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

i am from NJ
My bro lives in Brazil

 

Wait, wait. What?

Your brother bought the laptop in Brazil and ship it to you in NJ?

Or did he buy from USA store then send to you?

 

Oh.

Okay, what you need to do is buy a thermal paste tube
-Grizzly Kryonaut
-Gelid Extreme
-Cooler master mastergel

You can have a tech come in, clean the old paste and replace heatsink with the install of new paste.

When you asked on the phone why it overheat, always say and emphasize thermal shutdown. Deny any kind of remote testing due to "extremely sensitive personal data."

When you own an Alienware, you are entitled to US Home service for a year, I recommend you buy the premium warranty which covers International, so that way you can transfer the warranty to your brother.



If you want to return it, that is also an option. Get the 7820HK version, this CPU offers much more power. Could social-engineer your way into the upgrade, for example you want to return but if you get offered the CPU upgrade to 7820HK for free then you'll not return it, etc etc...



I can also work on your system thermals with liquid metal paste, located in NY.

 

I have the premium warranty.
i will transfer to him after all this is settled.
my prob is that i already went over budget to get this gift for him.
i will try to get the cpu upgrade you talked about.
what if it fails? should i try to return or just ask for the tech to come in?

thanks alot man.

 

Force a return, they'll bend somehow.

Or you can just get the tech to come in if you give up.

 

Thanks so much man, i will try first thing 2morow morning!

 

Well, I wasn't sure what he had at the time I posted that about HIDevolution and Obsidian-PC. Now that I know that, I would agree with your comment and add "t here is no reason to buy a Dell, period" LOL. Unless your goal is to have something that is crippled on purpose by its maker.

 

Until other manufacturers cripple the chassis by choosing poor materials and craftsmanship, it will have its place. The time of using piss poor materials should be long gone.

I want my laptops with real metal frames on the inside (magnesium, aluminum etc). Not just aluminum sheets stuck on the outside while the whole inside is plastic and thus offers no structural rigidness.

 

DELL HELL!!

And as well GUINEA PIGS

 

IN that class (super portable, thing and light) they all have those problems. BUt at least you get a well made chassis that goes with it. I wouldnt use any of those laptops for heavy productivity and gaming.

 

I have a problem with my alienware 17r3 Spec (6820HK 980m) and my friend have it too (15r1 4710HQ 17r4 6700HQ) all have problem with CPU and frequency drop when i play some game in normal it my cpu speed is 3.30 mhz but when i playing game it drop into 800mhz and GPU not load max it only load about 50 60% and fps drop so much Dota2 normal 120FPS when it drop all way 20 30FPS.... and my friend have the same problem too.... Plz help me.......
http://imgur.com/a/lVEZB

 

Dam, that's not good. Sounds like you're thermal throttling which is a common occurrence with Alienware of late . Check your temps buddy.
Solutions - CLU.

 

@iunlock @hmscott and anyone else in the know;

These are my temps on my AORUS X5V6 with 6820HK:



Would I RMA with the max temp difference?

TIA.

 

It's Intel's measure to allow RMA of LGA CPU's from consumers, they will initially reject it telling you it's your fault, but if you press the point and escalate Intel will replace the CPU.

But, that's only for failing CPU - 10c apart for core temp differential.

Makers / vendors may require return for RMA to allow them a shot at fixing it, if you are still in the initial acceptance return period you should insist on return for your money back - it's not acceptable to your needs. There should be no restocking fee - insist on it as it's a return for cause - failure to perform.

IDK about the fitment of the CPU heatsink, @iunlock might know if it has a tendency to rock one side or the other where a pressure differential or mating issue could cause this like on the Alienware "Tripod" CPU heat plate - which actually turned out to be a too thick strip of thermal pad keeping the heat plate from completely closing and making solid even contact all around.

Good luck and please let us know how it works out

 

Results when trying (and failing) to bench:



Mine has just had the mobo replaced by a Gigabyte authorised repair centre, so they should have some sort of cover.

Thanks for the info @hmscott, appreciate it and will update as it progresses.

 

Yup, that's what an out of balance heatplate can look like - the higher the load the higher the core differential - starting at a few degree's out (or zero) at idle, and increasing the gap between even / odd cores as load increases.

It's probably just the heatplate not screwed down right, or too thick paste / uneven paste keeping the heatplate from even contact across the core - or it could be too thick thermal tape - we've seen 2x thickness - double applied tape - cause this too.

I thought you were comfortable re-pasting - you just did it - maybe you can fiddle with it to get it to fit better? Save another round trip with RMA. But, if you want to get your $ back and try another laptop, this would be a good reason.

 

Not repasted yet, waiting for the Grizzly to arrive.

I'm not too concerned about getting my money back, I love this machine and just want it to function correctly.

I'm going to RMA and have it come back with balanced core temps, before I repaste so at least I know it is that causing the issue.

 

Ditto. Well said.

The Aorus has the same alignment issues as with most laptops. For laptops that get sent in to get "serviced," will often come back worse than before it was shipped.


::iunlock::

 

stop using hwmonitor and start using hwinfo

hwmonitor is cancer

 

Same results with hwinfo.

X5 is being RMA'd.


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@Mobius 1 doesn't mean you get other results with Hwinfo. Just that Hwinfo is a better monitoring software.

 

You guys that have been using high end laptops for a while should create a post with recommended softwares for overclocking, benching, and monitoring. That would be really helpful.

@iunlock @Papusan @hmscott @Mobius 1


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You're welcome

 

Hahahaha, there had to be one somewhere.

Thanks man.

 

Mine 6700HQ got difference of 15C-24C for 0 and 2nd core vs 1st and 3rd. Max temp so far is 85C-87C. Its my day-2 with the laptop. Should I be worried? I've bough it from Amazon US after months of wait (across thousands of miles) so it might be next to impossible for me to send it back unless something is real real bad. I've already lost 2 months of warranty in transit.


Update: While running OCCT, Difference shown in HwInfo64 is between 5C-7C in cores (74C,68C,73C,69C as I speak). However its different in OCCT (85C,71C,81C,72C upto 40th minute of testing). I don't game much, my most of work is over photoshop/ai/video rendering/android studio. But I did tried PCSX2+Tekken5 and CS:GO for 30 mins and it resulted in 83C at max for two cores (1,3) while 64C for other two (2,4).

 

You need to have all four cores fully loaded in order to see what the temp differences really are. Using a game isn't sufficient. That's one good thing about prime 95; it loads all the cores perfectly even in load balance, unlike many other programs. You can disable AVX and FMA3 in the txt file to reduce temps and then use prime95 to test the temperatures.

 

Now?


Current temps are dropped to 64C-74C after that.

 

Yeah. You have a heatsink contact problem. Max temps are 14C between the hottest and coolest core at full load. That has to be fixed.

 

6700HQ. Core 0 and 2 are hotter than Core 1 and 3. There is a difference of 14C when running Prime95 for 25 minutes. No thermal throttling though so I am still debating whether I should repaste the stock MSI paste. Btw this only happens when using prime95 and occt. When I play games like Doom, Diablo, Overwatch at max settings, the temps are within 3C on all cores (71, 68, 71, 69). It baffle me because the prime temperatures are 84, 70, 83, 73. How in the world are these three games pushing the same core temps on core 1 and 3 like prime95 lol.

 

It's thermal load related, as the constantcy of a high load persists heat builds up and the uneven contact of the heatsink keeps it from being able to pull away the heat and it builds up.

While gaming the CPU frequency will vary (unless you have high performance power plan enabled) if you have the Balanced power plan running, so heat generation varies and if the contact is good enough it will draw off the heat before it builds up.

Pretty much everyone with this CPU heatplate contact issue in the hinged 3-screw AW laptops see's this, some have it worse where the differential shows up even in idle and light gaming.

 

I am running High Performance profile. I thought the GT62VR had four screws? Ugh if I repaste then it will become a scheduled maintenance.

 

Hmm, I had AW on the mind, trying to get this thread moved to the AW Forum because 99% of the reports have been for AW laptops.

Thanks for breaking that idea so quickly

IDK what the GT63VR has, maybe google for "disassembly" or "internal" photo(s) to find out for sure.

Either way the debugging is the same. See if any screws are overtightened keeping the other screws from having enough freedom to cinch down their end - lifting that ends heatplate off the CPU, causing the uneven core differentials.

You can first try just loosening all the screws without removing the heatplate - best to not do that as you can lift it and when replacing it get air bubbles in the paste and reducing efficiency - and then tightening each screw a 1/4 turn at a time, going around to each screw in order to keep the distance of the heatplate even as it's brought into contact with the CPU.

If that gets rid of the core temp differential, that's great, you've avoided the pain of full disassembly, perhaps damaging thermal pads (keep them don't throw them away), and then re-pasting, and perhaps doing this a few times before you get happy results.

Good luck, and please let us know how it works out

 

What paste do you recommend?


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Let's see what @iunlock likes, he does this every day and has done a lot of tests with various pastes for core differential fixes.

I will say I don't recommend conductive pastes like LiquidMetal. You might get a few degrees C better results, but there have been lots of newbie's LM paste jobs bricking their laptops.

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (or Hydronaut, Aeronaut, but not Conductonaut, read about them) have had good results of the recently released pastes (about 2 years) - make sure you let it "cure" for a few days of use before panicking it's temps aren't low enough

Again, read as much of this thread, and search as you find tokens to seach on, to find current info. Same for the GT62 Owners thread (or your specific make / model owners thread).

 

Was thinking ICD7 but pitting worries me. Maybe I should return the laptop and enter the lottery again. I still have 13 days of a return window left at Microcenter. Would they accept a return if the warranty sticker is gone?

 

Hmmm, I was going to say it doesn't matter to the maker, but the seller might have a problem with it. I'd tell them the problem, and say you want to try to fix it so you can keep it, but if it doesn't work out after tightening the screws you want to return it. Is that ok with them?

If you ask it will likely cause them to deny you and ask that you sent it back - they don't want a non-professional mucking around in the laptop - so keep that in mind.

Don't do it and then lie about it, that's not cool and can have future repercussions, if the find out you did go into it when they inspect it. They will inspect it, you should count on them finding the broken warranty sticker. So it's better to ask so you know for sure, and be honest about it.

 

Sounds good going to call them tomorrow. Hopefully retighting does the trick since msi stock paste is supposed to last a long time.


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Ah, I didn't notice you said you got it from Microcenter

Those are great people to work with, and you might even be able to bring in your laptop for them to do the re-screwing and even the re-pasting, to fix the problem. They have their own tech guys that can do that at each store (all?).

So I'd talk with your sales person, and / or the store manager.

 

Internals here. Seems very straightforward. I usually make my own PCs but I got this laptop because I just got no space for a full desktop right now. I will still give Microcenter a call because if they can do it then i will be off the hook for any return issues.

 

please delete

 

I agree.

Grizzly Kyronaut is my go to paste.

Next would be gelid extreme.

When it comes to traditional paste, it's all about the integrity and how well it'll hold up.

Kyronaut has been a beast and very strong in my systems. Including my MacBook Pro to one if my 17R4's.

Pastes to stay away from:

1. ICD
2. AS5
3. Other cheap and not so good pastes.

.






::iunlock::

 

Oh both thermals come with a spreader.

 

Called Microcenter told me to just exchange it. Going to take a usb drive with occt and hwinfo and test the core temps right there lol.


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Tested four MSI and all four had core 0 and 2 higher than 10C in my tests. Time to use some of the Gelid and fix it myself. Looks like gelid has higher viscosity.

Got the laptop that had 8C difference running OCCT. I will repaste only if my games throttle. Undervolted to -165 testing occt so far so good. Not sure if I should even try -170 lol



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That's just below the Intel exchange limit of 10c differential - although you can complain and they will exchange at just about any differential - this is for the LGA CPU's.

Glad to hear you are going to try to get it fixed, then if that doesn't work you can RMA it or return to Microcenter.

Did Microcenter offer to do the re-paste? Did you ask?

 

They refused to open the laptop. I will fix it myself if the laptop causes issues. So far OCCT does not even hit 78, very good thermals.

 

Try prime95 with the "small FFT" run option, OCCT doesn't present the highest load.

If you game with CPU heavy games, you'll see the wide core temperature differentials too...

I wouldn't break open the laptop unless you have to, as you said.

I personally don't do it with my laptops - I get one that has good temps / differential, or return it for one that does.

I don't have time to futz around, I do this hardware / software / systems work so it doesn't have a place in my "relaxing hobby" realm

Your core differential results are still too high to recommend keeping it. IDK if it will get better or worse over time, so you might be looking at an RMA long term.

Maybe even plan on having it done before you sell it - and before the warranty expires - leave time to turn it around 3x, don't wait till the last month.

Nice work btw, getting into all the laptops in stock to check for the issue

 

I even returned a kaby lake btw. I am running Small fft right now, exactly 9C diff. No TDP throttle with a -170mv undervolt.

 

Yeah, that's right at the limit...

If you do try to hunt down another batch / build of that model at a different vendor, be sure and collect all the box label info you can for comparison.

Serial number can be enough, but if you have a run / batch number too that will immediately rule out another unit.

Ideally, all the units you saw should have a number on the label somewhere that shows they are all from the same batch.

So a Skylake and Kabylake have the same problem? Sounds like that cooling system isn't sitting right on the platform / CPU - not touching evenly.

What a pain