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    Fan on my R2 starts grinding.... again!?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Le0-, Apr 1, 2011.

  1. Le0-

    Le0- Notebook Evangelist

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    Hey guys.
    Some of ya'll are familiar with what i got here, but anyway, in two words:
    couple weeks ago I replaced the fans because the sound that was coming out of the right GPU fan was terrible and intolerable to work with, so two weeks after the same thing starts happening to the new right GPU fan again...
    Fan sounds OK on full speed (and that makes sense since you can't hear it when its spinning so fast, but on low speed it started to get grindy again...
    I am honestly getting tired of having to take down system apart. Any ideas regarding what can cause this and/or what does DELL usually offer in cases when the same part does malfunction consecutively several times in a row? Consider this being 4th time I am calling for replacement of a part (previouisly: GPU fans, screen, kb, sensor pannel with AW powerup logo)
    and I am aware that these r not as they say "major parts" of the machine.
     
  2. iPhantomhives

    iPhantomhives Click the image to change your avatar.

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    I know how you feel , cleaning the fan is only way.
    Unless your area has no dust & purely clean , the fan grinding because of dust stuck in the fan , and make the fan heavier and spring unbalanced.
     
  3. Le0-

    Le0- Notebook Evangelist

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    the area I am at is not dusty. trust me, it doesn't move out from room i sleep at and I open windows regularly for fresh air, so no, I would reject that assumption. If you read carefully, you'll notice that fans are here only 2 weeks. btw, previous ones didn't last more either. I'm not in a desert of some kind, it shouldn't be doing this, as another laptop in this room is perfectly fine
     
  4. iPhantomhives

    iPhantomhives Click the image to change your avatar.

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    Can you see Thur your gpu fans , are they dusty?

    Ps : sometimes I wish the bottom cover of the vent below gpu able to open , so we can clean gpu fan easily. :p
     
  5. Le0-

    Le0- Notebook Evangelist

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    Nope, they look like new.they are new in fact... Dude, I know it's not because they are dusty, they are 100% clean. What kind of room do I have to have so only the right fan got dusty all the time?
     
  6. iPhantomhives

    iPhantomhives Click the image to change your avatar.

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    I'm just trying to help , that's why I'm asking. I'm not saying they are dusty and I'm not telling you to get a room , so get me right.

    Can you use HWiNFO32 and check your fan's rpm?
     
  7. Le0-

    Le0- Notebook Evangelist

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    Sorry if it sounded rude my friend, I am just little bit disappointed by this thing... sure i will check it and upload some minutes later and thanks for your efforst to help I appreciate it, really do

    update: I am not quite sure how to check it on HWiNFO32, but GPU-z shows me 30% on idle for both GPUs. From what I can judge... the speed hasn't actually changed, but it's the sound: now it's grinding exactly like 2 weeks before, I can hear like fan is spinning poorly, like if it was hitting something... and then again, once I turn on a game, both fans kick in and ofc i don't hear it... weird :S
    Funny fact: after first replacement 2 weeks they worked flawlessly.

    update 2: I can hear the grinding even when gaming.... now this is getting new. while playing, no issues with video of whatsoever kind
     
  8. PsiPr0

    PsiPr0 Notebook Evangelist

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    I feel your pain. My R2 just completely powered off tonite and then I saw fireworks come out of the secondary 4870HD card...new mobo/video cards on the way from Alienware (Dell).

    :(
     
  9. Le0-

    Le0- Notebook Evangelist

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    dang it... yea, it is weird how many trouble do these machines bring to some of us, while others got no problem at all. I think I've opened my lap 5 times and contacted AW around 4 since i bought it (2 months)
     
  10. CptXabaras

    CptXabaras Overclocked, Overvolted, Liquid Cooled

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    Le0, just to be sure, why don't you check if the fan itself is properly seated/tightened? if it's a bit loose it can vibrate.
     
  11. Le0-

    Le0- Notebook Evangelist

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    Well, I do believe it is tightened, but lemme get back to it first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks for the idea.