I just got my alienware 17 and I need some help

Hello,
Today I received my first alienware laptop and even though the issues I'm facing I'm very happy. The laptop has GTX 980m and 4720HQ also the BIOS version is A05 (I just updated it). By the way I am using the 180W PSU. I installed intel XTU to monitor my temps and frequency and it seems I have the CPU throttling issue when the GPU is being stressed It stays around 2.6 GHz although I played some dying light on maxed out settings and I get some good FPS so I'm not furious about it. The funny thing is when I installed throttlestop 8.00 it shows my CPU package power around 7-14W during gameplay!! I mean how is that possible? Also my CPU temps are around 80 degrees celsius and the fans do kick in so I have no complaints about the temps but as I said this is my first alienware and I don't really know what to expect. So I tried using HWiNFO and SpeedFan but I couldn't manage to control fan speeds because they don't show up. So here are my questions as a newbie:
1- Does throttlestop help to stop the throttling problem? If so can you please show me how?
2- I couldn't find a way to manually control the fans, is that normal?
3- If I get the 240W PSU and use the A00 BIOS what kind of an improvement should I expect?

Thank you!

Update: I got the HWiNFO to control my fans so now question 2 is solved.
EDIT: now I have a much bigger problem. The CPU now throttles down to 1.1 GHz after 20-30 mins of gameplay. Guys please help me I have no idea what to do (((

 

ill try to help as much as i can.
1.)no idea on throttle stop.
2.)yes u can with hwinfo64 but there are only 4 options for fan speed 2600 and 5200 on CPU fan and 2500 and 5000 for gpu fan.
3.)a00 is best bios for now. for me i dont need hybrid bios. i dont need quieter experience on using the laptop. i prefer no heat issue. no hot keyboard. so get bios a00 and 240 PSU is a must if you have a 980 graphic card.

 

oh you can read my post here. hope this helps. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...vers-throttling-temps-life-expectancy.779226/

 

Post #1 updated PLEASE HELP

 

Throttle issue is quite typical - it's thermal throttling due to the bios telling the chip the TJmax is 80 instead of 100. this will likely happen when the CPU and GPU are both stressed at the same time for any short period of time. You can attempt to downvolt to reduce temperatures, but after working with another member on here for the better part of the day yesterday, it was left in Dell's hands to send a technician. Contact dell for a replacement, or ask them to send a tech. When they run a diagnostic, ask them to specifically run a GPU / CPU test simultaneously. They should be able to reproduce the issue. They will send a tech with a new fan / heat sink / paste. Make sure the tech tries the stress test again in the same fashion. Still does poorly, request a replacement or at the least a motherboard replacement. See the thread regarding downclocking to 800 mhz

 

But I live outside US and I don't think I have the chance to do what you said so am I stuck with this useless machine? I guess I've made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

 

Dell support is world wide. Worth a shot. Not sure where you'll have to send it, but you may be good to send it in for repair / replacement regardless.

 

as ive understand you are using 180 PSU for your 980m. i think to solve your problem is that you need a 240 PSU.
check this out.
http://www.dell.com/support/article/uk/en/ukdhs1/SLN295814

it say there Using a 240 Watts AC Adapter will boost the performance. they were giving out PSU replacement for people who had 980m graphic card. that will fix your problem.

 

I think you're right. Thank you and @reptileexperts you have been helpful. I have a friend who has 240W PSU. If I can get to him I'll try that one with the A00 BIOS. Hopefully that might work. Other than that I think I have found a decent configuration in Intel XTU. Now I am able to run the CPU at around 3.04 GHz. By the way @reptileexperts mentioned that when the CPU hits 80C, CPU considers it as the TJmax. Can this be fixed over a BIOS update? If so why havent they fixed it until now. These laptops are avalible for 8 months now and even after 8 months a customer is dealing with many problems right out of the box. I can't even understand how irresponsible dell is.

 

Are you sure that fans kick in with bios A05? because i tryed that bios and fans were completly silent. I downgraded to bios A00 and fans now are working, my temps are decreased about 10 C°, and are overall good. i have the 970m so 180w psu seems ok. I reccomend you bios A00 and 240w psu for the 980m.

 

The fans do not kick in by themselves. I manually set them via HWiNFO. The reason I am using A05 is because I don't know what other BIOS is beter for my components (including 180W PSU)