You won't get a refund on an 8 month old system -- and the cooling system can only cope so much with elevated ambient temperatures.  You may want to consider investing in an external cooling fan -- or better a room air conditioner to bring down the ambient temperature.

Hi @GianmyG !

I highly recommend checking for dust or old thermal pads in your system as those probably wont work well due to the temperatures being so high even with the outside temperature being around 86F. Let me know how it goes and just message me.

If you purchased the system through Dell then you will still be within the basic 12 month warranty period. I would lodge a support ticket and see what they suggest. If the temps are outside of normal operating limits and the performance of the system is really that bad then they should be able to offer some assistance. 

As enj63 mentioned, they will not offer a refund on an 8 month old system so going through Support is your best first option.

A thermal compound repaste and cleanout of the heatsinks is usually the best step. Regular maintenance is required on any laptop.

Hi @GianmyG  welcome to this free user to user Alienware laptop discussion forum. This is not Dell Support. 

Please share Alienware x17 R1 specification (2021, Refresh, Customised, etc.), and system Dell warranty: Basic first year, Premium Support, Premium Support Plus, Accidental Damage Service, etc. 

Alienware gaming laptops are designed to deliver high performance. Intel says CPU temperature can increase up to 100ºC (212ºF) maximum, but must not be higher. 

You can select from five Tailored Power States – Full Speed (max power), performance mode (graphics priority), balanced mode (balanced CPU/GPU), battery saver (low-temperature priority), and quiet mode (acoustics priority). 

Placing x17 R1 on a flat surface (Table) and elevating rear clearance to improve air flow is advocated. Ensure that there are no air flow obstructions near to all vents. Only use x17 R1 when local temperature is not excessive. There are various items that can assist to provide full air flow clearance. For power user, a tray that includes external cooling fans, etc. might be beneficial, search internet for suitable options. 

standard evacuative fans + dual opposite outlet (DOO) fans

Thank you for your answers!

So first of all here are my specs: 

11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz 2.30 GHz; 32GB Memory ; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU; 1TB SSD. I am also using Windows 11.

My computer was new, not customized and bought directly from Dell. You can see the model here: https://www.dell.com/it-it/shop/gaming-and-games/alienware-x17/spd/alienware-x17-r2-laptop/nawx17r205 . I am actually under Premium support. 

@mattyb3 I know about maintenance of course, but after only 8 months? And for a computer that is not even used as a main machine? From my perspective, there is something wrong. Or at least this never occured to me with other gaming notebooks from other producers. Do you do that so often on your own machines? @Alienware Area-51 ALX 2006 since I am still under Premium support warranty, i guess that i cannot  do that myself but have to send it to Dell right? 

@crimsom I already tried elevating the rear and it is already on a flat surface with no obstructions. I even tried an external cooling fan actually... Could you please specify what is considered "elevated" ambient temperature for Dell? @ejn63 mentioned the same thing but honestly i think the term is really inappropriate: 25-30 celsius degrees are NORMAL temperature in most of the world, it's not like i am pretending to play on ultra settings in the middle of the desert. So if this machine really can't work properly during a whole season, it means it does not work under normal condition (for the same reason for which the engine of your car does not stop working at 0 because, you know, winter exists XD) , which by definition means it is defective. If an ambient temperature of max 20 degrees is a CONDITION for this x17r1 to run as intended, it should be clearly stated as a requirement and I would have never bought it.  As I mentioned this is not my first gaming laptop, and of course a little bit of performance drop due to overheating during summer is normal, but right now the performance drop is really severe.

In any case, thank you again for your help. 

Hi @GianmyG ,

Thanks for replying! I understand that you have Premium Support which is very useful in this case as it means you can contact DELL support to schedule a service for a repaste and cleaning of the computer due to heat issues.

I do recommend you check out if any overclocking settings are enabled and if you can lower core voltage by -10mv and locking the CPU speed at the lowest it can go which probably would be around 3.9-4.0 Ghz as that should help with your thermal issue.

Let me know if anything changes because I'd recommend doing what I said above instead of scheduling a service appointment if you want to not have to wait for your laptop to get fixed.

If you have Premium Support and they believe that there is an issue with the cooling then you should get a tech sent to your house rather than having to post it in. 

Personally, I would attempt repasting the CPU and GPU myself rather than having a 'tech' open up my system but that's just me. I have a lot of experience working inside different laptops. If you don't feel comfortable then let someone else do it because any damage caused by you won't be covered under warranty. 

First thing to do is lodge a support ticket and go from there. 

I come back more than year later with the same problem. In short: the problem was not "summer", it is the machine itself. Because of its thin structure it stocks dust like a vacuum and can't expel it properly, so anyone using the computer in "normal" condition (a bedroom in the house of a city) will recurrently face this problem. This is not my opinion but what the Dell technician told me from his experience when he came home. I am clearly not the only one having this problem. This is now the third time that I live the same experience:

1) Pc Overheat

2) Contact online support thanks to your paid premium service

3) Receive copy paste mail to do useless Bios test/diagnosis that will say everything fine 

4) Receive mail from support to update drivers that you have already updated, which is of course another useless task

5) Pick a date to meet the Dell technician, which you see so often that it is now a friend (at least a positive aspect).

To make things even worse at some point my keyboard also stopped working, I had to send my pc to Germany (I am based in Italy). It should have stayed at maximum two weeks, it stayed almost one month. They changed like 80% of the things inside, and one month later I have still the same issue with the addition that Dell Command Center app latest update was destroying my RAM.  Searching for answers online, I discovered can that this is also a recurrent problem of users. I had to uninstall it.

So in conclusion Dell's "top gaming" notebook series looks like designed for gaming from the point of view of their performance in a 6-month perspective and disregard common usage. Their support is fast and handy (the fact that they come at your home is priceless), but underwhelming from the point of view of its quality (especially the online one) and this is in part due to the poor self-diagnosis tools of the machine itself. My most expensive pc has turned into the my most disappointing.  To conclude I would like to point out that this is not a "rant" against all Dell's products or staff. I'm sure (or at least hope) that other machines works better and that in some contexts (like places perfectly dusted everyday and perfectly cooled ambient) even this machine may shine. But since 4000 euros means a lot of sacrifices for most people, I think its important to let them know the truth about what they're buying and what it needs to work like they would like to.

Thanks again to all those that helped me last year and let's hope that my negative experience and feedback may encourage a better design for future products.

use a laptop cooler like the IETS gt 500 comes even with a filter to keep your laptop clean and breathing clean air... set your air conditioning cooler and stop making this a big deal

@GianmyG​ I have the same problem here and the same specifications as your laptop and the same brand. I solved the processor temperature problem by reducing the voltage from the BIOS, but the graphics card remains. What should I do?