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Go to SolutionAurora R12, Unacceptable BIOS/Z490 configuration, 11th Gen Intel CPU's (RocketLake)
Dear Dell Team, dear community,
some technical findings with your latest Aurora R12 Rocket Lake rigs with a focus on memory.
Issues:
1) Memory Controller is fixed to Gear 2 Mode despite memory clock. It should stick to Gear 1 until 3600MT/s memory frequency. Otherwise an option in BIOS has to be provided to change modes manually.
2) Read Value has a consistent and massive penalty applied when any XMP profile is enabled.
3) Memory latency is too high for the trained values. Please compare with Gigabyte, ASRock, MSI, ASUS motherboards with same kit and CPU.
4) CPU cache is all over the place with massive fluctuations that will impact gaming likewise (esp. L3).
It is reasonable to continue using Z490 for Rocket Lake. The choice not to allow for manual memory overclocking is fine IF the above is fixed given you are marketing the product to a certain clientele.
Yet the necessary work to at least deliver an acceptable performance in line with other board manufacturers has to be done.
Unfortunately, in the current state, this system configuration is unacceptable. Please check with the ODM of the board and make necessary adjustments.
Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
11258
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Posted August 3rd, 2021 06:00
There won't be an update on this if you believe the community manager post some time ago.
Dell apparently decided to overlook Intel's specification to default gear 2 regardless of the memory frequency.
Then there is no way to make use of higher frequency memory to compensate for this ... which essentially means all R12 systems are pretty much flawed.
Try to make noise to return them, or accept having paid 'way' more than you should for the performance you end up with.
2676
3
Posted May 6th, 2021 12:00
Chris and I have requested that this get looked into. We don't have any updates yet.
Brad L (retired)1834
0
Posted May 12th, 2021 11:00
@koloch2000 wrote:
Unfortunately, I got a new response from Dell (from a different rep this time). Apparently, the BIOS fix is for this error: "BSOD error of Clock_Watchdog_Timeout or Machine_Check_Exception". *Correct.*
With that said, the Alienware team has been notified of this thread.
Brad L (retired)1931
1
Posted May 14th, 2021 21:00
@-nrw- wrote:
Forget about the community managers on this platform.
Until this picked up thanks to reddit they didn't bother a bit.
Even now they seem highly reluctant to commit to a clear statement or give updates on the matter that are worthy being called so.
I appreciate you starting this thread, especially with the details in your first post, it's helped get this escalated and was the reason it got attention (maybe Reddit brought more users here, but it was this thread that helped a lot).
I have also provided details in my other post on this thread that this first BIOS update appears to only address part of the issue (as far as I can tell so far). With that said though, I can't confirm if it will fix more until I have something to report back on. I can see another user was told something different on this thread and it's definitely possible it could address more, but until we receive more information directly from our contacts on the AW team I will not make a post with information I don't have or give false statements.
Brad L (retired)1719
1
Posted May 14th, 2021 21:00
@ghostmind wrote:
I can’t even run 3dmark Timespy without the computer either freezing or BSoD with Watchdog_Timeout.
Have you attempted to adjust the overclocking settings in AWCC or in the BIOS (if AWCC is not installed)? And if you have, did any of them change the Watchdog error frequency?
Brad L (retired)1029
0
Posted May 17th, 2021 09:00
Please try my link to the BIOS (above) and let me know if it works. The link should show version 1.1.1
Brad L (retired)935
0
Posted May 17th, 2021 11:00
I know this is still being looked into but I don't have any new updates. With that said, on the Firmware in Device Manager showing a different version, can you check the BIOS and see what version is listed there?
Here is a link with a few details of where is should be showing the version within the BIOS.
Brad L (retired)926
0
Posted May 17th, 2021 11:00
When you're changing these settings are you doing it within AWCC or the BIOS?
Brad L (retired)
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
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11685
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Posted July 23rd, 2021 07:00
This is by design. There is no memory controller Gear 1 or Gear 2 option in the Dell OEM (original equipment manufacturer) BIOS. The retail Intel documentation discussing memory controller Gear 1 and Gear 2 do not apply to the Dell OEM BIOS, motherboard, and ram.
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell