The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
← Previous pageNext page →

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

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by ssj92, Jan 8, 2019.

  1. captn.ko

    captn.ko Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    337
    Messages:
    981
    Likes Received:
    1,252
    Trophy Points:
    156
    you realy think they test the systems before they ship them? :vbbiggrin:

    If they really did, we would not have had so many problems in recent years
     
  2. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

    Reputations:
    11,536
    Messages:
    19,469
    Likes Received:
    12,881
    Trophy Points:
    931
    Just follow @Vistar Shook explanation on voltage curve. And don't lock the voltage using CTRL +L


    Also to add, once you find the right cure you can click on one of the voltage dots, then hold the shift key down and the move the mouse up or down. It will move the whole voltage/clocks curve as a unit.


    Edit:
    @Prema just pointed this out to me. LOL
    https://twitter.com/crasher1in/status/1092544376025182210?s=19
    Don't buy our product.
    Don't buy our product from them.
    And since i'm Frank from Dell, your only choice is to buy from us.
    More money in our pocket while trashing one of our resellers in the process.
    ROTFL
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
    Ashtrix, ssj92, Rei Fukai and 7 others like this.
  3. Vistar Shook

    Vistar Shook Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    2,761
    Messages:
    1,256
    Likes Received:
    1,362
    Trophy Points:
    181
    Locking the voltage with Ctrl+L is better than flattening the curve, right? Performance wise?

    I guess Dell doesn't show the memory settings menu in the BIOS afraid people will end up with machines that won't boot and having to do a CMOS reset. They should at least have 2666 stock....makes no sense 2400 at this point in time.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
  4. Darkhan

    Darkhan Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    1,078
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    834
    Trophy Points:
    131
    I walk the factory line often and not a system gets packed unless it passes EPSA test phase. But many factors come into play from factory to customer so ye 100% are not going to reach the customer as it was intended but again this is not a perfect world.
     
    Joikansai, hmscott and Johnksss like this.
  5. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

    Reputations:
    11,536
    Messages:
    19,469
    Likes Received:
    12,881
    Trophy Points:
    931
    Locking is good to keep clocks stable. Or one can spend the time to set up each point on the voltage curve.
    You can also set up profiles to hotkeys.
     
    Mr. Fox, c69k, Vasudev and 4 others like this.
  6. alexnvidia

    alexnvidia Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    434
    Messages:
    1,386
    Likes Received:
    622
    Trophy Points:
    131
    And my apologies too. Glad we worked out our differences.
     
    c69k, Alias, Niarus and 6 others like this.
  7. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    12,050
    Messages:
    11,278
    Likes Received:
    8,816
    Trophy Points:
    931
    Maybe XoticPC and others should put AW in the trash can.

    They want to clear out old inventory and ship BIOS update to make non-certified 2400MHz RAM to run at 2667MHz with XMP and at the max RAM will crap out after 1 year and most likely the blame will be put on end-users even with long warranty!
    2667MHz on 1Y process is expensive even when bought in bulk. The only reason I recommend Dell is the ease of upgrading BIOS even after EOL with Aptio 5 MMtool and InsydeH20 is very heavily locked down.
     
  8. 1Schumsta1

    1Schumsta1 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    88
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    150
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I dont think that the 51m wont boot with 2666mhz RAM, because HID etc. all sell the 51m with 2666Mhz RAM... and i think they test this before they offer this...(hope so because i already ordered 2666 mhz... :D )
     
  9. Joikansai

    Joikansai Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    254
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    704
    Trophy Points:
    131
    In China and Japan there’s no holiday 24/7 all working time no breaks :D Money keep running ;)
    I saw buyer that preorder some rtx laptops brand on 29th are already having their unit, 3 days after ordering, directly from Hongkong. When I’m not wrong according that Japanese video, Alienware TV, release day there would also on 20th February, not quite remember though correct me if I’m wrong any Japanese who saw that video till the end.
     
    Vasudev likes this.
  10. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    12,050
    Messages:
    11,278
    Likes Received:
    8,816
    Trophy Points:
    931
    That really sucks, I mean Alienwares with Skylake BGA like mine did boot with 2400/2667MHz and only issue I had was the specific DRAM module was blacklisted by dell and intel for weird blackscreen issue (I can't really remember) but honestly I just used it on Dell PC that shipped with that same RAM.
    I think Frank is locking out all options to make LGA like piss poor cheapo 500$ laptop with everything locked.
     
    Ashtrix and Joikansai like this.
  11. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    1,048
    Messages:
    983
    Likes Received:
    1,302
    Trophy Points:
    156
    This is the perfect example of throwing your fans under the bus. I mean it shouldn't care where people bought your product. As long as it sells you shouldn't complain. I also don't see Samsung, or Apple cry because there are third party resellers (Apple can give people a hard time, but they rather sell, than lose money) selling their product. Ugh discusting. This shows how money can turn around people's dedication, and hard work (something azor hasnt been doing since he became the executive of an company that has ties with the devel himself).

    The more info is being released, the sadder the picture get's. Probably would only buy this if it's from an outlet and 40% cheaper. Cuzz this price ain't it. Probably going to Internally watercool my next laptop, so it got to be a LGA/MXM machine. Only tha way i can be sure that there is enough room for my heatpipes (where the water would flow through)

    I do hope for the people that spended big money, that the performance is better than how it now looks. It barely outperforms my broken 8950HK/1080 which took me almost a week to get stable undervolts/overclocks
     
  12. Woodking

    Woodking Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    70
    Messages:
    436
    Likes Received:
    246
    Trophy Points:
    76
    Watching this thread with interest, hoping this could finally be the one to replace my old XPS L702X (as sadly Dell dont make a 17" XPS anymore).

    I don't travel with it, it'll be sat right next to a power supply and don't care how much it weighs. All I have to do now is figure out how to get permission from the wife to buy it as it's *cough* a bit more than the 9570 I returned to Dell :p
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
    Mr. Fox likes this.
  13. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

    Reputations:
    11,536
    Messages:
    19,469
    Likes Received:
    12,881
    Trophy Points:
    931
    Yes, this did not make sense. This is a case where an opinion can go seriously wrong...

    And all Xotic was doing was a simple ram upgrade.....Imagine what he might have to say about HID with their upgrade path...
     
    Ashtrix, Mr. Fox, TBoneSan and 4 others like this.
  14. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    12,050
    Messages:
    11,278
    Likes Received:
    8,816
    Trophy Points:
    931
    You said it, Azor is an executive as well as former glory AW LGA founder with deep ties to product development. If intel isn't helping them make better heatsink design then I'd suggest borrowing it from Clevos like Apple do with their products.

    You're free to choose older Thinkpads/Latitudes/Precision/HP Probook that perform on-par latest models with worse cooling, atleast older model does it better and replacing thermal paste gives it a new lease of life.
     
    Rei Fukai likes this.
  15. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

    Reputations:
    434
    Messages:
    1,674
    Likes Received:
    268
    Trophy Points:
    101
    Whoop whoop! Mine had just shipped. I have an updated eta of 15/2/19 but hoping it arrives before that as China to uk doesn’t normally take 9 days!
     
  16. severous

    severous Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Please help me to decide:
    What's the best between buy Area 51m with Dell 2x8go DDR4 2400mhz (but Dell says that it's 2666mhz but run at 2400?)
    OR buy crucial 2x8go DDR4 2666mhz ballistix 20/30 euros less???

    And anyone know informations about the panel ? Dell website says "contrast min: 600:1" if it's true, it's piece of ****...
     
  17. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    12,050
    Messages:
    11,278
    Likes Received:
    8,816
    Trophy Points:
    931
    Truth be told get the standard Crucial 2667MHz since we don't for sure if Dell whitelisted only OEM RAMs from SK Hynix,Crucial/Micron and Samsung.
    I think contrast ratio of 600:1 is a typo. If it was true then you're better buying a cheap laptop that comes with way more Contrast ratio, more RAM/SSD upgrade options than paying steep price that can't even do basic things a laptop other OEMs push out!
     
    c69k likes this.
  18. daveh98

    daveh98 P4P King

    Reputations:
    1,075
    Messages:
    1,500
    Likes Received:
    145
    Trophy Points:
    81
    Man it's been a LOOONG time since I checked in here. I had to swing by to check out the 51m. Am I correct in reading it is now a MaxQ 2080? When I had the horrible early 1080 Alienware 17R4 and was refunded I went to an MSI and didn't look back. Still runs 1080 mostly high settings without exceeding temps in the high 70s. I was feeling the itch to upgrade and I had a feeling reading the early desktop 2080Ti reviews that the notebooks couldn't likely pull off near desktop performance like the 10 series. I decided to build a custom rig for the first time in forever (i9 9900k, 2080ti, m.2 970, 32gb Trident 3200mhz, Thermaltake View 71 case with an AIO and all that stuff). So gorgeous. Two things occurred. First was I noticed the power demands of the 9900k and 2080ti overclocked were both incredibly high and while the notebook comes with what appears a 660 watt PSU (??), I can see thermal issues big time. PSU is fine but the case just doesn't appear to have a design that will work despite the design language being used by AW. (hope I am wrong). I am playing on a x34 3400x1440p Predator and BF5 could barely get low DxR working to a level I like. 1080p would be different but it will be tough with this current notebook 2080 me thinks.

    Sooo I decided to sit this gen out, return my rig I built and go Old School. Saw a really good deal on a ROG Lian Li 011 case housing ROG Strix x299-E MB, i9 7900X, 2 Strix ROG 1080Ti OC in SLI, 32gb of G.skill Trident RGB 3200mhz ram, some m.2 and Bitspower custom waterblocks for the CPU and Full waterblocks for both GPUs. I hope people who do get their systems early have some good fortune with thermals. I imagine if thermals are OK, then anyone who ordered will be elated as the performance is pretty easy to ballpark atm. To wrap up, I honestly think the sweet spot for notebook enthusiasts is going to be a good 1440p monitor with 120-144hz, and around a 2080ti desktop EQUAL if not a bit better. I remember the times CPU bottlenecking was tested on 1024x768 and 1080p was enthusiast extreme. Now this appears to be the baseline CPU bottleneck test and notebook enthusiasts should have some real options to differentiate from the rapidly growing gaming notebook scene. All the lower end to mid end notebooks should be funding the R/D for the real enthusiast level rigs and I am yet to even want to upgrade my 7700hq, 1080GTX MSI Titan VR that's almost two years old!

    To the poster above, though 30 Euro isn't a giant deal when you are all in, the ram speed isn't a giant deal but isn't nonexistent. I think 3200mhz is around the best overall. Over 4ghz is net neutral and even a loss if you are overclocking other components. Likely that ram is 2400mhz but run at 2666mhz through an XMP bios option which just overclocks it.
     
    VoodooChild likes this.
  19. ThatOldGuy

    ThatOldGuy Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,310
    Messages:
    2,454
    Likes Received:
    2,588
    Trophy Points:
    181
    No, it is not Max-Q.
     
  20. mobile96

    mobile96 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    39
    Trophy Points:
    26
    nope not max Q
     
  21. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

    Reputations:
    42,737
    Messages:
    29,856
    Likes Received:
    59,711
    Trophy Points:
    931
    I'm sure you will find more info if wanted :D

    How Will Chinese New Year Affect Your Business?
     
    Ashtrix, steberg, captn.ko and 2 others like this.
  22. VoodooChild

    VoodooChild Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    519
    Messages:
    541
    Likes Received:
    1,014
    Trophy Points:
    156
    The reason why we don't see any reputable reviews for this system other than that laptopmag paid advertisement is because Azor is so cunning that he doesn't anyone cancelling their pre orders. If this with a desktop processor can't beat a GT75 with a 1080, which I think will happen by the way, I'm not interested in AWs anymore. They've sold out. As simple as that!

    Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
     
  23. 1Schumsta1

    1Schumsta1 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    88
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    150
    Trophy Points:
    56
    When did you make your order? Hope u get it before ETA :)
     
  24. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    12,050
    Messages:
    11,278
    Likes Received:
    8,816
    Trophy Points:
    931
    I remember LTT's Threadripper review on A51 and said it was absolute garbage.
    Did you cancel your order as well?
     
  25. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

    Reputations:
    434
    Messages:
    1,674
    Likes Received:
    268
    Trophy Points:
    101
    I ordered on the 30th of Jan. I am actually surprised it shipped this quickly! Usually when I order a dell/Alienware new release they keep me hanging for weeks
     
  26. yggdra.omega

    yggdra.omega Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    82
    Likes Received:
    45
    Trophy Points:
    26
    What was your configuration? I ordered my i9 9900k + 2080 on January 10th, living in the USA
     
  27. XxAcidSnowxX

    XxAcidSnowxX Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    85
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    203
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I order on Jan 10th, had a ship date of Feb 18th... They automatically cancelled the order for unknown reasons (they said power supply issue(guess this happened to several others)) anyway I created another order and now I have Feb 28th showing...
     
  28. yggdra.omega

    yggdra.omega Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    82
    Likes Received:
    45
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Brutal. Hopefully these other users getting theirs early can post some benchmarks and stats here so we can cancel before shipping if they're trash. Much easier than a return.
     
    Vasudev likes this.
  29. Prema

    Prema Your Freedom, Your Choice

    Reputations:
    9,368
    Messages:
    6,297
    Likes Received:
    16,485
    Trophy Points:
    681
    The vRAM is responsible for a huge portion of the difference between Pascal & Turing, hence Turing is doing better in TS which is a 3K/4K bench)

    This is a DX12 1920x1080 benchmark (I picked the currently best 2080 result) :

    https://www.3dmark.com/compare/nr/67868/nr/59081
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
    Ashtrix, Joikansai, raz8020 and 9 others like this.
  30. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    12,050
    Messages:
    11,278
    Likes Received:
    8,816
    Trophy Points:
    931
    I thought 3dmark invalidates older drivers. I hate nvidia drivers every new WHQL turns up worse than older ones.
     
    hmscott and Kuro Kensei like this.
  31. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

    Reputations:
    434
    Messages:
    1,674
    Likes Received:
    268
    Trophy Points:
    101
    I ordered i7 9700k/2070/white
     
  32. hmscott

    hmscott Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    7,110
    Messages:
    20,384
    Likes Received:
    25,139
    Trophy Points:
    931
    AW have been doing that for a long time, randomly (seemingly) deleting orders and no following up with a call or notice to reorder, you've got to keep an eagle eye on your order.

    It's also not fair, as you lose your place in the shipping / order queue, and that doesn't seem right.
     
    Rei Fukai, Alias, Terreos and 2 others like this.
  33. Terreos

    Terreos Royal Guard

    Reputations:
    1,170
    Messages:
    1,847
    Likes Received:
    2,264
    Trophy Points:
    181
    I'll have to give dell a call and see if they did this to me. Checking online doesn't reveal anything. And customer support says I have to call sales? What's the point of customer service if you can't get me my order information?
     
    Falkentyne and Darkhan like this.
  34. doofus99

    doofus99 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    284
    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    508
    Trophy Points:
    131
    I just cannot understand it this software, it is really unintuitive and awkward.

    I can press CTRL-L and that locks it at a certain voltage and frequency, but it does not allow it to go idle so the card is running at 2000MHz all the time.

    When not locked it tries to go to 1.050V, at whatever frequency this ends up being.

    It seems I cannot tell it:

    1) go up to 2000MHz (or 1800MHz, or 2100MHz etc)
    2) go up to 0.95V (or whatever)
    3) go slow when idle
     
  35. Darkhan

    Darkhan Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    1,078
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    834
    Trophy Points:
    131
    This is when you bribe someone to post there exact profile or share their file if that's possible?
     
    c69k and Spartan@HIDevolution like this.
  36. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist®

    Reputations:
    37,255
    Messages:
    39,354
    Likes Received:
    70,777
    Trophy Points:
    931
    It does not go to a low power state because you did the Ctrl+L to lock it. That is by design. If you "lock" it, then it is "locked" at that value. This is overriding the firmware defaults.

    If you do not use Ctrl+L it will automatically use the voltage applicable to the frequency as controlled by the vBIOS. If you raise the dot for the frequency above a particular voltage column, (which is overclocking,) under load it should run at that frequency and voltage up to the maximum voltage the card is allowed to use by the firmware. By the same token, if you lower the dot, the clock speed will drop (underclock).

    Of course, this is all within the functional parameters of the GPU. It won't do a higher clock speed or voltage than what the firmware allows, and attempting to force it to a clock speed to high for the available voltage will cause instability and the driver to crash (TDR).
     
    Ashtrix, raz8020, Rei Fukai and 2 others like this.
  37. Terreos

    Terreos Royal Guard

    Reputations:
    1,170
    Messages:
    1,847
    Likes Received:
    2,264
    Trophy Points:
    181
    Well I chatted with Dell and my Order is in pre-production. So it is still being made and not cancelled like some have said. That's good as I couldn't survive another few weeks wait. Lol


    Oh and I found this video on Alienware taking the Area 51m apart. Pretty simple compared to the 17 r5 or 15 r4 as the ribcage seems alot easier to take off. Though it has a ridiculous amount of screws. :eek:

     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
  38. user54321

    user54321 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    91
    Likes Received:
    34
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Guys, I never had this issue before. Its been two weeks ago I've placed the order and they canceled my order and gonna place the new one for the 4th time so far. Today I got email that I have to wait 2 days for status update. I have no idea how much to wait at all and what's going on.
     
  39. XxAcidSnowxX

    XxAcidSnowxX Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    85
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    203
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Monkeys at the zoo would do a better job then baffoons at Dell sales, hell they can barely speak a legible word of English.

    My order has also been cancelled and I got 3 different reasons from 3 different idiots that work there. What a disgrace.
     
    Woodking, raz8020, iunlock and 2 others like this.
  40. Falkentyne

    Falkentyne Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    8,396
    Messages:
    5,992
    Likes Received:
    8,633
    Trophy Points:
    681
    This is completely impossible.
    The most you can do is to flatten the curve at the voltage point you want locked, all the way to the right. But I'm not even sure if that will give you precisely what you want.
     
    Vistar Shook, Rei Fukai and Mr. Fox like this.
  41. Terreos

    Terreos Royal Guard

    Reputations:
    1,170
    Messages:
    1,847
    Likes Received:
    2,264
    Trophy Points:
    181
    When did you guys put your first orders in? I put mine in January 11. And I know someone put their order in on January 10 and it has shipped already. So I'm curious if it's new orders or are some of us just lucky?
     
  42. user54321

    user54321 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    91
    Likes Received:
    34
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Mine I placed first time in January 20 and then they started to cancel my order almost every week. Did you get your laptop already?
     
  43. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

    Reputations:
    39,629
    Messages:
    23,562
    Likes Received:
    36,879
    Trophy Points:
    931
    why are they cancelling the orders?
     
    Vistar Shook likes this.
  44. Terreos

    Terreos Royal Guard

    Reputations:
    1,170
    Messages:
    1,847
    Likes Received:
    2,264
    Trophy Points:
    181
    No not yet. Mine is still in pre-production. I just chatted with customer service a few hours ago.

    Did they give you a reason why they cancelled your order? Seems odd they would unless they have an actual reason.
     
    Spartan@HIDevolution likes this.
  45. user54321

    user54321 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    91
    Likes Received:
    34
    Trophy Points:
    26
    First time I had to prove that I'm the card holder and I proved that, they called to my bank and that guy said that everything is fine, but for some reason they said I'm scammer so we did it again. After that I placed the order again and proved that me is me, they canceled the order cause of power brick issue and so on and so on. So basically, except first time, they saying about issue of some parts, but didn't say exactly. I'm confused about the situation, usually you pay and get your product, this time is like a bad joke. By the way, I don't like how the guys from Dell talk to the customers - they lying too much and speak unrespectable.
     
  46. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

    Reputations:
    39,629
    Messages:
    23,562
    Likes Received:
    36,879
    Trophy Points:
    931
    That is so unprofessional and not the kind of treatment I would expect when buying the most expensive taptop in the world! :rolleyes:

    Get it from some reputed reseller and be done with this joke man.
     
  47. ThatOldGuy

    ThatOldGuy Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,310
    Messages:
    2,454
    Likes Received:
    2,588
    Trophy Points:
    181
    Typical Dell junk ERP system. Every order i have made has been cancelled at least once. They always make up the reason if asked. There really is no reason other than ERP software is junk, and throughs up red flags for no reason.

    I know because our ERP at work is just as crap; and sales gives the same bogus reasons when orders are cancelled for no reason.
     
    hmscott, Vistar Shook and iunlock like this.
  48. user54321

    user54321 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    91
    Likes Received:
    34
    Trophy Points:
    26
    I think about it, but for me would be better to get directly from Dell cause of warranty. Not sure about resellers, but Dell at least offers warranty outside US if needed.
     
    hmscott likes this.
  49. XxAcidSnowxX

    XxAcidSnowxX Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    85
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    203
    Trophy Points:
    56
    My original order was put in Jan 10th and they cancelled that one 3 days ago ... Now I have a new order with a date of Feb 27th
     
    hmscott likes this.
  50. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

    Reputations:
    39,629
    Messages:
    23,562
    Likes Received:
    36,879
    Trophy Points:
    931
    Funny, if I was in the business of selling *anything*, I'd love to hold on to my customers and their orders not find any opportunity to cancel them. They can suck it!
     
    Vistar Shook and TBoneSan like this.
← Previous pageNext page →