Overheating and BSODs

So the last few days I've been doing some overclock on GPU and doing stability tests via Unigine Heaven 4. I am using Prema vBIOS as I have stated in my signature. I couldn't get Unigine Heaven running on max without having a BSOD for 10 mins. Then I applied default clocks and retried running Unigine Heaven. I am monitoring CPU temps via HWiNFO and it is over 90 after 7-8 mins. This is with max fans by the way. I have undervolted my CPU by 59.6 mV's too. While playing Dota 2-like games temps are great (CPU around 70-75 deg C). What would you recommend. I am in a relatively hot room, around 30 deg C to be specific. People suggest Notepal u3 in this forum I guess, would you recommend that? Also I have been talking to a friend who has a 17r1 and he can adjust the fan speed anyway he wants on HWiNFO, not 3 options (0, 2600, 5200 RPM); is there something wrong with 17r2 about that?

 

After 5 minutes of running Battlefield 4 at Ultra, my system hit 92 deg C. I'm using CPUID HWMonitor to monitor the temperature.

 

I've seen your post. Are you manually overriding fans via HWiNFO 64?

 

Nope... I don't even have HWiNFO 64 installed on my system. I have to talk with Dell technician for such issue..

 

It's a 3rd party application. On BIOS revisions other than A00 heating problems are common. You have two options to have a better cooling: Use hwinfo 64 or use BIOS A00&240W PSU. I have 180W PSU so I'm on A05. During gaming I don't have very high temps, sometimes 93-94 C but it gets lower. I don't have BF4 yet but I have just purchased it and I will do tests tonight.

 

I would try to claim a 240W PSU and see if it works then..
Please do update me your results!~ Thanks =)

 

Sure, but my connection speed is very low right now (consequences of living in Turkey). The game will be downloaded in 8 hours. After that I'll play the game for 1-2 hours and report back here. Other than that I didn't try to get the 240W PSU because I don't really think it will change a lot. I was able to get rid of major throttling by using throttlestop and in air conditioned rooms my temps are great. The only problem is my room which is HOT. I am setting the fan speed to max via HWiNFO 64 but that isn't enough in my room. So I am strongly considering the notepal u3 plus.

 

recommend replacing the thermal paste. I hit 97'C F and didn't get BSOD, but still went ahead and reflash to A00 and repaste the thermal compound. Now 78'c is my highest on a hot day. In any case, you should call it in and see what dell can offer ya.

 

93-94 C is very very high, I have BF4 and I running it at Ultra with AA, AO, Motion Blur and Post FX off, and my CPU temp never go above 80C while the GPU never go above 65C.

Though probably the 980m run way hotter than the 970m, this is coming from the A02 BIOS with the HWiNFO64 fan manually set to max when game start.

 

So I have downloaded battlefield 4 and I have been playing multiplayer in big maps. I did experience very high temps during gameplay, thus I have been experiencing thermal throttling. I didn't use any CPU/GPU manipulation program such as throttlestop. I maxed fans via HWiNFO. Temps are usually around 88-90 deg C and sometimes it goes up to 97 deg C. Now I will try using Throttlestop to undervolt the CPU and see if that helps for temps. By the way if this laptop continues behaving like this I think I will return it.

 

You have great temps. Did you undervolt your CPU? If I don't undervolt, my temps reach 97-98 C sometimes! Also I got rid of heavy throttling but now I am experiencing throttling again, with use of throttlestop. I think I'll contact dell and return the laptop

 

I'd also recommend a repaste.

 

If I repaste the CPU by myself would I void warranty?

 

good question @orancanoren. i did ask @Alienware-L_Porras about voiding warranty if doing the repaste on your own and his reply was it would depend on your region. im from the UK and he said he will check on it but havent got an answer after that.. hope he will this time. by the way where are from? EU?

 

Opening your system or replacing components will not void your warranty according to our policies. It's the same for the UK.

 

I am from Turkey. But I just saw the announcement of the AW 18 so I think I will return this laptop and get that one.

 

i understand that opening will void the warranty. ok thats fine. when i ask dell chat support in the uk for a repaste they said they don't let there tech agents go out just for a repaste. LOL. so what to do then?

 

Nope, It's all stock, heck, I actually even use the XTU to overclock the CPU push it from 3.4Ghz to 3.7Ghz with an acceptable temp of 85C on load and 87C is the max, by the way this is only with the fan manually push to the max (via HWiNFO64). I never actually try it with the system default fan setting though. And yeah, best not to leave it. Good luck.

 

It turns out that all this overheating and BSOD's are caused by Throttlestop. I have been facing these issues with Metro 2033 and Battlefield 4. I tried running everything on stock and I was fine. Only problem was that my CPU is working at 2.6 GHz constant.

 

Trottlestop isn't the problem. The problem comes from Dell. Trottlestop trying to force your processor to run normally but can't. Most processors don't have problem if they run with lower clock speed. Take a look @unclewebb

 

I agree with you. I didn't want to say throttlestop is malfunctioning our laptops. Dell really made a hughe mistake with these laptops.

 

How is running at constant turbo boost normally? The CPU's arent ment for 4 core constant turbo boosting to begin with.....

 

If the cooling and the processor becomes o.k, that should/shall not be a problem. I run my laptop processor 4.3 ghz all 4 cores 24/7. Adaptive turbo boost is trash. The processor is made for maximum speed 24.7. If not; The processor or cooling on the laptop are broken or messed up. LoL .

 

So I learned that I can't return the laptop after 21 days, at least not without dealing a lot. For various reasons I cannot even use the warranty too (this laptop came to me as a gift, I don't even know the buyer). I will use this laptop with the CPU @ 2.6 GHz for 1-1.5 years and when I have the oppurtunity to go US I will buy an AW 18 or something like that if it has absolutely 0 problems. Dell really messed up I cannot even believe an Alienware (aka the laptop I've been wanting for years) is not even performing as it should let alone overclocking/overvolting.

 

Hi,

I run all my games with the stock parameters of my AW,
and reaaly enjoy;
without overheating,bsod or complaints.

AW 17 r2 2015 july,cpu 4980 nvidia 980 psu 180 bios a05

 

This is incorrect. If that would be the case the cpu would just simply be sold rated for those speeds. It is simply like undervolting, some can reduce the voltage a lot, some only a little before the system hangs. Not every batch is equal and this is Intels way to make sure that the CPU's can be sold as identical. It also heavily depends the load of the GPU at that time. I would say it is unacceptable if it runs under the base clock. But that is not the case as well. There is a reason XTU shows turbo boost values different depending on the amount of cores used.

 

Don't forget that processors from Intel also will be used on laptops which have an inadequate cooling. Intel gives laptop manufacturers info about what they must expect of wattage during maximum load. Some of the pc manufacturer make their laptops with inadequate cooling and they must adding throttling of the processor in the bios because of this. Intel wish to deliver an energy-efficient processor that does not use as much wattage during idle speed - low load. The processors has also an maximum TDP which is too low for its maximum turbo boost constantly and Intel throttle down the speed with the ugly Intel Turbo Boost Technology which is actually unnecessary on a good high end laptop. The same as the unnecessary turbo boost in graphics cards... The processor manage nice to run up to it's maximum clock speed if the processor stays within the maximum TDP and maximum temperature in the laptop... Most know Intel deliver their processors with a good safety margin in terms of the quality chip has on a determined volts. Therefore, CPU's can be sold as identical. There is to high votage and high processing temperatures which destroy a processor and not the clock speed. If you have this under control so there is no problem for the processor to run at a maximum turbo boost or tdp as long as you wish.
If I had a high end laptop with a processor which does not manage to run Intel's maximum specifications(TDP) constantly 24/7 because of heat problems, then I'd bought another laptop that manages this... This depends on what you want. If you prefer a laptop that has a processor which does not manage this then it's fine for you.. But I had bought something else.

 

Yes they are.

Open XTU
Turn on "power limit throttle", "current limit throttle" and "temperature throttle" indicators in the text and graph portions of XTU's monitoring mode.
Stress CPU
If not at max turbo under sufficient load, one of the three will light up.

*points at mobile i7 CPU guide in signature*

 

Nice guide you have there, had no idea that other HQ chips couldn't hold their own at 58w indefinitely... will definitely take extra special care of my AW15 from now on

They are, but OEMs aren't about to admit that their mainstream consumer laptops have gutted cooling solutions... that would look bad. Better idea - "you're using it wrong", hahaha. CPUs can turbo boost as long as there is sufficient power, great cooling (normally seen on Clevos, Asus ROG or Alienware), and wattage remains within the TDP limit (by undervolting or increasing the 47w limit).

 

Like I said, if turbo boost was ment to be running like that for 24/7 it wasnt called a boost. Thats just how it is. My sandy bridge is also not ment to run 5ghs 24/7 but I do it. Yes ofcourse with exceptional cooling and it can do it. Most people expect that this cpu can do it. Doesnt mean it is running within specs. These Alienware laptops are running within specs, that some do notfind these specs acceptable is another issue.

Only much thicker laptops or with higher fans speeds these CPU;s might be ocoled sufficiently. 'But everyone including me in this thread bought fairly portable machines we shoul dknow what we got into. Only the thicker Clevo's and ROG's might be able to do this with much thicker cooling setups. The safety margin you talk about is broader than that. Not all CPU's run at the exact same heat in combination of the set frequencies. a lower quality cpu becomes warmer at the set frequency/ The current day Intel CPU's pull the amount of voltage that they need to run and this can be higher for some when it comes to turbo boosting.

Contains mostly what I said. But from what I have always understood of what Intel says itself is that these chips ar enot ment for 24/7 full turbo boosting.

 

That's the thing though, they are. Otherwise their own software and/or their own MSR registers that turn on the "throttle" lights (which can be read using Limit Reasons from Throttlestop which reads the throttle reasons built into the chip's firmware) wouldn't have a purpose. If under load and turbo boost is not working? You be throttling, unless you disabled turbo boost.

 

If you do not want energy efficiency so let the processor go on maximum turbo boost. If you have continuous high load so let the Processor run max turbo boost 24/7. It is intended for it... There are only a maximum TDP or too high a temperature that will/shall adjust the clock speed down(throttling) ... Nothing else.

This was the starting point for the discussion.; It turns out that all this overheating and BSOD's are caused by Throttlestop. I have been facing these issues with Metro 2033 and Battlefield 4. I tried running everything on stock and I was fine. Only problem was that my CPU is working at 2.6 GHz constant.
Edit: A processor that fails to run with turbo boost under maximum load is either crippled or sitting in a laptop with inadequate cooling or have stunted bios/power settings.

 

The energy efficiency goes further than that ofcourse. The whole CPU is adjsuting it speeds constantly. That has not mch to do why they call it boosting.

 

The turbo boost nonsense also applies to all graphics cards. It's no wonder that many want to use a mod vbios for their graphics cards. Processors and graphics cards should not normally have any problems running max clock speed constantly 24/7. If they fail to do this, then something is wrong. Intel, Nvidia, Amd and oem's hides behind this boost nonsense.

 

I am not sure about that. For me it is like not every card or cpu can overclocked as some others can. Chip fabrication is still fairly random. I guess they wanted to ensure baselevel performance and all other parts are bonus like a lottery.

 

It is the silicon lottery that applies whether you can overclock very high or not, but you can always run hardware manufacturer's specifications or a small overclock if cooling and firmware is as it should be...

 

As long as an Intel mobile CPU is operating below its temperature and power consumption limits, it is supposed to be using as much Turbo Boost as possible. That is how Intel has designed their mobile CPUs so yes, full Turbo Boost, even when the CPU is fully loaded, is normal.

Here is an example of my 4700MQ running the TS Bench test.



The default multiplier is 24. The maximum turbo multiplier is 32 when all 4 cores are active. Intel goes one step further and adds +2 bins of overclocking on top of that. The result is that as long as this CPU is operating under its 47 Watt TDP limit and remains under the 99C thermal throttling temperature; there is no reason why it should not be using full Turbo Boost.

If an Intel mobile CPU is throttling below this specification, it is usually because the manufacturer is using an inadequate cooling solution. Either the heatsink is too small, poorly attached or the CPU fan speed is too slow.

 

And Unclewebb has a more limited CPU setup too.

My CPU won't even blink at Linpack right now:

Spoiler: Don't mind the small number of elapsed seconds; it holds like this the whole time.

(note I'm not even using throttlestop's actual throttle-stopping features... THAT is how a CPU is supposed to work)