Warning: Some i7-6820HKs and i7-6700HQ have Uneven Core Temps due to Uneven Heatsink

I personally do not like ICD7. It can scratch the DIE even if you're super careful and remove it with alcohol or cleaner.

I'm using Kyronaut right now with good results but my main go to paste is PK-3. It gives excellent temps and seems to last a long time without "pimping out".

 

Cool, good luck

 

not usd** cad btw

 

Still cheaper than that POS.

 

[x] Yes, I have a 6820HK that has 1 or more cores with a high temperature difference, greater than 10 Kelvin


So in my AW15R3 i have the 6820HK and 10 Kelvin (not °C ) difference here. I´ve not yet repasted my device yet, as i received that couple of days ago, but i guess i will do so.

Without overclocking - means stock values, the CPU runs okay up to hot temperatures, device get pretty loud (i guess max fanspeed) but does not throttle in normal usage (gaming / benchmarking - i did not tried burn in as out of my perspective this won´t be a scenario for my average usage in next 4 years).

As i like quiet machines, i will go the repaste way within next couple of weeks. In my MSI GT72 (which i´ve used before) the thermal repasting was one of the best steps I ever did to he machine as it went much quieter (and also cooler) which should be expected after a manual fix here.

Regards
aVa

 

Prime95, XTU, OCCT, they all are giving this delta. The retailer replacement is already not possible.
I also want to believe that unit will get back without any additional damage, of course i will escalate it in opposite case.


Sent from mTalk

 

If the heatsink is really warped, then ICD is the only way to go cause of its "sticky" nature, which in turn you will need to fill the gap. Kryonaut and CLU aren't suited to deal with uneven heatsinks!

And ICD won't scratch anything, if you let the alcohol soak and soften up the paste for a few minutes before cleaning all up.

 

Can you please share what that ICD should be as i cannot interpret this (link to amzn for example?) as I´m not yet sure which thermalpaste i should choose then.

In the past i had used Artic silver 5 which was fine so far, but I guess i need to buy a new one as i dont know if they expire after opening (2 yrs ago)

Regards
aVa

 

https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Cooling-Diamond-Carat-Compound/dp/B0042IEVD8 or https://www.amazon.com/Gelid-Soluti...40&sr=1-1&keywords=gelid+solutions+gc-extreme

 

ICD is the second best paste after CLU imho. The temp gap between GCE and Kryonaut is marginally but you have the bonus that you get proper results even if the heatsink is warped/uneven.

 

Watch out, Clevo too has had issues with uneven heatinks as well.

 

Its 30 days.

 

Extended for Holiday purchases / returns?

 

Depends on your region. For Australia it's 15 days: http://www.dell.com/learn/au/en/aucorp1/policies-returns

 

But still not a design flaw More a QC problem. And I don't think Clevo ever has designed a 3 screws cpu heatsink for their laptops with most powerful hardware.

 

After checking some heatsinks of random laptops that I still had laying around I have another suspicion. Those heatpipes are maybe not perfectly straight thus causing the uneven pressure. Something to think about. Now the extra stress is put on 1 screw to correct it. But the other 4 screws on the GPU side have also to be taken into account that they should level out the heatsink. Thats why I think it might be the heatpipes for being not perfectly straight. I checked 4 heatsinks with a similar construction including one of an AW15R1 and the heatpipes where slightly warped and that machine also had uneven core temps in my case. The pressure from the heatpipes is higher than what those springs can correct.

 

Hi,

that is the definition of"not" funny, i´ve played 10min´s with my new AW15R3 and non overclocked CPU and it shuts down due to thermal throttheling regarding windows events history. Battlefield 1 and Unreval, i mean this is a >2k bugs gaming laptop which cannot handle games?

Dafuq? No burn in - no overclocking, just playing games. I´m superdisappointed.

 

A) Should have done some research like read THIS forum
B) Return it

or

Just do some gentle bending of heatsink retention and or heatpipes /s

 

Spoiler: Whip It!

 

This is not funny

Yep, so currently i cannot reach dell Support as the awesome diagnostics tool wont work *lol* ... the poor Callcenter Agent i will reach on monday ...

Regards,
aVa

 

Yup indeed.. All the Clevo heatsink I've seen have 4 screws.. 3 screws is a really dumb thing to do, garrunted to have uneven pressure.. They should have used an even number of screws 2 or 4... Preferably 4!

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

Maybe AW ceo Mr. Azor @Alienware-Frank will begin with the new modern futuristic 3 screws cpu heatsink design on their AW desktops as well? All new Aw laptops have it now, why not all AW desktops? I think this will come.

 

@hmscott Dell has a tradition of using tripod cpu heatsink on their laptop models. So it came not as a bomb on the new AW models
AW ceo Mr. Azor only adopted the idea from Dell's catalog

 

Maybe DELL should rais the bar and use 4 instead? I mean, you can do advertisement with this as it´s an update...Or ask Intel if they can build a triangle processor?

 

Dell is not interested in throwing out money Screws costs money!!




They will rather put them in the bank

 

I honestly loved the new Alienwares because the whole design and specs seemed to be right on then they had to screw the whole thing up with a flimsy tripod mount.
We're not even talking about a super slim laptop. It's a fat overweight designed for a superior cooling system and guess what? Fail.

 

Yop so thats the Point which i don´t catch, as i guess from build Quality in theroy (and also the size of the whole solution and airflow) it makes sense and those barebones should be able to cover a lot of more powerful Hardware.

Hopefully they´ll be able to find a fix and solution for current owners.

 

The problem isn't the tripod mount, the problem is that one of those mounts don't provide enough pressure to hold the heatsink down properly.

 

Genius

Really, it's not 2 or all 3 causing the problem, it's just one?

Which one?

 

+rep
Maybe the standalone screw is the culprit?

 

Not the screw, it's the arm that has a bent design.

As @iunlock said, it would be alright for a 3 screw heatsink design if the 3rd arm had a completely flat design (the current one has a "bend" that results in less pressure to the CPU).

The other option is to sand down the screw peg of the 3rd retention arm down, but that requires a lot of effort to do safely as the retention arm is very securely mounted on the motherboard.

 

This means that DELL must train up their outsourced hired technicians, so they can manage proper modification of the 3rd retention arm? Probably cheaper than redesign - make changes on this tripod heatsink on the factory A replacement heatsink isn't cheap.

 

Clevo heatsink is junk too

Better bend an arm rather than the whole heatsink being uneven

 

I have had the opportunity of working on the problem on not one, but two different machines.

My original machine exhibited throttling on core 0 and 2. reading through @iunlock's fix to the problem I got very excited. the reason was that I felt we had a solution no matter what. if alienware messed up, those among us with the willingness to open out machines could Atleast fix it.

I went for Atleast replacement laptop first because why not try that first. It became very clear as soon at least the laptop atleastsrrived that alienware hadn't taken care of anything. The new machine had arrived with a screen that had backlight bleed and a yellow tint to it.

I then chose to repaste my machine with Arctic silver 5. Because this paste was the only one readily available. Now having read iunlock ' solution I felt that bending the available would be enough.

Well folks, I have tried bending the arm on both the laptops *wait for it* "3" times. Individually. The differential could not be fixed by bending the arm. On both the replacement and the original.

Repast in however allowes me to run availablermtleast rhat 3.2Ghz undervolt ed by -.165V and I don't reach 90s at all.

But the differential still exists. I cannot seem to make the heat sink sit flat on the CPU no matter what, it seems.

@iunlock , I have significant experience with this laptop now, and believe me when I say, I have had hight hopes opening it each time thinking this time will be the last. Simply looking at the heat sink does not let me know why my arm bending is not working. However even when bent when I apply pressure to the heat sink using my fingers, upon the application of extreme pressure only can I bring temps down.

Is my heat sink specially special?

Sanding the screw mount would not help one bit because you would sand the top off taking away proper seating space of the screw. Less thread left and the screw will still have its head at the same height as an unsanded screw mount.

Regards

 

First of all Clevo doesn't charge Alienware prices.
Secondly, whatever individual issues there are, pascal Clevos are cooling alright.

That's not the point though.
Tripod or not. The combination of tripod AND weak mounting arms makes this a massive fail. Failenware?

 

After getting in touch with tech support and explaining the problem I've been experiencing with core differentials and thermal shutdowns, Dell has agreed to send me a new laptop. I will need to now speak to the exchange team and set this all up. I'm going to push for a 17r4. Hopefully it will work in my favor.

 

Please let us know if that works as maybe this is an option for me too (i´ve sent mine back and need to wait for a new charge until placing an order again, so maybe i wanna consider the 17 version also, but keep in mind the display issues there in focus of screen bleeding ... thats such a shame in sum for a "premium" product). Pressing thumbs!

Regards
ava

 

I don't think the issue is that they're not interested in throwing out $$$... I would agree with that if it didn't affect the platform overall...

I think the real reason is more sinister (ime... with Dell Hell...).

Dell is simply not interested in providing a satisfactory experience, period. No matter what line of product you buy from them. Reminds me of the fruity company's efforts at 'innovation' - do it their way or don't do it at all ('it' to me is 'work').

I still can't believe how they're still in business?

Are we the only ones that know how computers should be delivered, i.e. 'working'?

 

Just got off the phone with the exchange team for Dell. After some back and forth, a new 15r3 system is going to be built. I could not get them to upgrade me to a 17.

I have had my current system over 30 days so I cannot return the unit. Hopefully the new system will not have the same issues as my current system.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

With my experience with Dell, I would use the new system they deliver for a few days and return for a full refund.

Yeah; I just don't trust them to do anything except to stall you past the point of no returns (literally...).

Get your $$$$ back, hurt them where it counts (the bottom line). Maybe they'll reconsider their 'design' and 'testing' phases then?

Myself? Haven't had a Dell system for decades... and I'm that much better off for it.

Good luck on getting the resolution from Dell that you want/need.

 

Thanks for the advice.

Just for my own clarification in regards to returning the new unit.

I can return the new unit for a refund? I was not told I could do that by the Exchange team. I just want to have all my ducks in a row if I feel a return is necessary. I'm hoping that the new unit will not exhibit the same behavior as my current unit.

If it does and I can indeed return the new unit, I will do so. I'll just re-order at a later date.

 

You can return the unit for a full refund and Dell pays the shipping label

Stress out the temp issue and how this is annoying/harmful/unproductive for you. Laptop is very disappointing. etc et...

 

Thanks for the info


Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

Many thanks for reply. I hope the new one will work fine, in case of temperatur jumps alike within one second one core from 50°C to 80°C whatever a repaste will be an option (dell told me thats covered, spoken for germany) but bending the headpipes or any parts will not be covered by warranty. I ´ve repasted my GT72 couple of days back and got pretty nicer fan charecteristics and it was quieter and lowered arround 5 to 20 kelvin (per core and GPU) so i would reffer this to everyone out there (but just make sure to not loose warranty!!!!!! at best written stated from seller or manufacturer).

I´m happy to hear if it works (i´m unhappy if it works not, and hope for you the new one will already be fixed). So with this i´m typing the last words from my AW15R3 as the pickup will happen in 4 days falling in love with keyborard, screen, build /haptic feeling ... omg, I guess i will order directly a new one if refund appears and anyone claims they´re fixed the heat issue with the heatpipes.

Regards,
aVa

 

Dellienware was forced from pillar to post regarding the mistake of the flimsy weak 180w PSU and battery boost with the first AW Echo BGA models and Gtx980M. It was not all AW owners who received the stronger 240W psu. Dell said that battery boost aka bios update fixed the throttling problems MESS due to weak psu and refused to hand over 240W psu. Think it will be difficult to force Dell to re-design the third tension arm on the CPU aka the modern tripod heatsink. Maybe for the next model, but not the current model!!
And to this very day, DELLIENWARE still refuse that there is no throttling problem with the first AW "Echo" BGA models http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-15-r1-throttling.798254/page-3#post-10398134 SO DON'T EXPECT MIRACLES FROM DELLIENWARE regarding the FLAWED tripod cpu heatsink!!

 

Failenware? That name fits nicely.

I have the latest Inspiron 15 7566 Gaming with i5 6300HQ.
I'm getting ~17deg core temp difference and 100deg max CPU temp prior to throttling.
I haven't bothered to dismantle the whole laptop to look at the heat sink design because I'm going to return this pos for a refund.

I think it's safe to recommend power users to avoid Dell/Alienware.
They have a history of (any combination) underpowered PSU, underpowered cooling system, poorly designed cooling system, plus throttling due to any of the above reasons.

On the side note, this thread seems to be targeted at Dell/Alienware but makes no mention of it in the title. Weird?

 

The thread was started when 6820HK uneven core problems started on the MSI and Aorus laptops, before the AW's even shipped, then AW came out and their failures far outstripped the MSI/Aorus reports.

There are actually 2 links, one each in the AW and MSI forums, that point back here to this thread.

 

Would it be possible to stick a piece of plastic to the black undercover of the AW 15 r3 or AW 17 r4 so that, when the unit is reassembled, it pushes on the retention arm of the heatsink to create more pressure without having to worry about metal fatigue and whatnot?

 

Possible and weather or not is would work as intended are two completely different things. This piece of "plastic" would have to be the exact right thickness and put in the exact right spot to apply the pressure to even out the pressure on the processor die. Also the bottom of the case has flex in it I'm assuming. In all honesty I don't think that would be a viable fix....

 

Finding the right spot could be solved by sticking it on the arm itself, and even if there is flex in the backpanels, the fact the laptop is often sitting on a desk would mean gravity would offer some help there in adding pressure to the heatsink, I think. There'd just be the problem of getting the thickness right. Maybe with some 3D printing we could get a piece that fits perfectly.