win32asmguy

I have not heard of any 18 inch UHD+ panels. I would speculate a 240hz QHD+ 500nit option is more likely.

That is correct according to here: https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/alienware-m18-r1-laptop/alienware-m18-r1-setup-and-specifications/display?guid=guid-740ab3a0-50a9-4e5b-942d-02ebbb4a2fc6&lang=en-us

Maybe try https://github.com/tuxedocomputers/tuxedo-control-center as it works with a few Clevo models they sold.

I tried taking photos of the Premamod BIOS so people can get an idea of what options are available. I apologize if anything isn't easy to see, just let me know and I can try to retake the photo. https://photos.app.goo.gl/dehT1gZZ4h2dvKJv9 As far as pictures of the machine it looks identical to the existing Mech 17 GP so any review of that or the XMG Neo 17 M22 is going to be more visual than what I can do.

XMG uses liquid metal on the CPU and GPU. Unsure about CyberPowerPC. Premamod has the CPU and Memory tuning options. Undervolting, core speed multipliers, custom memory profiles, etc. Power limits are not in the bios from what I can tell. You just choose the operation mode to change presets or configure a custom profile in the Control Center. Performance can benefit from air or liquid. I believe liquid is supposed to allow the GPU to pull higher than 175W similar to how the earlier GTX 1060 Eluktroboost did. Hence why this model is at the top of the Timespy leaderboard for 4090 mobile. The CPU can benefit from liquid as well as some of its heatpipes go to the GPU side fan. They said the LPP G2 may ship in another week. I will also mention that the Eluktronics/XMG motherboard variant has hardware upgrades to support the DDR5-6400 CL38 memory which operate at higher voltages. I will try to benchmark my current DDR5-4800 CL40 vs. DDR5-6400 CL38 once those are available. They also have Intel SAGV disabled in the bios so the memory remains at its normal frequency instead of trying to downclock to conserve power. The 4080 overclocked on liquid could reach stock 4090 levels in some games. I choose 4090 because it cannot be upgraded later, and the warranty extension costs the same regardless of which one you choose. I really hope 13900HX + 4090 mobile remains competitive with whatever refresh is made by Intel and Nvidia next year. It would be nice if it can last two years before looking for a replacement.

The display is rated at 380nits and is 100% sRGB. It is a good display from what I can tell but I will be honest I use an external display at my home and work desks most of the time. It appears to be factory calibrated as it is accurate even without loading a profile on a clean install.

I think they do ship to Europe via a courier service. Sadly I do not think XMG offers the Premamod bios as they seem to have not provided it for previous year models. I finally managed to get Realtek Audio drivers installed in Windows 10 - the issue was some how the Intel SST drivers were an engineering version instead of the production version. So Windows 10 is very well a possibility even if its not officially supported. This is farther than I ever got with the Clevo NH55J on Windows 10 and its audio driver incompatibilities.

I am going to test Fedora 37 (Wayland disabled) with the latest kernel and proprietary Nvidia driver soon. I will use it for work, as a replacement for a Precision 7670. They do sell these oriented towards gamers. The mechanical keyboard is noisy however a membrane version is supposed to eventually be available. The build quality is great and the stability has been fine so far. I think support should be ok. My friend has the 11th Gen MAX 17 and we have not had to contact support about anything. If you want Premamod then it is also really the only choice. The other cheaper Tongfang option in the USA, CyberPowerPC, is not an option for me as they only have a one year warranty available. So far Maingear has not refreshed their models with 13th Gen, but if they do and you live near a Micro Center it could be a decent support option. It has been great so far. For me the biggest issue would be a high pitched whine, which this does not have at all in any of the fan speed range. Having a sane default fan curve is good as well because under Linux tuning that is not always possible. The performance seems on par with the competitors I have read about so far other than the MSI GT77 which has more capacity on air. Eluktronics should get their shipment of LPP G2 in a couple of weeks so I will try it out to see what it can do.

Yeah I have a soft spot for barebones options although there is some risk if trying to install high performance memory that has not been tested in house for compatibility. The layout is definitely not standard. The keys are also noisy as expected but they may offer the membrane version later this year. I do not use the keyboard often so its less of an issue, and I could easily carry an MX Keys around if needed. The bios only lets you select a performance mode (Office / Balanced / Beast) to effect the default fan curve. It may be possible to override the default curve for those profiles, I will check.

Here is my quick initial review of the Eluktronics Mech 17 GP2 with 4090. Ordering Process I used their website to purchase after their pricing promotion started and barebones options were added. This was great for me as I already had 32GB of Samsung DDR5-4800 CL40 memory on hand as well as SSD and Windows license. Checkout forwarded me to paypal, which generated a receipt with specs but for some reason this order did not get associated to my account on their site so I could not see status updates. Eventually a few days later I received an email for shipping notification. Shipping I choose their $8 option which was UPS Ground. The package was picked up in PA the same day the label was generated. I will note that hold for pickup was not available for me via UPS MyChoice. Signature was required. The box was packed well a discreet outer brown box and they also put a piece of tape over the barcode on the UPS label which was nice as it keeps water damage on the label from preventing scans. There was also a piece of paper explaining their return policy before opening the laptop package. Build Quality The Lid and Bottom panel are made of thick aluminum that is rigid and does not flex. The palm rest is made of magnesium alloy and covered with a soft touch material similar to what is found on the Dell Precision laptops. Compared to the MAX 17 I would say its a bit less quality, but still more solid than the Clevo laptops I have used in the past. Disassembly My configuration was barebones so the first thing I needed to do was remove the bottom panel. All of the screws on the bottom panel fully remove, and the two near the back center need a deeper screwdriver bit as they are recessed. There are also two screws on the back near the water inlet/outlets. Then prying from the sides near the USB ports working towards the back and front the plastic clips eventually released. The M.2 screws were already installed in the screw holes. Drive installation was easy and the user manual indicated the slot closest to the fan was primary. The included Intel AX201 Wifi card was already pre-installed. Initial Boot / BIOS After a minute the system booted and I took a look at the bios. It has an advanced menu with some options like MUX control and then a Tuning menu with Overclocking / CPU / Memory options. By default a -125mv undervolt was applied to the 13900HX P-cores. Windows Support My initial OS I am testing on it is Windows 10 22H2. After it booted into the OS most drivers were able to install other than the Realtek Audio + Nahemic drivers. Unfortunately Eluktronics told me that their Microsoft agreement only allows them to support Windows 11 on these models. They also mentioned a WIM Windows 11 image is available for customers who purchased a barebones config to simply getting their system up and running. Linux Support I have Fedora 37 installed. These are the steps I took: Boot Live USB with nouveau.modeset=0 parameter to disable the open source nvidia driver After install, go into bios and set Fedora grub EFI entry as active, also ensure Secure Boot is disabled Download updates via Software Center, reboot Switch default session from Wayland to Xorg, reboot Install akmod-nvidia from rpmfusion, reboot As far as compatibility goes everything seems to be working fine so far. The speakers are quieter than in Windows with Nahemic but are usable. Probably the HDAudio pin config is not enabling the amp yet as the mappings likely have changed since the last revision (SB Cinema -> Nahemic). In this configuration the internal display only supports 2560x1600 without scaling from xrandr. Nvidia Settings can apply a scaled resolution but this doesn't always work well in the multi-monitor configuration I use. 60hz and 240hz is supported. In theory switching the MUX to Hybrid mode should allow decent battery life at 60hz as the software configuration should allow the Nvidia card to enter runtime D3. The nvidia power daemon (dynamic boost manager) is likely buggy and will randomly cause high CPU usage. I would leave it disabled unless you are gaming or doing something where you need beyond the base 150W. I will try to run a Linux GPU benchmark soon. Booting Windows 10 via GRUB for some reason is causing performance of the 4090 GPU to be limited. So for now if I boot into Windows I must use F7 and select the "Windows Boot Manager" option instead of the Fedora entry. Performance CBR23 in Beast Mode - ~31500, 120W CBR23 in Balanced Mode - ~25800, 75W TimeSpy in Beast Mode - 21021 Overall, 21790 Graphics, 17521 CPU (Control Center installed, Nvidia 528.49, Auto Fans, 175W pull observed) Fan Noise So far it has been pretty good. No high pitched whining and the fans do not have an issue with pulsing at idle or low usage with the default curve. Overall Initial Impressions Its a nice machine. The fan noise and build quality great. I will add more as I can think about it.

Here is a screenshot taken from that utility with 1.9.1. CPU Revision corresponds to Microcode Revision in HWInfo64. Stepping has always been the same, C0.

I updated to 1.9.1 as well. No change in microcode revision according to HWInfo64. I tested Dynamic Boost and its still stuck at 102W on the 7670 without using Afterburner to push power limits up to 125W. @MyPC8MyBrain did you re-run your CBR23 tests after the update, maybe it "says" the undervolt is applied but it is not actually taking effect.

Only air for now. They are still waiting on the shipment of water coolers.

I will report on the 13900HX in an Eluktronics Mech 17 GP2 next week. It has a Premamod bios so it should be tuneable and competitive.

The bios looks like it has the same four performance modes as are available on the business model. So if he switched from balanced to ultra performance it may affect TDP limits and fan curve.

Well, Intel has the technologies already (LGA, PGA) but just refuses to use them. The only real issue with modular designs is they do not fit into the business goals for the companies in control. At one point I was told PGA was sunset because some OEM's were having issues with pins being bent by technicians when repairs were performed. I laughed because it sounded like a poor excuse for lack of training.

Yeah, that one was just for shipping from their website. dell.com also has the same config m16 on their website for quick shipment. Its a shame Dell does not have a 16 inch FHD+ 165hz panel option. You would think because they offer it on the G16 that it would be as simple as making the custom eDP cable for the m16 as well. At least they do have the FHD+ panel coming for the m18, even with wide gamut support as well.

That makes sense for CPU thermals it should only peak in the CPU test. I happen to see an "open box excellent" m16 on Best Buy's site so I have that on the way to test out. A sales rep at Dell mentioned the fully customizable m18 should be available soon.

I have not tried the new version yet. I may ask Eurocom for it in case they have a modified variant for their performance modes. Speaking of Eurocom they have listed the Clevo X370 as their Raptor X17.

I guess we will have some reviews of the Alienware QHD+ panel at some point. The specs may be worse but it should still be enjoyable for most games when used indoors. Hopefully 4080 and 4090 both get the vapor chamber. Per usual Dell style the specs are ambiguous so we probably will not know for sure until someone gets one and takes it apart. I am happy to see the m18 has Windows 10 drivers on the support page so far. It also appears that the TB4 ports are likely connected to the iGPU based on the spec page.

This Alienware m18 config is not a bad deal either, for 13900HX, 4080 and QHD+ panel: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/alienware-m18-gaming-laptop/spd/alienware-m18-r1-laptop/wnm18r1cto010 The $400 extra cost gets you better build quality, a mechanical keyboard, vapor chamber? and ability to choose an on site warranty.

I hope they have a config with the 13980HX, 4090, 1920x1200 screen, membrane keyboard and otherwise basic specs for memory and storage, for under 4000usd. It would be worth a test to check out linux compatibility and hopefully is not too noisy under office or gaming scenarios. It would be great if we could somehow convince Dell to support Windows 10 on this model. I cannot really understand the point of including those M.2 2230 SSD slots. May as well just left them out as those drives are neither performant or high capacity. At least the wifi is not soldered..

I noticed that the service manual is available, and also possibly a new EC version 1.07.06 which I have not tested yet. https://repo.palkeo.com/clevo-mirror/NH5xJNN(Q)_R(Q)_PS(Y)/ The system block diagram confirms no MUX on this model for the laptop LCD.

I wonder if these will end up being compatible with the 7670 / 7770 using the SODIMM interposer, it could be a cheaper way to get to 96GB capacity. https://wccftech.com/crucial-now-has-24-gb-48-gb-ddr5-memory-options-for-desktop-laptop-pcs/amp/

I hope for the sake of 7670 and 7770 owners it means retroactive price drops for CAMM upgrades. As it is right now, we are looking at 1250usd and 2500usd to get a 64GB or 128GB module. At one point I think Dell said CAMM was 1usd/GB more expensive to produce than SODIMM, would be nice to see that price reflected with with their upgrade costs, and for there to be one less thing for the anti-CAMM crowd to complain about.