*OFFICIAL* Alienware Area-51M R2 Owner's Lounge

The world ain't black&white

Put the sticks where you find a slot if you have an Clevo and you'll still get dual channel. And this have worked long time since the old models and until today. Some configurations work better than others. It's just trial and errors.

DIMM 1 + DIMM 2
DIMM 3 + DIMM 4

DIMM 1 + DIMM 4
DIMM 2 + DIMM 3

LOOL. +reps

 

quad channel outperforms dual channel memory in gaming. Just like dual channel is better than single channel. It's not even about running more than 64GB of ram, but if you want a scenario i can give you a simple one: running multiple VM's while doing some SQL querying with visual studio running in the background compiling an objective C program. That would be one of my workflows.

curious about some extended gaming sessions temps

 

I agree

 

Yep! Those work perfectly 64GB and 2933mhz in bios.

 

Amazing. Welcome to my iList buddy.

With the native HyperX CL? (18?) Nice, that would likely be faster than Dell's proprietary 3200.

 

Is the TDP of the RTX 2080 Super in the R2 already known? 200W, 190W, 180W? I only read the card can go up to 86C with the current vbios.

 

This is EXACTLY what I'm trying to better understand. I've bought and waiting for my system to arrive with the XMP 3200 modules (CL21?). If I bought the 3200 HyperX (CL20) or 3000 (CL17) would it be an improvement? Would the HyperX even show at 3200 if I limited it to 32GB?

 

200w.

 

Good questions. With the 3200 option we can safely assume consistency: Dell will provide the cheapest modules, something like this https://www.simms.co.uk/products/kingston-valueram-16gb-ddr4-3200mhz-so-dimm/ so CL22... roughly 145.45 million ops/s.

HyperX impact 2933 is CL17 - both 16 and 32GB modules actually, so 172.52 mil ops/s, and this configuration should be about 19% faster than value RAM running at 3200.

Edit: surprisingly HyperX Impact 3200 is CL20, that would result in just 160 mil ops/sec and so this option might actually be slower than the 2933 HyperX (which would explain why it's much cheaper than 2933 on Amazon UK). Seems that HyperX 2933 is the way to go, if it works at the native CL17.

 

How can it be the same as the 2080?

 

I think more than 200W notebook video cards don´t exist (without hardware level modification).

 

Isn't the super essentially better binned 2080's?

 

Nvidia’s TU104 GPU, the RTX 2080 Super boasts 3,072 CUDA Cores with a boost clock of 1,815MHz, 48 RT Cores (for ray tracing), 192 texture units and 8GB of GDDR6 clocked in at 15.5Gbps.

On the other hand, the older RTX 2080 has 2,944 CUDA Cores and 46 RT cores, a boost clock of 1,710MHz, 184 texture units, and 8 GB of GDDR6 at 14Gbps.

Source: https://www.techradar.com/news/nvidia-geforce-rtx-2080-super-vs-rtx-2080-what-has-changed

 

Well, they didn't call 4.3% more cores Super for nothing

 

Me reading this after spending 7 grand to upgrade to the R2 just to get the SUPER DUPER RTX and 300hz screen with an SD card reader that they forgot to include in the R1 since they were able to fit it in the R2...



@Papusan Enjoying the show >>>

 

To be fair, you're also getting that 2x+ faster CPU and apparently better cooling too

 

7 grand for the 300hz screen and SD card reader is way above Apple prices. And I'm not so sure you'll be happy with the 300hz screen. The review isn't so promising. I talk about vivid colors etc. I know you aren't the big gamer so the panel maybe isn't for yooo. On the bright side, maybe the SD card will save your day

Depends. If he put in an 9900K it would be 25% performance increase. But not near that in games or his web/email usage

 

That's really impressive. I hope AW continue to improve the machine, rather than go down the path they went with the R1 post-launch. If it can tame 220W+ that is ridiculously good.

 

My beloved L702x just died after exactly 9 years of service - to the day! As a non-gamer who is married to Dell, I have been thinking of the Area-51m R2 for a while now. I initially felt the 10900 would be a sufficiently good choice but I haven't seen any love for it in these 82 pages so far; everyone seems to be talking about the 10900K only. I also read comments about the RAM and LCD which were beyond me. I have a few questions that I am pretty sure the sales reps would not be able to answer and am hoping you can help me with.

1) I read that tearing is a problem of the game's fps being lower than that of the screen. Does that make the 144Hz LCD with G-Sync better than the 300Hz one if I ever choose to game?
2) Is there any reason to choose the 2933MHz RAM over the XMP 3200MHz one? The "up to" wording makes it sound like the devices that ship with the XMP at 3200MHz RAMs can only ever handle 32GB of any kind of RAM while devices that ship with non-XMP sticks can handle 64GB of non-XMP RAM; if that is correct way of understanding it, I would probably be better off with the non-XMP RAMs.
3) For obvious reasons, the 2080S graphic card is superior to 2070S. However, using the machine for everything but gaming (okay maybe Civilization once in a blue moon), is there any reason to pay the $500 extra for 2080S? I feel there is hardly much difference between $4000 and $4500 (excluding tax) but on the other hand, I can feed my family for a few extra weeks on that $500.

PS, my very first attempt at making it cheap was to choose the 10900 CPU with 32GB of the 2933MHz RAM and the 1660Ti graphic card. Sensing that I probably need to upgrade that to the 10900K CPU, I am forced to choose between the 2070S and 2080S.

I would be grateful if you could help me with these questions or even better, just choose for me

 

1) Gsync when the FPS drops below the screen's refresh rate but in my experience turning on VSync achieves the same result and also depends on the type of games you play. Its a toss up between having 0 tearing with a Gsync screen or having a smoother and more fluid experience with the higher refresh rate. For your case, I'd go with the 144hs refresh rate.

2) there are only 2 RAM slots the 64 GB configs simply mean they have higher capacity RAM like 2x32 GB. I would personally pick the faster RAM over more RAM because even with my heavy usage I never even reach close to 32GB. Unless you wanna run VMs I don't see the need for more than 32GB

3) the RTX 2070 was capable of playing any game with max details at a good FPS so the SUPER 2070 is even a tad better. You don't *need* the 2080. Save your money.

 

First of all, I'm sorry to hear you are married to Dell - your mother was right: you could have done better

More seriously though, here is my take:

1) Unless you are a high-level competitive FPS gamer, you don't really need a 300Hz screen - if it's the same price as the 144Hz then it would be down to image quality. For desktop use, 60Hz would actually be fine. Tearing is an issue mostly with 60Hz panels. I don't notice it with vsync off even on a large 120Hz display. I don't use vsync or gsync in games since both cause noticeable input lag which arises because the display has to pause screen updating until the whole frame is rendered. My advice would be: get a 144Hz+ panel with the best image quality, unfortunately that means you would have to wait for some Pro reviews, or maybe get the sales reps to give you exact panel model numbers and google those.

Another point here is that unless you are extremely space constrained, you want an external monitor - the experience is so much better.

2) To summarise my post earlier, I suggest you order 8GB of RAM from Dell, put the garbage in the drawer in case you need to RMA, and get 32 or 64GB of HyperX Impact 2933 CL 17 RAM, after confirming 100% with first adopters here that it runs at CL 17.

TLDR Dell is an abusive spouse and supplies slow value RAM at extortionate prices. You want 2933 HyperX Impact RAM, since it will be cheaper and almost surely significantly faster than Dell options, including their 3200 offering.

3) Unless you need the absolute fastest at any price, you can get the 2070 S and then hopefully upgrade to Ampere using AGA and a desktop card. One reason to pick the 2080S could be 4K gaming. I can play most games in 4K on my 2070 MaxQ with maxed out settings, but not all of them. I understand that the 2080 S in 51M runs at higher wattage too. Get the exact benchmark numbers and decide if the likely ca. 20%+ of extra performance is worth it to you.

Get the CPU you need based on use cases. Gaming won't benefit much from 10900K. If you stand to really benefit from the fastest CPU available then pump the cash in that, otherwise just step back form the CPU race in confidence you will have a machine that will cover the vast majority of use cases very well while being cooler. You will be able to easily upgrade the CPU in the future too.

 

Thanks Spartan and etern4l. I will heed your advice. 2070S with 10900K; hold on RAM for compatibility; wait on LCD comparisons.

 

Just to be clear. Someone here, a few pages back already tested HyperX Impact RAM in the R2. They said it works great, so it sounded like it works at the native latency of CL17 vs Dell's Cl21, although it wasn't explicitly stated. I'd look that post up and ask the follow up question.

 

For me personally, after seeing the agony we had getting RAM to run faster than 2400 MHz on the Area-51m R1, I've learned my lesson. I'm only going to get RAM from dell no matter the latency or price. I just want it to work without any headaches or having to flash it or whatnot.

 

There is no agony. You won't get it to run at a faster clock, Dell from Hell has taken care of that. However, frequency is just one part of the formula: the other, equally important one, is the timings - all you need is just one volunteer confirming the 2933 HyperX Impact works at native timings, as it has in all my Dell laptops so far , and - bingo! 20% faster RAM for less $. There is very little reason to suspect Dell would cripple the timings too, other than Dell being Dell.

 

Cant agree with you, anyways congratulations on working @ HIDevolution, can show us mobo of Area51-R2 and R1 side by side?

Would be nice if you can show keyboard connector as well.

 

Could you confirm they work at CL17, or just post the timings - CAS Latency is the first number in the dashed sequence?

 

I guess we badly need custom bios for Area51m.

 

Thanks but I am based in Dubai not in their HQ where all the magic happens.

 

Custom BIOS would be great, as it would allow overclocking etc, but even Dell BIOS doesn't cripple native HyperX timings in my 15 R2 and m15 R1.

 

I sincerely believe if they show assembly of a single unit (recorded video) and you post it here, I bet this can get them customers . They could shows deliding / pasting coloring etc.

Most people prefer purchasing from OEM and stay safe this way unless the third party has much more to offer.

All the best

Dell engineers are not idiots at all, mine supplied with superior ram speed but crippled, I bet the ram somehow is damaging some components or affecting system stability ----> more people calling for RMA and replacement. This is my bet but would be nice if the option is given in the bios for the minority of enthusiasts. It is the bad customer who willingly /intentionally damage components for replacement , Abusing American Customers AAC at it finest.

 

Whoa! You may bet your family heirloom away, alright, but unless you can provide solid rationale of why using faster RAM could damage a system, the statement is groundless. Overclocking is another matter, and I am sure it has lead to RMAs. However, if I could bet on the most probable cause of an Alienware system RMA, it would be either poor QC, or poor quality materials and components (such as VRAM, thermal compound etc. ) - not sure in what order.

 

More frequency more voltage and more heat, never heard of a ram failure but system instability all the day.

 

I have had several dell machines in the field with ram failure. It is mainly the tiny small form factor desktops that use sodim’s.

 

This reminds me when I had my Clevo P870DM3 which did support 3200MHz RAM. Turning on XMP 2 profile would get the RAM to run at 3200 MHz (had G.Skill RAM) and if I did a test using memtest pro it would pass! Benchmarks would also pass. But then come to use my system, load 30 tabs in one go to check for driver or software updates like I usually do and sometimes I would get a BSOD or just a random reboot. Mr. Fox then gave me custom timings which I had to enter in the BIOS and then it was stable. What I am thinking here is Dell was initially planning to support 2666 MHz. RAM for the R1 since all machines they ship come with 2666 MHz. RAM but then for stability reasons they cancelled the idea despite promising us when Azor was still working there that a future BIOS update will unlock that. Later on, they did introduce faster RAM up to 2933 MHz but only with one specific model from ADATA. Remember even the XPS 15 9570 from last year and the Alienware m15/17 R1 support 2666 MHz. RAM.

 

Seems that you are confusing overclocking/overvolting, which is what you've just described, with taking out the value RAM supplied by Dell, and putting in premium modules running at the same frequency and voltage but, due to higher quality, being able to respond faster (hence the lower CL).

1. I don't think G. Skill are of as high quality as HyperX.

2. I've been running this memory in Alienware laptops since 2015 without a single issue, and so have many others. I've never seen a single complaint. My systems are perfectly stable despite often being put under heavy load. Zero BSODs, freezes, stutters. I probably have about 100 tabs open as we speak (which is a tab management problem, I admit!)

 

Some motherboards, when paired with high speed XMP kits, will default your stock VccSA and VccIO voltages to really stupid high values. High VccSA/IO voltage, will over time, degrade and eventually render your chip to useless e-waste. So it's nice having control over these voltages in the bios

 

Good point, there a small risk Dell went full retard on this, even though all is well in older laptops. A quick look at CPUID/Hwinfo memory info section would be a good sanity check.

 

Thing is, I doubt they have VccSA/VccIO voltage read outs, so you won't know what the board defaults them to. And since you can't override them in their bios, you can only hope there is some thought put into it.

 

Well, I can check that the RAM voltage and timings are is per spec sheet (1.2V in my case), and I can check to see if my DRAM and System Power values are within reason? E.g. the below during CB20 doesn't seem concerning.



I'm sure my RAM modules can take 1.25W each.

 

VccSA/VccIO are on the cpu die, affecting cache and system agent voltages. Neither rail pulls significant amount of power, so it'll be hard to tell by the cpu package power draw what voltage they are pulling. While VDDR is main ram voltage, 1.2v/1.35v etc. and affects the power supplied to the memory. DDR4 runs quite cold even at 1.45v, and AFAIK stability is fine all the way to 85c or more.

 

Just to point out, the system power on that screenshot is a different number than CPU package power, probably more related to system agent voltage. All in all, while anything is possible in Dell land, it seems unlikely sticking HyperX RAM in is going to adversely affect the CPU or the motherboard.

Your broader point is well taken though: we need more sensors and more BIOS options. I'm sure Dell is listening intently, and... doing the exact opposite

 

I fully agree with @etern4l, the use of HyperX has not adversely affected my last two Alienware systems, quite the opposite, both the 17 R5 and AW18 produced better FPS and benchmarking scores when compared to the stock RAM I initially had. In both cases the improvement was roughly between 5-7% and was purely through the superior latency, speed and size were the same.

I'm very much a novice benchmarker and only in the last couple years learnt about the impact of RAM latency but again cannot highly recommend enough HyperX and agree that Dell has such ****e, value grade stock RAM.

I'll be emailing the tech department I regularly contact (as my uncles firm is a registered partner and reseller) and see if they can shed any light on the use of third party RAM (likely ill get the not recommended bollocks).

Regardless, ill relay the response and if anyone does test HyperX @3200 (CL18) or @2933 (CL17) I'd love to know your findings.

 

Thanks bro. BTW as mentioned earlier, HyperX Impact 3200 is actually CL20, and slower on paper than the CL17 2933: https://www.hyperxgaming.com/united...3200MHz&Module Capacity=8GB&Kit=Single Module

This is just as well since apparently Dell locked the R2 out of 3rd party 3200 modules...

 

Thanks for the info and correction, likely then the 3200 XMP modules will be not much worse off and ill just stick with them.

On another note ref drives, do you or anyone know the slots the system comes with? From the picture I can spot 2 x M.2 and the 2.5 inch Bay, however the specs documentation states it can support up to 4 M.2 drives, specifically with "Two optional M.2 2280 slots on Sled board"? I assume in place of the 2.5 inch drive we have access to 2 x M.2 slots?

Could anyone confirm if this is this is the case, or whether an adapter is needed or we need access to another part of the board to fit the additional drives?

 

Absolutely, if the R2 mobo forces them to 2933, they will run at CL17. Getting 2x32GB of 3200 with the intention running them at 2933 is a nice hack, since they are actually cheaper, at least on Amazon UK.

https://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX432S20IB2K2_16.pdf

 

Yes the R2 can be configured with 4 slot of NVME SSDs, that will take the place of conventional 2.5” slot for a daughter board that will house 2 more slots

 

Thank you for the info, i've just been reading into the documentation available via the Dell site. As i have ordered a 2.5 inch 1 TB 7200RPM alongside a 512GB SSD m.2, i assume i'll have to obtain an entirely separate daughter board somehow? That is I guess the board is not conveniently able to be used for either?

Frustrating that Dell alongside its RAM over charges you for inferior drives and seemingly i'm at a disadvantage as the only way to get the daughter board to enable a further 2 m.2 drives is to purchase a system with 3+ overpriced m.2's?

 

Just got informed that my Silicon Lottery CPU has arrived at our HQ and so did the Alienware Elite Backpack (White) and the AW610 Mouse. Now what's remaining is the actual laptop to ship. 10 more days as per Dell's estimate.

@Papusan @Mr. Fox @jc_denton @etern4l @ssj92 @iunlock

 

Nice! Mine is due to ship on the 23rd and arrive by the 5 Aug. Also already received the 17 inch Vindicator backpack.