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    New AW 17 R3, a couple of questions

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by abdullah_mag, Dec 17, 2015.

  1. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm loving this machine (i7 6700hq, gtx 965m, 16gb ram, 1tb HGST HTS7k1000 HDD, windows 10 home 64-bit), and i have a couple of inquiries.

    1. The HDD makes a weird low volume high-ish pitched buzzing during some activities/processes (namely a game like planetside 2 and when copying/updating some programs), the sound is high enough to be heard over fans running at 3/4 max rpm but not high enough to be heard at a distance, it's a 7200rpm hdd so idk if that is normal or not since i never had one, should i rma it??

    2. I opened up the BIOS and there are two settings under performance options (check attachment), what happens exactly if i set these two options to "Enabled"??

    http://postimg.org/image/oqjgyt12z/

    Edit: 3. My current BIOS is A02, is there a benefit to flashing to A03 or A04?
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2015
    abdullah_mag, Dec 17, 2015
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  2. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    Anybody?
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 18, 2015
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  3. radam9

    radam9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    CPU Performance Mod:
    • If you enable it, your processors Turbo mode will be enabled.
    • If you disable it, the processor with be locked at 2.6GHz
    In general if your gaming, you will probably want to enable it to get better performance.

    Fan Performance Mode:
    • If you enable it, the fans will work at full throttle (power) the whole time.
    • If you disable it, the fans will "NOT" work at full throttle the whole time. (i dont know if they increase and decrease depending on the load or not)
    I am sorry i can't help out with the HDD and BIOS as i dont know about them.
    PS: just for your info, from what I have read through the forums and websites; its advisable not to update drivers/bios unless you really need it (for example newest games have a bug and need the latest GPU driver to fix it). If your system is working fine, better not to update anything that might start causing problems :)
     
    radam9, Dec 18, 2015
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  4. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks for your input.
    Regarding the cpu one, the cpu already has turbo boost enabled, this setting is not for turbo boost, what it is for i do not know.
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 19, 2015
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  5. radam9

    radam9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    for me the Turbo Boost wasn't enabled until i enabled the CPU Performance Mode in the BIOS, i got 200 FPS boost on CS:GO from that one.
    Temps are on average 70-77 C
     
    radam9, Dec 19, 2015
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  6. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    On your r3??
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 19, 2015
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  7. radam9

    radam9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yes Alienware 17 R3
     
    radam9, Dec 19, 2015
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  8. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    Weird, which cpu you got??
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 19, 2015
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  9. radam9

    radam9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    i7 - 6700HQ , gtx 970m
     
    radam9, Dec 19, 2015
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  10. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    Hmm, weird indeed.

    I have the 6700hq as well and i reach the turbo speeds without having fiddled with the BIOS before.

    What BIOS version are you running (found easily through directx doagnostics), mine are A02 (v 1.1.5)
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 19, 2015
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  11. radam9

    radam9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    1.2.2 it came with it when i got the laptop
     
    radam9, Dec 19, 2015
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  12. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    It could be that's why.
    What turbo s0eeds do you get with your bios (for 1, 2, and 4 cores)?
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 19, 2015
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  13. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    Any more opinions?
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 22, 2015
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  14. LinkRS

    LinkRS Notebook Consultant

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    That is a disturbing thought, that Intel Turbo Boost only happens if you enable an option that defaults to off? The built-in Turbo Boost should just work. I would guess that this would enable/disable the Alienware "dynamic overclocking" feature they brag about in promotional material. From what I understand, it is only used in the higher-end Skylake systems, and not on the base model. IF this is true, enabled/disabled shouldn't change anything. Good luck!

    Rich S.
     
    LinkRS, Dec 22, 2015
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  15. Corprustie

    Corprustie Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'd note that my Turbo Boost is also active and I haven't enabled that feature in the BIOS -- chugging along at 3.5GHz at the moment while doing nothing in particular.
     
    Corprustie, Dec 22, 2015
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  16. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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    Turbo boost is always enabled by default, i think the performance mode thing has to do with the Graphics Amplifier dynamic overclocking feature
     
    abdullah_mag, Dec 23, 2015
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