18 Area-51 AA18250, 64GB ram is not enough

The system does not support more than 64G RAM.  If you need more and the system is within 30 days of shipment, you'll need to consider returning it in favor of a different system.  

There are Precision/Pro Max mobile workstations that will take more RAM.  How much RAM does whatever scanning program you're running recommend?

@ejn63​  I forgot to mention that I have the 5090 video card. Would like to find another laptop with it. Mainly looking for a laptop with 128gb RAM and at least 24gb VRAM if possible.

@ejn63​ Hello..... I received the laptop on 7-11-2025. My scanner and software suggests 32gb minimum, 64gb good and 128gb optimal. I need to scan at a lower resolution than .100mm so 128gb should be best. Thanks for the reply!!

Nothing from Dell/Alienware will meet those requirements.

Look at the Clevo X580WNT-G -- this is sold mostly as a "whitebook" computer by boutique workstation/gaming notebook builders (Sager, AVA, Falcon Northwest, etc.).

It can be configured with 192G RAM and the GPU you want.

Here's AVA's system.

@ejn63​  I have everything in as received specs. Are there any settings/tweaks I can make to help with the RAM issue, maybe overclocking the CPU? 

The AVA laptop looks interesting. Need to take more time to weigh the differences. Thanks for the info. 

Overclocking the CPU won't help.  And even with less RAM than optimal, Windows will still use virtual memory when needed, so other than a slowdown, what you're running should work.  You can also try manually setting the virtual memory to allocate more disc space to it -- if running Windows, look under System Settings - Advanced.

@ejn63​  Hello.... I bumped my virtual memory up to 75GB up from 5GB. The RAM usage went down 20% to 78% instead of 99%/100% but the CPU usage went up to 99%/100% when my scanning program is processing the raw 3D data. Looks like the program made it to the end without locking up again due to low memory. 

Hello.....I have been having running out of memory issues with my one month old Alienware 18 Area-51 AA18250 laptop. I added a lot more virtual memory which seemed to help with the low memory issue. 

Now my computer is locked up. It locked up while I was scanning. No cursor, no control-alt- delete and no pressing the on/off button to get it to restart or reboot. This computer has been a headache since I started using it a week or so ago. Not what I expected from Alienware at this point. 

@mattyb3​   I bought this laptop to do 3D scanning and post processing because of the RTX5090 24GB VRAM and 64GB RAM thinking the 64GB and 24GB  would be enough memory. The scanning process at a middle of the road resolution (.100mm) is doable but when the scanning is completed and the point clouds are being processed into a mesh, that's when the CPU and RAM go to 100% locking up the program. Yesterdays computer lock up while starting a scan was a first. 

Might need to research another laptop configured with more memory or for 3D scanning/ post processing and replace this one. Thanks for your reply.

I would re-think the idea of a different notebook computer entirely in favor of a desktop workstation, which most of these 3D scanning applications strongly suggest.

No matter which notebook you choose, there is a compromise for the sake of portability.   Beyond that, you can likely purchase two solid desktop workstations for the cost of a single high-end notebook computer.  That 2:1 price ratio for a notebook:desktop of equivalent capability has been in place basically since the advent of mobile computing.

@ejn63​  agreed, engineering desktops are more economical for scanning applications but portability is an unfortunate must. I'll research more this time focusing on engineering laptops vs gaming laptops. Made an assumption about gaming laptops so now a replacement probably is going to be needed. Live and learn. Thanks for the reply!!

Yeah I agree, a desktop is going to provide you with far more power for the use you need. The portability side of it will make things harder for you. It looks like 64gb still isn't enough for those point clouds. 

You can go for a Dell Precision Workstation, these can be configured up to 128gb. 

If you are within 30 days then you can still return the AW.

I'd have to do some research but you may be able to get your 18 to at least 96gb. 

@mattyb3​   I unfortunately received the laptop on July 11th but didn't start getting my feet wet with it until maybe 2 weeks ago and really scanning this past week. The 30 days ran out on Aug 11th, 2 days ago. 

@mattyb3​   I have played around with scanning at a higher resolution than I want, .150mm then after the point clouds have been meshed, I change the resolution back to .100mm or .075mm and the laptop seems to tolerate that. Think if I had another 32GB of RAM, that might be enough. I have found compatible 128GB memory kits for this system but read it's not compatible with this laptop. 

Not sure what to make of this: