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

Just don't buy their desktops. They come with awful firmware as well. Most notebooks come with firmware with almost no options. But do the same on own desktops

 

I considered it, but ultimately chose not too because I had heard they had terrible firmware. Plus, I'd rather build my own for the fun of it.

Going with a custom 3700x/2080S build, possibly 2080Ti if i find a decent price. Already purchased the 3700x, but all of the x570 boards are out of stock, so I'll need to wait a bit.

 

Its sad to see things unfold, many of us tried to educate the reasons why you don't buy from a company that preys on deceiving customers. Alienware's practice continues to prove they don't care about their customers after they have your money.

 

Detractors? Ok listen as someone that bought into the Area 51m idea I thought there would be a lot more support for it, instead of working to fix all of the R1 issues they just decided to release an R2 which to me looks like a money grab. We are still stuck with 2400mhz ram speeds, the bios updates continue to be terrible, thermal limits are terrible and we got downgraded to 180 TDP from 200 ( I know there are ways around some of these things but it is risky and can be a hassle). I think they should have taken more time listening to the early adopters and perfecting the R1 before coming out with an R2, it seems like every "update" they make limits the system even more. I can understand where a lot of them are coming from but I have never had the over the top feeling of ditching the brand over this, instead it just pisses me off and makes me wonder if these issues will ever be addressed. I love my R1 but there have been a lot of headaches, the keyboard on the R2 is atrocious and I like the styling of the R1 a bit more.

 

They recycled the M17's keyboard and throw it on the Area 51M R2. Completely removed 6 dedicated macro-keys that were located to the left of the main keyboard. Afterwards charged extra $500 for lower base specs and with less functionality. Less is more.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/comments/gk4ub4/a_little_rant_on_the_newly_announced_area_51m_r2/

Totally different design. Won't fit.

 

Not baiting, but honestly, I can't think of any of them worth a damn at the moment. Maybe Clevo, but that's about it.

 

I think even that is debatable. They do have a higher count of redeeming qualities on one or two of the highest priced models, but everything they sell is compromised and crippled without @Prema to exorcise the firmware demons. At least that is still possible, so that is a huge plus.

Picking a laptop is like trying to decide which politician to vote for when all of them are untrustworthy evil scumbags. The really bad ones are easy to spot based on the obvious crap that leaves nothing to the imagination as to how utterly worthless they are. The trick is to identify which ones that seem semi-normal are the most evil and which are the lesser among evils. When you think you have it figured out you discover (too late) that he/she was the most talented lying sack of feces in the running, but a similar waste of human DNA as the rest of them.

Very similar dilemma trying to choose the best laptop when all of them are trash.

 

Not released on support page for my Area 51m.....updated to 1.10 Bios was there and updated....Had to hard reset turn off(button) as bios update just showed keyboard lights looping???

 

To be fair, the CPU upgrades are not possible as they went with Intel which changed sockets (surprise!), plus the increased VRM requirements for the 10th gen (which is just another Skylake refresh). The Nvidia GPUs also bumped the power requirements so a 2080 Super wouldn't work on R1s.

The gains are relatively small on both so it's not a big loss, TBH. And having a separate CPU and GPU makes them cheaper to replace if they die in the long run.

There should be no reason for Ampere GPUs not working on R2's, though, and Intel said that they might keep the new socket for another gen or two so an R2 might fair better upgrade wise, but I'll be damned to buy a laptop with this CPU power hog that Intel so-called "10th" gen is.

The cooling and VRM they're putting here could power up some stronger Threadripper variant easy or run some Ryzen effortlessly at higher clock and lower noise.

 

The R2 will only be for the 10900K and the 2080 super. Ampere will be put in the R3

 

you have killed the cpu unfortunately

 

So there is no way for the R1 to have a future gpu upgrades ? DGFF- ampere or RTX super will not simply fit in ?
What a shame ...

So the new cards are sized differently DGFF vs DG-FU (dell gaming Fully upgradable )?

This laptop needs @Prema badly, I hope he can hack it....

 

Did you downgrade or update?

If update, your system may bug out a few times and restart.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

The GPU bug fix update OC controls is not on support page.... My CPU is fine....1.10 Bios running without issue......

 

Did you try playing any games? I tried playing NFS Heat and it was having massive FPS dips that made it unplayable so I quickly ran back to BIOS 1.3.2

 

what is your time spy score on 1.3.2 bios ?

 

lol @devilhunter, the “DG-FU” that the extremetech writer came up with is a play on the initials... standing for “Dell Graphics - F*ck You”; he goes on to say that at least that will convey more accurately how Dell treats their customers.

It’s not very subtle haha, I’m surprised you missed it lol.

It is still “DGFF”.

I edited my post to say I was mistaken. It’s not a new version. The temp slider is still locked. I don’t know what could have happened with your keyboard flashing after the update, as this is completely unrelated (I was solely talking about OC Controls).

Sounds like that keyboard flashing behavior is the normal multiple reboots the PC does when updating the BIOS.

Yeah they recycled the m17's keyboard and that sucks.

The funny thing here is; the macro keys were already a separate set of keys, with its own separate cable. They decided to omit it even considering this. They could have done the m17 keyboard + the macro strip on the side. The only thing they needed to change was the keys’ shape to chiclet. lol sad

 

Well, at least R1 owners can take satisfaction in having a good keyboard

 

I can now almost anticipate Dell releasing a BIOS update that artificially further caps the R1's performance so the R2 “looks better” against it hahaha...

Non-K processor? Idk.

Also, frankly the 2080 overclocks and undervolts so well that the 2080S is marginally better!

 

This is with BIOS 1.3.2/200W VBIOS, nVIDIA Driver 332.02 (from Dell), stock clock speeds

 

I did the same test, mine is;
BIOS 1.9.3/180W VBIOS, nVIDIA Driver 445.87 (From Nvidia), stock clock speeds, no undervoltage and full speed fans.
Spec`s
Area 51M
I7 9700K
RTX 2080
32gb DDR4 G.Skill 2666Mhz (Recognize 2400Mhz) (2x16)
The program is instaled in SSD M.2 Evo 970...

My result was 9237.. (I don`t now how to post the print in the forum)

 

Yeah the RTX 2080 in the Area51m (R1) behaves so damn well in overclocking and undervolting! I am running the RTX 2080 at 1800mhz Core constant - 0.850V on Balanced Fans ( Max Fan speed in Balanced Mode is the same as Performance Fan Speed BTW) and I never get in the 75 Celsius Thermal Throttle.
I did a lot of testing with unlocking the thermal point up to 87C and Full Speed Fans with 1950Mhz Core and 0.975V (Requires the 200W video Bios to prevent the Power Throttle). While my FPS went up by a MAXIMUM of 2 FPS in all games I tested.
This doesn't justify the EXTRA Temperature (85 Celsius Max - Avg. 83 Celsius from 74 Celsius Max - Avg 70 Celsius) and 50W of extra power (195W compared to 145W) just for 2 extra FPS.
Sure, it matters in benchmarks like 3D Mark - to get a score as high as 12K Timespy - but in gaming it doesn't matter since you are already running well above 100+ FPS on native resolution, or between 35-60 FPS in heavy games with RTX FULL and DLSS like Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Control to name a few.

CPU wise, the i9-9900k can very well run at 5.0Ghz on 2 cores and 4.7Ghz on all 8 Cores/16 Threads if you apply a small undervolt and set the PL1, PL2 limits to something sensible -without hitting the thermal limit.
(Out of the box my i9 9900k simply overclocked to 5.0Ghz on all cores hits 100C in my desktop on water! And I am using a dedicated 360mm radiator only for the CPU. This CPU loves to pull extra POWER for a small bump in performance like CRAZY!)

To be fair, the cooling solution in the R1 is amazing! However, Dell/Alienware didn't make it to allow much headroom! The problem is they didn't make some tweaking and adjustments to the system. They just designed the cooling solution around the specifications, slapped the CPU & GPU inside and that was it.

The actual problem with the GPU hitting the thermal limit is not Dell's fault, but Nvidia's! Your Nvidia GPU will basically overclock itself automatically until it reaches one of the limits: Thermal, Current or Power. The Spec says that RTX 2080 has a max boost of 1700Mhz or 1800Mhz for the Founders Edition and yet you see your card running at 2000Mhz pulling over 1.0V and then gets thermal throttled.

Dell/Alienware should have made a default profile based on the reference spec for the GPU with a max boost of 1700-1800Mhz and CPU profile with a max 95W TDP for PL1 as the SPECIFICATIONS say! I bet since this is marketed as an enthusiast machine they hoped people will tweak the system on their own, but a lot of people out there have no idea how to do it

The R2 will have the same "unlocked" and un-tweaked default behaviour that will lead to the same issue, no less. If they really want to do something useful with their Alienware OC controls they should provide a good default profile!

 

Nice!!! I run mine at 925 mV @ 1980 MHz, but it settles at 1950 MHz long term. Temps are super manageable and hardly ever break into the 80's. Memory is at 7500 MHz. 200W VBIOS.

I sometimes wonder about the VBIOS and whether I should use the 180W just for lowered heat.

Also, yeah, 9900K is a VERY power hungry chip when OC. There’s a very extensive analysis out there on temps and power draw at different clocks. Let me find it. Turns out the sweet spot is 4.7 .

Edit: this article; https://www.anandtech.com/show/13400/intel-9th-gen-core-i9-9900k-i7-9700k-i5-9600k-review/22

There’s also this really good one for an in depth approach to overclocking your 9900K in the best way: https://www.tweaktown.com/guides/9225/intel-core-i9-9900k-kf-overclocking-guide/index.html

 

You will get less thermal headroom if you with a brush stroke change specs over night. Design the cooling for 180w Gpu power and 118.75w Cpu PL1 power limit and then change specs after the hardware design and the machines is pushed out... What did you expect?

https://twitter.com/AzorFrank/status/1097696304950587397?s=20

You mean less is more? For the RTX 2080 Mobile.... None is able to boost above 2100. With better cooling you wouldn't hit thermal limit with the capped boost clock

Alienware have always marketed their laptops as enthusiast machines. Nothing special for the Area-51m.

 

[QUOTE="Papusan]
You mean less is more? For the RTX 2080 Mobile.... None is able to boost above 2100. With better cooling you wouldn't hit thermal limit with the capped boost clock
[/QUOTE]

That is very true. But the official spec states the RTX 2080 Boost clock is 1700Mhz not anything higher. They designed the cooling around this, it sems.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/graphics-cards/rtx-2080/

 

The engineers get hardware samples and specs sheet for boost algorytms while they design cooling. Same from Intel/AMD. What we get on the web of specs isn't what the engineers have in hand.

If you followed the 8 pipes dream you could also see that they easly can make new revisions of cooling(doesn't necessarily mean better). The pipe from Gpu over to the Cpu side was removed. This will help the Cpu cooling. But the GPU part will lose cooling capacity (due unified design).

And as I pointed out. They make changes over night after the design is finished and the machines i out for sales.

 

Can you post your Fire Strike score for us to compare?

You can share the image by uploading it on this site: https://imgbox.com/

then copy/paste the BB Code

 

I'm curious to what your temps were. I just did a run with 180w vbios, bios 1.10 all stock speeds with a score of 9840. same cpu/gpu. cpu maxed at 78 and gpu of course 74.

 

Here you go:



and here it is with a +20 MHz Overclock on the GPU Core/+150 MHz overclock for the GPU Memory and +100 MHz on the CPU:

 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/e...wt64a&productcode=alienware-17-area51m-laptop

 

No thanks, that's just as crappy as any BIOS after 1.5.0, oh and....

 

lol @ the meme

 

Sure!! Thanks for the tip!!

 

That's Time Spy, please post your Fire Strike score

 

Does anyone use only one psu (330W) with FULL GPU-Powerlimit?

Possible with this emulator:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/DELL-ALIENW...561015?hash=item4216df1837:g:hs8AAOSwd5FeeQdZ
(order 180W)

How-To:
- solder ground and plus from the emulator at ground and plus from the power jack, where you put the 330W in
- solder the third/yellow cable from the emulator to the brown cable at power jack, where you put the 180W in

Now you must only connect one cable / psu (330W), your Area 51m must detected 510W.

In the german AW-Forum three users (me too) tried it. It works only for one (not for me). We don't understand why it works for someone and not for others.

Maybe someone here did this too and can help.

 

Because there is a reason you need both the 180W and 330W power adapters? This is the biggest hardware hack I've ever seen. I can clearly show scenarios where the power draw is up to 350W (200W on GPU and 150W+ on the CPU).
BTW the so-called 330W adapter can't deliver CONSTANT 330W. It's more around 280W sustained and the 180W is more like 145W sustained. There is no PSU that is 100% certified. All of them are around 80% (meaning 80% of specified power can be delivered sustained).

The whole thing you are trying there is a bad idea and it could end up very wrong for you guys.
I guess... Good luck

 

Not in my UV-case (with corresponding configured powerlimits). Yes, Such modifications are only for people who know what they are doing.
Please do not more discuss the purpose.

 

I tried the new 1.10 bios.
Nothing changed regarding performance (not for the worse and not for the better). So, if you are on 1.9.3 there isn't anything to be afraid of
I get the same-ish score as before (on 1.9.3) with the new 1.10 bios.

 

I use a 240W power adapter along with the 330W for a total of 570W. No way I would only use 1 power adapter on this machine.

 

People in the Clevo camp run oc'd 9900K and power modded 1080 with single 330w psu with no problems. Shouldn't be much different with the power capped 2080's. Not sure how efficient the power delivery with 2 connectors works for the Alienware's. + you have the gimped firmware with all sorts of restrictions.

See latest words in my post above.

 

@Helifax @Spartan
Sorry, but with my question I will only address people who use one power supply (330W) with this modification/emulator...
I don't need posts from people who need two power supplies because of their voltage- and powerlimit-setup.
Thank you...

 

Not a problem! I am sure I don't understand the whole picture and I am really curios regarding what you want to achieve!
If I could power the whole laptop with one 330W adapter, I am really interested. That's why I asked what are the power limits you are using and what is the exact scenario and what you want to achieve.
There was no "pun intended" in any of my replies.

Cheers!

 

You can run it with one adapter but for basic stuff like web browsing or watching a movie. Performance will be severely hampered when gaming or doing any CPU/GPU intensive task on a single adapter.

 

This because Dell's engineres capped the power draw. They never changed this flaw even Azor said he should look at it.

 

have you the time to pull old Azor posts? I have not any trust in that guy or Eddie or Umar

 

You will always have some spare time as long you don't have to struggle with all sorts of flaws with your computers. You forgot add in Ernie

 

I think I get it!
If you put PL1 and PL2 on your i9 9900k CPU at 95W (according to the specs) and 180W on the GPU, this results in 275W. The 330W adaptor should in theory be able to supply this!
(Or a combination between CPU and GPU power draw that is < theoretical 330W).

However, if only one adaptor is discovered by the BIOS (even if the 330W is present) it will throttle down the CPU and GPU power delivery to nothing! I already tested it, the performance is the same if you use the 180W or 330W adaptor. I didn't check the max power draw in this case.

The emulator chip, fools the Bios into thinking you have both connected - so no power throttle - and since you only need a max of 275W, the 330W can supply that!
At least this is my understanding! Please correct me!

Cheers!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...1-owners-lounge.826831/page-696#post-10892406

Dell still use that old fashion connector and id chips. They have to cap the power draw. If you're happy lucky you can pull 250w from the 330w Delta PSU with the Area-51m.

Edit.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...1-owners-lounge.826831/page-710#post-10893597

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-owners-lounge.826831/page-2135#post-11013338

 

Oh snap! Your memory needs to enter the Guinness Book of records

Do you eat fish all day long?

 

https://nww.no/food-traditions/