*OFFICIAL* Alienware Area-51M R1 Owner's Lounge

Not really, you may want to read up on some Throttlestop guides and there is a Throttlestop forum here, it's not overly complicated but you do need to follow guides if you are unfamiliar, if you determine that you lost out on the CPU lottery and you actually have a hot KS chip you could set the cores in TS down to say 43, and retest, rinse and repeat raising by 1 each time to find what your are happy with, but again others here will correct me if I am wrong but you should not be having heat issues with a KS unless something is wrong with either the way your Motherboard has detected the CPU and or the Paste and pads are not good.

And honestly as I said before if your K was maxing out around 83c you have a good K and should probably just keep and use it, hopefully you can get your money back on the KS ( maybe even make a few bucks since they are now discontinued )

 

I don't think I can return the KS anyway now that it's been used.

Not sure what to do TBH. If I limit the max turbo to 4,6Ghz, the temps don't go above 81C, so that's something at least.

 

I finally Got my Area 51m Darkside of the moon .. Only had it a few days but sofar this is the best Laptop i have had,build quality is fantastic,very pleased with the keyboard,the speaker's sound great and plenty loud enough for me.
Also the Fan noise when running on Max is no way as loud as i had expected.I installed 2 nvme Sabrent rocket drives 1Tb for boot and 2Tb for storage all bench marked over 3100 MB/s Read and Write ..It came with bios 1.8.1 .
Memory speed in bios says 2400 but on the label the memory says 2666?..Is there any way i can tell what Mother board version i have?

 

Can you PM me?

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk

 

I repasted it with Phobya NanoGrease Extreme. No major difference, about 85C load.

No upside at all here. :-(

EDIT: Something is really wrong here! I put the 9900K back in, and now I'm hitting 100C!

EDIT2: Put the 9900KS in yet again, super careful and really went through all the pads, cut some small pieces away. Now it's at 83C after 20 minutes of gaming. That's at least the best result yet.

EDIT3: Annnd 87C again, no obvious reason.

Imma use the sledgehammer on it. That'll cool it down. :-(

 

so i never got the confirmed email, ended up canceling my order (some problem about having split payment)

reordered with a 128GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive instead of the 512gb ssd to make it fit on one form of payment, and got the confirm immediately.

 

I assure you that you can sell it even slightly used on the open market for a good price.

 

I mean you can return it. Check the webshop return policy. Sveden shouldn't be any different than Norway and Denmark http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ers-welcome-too.810490/page-747#post-10989238

Not so sure we will get the best binned silicon for 9th gen chips anymore. 9900KS is going EOL and Intel have long time binned chips for Comet lake for the time being. Why would they use their best 14nm +++ silicon for EOL products?

 

Hi

Thanks for the feedback, I'll list everything step by step against the guide to ensure there are no inconsistencies/document why I did things differently/observations so that hopefully we weed out any issues. I've just repeated ALL steps in the thread a few times via rollback and recover but neither let me get past 1.7.3.

Also putting my comments in blue to make it easier to follow.

1. Enable file extensions in File Explorer Options on your Windows (Start -> File Explorer Options -> View -> Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types" and hit OK. Done, I have this enabled due to the work I do daily.
2. Download your required Alienware BIOS version from Dell website and rename it to BIOS_IMG.EXE. Now the fun part: Done, started with a 1.7.3 BIOS, trying to rollback to before the 1.5.0.
3. Place the BIOS_IMG.EXE file that you just renamed into the root of a drive, say C:\ drive for example. I had to place it on my USB drive instead as when using C I got this error "C:/' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file." Others have said (Biker Gremling in the original thread) they did this and it worked fine so long as they removed the files from the USB leaving only the files OP mentioned. Also to note, I tried just "C:" which started a new command line but when typing in the "BIOS_IMG.EXE /writehdrfile" it didn't work.
4. Start -> Run -> CMD (right click and select Run as administrator) Done.
5. Type C:/ and hit Enter. It will take you right to your C drive root where the BIOS_IMG.EXE file is located. Taking the above into the account and not using C, done.
6. Type the following command: BIOS_IMG.EXE /writehdrfile and hit Enter. It will create a file named BIOS_IMG.HDR on your C drive. Rename that to BIOS_IMG.RCV as we'll use this as a recovery image. Both images are essentially the same. Taking the above into the account and not using C, done.
7. Now, you have to create Dell Diagnostic USB stick. For that, use this article and SKIP steps 7-10 in it. Done, this seemed to work as I could get to 1.7.3 using this method.
8. Copy BIOS_IMG.RCV from your C:/ drive onto the USB root. Make sure that the following 3 files exist on USB root when you are done: BIOS_IMG.RCV, DELLBIO.BIN and DELLRMK.BIN. DO NOT DELETE THE REMAINING FILES! As I used the USB drive itself as the root (Biker Gremling in the original thread), I instead just deleted the other files to leave these 3 on it.
   
9. Now turn off your computer and plug the USB stick into the left USB port beside the thunderbolt 3 port. Done.
10. Press and hold CTRL + ESC and press the power button to boot into BIOS recovery mode. Keep holding the two keys after releasing the power button until you reach the recovery screen. Once there, use the recovery option to flash BIOS. For this I did have questions. As mentioned above when I try to recover the BIOS, it takes me to 1.8.1 which is the most up to date version I have on my system. When I try to rollback, I can rollback only to 1.7.3. The instructions just say "Use the recovery option", I imagine that means to use the actual "Recover BIOS" option which has never worked for me.
11. Download and store away the files that you think might be needed in the future into a local storage or your email account just in case Dell makes any changes to them in the future. Done, I have folders stored for each BIOS I wanted to use, 1.3.2, 1.5.0, 1.7.3.
12. DONE!

Further Feedback:
I started at 1.8.1 and got to 1.7.3, at this point I followed luciela's post to remove old installs/files then redo this when I have 1.7.3 and remove the 1.7.3 file from the USB, repeat the steps with the 1.5.0 bios, add this to the USB, shut down the computer, start it again, disable the capsule update in BIOS, save and shut down, reboot into BIOS and try to rollback/recover but nothing gets me to an older BIOS.

Others in the original thread + MogRules in this thread said to disable capsule updates. I have done this but every time I recover/rollback, the option is enabled again. I am wondering whether during the initial reboots the system does before it has finished and boots into Windows, enabled this again and then pushes the BIOS back to 1.7.3 if I use the rollback, or 1.8.1 if I recover.

People say that (ssj92 for example in the original thread) that they could go from 1.7.3 to 1.5.0.

When others did this, did you recover or rollback?

Others mentioning the USB drive itself had issues, mine is a Sandisk 128GB USB3 drive. I get a popup to say its large and I won't be able to use the remainder of it which is fine, I just want it for this job. I doubt this would play into the issue as its a really good one.

I contacted Dell again, they say they think the downclocking is a hardware issue. Obviously we know it isn't but if they could just replace the MOBO with another and that MOBO has an older BIOS as stock, I might just let them when I eventually get back to the UK.

I understand that people think I must be doing something wrong, I'm open to that possibility too but I just CAN'T find anything in the steps that I haven't done, not any additional steps that people mention that I haven't also tried.

If someone can have a look at these and let me know, that would be great, I'm completely at a loss for what else I can do now apart from maybe doing an intermediary step between 1.7.3 and 1.5.0 but I doubt that will change anything.

Edit: Tried to rollback to 1.7.2 which is just 1 revision earlier, even this wouldn't work. I can try recovering the BIOS now but I mean... It's just going to put me to the most updated one, regardless I'll disable capsule again, remove old versions as per the luciela instructions.

Edit2: Performed all of these steps, recover put me back to 1.8.1.

 

I'm more than a little fed up with Dell right now. I'll probably restore everything to original and return the Area 51M. :-/

 

I believe your troubles lie in steps 3 - 7 & 8

First it’s CD/ at command prompt to navigate to the root directory for your C: Drive,

Then you can correctly follow the rest of the guide.

When you reboot with a correctly configured and prepared USB with the correct files YES you use the recover option which will load the BIOS file YOU chose and created it will not tell you anything it’s just running a batch file and will load the BIOS that you REPLACED the stock Dell recovery ( current BIOS ) with in the first step that is the “trick” .


Your problem is that you are not correctly navigating to your root directory and creating the HDR file.

That is the most important step in this process.

If you can do this correctly I promise you it will work.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

This is quite interesting. And more mess. Dell won't offer faster than 2400MHz ram for several countries

England and Germany etc. + several others with nothing more than 2400MHz sticks.


Last one from U.S with 2800MHz sticks https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/del...ea51m-laptop/wnser7cr51xh?view=configurations

 

I've told them that I'm considering returning my unit too, when speaking to their support. It's been months and I have a gaming laptop that can't game. Given that mine is a replacement of my old unit I'm sure it could be replaced or refunded but I'm not sure of the legalities of their recent BIOSs. People bought something that promised (or close to) a no-compromises gaming laptop, ultimately supporting something that for all intents and purposes, ends up being a 9700k/9900k with a separate display signal from the GPU, but with no gaming capabilities.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll try again with the options you've listed as I do want to do things by the book, but as mentioned people have also stated that doing this works. I'll do the methods you described right now and get back to you immediately.

Hi Again

I've done exactly as you mentioned (to confirm, using the 1.5.0 BIOS) using cd/ instead which did work however when recovering it has put me back to 1.8.1. Before doing this I had ensured that capsule was off, I removed previous versions of installs too.

Whatever version of the BIOS I have used, 1.7.3, 1.7.2, 1.5.0 etc, whenever I select to recover, it will ALWAYS put me back at 1.8.1 which was the most up to date BIOS I have had on the system.

Is there some other way to clean/purge these BIOS so that it will not recover to this one? As stated before, I'm not sure if when rebooting before going into Windows during the few reboots, it enables the capsule update then (it is always being enabled at some point after a BIOS reset) and this is what causes it to go back to 1.8.1, or that despite following the instructions from luciela's post, there is something I'm missing/Windows or another update has changed how this functions.

If you have time I'm perfectly happy to Skype or something along these lines to demonstrate the processes I'm going through from start to finish.

 

Sweden also only have 2400MHz ram to chose.

 

im in a country where you can get 2800MHz ram (says its 3200MHz that runs at 2800MHZ)

but this model is forced to used 2400MHZ ( https://deals.dell.com/en-us/productdetail/4432)

could it be those country only carry the model thats stuck with 2400?

 

Not sure. Maybe Dell only offer 2800/2933 specs ram in places where they can offer proper support? Could be that there is still some compatibility problems that has to be solved. I can't remember have seen many Area-51m out with the faster ram.

Next guess is that Dell won't offer better than 2400MHz sticks for 9700K and below SKUs. For the records... Intel don't recomend fast ram if you'll fill all 4 slots.

 

Are you 110% sure you haven't mistakenly named the 1.8.1 BIOS as 1.5.0?

I might have a the 1.5.0 files I can send you later to try with those? It sounds like you are doing everything right but it seems the BIOS file could actually be 1.8.1?

Try here - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=11UZ5D9YyS_zdJ73r-HzwJPEAF6ZJy-8V

 

well mine that should ship in 2 weeks has all 4 filled with 2800MHz and its a 9700k.

32gb kits and below have 2933MHZ, but the 64gb kits dell has them running 2800MHZ so yeah prob has to do with the slots

 

I redownloaded again from a thread you commented on actually, listing all the BIOS and VBIOS versions so I could be sure.

I mean I'll do it again now as I'm thankful for any help people can give me but I don't think this is the case.

 

@Fire Tiger Same story again, I used the file provided in the link and went through the procedures, I'm still on 1.8.1.

Is there anything at all in the steps I mentioned that you think could be changed? Note that I created the HDR+RSV at the C drive root instead of the USB root to avoid any confusion.

 

Your continued effort is commendable. If I were you, at this point I might just consider paying $10 or something for an expert to guide you through it on mobile Skype.

 

Well hopefully my next post will push this even further as I don't want others to run into this! But I have messaged a couple of people on here saying I would be happy to pay them for help >.<

Hi All

So I'm pretty much tearing my hair out on this, thankfully I still have enough to not look bald.

People have (I'm sure with the best of intentions) second guessed aspects of what I have done as it does seem strange that only 1 person can't get this to work. I'd already gone through the guide multiple times to the point that I now feel like just rewriting it based on followup feedback from people in the original guide on here would be the best thing to do. If someone who has gone through the process already can critique it and find anywhere that I'm going wrong this would be really appreciated.

I believe I have tidied it up to an acceptable level and improved some areas like putting the files from the DIAGS folder alphabetically to make removing them easier.

Ideally after this point, anything wrong can be amended, any crtisicism can be taken on board and turned into a fresh guide that will help anyone moving forwards and credits given to the people that helped with the original guide and who help here?

2 notes that I have before this however are that in step 19 he says not to delete the remaining files, I presumed he was just referring to "DELLBIO.BIN" and "DELLRMK.BIN" as never had any additional files during the multiple times I repeated this step.

Step Action
1 - Enable file extensions in File Explorer by pressing Start/Windows key, then File Explorer then View and tick the File name extensions box.
2 - Download your required Alienware BIOS version from Dell website or from OP's links here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/area-51m-bios-vbios-collection-mirrors.829190/
3 - Rename the file you download to BIOS_IMG.EXE
4 - Place the BIOS_IMG.EXE file that you just renamed into the root of a drive, say C:\ drive for example.
5 - Press Start/Windows key, type CMD then right click the CMD icon and select Run as administrator.
6 - Type CD/ and press Enter. It will take you right to your C drive root where the BIOS_IMG.EXE file is located.
7 - Type the following command (it can be pasted) BIOS_IMG.EXE /writehdrfile and press Enter. It will create a file named BIOS_IMG.HDR on your C drive. Rename that to BIOS_IMG.RCV as we'll use this as a recovery image. Both images are essentially the same.
8 - Download the Dell Diagnostic Distribution Package (DDDP) from the following URL: https://downloads.dell.com/diags/CW1322A1.exe
9 - The File Download window will show. Select Run to download the software.
10 - A User Account Control (UAC) window may appear. Select Yes to continue the download process.
11 - The Dell 32 bit diagnostic window will appear. Select Continue to proceed.
12 - The folder creation window will appear. Select Ok to use the default folder.
13 - A Dell Diagnostic dialog window will appear stating all files were successfully unzipped. Select Ok to continue.
14 - Navigate to the folder that DDDP was extracted to. The default location is: C:\Dell\Drivers\R174621
15 - Open the DIAGS folder and remove everything, EXCEPT for the following (note that you can delete these more easily by sorting them alphabetically):
AUTOEXEC.BAT
COMMAND.COM
CONFIG.SYS
DELLBIO.BIN
DELLRMK.BIN
16 - Insert a USB Flash Drive, NOTE/WARNING that this will remove all existing data from it.
17 - Go to where your R174621 folder, typically located here: C:\Dell\Drivers\R174621\
18 - Run the DDDP.EXE and choose Install to a USB Flash Drive, selecting the drive you inserted. This will make the USB Flash Drive bootable.
19 - Copy BIOS_IMG.RCV from your C:/ drive onto the USB root. Make sure that the following 3 files exist on USB root when you are done: BIOS_IMG.RCV, DELLBIO.BIN and DELLRMK.BIN. DO NOT DELETE THE REMAINING FILES!
20 - Press Start/Windows key and search for Disk Cleanup and click on the program.
21 - If you have multiple drives in your system you may need to select a drive to clean up which should be C:\ and click Ok.
22 - In the bottom left of the window will be an option to Clean up system files, click this and after it runs, the list of Files to delete: should be updated with Windows Installation Files.
23 - Tick the boxes of anything you need to delete, making sure to tick Windows Installation Files then click Ok, in the next window click Delete Files.
24 - Reboot your computer and enter the BIOS by pressing F2 during startup.
25 - Go to Security by pressing the right arrow key and set UEFI Firmware Capsule Updates to Disabled by pressing the down arrow key until you have highlighted it, press Enter then select Disabled and press Enter again, press F10 to save and exit.
26 - The laptop will restart, after startup shut it down again.
27 - Plug the USB stick into the left USB port beside the thunderbolt 3 port.
28 - Press and hold CTRL + ESC then press and release the Power Button to boot into BIOS recovery mode. Keep holding the two keys after releasing the power button until you reach the recovery screen.
29 - Once there, click Recover BIOS and click Yes/Accept etc on the further windows.
30 - After this has finished you will boot into Windows as normal.
31 - You can check your BIOS version by pressing Start/Windows key and search for System Information and click on the program.
32 - Store the files you have used for this in a safe place that you'll remember in case you need them in the future.

 

This is just depressing. How can other manufacturers run at 2666MHz or higher and Dell just can’t get this figured out?

 

Save on costs is never a good idea. Costs include design and components. The less you spend the worse it will become. And Azor said in the wel known AMA right after they went full BGA... Build notebooks with desktop hardware wasn’t so easy. Neither so smart. Hence they instead throw out the fully soldered package (980m, battery boost and 180w psu) early 2015. + You have the change from only offer 2 ram slots to 4 needs different ways to design it.

See... You have to learn to walk before you can run.

 

cause they want to cut corners while doing so. It looks like they stumbled up on a roadblock in which they're forced to do some engineering to get a full XMP support across multiple gen motherboards. The fact that they cannot figure it out, or just stick by Intels guidelines show what monkeys operate DELLIENWARE.

The m17 r2 get's a praise on notebookcheck compared to 15' inch laptops. against 17 inch they are decimated (cause of the bad thermals) that should be enough to get in perspective how much AW machines can underperform, not to mention their consistensy got worse and worse. the 51m could be a killer of a machine if corners weren't cut. It is already A beast, but not THE beast. for that i still got to hand it to Clevo.

 

You would think someone that was helping design this thing would have spoke up and said something about it not meeting expectations and it would never run the way they advertised. Then again maybe the suits in the executives chair probably didn’t care. It’s such a shame. I do hope they don’t give up on it and get it working better in future revisions. I have a soft spot for this DTR from Alienware since that was my original gaming laptop back in the day. Was really hoping to relive the good ol days and keep that sucker running for years to come.

I wasn’t aware Notebookcheck praised the m17 R2. Heck I didn’t know anyone got a review unit. I have seen some good numbers on the m15 R2. But, it has always been someone’s second or third unit before someone gets a good one out of the box. They do run reasonably cool with an undervolt and max fans. And if you take the time to open them up and repaste them they aren’t terrible. But I really hate how they just solder everything to the motherboard. There is just no reason for that. Which is also a shame as I love this new design look. It’s clean and sexy. Plus they have some of the best keyboards out there. They could have an all around amazing line up if they get their heads out of the sand.

 

I had posted this in here a couple months back but some of my keys have quit working: Left ctrl, FN, windows key, esc-F7. Obviously super annoying since a lot of keys are function based to do other tasks (volume, etc). This being said do you guys think this is a keyboard going bad or more of a connector thing? I'm going to be pulling it back apart to re-apply thermal paste to the cpu and will take a look at the keyboard connector at that time. Looks like there is only one connection for that and then another one for the touchpad that goes into the mobo. Hopefully I'm not needing an entire motherboard replacement. What's also weird is that sometimes the keys will randomly work and then go back to not working.

 

This is the problem with design by committee and not a single, or small number of folks. You see this more and more with dilution occurring in Apple without Jobs for instance.... and Frank Azor probably had more and more compromise of what he wanted Alienware to be and so not surprised he left. I strongly suspect this may be the last Alienware I own unless someone can corral this "Delling" down of the Alienware brand which in the beginning around 2010 helped, but since over time has led to more and more "averageness".

 

Also boot into BIOS setup by starting your laptop and repeatedly pressing F2, go to security tab, Disable "UEFI Firmware Capsule Updates" under the security tab.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ok back on topic / the point that Dell and other companies are missing in my opinion in there attempts to replicate Apple or any other successful company is that you CANNOT do it from a profit focused standpoint, IMO you must believe your making something important that will help push humanity forward.

Just shaving corners and copy catting for profit is just cheap and tacky and everyone knows it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I've done a full runthrough above showing every individual step, could you have a look and let me know if anything else should be done or if steps are incorrect?

 

I think the bottom line is the harsh reality that they just don't care, not that they "can't" figure it out. The alternative is some imbecile made an executive decision to do it on purpose. People are still buying and will continue buying their products that have unresolved issues, so they have no financial incentive to care. But, yes... depressing no matter how you slice it. If they cared, it would have been fixed prior to product launch if anyone testing it was smart enough to identify the problem. If none of the testers were smart enough, (a distinct possibility,) then it would have been resolved as soon as the problem was identified by customers. If one actually believes they care, as questionable as the basis for that belief might be, then it leaves "on purpose" as the only logical conclusion. Either way, don't hold your breath on the problem being rectified. Ever.

 

So I'm finally done. As far as I can tell, I got the 51M back to it's original state temp wise (probably a thermal pad too much after all), but I'm fed up with it. I'm returning it and are selling the 9900KS. Waiting for a possible R2 now, or maybe the Clevo X170.

Xbox One X - here I come for my gaming needs.

 

Unless you honestly need the mobility and haven't convinced yourself that mobility is important when it isn't, you should seriously consider building yourself an awesome desktop. There are some people that travel extensively and actually need a powerful DTR (or despise chintzy turdbooks). That is why I purchased my first high-performance laptop. (Which was also my first laptop.) Before that, I owned only desktops and despised the laptops that I used at work. I viewed them as trash. After moving to high-performance laptops, I was away from desktops for about a decade.

After getting fed up with the plethora of laptop garbage and the endless supply of nonsense that goes along with them, I have no regrets at all in my decision to go back to desktops as my main computing resource. So much better. I think I had become desensitized to how crappy laptops had become, and they've only gotten worse since I made the move back to desktops.

 

Unfortunately it’s not always that simple, I think I’ve done about the best I can at this point through text.

I see two possibilities,

1 - your possibly repeatedly making the same misinterpretation of one or more of the steps ( it’s human nature we all do it ) and once you’ve done something incorrectly several times it’s VERY difficult for you yourself to catch the problem, you simply won’t see it unless your in the habit of doubting and second guessing yourself ( not always a bad thing ).

2 - ( admittedly less likely ) there is something different about your machines settings, configuration, Windows environment etc... you get the idea.

At this point I really think you should consider enlisting a LOCAL experienced friend or professional that can actually put their hands on the machine.

You could possibly get someone to TeamViewer into your machine and do all the steps up until the reboot I suppose, but there again I really would recommend someone you personally KNOW or a hired professional, not some stranger on the internet

As much as I want to help I do not feel comfortable taking the chance of something going wrong on someone else’s expensive laptop I would feel terrible and responsible.

Please understand I’ll gladly offer advice which you can take or ignore, but unless it’s a friend or relative I don’t put my hands on other people’s expensive property.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Well said! I've made a similar transition. My primary work-station is a desk top, and I carry my MAG-15 when I travel. There are simply too many compromises that have to be made with laptops to get a desktop level of performance.

 

From what I have seen... None should say 84% on Notebookcheck is amazing



Alienware m17 getting too hot

m17 R2, constant thermal throttling even when doing nothing

I see you have been in here... One of many with same problem Area-51m, keyboard stops working

Same with their other models... m15 R2, Brand new, keeps freezing intermittently

Alienware m15 r2 keyboard lighting not working

Yeah, why bother offer the same as Intel. Newer Core i7+ processors have support for 32 GIG sticks. As you can see... Not easy change their minds (Why change a winning team?).

17 R5, Samsung memory DDR4-2666, not working

And I expect Dell removed latest bios to stop people from expriment with ram stick that's not supported....

AREA 51M - Bios 1.8.1 removed from download ?

 

I firmly believe this is the issue: at its core, its always an executive decision. They know the issues I am sure, there is some evidence an upcoming BIOS will fix at least partially the throttling with an 83' thermal limit, perhaps the memory issue will be resolved on some level, but unless it hurts the bottom line, they just don't care if they don't have to. Taking pride in the product you deliver often seems lost in the process with Dell.

 

As of at least the following 1-2 years, I have no place to house even a compact stationary computer. If I could, I would build one in a jiffy and never look back. :-/

I also kind of like being able to put my gaming laptop in a cupboard and totally hide it.

Oh well. Still hoping for a R2 with all the right design choices, even if the chance is slim.

 

The R0 revision of 9900Kx run stupid hot for some odd reason. If you can get a hold of a P0 9900K you should be able to run way cooler and at higher frequencies at that.

Here's some perspective;
My old 9900K P0 at 5Ghz x47 cache ( not a golden sample, VID ~1.255v at 5Ghz)
- Slightly die lapped, using LM + custom IHS
Cinebench R15 max 76c
- Heavily die lapped, using LM + custom IHS
Cinebench R15 max 65c

My new 9900KF R0 at 5Ghz x47 cache (VID ~ 1.24v at 5Ghz)
- Slightly die lapped, using LM + custom IHS
Cinebench R15 max 80-84c

Same setup, at a lower VID, yet 4-8c hotter.

 

Actually I don’t even need a 9900K. A 9700K would’ve been plenty and still cooler.

 

The price we have to pay due the need to fix security flaws and Intel's turnaround to bin better silicon for the long awaited 10th gen chips (Comet lake). New or refreshed ain't always better. And low vid does't necessarily means you'll get lower temps (Just look at last gen unlocked BGA in the AW17R5).

Read also my lastest short essay... 10th gen can be a disaster if you won't get a performance increase from one year over to the next. Increaseed performance only with more cores is a huge falit. Both for those who spend money on todays R0 revision of 9900K(KS) or 10th gen Intel 8/16 refresh. You all will get the bottom barrel.

 

How do you find a P0 version brother? Or am I best sticking with the 9700k, I don't do much outside gaming and casual use.

 

Check the S-Spec numbers on the box. Read what you se at the bottom in this link... http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SR/SRFAA.html

 

For the 9900K you want the S-Spec to be SRELS, for the KF SRFAA. If you're buying a used part, you can see the S-Spec on the box along with the batch #. For the KF you can see it through the plastic cover, don't even need to open that puppy up.

 

I'm looking for the bios 1.8.1. Anyone have it and can link me the DL ?

 

I do, but won't be at location for a day or two.

 

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AslCY6JaX-EljbkY3MMmEgEug2p2SA?e=hzJZbe

 

If your not already on it I would hold off. It was removed for probably a good reason, even if we never know what that was.

I rolled back to 1.7.3 because I was getting some black screen issues where it was almost like the GPU was faltering. Since I rolled back I have not seen it since. Not to say they are related, but it sure seems like it to me.

 

I just want to see if i get any different temps.

I have RTX 2070 with a 9700K ..and temps are reallllllllllll good.

But ...... i like to test hahaha,..

TQ for the file.