Alienware 13/15/17 repaste?

Has anyone tried repasting the cpu/gpu on these things? The bottom cover they make easy to remove only allows access to the ram slots, hdd, and m.2 slots. My aw15 i7 gets about 50-55C at idle (800mhz state).

I'm reluctant to pry off the outer cover over the heatsinks unless theres a how-to or something out there.

 

The service manual that goes into detail how to disassemble it is here:
http://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-pro...aptops//alienware-15_Service Manual_en-us.pdf

 

Thanks for sharing that. Looks like I would need to removal all display assembly, palm rest assembly, ssd/hdd/ram/wifi card, and take out the entire system board just to get access to the heatsinks. That is quite a tear down just to do a repaste... Normally I would only be willing to do all this work to fix major issues.

It appears that only two heatpipes are shared for both the cpu and gpu. Explains why this cpu is hotter than my msi sandybridge laptop.

 

I found the internal components to actually be very cool under load.

Even using the XTU stress test, my CPU stayed at 70C. Granted that was on the AW17.

Idle temps mean nothing, as the fans will often stop spinning altogether to keep the noise levels down. Load temps are what matter. Well, within reason of course. If you get idle temps of 85 I'd start worrying.

But it is indeed a chore to do anything other the replace RAM/SSD. I re-pasted my CPU twice yesterday on my R1. Took all of 5 minutes each time. Two screws and the entire bottom panel is removed. The only thing that requires removing the palm rest is 2 of the 4 RAM slots and the M.2 slot.

These new 2015 AW machines are definitely a different breed. Which I guess is the intention - if they make it hard for people to tinker with the machine, people won't. Which will reduce their warranty costs.

 

You mention only the temps on idle. How do they look under heavy load?

 

In the same vein I am a bit worried about the difficult access to the cooling system for a simple cleanup

 

I did the repaste and didn't notice anything significant, maybe like 2-3 C drop. I did use good paste, sparing amount, and finely spread over the die.

It took me 4 hrs to disassemble, clean, paste, and reassemble, 2 hrs spent on the disassemble...

My load temps are usually in the 70-80C

 

Two hours to disassemble? Really?

 

Disassembly took me like 30 minutes. How did you spend that long disassembling it?

 

Hmm, still takes a while though. Takes 2 minutes for the Clevo P650SE and all of 10 seconds for the AW17 R1.

 

Yes it's a long time, but my disassemblies are more from a let me look at what's going on the circuit board thing. So I take a lot of time examining the different parts and stuff.
If you were going for a get in get out kind of disassembly, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

 

Hello guys,

For those who have already successfully disassemblied it, can anybody please try to make a tutorial video and upload it ?
Since you guys already know the "procedures" to do it, it would be really a relief for a guy like me, who's never got any Alienware (I'll get mine in a few weeks : 15' + 980m ^^).

Repasting is quite a big concern for me, I don't really like the usual stock thermal paste.

Thx guys !

 

Dells support website has excellent guides on how to do it. Just look up your model number, click manual and it'll walk you through it with pictures.

 

lol