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

That's not a good sign, I knew the lunar white would carry some stains over time but didn't think it would be this early. Having some yellowish tint on the palm rest is understandable over long gaming sessions but on the lid where you use it momentarily to open the screen is very concerning.
My initial order was a white one through Xotic, my wife hated the idea and told me that I'm not a "white type" and it will look too flashy and too expensive and she convinced me otherwise. I had to cancel the order and get a black one through Hidevolution and she was right. Of course, I'll never admit it to her.
It looks like the best solution is to cover it with a carbon fiber skin.

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Here's the warning that showed up. Definitely has to do with the Wifi card.

 

Yes this is possibly due to an unstable PCIe bus that resulted from an OC. You have 2 possible solutions for this. Either switch to 9560 wifi chip which uses M.2: CNVio interface instead of PCIe bus, or turn down the OC a little bit (either by increasing the voltage or decreasing the frequency until it is stable). I am not surprised though as I got this same error on my preivous motherboard when overclocking to 5 GHz across all cores while on this one, I don't see it. The fact that I am using AX200 Intel chip could also be a factor in my case. I was originally looking for Intel AX201 which also uses the same interface i.e., M.2: CNVio but it is not available to buy right now.

I am thinking of buying a black chassis from HID for this laptop. The only concern that I have is, what shape will that screen be in when it reaches me as I will not be able to claim warranty from Dell on that part. I might end up sending it back and forth to HID and the shipping cost will exceed the cost of the screen in a few rounds which is not good. I might talk to the sales team locally as well and see if they can sell it to me directly.

Can anyone here confirm that their black chassis is not changing color on the palm rest and screen lid areas? How durable is that black?

 

Hmm... I might just remove the card entirely, I use it on ethernet only anyways since I play competetive PvP games.

Does it affect anything besides my OC?

 

My Black is Solid Black , almost a month now , Still Black

 

That's something that I am not certain about (how can I be). With an unstable PCIe, how stable are other components that are using it is anyone's guess. At least you won't see that error with the OC by taking the wifi card off the PCIe but other components might still misbehave. That motherboard isn't the best for overclocking anyway, as you know by now. So I'd be careful with the OC. Unless you are ready for another RMA season.

 

Run EPSA, do u get pci e error

 

It might not appear because this kind of errors are only introduced when the system is unstable due to being under heavy load with OC. These are special corner case errors. EPSA is more inclined towards detecting static peripheral errors that are not varying with CPU speed.

 

We'll be seeing record breaking sales and RMAs from Omen 2S!
@hmscott Don't you think Omen 2S has brought back Windows SideShow when Vista came out! It was dead after years and this will too. 2 displays == Bad battery life and in reality whilst gaming averting your eyes to second screen is completely useless for FPS games.

 

Arghh I see

 

I've run it in the past and it came out fine, I think it only happens when overclocking, as SK said.

 

Max-q + Mobile CPU = Instant ED

 

MQ GPU is okay and it'll clock much better than beefy GPUs with instant throttling and dead mobos.

 

Yes, but it can't outperform the full fat one even with OC. But for casual gaming, wth! 2080 Max-q is good enough. But it's personal preference. I like my engines and laptops big.

 

Safety, more throttling, more money, inferior cooling etc.. are the main design highlights for today's laptops or ultraportables. Who cares if 2080 MQ doesn't outpace 2080 when 2080 MQ nets you 300$ more than 2080 for inferior HW which is a win-win situation.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of Apple's Touchbar, or Razers laptop display trackpad - or function keypad, or the new Razer DeathStalker Ultimate.

It first reminded me of the Logitech G19s, G510, and I've still got the first G15 keyboard with the LCD screen, and yes I used the Vista app to display status, along with game and Nvidia status - as I recall it was, meh.

The screen on the HP is larger than all of the predecessors, but not wide - or large enough - otherwise it would be like the Nintendo dual screen gaming portables, which work great.

Like I said, I really think an all screen keyboard area with a hide away touch keyboard - re-sizable - could really make use of that real estate, but then again I never use the built-in keyboard on laptops since many years - they are too fragile and humans are too accident prone to avoid dropping crumbs and sticky droplets of conductive doom in between the keys - human drippings - plus I like to sit back from the screen and the built-in keyboards are too close to the screen.

So, a 2 full screened laptop would get me interested in upgrading, probably more than a faster CPU / GPU. Now that I think about it, a 2 screen laptop with no keyboard or trackpad built-in - external for both - could be a new class of awesome laptop design.

Vista's monitoring apps were great, but then again I am a system guy that likes to monitor all of what is going on so I can catch glitches before they become real problems, so a nice area for displaying statistics - larger than the HP 2nd screen - also sounds to me like upgrade material.

 

It boils down to whether you're ready to take it as a buy and use device or as a project that delivers you value for a long time to come. I think 2080 Maxq will get obsolete faster than 2080 and if thermals are controlled by taming the beasts, it's a bigger win to get the full fat version. But it's certainly not for everyone, especially not for those who want to just unbox and play away. We're talking different markets here. This laptop (area 51m) kind of bridged both the markets (at least tried to) but failed in doing so. It needs more work right from the factory before its ready to do this.

I'm going to get some gelid gc extreme this time as it is almost as good. Don't want to buy kryonaut from the same vendor for a while now.

 

Hey, I've a question for you guys, do you use your system plugged in all the time? I used to do this on my M17xR3 and the battery died under 1 year and I had to buy a new one from Dell. I've seen some battery settings in BIOS, have any of you tried it yet? If so, care of explain what each feature does?
Any inputs will be helpful guys. Thanks.



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Any news about the 2080 withdrawal?
The 10th of may the card was still available (i took a screen capture)
Or i'll have to take a 2070...

 

EDIT: This is probably better: https://www.dell.com/support/manual...bbbeff-4928-4def-89af-3d28d0a231ce&lang=en-us

Not sure if these explanations still stand, found them here - https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/618965/battery-charge-configuration-dell/?p=4034970

•Adaptive – Automatically optimizes battery settings based on the user's typical patterns. Recommended for users who want to "set it
and forget it..
•ExpressCharge – Quickly charges the battery using Dell fast-charge technology. Recommended for users who
need the battery to charge within a short period of time. If the system is powered off,then the battery typically
charges to 80% within one hour and 100% in two hours. Charge time may be longer if the system is powered on.
NOTE: The ExpressCharge setting may cause battery health to diminish more quickly than other settings.
•Primarily AC – Extends battery life by lowering the charge threshold, so that the battery never charges to 100%
capacity. Recommended for users who primarily operate the system while plugged into an external power
source.
•Custom – User selects when the battery starts and stops charging. Recommended for advanced users.
• Standard – Fully charges the battery at a moderate rate. This setting provides a balanced approach to extending
battery life while still providing a reasonably fast charging time. Recommended for users who frequently switch
between battery power and external power sources

 

If that second screen was a dock for Nintendo switch then @judal57 would certainly buy it.

 

If your wondering what a joke the base model heatsink looks like, temps at idle are around 45c for both GPU and CPU (9700k+2060). An impressive 3 heatpipes adorns the unit, two of which are shared. No side heatsinks, pipes or vents, just plastic blockage. And I have the lemon mobo.
Also I have a backround in modifying circuits, and the quality of the motherboard is about as low as it gets, I don't see copper path traces, the solder seems very low quality, and the pcb looks like it uses bare minimum layers. The DGFF card however looks of good quality. Quite disappointed in Dell on this machine, always have to cut corners somewhere, shame as the body is so solid.

 

Wow that is a joke. I think the razer blade has more cooling than that. What were they thinking !?


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Hey guys,

Just wondering how your experience has been with CPU/GPU coil whine from the Area 51M

I had the worst Seagate drive which was ticking, so removed that, but how I can hear coil whine, is this normal ? I have till Monday To decide if to keep the machine.

Feedback much appreciated.

 

In dead silence, yes you can hear some coil whine. It’s nothing loud enough to bother me unless the fans are off, house is quiet, and I listen for it.


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Thank you so much.

That is my experience, before the fans kick In.

Is there anything else I shall check within the return period ? Im going to ask to return the Hard disk only at this stage, and ask for a refund , or worst case a new drive that does to constantly tick

 

Just the usual, check the screen for backlight bleed and dead pixels. Test each key on the keyboard. Game hard on it for a month and make sure the GPU doesn’t die lol


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I'm waiting after Dell to answer my question about this availability issue.... took them 1 day to give me the same answer : "Only RTX 2060 and 2070" are available in France...

Already told them that : "NO, the 2080 model was available last time i checked, what is happening please ?" ...

Still waiting after them... don't want to trade my RTX 2080 that i paid with a punny 2070 model with the swap process...

 

It get's better though, to add insult to injury, Dell used aluminum for the fin-stacks instead of copper like the upgraded heatsink (and every other notebook over 1k...).

Also the 2060 I got came with Micron memory so it probably won't overclock a single 1mhz, lol.

 

I don't believe that Dell BS anymore saying 5000-10000$ machine requiring a repaste out of the box...... If the paste degrades after 6 months there's its okay to repaste.
If they intend to ask end users to do the heavy lifting for repaste and repad they must price it at 2000-2500$.

Don't even bother with that. Put it to standard charge for longer battery lifetime, otherwise Adaptive will kill your battery in 3-5months. I complained to Dell when my battery was swollen and it was abnormally hot they rebutted it as normal operation when I took matter into my hands and killed the battery using ExpressCharge, only twice or thrice full battery drain killed it and I was offered new battery.
So if Dell downplays battery issues(if any), use their own weapon against them. Problem solved.

 

Hi guys, I have been playing around with afterburner for some hours and run some benchmarks and I have configured 3 profiles:
1740 MHz GPU clock @ 768 mV
1860 MHz GPU clock @ 820 mV
1995 MHz GPU clock @ 900 mV

With the latest profile (1995) I reach the power limit sometimes during benchmarks, so I think I will have to lower it a little bit and undervolt more.
With the first profile I have done more intensive testing and benchmarks so it seems to be stable but I haven't performed enough tests with the other two to check it they are completely stable.
What's the stock GPU clock frequency for the RTX 2080 we have? Is it 1575 MHz and 1890 MHz for max turbo?

What is the supposed "safe" overclock limit that I should set? I'm worried of setting a voltage and frequency too high and frying the GPU card. Is 1995 MHz @ 900 mV safe?

Thank you very much.

 

What is your gpu temperature under full load in perfomance thermal fan profile

 

You sure the films on thermal pads are removed? Thermal pads don't shine that much.
If VRAM won't clock higher then, OC core clocks to the brink.

 

Man the M17xR3 was designed better in many ways- like one button and the battery pops out. And 2 screws for the underside panel and you have access to almost every component... I can start repasting in 15 seconds with that older design... sigh.

 

Not everything is perfect in this world. For me it's good enough. These minor tasks should not be needed, I agree with you on that, but it is unfortunate that they need to be done by the user. Still, that is not going to stop me from investing in this immense piece of hardware.

These mushy ones are quite shiny. I noticed when I was pulling these off from my heat sink. They look like chewing gum bars with clear coat on top lol.

Any frequency is fine as long as you are not locking it permanently with the afterburner. Once load is removed, it will down clock the GPU to idle clocks which is totally fine. However, try not to go beyond 1950-1960 mark on these for long term. Although every chip is different but I'd try to keep a safe distance from the max that I can achieve just to ensure longevity.

 

I feel you brother, I've seen the videos of this system's teardown and it looks so tedious, especially the wiring that needs to be moved while taking it apart. It will take a little bit of practice I suppose but M17xR3 was like taking part a Lego structure.

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How you think will it fit over wi-fi card with extension cable? Or maybe if I don't have plans to use HDD bay, it can be fitted there? Any thoughts?

 

Not everything is perfect but user experience wise Dell is way behind than Chinese OEM laptop makers who put crap paste and still it performs without throttling for general usage.
Almost 95% of Dell PCs touch 100C out of the box or even worse. They've been repeating the same script for 5 years and still thermal paste jobs are worse than horrible plastic surgery.

 

The "Primarily AC" option sounds enticing to me because I use my system plugged in 99.9999% of the time. I would've removed the battery and gone direct with the adapters but the option is not logical with this system's design.
If this "Primarily AC" is a gimmick, then I think its better to stick with Adaptive or Standard for battery longevity.

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Not needed if you use Win 10. Win 10 won't charge the battery always unless the battery meter is below 94%. If the laptop switches to battery and drains by 5% and you connect AC adapter it'll show Battery fully charged 100%. Windows 10 can manage battery better and can throttle down the current and voltage if battery gets too hot.

 

So, its not possible to make the 2080s run at 2Ghz for daily usage? I was kinda hoping to run my CPU at 5Ghz and GPU at 2GHz while running games just to sound awesome! I might still give it a shot though, if something cracks up, I will bug Dell directly for their in house warranty services. It IS claimed to be the "the fastest overclockable and upgradedable laptop in the WORLD" after all.
So, the option to clock the CPU 5.5Ghz in AWCC is just a gimmick you say? LOL

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So far a lot of it is just gimmick and on paper specs, especially with those motherboards that are limiting the power to these monstrous components.

 

Hey folks, I think I'm about ready to buy the 9900k/2080 model from HIDEvolution. Any reasons for waiting a bit longer(higher rez screen, proc refresh, gpu refresh rumors)? Also if I do make the purchase what are some thing I should do right out of the box to make sure mine doesn't catch fire? I can't believe I just asked that question.....

 

After research I think to use Intel XTU for the undervolt.
Regarding my 9900K, if I understand correctly, there is just to modify in ADVANCED TUNING ---- CORE ---- the setting "Core Voltage offset" for undervolt the processor, and I test to see if it passes ? I leave all other settings by default? or is there something else to modify please?

 

That's a good start. If you feel like you need more performance then go up one notch at a time. I'd OC using the multipliers and undervolt until it starts to crash. Once it starts to crash, turn up the voltage by 5mV and stress test again until it becomes stable. That's going to be my OC profile.

 

Thank you.

If I understand, I also overclock the processor by modifying the multiplier while decreasing or increasing the "Core Voltage offset" and I test?
If yes, how to overclock using the multiplier?

 

Sometimes when I boot and play games, GPU clockspeed fails to reach 3D boost clocks at all until I reboot, reducing FPS and performance. Where is my Prema magic to get rid of these garbage issues so I can be free of software induced throttling?


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I have never had that happen on any of the three 51m’s that I had. Something else is going on there


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What clocks and undervolts are you running on both CPU and GPU? Are there any errors/warnings appearing in windows event viewer under system category? That's a rich resource when it comes to investigating such issues.

 

Lol i have the same problem as you my friend ! first boot gives me half the FPS, when reboot everything seems to work properly again, weird.