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

I was so happy to see this post! After removing and installing the new versions of AWCC and OC Controls I am vey angry to DELL again.... Manual fan controls just doesn't work... Obviously not all functionality of this garbage software will ever work. I hope someday they will unlock fans to be controlled via hwinfo

 

Not yet, going to get a supported older card in the AM to try with the aga. If that doesn't work then the AGA port on the back of the 51m R2 is just another tease from Dell.

 

Re install. Manual fan is working on my new 51m R2.

But i agree. It is still a garbage sofware.

 

You want to say if you set the Offset at 46% your fans are going at 46% speed? Does the smooth line works too as it expected?
I've reinstalled this software more than 10 times as @Spartan@HIDevolution does in his tutorial video, but with no luck.

Did your AWCC run with this feature out of the box? Did you do something special to run it?

Thank you in advance!

 

Like you said. It is a garbage software so here is how ti seems to work:
If i set the offset at: 0% fans will turn at 80% all the time. If i set it a 50% fans will spin at 90% all the time. If i set it at 100% fans will spin at 100% all the time.
Now the question is: 50% Offset of what? 50% of what dell's engineer consider to be safe for the laptop to avoid repair? Probably. I also think it is related to the CPU temps.
Same goes for the fan curve: It is working but it's not following the curve well. Only partially following the curve.
Edit: The sofware was working out of the box. And i only updated commnant center and OCcontrol yesterday (did not do a clean install) and it's working as intended by dell.
Edit 2: Just tested the fan curve and it seems that dell won't allow us to set the fan speed lower then 80%.

 

So it is working between 80% and 100%, Totally useless in my opinion

 

Yeah... it is working the same way to me. It is not possible to go under 80% whatever setting I do. Well... will wait them eventually to unlock fans configuration via bios...

Thank you, man!

 

Tried looking at Dell's website for the update log but haven't seen anything, what is new with this update?

 

From Dell's Site:

Alienware Command Center Changelog:

Alienware OC Controls Changelog:

 

Thanks for the changelog info Spartan, much appreciated. Do you recommend a clean install or regular upgrade? Is there a way by chance to save FX profiles and custom colors?

 

Clean install ALWAYS using the video guide I linked. No way to backup anything (as far as I know at least)

 

That's where it kinda sucks on AW's part.......having to go redo all the effects and overclock profiles....

Thanks again for your help on this Spartan.

 

My AGA was plug and play with my RTX Titan. I have an Alienware Area 51m R2, too. That’s the thing. I don’t remember having to do anything special to get all 3 to work right out of the box. I think the nVidia mobile drivers enable video card support in the AGA. I didn’t need to install the desktop drivers.

for comparison I did clean install Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 1909 Enterprise, along with the drivers for the Area 51m R2, and the only app I installed was AWCC (alienware command center).

 

I came home with the RX 580 as a test card. When I booted it up it worked great and windows recognized it as a GPU. It installed the drivers on its own. I updated and added the AMD control software which then upgraded the drivers again. Was able to "play" cyberpunk with it at about 10 FPS since RTX and DLSS aren't supported with it. This confirms the AGA does work with the 51m R2 as you suggested. But it also means that the RX 6800 does not work with this particular setup. Maybe the founder of the Open Caldera Project was able to get the RX 6800 working with a different laptop like the 13,15,17 since they have an actual software for the AGA instead of purely functioning on drivers. In either case, I was never able to get the Alien logo to light up or AWCC to recognize the AGA at all.

Subsequently I have a nice MSI RX 6800 for sale if anyone is interested.

 

@Spartan@HIDevolution and others

Dell exchange my system. We have same config except i have 2900HZ ram.
Was lucky with the GPU (30600 graphic in firestrike overcloked) but was not lucky with 10900K. (overheats like crazy. All cores thermal throttle at 49X)
I just can't run cinebenh R20 at more then 48x without thermal throttling, I have repasted 3 times today. TFX, Kryonaut and finally conductonaut = no difference.
I do not want to delid for warranty reason.
This CPU runs at 250watts and my system cannot take it no mather what undervolt i tried at 49X (49x is the equivalent of 53X overclock in AWCC).
You were really lucky with your 10900K (base on the benchmark you posted). Your CPU stayed under 90C at 49X all the time wich is equivalent of what mine can do at 47X. BIG difference.
I will eventually post results but since i find no benefit running LM, tomorrow i will repaste again with TFX (wich gave me the same results as LM).

 

Don't burn any more calories on this. You can't change a bad CPU in a laptop no matter what paste you use. Just get yourself a Silicon Lottery CPU and sell this one to someone who might make use of it in a desktop where cooling is better.

My CPU is a Silicon Lottery + delidded + thermal pads by the way. I couldn't even run Cinebench R20 without instantly thermal throttling with the stock CPU

 

Cross posted from the AGA section as well since I was here asking about it as well. Here's a little more info on my recent AGA endeavor.

So I was able to get my hands on a nice gently used EVGA Hybrid 2080TI. It worked correctly the first attempt. Cleared and reloaded drivers for it with clean install. Stock it was slightly better than my overclocked 2080 Super 200w mobile card. Then I put a moderate 150mhz core and 650mhz memory overclock on it and wow. I feel like I got my money's worth for this upgrade. Its about a 30% improvement in passmark and feels about the same improvement in Cyberpunk visual. Makes the game look premium for sure.

I did have to go into the Nvidia Control panel and change the surround PhysX to the 2080 TI to get the DLSS to work in Cyberpunk. With it set to Ultra on everything RTX on, and DLSS off it was about 20FPS. With DLSS on Auto it is about 50FPS and noticeably better graphics than the laptop 2080 Super. During the 3D mark test it didn't get above 55C so I think the thermals will behave nicely with the hybrid water setup in the AGA. Oh and speaking of that, I didn't make any modifications to the AGA, I was able to tuck the hoses and cables out of the way, including the corsair 650w PS extra 8 pin cable.

passmark score: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/54771955?

 

Thanks for the advise.
I was able to improve my score a little bit but still not close to what yours can run.
Here is my benchmard best score where it thermal throttle at the end of the test only running 49x.
I had a -125 undervolt using XTU (wish i could use throttleStop instead but it doesn't seems to be compatible with 10 core CPU).

 

So what's the chance that after an uninstall and a clean install, the new version won't work again?

I'm kinda tempted to just leave it as is, but at least I have a copy of Macrium to create an image before I update.

 

I never ever had issues with a clean install. Make another image if you want to another partition just temporarily then try

 

I wouldn't worry about it to be honest. Unless you bought this machine for benching.
Your not far off what I can run on 10 cores. 4.9 on all 10 and my machine throttles as almost all do. Even with custom water loops on bench desktops most aren't getting up to 5.1 or even 5.0 with 10 cores under load.

I leave mine at 4.9 and my thermals stay in the 60s and 70s during heavy CPU intensive games. I could probably bump it to 5.0 but thermals will be in the 80s-90s. Not going to see any difference in video quality or graphics for games. Might see a marginal 5% improvement or less in processing times. I wouldn't stress about it to be honest. Your right in there with the other 95% of us.

 

Dave Lee have a very wrong sight on how notebooks should be, but he was spot on when he said Dell's bloatware is awful. But again he failed hard at the end... Their software will never become bug free/work properly. And with release of newer models down the road it will be a forgotten software for yesterdays models. I know... Have been there.

It's just a shame. All that money they take and give this buggy software

Delidde your Cpu and check if the pads is in perfect thickness. Bro Spartan run 4.9GHz all cores in same way as you. With less heat you'll reduce overall Cpu Package power. And don't forget you don't have same ram. Could mean a difference in the total score. Remember the differrence in scores is minor. Less than 1.01121 %.


http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...1m-r2-review-by-spartan.833709/#post-11036256

 

Thanks again for the information. I will have to read and learn more about deliding but i am a little scared to do it. I might change my mind.

What i don't like rigt now with this CPU is that when i am on balanced fan profil and surf the internet, some of the cores reach 98C for a few seconds (i guess it is turbo) and core are thermal throlling, I have not yet found a good solution with softwares.
1-With throttleStop i would try disable turbo but ThrottleStop only support 8 cores.
2-With awcc i can only undervolt -100 and i can't disbable turbo, Even in the bios i can't change PL1 250 and PL2 350.
3-With XTU i can do everything but i have not yet found a way to auto start and apply profil.
So it's not a big problem but if i compare to my previous 9900k, i think it was a better fit for laptop cooling. I am thinking that this 10900K is too much for a laptop.

 

You have the 3rd options from Coderbag. Try out Quick Cpu. If Dell haven't crippled this AW model totally, it should work. Use it until ThrottleStop is out in version 10

Edit.
Notebook manufacurers put more work into the GPU cooling nowadays. Hence you see the dreaded Unified heatsink everywhere and with less than stellar cooling for the processor... They just can't offer proper cooling for the Cpu.

With limited space for cooling they'll always prioritize the graphics card. See... the moniker "Gamingbooks".​

Its a cost equation together with the love for thinner/slimmer. They'll always cheap out where they can.

 

Thanks a lot Brother!!! Quick CPU is working perfect!. Autostart and applying profile.

Thanks for explaining the problem at properly cooling with unified heatsink and how the industry thinks and works. Very informative

 

It is even more evident when I use the AGA with the 2080TI and my 2080S sits dormant. My CPU package under load temps drop 10C when its just cooling the CPU.

 

You're welcome brother

Yeah, they didn't engineer adequate cooling for the processor. Its the sick slimy trend today. Adopted from Jokebooks (see pict) who haven't enough space for cooling. The engineers make the laptops so damn thin today that they need to use custom huge footprint batteries who'll take +50% of aviable space in the chassis. Of course this will hamper the cooling. No space to put it inside the chassis.

Thicker models could easly handle thicker, smaller sized batteries to give same W/pr hour batteries. But it won't sell. People is their own enemy... They want it at the expense of performance/better cooling. Garbage still win.


And due this sickeness we are forced into TRIPOD unified design. No space anymore on the Motherboards PCB for put enough screws for the heatsink. See... they even need to slim down the motherboard due the hunger for Apple design.

Put it in perspective... The love for thinner design was the reason for no Subwoofer in the Alienware's. This come as unpleasant result outside the unwanted cost increase it would be for Dell.

 

I'd honestly love a desktop replacement with no battery and the free space used for extra cooling. It's never gonna happen though.

 

Hey guys,
Been using the A51m R2 for about a month and half now, and my computer will randomly freeze on my about once every 3 days forcing me to hard restart it. Everything seems to be working fine, and I just can't seem to figure out how to fix it. Anyone else have this issue before, and have suggestions on how I might be able to fix it? Thanks.

 

have you changed any clock or voltage settings

Have you adjusted any clock or voltage settings ?

 

Sounds like possibly a bad undervolt?

Check the windows event log for errors it could be a bad driver or general windows issue.

 

Question. What's the difference between the steps in your AWCC uninstall video and using GeekUninstaller?

 

I dunno what GeekUninstaller is able to find and delete and what it doesn't. I like doing such sensitive things with crappy software manually.

Did you ever get this resolved? I have a customer with the same issue, after I install AWCC then reboot then install OC Controls and reboot, it would load the first time after the AWCC service starts but then after another reboot, when he runs the Command Center, it just says trying to download components and it just hangs there. I've tried 3 clean installs but no luck.

 

I just hate this awcc with passion now. what your customer experience has happened to me so many times.

Oh and right now my R2 is giving me a very hard time installing a new game (cyberpunk) cpu temps reach a 100C instant as soon as i leave it to balanced fan profil at 49x,48x47x and 46x. So far i got 5 BSOD trying to install the repack game. The laptop stays quiet and the stupid awcc occontrol don't run the fan at 88C. It waits for the laptop to reach 95C before waiking up. I am pretty certain it 's another bug of awcc and i will need to reinstall 20 times again, and again and again,

Hey....it's suppose to be a gaming laptop......i can't even install a game without bsod. great .

 

Here is another one having fun with Dell's software and Cyberpunk... But with the slimy model Having issues with Cyberpunk? Try switching AW OC profile to OFF


I hope the Super cards in the R2 isn't as fragile as in the R1 Enjoy the Pre-Christmas firecracker party from Nvidia http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/nvidia-geforce-driver-460-89-whql.834874/#post-11064774 God bless you all, LOOL

 

LOL it's so funny i think you might just have linked me to a solution with this game crashing every 5 minutes.
Now if AWCC starts messing with game stability....that will be a new low.

And for Nvidia card i won't be downloading this driver for sure. I have enough issues rigt now lol.

Thanks for making me laugh.

 

I know. It was intended so. Hence I posted the link. Happy gaming

 

i was messing with Nvidia settings trying to see what improvements i could get in that game. with my overclock on the GPU at +150 core and +150 memory and it was rock solid, i never had one crash. then i tried switching Physx to the GPU only from auto and Open GL rendering to the GPU from default and it was crash city. i couldn't go past 3 minutes without a crash. turned those settings back it it was rock solid again. i'm not sure if changing those to settings to the GPU was the nudge that made the overclock unstable or if one of those 2 settings were causing the crashes.

 

Your the best!

 

I haven't even gotten around to uninstalling AWCC yet. I made a backup image, then downloaded the latest installer, and that's where I am at the moment.

 

Haha. To be fair, it sounds like the good folks at CD Projekt optimised their latest release for RTX 3090, so maybe folks can just need to let go of the pure DTR dream a little and at least pop a 2080 Ti into an AGA. Obviously CPU temps would plummet that way.

 

Haha that's exactly where I am. To be fair my internal 2080S ran the game pretty well. Was about 45FPS AVG @ ULTRA RTX w DLSS set to Auto on the 34" AW3420 @ 1440. I won't say the graphics were amazing but they were certainly good and better than a console. Everything was stable, no install issues or anything there. I did purchase and install the game straight from the source. Temps were high 60s low 70s on CPU and GPU. When I threw in the 2080TI in the AGA with the same setup and settings the FPS jumped to 55-60FPS and the graphics jumped to what I would describe as amazing on the 34" screen. CPU temps dropped to low 50s, and of course the hybrid EVGA 2080TI temps are great at mid 60s.

I think Cyberpunk will look great with the native 17" 360hz screen and the internal 2080S card which is the whole point to have it for travelling. I am personally happy with my machine and the performance. I will agree that AWCC is a buggy pile of crap. The fan control is a joke for sure. I manually set it to performance or full before I do anything intensive since the AWCC won't engage fans til its BSOD time. So far Cyberpunk has been extremely stable however buggy for sure. 8 years and 4 delays later you think they would have removed a bug where your character glitch stands on top of vehicle while driving at speed. I do get some strange crashes when playing COD cold war but I think that is software related as it has crashed with either GPU and screen.

Just my .02cents on what I feel is a great machine for me so far.

 

Posted this over in the m15R3 thread the other day but haven't had any takers lol.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...r3-owners-lounge.833030/page-31#post-11064609

It seems the current version of AWCC only works for the user that installs it and isn't designed for multi-user environments (you know, like Windows). Was hoping someone could confirm its not just my setup causing the issue, its the same experience on both my m15R3 and my 51mR2 so don't think it is...

Looking for someone willing to create a second windows user profile and see if that user can run AWCC. I've tried both admin and regular user, neither is able to even find the app.
- If I copy the shortcut over from the first user, they can open AWCC but it says it has an update and the Windows Store login keeps popping up a prompt over and over (is part of AWCC a windows store app now?).
- If I have the second user uninstall/reinstall AWCC then the first user can no longer run it.
- If I have the second user run the AWCC installer and "repair" then they can start the app but all sorts of weird things happen (likely due to conflicting profiles, which seem to be shared globally and not individual to the User's windows profile like older versions of AWCC).

I realize Alienware systems aren't exactly business class but come on, Windows has been a multi-user environment for decades. Apps should work across users.

Lastly, how does one report these issues to Dell? Please don't say their support forums I'd rather jump in a pit of fire.

 

I've tried many times before, it won't work on a system with a multi-user account. Alienware Command Center is the buggiest piece of software known to mankind!

 

I was hitting 100c on the cpu when playing cyberpunk even with fans at full speed.

Took the machine apart and gave it a good clean for the first time in a couple of months and it now hovers around 88-90 after a couple of hours gameplay. Wasn't loads of dust but clearly it was enough to make a big difference.

 

Just how much was "not loads of dust"?

This model was released in June or July depending on where you got it, and assuming you (not you specifically, general you) got it on day 1, that'd make the laptop 5 months old under your ownership. If your surroundings are not excessively dusty (like, you don't live near a factory), are five months enough to trap a substantial amount of dust?

 

Maybe about a gram of dust? Was honestly surprised at the difference such as small amount made but i guess with the more fins on the fans and the narrower fins in the radiators so that they can have a larger surface area to dissipate more heat of the newer power hungry and high TDP component they are more sensitive to dust build-up than my much older machines i had before.

 

Thanks i will be paying attention to dust in the future but for now i have found what is the issue with my 10900k and i think most of the other 10900k.

Most of us undervolt this CPU -100mv core and some of us -125, -130mv core. It appears to be stable in benchmark like firestrike and time spy but....it is not. Anyway i should say not for me.
@Spartan@HIDevolution undervolts his -80Mv (i think ) and he is rigt on target for stability even tho is chips would probably seems ok with a bigger undervolt.

I found out this yesterday unpacking a very, very large file (cyberpunk) not playing but simply unpacking the file and BSOD all the time. The BSOD is not trigered by the high temps (all cores at or close to 100C) but by the unstable undervolt. After many test i was able to determine that my CPU (and i would think most of 10900K) should not be undervolt more then 80Mv for stability.

I now found that my sweet spot is going to be a CPU running at 47X (all cores constant) , -80mv undervolt (core + cache) balanced thermal and performance power plan.
For gamng i will simply change the fan speed to performance.

 

And will it ever end?

AWCC, Alienware Update and SupportAssist, all still broken
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ll-13-15-and-17.770323/page-488#post-11065047

 

Yep i can game for hours on -100mv but if they pc is idle or only doing light tasks it will BSOD at some point. -85mv seemed stable for me although if i'm going to be gaming for hours i'll stick it to -100mv anyway.