Aurora R8, Thermal Controls problem, excessive noise

Question

Hello All,

I am at my wits end, and I am not sure how to resolve the problem. A few months ago, my computers fans started ramping up to very high RPM and I'm not sure what to do. It happens almost every 30-45 seconds for 5-10 second periods and it is making ANY game unplayable due to the noise. I am out of warranty as well, which expired in May.

I have tried auto manage, and customizing the offset curve in the command center and nothing is working. The worst part is, the thermals arent even high when the fans kick in. The fan dials up its speed tremendously whenever the GPU hits 72 degrees, and the CPU rarely exceeds 40-42. These are great temperatures, there is no need for the fans to run full blast almost constantly. I have updated the BIOS and kept the command center up to date and no matter what settings I tinker with it doesnt help the issue.

Any advice?

speedstep · Answer

There are updates that came out a few days ago for BIOS as well as the OVERCLOCK app.

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/alienware-aurora-r8-desktop/drivers

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=tmr1v&oscode=wt64a&productcode=alienware-aurora-r8-desktop

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=5fvyk&oscode=wt64a&productcode=alienware-aurora-r8-desktop

Bgrade · Answer

I did a full update 2 hours ago, and the issues has not changed

Bgrade · Answer

@Anonymous

Okay, I downloaded HWinFo and it appears it is the GPU Fan that is malfunctioning. The case fans have steady RPM and are not revving. The RTX 2080 fan shoots up to 6k RPM whenever the card hits 70 degrees and it is causing a tremendous amount of noise. As far as I am aware, the AWCC only controls the case fans and the CPU fan, not the GPU fan, correct?

I tried MSI afterburner but that doesnt seem to be controlling the GPU fan either unless I am using the program incorrectly.

Bgrade · Answer

What system information do you need? I have an i7-9700k 3.6ghz that can be overlocked (i have disabled OC to try and get fan speed down) CPU that is liquid cooled, 32GB of 2666mhz Ram and RTX 2080.

I am not against getting better fans, but I don't mind if my GPU runs hotter. The fans rev up to 80%+ speed when the GPU is at 70 degrees. I'd be much happier to gave the GPU go to 78-80 and have the funs run slower so the noise isnt excessive, but no matter what options I change in the command center it does not change the operation of the fans.

Bgrade · Answer

@Anonymous

My CPU rarely exceeds 42 degrees C, which I believe is fine. My GPU rarely exceeds 71-74 and only goes up to 80 under extreme load. Its just the GPU fan shoots up to 6k RPM at 70 degrees, and below that it sits at around 1500 RPM. I'd be happy to control the GPU fan speed and have maybe go up to 2-3k RPM, but the AWCC wasn't letting me control it, and I created a profile in MSI afterburner and set the fan speed to 40% with an 83 degree temp limit, but even THEN, the fan is still revving to 6k RPM at 70 degrees. I am currently downloading the nvidia driver that was released on 7/9/20 so hopefully it is a software issue. But I would really like some control over my GPU fan speed so I can play my computer in peace

Bgrade · Answer

@r72019

Thats the problem, I DID do that. Its entirely possible I am using the program incorrectly, but I created an MSI profile set the fan curve and limit temperature to 83 degrees, check off start on boot and its still not controlling my RTX fan. The fan just automatically jumps to 6k RPM whenever It hits 70 degrees (which is almost constantly, since 70 degrees is around hte average temperature)

r72019 · Answer

You can use msi afterburner to create a custom, more aggressive, gpu fan curve that loads on boot.

r72019 · Answer

From my understanding there's a hardwired temp limit set in the Dell bios that will override the msi curve if the temp exceeds the limit and that is the overdrive issue you're experoencing.  Maybecmake it more aggressive at lower temps so you don't hit the limit.

Bgrade · Answer

@Anonymous

It's been a long time, but I wanted to update you. I finally worked up the courage and lost enough sanity to disassemble the card and take a look at the thermal paste.

First, I would like to say Dell, and MSI should be ashamed for accepting this quality in their pre-built machines. The thermal pads around the memory chips were completely cracked and not fully covering the memory modules and I can't even describe to you the nightmare that the thermal paste was.

The thermal paste was applied in a way so bad that even The Verge would recognize as improper. Firstly, there was WAY TOO MUCH paste applied. It was hardened and globbed outside the edges of the actual GPU Chipset onto the circuit board. And it was globbed and improperly spread across the chipset itself. The entire top and right sides of the chipset had no thermal paste coverage due to it being improperly spread. Either they didn't press the heatsink on properly, or they spread it improperly before applying the heatsink, but the QA from MSI is embarrassing.

I don't think I will buy another prebuilt from Alienware if they don't QA their components that are put into their machines, but either way I'm glad I fixed the issue and I appreciate your help

Bgrade · Answer

@Anonymous  I'm sorry I wasn't expecting to find such a horror show, and I'm not big on taking pictures so it totally slipped my mind until after cleaned it and re-assembled

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Aurora R8, Thermal Controls problem, excessive noise

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