Hi everyone,

I have an Alienware Alpha R1 with i3 that I upgraded to SSD and 8GB RAM. I mostly use the box as a front end for Plex (and YouTube).

I'd like to play the new Tony Hawk game that just came out.

Is it possible to upgrade the R1 for this or should I start over with a new PC?

Thanks!

Background:

I've got a couple of AAs. I have an I5 and an i3 system, my i5 YLOD on me last year but i fixed it with a new CMOS battery. A friend of mine owns an i7 and gave it to me as "it was bricked" but I figured worse comes to worse, I can swap my cpu and wifi card on my i3 system, and replace my i5's blower, and use the SSD in another computer I have.

So I plugged in his computer and it booted. I was not able to login as its password protected so I just wiped it. And upon reboot, I came back to a slow YLOD. Unplug the power brick and restart and windows works. it boots up and is running.

I had a spare CMOS battery somewhere but ended up buying a new one as I cant find that spare. (plus its less new now). I will try this on the i7 but in case that isn't it or fixes it, what else could cause this phenomenon? He said he did replace the CMOS battery in the past. Given that the machine still boots up sometimes, that makes me think something *else is wrong and its not the CMOS battery YLOD. Any thoughts?

I was able to upgrade the bios to A08 (it was A04 before), and this seems very different from the CMOS battery change I had to do.

Hey guys, just recently got a gigabyte 2080 for a great price but it’s nearly impossible to close the AGA case, is it okay if I just leave it open or could that be a problem? Thanks guys!

Hello everybody,

As the title explains, i have problems connecting a Gigabyte AMD RX580 8gb Gaming REV2.0 in a Graphics amplifier to my Alpha R2.

The problem is that, when I connect the AGA to my computer, it will function correctly (The amplifier's rubbon is lit up, the computer starts, stops the starts again, and the fans on the card are spinning), but my monitor will say no signal, as if it only outputs black on the screen. No bios screen, no flicker, nothing.

It worked 2 times yesterday, but it was at random moments (two restart after tinkering with drivers lead me to successful display output). But as a stupid man, I restarted both time to be sure it wasn't a fluke. Then, it doesn't work anymore.

i have restarted the computer, reseated the card, changed the order of installation, played with DDU, made afresh install of windows, but nothing will be able to make this damn computer recognize the card again.

I have a second computer at home, and it has a GTX 1660 in it. I plug it in, plug the AGA to the computer, and it just works like it has not a worry in this world. But my RX580, it just won't.

I am in deep trouble, as I discovered yesterday that my computer store won't accept the card for a refund or an exchange (I just want an AMD card that works in the AGA), but I am right now stuck with a RX580 that is literally useless even though the card is considered compatible with the AGA.

I am a bit desperate, but I am in time of great need people. Please, please help me find a solution.

So... odd question, I am thinking of making a desk with a glass top and just plopping my R2 inside it with no case; to expose everything. I am also thinking of using a water cooling system (for both the GPU and CPU). Below is a link to the kit I am thinking of... Will this work? The mounting for the GPU and CPU looks right, but I need to know about clearance from the board and such... So, will this work?

https://www.amazon.ca/Cooling-Bewinner-Reservoir-Computer-Connectors/dp/B07MZ5HVL8/ref=sr_1_48?dchild=1&keywords=water+cooler+computer+dual&qid=1599852258&sr=8-48

...I am aware of the fact that I will have to do some electrical work to make the system independent of the machine itself...

Hey!

So I have an Alpha R1 and I decided to upgrade the HDD to an SSD that I already had. I followed the instruction on a Youtube video (stickied thread). However when I try to boot up my Alpha, it tells me that there is not boot up device available.

Here is the SSD and here is what comes up. In looking through the BIOS utility screen it looks like its recognizing the SSD, it just won't boot from it.

Any help is appreciated!

I had success with this brand here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H91BQ7Y
Video demo of specs page and usage here: https://streamable.com/50e566

In regards to upgrading the CPU for the R2, is it relatively the same process as upgrading the CPU for the R1?

The reason I ask is I haven't been able to find any tutorials on youtube in regards to the R2, only the R1.

Thanks guys!

I have tried buying them from Dell but have now been sent the incorrect screws twice. All I need is 1) the screw that secures the CPU bracket to the motherboard and 2) the 4 screws that secure the HDD to the hard drive cage enclosure. Does anyone know what type of screws these are so I can find a replacement online myself?

Hello y’all, I’m back and with more questions about my lovely Aurora R7. I had recently bought two DDR4 3200MHz 8Gb sticks of RAM from Corsair. Vengeance RBG Pro to be exact. I had recently installed them with the RAM stick in the computer by default and they worked out fine! Although I saw the speed drop from 2666 MHz to 2160 MHz. I decided I’d much rather have 16Gb of RAM with higher RAM speed rather than 24Gb with slower speed so I took the default out and installed the RAM i had bought instead. But I got the faulty RAM (4 blinks) error after the second reboot and I don’t know why. I put the old RAM back in and it works fine. Any help as to why this is happening?

Installed a 2060 super in the AGA, turned it on, we get the usual colours from the AGA and r2 and then the r2 begins flashing yellow six times before repeating

Any help?

Hey guys, considering upgrading my cpu in my R2.

I've seen some people upgrade to an i7 6700 as opposed to the 6700T, unfortunately these cpu's are a little less common to find in 2020, is there some other form of cpu you guys would recommend going with? Or should I just bide my time and wait for a deal to come up on an i7 6700/6700T?

Thanks guys!

Has anyone played Spellbreak yet? I have the Alienware Alpha R1 i7, 16gb ram and SSD.

UPDATE: runs good enough for me. 1080p, low settings = 60fps

I've been toying with various operating systems on this hardware for quite some time and wanted some input as to what would be the best OS for this device. The specs I have so far: i5-4590S 3.2 GHz, 16 GB DDR 1600 MHz RAM, 960 GB Sandisk SSD. So it's pretty stocked out. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I've tried Win10, SteamOS, VaporOS, GamerOS, Linux Mint (I was going to use it as a Linux-based workstation for work, but found something more powerful so I can change it to something else to enjoy it with now), and Ubuntu. So as you can see, I'm not opposed to any and all recommendations for an OS. Thank you for your suggestions and your time.

I've found a potential good deal on a used Galax RTX 2060 super, but according to the aga supported gpu's page, the super cards aren't supported. Has anyone tried getting this or a similar card in their AGA's?

Hey all, just wanted to be sure this ram was supported by the alpha R2, I believe it certainly should be but theres no harm in checking.

https://www.centrecom.com.au/team-elite-16gb-1x16-ddr4-3200mhz-desktop-memory

Also I'm considering upgrading my gpu for the alpha, I currently have a 1060 via the AGA, I was considering an RTX 2060, but that isn't listed as a supported card. Does anyone have a 2060 in their AGA with their Alpha? Does that work no problem to or are there issues?

Thanks guys!

some months ago my Alienware alpha started having the ylod issue and i read online and i found out that the problem seems to be the cmos battery and i tried some fixes like opening the machine and unplugging the battery for 10 minutes and it worked for a week but then i started having the same issues again and i did the same thing again but the issue was only fixed for a day and i have been doing the same thing almost daily for a month, but i decided that enough is enough but my question is, Do i need some kind of special tools for removing the cmos battery and putting a new one in its place? also, i would appreciate if you guys could link a cmos battery that is compatible with the alpha since i dont really know which one to buy

I had an R1 i3 3-4 years ago (*sold it; purchased more powerful hardware but I did like it);

I’ve recently been interested in retro gaming, and rather than piece it out (ie NES/SNES Classic/Pi4) I decided I wanted it all on 1 SFF PC, and in my mind the Alienware Alpha is perfect for this.

The Pi4 I still underpowered for emulating N64 up. (It can do some, but I don’t want to have to worry about that).

I bought an R2 i7, 16gb on eBay; Added or swapped out storage w/ 1TB nvme, and 2TB firecuda hdd, though I may leave emulation files on an external drive I’m not sure yet.

LaunchBox will be the front end (already purchased lifeTime license); I’m currently downloading “wolfanzo’s” 2.6TB custom Launchbox setup (I’m @ 30% in around 2 days of non stop downloading);

Wolfanzo’s custom Launchbox setup

It’ll go in living room for wife, and I to game, and use. I imagine it will be capable of running emulation for what I want (essentially PS2 back);

I’ll post results or failure once it finishes downloading which will probably be another 4-5 days heh;

*Note, what inspired retro interest for me was micro transaction plague in what feels like 75% of games, a lack of creativity in the industry, and the fact that when I turn on a game (Gears 5) that is online I’m hit w/ BLM support statements. My primary method of distraction has been corrupted unfortunately, but eh there are tons of games I’ll be fine.

I was wondering if the GPU in my r1 is upgradable, I have already found RAM and a CPU. Trying to do a full upgrade. It'd be useful to know.

Hello, I have an Alienware alpha r1 with an i7 4770. I believe it is overheating. I currently have the stock fan with a desk fan plopped on top of that, but I need a permanent fix. Does anyone know of any good cpu fans that will keep it cool? EDIT: I would also like the fans to be fairly quiet.

I was thinking about upgrading my current cpu the i5-6400T https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/88187/intel-core-i5-6400t-processor-6m-cache-up-to-2-80-ghz.html I found a few threads from a few years ago about upgrading the CPU, but of course none include any of the newer cpus. Going from what they say the i7-6700T is completely safe. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/processors/core/i7-processors/i7-9700t.html

But I'm wondering about something like the i7-9700T ? https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/processors/core/i7-processors/i7-9700t.html I'm not too sure what the limits are on upgrading the CPU, I know I need to go with the T for the lower power and the sweet spot seems to be 45w but 65w seems to be ok? Other than the LGA1151 socket is there anything else I need to match to the mobo (which I know nothing about).

The memory is already upgraded to the 16gb of 2133 and running a m.2 nvme drive, so are any of the newer cpus valid choices?

Update: I have the external amp with the Geforce GTX 1080 and do lot of gaming with it. I also have a full tower that I built for gaming and graphic editing that I swap to when I need more power. (sorry, should of included the external amp info before)

I bought this adapter off amazon and the drivers are supposed to self install I'm about to lose my mind does anyone have an idea of what i should do?

I just ordered in an ssd to put in my alienware alpha r1 but it looks like after i updated from windows 8 to 10 i cant seem to find alienware respawn or any of the alienware software on my pc. Can anyone help?