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[Tutorial] Dual 330W AC Adapter Mod


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Thanks for the detailed instructions and video Mr. Fox!

I've ordered two 330w adapters, the bridge rectifier and will grab the rest of what I need from RS locally. Based on what I'm seeing on my M18xR1 (2920xm, 780m SLI) I'm pretty excited about seeing what this will let me do.

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If you have 780M SLI, that's what I would do if I were you. No sense in wasting those bad boys in an AW18. You can put your GPUs from the R2 into the 18 and use it for just playing games.

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Well, I have a stationary computer with 780TI SLi which I use when Im home but I travel much and need a good working laptop to kill the dead time.

I have cancelled my Alienware 18 laptop and will stick with my 680M SLi R2 and hope the future will bring something better for the Alienware computers.

PS: Alittle off-topic but will the 880M in SLi fit the R2?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all !

I need advice for the dual PSU mod of a friend.

He test the mod on an m18x r2 (3740 Qs unlock + 780m SLI) and can't pass more 480w in charge :/

He set 1.1v on the 780m with Nvidia inspector (no frequency oc), launch Furmark to measuring the consumption, it display arround 450-480w, with Trottlestop on.

-If he unplug a PSU (n°1 or n°2, tested both) the system shutdown, so the dual mod seems to work...

-If while Furmark run he launch a CPU test, the system shutdown or don't consume more...

On the 3d Mark test he don't consume more than 450w too.

For me the dual PSU mod is ok otherwise the 18" should not turn off when you disconnect one of the PSU. But why he can't pass 500w in charge...that is the question...

Sorry for my bad English, have a nice week end ;)

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Wow, that looks great. Nice job, Brother Riri-Fifi. I like the aluminum box. That would eliminate the need for a heat sink. Do you have information on the brand and part number for the box?

I cannot see the ID cable in the photos. Is that the yellow wire?

How did you attach the sockets to those boards? Epoxy, or solder to the prongs protruding through holes in boards?

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Hi Mr Fox

I need advice with my dual PSU mod on my m18r2 (bios unlock a10), 3940xm oem (4.6Ghz, 1.5V vcore) and 780m SLI (vbios svl7 + 1.1V vgpu).

When i bench 3d mark 2011 i don't exceed 360W...

I test with Furmark and the consomation goes up to 360-380W, if i unplug one of the PSU the m18 shut down (tested both), so i think the mod is ok. I can boot with PSU 1 or 2.

If while Furmark run i launch a CPU test (IBT, TSbench) the m18 shut down too.

Have you an idea ?

Ty for your help ;)

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@Riri-Fifi @ratatouill - I am not sure why your setup is doing that. I have not experienced this problem, but it seems they are maxing out at the capacity of one AC adapter based on your description. If your wiring setup is the same as mine, then I have no idea why they are maxing out at such a low value. Maybe something is not right with bridge rectifier?

Although it should not make a difference, I have noticed it seems as though my system cannot be pushed quite as hard using the plug-in connections as it could with it hard-wired version. It may be the AC adapters I am using for the plug-in connections are weaker, but it might have something to do with resistance being less with the hard-wired version compared to using plug-in jacked connections. I'm not an electric engineer, so that is just an anecdotal wild guess on my part. Maybe @imsolidstate can comment about whether this might be accurate.

If if you are not tripping the AC adapters and it stays running, maybe your meter is not reading accurately or your system is not requiring as much power so it never goes higher in the absence of any demand for it to do so. I agree that by all indications the mod is work because using one AC adapter causes the system to shut down, but it stays running with the dual adapter mod. That confirms it is working better than one AC adapter, even if that is less than expected. Are you running ThrottleStop? If not, try running it and see if the power demand goes higher. I always run ThrottleStop, even when I don't need to. It launches as a Task at Windows startup.

Obviously, in this video it goes well beyond 500W.

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  • 1 month later...

I appreciate your kind words. I could, but will not build them for others. I don't have the time for one thing, and there are too many people that like to blame somebody else when things go wrong. It doesn't have to be accurate, they just do it anyway. So, I posted instructions on how I did it for myself. Any observers that truly want one bad enough can make a decision to buy the parts and build their own. If something goes wrong for them I am not involved in their drama. If things were as they should be, Alienware would provide something more substantial in an AC adapter and nobody would have any use for my mod... it would be unnecessary.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Mr. Fox I am a new member and I have been looking for ways to unlock the potential of my Alienware laptop just as many on this forum have. I want to complete this dual 330w psu mod, flash an unlocked A10 bios, and flash a vbios for my 680m SLI all in that order. I have been to many of the posts within this thread and others to understand the process for each of the above. I am new to overclocking and my M18xR2 is my first gaming laptop so I'm sorry ahead of time for my ignorance on this forum and many others while I travel down this well beaten path. I have a few questions regarding the dual psu mod:

1. Does it matter what heatsink is used on the case? I have an old Thermaltake Volcano 7+ cup heatsink I was planning on using for this mod.

2. Is there a recommended length for stripping the wires to expose them for modification within the electronic project box?

3 Where did you find out how to create the Y-adapter for the ATX extensions?

4. Looking at post #63 would you recommend remaining with the hard wired version of the dual psu mod or for the v2 plug in revision?

Again I apologize for my ignorance, I'm trying to learn all of this hitting the ground running.

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@masteramrs7 - no worries... we are all new at some point in everything.

1. No, any heat sink should do. I used what I had on hand from crap that I had not thrown away. It gets really hot, so you need to have one. Using a metal box like Riri-Fifi did is also not a bad idea. His whole box is like a heat sink.

2. No, just enough to get the job done. No more, no less.

3. I didn't... I just cut 'em and soldered it together in a Y-adapter. It works well.

4. The hard-wired version seems to have worked a little bit better for me and it was easier (less effort) to do it hard-wired. But, the convenience of the plug-in setup is better. I think it really makes little difference.

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Thank you Mr. Fox! I am getting all the pieces together and I should have it done this weekend when I have more free time. I think I am going to go for the hard-wired version. Would it be overkill if I used this all aluminum project box instead in combination with the cpu heatsink? Aluminum Project Enclosure : Project Boxes | RadioShack.com

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  • 3 weeks later...
Hi Mr. Fox. In many other Posts they tell us that the double Power Supply wont be recognized in the Bios. will this Alienware take the Power anyway?

That is not accurate. It is recognized perfectly in the BIOS. The BIOS cannot tell the difference between one or two because the signal being sent is the one expected.

If you disconnect the ID wire it will not be recognized. The M18xR2 works fine with the ID wire disconnected, but does not charge the battery without it connected.

If you use an AC adapter that does not send the correct signal through the ID wire it will not be recognized, but in this case we are using two of the AC adapters that are correct for the application, not a foreign AC adapter.

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