NEW!! Alienware Area-51M LAPTOP!! (to replace alienware 15 and 17)

There will never be a replacement for M18x R2. Now thinking back, I worry about the power delivery of this area 51M. Alienware's last socketed computer, the refreshed Alienware 18 with 980Ms, chewed through 3 motherboards that burned out in exactly the same spot: power delivery MOSFETs around the DC jack. Hopefully, they have improved the design substantially to accommodate LGA CPUs.

 

Don't need to worry about that if they artificially limit CPU TDP to 119W

That'll be the true indicator whether they have gone back to their roots or are still doing limiting crap as they started with AW18.

 

I havent owned them but checked out the P870DM many times. I dislike tha tlaptop, cheap materials, loud, not ergonomic and even though some users here did decent overclocks with it. Its all with LM.

 

Taking a look at the new Alienware lineup, I agree with Mr. Fox .
They have the new m15 and m17, which will go up to I9 8950HK and 2080 max-q. I wonder how they will cool the I9 in that chassis, but thats not really the point here.
The 51m is supposed to be the "big daddy", if you can settle with limited performance, the m17 is the one to go with. The 51m should really be much stronger and have a cooling system that well, that thermals wont be the limiting factor.
Interestingly we seem to have 2 very different opinions here, on what DTR means
And both opinions have a point, but just looking at the Alienware Lineup, the 51m should really be compared with the clevo and msi DTR models and not slimmer ones.

 

milled aluminum is very soft and warps. The amount of razer blades and macbooks that i see wobbling cant be counted. It does look nice. My aw15r2 was okayish. My aw15r3 is great. But on the latter it is easy to choke the intakes though.

 

Nice. Alienware continue with their Hybrid power design for all their models (adopted from MSI @Falkentyne ). My best advice... Go for the big battery and skip the ssd option

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/clevo-2019.826781/page-5#post-10844623

 

All laptops these drain under heavy load if the PSU isnt sufficient. The question is, do they ship it with a sufficient PSU.

 

There is something called forced POWER CAP. You can add 3 Delta adapters in series and it won't do a ****y.

 

And Alienware's engineers have added in their well known Hybrid Power Design in their new area-51m-desktop-replacemen model as well.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...enware-15-and-17.826796/page-18#post-10844664

 

yeah but that is logical. i think they should for what it is designed. not to fry power circuits on a laptop motherboard. Needs to ahve a beefier power delivery circuit for that,

 

I have owned a P870, same as phoenix, we could both agree that the turd needs to dissapear from our households. It's a heavy trash brick which fails at being a notebook. Software making speakers trash, trash keyboard, trash batterylife, trash stock BIOS, trash fan curve, no fan control and list goes on. Nobody who needs a notebook should ever consider the turd. Almost all P870 users use their trashy notebook as a desktop, which is nothing but waste of money since an actual desktop is more powerful and cheaper, but who am I telling that, you with your 7960X know that already.

I can tell you never had an MSI GT 7x or GT8x notebook, the speakers of the 870 pale in comparison. The difference is so huge it's actually a joke even comparing them.

I am also scared about the BIOS garbage, I seriously hope we won't get limited like on the AW 15s and AW 17s. Honestly we might get suprised tho, if we see a full fletched BIOS like on an actual desktop, then I think AW would have set a new standard.

EDIT: wow, alienware notebook letting us having 180W TDP on the RTX 2080. That's actually hopeful.

119W TDP on 9900K seems meh, VRMwise the board absolutely craps on the poor excuse we got from Clevo of an LGA board.

Also the way the GPU is designed, I'm pretty sure they are planning future proofness. Its much more thought out than MXM. I mean friggn custom display ports etc.

 

119W tdp for the 9900k?!
You sure about that? It seems kinda low...even on stock 4.7 Ghz the 9900k can pull 180W.

 

Thats what they said in the Video. I agree. it seems meh

 

It allows as much voltage control as Pascal, which is minimal in the absence of hardware mods. There is not a wholesale change here with RTX. The MSI Afterburner voltage curve tool works the same on my 2080 Ti as it did on my 1080 Ti. No change there. Pascal and Turing both need a shunt mod to eliminate wimpy power limits and better than reference firmware to raise voltage limits in order to shine.

They've done some things here on the hardware side that definitely deserve honorable mention, but they are not playing with a full deck and it think the outcome is going to be sketchy. I think the best we can hope for is that Clevo and MSI take this as a challenge or threat and step up their game. Even running in crippled mode this is going to outperform anything else Alienware offers in a turdbook. Their proprietary GPU modules will be a double-edged sword. Great for repairs. Will save them money on repairs, and customers that are out of warranty. Upgrades past RTX 20-series will likely be metered in such a way that Dell is the only beneficiary of the modular design.

The real watch-out here is the gimping they are famous for. The 9900K hits 300W at 5.0-5.2GHz, higher if a poorly binned sample that needs more voltage. The 125% TDP limit they are implementing will be a significant impediment to any meaningful overclocking and there will not be a way to fix it with a BIOS mod because they use BootGuard, which blocks use of an SPI programmer. The Intel K processors are made with the intent of being fully unlocked, with no TDP limits, so capping it at such a wussy low power limit is pretty shameful. It should not be capped at all. They do similar nonsense to cripple their desktops, so no surprise here. Fancy-looking, but clearly not enthusiast-grade.

Honestly, I don't even think 125% of TDP is enough for 9900K to maintain stock turbo under full load. Intel TDP ratings are based on base (non-turbo) core ratios and I am pretty confident 9900K is going to hit a wall with NO overclock with a limit of 125% of TDP. If you set all cores to the stock core #0 ratio, I am reasonably certain that it is going to have power limit throttling problems. And, that's barely any overclock at all... very modest to say the least, and only on 7 of the 8 cores. So, less than "meh" the way I am seeing it. I'm concerned because the people designing Alienware products really don't seem to understand what they are doing when it comes to firmware or performance tuning. If they do, and they are doing the things they do on purpose, then it shifts from acts of ignorance to sinister behavior.

I know that you are aware of how Intel measures TDP, but many do not and I am mentioning this for their benefit, as well as those who have forgotten it is based on non-turbo base clocks.

 

And, it should. What they have attempted to do here deserves better than what they have done.

It allows as much voltage control as Pascal, which is minimal in the absence of hardware mods. There is not a wholesale change here with RTX. The MSI Afterburner voltage curve tool works the same on my 2080 Ti as it did on my 1080 Ti. No change there. Pascal and Turing both need a shunt mod to eliminate wimpy power limits and better than reference firmware to raise voltage limits in order to shine.

They've done some things here on the hardware side that definitely deserve honorable mention, but they are not playing with a full deck and it think the outcome is going to be sketchy. I think the best we can hope for is that Clevo and MSI take this as a challenge or threat and step up their game. Even running in crippled mode this is going to outperform anything else Alienware offers in a turdbook. Their proprietary GPU modules will be a double-edged sword. Great for repairs. Will save them money on repairs, and customers that are out of warranty. Upgrades past RTX 20-series will likely be metered in such a way that Dell is the only beneficiary of the modular design.

The real watch-out here is the gimping they are famous for. The 9900K hits 300W at 5.0-5.2GHz, higher if a poorly binned sample that needs more voltage. The 125% TDP limit they are implementing will be a significant impediment to any meaningful overclocking and there will not be a way to fix it with a BIOS mod because they use BootGuard, which blocks use of an SPI programmer. The Intel K processors are made with the intent of being fully unlocked, with no TDP limits, so capping it at such a wussy low power limit is pretty shameful. It should not be capped at all. They do similar nonsense to cripple their desktops, so no surprise here. Fancy-looking, but clearly not enthusiast-grade.

Honestly, I don't even think 125% of TDP is enough for 9900K to maintain stock turbo under full load. Intel TDP ratings are based on base (non-turbo) core ratios and I am pretty confident 9900K is going to hit a wall with NO overclock with a limit of 125% of TDP. If you set all cores to the stock core #0 ratio, I am reasonably certain that it is going to have power limit throttling problems. And, that's barely any overclock at all... very modest to say the least, and only on 7 of the 8 cores. So, less than "meh" the way I am seeing it. I'm concerned because the people designing Alienware products really don't seem to understand what they are doing when it comes to firmware or performance tuning. If they do, and they are doing the things they do on purpose, then it shifts from acts of ignorance to sinister behavior.

I know that you are aware of how Intel measures TDP, but many do not and I am mentioning this for their benefit, as well as those who have forgotten it is based on non-turbo base clocks.

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I don't understand why there are duplicate threads for this product. I think they should close the other one (newer and fewer posts) and provide a link to redirect everyone to this one.

 

This model will be a collectors item

 

Do you mean a short-term publicity stunt?

 

Nah that will be the Red version with OLED they will release later this year.

 

Hahah @Mr. Fox . I do have that feeling.

This model is one of those “ project model “ laptop that every enthusiast should have for a raining day.

@Darkhan , yes I would like a red one with OLED. OMG.

I’m recycling my stash of computer parts to ready up for this model.

 

Oled is wishful thinking!

 

FINALLY some hopeful words.
https://twitter.com/AzorFrank/status/1083027210934439936

Frank azor on twitter telling that 4k 60hz will be an upcoming option later in the year, but apparently, the FHD screens you see are the only "narrrow bezzel" 17" laptop display's available at the time. So they are waiting for more option to be manufactured.
Though later in the year is really vague, by all means it could be november 2019, or perhaps never depending on the display manufacturers.

A little better new but I'm still sad that I won't get a machine like I hoped for anytime soon

 

I guess my negativity towards the tech industry as a whole must be influencing me but I don't see anything great here at all. Putting aside the size and single GPU which I have a problem with. I still see power issues causing major throttling on it, I see the benefits of a desktop class processor being washed out due to design limitations, and I see a product in the end will offer roughly the same performance that any other high end BGA laptop from them or anyone else will offer.

It looks nice, they've done a couple cool things with it, but there is nothing here that makes me think this is a good buy over a desktop, even 1 of their own Aurora's, that will probably cost about half as much as the top end of this will and still offer the same performance. They even took a few ports away.

 

I really only want QHD, 4k is to much on that small of a screen (and GPU). I am using a 27" QHD desktop screen now and it is more than comfortable. QHD 144 Hz IPS would check all my boxes

 

If you are buying this, you want the mobility of a laptop. A desktop is not comparable on that front. It is called a desktop replacement because it approaches the performance of a desktop without losing the portability of a laptop. This would be a great fit for me as I want the gaming performance, but do not want to manage 2 machines and where my data is located. Currently I use my 15 R3 when I travel and around the house, and just "dock" it at the AGA at my desk for the "full desktop experience" meaning my external screens, mouse, keyboard, 5.1 speakers, 10 Gbps ethernet, etc.

I have done both the gaming laptop + desktop as well as just a balls out gaming laptop (M18x) and no desktop, and also desktop + smaller laptop. I have to say I think I have had the smoothest and easiest experience overall with my current setup where I only have to maintain and upgrade parts on a single machine, but have a lot of flexibility in how I use it. I would expect to be able to maintain that with this new model. I will miss having the TB3 on the back though, in my current dock setup, all 3 connectors are next to each other on the back (TB3, AGA, Power). I suppose the way they did the IO on the DGFF GPU makes this now work here.

 

the screen for me is about a deal breaker, with this kind of power pushing it.

 

I dont mind that its single GPU as long as that GPU is aloud to be push to thermal limitations instead of power / vBIOS limitations.

The CPU is a wash, and they know it by limiting 125% TDP.

The more I think about this product the more I think it lacks a direction.

 

Hit the nail on the head there

 

Eeeh. I can live with it. It's a bummer that it's launching with only 1080. Atleast it's 144hz and has a gsync option.

I plan on having this hooked up to my 3440x1440 monitor most of the time. So I won't miss not having a high res screen too much. But a 1440p screen would've been perfect for this.

My biggest gripe is the usb ports. I feel they could've had twice as many. There is plenty of room for one more on both the right and left side. And then one in the back. So I'll have to get a usb-c dongle to add more so I can hook up my oculus to this thing.

 

I mean, 3 Type A USB slots is not terrible. It is a laptop - how much stuff would you be plugging in on the go with it?! At your desk just use a hub so still a single cable into the laptop (or the AGA). My 15 r3 only has 2 Type A ports...which I believe means all of the 15 and 17 models are the same. Looks like the new m15 and m17 have 2+1 similar to the new Area51.

Just because there is room on the outside plastic, does not mean there is room inside the laptop for a PCB to house those ports. If I have to choose between a 2.5" SATA bay or a larger battery and more USB ports, the USB ports lose every time. A hub is too easy to use, you cannot as easily make up for less battery or internal storage.

 

Imho it needs a second USB-C port as the current gen of 15-17 has. Another USB-A would be nice but not as crucial as USB-C. That leaves the rear one to be used for TB-3 or for display port


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Maybe I am behind the times...but what does USB-C really get used for? I understand it is great on mobile devices (on my 3rd phone with it now) but I also have a collection of A-C cables so don't need C on the computer end.

 

A LOT.
For one, it’s the only port for Thunderbolt 3.
Also, it’s used for USB 3.1 gen 2 which doubles the speed of USB 3 - up to 10Gbps

And, of course, it’s reversible. It has greater flexibility and functionality for those that want data transfer as well as power delivery.

This doesn’t apply to the Alienware but many new laptops can be charged over USB-C


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True, I actually do use it on my work laptop (Precision 5520) with a TB16 dock to do power, TB3, and DP all in one. I also didn't consider the 10 gbps possibility. That is fair

I do not count the TB3 port as a USB-C port since using it as such would be such a waste of potential

 

Here you go guys...

119W TDP when GPU on full load
136W max otherwise...

 

Do you think we will have a 1440p option on this display in the future? say maybe not 2019...but 2020?

 

Well as I understand it such an acceptable display doesn’t exist so no way to know what the future holds


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Clevo already does this. It has been said countless of times already, AW abandoned the socketed/MXM components when they where aquired by Dell. Clevo has never stopped selling socketed CPU/GPU .

For example this: Clevo p870dm alsof known as schenker

 

That’s not true. Alienware made socketed systems since they were acquired by Dell in 2009 and only stopped around 2014-2015 where they switched to full BGA

 

Yes, they switched to BGA the same time as everyone else when Intel decided laptops dont get mobile PGA sockets. However AW used to offer LGA desktop CPUs I think when they where on Clevo Chasis before Dell.

This "greatness" they had was just as another Clevo reseller with modded LCD covers. They made the hugely smart move buisness wise imho. North Amercian Clevo market sort of oversaturated. They would be competing against Origin or Falcon Northwest in the kind of overpriced-cosmetic modded clevo market still (overpriced when compared to normal Clevo retailers)

 

On the go? Sure three ports would be perfect. At home it's a bit sparce. Keyboard, mouse, oculus rift, printer. So six right off the bat. But, yes a usb port will have to do to give me a few more slots when at home. I'll have to be careful as I swear I've read the oculus is picky about hubs. Unless I'm thinking about extention cables . . . Hmm

 

No argument about that. It would make sense to have the port to keep it relevant for the people that have already paid for one. My only point was that if the internal GPU offered full performance there would be no reason for the eGPU... as in, no reason for anyone that hasn't already purchased one to waste money on it. It doesn't and cannot deliver full graphics performance, although it does better than a Thunderbolt-attached eGPU does. The better solution is to equip the laptop with what it needs internally. An eGPU is a stop-gap measure best reserved for when the ideal solution does not exist.

 

I don't do any gaming, but switched to a wireless mouse, kb, and printer to free up ports for that exact reason. Not saying it works for everyone, but a lot less cable management to worry about bringing a DTR from point to point.

 

The big thing with a hub, I think anyways, is to spread the load. Don’t put all the high bandwidth devices on one hub....put one VR cable and the k&m on the hub or something along those lines


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I use a Logitech g903 as my mouse. It's wireless but uses a dongle. It can be used wirelessly so I could ditch the dongle if I wanted. And are there any good wireless mechanical keyboards? Ever since I got mine years ago I refuse to use any other than that for my desktop.

I'll have to look into that. I was planning on using the usb c port for the dongle. Since it would have more bandwidth. It would be nice if I could just plug in one cable when I got home and it was up and ready to go you know?

 

Be nice if they would bring back custom Name Plates again, bring back some nostalgia.

 

Sorry, but I have no idea. I think I finally got rid of my old IBM mechanical KB from my old AT in the late 80s early 90s, and haven't looked back.

 

Look for a USB 3.1 Gen 2 hub - this is what has the bandwidth. Most of those cheap ones are just USB 3.0 but they market them as USB 3 Gen 1.


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