Alienware 15 r3 unbelievable dust build up

I repasted my unit with gelid extreme 10months ago and got very good temperatures overal. My cpu underload was peaking at 75c(with a -140mv undervolt) and my gpu was never going above 70c. Lately I noticed that my laptop was gettting really hot to the point that it is uncomfortable to use the keyboard(i dont use my keyboard often as i use an external mechanical keyboard when I am at home). A couple of days ago i decided to open my laptop up just to find out if the thermal paste gave up on me aka pumped out already(not really a shocker if it was pumped out already bec i always set my laptop in high performance mode aka 3.2ghz)that was causing the horrible temps ive been getting lately. I generally keep my laptop in an amazon stand and my desk and room is always clean(like someone goes to my room after i leave every morning to sweep and make up my bed) so i am not sure if this is a design flaw or possible oversight on my end. I have not experienced this much dust build up in my previous laptop except the ge60 which i owned for like 3years. I only opened it up on the 2nd year to change the fan because it gave up and even then the dust build up was very minimal and did not affect cpu temps substantially at all. Decided to give dell a call just to request for a new heatsink and fans bec i know this will be a PITA to clean up. Warranty is up to march but will definitely be getting an extension for peace of mind.

 

Do you have pets? I find that most people that do experience a lot of dust build up. All of my gaming laptops have experiences build up like this even on a cooling pad but I live in a rather dusty environment in the summer, although I don't use the laptop outside and I have central air so it filters a lot of the outside dust out.

Not sure why you would want a new heatsink due to dust...it isn't a defect, just blow it out with a can of compressed air, it will come off.

 

I dont have pets. Exp core differentials of 6c thats why i want a new heatsink also. Take note my temps are at a -140 undervolt. Without the undervolt and newly applied gelid extreme i was peaking at 86c which is rather high imo

 

i don't know why but it seems to me alienware laptops have always been dust magnet. my old M17xR2 needs cleaning every 6 months or so. but the MSI GT72 was relatively clean for 2 years.

 

I guess if your not OC then it would be kind of high. Have you gotten a replacement heatsink issued yet? Dell is pretty stingy when it comes to handing out new heatsink for anything less then 95+

 

Even older AW has same issue, I didn't clean the fans at all for a year and I had dust buildup almost twice as yours which included cat furs and hell lot of dust. Even the back panel w/ ventilation had too much dust even after keeping on laptop stand.

 

I am getting new fans and heatsink by monday or tuesday thank god for pro support

 

Owned an alienware 15r1 too i think you are right. But i cant 100% confirm it cause i sold that machine after a year but i had like 4 mobo replacements on that unit so the technician cleaned all internals everytime he came in.

 

Well, that's good to hear. I had to open the fans and clean it with prep pads and toothpick.

 

i'm afraid the fans for new alienware models are going to very difficult to clean. this is true especially for 17R4 with GTX 1080. the fans are taped shut to the heatsink and the only way to separate those two is to remove the tape or cut it otherwise you just can't get to the fan fins. very poorly thought of design.

 

I had to do this on 15 r2 which I purchased just before 15 r3 came out. Even I removed the tape to clean them up and applied a new tape.

 

Use a very soft tooth brush and dont put too much pressure on the fins, they are quite fragile. Thats how I clean 'm, just dislodge all the dust and after blow it out with canned air.

But do you smoke? that doesnt look like dust but residue of someone who smokes cigarettes or cigars. Came across this a lot in the past.

 

its easier to clean it with Q-tips! You could wet them a bit(just enough so that dirt will easily stick)

 

Thats why I didnt bother anymore! Just called the hotline and have them do it for me that way i also get a new fan! Its a PITA tbh so thats the reason why i think the warranty extension is a no brainer. 116usd a year for piece of mind is totally worth it!

 

question is,..can you really trust the on site support guy they dispatch?

 

Yes. So far i like all the support guys they send. I had like 10-12 repairs already on 3 different aw machines i use to own and done by like 3-4different people. Dell techs in my country are subcons whose normal job is to repair/maintain different atm machines. If they can maintain machines with millions in them i assume they can repair a 2k usd tech with ease. Safe assumption i guess but who knows they can f*ck up any time also.

 

this, they can be really good and total ****. luckily on of their screw ups got me a fully decked out replacement with no extra costs.

 

I use my U3 mod with homemade filters. Have never problems like this. I open up and take a look two times a year. A laptop stand without filters will never help the way you think. I have still not cleaned the fans (Soon 2 years usage of my laptop). And I smoke, have dog, cat and kids

Spoiler: This is how the Cpu + Gpu fans looks like after one year use...

 

Does your Clevo Multicom use the same keyboard like other Clevos? Your laptop keyboard seems the correct size and appears to be of good quality. Is that AW m17X?
Do you actually use the laptops because there is no fingerprint or oily things on your palmrest and everything looks like new PC and even the fans as well.
What's the CFM of your Fans of stock heatsink?

 

Same keyboard but different layout. And I haven’t problem with it. The one on my Aw ain’t very much better.
Normal cleaning. The left is my P870, the one to the right is the last Alienware 17 in history with socket hardware (Aw17 “Ranger”) Some call it R1 and even R5. The palm rest on the Alienware have a useless coating. Probably same as they use today. A fingerprint magnet. I really hate it. And If you are not careful (in out of bags) it will flake of.

And yeah, I’m careful with my things. Cars, computers etc. in short most.

 

Palmrest needs cleaning everyday.

 

I've cleaned fans on my AW 17 R4 already once (~4 months ago), dropped temps from low 70s back to low 60s. It's not the easiest machine to maintain definitely and takes more time, but it wasn't very tough. I carefully peeled the tape and then stuck it back without problems. But to be honest I wasn't afraid to damage it, as it can be replaced with any other easily, i.e. 3M electrical tape.

 

Foil tape is what you want. It's requires more care due to being electrically conductive but the ability of the tape to conform into almost any shape is incredible.

 

A little preventive maintenance goes a long way. You should be using compressed air on your laptop at least once every few months if this is a machine you utilize daily. I recently decided to do a thorough cleaning, with similar build up (but in much less time - two long haired pets in the house). This took about 20 minutes, with a toothbrush and can of air.

 

What temperatures were you getting originally? Also temps before cleaning and after?

 

I didn't record the before temps as I wasn't having any issues. Just decided it was time to open it up. I will capture some of the temps under load and post them here later.

**EDIT**

Under load:
CPU @ 61-62C

Fan performance mode is enabled, of course.

 

That looks like particle build up due to some sort of oil smoke, like someone is frying food nearby. Dust, the kind that is comprised primarily of dead human skin and whatnot, is finer and will blow off easily with compressed air. That stuff looks sticky, like what you'd see after a protein fire, but mixed with ambient dust. You might want to consider moving the laptop to a more isolated location in your home.

 

UPDATE: I just got fan replacements and a new heatsink from a sunon to a cci. I have to say that with the new heatsinks i am getting lesser core differentials and i decided to use ic diamond this time instead of gelid extreme. at -140mv i am getting peak cpu temps of 69c. I am totally happy with the recent service done to my system. I plan on extending the warranty before it expires on the 21st of next month. As you can see in the pics i dont think the gelid extreme "pumped out" in anyway. I believe it was the dust build up that was the main cause of the issue i had. I plan on getting my unit serviced every3-4 months just to make the most out of the extended warranty.

 

My room is the farthest room from the kitchen so i highly doubt its that. Anyways i plan on getting compressed air this month for cleaning purposes!

 

exactly my point. there is no difference between CCI and sunon heatsink. they are both equally good and equally bad at the same time. thanks for confirming it.

what's your cpu core differential now with the CCI heatsink and new thermal paste when you run OCCT? from the picture you posted, i can see you have cpu core differential problem with the sunon heatsink. i'm guessing about 10C since you are using a HQ cpu.

 

I am back at my home now. Left my laptop at the office but last time i checked 4c max core differentials when running xtu stress test.

 

That's awful lot of paste. Why didn't you go for surface spread? For ICD spreading is difficult.

 

tbh i was busy catching up on a tv series when the guys was fixing my machine 10months ago. I believe it was SUITS i was watching LOL. Anyway, this time i watched him like a hawk and this time i myself applied the icd via line method.

 

use thin line next time while repasting cpu and big pea on gpu.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...3-owners-lounge.797458/page-402#post-10712534

Alienware 15 R3 amazing heatsink build quality !!!

Had been curious if the fan wheel can be removed by simply lifting it out, the answer is NO.
The fan spindles will break with any attempt at disassembly.

The images are from a brand new heatsink so it isn't brittle after Months in high temperature.
What I found to my amazement is how Dell had skimped in the manufacture of the heatsink.
The quality is diabolical.

1) How much more would it cost to spray the rest of the fan interior instead of half painting it ?
2) The copper heatsink outlet is too compacted together that dust will accumulate very quickly, it is more delicate than an eggshell, easily snapped off.
3) & (4) Flimsy plastic fan blades (0.2mm thickness) are also very brittle.
5) Flimsy copper coil wires (0.1mm) from the rotor will easily break, anyone who experienced Dremel motor failure will understand.
6) Inadequate and badly designed underside tape seal requires fan removal in order to seal it correctly.

Please note I'm not Dell AW bashing, merely bringing knowledge of truth at how Dell is becoming a cheapskate and their loyal customers are suffering the issues of their avarice.

When you pay such a price for a laptop, you don't expect such CRAP.

 

So you blame dell for your own screw up? not all fans can be disassembled like this. The fan you are pointing at is the well regarded Sunon maglev fan design. This design is not ment in any way to pull apart. Those fan blades are thin so more can be used for a better airflow. These fans are widely regarded as durable in the whole industry by people that actually know whats up. So you blame someone else for your own lack of knowledge about this fan style, thats grand.

So now in the end you are complaining that you receive a high end/good quality fan because you cant take it apart (wrongly take it apart)?

Now you accused others of being shills for Dell, for which company are you a shill?

Read up on Maglev fans here http://www.sunon.com/tw/products/pdf/technology.pdf