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

Hello: NVme heat sync and heat management query.

Could anyone advise on how and where to purchase a suitable NVME SSD Plate Cooling Heatsink for the Area 51 R2, I have a fourth NVme to add and cannot find the part anywhere.

Also would you be able to advise about thermal padding for the notebooks interior, specifically a brand, quantity and thicknesses that work and if possible a location to purchase?

Many many thanks.

 

I am using https://www.amazon.com/EKWB-EK-M-2-NVMe-Heatsink-Black/dp/B073RHHYCM on the main slot (next to wi-fi card). I think this is the best heatsink for nvme disks. It has big height, but there is no problem to close the bottom cover. You cannot use this heatsink on slot 2. Slot 3 and 4 would be no problem, because there is enough space between the interposer board and bottom cover. My max temp on the hynix nvme is 54C.

 

Cool thanks, that's available in the UK too - https://www.amazon.co.uk/EK-Water-B....2+NVMe+Heatsink,+Black&qid=1611613453&sr=8-3

 

Believe all 4 slots use the same heat sink, Dell part number is 03N3W3
https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware/Area-51m-R2-extra-SSD-slot-heatsink-and-screw/td-p/7694559
They can be found on ebay, amazon, etc. for $10-20.

Most NVMe drives do not require much in the way of cooling and even these dinky things should be more than sufficient especially down in the 2.5" bay slots away from the CPU/GPU.

What do you mean by thermal padding for the notebook interior? You mean under the CPU/GPU heat sink assembly like if you were doing a repaste and pad replacement? See this post and the attached picture: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...2-owners-lounge.832848/page-138#post-11041290

 

AUOEC91 built in Nov 2020.

 

So are we thinking the Alienware Area 51m R3 gets announced today with a 200W 3080?

 

I wouldn't put too much money on. Check out the Alienware US landing page:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/gaming/alienware

THIN OUT THE COMPETITION.
The slim and powerful Alienware m15 & m17 laptops featuring NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 30-series graphics.

Who knows, meyabe they are keeping the world in suspense.

 

THIN OUT THE COMPETITION SOLDER!

 

Wil they refresh Area 51m in due course?

 

They may well wait for Rocket Lake to actually be on the shelves before issuing the R3. Or, they may finally have had enough of kicking high end buyers in the **** (bleep) and there won't BE a R3. Oh wait this is Dell. Nevermind of course there will be an R3, just as soon as they can figure out what more to lock down.
Some of this is due to Intel with Tiger Lake 8 cores being MIA over a year after Intel said they were coming. We might just see an R2b with 3xxx and RL on the same board (of course only new buyers will get RL), and then skip (I mean "save") the major R3 update for Alder Lake and the new socket so we can get promised another 'upgradeable' same socket device. We'll see.

 

I hope you are right.

 

You mean it was better when Azor was the CEO? You think he would keep up the promises and offered upgradeability if he still have been in Dell's leadership? Dreams will always become dreams. Not reality.

 

Haha I don't know if it would be better - I don't have a portal to the parallel universe where he still runs Alienware!

 

Hey Spartan!

Have you still got a valid link for the Factory Image?

Unfortunately, I was one of the muppets that expected my SSDs to last a lifetime!

 

Haven't seen much info on the new 1.6.0 Bios, any feedback? Safe to update? Any known changes or issues? Thanks in advance.

 

Safe. No issue.

 

Thanks as always sir!

 

Any idea why I am unable to install the Touchpad app from MStore? Im unable to use gestures for the touchpad..also may be worth noting that the touchpad does not appear in my device manager after installing the touchpad driver from Dell.

https://ibb.co/fqnzHMm

Appreciate any help!

 

It at least seemed like Azor wanted to to do the right thing and was hamstrung by dell. If that's the truth we will never know but it certainly looked like it.

 

Alienware Area-51m R2 Factory Image

 

new nVIDIA Driver v457.73 from Dell

 

Greetings, has it happened to any of you that the touch pad stops working, but when you press a mouse button it works, I release the button and it fails again? .... I uninstalled and installed drivers ...

 

Hi Kzuela,

Sorry to hear about the touch pad issue, I did have a similar issue with a previous laptop (M17 R4), which I reported to Dell and they ended up replacing the palm rest entirely.

I would suggest best to submit a service request and get Dell to look at it rather than go through all the frustration of more troubleshooting.

It's an expensive system so I usually abuse the warranty where I can, so far I've actually found the support really good. Just the politics by Dell in its sales department is what mostly irritates me.

Otherwise my only point would be to check third party software or hardware isn't interfering (i.e. Razer Synapse settings) and review your OS settings for both the mouse and touchpad.

Whatever the case best of luck and let us know what it turns out to be, no doubt your experiences will help someone else out.

 

I only have Dell drivers. I contacted technical support and the touch pad and motherboard are coming for replacement (it also had that Coil whine sound)




[QUOTE = "normand668, publicación: 11074387, miembro: 597242"] Hola, Kzuela:

Lamento escuchar sobre el problema del panel táctil, tuve un problema similar con una computadora portátil anterior (M17 R4), que informé a Dell y terminaron reemplazando el reposamanos por completo.

Sugerir que lo mejor sea enviar una solicitud de servicio y hacer que Dell la revisión en el lugar de pasar por toda la frustración de más solución de problemas.

Es un sistema caro, por lo que suelo abusar de la garantía donde puedo, hasta ahora he encontrado el soporte realmente bueno. Solo la política de Dell en su departamento de ventas es lo que más me irrita.

De lo contrario, mi único objetivo sería verificar que el software o hardware de terceros no interfiera (es decir, la configuración de Razer Synapse) y revisar la configuración de su sistema operativo tanto para el mouse como para el panel táctil.

Cualquiera que sea el caso, mejor de las suertes y háganos saber lo que resultó ser, sin duda sus experiencias ayudarán a alguien más.

 

Thank you but can you explain why i don't see it on my download page?

 

Because it's from the new Alienware m17 R4/m15 R4 page?

 

Ok.....so it's also good for the 51Mr2?

 

an nVIDA Driver is an nVIDIA Driver. I just prefer downloading the Dell ones because in my experience they offer better performance. If it wasn't compatible, it wouldn't even install.

 

Thanks for the lesson professor I didn't know that.

I am also using Dell's driver now (base on your recommendations).

I also received and installed the intel AX210 wi-fi card you recommended and so far (3 days) no lattency in my connexion + signal is much stronger. (i just had a few issue getting rid of all the old drivers of the previous Killer 1650, but now it's perfect).

Many thanks again!

 

I'm currently facing a very similar issue. My touchpad works in terms of actually pointing as well as the left and right click, however the scroll gesture along with all other gestures do not work.

I assumed it was a driver/software related problem so I reinstalled the touchpad drivers and still had no luck.

Another attempt was to flash the OS back to factory using Spartans factory image (thanks SpartanHID!) but unfortunately the problem remained even though I selected the gesture options in the Pointing Devices application.

Upon investigation, it seems as though the device doesn't appear in Device Manager. I tried to uninstall conflicting apps (eg Tobii) but again no luck.

Although Tech support will be just a call away, I am keen to find a solution. Let me know if you manage to make any discoveries in your quest for a solution!

 

What is the Intel HID Event Filter Driver version you are using?

 

Nothing about Rocket lake. But forget Nvidia's 3000 series cards. And no refresh for the AGA. Dead end!



Alienware Discord AMA with Eddy Goyanes and Ernie Gonzales

 

2.2.1.379

 

Planned obsolescence is a female canine.

Thanks to NVIDIA, there is probably no logical reason for anyone to consider wasting money on a mobile 2080S to 3080 configuration because that's not really an upgrade in the notebook space. There is nothing to be gained moving from 2080S to 3080 mobile and 3070 mobile is a minor performance downgrade.

 

The Amplifier sold out, no plans for a refresh, yet they continue shipping laptops with the AGA port.
New customers, who are being asked to shell out a lot of money for a thin and light mobile 3080 laptop, get an AGA connector with unclear future. O the Invisible Hand of the Free Market, where art thou?

 

same here, took 2 attempts to clear it all. Not a lot of testing on new ax210 yet but it definitely picks up more networks than the 1650.

 

[QUOTE = "Sohail Mehmood, publicación: 11074547, miembro: 730990"] 2.2.1.379 [/ QUOTE]


Hello I am sending you the drivers that dell support asked me to update, hopefully something will improve greetings ..... Please download and install the following drivers:
BIOS: https://dell.to/2MyqXwR
Chipset: https://dell.to/3pwmk4U
Intel Management: https://dell.to/3os00YW
Intel Serial: https://dell.to/39qGbwU
Intel HID: https://dell.to/3iTbwv8
Touchpad driver: https://dell.to/2KVCFB4

After that you should use the computer normally to test it.

 

Alienware Area-51m R2 Drivers 30-01-2020


After you download the ZIP file and before you unzip it, make sure it is not blocked by right clicking on it, go to Properties, then see at the bottom if it says "this file came from another computer and might be blocked..." click the UNBLOCK button then hit APPLY followed by OK! To prevent Windows from blocking downloaded files automatically, make sure you read this guide:

Spoiler: Changelog

- New nVIDIA Driver, new LAN, WLAN, and Bluetooth Drivers, new Thunderbolt Driver, new AWCC and OC Controls

"Are you sure you want to run this file?" [Yes or No]


The drivers are organized in numbered folders with the correct installation order.


Please restart after every driver install even if you were not prompted because some drivers will fail to install if there are any other pending operations (ie. had the Intel HID Event Filter Driver fail to install once because I did not reboot, the driver package was installed but the actual device in Device Manager was not updated)

 

I guess I sit squarely in the middle. No 3xxx GPU's for the R2 is a travesty. The second time you came at the design of a GPU card, you couldn't get the zone right enough to make it upgradeable to a newer GPU? Really. I know they said that back at the R2 release but seriously you could have come through for at least a mobile 3070 or something even if power was a challenge, which it should not be in the R2. Anyway old complaint so no more on that.

• The 3xxx intro to any R3 is likely timed with Rocket Lake. The world isn't exactly jumping for joy over the R4's with an old gen CPU and 3xxx's.
• With power being a real limit in mobile the 3xxx GPU's were never going to be 50% better than the old 2xxx's. You are seeing what nothing more than a process shrink really means. However, I do think the HDMI 2.1 makes a device you can place on your livingroom TV and get VRR on your 65" OLED pretty nice. So it's not all bad. It's simply a shame that the 2xxx series, at least the S series didn't get HDMI 2.1 because it was functional back then too.
• The AGA at minimum needs a rethink from a pci-e 4.0 angle. The cable just couldn't be that long as just one example. Additionally with the advent of Tiger Lake TB coming straight off the CPU lanes, the advantage of AGA's design is less, not none, but a much tighter race. I expect that Tiger Lake on the M17/M15 chassis will see a sizeable number of eGPU users go TB unless a future AGA port goes pci-e 4.0 in which case the future AGA would have a large advantage. In any case that future device would not work with current AGA connections (see a theme here?). So yes present AGA might well be dead, but some kind of AGA might not. The question will be proprietary pci-e 4.0 connector or TB3/4 to go mainstream and keep people buying high end GPU's in their notebook so they don't have to use the TB connection. Either way the use of eGPU is going to rise because more and more people love the concept and it doesn't even work that well yet.
• I suspect the lifespan of the 51M series is not "done" but several issues make it risky. Is Tiger Lake going to perform well enough that a desktop Rocket Lake in a confined space isn't worth the extra cost? If it does, you might see a 2.5 51M with just 3xxx chips or no refresh at all because the community complaint from current R2 owners would be huge. You won't know that as a manufacturer until you have some pretty close to final Tiger Lake boards. Guess what Dell probably does not have a lot of? Does Rocket Lake actually ship in March? I mean Intel has never hit the delay button at the last minute. Oh wait, right. If Rocket Lake is just too much heat/cost for too little gain you might have to wait for Alder Lake.
• How rare are 3xxx GPU's? We all know the desktop GPU's are painfully short in supply. And mind you if they are rare, then would you waste too many of them on an "old" CPU design? Nope you'd save then for your super duper new M17R5 or 51M R3 right? So on top of the CPU issues I bet this plays into the new model releases as well. Quite probably Intel carries most of the delay blame. If they were both a problem you wouldn't even see the R4's mix of old CPU new GPU at all.

So I think you are all right to wonder what the heck Dell/AW is up to. But I suspect the parties responsible are Intel and Nvidia. And of course they could not, would not ever throw those parties under the bus unless they found a new business to be in.

 

I like your optimism, hope that - against all odds - you are right. So far, we have been hoping AW will deliver these changes:
* Refresh the AGA with a slightly larger PSU and chassis, or have two variants - big and smaller (when they introduced the new design).
* Produce m15/17 R2/R3/R4 with upgradable RAM and WiFi
* Provided graphics upgrades to 2080S and 3080 for both R1 and R2
* Provided an improved BIOS
* Retain 4 RAM slots in the 51M
* Further improve reliability of AWCC
* Offer a high-end AMD Desktop CPU option with PCIe 4.0 for the 51M

 

You are totally right the list of "ball drops" is huge, painful even. And you are also right in that my guesses could be totally wrong.

 

One of my biggest takeaways was the explanation on why lunar white schemes had better customization options.....link to discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/...cord_ama_with_eddy_goyanes_and_ernie/gl7xiql/

I was actually a bit perturbed by this when configuring my order in September 2020. The reasoning just doesnt make sense to me other than trying to heavy handedly sell a color scheme that most people wont get in my opinion. Typically white schemes do look good but are high maintenance i.e. shoes, cars, etc. It is just much easier to see the dirt. grime, and fading with all white. I just cant buy the argument that they're trying to sell.

As to the rest of the Q&A I believe I have gathered enough to conclude that this will be my first and last Dell pc. I mainly got this for future proofing reasons especially when it came to upgradeability. I did deduce that the upgradeable GPUs would be a wash seeing as how things went with the R1, but the saving grace was the AGA connection. Seeing as the AGA looks to be dead in the water, I will ride this R2 till the wheels fall off (like my Qosmio X305) and look to another brand in the future.

 

Thanks a lot, I found this one second hand on EBay UK.


DELL Alienware Area-51M SSD M.2 Heatsink Bracket 03N3W3 3N3W3 (C18)
Item price £12.99
Quantity 1
Item number 143886397247
Delivery service Royal Mail 2nd Class Signed For

 

Yeah, totally agree. White looks nice when it's brand new, but it shows every blemish. White is only better at hiding dust and micro-scratches, but everything else is magnified. A matte black finish not only looks amazing when it's new, but it does not show ever blemish from 100 feet away. Your eyes are immediately drawn to even the smallest defect on white and it sticks out like a sore thumb. A super glossy piano black is also undesirable for dust and fingerprints, and it looks terrible with micro-scratches from normal cleaning.

 

I'm so glad my favorite color is black. That makes these choices very easy for me!

 

I ordered my 2nd 51m R2 in white and rolled the dice. I’m ok with it since I don’t allow anything anywhere near it haha. Also try not to use the keyboard much or touch it with dirty hands. Basically it’s a beauty queen that I treat like a laboratory environment when I get it out haha! But that’s my take on a $4k laptop.

All my other tablets, laptops, phones etc are black because I work in the oil field and stay on location at the drilling rigs. Let’s just say pipe dope, oil base drilling mud, and grease don’t come off of anything!

 

My keyboard no longer shows up in AWCC:


Can someone provide me the values of the following regkey on their machine where they can change the keyboard lights? Perhaps exporting the full key so i can import on mine?

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Alienware\System\AFXCapableDevices\2.0\{A322EFF9-AFD0-45BF-8C3F-F8EF52F8207A}

I found if i change the value of the communicationDLL property from:
C:\Program Files\Alienware\Alienware Command Center\AWCC.FX.Darfon.Code.Win32.dll
to
C:\Program Files\Alienware\Alienware Command Center\AWCC.FX.Core.Code.Win32.dll

It shows up but it won't actually apply any themes or macro keys.

 

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Alienware\System\AFXCapableDevices\2.0\{A322EFF9-AFD0-45BF-8C3F-F8EF52F8207A}]
"VID"="0x0D62"
"PID"="0x1A1C"
"Model"="0x0502_AdvKB"
"Description"="Alienware Area51m R2 Advanced KB"
"DeviceType"="6"
"SupportedInterfaces"="3"
"Color"="White"
"CommunicationDLL"="C:\\Program Files\\Alienware\\Alienware Command Center\\AWCC.FX.Darfon.Code.Win32.dll"

Download Key

 

Thanks as always Spartan.

Worked great after importing and restarting the AWCC service i have my keyboard back.

 

FYI looks like availability of parts to add the extra 2 NVMe slots is starting to trickle in. I Just found this on Amazon: SSD interposer board kit for the 2.5" bay, seems to include everything needed to include screws and heat sinks for ~$92 USD:

https://www.amazon.com/Deal4GO-Interposer-LS-J106P-Alienware-Area-51m/dp/B08T1F1FM8

There is also the previously mentioned kit on Ali Express for ~$120 USD:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002047639489.html