Project Restoration: Rebuilding the m14xR2 (not anymore; now refurnishing the m15x)

(EDIT: Refer to Post #7 as the start of the thread. Also, if a mod could move this thread to the m15x section, that would be very nice. This thread is no longer about the m14xR2 but the m15x.)
A few months ago, my m14x R2's motherboard died on me. How it happened, I don't know, but it happened. This was right before it was going to be sold. In the meantime, my plan was to get the parts sold, but that never happened. So I decided to rebuild the laptop with a few differences:

• Get a new lid and palm rest as they were damaged.
• Get a new motherboard and CPU Fan
• Get some better thermal paste (I bought Gelid Extreme, a good improvement over my Antec Diamond)
• Test and hope for the best

So far, the rebuilding process has gone well. The progress right now?

Spoiler: Photos!

An empty chassis! Granted, there are reasons for this (and the black lid).

• I was on a budget, so I couldn't get every part new (and at the time, I didn't know about Dell's Parts and Accessories number). Even then, my old lid had the hinges breaking apart, so either needed to buy a new lid with the hinges already on there or buy a hinge kit and a lid. I did the former, which made my life easier. Sadly, there was no cheap red lid with hinges on there, so I opted for black instead.
• In the empty chassis is the RAM door, the SSD and mSATA, optical drive cover/lid, and battery. Just wanted to put those there because of what screws to use.
• It has been about 4 months since I touched the old laptop, so I don't have much of a clue where each screw goes. Just hoping all goes well.
• I also don't have my CPU, RAM, Wifi card, and charger with me. There with me seller, so I can't do much now, hence the empty chassis.

Other than that, I should finish by this week once I get the parts. I'm glad the palm rest has the Intel Core i7 sticker on it or else it would have been odd to have the i5 sticker. Plus, I was expecting a bare palm rest, so there's that too. Also, I did a size comparison between the m14x and 13 to see how big the m14x is.
I will end up selling the laptop on this forum and/or ebay, so if you want it, you can tell me now or later. Or you can just leave feedback on the project. Anything is appreciated.

 

NICE! Haha. Thanks for sharing your progress thus far. How much are you planning to charge for that Alienware?

 

Good news: I have all the parts.
Bad news: One of the CPU's pins got bent, and repairing it did not work. So I have to buy a new CPU. Given the i7 sticker, I'm planning on getting an i7-3520M, but it'll be a gamble as I have to buy it used since I have a really tight budget. Sadly, this means I won't be working on it for quite some time. The other i7's were too expensive. I do have a back-up plan to buy the i7-2640m if I fail to get the 3520m.
Also, I found out that the CPU fan I got was too big (don't ask how), so I have to use my old CPU fan for the time being. Also found out that I need a new front LCD bezel, so more money spending.

Given the specs and it's custom looks, probably $750 to 900.

 

Well things have taken a turn for the worse.

• The CPU fan I originally got was for the m14xR1, so I have to sell it and get some money back.
• The i7-2630QM I bought wasn't the 2630qm, but a i7-640m or a 1st generation CPU. So now I have to contact the seller for a replacement or a return.
• I don't have a big enough budget, so it'll be a month before I can sell this.

Is it so hard to get a mobile Sandy/Ivy-Bridge quad core for cheap?

 

After some time getting the CPU, I finally got the m14xR2 to work... but not without some problems.

• The touchpad doesn't work, so I must have messed up with my connections.
• The CMOS battery ended up failing, so I have to get another CMOS battery.
• The laptop's panel is not working? I'll have to look into this, but I don't get anything from it.
• Have to find a way to get wifi as the antennas seem short.

Nonetheless, the laptop works with the i7-2630QM. I had to use an external monitor to get anything from the laptop.
As well, I put back my 8 GB 2133 MHz RAM in the laptop, and it runs at 2000 MHz (well, almost). That's pretty good in my opinion.
Sadly, I found out the GT 650m in my replacement mobo has 1 GB of VRAM. Kind of a bummer since that's not what I hoped to get. Guess I should have doubted myself when the price was too good to be true.

 

All good things must come to an end. My motherboard fired after reinserting the panel's connector, so I'm terminating the project.

Thankfully, the CPU is not damaged, and neither are the other removable components. I'll be making a thread of the parts I'll be selling soon. I'll post here of when that happens.

 

While I haven't gotten to selling the parts yet (I do have a price of them, though), I have partially complete another restoration. Or rather, a refurnishing.

Spoiler: New Photos!

My m15x has gotten a makeover. It used to have a sliver chassis that was dirty and damaged, but now it has a brand new red chassis. Some upgrades have also happened.

• 500 GB HDD -> 128 GB SSD from my m14xR2
• DVD drive -> 1 TB HDD (from m14xR2)
• 6 cell battery (33% wear) -> 9 cell battery (3.5% wear)
• Gelid Extreme thermal paste on the CPU and GPU, which has helped immensely compared to the dried, stock paste it had.

There some things I have to finish with the laptop, though.

• Get new vents since of ones are damaged.
• Get rubber bumpers for palm rest.
• Replace the plastic with the power button
• Clean keyboard
• Get the Input/Output Logic board (the board with the USB ports and audio jacks). My old is stuck on the sliver chassis, so I have to get a new one.
• Replace magnesium cover and palm rest (to slightly better conditioned ones)
• Possibly new bottom panel or just getting new rubber feet.
• Possibly replace the GPU fan. It keeps making an abnormal noise

A couple of the parts are coming soon, and I may be upgrading the wifi card to the Intel 6235 that was in my m14xR2.
I'm honestly surprised the m15x has held on for so long. It hasn't died. The only thing that's slow is booting to the BIOS, but other than that, it works well.
(If a mod could move this thread to the m15x section, that would be very nice. This thread is no longer about the m14xR2 but the m15x.)

 

Good news: I replaced the vents, heatsink, bottom panel, and the plastic with the power button. Added the logic board as well.
Bad news: My GPU's X-bracket broke, and my GPU is cosmetically damaged (stripped screw). Because the X-brackter is damaged, the GPU overheats, and the laptop cannot boot. At this point, I'm at a pause. I can either,

• Get an x-bracket
• Sell the laptop as is (without the GPU)
• Get a new GPU with an x-bracket (probably means that I'll have to get new thermal pads as well)

I still plan on finishing the other fixes (palm rest w/rubber bumper and magnesium cover), but given the cost to fix it (it would near $300 with the X-bracket and a screwdriver that works, including all the other parts I have bought), I'm not having a positive view on this.
Or I can sell my desktop (without a GPU or by parts).
If a mod could please move this thread to the m15x section, that would be great. Please?

 

How's the bracket damaged? If it's just a broken screwhead; might drill out and replace with wider bolt+nut. Odd how they've all opted for such puny thread sizes, btw; 1.6mm is awfully flimsy ... Could even consider removing all four raisers and insert simple, flat-headed bolts from the bottom upwards. Screw on four nuts from the top and it'll give full range for tightening, instead of the very minimal leeway the raisers permit (always thought heatsink pressure is far too low).

 

It was heavily damaged. As in irreparable. I already bought an x-bracket (cheaper than I thought it would be), so I'm going with what I have.
The laptop is meant to be sold, so I rather keep it as it was designed.

 

Got the x-bracket. Not as sticky as I wanted, but it fits.

After all of that, the laptop still won't produce video. Not even on an external screen either. I also found out that my 460m receive more damage than I thought. Not just scartches, but some chipping too. Thanks to former heatsink and its stripped screw, now I'm left with a dead GPU.

Thankfully, everything else is okay. It can boot into Windows, and I can log into Windows too. This just got worse, but all I know is that I need a new GPU.

 

Well, I went an ordered a GTX 260m. Came out pretty cheap to (half the price of the GTX 460m I kept finding on ebay, and the GT 240m may have not been an option). Hoping this all works out.
Can this thread please be moved to the m15x section?

 

GTX 260m arrived, put in the new GPU, and the computer now works fine.

I'm not done repairing the m15x, so no pictures. But I'm glad it works and that I can use it.