or not it would work in dedicated only mode

 

Temp in the 80's seems high for no OC

 

Hearing all this makes me
Almost have no problem down grading to the 18x with 680's.

 

Indeed. That's the issue. I'll repaste it myself and see, otherwise I'm sending it back.

 

What driver are you using? 320.49? Try reverting back to 314.22 (I think that's what it is). I did this with my GTX 690 and saw a 10C degree drop while gaming.

 

I'm using the stock drivers that came with the system, I don't think any of the NVIDIA drivers are compatible with our systems yet.

3DMark Results:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4930MX,Alienware Alienware 18

 

Alright I'm trying to haggle the price of the AW 17 $2199 4700mq, 16gb ram, 780m, the dell chat failed miserably so I will call later, I NEED HELP WITH THIS!!!!

P.S sorry for the spam but im doing this later today

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/456885-aw-dell-ordering-advice-how-save.html

A lot of good info on there. As for haggling, i have found some reps are set in stone and some will move the price. For me it wasn't a secret word that got it done, it was finding a rep willing to work with me. This took many many quotes.

 

Yeah I think the advice above is correct. There was a guy here earlier who said he talked to 5 different people before finding a guy that lowered the price

 

Max settings with 4x Anti-Aliasing.

 

This.. See if that makes a difference.

 

My Alienware 18 has just shipped, should get it this Wednesday. Cain't wait

 

Actually that sounds about right. Turning down the AA makes several degrees of difference.

Still tempted to repaste though. TEMPTATION.

Can't. No other drivers are compatible at the moment for the 780m's on our Alienware 18s except the stock ones it seems.

 

hi guys, for those whose Alienware 17s with the GTX 780m are throttling at 66 or 77c, try using EVGA Precision X to adjust the temp limit instead of using the modified Vbios. You can adjust the thermal limit in EVGA Precision X.

 

FWIW, I'm strongly considering returning my 17 for an 18. Thought I would be fine with a single GPU for a laptop, but everything is just so disappointing coming from an SLI desktop rig. Lugging around the 17 isn't as bad as I thought it would be either, which pushes me towards sacrificing less performance.