[GUIDE] Dell 330W Power Adapter Mod for the M17X

[lingenfr]

I've read all of the information I could find, but can't find a straight answer. Does the 330w PS work with the AW 17 (i.e. R5) without modification? I am thinking of getting an extra power supply and as I have a number of upgrades ready, it makes sense to get the high wattage adapter if it will work. Otherwise, I don't think I will fool with the mod as my desoldering skills are not that good. Thanks.

[iko]

I've read all of the information I could find, but can't find a straight answer. Does the 330w PS work with the AW 17 (i.e. R5) without modification? I am thinking of getting an extra power supply and as I have a number of upgrades ready, it makes sense to get the high wattage adapter if it will work. Otherwise, I don't think I will fool with the mod as my desoldering skills are not that good. Thanks.

I am in the same boat. I have read few sparse answers on the net that the 330W PSU was fully compatible with the AW17R1 (AW17R1=AW M17xR5) but nothing fully certified. If someone trusty could confirm that it would be great.Thanks.

[dw1992817]

Thanks for sharing this！！But I get a problem，I can find the PCB designed for SOT-23 packaged chip，Can I use something else to replace it?

[bigchuk00]

i'm using an m17x r4 and 330 watts adapter works for me. The only thing is that it is locked at 240 watts. I did not modify anything on the charger since i bout it. The first day i got it, it was giving me the full 330 watts goodness and both cpu and gpu were blazing fast and stable. After the first day it just seems normal. I am from Nigeria and had to order mine on amazon US as i couldnt find it here and dell has no stores here either. Mr fox. Can u help me out with the 240 watts lock issue?

[Guest]

Probably should make yourself a dongle for the M17xR4 like the one in the opening post. Perhaps that will let you trick your motherboard and use more than 240W. There is a possibility that using my dual AC adapter mod with two 240W adapters will work as well for the M17xR4 as it does with the M18xR1/R2. That way your motherboard shakes hands with the correct AC adapter. You will have to build one and buy a second 240W AC adapter to find out. http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m18x-aw-18/4250-%5Btutorial%5D-dual-330w-ac-adapter-mod.html (Tip: use the sockets and cable like Nospheratu did -- see his links in OP -- so you can plug everything in instead of hardwired.)

If the crap they imposed on the Alienware 18 was developed and deployed on the M17xR4 before the 18, you will need to mod something on the motherboard to remove the artificial cap on power utilization that Alienware implemented.

[Guest]

I am in the same boat. I have read few sparse answers on the net that the 330W PSU was fully compatible with the AW17R1 (AW17R1=AW M17xR5) but nothing fully certified. If someone trusty could confirm that it would be great.Thanks.

I have heard of several Alienware 17 owners that are using the 330W AC adapter with complete success. It also works on the Alienware 14 and the new BGA Alienware 15 and 17 R2.

[Nospheratu]

Hello Nospheratu

I have just recently done the Crossfire 7970M Upgrade on my M17x R2 and now need to do this power supply Mod..

I just wanted to ask, since I see your also from South Africa, How did you get a hold of a 330W power supply from Dell.

I spoke to there sales department earlier and they do not recognize any of the model numbers you gave on the opening post.

Thanks for any help

Welcome to T|I @Blueneon, I'm terribly sorry for not seeing this sooner. I purchased mines though Amazon US. They seller shipped to South Africa and at the time these 330W units were going really cheap. I paid around $42 if I remember correctly. The total cost after converting to Rands was under R500 including customs/VAT. Dell South Africa's new Alienware division is a pain in the ass honestly, I ordered Alienware parts absolutely fine with no problems from Dell before Alienware arrived here. Last I spoke with Alienware SA, they wanted me to order via the UK and there was a lot of politics and nonsensical rules they had to follow... so I no longer buy anything through them.

Thanks for sharing this！！But I get a problem，I can find the PCB designed for SOT-23 packaged chip，Can I use something else to replace it?

Sorry for replying so late, @dw1992817. Yes, you can use anything really. As I mentioned in the first post, I used a piece of PCB that I broke of a spare mouse that had a SOT-23 chip. I removed the chip from the PCB, made sure that the connection points were independant from each other cleaned it up a bit and it worked perfectly.

The entire point of using the PCB is so that theres no strain on the chips legs. If you find another way to do that without using the PCB, go for it!

[orankid1972]

I just come to see this post. I have 330W dell and want to connect to my Clevo and I hear that I will get only 240 out of it if I do not modify it. How to I modify it? please enlighten me..

[Nospheratu]

if i remember correctly CLEVO owners only need to ground the ID line (the thin blue wire in the guide). This simply means the blue wire needs to be connected to the negative wire (you can see a picture of the stripped cable in the guide showing the positive, negative and ID wires).

You may also need to get the specific connector for your laptop (If its not the same as Dells) or just cut your your existing CLEVO PSU connector and use that. You dont need to connect the ID line to the connector as CLEVO's dont use the ID line.

[orankid1972]

if i remember correctly CLEVO owners only need to ground the ID line (the thin blue wire in the guide). This simply means the blue wire needs to be connected to the negative wire (you can see a picture of the stripped cable in the guide showing the positive, negative and ID wires).

You may also need to get the specific connector for your laptop (If its not the same as Dells) or just cut your your existing CLEVO PSU connector and use that. You dont need to connect the ID line to the connector as CLEVO's dont use the ID line.

Thank you very much I will give a try later....

[orankid1972]

if i remember correctly CLEVO owners only need to ground the ID line (the thin blue wire in the guide). This simply means the blue wire needs to be connected to the negative wire (you can see a picture of the stripped cable in the guide showing the positive, negative and ID wires).

You may also need to get the specific connector for your laptop (If its not the same as Dells) or just cut your your existing CLEVO PSU connector and use that. You dont need to connect the ID line to the connector as CLEVO's dont use the ID line.

Just to be safe. Can I jump ID wire (blue) to ground wire (black) inside the power supply unit? Or I have to break ferrite choke and do over there?

[Nospheratu]

Just to be safe. Can I jump ID wire (blue) to ground wire (black) inside the power supply unit? Or I have to break ferrite choke and do over there?

Yes that would be a cleaner method. Good luck!

[orankid1972]

Yes that would be a cleaner method. Good luck!

I measured positive against blue wire and got 13VDC, is this normal? Just afriad of short circuit..lol thanks alot for reply..

[Nospheratu]

The blue ID wire should be thin and at the centre of the cable exactly like in the picture in the guide. If you connect the blue ID wire coming from the PSU's PCB to the negative wire you have nothing to worry about. The Dell 330W actually switches and grounds the ID wire on its own when it receives the correct signal back from an M18X/X51. This is how the 240W limit is lifted. In this case by connecting the ID wire to the negative wire we're manually grounding it.

edit: to set your mind at ease, I've taken an excerpt out of imsolidstate's blog...

With the power supply powered up, I found the signal (ID line) was pulled high to nearly the rail voltage. Grounding the trace that I cut drove the comparator output low. With this figured out, I tried a load test with the trace grounded. Since it was cut, the M17x could still interrogate the power supply and accept it, while the rest of the line could be held low.

Load testing the power supply with the signal grounded resulted in a maximum output of 19.5V @ 22.5A before shutting down. It was also nice and quiet. That’s roughly 440 watts.

[orankid1972]

The blue ID wire should be thin and at the centre of the cable exactly like in the picture in the guide. If you connect the blue ID wire coming from the PSU's PCB to the negative wire you have nothing to worry about. The Dell 330W actually switches and grounds the ID wire on its own when it receives the correct signal back from an M18X/X51. This is how the 240W limit is lifted. In this case by connecting the ID wire to the negative wire we're manually grounding it.

edit: to set your mind at ease, I've taken an excerpt out of imsolidstate's blog...

Alright it is work.. During benchmark my laptop drawed the power upto 220W with no issue.. Thanks for help..

[Nospheratu]

You're most welcome @orankid1972, hope you have lots of fun with your new mod

Edit: Just remember that the PSU works up to a limit of 240w without the mod. If you exceed that limit you know for certain that the mod was successful.

[orankid1972]

You're most welcome @orankid1972, hope you have lots of fun with your new mod

Edit: Just remember that the PSU works up to a limit of 240w without the mod. If you exceed that limit you know for certain that the mod was successful.

Noted that but quite hard to push it beyond 240W.. Lol..

[LaPioute]

Hi,

is what one can find or buy a power supply directly modify working with my alienware M17xr4 .

thank you

I'm from France

[bigchuk00]

Is it possible/OK to mod it on the wire? Eg. Cut the wires, link them with the I'd chip and house with the ferret.

[Nospheratu]

Hi,

is what one can find or buy a power supply directly modify working with my alienware M17xr4 .

thank you

I'm from France

As mentioned in the my PM, I do not know of anyone who sells modified 330W power supplies.

I would suggest buying a normal Dell 330W and speaking to a local electrician to modify the PSU for you. You can show him the PSU modification guide so he knows exactly what to do. Any good electrician will be able to do it.

Is it possible/OK to mod it on the wire? Eg. Cut the wires, link them with the I'd chip and house with the ferret.

It is possible as the ID chip is tiny but the ferrite choke is there for a reason to reduce interference. Do we really need it on a power cable? That I'm afraid I cannot say for certain as this is not my area of expertise. I left mine in place and used another cable as I mentioned in the guide.

[Ark]

I had an extra 330w PSU and modded it as instructed for a friend who owns a m17x.

What I have noticed is that the PSU temp is higher than when plugged in to the m18x, as it is running on 240w I expected the opossite (lower temp).

Could it be that I made something wrong or is it normal?

[LaPioute]

hi Nospheratu ,

tell me is there a Y to connect 2 psu 240w alienware m17xr4 ?

thank you

[Guest]

hi Nospheratu ,

tell me is there a Y to connect 2 psu 240w alienware m17xr4 ?

thank you

A single 330W AC adapter should be ample for the the M17xR4 with a single GPU.

This is a more elegant travel-friend mod for your machine, but if you prefer to use two 240W adapters instead of a single 330W, you can make one of these adapters: http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m18x-aw-18/4250-%5Btutorial%5D-dual-330w-ac-adapter-mod.html

[LaPioute]

Hi,

is it possible that you manufactures me the same as yours ?

I 'm not good weld.

Can I pay through paypal ?

1 double housing:

2 with shipping to France.

thank you a lot

[Guest]

Hi,

is it possible that you manufactures me the same as yours ?

I 'm not good weld.

Can I pay through paypal ?

1 double housing:

2 with shipping to France.

thank you a lot

Hello. Many people have asked me to build them one, but I do not build them for others. I only provide directions so others can built their own. There is minimal soldering work to be done. You could use crimp connectors to build it and then have someone locally solder the connections to confirm they are secure and making good contact.