Yes, stress test it first. Give it a good work out, make sure there's no crashes or other odd behavior. Than you can think about bios flashes, if you do not already have the latest bios. For the board and the GPU it adds Resizable BAR support, so from that perspective it is worth it in some games. There's a very large R12 thread on this board, where others have shared a lot of valuable information on performance differences between bios versions etc... I would give it a read.
Drivers, I would not upgrade the bios to the latest version on the R12.
After the drivers are updated I would stress test it with prime95 and some 3dmark loops to ensure stability, while at the same time monitor the temperatures of the CPU and GPU.
For GPU monitoring I would MSI afterburner, for CPU the included Alienware Command Center
@bertro514 @"You can prevent that by going into the BIOS and disable the ability to update the BIOS from within Windows. I forgot the exact name of the setting, but it's pretty self-explanatory, you'll recognize it when you see it."
It's called "uefi firmware capsule updates," fyi. There is a slider to disable it.
I would take @Vanadiel 's caveat even further and say: NEVER update the BIOS unless you HAVE to. And by "have to", I mean the new version fixes an actual problem you're facing or patches a real security issue. And I'm even suspicious of those after Intel pushed that "security update" last year that disabled CPU undervolting on most motherboards for no good reason.
@Larcade be careful that BIOS updates are sometimes quietly pushed via Windows/driver updates. You can prevent that by going into the BIOS and disable the ability to update the BIOS from within Windows. I forgot the exact name of the setting, but it's pretty self-explanatory, you'll recognize it when you see it. I recommend doing that so you have control over when you upgrade.
I also second Vanadiel's advice to install MSI Afterburner. It's a great tool to not only monitor your GPU clock, temps, fan speed, usage % in games, but to also very easily manage the fan speed curve, GPU power, as well as GPU undervolting and O/C if you want to. I've used it to slightly undervolt my GPU and it runs cooler and quieter without losing any power.
Another app I'd recommend is ThrottleStop (free), which you can use to remove turbo boost limits on your CPU and squeeze more performance without overclocking.
My point in mentioning the 30 day return policy is that you should get it updated before the period expires.
Bricked boards due to bad BIOS flashes actually are NOT covered by Dell's standard warranty unless you flashed at the direction of a Dell support agent. So you could be outta luck if you update after 30 days. As a policy exception, Dell may allow a one-time waiver and replacement for a bricked board. Policy here:
Personally I would get it all updated where I want it to be as soon as possible after purchase, then test it for problems so I will know if I need to return it ASAP.
If you test, then flash for REBAR and gearing, you will need to test it all over again since those are significant updates, which eats into the very short return window. And note it is 30 days from invoice date, not date of receipt. So if it took them 2 days to ship, fedex 7 days to deliver, you have 21 days. Then subtract testing time plus getting a case opened with support (closed weekends) you really have very little time. That's why personally I wipe, install, update, then test in the state I want to use it
@r72019thanks for the reminder. I have 10 more days before reaching 30 from my invoice date. In this case, should I upgrade my BIOS to the latest version and then do some stress testing?
It's what works best for you and your situation. Personally, my thoughts are:
1. The chances of it bricking from a failed BIOS update (while small) are the same regardless of whether you do it before or after the 30 days, or sooner vs later, so generally no need to wait it out since waiting may impact your available options (e.g. return vs. seeking a policy exception to replace the board with a refurbished unit vs. bricked PC no repair).
2. The recent updates are important stuff that you would need, and would impact performance. You want it to perform with the updates. If it failed to perform after the update, but performed fine before the update, would you still want it without REBAR support? Considering this, it may be most efficient to test it set up the way you will be using it.
3. Some people want as much time as possible to troubleshoot any issues during the return period. If that is the case, setting it up the way you want it sooner rather than later is the way to go IMHO.
Vanadiel
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July 16th, 2021 12:00
Yes, stress test it first. Give it a good work out, make sure there's no crashes or other odd behavior. Than you can think about bios flashes, if you do not already have the latest bios. For the board and the GPU it adds Resizable BAR support, so from that perspective it is worth it in some games. There's a very large R12 thread on this board, where others have shared a lot of valuable information on performance differences between bios versions etc... I would give it a read.
Vanadiel
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7.1K Posts
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July 15th, 2021 20:00
Drivers, I would not upgrade the bios to the latest version on the R12.
After the drivers are updated I would stress test it with prime95 and some 3dmark loops to ensure stability, while at the same time monitor the temperatures of the CPU and GPU.
For GPU monitoring I would MSI afterburner, for CPU the included Alienware Command Center
Vanadiel
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July 15th, 2021 21:00
That is true, but it would not be fun having to return a system you just set up because you had a bad flash.
None of the flashes are critical, so I for sure would wait a bit until I verified the system is stable and everything is working as intended.
r72019
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July 15th, 2021 21:00
Caveat is that if it's still within the first 30 days from invoice it's still returnable.
Vanadiel
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July 15th, 2021 21:00
I should add to never do any bios or firmware updates until you determined the system is stable. A bad flash can cause serious problems.
r72019
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July 16th, 2021 06:00
@bertro514 @"You can prevent that by going into the BIOS and disable the ability to update the BIOS from within Windows. I forgot the exact name of the setting, but it's pretty self-explanatory, you'll recognize it when you see it."
It's called "uefi firmware capsule updates," fyi. There is a slider to disable it.
bertro514
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July 16th, 2021 06:00
@r72019 thank you for that! I guess not as self-explanatory as I remembered it It's been a few months since I last went into the BIOS.
bertro514
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July 16th, 2021 06:00
I would take @Vanadiel 's caveat even further and say: NEVER update the BIOS unless you HAVE to. And by "have to", I mean the new version fixes an actual problem you're facing or patches a real security issue. And I'm even suspicious of those after Intel pushed that "security update" last year that disabled CPU undervolting on most motherboards for no good reason.
@Larcade be careful that BIOS updates are sometimes quietly pushed via Windows/driver updates. You can prevent that by going into the BIOS and disable the ability to update the BIOS from within Windows. I forgot the exact name of the setting, but it's pretty self-explanatory, you'll recognize it when you see it. I recommend doing that so you have control over when you upgrade.
I also second Vanadiel's advice to install MSI Afterburner. It's a great tool to not only monitor your GPU clock, temps, fan speed, usage % in games, but to also very easily manage the fan speed curve, GPU power, as well as GPU undervolting and O/C if you want to. I've used it to slightly undervolt my GPU and it runs cooler and quieter without losing any power.
Another app I'd recommend is ThrottleStop (free), which you can use to remove turbo boost limits on your CPU and squeeze more performance without overclocking.
Larcade
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July 16th, 2021 08:00
@bertro514 I saw from a another discussion that Dell did fixed some issue with the newer Bios version such as resizable bar and RAM issue.
@Vanadiel you're saying I shouldnt worry about bios updates until I stress test my R12?
r72019
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5.3K Posts
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July 17th, 2021 19:00
@Larcade
My point in mentioning the 30 day return policy is that you should get it updated before the period expires.
Bricked boards due to bad BIOS flashes actually are NOT covered by Dell's standard warranty unless you flashed at the direction of a Dell support agent. So you could be outta luck if you update after 30 days. As a policy exception, Dell may allow a one-time waiver and replacement for a bricked board. Policy here:
https://www.dell.com/community/Customer-Care-Wiki/Dell-Policy-BIOS-update-breaks-motherboard-CMOS/ta-p/6063959
Personally I would get it all updated where I want it to be as soon as possible after purchase, then test it for problems so I will know if I need to return it ASAP.
If you test, then flash for REBAR and gearing, you will need to test it all over again since those are significant updates, which eats into the very short return window. And note it is 30 days from invoice date, not date of receipt. So if it took them 2 days to ship, fedex 7 days to deliver, you have 21 days. Then subtract testing time plus getting a case opened with support (closed weekends) you really have very little time. That's why personally I wipe, install, update, then test in the state I want to use it
Larcade
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July 17th, 2021 20:00
@r72019thanks for the reminder.
I have 10 more days before reaching 30 from my invoice date.
In this case, should I upgrade my BIOS to the latest version and then do some stress testing?
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
1
July 17th, 2021 21:00
It's what works best for you and your situation. Personally, my thoughts are:
1. The chances of it bricking from a failed BIOS update (while small) are the same regardless of whether you do it before or after the 30 days, or sooner vs later, so generally no need to wait it out since waiting may impact your available options (e.g. return vs. seeking a policy exception to replace the board with a refurbished unit vs. bricked PC no repair).
2. The recent updates are important stuff that you would need, and would impact performance. You want it to perform with the updates. If it failed to perform after the update, but performed fine before the update, would you still want it without REBAR support? Considering this, it may be most efficient to test it set up the way you will be using it.
3. Some people want as much time as possible to troubleshoot any issues during the return period. If that is the case, setting it up the way you want it sooner rather than later is the way to go IMHO.