M17X Project: Legacy

[ichime]

I've owned a lot of high end gaming notebooks since the Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2. I haven't owned a mainstream or a multimedia powerhouse notebook since then; strictly gaming notebooks. My first notebook mod was making a hybrid between an Inspiron XPS Gen 2 and the newer XPS M1710 (Gen 2 Lid, M1710 base and motherboard). That experience got me hooked on modding the other notebooks I got my hands on; from green palm-rested M9750s running Radeon 3870s in Crossfire to a OCZ Whitebook that was actually white and carried a TV tuner.

Now comes the M17x-R2. In terms of functionality, specs and everything in respect to its time of introduction, this is the best gaming notebook I have ever owned. Attractive design, modular components (MXM, Mini PCI-e), amazing screen; it's hard to find a notebook that can beat the M17x in terms of the overall package today (and I think the M18x has the best shot of doing that). So now comes that time again to fully mod this machine before I send it off and upgrade to another gaming notebook in the late future. This time, I'm going all out: from changing the GPUs to reanodizing the frame (yes, reanodize it) and I've already gotten started, despite it being exam week for me.

Now since most of you guys are notebook enthusiasts like me I'd like to hear your input of what I should add/upgrade to this machine. Here's a check list of what I've done so far:

• Keyboard/Key Replacement (darker, but more luminescent keys)
  
• Unlocked A10 BIOS V1
  
• IR Remote
  

And here is what I plan to do:

1) WiFi/Mini-PCI E replacement: getting rid of the Ultimate N-6300 to possibly the following:

- Intel Advanced N 6230 (since it has bluetooth, it opens up the other Mini-PCI E slot for something like a TV tuner or a WiHD module)

- Atheros WiFi/Bluetooth combo (similar to the 6230)

- BigFoot Killer N 1103 (and deal with the loss of bluetooth and upgrade the second slot to TV tuner, WiHD module, or something else)

2) GPU Replacement: I already tested a 6970M in the system and there are still things to be worked out. Thanks' to Mumak's progressions, the 6970M in a R2 seems to be more practical. Though I got rid of my 1120 shader card, I bought an even better setup. Probably not as exciting and most can guess what it's going to be...

3) Optical Drive replacement: This system came with a boring 8x DVD burner. Time to upgrade to a Blu-ray burner. There's the 4x BD-R Panasonic UJ235A that's on ebay, or I can wait for the slot-load version of the UJ240 with 6x BD-R. I'm still looking for a Sony/NEC slot-load BD-R as I've had a better experience with that brand for optical drives

4) Body work: I thought about powdercoating or just spray painting, but something about anodized coating stands out more. So, I decided I'm going to go with that. I've already bought a spare lid and a spare bottom base that I've already stripped down so that it's just the aluminum pieces. I'll have to remove the current anodized coat using Lye and send it off to the nearest plating firm to coat it. That, or I can do it myself...

I haven't decided on the color yet, but I'm leaning towards a dark sapphire blue.

5) Power: Thought about getting an extended life version of the M17x battery, still looking into that. All depends on how much of an improvement in average life and average decay they provide. Also, depending if the new 330w PSU that comes with the M18x works in older systems, that's another option. Nothing too fancy or ambitious.

6) Heatsink modification: This is probably the most ambitious of all my goals, but I know a few shops that could help me out with this. Basically my goal is to completely redesign the GPU heatsinks to make it more focused on dissipating heat through the vents. This includes adding three copper pipes for each GPU heatsink (the third to soak up the heat from the memory banks, which the current heatsink doesn't have. And if I can't make my own, I'll see what I can do to improve on the current one.

So that's what I'm looking at now. What do you guys think? any suggestion of what to do/what not to do? This project should easily replace the amount of gaming I do and also reduce my daily caffeine intake.

EDIT: Also, I'll use this post to document any updates on this project if you guys are interested.

[Michael]

Keep us posted, very interesting ideas you got there.

One thing about the WiHD - you need to remember you need both the transmitter and the antenna cables, so you need to think of a place to stick the antennae

[svl7]

I'm looking forward to seeing your efforts... sounds like a nice project, though pretty time consuming.

The making a heatsink is possible if you have access to a CNC mill, though it will involve quite some work getting a nice CAD model. About the heatpipes... best will be to use the ones of the regular heatsink (but there are only two if I remember correctl, right?) Bending heatpipes is an almost impossible task, they're pretty fragile... if you have any knowledge about bending heatpipes or similar customization let me know, I'd really like to hear about it.

[Brian]

Looking forward to your progress ichime. Of all the mods you have in mind, the GPU one seems to be the best one in terms of performance gain. If you can find someone willing to mill you custom GPU sinks, you could turn it into a business if you find someone with some decent CAD skills to design them. For the GPU, I'm guessing you went with either 485M SLi or 460/470M again?

[StamatisX]

I would also really be interested for an enhanced gpu heatsink mod.

[ichime]

Keep us posted, very interesting ideas you got there.

One thing about the WiHD - you need to remember you need both the transmitter and the antenna cables, so you need to think of a place to stick the antennae

The way I have it planned out, I'm going to use two of the four available antenna cables to power the WHDI/WiHD module. Amimon has a PCI-e module shown here that can use the internal antenna cables. That card would take the place of the bluetooth module that's already on it (which only takes 1 antenna cable). The remaining two antenna cables would be for the Wifi since the 6230 only needs two. The only problem is that one of the cables might be too short to extend to where the WHDI module would be. I could always get another notebook antenna/wire to replace the shortened one if need be.

And since the WHDI module is compatible with any WiHD receiver (like the ones Asus and Dell use since they use the same technology), it should be able to sync up with minimal issue.

EDIT: I'm still reading more information about SiBeam (the more widely used Wireless HD system) and it's a competitor to WHDI. WHDI already has transmitters available in the market that can be hooked up to today's HDTVs, so the setup should be fine even though I wouldn't be able to use it with SiBeam receivers.

Looking forward to your progress ichime. Of all the mods you have in mind, the GPU one seems to be the best one in terms of performance gain. If you can find someone willing to mill you custom GPU sinks, you could turn it into a business if you find someone with some decent CAD skills to design them. For the GPU, I'm guessing you went with either 485M SLi or 460/470M again?

I actually found a website/company that deals with custom heatsink design, seen here; they even have a link to a CAD program that specializes in heatsink design and I'm definitely giving that a try. As for the GPU solution, it's still AMD, just two regular 6970Ms that I can get in Crossfire. I went with that because I found a vendor who is selling them at a really good price. However, if the GTX 485Ms were being sold for $600 each, I probably would have went that route for the uniqueness factor, though no one has tested them on a R2 or a M15x.

Edited May 15, 2011 by ichime
More information

[mw86]

Wow Ichime looking forward to a design from that company. You could design the cooling from scratch.

[Guest bifnewman]

Can't wait. I'd really like the idea of dual 6970's in this thing.

[Michael]

The way I have it planned out, I'm going to use two of the four available antenna cables to power the WHDI/WiHD module. Amimon has a PCI-e module shown here that can use the internal antenna cables. That card would take the place of the bluetooth module that's already on it (which only takes 1 antenna cable). The remaining two antenna cables would be for the Wifi since the 6230 only needs two. The only problem is that one of the cables might be too short to extend to where the WHDI module would be. I could always get another notebook antenna/wire to replace the shortened one if need be.

And since the WHDI module is compatible with any WiHD receiver (like the ones Asus and Dell use since they use the same technology), it should be able to sync up with minimal issue.

EDIT: I'm still reading more information about SiBeam (the more widely used Wireless HD system) and it's a competitor to WHDI. WHDI already has transmitters available in the market that can be hooked up to today's HDTVs, so the setup should be fine even though I wouldn't be able to use it with SiBeam receivers.

I also looked around to buy the SiBeam card but it seems no one sells them except Dell.

[ichime]

UPDATE:

I placed an order for two 6970Ms to try out Crossfire. Also, I got started on #4 on my to-do list. I bought a lid and base. Apparently the base was in poor shape (which wasn't mentioned in the ebay ad). Nonetheless, I only needed the outer aluminum of the base. I used a Dremel rotary etcher to soften up the edges and dents on the aluminum piece. Afterwards, I stripped all of the plastic and mounting pieces of both parts so that it's just bare aluminum:

Now, I'm getting the pieces ready to de-anodize by placing them in a bath of hot-water + Crystal Drano (30% sodium hydroxide). More to come...

[iloveb00bs]

wow pretty sweet project man. keep us updated with the results. i'm trying to paint the r3 case too but haven't decided on the colors yet.

Edited May 20, 2011 by iloveb00bs

[chiefule]

WoW!~ Great stuff iChime.

I'm really looking forward to updates on the SiBeam WiDi and Crossfire 6970 projects.

I really wouldn't mind trying some new updated GPUs one of these days just for testing purposes. It would be great if they were fully supported by a modded BIOS but yeah we shall see.

Cheers!

Alienware M17x R1, Nebula Red Base, Intel Quad Core Q9000, 8Gb DDR3 1333Mhz ram, GTX 260m SLi.

Alienware M17x R2, Nebula Red Base, Intel Core i7 840QM, 8Gb DDR3 1333Mhz ram, Crossfire Dual 5870s

Alienware M17x R2, Nebula Red Base, Intel Core i7 920XM, 8Gb DDR3 1333Mhz ram, Crossfire Dual 5870s

http://www.rage3d.com/cap/

Edited May 21, 2011 by chiefule

[DanXbix]

Awesome work iChime any news if the m18x powersupply will work on a R2?

[ichime]

I asked someone who has both, but I haven't got a response yet.

Anyways, ever wondered what the M17x shell looks like de-anodized?

I still have to get rid of some of the old anode stains then degrease the hell out of it to get them ready to re-anodize.

[Michael]

Great job ichime! Please keep us posted

Chiefule- welcome to T|I!

[chiefule]

Great job ichime! Please keep us posted

Chiefule- welcome to T|I!

Thanks Michael, it's great to be here.

I can't wait to catchup and check out all the news on T|I.

Cheers.

Alienware M17x R1, Nebula Red Base, Intel Quad Core Q9000, 8Gb DDR3 1333Mhz ram, GTX 260m SLi.

Alienware M17x R2, Nebula Red Base, Intel Core i7 840QM, 8Gb DDR3 1333Mhz ram, Crossfire Dual 5870s

Alienware M17x R2, Nebula Red Base, Intel Core i7 920XM, 8Gb DDR3 1333Mhz ram, Crossfire Dual 5870s

http://www.rage3d.com/cap/

[Brian]

I asked someone who has both, but I haven't got a response yet.

Anyways, ever wondered what the M17x shell looks like de-anodized?

I still have to get rid of some of the old anode stains then degrease the hell out of it to get them ready to re-anodize.

That looks awesome! If it was me I'd just polish it up and use it like that.

[KillerBunny]

Best of luck ichime! All of this stuff is completely beyond me, but looks like fantastic work. The heatsink change looks very appealing to me, and when I get up the courage to mess with my system, I might do that

[ichime]

Thanks guys, I actually thought about leaving it as is because right after I took it out of the Drano mix, it looked so shiny and white. But then, it got oxidized and looked a bit used, even with some polishing. Next step is to sand out the edges (it had some dents and scratches) and then send it over to the anodizing shop.

In the meantime, I wait for the 6970s I ordered because I'll be designing a heatsink based on that design (I need the dimensions and I'm too lazy to open up my system now )

[mw86]

Nice its looking sexy so far. Pearly white sexy!

[freedomofthedarkendheart]

This sounds awesome and looks amazing, keep up the progress that silver looks ten times better than the one i have! Keep up the good work maybe some of us can pay you to do that mod? Would you be willing to do so? It's better sometimes to do that than buy a newer machine, the R2 will become like the M1730 refusing to die.

[ichime]

Ok, so awesome news:

I just received two 6970Ms to test Crossfire. I haven't done that yet because of even more awesome news:

The 6970M I received (bought from NBR member pkhetan who gets them directly from Clevo) apparently works with the fan and sleep issue fixed! I'm still testing everything out but yeah...fan spools up accordingly to temperature with no help from hwinfo (though I'm still going to use it) and when I close the lid and remove the PSU, the system doesn't freeze. BTW, these cards are for the P150HM.

This basically means (unless I did something strange) that a single 6970M in a M17x R2 is a go!

Edit:

Here's a picture of one of the cards:

And also, audio over DP/HDMI doesn't work with the original Clevo BIOS. To fix this, you'll have to flash the card with the M18X 6970M VBIOS, which is posted on the M18x section (thanks to Brian). However, using the M18X BIOS doesn't fix the sleep/shutdown issue (system will crash if you close lid and will hang up if you try to shut down).

Edited June 6, 2011 by ichime

[ichime]

And boom. CrossfireX with the added benefit of proper fan control and shut down/sleep/battery works thanks to a nice flash of X7200 6970M VBIOSes (master and slave)

[Jimbo]

That....... Is......... Awesome........

+rep

[Brian]

And boom. CrossfireX with the added benefit of proper fan control and shut down/sleep/battery works thanks to a nice flash of X7200 6970M VBIOSes (master and slave)

Congrats ichime, very well done! Have you tried using kill a watt to see how much power Crossfire is sucking? I bet that 240W PSU is crying uncle. A hack to enable the M18x PSU would be icing on the cake.