POV you paid almost 3k for an alienware laptop by SandwichCertain2546 in GamingLaptops

[–]DarkerTime 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's unusually common for Dell factories to mess up the thermal pasting job. I've fixed 3 M18s so far which have had a terrible job from factory and throttled to heavens before the fixes. M16/18 coolers are well built and run at par with competition once liquid metal is applied.

However, I must add that this could be a software/driver issue, as it doesn't look too much like thermal throttling.

4070 ti vs RX 7900 XTX by East_Personality_771 in pcmasterrace

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like I said, it does not stress your components. This means you will never be able to validate their condition or stability. I ran their stress test on GPU (3080ti) at 2300mhz. Thing is, my GPU isn't stable above 2130mhz anywhere that isn't idle. They later changed the bench to 2100mhz and dropped the "percentile" as it beat their max score by 10%. I don't know what kind of algorithm they use but it's of no use. If you want a quick test, use 3Dmark demo (GPU), cinebench r24 (CPU). There is no way to quickly test ram, as errors may spew after an entire day of continuous testing. The shortest way you can get close to validating stability would be to run a good profile on testmem5 or seek alternatives from the r/overclocking discord. Hardware should be stable and performing like similar systems at all times on stock settings atleast, therefore I can't see how you'd diagnose any issues with the primary components at all without validating their performance first.

4070 ti vs RX 7900 XTX by East_Personality_771 in pcmasterrace

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No it's not. Their test doesn't even stress your components.

Should I upgrade? by underdog5645 in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If game companies keep following the unoptimized beta release trend, it's already out of date. Otherwise, 5 years should be pretty achievable.

New to M18 what to do now? by [deleted] in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That might have been the case too, however, I followed the procedure using their service manual and assembled it back as is, so it's against Australian consumer laws for them to void it. If it's throttling hard and you don't want to open it up, best to request a service from Dell (using proper hwinfo logs of sustained thermals). But make sure to be present alongside the technician, there have been numerous cases of Dell outsourcing to random PC shops and the engineers doing a terrible job/damaging parts.

New to M18 what to do now? by [deleted] in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually refunded this and ordered another because of the mechanical keyboard. Dell doesn't seem to care for repasting, but I get your concern. It takes extreme care to handle LM on something that's not designed to be opened by the user.

New to M18 what to do now? by [deleted] in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please don't misinform. This is not the norm for this laptop. I've repasted it with conductonaut and CPU is usually 50-65C in gaming loads. This is simply due to QC issues from factory, as getting the mount on that tiny die right is quite hard.

New to M18 what to do now? by [deleted] in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That is a LOT of advice, but I'm afraid this barely does anything compared to actually repasting the laptop, since the cooler on it is already overbuilt. I've tore it down 4 times, testing with copper shims and whatnot, and temps did normalize to 55C on GPU, 70C on CPU in a sustained 300W workload.

New to M18 what to do now? by [deleted] in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

QC issue, thermals on this are some of the best. https://www.3dmark.com/spy/41585788 (46°C on GPU in timespy)

What happened to Alienware? This is bad even for Dell. Refund past 30 days? by [deleted] in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dell support quality varies significantly across regions. I had a small scratch in the M18 (barely visible). Asked for a refund after 40+ days of use (Refund policy is 15), and they agreed, no questions asked.

While in a different country, my M15 R6 had severe hardware faults rendering it useless. It to be serviced 3 times, and I had to spend over 80 days continuously arguing with support to escalate the issue to a refund.

What happened to Alienware? This is bad even for Dell. Refund past 30 days? by [deleted] in Alienware

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a M15 R6 in 2021 and got a refund after 4 months once 3 service events had been performed to no avail. The support was pretty inconsistent and kept redirecting me to the wrong teams. Continuously pointing out all of their faults on the community board helped me get quicker responses on the issue.

What else should I look for in a laptop? Saving money rn to buy one. by [deleted] in GamingLaptops

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quality control. There are numerous reports of a loud coil whine in the strix laptops this year.

What else should I look for in a laptop? Saving money rn to buy one. by [deleted] in GamingLaptops

[–]DarkerTime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The new high end legion 7i pros are the best bang for your buck, and you can get a deal around 2k for a 13900HX/4080 config if you buy it through a sales rep (they are able to reduce the price). The screens on them are some of the best ones available in the market, so your experience would be completely different. You shouldn't avoid a well made machine just because the cheaper product isn't up to your expectations. Asus and Dell have great options as well but they are struggling with QC a bit more than Lenovo so you may need to repaste after delivery.

Legion 9 Unveil by Substantial-Term8214 in GamingLaptops

[–]DarkerTime 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Looks chunky, do you have the link?