*OFFICIAL* Alienware Area-51M R2 Owner's Lounge

I have repasted, change the thermal pads and replaced the cpu with a delided one .

Unfortunately the stock one even with undervolting was thermal throttling under heavy stress even though they did I great job with the new heatsink, but just repasting should already cut a three degrees down

Review of the new clevo by Der Bauer with same specs as my area 51m and you know what , 5967 points with cinebenchr20 while I pulled max of mine 6280 ahaha

 

Guide: How to set Alien FX Lights according to the app you launch

 

For some reason I can't get the GPU to use more than 160W in GTA or Modern Warfare without upscaling to 4K, FPS in both games is somewhat underwhelming as well, averaging 70 - 80 FPS in GTA and 110 - 130 FPS in MW, anyone know how to fix this?

 

Go to nVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Power Management Mode and tell me what does it say there?

 

Area-51m R2 video review is up =

@Fire Tiger @iunlock @ssj92 @Mr. Fox @Papusan @Melvin Rousseau @Normimb @normand668 @Calipha @GTVEVO @etern4l @Biker Gremling @Rengsey R. H. Jr. @Vanya @Virale @Rei Fukai @Vasudev @devilhunter @alexnvidia @MogRules

 

Nice review bro !!!

Still Impressed with the work hid has done with your cooling !

 

Great review Spartan, thanks for your thoughts!

Feeling slightly bemused by this guy who has (I presume) put an m.2 eGPU into an Asus TUF A15 w/ Ryzen 7 4800H and connected a RTX 2080 Ti. Time Spy of 14152 from a laptop that weighs 2.3 kg and costs ~USD 1100 (before you add the 2080 Ti).

 

I set it to "Prefer maximum performance" yesterday and it didn't seem to have much of an effect.

 

Did you reboot after that then test? A reboot is mandatory for the new clocks to take effect

 

Yes, I had to reboot anyways because I was installing multiple updates.

 

That's one heck of a machine, enjoy it!

 

Also make sure your power management is set to high performance in AWCC.

Also if you have msi afterburner with rivatuner make sure you have the following enabled.



Does the gpu use 99% or is it using less? Does it hit a temp limit?

 

What are the obnoxious flashing lights under the display panel? Is there a way to disable them? It was annoying enough in the video, but that would drive me insane if I were trying to use it. After rebooting around 13:20 in the video they went away.

 

Those are the IR emitters of the tobi eye tracker, you can't see them without a camera.

 

Ah, I see. That's good that you can only see it with a camera. Thanks for the answer. I'd probably take it apart and unplug that from the motherboard since I'd never have any use for it.

 

you don't see them bro. those are the Tobbi eye tracking sensors, they just appear when filming.

 

The only sensor that an end-user has effective control over is temperature limit, and that is going to be restricted to the thermal management capabilities of the product. Unless you use AC cooling, go outside in the winter, or put it in a freezer to keep the laptop abnormally cold, temperature limit is going to impair performance on a laptop because Pacal and Turing GPUs begin dropping clocks around 50ºC. The power limit and voltage limit are difficult to influence due to firmware cancer that is not very configuration-friendly. The no load limit simply means the GPU is downclocking because of no demand on the GPU, so that will be triggered any time the GPU is idle. It's not a performance limiter, just information that is meaningless (it reports the obvious).

Right. I got that from Brother @senso's reply. But, I would still just unplug it from the motherboard so it would not be annoying on video. The eye-tracking is something I have always viewed as being a worthless gimmick, so there's no reason to leave it connected unless you intend to use it. I didn't know until now that it created such an obnoxious experience for viewing a video. If the viewer doesn't know what it is that creates a visual impression that something is malfunctioning.

 

Thankfully thats the case with the Area 51m though the 17 R5 I found was a lot more overt, with an almost constant red flashing on the bar below the monitor. You could turn this off via the Tobii software, however it still had multiple services and startup entries running. I've found the 51m the same. If you just disable via the software then uninstall you will get an annoying tobii related file that automatically tries to open on startup and in some cases every 10 minutes roughly prompting you to search the Microsoft store for a compatible app. You really need to disable the associated services and then its great.

I think Tobii Eye Tracking is great but I do not like the resources it still seemingly uses when I don't want to use it and also that they don't offer a config without it. Regardless I'm pleased on the 51m its less visible at least, though I recommend disabling it via the software, disabling the services (two ive found on 51m) and then uninstalling the software if not used.

 

Has anyone changed the thermal pads of the ram chips on the GPU ?
I have a feeling 1 mm is not making enough contact and would like to try 1,5 mm?

 

I unlocked Ultimate Performance power plan I have had it set to that. I usually have 99 - 100% GPU usage but HWInfo & Riva Tuner show an average of around 125 - 130W GPU power usage.

I've tried enabling those before but for some reason they don't show up.

I have the following selected; What's wrong?

I have the following selected; What's wrong?

 

This cancer makes all winners. Nvidia cap max boost on all Turing mobile graphics. There is hgh enough voltage to go above the cap but Nvidia don’t let you own your own hardware. Benching isn’t as fun anymore due this shenanigans. And I’m sure same will pop up for coming 30xx series mobile graphics.

93°C at 44% load. This doesn't look promising. Tried with max fans? Boiling temp is 100°C

 

They have to make sure everyone with a laptop takes home a trophy for participation. After all, there can't be any losers if everyone is a winner. (Believe it or not, there are people that actually think that way.)

 

Any idea why this light surround the rear panel (tron) is not turning on? I tried reinstalling AWCC and changing the color but it doesn't seem to turn on. I would've thought that the lighting cable might not be connected but all the other lights work fine it's just that one.

 

Maybe it is unplugged inside of the chassis or the power cable running to it has a short.

Wow, that's pretty toasty. The "no load" limit flag is also producing erroneous information. There is no way that is an accurate NVIDIA PerfCap flag looking at what is on the screen.

 

Did it work before? And did it work right after you switched over on latest and greatest from Microsoft?

 

Remove the back plate. Check the connector hasn't got any play in it. My m15 r3 had the same issue. I just pushed the connector flush against the slot it goes into. The light powered on after I did that.

 

@nightdex @Papusan

I wouldn't never even cared to check as the others lights are working. Thanks brother @Mr. Fox

this is what I found, I forgot to connect it:

 

Great. Glad to hear it was that simple. I suspected that might be all it was.

 

Please go into further detail.

 

Sure. As the name implies "no load" means the GPU is not being utilized (loaded). It's basically idle. On a system with Intel HD Graphics and discrete GPU, it can also mean the GPU is turned off and all display output is being handled by the CPU.

The problem with even looking at it as an indicator is that it is not accurate and not meaningful. The accuracy of sensors that communicate with software is always iffy and subject to error. Accuracy and function of the sensors varies by driver version as well. On that basis, I say you're better off totally ignoring anything reported as "No Load Status" because it is not relevant. In this screenshot, my shunt-modded 2080 Ti is pulling over 500W (25% of its 2000W power limit). Clearly not under "no load" status running Furmark. You should find voltage limit and power limit indicators to be generally accurate, but being able to do anything to correct those problems with NVIDIA's cancer firmware is a totally different matter. Perhaps it is better to not pay attention to them because it is frustrating to know a problem is present but be powerless to fix it.

 

Alright. What do you expect the issue might be then? I recently spoke to someone who suggested that my places outlets — which are quite bad I might add — are the cause for my system being so power-limited.

 

If you mean this...

There are numerous possibilities. I'd double-check your NVCP settings.

On this screen be sure the center radio button is selected, not Let the 3D application decide. If it is not set that way, then select the middle radio button, click Apply, then click "Take me there"

That will take you here. Be sure your power management mode setting is like this. If not, set them to match and then click Apply. Retest and see if performance improved.


If you've already confirmed both screens are set that way, it could be the CPU overheating is causing the firmware cancer to pull back on GPU power. It could be something not right with your charging system (maybe one of the AC adapters is not functioning 100%). It could even be something as simple as the GPU driver version you are using is junk. That has happened to me more than once. Simply dropped back a few versions on GPU drivers can sometimes fix everything. If you have GeFarts experience installed, either get rid of it entirely (my recommendation is to nix it... it is totally rubbish) or be sure the Battery Boost crap is disabled. GeFarts Experience impairs GPU performance overall, but the Battery Boost "feature" will impair your GPU performance even further.

I am going to assume your GPU is working correctly and reacting to external stimulus (or lack of it).

 

nVIDIA GeForce Driver update from Dell v451.55

Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver updated to v17.9.1.1009

 

You mentioned in your review that your booting time is quite long ? Is that not cuz if the raid 0
Cuz my laptop boots in 8 secs from the moment I switch it on and I think it's even faster than the r1

 

RAID mode plus when I have my Samsung T5 Portable SSD connected to the Thunderbolt port, it causes a hit on the boot time as well.

 

Because your machine don’t reach real shutdown. It will only be filled with more an more junk witch in the end will screw up.
The Pros and Cons of Windows 10's “Fast Startup” Mode - HowToGeek

 

Nvidia Hotfix Driver 451.85

PSB the latest Hotfix driver for Nvidia, reportedly significantly better for Horizon Zero Dawn.

https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5046/~/geforce-hotfix-driver-version-451.85

 

First post! Just pulled the trigger on an R2 (10700k, 2080 Super, 32GB 3200MHz, 300Hz).

I'm concerned about the stock thermals. Should I cancel and get 10700, 2070 Super, 2933MHz for better longevity due to thermals? Will it make much of a difference?

 

No. The RTX 2070 vs 2080 heat is not the major factor here when it comes to heat. It's a good choice you made with the 10700K as that will run cooler so you're good.

 

Is it confirmed that Secure Boot is permanently ENABLED? I wanted to run linux on this system.

 

It can be disabled, @ratchetnclank posted a screenshot here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...2-owners-lounge.832848/page-126#post-11039016

 

Is it easy to get to the Tobi Eye tracking Motherboard connector? I would like to unplug/disable that.

 

You mean they only mention it in the Service Manual? Maybe they copy and paste same info for all Dellbooks.

 

How can they get away with removing such a fundamental feature? LOL what the crap is this? No thanks DELL.

 

Well I definitely did not see it. I'll do some more digging around later but I'm too busy now to deal with Mr. Azor's mess

 

So I just figured out while running some tests that GPU power is pulled back and evened out by high CPU usage at 1080p, where as when I upscale the game at 4K and add Ray Tracing I am able to pull 185W+ from the GPU.

How would I go about pulling back CPU usage @ 1080p? Because at times the CPU would use more power than the GPU in Modern Warfare.

 

See if you can squeeze out lower voltage to get lower Cpu temp and power consumption. Second, try to improve cooling. As I said in my previous post... 100c is boiling temp. 93C with under 50% load is already close.
Last option... Lower the Cpu power limits with TS or XTU (but you cripple your cpu performance).

 

Everytime I lower the voltage it seems as if the GPU's wattage lowers as well.

 

If one of you have Modern Warfare on your Area 51M R2, what frames do you average, at what settings, and what is your CPU / GPU power usage?