*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R4 Owner's Lounge

started this thread for 15" owners due to several requests. For more information especially on the changes made to R4 model, please refer to this link
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/official-alienware-17-r5-owners-lounge.815492/

Link to the new R4 model
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-alienware-15-gaming-laptop/spd/alienware-15-laptop

 

I think these threads should be merges. Their are essentially identical.

 

Not realy...
1080/70 vs MaxQ
Different thermals
Different displays

 

They use the same boards. Only no full 1080 for the 15 ofcourse.

 

u can't fit a 17" motherboard into a 15" chasis. yes they might share certain components but they have totally different boards.

 

No they arent, they use the same boards, only a longer cable between the USB daughter board and the motherboard ofcourse.

Can be checked here as well. https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=category&id=151&subid=904&refine=motherboard some screw holes on the motherboard are marked as "for 17inch only" as well. They have been using this cost saving method since the 15R1/17R2 days.

 

Even if the boards are the same...

The 15 has different gpus, different thermals and different Display Panels.

If i own an 17, i want to write in the 17 Lounge about the 17... i dont want to search in every post if the user write about the 15 or 17...

 

The thing is, a lot of issues in these machines are universal. People pretty much dont have issues with the screens, and the thermals, even though slightly better on the 17inch versions arent big enough to see them as 2 different machines. But in the past a lot of good information regarding issues such as the burning DC in cable was first only posted in the 17R3 thread while the 15R2 people had the same issues but would not come across a solution yet.

 

Ok lets make 1 huge Thread about all Notebooks i have a different opinion. You can have your... thats ok for me.

 

Not all laptops are for like 90% the same, the AW15 vs 17 are however and the information shared between these threads are kinda universal. There is a lot of good troubleshooting information in both past threads.

 

Even though they are very similar they are popular enough that the threads move pretty quickly. It is probably more convenient to a reader to go through 10-20 posts a day instead of 30-40 if they were combined. You can always watch both if you do not want to miss anything.

 

has anyone got their 15r4 yet?
Can I just ask (their customer services are closed) - I ordered the i9 with 1070 and it says its OC.
The invoice doesnt show that - it just says its a normal 1070. Is the OC just a software thing right? is it just preset at higher core and memory clock speeds?

 

I think so. I did wonder if it was flashed. That’d make it a legit oc like a desktop style. But in a way it is like an oc version since the software is just restricted to the r4. I tried to use it on the r3 but it would just loop updating the software. Like it knew it wasn’t the r4 version trying to access it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ordered the 1tb 7200RPM hdd instead of the nvme drive dell supply (based on advice from the other thread of dell using lesser quality models)

I knows it's hard to say but... Is the new EVO 970 compatible?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-970-EVO-V-NAND-Express/dp/B07CGGNX7S/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

 

My laptops arriving tomorrow... Any advice on what to do first? Apart from reinstall windows! Should I just stress test and call dell if thermals are bad?

 

Just got mine so any questions just ask.

 

What are the temps on a game on load on ultra settings. No compromise. Better to fully load the components and see what the results are like and if any throttling. Just use pics and you can monitor the FPS with software to see if it spiked or remains consistent.

Also a firestrike results be good. See what these “OC” 1070 yields from Alienware.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm a bit of a noob at this. I'm gna reinstall windows because there's so much junk in this.
Need to get rid of it.
Using media creation tool... I think that's the best way right?

 

Hi everyone.
Could someone just have a quick check....
I'm playing games with a cooling pad and the left side of the laptop gets pretty hot where the palm rest is. It's at the point where I reduced the settings...
Even at rest these are the figures I got..

 

So much for fixing the differentials dell...

 

I'm just a little worried that I was only playing warframe with graphics on medium and it got pretty hot on the left side of the palmrest!
Just wondering if I play something more intensive... It's gna get quite hot.
Was even just browsing chrome and downloading that GeForce experience program... Which is about 2-300mb and it still stayed pretty hot.

I'm not sure whether to ask to repaste or return and downgrade to a i7.

My jump is from a xps i7-2670 and a 540m gpu... But I thought I'd treat myself with a high end rig...
This is nice... But it's mighty warm and I can't see it lasting as long if it's hitting those temps right?

Any opinions or help. Should I undervolt, repaste or return?

Despite the price difference I'd rather have the one that lasts longer. My thinking was, an i9 which I'm not regularly stressing to its limits should last longer then a i7 being pushed hard regularly, but the temps on this are worrying!

 

So, it seems like Dellienware once again failed completely with regards to thermals and cooling???

What about Optimus support (primarilly interested in a work laptop with occational gaming, have other computers for that)?

 

Return it! If you open it you may lose the ability to return it and spoil the warranty too. And there is no guarantee you will fix it by repasting. It should work properly right out of the box. If you are within the 14 days just return it.

 

heres the latest thermals from this morning - browsing chrome and watching bbciplayer (whilst on charge). No overclock and fan speed balanced.
The palmrest is warm on the left hand side but not too bad- its only when gaming it gets slightly uncomfortable.
Have emailed dell to arrange a return. I think the i9 just isnt for me. I dont think its going to work unless the fans running constantly on full or LM paste.
@doofus99 was right, its 3 days old and it should run well out of the box - especially for the price. looking at XPS - i may stick with alienware but downgrade to the i7 because i'd rather have a 1070 GPU and hopefully thats not as bad. contemplating the 4k screen but not sure what dell will do with the exchange or just refund me to buy again fresh

 

and these are the figures after writing this message- the fan just kicked in and it got a little hot

 

The XPS 15 which I also have (for my son), is a fantastic laptop, possibly the best 15" you can get. It has a 4K touch screen with no bezel!!, i7-7700HQ, GTX 1050. It is great for my son's uni work and he always impresses his "apple" friends with the quality of his touch screen. You get used to move things on the screen you then go to other laptops and you start pressing on their screens

I have not installed or run any games on the XPS 15 yet, and with the GTX 1050 it should be OK for occasional gaming only.

 

You need to "show graph" in HWinfo. Put the graphs on the screen. Like in the attached picture.

Top left graph is CPU % - as you can see quite low at 20% while playing a game. Below is CPU temp as you can see over 90C ! Below is CPU power runs at 45W this is actually the Intel TDP so we are at the limits power wise. Below it is Thermal Throttling and you can see how it throttles every few seconds. On the right you see the GPU temp. it is a very healthy and cool 70C, GPU power at 170W more or less, and at the bottom right is the PCH temps, which keep rising to over 90C while playing a game....

On the second picture I am not playing a game, simply browsing and you can see the CPU throttling again, instantly reaching the 100C with the slightest provocation (eg loaded up one excel spreadsheet or reduced the size of the screenshot while CPU % is less than 5%, so I believe the heat sink is not mounted properly on the CPU! Does yours also do that?

 

Yup.
It just seems to randomly spike up which I don't understand. It's like it's normal at 50-60 then peaks at 95+ for a second or two and drops down.
The Dell support guys said that's normal for a high end processor... But I'm not having it.
Components aren't going to last long like that!
I was thinking the xps but 1050 isn't going to cut it for long, although I prefer the weight and keyboard on the xps.
The i7 8850 should be better with the thermals right? Might ask them to swap and downgrade. Already started the returns process

 

Well then maybe this is the way the Intel i9 works? There should be thermal inertia afforded by the case (the i9 case) and the heatsink. That means that even with the fans off it should take some time to reach high temps because you need to heat the cooler too, unless, unless the cooler is not touching properly. On an old laptop I would immediately suspect the thermal paste. After a while of hot-cold-hot-cold, the thermal paste becomes hard and brittle and does not conduct heat as well as it did when it was applied fresh. So your thermals deteriorate with time and you need to repaste often, as often as once every 6 months. If the CPU works at very high temps all the time then it's worse. But because this is a brand new laptop, even if they had used crap thermal paste there is no excuse for seeing temperature spikes like this!

What we need is someone with a brand new R5 to open it up and examine it. Is it a dodgy assembly at the factory or very bad design? I think it is an assembly problem.

 

Personally TouchScreen is the first thing I disable in BIOS as it consumes more battery and I have never seen any use for it on a conventional laptop. But I guess that everyone is different

 

18°C degrees difference between hottest vs. coldest cores Exactly as the predecessor.

You need to increase the Power limits (unlocked chips). But all you will get is more thermal throttling/higher temp.

 

Yes, seems like all that talk about improved thermals were just smoke and mirrors. Dellienware does it again

 

Does anyone think the i7 will be better?
Otherwise I don't know what to get!
The xps is nice but a 1050 just won't cut it.
Was thinking I might do a swap for the i9. And 1080p screen to a i7 and 4k screen. (keeping the 1070 the same). Is the 4k one worth it?

Otherwise I'll drop down to i7, 1080p screen.

 

To me this difference just means that the CPU is fitted with extremely sensitive sensors that can sense and report instantaneous temps before these temps spill over to the other areas of the die. How can Dell or any manufacturer possibly influence that. This all happens inside the die. The silicon has its own thermal conductance and even if you mount 10kg of copper over it you will not prevent local spots like sunspots from forming and be sensed inside the die.

 

In my game, I know pretty small sample size, the CPU cruises at around 20% tops, I do not think it is the bottleneck. The GTX 1080 has to render in UHD rather than in FHD and there is the limiting factor. But the 4K IPS screen is just amazing just to look at. Those TN panels change colours as you blink let alone move your head.

 

Was thinking that...
Would you go with the Tn/4k.
Refresh rate doesn't matter so much to me.
Battery does.
I won't really be watching much or gaming in 4k.... I'm pretty okay with the 1080 it's just the Tn looks much better colour wise.

Oh and can't you set Intel graphics to render a 4k screen when your in Windows and switch to the gpu in games and video to try and save using the gpu constantly?

 

I just got the i7 with the 1080 screen and the temperatures are very similar to yours, with three of the six cores going into thermal shutdown when playing Overwatch. Additionally, windows is trying to update to the latest version (1803) and after it tries to update it errors out saying that the computer is running unrecognizable hardware.

I had high hopes for improvement with this version but looks like it is going back, I will stick to ASUS (much less problems).

 

Surely all the alienware laptops can't be having issues?
Did what temps are you hitting?
I was getting high temps on simple browsing.

 

Temps on browsing range from 60’s to high 70’s
Any kind of gaming pushes the temps up to high 80’s and 90’s.
I find Overwatch (for some reason) pushes the temps us to max on any laptop I have tested so playing a few matches while monitoring gives me a good idea of what the temps can get to. Playing OW on this Alienware 15 pushes 3 of the cores into the high 90’s and the other three remained in the low 80’s.

 

Guessing that you might be new to the party. This is a well known Dellienware problem with how the designed the cooling, it applies uneven pressure on the CPU (kind of).

 

No, because of G-sync the intel onboard GPU is not connected

 

Rather say, why haven't all the other same temp differences between hot vs. coldest core? You mean there is a sensitive sensor problem? This is what I will call BS!! @Falkentyne

 

Are you high? You must be smoking the same stuff that MSI's engineers and driver teams are smoking. I sure wish I had some of that good stuff, man....

 

I think you mean Dell's engineers. But OK I read a post that says that when the heatsink is fitted improperly it can then cause uneven core temperatures in the CPU. So I take it back, it is possible to sabotage the Intel CPU by shoddy workmanship.

 

It sucks that this thing was a flop. I seem to be hearing the same old issues with temps and inadequate cooling.

Dell should offer a premium thermal solution as an option. Like LM or better thermal pads or a better heat sink package. All of these returns has to be hurting their bottom line. I mean come on, this is getting ridiculous.

 

No, I meant MSI. Like how they designed this cancer heatsink thinking it would be suitable for cooling 2 more cores, by EXTENDING THE MAIN HEATPIPE, cutting off half of the GPU VRM Radiator, and mounting it to the extended heatpipe!!

Anyone who wasn't high on shrooms would have just ADDED A NEW HEATPIPE TO THE CPU HEAT BLOCK, turning it into a 4 heatpipe dissipation rather than 3 heatpipes, and then if necessary, extended the NEW heatpipe to the GPU VRM area if necessary. but you know, that requires R&D. That requires work. People don't want to do work. They just want to be lazy ass bums and milk sheep for money.

See the GT73VR/GT75VR (And GT72VR And GT72S) 3 heatpipe main block (not the radiator, the main block. this exact block has been used FOR YEARS by MSI).



Here is the GT75 Titan (6 core). Notice the same damn heatblock being used. same # of heatpipes. Just the middle heatpipe got extended to a new half radiator. (bottom half is the GPU video card VRM/VRAM cooling block).

 

I thought so, funnily speaking to dell technical support they told me not to worry about buying a 4k and loading the gpu because the screen runs off Intel graphics unless you're in a game.

 

Not at all true with a G-sync monitor.

Ahh I see. I have not opened up the Dell AW17 R5 and am not planning to either for fear of losing the warranty but from some R4 photos on another thread it seems its design is more crap than the MSI's, they use the GPU heatsink to draw heat from the CPU *when the GPU is off* !!! And then the GPU comes on and the CPU cooks. And the fans are so noisy too.

 

Hello. I received a 15r4 in an exchange process from Alienware. Previous config was 7700hq and GTX1070. New config is 8750H and 1070. The temps on the new system were no better then the i9. 18 C diffenrence between core and close to 95C running OCCT only using 6 cores at constant 3.9GHZ (this can only be achieve using performance mode in the new Alienware command center.) When i would undervolt the temps would still be in the 88C.
So yesterday i decided to LM the CPU and Kryonaut the GPU. After i opened the computer i noticed that the Thermal pads in the cpu section have change a lot from the previous 15R3. They added more thick thermal pads (my guess is to add tension in arm #1) so i did not bent the arm one like previous fix from @iunlock. I also noticed that dell put a lot of paste on the cpu so i did the same with liquid Metal.
After some occt test the new results are ok but not as good as my previous 15r3. Without undervolt the cpu reach 87C with a 8C core differential. With undervolt -150 core and Cache it stays underc 80C (76C higher) with a 4C core differential. This is again at constant 3.9ghz usig OCCT for 10minutes. Also i saw no improvment usig Kryonaut on the GPU compare to Dell stamps. Temps of the GPU are 57C testing only CPU in OCCT. They reach 67C in firestrike.
I hope this helps anyone who wants to repaste and i am including some picture of the internal.

 

Hello,
can someone please post a Screenshot of the GPU-Z Profil of the GTX 1070 OC? I would like to unterstand the difference between my 15R3 model (1070 without MaxQ). Thanks in advance.