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

I tried with external display and it performs much better but still 1080p gaming not worth it maybe 4k gaming

 

Looks like everything still works in AWCC. Not using it but I turned off TS and it seems to work as well. Ran a 5 Min TS Bench to test everything and it looks the same so nothing bad yet. I'll run a Timespy and check it as well and report back.

I did notice something in the BIOS on the battery that has an option now for Primarily AC use as an option. I don't remember seeing that.

It has been a few months since I messed with the BIOS so I don't really remember all the options but it seems there is more stuff in there now.

 

Ran Timespy and CBR20. Same results, volts, scores as I had with 1.6.0 Bios. So far so good. Need to test ram as well but I doubt that changed. I purchased this machine with the 64gb 2933 Dell RAM.

 

Primaraly ac use was there on previous bios.
Seems like everything is ok.......for now

Thanks for reporting @Justin Stuever

 

bought my first laptop that equiped with a high end Desktop CPU, literally, but sadly still no RTX 3000 series (maybe in 1-2 months they will release area 51m R3, whatever I needed this now)
really a piece of art hardware

 

Hey guys, I have my order coming in (Unfortunatly UPS, is hindering it from coming), and I could really use some help and opinions.
I'm trying to get 3200 mhz ram
I hear hyper impact was good for area51m R2, but then I see 2 versions
HyperX Impact 3200MHz DDR4 CL20 SODIMM (Kit of 2) HX432S20IB2K2/32, 32GB kit (2 x 16GB)
and
Kingston Technology HyperX Impact 32GB 3200MHz DDR4 CL20 SODIMM (Kit of 2) Memory HX432S20IBK2/32
Is there a big difference between these 2 rams?

If anyone have any suggestion for a more better ram at 3200 mhz, I would really like to hear it.

 

the reference is the same so it's the same! the only thing that is diferent is that the second is sold as a set of 2

 

The "kingston" is more expensive for some reason

Edit: Excuse me, I was just posting the 2 items, to see if there's a difference in the model, not sure if one is older, thats why i'm wondering why kingston is more expensive. I'm gonna choose a 2x16gb regardless of what I pick

 

They are the exact same product. The product code is the same. There is no "kingston" one they are both made by kingston.

One seller is just selling at a higher price.

 

Ah okay, tyvm, Sorry not a very techy person.
I've also noticed one is sold by amazon warehouse, while the other is sold from UK or from the fastgames store.

 

don't bother buying 3200mhz ram. most of the times on r2 xmp1 keeps resetting to 2666mhz when overclocking! waste of time i believe!

 

Does anyone have info or a review link to a 10700 or 10900 with gtx 2080 super config? I am trying to see what the stock cpu and gpu Temps along with power draws would be for this setup VS the K series when stressed out.

 

Did you order your original system with the Dell 3200Mhz RAM? If not then reportedly your motherboard will not support anything above 2666Mhz.

If you did then in answer to your question ref various 3200 models, I tried a few with lower latencies, but different manufacturers. Only the HyperX works consistently well, whilst having a lower CAS latency than the stock 3200Mhz.

It provides a very minimal gain of roughly 5% in benchmarks and FPS, though this varies. Also on testing both the stock and HyperX 3200 with Aida64 from good advice by @etern4l it seems the motherboard is bottlenecked, showing the HyperX as lower latency but with an overall loss of throughput in terms of data.

Overall it means the motherboard has its limits, massively if not entirely negating any benefits from third party lower latency RAM. With supposedly the motherboard being a type that only supports 2666Mhz if not bought originally with Dell 3200 and historic known practices I'd say this is possibly an intentional marketing move to encourage purchasing only Dell parts, either that or gross incompetence during the design phase (as usual...).

 

Whew thank goodness, I ordered mines with a 16gb 3200mhz which is "Scheduled" for delivery tomorrow. I kinda got upset when i figured it was 2x8 when the option kinda made it sound like it was gonna give a 16gb ram, with space for another 16gb.

Btw, thanks for clearing it up for me, if you don't mind I have one more question.

This may be a real dumb question, but I'll ask anyways because I've been using the benchmark website to compare GPU's, does the Alienware really have a desktop GPU & CPU? Or is the GPU really just a mobile grade graphics card?

 

Desktop Cpu and mobile graphics card. The thinner Alienware laptops have everything soldered on MB. Even ram and wifi. Exactly as an Apple-book.

 

Now I feel a little disappointed, I thought the GPU was desktop grade too. Makes me wonder how just having a Desktop CPU makes a laptop makes it good but require 2 power supplies instead of one, wish I found this place before I made a purchase. Thanks papusan, really appreciate the clarification!

Also to clarify, I am no computer expert, so I appreciate the time you guys take to answer my questions.

 

The desktop CPU is significantly more powerful than its mobile counterparts, so you'll get a framerate boost in CPU bound scenarios. You'll also get a boost in productivity.

For example, a desktop i5 is more or less equal to a laptop i7. Each desktop CPU is as powerful as a laptop CPU that is marketed as a tier up from it.

So essentially you still made a good choice. A desktop CPU will last you longer than a mobile one will.

 

since pascal technology the mobile graphics card is roughly equivalent to the desktop graphics card ! only a drop of 5 to 20% compared to the clock frequency which is lower!

 

Also to note that the 2080 super in it is the 200W variant which isn't too far off the desktop counterpart.

About 11-15 % difference.

 

Yeah, 2080 Super was the last gen mobile cards you could compare the performance with the desktop cards. With the 3000 series graphics cards this is now history. Up around 60% less performance for the Ampere mobile top dogs. It'go this way when the laptop manufacturers preffer thinner design over functionality and Nvidia accoumondate this move with castrated TGP and boost clocks to fits the notebook design. As a side effect... Much lower performance for the notebooks vs desktops, force you all to upgrade faster than you prefer/hoped. A big win for the OEM and hardware manufacturers as Nvidia. Not so much for the laptop gamers. Give a huge thanks to all those who prefer thinnest possible design and lightweight Jokes over functionality.

 

New laptops now is all about «looks»

-«Thinner »(must be good....don't you think?)
-«Look it's got a 3080! wow that should be a beast»
-«And look at the geat Graphic scores on benchmark like TImeSpy». (doesn't matter if it deliver less FPS in games then the 2080 and 2080S)« It looks good!»
-«and it's damn expensive too» (so it must be better).

FInally (if it's an alienware) : «It also got this new great feature: TCCoffset, so it will never overheat» (if you accept gaming a medium resolution)

 

TCC Offset was meant to reduce RMA and tech support costs. But the product managers at Dell AW twisted it to be more as... This type features was very wished/wanted by their customers I wonder how many of you have asked about this new feature in the bios. Have Dell asked you if you want it in coming models?

 

I do not see what you mean in relation to the tcc offset I just see a protection! must stop the delirium a pc that operates at more than 90 degrees will not last long! do a test that pushes the hardware hard for hours and you wonder why your pc is crashing! benchmark software is good but you don't have to use it 24 hours a day to see its limits!

 

Or Dell could just design the cooling so it doesn't run 90'c + all day long rather than cheap out with a software hack to downclock you.

 

dell put this restriction on the many returns of pc! benchmarking software is for people who know how to use it and not all day long just for fun! sorry to say his but it's like his!

 

Not true but nevermind.

All benchmarking software does is try to max out the components of your machine. If a machine can't manage sustained load for hours without downclocking/throttling or crashing then the machine because of temperatures is not up to spec. Yes most games don't tax the machine like that (at the moment) but there becomes a point where games will start using CPU cores almost as well as the GPU meaning you will hit these high temps with the shared cooling design.

The TCC offset is a hack to limit performance of one component to stop the high temps to cause both components to downclock. It's a **** solution to CPU's that run too hot for the form factor and cooling.



As a random other thing incase anyone else has a decent pair of bluetooth headphones make sure to install the Aptx codecs for windows ( https://github.com/StKob/Intel-Bluetooth-Audio/blob/master/Intel Bluetooth Audio.msi) it's been posted on here before but i only just found it so i reckon others might not have either.

 

Has anyone considered putting in a 11 series desktop CPU in their Area 51m R2. Even the i5-11600k beats the 10900k in performance (albeit with much lower temperatures too). Couple of benchmarks here for your viewing - https://gizmodo.com/intel-somehow-squeezes-more-performance-out-of-its-11th-1846577876.

If the i5 is truly compatible. It can make the Area 51m R2 an impressive gaming beast with amazing thermals.

 

Good luck with that Maybe ask Dell AW support on twitter/facebook http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-owners-lounge.826831/page-2207#post-11022451

Class action? Investigating Alienware Area 51-M False Upgrade Promises....

 

We need more reviews to say that. Saw two other reviews where the 11600k is way behing in gaming compare to the 10900k. I am not sure i trust any of these three reviews.

https://chipguider.com/?p=intel-core-i5-11600k-vs-intel-core-i9-10900k[/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]

I believe it outperforms in some games. For tasks that do require core count over clock speed, 10900k destroys the 11900k.

 

Rocket lake have up to 19% IPC increase and older Comet lake 10 cores have 25% more cores. Not sure what you mean with "it will destroy the 11900K".

Intel Core i9-11900K Review - techpowerup.com

 

From the benchmarks i've seen the i9-11900k loses to the 10900k in multithreaded loads and in gaming it gives about a 5-10 frame benefit in some games and is worse in others.

Single core performance seems to be much better but the more efficient cores.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/16495/intel-rocket-lake-14nm-review-11900k-11700k-11600k/9

They mostly just trade blows. Rocket Lake is worthless.

 

the new chips require a new motherboard. The chipset in the r2 doesn’t support the 11th gen cpu. Wait for the R3 version if you want the 11th gen, lol...

 

It would be foolish to give up 4c/8t.

 

True.

 

Not sure when R3 is coming out but there's already 11th gen with RTX 3080 coming soon from XMG

Schenker XMG ULTRA 17 laptop packs Core i9-11900K and GeForce RTX 3080

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/7850...ore-i9-11900k-and-geforce-rtx-3080/index.html

https://www.xmg.gg/en/xmg-ultra-17-e21

 

The chipset in the R2 isn't the problem. The problem is that Dell don't like upgradeability

 

That must have been one of Frank's last training sessions for the sales staff. They have to be certain that their employee know exactly what to tell people.

The one thing we can always count on Dell for...

 

It's the same 150W 3080 much cheaper laptops like the GE76 are using.

I'm pretty sure MSI, ASUS, and Dellianware skipped this year's flagships because Nvidia didn't make a high-spec RTX 3080.

 

I think the sales of the r2 have not been very good and that they will not release an r3 version for the moment! it will just upgrade the bios and the graphics card, it would cost them less and it will boost the sales of the r2! if he releases an r3 now he can sign the end of the production of the area 51m! who will put so much money in this model while they can have better in other competing for the same price! what has boosted the sales of the r1 is their announcement of upgradability! what people are looking for when buying area 51m is an upgrable pc, if they keep releasing a model every year it will end that model

 

Trying to sell $3k+ super enthusiast laptops during the pandemic just isn't good business acumen. Why waste the R&D when so many people aren't in the position to splash that kind of money?

 

why have children when many people cannot have children, why walk when many people cannot walk
you did buy the r2 why the others people can not buy the r2?

 

If not already seen I highly recommend you watch Linus' video below on the silicon shortage.



At 11 minutes he highlights how like his home in Canada many economies are going through a "K Shaped" recovery, based upon how the Pandemic has resulted in many "inadvertant savers" and others who have lost massively (I.e. Hospitality, Service).

Unfortunately like any major upheaval there are always those that profit and those that suffer. The video also highlights the ridiculous upturn in the requirement for tech, either due to home working, server support to the massive increase in VTC use ( Zoom, Teams, etc) or reliance on Internet shopping and use whilst stuck at home (not to also forget the huge rise in the use of gaming marketplaces).

Overall you could then argue its actually the best time to conduct R&D and put new products up for sale.

 

Nevermind ... amazingly a simple search on Amazon found it via Prime delivery LOL. $100 for the kit as I've read is the proper price. Will be nice to have 3 TB of SSD space and no mechanical...

I just purchased an Area 51m R2 that came with 2 512gb m.2 NVME drives and with the 2.5" drive bay empty. I happen to have two 1 TB Samsung Evo m.2 NVME drives that I would love to add to this machine but can't figure out where to order the parts to add the two extra m.2 expansion slots. The Dell service manual for the Area 51m R2 describes it as a "solid state drive interpose board". Apparently this is possible and was wondering if anybody out there in Area 51m land could lend me any info. Thanks in advance...

~s1rrah

 

Purchased an Area 51m R2 last week during some sort of 1 week only spring coupon code sale .. only for certified refurbished machines. Pretty stupid deal and the rig is flawless. 10700K / RTX 2070 Super / 1TB RAID 0 m.2 NVME / 32gb DDR4 3200 / 360hz IPS panel (zero bleed) / 3 years premium onsite support ... $2400 drive out. Not a bad deal.

First thing I'm going to do is repaste with liquid metal and replace all pads with Fujipoly but still studying tear down videos. Doesn't look nearly as tricky as the R4 17 (which I also own and have never had the brass to tear down myself).

Did some test runs at non overclocked speeds yesterday, using an Opolar side vent cooler and with the laptop fans at "FULL" and the CPU temps are generally in the low to mid 70C range, some times lower depending upon the scene, with an occasional spike to 80C mark. I can live with that till I can do a proper LM repaste and repad, especially since I game with headphones so the fan noise won't bug me. Would like to eventually have it delidded and modded with a Rockit copper IHS but that's a bit down the road.

Some vid caps:

...

Horizon Zero Dawn - Ultra settings 1


...

Horizon Zero Dawn Ultra settings 2


...

Metro Last Light Benchmark max settings


...



So no throttling issues. Even without the Opolar cooler, temps are only about 3 to 4 degrees hotter and still no throttling as long as ambients are good. Overall pleased with the rig except for one major caveat (for me anyway because I love typing and am super picky about keyboards): so disappointed that they did away with the traditional and fantastic flush key style keyboard that my AW R4 17 features and the 1st gen Area 51m machines as well. WHY? WHY? WHY!? I don't exactly detest the typical "island/chicklet" style keyboard that they put on the Area 51m R2 revision but in my opinion, it's no where near as sexy/tactile of a typing experience as the classic flush Alienware keys. It's among the better island style keyboards I've used but no comparison with the former and that comes with the Area 51m R1 machines. I was going to return it and buy a similarly configured 9900K/RTX 2070 just for the keyboard but alas the Outlet store had sold out of the refurbs that suited my needs.

But overall happy with the rig. My R4 17 has been flawless for just at 5 years, not a single hardware or software issue (other than heat which I've dealt with via different means) and hoping this new rig performs similarly.

~s1rrah

 

I just don't think the market is in the right place for $3k-$kk+ DTRs, especially with how underwhelming mobile Ampere is versus the 200W RTX 2080/Super.

I expect them to re-launch when the 5nm RTX 4000 GPUs appear.

See you at CES 2023.

 

repast with liquid metal is a bad idea, except if you use it to make a cpu delid! I advise you to use gryzzly kryonaut paste instead for the repast the graphic card and the cpu

 

First congratulations on your new system.
Second i would suggest you (like @Asdesas just suggested) not to go with LM on this machine. I understand your previous laptop was a 17R4 and on those LM was necessary but not on the area51Mr2.
So far most of us had better results with Thermalright TFX on both CPU and GPU. (if you decide to try this way then i will also suggest it needs more paste then previous generation. Approx 2 pea size and the X patern with this paste gives the better results.) The 10700K and 2070 will run very cool in games this way only. If not then maybe you should consider delid and repad.

Good luck

 

Not so sure this is totally correct. Dell Alienware do exactly the same for their Alienware desktops. No upgradeability. New models each year. And the same thing repeats itself. Same questions and almost same answers back. Lock you out from upgradability is their only chance to boost up sales for next years model line.

Disappointing, R10 not upgradable to 5000

 

It's all about money (profit).
They don't care about what we want/wish if there's no $$$ in the end. (most business operates like that but not all of them advertise (lie) upgradability when they don't.)