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February 12th, 2022 16:00
Area-51m R1, throttling issues, help
Im really lost as I have tried so many things now, first my machine wasnt booting when it first died, then i removed an nvme on which i had a hunch and then was able to boot to my windows(dual boot system) and see temperatures were soaring, its almost 3 years since i bought it and havent repasted so i thought that might be the problem. Got it repasted but still temperatures are all over the place, 40-60 °C(cpu) idle to minimal load and 40-55 °C(gpu). The problem really starts when I run something cpu intensive, the temperatures for the cpu soar and even cross a 100 °C and core throttling is enabled which i can see on HWiNFO, though the system doesnt shut down there from what i have observed. It shuts down as soon as I run something GPU intensive like a benchmarking or putting on Dying Light(1) on high settings. It sometimes instantly shuts down the LCD display along with the HDMI(whats goin on?!), system remains on for some time as audio is heard and then it hangs. In the other case if the system doesnt shut down the GPU goes into high temp mode as well, like above 80°C which wasnt the case before. I used an Arctic MX-4 to get it repasted but although it was never opened it was sitting in my drawer for more than 2 years, could that be the problem also? I also found out that a RAM slot was shorted or something as the RAM inside it didnt work in any other slot and the slot didnt accept any other RAM stick.
I also changed some settings through my Alienware Command Center to make the games work and not let the machine shut down/hang, following are the values:
Game: Dying Light 1 || Settings: High
AWCC with "Cool" thermals and undervolted OC custom profile:---
CPU temp: 50-75°C || GPU temp: 45-65 || Frames: 25-35
AWCC with "Balanced" thermals and OC off(regular mode):---
CPU temp: 90-101°C || GPU temp: 75-85°C || Frames: 80-115
As visible above, if the display doesnt shut down the numbers are really bad in terms of frames in the low config and really bad in terms of temps on regular config. Dont know what the heck is goin on esp when display turns off, else the laptop runs ok on normal load with my work n stuff.
System:
Alienware Area-51m R1
i7-9700k
20GB (24 previously)
GeForce RTX 2060
DELL-Cares
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February 13th, 2022 10:00
We tried reaching you on a private message asking for the Service Tag number to ascertain the warranty but did not receive a response. Please feel free to reply to the private message whenever you are available.
abbujan
7 Posts
1
February 13th, 2022 12:00
I dont have an active warranty as of now, Im just looking around for answers which could help me fix my system, any help here would be appreciated.
A51-06
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February 14th, 2022 21:00
Hey @abbujan !
I hope I can help you with this issue.
Here are a couple of questions I have to ask before.
1. Does the laptop power on when pressing the power button?
2. Does the keyboard work alright i.e keys pressing and typing fine.
3. Does the case or the exterior shell of the laptop look fine and have no dents or paint wear/scratches.
If you answered yes to all those questions, then I can assist you with the issue you've stated above in your post.
"40-60 °C(cpu) idle to minimal load and 40-55 °C(gpu). The problem really starts when I run something cpu intensive, the temperatures for the cpu soar and even cross a 100 °C and core throttling is enabled which i can see on HWiNFO"
For that issue I highly recommend taking the laptop to the nearest Micro Center because you are out of warranty and asking kindly for a thermal re-paste with a dust cleaning of the inside of the heatsinks. I also recommend asking for a thermal pad replacement as not having proper contacts can affect thermals.
I would also recommend you turn off any overclock settings on the CPU or GPU via any program you've used in the past such as:
MSI AfterBurner
AW Command Center
ASUS GPU Tweak XII
EVGA Precision X1;
And set any Power plans to Standard instead of High Performance.
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"though the system doesn't shut down there from what i have observed. It shuts down as soon as I run something GPU intensive like a benchmarking or putting on Dying Light (1) on high settings. It sometimes instantly shuts down the LCD display along with the HDMI (what's going on?!)"
For this issue I have the tips above for the thermal issue listed but for GPU intensive programs that cause the laptop to have these issues, is a GPU driver or a BIOS issue which can be fixed via installing these:
Alienware Area-51m System BIOS | Driver Details | Dell US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650/1660Ti and RTX 2060/2070 Max-Q/2080 Max-Q Graphics Driver | Driver Details | Dell US
And I would also recommend downloading (in case you didn't have it already.) NVIDIA GeForce Experience because you can get the game ready drivers and do a clean installation on the GPU.
" I also found out that a RAM slot was shorted or something as the RAM inside it didnt work in any other slot and the slot didnt accept any other RAM stick."
For this issue I highly recommend doing these methods listed:
1.Do a hard shutdown on the laptop by holding the power button until it shuts off abruptly.
2. Unplug the AC Adapter from the laptop.
3. Disconnect the Battery connector from the motherboard, (it should look like a mini 24 pin connector with colorful wiring.)
4. Remove all the sticks of RAM and hold them by the sides to place them on a non-static surface.
5. Hold the power button for a full 30 seconds.
6. Insert only 1 stick inside any slot on the laptop and then plug in the battery to the motherboard.
7. Plug in the Power adapter to the laptop and then place the laptop on its side and press the power button.
8. If it turns on and detects the proper amount of memory on that single stick, turn the laptop off again and then remove that stick from that slot and place it on another slot.
9. Same process as before, test out the laptop after placing the ram stick on every slot until an issue like the computer detecting a smaller amount or not turning on occurs.
10. If all slots work then try each RAM stick until a stick causes an issue.
Ask me any questions you have after doing these steps or need help.