As the coffeelake processor supports higher clock rate than kabylake or older processors, you may easily notice that the Alienware 13R3, 15R3, 15R4, 17R4, 17R5 generates more heat compared to previous generation platforms. Therefore Dell engineering optimized the system to tolerate higher temperature from design perspective, and the new specification for Alienware 15 R4 / 17 R5 is: CPU peak temperature will be no greater than 100 degree C.
Troubleshooting steps for CPU high temperature:
1. Update the BIOS/driver to up-to-date from Dell support site.
2-1. Open “ Alienware Command Center” 2-2. Configure the Active System Theme - Thermal as “ Performance mode” 2-3. Configure the Active System theme - Overclock to “ Overclock O2 “ (if applicable)
Also, please run the HWINFO app and send us a picture of the temps so we can check the averages.
There are thinner, lighter laptops from other manufacturers running the same spec at much lower temps so please stop lying to us and yourselves.
Ive come a across a newer MUCH MORE annoying problem now. Everytime i connect a bluetooth controller to my AW15, Wifi speeds drop from 20mbps to 0.25mbps, as soon as i disconnect my controller speeds shoot back up again. THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST THING IVE PUT MY MONEY INTO.
I've attached a screenshot from HWMonitor as per your request. KEEP IN MIND : THESE ARE TEMPS AFTER UNDERVOLTING BY QUITE A MARGIN.
@CJORACLE I suggest you undervolt the cpu and lower the multiplier to 36x using throttlestop - This should cap the boost clock at 3.58ghz
And then use MSI Afterburner to get yourself a more agressive and steeper voltage frequency curve.
This ofcourse requires a lot of trial and error and is a risk if done without care. But hey it increases the life span of the internals and I don't need the CPU to boost upto 4.1 for most games I play, so it's a downgrade I'm willing to make.
@Kaushikhcould u share the picture of ur frequency curve on msi afterburner, also how much undervolting u did on your cpu.
Personally for me undervolting cpu did nothing to the temps. I was thinking of undervolting Gpu as well, as GPU stays pretty cool at 70c under heavy gaming
*Edit*
Your suggestion worked like a charm.
Thanks a ton!!! After decreasing multiplier in throttlestop to 35 and undervolting to good -.140.. i i w able to get the temps to 75 max during farcry 5 on ultra, that to without any fps loss.
Earlier the temps were 90 on an average in jus 20 mins of gameplay.
This is by far the best possible solution i have found if u one is not ready to repaste thermals on the new laptop.@
@CJORACLE Hey man that's good news, I'm glad I could help. We seem to have the exact same thermals with and without the undervolts and underclocks so its very unlikely for us to have both recieved duds. Seems to be a bios problem or poor quality thermal paste. Also, I suggest you set up a couple different profiles in throttlestop. I run stock multipliers for rendering which doesn't use the GPU at all. 36x for open world games and a lower 32x for sports and racing titles.
I also got a AW15 R4 with the 8750H and Nvidia 1070 GPU.
Just want to add some additional information to the thread.
I've been able to undervolt the CPU core with -160 and CPU cache -125 now without touching the multiplier at all.
BD PROCHOT is unchecked and SpeedStep is checked. Speed Shift - EPP is set to 0.
The system has been stress tested for about 1h with no BSOD or any other error. Temp is around 75-80c while playing world of warcraft and browsing the web at the same time.
I wanted to take Kaushikh's advice and reduce the multiplier to 36X, but I'm not seeing it reflected in the FID. I'm using Throttlestop 860. I checked the Set Multiplier box, set it to 36T, and hit Save, but no apparent effect. Are there any other boxes (I have SpeedStep, BD PROCHOT, C1E, and Task Bar checked now) that need to be checked?
@obzerving No, Don't do that. You revert the multiplier to 22x and then go into FIVR, where there's a panel called Turbo Limit Ratio. Play with that value, I've set all my cores to a 36x max boost multiplier. Also i underclocked my gpu to 1800 Mhz using MSI Afterburner.
I think the only way that you can really fix this problem is by performing a repaste using liquid metal but this is extremely difficult (trust me, I've tried) due to the unbalanced heatsink design from Dell. And even with liquid metal, thermal performance on Alienware Machines is just not great, I would suggest that you get something from MSI next time (I've never owned one but my friend did and the performance is freaking amazing + easy repaste). Overall, except for the build quality I don't think this is a good device at all with tons of hardware + software problem. And even though Dell Support is probably the second best in the world right now (just after Apple), what can you expect from the Support Team when the product itself is just bad, there's literally nothing they can do.
My previous laptop was an MSI 6200, which I bought in 2009. I would still be using it for software development if I had not decided to develop VR applications. So, I have reasons to sing the praises of MSI laptops. However, it's also subject to thermal shutdowns and a metal hinge had busted through the lid. I probably would have bought another one from them, but they didn't offer any with my specific configuration requirements. However, I don't have any delusions that it would have been trouble-free. All you need to do is go over to the MSI forum (or any other vendor's forum) and you can see that the grass isn't necessarily greener. That doesn't mean we shouldn't hold Dell accountable for their products and I'm hoping they understand that their reputation for support is important to their bottom line.
Eimy_B
4 Operator
•
4.4K Posts
0
July 19th, 2018 11:00
Hi @Kaushikh,
As the coffeelake processor supports higher clock rate than kabylake or older processors, you may easily notice that the Alienware 13R3, 15R3, 15R4, 17R4, 17R5 generates more heat compared to previous generation platforms. Therefore Dell engineering optimized the system to tolerate higher temperature from design perspective, and the new specification for Alienware 15 R4 / 17 R5 is: CPU peak temperature will be no greater than 100 degree C.
Troubleshooting steps for CPU high temperature:
1. Update the BIOS/driver to up-to-date from Dell support site.
2-1. Open “ Alienware Command Center”
2-2. Configure the Active System Theme - Thermal as “ Performance mode”
2-3. Configure the Active System theme - Overclock to “ Overclock O2 “ (if applicable)
Also, please run the HWINFO app and send us a picture of the temps so we can check the averages.
Kaushikh
11 Posts
0
July 21st, 2018 00:00
@Alienware-Eimy
There are thinner, lighter laptops from other manufacturers running the same spec at much lower temps so please stop lying to us and yourselves.
Ive come a across a newer MUCH MORE annoying problem now. Everytime i connect a bluetooth controller to my AW15, Wifi speeds drop from 20mbps to 0.25mbps, as soon as i disconnect my controller speeds shoot back up again. THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST THING IVE PUT MY MONEY INTO.
I've attached a screenshot from HWMonitor as per your request. KEEP IN MIND : THESE ARE TEMPS AFTER UNDERVOLTING BY QUITE A MARGIN.
CJORACLE
4 Posts
0
July 21st, 2018 05:00
I have the same spec laptop and facing the exact same issue of cpu hitting high 90s and then throttling.
Kaushikh
11 Posts
1
July 21st, 2018 06:00
@CJORACLE I suggest you undervolt the cpu and lower the multiplier to 36x using throttlestop - This should cap the boost clock at 3.58ghz
And then use MSI Afterburner to get yourself a more agressive and steeper voltage frequency curve.
This ofcourse requires a lot of trial and error and is a risk if done without care. But hey it increases the life span of the internals and I don't need the CPU to boost upto 4.1 for most games I play, so it's a downgrade I'm willing to make.
CJORACLE
4 Posts
0
July 21st, 2018 07:00
@Kaushikhcould u share the picture of ur frequency curve on msi afterburner, also how much undervolting u did on your cpu.
Personally for me undervolting cpu did nothing to the temps. I was thinking of undervolting Gpu as well, as GPU stays pretty cool at 70c under heavy gaming
*Edit*
Your suggestion worked like a charm.
Thanks a ton!!! After decreasing multiplier in throttlestop to 35 and undervolting to good -.140.. i i w able to get the temps to 75 max during farcry 5 on ultra, that to without any fps loss.
Earlier the temps were 90 on an average in jus 20 mins of gameplay.
This is by far the best possible solution i have found if u one is not ready to repaste thermals on the new laptop.@
Kaushikh
11 Posts
0
July 21st, 2018 22:00
@CJORACLE Hey man that's good news, I'm glad I could help. We seem to have the exact same thermals with and without the undervolts and underclocks so its very unlikely for us to have both recieved duds. Seems to be a bios problem or poor quality thermal paste. Also, I suggest you set up a couple different profiles in throttlestop. I run stock multipliers for rendering which doesn't use the GPU at all. 36x for open world games and a lower 32x for sports and racing titles.
Insept
17 Posts
0
August 6th, 2018 04:00
Hi,
I also got a AW15 R4 with the 8750H and Nvidia 1070 GPU.
Just want to add some additional information to the thread.
I've been able to undervolt the CPU core with -160 and CPU cache -125 now without touching the multiplier at all.
BD PROCHOT is unchecked and SpeedStep is checked.
Speed Shift - EPP is set to 0.
The system has been stress tested for about 1h with no BSOD or any other error. Temp is around 75-80c while playing world of warcraft and browsing the web at the same time.
Br,
Insept
Insept
17 Posts
0
August 8th, 2018 03:00
Alright. So I've been running this for a good 2 days and system just crashed with a BSOD related to CPU.
Changed the CPU core voltage to -155 instead of -160.
obzerving
14 Posts
0
August 8th, 2018 06:00
I wanted to take Kaushikh's advice and reduce the multiplier to 36X, but I'm not seeing it reflected in the FID. I'm using Throttlestop 860. I checked the Set Multiplier box, set it to 36T, and hit Save, but no apparent effect. Are there any other boxes (I have SpeedStep, BD PROCHOT, C1E, and Task Bar checked now) that need to be checked?
Kaushikh
11 Posts
1
August 8th, 2018 23:00
@obzerving No, Don't do that. You revert the multiplier to 22x and then go into FIVR, where there's a panel called Turbo Limit Ratio. Play with that value, I've set all my cores to a 36x max boost multiplier. Also i underclocked my gpu to 1800 Mhz using MSI Afterburner.
obzerving
14 Posts
0
August 9th, 2018 05:00
I'll try that. Thanks, Kaushikh.
NamNguyen191
33 Posts
0
August 9th, 2018 09:00
I think the only way that you can really fix this problem is by performing a repaste using liquid metal but this is extremely difficult (trust me, I've tried) due to the unbalanced heatsink design from Dell. And even with liquid metal, thermal performance on Alienware Machines is just not great, I would suggest that you get something from MSI next time (I've never owned one but my friend did and the performance is freaking amazing + easy repaste). Overall, except for the build quality I don't think this is a good device at all with tons of hardware + software problem. And even though Dell Support is probably the second best in the world right now (just after Apple), what can you expect from the Support Team when the product itself is just bad, there's literally nothing they can do.
obzerving
14 Posts
0
August 10th, 2018 05:00
@NamNguyen191
My previous laptop was an MSI 6200, which I bought in 2009. I would still be using it for software development if I had not decided to develop VR applications. So, I have reasons to sing the praises of MSI laptops. However, it's also subject to thermal shutdowns and a metal hinge had busted through the lid. I probably would have bought another one from them, but they didn't offer any with my specific configuration requirements. However, I don't have any delusions that it would have been trouble-free. All you need to do is go over to the MSI forum (or any other vendor's forum) and you can see that the grass isn't necessarily greener. That doesn't mean we shouldn't hold Dell accountable for their products and I'm hoping they understand that their reputation for support is important to their bottom line.