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M14x cooling


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Mumak thank you for your never ending hard work and devotion to keeping HWiNFO updated as its the number one monitoring program. (atleast to me)

Please Tech Inferno if there is anyone that is receiving or has an Ivy Bridge based Alienware Laptop please grab HWiNFO's beta in the above post and report how its working. Thank you kindly.

I would be very interested to know if you can let Intel TurboBoost activated with the Ivy Bridge M14x`s without overheating till 100 degree like with the M14x Sandy Bridges when playing Games or using both CPU and dedicated graphics. Cause thats the main reason for all the needed! fan modding with the M14x R1.

Even when only using the CPU at max workload the temps run near the 90 degree limit (M14x R1) and only dont go higher due to the throttling at 85 degree which decreases the clockspeed to cool the system down a bit to stop system shutdown or damage.

The dedicated GPU is not the problem at all - it only goes to around 65 degree at max workload and therefor is relatively cool. The CPU is the problem in the M14x R1 - or better to say the cooling management of this CPU in this system is.

But even there have to be some M14x R2 users around i cant find more than 1 very unspecific posts about the temp behaviour of the new M14x R2 under heavy workload and with activated TurboBoost. Im just curious.

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{offtopic}

Well good question we would have to see someone who actually has one of them and get some statistics from them. The main problem I see is in all these laptops they are doing things wrong. They emphasize letting the components heat up to temps which hinder function of the hardware all before the fans even spin up. Even the flagship M18x suffers from that but isn't rendered as unusable as the M14x R1...

The fan tables in all these laptops should activate much higher fan speeds well before heat has become a real issue. It takes much more to get rid of built up heat than to maintain a lower temp pre-emptively. Basically all these laptops would benefit from haveing fans be at medium at say 50c and maybe 60-65 medium high fan speeds and 65-70 full. Then temps would not climb sky high from the start and no more after the fact cooling.

But at same time on models of the M14x I do also see the other issue is simply inadequate heatsink setup for the cpus.

That's why most of us who game hard lol we use Mumak's fan control to master the situation ourselves. Though for the M14x R1 this maynot be enough as I heard on full fans it still doesn't curb the heat of the M14x R1 cpu as you have stated.

Hopefully you can get more info on the Ivy Bridge version you were looking for.

Reports I read was that temps should be somewhat fine but if one uses the 3920xm and overclocks as soon as they need more volts maybe 4.4-4.5ghz range they heat up more than Sandybridge. That would be because the sandy die was shrunk in fabrication size and in how big the die is. Had they use the 22nm but same size die anyway... There would be more material to absorb the heat and therefore less heat... Oh well

Edited by mw86
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Well good question we would have to see someone who actually has one of them and get some statistics from them. The main problem I see is in all these laptops they are doing things wrong. They emphasize letting the components heat up to temps which hinder function of the hardware all before the fans even spin up. Even the flagship M18x suffers from that but isn't rendered as unusable as the M14x R1...

The fan tables in all these laptops should activate much higher fan speeds well before heat has become a real issue. It takes much more to get rid of built up heat than to maintain a lower temp pre-emptively. Basically all these laptops would benefit from haveing fans be at medium at say 50c and maybe 60-65 medium high fan speeds and 65-70 full. Then temps would not climb sky high from the start and no more after the fact cooling.

But at same time on models of the M14x I do also see the other issue is simply inadequate heatsink setup for the cpus.

That's why most of us who game hard lol we use Mumak's fan control to master the situation ourselves. Though for the M14x R1 this maynot be enough as I heard on full fans it still doesn't curb the heat of the M14x R1 cpu as you have stated.

Hopefully you can get more info on the Ivy Bridge version you were looking for.

Reports I read was that temps should be somewhat fine but if one uses the 3920xm and overclocks as soon as they need more volts maybe 4.4-4.5ghz range they heat up more than Sandybridge. That would be because the sandy die was shrunk in fabrication size and in how big the die is. Had they use the 22nm but same size die anyway... There would be more material to absorb the heat and therefore less heat... Oh well

I totally agree that the actual fanspeed table of the M14x R1 should be like you said. But the fan noise is so disturbing at these speeds ~5600 RPM that they made the fanspeed table more like the users wanted it to be and that was more quiet and therfor more heating up. And to be honest i prefer less performance but the disturbing noise the fans would do if they start to kick in at ~5600 RPM at much lower temps.

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{offtopic}

Well I can see that being annoying too... M18x uses large fans at 4000rpm... I'm guessing M14x is a small fan and at 5400rpm must sound very winey! A better heatsink may have been better.

Edited by mw86
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Well I can see that being annoying too... M18x uses large fans at 4000rpm... I'm guessing M14x is a small fan and at 5400rpm must sound very winey! A better heatsink may have been better.

This sounds like an interesting idea. Do you know if it would be possible to exchange the heatsink and if so which one would fit into the chassis? I would offer to post my results after modding my M14x with an alternativ heatsink.

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I think your only option would be to opt for a custom design like @svl7 is doing on his beast. I doubt there is an aftermarket drop in solution. Though given the seriousness of the problem I would think fairly large numbers could be sold.

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{offtopic}

Sorry for the offtopic Mumak.

Jimbo I agree no easy quick solution. But if a custom fit heatsink was designed and milled... There would be a large market for it. The prob is cost some out of your pocket from the get go. Seeing as how it cost SVL7 to mill your looking at $200+ for materials and milling... Plus will need very precision measurements and aided by a CAD design so the heatsink is milled to the right specifications. It's basically an endeavour that if your going to attempt it your really going to want to make sure it pans out as the cost to not finish would be quite a loss... So it's pretty much a commitment once you start.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I think your only option would be to opt for a custom design like @svl7 is doing on his beast. I doubt there is an aftermarket drop in solution. Though given the seriousness of the problem I would think fairly large numbers could be sold.

Recently Dell created an improved Heatsink for the M14X which may be another reason why the R2 is cooler than the R1 additonally to the cooler CPU.

They changed my Heatsink to the new variante (which looks very similar) and my temperatures are now down to 89 degree celsius (98 degree celsius before) under heavy workload (CPU and GPU max usage). Its still throttling cause of the 85 degree throttling limit but when only playing games my temperatures go max to 83 degree celsius which is below the throttling limit.

The GB support technics also told me that there is a new mainboard mod for the R1 which also reduces the temperature. It could be a voltage mod or integrated heatpipes who knows. When i get my mainboard replacement i will post you my new temps :). hopefully there will be no more throttling when rendering and playing games for example.

Sry Mumak couldnt find the proper thread. Could you post us a link?

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Recently Dell created an improved Heatsink for the M14X which may be another reason why the R2 is cooler than the R1 additonally to the cooler CPU.

They changed my Heatsink to the new variante (which looks very similar) and my temperatures are now down to 89 degree celsius (98 degree celsius before) under heavy workload (CPU and GPU max usage). Its still throttling cause of the 85 degree throttling limit but when only playing games my temperatures go max to 83 degree celsius which is below the throttling limit.

The GB support technics also told me that there is a new mainboard mod for the R1 which also reduces the temperature. It could be a voltage mod or integrated heatpipes who knows. When i get my mainboard replacement i will post you my new temps :). hopefully there will be no more throttling when rendering and playing games for example.

Sry Mumak couldnt find the proper thread. Could you post us a link?

you should make a new thread about it in the alienware M14x section. That way all M14x useres can read about it.

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you should make a new thread about it in the alienware M14x section. That way all M14x useres can read about it.

No need to make a new thread... my info wasnt correct. The temperature raises now at the 3rd day of using the "new designed heatsink" slowly to the same temps as before. Looks like it was only at the first day when the temp were lower. Actucally i can see 94 degree celsius but 89 at the first day of the heatsink replacement. So i doubt its a new design - they just lied to me to calm me down when i was raging about the extreme heat my laptop produces. :/

Also when i asked them now why the temps are raising again every day they dont want to know anything about a "new designed heatsink". They cant remember ever telling me about it. Now i will get a mainboard replacement of the same type but as they say "better cooling performance"... I doubt it is the truth.

Sry for the confusion.

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Well creating a new thread was necessary to keep mumaks HWiNFO help threads clear so users may be quickly assisted. Mumak was gracious to move our conversation for us to a new thread in the M14x forum.

The fact is there's been too high temps in gaming for the M14x for some users. Both generations are affected by high temps but less so in gen 2. Unreal had a M14x new gen I think and it atleast to my recollection it had fairly decent temps. Hopefully this was a fluke and the next tech helps you have the system running cooler.

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Well creating a new thread was necessary to keep mumaks HWiNFO help threads clear so users may be quickly assisted. Mumak was gracious to move our conversation for us to a new thread in the M14x forum.

The fact is there's been too high temps in gaming for the M14x for some users. Both generations are affected by high temps but less so in gen 2. Unreal had a M14x new gen I think and it atleast to my recollection it had fairly decent temps. Hopefully this was a fluke and the next tech helps you have the system running cooler.

Had my replacement now and they changed the fanspeeds in the EC of the A08 Bios of this particular board so that it runs now at low temps of 55 degree (Idle) with mid fanspeed ~3600 rpm and at mid temps of 65 degree celsius with highest fanspeed of ~5600 rpm.

The result is a much louder laptop even in Idle and a bit lower temps at max performance when gaming 1-2 hours. But still the temps go over the throttling limit of 85 degree celsius which causes minor lag and decreased CPU clock speed. My highest temps with the new mainboard was yesterday 91 degree celsius and today 89 degree celsius. Cause of my previous experience these temps will raise slightly every day due to wearing of the coolpaste.

I will call techsupport again and see what they want to change next. They also told me it is not possible to upgrade to R2 mainboard cause its not compatible with the R1 chassis due to the lack of the mSata Bay. Can anyone confirm this?

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Well that sucks not much improvement. I'd say keep working at it. worse case you may be better learning to paste your self and buying a aftermarket high end paste. I am seeing amazing performanc eon two top pastes ICD and Prolimatech PK-1. PK-1 is easy to apply like MX-4 but has performance like ICD :)

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  • 3 months later...
Also do you put the new past on the GPU and the CPU??

If my paste job comes from Alienware and it is fairly new I test and dont repaste unless I found it necessary to like temps were bad. The newest paste supplied in Alienware is top in the industry, close to the best thermals but lasts longer than most aftermarket pastes available. . On some systems you may only see a few C less, others may get 10-15c depending on components. A better heatsink to start with will see even better temps so better gains than a heatsink of a lower TDP. Thats just if in best case scenario. Its possible temps could get worse. Its something that can sometimes be better after practice. Try to watch some videos of it if it is your first time and it would be good to have plenty available in case you find you need to improve how it was repasted.

Static free mat and wrist ground are both important if you can to ensure tinkering inside doesn't short anything out.

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My GPU Temp Goes to bout 85 C 86C Is that in anyway affecting my FPS ?

It could easily effect performance on some gpus. Going above that is getting risky 85c is not detrimental. For better experience in game I would try to see if you can lower temps.

You can do that by lowering your gpu overclock if you have one.

Raise the back of the system so fans have plenty of fresh air flow and no hot air is recycled into cool air intake.

Repaste only if necessary if others have similar gpu temp i would say not to since its not always easy to best your current temps.

You can lower your max multiplier via Throttle Stop on your cou if you have a single heatsink which covers both gpu and cpu it would help lower gou temps.

Same you can lower watt limit on your cpu to lower max heat under load which is not as much a loss as disabling turboboost altogether.

If you can lower you gaming temp on gpu from that 86c it is recommended to do so. Some gpus just run hot so maybe someone can mention their gpu temps. What gpu do you have in your system?

Compressed air into vents can help and heatsink fins but obviously not a new system.

Or even if fans are not on max by those temps you can manually set fan to max during gaming with HWiNFO.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Regarding cooling, I scrounged around and found my old Targus Laptop Chill Mat that I had put away 6+ months ago due to the fact that the fans weren't actually working. Being the optimist that I am, I decided to try the cooler again, and am disappointed to find that it still doesn't work. Would like to point out it does use a USB connection.

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I mentioned this over in the general notebook area. The single cheapest thing you can do with the M14x is to elevate the back. This opens airflow around the bottom of the case. This in turn lets it run cooler at lower fan speeds. How much cooler? With the back of mine propped up I get CPU temps 10C cooler under near full load (video encoding with HandBrake) with the fan running at a lower speed. Right now, doing some encoding, I have CPU core temp peaks at ~70C with the back elevated. CPU core temps spike to 80C and the fan ramps up to full speed within about 30 seconds of lying it down flat on the table. I'll post some GPU temperature peaks later.

Edit:

I did some runs with the MSI Kombustor OpenGL stress test. Here are all of the results in a nice list. This is an unmodified M14xR2 w/ A08 firmware. No overclock firmware, no repasting. Specs in my signature.

CPU Core temperatures

Idle, Flat: 56C; Idle, Up: 55C

Full, Flat: 80C; Full, Up: 70C

GPU Core temperatures

Idle, Flat: 51C; Idle, Up: 50C

Full, Flat: 65C; Full, Up: 60C

The fan quickly spins up to full speed under "Full, Flat" conditions for both CPU and GPU. The fan spins at approximately 2/3 maximum (I'm guessing based on noise) under "Full, Up" conditions.

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Okay, I have some serious heating problems, and I am starting to think that, even with checking my fans and having them replaced a month ago, that I have a lot of dust stuck in there. Propping up the rear of the laptop did not help one bit. Buying a brand-new $30 Belkin laptop cooler did not help one bit. I am still reaching GPU temps as high as 93C (max before it throttles it), with CPU temps as high as 99C (the maximum before it throttles it), even with turbo-boost turned off. The thing is, I haven't been paying attention to heat before this. Why? Because everything ran fine. It still runs fine; demanding programs still run smooth, and other than the back of the laptop and the metal nameplate on the bottom, everything seems to be running at it's fairly normal "warm" temperature. I've had this laptop for nearly 10 months now using it for hours every day for work and gaming, and I can't imagine its been running this hot and still hasn't just died. That, or it's one tough system. Any help? Should I just send it into Dell for a replacement? I'm on the R1 M14x so I'm not sure they'll even have a new replacement for me, and I would rather not lose my hard-drive (I'm low on money and have no extra external drive to backup 400 gigs of data on), but it seems to be a serious problem.

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Install and run AlienAutopsy. That may give you an idea of what's wrong.

If it's 10 months old then it should still be under Dell's standard 1 year hardware warranty. Call, find out the warranty status, find out what they have to say.

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