"Fixing" the Alienware R13 Dumpster Fire

We're trying to fix the $5000 Alienware R13 for as cheap as possible. The R13 is one of the worst pre-builts we've ever reviewed, so we're trying to see if it's salvageable.
Sponsor: be quiet!'s Silent Base 802 geni.us/DaGYu
The Alienware pre-built is one of the worst we’ve ever reviewed: using alien technology, they turned an i9 into an i7. Alienware, owned by Dell, seems dead-set on continuing to pump-out trash instead of improving. The design faults are far beyond the case -- Alienware's BIOS is so incomplete that it doesn't even include fan speed controls, the power toggles are all locked (likely because the motherboard VRM is way underspec), and the motherboard is limiting. Fortunately, the case can natively fit larger radiators; unfortunately, Dell doesn't offer those, so we decided to do it ourselves.
STOCK IS ALMOST OUT of the GN Volt Modmats! It will be a few months before we have more in stock, so if you want a high-quality PC building work surface, grab it now: store.gamersnexus.net/product...
We previously reviewed the Alienware R13 here: • Hilariously Bad Alienw...
If you missed it, our teardown of the Alienware R13 can be found here: • Crazy Bad $5000 Alienw...
We have an entire playlist of Prebuilt system reviews on the channel here: • Pre-Built Gaming PC Re...
Like our content? Please consider becoming our Patron to support us: / gamersnexus
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Fixing the Alienware R13
02:13 - Our Rules & Ideas
04:33 - Looking for a New Cooler
07:03 - Attempting to Install a 240mm Cooler
11:20 - Steve Recruits Patrick
13:10 - Patrick Rants About Things
17:13 - Testing Prep
18:55 - Screeching Loud PSU Fans
19:38 - 16-Degree Reduction in CPU Thermals!
21:30 - CPU Frequency Comparison
22:23 - GPU Thermal Benchmarks
23:33 - Incompetent Motherboard BIOS
25:15 - Trying One Last Time
27:12 - Conclusion
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Hosts: Steve Burke, Patrick Lathan
Video: Andrew Coleman
Video Production: Keegan Gallick

[@GamersNexus]

STOCK IS ALMOST OUT of the GN Volt Modmats! It will be a few months before we have more in stock, so if you want a high-quality PC building work surface, grab it now: store.gamersnexus.net/products/modmat-volt-large We previously reviewed the Alienware R13 here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqbPmXmfarNlnsU If you missed it, our teardown of the Alienware R13 can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoqUlZ-Mhd-IjNE We have an entire playlist of Prebuilt system reviews on the channel here: kzbin.info/aero/PLsuVSmND84QuM2HKzG7ipbIbE_R5EnCLM

[@ugogatto]

he didnt turn water in to wine but at least he tried

[@mcunner]

STEVE Please help, Command center got installed with my alienware monitor and I can't get rid of it! I've uninstalled it twice but it keeps getting reinstalled somehow and it runs my cpu at 30% for absolutely no reason, I just see a alienware process in task manager but nothing is actually running. Also, when it reinstalls it doesn't have a shortcut or start menu entry so I can only find it in control panel to uninstall again.

[@user.10.]

@@mcunner When you uninstall it, how do you do it? I mean, do you use the search bar and click uninstall from there or do you use a different method? & If you can't uninstall it whatsoever regardless of what you do, lower it's priority using task manager and check if that makes a difference to the CPU usage

[@sigy4ever]

idk why but seeing you casually use a key fob to open a door was pretty dang sweet, very cool.

[@murphyitsyou9169]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/poPRcoSMdquKpKs I got it working without all that extra clutter you have there

[@the_dark_defender]

Is it really the Alienware look though? It looks a lot like a Dyson Air Multiplier released back in 2008 or so. One key difference is that the Dyson Air Multiplier actually moves air instead of choking it off, as this case does.

[@dominic.h.3363]

The last Alienware that looked like Alienware was the 7500.

[@WayStedYou]

Alienware cases have looked like this since the early 2000s haven't they?

[@Ocastia]

@@WayStedYou not really, the old Aurora and Area 51 cases had this matt/metallic grey finish, and a lot of sharp corners and triangles, I actually really liked the look of it.

[@Paxmax]

Just like the Dyson Air Multi fan, this Alien also sux on every possible performance level.

[@Pasi123]

I quite liked the design of the old X58 and X79 based Alienware Aurora's

[@parminderjaura5642]

I remember when alienware was my dream computer back when I was a kid. Thank goodness I didn't fall for this bs.

[@frankiepotato1705]

Aww man same here i did almost fall for it too good thing ive return that crappy r10 when i did a heavy research before considering keeping it as my gaming machine. And boy oh boi that i made a good ass decision to build my own and save alot of money.

[@BillyONeal]

Maybe it was better when you were a kid. Before the Dark^H^H^Hell times

[@Klairity]

Alienware used to be the defacto custom builder brand until dell bought it and ran on the built up brand and ran it into the ground with all their proprietary crap. Them and Falcon Northwest were like the first 2 "gamer" branded pc's I can remember.

[@WhiskyNerd]

Yeah when I was in college.... 13 year ago I thought Alienware was the best and Asus was crap.... then this pandemic happened and I got sucked into Linus and all the PC channels, bought a Zephyrus g14 laptop March of 2021 then that just made me want a better PC so I built one in November.

[@Amula90]

Same here, the branding / looks made me crazy

[@punchfrancescka3980]

Almost 2 years ago from this day, I was looking to buy my first PC. Stumbled across this channel. I was dead-set on Alienware. Couple weeks go by of watching GN & learning about computers - then I decided to build my own. I used a lot of parts that were recommended through GN videos (for example, using a Lian Li Lancool II, and a 2060 KO Ultra) and was off to the races. Couldn’t imagine myself if I had gone any other way, especially if I ended up wasting money on an Alienware. The $~900 I spent on the independent parts took me further than ~$1500 that Alienware would have ripped me. I can only thank the GN team for sharing their wisdom, and for inspiring people like me to believe in themselves. Cheers to you all!

[@joetuktyyuktuk8635]

Exactly 💯 the knowledge you pick up from this channel is invaluable, once you realize building your own pc is not really all that hard or complicated, the hardest part for me was selecting what parts I wanted and trying to keep the budget under control... assembling it was relatively easy. The best part is, because all the parts are standard, upgrading down the road is easy, compared to the planned obsolescence of proprietary garbage from Alienware/Dell.

[@mattiOTX]

I actually just got a lian li 215 case and I really like it. Mesh front with giant fans, magnetic dust filter top and bottom. About 1200 bucks all together in my new pc and I'm so happy I built my own after watching gamers nexus.

[@joetuktyyuktuk8635]

@@mattiOTX Congrats on your build, I know there is a sense of pride in building your own machine and taking the time to do it right. My overall enjoyment factor on a machine I built myself is way higher than a pre-built for sure, and it has exactly the parts I want in it, super happy with mine.

[@forcinghandlesisdumb]

The worst part about building your own computer is 2 years from now when it doesn't post, and you realize you built it and now you've got to fix it. You get through that, though, and you're golden.

[@mattiOTX]

@@forcinghandlesisdumb that's why pc shops exist.

[@nathanmiddleton1478]

Before Dell bought Alienware they were a standard that others were measured by. It's amazing that has carried through for all these years.

[@retrowave69]

well, after dell bought alienware, that didn't last long.

[@ratatatatata5290]

@@retrowave69 name outlasted the quality of the product sold.

[@eatu4tea]

Desktop PC equivalent of Blizzard Games I guess...

[@raymondwen4210]

They still are. Except now, it's what brands strive NOT to be like

[@blackyvertigo]

Aye early Alienware machines were workhorses. Now they are all trash

[@Gabu_Dono]

Dell’s slogan should be, “Dell- Resist Improvement!” or perhaps “Alienware- because progress is alien”

[@larsgottlieb]

Go To Dell has been a curse for many years now ..

[@wayland7150]

Dell should have made the CPU cooler mount more Alien. That standard cpu hole spacing made it too easy to fit the new cooler.

[@DanaTheInsane]

@@N1c0T1n3__ I switched from Dell laptops to Apple laptops. At least they fucking work. My Dell laptop went back eight times. They refused to lemon it. They couldn’t even get my name right in four years, let alone my laptop. In three MacBook Pros the only problem I’ve had is that shitty butterfly keyboard they came up with. Virtually all three of my previous ones went to new owners after five years of abuse.

[@OriginalMergatroid]

Someone should tell them resistance if futile.

[@OriginalMergatroid]

@@DanaTheInsane We sell a lot of Dell laptops at work and they are actually very reliable. It's unfortunate you had such problems, but in the 11 years I have been selling them reliability has been no more of a problem than any other brand. In fact, I would have no problem recommending their business class laptops. Just stay away from their gaming gear.

[@theStunivurse]

Seeing all that plastic and proprietary metal parts is demonstrable proof that Dell can do much better WHILE SAVING MONEY

[@GamersNexus]

That's the craziest thing! This case is insanely complicated to build at a factory-level, and far better cases are made cheaper by others in the industry. Dell just can't pull its head out for long enough to see that it's time to invest in new tooling.

[@eTiMaGo]

I hope their engineers are furiously taking notes :D

[@saywhat6480]

@@GamersNexus This is what happens when companies draw up really long term plans and make all their costings around those plans, then rely on their marketing departments to sell their "vision". Instead of being able to admit they made a mistake and fix the mistake, there is a accountant there to remind them that any extra cost is a bad thing, and another executive raving about how the long term plan can not change, because of all the money sunk into the selling of the "vision". They can't see reality through their corporate jargon, and see consumers are dumb and manipulable by marketing.

[@elminster8149]

@@saywhat6480 While some of this is true, it's probably more about risk (to the bottom line). They won't invest in new designs and tooling if the existing product lines are still sufficiently profitable. When that's no longer the case, then they will likely make changes, although one of those changes could be to stop selling gaming PC's.

[@Bl4ckWarHawk]

@@eTiMaGo Oh im sure they already know. The engineering seems competent but just applied in a stupid way, probably due to decisions made by the higher ups.

[@StolenJoker84]

So, The answer to “can it be fixed” is “Yes. By leaving it in the trash and building a better, cheaper one yourself.”

[@Chillypuwn]

By not buying it in the first place.

[@adamtajhassam9188]

take the 12900kf and 3090 out throw the rest away and erplace what steve said. 2) dont buy Dell.

[@stevenwinklepleck8395]

I think the thing that Steve and team did prove is that DELL/Alienware could have EASILY fixed it by putting in a 240mm cooler, maybe a different shroud for the power supply, and updating their bios to allow for the CPU to clock (at least) at correct stock speeds, and all without really increasing the build cost by a noticeable amount

[@jasonhotchkiss601]

I know it makes exposure/light control hard, but the natural backdrop of this set is really nice and makes the overall color of this video stand out compared to the dark/contrasty main set. Maybe one set in the new space can have a brighter feel than the others. Great job to everyone at GN!

[@cadkoger]

It always boggles the mind how little space is inside an Alienware when those cases look larger than everything else in the category.

[@cunt5413]

Lmao it barely has more space than my NR200P with a 240 CLC mounted on top.

[@Raztax]

Literally some of the largest cases with the least amount of room available inside. Boggles the mind.

[@davidgriffin9247]

It follows Alienware's theme as of late: lots of wasted space

[@mathiascarlsson5746]

@cadkoger all that plastic have to go somewhere, so not much space left for actual parts. 🙄🤣 If I didn't know before, this pre-build computer series by GN is the final nail in the coffin, never EVER buy a Dell or Alienware desktop.

[@KuraMad2000]

It's a standard Dell setup covered up by all that stupid alienware cladding.

[@nolfclvr]

Dell is such junk. I remember when I was young and Alienware, although unnecessarily expensive, was top of the line systems. I would visit their site and drool at their configs. How the mighty have fallen.

[@Kmmlc]

You mean back when you could actually change the motherboard in the config?

[@iris4547]

and this is why i always build my own. no proprietary anything, no locked down bios, no poor design decisions (unless i make them myself).

[@Raztax]

@@Kmmlc They probably mean before Alienware was bought out by Dell. Back when the Alienware name actually meant you were getting a premium machine and not a steaming pile of proprietary Dell junk.

[@1011wrestlemania]

Alienware arguably still is. (At least in laptops anyways.)

[@brad8987]

had an Alienware a51 laptop I bought in 2005. that was before Dell neutered them. was a decent gaming laptop

[@unclebobby6629]

Just found this channel and i'm loving it. This series makes me feel so much better about building my own PC. It's very informative and entertaining to boot.

[@Ja3cques]

Alienware was god tier dream pc back in the mid 2000s, looking for a case from then so i can feel like i finally made it. Its sad that its the computer equivalent of a burnout pop culture icon of the previous decade getting a permanent show in Las Vegas.

[@mocsmore1308]

That’s a weirdly accurate analogy 🤣

[@the5gen]

I remember meeting Nelson and Alex (Alienware founders) at CES (before Dell starting putting their people after the Dell acquision of Alienware). Nice knowledgeable guys who really enjoyed hand crafted PCs. Nowadays Dell is just devaluing their purchase doing bullshit like this.

[@BrainZ491]

Was Alienware ever good? In my memory, it was always overpriced. Which is better than being overpriced and bad i guess

[@Farzlepot]

@@BrainZ491 Alienware originally offered flashy cases in an era when most of us had beige boxes. There was nothing particularly wrong with them back in the day, but they were always incredibly overpriced and there was nothing particularly special about the components they used.

[@WhipLash42o]

@@BrainZ491 No, Alienware was never actually good lmao. Their whole marketing gimmick was appealing to people that didn't understand computers with big flashy cases, which worked because thats the thing most people are calling back to from their childhood. In terms of actual performance, and especially price to performance, they were mediocre at best compared to something you could do yourself. But self-build PC are much more common now than they were 15 years ago, that's an important point to make because people were much more likely to fall for their marketing ploy.

[@tweakedshot]

"Stack of plastic bullshit" Alienwares in a nutshell.

[@DailyCorvid]

Also Nintendo Switch and quite a few cheaper machines, anything with soldered [non repairable] internals. "Stack of Plastic" should br a trendy clothing brand featuring stylised dead bodies of disassembled crappy PCs Steve shredded during recording :D

[@e-cap1239]

@@DailyCorvid Seriously, the plastic screen of the Switch is insane, even the dock can scratch it, how come some of the cheapest mobile devices can use tempered glass and they can't?

[@DailyCorvid]

@@e-cap1239 I have bought two and they're both in bad condition. Amazing when you consider that the Lite has been out the box exactly twice since January last year. They must do it on purpose, they cut all the corners they can get away with in order to maximise profit on each console. Sony and Microsoft lose money when they sell one of their consoles, and then make it back on the games. Nintendo just whale pump the shit out of everyone [on games and consoles/accessories].

[@banj0656]

If you want a laugh, this was in the #2 spot on PC Gamer's annual prebuilt recommendation list.

[@randybobandy9828]

I'm sure that was a completely unbias pick lmao... totally not like Dell paid them money to recommend it.

[@themagitechie9955]

And PC Gamer just lost all credibility.

[@kingplunger6033]

hahaha, same when I see a site recommend the 11900k... bye bye forever ^^

[@Gatorade69]

Yuck. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING !?

[@Baby_boodle]

Yuuuuck

[@thereverant5203]

I'm just here to say I love the part where you work in the sudio with the window behind you. It's a breath of fresh air (pun intended) compared to the usual dark industrial-type studios.

[@imelman2]

Keep up the good work! BTW, @10:26 I realized you could use a tip: I temporarily hold the fans to the case with 2@ short tapping fan screws. That makes lining up those long bolts easy.

[@stonecrestmovies]

It's like Dell actively hates the people who are spending thousands of dollars on these computers

[@richknudsen5781]

No they just don't give a shit about customer satisfaction. They just want your money and "fuck you" if your not happy.

[@TalesOfWar]

The people who make the decisions don't care one way or the other. The actual engineers who are designing these things care greatly and hate being handicapped so much by management. The company is wed to these ancient case chassis and tooling they invested in 3 fucking decades ago and refuse to spend any money on something new that they can get precious about for the next 30 years.

[@KenS1267]

They don't care once they have the money. Even if you have the "extended warranty" as they will do everything they can to avoid actually providing warranty support. I've had people bring Dell's and Alienware boxes to me, I build and repair PC's, that were under warranty because they had given up on the Dell CS system. I almost always have to turn them away, unless it is something trivial like a loose connection, because everything is proprietary and I can't get the parts. I've seen emails where they tell customers to box up a machine in the original packaging and to ship it back to them for repair, 4 years after it was purchased. Even if the person has saved the box for four years the chances it is any sort of shape to survive UPS is pretty low so Dell is charging for the extended warranty while knowing almost no one will ever be able to use it.

[@tyguy3876]

Well tbh if they got deep pockets and empty brains, it's their own fault.

[@nicewhenearnedrudemostlyel489]

@@richknudsen5781 that's something in agreement with the original message. It's basically the same thing.

[@Mave-rick]

Before Dell, Alienware used standard PC parts. Their cases back in the early 2000's were rebranded Antec cases. I ended up getting a few on eBay years later for retro builds, because I liked the color choices. I miss those days.

[@luckyowl10]

Why use standard parts when you can use custom case, PSU, motherboard and CPU cooler? They are worse than standard ones, but they can go directly into the trash bin after a few years. That's the best feature a PC can have.

[@starx2212]

even the older dell alienwares such as the aurora ALX used standard parts

[@KenS1267]

I remember when the Dell purchase of Alienware was announced. I told people Dell was going to ruin the brand. People said the Alienware founder wouldn't let that happen. He stayed on for something like six months before he left to enjoy all that money.

[@wayland7150]

@@KenS1267 Left with his sanity I hope.

[@Redeemed1337]

@@starx2212 Standard-ish. At least the formfactors were standard. lots of proprietary connections. I have one sitting in the corner for a project.

[@zhardy323]

please do some more content like this. how to improve on big company's failures. really enjoying this

[@Jayhawkk]

The more you breakdown the R13 the more pissed I get that your reviews did not show up last year prior to buying the R12 but thankfully I eventually saw your R13 video and built my own rig at a much, much higher spec and saved money in the process. Couldn't thank you guys enough.

[@nuttyjawa]

have you guys considered doing a case study into some of the propietry parts? like calling Dell/Alienware and finding out how much it costs to buy a new PSU instead of getting a industry standard one? and things like that, I bet it would be interesting

[@randybobandy9828]

I very much doubt Dell would want to give that info out to the public.

[@nuttyjawa]

@@randybobandy9828 They just have to phone em and say "uhh my PSU blew up" or something and I need to buy a new one

[@randybobandy9828]

@nuttyjawa I thought you meant how much Dell pays for a psu not how much you can buy it from them. I will assume they won't sell a PSU to a customer and expect them to send their pc in for a very expensive repair if not understand warranty

[@GamersNexus]

It's not really that simple and certainly Dell doesn't openly disclose costs. These PSUs come from their server division, so they probably are cheaper for Dell to use short-term, but the long-term implications are clearly not good.

[@sgas]

Or even detective work for when the base form of this case was first manufactured and why

[@sandmann521]

Just started watching, but want to say right away that I really like this set with the greenspace in the background!

[@GamersNexus]

Thanks for noticing and letting us know! We're working on that yard a lot for future shots!

[@magnanimus9692]

@@GamersNexus I thought you guys were located in some soulless industrial park. It was refreshing to see the yard. Def work it into future shots.

[@HikingFeral]

I love your videos Steve and team, not been watching long. I need a desk mat so hopefully get my hands on a GN one.

[@idrinkbbq5927]

I noticed yall changed the title of this video. Glad to see its now expressing your true feelings towards alienware's wonderful technology!

[@dozerroman4325]

Dell: “Let’s make a PC so proprietary in design that none would think to tamper with it.” Steve: “…challenge accepted.”

[@jonnypena7651]

and yet they have success.

[@wayland7150]

Steve did fail though. Improving the cooling did not make the computer any better. All he did was prove that Dell are stupid.

[@jttech44]

He even pulled his hair back, that's how you know Steve's about to get real serious about tampering.

[@michelvanbriemen3459]

Imagine what a company like Dell would say in response to this. "The 240mm cooler doesn't cool the product because the product is so cool to own and being an Alienware customer makes you cool."

[@coolmemesbudd]

More accurately: Hey we would like you help you! Please sign up for our $100 a month ultra-super-24hour-premium customer support contract so we can help you in the best way possible! (It secretly increases to $1000 a month later and will require 50 phone calls to cancel) Goodbye.

[@aserta]

Frak both of them. Buying either of those brands is an affront to common sense.

[@LiberatedMind1]

@@aserta Both?

[@Sponsi_PL]

Yeah, someone from marketing said to have something cooler but they didn't mean actual cooling but looking cool hehehehe

[@monsterrun]

We did not deseigned it to Cool down your equipment...we just made it look cool...for that 5 years old son of our Ceo... we told him...many times that his son deseign..has multiple flaws. but he doesnt care..

[@TheGabe92]

The AMD mountain bike in the background is a nice touch for the shot explaining the cable manegment of the upgrade modification.

[@mromutt]

Havent watched yet, but I already know this is the content I want to see lol and am very excited to see what you do!

[@mromutt]

I was not disappointed.

[@marcopolo3970]

Dell: this unique system offers unparalleled downclocking and revolutionary software + hardware to internally sabotage itself. Do you hate yourself? We hate you too!

[@darryljack6612]

Steve tying his hair is when you know things are getting serious.

[@jackofsometrades6727]

I didn't see your original review of the R13 until my buddy had purchased one. I was really, *really* hoping this video would have a nice ending. Damn it, DELL, you bastard. As always, thank you for the high quality content.

[@ximmons]

Out of curiosity I looked to see if Dell took your advice. They did and added air holes on the plexiglass window. The icing on the cake was the added 240 rad to the top without changing the 10 year old case.

[@Seandude05]

Alienware Exec: "Airflow? What is that? Can we charge more for it?"

[@zFA113NNINJA]

Dell* Alienware actually used to be good before dell bought them :(

[@First-Name_Last-Name]

Alienware Exec: We are faithful to our brand's name and philosophy Aliens come from outer space. It's vacuum, there is no air. Thus, there is no airflow. Ayy lmao.

[@Seandude05]

@@zFA113NNINJA they still have an executive who is responsible for the Alienware division.

[@James_Bee]

@@zFA113NNINJA Yeah, no. Better, maybe, but never "good".

[@Thermalions]

@@Seandude05 they still have an executive who is responsible for the Alienware division *profit* Fixed it for you. Unlike your Alienware system - "I'm sorry, this is an obsolete model, you'll need to buy a new one."

[@DJdoppIer]

I guarantee there's that one engineer at Dell that tried to explain these issues and got shot down, and now he's just like "I fucking told you guys!!!!"

[@benjaminoechsli1941]

Might even be watching this on his phone with two of his friends, the three of them nodding silently.

[@johng4357]

Nah, now he's been let go as he wasn't a good fit in the company

[@DJdoppIer]

@@johng4357 True.

[@memeindustry672]

Little late to the party here but on the original breakdown vid there was a guy in the comments who claimed to have been a member of the development team on this and went into great detail about that exactly.

[@d00bied00]

Outstanding pun on the pump cap kitty image. Much appreciated!

[@MrMeraby]

There is nothing funnier on the internet than a torqued off sarcastic Steve. Makes my day every time.

[@mikesapp3241]

This table lowers all the way to hell, although it appears we’re there.

[@antisoda]

The '90s Compaq just called, wanting their proprietary motherboard and PSU solutions back. They didn't want the weird case, though. They said they had their own.

[@fensoxx]

I’m fairly new to the channel and haven’t seen the backdrop of the sliding glass doors and the greenery out back. I approve 110%. Adds a relaxing vibe to the whole presentation.

[@jeremybelcher6681]

At first I thought it was at his house, then he went into areas I've seen before. What a bucolic workspace!

[@bullseyesnbrewskis6601]

Awesome content as always would be nice to see some content of things that you “actually” like seems most of what I watch you absolutely despise lol but hey I love it!! Meaning it would be helpful to see what we actually should purchase or build from time to time ya know?

[@cristiat]

Thanks! Just thanks! Steve-O, you guys are amazing!

[@VincentGroenewold]

Man, this just smells so much like engineers trying to make a beautiful thing and management getting in the way literally everywhere. That's what I hate about today a bit, bad management. 5000 Dollars... what a rip off, you'd say you could almost start a case on that alone.

[@arthurmoore9488]

No, this smells like they took there server engineers, and said "Here's the case, cooler, GPU, and Motherboard. Make it work." I say that because Dells servers actually have separate front IO! It's a proprietary connector, but it is separate.

[@zakzwijn8410]

You're spot on, there's a reaction from a Dell engineer who had to work on this in another video, he said management forced them to work with these derelict chassis. So yeah, good engineers, bad management who doesn't understand shit about tech. So sad.

[@o0_ANTI_0o]

There is no fixing a pc that is that expensive and has such "bad" components. The absolute insanity you can build with 5000$ is on a whole other world in terms of specs and looks you can choose to go for

[@Fabian01994]

Agreed, just look at all those 5000$ Intel Tech Upgrades at Linus.

[@ryanhauser3014]

Built my own for almost exactly 5k and it has 3080ti and a 5950x 360 AIO cooler crap ton of fans, a 1 & 2 TB HD, 32g of ram, a b550 mb in a Lian Li Lancool 2 case with a light show to boot. And this was when GPU's were just ridiculous. So 5k for this heap is criminal.

[@DailyCorvid]

You could buy a cheap electric motor and a seat, and convert it into a REALLY CHEAP MOBILITY SCOOTER. Otherwise it's a waste of plastic. Wire up the fans on axles as wheels, then have a bios switch controlled by a SBC attached to your phone as a screen for the speedometer. Mount the little seat on top and sit your cat in the seat. And hey presto you have a mobile catsability scooter for just $5.1k. Then make KZbin videos of your cat driving around and make all the money back :D

[@averagepcenjoyer6373]

@@ryanhauser3014 why a b550 mb with a 5950x? you should be using an x570 for a high end cpu like that

[@SteveL11]

@@averagepcenjoyer6373 Probably he assume that since it's newer it must be better lol.

[@singhman_]

I’m new to this channel. This guy is a legend. And, unfortunately, Alienware isn’t one (anymore).

[@andrewlee9257]

Hey I was unfortunate enough to buy this pc about a year ago. Not doing crazy things with it but this video has been helpful to start getting ideas of what to upgrade

[@jfaristide]

Back in January of '21, the GPU shortage led me to buy an open box R11 (10900KF/32GB/3080) from Micro Center. I spent a couple hundred dollars swapping fans, adding fans and repasting & repadding the 3080 in an attempt to get it performing as it should. I never quite got there. Even with the AIO double-fanned in push/pull, the HDD caddy removed and a second intake fan added, the CPU would thermal throttle about 2 minutes into a 10minute r23 with no oc profile applied. Back in October, I took the CPU, GPU, RAM (now 64GB CL16 T-Force 3200MHz) and drives (I had added a 970EVO NVMe & 2x2TB SanDisk Ultra 3D SATA-III drives to the white label WD Blue SN730 that came with it) out of it and gave the chassis, power supply and motherboard to my brother who put a 10700K, 32GB CL16 3200MHz, an ASUS 2060 and a 512GB Inland SSD into it. He is running at full performance with zero throttling issues on that hardware. As for my system, I transplanted those parts into a Fractal Meshify S2 with an MSI Z590 WiFi Pro motherboard, an EVGA-GA 850W PSU and a Lian Li Galahad 360 AIO (since removed because a fan died less than 6mo in). I kept that setup for 6 months and transplanted everything into a Fractal Torrent (after seeing it top your charts in many reviews) with an NH-D15 Chromax. I can now make it 8 1/2 minutes into a 10 minute r23 with a full-time, all-cores overclock of 5.1GHz before I throttle (for less than a second at a time, every 4 - 5 seconds) back to 5GHz. In real world applications, I never throttle and maintain a full-time, all-cores 5.1GHz overclock with the CPU sitting at around 80C under a full load. While switching from the Meshify S2 to the Torrent didn't do much for my CPU performance, it did drop the thermals on my GPU by about 12%, allowing it to run perpetually unthrottled at 328W pushing 1965MHz core clock speed and 9505 memory speed.

[@krjal3038]

I legitimately like and enjoy the external visuals of the case. It reminds me of Portal's Aperture Science industrial design which I love and in delicious irony many of their devices attempt to set you on fire too! Wish that *look* was available without the Dell/Alienware...

[@scarletspidernz]

Maybe when Valve comes back with a home console within the next 10yrs feat. Steam OS

[@colinparcell7276]

3d printing.

[@BemisShmemis]

The Bitfenix Portal comes to mind. Otherwise, there's almost certainly an Alienware in a trashcan somewhere you could get and hollow out for a custom hackjob.

[@michaelironsights8347]

@@scarletspidernz Valve should just start making PC cases, and if that works out for them maybe more PC stuff

[@otakuon]

Yes, it does stand out. I can remember growing up (back in the 80's and 90's) all we had were giant boring beige boxes. Now, it's almost all giant boring black boxes (with glass on the left side and a bunch of RBG lights to distract you from the giant boring black box). I get that the giant boring black boxes are the most practical design, but when you work in IT and all that you stare at all day are just more boring black boxes of varying sizes (and occasionally boring silver boxes), it's nice to see a case design that breaks up the monotony. In fact, I am looking at all these thumbnails to the right here of related videos, and ALL of them are images of other gaming PCs that are still just giant boring black boxes.

[@jolness1]

Wow that view behind Steve at the start looks so good compared to the snow and 10* we have here lol,

[@nvidiapowah4581]

oooooof feel the burn lol GJ! keep up the good work

[@MrGalax00]

Long story short, don't ever buy an Alienware Desktop. $5,000 dollars for this? Their profit margins are just crazy.

[@kingplunger6033]

And the margins could be even better by using cheaper, less complicated, but still better cases...

[@MrGalax00]

@@kingplunger6033 God yes, and I'm not against them making money. There's also a lot of people that like the Alienware look, but why can't you just make it good.

[@wpelfeta]

Ironically, they'd probably save money by not making proprietary bs and just being normal.

[@wayland7150]

@@wpelfeta They'd probably make more money if they sold it for $2500 after having redesigned it. They'd sell a lot more and it would be better product.

[@johng4357]

Except that they probably aren't. They have to design, test and produce - or at least commission - all their weird proprietary parts, plus all the extra engineering to fit them via obtuse methods. If they were just using off the shelf parts then yes they'd be making huge profits. But also, making a much better product. That's the crazy part!

[@zengrath]

Again, i don't get why Intel isn't getting on Dell's case here, People are buying 12900k but not getting the advertised stock speeds because dell doesn't allow changing bios settings needed to get to stock even with a better cooler and thermals. Surely customers have a right to sue here for paying for a 12900 and 100% not able to run it at stock speeds. Intel shouldn't wait for lawsuits and demand Dell only put their chips in computer builds that allow them to run at stock speeds at minimum, it's not that hard to do, literally anyone building a custom PC would not have an issue running a CPU they buy at stock speeds, and this is an unlocked CPU capable of overlocking, yet Dell can't even manager to get it to run at stock? How the hell does Dell screw this up this badly?

[@turnerg]

You may be able to claim false advertising against Dell... not 100% sure though.

[@luckyowl10]

Intel doesn't care that Dell builds cases so bad that 12900K tranforms into 12700K. Intel gets money, that's the end of the story.

[@carnsoaks1]

Intel LOVE Dell. There's a quote somewhere about colluding to farq consumers.

[@zengrath]

Well just another reason then i'll be happy to go with AMD in my next build if Intel is ok with this.

[@wpelfeta]

@@zengrath Well, Dell also makes a version with a Ryzen cpu, which I can't imagine would be any better considering how incompetent they are. It's probably too much work to police OEMs from the chipmaker's perspective since pretty much all the OEMs are god awful.

[@Wyndorn]

So happy to find these R13 reviews that were posted just a couple weeks after I bought mine :|

[@jacobscharmberg7133]

love the window backdrop

[@Raniko2020]

As soon as Dell got their hands on AlienWare, it became #2 on the 'never buy' list. Right behind Dell.

[@erictyler3259]

Even though the results of this "fix" were less than perfect. I feel like it shows that Dell could turn this into a viable PC with little effort.

[@wayland7150]

Yes Dell could but they've made it so that we can't.

[@kabnoot]

They wont.

[@TheDainerss]

Actually, I do not think they could, not without some serious modifications. First, the overall case design in too air restricting. In order for Dell to turn this into a viable PC, they woiuld need a new Motherboard, a new case, a completely reworked cooling solution and the power supply needs to be changed. When you factor in all these items you would have basically created a whole new PC. So I think the R13 in its current state is UNFIXABLE.

[@Kris-od3sj]

@@TheDainerss We're talking about the designer of these PCs. Not easy to fix an existing unit, easy to fix at the design level.

[@akaraven66]

But that's the point of Dell's proprietary everything, they don't want you to have a viable computer, they want to sell a "Gaming PC" to people who have no idea and ensure it underperforms so they can put less expensive solutions in place (cheaper cooler, cheaper case, cheaper PSU etc.), than because it underperforms when you start pushing the PC and notice it starts lagging you upgrade again sooner than you should be. For $5K it's a fucking scam is all it is. My PC, an actual 12700K and 3060Ti, cost me half as much as this thing and runs half the thermals. At this point we need to start protesting with our wallets and note something about brand names, some brands are good, but some, just because they have been around forever, does not mean they are good, like Dell, and just don't buy from them ever again.

[@bakuretsutenshi3579]

I love the garden background.

[@ZakEmber]

Awesome video! I loved the two before this, too! I'm just getting ready for a new computer, (I put my old one together about 9 years ago), and it's been so hard to even FIND a new GPU that I considered buying a system mainly for the card and the processor. I didn't consider Alienware, and now, NEVER WILL. I was of the opinion that many of these sites that put these together, (which I also feel have been sapping the market dry of GPU's for guys like me), at least would be making them at top shelf quality; seeing this five grand monstrosity from Dell has been a gut punch. I'm certainly reconsidering building my own, it's just so hard to get my hands on the graphics card.

[@JP-nf7ek]

I feel Patrick's pain, Corsair really needs to improve their RGB implementation. Cable managing 9x Corsair fans and 2 hubs was a huge PITA.

[@ryanvandoren1519]

You have 9 fans in your system?

[@scarletspidernz]

Yup i had Corsair LL fans originally sold them ASAP as soon as Lian Li dropped thier AL120's, the amount of space recovered for better airflow and simplicity of it all was a huge bonus for my O11

[@juaquiqui-kun4333]

@@ryanvandoren1519 I have 11 fans in my 7000d airflow case

[@gamingsupernova7723]

@@ryanvandoren1519 I have 12 of those ML RGB elite and had to use the commander core, commander pro. lighting node core, and a lian li controller with a corsair adapter cable on it it was awful but the mag lev fans are quiet and give pretty great airflow and the rgb is perfect.

[@hivehum]

I tried rehabbing an r10 my friend haplessly bought and we ended up giving up and harvesting the gpu and cpu from it lol exciting to see that yall came to the same conclusion

[@liberteus]

Exactly what I did. When I purchased the Alienware though I already had in mind to buy a nr200, but I didn't expect the aw to be as bad as it is.

[@Shadow.w]

That's basically the conclusion because they've hit too many arbitrary dead ends to even make the computer's ASSISTED performance justify the price of the tower without any changes. It's just that far gone.

[@OldManBolt]

Your video's are great, I have this exact PC. Oddly I am not seeing any of the issues, or more likely I am unaware or it could be I am not pushing it hard enough. Now I am going to have to really dig into what is happening and watch your other video.

[@dcoderjr]

Curious if you guys will review the r15 since there seems to have been a lot of effort put into addressing your concerns even down to painting the rear grates black.

[@ElysaraCh]

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse! It's incredible that even with improved cooling there's simply no getting around Dell's ridiculous power limits.

[@Thermalions]

It sounds like the power limits are there for a legitimate reason. The motherboard is unlikely to be able to support the power delivery required for a 12900K at stock - without increasing warranty claims which they'd have to try and deny anyway. It's like they designed a motherboard and system to support a 12600K and a bean counter decided to save costs by re-using them with locked-off limits for the 12900K instead of designing a separate appropriately spec'd SKU.

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

@@Thermalions « bean counter » LMFAO I'm not from an english country, but this expression made me laugh a fucking lot XD 😂

[@priestofsyrinx6681]

It is hilarious that I can open up my office PC, which uses a generic OEM case, and see it was made using pretty much the same tooling xD. Literally a $30 case from 2010, and it does not have all the overengineered BS of the Alienware case xD.

[@pboytrif1]

“The problem with this computer, quick recap… is everything.” 😆

[@Tobez]

I love this series. The first PC I ever took apart was a 2001 Dell that my mom bought as a family PC. I couldn't resist as a kid I had to open it. Immediately I broke a cable because the case was designed so if you open it, you basically ripped a cable. Everytime my mom was gone I would open it up and just look around. Once I got a little older I started collecting old PCs people didn't want and I remember completely tearing down Dell PCs and I had to break just about every bracket to pull the parts out. It was crazy.

[@mikesapp3241]

Bro you’re dead right. They did have a cable and a case intrusion sensor that ran to Foxconn mobo and would flash when entering the bios. The first pc I built was a dell added AGP Radeon 5600 and some ram. Felt like the big cat daddy owing in CS.

[@mbraun777]

I remember way back when buying a Dell PC meant you were purchasing a good quality computer, not necessarily a gaming rig, just a good PC. At the time, their competitors were the likes of Gateway, and of course IBM. For me, it's sad to see what the quality of their products have devolved into, especially since their asking prices suggest top quality gear.

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

My experience with using Dells at work, starting in the late 90s, kept me from ever considering buying one. Of course, I built my own (those cheap cases drew so much blood...), so I didn't have to put up with whatever nonsense prebuilts did. AMD from the beginning!

[@Kamishi845]

When I think of what Dell used to stand for today, I think of HP as the medium to high quality basic desktop solutions.

[@Blue-cq2hl]

I really like the cgi grass background in this video. Makes the room feel more open.

[@nebojsabotic855]

lOVE THE PART where Patrick goes "This just holds the power supply cables"

[@EvocativeKitsune]

Really like the moving camera, nice blend of natural feeling and good production.

[@TheMrZ100]

I really like having the windows in the background thing going on here. Makes for a less stuffy looking atmosphere.

[@sacah2]

Yeah, will also be great to see the garden grow over time.

[@debug_duck]

Also, how sick is that window and view? Its like they built the house in the middle of a forest.

[@shadysdouble5275]

I have one of these. I love it. My friend has the R14. He loves it. I took mine apart today cleaned it put it back together, had a good time. I’m not curtain I understand the hatred of this device.

[@galoki5654]

reminds me of that scene in Armageddon when "Bruce's" team comes in and strips all the crap out of the drilling vehicles and puts in the right stuff. LOL!

[@dnakatomiuk]

And the award for fixing the impossible goes too.... Steve at GN. Probably why he took a break before this video. Having the thermals with your intake rears would be interesting to see what difference it makes I'm really interested to see that

[@aleksazunjic9672]

BS. To improve thermals you could just cut out side panel.

[@TalesOfWar]

I like how he gave up and got Patrick to do it haha.

[@09lifehack]

Here is the total system cooling solutions~~ kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3qlcqWhaLdsiKc kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5KphKd6fbB-ja8

[@TheZoenGaming]

My setup has the system next to me. If air flow was reversed I'd have hot air blowing at me. I would find that unpleasant

[@Augustus_Imperator]

As someone who thought Alienwares were cool until I actually opened one up, I couldn't agree more with the "proprietary junk" choice of words

[@dagrimmreepa]

Alienwares actually were cool about 20 years ago

[@carlospuig15]

That is why I love EK model of how the Pump and the fan conect (with tha basic kit) no A-RGB

[@ikwilgewoonfilmpje]

Patrick 16:28: 'But we need the hub to be there because that's what the pump plugs into and is powered by. Which is very annoying'. Cracked me up :) :) :)

[@Nareimooncatt]

I vote for using that set as the new default. I loved how bright it was and having the window in the background.

[@mariastevens6406]

Dell: *releases hot garbage* Steve: wtf Dell??? Dell: *one-ups themself* Dell: back to you, Steve!

[@kelownatechkid]

"they're all coming together" LOL love it

[@mongoz1993]

I love you Steve man you are amazing even with the slow moment man. Ever used that AIO before?? But yea Alienware was good when they first came out then quality control went to shiiii

[@Hartbreak1]

The whole episode I was like “Please stop kicking it! It’s already dead!”

[@BNEA02]

Yea, and I liked it!😄

[@TechyBen]

"This table lowers all the way into hell, where this PC..." Funny and hilarious that Steve did not even have the energy to finish the joke, the PC had sucked out all his life force already! (And we already knew what was going to be said ;) ).

[@LiberatedMind1]

It lowers into DELL.

[@bryanwashere5010]

(27:37) LOL, I walked into the room at the very moment he says, ".. so you'll need to buy something to shove up there."

[@nipa5961]

Thanks, Steve!

[@darkzak47]

“Dude, you’re getting a Dell” “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱”

[@orangeapples]

“It’s because Corsair. And RGB. And Dell. It’s all coming together.” Absolutely none of it is coming together.

[@Formedras]

Cue Rainier Wolfcastle saying "That's the joke."

[@KyleP133]

It's because of the way that it is.

[@petenielsen6683]

Neither is the country built, back, or better.

[@molivil]

You missed important tests - the software tests. Frame times would have been very interesting to see the practical difference in performace. Thanks for all you do anyway!

[@GeneralBuckles]

Dang... almost bought one of these..... went with building myself. THANK YOU!!

[@mad1316]

Once upon a time, when I still worked retail PC repair (not at a big box store, it was at a small shop), We had a customer come in with a Nehalem-era Alienware desktop. It was having weird random shutdowns and instability. Started digging into the hardware... and noticed the motherboard was a customized version of a motherboard I had. The BIOS had been customized fully and lacked many of the settings we expected to see. Force-flashed the BIOS to the stock BIOS for a non-modified version of the board... it fixed literally every problem. That was less customized than this board, though. Anyway, that's the story of how Alienware has always sucked at basics like this.

[@eye776]

The problem is Dell doing this would turn the 5000$ PC into a 7000$ PC. So the best deal would be to build your own or at least not buy this Dell in the first place.

[@TalesOfWar]

Build your own, buy a 3D printer and print your own tacky Alienware inspired shroud that fits on your superior case. You'll still be saving money I bet.

[@sohamsengupta6470]

@@TalesOfWar Or just buy a broken Dyson wingless fan thing and stick half of it on the front of the case.

[@AthosJosue]

If i can build a better pc for $5000 a multinational with access to better prices and first class R&D departments should be capable to do it for the same or less money.

[@kcgunesq]

I've said it before. If you want a pre-built and live anywhere near a microcenter, pick your parts and have them build it for you. Best of all worlds.

[@James_Bee]

@@kcgunesq I concur.

[@techtrip8942]

the only youtuber that mounts radiators in the correct orientation.

[@darkhunterkiller4602]

You guys are sooo awesome! I couldn't stop laughing! Thank you for this one!

[@crumf81]

Excellent follow up, guys! However, does anyone else find the camera flicker pretty jarring? I'm no expert on recording equipment, but the flicker is similar to dynamic brightness/contrast being enabled on modern TVs.

[@jumpman1213]

Oh I hate Alienware's design scheme with a passion. It's not only just the prebuilt. Even their monitors have unnecessary BS stuffs going on.

[@IForgetYourName]

I'm going to have to disagree there, I have multiple of their ultrawides (3 AW3418DW) and have no complaints about the design. Would you be able to point out a specific design choice concerning their monitors that you think is unnecessary in a bad way? No it doesn't "need" back lighting, but it's not hurting anything. Interface is easy enough to navigate. The monitor stand goes on and off without any issue. Mounting an arm requires spacers but that's it.

[@gaia1757]

@@IForgetYourName Yea I recently got an AW2721D and actually quite like the design. Sure its not needed but it is pretty cool sleek. You can say that about any product with some flair really as it isnt needed but not everything needs to be maximum function over form. Also their monitors are pretty well made and solid products overall on the higher end from what I can tell.

[@paisenpaisen]

nah it's pretty good, dell/alienware should stop making pcs and stick to monitors

[@wayland7150]

Dell monitors are pretty good. I like that they have tilt and swivel bases. I like the built in USB hub and that they connect with Display Port. They are much stronger than Samsung too.

[@JBR7655]

Thank you for helping me to rule out out Alienware for a future pc.. I am done with proprietary hardware like this.

[@frankjackson655]

Building a PC is the way to go! Usually cheaper in the long run if you buy well made parts, great learning experience, and you can choose how much extra plastic you want in your build 😂

[@Xyz-ij6rh]

" Steve Recruits Patrick" -> "Patrick Rants About Things" love the timestamps xD

[@daviddebroux4708]

I'm in bed, Steve.

[@tomunterwegs1206]

9am in the morning here in central europe, ideal breakfast show :-p

[@daviddebroux4708]

@@tomunterwegs1206 Damn you Europeans.

[@bingokemski4473]

I'M IN BED AND I CAN'T SLEEP NOW

[@MafiaboysWorld]

5pm on east coast of Australia, it's almost dinner time. 😛

[@Rance53]

Thanks Steve!

[@Ryan-re1rs]

Ok. I got it! So they make a pc like this in hopes you buy it, then see just how "complicated" a pc is and make you think you could never build one yourself. Then the pc you bought from them melts it's self and seeing how "hard" it is to build a pc you just buy another one from them 2 years later.. right? No other explanation. Lol.

[@richknudsen5781]

Fool me once shame on you, fool my twice shame on me.

[@MALICIOUS407]

I wish i discovered you guys 2 years ago 💀 would’ve saved me a couple of bucks. I got a R12 and it’s about to die in me. After all my research, the only way to salvage this piece of shot is to scrap it for parts and build a new PC. Anyone that thinks they want a Alienware, think again. You’ll have to replace it in 2 years. (This is after having my motherboard replaced after a few months of owning it)

[@GamerGateVeteran]

watching this in the background as I play PC Building Simulator on the PC I built myself is extremely satisfying.