*OFFICIAL* Alienware 15 R4 Owner's Lounge

Well I've been doing some reading. Apparently it doesn't move much, but it does eat what ever metal it's attached to. Causes scorring marks on CPU and GPU dies (No big deal) and on the heat sink it's attached to. Copper doesn't seem terribly affected but Aluminum is eatin in hours, which it warns against.

Using the laptop over the last few days, i think i might try one more repaste job with kryonaut but as it stands, im not too disappointed with the 1400~ ish clock i get throttled to when at full load after a few minutes. So I might just leave it alone for now. Last thing I want is for them to get pissy about it if i need a warranty claim in the future for some unrelated thing.

 

What sort of battery life are people with the g sync 1080p model (1070 with 8750h) getting? in terms of light web browsing?

 

Hi Alienware owners! I've got a couple of questions as I'm looking to purchase an Alienware 15 R4 soon.

I'm looking at the base model with a couple of changes.

Specs:

• i5 8300H
• GTX1060 6GB
• 1080p Display Non G-Sync
• 99W/h Battery
• 256GB PCI-e SSD

Ok, so here are my questions:

- How are the temperatures with the i5? I know the 6 core i7's run pretty hot, but I would imagine the i5 would run a little cooler?
- With the 99W/h battery, are you still able to add a 2.5" HDD/SSD?
- Does the laptop run 'silent' at idle, as the fans are not in use?

Thanks!

 

I've been getting 3-5 hours. But I specifically shove mine into battery saving mode at 90% battery since I know basically I won't be gaming on battery life and system is more than powerful enough even when it's been limited by battery saving settings. So as a result it goes to sleep when im not using it after like 5 minutes and **** like that.

Both chips are "supposed" to be 45 watts. I'm recording my six core getting up to 75 watts though. So you can expect yours to run about 33% cooler. You'll probably still want to repaste it and undervolt it.

Yes.

You can't really hear the system when there is no load but I don't think the fans ever stop spinning.

 

5 hours? With no optimus not very plausible.




Enviado de meu Pixel 2 usando o Tapatalk

 

You can use TarPwrD3 to force nvidia gpu to stay/sip as low voltage as possible. You can get around 5-6hrs battery on nvidia dGPU usage whilst at the same time connected to HDMI monitor/TV playing 720p or 1080p movie.

 

The question is if the weaker i5 8300H + GTX1060 use same Heatsink as the models with 6 cores i7.

 

If this system had optimus it would get 10+ hours of casual use. 99kwh is HUGE.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Alien...top-Review.316484.0.html#toc-power-management

You wanna go ahead and write notebookcheck and tell them they're liars too?

 

My bad, I confused the thread with the 17 one when browsing with my phone. The 17 R4 that was with me for 8 days managed 3 maybe up to 4 hours very light browsing with all the battery saving settings on, almost min. brightness, etc. Sorry about that.

Enviado de meu Pixel 2 usando o Tapatalk

 

All Good.

 

Does the non g sync 1080p variant of the R4 have nvidia optimus? I was talking to an alienware representative and he said that there is.

 

99kWh isn't yet manufactured for laptops which if made, can last several years on single charge.
99Wh is max battery allowed.

 

Hi Guys,

New 15R4 owner, GTX 1070 i7 8950

I have no probs with thermals but I am finding the AWCC is very buggy and want to see if anyone else is having the same problems as I have found. I have messaged Alienware to report the bugs. I have also done several instals of AWCC and OC controls and removed manually all old files, including the ones in the Alienware and dell section registry.

Bug 1) Macro keys are not tied to system brightness and cannot be dimmed or turned off via alien FX. A temporary workaround for this is to set macro keyset 3 as no colour, not good but does work.
Bug 2) Alien FX key, only cycles between full brightness and off, needs dim to be set back in AWCC. If in dim mode it will go off or back to full brightness.
Bug 3) the Alien head power button, doesn't have a dedicated tab #8 , you can select the head by clicking, I got it to change colour once, but brightness doesn't seem to work. Annoying in dark mode as the power button is very bright.
Bug 4) Fan controls, If I try to set a custom fan profile, I am able to save a new profile but when selecting the profile on page one, the fan profile is not activated, I have tried various profiles , i.e 100% fans but nothing sticks despite it telling I am in that mode. This is a bit annoying as automatic mode puts fans pretty much at 100% in games despite the profile and its loud. Would be nice to have them running at 80-90% for cooling and good acoustics. I use headsets but this is more if I am using in a room with other people.
Bug 5) I can't remove games to library once added, if I delete the game from the computer then the game is removed. Not a deal breaker but a little annoying.

If anyone else is having similar problems if they could comment, I can direct Dell back to this page, may or may not help but worth try.

Overall I like the laptop but there is no way that AW are testing this software correctly and it really needs sorting asap.

 

You are forced into Windows Store nowadays if you buy Dell... Read info in the page here http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5-owners-lounge.815492/page-185#post-10776653

 

I am signed into the windows store, I have also reinstalled the apps from this location just now to make sure, you can get the drivers direct from Dell or the windows store, everything is up to date and the bugs are still there, the Win store doesn't seem to be the issue for me at least. Its that the app is buggy and features are just plain not working.

 

Should work or you would see much more complaints.

 

Thanks for the input, the reason I posted here with very specific problems is to see if anyone else is having the same issues, the 15 R4 is quite new to the market and quite a few are complaining that the AWCC is buggy, I am trying to narrow down the problems.

 

Just spoke to Alienware Europe , advisor had a AW 17 running latest AWCC and latest Bios, we went through everything and he had the same issues with his device as I put above, so it looks like an app issue. All the faults have been logged with my service tag.
if you are experiencing any of the above issues contact Alienware customer service and have the faults logged to your service tag, the more that report issues hopefully the quicker any bugs can get fixed.

 

Is the 3-5 hours you're getting when battery saver mode is on? What is it like when it is on? and you have minimum brightness?

 

Yeah. Battery saver mode is on. brightness is between min and 25% Throttle stop enabled.

 

So I broke down again and thought to give Alienware another try. My first 15r4 had bad thermal issues. I did the whole undervolt thing but when I played games like hunt showdown, my laptop would overheat and BSOD. My replacement throttled more than the first one. So I’m hoping for better QC this time around. I just want an alienware that doesn’t overheat out of the box. Does anyone know if they done anything different since the release? I’m getting the 1070/8750h. What’s the chances of getting it and it not throttle bad during gameplay?

 

Dell's refresh of the Alienwares is already here. No change in internal hardware as f.eks much needed better working heatsink. Refreshed systems will begin shipping this week.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5-owners-lounge.815492/page-192#post-10783615

 

Surely the keyboard can go from 4 zone RGB too individual per key RGB through software, maybe that's the reason there are no other updates present in this refresh ??

 

So refreshed systems? I don’t get it. What makes it refreshed if they didn’t change the internals? What is f.eks?

 

Ask Dell.
F.eks more like EG - for example - as for instance etc.

 

Gotcha. So i purchased today. Hopefully I’ll get the refreshed one. I’ll send feedback as soon as I get it.

 

No there is already a special connector present on the motherboard that is now actually being utilized.

 

Guys, im confused, is the refresh just a software update to enable per key RGB lighting or is it actually a hardware update? I just received my Alienware 15 two weeks ago and need to know if I should contact them to get a replacement or not. I am currently at work and don't have the laptop with me to test.

 

It's probably hardware.

 

I contacted Alienware support and the guy insisted that it is just a software update. However, I did update my Command Center to the latest version and it still only shows the 4 zones and not per key RGB. Also, even though availability said today, nothing on their site confirms that.

I will most likely be asking for a refund since I literally just paid $3200 and now there is an updated one.

 

https://www.google.no/search?q=Game...rome..69i57.4891j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

I get that, but they dont have it announced on their own site or their own blog

 

Why should they? All OEM manufacturers want to get rid of all old inventory. Better people don’t know.

 

All the news articles said it will be available on the 21st. Today is the 22nd and there is no mention of this still on Alienware's website.

 

Mods... Please delete

 

The new keyboard is in the configuration options.

 

It's crazy that it's 30 dollars in America but 50 pounds in UK.

 

They wouldn't do an exchange so I ended up returning it!

 

Could someone post the Alienware 15 R4 UHD Gsync panel model number? Thank you.

 

Any one have any clue what the best method for measuring thermal pad thickness is? I think i need to put better thermal pads on and then finally repaste. Last repaste job didn't do a great job of lowering temps because my temps still suck pretty bad. I used thermal grizzle kryonaut so i feel like the results should've been better.

My concern for thermal pads is in that i have two cores on my CPU that tend to spike into the 90s, while the rest are in the high 70s low 80s. Seems to be causing the whole system to throttle during peak usages.

 

Absolute best way is to do one at a time and keep taking the heatsink off and on, using a tweezers to see if the pads move when the heatsinks is down. If you use gelid pads you have a better tolerance zone. They form after time with heat.

 

Excellent tip, thank you very much.

What if the pad is too thick? Or should I just expect to replace all my pads, and start with the thinnest and move up? My primary concern is that one or some of the stock pads are too thick and this causes incomplete heatsink contact with CPU/GPU die.

 

If oneof the pads is too thick and cannot be compressed enough, you will have a gap between the heatsink and chip die which causes the thermal paste act more of an insulator because the thermal properties arent great if the distance is too big and it will dry up over time.

 

Hey guys, i have an Alienware 15 r4, and i got the 256 gig ssd standard, and i would like to upgrade any recommendations, and which ssds are compatible

-Jens Brogaard

 

I can't think of any reason why any SSD wouldn't be compatible with the 15 r4 ... it has standard sata and several NGFF slots that are sata and NVMe keyed. i think one is NVMe only but i don't recall specifically.

 

What's going to run cooler on the Alienware 15 V4 1080p IPS screen; the GTX 1060 or GTX 1070? Thanks!

 

Hey there. I've been waiting for some one who knows to chime in since you posted your question.

Unfortunately, no one has. I don't KNOW but I'd hypothesize the GTX 1060 would run cooler, but that would assume they ship with the same cooler, which may not be true. So it's hard to know.

 

1060 runs cooler.
1070 is overlocked but... The heat issues aren't from the gpu
It's the fact the gpu and cpu share the same tripod design and most heatsinks aren't balanced / the pads aren't the right thickness. You end up with core differentials of around 10 degrees under load and high temps.
Just get the best you can afford as the new gpus are coming out soon (mobile might take a while to get to alienware) so jus buy the best you can for the price. Then test your machine and look to return repair /Repaste or refund depending on how bad it is.
Or go for another machine however the others don't seem to have the premium feel / chassis like alienware does.

 

I am really surprised these have not hit the outlet yet with all the returns. The 17r5 models have been available for a while now at the outlet.

 

Hey does anybody know if this ssd fit in the alienware 15 r4 https://www.proshop.dk/SSD/Kingston-A1000-M2-NVMe-SSD-480GB/2649737