[Imglidinhere]

I'll never own a locked mobile CPU. Having all desktop-grade components in an 11lb mobile chassis is ideal. Super fun too. I

As a very well-considered mobile computing upgrade path, I decided to drop the $$dosh$$ on a new RTX 2080 Super GPU board to drop in to my 2 year old Area51m R2 laptop, replacing the quite good RTX 2070 Super that this rig shipped with. Considering my usage scenario, this has ended up being far more fiscally reasonable than simply buying a new laptop for $3500+ or more. And besides.... I don't know of any current-gen laptops being released with full desktop grade components so I decided to sit on the Area51m R2 for another 2 years (especially since I'm warrantied through 2025).

I'm hoping by 2025, we will see similarly freakish laptops re-introduced into the mix.

What'd you mean similarly freakish laptops? The Clevo DTR machines still exist to some degree there just isn't a reason for them TO exist. Reason being that any mobile ryzen part casually matches their desktop counterparts and since everything overclocks itself to the max automatically, on the fly as needed, it outperforms anything we can do manually.

Nice upgrade to the GPU, though you're just as stuck with that processor as a mobile user is with his/hers. You have no upgrade path anymore than my Max-17 does. We're stuck with what we have.

 

[Imglidinhere]

Still can drop in a 10900K but I'm not going to ...

And a 5800H will still beat the 10900K at half the power draw. Moot point.

 

[Imglidinhere]

Power draw, blinding performance, etc. is not the point for me in regards to mobile computing. That's what my desktop machine is for. ;-)

The mobile requirements are far different:

• Good performance, not record-breaking, is required. 75FPS to 120FPS on average with max in-game settings and at 1440p is just fine. I'm happy at 75FPS, frankly when it comes to my mobile rig and at 1440p.
• Must be able to easily, and quickly tear down to the motherboard repaste/repad without undue hurry and with the whole operation taking no more than 30 minutes from strip to refit. Area51m R2 works in that regard.
• Must have near-desktop level cooling on both the CPU and GPU. Throttling of any sort is completely unacceptable. Area51m R2 works well here. Play through this same section of BFV on your toaster oven and lemme know what your CPU/GPU temps were:
  
  
  
  
• Must be able to define up to three different, STATIC, system overclocks and be able to switch between them with a hotkey. I have a 3.8ghz profile, a 4.5ghz profile, and a 5.0ghz profile. I operate the machine mostly at the 3.8ghz profile as it's more than enough for my daily office tasks. Should I do video rendering, I hotkey into the 5.0ghz profile, finish my render, and then back to 3.8ghzthe profile. For gaming, I'll generally run an all core 4.5ghz profile.
• Must be user serviceable. If my 2080 Super boinks? I can easily put in a new one. If my motherboard blows up? 30 minutes to put in a new one. If I care to experiment with some top binned 10900K's? Just for fun? I can simply pull out the 10700K, put it on the shelf and swap in the 10900K.
• And did I mention the machine should be as easy to disassemble and re assemble as a desktop for the most part?

So yes indeed. There are much speedier laptops out there nowadays. This Area51m R2 is almost 2 years old after all. But I would not trade in for a 12th gen/3080 ti Alienware X series even if they payed me too. They are frail, hard as all get out to work on (get ready to break something), have non replaceable parts and are all toaster ovens that will bake themselves to death within a couple of years.

I expect to upgrade in a year or two but will never sell the Area51m R2. I'd bet you $6.34 that this mutant slab will be going strong 10 years from now lol.

So that's why I stick with the dinosaur. ;-)

You have this idea that your slab of metal there is some godsend and that you're going to laugh at anyone else that has a failing component, only to realize that to replace the motherboard will cost you an easy $600(new), the GPU will run you over $1,200(new).

Christ, for the price of those two parts alone I can get a current-gen machine and laugh at whatever yours is pretending to be.

What's funnier is that it's not even remotely unique on ANY level! Eurocom sells that exact machine type and has done so since the dawn of time almost: EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 Configure

 

[Imglidinhere]

Oh. It's just a really well-put-together a bit of machinery for chrissake lol. I like good machines. Good design. Especially in laptops as such is hard to come by of late. Smart, accessible full chassis maintenance; good technical illustrations. At least some wiggle room for different GPU/CPUs. But most important is build materials, and ease of maintenance. So in a sea of pretty gross contemporaries ... that A51m line does indeed stand out as something rather unique.

Replacing the motherboard costs me nothing; I just accidentally did that recently lol. Called Dell and said my heatsink was cutting in and out and needed a new heatsink. The next day I have a new heatsink and a new motherboard with instructions on how to send my boinked heatsink and MB back to the warranty dept. Overnight. Free. Pretty good deal.

View attachment 2586692

Otherwise and re: the GPU? Dell, of course, has no more 2070 Super or 2080 Super GPUS in stock but I found a 2080 Super from a new system pull on Ebay for $800, ... not quite $1200 but close lol. I have the old 2070 Super for backup or could hock it for an easy $300 but will probably keep it. $800 investment for solid 2+ more years of 1440p gaming? Makes perfect sense and I'll drop the customary ~$5000 or so on a proper new mobile rig sometime mid-2025. Probably the exact day that my A51mR2 warranty ends lol. Should be some interesting new designs (hopefully) by then ... ;-)

Oh yeah! Here's some more pr0n whilst stressing the new 2080 Super card. Control maxx/d ... just frolicking about busting da manure up and all ... a wonderfully destructive game ...

That's 1440p ultrawide but just a borrowed monitor. Dem temps though. LOL. C'mon, laptops don't do that nowadays. And keep in mind, that isn't some puny, malnourished gimped, handicapped, dumbed-down, inwardly troubled and semi moronic mobile CPU/GPU using some Unicorn Sauce thermal compound and still breaking 100c all day long () (jk) but mwuHAAAHAHAHAAAA!!!! Oh noooo. LOL ... good old desktop CPU. Good old "kind of desktop" 2080 Super GPU ...Good old Noctua paste, a couple fat fans and a wee bit of room to breath ... desktop level thermals (so so desktop level thermals lol). What's not to love about hanging back a couple gens lol.

I had read somewhere recently about a more conservative, non gaming laptop that would be shipping with a 3080 ti option but I can't find where I saw that referenced. Perhaps some of their new workstation line laptops that still feature top tier Nvidia cards might cool better than some of the gaming designs. I also have to have the num pad ...

I expect there to be some interesting new laptop options by mid 2025 and I'm saving my gold pieces and unidentified magical items...

LOL @ Dell overnighting me a new motherboard and heatsink. That's just so sweet... ;-) $600? New motherboard ... pffffffffft... ;-)

...

Someone's a Dell fanboy.

 

[Imglidinhere]

Not really a Dell fan boi at all; but def a gear snob. But when Dell/AW do something right, they do it pretty damn right (just regarding laptops) same as Asus or any other brand that occasionally hits it out of the park. And there is no price tag one can put on (for the most part) rock-solid warranty/repair service. I hunt out what I think is a quality product for the $$ and then spend happily (AW/Gigabyte/Asus/MSI...I've owned laptops from all of them, some great some terrible. I'm even worse with RedWing Iron Ranger boots *! Talk about a hideously wasting addiction! lol But with laptops, boots and especially high quality japanese blow-up dolls? Quality and design chops rule the day; I am a visual/UX designer historically and more than a bit OCD so I can get a bit carried away lol ...

I have friends with Area51m R2's (back from the Notebook Review Forums days (sniff, r.i.p.) who had literal NIGHTMARES with their Area51m machines. I mean, completely DUMB issues originating from the factory, of course where we are all just at the mercy of whoever is working the production line on any given day.

It's' a literal crapshoot/lottery as with just about any manufacturer, I reckon.

One friend at NBR forums was having massive heating issues with his Area51m R2 and when he took the heatsink out to check sh1t3 out? He found that none of the thermal pads had had the clear plastic backing removed from either side! LOL! Talk about QC issues. lol. In fact, when first repadding my own A51mR2, I found a couple very small thermal pads which had not had the plastic backing removed. Suffice it to say, he went back and forth with Dell, trying to find some way to keep the Area51mR2 but it was already past the end of life announcement so he had to settle with a X17 3080 Ti machine as a replacement, even though he would have preferred the fatter, A51mR2 chassis.

And I absolutely hate the Dell/AW desktops. Heaps of trash imo and about the stupidist desktop option anybody could chose. I fantasize about smashing them for the greater good of the enthusiast community. ;-)

But if you can find a good A51mR2? That particular AW flagship laptop is certainly worth seeking out and investing in. I can't speak towards to new, thinner, "potato chip" chassis ... not sure how long those are going to last over the long haul at their typical 90C to 100C+ operating temps. But for something like the A51mR2? Properly maintained and cooled? I can see it lasting 10+ years easily. That's why I'll take the relatively decent performance of the 10700K/2080 Super, even though the new gens are markedly faster on paper. As I'm pretty sure a GPU/CPU running around 75C/75C on a daily average (or less) is going to most likely outlive one pushing 100C all day...

...

1) The thing that kills processors isn't thermal runaway, it's voltage.

2) When Dell does something right, they do it average. Any whitebook seller, typically Clevo or Tongfang though there are others, will do the job of an Alienware, but better, be easier to take apart, be often times easier to modify or replace parts on, and in almost every case be cheaper.

3) QC issues not withstanding, Dell are... okay. They aren't in it for consumers as a whole. They're in it for corporate and high-end buyers. Alienware is their attempt to remain relevant, but from my experience, Alienware is stock average. They look cool, but overall they're mediocrity wrapped in a pretty shell. It's a tag-along business.

4) If you're looking for a laptop and have $2500 to spend, I would legitimately look away from Alienware, MSI, Asus and Lenovo. Go to any place that sells a Clevo or Tongfang machine. Eluktronics (USA), Schenker or XMG (EU), Aftershock (AU), XoticPC, Malibal, Eurocom, OriginPC, etc.