M14x R1 vs M14x R2 cooling

My M14x R1 is still chugging along, but with temperatures approaching "obscene." Multiple motherboard replacements from Dell, and a repaste during the last one have prevented it from frying itself as the previous 4 motherboards did, however even not OCed, temperatures are still approaching 96*C on the CPU and well more than they should be on the GPU.

In looking at the re-paste threads for the R1 and R2 laptops, it appears that the R2 cooling setup not only looks like it carries more heat, but also looks like it might mount in the same place and therefore allow a full 1:1 swap of R1 heat sink and fan for R2 heat sink and fan.

Can anyone confirm if this is the case, or provide dimensions for the setups?

This whole M14x experience has left me more than a little disappointed with Alienware and Dell in general, not so much because of the constant replacements, but because of the constant instances of "You want to buy a new laptop from us because this one isn't working correctly, right?" and "Are you sure you don't want to pay to extend your warranty coverage? After all, you have required multiple replacements so far." interspersed between the various calls to tech support. At this point, I've almost got enough saved for a new rig, but it almost certainly won't be Alienware, and I'd really like to not fry this in the meantime while I'm waiting to purchase the replacement.

Thanks in advance for any info...

 

The r1 simply has limitations that cannot be overcome. The most you can do is a *proper* repaste and get a notebook cooler, really. You can also disable Turbo mode and prop the back up 1/2" under the power cable input. I owned both the r1 and r2, and the r2 is simply a different, superior beast for any sort of demanding tasks. I would not waste too much money on trying to gussy up the r1...

 

i have a R2 and tried to buy "extra" heatsinks on ebay for a mod i was doing but they turned out to be R1 heatsinks.

from what i remember they are not 100% a direct fit... :/

i could check again for you but they are however... no longer intact, as i unsoldered all the parts. i can take rough dimms of my R2 heatsink for you but it will be caveman tolerances done with a regular ruler.

i can also check the bolt patterns against my R2. may not happen till later tonight or tommorw.

 

Remember the kepler chip in the r2 is much more efficient than the fermi 555m.

 

i totally agree. Fermi is a hot power hungry chip, but a fact that may not be general knowledge is the heat exchanger on the R2 is slightly larger than the R1s exchanger. the heatpipes on the R2 are also much bigger vs the R1.

 

Copper ramsinks and vents may be the next best step.

 

The bolt pattern is pretty different on the GPU hold down plate. The CPU one looks close but i didnt even bother measuring ether since the GPU one is so different...

Sorry

 

Here is some more overheating troubleshooting that you can try. the repaste and cooling pad are the best ideas for this matter.

 

By the looks of things that would need some expert dremel work to get that to work.

 

yeah, from a quick look it looks like you could drill the correct bolt pattern out and maybe grind off what ever might get in the way of any surface mount stuff in that area..

would be doable with some elbow grease.

 

Never ever had any heat issues with my R1, even during 10 hours+ gaming sessions.
I also never had to clean the vents, temps are still fine.
This is a very good laptop.

 

I'm Australian so we deal with very bad Summer temps here, the internal cooling on the M14x is fine, but there is only one fan despite two intakes, so you really need a cooler otherwise having one fan is redundant. With my cooler I've never had any issues with temps even in our living conditions.

 

That's a shame...especially given that AW Tech Support gave me both P/Ns (on the desk at work, sorry) and said that they should interchange.

While I do appreciate your attention here, I've been though just about everything other than the repaste with this box...including 5 mobo replacements. I'm really not very happy about trying to do a repaste with the box out of warranty, and I was unwilling to renew the warranty when I wasn't offered any discount for it, and I'd spent literally months without the laptop during the year that I did have a warranty.

The GPU in the R2 was specced at 10W TDP more than the GT555M, and the CPU was specced the same as my 2720QM, but reviewed as having more thermal problems. I had convinced myself I'd try the R2 heat sink and a repaste, if it interchanged...but I've now got two different answers. Dell/AW telling me it will interchange, and someone here saying the bolt pattern is different.

 

Um, 5 mobo replacements? Might be time to look at your environment...

 

It's not environment. I realize that I've got enough animals in the house to choke even a desktop with fur...but these replacements were occurring, in some cases, less than a week apart. Not overclocked. The symptom was the same each time; system boots and runs, but drops frames and crashes during gaming.

I've kept the thing alive by keeping turbo off and adding feet to keep the rear of the chassis elevated, but I still sit around 96-98*C on the CPU and see temps in the mid to high 70s on the GPU during gaming. The M14X R1 (with a I7-2720QM and the 3GB GT 555m) is one big thermal design failure. Hence the effort to use the later, beefier, R2 setup.

 

The don't think the cooling is actually any better, just designed to accommodate the smaller GPU package. The R2 runs cooler almost entirely before the GPU puts out a lot less heat. The CPU puts out a little less too.

 

Not that I don't believe you, but why would this be the case with the same TDP listed for the CPUs, and 10W more TDP listed for the 650 over the 555 GPU?

 

The 555M is the old fermi arch and TDPs are not actual power consumption.