If it's burning your legs then it definitely sounds like thermal issues.
Firstly run the ePSA diagnostic to see if there are any hardware issues (GPU, fans, etc). Press F12 during post to enter the Boot menu and select the diagnostic.
Next you may want to look at repasting your GPU and CPU with new thermal compound. This would mean disassembling your laptop and removing the heatsink, cleaning off the old compound and reapplying with some decent paste.
Have a read through this Service Manual for your R2. It will help you if you've never opened the laptop before.
Hi @dfuel Dell has published Article Number 000131532 with hints on how to resolve this known problem. HWInfo64 should be used to reveal the CPU thermal temperatures. Anything over 100℃ is very bad. Making sure all fans and vents are clean is essential. Remove the rear panel and remove all the accumulated dust. Increase the air gap beneath the m15 R2 and only use on a flat surface such as a tray or table top. If CPU temperatures are still more than 100℃, stop playing power hungry games until this problem is addressed.
I appreciate this detailed response. I ran the stress test after following the instructions and the CPU temperatures remained at 100 degrees at 100 % load and only sometimes fell into the 90-100 degree range.
and actually i think the cpu is ok. The gpu, after starting a game to test, would slowly climb in temperature and around 87ish, the memory clock would drop drastically below 1000 (originally at around 6000) and the fps would pull back from 60...40...12 in a matter of 5 seconds.
My GPU thermal limit is set to 87 degrees on the AWCC and cannot be increased (which I wouldn't want to anyway).
mattyb3
5 Practitioner
•
1.7K Posts
0
May 4th, 2021 22:00
If it's burning your legs then it definitely sounds like thermal issues.
Firstly run the ePSA diagnostic to see if there are any hardware issues (GPU, fans, etc). Press F12 during post to enter the Boot menu and select the diagnostic.
Next you may want to look at repasting your GPU and CPU with new thermal compound. This would mean disassembling your laptop and removing the heatsink, cleaning off the old compound and reapplying with some decent paste.
Have a read through this Service Manual for your R2. It will help you if you've never opened the laptop before.
https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/alienware-m15-r2-laptop/alienware-m15r2-service-manual/safety-instructions?guid=guid-71128823-ce64-4e17-9439-dee95af668c4&lang=en-us
crimsom
7 Technologist
•
6.1K Posts
0
May 5th, 2021 18:00
Hi @dfuel Dell has published Article Number 000131532 with hints on how to resolve this known problem. HWInfo64 should be used to reveal the CPU thermal temperatures. Anything over 100℃ is very bad. Making sure all fans and vents are clean is essential. Remove the rear panel and remove all the accumulated dust. Increase the air gap beneath the m15 R2 and only use on a flat surface such as a tray or table top. If CPU temperatures are still more than 100℃, stop playing power hungry games until this problem is addressed.
dfuel
5 Posts
0
May 5th, 2021 21:00
I appreciate this detailed response. I ran the stress test after following the instructions and the CPU temperatures remained at 100 degrees at 100 % load and only sometimes fell into the 90-100 degree range.
dfuel
5 Posts
0
May 5th, 2021 21:00
My GPU thermal limit is set to 87 degrees on the AWCC and cannot be increased (which I wouldn't want to anyway).
What are my options?