#ALIENWARE X51 R2 DISASSEMBLY FULL#

It has two metal retractable hooks on the side that donвЂ™t always unhook in perfect alignment. I found the connector rather challenging to dismount from the port. Disconnecting the AGA requires you shut down the host computer. Solid White lights on both ends mean the AGA is working. Once you plug the cable into the host computer and the AGA, it will flash Red to White as an indication you need to restart the computer to make use of the Graphics Amplifier. The connectors are the same on both ends. Unlike the half-meter long Thunderbolt 3 cables included in all TB3 enclosures, the AGA proprietary cable is almost three times as long at 4.5 ft (1.37m). ItвЂ™s unique but ultimately feels like a cheap toy due to poor material quality.ДЄlienware Graphics Amplifier component view I have mixed feeling about this hinge design. The enclosureвЂ™s hinges and their mounting plates were the only parts that required special attention. I only needed a single Philips P1 screwdriver. At the front of the Graphics Amplifier, thereвЂ™s one cooling fan to direct air front to rear.ДЄfter taking the Razer Core apart in my last review, this Alienware Graphics Amplifier disassembly was a lot easier. The fan inside the PSU is rather loud during operation, even when idle. Using an SFX power supply found in most Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosures would create more space for larger graphics cards or minimize the footprint of the AGA. This PSU takes up more than half the footprint of the enclosureвЂ™s width. You wonвЂ™t find a Power switch anywhere in or outside this enclosure.ДЄlienware used an off-the-shelf Dell ATX 460W power supply in the Graphics Amplifier. Unfortunately they didnвЂ™t work because the Alienware I/O card is responsible for powering this enclosure on when itвЂ™s connected to a matching Alienware laptop. The second one was an Asus Thunderbolt EX3 expansion card. The first one was the Thunderbolt board from the AKiTiO Node. I know what youвЂ™re thinking when seeing the two PCIe slots is it possible to pop a Thunderbolt 3 add-on card in this thing? I tried, two of them, without success. The other one is a x16 PCIe slot for a full-length graphics card. ItвЂ™s a x8 PCIe slot as far as I could tell. This reserved PCIe slot is for the proprietary connector andВ USB expansion board. You may notice one of them is placed in reverse of the other. Once you manage to uncover the Graphics Amplifier, the inside is clearly laid out with the main PCIe board, I/O board, ATX power supply and two PCIe 6+2-pin power cables.В There are two PCIe slots on the main board. Recently, I attempted to build this Area 51 R2 into a Thunderbolt 3 test bench. One of my personal desktop computers is the Alienware Area 51 R2 that I use strictly for gaming. They remain unique and functional rather than following the trend of thin and light. I like the design language of Alienware products.

#ALIENWARE X51 R2 DISASSEMBLY FULL#

We can use these data sets to look at GPU performance in desktop PCIe speed, full four lanes Thunderbolt 3 speed, and eGPU speed with a quad-core CPU.Д¬urrently, the Graphics Amplifier is compatible with these Alienware computers: I chose this GPU because I had run many benchmarks in my review of the Razer CoreВ recently. The reference graphics card for this AGA review is an Nvidia GTX 980 Ti. Put the Alienware Graphics Amplifier in a direct comparison with a Thunderbolt 3 external graphics enclosure, the Razer Core. With the onslaught of Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosures, does this remain true?В ThereвЂ™s only one way to find out. Alienware Graphics Amplifier vs Thunderbolt 3 Enclosures

Alienware x51 r2 disassembly