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Thermal Control Center for Dell G15 - open source alternative to AWCC

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Thermal Control Center for Dell G15 (and others)

Open-source alternative to AWCC*

Download link (Note: the app requires administrator privileges)

Screenshot 1

Screenshot 2


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Didn't work out for you? Please report the problem by creating an issue. Feedback is always welcome!

*AWCC - "Alienware Control Center" is an app for thermal control that Dell ships with their G-series notebooks.

Target Platform

OS: Windows 10/11.

Supported models:

  • Dell G15: 5511, 5515, 5520, 5525, 5530, 5535
  • Dell Alienware m16 R1
  • Dell G3 3590

May also work on other Dell G15 / Alienware laptops.

Please report if it worked / didn't work for you. Your feedback is highly appreciated.

What It Can Do

  • ✔️ Switch thermal mode between G-mode, Balanced, and Custom
  • ✔️ Show GPU/CPU temperature and fan speed
  • ✔️ Semi-manual fan speed control
  • ✔️ Option to automatically enable G-mode when GPU/CPU temperature reaches critical
  • ✔️ Support for keyboard G-mode hotkey

Limitations

  • Requires admin system privileges (to access WMI interface)
  • Manual fan control is not really manual. If you set fan speed too low, the BIOS will take over and raise the fan speed automatically when the GPU/CPU temperature reaches a certain point to prevent overheating.
  • "Autorun on startup" feature may not work for you. The autorun adds a task to the Windows Task Scheduler that should start the app on first sign-in after a reboot, but it may fail to run the app due to the system's security policy. You can try other approaches to make the app autostart on your system. Check out this issue.
  • On rare occasions, the driver may report bogus GPU temperature. See this issue.
  • Switching the thermal mode to "G-mode" and back may result in a second-long system-wide freeze (at the exact moment when the switch is happening). This is a known issue with Dell's thermal control interface. Cannot be fixed. Make sure to disable the fail-safe feature if you don't want the app to switch the thermal mode automatically.

Why AWCC is BAD

  • ❌ AWCC has no in-program option to enable/disable G-mode
  • ❌ AWCC manual fan control is broken at this moment
  • ❌ AWCC is a bulky, slow, and visually noisy app that can't even handle basic functions
  • AWCC is spying on you
  • ❌ AWCC sometimes randomly crashes and throws crash reports

If this alternative works out for you, you can safely remove from your PC:

  • Alieanware CC Components
  • Alieanware Command Center Suite
  • Alieanware OC Controls

How It Works

It is a PyQt-based GUI for the WMI Dell thermal control interface.

I have somewhat documented my findings on the WMI here.

How to Run from the Source

python3 -m pip install -r ./requirements.txt
python3 src\tcc-g15.py

About the AWCC Telemetry

I know it's probably not going to surprise anyone, given the times we're living in, but AWCC silently sends some telemetry without the possibility of opting out.

The telemetry is being sent to these URLs:

https://tm-sdk.platinumai.net
https://qa-external-tm.plawebsvc01.net

Credits

Big thanks to the amazing people who have contributed to the project:

  • @AprDeci for code / new features
  • @T7imal, @cemkaya-mpi, @THSLP13, @Terryxtl for testing and debugging
  • @Dtwpurple, @WinterholdPrime, @Dhia-zorai for compatibility reports

License

© github.com/AlexIII

GPL v3