*OFFICIAL* Alienware m15 Owner's Lounge

I had never these bugs in Windows like you. After a crash the system reboot without uv.

My m15 R1 has still warranty, too. You can everytime easy remove the PCH-Heatsink. Full description how to apply the heatsink in my link. It's easy, fast and safe, but in the end it's your device and your choice.

Haven't you seen it? 3,0mm. all dimensions are in the link. 3,0mm fits only for the PCH. On the PCIe SSDs fit max. a 2,0mm plate (+ thermal pad).

I can't it say exactly, because i had with my first heatsink huge core-temp-differences. Before repaste and after repast with kyronaut again. The temps were much better, but still huge core-temp-differences. (look in the repaste-link). I contacted the support with my HWinfo logs and got a new heatsink. This time i did the repast with lm, because for better passive cooling. I often use the m15 on battery and with better passive cooling the fans stay off and you've better battery life.

 

Have you tried to run mprime torture test enabling checksums and verifications? I could play without problems at -165mV, even at -170mV, but mprime and AVX2 would surface those errors. At the end I went to -158 mV, as -165mV was not always 100% stable. Also I noticed that firefox would sometime crash tabs when running at -165mV, but that could be confirmation bias

 

I did read and look over your guide, it didn't mention the PCH heatsink was 3mm, but it mentioned 3mm being too big for the SSD's, I also saw you said the NVME SSD had a 2mm aluminium plate that's why I was only curious of the PCH. Thanks for the info, I will be ordering some tomorrow and playing with them asap.

 

Interesting. What was your rationale for bothering with the PCH heatsink? The max temp of ca. 70C before the mod doesn't seem concerning?

 

Lower temps for everything (except SSD memory) means longer lifespan, more stable overclocks and a quieter system. A lower PCH temp helps reduce the temp of other components as well, but I do know a PCH can cause throttling in CPUs too, though idk at what point this one throttles. I remember in the AW15R3/17R2 some people were doing PCH heatsink mods to prevent throttling.

 

I don't understand why reducing the temp of a standalone component such as PCH would help reduce the temp of unconnected components.

Well, AW15/17 users have observed PCH related throttling at 100C, rather than at 70C.

I am not aware of any relationship between PCH temp and noise levels. Seems to be purely based on CPU and GPU temps.

Longer lifespan might be a valid rationale in general, although in this case it's not clear to what extent lifespan of a PCH running at 70C is of any concern.

 

In my gaming room I can see the temp go from 70-72F to 80-82F when playing on my 60" TV and using my AVR for hours. Compared to the size of the room, they use almost no space whatsoever, but their heat does have a noticeable impact on everything in the room.

The PCH is small, but that 70C is sitting right next to the RAM and HSF

 

OK, I will proceed on the assumption that additional PCH cooling is not necessary, unless there are robust benchmarking results showing otherwise.

In addition, I guess there is some risk of the heatsink coming off and short-circuiting the laptop (or alternatively the heatsink may need to be attached permanently, which doesn't seem ideal).

 

Yeah, you said that before. Additional cooling is not necessary on any of the laptops Dell sells. But I bet you still make your changes right? So what point are you making by saying "its not needed" meanwhile I bet if I search your posts, you have very likely done one of the following - undervolted or repasted your laptop.

Ah so repasting is not needed, but you do it anyway, right?

 

I've already answered this question. You've the space, better PCH temps and eliminate overall heat before it spreads into the system.

I reached this temperature already few minutes after playing FC5. Under the right conditions and long enough you can easily reach more. Since the R4 is this problem known. Look in R4 and R5 lounge. Many users have a PCH-Mod.

Many things are not necessary. RAM @ 2.666 Mhz, SSD-heatsinks, Eyetracking and so on, but in some cases it's better to have it than to need it, but don't have it.

I wonder if it's not necessary, why so many other manufacturers use a PCH cooler on the same HM370 Chipset like in the m15/ m17? Often notbooks with less power than the m15. Some examples:

Aorus 15


Aorus X7 DT v8


ASUS Zephyrus S GX701


Gigabyte Aero 15 X9


Gigabyte Aero 17


Lenovo Y530


Lenovo Y540 (2019)


Lenovo Y740


Razer Blade 15


Razer Blade 17 Pro

That's quite impossible, because the heatsink is glued with thermal glue and kapton-tape protects the small SMDs on it. By the way, the cooler is full painted black. Your statement means that all users with a PCH-Mod have a high risk to short the mainboard. I've never heard that a motherboard broke from your a PCH-mod and the R4 for instance is over 3-4 years on the market. I don't recommend a PCH-mod. Just wanted to show that there is enough space for it. If you think you don't need it or the risk is to high then don't install it.






BTW, with a PCH-Mod reach more points in CB R20

 

Err, dude, calm down - I was referring specifically to the PCH mod lol

Cool, thanks for the info. Def good to know the mod is technically viable, although I'm still not convinced there is a material benefit to be had from installing it, or to put it another way - that there is a PCH temp issue that needs to be solved in this laptop.

Your CB20 results are kind of lower bound of what I'd expect you to get on your i9-8950HK regardless of the mod. I get 3k on the i7-8750h.

Edit: perhaps your i9 stresses the PCH more, motivating the mod accordingly.

 

His Cinebench results are from a i7-8750H lol /facepalm

 

I've two devices. The AW17 R5 with i9-8950HK and GTX 1080 and the m15 R1 with i7-8750H and GTX 1060 (more for mobile things).
In CB R20 i reached 3.600 points with the i9-8950HK (R5). Simply limited by the powerlimit (PL1 100w/ PL2 110w). Not sure, but i think it's the highest score what i've seen in the R5 lounge. The m15 with the 8750H (PL1 75w/ PL2 90) is not bad. 3.113 point for the small device is ok.

This was a joke.

 

Sorry, glanced over your sig too fast. Again, very neat PCH mod, I'm just bit sure there is really any hard scientific rationale for it.

Yep, a great 8750 score, however, AFAIR @CptXabaras got over the 3K hurdle with his LMed 8750 too (without a PCH mod). I'm assuming you LMed too given the extent of the overall modding effort.

 

I did this score with normal thermal paste (kryonaut). 1:30 (time of the benchmark) to cool one chip is not a big challenge. Later I changed the heatsink and repasted it with LM, but only for the battery life. With LM I did't one benchmark.

 

OK, if the score is with your PCH mod only, that's indeed intriguing!

 

How do you remove it once you use thermal adhesive? I've never used any thermal adhesives but from what I see on Google, many people have trouble getting heatsinks off after using it lol. Also, what kind of thermal adhesive did you use?

 

Do you have a source or a link from your claim?

I spent a lot of time in testing different mods, materials and heatsinks (with R4 and R5) and in almost all cases i used thermal glue, because you can it at any time easy remove without problems. Don't use UHU high temperature silicone glue! It sticks too strong.
One of many examples:

Testing various heatsinks and materials on PCH (copper vs. aluminum)


After the testing I swichted back to the aluminum heatsink. It's few degrees better. I've absolutely no problems to remove the old copper heatsink.

Same with my heatsink-mod testing. I tested over 5 heatsinks, every time on the same heatsink and I didn't have any problems to remove the mod or the old thermal glue. The old glue is a bit like rubber. -Full Story-, -Full Story2-



After the testing my heatsink looks still normal without damages or scratches or anything. That's why I'm curious about what you saw on google.

 

https://hardforum.com/threads/any-way-to-remove-thermal-adhesive.1229108/
https://www.overclock.net/forum/63-other-cooling-discussions/1337045-removing-thermal-adhesive.html
https://www.overclock.net/forum/63-...emove-heat-sinks-bonded-thermal-adhesive.html
https://www.overclock.net/forum/6-i...en-thermal-adhesive-north-bridge-chipset.html

I am not accusing your method of being false, I am just asking you what you bought and how you remove it because I have no experience with it and you have lots of experience with it. I tried to Google before wasting your time, but Google just resulted in lots of other inexperienced people saying "put it in the freezer" or "take a razer blade to it" lol. Both of which, I will not be doing.

Also, I did some tests, and they are basic tests because at the end of the day lower is better and I am not competing. I attached some 1.5mm copper heatsinks to both my 970 Evo 1TB and 512GB Toshiba from my m15. These are my Results.

2 Cinebench runs back to back

CPUs
89, 80, 89, 81, 85, 81

PCH
64

970 Evo
56, 80

Toshiba
44

GPU
58

3 Cinebench runs back to back

CPUs
89, 78, 89, 80, 84, 79

PCH
55

970 evo
40, 48

Toshiba
35

GPU
56

Link to images of the SSD's for anyone that cares : https://imgur.com/a/aERkNDU

Basically tl;dr - simply ading a heatsink to both SSD, resulted in temperature drops across the ENTIRE laptop. That is why cooling the PCH is important. Also, I didn't add a heatsink to the PCH yet. That is the PCH while still bare.

Note: The Samsung SSD would actually hit high 80s during gaming, these aren't min/max results, these are just results of doing some quick Cinebench. Nonetheless, heatsinks vs no heatsinks results in better temps and it is worth doing.

@Sk0b0ld if you have time, could you show me on the US amazon website what kind of thermal adhesive you would buy? Apparently the brand you use just doesn't exist here. And I definitely want something removable or nothing at all. Considering hot glue as a option since the temps that can withstand should be very safe pick.

 

Err, your data clearly shows there is no significant impact of the SSD heatsinks on CPU (and, for sanity's sake, GPU) temps, and it's hard to infer much from the single PCH/Toshiba data points...

Def recommend some additional SSD cooling mechanism though, because... well, it cools down the SSDs and thus prevents thermal throttling

 

Log your results better with HWinfo and take screenshots.

Rubber bands aren't good because they become very elastic in heat and the heatsink could comes off. Because of the reason I take aluminum tape. That's not elastic and keep always the heatsink in position.



edit, actually you don't have these problems in the m15, because the SSD-heatsink screwed in in the mobo (attachment points). More important is the correct thickness of the pads.

That could work Thermal glue. You need only a tiny dot on the corners (like on the photo). If you not sure, test the glue with the heatsink on a table oder something else.

You recommend an SSD cooling, but a PCH cooling makes no sense for you, ok. You've seen how many manufacturers use a PCH cooler in their notebooks, but only a few of them use (or build in) an SSD-heatsink. Yes, in most cases you don't need a heatsink on SSD or PCH, but if your system runs hot enough, you'll be happy if you have a heatsink on it.

An example with an AW17 R5: HWinfo-Log. The PCH from this guy reached over 90°C in a 15 minutes ingame-log. CPU-, GPU- even SSD-temperatures looks fine but don't forget, your system is only as fast as the weakest part in the system.

 

SSD cooling benefits are much easier to quantify: we know what the thermal throttle point for those SSDs, we see the SSD reach that point in a heavy test - therefore we apply a cooling solution and problem solved.
SSD heatsink is also much easier to attach, in fact there is a Dell part that fits right in.

With the PCH mod, you keep referring back to the familiar AW17 R5 analogy, but evidently the PCH in the m15 doesn't run as hot. Is it the same chip model/variant? The one in the m15 R1 is Intel HM370 (Cannon Lake-H), however, not sure which of the several variants:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...s-chipset-on-package-pch-datasheet-vol-1.html

If there is any info regarding thermal throttling of that PCH, I missed it. Max operating temperature is 110C.

I'm not claiming the mod def confers no measurable benefits, I am more looking for strong evidence that it does. So far, I have your single benchmark results (encouraging, to be fair) with no pre-mod control benchmark.
The mod is a bit cumbersome (compared to a repaste), so would be best to have sensible rationale before doing the work, and taking the small risk of semi-permanently gluing a heatsink to the PCB

 

I was actually just going for a cheap easy fix on the SSDs, tbh until a few days ago I was unaware SSD are meant to be hot (with the exception of the controller). 88C+ was way too hot for the controller and 80 was well above for the storage, so I feel like this cheap solution is a good happy medium of reduced, if not any, thermal throttling as well as SSD endurance. But yeah, I thought the bands were silicone but I checked amazon and it does say rubber. I ordered some Kapton tape to do what you did with the PCH Heatsink so I can use some of the tape to also keep the heatsinks steady on the SSD's.

Also, I appreciate the tips on logging info. I just wanted to do it quick though since nothing had to be proved, your guide and info is more than enough proof for anyone. Maybe if I am feeling bored I will do a before/after of my system + PCH temps. I would be very surprised if it didn't give results that showed even -1 to -2C like the SSDs. At least I have the Cinebench score to notice if that changes as well.

Something cool to see would be m15 keyboard temps before/after the PCH mod since it is nearly in the center of the keyboard. Supposedly the m15 has a extremely hot keyboard, I never use it while gaming so I am not sure. I'm sure having 20-30C less from the PCH under the keyboard will give some results too.

And thanks a lot for the thermal adhesive recommendation. I am going to bond some random things tomorrow and see how it works out and if it feels safe to remove I will do the PCH mod.

 

Jumping in the PCH discussion I did a similar mod at the same time I repasted it. I did it for a previous 13R3, and it was much harder with that laptop. In the 13R3 the PCH was actually having problems. I've never had any problem with the m15r1, but it so easy, the space is there, the PCH is just sitting looking at you,

I just put a small raspberry pi heatsink, and it works perfectly. No need for kapton tape or anything else, probably the included adhesive is pretty bad thermally, but it is good enough for me.

It drives the PCH temps down by 5-10C. I've noticed than using a bluetooth xbox gamepad will drive the temps of the PCH from the standard 65C to around 75C. With the heatsink it never goes over 67C or so.

Also, after using a thermal camera on the motherboard (powered on without the cover), I noticed that the hottest part is by far the memory. I have the Kingston Hyper-X Impact 2666 CAS15, that seems to not include a thermal sensor, but I think it was around 75-80 doing nothing. I added some extra thick thermal pads so now the memory is dissipating heat to the bottom cover.

Probably these mods are completely useless, but what's the point of getting an Alienware? if I would like an "out-of-the-factory" experience I would go for a MacBook

 

nVIDIA Graphics Driver for Alienware Laptops v26.21.14.3169

 

What can I say, I'm not a modder for modding's sake, not that there is anything wrong with eager modding!

Out of interest though: what thickness pads did you use in the RAM, and how did you affix them?

 

The R5 and the m15 have the same HM370 chipset. Intel 8.Gen CPUs use the hm370 plattform.

Operating Junction Temperature. That specified intel, because Intel isn't responsible for the cooling. They only sell the chip. The board manufacturer decides the limits. Same for the MOSFETs, inductors, powerlimits and so on. Other notebook manufacturer throttles the CPU at 85°C.( example) or the GPU story in Area51m. 75°C is the (new) thermal limit. Do you know the temp-limit of the PCH in the m15 r1? What do you think about the other manufacturer, which use a PCH cooler? They don't do that for fun. On desktop mainboards, no matter which price region, you always have a huge cooler on the PCH. Alienware knows the problem. That's why they're starting to cool the PCH now. Unfortunately only from the m15/ m17 R2. (Source: Service-manual m15 r2)

My device comes without SSD-heatsink. Alienware knows how to save some bucks.

Neither the heatsink on the SSD nor the heatsink on the PCH will have a cooling affect on the keyboard. They're just too small. If you want a cooler keyboard is an effective way to use a decent notebook cooler, which cools the whole system down.

 

Alright, I just recieved an E-mail from DELL and they have agreed to send in a technician to inspect and possibly repair my unit by having a full on motherboard replacement. Thank goodness for the premium warranty. However, this would surely get rid of the Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut application that HIDevoution performed on my unit.. What kind of thermal compound do the DELL Tech Reps use as default...

 

Toothpaste. It is crap. If call HID and see if they can help out.

How careful does the tech need to be to disassemble a computer with LM?

 

This is great news. I think there was something wrong with your system from the beginning. Good to see Dell is coming through on warranty.

The replacement motherboard/heatsink will come with factory-applied toothpaste. You can try asking the tech for a repaste or do it yourself, it's really trivial in case of non-LM.

 

That's a good point, I would just clean up myself before the Dell visit. The motherboard will be replaced anyway, but still not clear how the tech will react to/handle LM application.

 

Indeed, I am quite pleasantly surprised with DELL. Although yeah, I would lose my Conductonaut Thermal paste.. Supposedly, I would never need another repaste, but now, well....

I already did and they even suggested that I have it sent back to them so they could re-apply the paste. Both HIDevolution and DELL are more than willing to help, but my main problem is the local Bureau of Customs in my country. They would still charge me taxes even if these are under warranty. I could apply for "Tax Exempt" but they would still charge me Advalorem Duty which is 15% of the cost of the repairs. Although, they could also decline my request and charge me the full weight of the taxes once more... Thieving greedy hellspawns the PH BOC. Hence why my country could never move forward :/

 

I used this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KX4B2K9 it sticks a bit but fits quite well against the bottom cover, in fact after having it there for a while one of them will stick to the bottom cover itself.

 

This is some very good info, You really know your stuff about all gaming laptops. Also not surprised eternal disappeared soon as you shown proof about the PCH chipset lol. I still haven't added the heatsink to my PCH yet and won't be for a day or two, but this gives me time to do a good comparison instead of a rushed one.

 

Okay, I just ordered both Thermaly Grizzly Conductonaut as well as IC Diamond. Hopefully the DELL Tech REP would be able to apply or assist me in applying any of these two instead of the toothpaste that DELL has standard.. I am hoping IC Diamond would at least be able to control my laptop's thermal issues and last quite sometime but I would have Conductonaut on hand just in case I get lucky with the Technician that would come in..

 

Be very careful. Not all the techs know what they are doing. Back up your drives if you can, remove them if you can't. Especially if attempting LM. A bad application of LM could short the MB and spike your drives, killing them.

 

You may even be able to suggest yourself applying it, if the tech is afraid. I mean the m15 takes 5 minutes to get to the CPU and GPU, its not like in the past where it would take many screws, some unplugging, moving the keyboard. So even if you or anyone has any doubt about the thermal performance due to using LM, it takes only 5-10 extra min for them to apply paste.

And like redmop said, be safe with it. When I went to do my first ever LM repaste on my 15R3, there was a air bubble right at the top. LM squirted out about 2 feet and luckily missed my laptop motherboard. Make sure to first dab some on a napkin away from the laptop. It left a stain too on my mousepad lol

 

Yeah, those are true. One reason why I went with HIDevolution, who have been doing that for years.. I am not really confident with doing anything to the internals of my devices, yet alone applying LM. There is always the IC Diamond but of course LM is WAY better and would last longer. Originally, I wanted to go the entire time this laptop would be with me, around 4-5 years without needing a repaste.

Sigh.. I could always send it back to them since I purchased their shipping service, but my local bureau of customs would have a field day especially when they see how much this laptop costs. Oh wells... the problems of my nation xD

 

Yeah, they do look identical, although strictly speaking we can't see the exact chip details. The mystery why the PCH tends to run hotter on the 17 R5 remains unsolved too.

Anyway, the good thing is that the PBC underneath has lots of clean flat space, making the mod easier. OrI

Help yourself bro and learn how to repaste.

 

Nice. Do you think the same trick would work with the PCH or I would need 5mm or 2x3mm stacked?

I resolve to do my outstanding Phobya repaste this weekend so might as well try putting some pads on the PCH and RAM.

 

I would also appreciate if you could share some details of that Raspberry Pi heatsink you used (dimensions at least). How secure is the adhesive supposed to be?

Edit: looking at earlier posts and links the PCH is 23x23mm and heatsink should be 3mm max.

I ordered 3mm Gelid pads for the RAM, just need to find a Pi heatsink

 

I will sometime, I will closely observe the DELL Tech or hopefully be able to make the application myself with guidance if ever. But well, we'll have to see how this whole repair would go down. Opening up very expensive laptops is just not my forte. Perhaps I will start with my desktop before I move on to doing it on laptops.

 

No response says all.

My old R4 runs over 3 year with the first LM repaste and the temps are still perfectly fine. For the LM repaste i use kapton-tape and a "dry-out protection". With this barrier from cheap thermal paste has the LM no chance to go out and it prevents that the LM drys out, because no air comes in.




I repastet over 20 Alienware (for german AW forum) devices with this technique and all devices have still low temps. My R5 and m15 i repastet on the same way. I think it's one of the safest method to use LM in a notebook.

 

What response were you expecting? Same thing over and over? We still don't know the exact chip variant (even though they look the same), and we don't know why the chip runs up to 100C in AW 17 but is much cooler in the m15. I'm happy to do some experiments of my own if I can find the right heatsink. Low priority stuff for sure.

 

MH370 is the model, not a variant.

This is not necessarily a thermal limit issue. The m15 PCH usually runs around 70C although some people report it going to 80Cs under some scenarios. If it was thermally throttled it would be stuck around the highest reported temp (85C?) all the time.

Alienware took a bunch of really weird decisions with the m15 R2 (or they used another PCH variant which requires extra cooling). This could well be one of them. We don't know because we don't have enough concrete evidence on the benefits of additional PCH cooling in the m15.

 

Is that thermal paste used as kind of a 'glue' to keep out air and LM from leaving the specific area? These techniques are so cheap but effective. I was always worried about my conductonaut spreading on my 15R3 that I ended up switching it to Kryonaut cuz I took my laptop around a lot. With this kapton tape + thermal paste + LM combo, I think I will be putting Conductonaut on my m15 when I do the PCH mod

 

The PCH has too much space to cover with a pad. Maybe a 5mm would do it, but not too sure about it. About what kind of heatsink I used, I don't remember where did I get it, but it is the same size as one of those you get for Raspberry Pi. If your PCH is running in the 60s I wouldn't care. I did it just because I have the heatsinks around and was as easy as picking one and sticking it to it. I don't see how a chip running at 65C or so could throttle anything. About if it heats the other components, well this is going to happen anyway.

 

My PCH is 'idling' at 55C when on this forum and browsing amazon. Gonna run FF15 benchmark a couple times and see what it hits before doing the mod this week.

Edit: ran two back-to-back FF15 benchmarks and PCH hit a max of 81C. That is only about 10min of intensive gaming benchmarking though. Whether or not there is improvement to the PCH temp after SSD mod, idk because my initial test was cheap, but I do know after hours of gaming my PCH has hit around the 90s. I just don't like to keep HWInfo running while I game because it keeps the external HDDs awake and spinning.

 

Thanks. Makes sense. I failed to resist the urge to tinker and will test a variant of this PCH mod idea after establishing a baseline.

I bought a thermal adhesive tape, a bunch of 20x20x1.5mm copper shims. I should be able to use one or two and add a pad on top for a gentle case contact.

All the Raspberry heatsinks I saw were too high, or have too small base.