x17 R2, steady CPU performance drop during 7 months of use

Question

Hi everyone! During the past 7 months, my X17R2 i7 laptop has lost its CPU performance while GPU one hasn't.  When I just bought the laptop, I didn't pay much attention to how hot the CPU got and what scores in different benchmarks my laptop had. However, I came across a couple of YouTube videos that viewed Alienware X17R2 performance on numerous benchmarks such as Cinebench R23 and TimeSpy. I decided to test my machine and try to find out how good it is in comparison. To my surprise, my X17R2 i7 CPU performance was not even close to what the other users could demonstrate. For example, I got about 14.5k points on Cinebench R23 whereas the others got a range of 16k-18k with the same specs. I understand that there might be different settings, but I tried to repeat exactly the same testing with the same settings and just couldn't reproduce the results the others had. I also noticed that two P-cores instantly got 100c while running stress tests or playing games. So I wrote to Dell tech support about it, and they asked me to run a built-in diagnostics. That diagnostics showed there were no problems and 100c is normal for 12th gen units. After a week of back-and-forth communication, I gave up trying to convince the tech support that there is something wrong. But I took notes about my R23 scores and decided to run the test once a month to document the results. After 4 months of follow-up, I can say that the CPU performance on Cinebench R23 drops by 500 points every month. When I started testing the score was about 14.5k. The last time I tested the score was 12.5k. I also run TimeSky benchmark that showed that GPU performance stays at the same level as it was 4 months ago and is comparable to what other users have shown (about 13k GPU score). However, the CPU score in TimeSpy was constantly going down. I understand now that the performance will keep going down and the CPU temps will keep reaching 100c faster and faster. I also believe that it may be the paste or heat sink problem. My only hope is that repasting will stop this process and revert it back. I don't know whether tech support will agree to repaste my machine or I will have to do it on my own. Either way, I am certain that something should be done to stop it. Does anybody know a tech contact in the US who could figure out my problem or a person who can do repasting? Many thanks in advance! Alex

DELL-Jesse L · Accepted Answer

Update = Resolved After completing troubleshooting, a DELL-Cares agent setup service.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @AlexPat welcome to this free user-to-user Alienware laptop discussion forum.

It is unlikely that the new Alienware x17 R2 laptop's CPU and GPU requires repasting. You can get a repasting quotation from $100 Dell Laptop Repair | Dell Repair | Laptop Repair | Notebook Service Center (parts-people.com).

Please run SupportAssist optimisation tools and keep PC running like new. SupportAssist for home PCs | Dell US

Does the OS (C:) boot drive have personal files, etc. that should be transferred to the DATA drive? Does the OS (C:) boot drive have unnecessary installation files that can be removed?

AlexPat · Answer

Hi @crimsom , thank you for your response.

I will likely void my warranty if I use the parts-people website service that you mentioned, correct? I'd rather have Dell do repasting so that I keep my warranty. But thanks for the link provided.

crimsom · Answer

@AlexPat wrote:

Does anybody know a tech contact in the US who could figure out my problem or a person who can do repasting?

Hi @AlexPat you were given an answer to your question. Best of luck with your Dell warranty.

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