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

I spoke to live chat today, they told me my 9700k system did not qualify, and they didnt see it on my order. Either they lied, or they're oblivious.

Contacted someone else via email and was told it shows on my order, and it will take up to 10 days after shipment/delivery for the key to be emailed to me. So if you're past the 10 days, I suggest contacting them.

 

Stock GPU run with latest drivers...looks like it was constantly hitting power limit (190W??)

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/34284142?

 

And if they ship with i9 9900k and the customer replace it with a delidded one? Are the OC options in AWCC and Bios gone too? Was someone able to do this until now?

 

no idea but if it is an upgradeable laptop and you upgrade it with a cpu that it supports then in my opinion it should work.

 

I don't have a 51m, but I love following along since pg1. I'm an IT Director and love this stuff. If someone hacks past dell's castrating restrictions and gets the limits removed, enabling added CPU and GPU power/temp/fan limits, I would feel as ecstatic as the rest of you all. Lets start a bounty? Count me in for PayPal $25 upon confirmation. (hope I'm not violating a NBR TOS... no idea.)

Hope you're all enjoying the machines so far!

 

Throttlestop undervolt working, thanks @Papusan you need to undervolt both cache and core voltage.

This was on stock cooling with performance fan profile (not max or auto)

@Mr. Fox @Johnksss

Stock with -100mV :





Is this correct physics score for stock?

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/34285919?

GPU needs tuning now...I have a feeling I have a crappy bin but that won't stop me

 

definitely... have you tried to load deafults in Bios or reflash it to get it working with the 9900k?

 

@euphoric28 Your chat earlier w/ Support: while I'll always be on the consumer's side about all matters, I agree w/ the Tech Rep that your 9900k CPU is neither under warranty nor should it receive their Tech Support, that is standard policy regarding user hardware upgrades such as this, see spoiler for simple Hotwell-to-Broadwell policy example

Spoiler: User Upgrades Policy

" The original warranty will only cover Dell shipped hardware. But, if by installing retail hardware you break something, our warranty would not cover the broken item(s). If the system is not working after you install retail hardware, we will ask you to remove it, and reinstall the Dell OEM hardware before we will troubleshoot" ... from there they can only say their OEM Tray CPUs work, they can not test, will not test nor validate a Boxed Retail CPU, nor give 'support' to it, as is their policy

Out of curiosity I'll ask a few questions if you don't mind, this is re your: Newegg 9900k & Bios Issue

1) Are you on the new Bios 1.2

2) You purchased base 8700 & 1st installed your own 8700k & there is no issue as u describe today or is 8700k blacked out too

3) You removed 8700k, installed 9900k & Bios 'cpu performance' option blacks out

You said the Bios option was alive for a boot or two, that it at least was there before is a good sign. One wonders if placing 8700 or 8700k back in there, running it, then replacing 9900k might help restore order, though it's time consuming & may or not pay off, so relegate it to a 'last resort method'; regardless, I expect you'll be able to resolve the 'blacklisted nature' of your retail 9900k soon, as early as tonight even or in some future Bios update, for if you can not it doesn't bode well; it implies Frank Azor meant what he said when he said: 'we ask that u buy your upgrade CPU from us (our OEM tray) ...'

Once someone can confirm their retail 9900k chip is not blacklisted & has no Bios issue, that will of course put minds back at ease

Given that @Ultra Male has purchased an SL.com chip from @Donald@HIDevolution I assume that will be none other than a retail chip (since SL is in pursuit of the highest bins possible due to their relative value, if there's any validity to retail chips receiving higher binning potential vs OEM tray discount CPUs then SL.com will avoid OEM tray CPUs regardless their discounted nature, would be my theory); if HIDEvo intends to install a retail chip such as you have I'd expect a Bios issue to occur as yours has, if that makes sense. If no issues with SL.com chip then there's that to consider

In my 6years of helping Alien desktop owners swap to higher CPUs I've never encountered nor heard of this issue where a CPU found on sales menu is sourced elsewhere & then 'blacklisted' in the Bios (your 8700k may fit the bill but not the 9900k)

Dell purchases OEM Tray CPUs at a wholesale discount (in lots of 1000 etc); how those truly differ from Boxed (retail) CPUs is unbeknownst to me; I read that the wholeale tray CPUs may suffer from lower binning since they're destined to OEMs (Hp Lenovo Dell etc) who typically do not offer unrestricted over-clocking & so do not need higher binning chips & thus can be offered at wholesale discounts beyond just 'volume' of 1000 per, but I can not say if that is so

This screen grab (see 2 & 4) is as close as I've encountered to the idea Intel may make 'custom' Dell OEM CPUs, & that 'There is a different process. We dictate to Intel how to set the CPU to work with our OEM bios and motherboard. The OEM CPU is not the same as a retail CPU'. Although I was once a part of that thread above I have not been able to make sense of the conclusions it draws & can not vouch for the truth or falsity; this marks the 1st time in 2.5years I ever felt the need to go back & dig it up & screen grab it

I'm not saying there is witch craft afoot here, I'm not saying Dellware has found a way to block 'Newegg' CPUs, not saying you can only install their OEM tray CPU, because there is no precedent for it: in the past, any supported desktop CPU should work, sometimes XEONs will boot right up which are 'unsupported'. Their Boxed (retail) vs OEM Policy, example from same thread: "Because we only validated/tested our OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Intel i7-6950X. We would not test a CPU you bought from lets say Amazon". What he's said is what I've heard him say for 6years now: they're under no obligation to get 'retail' chips to work, nor will investigate a retail chip's issues if or when they arise

I trust the entire forum & world-wide owner community would collectively revolt if they were to discover that retail chips are 'blacklisted', which is an idea I'm not floating here. Two forum owners w/ same issue on same day w/ same CPU is noteworthy, so what I'm saying is, again: once someone can confirm their retail 9900k chip is not blacklisted & has no Bios issue, that will put minds back at ease

Is checking for ASIC quality still a thing ...

edit to new reply:

I only trust an Alien as far as I can toss one

 

that would be hilarious if Dell found a way to blacklist CPUs

 

Okay, not sure I want to go through the trouble to switch to AHCI.. if I decide to, I'll do it soon since I only have 1 game downloaded, so if something goes wrong, I wont lose much. Guess I'll think about it.

Will speeds on my Nvme increase that much if I switch?

 

I've done both. no dice

 

Such tools is more like snake oil (I talk about offered ssd optimizion). But you have access to firmware updates etc.

Run some different ssd benchmarks and compare your results with equal ssd model.

BENCHMARK SOFTWARE...
Anvil's Storage Utilities
ATTO Disk Benchmark
AS SSD Benchmark
Crystal DiskMark v6.0.2

 

I am on 1.20, the bios actually had overclocking option in the bios for the 8700k even though it didn't seem as though the defaults were set right. I agree that the processor itself is not under any warranty by dell and I have no problem with that. Being that even Frank Azor said on twitter that as long as a cpu is compatible it would not void your warranty, I think that the software should still be under warranty for a supported cpu. I have no illusion that they should be responsible for the 9900k itself and even intel doesn't need to warranty it because i've lapped the IHS. But software/BIOS wise I think Alienware is responsible for it working properly.

EDIT: and to be honest I am going to delid my 8700k and put that in when I get the chance. I just want to get an answer to the problem for other people who might run into the same thing. I honestly think the 9900k is not being used to it's full potential with the cooling in this machine. I think it is better utilized in this!

and yes RGB adds more performance

 

Hey all,

Just wanted to post a little feedback from the UK, got my Area 51m few days ago, was lucky enough to get my work discount of 14% which was a big chunk of change on the 3300 pound model. But noticed they added another configuration model which had twice as much ram 32gb and you could have twice as much SSDs over the model I bought for less money ;( - So rang them up and they gave me another 150 pounds off my price as a "marketing error". Note you can still get this double ram double SDD model on their UK website, odd as if you choose the next model up that comes with that spec its nearly 500 pound more???

Anyway when it arrived the next issue came to light, in the UK if you order the white version it only comes with a US keyboard ;( - utter fail!! So again rang up and complained and got offered another 88 pounds off, was tempted to send it back but will all that discount I'm just keeping it, so far pleased with the rest of it

 

Correct me if I’m wrong. You purchased the laptop with 8700. Then put in 8700K. Last upgraded with 9900K and OC options was gone. From what I know, the 8700K isn’t supported by Dell in their website. If correct this smells as the 8700K screwed up the firmware.

 

Actually I went from the 8700 to 9900k first thing and had the same problem. Then i put the 8700k in it. It's kind of a weird issue if you ask me.

 

Dell’s firmware is a mess. As long they haven’t confirmed 100% support for 8700K you risk screwed system. 8700K before or after doesn’t really matter. You have probably had firmware upgrade in between this.

Swap processors can trigger firmware change. Test out.

 

The point for me though is that if the problem existed before the unsupported cpu was installed then it was an issue anyways. I will say though that I much prefer the temps/performance of the 8700k for this machine though

edit: I'm actually wondering whether clearing the cmos might be an easy fix... I'll test it out tomorrow.

 

Might be worth a shot to remove CPU from system and clear the CMOS, then re-install CPU, and boot. You could have some conflicts going on somewhere from swapping CPU's 2 or 3 times.

 

I think we both had the same thought at pretty much the same time

 

Finally managed to “used” my 15% student discount code via online chat with Dell rep. Got the machine with 9900k 2080 32gb 512x2 raid 0. ETA 22/3 finger crossed that they wont screw me up by delaying my order.

 

just realized this will happen to me as well, i live in switzerland and ordered the white version. when i was doing the configuration i noticed how the keyboard was set to US.... then i was like wth? and reloaed the page (which reset the color to dark), so german/int keyboard was displayed. so i was like "oh well, must have been a bug".....switched back to white and finished the order. sooooo.....US-layout incoming for me as well xD the only thing i will have to think about is what to do with the "\" key..probably put it on one of the macro-keys, as on a swiss/german keyboard the "\" key is to the left side of the key "y", which doesn't exist on a US-keyboard ^^ oh and also "z" and "y" are switched...on the notebooks i had with US-layout (razer blade i.e.) i used to switch the key-caps..but not sure if that will work on the 51m's keyboard as i don't know yet how to get the keycaps out. ;-)

 

Same machine I got! Nice! Looks like we beat the system and got the top spec for about 1000 less lol

 

Quick query the support manual says it can only take SSDs m.2 or other wise up to 1TB, has anyone tried to install a 2TB and does it work without any fuss?

 

In the light of benchmarking, I installed Max Payne 1 and got a rock solid constant 144 fps with G-Sync enabled... just sayin!

 

Max Payne games were EPIC!

 

Yes

 

curious that no one tested an deliddet 9900k yet XD

 

Am actually aiming at the asus rog g703 previously and always ignore the 51m’s advert that pops up all over the place. Thinking that the alien head with 9900k gonna cost much more than this rog. Until i find out the fact where g703 cost much more than the 51m. (Diff by £900)

Glad that i made up my mind to peek at the 51m

 

What I have been thinking about is, will delid even help on a laptop.
THis is how I think, there is a define ammount of copper, fanspeed. The extra heat that manage to escape into the heatingshild will it be able transport it away? I mean you will hit the max heat at some point?

With water cooling the water take a lot of time to get warm and with enough water cooling it will never become to hot since it manage get ride of the heat through a big radiator and alot of air that cools it.

Just ideas I try discuss with you guys.

 

Mine was ordered originally with 9900k, nothing's been modified and my cpu performance is locked out too.

 

I know there is not too many 9900k owners out there, but for the ones that ordered from Dell, do your OC options show up in BIOS 1.2?

 

So you never modified yours in any way and the bios overclocking isn't working either?

 

I cannot speak for the 9900k as i belive that has a solder between the IHS and chip, and it has good thermal efficiency from the factory, but delidding in general normally gets excellent temp drops on most CPU's, LM between the die and IHS.

 

Correct. I only reinstalled a fresh Windows. ....... Get this..... I just put back my original HDD back in and low and behold bios cpu performance mode is back!!? wtf?!?

 

What the heck? How does the BIOS know what OS or OS edition you installed to activate or disable the option?

 

Conspiracy theories begin now.... Did Dellware add some Hand-shake between the Bios and the custom Boot code on the HDD's they install?
Or did they secretly push out an update to disable this feature for everyone because now they know how ****ty the cpu/gpu cooler assembly is due the fact its missing 30-40% of the copper they disregarded to save a penny with the fake 7 pipe..?

 

Yes because then you will be using the Microsoft NVMe driver vs the IRST Driver.

with Samsung drives, the performance benefits are even better since they have a Samsung NVMe driver.

 

Dell uses XTU as their interface in BiOS and for their desktop "command center" Overclock Utility.

There is a bunch of junk that gets embedded in the HKEY registry from XTU. Probably need to properly install Command Center and its XTU counterpart (right update version as well as install locations?)

 

I agree ad understand that you get better heat trasnfer from die to HIS. My questions lie around the HIS to Entire heatsink with fans that need transport it away from laptop.

 

Mine arrives Sat and will put a 9900k bin Delidded in once I get the system.

 

You can change your keyboard/language settings in windows. if you can type blindly it shouldn't matter what character is displayed on the the keyboard caps. But that's only if you can live with it. So for example you could have an US keyboard, by navigating to the right under side of the screen, if there are 3 characters (i have ENG displayed, but because i switch sometimes between the US/Dutch and spanish language, the flag could also change to SPN or NLD (Spain and Netherlands). my physcial keyboard lay-out is still US-ENG but my software language is (dutch) so some keys will have the dutch layout instead of the ENG-US.

 

yeah i know, i can live with it and always just change the layout within windows. the only thing i hate is when "y" and "z" are switched, that's why i used to switch those two key caps. it's not that i can't type otherwise, it just somehow bothers me to look at those two keys being at different places than what i'm used to.. 1st-world-problems i guess xD

 

This sounds like a repeat of the "19'' TV" lawsuits from the late '90s to '00s? That is why everything thing is "32'' class" now as the actual viewable diagonal is 31.25" or whatever. Here is the smart phone version from more recent history. So can someone sue Dell for making customers pay for faster memory that is unusable?

Homer

 

I don't currently have Alienware Command Center installed on my fresh Windows install... I will install when I get home...

 

quick question: i haven't been on this thread since the beginning, has anyone ever mentioned what thickness of thermal pads are used on this thing, i.e. what thickness of pads is necessary to switch them to usefull ones? i just need a "yes", then i'll look through the thread, i just don't feel like reading through all of those 400 pages if in the end it wasn't ever mentioned ^^ thx guys

 

It has been repeated many times But please jsut measure and test yourselves. They use various heatsink manufacturers, revisions and not all heatsinks are created equal.

 

okay cool, thanks for the input

ah and an even bigger thanks for this info, i didn't know! then i will check myself after i got it

 

It might come out a bit negative, but its from my own experience as well. After following a guide I was stuck with none of the pads even touching any component.

 

9700k / RTX 2080

Cinebench R15


Alienware CC



Anyone know why i get 4.7Ghz on Cinebench while im at 5.0GHz on Alienware CC?

If i put Alienware CC @ 4.7GHZ , i get 4.4GHz on Cinebench, looks like i'm always getting -0.3Ghz