For those that were not sure about which M16 have the 4 SSD slots, see the following: Two M.2 2230 and two M.2 2280 solid-state drive slots, for computers shipped with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080/4090 graphics card Two M.2 2280 solid-state drive slots, for computers shipped with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050/4060/4070 graphics card
@thombone Just this morning opened up my M16 R1 with a 4070, the 2 2230 slots on the left are not on the board at all. There are only 2 2280 slots available and one is in use by the stock NVME SSD.
So to preform these upgrades in this video, you must order at least a RTX 4080/4090 in either the M16 or M18? Sorry for the ignorance, I’m just getting into laptops.
So glad there's still someone out there covering the laptops types I actually like. Great content. Thanks for all the useful information for us, the users
I'm anticipating an X21 that will have a 21.5" 4k panel option. Can't say for sure, but I think that will be their "replacement" area 51m , may even see them badge it as Area 51x
Awesome upgrades. I have always tried to do "MAX" upgrades for all of the computers in our house. After I did a max upgrade on my moms laptop a couple years ago ; it was like a brand new machine.
Hi Dave, thanks for going to all the trouble you have to make a tuition video and posting, it's very much appreciated. One thing I've recently seen is someone saying is instead of having 2*2230 drives, you can remove the fan and install 2*2280 drives.
Wuuuuut. You think it will work in the m18 r2? I was thinking abou5 it when i was shopping around for ram, but didnt see anyone saying theu did it. Landed on the gskill 5600. Didnt install yet.
Great review of last couple videos of m18 and this one. Thanks to you, I too ordered the 16gb ram and 512ssd for my m18 as it is completely upgradable and much more cheaper. Thanks and would love more videos on m18.
I got my M16 on sale 2199.00, I have bought already a Fury RAM 32 GB 5600 mhz after watching your video, omg improving 25 fps is so a good upgrade. thanks for your nice work !!!
All I can say is,, Thank You, Thank You... Just received my M18, and like yourself, I ordered it with the minimum configuration. I have upgraded to 64GB of Fury RAM and have it configured at 5200. Took some work however it's working just fine. Differences here is I did install 2 WD 2230 2 TB drives, and they work just fine as well I can confirm that either Raid 0 or Raid 1 will work. as well I installed 2 Corsair MP600 Core XT Gen 4x4 4 TB all of a gross total of 12 TB in the laptop. All drives work fantastically as well. Again, thank you for the pointers in your video... Cheers
@@MashITTech Not that I understand just what CrystalDiskMark is actually reporting, all I can do is report the numbers Raid 0 as a test setup "SEQ1M" Q8T1 "Read (MB/s)" 10,045.85 and the "Write (MB/S)" 9,263.85. Cheers... That is with the Western Digital WD SN740 2TB M.2 SSD 2230 NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 drives.
I didn`t knew I had all those slots available on my M16 For now I'm ok with the performance of my laptop, but I might fill all those slots with memory and swap the RAM too later. awesome video BTW!
I have to absorb the cost of the device before I upgrade, but I absolutely plan on using this video as a guideline for upgrading. Awesome video. Your other review of the base model m16 lead me to buy an m16 of my own
This is still relevant to me. I just purchased a Dell Alienware M18 R1 laptop and needed a tutorial on how to install upgrades from the stock option on Dell's website. Thank you!
Just got mine this morning. 32gb ram 4090 with the cherry keyboard. Utterly impressed. Ran doom eternal maxed at stupid fps and cyberpunk with full raytrace and that path tracing at over 64fps average....on a laptop. Insane However, I cannot get my vive xr elite either wireless or tethered to connect to it at all, I think that is a vive issue though.
Hey I got my first ever Alienware today. The M18. Wanted to let you know how helpful your videos have been. I am going to customize it myself using this video. Can you recommend if i go with crucial p3 ssd, what heat sink to buy? Theres a lot of types and i am very confused.
Hey mate, hope you are enjoying it! I love the m18 :) I will get you some links to heatsinks but first just check what you have been provided? Some laptops I received from Dellalready came with two, they are very random
Thanks a lot sir. I don't know how to describe you excellent work. Great content as always but this time you really nailed it. This laptop got huge gains just by installing new faster ram. Great upgrade in multicore performance and great upgrade in gaming. 25 fps boost in SOTR is like you have installed a new upcoming CPU.🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 Thanks again. Keep it up🥳🥳
Great video. I am looking to buy an m16 with the 4090 and was wondering what heatsinks you would recommend for the smaller 1tb drives but also for the other drives that don't already have heatsinks.
I was doubting between X16 and M18 to upgrade my alienware 15 r4 and went for the big boy thanks to your reviews. The cooling is always better on a bigger chassis, X16 speakers apparantly suck and X16 has soldered ram. Went for the 2K screen with the 4080, did not feel the 4k would run smooth on max settings even on 4090. 2K is the sweet spot. This thing is huge but don't regret it at all, who cares about portability once it is on your desk. Had to get a new backpack though (Everki EKP120).
Great review. I've been looking for a review on how to upgrade the ssd myself. What's the the clearance to add a heat sink for nvme? Any recommended heat sink?
This was super helpful! Did you ever find heat sinks compatible with the additional SSDs you installed. I'd like to purchase with your affiliate link if possible. Thanks!
Hi, thanks for the video. Is it possible to have the boot drive with OS / programs on a single 2230, then have the two 2280's as independent storage drives? Are there specific types of heatsinks what would be needed for each of these? Totally new to component swapping myself - have previously just gone with what I've ordered from Dell
I plan on buying the M16 soon. I plan on getting the Crucial P3 Plus 2TB SSD. Do I need to get a heat sink for it? I plan on leaving the original 512GB SSD in to keep the OS etc on. Should I just take the heat sink off of it and put it on the Crucial?
Great instructions. Thank you. OK, so have an M16 R2 with a 4070 coming. Have purchased the same drives (not the 30mm's) and RAM as you have used. So far, so good. Now, a newbie question if I may: Dell lists a bazillion drivers for the M16 R2. Which do I need from their list?
Things have changed a little. For teh 80mm m.2 there is now the Samsung 990 4tb as well as the SN850x depending on pricing in your region. The 30mm ssd now has a lot of options and goes up to 2tb now. There is WD sn770m, crucial P310 and corsair mp600. Ram wise you can now get 96gb kits if yo need the capacity but it is not as fast as the Fury I recommended
Awesome video. Does your machine have a vapor chamber or is that only available on the R2 with the Nvidia 4080/4090? I’m worried about thermals with conventional cooling. I have the WD Black SN850 in my current Alienware m15 from 2021 and that thing goes supernova, along with the overheating in my i9 chipset despite new paste and careful undervolting, my rig is still cooking at around 130°C. What are you temps looking like under load? Thanks for your content.
R1 and R2 are essentially the same except for the CPU (which is almost the same anyway) 4080 and 4090 will have element 31 and vapour on both. M18 temps are pretty good but wil still hit 100c as that is how dell designs them but you can change that behaviour in BIOS (TCC). 130c is insane! is that a typo?
@@MashITTech no absolutely NOT a typo, wish it was. In F I’ve seen her get as high as 266 before crashing. I just bought a fire extinguisher for my desk just in case.
For the ram upgrade should i go for 2x16 gb for 5600mhz . Or does 64gb lower speed out performs 32 gb higher clocked ram ?? What would u suggest ? 64@5200 or 32@5600 not only that . should i opt for intel xmp ram ?
Nice upgrade video, but the lack of an antistatic mat, or antistatic wrist strap while handling the internal components is concerning. It only takes the smallest bit of static to burn chips.
I found there was little to no bloat at all on the installation. Just the basic Alienware Command Centre. Indeed there was no Graphics driver until i went to the Dell site and updated/installed all drivers.
Having trouble changing ram speeds for my m18r1 laptop. I purchased 5600mhz but im unaware how to change it to that, because the XMP option is missing from my bios. How to enable the XMP option?
I recently scored a new M16 R1 (AMD) 4080 GPU for $1899. I have a few questions. 1. Were you ever able to test 2 TB SSD drives for the 2230 slots? 2. If I get the Crucial/Lexar 4 TB SSD drives, I plan to use them just for storage (and not my main drives with the OS). Should I get the dell thermal pad (OEM)?
Hello, is it really safe to not use a heat sink? 😢 I'm going to follow these steps when my m18 arrives. Also, how come you added thermal tape on the first ssd and not the second one?
it depends on the SSD and what you plan to use it for. if it is light use like a games drive you can get away without a heatsink. If it is your OS drive and you are hitting it like crazy then make sure that has a heat sink. Also some drives run hotter than others, the WD blacks for instance do run hot so need the sink. With regards to the rear pads, I have to use it on the WD black as it is a double sided SSD, if it is a single sided SSD you don't need it (My second drive was a P3Plus single sided cooler running drive)
@@MashITTech Hello again. I recently started peaking at around 40-45gb RAM usage due to my various work apps and a ton of essential chrome tabs.. I read somewhere that a 96gb ram kit is able to run on the M18 despite being 64GB max. Is this true?? If so, would it pose a risk on my machine? =o
does the m16r2 with the ultra 9 have 2 or 4 SSD slots? I ordered a 2tb crucial 705 and a p3 plus, I didn't know if it had the 30mm slots like the m18r2. I also ordered 64gb of Kingston fury impact RAM. My card is the 4070. they didn't offer a 4080 or 4090. I'm waiting for it to get here, the parts will be here tomorrow. If the m16r2 has 30mm slots, ill order them too. I'll probably throw my word docs on the 30mms if they are there.
Thank you so much for this video! I just got a Addlink 2tb SLC 2230 drive for $160 on amazon and installed it with your video alongside me, and it seems to work great! I wonder if I need a heat sink for it. I bought thermal pads, but read that it isn't good to use them unless you have a heatsink?
How do you disconnect the battery so easily? I have an m16 and the tape handle does not seem to be well attached. How gentle do you have to be with the wires/battery connector? I'm afraid of breaking the cable.
Hi Mash IT, do I need to put in a heatsink if I replace the stock TB drive that came from Dell? I'll be placing a Sabrent 4 TB M2 drive 4 Plus in my M18 and moving the TB over as a backup........Thank you sir
My 2015 Alienware 18. 2x 2.5 inch slot 1x mSata Slot 1x mPCIe 2x MXM 1x DVD (Can convert to another 2.5 inch) 4x RAM slot Since Nvidia discontinued SLI. One of the MXM slot can be converted to NVME. So, at the end it is capable with at least one maxed out 1x NVME SSD, 3x 2.5 inch SSD, 1x mSata SSD. As for the GPU, I'm experiencing MXM to PCIE eGPU. Alienware used to be good on upgrading, exchange parts, etc. I'm sad to see Alienware failed at the area51m series and sad to see what Alienware can offer now. 😢
I am totally with you in the industries race to make the slimmest laptops at the cost of ports, upgradability and storage slots! The area 51m r2 was one of my favourite laptops so I was really disappointed with Dells lack of support and upgrades for it. They essentially sold a lie. I am not one to defend Dell and often call them out for their shady business practices but at least the m18 is a step in the right direction against a lot of the other brands which seem to think 2 m.2 slots is more than enough and solder everything in to make it as thin as possible. I want a bigger fatter laptop with more cooling and expansion slots!
The m16 AMD 7845 version has two 2280 and one 2230 m.2 slots. I've tried cloning the preinstalled 1tb m.2 onto other m.2 drives, but the bios will not boot. Am guessing the preinstalled OS is locked to the m.2 drive it is installed on. Yet to try a fresh install of the OS. Am wondering if I'll be able to install win10 instead of win 11 without issues?
Have you guys had any issue with the Crucial SSD at all in the M18? if your still using it. Mine is throwing BSOD errors on the Crucial P3. BSOD goes away when I stop using the drive, so I am pretty sure it's the drive itself.
Thanks for the informative video. I purchased the M18 R2 i9/4070/16gb/1tb two days ago. I want to start with upgrading RAM and then maybe just add a second SSD later. You gave me high confidence to do the mods on this laptop. Can you explain how to create the W11 boot flash drive? I've done this before but it was not so recent. - Thanks
Great tutorial! I recently bought a M18 R2 laptop and was looking forward to upgrading my ssd. Though I'm having an issue when i swap out my main ssd with the SN850x i bought i can't get the laptop to turn on, am i doing something wrong? (Its like its bricked) Works fine in the 2nd ssd slot, I have 2 of these SN850x ssds but can't get the main one to work for a fresh install. I will admit im not a pro with this sort of stuff.
silly question but have you tried installing an os on the SN850x in slot 2 then adding the otehr sn850x to slot 1? there is no performance difference between the slots
I haven't but i think i will give that a go. I read somewhere that reinstalling windows with 2 ssd's installed could mean the windows throw files on both ssd's, so i was worried about taking one out after that. Should i change the ssd start up config to ACHI now or after I reinstall windows onto the 2nd drive and then haved added my other ssd?
@@Joshua-e7r1w having both installed used to cause problems but I think that’s fixed now. Change it to ahci before you install windows on the drive as it will cause issues in raid without the raid driver
Unsure if you found the covers for the m.2 drives. But it might be worth it to get your single copy scanned to get the CAD file and sell them yourself.
One question, I'm looking to get the M18 R2 with i9 and 4090, do you know if it's possible to RAID 0 the two 2230 and use the array as OS drive? Since the max capacity of 2230 SSDs is 2TB so I think it's better to use them for OS and save the two 2280s for my 8TB drives as storage😊
Hello, I am about to receive my M18 and I was wondering if it's a good idea to do a clean install of windows and get rid of all of Dell softwares. Is the AWCC necesary to run this laptop? May I lose some functionality if I erase all Dell Softwares? Actually, i own a 51mR2 and I know for example that the sound is not as good when I disable the AWCC. Any opinion about that?
Can you give me a couple of days to answer this properly? I am currently still working on this exact thing. I always do a clean install to get rid of bloat but currently I still install awcc. I am currently looking at an alternative but need to test further
@@MashITTech Yes I do the same too, I only kept AWCC on my 51m. I keep drivers updated by other means like "GeForce experience" for GPU drivers for example. Dell is always late on delivering GPU driver update. I wonder if AWCC is really necesary🤔
Great video, I have alienware x17 R1. Is it possible to install two 4TB SDD. From previous videos they indicate that the max is two 2TB SDD = 4TB storage .
It should be possible to install 2x 4tb of the crucial p3 plus as they are single sided. When I created the x17 r1 they weren't around to test. They would only run at gen 3 speed though so 3000/3000
Thanks for the informative video. The biggest question I have for you which others here I see are asking is about heat sinks. How can we determine the size/type of heart sink that we need if we want to add some that are missing? Is there some guessing involved with choosing what fits or is there some official way going about it? Thanks in advance.
You can contact Dell and they will often sell you the part. For the 80mm you can also just buy a standard copper plate heatsink off amazon. I am still struggling to find a good source of 30mm heatsinks :(
@mashit I just installed G.Skill RipJaws ultra low latency 5600 ram 64gb kit. Upon install I was able to go into Alienware command center and do a custom profile and set the ram advanced setting to Ram1. Upon restart my 64gb kit is now running at 5600!!!!
No not at all unless you cause physical damage to the laptop. If you carefully follow the guide that certainly won’t happen and if you have questions just fire me a comment or start a chat on insta
I haven't tried the sorbent but I suspect it won't fit. In order to fit 8tb on that drive I am sure the back of the SSD is fully populated with chips meaning it won't fit on the m.2 slot. The sn850x only had a couple of small chips on the back and it JUST managed to fit
Update - So I had dell tech support call me back about this issue. I was told that in order for the ram to use the XMP profile the ram must be bought through dell. I looked up the ram price from dell and it is about 3 times as much. I told them this must be disclosed to the customers before they purchase.
I bought an M16 with a RTX 4070, 16 gb of RAM, andan SSD 1 TB. I’m planning on upgrading the RAM to 32 GB and the SSD to 2 TB. I was told in the IT help department that it’s not possible to upgrade the RAM though
You need a new IT help department 🤣 Get some decent ram like the fury kit I linked, also get 5600mhz as even if it runs at 5200 rather than 5600mhz the timings are much better. Lastly are you just putting the SSD into slot two or changing out your 1tb?
Got it to work but computer gave me a lot of issues had to reset the laptop multiple times because of 4 bsod's in a row So I re-installed the original one's. Could you make another suggestion on ram cards or maybe ordering the 64 gig set of ram from dell? Thx in adv.
Do they still have dual rank for 64gb kit only? and 32gb(16x2) is single rank but at 5600 as you mentioned? If that is the case I believe dual rank will outperform regardless of 400mhz difference.
I'm about to buy the same Crucial 4tb SSD for my m18. After testing for some time do you think it needs some heatsink or is fine without? Thanks for your work.
Because I am just using it as a game drive the temps have been absolutely fine. If you plan on using the drive more heavily then you can just pick up the cheap m.2 slim copper plates on amazon, they drop the load temps by about 10c
Just one silly question: if i simply add a second SSD do i have to go into bios and change from RAID to AHCI/NVME? I have noticed that in my desktop Aurora r13 i have added a second SSD and didn't change anything, but in bios i have default RAID on enabled, even if i see the 2 disks as separate unit, not on raid configuration. Also: changing from RAID to AHCI/NVME will i lost data on my primary ssd?
Thank you very much fro your great review. I have two questions: do the Crucial P3 Plus 4tb gets hot or it can be leaved as it is? Not really needing at the moment 64gb, do you suggest to go with 32gb and higher speed or the 64gb is still the best option for general performance improvment?
Glad you found it helpful. The p3 plus didn't run hot (unlike the sn850x) and therefore doesn't need a heatsink. You can pick up cheap heatsinks on amazon if you did want to add one, I will link some in the description just in case. And yes, if you want 5600mhz then get the 32gb kit :)
I have M18 and want to upgrade 2230 slots, so I bought VisionTek 2230 M2 SSD, it has both the side chips...so thinking to use the thermal pad so that it doesn't short the board or any other components, what thermal pad is better ? I do not see any type, I have no info on what tape to buy and use, please suggest on it.
Ok man. Got a challenge for you. Hope you're doing well! So you approach these machines by doing a fresh install of Windows but what about those of us that want to 'prune' the Alienware stuff more selectively and just keep the general SSD factory image intact? So here's my question. The m18 I just picked up has Raid Mode enabled in the Bios. I want to clone the factory SSD to a new one, flip AHCI off ( to get it out of Raid Mode... ) and then boot off the new drive. What's the work around? Uninstall the Intel Optane s/w first before cloning? Seems rather odd to me that my single SSD system came from the factory with raid enabled in the Bios... But I've seen this before - a few years back - on a ROG Zephyrus and it drove me nuts!
I like to do a fresh install as it is actually quicker for me to clean install and install what I want rather than clone then uninstall loads of Dell bloat! But if you go the clone route personally I would just keep command centre and remove most of the rest. Also you can try and switch from RAID to AHCI, it may work just fine these days but used to blue screen, when I get a chance I will test it.
Thank you for your video, very informative! Just a few questions 1.) Is it also possible to upgrade the GPU for both M18 & M16? 2.) In the video you've shown upgrades made to M18, is it also possible to upgrade components for the M16? (because M16 is less spacious)
Unfortunately it is not possible to upgrade GPU as they solder them on to the motherboard :( All the upgrades on the m18 are the same as the corresponding m16 even though its a smaller laptop they use a similar motherboard. Please remember the 4060 and 4070 get less m.2 slots on m16 and m18
How much less m.2 slots will there be for 4060 and 4070 options? How many in total will I be able to upgrade if I get: i9processor, 4070 gpu? @@MashITTech
How much have you been using the laptop? Have you had any heat issues? If so, how have you managed them? Can you easily recommend purchasing this laptop now, or would you say to wait until the next generation?
I have been using it a fair amount. I have some gripes with it such as AWCC and the lack of decent undervolting but otherwise its a solid laptop and probably my favourite AW this year. If you can get it for a good price (either discounted or coupon) then its certainly worth it
For those that were not sure about which M16 have the 4 SSD slots, see the following:
Two M.2 2230 and two M.2 2280 solid-state drive slots, for computers shipped with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080/4090 graphics card
Two M.2 2280 solid-state drive slots, for computers shipped with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050/4060/4070 graphics card
@thombone Just this morning opened up my M16 R1 with a 4070, the 2 2230 slots on the left are not on the board at all. There are only 2 2280 slots available and one is in use by the stock NVME SSD.
Lovely video helped me a lot to upgrade my internal memory 1 tb just is not enough anymore
So to preform these upgrades in this video, you must order at least a RTX 4080/4090 in either the M16 or M18? Sorry for the ignorance, I’m just getting into laptops.
@@BigSniper9703 yes
So glad there's still someone out there covering the laptops types I actually like. Great content. Thanks for all the useful information for us, the users
What gaming laptop do you own?
it is a monster, Alienware is a real monster and it's value is coming back this year, I wish they will have a better x18
Yes I was also disappointed there was no x18 too 😢
I'm anticipating an X21 that will have a 21.5" 4k panel option. Can't say for sure, but I think that will be their "replacement" area 51m , may even see them badge it as Area 51x
I would buy that in a heart beat 😃
@@freemaysin5088 How can you say that?
They need better customer and technical service
Awesome upgrades. I have always tried to do "MAX" upgrades for all of the computers in our house. After I did a max upgrade on my moms laptop a couple years ago ; it was like a brand new machine.
Hi Dave, thanks for going to all the trouble you have to make a tuition video and posting, it's very much appreciated. One thing I've recently seen is someone saying is instead of having 2*2230 drives, you can remove the fan and install 2*2280 drives.
I can certainly imagine that is possible but I do not know how that will affect cooling. I will take a look though and let you know 😃
m16 r2 96 gb RAM - Initial boot a bit scary but took the crucial 96gb without issue..
thanks for the video!
Wuuuuut. You think it will work in the m18 r2? I was thinking abou5 it when i was shopping around for ram, but didnt see anyone saying theu did it. Landed on the gskill 5600. Didnt install yet.
Yeah I'm in the initial boot stage rn, it's taking it's sweet time lol
Great review of last couple videos of m18 and this one. Thanks to you, I too ordered the 16gb ram and 512ssd for my m18 as it is completely upgradable and much more cheaper. Thanks and would love more videos on m18.
Thank you, glad they are useful :) I have another x16 video coming out next, then the m16 review but after that I have more m18 videos planned :)
I got my M16 on sale 2199.00, I have bought already a Fury RAM 32 GB 5600 mhz after watching your video, omg improving 25 fps is so a good upgrade. thanks for your nice work !!!
I got the 64 kit but my bottom cover refuses to snap off.
Can you share the link where to purchasethe ram?@bensaylor125
@@Rppiano amazon my friend :)
Thanks!
Thanks so much
It is great to have this upgrade options in a laptop.
yeah it really is, I was becoming used to only getting 1 or 2 m.2 slots in a laptop which is a struggle for me
Great video, plenty of useful information and advice! Brilliant tip using some thermal tape on the back of the SSD to prevent short!
What's your opinion on ROG?
All I can say is,, Thank You, Thank You... Just received my M18, and like yourself, I ordered it with the minimum configuration. I have upgraded to 64GB of Fury RAM and have it configured at 5200. Took some work however it's working just fine. Differences here is I did install 2 WD 2230 2 TB drives, and they work just fine as well I can confirm that either Raid 0 or Raid 1 will work. as well I installed 2 Corsair MP600 Core XT Gen 4x4 4 TB all of a gross total of 12 TB in the laptop. All drives work fantastically as well. Again, thank you for the pointers in your video... Cheers
That is great to hear about the Raid David, I haven't had a chance to set up an array yet, did you get some impressive scores?
@@MashITTech Not that I understand just what CrystalDiskMark is actually reporting, all I can do is report the numbers Raid 0 as a test setup "SEQ1M" Q8T1 "Read (MB/s)" 10,045.85 and the "Write (MB/S)" 9,263.85. Cheers... That is with the Western Digital WD SN740 2TB M.2 SSD 2230 NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 drives.
@@DrPacman1 Those are about double 1 drive - very good!
I have the M17 so thanks for this video!
Thanks for this. I just did something similar with my own M18 following this guide.
I didn`t knew I had all those slots available on my M16 For now I'm ok with the performance of my laptop, but I might fill all those slots with memory and swap the RAM too later. awesome video BTW!
Thanks so much about to invest in these machines and was wondering how to upgrade myself. Sensational.
Glad to be able to help. If you get any questions when upgrading it just give me a shout :)
Thank you for this video! Now I know my upgrade options with the M16
I hope this channel grows.
haha me too 😂
Share it then
I have to absorb the cost of the device before I upgrade, but I absolutely plan on using this video as a guideline for upgrading. Awesome video. Your other review of the base model m16 lead me to buy an m16 of my own
Glad to be able to help. Just remember if you have the base model you don’t get the extra 2x30mm m.2 but you can still do the 2x 80mm and ram 👍
Your content and quality of the video is very good . Bring in some more videos of alienware m18 r1 love to watch that
I have an x16 video coming soon then the m16 review, after that there will be more m18 videos :)
This is still relevant to me. I just purchased a Dell Alienware M18 R1 laptop and needed a tutorial on how to install upgrades from the stock option on Dell's website. Thank you!
Glad I could help!
NICE!! You finally got the 4TB! And thanks again for showcasing it :). Im Ganna buy it (crucial 4TB) once it's on sale or when I buy my new laptop 😊
Yeah, I was so pleased when I found it was definitely single
Sided! Tempted to get one for my blade 14 which only has 1 m.2
Just got mine this morning. 32gb ram 4090 with the cherry keyboard. Utterly impressed. Ran doom eternal maxed at stupid fps and cyberpunk with full raytrace and that path tracing at over 64fps average....on a laptop. Insane
However, I cannot get my vive xr elite either wireless or tethered to connect to it at all, I think that is a vive issue though.
Oh sorry to hear that! I don't have a vive to be able to test either :(
Sorry to hear that. Are you looking to upgrade your memory to 64gb?
Hey
I got my first ever Alienware today. The M18. Wanted to let you know how helpful your videos have been. I am going to customize it myself using this video. Can you recommend if i go with crucial p3 ssd, what heat sink to buy? Theres a lot of types and i am very confused.
Hey mate, hope you are enjoying it! I love the m18 :) I will get you some links to heatsinks but first just check what you have been provided? Some laptops I received from Dellalready came with two, they are very random
Thanks a lot sir. I don't know how to describe you excellent work. Great content as always but this time you really nailed it.
This laptop got huge gains just by installing new faster ram.
Great upgrade in multicore performance and great upgrade in gaming. 25 fps boost in SOTR is like you have installed a new upcoming CPU.🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
Thanks again. Keep it up🥳🥳
Glad you enjoyed it, I also loved it was a fraction of the price Dell charge for the upgraded components 🤣
After 3 videos, i subscribed. High quality content, satisfying information for especially Alienware users.
Thank you mate, glad to see another alienware fan onboard :)
@@MashITTech i’m that fan who picks alienware even when other brands have better components with cheaper prices. Admirer of brand and logo.🐺
Great video. I am looking to buy an m16 with the 4090 and was wondering what heatsinks you would recommend for the smaller 1tb drives but also for the other drives that don't already have heatsinks.
I was doubting between X16 and M18 to upgrade my alienware 15 r4 and went for the big boy thanks to your reviews. The cooling is always better on a bigger chassis, X16 speakers apparantly suck and X16 has soldered ram. Went for the 2K screen with the 4080, did not feel the 4k would run smooth on max settings even on 4090. 2K is the sweet spot. This thing is huge but don't regret it at all, who cares about portability once it is on your desk. Had to get a new backpack though (Everki EKP120).
Thanks!
Thank you very much 😀
Great review. I've been looking for a review on how to upgrade the ssd myself. What's the the clearance to add a heat sink for nvme? Any recommended heat sink?
This was super helpful! Did you ever find heat sinks compatible with the additional SSDs you installed. I'd like to purchase with your affiliate link if possible. Thanks!
Great video! Is there a M16 review on the way? I’m wanting to buy one, but there aren’t many reviews yet. Trying to decide between the M and X series.
I am currently working on the m16 review and hope to have it out late next week. I will also compare to the x16 too 👍
@@MashITTech That’s exactly what I was hoping for! I’ll wait for your video to make my purchase. Thanks!
Hi, thanks for the video. Is it possible to have the boot drive with OS / programs on a single 2230, then have the two 2280's as independent storage drives? Are there specific types of heatsinks what would be needed for each of these? Totally new to component swapping myself - have previously just gone with what I've ordered from Dell
I plan on buying the M16 soon. I plan on getting the Crucial P3 Plus 2TB SSD. Do I need to get a heat sink for it? I plan on leaving the original 512GB SSD in to keep the OS etc on. Should I just take the heat sink off of it and put it on the Crucial?
This was really good coverage man!! 🎉
Great instructions. Thank you. OK, so have an M16 R2 with a 4070 coming. Have purchased the same drives (not the 30mm's) and RAM as you have used. So far, so good. Now, a newbie question if I may: Dell lists a bazillion drivers for the M16 R2. Which do I need from their list?
You should have the option to enter your serial and it will give you the necessary drivers. I will take a look when I am inn the office to confirm
Thanks
Thank you very much, that’s most kind 🙏
Would the options in the video still be the best components to go for with the M18 R2 in 2024, or have any better alternatives emerged since then?
Things have changed a little. For teh 80mm m.2 there is now the Samsung 990 4tb as well as the SN850x depending on pricing in your region. The 30mm ssd now has a lot of options and goes up to 2tb now. There is WD sn770m, crucial P310 and corsair mp600. Ram wise you can now get 96gb kits if yo need the capacity but it is not as fast as the Fury I recommended
Welp, k know how to do it now, all I need is everything else 😭😭😭 beautiful, beautiful work, truly awesome
just a quick note, the 4060 and 4070 only have 2 drive slots, the part of the board where you put the 30mils is bare.
Yes, that is what I also said. Except the traces are on the board, Dell just decided not to solder on the m.2 connectors :(
@@MashITTech Does that mean that I can solder my own m.2 connectors and have more functional m.2 NVMe slots that I can use?
How do we access the menu shown at 8:15? I haven’t figured out how to get back here to tweak these options.
Awesome video. Does your machine have a vapor chamber or is that only available on the R2 with the Nvidia 4080/4090? I’m worried about thermals with conventional cooling. I have the WD Black SN850 in my current Alienware m15 from 2021 and that thing goes supernova, along with the overheating in my i9 chipset despite new paste and careful undervolting, my rig is still cooking at around 130°C. What are you temps looking like under load? Thanks for your content.
R1 and R2 are essentially the same except for the CPU (which is almost the same anyway) 4080 and 4090 will have element 31 and vapour on both. M18 temps are pretty good but wil still hit 100c as that is how dell designs them but you can change that behaviour in BIOS (TCC). 130c is insane! is that a typo?
@@MashITTech no absolutely NOT a typo, wish it was. In F I’ve seen her get as high as 266 before crashing. I just bought a fire extinguisher for my desk just in case.
For the ram upgrade should i go for 2x16 gb for 5600mhz . Or does 64gb lower speed out performs 32 gb higher clocked ram ?? What would u suggest ? 64@5200 or 32@5600
not only that . should i opt for intel xmp ram ?
Nice upgrade video, but the lack of an antistatic mat, or antistatic wrist strap while handling the internal components is concerning. It only takes the smallest bit of static to burn chips.
Really useful content! Thank you for the inside !
I found there was little to no bloat at all on the installation.
Just the basic Alienware Command Centre.
Indeed there was no Graphics driver until i went to the Dell site and updated/installed all drivers.
Informative! I was wandering is the 1Tb the maxism capacity for the 2230 ssd slots? Or it can go even further to 2Tb per slot.
2tb drives should be fine, I just couldn’t get hold of any when I ordered
@@MashITTech Ok, massive thanks.
Having trouble changing ram speeds for my m18r1 laptop. I purchased 5600mhz but im unaware how to change it to that, because the XMP option is missing from my bios. How to enable the XMP option?
Great video as always. Glad this laptop has more slots!
yes its so nice to see a laptop with more than 2x m.2 slots in 2023 😃
@@MashITTech what thermal tape did you use when putting in the ssd?
I recently scored a new M16 R1 (AMD) 4080 GPU for $1899.
I have a few questions.
1. Were you ever able to test 2 TB SSD drives for the 2230 slots?
2. If I get the Crucial/Lexar 4 TB SSD drives, I plan to use them just for storage (and not my main drives with the OS). Should I get the dell thermal pad (OEM)?
So is it correct to assume that you can save almost 1000 usd by upgrading the RAM & ssds ourselves ? Thank you Dave for this btw really insightful
That is correct and you get faster components too 😀👍
I was glad their ordering system defaulted to the 1TB SSD after realizing it was $500 for an additional 1TB!
Hello, is it really safe to not use a heat sink? 😢 I'm going to follow these steps when my m18 arrives. Also, how come you added thermal tape on the first ssd and not the second one?
it depends on the SSD and what you plan to use it for. if it is light use like a games drive you can get away without a heatsink. If it is your OS drive and you are hitting it like crazy then make sure that has a heat sink. Also some drives run hotter than others, the WD blacks for instance do run hot so need the sink. With regards to the rear pads, I have to use it on the WD black as it is a double sided SSD, if it is a single sided SSD you don't need it (My second drive was a P3Plus single sided cooler running drive)
@@MashITTech Sounds great! im going to buy the exact same link and opt out of the heat sink for my games drive. Thanks! :]
@@MashITTech Hello again. I recently started peaking at around 40-45gb RAM usage due to my various work apps and a ton of essential chrome tabs.. I read somewhere that a 96gb ram kit is able to run on the M18 despite being 64GB max. Is this true?? If so, would it pose a risk on my machine? =o
What is the alternative program you use for the Alienware Command Center? Thanks for sharing your knowledge
does the m16r2 with the ultra 9 have 2 or 4 SSD slots? I ordered a 2tb crucial 705 and a p3 plus, I didn't know if it had the 30mm slots like the m18r2. I also ordered 64gb of Kingston fury impact RAM. My card is the 4070. they didn't offer a 4080 or 4090. I'm waiting for it to get here, the parts will be here tomorrow. If the m16r2 has 30mm slots, ill order them too. I'll probably throw my word docs on the 30mms if they are there.
Thank you so much for this video! I just got a Addlink 2tb SLC 2230 drive for $160 on amazon and installed it with your video alongside me, and it seems to work great! I wonder if I need a heat sink for it. I bought thermal pads, but read that it isn't good to use them unless you have a heatsink?
How do you disconnect the battery so easily? I have an m16 and the tape handle does not seem to be well attached. How gentle do you have to be with the wires/battery connector? I'm afraid of breaking the cable.
Does it also fit the 1TB & 2TB SN850X with heathshrink? The height of these is 8,8mm.
Hi Mash IT, do I need to put in a heatsink if I replace the stock TB drive that came from Dell? I'll be placing a Sabrent 4 TB M2 drive 4 Plus in my M18 and moving the TB over as a backup........Thank you sir
put the original heatsink on the new 4tb drive and leave the 1tb bare, as its a backup it will probably never really heat up :)
@@MashITTech You mean leave the one Dell has there correct?
My 2015 Alienware 18.
2x 2.5 inch slot
1x mSata Slot
1x mPCIe
2x MXM
1x DVD (Can convert to another 2.5 inch)
4x RAM slot
Since Nvidia discontinued SLI. One of the MXM slot can be converted to NVME.
So, at the end it is capable with at least one maxed out 1x NVME SSD, 3x 2.5 inch SSD, 1x mSata SSD.
As for the GPU, I'm experiencing MXM to PCIE eGPU.
Alienware used to be good on upgrading, exchange parts, etc.
I'm sad to see Alienware failed at the area51m series and sad to see what Alienware can offer now. 😢
I am totally with you in the industries race to make the slimmest laptops at the cost of ports, upgradability and storage slots! The area 51m r2 was one of my favourite laptops so I was really disappointed with Dells lack of support and upgrades for it. They essentially sold a lie. I am not one to defend Dell and often call them out for their shady business practices but at least the m18 is a step in the right direction against a lot of the other brands which seem to think 2 m.2 slots is more than enough and solder everything in to make it as thin as possible. I want a bigger fatter laptop with more cooling and expansion slots!
The m16 AMD 7845 version has two 2280 and one 2230 m.2 slots. I've tried cloning the preinstalled 1tb m.2 onto other m.2 drives, but the bios will not boot. Am guessing the preinstalled OS is locked to the m.2 drive it is installed on. Yet to try a fresh install of the OS. Am wondering if I'll be able to install win10 instead of win 11 without issues?
Have you guys had any issue with the Crucial SSD at all in the M18? if your still using it. Mine is throwing BSOD errors on the Crucial P3. BSOD goes away when I stop using the drive, so I am pretty sure it's the drive itself.
sounds like the drive itself, no issues here with my p3 plus
Great video to watch, what thicknessof cooling pads did you use?
Thanks for the informative video. I purchased the M18 R2 i9/4070/16gb/1tb two days ago. I want to start with upgrading RAM and then maybe just add a second SSD later. You gave me high confidence to do the mods on this laptop.
Can you explain how to create the W11 boot flash drive? I've done this before but it was not so recent. - Thanks
It's pretty easy. I am sure I have a guide somewhere, I will dig it out
This Much storage is a dream for some pc then it is for this laptop
Great tutorial! I recently bought a M18 R2 laptop and was looking forward to upgrading my ssd. Though I'm having an issue when i swap out my main ssd with the SN850x i bought i can't get the laptop to turn on, am i doing something wrong? (Its like its bricked)
Works fine in the 2nd ssd slot, I have 2 of these SN850x ssds but can't get the main one to work for a fresh install.
I will admit im not a pro with this sort of stuff.
silly question but have you tried installing an os on the SN850x in slot 2 then adding the otehr sn850x to slot 1? there is no performance difference between the slots
I haven't but i think i will give that a go. I read somewhere that reinstalling windows with 2 ssd's installed could mean the windows throw files on both ssd's, so i was worried about taking one out after that.
Should i change the ssd start up config to ACHI now or after I reinstall windows onto the 2nd drive and then haved added my other ssd?
@@Joshua-e7r1w having both installed used to cause problems but I think that’s fixed now. Change it to ahci before you install windows on the drive as it will cause issues in raid without the raid driver
Awesome, thanks heaps for the advise!
Unsure if you found the covers for the m.2 drives. But it might be worth it to get your single copy scanned to get the CAD file and sell them yourself.
does the AMD version of the m18 come with 4 ssd slots if i get the version with 4080 or 4090?
Thank you for this. I see you didn’t disconnect the battery before installing the upgrades?
In theory you should. I am upgrading all the time and never disconnect the battery for ssd or ram upgrades 😂
@@MashITTech I think I’ll stick with disconnecting it because I’m not as experienced as you!
This solidified my decision. Smart move by Dell to include upgradability, saved me a lot of money!
11:07 Did you find any 30mm heatsinks?
still looking for a decent source atm :(
3:35 "First things first"
3:41 "First things first" but this is no longer the first thing because a previous thing was stated six seconds earlier
Haha yes I am speshul
Please David, could you please compare the Crucial 4TB NVME to the Samsung 990 or 980? Thanks.
I sure can. I will knock something up and upload to our mash extra channel 👍
@@MashITTech You also need a Mash Gaming, to test your improved hardware with some games.
It’s funny I have been contemplating that!
One question, I'm looking to get the M18 R2 with i9 and 4090, do you know if it's possible to RAID 0 the two 2230 and use the array as OS drive? Since the max capacity of 2230 SSDs is 2TB so I think it's better to use them for OS and save the two 2280s for my 8TB drives as storage😊
I noticed there was a BIOS update fairly recently, any news on the RAM speed upper limit being integrated for the 64gb option?
Hello,
I am about to receive my M18 and I was wondering if it's a good idea to do a clean install of windows and get rid of all of Dell softwares.
Is the AWCC necesary to run this laptop? May I lose some functionality if I erase all Dell Softwares?
Actually, i own a 51mR2 and I know for example that the sound is not as good when I disable the AWCC.
Any opinion about that?
Can you give me a couple of days to answer this properly? I am currently still working on this exact thing. I always do a clean install to get rid of bloat but currently I still install awcc. I am currently looking at an alternative but need to test further
@@MashITTech Yes I do the same too, I only kept AWCC on my 51m. I keep drivers updated by other means like "GeForce experience" for GPU drivers for example.
Dell is always late on delivering GPU driver update.
I wonder if AWCC is really necesary🤔
Buying one with lowest ram/ssd is a great idea for budget. But you have to remove built-in ram and ssd and wasted?
That is true, but still cheaper than buying the 64gb upgrade from dell plus I often put the old ssd in a caddy and use it as an external
@@MashITTech That's is great. Thank you for reply, although I don't have a plan to buy an 18" laptop which is huge and heavy for everyday carry.
Hello, can you give us recommendations for the AMD advantage model? Top RAM speed is what I am interested. Thanks!
Great video, I have alienware x17 R1. Is it possible to install two 4TB SDD. From previous videos they indicate that the max is two 2TB SDD = 4TB storage .
It should be possible to install 2x 4tb of the crucial p3 plus as they are single sided. When I created the x17 r1 they weren't around to test. They would only run at gen 3 speed though so 3000/3000
Thanks for the informative video. The biggest question I have for you which others here I see are asking is about heat sinks. How can we determine the size/type of heart sink that we need if we want to add some that are missing? Is there some guessing involved with choosing what fits or is there some official way going about it? Thanks in advance.
You can contact Dell and they will often sell you the part. For the 80mm you can also just buy a standard copper plate heatsink off amazon. I am still struggling to find a good source of 30mm heatsinks :(
I noticed you didn't put any heatsinks on the 2230 SSD's - can you get away with not having one or is it essential.
Thanks for the video. Can you also use the 2TB 30mm SSD or is 1TB the limit?
Alienware can hold up to 10tb ssd
Excellent video especially the info on the 2230s not sure if will add them but nice to know they can hold more than 512 thanks again
IT could be handy for a couple of years down the line if you fill the main two bays :)
They can take 2TB drives.
@mashit
I just installed G.Skill RipJaws ultra low latency 5600 ram 64gb kit. Upon install I was able to go into Alienware command center and do a custom profile and set the ram advanced setting to Ram1. Upon restart my 64gb kit is now running at 5600!!!!
Wow that’s amazing news! I am going to have to try and get hold of some
Sir can u bring the legion slim 7i review within this month. I am about to buy the laptop 20 days after so it would be so much helpful
maybe later this month, I am actually having a holiday in a week!
@@MashITTech ohh okah sir. Enjoy your holidy but plz surely bring a review
sir i finally bought the legion slim 7i
Great video. I just got m18 R2. Will doing such upgrade void Dell warranty?
No not at all unless you cause physical damage to the laptop. If you carefully follow the guide that certainly won’t happen and if you have questions just fire me a comment or start a chat on insta
Thank you! Would you know if the SABRENT 8TB Rocket 4 Plus fits (and is supported) in the 2280 slot?
I haven't tried the sorbent but I suspect it won't fit. In order to fit 8tb on that drive I am sure the back of the SSD is fully populated with chips meaning it won't fit on the m.2 slot. The sn850x only had a couple of small chips on the back and it JUST managed to fit
@@MashITTech Thanks a lot! I hope Alienware introduces a model with a chassis as thick as the old M18X R2, with more room for upgrades.
Does internal SSD requires a heat sink when upgrading if yes can you share some links where and what heatsink to buy for crucial T500 2TB M2 2280?
Update - So I had dell tech support call me back about this issue. I was told that in order for the ram to use the XMP profile the ram must be bought through dell. I looked up the ram price from dell and it is about 3 times as much. I told them this must be disclosed to the customers before they purchase.
That is such a con! Dell really annoy me at times
@@MashITTech Agreed! I will just deal with it for now. I love my M16, I feel they have a real winner this year.
I bought an M16 with a RTX 4070, 16 gb of RAM, andan SSD 1 TB. I’m planning on upgrading the RAM to 32 GB and the SSD to 2 TB. I was told in the IT help department that it’s not possible to upgrade the RAM though
You need a new IT help department 🤣 Get some decent ram like the fury kit I linked, also get 5600mhz as even if it runs at 5200 rather than 5600mhz the timings are much better. Lastly are you just putting the SSD into slot two or changing out your 1tb?
Got it to work but computer gave me a lot of issues had to reset the laptop multiple times because of 4 bsod's in a row So I re-installed the original one's. Could you make another suggestion on ram cards or maybe ordering the 64 gig set of ram from dell? Thx in adv.
Do they still have dual rank for 64gb kit only? and 32gb(16x2) is single rank but at 5600 as you mentioned? If that is the case I believe dual rank will outperform regardless of 400mhz difference.
I'm about to buy the same Crucial 4tb SSD for my m18. After testing for some time do you think it needs some heatsink or is fine without? Thanks for your work.
Because I am just using it as a game drive the temps have been absolutely fine. If you plan on using the drive more heavily then you can just pick up the cheap m.2 slim copper plates on amazon, they drop the load temps by about 10c
Just one silly question: if i simply add a second SSD do i have to go into bios and change from RAID to AHCI/NVME? I have noticed that in my desktop Aurora r13 i have added a second SSD and didn't change anything, but in bios i have default RAID on enabled, even if i see the 2 disks as separate unit, not on raid configuration. Also: changing from RAID to AHCI/NVME will i lost data on my primary ssd?
Thank you very much fro your great review. I have two questions: do the Crucial P3 Plus 4tb gets hot or it can be leaved as it is? Not really needing at the moment 64gb, do you suggest to go with 32gb and higher speed or the 64gb is still the best option for general performance improvment?
Glad you found it helpful. The p3 plus didn't run hot (unlike the sn850x) and therefore doesn't need a heatsink. You can pick up cheap heatsinks on amazon if you did want to add one, I will link some in the description just in case. And yes, if you want 5600mhz then get the 32gb kit :)
I have M18 and want to upgrade 2230 slots, so I bought VisionTek 2230 M2 SSD, it has both the side chips...so thinking to use the thermal pad so that it doesn't short the board or any other components, what thermal pad is better ? I do not see any type, I have no info on what tape to buy and use, please suggest on it.
Ok man. Got a challenge for you. Hope you're doing well!
So you approach these machines by doing a fresh install of Windows but what about those of us that want to 'prune' the Alienware stuff more selectively and just keep the general SSD factory image intact? So here's my question. The m18 I just picked up has Raid Mode enabled in the Bios. I want to clone the factory SSD to a new one, flip AHCI off ( to get it out of Raid Mode... ) and then boot off the new drive. What's the work around? Uninstall the Intel Optane s/w first before cloning?
Seems rather odd to me that my single SSD system came from the factory with raid enabled in the Bios... But I've seen this before - a few years back - on a ROG Zephyrus and it drove me nuts!
I like to do a fresh install as it is actually quicker for me to clean install and install what I want rather than clone then uninstall loads of Dell bloat! But if you go the clone route personally I would just keep command centre and remove most of the rest. Also you can try and switch from RAID to AHCI, it may work just fine these days but used to blue screen, when I get a chance I will test it.
Hi, yest mine is saying unable to boot if I just switch from Raid to AHCI (as I mentioned above).@@MashITTech
This is awesome! Thanks so much. This will save us a lot of money!
Happy to help!
Thank you for your video, very informative!
Just a few questions
1.) Is it also possible to upgrade the GPU for both M18 & M16?
2.) In the video you've shown upgrades made to M18, is it also possible to upgrade components for the M16? (because M16 is less spacious)
Unfortunately it is not possible to upgrade GPU as they solder them on to the motherboard :( All the upgrades on the m18 are the same as the corresponding m16 even though its a smaller laptop they use a similar motherboard. Please remember the 4060 and 4070 get less m.2 slots on m16 and m18
How much less m.2 slots will there be for 4060 and 4070 options? How many in total will I be able to upgrade if I get: i9processor, 4070 gpu? @@MashITTech
How much have you been using the laptop?
Have you had any heat issues? If so, how have you managed them?
Can you easily recommend purchasing this laptop now, or would you say to wait until the next generation?
I have been using it a fair amount. I have some gripes with it such as AWCC and the lack of decent undervolting but otherwise its a solid laptop and probably my favourite AW this year. If you can get it for a good price (either discounted or coupon) then its certainly worth it
Love your videos!