*OFFICIAL* Alienware Area-51M R1 Owner's Lounge

I don't believe the AHCI driver is present if an OS was installed in RAID Mode.

@tilleroftheearth What are your thoughts about converting an OS that was originally installed in RAID mode to AHCI using the lazy registry editing method vs doing a proper clean install and having the AHCI drivers properly installed and functional?

 

I appreciate the research, especially since you went to great lengths to prove me wrong...but it was all for naught. What I stated was that the base configuration changes and the price goes up every time Dell offers a coupon...and that's exactly what happens.

As I stated earlier in this thread in post #5532, I was able to price out a system that started with a base configuration which had 8GB RAM and a 1TB SSHD; added the upgrades of a 9900K, RTX 2080, and 144 Tobii GSYNC; applied the discount code "SAVE17"; and it came to a total before taxes of under $2970. I believe another member confirmed that they were able to do the same.

Show me that you can do that in the next hour, and I'll rep you till the cows come home.

Safe bet on my part, because I know you can't do that...and that's because if you add-on the same upgrades to the base configuration as it is right now, in which you get another 8GB RAM and instead of the 1TB SSHD you get a 256GB NVMe, the price is $3,195.49, with just the standard warranty.

Personally, I don't want to spend ~$225 on an 8GB RAM and a 256GB NVMe. I'm not even going to waste my time pricing components at "novo ovum" trying to figure out if another 8GB RAM, minus the 1TB SSHD, plus the 256NVMe is monetarily worth $225 - BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THOSE THINGS.

SHHHHHH...quiet....I'll tell you a secret. Last night I was watching a movie on my couch as I monitored this thread, and decided to call Dell, speak to a rep, and see what kind of deal I could get just out of curiosity.

I could have gotten this:

Alienware Area 51m: Alienware Area-51m 432
Processor: 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i9-9900K (8-Core, 16MB Cache, up to 5.0Ghz w/Turbo Boost)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64bit English
Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 8GB GDDR6 (OC Ready) 238
Power Supply: 180W Power Adapter and 330W Power Adapter 157
Memory: 8GB, 2x4GB, DDR4, 2400MHz
Hard Drive: 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
Color Choice: Dark Side of the Moon
LCD: 17.3" FHD (1920 x 1080) 144Hz Anti-Glare IPS Display w/ NVIDIA G-SYNC + Tobii eyetracking technology 130
Wireless: Killer Wireless 1550 2x2 AC and Bluetooth 5.0
Primary Battery: Lithium Ion (90 Wh) Battery 410
Keyboard: Alienware TactX keyboard with per-key RGB LED AlienFX lighting, anti-ghosting, N-Key US Eng
Service: 3 Years Premium Support
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed): Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
McAfee Live Safe: No Anti-virus Requested
the best price I can get you on the machine for today is
Subtotal: $3,268.66

That price was before taxes, and with an extra $167 off that I haggled. I was trying to haggle for a free 3 year premium support warranty in light of the conflagrating units, but instead he told me that the issue had been fixed, and he wouldn't budge any further.

So I walked.

Now I'm not sure what sort of deal you got, assuming you own an A51M, but many folks would consider the deal I made to be a good one. However, I stand by what I've stated earlier: once I see Dell doing what I consider to be "the right thing"; and once I see that the issues with this laptop have been addressed, maybe I'll bite...maybe..."iiiiiiiiiif the price is right!"

 

Not taking sides either way; but also don't forget that during the last 17% off coupon a week or two ago, there was also 10% at eBates. That was a free $380 for me.

Just a note.

 

Idk what method there is now, but the one I used once to revert required me to change registry, boot into safe mode and install driver.

 

yup, exactly the same thing happend in R4 days. manufacturing QC is poorly done. which is why i stressed owners should at least open their laptop and double check to make sure all the pads are making proper contacts by looking at the imprints of the electronic components to make sure they are transfering heat from those components to the heatsink.

I'm not saying area-51m is flawed, but rather the assembly line china monkeys working on the laptop are not doing their job well and QC did not perform proper checks to ensure proper heatsink contact for the thermal pads. and at wage they are being paid, i dont expect perfection from them too. so it's up to the owners to ensure the longevity and safety of their laptop. judging from the number of burnt laptops, it's safe to say it's not an outbreak and it's probably a small number compared to how many they are selling but still it exist and anyone could be the next victim.

it doesnt take much to make sure those thermal pads are making proper contacts. area-51m is some of the easiest laptop to disassemble with all the labelings and service manual. anyone can do it. afterall, for a laptop that is marketed to be upgradable, owners buying it are expected to rip it open and fiddle with the internal components.

 

If the install was 'fresh', that is, a clean install done since the last bi-annual MS Windows major update schedule, then I might be okay with it.

If it is longer than that since a clean install was completed? I might do it anyway to see how the system runs. Then do a real clean install anyway.

What are the reasons though for wanting it to be in AHCI mode? Most systems I have used with the RAID driver were better; more robust and more responsive. Even with a single drive (or more than one drive but not any of them in a RAID array at all).

 

I've never seen much difference in benchmarks with lone NVMe drives set to RAID or AHCI. Then when considering real world performance and how it feels, the difference is even less.

I'm on AHCI because Samsung's NVMe tools don't work unless it is set to AHCI. So it is nice to have the drive properly recognized by the software and to be able to update firmware. The computer arrived in Raid mode, but I installed my own hard drive and did a fresh install. I didn't realize it was in Raid mode, but figured it out when I couldn't update the drive's firmware. I then did the safe mode swap and have been smooth sailing. Benchmarking my Samsung Pro NVMe, it is performing as expected.

 

Ah yes, it looks like 419.35 is still the most recent for game related activities. However, good to know still, so if people are doing any Blender or Adobe stuff, this may be helpful.

Thanks for your opinion. Because at the end of the day, that's what this is.

I've used this many times, works fine. YMMV but for me, it works great. I'm guessing you're also the person who, when there is a problem, just reboots to make it go away instead of trying to figure out what is broken.

Plenty of people have done this without issue. It's out there for a reason, because it works. Just because you don't trust it, doesn't mean others won't benefit from it.

 

Well the main reason as I see it is:

1) If you install Windows in AHCI mode, then you can use the NVMe Driver of the manufacturer and/or any of their utilities (SanDisk is the only company whose SSD Tool is able to see drives even in RAID mode)

2) If you care about boot time, as you know RAID takes a sec or 2 longer to start the boot process. Not a big deal but for me, if I was installing a single drive, then I'm always gonna be in pure AHCI

 

You guess is wrong, if I find a problem, I research it, and find a solution, example, was having a constant error in Event Log viewer that keeps showing up again and again on various laptops that I own:

So I made this reg file to fix it:

Event ID Circular Kernel Context Logger Error Fix.reg

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\WMI\Autologger\ReadyBoot]
"MaxFileSize"=dword:00000060

Yeah the person who made these guides is NOT a person who would find a problem and run away from it by rebooting:

NBR Windows 10 Clean Installation Guide
Windows 10 Tweaks and Fixes (Index post #1)
NBR Windows 7 Clean Installation Guide

Just to name a few.

You wanna take the lazy path because you *think* it works fine because you have never benchmarked both side by side, then fine. But don't tell people about your lazy methods and let them do things the right way.

I'm not here to argue with you, do what you wish to your system but when you will spread wrong information or mislead others I WILL intervene!

 

You said they changed the prices. Show me where they changed the prices. Prices are the same. In fact, you just proved it yourself. If you call, you can get the old 8GB/1TB configuration still.

So I'm not sure what you're saying Dell is doing. They just made the lowest end configuration on their website better to make sure the out of box experience is more representative of what this machine can do. Advanced users are free to call in and get a cheaper config if they are going to do their own upgrades.

Just for a test, I went to Dell's website and picked the first configuration:
Changed to 9900K
Changed to RTX 2080
Changed to Dark Side of the moon 17.3" FHD 144hz with Tobii
Price is $3849.99
Minus the 17% = $3195.49, before taxes.
And that came with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB PCIe SSD


So, that $3268.66 price, IF you're saying he would give you another 17% off, then that was a great price.
Oh wait, I see you did say you added in premium support. Then that is a pretty good price.
I was a bit confused as you said you were trying to haggle the 3 year support. But it looks like you did add it?

 

I'm not here to tell you you're wrong. You do your tests, I do mine. I do plenty of tests and benchmarks, things work great. Tell me, what benchmark is slower when you convert from RAID to AHCI using the method that the website details?

Show me some proven evidence, in benchmarks or some other tests, that proves doing it the way the website explains is bad or cause slower speeds/benchmarks or any sort of problems in any way, and I'll respectfully agree with you. But my tests show everything working just fine.

 

I don't let mere benchmarks guide my actions. Real-world performance 'feel' sensitivity is maybe where we differ.

I run a platform in one configuration for a week or so and then I run it in another configuration. Then choose the best one. Many times, I have the added benefit of running two otherwise identical platforms in slightly different configurations side by side. The one that 'wins' is the one I am taking with me to do work with.

AHCI is nice, standard MS drivers (non-drivers?) are usually better. My workloads run (not simply bootup/shutdown and O/S navigation) with greater throughput in RAID mode (even with no arrays defined) over the course of a work day (sometimes, 12 hours or more).

I install the SSD tools just to update the firmware. Otherwise, it is uninstalled from all my systems ('Magician' is considered a swear word around me).

 

I'm with ya. I install Magician to do the firmware updates and check how many writes I've done (maybe that can be found in a SMART attribute - I haven't checked). I personally just prefer AHCI mode when I know I'm never going to RAID.

 

you can see how many writes you've done using HD Sentinel even if you're in RAID mode or using a RAID array. It will display the individual drives statistics and even temps:

This is on my wife's Dell Vostro laptop so not a RAID Array but even with my previous MSI GT75 Titan in RAID 0, it showed all the data in RAID mode:

 

Nice... but costs a bit more than Samsung Magician huh? Although it obviously works with more than just Samsung drives.

Anyway, back to Area 51m stuff...

Anyone have any more pictures or benchmarks? I'm guessing I'm a month away from getting mine again... looking to fill that gap with more benchmarks from other users!

 

You don't need to pay if you don't want the Pro Features.

There is a Free/Standard version = https://www.hdsentinel.com/hard_disk_sentinel.php

The download link is on the left pane

Differences between HD Sentinel Standard vs Pro

 

Right...I added in 3 years ( ~$430) and asked DELL to foot the bill on that...alas, it was not to be...

 

Looks like the Free/Standard version is just a trial, as it states. It's not intended to be used perpetually unless you purchase it.

 

That's funny in a way. Usually you call into support and tell them you've heard of problem "x" they always say "Wow you're the first person to report that" when we all know for a fact that we aren't.

However, when you call into the sales side of things, the instantly know what you're talking about AND already claim it's fixed.

Oh and just for fun, I went back and check prices again.

$3552.39 before taxes, with the 3 years. Yours was $3268.66.
If you consider that they are charging you $200 essentially for another 8GB of RAM and a 256GB m.2 SSD, if you subtract that from the $3552.39, your deal was only about $84 better. Still not bad, but not super incredible. But yeah, with that, they are way overcharging for an 8GB stick of RAM and a tiny 256GB SSD, even if it is PCIe/NVMe.

 

Nope. No throttling here. Stable clocks and temps below 90 the full bench

 

Don't know what exactly you're looking for but I put an okay amount of results into this video:



There's some more in the playlist to see the laptop.

Interesting, your score is really similar to mine and mine was at 5.1Ghz. I think @Johnksss gets like 27k at 5.2Ghz

 

I'm not having any overheating issues but due to the potential lack of contact I am going to go back in and replace my pads with 17w/k ones. Have there been any more reports of failures or are we still on 6?

 

i hope you find ones that are high enough. i wasn't able to find 2mm (which are needed in some places if yours is like mine) with a higher w/k than 8 (the grizzly minus pad 8), but then again they're better than the dell ones and better than no contact at all ^^

 

1.5 is the biggest I've found. I also found .5 and 1.0 so i may combine them. If only we could use the ic diamond graphite pad but it's electrically conductive so it's bad for anything but dies.

 

you need to run windows update for latest drivers. I've played Division2 with it the day I got it.

 

yeah same here. yeah i was thinking of if 1.5mm won't reach the heat sink (there might be some spots) i could put a small gob of phobya nano grease extreme ontop of the thermal pad to make sure it gets full contact. yeah the graphite pad is not an option, i looked at that as well ^^ i really wish they made the heatsink so that the gaps are only 0.5 - 1mm.. this is just hassle that nobody needs

 

thinking of it, i never tried if it works in division 2, i'll try later, since i did the updates. thanks for the input!

 

Actually, you can't. I tried in order to get a price drop and they told me that configuration was not available at the time. Wasn't a huge deal for me though, I already used the paypal discout to get an amazing deal.

 

@Rei Fukai out of the following options, what is your recommendation?:

1. use 17w/mK 1.5mm pad and put a super small layer of phobya nano grease extreme (16w/mK) on top to close the remaining little gap.

or

2. use 2mm 8w/mK Grizzly Minus Pad which will close the gap since it's 2mm but has less w/mK
?

Thanks for your input in advance ^^

 

In my humble and with my experience with repasting the AW17R5 multiple times, I say that it is indeed a design flaw because the heatsink becomes a complex 3D shape, trying to reach different components at different heights off of the motherboard, requiring precise choice of very soft thermal pads, precise assembly procedures, and definitely not very user-serviceable.

Not trying to be negative and I think most other laptops have similar fitting issues with their heatsinks.

 

Embed the tip of a thermocouple into the thermal pad over the second VRM which is known to blow, route it outwards and plug it into your digital thermometer, start up your laptop and check the temps over this VRM. I have done the same on my AW17 GPU VRMs and measured 104C (and 800MHz throttles).

 

Your GPU is overheating. Open her up and confirm.

 

atm i don't have a dig. thermometer, mine died a few days ago. i have to get a new one first

 

Dell's Clevo KILLER!! Headline says it all

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-Area-51m-i9-9900K-RTX-2080-Laptop-Review.414667.0.html

 

Personally i use gelid extreme pad, and there is 2 mm thickness available
for exemple: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gelid-So...rmal-Pad-80-x-40-x-2-mm-W-mK-12-/311995746107

 

Notebookcheck review !
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-Area-51m-i9-9900K-RTX-2080-Laptop-Review.414667.0.html

But it's an LG panel, and with the exact same spe, i have AUO one... not the same

 

awesome, thanks, don't know how i didn't find those myself ^^
did you use those on the 51m as well?

 

Not yet, really, I wait your feedback or other feedback. Because i'm really surprising about the need of 2mm thickness thermal pad. There is the same material/same Color of my 15R3 thermal pad, and i never seen more than 1/1,5 mm.

The gelid extrem pad is not a budget pad, so i prefer to wait feedback

 

yeah me too, but as i discovered (at least in my case), some of the used pads by dellienware didn't make contact with some of the vrams -.-

yeah i know... the 17w/mk pad i use by alphacool costs around 200 bucks for 100x100mm pads ^^

 

I installed "Kingston HyperX Impact Black SO-DIMM DDR4 2666MHz 2x16GB (HX426S15IB2K2/32)" in my 51M and they work fine. At 2400MHz of course, but still working fine.

 

So, I'm having some issues with trying to OC. In ThrottleStop, I can raise the multipliers past 49, but when stress testing, it never goes past 49. No PL1 errors or any of that. Likewise, in XTU, any changes I make can't apply on reboot. It gives me a "couldn't be applied" error. However, if I try reapplying the multipliers again after the error shows, it sticks until reboot then error again. Any ideas? Is ACC/OC Controls required to be installed for O.C/Undervolt?

I'm on a fresh install of Win10 LTSC with all drivers installed.

TL;DR: ThrottleStop won't apply multipliers past 49, while XTU can. XTU can't apply settings on reboot. I can manually apply multipliers in BIOS, but then fans are stuck on performance mode / full blast regardless of load.

 

Speaking of ram, I have ordered with 2x8gb from Dell and I have a question.
It probably has been answered before but can I just add any 8gb stick or do I need to get strictly the exact same that it's been shipped with ?

 

As long as the sticks have the same specs it should be ok. If they differ, all sticks will run at the speed of the lowest stick. Will probably work, but no guarantees.

 

So I’m hearing all kinds
Of stuff on this forum and as I wait patiently for my A51m to come in this week I wanted to see if I can get a step on ordering some supplies and wanted advice.

I’m ordering some gelid extreme thermal paste to repast the cPu/GPU but I have never really dealt with “thermal pads” for this very unit, what is it I need? If you can please be exact. Also anyone use a stand for the machine to prop it up for better airflow? Thank you!

 

I have the same with XTU and Windows 10 Pro. It uses a windows service trying to set things up on boot, but always fails. I run XTU manually after reboot and choose the undervolt. It is an extra two button presses.

 

Are you trying to use throttlestop and xtu with both installed at the same time? I've heard this can cause issues and that you should only have one installed or the other at any given time.

 

Which cpu and gpu did you order?

Some people just use something like 2 bottle caps to prop up the back end of the machine.

The Cooler Master NotePal X3 seems to be a pretty popular cooling pad as well.
​

I have a cooling pad/stand I use. It's a KLIM cooling pad which is basically a clone of the new tree bee stand. It just fits under the a51m and provides good thermal improvement even without the fans on. I went with this one because I wanted something with stoppers to prevent it from sliding down and I absolutely didn't want anything that had blue LEDs. It also has separate variable controls for the fans in the front and the fans in the back.

 

Just to add to what @Muyfa666 said. The ram that comes with the a51m is 2666mhz even though it is locked to 2400mhz. They are supposedly working on a way to unlock that, so if you just want to add ram, try to make sure you add 2666mhz so you get that benefit when they release it.

 

Nope. I tried doing it all with TS first. Then when I ran into those issues, I removed it and installed XTU to try. It just doesn't make sense that TS can't set multipliers beyond 49, but XTU can.