Alienware 15 services woes

Well after going through 3 mobo's, 2 heatsinks and 7 fans also the technician ripped one of the ribbons cables I have asked dell for a replacement so let's see how it goes. I am no hardware engineer but from what I heard is that the reason for the excessive heat on the haswell chipset is due to the voltage regulator being integrated in the cpu die, on skylake they removed the voltage regulator off the cpu die hence no throttling on the new models.

 

Search post in threads and you will find that @unclewebb already have said Haswell BGA chips is crippled by design... I don't want to do the Google job for you!! Do your searching and you will find it in threads into this and other forum.
I'll and a lot of others will never understand why you defend Broken products...!! Although much is quite obvious!!! Other people have already understood this!!

Edit. Also a knowledgeable person as @Lord Zog Have put in this info... He have the knowledge about Firmvare!! Especially about The Firmvare DELL use on newer models!!

 

Me too...I have AW 17R2 with i7 4980 HQ and GTX 980M with 3 different motherboard. The problem is real.

Enviado desde mi LG-D802 mediante Tapatalk

 

Don't know. All I know is that it tends to throw current limit throttle issues up for Haswell with ease. It seems Skylake doesn't get such easy current limit throttle from XTU benchmark, if I remember correctly.

Let me be perfectly clear. The AW15 R1 and AW17 R2 * ONLY* experience a sort of random CPU throttle that cannot be fixed. It is a BIOS-level issue, either the EC or the BIOS is screwed, and Dell/Alienware REFUSE TO FIX IT. Their "excuse" is that they can't, but that's just a lie. The AW15 R2 and AW17 R3 do not have these issues, and the AW17 R1 & AW18 and prior machines also do not have these issues. The throttle has NOTHING to do with the HQ chips installed. The machines, themselves, are broken. If you don't have the problem, count yourself as lucky. Many other people here do, and nobody has been able to fix the issue. And if a custom sBIOS would fix the issue, it's not possible to flash one, because they locked down their BIOS with Secure Flash. I.E. if somebody cannot digitally sign their custom sBIOS in a way that the machines accept a flash, the only way to flash a non-standard BIOS to one of those machines is to flash the BIOS to a fresh BIOS chip, remove the current BIOS chip, and install the new BIOS chip physically. "Putting yourself in a situation you won't find yourself in and claiming it is a cooling solution" is not part of the equation. It has * NOTHING* to do with the cooling.

M18x R2/M17x R5 & earlier:
- Proper perfect MXM compatibility, 260M to 880M plug & play booting in all systems.
- MUX switch functionality; iGPU, Optimus, and dGPU modes selectable at will (no Optimus on SLI models).
- Custom sBIOS flashing capability without breaking warranty (as far as I know).
- The best out-of-the-box cooling available for all competing laptops of its gen; only *POSSIBLY* losing to a heavily modified Clevo of its generation.
- The most options for system tuning via XTU/sBIOS, especially with the unlocked BIOS. These are not necessarily overclocking options.
- 120Hz models.
- Ability to use larger power solutions than sold with (330W on 17" and 660W on 18") for overclocking or extremely demanding scenario purposes.

AW18 lacked 660W PSU compatibility but AW17 kept 330W compatibility, and both AW18 & AW17 lack the ability to flash a custom sBIOS. But those are their only real downsides.

Current models have:
- Worst (I didn't say insufficient) cooling.
- Soldered CPU & GPU
- No MUX switch; Optimus only
- Locked BIOSes
- HUGE lack of tuning options in BIOSes
- 60Hz only; Optimus means no screen overclocking
- As far as I know, 240W brick largest option for any system.

So yes, the machines lack features. They are a DOWNGRADE of a system design, albeit with newer hardware. Please do not confuse "newer/faster hardware" with "better system design and features". They are not interchange-able terms.

Here's what. Go prove me wrong. Use the tests in my skylake post on HQ chips. Go get people to help you. Make a thread. Prove me wrong. Otherwise, just shut up. Honestly. I'm tired of you.

 

You can also put in 4 ssd and 4 ram slots for the golden gen AW 17/18. This is the normal spec for mostly all 17 inch laptops today. Same as there was before. But I know... You couldn't put on a graphics amp as you can today.

 

Ummmm - No - They're not. That being the case every system handed out would have malfunctioned and Dell would have one big law suit chasing their ass. More rubbish from the naysayer camp.

-They are smaller systems so in turn have smaller cooling systems that work just as well. They are no worse for it.

-Soldered CPU and GPU's are not a bad thing for the majority of customers. Managing overpriced component upgrades are. And not only that but you have to concern yourself with the latest MXM Gpu's even being compatible in the first place.

- Optimus works wonders for gaming and is remarkable for battery. Gone are the days of bulky machines with rubbish battery life. The software provided works a charm and has been continually improved upon.

- Locked BIOSes are not a problem for the majority of users and again, the vast majority of systems are hassle free with official versions. I feel it's fully safe to assume that the majority of gamers don't bother branching out with Bios customization.

- 60Hz Screen at 1080p is again more than adequate. 120Hz screens are well debated on terms of worth.

- 240W provides more than ample power required for gaming. I'm beginning to think that beyond that seems farcical with the development in technological efficiency. Big power adapters are not viewed favorably for transportation.

You've got some online attitude Ultima.
I will call you out on your elitist arrogance like several others whom seem unable to recognize the potential in these new systems. They are smaller and pack more power than ever before for gaming and THAT'S what matters.
Alienware are a gaming brand and these systems do a damn fine job at it.

 

So despite the number of people who WILL tell you, even on this single thread, that those generations of systems have issues with inexplicable and un-fixable CPU throttle, you insist that it's not true. I even said the Skylake models and previous models have no such issues. There's TONS of threads here with people trying to fix those throttle issues. People locking their CPUs to 3GHz in an attempt to kill the throttle that randomly shows up and all sorts of stuff. Ok. Whatever you say.

You're missing the entire point. I at no point said these systems were "bad". They are, let me make this clear,

FACTUALLY CONTAINING LESS FEATURES

than the previous generations.

I don't care whether the current feature set is acceptable or not. That isn't the point of the statement. The statement is, compared to their previous models, their set of features is reduced, and this statement is true, and it is made in a vacuum. The only "addition" to their feature set is the native eGPU solution, which, since it requires a reboot, is an acceptable solution. But that's about it. I was not criticizing whether or not the current feature set was good or not; simply saying it was previously better.

Also, as far as "optimus" working wonders for gaming, NOTHING is better than dGPU only as far as gaming is concerned. And if you cared for it, on the previous models, you could simply choose to use Optimus (SLI systems do not support Optimus, which is why that option was not available for those machines).

As for my "attitude", I get annoyed when people spread misinformation. Especially when being told about it in the past. If you don't know, or have a misconception from somewhere else, then I don't mind. We'll tell you about it, and likely prove why. You keep saying things incorrectly, and I'll get annoyed, not because you choose to be obstinate, but because you're giving OTHERS who don't know better the wrong information. You can think what you want as long as you want... just don't drag others into it. I don't care if a matter is opinionated... but when you dive into topics where there are facts, I have an issue.

And go ahead and "call me out". See how many people back you up and how many people will agree with you. If you look at me and read my posts without looking for any hidden agendas, you'll understand most all I do is list facts and the best logical course of action for people. If you have a problem with me doing that and telling off people who consistently give wrong information, then good luck dealing with that problem. You won't be getting much support for that on this forum, because my primary objective is to help people.

As for my earlier point about how I can only recommend Clevo, it is because it's the most end-user-friendly, feature-rich, well-balanced, well-priced systems available on the market, and with Prema mods they have the most end-user functionality and are generally extremely stable systems. I see problems with every manufacturer based on what we had in the near past, and I pick the systems with what I feel have the least downsides and most features with a good price.

 

Here we go again.......

Fact is that the AW15R1/17R2 are flawed by design. Many people out there with 0 issues. including 2 of the old machines I had.

BUt there is a certain issue of which no one knows exactly what happens, som epeople could remedy it by software. Others couldnt at all. If it is hardware. It could maybe be that there arent enough VRM's in combination with a not so good chip as in needs more current.

Talking about misinformation and not backing it up with facts as in the past is grand. You chose to ignore proof in another subject that I posted and walked away from it. WIth the statements you make, it would be impossible to enjoy these machine sfor which they are designed. While thousands do. NOw that is spreading misinformation.

There are around 5 to 8 users that say the same things as you everytime and are nothing more than disgruntled post-alienware owners that are just not happy with the direction they took. SImply because DTR laptops arent selling so Dell/Alienware stopped doing it. Even Sager on this forum posted that they dont sell as expected.

THat is not the same as what D2ultima says. He says all HQ cpu's are flawed by design. Which is not true. Pretty much all run as advertised. I dont defend broken products. YOu just cant stand that the industry changes in a direction you dont like. You want a desktop that you can move with a screen attached. Most users that buy laptops didnt so the industry changed. The changes that made laptops more portable are the changes you wish they didnt make. That does not make a product broken. A non customisable bios does not mean it is broken. A CPU that cannbot be removed to make it thinner does not mean it is broken. Get my point?

That there are issues with some R1's out there is true. Does Dell need to fix that? Hell yeah they should. That still doesnt mean all R1's out there have this problem. Stay in the Clevo forum and stay happy. THen you can delete that screenshot from your desktop as well. You love to post that dont you. OUtdated information from the A02 bios era. A06 fixed most issues with the R1 series. The laptops that still ahve issues should be replaced. That is all.

 

Lovely. Haswell and Broadwell have FIVR. All the voltage control are on the chips themselves. There is no such thing as "aren't enough VRMs"; any VRMs present simply convert power to the CPU like they would to the GPU and the other system parts etc.

Go get your own facts. I've had so many people check all over. I gave you my skylake testing methodology. Use it. Come back with chips pulling over 47W for 5+ minutes, consistently. A lot of them. If you can't, then just shut the hell up. I'm absolutely fed up of you saying I'm wrong and asking me to go consolidate a ton of information without you providing anything in return. I spent months gathering my information and I didn't keep it in one area or one thread, and when Skylake came out I learned from what I did and I made a specific thread for it. HQ HASWELL AND BROADWELL CPUS GENERALLY CANNOT DRAW OVER 47W UNDER EXTENDED LOADS. That is a TDP limit. That has nothing to do with whether you can induce 100% (or less, but necessary, say in the case of gaming) load on it and be under 47W. Heavy tasks will almost always cross that limit unless one has a "golden chip". Go prove me wrong or drop the subject. I'm tired of telling you off.

And stop putting words in my mouth. I said Skylake chips work fine, and they do. I believe that a soldered CPU (and GPU) in a $2500+ laptop is stupid, because it is. It will ALWAYS be stupid. If anything happens you need to replace everything, and if you're out of warranty (and most of these come with 1-2 years at most), you need to buy a new system. It is *BY DESIGN* disposable. I don't care nearly as much as I did since Skylake works properly, but before with haswell there was suddenly no choice and chips that were DESIGNED to fail to hold their speeds (I.E. do not keep boost) under loads. I don't care if manufacturers say that base clocks need to be slipped below for them to consider it "throttling" or not... the chips return throttling flags once load is present and boost clocks are not held.

NOW I'm fine telling someone to get one if they want one. I'll still say if someone wants the most performance, then a 6700K is a guaranteed 4GHz and the systems which have them have more than sufficient cooling for them, even overclocked in hot countries. But it is no longer *necessary* for someone who needs heavy performance in a mobile form factor.

 

There arent such a thing as not enough VRM's?

If you dont have enough current and power for your CPU it will throttle. That some R1 models throttle while both the 980M and 4720HQ are stressed at the same time proves that some models had insufficient power to run those 2 even with the 240watt PSU. It could be simply not enough VRM's or that the software controlling this all wasnt good. The fact is that both you and me can't know this for sure because we both dont have access to the exact design data of this hardware.

Heavy tasks dont per definition cross the 47watt limit. Especially in a dGPU scenario where you dont use the iGPU that also uses power. You never provided me with any solid proof by the way, never.

I would put my mouth where my money is if I had access to a haswell CPU but I dont have those anymore. But I recall posting some benchmark results here with XTU data that it could hold turbo boost fine for over 15minutes (the max i tested) not sure if it was a response directed at you or not. Could be Papusan as well. In all laptops that I tested all HQ's could hold their turbo boost under full load (all tested with cinebench and prime). The GIgabyte's couldnt unless I popped the bottom cover off though. They simply would pass the 95c mark. Tested on Alienware, Gigabyte, Asus, CLevo and MSI branded laptops. All I had in my possession for for testing on which I based my decision which one to keep.

But if you are so sure of it, why dont you start a class action lawsuit? This would me that the specifications are not true of Intel and you could get some serious dough .

 

Alienware 15 R2 6700HQ :
Aida 64 CPU / RAM stress test,
Ambient Temp 26c,
Fan Speed Max 2500rpm (almost no sound),
and the best part is its DELL thermal paste , I just wanted to check on temps before I apply ICD7..
While gaming I got max of 82c on CPU, 72c on GPU, most part 60-68c

 

There's not really much choice about the CPU. Intel are only making mobile CPUs in a BGA package these days. If you want a socketable CPU, it has to be a desktop one, which means more power draw and worse battery life.

The move to BGA is due to industry trends for smaller and thinner laptops. A BGA chip can be 3-4mm thinner than the socketed equivalent. The socket around the chip also takes up a few square cm of motherboard space.

This will be the same reason Dell have dropped MXM. The MXM board is a fixed size and shape, and needs a relatively thick connector. A soldered GPU allows for much more flexibility in where the components are placed, as well as a small reduction in thickness.

The mux switch was quite useful. However, it's relatively easy to switch to dGPU mode, which has a big impact on battery life. This would almost certainly be the cause of a number of support calls.

I would guess that the percentage of Alienware customers that understand the mux switch is quite low, probably less than 10%. The number who care that it's gone will be a fraction of that.

This will be a security measure, tied in with the secure boot functionality. By requiring a signed BIOS, it becomes incredibly hard to install malware at the firmware level. Secure Boot makes it difficult to install a bit sector virus. The only major downside is that custom BIOS mods can no longer be used.

This is a direct consequence of the mux switch removal. While Optimus does remove some options, it also has a massive positive impact on battery life.

Dell have been using 240W bricks for a number of years. The beefy power brick is needed because the system draws a lot of power. The 980M alone is rated at 125W. Add 45+W for the CPU and you're already at 170W. Once you add in the screen, fans, drives, etc, the total power draw could easily exceed 200W. It could be even more than that. The 240W adapter leaves a bit of headroom.

---

Overall, these complaints are mostly about the general direction that the market is headed. Consumers want thinner, lighter laptops with good battery life. That's where the money is. Dell want this money, so that's the direction they're heading.

Brands like Acer, Asus, MSI and Razer are still producing laptops with some enthusiast features (e.g. MXM cards), but this could change. It depends on how successful Dell's changes are, and how it affects their market share. If the thinner, lighter gaming laptops become more popular, expect these brands to chase that money too.

The only brands that will continue to cater for the serious enthusiasts are the likes of Clevo and Sager. They quite literally exist to fill that niche of the market. As long as there's demand for those sort of systems, you'll be able to buy them.

 

By labeling these as complaints, you just admitted to not reading my post after, where I state that I am no "complaining" and simply "listing a fact".

MSI and Clevo are the only laptop manufacturers which use MXM cards. Clevo is the only manufacturer with a MUX switch on any of their systems.

Clevo exists first and foremost to fulfill their business contracts in Asia. We are second nature, and weren't even considered for anything until approximately a year and a half ago, at best, when Prema managed to make them take note of us. And upgrade-ability has never been their desire, however modularity is tantamount to businesses for support purposes and savings, so at least the CPUs will remain. But that's beside any point I've been making here, at all, even though I know what you're saying.

I've made exactly three points here since I've showed up in this thread:
- AW15 R1 and AW17 R2 have BIOS-level problems with their CPUs, and any user experiencing one of them is plainly and simply out of luck and will never find a fix which grants full CPU functionality.
- Alienware, from the AW15 R1 and AW17 R2, have hugely downgraded their features and cooling potential for their laptops.
- Haswell and Broadwell HQ CPUs have innate problems with drawing over 47W for extended periods of time in any laptop they are present in without using tricks to make the CPU assume it is drawing less power than it actually is, save a very small percentage of Haswell-only CPUs in the 47x0 HQ line which exhibit the ability to draw as much power as they please for as long as they please.

Everybody seems to assume I'm bashing things, or I'm hating on BGA's existence, or I'm all sorts of other things that I'm simply not doing.

 

You can not fix something that is broken by design. Even an unlocked bios can't help you. May help to some extent, but not much more!!

 

Bios A06 has since rectified any possible issues for the Alienware 15 R1 and I can only assume they would do the same for the rest of the line up.
I know this because I damn well use it. There's a FACT for you Ultima.

They have NOT downgraded features and cooling potential.
My Alienware 15 R1 cools fine when running intensive applications.
Refrain from posting the usual tripe I read of "Oh but if the cooling was fantastic you should be able to game on your lap." There are vents to help cool these computers for a reason. They generate heat and it needs to be expelled.

Certain parts were omitted because they are no longer deemed essential for these slimmer systems and for the majority of gamers.
I for one, are more than happy to sacrifice the CD drive for more internal space for graphics power.

You are bashing and you are then telling other forum users to shut up when you are in turn challenged.

Do you own the latest Alienware line up or have you even tested them in person?
I'm guessing neither because as usual, it's the people with the least amount of hands-on experience tout their "opinions" as "facts" the loudest.

Benchmarks are synthetic and do not provide the insight real work usage will.

I am USING this system - Ergo I'm more than qualified to state what works and what doesn't.

 

I can't spoke for AW15, but the 17 inches lineup has less features than previous models. Maybe I have wrong, but if I remember correctly so can I put in 4 ram and ssd's in my AW17. And I can push +115w from my MX chips without big heat problems. I can't see that the newer models can do the same. And Msi, Asus, Clevo, Auros and even Acer use maxed Gpu chips in some models. Why not Dell? All these big brand offer something Dell can't. In every way. Why can't a 17 inches laptop in 2016 use 4 ssd slots? I think it's more than big enough space in a big 17 inches chassis. Maybe Dell rather relying on ssd manufacturers can push out bigger ssd's? I can go on... But this will not change someone's opinion!! And now Dell understand that Raid in a laptop isn't bad. Because this wasn't possible in early Echo models. Yeah. I have also raid in my older Aw17.
Edit. And I don't want start talking about bios problems. This is another flaws.

 

Hahahaha half of your arguments are just plain stupid.

pushing 115watt on an old chip with a much bigger and easy to cool chip die. That is kidney the same as bashing the 1080 because it becomes just as hot as a 980 while the lithography changed from 28nm to 14nm. Damn the old 480GTX was a heat monster, damn that must have been a beast of a performing card....but it wasnt. The amount of watt says nothing.

Why no 4 SSD slots? You get 3 instead of 4. 2 are NVME enabled. thus limited by PCI express lanes. and if 4 memory slots is the criteria for which laptop you choose you sure got weird priorities. if 32GB of memory supported isnt enough you should buy a laptop to begin with.

Also stop whining about the 980. WHy releasign a laptop with old GPU tech. Aorus released the 980 laptop for example past month. Which person in their right mind would buy it while the 1070 and 1080 equipped laptops are just around the corner. The Asus model needs friggin liquid cooling for it to run nicely, the MSI is quite the large tank and the same goes for Clevo. The Acer was also released only 2 months ago. THe 980 doesnt even perform as good as the desktop versions in most cases.

Also, the AW models now DO have raid support. Some users here are running double 950 pro ssd's in raid. I do agree that the 17inch version doesnt add much to the 15inch version. They are simply the same laptops.

You only lost MXM support and a socketed CPU. Intel doesnt make socketed mobile CPU's anymore. It is still a question of NVidia is going to continue support for MXM boards. Time will tell. The 980 already had a non standard formfactor. Only SLI ready laptops could house that card. But users got a 30% thinner laptop in return. I know that is not your cup of tea. That is fine. I never bought Alienwares in the past because the sheer size, higher price and lack of performance compared to a desktop. Now the price and performance balance is just right for me. Mind you for your machine i have to pay around 4000 euro in holland now. That machine is definitely not worth it. It performs up to max 30% better in ideal circumstances compared to my machine but costs more than twice the price.

 

I see what you're saying but just because its not worth it for you doesn't mean thats the case in other places. Also, the 980 is old gpu tech? Wait until the 1070(M or not) is released and then you can speak about that.

I agree that the ASUS model with liquid cooling is one of a kind and to me stupid. When you purchase an AW you accept the fact that what you're getting is what you'll always have whereas with MSI or Clevo you pay for the comfort of upgrading your parts later on instead of buying another Alienware. To me if you're purchasing the 17" Alienware then portability must not be an issue to you so you might as well have a little thickness there too.

 

The 1070 comes in August in the new 17inch Asus laptop. Expect the same for other brands. It has already been teased past month. http://laptopmedia.com/highlights/f...070-laptop-asus-rog-g752vs-coming-mid-august/

The only one quick enough to support a 980 was Clevo. credit is where credit is due. Asus, Aorus and Acer where late to the party. MSI was fairly quick too. TOo bad their laptops itself dont scream premium while their pricetags do.

 

I wasn't talking about the 1070's release date but for its actual strength and how it will vary from laptop to laptop as we don't know what cards will be released exactly.

 

Have early Echo models raid support?
Dell relayed on bigger 16GB ram chips for their newest models. Can you use those in early Echo? Are ALL other 17" laptops limited by max 3 ssd's and 2 ram slots like AW?
Yeah I know 980 is old now!! But Dell couldn't put in the chips. All the major Gaming models usually have the best offered and do the job... +115w and over 140w can be pushed from cpu and properly cooled by previous 17/18. Yeah. I shouldn't talk about my other laptop and max 70 degrees in bench with 4.8 GHZ. And Clevo maxed is still a pricier choice than AW here at home.

We have already done a comparison between 17-6700K and 980 in desktop and laptops. You can find the bench numbers if you Google. Both stock and overclocked!!

 

There are exceptions but the general numbers of mobile 980 chips arent great. Not strange ofcourse because the majority of desktop cards are custom. Reference boards suck. Echo r1 had 4 sata slots by the way. The 15inch also but 2 of the slots didnt had drive bays.

 

I already know that, because it's cheaper for Dell to use unisex Motherboard. One size fits all!! Same as Porche and Volvo would use same motor block on all their automobile models. + It's also much cheaper to obtain spare parts if Dell do it this way
Edit. You probably remember very well what Mr. Ford sayd about the color for the T models?

 

It's a fact? Ok. So all the people complaining, RIGHT HERE, about random CPU throttle simply need to use A06 right? That's the fix? Ok. Go tell the people in these threads about it, because they apparently don't know!
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/i7-4710hq-throttling-fix.792133/
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/why-is-my-alienware-15-cpu-throttling-to-800-mhz.777144/

I can't believe the fix was so easy! EVERYONE WITH THESE SYSTEMS CAN NOW REJOICE! BECAUSE THE FIX WAS JUST TO UPDATE THEIR SYSTEM BIOS! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS ISN'T COMMON KNOWLEDGE YET!

I just gave you all the features they removed. And the cooling system, WHILE ADEQUATE, is not as good as it previously was. I do not understand how I can make this more clear. I do not give a flying meowcheese whether or not you or anyone else finds the current feature set is "acceptable" or "enough" or "too much" or whatever. The point is, the machines have less features than their previous models. They are a DOWNGRADE. It does not matter whether they're still acceptable or good or even if they were still the best machines money could buy. They are still a downgrade. JUST LIKE THE AW18 WAS A DOWNGRADE IN FEATURES FROM THE M18x R2 DUE TO SECURE FLASH LOCKED BIOS AND LACK OF 660W PSU COMPATIBILITY. Let me make this clear. You're WRONG. I have listed the features removed and the ones added to the systems, and there are less. Whether or not they bother you, or anyone else, does not matter. Stop saying there is no downgrade. I proved there is a downgrade. You ACKNOWLEDGED THE LACK OF FEATURES AND TRIED TO SAY THAT THE FEATURES LOST WEREN'T NECESSARY, AND NOW YOU'RE SAYING THERE WAS NO FEATURE LOSS. Stop being stupid about this.

You're wasting time saying that the current feature list is enough. I never commented on that. I haven't even given my opinion on whether or not the available feature set was good or bad. You need to stop telling people I said it's bad. I never said anything but that it has less features than the previous models, which is correct.

I'm telling people off when they're wrong. Feel free to prove what I say wrong with some facts. I already said I'm not going to hunt for and gather all my haswell/broadwell HQ posts from two+ years ago just to prove that with the exception of an EXTREMELY low percentage of chips, they can't sustain over 47W over long periods of time. That's the only thing I haven't bothered "proving" here, and despite constantly telling me I'm wrong, nobody has brought facts to show that I'm wrong, besides "I used my chip and it's fine". Yeah? Go flip off. That means nothing. Bring power draw graphs. Run the tests listed in my Skylake thread with Haswell chips and show me I'm wrong, and then get multiple other people to do it, and then I'll retract my statements.

I never. Under *ANY* circumstances. Stated in this thread. That the TDP limited HQ chips will pose some massive issue for the majority of games. I HAVE however stated that games AREN'T likely to make the TDP limit show up. Games aren't what power users and high productivity users who would actually need the CPU grunt are going to run, and thus gaming was never what I hugely spoke up about for the TDP limited Haswell and Broadwell CPUs.

And just because you're using a system doesn't mean everybody's system performs like yours. If there's known issues with a system, you having no problems means little. The PxxxSM series had two mSATA slots, and the newly added mSATA slot over the PxxxEM series (the models before; they only had 1 mSATA slot) was faulty. So the PxxxSM-A models were made in a revision, and they fixed the faulty second mSATA slot. But my SM machine has no mSATA issues and both my slots are filled. Does that mean that everybody else is wrong because my system is fine? Is my "qualification" to talk about my system suddenly more important than all the other information about it? Think about that.

I don't sugar coat anything, and I don't like when people spread misinformation. I give facts, and I make it clear when I give an opinion. Having problems with my facts is going to simply make me repeat them... because they're facts. Want to challenge my opinions? Ask for my opinion, or wait until I give one.

 

Again all irrelevant points spouted forth as if you're delivering some sort of holy preach.

Alienware sell many hundreds, if not thousands of the latest line up.
Your small portion of an online forum (Which posts usually consist of the tiny demographic of unhappy/ unlucky customers) does not mean that the system is broken. Unhappy people online makes their voices heard many times over like it's the end of the world.

A06 works brilliantly as a BIOS. Just because the same previous unhappy/ unlucky customers don't report any changes by updating, doesn't mean the BIOS is not functioning as intended.
There's been no issues for myself as well as many others that have chipped in recently regarding their systems, but yet again, you think you know better.

The cooling solution is not a downgrade because it performs more than adequately and keeps these smaller systems perfectly cool during intense gaming sessions. It's NOT a downgrade if it is functioning perfectly. What makes this concept so difficult to accept with you?

Being able to pull more power is not desired by most gamers, indeed the opposite is true. More power from less wattage ALWAYS receives praise.

Unlocking BIOSes mean nout to the majority of gamers. Their concerns consist primarily of GPU drivers and Wifi connectivity.
Processors do not possess the same level of importance as GPU's for gaming. A medium level CPU with a high end GPU WILL perform better than a high end CPU coupled with a medium end GPU for gaming purposes.

Yes actually it does - The majority of Alienware 15, 17 users will perform akin to my system, otherwise the product wouldn't sell and would be slammed with negative reviews left, right and center. This is not a boast on my part. This is just as a fact based on the success rate of the product and the new direction that Alienware have taken.

You need to stop posting misleading information regarding these systems. They work and do so brilliantly. I can attest to this because I actually own one. I'm using it to type this post right now.

If you are not happy, shift to a different manufacturer and support them. Vote with your wallet.
Cease this blatant, unwanted and incorrect criticizing of Alienware, just because they no longer support your laptop desires.

 

I think the point trying to be made here is that, a feature, which doesn't matter if it means "nout" to whoever, has been removed, where as, it existed there before. At least this is how I understand it. Doesn't matter if it doesn't concern the majority, before -> there, now-> not there, and while it may not put off the usual sheep customers, people who are really into the scene will take this into consideration... (And all this while still paying a premium.)

Just my 2 cents.

 

Yes but at what point does that statement ever truly have measurable ground?
CD drives were a "feature" of previous gen laptops and have since been removed.

Is that something that makes these new gen models lesser? I think not.

 

Lesser compared to others, yes. I will only concede that sometimes this can be justified given the location and availability of other systems..

Don't get me wrong, this is still a "good" system to many people who aren't very involved or otherwise and I can only respect that.

 

the funny thing is that my cpu is not consuming more than 38W, but if i rise the frecuency, appear the Power limit throttling WTF ... very good temps but i dont know

 

So I DID make it clear! Good!

However I did not mention this part in bold. Their feature list, size, and cooling potential has dropped, but their price has also plummeted. I stopped plainly at "before -> there, now -> not there", and did not ever once say that people are still paying a premium for it (however it is indeed true that one of their dropped features, the MUX switch, is present in Clevo machines which are cheaper for the same configuration, and unlocked mods are still flashable to the Clevos).

I did NOT judge its necessity of being there, whether the systems were worth it, whether the available systems were good enough, or well-priced, etc. Nobody asked for my opinion on this, and so it was never given. I can't understand why people say I am "senselessly bashing" anything.

That is something else. The Haswell/Broadwell HQ CPUs have a hard-limit 47W power limit AFTER 2.5 minutes of load above their TDP limit (during which time they can hit about 57W usually; though I've seen some of the AWs hit 68W during this time, possibly due to a relaxed iGPU power draw solution allowing for the CPU/cache/etc to hold the full 57W on its own, but I cannot be certain). Any earlier TDP limit is some setting or program improperly interfering with the CPU. Also, Skylake does not have inborne TDP limits like Haswell/Broadwell HQ chips.

 

Hey @judal57 you have repasted with liquid ultra right... could you test something for me .... increase voltage by 50 mv and then at increments of +5 mv and keep on checking for current throttling in intel XTU at 3.3 ghz..... According to the power equation P=V (forward) x I (forward) means to get required power if we undervolt we need more current but if we are hitting current gate, it means we should increase V slightly to get the required power while sitting under the required current limit.

And please monitor temps as well as overvolting will most certainly lead to higher temps... Test and report here please..... i am on a puny arctic silver mx 5 so my cpu temps can jump to 85 even on static 0.9620 volts to the CPU else i would've tested it myself(mostly likely i'll thermal throttle if i overvolt before current throttle) and check on xtu benchmark not stability test

Again its just a theory, so i cannot guarantee what will be the end result

 

i would recomend you to get a ICD7 or grizzly, i orderd from amazon, a U.S based Seller.. costed me 2700 bucks.. but its worth.. i have AS5 and few more, but its not worth..

 

Mr. Madhu offered me as5 to paste on this friday again , he said he also has liquid ultra which he uses to benchmark heatsinks; i'll ask him to lend me liquid ultra, even if i have to pay for the amount i use

@Papusan Is the liquid ultra drying issue still very prevalent on notebooks?
@Mr. Fox @unclewebb @D2 Ultima Is timer resolution reduction safe? How does it increase cpu performance? i checked in a passmark, it added 500 points to the total score, how does it achieve that increase without increasing clock rate? Can it be detrimental to system life or performance over the long run?

 

Only if the heatsink don't sit flat on die/IHS. But don't be afraid. This isn't a big problem!!

 

@Papusan i move my laptop quite a lot so will that affect for how long does liquid ultra stay

PS:Read about timer resolution, apparently it increases timer frequency so that the program's sleep() and wait() system calls with small values can operate at the precise specified value, basically increasing performance in a subset of programs which use those system calls by quite a decent margin depending on your windows default timer frequency.

 

If you move your machine a lot, I would use Clu, A bit thicker metal than Grizzly Conductonaut/Phobya liquid metal. And of course. Don't put on to much. There are one or two cases I've seen that liquid metal has dropped out, but this is not common. And don't throw your laptop all over the place. Probably bad fit between IHS and HS. If the liquid dry out, put on a bit more or clean up before you put on a new application.

 

i had liquid ultra, now i have thermal grizzly conductonaut ... i am going to make the test ... i am waiting the mail for my new ram

 

+60mv crash ...
max +55mv on core and cache
powe limit throttling on 3,3ghz with overvolt (max package tdp 43W)
no throttling on 3Ghz -69mv on core and cache (max package tdp 33W)

 

and xtu seems to be bad

 

CLU is indeed much better if a copper heatsink is present (I'm not sure if these AWs uses copper, but I'm almost certain they do). But ICD7 is indeed the best of the non-liquid-metal pastes in general.

It dried out after a year on my laptop, but it never leaked anywhere. I just reapplied and it works even better than I remember.

Windows timer resolution setting to 1ms is a STRAIGHT performance improvement. It will make your battery drain faster, yes, but it will help smooth out frametimes in games and can help games run better. It may not be all that notice-able in all scenarios, but I am certain it's a very good improvement.

 

can i change windows timer resolution ? or only skylake HK series can ...

 

You can do it with Throttlestop. It has nothing to do with your CPU model. It's a windows thing.

 

is the only program ? i dont like throllstop

 

is the only program ? i dont like throllstop

 

Where go all the heat from these pads? And Crapid is something I keep myself away to use!!
And Throttlestop is a very very useful software!! All overclockers love this little tool.

 

it go to the back lid ... the lip gets hot ! what is crapid ? .... is a cheap thermal pads .... but i am planing to buy a better one

 

It's not the only way to do it, but I don't readily know of any other way to constantly keep it low.

To be honest, my Windows installs on this machine lock themselves to 1ms resolution timer the second it ever goes that low, so I don't actually *need* to manually lower it. But that's an anomaly of my system.

Also I forgot to quote your earlier post, but if you don't hit 47W TDP drawn from your CPU and you're TDP throttling, it's definitely some setting on the system that's bad.

 

HPET in the BIOS and then force it using BCDEDIT.

 

i am 99% sure that my BIOS dont have this option