*OFFICIAL* Alienware 13 R3 Owner's Lounge

Most of my desktop throttling, as well as keyboard repeat rate got resolved by disabling DVR in XBOX APP. Well, I think it did .. This also affected my FPS rate when I tried to do some initial gaming tests [tried DOOM, Witcher 2, Gears 4 and Company of Heroes 2 ], I was in low 20s [ ! ]. Once disabled - FPS immediately sky-rocked.
I guess its worth pointing out that the only place where you can force de-activate V-sync for Doom would be nVidia's settings panel and not the app's options menu [it did nothing for me and kept it locked to 30FPS even after it was turned off]

 

well the V6 has the Pascal GPU too, this seems to be a problem with the card, so no matter what brand I get it would have that problem. I'm sticking to the Aorus x3 plus V5 for now.

 

anyone know how to just install the killer WiFi and ethernet drivers only? not the full manager package.


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http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads/item/killer-drivers-64bit

 

if you read the reviews it seems like a common theme among other brand, this ram doesn't work well with some laptop

 

First, download the Killer drivers only package:
http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads/category/other-downloads

Then download the latest BT software too, it's a separate package:
http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads/category/bluetooth

Then uninstall the Killer Suite software, reboot, uninstall the Killer BT software, reboot.

Then install the Killer drivers only, reboot, then install the Killer BT software, and reboot one more time.

That's it

If you want to try the Killer Suite again in the future:
http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads/category/killer-suite

Don't forget to do the uninstall's and reboot's before trying to install the new packages again (Killer Suite and BT).

Have fun

 

No one is getting 9200 FS scores on the Blade without using Throttlestop and OC'ing the GPU. Average out of the box FS score is around 8500 on the unit. Which is embarrassing and why the majority of us (Blade owners), returned them.

My current MSI GS43 out of the box got 9852. Looking forward to seeing how my 13 R3 fares.

Yes, these synthetic benchmarks are mostly useless; but they are a good means of comparison and in the case of the Blade, it did enable us to discover the unit was being governed and throttled.

 

Reduced price for AW 13 liquid metal repaste service. PM / start conversation me for details. (Quote / like me if you can't PM yet)

 

Disabling the Xbox app and superfetch didnt help?

 

nope...only fix I got to work is disable the integraded graphic...but then I lose Brightness control. plus I suspect battery life might turn to shiet.

 

Alright these laptops seem to have way to many problems. I might just cancel my order. Ill think over it tonight. Thanks for the info!

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I got my 13 R13 and ended up repasting with Gelid Extreme because one of the screw holders for the bottom panel fell into the frame of the laptop when i went to upgrade the ram. Took it all apart and repasted since I had it apart. Deltas in max GPU temperature before and after are about 5 degrees for one run of firestrike normal. Didn't get to test extensively before and after because of the screw holder issue unfortunately.

With both fans maxed, i pass firestrike stress test with 77 on GPU and 50 on the CPU. With fans on default mode the CPU will hit higher clocks and temps will be 81 GPU, ~65 CPU. Same average FPS stress test results though with no throttling.

Prime 95 - 65-75 max CPU temp with max fans. Unfortunately the CPU fans don't kick in for the CPU when using prime in the default fan mode which is annoying. Then it will spike to 90+. However this behavior does not exhibit when playing games. I think it detects for games and spins up CPU fans earlier than on the desktop.

Overall the fan speeds/temps are not an issue. GPU boost or whatever Nvidia has will settle the temperature at 80 degrees with a respective fan speed increase or decrease. The CPU operates within proper temps as gaming will never fully stress the CPU.

If I recall, I score 9800 on fire strike in both default and manual fan modes. Ill confirm when I check the scores this weekend to follow up.

Can someone clarify why we're disabling the xbox app instead of just uninstalling? You can uninstall the xbox app entirely with powershell commands which is what I did. I uninstalled all the default alienware apps including eye tracking except lighting control, uninstalled all win 10 apps, and disabled superfetch/page file. Don't notice any hanging.



Overall it's a pretty good laptop from my brief usage of it. I didn't have any changes to their default oled config. i7/OLED/256gb/8gb ram. It shipped directly from Texas instead of China though, maybe I got a cherry picked one.

 

you can disable the xbox app instead of removing it

people have problem with the xbox app because it forces vsync and cap 60fps

 

Ordered Black Friday, called last week to check status - CSR put an email out to the "export control team". Said he would call me back, and it would be resolved by 12/8 and shipped.

Today - nothing has changed...no shipment, no status update, no change in EDD. Just "confirmed" on order status page.

While i'm still in the EDD "window" until the 12th...it's clear even if they shipped today, I would not receive my order Monday (unless they threw in gratis overnight shipping).

WTF is going on here? Dell had a window to get this thing to me where I would have kept it, but sitting for weeks rethinking an order and looking at other readily available alternatives...

I wish that Aorus X3 Plus wasn't so pricey - it looks damn good outside no touch screen.

 

I have a similar experience, repasted with thermal grizzly kryonaut which lowers the cpu by about 5 degrees and up to 10 with the gpu. I was able to lower the cpu with another 10 by applying a -100mv undervolt.


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I tried OCCT again and this time I set it to turn off at 95c and it lasted over an hour. I just turned it off at that point. Temps are high but not enough to throttle. I might not even bother with a repaste.

http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/qq327/GreenCard/Other/test_zpsurvyztbi.jpg

 

Has anyone gotten afterburner to work? When I load it up it will lose readings on sensors on and off and I cannot control any of the sliders.

 

If you are not in a hurry I would wait for further discount, plus there may be a fix down the road..but it's been several month since Pascal GPU laptop came out and still no definite fix so there's a gamble

 

One of the dangers of following these type of threads, keeping a sense of perspective with the issues unearthed and how that materially impacts your personal situation. Think you'll wait a long time for a perfect laptop.

 

This is by far the best laptop I've ever owned, and I have not one issue with it at the moment. Even my image download succeeded tonight!
But if your looking for excuses not to buy it then yeah plenty of that here
Also since people are offering repasting services here I'm guessing we will keep seeing temperature complaints.. The market needs to be kept alive..

 

Yes, please test for all of the alienware problems listed on the Aorus. Thinking of making the exchange myself. Here's a list of the current problems with 15 R3.

1. Uneven heatsink pressure related to tripod setup (core differentials)
2. Thermal heating/throttling related to #1 and bad toothpaste compound
3. Palm rest clicking
4. Backspace key clicking
5. Battery charging to 60% max (factory/manufacturer mode)
6. Killer Wireless disconnect issues on high data volume (also related to buggy software)
7. Micro stutters on desktop (win10)
8. Bezel slipping off the IPS panel (crap double sided tape and build quality)
9. Light bleed
10. Fuzzy font on 4K, worse with 1080p on native 4K
11. Yellow tint in color
12. Underperforming battery life (1-3 hours on 4K -- equivalent to GSYNC panel)
13. Clicking sound problems from speaker

 

Doesn't the Aorus have pretty bad thermals too? Assuming you're talking about the x3 plus v6

 

my V5 is pretty dang good...equal to this AW13 R3

if you look at the inside of the Aorus you can definitely see that its more open than the alienware, thus giving it more air flow...I feel that Alienware black plastic looking thing is just restricting the air flow. I'm tempted just unscrew it and leave it out.

 

Well my opinion on Aorus is quite another story. Bad build quality, bad keyboard, ridiculous speakers, a whole tube of paste used from factory witch lead to bad performance and a lot of clean up time. Bad display with both light bleed and ridiculous color reproduction.

I don't know why they are mentioned in a Alienware thread anyways. There's no comparison at all. It's a Kia and Alienware is a BMW.

And all this jabbering about returning the laptop or not order it at all is just plain out stupid. If you have a cold and google your symptoms you might find a article about cancer, that doesn't necessarily mean you have cancer. Take a deep breath and chill. This is a powerhouse in a small form factor of course it's not perfect but it's damn close!

Also it's fairly new and maybe needs some bios updates and other tweaks whereas the Aorus is the the same wrapping as last year and the year before that.

 

Check out this bag. By Thule, makers of Car Pod luggage. I got the 15 inch version. For internal laptop compartmemt, it adds about 2cm width, but has enough depth for the AW13. Got room for PSU, loads of cables, mouse, PS4 controller, and other accessories. Theres a 13 inch version, but the internals are too small.

https://www.thule.com/en-gb/gb/comp...bterra-15-laptop-attache-_-tl_tsae-2115-black

 

I got the thule crossover 25l today. The laptop compartment has the perfect width for this machine. There's no sideways movement, its a pretty slim backpack and plenty of room still for the power brick and other stuff. I also have the old thule 13 inch rugged messenger bag for my macbook, but the problem with those type of bags is that they arent made for large power bricks and eventually you just start to cram in more and more stuff that starts crushing the laptop.

 

I agreed the speakers are bad, but everything else you listed are just plain false. I still have my Aorus and it still a very good machine, matter of fact when I return this AW13, that will be my machine again. When I opened the back, the thermal paste were just a tad more but certainly not the reported "toothpaste" thermal paste like some Alienware users have experience, not to mention the difference in core temperature that users are experiencing. These things are not just here-says, its people that actually experiencing, luckily mine is somewhat normal. If you look at my past post with OCCT you can clearly sees there is something going on to where core 1&3 have a 11 degrees difference temperature than 0&2, that is not normal.

Aorus designed works, why change something that is working out for them? they claim they're the lightest and most powerful with the biggest screen ratio offers on their X3 plus and they're right, I dont think you can say the same about any alienware device (or any).

P.S you sound like a fanboy.

 

@selvedge

I'm talking about the X5 model (15.6 inch). Don't have the picture on hand, but the unit has 4 screws each for CPU/GPU for even tension. A user posted <70 degrees with 5~ core differentials and 15K firestrike score somewhere.

xlawx, mind posting pics of CPU temps w/OCCT?

 

It seems that TapaTalk added my reply to the wrong post.... interesting

 

I did...its a couple post back...of the AW? or Aorus?

 

Who asked the 4K display panel? Anyways it's LQ156D1JW04, pretty subpar screen with really bad initial calibration imo.

 

Aorus

 

The alienware computers have crappy sharp panels as well. At least my 15 r3 does

 

Send it to me and I can fix that color profile lol.

 

My AW 13 R3 will be arrived on 13/Dec.
Please if anyone could help as I am rarely do benchmarking. Please share thread for setting of testing temperature of CPU cores. I understand each core should be loaded evenly.
Also anyone post detail guide of re paste AW 13 R3?
I personally tends to not to repaste unless it is easy, riskless and not void my warranty. I bought 3-yr support with accident protection.


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if only u wont so far. and if dell ever stops extending my ETA.

the 17 doesnt, its 4k panel is way better than the one used on the 15.

as far as 1440p goes, idk why anybody would buy a tn laptop when theres other manufactures with ips gsync and and if they can handle a 13 the r3's olded is excellent

 

I actually got a pretty good deal with a 12 percent discount which is why I'm pretty confused.

I am glad you've had a good experience with your laptop but I've been following this laptop religiously and it seems there are a lot of problems to be worried about ranging from thermals to screen stuttering. I wouldn't even think about canceling had i been i the US or Canada but someone needs to bring this laptop to me and if it turns out to be a dud, Im pretty much screwed as i dont think dell supports my country.

I guess the best option for me would be to find someone to test it before sending it out to me.

 

Do you have to flip the motherboard to repaste this? Also does this fit in the AmazonBasics 14" sleeve/laptop bag? I believe this is thinner than the R2 (bought one for my brother) which does fit according to the other thread but I figured I'd ask here as well.

 

You know I am still awaiting mine? It is incredible... 1 month, 1 month...

 

can you just sell the color profile? I think you will find it hard for people to part their laptop that they just got few days into it.

 

Well it's not very difficult to calibrate if you have the right tools. I feel like the yellow tint out of the box could be a defect, but i'm not interested in trying to rectify the problem. Waiting on the replacement that's coming in, testing it, and most likely will send it back for either the 13 R3 or X5 V6

 

Assuming its being calibrated properly, the profile would be different for each screen.

 

Not sure if this will help you, they do fair review but never reviews alienware though

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Aorus-X5-v6-Notebook-Review.179321.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebookcheck-s-Top-10-Lightweight-Gaming-Notebooks.126456.0.html

 

there you go

 

you can't "sell" the color profile because every single screen differs in terms of their color reproduction and accuracy

it's like trying to copy the movement of the doctor's arm from one surgery patient to another, it won't work (and most of the time it'll fack your color up even more)

 

Can you guys guess which screen is which?

honestly both screen is pretty awesome. Since when do people just go and dismiss Izgo panel

 

problem with high quality screens is that you simply must go view them in person... photos or screenshots won't do


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you can tell by the color tint though, the right side is more cooler while the left is warmer.

 

That's easily fixed, you can buy a colorimeter from x-rite or datacolor (I use an older spyderelite4) , use the software to fine tune color matching - warm, cold, whatever suits your fancy.

The actual screen visual quality? Not really, unless you see it physically. It's like trying to show the difference between HDR and SDR images on a website, you can approximate and fudge one pic to show how much better the comparison would be.

 

I haven't received either my AW13 or my bag because I'm waiting for my friend to bring it with him from the US. But dell does state that the newer v2.0 bags are specifically designed for the newer machines