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

Raid 0 = 1 drive dies you lose everything. Lot quicker read and writes as the load is spread but I doubt you'd even notice as NVME SSD's are lightning quick already. I'd save my dosh and spend it on a seperate data drive perhaps.

 

Thank's,
Maybe i will buy 960go Corsair MP510 for less than 200 euros.
Do you trust dell with their OEM DDR4 ram?

 

Dells RAM isn't cheap but its promised to be compatible, I had a nightmare sending modules backwards and forwards for a 9570, that Crucial stated were definatley compatible (but were not).

The 3rd party configurators will say their RAM will work with XXX machine but its a lottery if it actually does, especially with a machine this new. I'm going for the bare bones 8GB and watching on here when someone buys an upgrade that works then order the same parts

 

The BS that every one on the internet keeps repeating as if it were an HDD! From the 7 years that I've been using SSDs and always on RAID 0, not once did I have any failure or have any corruption nor have I seen reports on any forum of SSD failures. Unless you physically damage an SSD, the chances of it failing are close to none so stop with this none-sense discouraging users from using RAID.

 

Yeah, I know the ssd's won't be damaged but be sure you have backup before you deal in the overclock or max out your undervolt
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ew-by-ultra-male.816385/page-35#post-10737633

 

You know how I roll....

1 click backup......

 

er? "I realized my entire RAID array got corrupted and it caused me a huge loss. I cannot mess around with this thing"

I wonder who wrote that...!

 

Data Corruption due to overclocking is a different subject. That can happen whether you're on RAID or not.

 

In short what I said... Even witout raid you risk corrupted OS if you go all too far with Oc'ing - undervolt. This doesn't mean its only for raid setup. Once everything is properly put up you shouldn't have more problems vs. single ssd setup. All ssd's/hdd can fail.

 

But your chances of data corruption are increased with Raid 0. Having 2 or more points of failure vs 1... I've never had a single drive corrupt with overclocking but have had several raid 0 arrays corrupt with overclocking (mostly when finding the limits of my RAM).

To me NVMe raid doesn't make sense. You lose 4k random read speeds (bad for desktop users). Unless you're transferring large files/video editing it's actually detrimental.

 

If this has been a huge problem, I don't think MSI would promote/push hard for Super Raid setup.


And some prefer to put up Raid array only for a huge storage setup, not for the increaded speed for transferring large files. @Ultra Male

 

It's not a huge problem, but it is a problem. Going from ~50MB/s to ~46MB/s isn't huge, but 4k random file reads are where desktop users spend most of their time. This is why optane is appealing. I get the wanting one single large hard dive though, that's why I have a single 64TB drive letter in my desktop...

 

64 TB drive letter?

 

Just a generic way of saying several drives in a virtual raid that shows up as a single drive (storage spaces).

 

Okay, got it.

 

Those 32gb ddr4 sticks look appealing. Would allow for 128gb ram setup at 2666... could completely disable all virtual memory...

 

Sounds similar to DFS on Win2k Server - 1 large looking drive spread over empty disk partitions.

 

One advantage with Raid 0 array is that you spread the load between two controllers. See.. lower heat vs. single ssd. The NVMe drives run damn hot in some notebooks, then throttle down speed due this. Aka you don't get what you paid for (maximum speed).

 

from a few pics I have seen is one m.2 slot under the battery? If so seems like a terrible place?

 

I am curious if that is something that you or someone else has tested or if that's speculation? It makes sense in theory but I don't think it's that simple.

Similar except using MS Storage Spaces I have it set up as a parity RAID. If one drive fails I'd probably be ok, if multiple failed I would be out of luck (losing everything not just the files on that drive).

 

To add to this, nvme isolation and cooling is essential. The battery in both the triton and asus gx501 sits right next to the nvme ssds... My gx501 battery expanded... and of the three units (2 gx501, one triton) the triton is the only one to put a heatsync over the ssds. My battery in my triton is now showing degradation as well but it took about twice as long (5 months) to reach the point its at (~25% wear). Although too many variables are in play to say the ssd heat caused these batteries to fail, i am fairly certain they played a decent role in the cells' rapid degradation.

 

Anyone know if you can stack discount codes on the UK site? For example employee advantage and student?

 

I mean I have tested this before, but I haven't the numbers. Overheating NVMe ssd's haven't been the problem in the Clevo P870 chassis.

 

I remain pessimistic. Since 4k randoms are slower you actually spend more time reading small files and I don't think load balancing is really a thing in this regard. I'd love to see some actual data that proves me wrong though.

 

hope this is a better review. going to read it after posting

main review
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/alienware-area-51-m,5981.html

for the internals
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/alienware-area-51-m-teardown-upgrade,5982.html

enjoy

 

Whats with all the reviews so far skipping to measure the CPU or GPU temps but rather limit it to just measuring the case temps?

Sigh.. Tomshardware now is a far cry from it's former glory days with most of their reviews now being just overglorified advertisements.

 

yet another joker review. it's pretty much a repeat of laptopmag review. no details whatsoever, way too simple. it's like they wrote the review in a hurry an hour ago.

at least we get to see the internal. not sure if this is the engineering sample or production unit. looks like 7 heatpipes, one of them sharing

 

Could always leave a second 330w at work and lug the smaller one to and fro...

Homer

 

Agreed. The first review was from their sister company, they all seem to dodge the crucial stuff laptop enthusiasts want to know, paid reviews nothing more.

 

Yeah its like they are not realizing this is an enthusiast product which is marketed to a crowd that is looking for desktop performance while being portable and hence why would you not do your review looking at what is important to that segment example processor performance vs an external system, throttling, temps etc..

 

Yeah from first link was also disappointed, who play those games nowaday, maybe I play sometimes gtaV but with 1070maxq very high I can also getting 100ish FPS. But internal and gpu Photo comparison is great to see from second link.

 

Tear-down looks straightforward enough. Those M.2 drives are going to get warm in there I'd wager - also right next door to the battery. I'm hoping this has good thermals as Dell are starting to get a bit of a reputation....

 

looks like they got the ,,smaller,, heatsink with their 99k and 2080 config... one shared pipe is missing...

 

This was stated in the article, is this not what you’re talking about?

“The CPU ran at an average clock speed of 4.7 GHz and an average temperature of 89.4 degrees Celsius (192.9 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU’s average temperature was 82.9 degrees Celsius (181.2 degrees Fahrenheit).”

 

Have you read same reviews as me?

"To stress test the Area-51m, I ran the Metro: Last Light benchmark 10 times in a row, which simulates roughly half an hour of gaming. During those runs, it ran at an average of 108.9 fps, with runs ranging from 112 fps to occasional dips as low as 104 fps. The CPU ran at an average clock speed of 4.7 GHz and an average temperature of 89.4 degrees Celsius (192.9 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU’s average temperature was 82.9 degrees Celsius (181.2 degrees Fahrenheit). The cooling system can get quite loud"

 

I have 2x500 SSDs RAID0 and an onboard spinner for backup. The RAID0 *might* not fail... but it is taking 2x chances of a single SSD failing, so onboard backup for the win.

Homer

 

Tweaktown's ssd testers has always been reliable... One of the best ssd testers/tweakers out there.

"Throughout our testing, we saw compelling performance from both of our dual drive 950 Pro arrays. There really is no question in our minds; a bootable PCIe array makes for the ultimate operating system disk. Some of you will undoubtedly have concerns about the increased potential for data loss that RAID 0 introduces into the mix. To us, there is really not much of a reason for concern. SSDs have become extremely reliable and of all the arrays we've run over the years, exactly none have failed. We do encourage taking system images/backups on a regular basis which is a practice that we encourage for a standard OS disk as well.

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/...cie-gen-3x4-nvme-ssd-raid-report/index11.html

 

To be honest, I did miss it since I had scrolled straight to the heat section.

But then on second look the games they have run are not great tests.

I would like someone testing a laptop or PC in 2019 to use Battlefield 1/V or the AC odyssey series as they are really brutal on CPU usage and the one's that break or make a laptop especially.

 

Yeah i did miss this.
But then they throw in a generalized statement like the system can get quite loud without specifying any decibel measure.

 

I agree, I was a little confused when looking at the games they tested, no clue why they decided to go with those.

 

As much as I love TT, that was one of the least scientific reviews I've seen. May as well say "numbers were bigger with raid, we recommend it."

Here is an example of what I saw with RAID SM951A's vs normal:

Single drive:


Raid:


Not really worth the effort in my opinion, especially with the drop in 4k randoms and increased latency...

 

I am not sure what we expect to see in these reviews? A lot of watts (200W + 100W ?), same heatsink, same thin laptop chassis, same crappy thermal paste, how can heat be dissipated better, if not by magic? I expect the new AW51m to be equally as hot as the AW17R5 and to have very similar heat issues.

 

Hi,
Do you think that we can repast with LM the RTX 2080 and I7 9700K without delid?
I'm afraid when i saw picture of dell paste on CPU GPU...

 

I will do it. First is testing, check if all is okay with chassis etc. But after this (20 mins i think ) i will start disassambling, repaste and say good bye to my constant companion - AW18 :'(

I dont know what i should do about delid... If i delid the cpu and i need to send this machine back, what will happen. Will i loose my warranty? I dont get a second 9700K for this.. xD

 

You should be fine without delidding the 9700K since it is soldered. Delidding will improve temps quite a bit, but not as much as before, when Intel was using grease. Plus it is not the 9900K so probably runs a litlle cooler.

 

Did they notify you that ypur order was cancelled or did you have to call them to find out? And did they have a reason? As of right now mine still says confirmed. Even though the rep I talked to a few days ago said it was in preproduction with so many saying they had their orders cancelled has me on edge.

 

Yeah, I would also like to see how it (the model with 9900k+2080+the bigger HS) behaves in those games, but I need to see the power draw for the CPU and GPU. Considering that it is all stock, even a + 90C CPU avr. temperature would be ok IF the CPU would constantly be at 119W and the GPU near the 180W limit.

Without knowing the power draw, those temperatures are almost meaningless. Also, we don't know how high were the temperature spikes and how often (in a 30 min test, you can have spikes in the 100C range and still have an avr. of ~90C).

For now, the best data that we have regarding the thermals, is from the Chinese video review, where the A51M that they tested, has the smaller HS which apparently is the same as the one from Tomshardware review.

 

One thing you can conclude from that is the CPU (and possibly GPU) does throttle down during the test. The average temp of ~90C is bad. It's not helping to know that they did proceed with 6mm pipes. The only hope is that Dell did a very crappy factory paste job (that I can bet money on actually, those guys never learn). So, in short - you know nothing [yet], John Snow...

 

Unfortunately the solder is of really bad quality and nothing like for example the Sandy bridge line quality solder.