15 R3, problems after BIOS update (thermals, GPU, etc.)

Question

Hey there, I've got an Alienware 15 R3 which was a replacement of another (AW15 R3 unit that Dell exchanged due to thermal issues) that has been having a lot of problems since I updated the BIOS.The biggest problem is that my temperatures after the BIOS update are WAY higher than the use to be. I hardly use to go past 85 Degrees but now I'm lucky if I can stay below 90. This has been resulting in thermal throttling obviously but I'm more concerned about the health of the machine in the long run. I'll list some screenshots of my thermals that I had taken the other day. However this morning I was idling in the Overwatch Menu (The title screen) And my CPU began to heat up to about 96-97.The second problem I've run into after the BIOS update has installed has been relating to the GPU in the system, a GTX 1070. It started when I noticed that my FPS was basically capped at 40 and bouncing between 25 and 40FPS. I thought this was strange so I looked around my computer.. Power settings were fine and nothing was out of the ordinary. This gets a lot stranger when I unplugged my laptop and tested it out on battery. Instantly my thermals dropped to what they use to be and performance improved! So I began to look at the power settings, nothing has changed everything is normal. I don't know what has caused this but I've been able to circumvent it slightly by toggling the switch between the Intel HD Graphics and the Nvida card and restarting my computer (This enables the GTX 1070 to be running at all times) HOWEVER. It eventually starts up again and I have to toggle and reboot once more.The third problem I've noticed is that my Wifi seems to drop constantly, there really isn't much to say about that but the fourth problem is rather frustrating... The Intel HD Graphics causes my computer to stutter on basically everything, it's repeatable at all times by right clicking on my desktop. This does not happen when it is just the Nvida GTX 1070 handling graphics.Is anyone else having the same issues? If so is there a fix planned?

Eimy_B · Answer

Hi @ClaytonPoweredUp, Send me a private message with the Service Tag so I can assist you further.

Ariceo · Answer

I have the first 2 problem, whitch wifi I update from killer wifi page.  Bios 1.2.4

Eimy_B · Answer

Hi @Ariceo, Can you please give us a better explanation of the issues your having.

Ariceo · Answer

My 15r3 (2017) i5 7300hq gtx 1060 6gb 1tb and 8gb ram it worked perfect until i update the bios (1.2.3 to 1.2.4). then the problems appeared...low fps, high-speed fans even on the windows desktop, without open programs, long time to boot Windows, and power off. In high performance games freezing all the time.

I have uneven cores 20'c difference aprox.

Hight temp ( 100'c whitout doing nothing in Windows....

I have all Drivers update and format 3 times, whitout any fix of all that problems.

I have more display performance in the background than in the first task (dell assist-support hardware display card test)

Full cpu ussage and full Hdd ussage in Windows at the start (hdd 100% whith 2.3/4.0 mb/s)

I hope you understand, sorry my English

Eimy_B · Answer

@Ariceo, Try to downgrade to the previous BIOS version. If the issue continues after that, send me a private message with the Service Tag.

Ariceo · Answer

Can i downgrade bios to 1.2.3? I have scare to breakit the motherboad. Because i read in this forum that the 1.2.4 its protected to downgrade.

Pd. I deleted the original recovery partition, and the 2 of 3 format i made its from a clear Windows 10 image, in dell support drivers i found the Windows 10 (4.29gb and 6.49gb). Is the dell Image as the one that already install or is a image of my partition with the alienware program? And why the different sizes between them? Thx!!!

AceDeepak · Answer

Hello,Yesterday I updated my BIOS to latest available on the dell web site for my Alienware 15 r3. My service tag is . Ever sinse I did that my thermals are hitting critical on core 1 and core 2 and the other 2 ate also in the mid 90s also... This is a 3 month old laptop that I purchased in Serbia from one of your partners here... Before I updated I was overclocked to 4.1ghz and even under stress tests never reached 90 degree... And now I open any software and bang I'm in the high 70 to 80 line again... This is rediculas...please help

DanielHD · Answer

I'm having a very similar issue, I have an Alienware 17 R4 and I notice that the recent BIOS update have change a lot of things in the performace of the laptop.

FPS drops, when is in save powere mode (integrated graphics) the dedicated graphics card goes down in performance after a couple of minutes, and If I change to performance mode (dedicated graphics card enable all the time) the computer has a single beep code, that according to dell is a problem with the mother board of a corrupted BIOS or ROM.

Can you please help me because I dont know how to downgrade the BIOS and I dont know which version should be the best, this laptop is one year old and I dont remeber if I upgraded the Bios several times or not. So if you know a more appropiate version please let me know.

P.S. I want to extend the lifetime of my battery, so I was thinking to desconect the cable and run it only with the AC adapter with a voltaje regulator, you reccomend to do that?.

Annd_rajput · Answer

same problems before the update my laptop was doing fine but after updating to 1.2.3 i am not able to play any kind of game they are just laggy the frames are droping form 60-20 and i just cant play any games please help me

n0iz_ · Answer

Will double my answer from another topic here.

Having the same issue with my Alienware 17 R4 with 1071 on board, service tag .

It seems that all people with Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU are starving atm, more details here https://communities.intel.com/thread/119093?start=600&tstart=0

I hope that we will hear some news and updates on this issue from Dell, because such weird performance issues are not the things you expect when buying hi-end laptops.

Sry about my english, not native.

LRBY · Answer

Yes me 2 happen with ne fps drops and temps up to 90s

DV003 · Answer

Seeing strangeness with my 15 R3 now as well. The only change is the firmware update a few days ago. My ac adapter is hotplugging on and off, and getting an extreme amount of fan noise, where the system used to be pretty quiet the vast majority of the time.

paingsh · Answer

I'm having the same issues. Even non-demanding video games heats up the laptop unlike when I had the previous BIOS.

paingsh · Answer

Have you got this resolved?

bezobidbro · Answer

I got this truble too, still wait any answer

Alienware

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