AW15 R1 / AW17 R2 BIOS A06

and a lot higher fan noise with A00.

82c is more than fine under load when gaming.

 

You must remember that several thousand have only the flimsy 180w psu. Not everyone could get the 240w psu and also many Aw owners doesn't know the problem.

 

After updating to A06, my galaxy smartphone does not get connected.

 

Connected how? This is more then likely a coincidence. I really doubt the BIOS has anything to do with your phone. There is a program you can use to clear out USB connection history in windows that usually helps fix android connection issues. I will find it and post the name.

Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk 2

 

Hey guys,

As I've already said, my A06 bios was successfully updated.
Reading the improvement log, I could read that the Vbios of the Intel HD graphic should have been updated too.

On Hwinfo64, it's saying that the version of the vbios is "unknown".

Should I re-try to install the bios over the existing version ?
Thx for your response

 

Was there a vBios listed prior?

 

Has anyone here experienced any form of throttling at all with A06?

 

Programmers' maxim - if it works, don't fix it At least, not yet - especially not when every flash has a chance to brick your mobo.

 

Hey guys,

So confused now, why dont then we just stick to A00? if it is better? are some other issues important ones been fixed from A00 to A06 that make it worth using? Or are you all keeping it on A00 and just checking A06 out?

so stay on A00 or upgrade?

what is this issue with battery and PSU? i have a 970m so i guess not being affected. Also ive read there is still no RAID option for the m2 even in this new bios, Will it ever be an option?

thanks for some info guys... a newbie here.

cheers

 

A00 has some sleep bugs, If you wake up your laptop from sleepmode. The CPU will only be running at 800mhz. and they probably fixed osmeother stuff as well.

 

interesting note: I was finally able to save my vbios after updating to A06

 

What was the reason you couldn't before?

 

It solved my thermal throttle issues.

This is quite a lot for me ;D

 

A bit sad. Only this thread has consumer feedback about A06. The threads over at AWA and Dell Community Forum have very little to no feedback.

 

didnt attempt to use a06 since fan profile of a00 is better. i think im sticking with a00 because i dont have any throttling issues and i dont use sleep mode.. too bad a06 fan profile is not as good as a00..

 

i am really happy with the A06 BIOS, i only need raid 0 option .... well i made some test runing firestrike ( http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/8602521 ) and my max temp was 80°C for 1 second and for gpu was 68°C ( i want to say that i made a re-paste with IC diamond and made an undervolt)

 

Owner of an alienware 15 r1 980M i7-4710hq 240Watt PSU

I flashed to A06 today. My firestrike score is rather stable. Physics score dropped a little but combined score instead increased. perhaps my pc was busy at the time of the physics test with my cpu. don't know. (see image below)

During the firestrike. I had no throttling the cpu only dipped one second to 2.5GHz. But only for one second. don't know what caused that. On Intel ETU you can see I highlighted the power throtteling and that too got to 17% for one second.

However I used to EVERY time cpu throtteling around to 2.5 or even to lower clocks when running the tomb raider benchmark on ultra settings. This is the 1st time it did not throttle my cpu. and I got an avarage Frame rate of 57.2 Note that there is a 60 fps cap, so that lowers the avarage significantly.

So far so good. The temperature seems to be stable too as you can see on the chart on intel ETU. However as you can see on the hardware info screenshot, it did peak to 90°C for one second, because the fans kicked in a little too late when instantly running the tomb raider benchmark.

Everything is on default clocks. Haven't tuned or overclocked anything. For now I'm satisfied with my graphical performances, so I don't have a need to overclock yet.

Note: On the firestrike result it says "Time measuring inaccurate. Results ...". That is because I have the free version and I HAVE to watch the demo before the benchmark. And I force skip the intro by alt tabbing

 

thanks ... i didn't know that open hardware monitor exist. Now i see my cpu package temp on my tray

 

hi i am new in the forum,, i have a A17 with A04 Bios version, is good idea flash to A06? or not?

 

BIOS A06 includes MEI 9.1.30.1008 which is KNOWN to crash at bootup at times and affect communication between Windows 10 and the ME firmware. Even if your NOT using Windows 10, it's recommended to upgrade to this version (9.1.32.1002) if using A06..

This is an updated one to use on AW15 and AW17 R2..

Flash to A06, then run this app. It's safe and packaged by myself to flash easily for those who are scared to do so. It's a self extracting package so don't mind the .exe extension, I wouldn't do that to my fellow notebookreview users.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5v8dal7ajmsytgg/AW15AW17R2MEI.exe?dl=0

 

I'm on BIOS A06.

I did a system virus scan via BitDefender and my CPU temps reached a high of 90°C...???

 

Lol, you indicating how it is safe, makes it more suspicious. But thanks for sharing. If I ever have the issues you stated. I know where to look first

 

I only stated that as some are hesitant to download anything that's an executable.. I even mentioned why I made that statement in the original post.. It's just a SFX WinRAR with a batch file command ran after extraction...
As for issues, with ME, you wouldn't even know it happened... It won't freeze your machine..

 

Want me to include your post in the OP?

 

Pretty sure it's safe, especially after unzipping and inspecting the contents. Doesn't flash for me though... for better or worse, I have this firmware on A06. MEInfo itself doesn't work, and fwupdlcl64 can't save or flash



Might have had something to do with the A06 beta, it's always stuck while flashing between different bios ever since. Props to lord zog for the heads up on the firmware update though!

 

So are most people sticking with A00???

 

Flash to A06 + Zog's ME firmware.

I will be flashing back to A00, temps hit 95C and thermal throttled and the f*cking fans didn't even bother to kick in. I couldn't even complete a 3Dmark11 bench. These computers are fundamentally broken.

 

Zog's ME firmware?

 

Download it, and run it.

 

hey,

AW 17 R2 june 2015, 4980HQ; nvidia 980M, psu 180w, A06

after A06 update, AW 17R2 was still throttling when gaming.

I got contact with Dell-Alienware 2 days ago,
and i received the 240w psu today via UPS.

No more throttling!

i'm happy with Dell-Alienware support.

 

What I mean't to ask was if it helps with CPU temps all-that-much?

 

Well... nope. Intel ME doesn't affect temps.

 

This is your second Aw17R2 with problem?

 

Never left A00 crew

 

A00 is probably better for the 4980HQ, short of using HWINFO and sending fans full-blast / underclocking. My guess is that AW runs their tests using the AGA, so they overlooked it until the Haswell refresh where it was downgraded to the 4870HQ.

 

Up to you. It's there for anyone to use.

 

Its the same one that the depot claimed to have "fixed"

 

What should you do now with the problem child? Return the trash to Dell?

 

well, i want to show to everyone my best Re-paste that i have made ever ... max temp was 68°C [Anyone that worked with IC diamond know that is really difficult to spread like that]

 

Processor temperature of 70 degrees celsius in Firestrike with a package power of 34.2W and 3.4ghz is not particularly low. Has the same temperature on my [email protected] with package power at + 80W in the same test. It is nearly 2.5 times as high wattage in Physics as your processor in the same test. Liquid Ultra is superior.

 

for close ... same temp .... better ?

 

Run a benchtest with Wprime 1024 (choose 8 treads in settings). Then should the processor max out at 47W power package. It is only then you can see if the processor temperature is ok. The processor should run at maximum turbo boost throughout the test. Use maximum performance in Windows power plan as I and not balanced performance. It is only then you can see if the processor holds maximum turbo boost. http://www.putme.net/wPrime155.zip
3Dmark Firestrike is a to weak processor test.

 

Ive just upgraded the BIOS for the first time since I received my AW15. Came with A01. Never upgraded since there were bad comments on all versions after A01. My max temps after hours playing Divinity Original Sin were 91C for CPU 73 for GPU. Now they are 84C CPU 69 GPU. I also had very occasional thermal throttling on just one CPU core. Now throttling is gone completely. Very happy with A06, I think the difference in temps is big. I have the 240w PSU and 980m with the top end i7 (don't remember model number right now)

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

Resolved it myself on Windows 10 using two different approaches:

Recovery options > Advanced startup > Troubleshooting > Command prompt
Only works for Intel ME update, bios cannot be flashed in this mode.

Or, login to super administrator > Flash bios A06 > Apply zog's update
Because somehow, it's not enough to run it as admin using a local account.​

In case you flashed the bios using the DOS option, it does not update the ME firmware although it works (note above, I was still stuck on 9.1.20.1035 with A06). It's best to double-check if it went through.

 

So I am getting power limit throttle to 2.8ghz while using throttle stop to try and run my 4980 at 3.2. Is the A06 even worth me trying if I am currently on A00? I do have a 240psu.

 

Firebat246Notebook Consultant
Hey guys I just wanted to give an update where I'm at with throttling and everything. I have scanned over the past several pages of this thread as well. I had my motherboard replaced by dell a month or so ago. Helped bring my temps down and I no longer throttle to 800mhz on the CPU. However my ongoing issue now (which seems to be others) is that no matter what I set throttle stop to... i'm getting throttling down to 2.8ghz and it's a power limit throttle. My temps don't even get into the 80s on the cpu and it's killing the CPU clock. Has anyone made any ground on this issue? I am on bios A00 and I do have the 240w psu for clarification.


Several have asked @unclewebb for help as there are many who experience throttling of processor in the new Aw models. Test out bios A06 and see if this bios is better than A00. But I doubt it . That's all to variable quality at Hq chips aka Bga trash. Some experience little throttling while others have big problems. It is a rarity if you do not experience such problems with the new Aw models. It is a known thing that Dellienware cripple the performance and fan profiles with a crippled bios/Ec. But this does not get any better, also because of Intel's Bga junk.
By @D2 Ultima

 

This is very unfortunate... So the real fix is getting the 18 inch version with the MQ cpu and give up on these horrible HQ's? That's ok I only spent 3500 on this machine chump change, right?

 

I do not know what you should do. But many of these new Aw models have serious problems... Some Aw owners are more lucky than others. You are maybe one of many unfortunate. I would not accept that a high end gaming laptop to + $ 3500 had such problems. But that's me.

 

Don't get me wrong.. I used to have SERIOUS throttling down to 800mhz with my thermals way too high.. since the new MB that is now corrected. But a have a couple games that are more CPU intensive (Arma 3 for example) that would really benefit from the higher clock speed. 85% of my games run 60fps max settings as the 980m is a fantastic card. It's the couple that need the extra CPU power that upset me since I seem to be jumping back and forth from 2.8 to where I should be. I just don't know where to go from here..

 

SERIOUS throttling down to 800MHz - 2.3 - 2.6 or 2.8 GHz does not matter... The processor does not go at the speed I expected. = Crippled.
If the processor throttles so is this a crippled product whether gpu work well(throttling to 2.8GHz in games is reprehensible).... If I had been an owner of these Aw models; I would replace paste with Liquid Ultra, under volt the processor, Use Throttlestop, Use separate cooler, Use Hwinfo manual fan control or sell. I'd sold that laptop immediately. A computer contains more than a good GPU/SSD. The processor should work just as well no matter what you're doing on your computer. As I said earlier :; Test processor with Wprime 1024 stability test (select 8 threads) http://www.putme.net/wPrime155.zip so you see that the processor act as expected. If not; Complain to Dell. Also use high performance in Win power plan under bench test. Not balanced performance. Easier to detect throttling if you log with software.