*OFFICIAL* Alienware "Graphics Amplifier" Owner's Lounge and Benchmark Thread (All 13, 15 and 17)

it’s work for me !!!! Good news thx

 

So, question for all on the Area-51m R1 + AGA. I can’t seem to fund this answer.

Can or can’t the AGA drive the internal display on the 51m R1? I find conflicting answers in Reddit that it won’t with G-sync on.

So is the answer:

A. “Yes, the AGA is capable of driving the internal display when G-Sync is off”?

OR

B. “No, the AGA is only capable of driving an external display. The internal display is always driven by the internal GPU. To make them work, G-Sync needs to be off”?

Thanks in advance boys!!!

 

So 15 R5 was announced and no AGA port. Not surprising since AMD Ryzen 5000 series is limited to 16 PCIE gen 3 lanes (8 for GPU and 4x2 for NVME).

 

It's because AMD doesn't have AGA support, AGA was designed with Intel in mind, it also doesn't have thunderbolt because it's also an Intel technology. It is possible that if they release a version with Intel it will have AGA port, although it is also possible that they will no longer do it, it is a coin flip.

 

Hello.
Since the new nvidia drivers resolved the issues with the 3070, does anyone know if it also resolved the problem with the 2070 super not being usable with windows 10 20h2 or above? (been stuck in pre 20h2 due to that)

 

AGA is nothing more than a PCI bridge; that shouldn't be limited by CPU vendor. Thunderbolt is an Intel proprietary product, but with USB 4.0 coming which is an industry-standard as well as being backwards compatible with TB3, that would mean a different reason the why AGA port is missing. Note that the M15 R5 does not support USB 4.0.

I think a more likely possibility would be the decision is profit-driven. Dell can't get consumers to go buy a new laptop every CPU/GPU cycle when they have the ability to upgrade individual components. Recall that the AGA has been around since 2014, and because it's nothing more than a PCI extension, the only limiting factor is driver support for whatever is plugged into it. The recent development by Nvidia to support the Ampere cards in the AGA is evident that Dell can't control what we use in the AGA, it's a PCI product vendor support matter. I think Dell realized this and took the deliberate step in killing the AGA before it released any Ryzen based laptops; with that processor, you're effectively removing any CPU bottleneck for at least the next 5 years, regardless of what GPU you pair it with.

The takeaway; the AGA isn't dead, though Dell probably wishes it was and is taking active steps to get rid of it. Also, because the M15 R5 doesn't support USB 4.0, it's a dead-end for upgrades. Welcome to yet another $2000+ disposable laptop.

 

This isn't correct. The Ryzen 5000 series APU is limited to 24 lanes of PCIe, which are divided per OEM specs for the laptop. 8 for the GPU, 4x2 NVMe (or other drives), 4 for WiFi, and 4 for USB ports. You could reduce WiFi to 2 and USB also to 2 and have a 4 lane PCI bridge, which is more than enough for an eGPU enclosure.

 

There is still the "Asus Rog Flow X13" which comes with a Ryzen9 5900HS or a R9 5980HS, and has the Port: "ROG XG Mobile Interface" which is basically a direct PCI 3.0 x8 connection (the AGA connection is PCI 3.0 x4), and its EGPU is a 3080 Mobile Max TDP, which according to Benchmarks performs at the level of a desktop 3070. The combo for this equipment plus the eGPU is $3,000.

Personally out of the price what I don't like is that the RAM memory is a LPDDR4X (16gb or 32gb) and the screen resolution is 3840 x 2400...

For now I'm happy with my 13R3 with i7700k OLED 2K version with 2080 Ti with AGA, but in a year I'll probably change it for a M15 R4 with OLED display and an i7 i9-10980HK and a 3080, 3080Ti, 3090 or 3090Ti on AGA.

I love OLED, I prefer it over the screen refresh, I just wish M15 had a 2k version and not a 4k, 4k on a Gaming Laptop doesn't make much sense to me....

 

Looking at benchmarks, I don't know if 8 lanes v. 4 lanes is making much of a difference right now, at least with gaming. Maybe doing deep learning or crypto-mining there's a noticeable improvement, but who's doing that with a laptop (other than Chinese crypto miners)? The Asus solution is a missed opportunity, IMO. I get it, you need a proprietary connection for a laptop using a direct PCI connection to an external device. Sure, the industry could standardize something, but I don't see that happening. However, using a mobile 3080 and making the enclosure a one-off deal is a big disappointment. They could have hit gold had they made it a full-fat enclosure with the option to pick whatever card you want to drop in there. Heck, they could have taken a page out of Aorus's playbook and sold it with one of their own cards pre-installed. As it stands, you now have a $3K+ system that's a one-trick pony.

 

"one-trick pony" hehehe, well said. I know that PCI 3.0 x4 and x8 performance is almost identical in Gaming... but maybe in the future Asus will make more computers with this port or even cases to put your own GPU, having the port designed this seems like something that could happen.

There is also the Alienware Area 51m R1 and R2 that have AGA and desktop CPU and therefore upgradeable, but it is not for me, it is too big and heavy, plus the 11 generation CPUs for desktop are crap, we will have to see what they do with the 12 generation and the 10nm....

My dream Gaming Laptop is 13-15 inches would have an AGA port (or equivalent), OLED 2K (144/120Hz although I'd settle for 60hz), but it doesn't exist.... So the closest thing is the m15 R4....

 

So, is it confirmed that the Ampere cards work in the AGA? I saw one or two posts saying that it looked good, but then things got quiet. I take it that's a good thing?

 

wish I had one to test

 

I might try to test my 3080 tomorrow, but I was just talking with someone on Reddit who says the 3080 does now work as the driver was updated from Nvidia to unlock the 3070. I was wondering if they would do something to stop the 3080 and 3090 to now work while allowing the 3070 through, but hopefully that is not the case. I will see if I can get my 3080 out of my desktop tomorrow to test if I get time.

 

Confirmed on my end. RTX3080 ( Dell model ) running in my Alienware 17R4, using the internal display. The auto download Windows driver failed, but the newest drivers on Nvidia's website worked just fine and the GPU is showing up properly now, no tricking it or any of that stuff. I used the desktop drivers as well, someone else told me I needed the mobile ones, but the desktop ones worked fine. Who knows if it will stay working.....but it seems unlikely that they would go to the trouble of removing the 3080 and possibly 3090 at this point. I wouldn't test a 3090 in here though, not without swapping the PSU.

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/60785189?

Ran a Timespy, score would likely be better if I used an external display, but I don't really care that much since the GPU is going back into my desktop. Just wanted to make sure there was nothing unexpected while actually putting some kind of load on it.

 

There's hope for the AGA yet, despite what Dell would like. Good to know it isn't a dead-end peripheral (yet). Thank you for the update!

 

Hey! Has anyone here ever successfully run an AGA with an RX 6900 XT on an AW m17 r4 from 2021 and can give me a tip on how to get it to work?

 

A reddit user named "shidell" writes in this post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/comments/jxvnga/project_opencaldera_exploring_adding_unofficial/

That his 6900 xt works for him, you should write to him, although in some other post I also read that they didn't get the 6900 working maybe it depends on the assembler, I don't know. Good luck.

 

Hey, i know him and i am in an exchange with him since some weeks. I was hoping to find someone here who has had experience.

 

Can I still use my Alienware Graphics Amplifier (AGA) on my recent purchase 2021 Alienware m15 R4 ?

 

On the M15 R4 of course yes, fully compatible, but on the M15 R5 it is impossible because DELL removed the AGA port.

 

Awesome Thanks

 

As far as Drivers same or have they been updated ?

 

The drivers are downloaded directly from the driver page of your model on Dell.com, (at least there I downloaded mine for my 13R3), I do not know if they are the same for all models of Alienware, they are not updated for about two years but they work fine, if you are using a Nvidia 3000 series only work with Nvidia drivers 456.89 and up, if AMD 6000 series I think not all models work but I do not know which one does and which one does not.

 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/alienware-m15-r4-laptop/drivers

No AGA Drivers? for the Alienware m15 R4 .....

 

Try the most recent drivers for the last generation (before the "m" versions of Alienware), if it don't work, write to technical support and they will send them to you...

https://www.dell.com/support/home/e...&oscode=wt64a&productcode=alienware-13-laptop

 

Awesome Thanks

 

Good to know 3000 series now officially work with our Amplifiers. Now if only I could find a 3080 in stock.

@MogRules I've been out of the loop, but where does it state the AMP will be EOL?

 

It was mentioned by Alienware in an AMA on their Discord, as well as one of the community leads on their forums and I believe on the website it also made reference to it. It first leaked out on the Dell forums, then they confirmed it on Discord, followed by the webpage. I believe at some point the webpage said it was EOL directly. I can't even find it on the website anymore, which makes sense as they said once they sold out they wouldn't be making any more, and that was months ago.

The interesting part will be what happens down the road, since it seems like for the most part it's just the GPU drivers that allow it to work. Will 3000 truly be the last generation that work, or will someone get it working for whatever the next generation will be.

 

From the link from Dell support below... "The EOL ( End Of Life) AGA ( Alienware Graphics Amplifier) is not supported by Dell with the RTX 3080/3090 due to wattage issues. In the future, the AGA might be supported with the RTX 3070"

AGA (Alienware Graphic Amplifier) FAQ

 

2019 already....damn where did the last year go....Thanks @Papusan ,I figured you would have a link to it kicking around .

 

If it's any indication, Nvidia was the player that got Ampere working in the AGA. From what I understand about the AGA, it's nothing more than a PCIe bridge; if future GPUs continue to work that will be dependent on whether or not those manufacturers want to support it.

 

Amen Brother

 

Just curious if anyone’s made a list of non founders edition cards in the rtx 20 series that they’ve got to work with no modification. I already know the official dell list so please don’t refer to that I know asus turbo cards work but just curious about any others...

 

Basically the only requirement is that it must be an exact double slot, if for example its size is 2.2 slots it does not close well.

 

I know there’s some bios issues that exist too with some of the factory overclocking being compatible. More what my question was for. The FE cards are 50+% more expensive right now than many of the others so I wanted to make sure I got one that’d work.

 

Same pops up with my r2. None available...

 

I know there's been a lot of headache in getting the AGA to work with newer GPUs (RTX 3000 and RX 6000); a lot of people have found resolution with Nvidia GPUs by using the latest drivers from Nvidia, which solved the resource conflict issue they were having. However, some are still having problems with "Code 12" and "Code 31" issues, where they connect the AGA but their GPU isn't showing up in the Device Manager—they see a device error for a PCI(e) Device (Root Complex) or for the GPU itself.

I had the same problem (Code 12) with the Area 51M R2 I just bought.

In trying to find resolution, I found this: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/tr...nt/error-attach-pci-express-expansion-chassis

In my instance, 200 fixes the Device Manager issues. Notably, here are the steps I followed to fix it:

1. Connect the AGA with the GPU inserted and power on (as normal), encountering the error state (Code 12 or 31 in Device Manager)
2. Open the Registry (via RegEdit.exe) and make the change cited in the article linked above, again using 200
3. Reboot
4. Upon reloading Windows, the Device Manager had detected my 6900 XT, but had a new device present which required drivers—either run Windows Updates or install the latest Intel chipset drivers via their Chipset INF package
5. Reboot
6. Voila, the PCIe Root Complex bridge(s) are enumerated properly, as is the 6900 XT, and working properly.

I asked another user with a different model (M17 R4) to follow the same steps to help resolve the same issue, which he followed here: https://github.com/Shidell/OpenCaldera/issues/6 with success.

Between this change (and Nvidia's updated drivers), I believe all GPUs are compatible with all models of Alienware systems with AGA ports now, and I've reached out to others on reddit who expressed issues here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/...xploring_adding_unofficial/gy4vb14/?context=3 to try to (hopefully) help them (and see how many people these fixes will work for.)

 

From drivers 465.89 upwards the Nvidia 3000 series works without any problems or tricks in AGA. AMD 6000 I know some cards work fine and some don't, but I don't know much about the AMD situation....

 

Generally speaking, the RX 6000 series has worked on a lot of systems. The RTX cards did not (until Nvidia fixed their drivers), as you said.

Both RX and RTX users have faced issues with Code 12 and Code 31, though, which is a separate issue from Nvidia's drivers—and for those users, these Registry changes (appear) to resolve the problem.

Some users don't experience the Code 12 or 31 issue at all, so (with an RX 6000 card), they were good to go from the beginning. With RTX cards, those users needed Nvidia to fix their drivers.

But for others who face Code 12 or 31 (or both), hopefully this fixes it for them.

As far as I know, with this fix, all GPUs from all vendors should work on all Alienware systems.

 

I managed to snag a good deal on a 2080 super. Will hopefully hold me over until I’m ready to buy or build now that some parts aside from video cards are becoming more available that may be sooner than later...

 

My son and I both have AGA so the 3xxx update is great news!

Does anyone know if there is a Iist anywhere of compatible 3 series Cards?

 

Interesting..so my 51m rtx2080 outperforms the 3070 in AGA by about 5-10 fps (I'm gaming at 1080p). Is that normal?

 

All cards are compatible, the only thing you have to observe is the size, if the card is more than two slots, the cover of the case will not close, it will work without problems of course it is only something aesthetic, and also take care of the length, I think the maximum is 11.5 inches or something like that.

 

It is not normal, to take full advantage with AGA, you must play with an external monitor, and at more than 1080p, preferably 1440p. In fact the ideal is a 1440p external monitor. For two reasons:

1- Playing with external monitor gives more fps, since the video signal does not have to go back to the internal screen.

2- Playing at 1080p wastes a lot of potential of a high-end card, it is something to do with AGA is PCIe 3.0 x4.

My laptop screen is 1440p and I tested 2080 Super and 2080 Ti, and just lost a few FPS playing at laptop 1440p monitor, with external monitor even the difference is minimal as if it were mounted on a desktop Pc.

 

ok well I was on an external monitor as that is the only way AGA works. Though I thought for sure I would get at least 20fps more at least, regardless if it is 1080p or not.

 

The higher the resolution the less performance you lose in AGA, even at 4k you practically don't lose performance, but playing at 4k is still very demanding, that's why I recommend 1440p, but if your hardware allows it you can try 4k.

AGA works for me both on my laptop monitor and external Monitor, for a long time I played only with the laptop monitor at 1440p without any FPS problem, that was until I got an excellent monitor to play.

 

I bought the Alienware M17 R3 last week, just waiting for it to arrive. I got it with the i7-10750H, 16GB Ram, 300hz 100% sRGB color gamut monitor, RTX2070 8GB and 512GB SSD. I’m going to use it mostly for guitar recording which is highly CPU intensive while using amp simulators. I’m hoping this will be up to the task but there’s not a ton of info out there with good general minimum specs for that kind of work. Anyway, my question mostly is would you guys think this laptop has the ability to run things like r6 and COD at full settings without the Graphics Amplifier or do you guys think I would stand to gain a lot with picking one up with a decent card installed? Thanks for the help!

 

• Anyone?

 

For games in 1080p without Ray tracing, that GPU will have no problem, everything will run smoothly, although you will hardly reach the 300hz of your screen, depending of the game and the configuration you will go from 60fps to 150-180fps at 1080p... and the i7 10750H won't have any problem with "guitars" software.

 

Awesome I really appreciate the reply. Sounds like I made a good choice, thanks again.