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    Alienware m17xr4 Overheating Constantly

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Sokamo, Dec 2, 2014.

  1. Sokamo

    Sokamo Newbie

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    Hey, the fans on my Alienware are always going and it's constantly overheating, it used to be just a little bit but now it's crashing in the middle of game sessions. I've updated the drivers and bios and such, and I know that checking the fans and heatsink is an option but i'd rather do that if absolutely necessary as I dont really have the confidence to open it up myself yet as i'm a wee bit clumsy with that type of thing.

    Here's my temp stats, but I'm not really sure whats normal, any help would be appreciated!

    heat moniter.jpg
     
    Sokamo, Dec 2, 2014
    #1
  2. J.Dre

    J.Dre Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You need to re-paste that CPU. Buy some IC Diamond and slap it on.

     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 12, 2015
    J.Dre, Dec 2, 2014
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  3. MickyD1234

    MickyD1234 Notebook Prophet

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    Hi, Yes your CPU temps are too high and if you had gamed while recording the GPU I bet that would have been very high as well. I can see from the stats that the GPU has never left idle.

    You are going to have to open it up as the heat exchangers at the end of the heatsinks will certainly be clogged, probably look like a rats nest!

    Now the easiest way without removing heatsinks and going through a repaste is to get a can of compressed air. Remove the lower cover (two screws under battery compartment) and the lower cover slides slightly in one direction and then lifts off. It's not a delicate operation and takes seconds.

    Once you have it open you want to remove the fans. Three screws on each. Now you can see the fins on the heatsinks and the amount of dust bunnies in there. Use a small modelling brush to remove the big lumps, you might have to dig a little just try not to bend the fins. Finally finish off with the compressed air, and watch your eyes!

    Oh, and use a good fitting screwdriver, the sort that are often advertised as watchmakers or glasses will have a good fitting one. You will not be unscrewing anything that is super tight (at this stage) but you don't want to damage the screw heads.

    Then reassemble and test running something like Heaven 4 benchmark ( Heaven Benchmark | Unigine: real-time 3D engine (game, simulation, visualization and VR))

    Post the results (and which GPU you have) and we can go from there ;).

    Good luck.
     
    MickyD1234, Dec 2, 2014
    #3