Alienware 18

Good day, sirs,

I have the following components to upgrade a stock AW18 (currently 16GB RAM, Dual GTX 770M, 256GB Samsung 850 Pro SSD, i7 4800MQ 2.7 GHz):

• RAM: 4X 8GB PC3L-12800S DDR3 1600MHz 204PIN SODIMM RAM Laptop Memory (Samsung)
• GPU: 1X Nvidia GeForce GTX-980M Graphics Card 8GB MXM3.0 Dell/Alienware/HP/MSI/Clevo
• SDD: 1X Samsung 860 Pro 1TB 3D V-NAND SSD (MZ-76P1T0) 6Gb/s 2.5" 7mm
• CPU: Intel Core i7-4940MX 3.1GHz 8M L3 Cache G3 Quad Core laptop CPU Processor SR1PP
• LCD: Complete 18.4" 1920x1080 LCD Screen Assembly (cover and screen)

I would like to know:

• What order would you upgrade these components?
• Where should I obtain the best unlocked bios that will work?
• Do I need to edit/mod the bios file before flashing it?

Thank you kindly!

 

I think that @Raidriar has some information on this.

 

Like you, I’ve more or less retired from the notebook scene old friend. Not a single machine really interests me anymore. That being said my Alienware 18 has been dead for years now, little point in reviving it

 

Thank you for your response! If you wouldn't mind, would you be able to guide me on what you had done in the past to obtain an unlocked bios for the AW18? I may be able to find some updates from there.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/release-alienware-18-bios-a12-unlocked.802249/

 

Thank you, Raidriar! In your expert opinion, would it be safe to use the modified file in that thread as is? The reason I ask is there are a number of warnings there like "all mods are personal and each mod is done for particular machine."

Being new to mods, I wasn't sure if it would be safe to use it with the AW18 + GTX980M. I read at Eurocom "GTX 9xxM series is supported only in Windows 8x/10 UEFI Mode (BIOS A12); SLI is supported."

I see you posted "The BIOS is find to use on any Alienware 18." I will give it a try unless you recommend something else in this case.

Thank you again!

 

Read the thread. Many have flashed it without a problem. Eurocom is full of lies, they steal the work of others and parade it as their own.

Official and unlocked BIOS A12 will allow Maxwell GPUs to be used in legacy and UEFI mode. What Eurocom did NOT tell you however Is the Alienware 18 SLI mode requires the use of DELL cards, not Clevo/Eurocom. This is because the embedded controller on the Alienware 18 that controls the fans has TWO separate vBIOS files that must be flashed to each card respective (primary,secondary) to enable proper fan support. You cannot flash the dell VBIOS to clevo cards or you will brick. If you use two clevo cards, the primary card will have proper fan support while the secondary card will cook itself to death because the clevo VBIOS cannot communicate with the Alienware EC properly and it will never activate the secondary GPU fan. This is not a problem on the M18x R2.

 

Copy that. I'm getting through the thread... its densly packed with information.

I have a stock AW18 that I'm upgrading from 770M to 980M. I am also upgrading the processor from MQ to MX. I will do the processor upgrade first, since, it seems from the thread, that BIOS works better with MX regarding DPTF.

 

Unfortunately, this was a really nicely built product that had amazing potential. Sadly, the way it turned out it was very unreliable and not durable. I think they put so much effort into trying to limit what guys like us could do with it that it ultimately ruined what would have been a very worthy successor to the M18xR2. They haven't really done anything right since they introduced flash protection cancer half way through the M18xR2 product life. I have no use for companies that act like Nazi control freaks. It makes it worse when they represent their products as being something of interest to enthusiasts. The Area 51m is our latest example of this. Could have been awesome and turned out very mediocre.

 

Wow, I'm starting to understand. Is the pythonic moded A12 OK? Does that include the correct VBIOs. I appologize for the Newbie questions.

I bought one of these for my AW18 to start with and may eventually get another for SLI: https://tinyurl.com/quvqzwj

(Nvidia GeForce GTX-980M Graphics Card 8GB MXM3.0 Dell/Alienware/HP/MSI/Clevo)

 

AW18 was indeed decent but crippled by firmware.

Design wise was a step back too.

Area-51m started great, they listened and added higher power limits and continued help improve the bios up to version 1.5.0 (1.00 > 1.10 > 1.20 > 1.3.0 > 1.3.2 > 1.5.0)

They even had a 190W vBIOS on 2080 (Higher than MSI/Clevo) and increased to 200W. Sadly newer ones come with 180W probably due to the mosfets burning on earlier units (Still can be flashed to 190W/200W).

Then suddenly with 1.6.2+ we were given gpu temp limit of 79C.

All they had to do was use 1.5.0 and add XMP + DDR4-2666MHZ+ support and it would have been nearly perfect.

I am afraid to see what the new AW head is gonna do with R2.

I am forever on 1.5.0 on mine.

vBIOS is separate from BIOS

 

Well here in New York City they tried to pass a law that would make it illegal to repair your own car. Can you believe that? And this is meant to be America...

Now when you go to the Dell communities, there is always a moderator saying "No, you cant do XYZ. XYZ is very dangerous, etc, etc..."

We need to keep pushing. Educating people and inspiring the human spirit to build and think...not just consume. Ironlically, these same people that say "no" are the same that complain of the landfills overflowing with their garbage...

Thank you for your time and guidance. I'm glad to see the strength in this community.

 

OK, got it.

 

I should have asked earlier, but will I be able to upgrade the CPU from to i7 4800MQ to i7-4940MX? I know @Raidriar said this chip runs hot...

 

Yes, it should be a drop in part swap with no complications. If you already have it, it's too late. The 4930MX was a much better CPU. It overclocked a whole lot better and ran cooler. I don't know what happened with the 4940MX, but I have not seen even one example of a nicely binned one. Maybe Intel didn't care how it turned out because it was the last socket-mounted mobile CPU they made before going to BGA filth.

 

It overclocked a whole lot better and ran cooler

Any tips on how to keep it cool? That is all very bad. They want 100% control. We are forced into buying reverse engineered, lesser technologies before the proper technology that already exists is "released". Now even the freedom to upgrade to it is being taken away. Nikon "releases" its mirrorless camera with one card slot and forces us to wait to buy the new one just to get 2 card slots. As if they couldn't just sell the first one the correct way. Same deal with these cards.

 

Your best bet is liquid metal and polish the copper heat plate. The 4940MX usually took more voltage at a given clock speed than a 4930MX. But, if you already have it see how it works. The fact that I haven't seen a nicely binned example doesn't mean that there were not any. I just haven't seen one. Yours might be an exception.

 

Great! I'll do that and post the results in your new benchmark thread Part 3.