No Adaptive vsync, Fast Sync (or vsync options) and no DSR on the GTX 1080 running in the Alienware Graphics Amplifier

My current setup is alienware 15 r2 i7 nvidia 970m 6700hq 16gbddr4 1tb hd and alienware graphic amplifier with Evga gtx 1080 FE bios 1.2.8 and nvidia laptop driver 368.39.

Gtx 1080 Factory clock-Firestrike graphic score 21,818

I had an issue earlier with my GTX 1080, the pci bus speed showing 3.0 x2 instead of 3.0 x4 and i was running bios 1.2.14 with driver nvidia dekstop 368.25 then used the laptop nvidia driver 368.39 however it didnt fix the issue.

 I contacted alienware tech 07jun16 and was advised to updated to recent bios to 1.2.14 :s, which was the most insulting reply after 8 days of emails with tech support and feedback from their "ENGINEERS" , and I already sent them full detailed report on my bios and drivers using their factory installed support assist tool and one of the tech guys already checked my laptop using remote access 

What I did was DOWNGRADE BIOS to 1.2.2 and the pci bus speed was reading 3.0 x4 as it supposed to and I tried bios 1.2.8 which also worked. I contacted alienware and reported this so they might look at this issue and retest their system especially that they are misleading customers. This link confirms what im saying http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN302343

What enraged me also is that I had similar case in may with a different gpu. I've contacted alienware on 17may16 with similar issue when i had AMD r9 390 in my amplifier  and i was running bios 1.2.13 and alienware's reply was that they dont support the r9 300's series and below is the full reply with a link they provided for supported cards

(We can't confirm the full functionality of 3rd party devices that aren't on the list of supported devices for the Graphics Amplifier. The Bus my be affected due to this because the Official driver that should be used is the one from DELL.com, and as you mentioned, there is no driver for this video card because it isn't officially supported.)

 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CiOP-GaVEAAWWr1.jpg:large

After 10 days of talking to them explaining that its an issue that needs to be solved and that my pci bus speed is reading 3.0 x4 when I first install latest amd driver but after a restart it goes back to pci express 3.0 x2 and remains like at this speed, no one assisted me. I found this link which *** me of as it is the case with all amd card even r9 200 series they claim to support. https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN300264

So I sold the amd r9 390 and bought EVGA GTX 1080 FE. 

These are only some of the issues alienware graphic amplifier owners are facing add to that FAST SYNC, ADAPTIVE VSYNC and DSR are missing from the nvidia control panel. 

We need solutions,its ridiculous when any pc gamer can outperform in troubleshooting than their engineers and tech support.
Sorry for the long reply but if we stay silent no one will do anything.

any update on this ?

Hello again godwisper, alienwarew 24-48 business hours are over yesterday ans no reply yet. Last week at E3 they have been busy marketing their miracle baby the ALienware amplifier with the gtx 1080 but no real troubleshooting to the issues at hand.people pay premium for their laptops and for gtx 1080 to find out that its has alot of issues and a ridiculous tech support.

Mathieulh im also facing the html5  thing in chrome only on my alienware 15 r2 it has intel hd 530 igpu. it bothered me alot.and alienware doesnt read their forums, they leave it upon us to solve our issues with work arounds to upgrade our troubleshooting skills lol..imagine with all the issues and lack of support a week ago i received email from Dell warranty reminding me of warranty extension support and the subject read : nobody knows your alienware 15 r2 like dell. thats after more than a month with issues with their lack of support and 10 days phone calls for troubleshooting the 1080gtx

I am still waiting on a reply as well regarding the lack of fast sync, adaptive sync, and shadowplay desktop recording feature.

I would also like to add that it's now impossible to watch a HTML5 video (from websites such as Youtube) in full screen this happens in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, the Netflix app, to name a few on an  external display connected directly to the GPU housed in the Alienware Graphics Amplifier (I've tried with both a GTX 980 and GTX 1080).

The only workaround to this issue is to access the device manager and disable the Intel iGPU (Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 in my case), while the iGPU is enabled trying to play a video in full screen on the external display will result in a video with no image (sound plays fine)

I have no issue playing the video in full screen on the laptop's internal display but I am not using my laptop at home on a 17 inches screen when I have a 55 inches laying around, not to mention not testing to play Youtube videos or Netflix in this scenario reflects on very poor Quality Checks from Dell's Engineers.

This is obviously a driver issue that needs to be fixed asap (like yesterday), I am obviously running on the latest drivers, not being able to play html 5 videos in full screen is a huge no-no for costumers.

It's not a Dell issue.  It's NVIDIA.  The Amp literally just extends the PCIe bus to a riser and when plugged in the internal GPU is shut down and bypassed - the rest is done with vendor drivers.  NVIDIA not having a "kill switch" that can totally disable Optimus and render entirely on the integrated/external GPU with those features is the issue.  You could try a fresh driver install using the DESKTOP drivers and see if it works then, but that will mean the system won't have drivers for the mobile GPU, and you can either try to install both driver sets or you have to install the mobile drivers when you detatch from the Amp.

I started a thread on this over in the GeForce driver forum, if anyone else wants to pitch in.

Namol its not my job to contat nvidia its dells responsibility to do that, and if u read my full post u realize downgrading my bios worked in fixing the pci express speed issue.which means dells bios update 1.2

14 makes issues to the pci  bus speed.desktop nvidia or mobile do not change or effect the bus speed as i tried all drivers.nvidia driver fix for optimus and our internal gpu thats for dell to deal with also. We didn't connect our laptops using DIY kits! Its a dell "proprietary product". Get my point mate

Please  Namo post for us the link for the nvidia.we will post there also.im about to contact nelson gonzalez(alienware founder) lol.alienware is making sales and they should start deliver on their product.regards

I find it a bit interesting that my A15 R1 has zero issues in that regard (PCI lanes etc) - it just works right with the 1080.  That is clearly a Dell problem and I agree with you there completely.

I was referring to the sync things and the others.  I don't really think it's up to Dell to contact NVIDIA - the issues lie with how NVIDIA's optimus is designed and the fact that it's not really working great when paired up to something running on the AGA.  Unfortunatly the configuration is always going to be something of an edge case - but I think the AGA sales have ticked up quite a lot with the Pascal coming out and the price drop, so I am hopeful that they will commit to making it more functional.

There are also just a few straight up bugs in it at the moment.  For example, if I am running my display off the 1080, and I close the lid (and thus there are no displays connected to the Intel anymore), the intel control panel options when right clicking on the desktop go away, as if it is shutting down the intel GPU path for rendering, and a ton of new options open up in the NVIDIA control panel, almost as if it's now natively rendering everything in the NVIDIA GPU - BUT when you play a full screen HTML 5 video the video is blank...if I use the integrated outputs on the laptop though videos work fine.  It's pretty clear that the driver is thinking the intel should be rendering the video, even though it's shut down as far as the driver is concerned for a rendering path, so the driver itself is just not working.

Given that when I asked a simple question like "what display port version is on my A15 R1 and what resolutions does it support" Dell told me to go buy some cables and displays and tell THEM how it works, I'm not really thinking we are going to get a lot of great feedback to NVIDIA on the driver problems.  Your best bet is to join us on the NVIDIA driver forum and ask them directly there about it and hope we get somewhere.  The AGA is just a bus extender - but how rendering is handled is really up to the drivers from AMD/NVIDIA and Dell can ask them, but I feel like NVIDIA hearing it from both Dell and users might get a resolution to the problems.

forums.geforce.com/.../

There are other threads about it in the drivers and the 1000 series forums too, so you aren't alone.  I know the product is new and I hope they can get all of the kinks worked out.

Check my chat with alienware on facebook on 29jun16:

Amir, Our engineers are actively working with nVidia to get the drivers working at 100% and to release the BIOS driver update needed for the Amplifier to unleash its full potential with this card. However, we would appreciate your patience in this matter. Drivers deployment is a long process that cannot be expedited. When we get any news about this, we will create content that you will find. We will also, make sure we get the info to where Alienware people hang-out online. Until then, we will not have any updates on the process because it's being handled by the engineers and only them can certify this upgrade and release the changes needed for it to work at 100%. If you have any other questions about your Alienware PC, we'd be happy to answer them.

-MM

Any news or update on Dell's promised AGA and bios updates? Coming up on 3 months since the GTX 1080 was publicly released.

Im refreshing dell driver website everyday since the i got my gtx 1080 on 7th june.nothing yet, i urge all who care for a solution to head to their facebook page where they openly claim the full support of the gtx 1080 video card. And we end up receiving less features and support on the amplifier  with a terrible bugged bios 1.2.14.dell only solution and answer to the issues at hand is update to bios 1.2.14 which is one of the main problems for alienware 15 r2 owners with gtx 1080 in amplifier.so whoever wants supports on this amp and gtx 1080 should go and comment on their fb page that has the amp and the gtx 1080 image

Alienware released bios 1.2.15 i can confirm that pci express 3.0 x4 is running as it should on gtx 1080 fe with amplifier.