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

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Spartan@HIDevolution, May 9, 2020.

  1. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

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  2. etern4l

    etern4l Notebook Virtuoso

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    OK, so back in the day desktop cards drew 180W. Noted, but what's the underlying point? Alienware can't pursue Applesque chassis shrinkage and support growing graphics card power demands at the same time. They won't be able to just stick a 320W GPU into the same chassis, just because GTX 1080 would fit.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2020
  3. jclausius

    jclausius Notebook Virtuoso

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    Why? That's not reality, and also not the way Clevo seems to operate.

    How about imaginng Alienware Area51m R(x) WITH Prema! It is too bad Alienware has decided to change course over the years and go in the other direction.

     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2020
  4. Rei Fukai

    Rei Fukai Notebook Deity

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    It does and it even exceeds it. I've pulled 220+ through my 1080 but no OC on the CPU
     
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  5. pathfindercod

    pathfindercod Notebook Virtuoso

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    It happened when Dell bought Alienware and they stopped using Clevo as their supplier.
     
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  6. jclausius

    jclausius Notebook Virtuoso

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    I think that's the correct timing. Regardless, if it was before or after the acquisition, I do know they soon started leveraging data gathered from users like @Mr. Fox and @Prema, so they could learn how to block modifications on how the machine could be configured in their next "patch" of a BIOS.

    It's too bad that Alienware, unlike some Clevo resellers, don't understand what "power-modders" can do in help selling their systems. But from their point of view, perhaps they feel they can achieve the same level of performance or come close without the risk of RTMs by customers mis-configuring a machine.

     
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  7. Kevin

    Kevin Egregious

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    Does Clevo directly employ Prema and pay him to fix their mistakes?

    That's why I posed the scenario.

    Good on Clevo for not blocking BIOS mods but without this one person doing it everyone else would be assed out.
     
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  8. pathfindercod

    pathfindercod Notebook Virtuoso

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    No, @Prema does not work for Clevo. Just have been the bios mod god for laptops for years. Custom builders like HIDEvolution, eurocom use to but I think prema fired them as a client and maybe a few others pay the service.
     
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  9. Kevin

    Kevin Egregious

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    Rhetorical question.
     
  10. jclausius

    jclausius Notebook Virtuoso

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    Exactly. Just as Muscle Car modders don't work for auto firms, computer over-clockers and modders don't necessarily work for manufacturers. That doesn't negate their impact for consumers. Trying to say that two products are about equal at stock, but the other one must not be better because it can be modded for more improvement is an argument that really falls flat. The plain fact is that product can still be modded / improved.

    I think the bigger point is that some systems do not block modders from tweaking (regardless if it's one person or an army), and yet other companies like those in this forum topic do. But as I mentioned earlier, I'm sure there are reasons I'm not privy for those decisions.

    [ Ending this on my end, since this has been discussed before ]

     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2020
  11. kylera

    kylera Notebook Consultant

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    This is too funny. I follow both this owner’s lounge and the Clevo X150 owner’s lounge, and the recent posts for both lounges are about the other side XD
     
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  12. Terreos

    Terreos Royal Guard

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    I think it’s healthy to know what the competition is doing so you can make an informed choice on which machine you’d want. So it makes sense if you’re in the market for one or the other you’d be keeping tabs on both. And honestly at the end of the day you’re gonna have a beast of a laptop to play games on.
     
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  13. kylera

    kylera Notebook Consultant

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    Oh, research is never a bad thing. I was laughing at the coincidence of it all at that one moment.
     
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  14. sprinkledonut

    sprinkledonut Notebook Enthusiast

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    Was wondering if anyone has or could test what wattage the 2080 super runs at when only a single 330w power adapter is being used?
     
  15. win32asmguy

    win32asmguy Moderator Moderator

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  16. Terreos

    Terreos Royal Guard

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    True true. It’s just one big circle. :eek:
     
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  17. kylera

    kylera Notebook Consultant

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    Out of curiosity, just how loud do these fans get under medium or heavy load? Do the fans get distracting enough that they interfere with in-game sounds?

    I mean, I know the fans are going to spin up fairly often when playing most games, and I’m not really sensitive to noise. I ask out of mere curiosity since I do see a lot of people comment about needing headphones when they play games on any laptop.
     
  18. ratchetnclank

    ratchetnclank Notebook Deity

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    You need headphones if the game is maxing the gpu. If you have frame limited the game and it's not demanding you can get away with a lower fan profile. You could use the speakers but it just becomes harder to discern game audio cues.

    Though i always just run it on full speed for gaming and use noise cancelling headphones (Though any kind of headphone should be fine).
     
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  19. Clamibot

    Clamibot Notebook Deity

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    To build on this answer, it also depends on what kind of person you are as well. Since you're not sensitive to fan noise, max fans may not bother you. I personally don't need headphones when running laptop fans at max. I'm typically too focused on the game I'm playing, and the fan noise just blends into the ambient sounds of the game for me.
     
  20. kylera

    kylera Notebook Consultant

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    Admittedly I don’t know what to expect. I’m coming from having used a fanless laptop for the past five years, but I do have headphones laying around if it turns out I AM more sensitive than I thought I was.

    I’ve done my research and expect fans, and I am pretty used to wearing headphones if worse comes to worst.
     
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  21. circuit

    circuit Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi All,

    Hope the community here helps me make up my mind. I currently own a A51m R1 with RTX 2060, i9 9900 (non k). I placed an order yesterday for A51m R2 (RTX 2080S, 10900K). After placing the order, I decided to try cancelling it and maybe build a desktop or buy R11 or newer model with 3000 series GPU. Most of my PC gaming is FPS or simulation games as I tend to play other games on consoles in 4k (on a larger screen). Dell is unable to cancel my order and I will receive it shortly. I have the option to send it back. Now the thing is once this beautiful beast of a machine arrives, my heart would tell me to keep it but my mind would tell me to return it. What should I do? Is this GPU worth it for 3440x1440 gaming in the near future? I do not play very heavy games on PCs.
     
  22. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

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    Watch the review before you make a decision:



    If I was in your shoes, I wouldn't keep it. You have a decent laptop already. Send it back and wait for another year till the RTX 3XXX laptops are out.
     
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  23. circuit

    circuit Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks Spartan@HIDevolution. I will try to return it. My wife would love to check out this laptop before returning it. I hope it will be easy on her if I try to return it :p
     
  24. kylera

    kylera Notebook Consultant

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    I second Spartan’s call. Don’t keep it. IMO, the jump from 2060 to 2080S, as well as from a 9th generation to 10th generation CPU hasn’t been and isn’t worth it. Your money is far better spent on a desktop rig with a 3000.
     
  25. ratchetnclank

    ratchetnclank Notebook Deity

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    I'd return it. Hold on for another 6 months or so and get the R3 when it comes if you must have something new. It's not worth the upgrade over what you already have imo.

    Or if you can have a desktop they are always the better option.
     
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  26. pathfindercod

    pathfindercod Notebook Virtuoso

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    If you have the space get a desktop. Unless you plan to move it place to place.
     
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  27. Calipha

    Calipha Notebook Guru

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    My computer crashes after about 15 minutes @ -125mV, I believe I've seen some people able to go that far while stable, any thoughts?
     
  28. Papusan

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

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    Enjoy.
     
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  29. win32asmguy

    win32asmguy Moderator Moderator

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    upload_2020-9-8_20-15-27.png
    Out of the box seems to be performing around a 2070 Refresh. It had a max TDP of 122W while running the benchmark.
     
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  30. ratchetnclank

    ratchetnclank Notebook Deity

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    The difference in temps between -125 and -100 isn't much anyway. Just knock it back a bit and have something stable not point im running at -90 for a stable undervolt. Not all CPU's can undervolt the same.
     
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  31. senso

    senso Notebook Deity

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    If I recall correctly my regular 115W 2070 does around 8400 graphics points, so thats 1000 points less than a regular 2070, a 2070 Refresh should do a bit better than mine.
     
  32. ratchetnclank

    ratchetnclank Notebook Deity

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    The max tdp seems low for the 2070 super it should pull 150w which would explain the low score. Is the performance profile set to high performance?
     
  33. win32asmguy

    win32asmguy Moderator Moderator

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    Interesting. Is that 2070 overclocked? I have not seen many that high before.
     
  34. Game7a1

    Game7a1 ?

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    When I looked at notebookcheck's data of the RTX 2070 mobile, the Time Spy graphic scores are mostly above that of your RX 5700m.
     
  35. Kevin

    Kevin Egregious

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    Would you run Firestrike please?
     
  36. win32asmguy

    win32asmguy Moderator Moderator

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    upload_2020-9-9_13-56-42.png
     
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  37. senso

    senso Notebook Deity

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    Just what the TDP allows for, it was just a quick tweak on the voltage curve, it can hold 1800Mhz in most cases, but dips to 1750Mhz sometimes, but running Timespy the average clock is 1650Mhz, its very TDP starved.

    But yours scores better on FireStrike, for now my 2070 only gets 21860 Graphics score on FS.

    So, I would say that its a matter of driver optimisation for one or the other type of rendering.
     
  38. Papusan

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

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    Many results from 8500 and well above 9000 in TS graphics (oc'd).
     
  39. Kevin

    Kevin Egregious

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    Thanks.

    A stock RX 5700 (non-XT desktop) gets about 23.1K Firestrike GPU score, so this 5700M seems to not be very far off, which it shouldn't be as they are pretty much identical in specs.

    edit: RX 5700 scores ~7800 in Timespy btw
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2020
  40. Isarill

    Isarill Newbie

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    Got my area 51 R2 today and after playing with it for couple of hours I've noticed some strange issues:

    1) Buzzing electrical sound when I move mouse. Identical to an example in this video,its not coming from speakers/headphones just from the chassis itself -
    Tested this mouse on an old laptop and it works fine. Also the polling rate seems to affect the volume of this sound.

    2) Fans have a strange behavior: They run normal for 10 mins at around 35-40% in balancing mode, then there is a sound like smth was unplugged and fans stop working as shown on the picture. After some random time in silent mode there is a sound like smth was plugged in and fans start to work normally. The screenshot is here - https://imgur.com/a/YTUNmSd

    3) There is a constant electrical sound which is not related to speakers or headphones.

    Any ideas of what is going on with the machine? Thanks in advance!
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2020
  41. Papusan

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

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    And easier to make run correct.
    Those Time Spy numbers are already obsolete.

    Here comes the 3DM FireStrike scores...
    [​IMG]
    3DMark Fire Strike leadeboard for 2080 Super

    For now. Not correct. Neither was it for R1.
    [​IMG]

    Edit. Be inspired...
    upload_2020-9-11_5-4-47.png
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2020
  42. AMoo-Miki

    AMoo-Miki Notebook Enthusiast

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    I got my second R2 and the main issues that I had with the first one are present on this one two. Dell told me that the touchpad on the first one was faulty and needed to be replaced; now, I doubt that to be true.

    1) Holding a button down on the touchpad for 3 seconds will result in erratic movement of the cursor; things go back to normal after 5 seconds of not touching the touchpad. This makes two handed dragging and dropping very annoying.

    2) With Tobii on, two finger scrolling behaves abnormally in various apps; in some it is inhibited, in some super slow, and in some super fast. Tobii confirmed via email that they have problems with Synaptics touchpads and have removed "Scroll to gaze" settings from the app. It appears though that the functionality is still on and nothing but disabling Tobii fixes the scrolling.

    3) Under certain conditions which I haven't been able to narrow down yet, touchpad buttons will remain active despite releasing them.
     
  43. ratchetnclank

    ratchetnclank Notebook Deity

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    1) Not sure on this never heard of it before.

    2) This sounds normal the fans do make a small thudding like sound as they start and stop.

    3) This sounds like coil whine which unfortunately is very common on electronics especially graphics cards, nothing you can do about it either.
     
  44. ratchetnclank

    ratchetnclank Notebook Deity

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    1) Mine also does this. It seems like it's probably a driver issue.

    2) My two finger scrolling seems to work but i've only ever tested on chrome since i barely use the trackpad.

    I know it doesn't fix your issue but could you not use a mouse?

    Some people on reddit seem to have some success installing windows precision drivers onto their Area 51m R1's. You could give it a shot? https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/comments/bi3cmt/precision_drivers_on_area_51m/
     
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  45. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

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    Not sure if this would help but here are my recommended settings. I turn off the pinch to zoom feature on the trackpad as it drives me crazy if I ever did wanna use the touchpad to scroll up or down sometimes it would think I am trying to zoom in/out so I turn that off.

    1.png 2.png
     
  46. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    All laptop touch device gestures are obscene gestures. I disable all of them. Trackpads (touchpads with no buttons) are disgusting and they elicit obscene gestures any time I am faced with an inability to avoid using one. Thankfully, that is extremely rare.
     
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  47. ratchetnclank

    ratchetnclank Notebook Deity

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    I just realised that the mouse doesn't jump erratically after touching the trackpad for a second or two. It goes where your eyes are looking.

    It's a tobii "feature"
    Capture.PNG
     
  48. Melvin Rousseau

    Melvin Rousseau Notebook Consultant

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    Has anyone bought the area 51 m r2 with a 4k pannel ?
     
  49. normand668

    normand668 Notebook Geek

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    Hi Melvin,

    I have and not had any issues, overall I've been pleased as it suits my use better than a lower resolution monitor with higher refresh rate, though I respect and agree that is best for gaming generally.

    My friend at work now has an R2 with the 300Hz monitor so its been interesting to make the comparison in person couple days ago. Beautiful screen in response and silky smooth, though definitely not as bright and you can certainly notice the difference when we had HZD and PSO2 running in 4K simultaneously (obviously he was supersampling) . Overall as expected colour (minute difference) and contrast ratio vs refresh and response, whilst the native resolution looked better than supersampled. Both fantastic however.

    How about yourself? You thinking or having issues?
     
  50. Melvin Rousseau

    Melvin Rousseau Notebook Consultant

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    Hey Normand :)

    How are you ?

    Well my girlfriend does a lot of video editing so she needs a more recent computer and she doesn't really care so much about the screen, the thing is I enjoy much more playing adventure games than fps so I was wondering if I would not give her mine and order a new one with the 4k screen instead .

    My only worries are about the refresh rate for when I game a bit of fps like modern Warfare or overwatch etc .. as well as windows upscaling for applications etc, since Spartan mentioned he had big issues with that I am a bit concerned.

    Besides that I am very happy with the computer works very good and the thermals are definitely super good
     
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