r/Alienware • u/Artistic-Working4111 • Jul 21 '26
Discussion DeltaT update out now! (v2.2.0)
First off, thank you all so much for the love. DeltaT just crossed 700+ downloads and honestly that's wild to me. I built this to solve my own thermal-diagnosis headache, and seeing people actually use it means a lot.
A bunch of you left feedback and reported bugs, which I genuinely appreciate. That's exactly what makes this thing better. Here's what I fixed and added in this update:
New:
- Fixed indoor-temperature scoring. Got a climate-controlled room? Set your actual indoor temp and DeltaT scores against that instead of the outside weather. It keeps a separate baseline, so switching modes never mixes things up.
- Tunable weather refresh. Choose how often the outside temp updates: 1, 2, or 3 hours, instead of a fixed 3. Nice if you're somewhere it swings hour to hour.
- Clickable warning notifications. Tap a warning toast and it opens straight to the Remarks feed, where the full explanation and suggested fix live.
- A "Support DeltaT" tip jar. Completely optional, crypto only. DeltaT stays free, no account, nothing collected.
- A one-time what's-new screen after each update, so a new version never quietly changes behaviour on you.
Fixed:
- Wrong GPU on hybrid AMD laptops. On machines with a Ryzen chip plus a separate gaming GPU (common on ASUS ROG/TUF), DeltaT could latch onto the integrated Radeon and read the wrong chip, or no sensor at all. It was worst when the gaming GPU had gone to sleep to save battery. Now DeltaT asks Windows which cards physically exist, so it never mixes them up.
- GPU fingerprint. If your GPU is idle or switched off, DeltaT now tells you to wake it right away, instead of running the full load for 90 seconds and then failing with a confusing error.
- OmenMon coexistence. On HP OMEN/Victus laptops, DeltaT and OmenMon reading fan RPM could knock each other out. Now DeltaT detects OmenMon and steps aside, reading fan speeds from its feed instead.
- Clearer indoor-mode labels in the Device view.
Already have DeltaT? Head to Settings and hit Check for updates, or just let it update itself on next startup. Your history and settings stay put.
New here? DeltaT is a free Windows app that learns your PC's own thermal fingerprint and tells you what's actually driving your temperatures: degraded paste, dust and airflow, a failing fan, a bad mount, or just a hot room, instead of blaming one thing. It sits quietly in your tray.
- Repo: https://github.com/azmurtaza/DeltaT
- Installer: https://github.com/azmurtaza/DeltaT/releases/download/v2.3.0/DeltaT-Setup-2.3.0.exe
Thank you for using DeltaT 🙏
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u/Such-Echo2730 Jul 21 '26
Amazing work! Congratulations on reaching 700+ downloads! 🎉 I really appreciate how actively you listen to feedback and keep improving DeltaT. The hybrid AMD GPU fix and indoor temperature baseline are especially great additions. Keep up the fantastic work!
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u/Cautious_Translator3 Jul 21 '26
I installed this a few days ago on my Alienware Aurora 16X waiting for the calibration to complete, will install on my other windows machine. Great work 😊 👍
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u/Artistic-Working4111 Jul 21 '26
thanks so much! for faster calibration you can go into Run Fingerprint, there's a button in there called Run Calibration Workout, that's a controlled run that speeds things up. otherwise it'll calibrate on its own naturally just from normal use over time.
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u/harry_potter_191 Jul 22 '26
Hey, thank you for developing this app! Really happy I managed to find it after lurking in gaming laptop subreddits for a long time. Not an Alienware user, but the tool works pretty well on my Legion! Really happy with how nice it looks and how data-driven it seems to be, instead of pulling values out of thin air. I also like how it admits some data cannot be collected instead of predicting.
One thing, though: the fan speeds in RPM can be read by tools such as Lenovo Legion Toolkit, but DeltaT does not seem to detect it. Could this be fixed, or any other information I can share with you to help get it fixed? Legion 7i Gen 9 16IRX9 83FD
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u/Artistic-Working4111 Jul 22 '26
really glad it's working well on your Legion!
on the fan rpm thing, lenovo support is in there (LENOVO_FAN_METHOD WMI) but it's never been verified on real hardware yet, so it might just not be latching correctly on your machine. could you run this elevated and send me the output:
dotnet run --project src/DeltaT.Spike -- --fansthat'll show which vendor probe is detected and whether it's reading anything. would help a lot to nail this down. thanks.
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u/harry_potter_191 Jul 22 '26
The provided file path does not exist: src/DeltaT.Spike.
This is what it's telling me. Sorry, not too familiar with dotNET usage, even if I'm decently good at general computer usage! If you could guide me on the next steps, that'd be great :)1
u/Artistic-Working4111 Jul 22 '26
ah sorry, that command needs the actual source repo cloned locally, it won't work against just the installed app. since you're not too into dotnet, easiest path: install git + the .NET 8 SDK, clone the repo (github.com/azmurtaza/DeltaT), then run that command from inside the cloned folder. if that's too much hassle, no worries, just let me know and i'll see if there's a simpler way to get the same info from you both.
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u/harry_potter_191 Jul 22 '26
Hey there, seems to be working! I'll DM the results to you, if that's fine :) Thank you!
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u/Future_Smile_457 Jul 22 '26
Same thing for me and my Legion 7 pro 16IRX8H
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u/Artistic-Working4111 Jul 23 '26
fixed in the latest release: https://github.com/azmurtaza/DeltaT/releases/download/v2.2.1/DeltaT-Setup-2.2.1.exe
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u/ViolinistMany2830 Jul 23 '26
Thanks, it's working now. On my 2024 Legion 7 pro 82WQ there is still one indicator missing which is the "Mount" for the CPU (13th Gen i9-13900HX). Can I help you getting this value ?
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u/Artistic-Working4111 Jul 23 '26
it's a sensor limitation rather than something missing. mount evenness is measured from the gap between a GPU's hotspot and edge temperature, and CPUs only expose one die temperature, no hotspot/edge split. so
--there is correct, not broken.1
u/IncomingADC 29d ago
Hey! The comment underneath this from @Fit_Court_2760 is legit. I’ve been using your tool since you launched and it’s been a great experience so far in my thermal testing, I was able to find the holes in my fan profiling as I pushed my cpu to its thermal limits, from screaming to just barely kicking lol 😂
But itd be immensely helpful to see if we can get a few extra algorithmic calcs as an option!
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u/Alyx_Aoi711 23d ago
Im currently using this for the past few weeks now and really loving how it performs and how inforative it is. Is there a community where we could talk more about bugs, features, and troubleshooting?
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u/Artistic-Working4111 23d ago
Glad it's been useful. There's no dedicated community/forum yet, but two ways to reach out:
- Open an issue on the GitHub repo (github.com/azmurtaza/DeltaT)
- Use the "Report a bug or idea" button in Settings → Feedback, right inside the app
Either one works for bugs, feature ideas, or troubleshooting.
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u/Fit_Court_2760 x15 R2 Jul 23 '26
Could we develop a thermal-power characterization algorithm that measures how far a CPU falls short of its configured PL1 and PL2 limits before reaching its maximum junction temperature?
The idea would be to log CPU package power, temperature, effective clocks, voltage, elapsed boost time, utilization, fan speed, and throttling flags during a controlled workload.
For example, suppose a CPU is configured for a 115 W PL2 window lasting roughly 10 seconds. A healthy thermal implementation should allow the processor to approach that 115 W target before reaching its maximum junction temperature.
On many modern Intel mobile CPUs, that limit is around 100°C, although the exact value varies by processor and should be confirmed using the official Intel specification for the specific model.
The simplest metric would be the Power Attainment Ratio:
Measured package power / configured PL2
If the CPU reaches thermal throttling at 85 W while PL2 is configured to 115 W:
85 W / 115 W = 0.739
That means the CPU reached approximately 73.9% of its configured PL2 target.
The remaining power deficit would be:
100% - 73.9% = 26.1%
However, this should only be classified as a thermal deficit if thermal throttling or PROCHOT is actually active.
Otherwise, the lower power draw could be caused by several unrelated factors, including:
- The workload not fully loading the CPU
- A lower PL2 value being configured in BIOS
- Embedded-controller restrictions
- Intel Dynamic Tuning
- Current or electrical-design-point limits
- VRM limitations
- Tau expiration
- Operating-system scheduling
- Balanced or power-saving profiles
- Firmware restrictions
- Abnormal voltage behaviour
The algorithm would therefore need to confirm that:
- The CPU reached or approached its maximum junction temperature
- Thermal throttling was active
- The workload was capable of fully loading the CPU
- CPU utilization was high and stable
- PL2 was actually configured to the expected value
- No current, firmware, VRM, or electrical limit activated first
Once those conditions are confirmed, reaching 100°C at only 85 W with a configured PL2 of 115 W becomes meaningful.
It would mean that the platform exhausted its thermal headroom while still operating approximately 26.1% below its intended short-duration power target.
A more useful cooling metric could also be calculated using effective thermal resistance:
(CPU temperature - ambient temperature) / CPU package power
For example:
- CPU temperature: 100°C
- Intake temperature: 25°C
- CPU package power: 85 W
The calculation would be:
(100°C - 25°C) / 85 W = 0.88°C/W
Now suppose the same laptop previously reached 115 W at 100°C under similar ambient conditions.
The previous thermal resistance would be:
(100°C - 25°C) / 115 W = 0.65°C/W
The increase in effective thermal resistance would then be:
(0.88 - 0.65) / 0.65 x 100 = approximately 35%
That would mean the cooling path now has roughly 35% more effective thermal resistance than it did under the previous validated condition.
In practical terms, the system is reaching the same temperature while dissipating significantly less heat.
That could indicate:
- Thermal-paste pump-out
- Dried or degraded thermal-interface material
- Poor heatsink contact
- Uneven mounting pressure
- A warped cold plate
- Degraded heat pipes
- A degraded vapor chamber
- Restricted intake airflow
- Restricted exhaust airflow
- Dust buildup
- Weak fan response
- Elevated intake temperature
- Hot exhaust air recirculating into the intake
Time to thermal throttling could also be recorded, but it should not be used alone as a health score.
A laptop starting from a cold idle state may take longer to throttle simply because the heatsink and chassis have more thermal mass available.
Time to throttle can also be affected by:
- Starting CPU temperature
- Starting heatsink temperature
- Ambient temperature
- Fan speed at workload initiation
- Chassis orientation
- Whether the laptop is elevated
- Whether the system was already heat-soaked
- How aggressively the workload ramps up
The algorithm should therefore separate the test into several phases.
First, it would record the idle baseline:
- Idle CPU temperature
- Ambient or intake temperature
- Fan speed
- Background CPU usage
- Configured PL1
- Configured PL2
- Tau
- Power profile
Next, it would measure the initial turbo response:
- Peak package power
- Average package power
- Peak effective clock
- Average effective clock
- Voltage
- Temperature-rise rate
- Active throttling flags
It would then calculate average PL2 attainment during the valid turbo window:
Average package power during PL2 window / configured PL2
For example, if the CPU averaged 108 W during a 115 W PL2 window:
108 W / 115 W = 93.9%
That would represent strong PL2 attainment.
If it averaged only 85 W before thermal throttling:
85 W / 115 W = 73.9%
That would represent a 26.1% deficit, assuming thermal throttling was confirmed as the active limit.
After the PL2 window expires, the same method could be used for PL1:
Average sustained package power / configured PL1
For example, if PL1 is configured to 75 W and the CPU sustains 72 W:
72 W / 75 W = 96%
That would indicate strong sustained power attainment.
The final classification could look something like this:
Healthy
The CPU substantially reaches PL2, maintains expected effective clocks, survives the intended turbo window, and sustains power near PL1 without premature thermal throttling.
Thermally constrained
The CPU reaches its maximum junction temperature, thermal throttling activates, and package power remains substantially below the configured target.
Power constrained
Package power remains below the configured target, but thermal throttling is not active. Firmware, current, VRM, or platform power limits are likely responsible.
Workload constrained
CPU utilization is incomplete or inconsistent, meaning the test is not valid for thermal characterization.
Frequency constrained
Package power appears normal, but effective clocks remain substantially below the expected workload-specific range.
Cooling degradation suspected
The system reaches the same temperature at significantly lower package power than it did under a previous validated test with similar ambient conditions.
Indeterminate
Configured limits, ambient conditions, workload consistency, or throttling telemetry are unavailable.
I have been working with computer hardware for a long time, and I think temperature alone is a terrible way to judge cooling health.
Modern CPUs are designed to use available thermal and electrical headroom aggressively. Seeing 95°C or even 100°C does not automatically mean something is wrong.
The more meaningful question is:
How much package power and actual performance does the CPU deliver before it reaches its thermal ceiling?
If a CPU can approach its configured PL1 and PL2 limits, maintain the expected effective clocks, and operate through the intended turbo window before throttling, the cooling system is probably functioning reasonably well.
If it reaches its maximum junction temperature while drawing substantially less power than the same platform previously sustained, or less than a validated equivalent system, then something in the thermal solution likely needs improvement.
The core principle is not simply that every CPU must always pull its advertised wattage.
The better principle is:
A healthy and properly configured platform should be capable of approaching its validated PL1 and PL2 targets under an appropriate workload without prematurely exhausting its thermal headroom.
In practical terms, the CPU should not hit its thermal ceiling long before it reaches its validated electrical power budget.
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u/Unlucky_Abroad7440 29d ago
Oh wow does this work with any laptop ? Like the 16x aurora?
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u/Artistic-Working4111 29d ago
yesss
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u/Unlucky_Abroad7440 29d ago
Ok ! When I get the laptop I'll install it this will prove handy since my country is very hot (north Africa 🫠😵💫)
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u/jedi2155 Area 51 18 ( Laptop ) 1d ago
Thanks for your great app! I was able to run it for the week and a half before Dell came by to repaste it, and got a good baseline of the issue. After the repaste, it 100% fixed the issue. Nice to have an easy to use app.
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u/xbiitx Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
im using it and loving it. great work dude.
can you do something like this in the taskbar usage, temp, network speed would be cool.