M14x R2 temperature and cooling thread

But if you notice that temps are getting hotter and hotter, call immediatly Dell !
Ok thanks, really great battery life for a beast like that !

 

As promised, here is another screenshot of my cpu and gpu temperatures, with the cpu hitting a max of 31W under load. I borrowed bf3 from a colleague and this thermal reading was taken after playing battlefield 3 on a mix of high and ultra settings for about three and a half hours, with a comfortable average Framerate of approximately 38fps.

Keep in mind that this time my GPU is running at stock frequencies with turbo upto 835mhz core and 2000mhz memory. Intel's turbo boost is on. Reading taken with ambient room temperature of 14c, on a notepal u2 cooler and with IC diamond repaste and a re-seated heatsink.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Again, I highly recommend repasting the M14xR2 with IC Diamond to anyone who has the technical expertise. An excellent video guide is available here

Edit: Just one more thing I forgot to mention; I updated my graphics drivers to 304.48beta, which massively improved performance in games, to the point where overclocking becomes almost pointless. The drivers can be downloaded from nvidia's website here

 

Thanks +rep.

And wow, 30w with TB on, that is amazing, these IB cpus are pretty good. How was fan noise when gaming on BF3?

My m14x with i5 3210m has arrived and I have had a good play with it. Playing BF3 with TB on I get about 21w, without TB it hits 17w

With regards to fan noise, without TB on I get a max of 3600rpm in BF3 which is quite reasonable. If I leave TB on the fans ramp up much higher to the point of being annoying. I notice the fan has a much different tone than the R1.

Going to give it a repaste soon to see how bad the dell paste is (I normally repaste Dell machines as the stock paste is shocking)

 

Please keep us updated on what things look like inside the case. I've been pestering them about the paste issues. It makes no sense to have a design like the previous m14x r1 that runs very hot, then cheap out on a little thermal paste. They should either use a high quality paste by default or add the option to "optimize" or something. They are surprisingly careless about "small" things like this. As a previous r1 owner, I suffered through 5 months of 95-99c temps under load because I didn't want to strip the whole thing down. So dumb to cripple laptops like this, but I suppose that's the mass market Dell influence.

 

I've noticed that the fan noise only becomes noticeable when cpu temperatures greater than 70c are reached; since this was not the case in my benchmark above, the fan noise was once more hardly noticeable, especially with headphones on.

 

hey guys new here i came to look for some advice

I had like a M14x r2 earlier but it was hitting 91c now i got a replacement and now i hit 88c when playing bF3 even at low settings, i already have swapped a r1 because that one hit 98c so my question is whatsup with the temperatures on this thing?

is it just bf3 that makes the m14x run so hot ?

btw ive got i7 3720qm gt650m 2gb 6gb ram and 500gb hdd and soon 128gb msata

anyway i get tired of dell and was thinking about buying ic diamond from ebay and repaste the whole thing?

or is 88c acceptable for bf3 on the m14x?

 

BF3 is a really demanding game, however you could think of repasting the computer or maybe getting a cooling pad for it so that you get a couple of degrees down.

 

ohkay cool so i shouldnt be worries too much bout temperatures during bf3? when gw2 is released i'll mostly play that tho

 

They are a bit high but you should be able to make the temperatures drop with the cooling pad and the thermal paste, and you should have no problems with that or any other game.
The game is pretty demanding so the temperatures seem fine, but still I think that you should take those 2 things into consideration

 

ok im not a fan of cooling pads cuz i cant carry it around with me all the time so im going to buy the ic diamond, is there any chance dell could do the pasting job for me by sending someone to my place? cuz i dont want to sent it in

 

If you would like to have somebody at home to do the repair we would use DELL's thermal grease and it would need to go through a dispatch.
There are some tutorials on this forum about repasting your computer but in the case that you don't feel comfortable doing this process on your own you can contact us on [email protected] with your tag and phone number and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

 

so he cant use my thermal grease if i simply requested the person?

 

That would be up to the person who would do the repairs but we normally don't do that. However you can ask for that as an exception and see if it works but you can easily do it by following these instructions. (Steps 13+)

 

Thankyou I think I will do it myself then, but do I void my warranty if I repaste myself?

 

Awesome! Good luck with that process. I know you can do that without a problem.
The warranty will not be voided by opening the computer or upgrading parts on it.

 

cool thanks, ive bookmarked your link and will use it as a reference during the process any tips on repasting the actual cpu and gpu?

 

Nope, just make sure that you apply enough and check out the temperatures after you have done it, and above everything enjoy your new laptop

 

Wonder if someone knows what to make of this:

HWMonitor reports temps 10 degrees higher than RealTemp.

What accounts for the difference and which one is better to use?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/667906-m14x-r2-noisy-3.html

I repasted - you can see my rough results here and what the OEM paste looks like.

 

I finally repasted - see my results and a pic or 2 from "M14x R2 Noisy" thread.

 

I'm considering a repaste, but, honestly, I'm scared. I've installed hard drives and RAM, but never done a repaste. I've taken my m11x apart once to do a cleaning, but didn't touch the heat sink. I think I took out the fan, but that's as far as I went.

Have you had experience doing a repaste before? I know this is a tough question to answer, but, is it hard to do?

Thanks!

 

I've found a laptop lift thingy where u can elavate your laptop but has not a cooler, and i did some BF3 again and didnt hit higher than 81c!!!!! thats a huge drop for just elavating it a bit! so I also think Alienware may have designed the vents abit wrong.

 

alienowl: Hit the Defaults button in RealTemp to make sure that it is using the default TJ Max value. Some people like to change that value when they should leave it alone.

If that is OK then post a screen shot comparing the two programs. At full load there shouldn't be any significant difference. When lightly loaded, core temperatures change instantaneously so that might be the difference you are seeing.

RealTemp 3.70
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2089/Real_Temp_3.70.html

 

It's hard to do, but you just be very careful, organize the parts as you take them out, put them back in carefully. The computer gives several error beeps first time it comes back because you remove the cmos battery during the process, but it'll reboot fine if you did everything right. Challenge yourself, it's fun!

 

Hi Uncleweb, I set the defaults on both programs and have been monitoring them and, now, they seem to be within a few degrees of each other. Maybe the TJMax was set differently or I was seeing the instantaneous change as you mentioned. Thanks for your help!

 

Hey !!!

My temps after 3hours of Diablo 3 everything maxed out.

Yeah i whitelisted the game, diablo 3 works like a charm.

Card stay under 55 most of the times, Im using U2 cooler.

 

Here are my experiences after repasting the R1 and R2 with MX-4 feedback is very welcome.
_____________________________________________________________

I used the actual best non liquid compound the Arctic Cooling MX-4 which has the same results as IC Diamond (~1 C difference) and having alot of experience with repasting id say it helps but by far not enough.

Im not using a cooling pad but i put something under the laptop so it has better airflow and no OC at the following temps. (OC makes no difference anyway since the CPU is the problem not the GPU)

Temps of my R1 after proper repaste : idle 45-55 C / max CPU load 87 C
(before repaste: idle 50-60 C / heavy CPU load 92-97 C)

Temps of my R2 after proper repaste : idle 39-50 C / max CPU load 79 C
(before repaste: idle 45-55 C / max CPU load 84 C)

The GPU of the R2 never goes over 64 C after repaste no matter how high you OC it and for how long. Without OC it doesnt even reach 63 C. At normal gaming it stays below 60 C but the CPU gets up to about 76 C max.

My ambient temps are between 22-25 C at the moment. Sometimes higher cause its summer. In Fall or Winter i guess temps will go down a bit.
_____________________________________________________________

 

idk about you folks out there but after my cpu hits 73 degree cel, hits the fan and my fps starts dipping HARD. i mean 50% hard. from 60 frames (vsync) down to 30

 

Possible throttling. I'm dumbfounded though on why it would throttle at 73 Celsius when the i7 3610qm is working fine on other laptops and it is around 80ish Celsius. Did AW modified the threshold and lowered the Celsius range? I dunno

 

Anyone tried their M14x with a CM Storm SF-19? I have one of those, and plan to use the M14x with it.

 

i have the R2 and with intel stress test at maximum i get even after repaste 95C on the CPU, ambient temp is about 25C its summer here

I wonder what is wrong with my R2 .. with diablo 3 after an hour of play GPU never goes over 55C CPU is at 88C max.

Is this normal i got the 3720Q

 

It seems like I might have to get mine repasted as well, considering how dangerously high this thing peaks.

 

repasted my m14x R2 a second time with the new arctic5 now my cpu max temp is 78ish and gpu 60

 

What are your room temperature conditions?
I have a tube of MX-2 on hand, but I probably ought to buy a new tube of something. I'm not sure how much is left in the tube...

 

I just did a repaste with arctic silver 5 and idle temps are: 44 C max processor and 41 nvidia gpu

 

my room was 25C as i tested it

 

I appear to be having quite bad temps and thus throttling issues with my m14x r2.

Firstly, I can't seem to get it to hit 3.3ghz at all, it only ever goes to 3.0Ghz, 3.1 very rarely. Yes, turbo mode is enabled in the BIOS. - CPU is a 3610QM.

Secondly, when encoding a bluray using DVDFab (so I can stream it, not illegal reasons), the GPU ends up being throttled (DVDFab uses Cuda to do the encoding btw).

Thirdly, the CPU gets *really* hot during DVDFab and even hotter during Prime usage. Its actually to the point where if it was a desktop system I'd be upgrading the cooling system.


After DVD Fab Usage, note the max temps reached


During Prime 95 Usage


Graph of GPU Temp & Core Mhz during usage. The GPU temps are multiplied by 10 in order to get them to scale with the mHz of the GPU.

Any thoughts?

 

Most games I run on high/ultra settings don't get the GPU over 67 degrees. Pretty good compared to my m17x. Haven't looked up the CPU temps but I haven't noticed any excessive heat.

 

I just put the M14x on my CM Storm SF-19 cooler, I haven't run Cinebench yet (someone else is using the machine), but I have noticed that these 2D-activity temperatures were lower than before. Approximately as much as ten degrees lower, whilst watching DVDs.

 

Just for info. We are having 37 C ambient temps now in germany and i can only play on my M14x R2 which is repasted and lifted when i disable both Speedstepping and Turbo Boost and everything on low settings. The air humidity is also extreme ridiculous and it feels like the air is going to become liquid soon. Im alos using very large and strong fans around me so i feel kinda comfortable health wise. The funny thing is when i check the temp outside its even going up to 42 C in the shadows...

However without Speedstepping and Turbo its even possible to play alot of games on low without serious throttling or a loud fan in a sub tropical ambient in summer. CPU goes only up to about 76 C max and GPU rarely hits 63 C.

When temps fall below 30 C ill set Speedstepping on but keep Turbo off. Later when temps fall below 25 C i can go back to Turbo on i guess.

 

Disabling SpeedStep didn't lock your CPU to its minimum clock frequency, did it?

 

It locked my CPU clocks to 1200. However when i start gaming the clock raises to 2000. When i only disable Turbo Boost my clock speed is locked to 2300. While idle 2 cores downclock to 1200 permanently without Turbo Boost.

I tried disabling 2 cores but the temps on the other 2 cores only raised by about 5 degrees by doing that so i went back to 4 cores.

Its late here now 23:40 o clock and ambient temps are still 29 C. Hopefully the weather stops this madness sometime...

 

You do have to question the point of a power laptop that can't use the power because of poor cooling. No-one should need to re-paste anything on a £1000+ ($1500) laptop.

Have to say, I'm pretty disappointed, especially with the GPU, throttling back to 50% really does call into question the gaming ability of this machine.

 

That sounds so ridiculous I had to ask myself if you're being serious.

Disabling SpeedStep sticks the clocks in the lowest power state, while disabling Turbo Boost with SpeedStep places it back in the maximum power-state?

Disabling two cores increases temperature when it should reduce temperature? Something sounds ridiculously wrong with this machine!

 

The problem is that the temps are consider low for throttling 65 degrees C for a GPU... I think cooling wise, it's more efficient than the R1 version.

I hope there would an ETA on the GPU throttling issue by an Alienware rep. This is terrible.

 

I can partly confirm the first bit, disabling SS does lock the CPU into its slowest state. On my PC disabling Turbo boost had no effect anyway with SS already disabled. But even under load, with SS disabled, the CPU clock didn't budge.

I also can't disable any cores on mine, so I can't test that bit.

I would have thought disabling SS would have put it in its fastest, none turbo mode - certainly thats what it does on my desktop i7.

 

Well, I've started a support ticket about it, if nothing gets done, I'll threaten to return it, as its currently about as much use as a chocolate teapot, only not as tasty.

But my CPU is constantly hitting 93/94 on 3 of 4 cores (1 always seems a few degrees cooler for some reason), that to me is not efficient.

Especially as its not hitting 3.3Ghz, indeed, I can' imagine it would cope with a more powerful CPU anyway, given they'll produce more heat.

 

Wow here are alot of misunderstanding and missing knowledge around now. Ok about my posted clocks i forgot to mention i disabled Turbo not in my BIOS but in Windows.

Maybe that has something to do with the way how it behaves...normally it shouldnt but maybe i lack the experience on Ivy Bridge CPU power / clock behaviour since Sandy Bridge was a bit different in this sector.

I also didnt mention that i unlocked additional power management options for the CPU in my Windows which also influence the clockspeed. My list of options under CPU energy management or whatever its called in english is quite long.

Im not joking here of course.

It doesnt places it back to the maximum. I said disabling both sticks the clock to idle locked speed of 1200.

Yes my idea was that 2 cores should produce less heat than 4 - sounds logical first. But it wasnt the case. Why is heavy speculation here but you can test it yourself Windows has an inbuilt function to disable cores or RAM for testing purposes.

 

Ah, those are quite key things to forget to mention It would explain why I couldn't find an option to disable cores in the BIOS.

 

Your CPU or the cooling system (pads/heatsink/fan) may be seriously malfunctioning cause these temps and the fact it doesnt reach 3.3Ghz are not normal.

More powerful CPU´s are also higher quality and produce less heat at same clockspeed thats why more powerful CPU´s are maybe running cooler on the same system than less powerful ones.

And no to disable cores doesnt need any Windows tweaking it has this function built-in from beginning.