In this video I take a look at my Area 51m r2 which I have owned for over a year and discuss what I liked and what I didn’t and also take a look at how well it has aged.
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Par for the course from Dell. As an owner of multiple AW 18's from 2014/2015, I'm familiar with them releasing a beat of a machine that's supposed to be upgradeable but then never releasing any upgrades. When I first heard they were going to announce a new desktop replacement I was hoping for a new 18 inch behemoth with dual cards so I ended up passing on the M51 and recently bought an M17 R4 to supplement my desktop. Either way, they are still amazing machines. AWCC, not so much. It is an awful piece of software.
As far as thin and light, it bothered me when they went in that direction and while I love the idea of a 1 4 or 15 inch thin, light laptop like the new X series, when it comes to 16 inches, I want it as powerful as can be regardless of how big and heavy it has to be.
By the way, what's the game at the 6 minute mark?
Or get a desktop and save £££ and be able to upgrade it?
Ok I understand the sentiment of lets have option for no compromise performance.
But they should streamline it a little bit, single PSU would be a start, desktop components i would say is overkill tho but having chunky cooling solution and access to most of the components is pretty cool.
I don't think there's any reason to regret a well-spec'ed RTXxx70+ machine. It'll still be pretty good in five years after release. The only time I'd be cautious is, for games fans, when it gets close to the end of a console generation. Even then, once you know what that new gen's tech is and what the equivalent is for PC, you can make an informed choice that will last you for that gen (albeit with having to compromise a bit more on settings as time goes by).
Can you do a video with it connected to a Alienware Graphics Amplifier
I would gladly lug that thing from class to class back in my college days.
do you plan on making a video on ASUS STRIX G15 advantage edition mate?
AWESOME REVIEW! WELL DONE DAVE!
I bought the 51 r2 2080 after watched your review in late 2020, and I'm using the same gaming mouse like you do! Razer Viper ultimate white!
It's still working perfectly fine, I've bought a 27D alienware monitor and apex pro keyboard +astro A40 headphone. Top gear I could possibly get in Perth Australia.
Unapologetically fabolous gaming experinces.
😍 I own the same laptop with CPU = i7 10700 and GPU = RX 5700M. Just dropped a like 👍
Loved mine, i got it with the i9 and 1660ti, i wish i had switched the cpu for the better gpu, had a x17 r1 since around the 3rd of Feb, handy for uni, little easier to use on the tiny chair desks. Would love some more chunky desktop replacements, i want a desktop that i can port around, the Area 51m r2 was that! give us a r3 dell.
I'm also amazed at the temps considering how many watts are being pumped to that cpu in games. I saw 70 watts plus in the 80 degree mark which is awesome!
Love this video ! 👏 Area 51M-R2 is beautiful !
Too bad it's no longer for sale on the Dell website in France.
I want to sell my MacBook Pro M1 for a X17 R2 😭 RGB miss me !!
Are you going to compare the X17 R1 vs the X17 R2 please ?
I know stocks have difficulties. I remember again your problem with the R13 :/…
Dude the opening is hilarious. Are you going to do reviews on X14 or X15/17R2? Will love to see them.
I was excited with MacBook Pro 14" and 16" recently. But I changed my mind, to consider Laptop like this one for example. Because I still matter about "Programs"
Is it possible to buy a replacement GPU? I looked previously, but couldn't see any for sale by Dell. This was the stumbling block for me (have had GPU failures in laptops before), so I went down the Dan A4 route, which is fully repairable, upgradeable, etc.
The only problem I have had with mine so far is that it starts overheating which starts to give me these weird lines on my laptop monitor and since I don't live in the US or UK I can't really take it to an official dell and fix it so I have to either stop it from overheating or get a second monitor which kinda sucks but atleast its not 100% broken.
“…is hefty but still looks great…” just like me! I love that laptop because is absurd and looks great. Tried to be it own thing.
im currently watching this video on my area51m r1, i wish they would release a r3 i need an upgeade im a video editor and use it as a workstation
I have the Area 51 R1……
Hey Dave! Thank you so much for making this video on this gorgeous machine! not enough YT videos on this machine IMHO!!! like you mentioned, If this laptop could get upgraded with the new 30 series cards, it would kill the market over night! – i bought mine from dell and got it on sale for $3,000 about 1 year ago. Prior to keeping this machine i had Asus ROGs, G14, mid level laptops around the 1500 price range. Ended up keeping the 51M R2. It is just so enjoyable to use and the specs are incredible for a laptop, Yes bulky, big and heavy but at the end of the day you have have so much portable power in this machine. Intel Core i7 10th Gen, RTX 2070 Super, 64 Gigs of DDR4 2933MHz Ram, 4TB Raid Zero memory, with the 1080p 300 hertz panel. Everyone who sees it comments on it. I love this power house of a machine and will enjoy it for many years to come. Dell needs to eventually make the R3! … but lets give it a few years so we can enjoy this beast!!!
Great machine… pity not the same for me when I bough an aurora r12. There are just so many issues with that system… including dell being cheap and running 11th gen on a z490 board bios flashed. The company is cutting corners and getting dragged over the coals for it. Until they change they’ll always be considered second rate
how do i upgrade the video card (to an rtx 3080 or 3090)
Waiting for your x17r2 review!
Great review pointing out real facts and it is a beast. I am also a 51m r2 user and I just love how big the cooling fans are and giving it out a smooth whoosh instead of screaming sounds.
I guess the best part of this machine is the reliability on this machine that I can push to its limits and not worry so much about throttling and damage it will do.
Subscribed and love your videos and your love for alienware. Stay safe.
I luv the white going around the screen
My biggest gripe with Alienware is that huge bum on a laptop, it makes the almost squarish and don't fit standard sleeves/ laptop bags
Imagine an R3 with cryotech quad fan cooling, desktop 12th gen cpus, and nvidia 3000 series gpus, one can only dream..
Hello dear Dave! I eventually bought the Area 51m R2 during the Black Friday Sales period. I have configure it with the intel core i9-10900k and the Nvidia RTX 2080 Super, 32 GB RAM, 300Hz 1080p Display. It is by far the best laptop I ever have. I was looking forward to by an ALIENWARE flagship model since 2015. And I finally did it. Personally despite the weight and size of the laptop I am carrying it every day with me when I go to the University and I am using it in the Cafeterias as well 😁. The display quality is exceptional, very responsive with great colors as well as being very easy to the eye due to the fact that has low blue light emission. GPU temps are excellent, the CPU sometimes goes to 100C though, even without any OC applied. The fan noise is great. Just a nice woos as you are describing it as well. I love the fact that it is white, even in the keyboard area, it inspires me to do my work and gives me positive energy and enlightenment. Talking about the keyboard it is just the best keyboard I have ever used in my life for me. I have used many mechanicals in my desktop, and I have also tried the previous ALIENWARE Area 51m key board, but this I think is the best one I have ever used. In terms of design I believe is the best looking laptop ever made, the new X line are very beautiful as well, but I prefer the slightly more aggressive lines and bigger rear end exhaust. Also as I mentioned before I really prefer the white keyboard area more. Also this machine was so ahead of its time in terms of performance so I do not think that the owners of it should feel the need to upgrade to the new models, since the performance differences compering to the newer X17 R1 and R2 are in the class of 10%. Especially configurations with the desktop core i9 models have still some of the best multicore performances ever in a laptop. Its speakers are also very good, but sometimes in high volumes the chassis vibrates a bit. It also has a very good headphone amplifier for those who are int HiFi headphone audio listening, so there is no need for an external amp. I have also bought the Dolby Access software and I enjoy my video games and my movies so much!!! It's like having a "portable" hometheater with you whenever you go. The only compromises are weight and buttery life. But I think that even this are giving the product a nice and interesting character to it, like the beautiful Italian sports cars have their own strange features that even though do not help in the practicality of the cars, make them more engaging and give them character. I can tell you that carrying this beast every day, as well as two power breaks is rough indeed, but I would not change it for anything else. I also believe that this machine is more special than the new ALIENWARE flagship models because it is a design that seems it is about to be disappeared. Every company now tries to make thin and light weight laptops, and these monstrous desktop replacement are due to extinction! It would be very nice indeed if ALIENWARE would make an Area 51M R3 with the new gen desktop CPUs and GPUs I agree with you !
its horribe laptop…dont modular…
Dell appears to be going to the THIN Apple like design for the Alienware line of laptops. I prefer the thick design as you pointed out because of much better cooling. Hey! It's a "desktop" replacement laptop. Want to sit at a coffee shop use an iPad.
I have the Alienware Area51m R1 (fully loaded) since its launched and just love it. Yes, its heavy, bulky and 2 power supplies, but i am satisfied with the weight vis a vis its performance. As I am an Insider, i am running Windows 11 perfectly. I cant wait for the Alienware Area51m R3! I skipped the R2 because i wanted to miss a generation. Thanks for your review.
Man, your voice is good for voice actors of some sort!
Games series or animated movies
What’s a laptop you recommend that’s able to last long. And run games well and live stream and be used for coding and content creation? I’ve had a MacBook Pro 2014 and it still runs well but I need something with stronger performance. Just worried about the windows laptop brands because in the past I’ve had issues with needing to get them repaired for motherboard issues other various things.
i would go for heavy variants, that means theyre built to last longer and tanky af!
So u actually prefer this one to the x17 ? I couldnt make one advantage for this one over the x17
Hahaha that intro. I love you
Sort your lip sync out, its out..
I've had this for over a year and love it. I use it mostly for productivity rather than gaming and it's excellent. I rarely/never use an external keyboard because it's so comfortable to type on. I use the speakers for all my calls and they do really well. I did add an external camera due to the sheer number of video calls I do. It performs well no matter what I do on it and is just as speedy as when I first got it. The only thing that happened was that one of the fans went bad early on, but was replaced by Dell under warranty without jumping through too many hoops. I'm very glad I got it. Sadly, work travel and occasional office visits have resumed and this can't go with, but I still love it as my primary machine. Bought it mostly based on your comparison to the M17 in fact, which was really helpful. (Agree on the Alienware Command Center – pure meh). Thanks for the great reviews!
Man that's a big laptop.
I originally had the A51MR1 which had severe lid discoloration and overheating issues and was replaced under warranty with an A51MR2.
Then a jug of tea happened over the keyboard.
Dell replaced it again under warranty because the accident damage insurance for 3y is only £60 – for a £3.5k laptop
The R2 has a broken arrow key which I had yet to replace because I don't use the laptop keyboard very often.
Also because my overheat experience with the R1 I have limited my CPU maxtemp to 90deg and because it shares the heat chamber with the GPU it actually lowered the GPU temps in games by 5-6 deg without any noticeable performace drop.
I also limit the global FPS to 120 because I genuinely don't need more for my games (not a competitive player) and this will certainly add more life to the laptop because the GPU is not 100% all the time.
The laptop does not throttle without the limitations – it's just preemptive – because I use the laptop 8-10h/every single day.
Lately I have started to drop the graphics from ultra to high in games but I guess the 2080S is getting a bit old .. but ovreall still expecting at least one or two more years of premium experience from the laptop.
Yup. It was worth the money specially last years prez sale. Maxed out everything (except ssd3 and ssd 4 and extra 3200mhz. Only at 32 gig ram) but one thing that pisses me off was that Netflix app simply will not play hdr 4k or dolby vision. It just goes black. Other than that. Great desktop replacement. Specially when i got i paired with my AGA 3080
Area 51m R2 owner here. I LOVE this machine, will be keeping it for a long time, the cooling is amazing. I’ve modded the graphics amp and am running a 6900XT inside that, I get full next gen performance with that and love it. Currently custom delidding my 10900K with a custom copper IHS to allow for a better contact for liquid metal. Am also back and forth with dell figuring out a bios update that allows us to use ReBAR with a EGPu, which will help performance even more. I still think this is the best laptop out there, it’s sad Dell hasn’t announced a R3, unfortunately it’s also because Nvidia doesn’t want to release a higher wattage gpu anymore and dell is focused on thin and light :/
It really took me a long period considering which laptop to choose between m17r4 and 51mr2 . At last I choose 51m with i9-10900K & 2080 super and after one year I'm not regret about it , although I paid more and get a previous Gen chips . See Dell might already abandoned the Area-51m series . So it might be the last chance for me to buy a heavy , powerful machine with a desktop CPU and GPU , except for those CLEVO models , etc . The whole market are making every effort to make the laptop thin and light and powerful, but they are really noisy when facing to heavy gaming . Before the 51m , I also got a ROG GM501GS , a Razer Blade 17 pro and a Dell XPS 15-9570 .I think they represent the highest level of heat pipe cooling and vapor chamber cooling in thin （gaming） laptops, But the high temp , thermal throttling and high frequency noise still driven me mad .The fan is roaring to dissipate hot air, and when you turn it to silent mode, the performance of the graphics card may be cut in half. I think we might already meet the bottleneck in the balance between performance and thinness , thick laptop like 51m could be an reasonable solution , but it's been gradually eliminated .
You've been making great videos, thanks and love from China.
what a way to start the video! hahaha. hilarious, man! Respect!
Hello. I have the same laptop. Everything is good but never put Windows 11 because you will have issues hahahaha.
On the other hand, if you decided to use only the 330W charger, in What side do you connect it?
Other thing, Do you have any External Audio DAC/AMP for headphones via USB? This question is because I have other problem. If I connect both chargers at same time, I can hear noise (maybe 60Hz) in my headphones connected to external DAC/AMP. But if I disconnect one of chargers, the noise dissappear. Do you have the same problem?
I have good ground instalation in my house and a power conditioner in the chain.
I have been hunting for the the rx 5700m variant, extremely hard to find!