I had a refurb M16 R1 and and went to upgrade the RAM. The battery plug would not come out. I had to force it with a tiny screwdriver and it eventually came free. But I also shorted the plug and caused a spark. It booted to BIOS eventually... I discovered that the previous owner had unplugged the battery per the BIOS logs, and I think that's why the plug was stuck. I will never unplug a battery again to replace RAM. The risk to damaging the plug or shorting the motherboard is just not worth it. I've never damaged a motherboard by putting in RAM with the battery connected.
@daygeckoarthawaii1360 I've had the same experience and I've been using laptops for more than 20 years and upgrading them - including swapping hard drives, installing RAM, WiFi cards etc. I don't bother disconnecting the battery unless I'm going to take it apart for cleaning or dismantling and re-pasting the CPU/CPU - then you don't have a choice usually.
I agree with both of you, I don't pull the battery any more. I have upgraded my steam deck with no battery pull also. I feel like if you are careful it's pointless to pull the battery. But accidents can happen and lithium ion batteries are evil if they short enough to blow up and catch on fire. So my advice is know your skills.
Bro, I've heard people say the Alienware M16 R2 runs hot during gaming. In Part 2, could you test games at playable settings, limit the FPS to 60, and benchmark the thermals? Most users don’t need crazy FPS; a smooth 60 FPS is more than enough for many. Including this alongside the regular benchmarks would make your review super helpful!!!
@jena2379 Alienwares always tend to run hot because they maximize power and thus performance. That's the name of the game for Alienware. I no longer have this laptop for testing but if you limit the games to 60fps, you can have a really good experience. I did a video limiting 60fps in modern games here on the RTX 4070, should give you some idea that generally performance is decent. On a laptop, it'll further reduce the heat and noise. ua-cam.com/video/ZfHIVmmtVOk/v-deo.htmlsi=23Uhpw3CxlRT_KnW
Replace the fans? You'd have to tear the laptop down and replace them. But since they're not standard size as far as I know, it might be very hard to get the parts unless you size them and source exact parts replacement from China. With that said, you'll need a service manual. Dell's website has lots of documentation for the m16 r2 on disassembly. Start there.
Which model are you running? I have 96g dual 48kit crucial ddr5 installed on my m16 r2.. went fine. Initial boot took a long time but came up. Just did it last weekend
Does the middle of your bottom case flex a little? towards the (rear of the laptop)? I noticed after I opened mine up, it now flexes in that area a little & doesn't feel firm, but I can't remember if it did before I opened it up. I connected all the clips as you showed aswell.
@gideao_paganotto Light is on but I guess not strong enough. I did not have time to re-shoot the whole thing again so apologies for the darker than usual shots. I'm trying to adjust my setup for overhead shots to be better, brighter and clearer.
@michelhoogstraate5168 So they can sell you and charge you for cloud storage. But I agree, SD slots should be standard. It's easier to get an adapter and support micro/nano SD - not so the other way around.
I had a refurb M16 R1 and and went to upgrade the RAM. The battery plug would not come out. I had to force it with a tiny screwdriver and it eventually came free. But I also shorted the plug and caused a spark. It booted to BIOS eventually... I discovered that the previous owner had unplugged the battery per the BIOS logs, and I think that's why the plug was stuck. I will never unplug a battery again to replace RAM. The risk to damaging the plug or shorting the motherboard is just not worth it. I've never damaged a motherboard by putting in RAM with the battery connected.
@daygeckoarthawaii1360 I've had the same experience and I've been using laptops for more than 20 years and upgrading them - including swapping hard drives, installing RAM, WiFi cards etc. I don't bother disconnecting the battery unless I'm going to take it apart for cleaning or dismantling and re-pasting the CPU/CPU - then you don't have a choice usually.
I agree with both of you, I don't pull the battery any more. I have upgraded my steam deck with no battery pull also. I feel like if you are careful it's pointless to pull the battery. But accidents can happen and lithium ion batteries are evil if they short enough to blow up and catch on fire. So my advice is know your skills.
Are both ram slots occupied? Or is one ram chip a 16gb?
Bro, I've heard people say the Alienware M16 R2 runs hot during gaming. In Part 2, could you test games at playable settings, limit the FPS to 60, and benchmark the thermals? Most users don’t need crazy FPS; a smooth 60 FPS is more than enough for many. Including this alongside the regular benchmarks would make your review super helpful!!!
@jena2379 Alienwares always tend to run hot because they maximize power and thus performance. That's the name of the game for Alienware. I no longer have this laptop for testing but if you limit the games to 60fps, you can have a really good experience. I did a video limiting 60fps in modern games here on the RTX 4070, should give you some idea that generally performance is decent. On a laptop, it'll further reduce the heat and noise. ua-cam.com/video/ZfHIVmmtVOk/v-deo.htmlsi=23Uhpw3CxlRT_KnW
no need to worry if you have a cooling pad for laptops
thanks a lot , video looks so dark , bright it may be better.
@rinrin-rl8ye Sorry for that.
Hi, do you know how to replace the fans?
Replace the fans? You'd have to tear the laptop down and replace them. But since they're not standard size as far as I know, it might be very hard to get the parts unless you size them and source exact parts replacement from China. With that said, you'll need a service manual. Dell's website has lots of documentation for the m16 r2 on disassembly. Start there.
Did you say soldered RAM?
@SharrodVisuals Probably mis-spoken. This laptop has RAM slots.
I have tried different DDR5 Ram unsuccessfully (64 gb kits). What brand works? Anybody do this successfully yet? Crucial and Ripjaw do not work.
Which model are you running?
I have 96g dual 48kit crucial ddr5 installed on my m16 r2.. went fine. Initial boot took a long time but came up.
Just did it last weekend
@@btownnetadminhi I need some help with upgrading mine can you let me know where you purchased from and how to replace much appreciated
@@btownnetadmin no wonder it took a long time bro, you are killing your laptop, max ram is 64gb for these models, id recommend lowering it
@@jeanfdj Wrong - runs great - normal for the first boot to take a bit
Has been Rock solid - (per the video)
Does the middle of your bottom case flex a little? towards the (rear of the laptop)? I noticed after I opened mine up, it now flexes in that area a little & doesn't feel firm, but I can't remember if it did before I opened it up. I connected all the clips as you showed aswell.
@mixni There is a bit of flex in the center. Yes, nothing to worry too much about though.
I plan to add a second SSD. Should I get one with a heat shield? Will it fit properly with a heat shield?
you can order the same heat shield dell uses which will properly fit
What is the config of this one?
@devanshkukrety2736 Config and lots more coverage. Check out my playlist: ua-cam.com/video/fRgpKEjE0cU/v-deo.html.
why light is off?
@gideao_paganotto Light is on but I guess not strong enough. I did not have time to re-shoot the whole thing again so apologies for the darker than usual shots. I'm trying to adjust my setup for overhead shots to be better, brighter and clearer.
Pretty lame NO (normal) SD SLOT 😞
@michelhoogstraate5168 So they can sell you and charge you for cloud storage. But I agree, SD slots should be standard. It's easier to get an adapter and support micro/nano SD - not so the other way around.
I used a credit card to pry open
Wow what a downgrade from the R1.
@wunlymshim7768 tell me about it man!!!
Whoops wrong thread