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

Its an odd ball issue but I have seen it too, and yes it was only affecting the Game company launchers I saw it a bit in Rockstar's and in Epic, I gave up on chasing it, I *think* it went away after a GeForce driver update maybe one or two back, I also set Nvidia control panel back to defaults several times during that time, so it's hard to know what exactly did it, but I have not noticed it for a while now.

 

They can't support current generation stock Intel specs because they are reserving that special "upgrade" for the R2, so it can then operate at Intel default specs for last generation tech.

They don't owe their customers anything. It is easier to control consumers that compulsively flash and/or install crap just because it's newer. Plus, release notes would spoil the surprise. You know... Nobody can know what's in it until they first say yes to it.

 

Boooooo I hate when you make political posts @MrFox. The last thing I want to read about when I come to a laptop forum is politics. I can get that anywhere else! And since YOU started it—Pelosi is awesome and trustworthy!

To keep this post relevant, still hoping to see an Area51m r2 here soon. Maybe with Super mobile cards being announced next month (supposedly) it might become a more realistic possibility.

 

I'll update to the latest GPU driver today, I'm not too overly concerned with this issue as it only seems to affect 2-3 apps, plus @Lopt had similar issues which have since disappeared.

Thanks for the AWCC update link as well, appreciate it!

Glad someone else has experienced this, I'm hopeful the latest NVidia driver will sort it.

The latest NVidia driver seems to have sorted those effects on the Rockstar and Epic launchers.

 

I told you! What driver were you using before? I need the version number and whether it was an nVIDIA reference driver or a Dell/nVIDIA Driver

 

It was the one from your driver folder dated 14th of March.

Just checked it was 441.14.

 

Weird, that was the Dell Driver! So much for trusting OEM drivers more heh?

 

It was probably fine when released bro, but glad we're good to use the latest and greatest from NVidia.

 

Fix for Windows Store: This app is not compatible with this device

 

Makes me wonder about the change from the first drive from a Dell supplied drive and/or going to a larger drive. I maintained the original Hynix drive, then just added a 1 TB Samsung 970 Evo+ drive... might be why I have not seen any negative impact.

 

The performances drop are very important whenever I use a lower settings, and the temperature gain is minimal -2 to 5°C less and 20% performance drop.
I will keep it as it for now hoping this won't damage my hardware on the long run then...

 

Have you checked out the ThrottleStop guide I linked for you? I'd really recommend an undervolt to help with temps. You could start at -0.75mV and work towards -.100mV.

 

@Papusan @etern4l @iunlock @ssj92 @Fire Tiger @Docsteel

Spartan to Ernie from Dell: So why are you selling your laptops with 2666 MHz. RAM when the Area-51m doesn't even support it.

Ernie: It's coming soon.

Spartan: you've been saying that since 1 year, when is soon exactly?

Ernie: ummm, never.

Spartan: Get outta here...

 

I will work on that this week-end, thanks a lot for your suggestions Fire Tiger!

 

No probs at all, you should definitely see an improvement in temps with an undervolt.

You can also look into Windows XTU thats a bit easier initially but again I'd recommend watching a guide on YouTube on what settings etc. can be changed.

 

Alienware Area-51m Drivers 27-Mar-2020

The drivers are listed in order, PLEASE restart after each driver installation EVEN IF YOU DON'T GET A NOTIFICATION to restart. I have seen some drivers not install properly if you don't reboot (ie. Intel Serial IO didn't actually install the drivers when I was not rebooting after each driver install just as an example!)

After downloading the ZIP file, don't forget to unblock it before you extract it by right clicking on the ZIP file, go to Properties, then at the bottom of the properties screen, if you see a message saying "this file may be blocked because it came from the internet" click on the UNBLOCK radio button, hit APPLY, then OK. Not doing this will mean all the files will be extracted with a BLOCKED status and may result in in-complete or erroneous installs. To stop this automatic unblocking of files in the future, see this guide: "Are you sure you want to run this file?" [Yes or No]

The new ZIP file has new nVIDIA Drivers, new LAN/WLAN/Bluetooth Drivers, new Alienware Command Center, and new Alienware Mobile Connect drivers.

 

thanks Spartan for your reply.

I have done some testing on 1.8.1 just to see real world results. Heaven Benchmarked at 6794 (i9 9900K) with fans on full and normal clock speeds on gpu. Max power hit 183W but I didn't see any thermal throttling as temps peaked at 75C. Should I even bother with these results? CPU benchmarked on cinebench - score 4824.

Debating roll back to 1.5.0 as you have suggested but have a couple questions for you:

1) What temps are okay for this card to sit at if I decide to flash to 1.5.0 (I would expect higher temps with higher power allotted) - maybe I'm wrong though.

2) Is there anything I need to worry regarding my display panel for the flash of 1.5.0? I will lose G sync capability but I haven't even used it yet in game so not a big deal.

3) Do you recommend I replace the pads on the memory and reapply thermal paste on gpu only if I can't control the temps on 1.5.0? just trying to be proactive in my endeavor here.

4) If I proceed do I have to flash the vbios and the bios together or just the bios?

thanks all... pass

 

1) When I tested Fire Strike, the max CPU temps were 70C but that' not as demanding as a game. In FIFA 2019, temps were between 75 and 84C which is fine.

2) If you have one of the newer panels, you will lose GSYNC. Will you notice a difference? ZERO! NADA! ZLITCH! G-Sync is a gimmick IMHO. I can't tell a difference in all the laptops that I've owned that has had GSYNC vs ones that didn't. In a game, all I focus on is the game, I am not sitting there and trying to pin point any tearing in objects while moving quickly which would only happen BTW if your FPS was going below the screen refresh rate which is very difficult with an RTX 2080 anyway so.

3) Pads, I never bothered nor do I have the patience for that. When you remove the heatsink, you will need to repaste both the CPU and GPU. I recommend PHOBYA NanoGrease Extreme for the GPU and Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut or Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra for the CPU. If you don't wanna mess with liquid metal as it needs patience to apply it, then just put PHOBYA NanoGrease Extreme for both the CPU and GPU using the X Cross Method.

The X Cross method is the best in my experience as once the heatsink is fitted, it provides the maximum coverage with the least air bubbles





4) Here is what I recommend:

a) Uninstall Alienware Update AKA Dell Update and Dell SupportAssist otherwise they will keep nagging you to update your BIOS.

b) Flash the BIOS using the Recovery USB which you created using the guide I showed you earlier.

c) Immediately head into BIOS and make sure you disable Firmware Capsule Updates in the Security tab otherwise Windows will immediately upgrade your BIOS!

d) Once you're back in Windows, reflash the same 1.5.0 BIOS again but in Windows, I had to do that last time as I was getting weird behavior (I can't remember what exactly but once you have flashed 1.5.0 in recovery mode, you will be able to flash 1.5.0 again through Windows since you're not technically downgrading anymore you are just reinstalling the same BIOS) so do that to ensure the BIOS is 100% flashed correctly.

e) The moment the BIOS is flashed, go back into BIOS and load setup defaults then save and exit (from the last tab in the BIOS)

f) Now enter BIOS again, set your battery from Adaptive to Custom and tell it to start charge at 50% and stop charge at 90%. This will ensure the battery is never over charged and will thus prolong its life.

g) In the 2nd tab in the BIOS, I recommend turning OFF Power Share as that will drain your battery if your laptop had a USB device that needs power overnight (such as an external HDD or Game Pad)

h) While you're in the BIOS, ensure that Firmware Capsule updates are OFF

 

The only way that would be possible is if you run on such low settings you never fall below close to max refresh.... on a 2080 with a game that sustains 144+ refresh, sure, but say something falling lower, it makes a big difference to most people. In fact I can tell almost instantly if it didn't kick in even without an onscreen indicator.

 

after the last AWCC update, the power button do not stay lighted if I disable the alien FX lightning (via the fn+alienfx key).
i'm alone?

 

What version of AWCC are you on?

 

5.2.81.0

 

i have a Samsung Odyssey.

i just updated and it actually fixed a lighting issue i have been having since the last update. after the previous update the keyboard would revert back to factory blue (i run an all red theme) after waking up from sleep until i opened and clicked any tab on AWCC. now it is back to staying red after wake up. (previously tried the full uninstall and reinstall method with the older command center a few times to no change. only the new update fixed it).

 

On the subject of cooling, testing a direct die vapor chamber mod. So far very promising results, bros
https://imgur.com/a/CN5CTFe

 

@Fire Tiger

Alienware OC Controls v1.2.61.1233

 

Nice find brother! How do you keep track of all these things ! I'll get it updated tomorrow.

 

I knew you were Irish.

 

A solid 10c shaved off, and this is at much higher ambient temperatures than my 9900K.

4.37mm BartX IHS 9900K R15 5Ghz package max 65c (16c min temp)
https://i.imgur.com/2zabNBc.png

3mm Vapor chamber 9900KF R15 5Ghz package max 73c (27c min temp)
https://i.imgur.com/C8tSdar.png
And cores deltas are 2-4c within each other.

You can read the about the direct die mod here. There are links to where this particular vapor chamber can be bought there. Since the vapor chamber 3mm tall, it very closely matches a stock 9th gen Intel IHS. However, the heatsink needs to have a 56x56mm clearance and decent flatness for proper contact. As well as removing the intel ILM. Definitely not a mod I would recommend for the faint of heart, since I'm not sure how this impacts a unified heatsink in terms of GPU die contact.

 

I've been screaming this for a while now, and not alot of people wanted to take my word for it so i'm glad you did it, and made it working !

VC is laptops are the way to go ! Having a VC that covers the whole base of the mobo would he alot better than using pipes to transfer the heat and rely on the phase changing.

Razor has done some good VC builds but due to bad QC it wouldn't matter since your machine would die prematurely.

I'm thinking about starting my own heatsink workshop. Something specialised in creating high performance heatsinks for small tolerance systems.

 

Sounds like a very neat idea Yes, vapor chambers are just so much better than solid copper at spreading heat and reducing hotspots. Especially when dealing with small areas of high power density. They just allow for a better utilization of total heatsink capacity.

 

Exactly. An VC in combination with Graphene (or graphite) sheets would eliminate the need for pipes. As long as the sheet stick to the VC and the lateral transfer is higher than copper (i think philips made a good one) you could have an VC that covers both DIE area's and the graphite(or graphene) would to the transfer from a VC to a radiator block.

A fan would blow air through the radiator block cooling down the VC which has spreaded the heat from the DIE area to the sides of the VC (sheets act as a pipe instead of using copper)

It would make machines like CLEVO maybe 500 Grams lighter (or even more as they have ALOT of copper compared to any BGA system)

 

On the TM1 you need heatpipes to guide the heat towards the radiators and finstacks. It's just the way this heatsink is designed with a remote condenser. Ideally, you would have a vaporchamber base, and optimized fin density/ size directly on top.

 

That is completely true. That's also the flipside of the TM1. Cause the pipes are intergrated in the VC. That makes the heattransger more linear since it won't have time to give it off to the air within the chassis. It also covers a wide area (which is good) as opposed to the 51m.

The die's are too far apart. So creating a VC like the TM1 would cost Alot ! (Probaly 180+ dollars).

Another big plus is that the radiator is directly connected to the VC. I'm under the impression the pipes the TM1 uses on the VC is to give it some thermal headroom letting the pipes soak some off the heat. You could run a watercooling setup coupled to the VC quite easily cause it's quite thin. Only problem would be the cooling of the water and and reservoir.

Really thinking about upgrading to the new
Clevo X170SM-G

 

The baseplate contact between VC and the TM1 is not optimal, so I'd wager another 3c gain if the baseplate had covered all 4 heatpipes fully. And you had ideal contact between the two surfaces, or had VC directly soldered onto the heatpipes. The P870 also has a 400W dual gpu vapor chamber, so one could bridge the two for additional capacity. But I'm not proficient at welding and vapor chambers have a tendency to deform under such heat.

As for the X170, supposedly 340W heatsink capacity, unified design. 10 core parts run crispy hot and paired with a max-p 2080super/3080 mxm I have my doubts about it's performance with unlocked 10900K SKU. I'd definitely wait and see how real world performance is before putting all my eggs in one basket

 

Well yeah i wanted to buy it, and then invest in my own heatsink. An 8 pipe heatsink can hold up to 300 watt which is enough for the graphics alone, but a 150 to 200W CPU would not be able to cool it good enough. mixing an VC with a small WC loop would be my ideal setup but it would require alot of CNC ing to create something that's custom. But the thing is that the X170SM-G has enough room to go crazy on a thick pipe heatsink design. Repurposing that to an VC with WC should be doable, but it's probably going to cost a pretty penny.

 

If a custom VC solution for the current A51m exists without any consequences in form and fit, I would definitely hop onto it!

 

Me too, needs to be noob friendly though haha

 

There was a leak showcasing the 51m VC cooler for the R2. Link
However, the mounting is set up differently so there is that.

 

Good morning all...

I managed to flash 1.5.0 last night. Followed Spartans guide and was successful. Much appreciated for the help and guide. Just with the bios change alone my Heaven benchmark went from 6794 (on 1.8.1) to 6975. GPU hit 74C during test. Pretty nice bump in performance from a bios swap. Haven't noticed any change in GPU temps yet and same goes for my CPU (9900k).

Now that I am on 1.5.0 is it worth to try and see how the 200W vbios works or should I stay on the 180W. I have noticed it peaks at around 183W. This process is done in windows correct?

I'm pretty sure I have one of the newer panels but how would I check for sure? I have a 1650 wireless card and read somewhere1550s were shipped with earlier models (not 100% on this fact). So I'm thinking I have the newer panel that loses gsync -- not a big deal. How would I check to see if G sync is available? Is this an option I'm missing in game or is it through nvidias software. I couldn't find it before the roll back to 1.5.0 either.

 

Great news!

For G-Sync, simply if you have the G-Sync setting in the nVIDIA Control Panel then you have G-Sync otherwise the whole section for G-Sync will disappear.

 

Thanks Spartan

It appears that I still have the function of G sync even though I have one with the 1650 wireless card! May never use it but at least its there...

What do you recommend with the vbios stick with the 180W or try the 200W.

Ill try and stop bothering you now Spartan lol.... thanks for all the help

 

I am curious if it actually works - downgrading to 1.5.0 and losing the Gsync is the downside to it - what panel do you have in the unit? I'm guessing you don't have the Chi Mei panel, and the original one the units shipped with?

 

He, as I have, probably will have the G-Sync active, but if you try to play a game in the laptop screen with G-Sync active, it will start to flicker... I barely use it because I use an Asus Rog monitor with G-Sync and with this external monitor it works fine

 

This entire discussion is exactly the kind of discourse that keeps me reading....multiple posts and NO negativity

Fadt question. So T.A.R.G.E.T supports the couger BUT I'm am having a lot of trouble getting the stick running in win 10. Foxy supposedly works...but having no luck there either.

Not even sure the firmware is updating
You running the couger on the couger base, or the stick on the warthog base?

 

If you load up the Nvidia control panel by right clicking from your desktop. In there you should have a G-Sync option on the left if you still have G-Sync ability.

 

Alienware Customization - Wallpapers, OEM Info, Start Menu

 

We're all just trying to get most out of our respective systems.

 

you loose gsync on bios 1.5 with the new eye safe panels from the last couple months. I wouldn’t be concerned though for slushy right now. I leave mine off anyway.

 

With the Chi-Mei panel and BIOS 1.5.0 Nvidia control still shows the G-Sync and you can even select it, HOWEVER if you try top play any games it will be black screens here.

1.7.3 with appropriate settings in Afterburner and Trottlestop, allows me to run a 60/60 OC and with G-Sync, without thermal issues.