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

Does the GPU have a heatsink? Should I use a thermal pad or just paste if not?

 

It's a unified heatsink for both the CPU and Heatsink.

I applied Thermal Grizzly Concutonaut on my CPU and Phobya Nanogrease on my GPU. The best thermal pastes out there.

 

I’m just learning of Phobya, just looking into it was it hegrease you used?

 

This is what I used, the best of the best when it comes to non-metal thermal paste:

2 of Phobya NanoGrease Extreme, 3.5g

 

Then somebody needs to get this thing escalated. Maybe causing fire, injuries or death related to this machine.

 

They already try preventing possible fire, injuries and or death with those forced firmware updates Better safe than sorry.

 

Nope. AW needs to unlock the legacy ROM option for us in a future BIOS update. Maybe try tweeting at Frank/Umar.

 

I'll hit him up this week.

 

Just picked mine up from DB Schenker, will use it stock for now, will just be adding the 2 TB SSD later today... Some folks have too much work to do, like ME! Wish I was home tho, but I have the coming Friday off at least, so no more coding for that day, just gaming...

 

I read many posts yesterday where it was suggested the both the latest VBIOS and BIOS won't make a big performance difference either way. I also read the BIOS v1.3.2 should be the best for performance.

What's the real consensus of this? Install whichever version I want?

 

Beware of his bodyguards though!

 

I'll hit him up means I'll get in touch with him

Here's a new course for you:

English - Urban Dictionary

 

I know that! DeeX is frustrated even after continuous meetings with Dell management... DeeX has somewhat better build to force Azor to order Dell team to make better BIOS and not a rip-off Throttling measures.

 

So I tested a few pastes out. The contenders included:
1: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
2: Gelid GC Extreme
3: Phobya Nanogrease Extreme
4: Arctic MX-4

I decided to take these results on my own laptop using a replacement heatsink that I have bought from AliExpress for modding purpose (it came with stock thermal pads installed so I left them alone for the test). I will be trying to add more heat pipes + graphite padding to it to enhance heat transfer. But that's for a later day!

So, the test was pretty straight forward (intention was to chose a clear winner instead of doing excessive benchmarks). The CPU test in this case included the built-in Intel XTU stress test for CPU for 5 minutes with -130mV undervolt (the usual). The GPU test included running Sniper Elite 4 at 1080p with Ultra settings with Render Scale set to 200%!!! The game was played for 20 minutes each (same saved mission in bright daylight to ensure maximum GPU load as compared to dark scenes). I used spread method for applying a thin layer in all cases.

Here are the results:

1. Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut:
   • CPU: 76 Degrees Celcius max
   • GPU: 75 Degrees Celcius max
2. Gelid GC Extreme:
   • CPU: 77 Degrees Celcius max
   • GPU: 75-76 Degrees Celcius (jumping between these 2 readings all the time on MSI AfterBurner)
3. Phobya Nanogrease Extreme:
   • CPU: 75 Degrees Celcius max
   • GPU: 74 Degrees Celcius max
4. Arctic MX-4
   • CPU: 83 Degrees Celcius max
   • GPU: 81 Degrees Celcius max

The clear winner for me is Phobya Nanogrease Extreme. One additional thing that I very clearly noticed is that with Phobya NG Extreme, the rise in temperature is extremely steady and not abrupt like all the other pastes. That has definitely got something to do with the higher thermal conductivity and the way I spread it in an extremely thin layer. Phobya NG Extreme was the most difficult to spread among these due to it's extremely high viscosity but it wasn't too bad. I am super happy to achieve these results and now know what works best from the pastes that I currently have in stock. Today I got some more goodies delivered that include a thermal putty which I am too lazy to test on my laptop and will test on the test bench instead.

Edit: The knock-off kryonaut that I threw away, I had a left over syringe of that stuff buried in my messed up parts drawer and I threw that in the mix just for the sake of it with the new heat sink and it hit 86 degrees celcius lmao! Somebody is definitely making fakes out there and one needs to be VERY careful when choosing his supplier.

@Mr. Fox @Prema @DeeX @custom90gt @Vasudev @VoodooChild

 

Nice post!

So, just to confirm, you didn't undervolt the GPU, right?

I've tried all 3 of your test "subjects" other than Phoyba Nano which I'm finding it hard to get delivered to the UAE. If anyone had a link that ships to the UAE, please guide me to the right channels if possible, I am looking to buy this paste ever since Mr Fox recommended it. Thanks

Sent from a Galaxy S9+

 

Trying to decide between Conductonaut and Kryonaut, Phobya hegrease and nano extreme.

 

what fan profile were you using to test?

 

Cooler Master MasterGel Maker is quite good and lasts really long. It will give ICD and TGK, a stiff competition.
Having MSI AB in background will increase CPU/GPU temps. TS is the best monitoring SW that is light.

 

OK, but in my experience with another laptop, thermal grease works wonderfully for a few days/weeks while it is still fresh, and then it dries out and deteriorates rapidly.

 

Full speed fans for all tests.

Make an account on Ubuy. It will deliver any Amazon product that is not meant to be delivered to your destination at marginal extra charges. I use it all the time to buy stuff that doesn't ship to my place by default. And since it is Kuwait based, I think they will definitely deliver to your location. Plus, my default GPU profile was intact the whole time. 937mV. And I enjoyed 1980MHz for quite a long time, thanks to GPU boost until it settled at exact 1950 as temps crossed 72 degrees. But man! This Phobya NG Extreme is some GOOD stuff! I have ordered some more from the same vendor just to stock pile haha!

That happens if the heat sink is not flat and has a gap between the CPU/GPU and the cooler contact surface (unbalanced mounting pressure/warped heat sink?). If that's not the case, it will not dry up. I took Gelid GC Extreme off from one of my servers after 4 years a couple of weeks back and it was still not "dry" even though that machine literally remained on for most part of the last 4 years with just a few reboots (no shutdowns).

Running MSI AB in the background was intentional. I wanted to know the max temps that I could get. And as I mentioned, this wasn't a "what's the best way to measure temps" experiment, rather which thermal compound gives the best results in a relatively same environment, same cooling pads, same hardware and exact same setup. I'm sure TS would make things run a little cooler, but that wasn't the aim of this activity.

 

So the Dell Drivers team ran out of ideas of what drivers to repost, so now they repost this with today's date, same exact plugin as before:

 

Easy way to check the hashes of already downloaded files. Dell will repost new release date of same drivers next week too.

 

Just wondering if you've run into any issues running Pop OS! on this thing? I am considering getting this myself!

Are you able to switch between iGPU and dGPU ?

 

So, I just got my i9-9900K + RTX2080, came from factory with Bios v1.5.0
How to check VBios version?

 

How do I run this diagnostic?

 

Think this is the Dell Support assist plugin. Not 100% sure, but it should be under the downloads on the service page of yer rig.

Plus it seems like they are locking them down: I have the 1.5.4 Bios preinstalled, plus the latest vbios on the RTX2080.. Removed the bloat, and played some Overwatch, in balanced mode, but limited the OC a bit; no drops in FPS (Yet!) temps were during gaming around 65- 70 degrees celcius, no weird stuff...

Keyboard is a bit 'squeeky', but this rig will be used for gaming for the main part, so it should be okay.
For now I willl be running this thing as it came outta the box; been pondering about repasting it etc, but the temps look decent during my main game (Overwatch), so I reckon I will follow the following advise for now:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

Ow yeah the wife just ordered hers as well, but she wants to stick with the 9700K and the RTX2070/ 32GB/ 256M2-1TB hybrid, and 144hz screen with Gsync and Tobii.

 

Just flash the version you want, then you'll be sure.

Here's the whole collection (thanks to DeeX):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/area-51m-bios-vbios-collection-mirrors.829190/#post-10925976

I hear BIOS V1.3.2 combined with V1.0.0.3 VBIOS are the king of performers... not sure it that's the way to go thou... :-/

 

It's a firmware diagnostic. Run it by holding the fn key before bios post

 

Hi guys,

I wanted to get a 51m with a i9700k+RTX2070 and started to look online about feedbacks from owners when I found this forum.

I read the last ~100 pages and I am a bit worried now It seems that a lot of you experience some drawbacks, most of them what it seems related to temp control.
Are most owners satisfied with their 51m? Are units with lower spec (i9700+2070) are more reliable?

I am not a tech, don't want to spend time to optimize / repast the machine, I just want a reliable and powerful laptop that I can use out of the box and that will give me enough power for the next upcoming years.
Thanks for the answers!

 

The 2070 is a MUCH safer bet. A lot less issues with the 2070 DGFF. I have the 9700k/2070 myself.

My first machine the DGFF failed/started black screening. My replacement gpu has been solid, no issues for a couple of months.

Edit: Spelling

 

Ok did some test on Overwatch tonight... cpu was fine...perfect 74°c gpu was reaching on highest 79/80°c... 130 to 144 fps 3440x1440 @ultra


.... that's when Overwatch started to drop frames, Gpu Frequency dropped to 400+Mhz waiting for temperatures to reach something like 50+°c then it recovers its normal frequency ... and drop again, etc...

I could see PWR AND THRM limit on GPU-Z, and when it's not droping frames I can only see PWR limit (but framerate normal...)

Is that the famous 1.5.4 bios effect ???

What should I do guys, I tried installing the 1.5.0 bios but as soon as windows started it warned me he downloaded 1.5.4 bios...

Edit : No problem with 1.5.0 BIOS, GPU temps slowly increase till it reach stabilisation @86°c at max no throttling (No Undervolting applyed yet)

 

Yep, typically dell did this preventing you from burning your gpu out！

 

Is that a joke ?

I mean... c'mon...

It started dropping fps @ 77°c dude... WTF... there's no way with their standard thermal application you could avoid reaching those temps...

I mean... it's not even a big game it was just... Overwatch...

How can we prevent Windows to setup 1.5.4 bios ?

 

Not a joke, an obvious fact in the world.

 

Dell want to prevent users to use their machine as it is supposed to be used ?... for gaming ?

 

Trying to prevent GPU performing at max load is the best way to keep power supply units from burning

 

I'm talking in DM with Umar to get this sorted and knowing what's happening... and no sorry if that's the solution that Dell/Alienware choosed, I'm definitely asking for a refund or selling this unit ...

Now that I'm having a working unit after two months waiting for a repair and then a swap, now I'm hearing that we're getting handicaped laptop... no way...

It is pure and simple use, it's not even a big game (Division 2 or something else)...

WTF... you're telling me they stopped sending RTX2080s units for quite a moment just to implement that poor solution ...

 

FYI, this kind of "thing" also happened once with the xps units. Throttling to prevent further loss for dell.

 

I believe I’m getting the same experience in Borderlands of all games. Plays great on Ultra for a while and then everything starts slowing down. I assume it’s the throttling kicking in, though temps are not that bad (in the 70s). It’s weird, because it doesn’t even seem like the machine is working that hard to begin with, but then framerate drops to unplayable levels (usually after about an hour or so of play). Maybe it’s something else (buggy code, network issues); if it’s Dell’s permanent fix, then this will probably be a cancelled order for me (I have a few weeks left to decide).

 

Can you (and all the users here facing the same problem) record it, with, if it's possible for you, the second tab (sensors) of GPU-Z showing frequencies or Alienware Command Center, you have to see the clock throttling from 1900+MHZ to 400+MHZ.

I'll be sending it to Umar

 

There's an option in the BIOS that says "UEFI Firmware Capsule Updates" turn that off to prevent Windows from updating the BIOS.

 

I sent you a PM

 

You made my day.

Someone give that men a trophy or something !

 

It did not work on my unit ...

 

Worked like a charm for me, Windows won't prompt me about the bios update now ! .

Hope Dell fix this sooner or later...

I'll wait after Umar on DM

 

Not sure, that's what the function should do. It works fine on mine.

 

Frank Azor will be relieved of his office very soon

 

Yupp.. wonder how this will affect Alienware/Dell.

Hopefully we get a decent replacement CEO.

 

About time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

1.5.4 Bios update is optional. You should revert back to 1.5.0 (or I'd suggest 1.3.2 for best performance).