M17x R2 full internal cooling mod - huge improvement!

You're the man
I'll let you know when it is done.
Cheers

Allrighty! You were right, not enough paste on the damn thing.
Works like a charm now.
Thanks again, + rep for availability and quality of service ^^

Although there is improvement, I still notice 90+ temperatures while gaming for example. Is this expected on this laptop if I don't use a cooler?

 

If you did the cooling mod then the GPU temp in furmark should never get above 80C.

 

Hey, not GPU but CPU is the issue, GPU never went above 70 degrees which I am very happy with
Do your fans constantly spin? Or is there a moment they take a brake?
And man, is this LED screen superb

 

Farmer, have you got the CPU over-volted in the BIOS, or are you using Throttlestop? Those will both get the CPU hot in a hurry, even with a cooler.

 

No I am not, default voltage. Which makes it even more surprising.
We have the same processor
I get readings of 50-60 at idle and 70-90 Celcius under load.
Are your readings similar?

 

Hmmm run a prime 95 torture test and post your temps.

 

Allrighty, there are the results and it never hits above 80Celcius (with matchboxes on each backside to raise the laptop). So I guess the 90 degrees that show up sometimes are a software error ?
Small FFTs on 8 threads

Link: http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2204/prime95.png

 

Possibly, If your temps are staying below 80 that is fine. A Notebook cooler would be good for you I Use the NZXT Cryo LX with a 12V 1500ma adapter and they blow hard.

 

interesting notice it seem like newer m17x-r2 with 5870 (less then 3 weeks old in canada) got an update on thier cooling setup we had a hard time geting his gpu temps over 70 including benches and crysis

 

Oh new fans or heatsinks or something? Whats new? got any pics?
I did notice that they changed the middle CPU fan. It looks different to the R1 fans. Different fins mainly.

Cheers.

 

Thanks, ordered a NC2000 since that is all I can find that's decent for the M17x on the french amazon.
Would be a great idea I am sure. Funny thing is, the CPU runs hotter at the moment while installing updates than it does during gaming or Furmark.
I'll let you know if I notice a major difference when I get the cooler

 

If anyone gets an M17X R2 in the near future and has plans to crack it open, please post pics for comparison. Would love to know if the gpu's heatsink has been modified.
I have a question about the 5870's heatsink. Is this an AMD issue where they just slapped on existing 4870 heatsinks and 'made' them work. Or is this a Dell issue where they slapped on the 4870 heatsinks and made them work. Or choice number three is this a both companies have fault here.
It just seems that they rushed production to get out the new gpu's without any forethought as to how they would perform in real world situations. I mean seriously, how hard is it to make sure the memory thermal pads were of the proper thickness so as to assure the die was getting proper seating to the heatsink? How about quality in this instance. Is it that much of a manufacturing cost to change out the quality of the thermal paste on the gpu die and the quality of the thermal pads on the gpu memory, then make sure the clips properly hold in the cards. (I know the clips hold in the current/as shipped config)
They are touting this is the gamer's enthusiast laptop. Games push gpu's to 100% frequently and for long periods. Knowing their top-end gaming laptops will be used in such a manner would lead to such a common sense and relatively inexpensive approach. **End Rant**
If this has been asked and answered... I apologize in advance. Just the mention that they changed out the newer gpu's kind of made me 'itchy'. I don't see a reason I could come up with to get them switched out and I want my warranty intact. Though this mod is amazing and somewhat simple, I think the need for it could have been avoided with a little quality control

 

K just make sure you flip it around as the NC2000 has the fans on the front not the rear. so it wont match up to fans on the m17x unless you flip it around.

 

Lol ok I'll keep an eye on that.
Wouldn't want to render a £50 purchases useless

 

Bravo Ashtefere, did your mod (not without apprehension) and the temperatures have dropped significantly.
Thank you.

Edit: However, I notice quite a difference in temps after a few hours of use, is that to be expected? ( http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5240/gpus.jpg) or ( http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/4002/gpus2.jpg).

Edit 2: Did the whole thing again, took some pics of the fans for infernia and I have good idle temps on both cards, will post pics as soon as they are resized.

Edit 3: Here is a link to an Imageshack gallery where I uploaded 9 pics of the procedure to check the efficacy of the cooling Mod on the cards. Pastes used wer AS5 and MX-3, no leakage observed.
http://img534.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=coolergpuinstalled.jpg

Also, here is a pic of my idle temps and furmark (1600*900, stability, no Xtreme burning, 8x MSAA and Post Processing) temps
http://img413.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=furmarkj.jpg
Thanks,

Mike

 

Hi I was wondering if I can do this guide for my m17x with 280m sli. And when I start doing this mod, do i have to remove anything else than the heatsink? Do I have to remove the graphics cards, or just remove the heatsink then clean it and the gpu and CPU when they are already in the laptop then put on the thermal paste and put the heatsink back on? Thanks. (Noob from Norway.)

 

Hi Kidio,

Not sure about the similarities and differences between both builds.
I am quite certain the duct tape mod would work as it just guides the air between what separates the fan from the copper fins on the card.
As for replacing the pads by paste, I don't see much of a difference as both cards have a quite similar build ( http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2702/gtx2805870.jpg).
What I wonder however is the ability of the cooler to bend over the GPU die to force pressure without damaging it (screw mod).
Other from that I don't imagine anything threatening in this enterprise.

There is a great step by step guide by mfractal that shows how to open the sytem ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...placing-thermal-compunds-gpu-cpu-m17x-r2.html).

Take your time and it should all go well if you decided to go ahead. Also, make sure you use the right pastes, they have different properties for different uses.

Hope this helps, maybe wait for Ashtefere and others' opinions for a confidence boost

Cheers.

 

nzfarmer, those temps look good - not the best that have been achieved here by any means but much better than stock.

I did discover that even with the retention mod, the power circuitry does actually lift the heatsink a little on one side, so we STILL arent gettting full contact.

I suggest, if you are brave, to take a look at the thin overhanging metal that overhangs the power circuitry on the card.
Underneath this, there is a few power components that are pressing against the heatsink and preventing good contact - if you were to:

1: Put some thick thermal paste on the tallest power components
2: Gently press the heatsink (properly aligned!) where it should sit
3: remove the heatsink
4: Examing the pattern of the thermal paste on the underside of the heatsink

You would see that the power circuitry does leave quiet an impression.

I would suggest them to:

1: Draw with permanent marker around each thermal paste impression
2: Clean off the thermal paste
3: Drill out the the area and file it clean (dont touch heatpipes!)
4: Replace the heatsink

I did something similar, but I just snapped the overhang off (first one was accidental, so I did the other to even it up - i would have preferred the drill route).

My temps dropped a little again, and now all of the ramsinks full contact the ram without needing thick paste - additionally, I am able to screw down all the screws properly.

Again, doing so requires you to be very brave and/or stupid, but that will get you the best possible result.

-Ash

 

Ash, I very much like that last sentence.
I am no benchmarker and having my GPU idling at 39 with a max of 75 whatever the game I throw at it, I wouldn't enjoy the benefits of a full on system mod like the one you are suggesting.
However, I did notice that gap you are mentionning as I tried to balance the heatsink over the GPU by tightening some screws more than others and it never sat it flush over the card.
I will bear that suggestion in mind next time I open the system and see if feel confident with pulling this off - properly

Thanks for your advice.

Mike.

 

it works on the R1, since both revisions use the same heatsink.

 

It does work, but the cards themselves are slightly different. The GPU die has a metal piece on its perimeter making the contact between the GPU die and the heatsink slightly different. Due to this flexing the heatsink slightly will actually result in less contact.

This shows the GTX 280m


This shows the 4870m


This shows the 5870m used in the R2


Notice the metal band around the GPU die I mentioned on all but the 5870

 

Both my 260m GTX SLi and 5870s are nekkid lol. No metal banding around them.
They both did have a orange clear sticker on them though, my CPUs had the same thing as well.

Cheers.

 

I see. The 280m has it at least I believe

 

Yep I believe the 280s and 4870s have it. AHuhs.
I wonder if it aids in any cooling or if its just there to protect the GPU from being crushed. No ideas lol.

Cheers.

 

That 2nd one

 

Hey
I was wondering if someone could explain the ducting mod more and if I put it only on the sides or under the whole thing? To me it looks like he put it only on the side.
I Also wondered if the memory of the GPU are those black squares beside the core and if I use thermal paste on each of them?

I was wondering if I should remove all the thermal pads and if I use the paste on the 8 circles I marked? Is it safe to remove the other 3? It's GTX 280m sli. Thanks for help

 

the circled areas are the ones to remove and replace with paste in the 5870. those extra pads are going to cause the same problem you're fixing with the ram pads though. if the two square ones are the same width as the ram pads you can try paste if you are brave, since those are the moffsets. the very thick one is a problem, to seat correctly the easiest and cheapest solution is probally going to be a sharp razor and shaving .5-1mm of material off. the best way would be to buy thinner material however it would be very $$$ at that size.

 

I did the Thermal pad mod and when I ran Furmark right after for 20 mins the temperatures got a little higher, like 3-4C. And when I run games the temperature is like 10C higher. I used MX3 and AS5. Does it take time to work or what is the deal here? Maybe I did it wrong, here is a pic (the 2nd GPU): http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2482/img0006t.jpg
Gtx 280m sli

 

my first question would be, where's that big thick piece of gap pad material? Secondly, I would reapply, and this time, just small sized dots instead of spreading it. After that, depending on the material used, you may need a breakin-period anyway.

 

Maybe this mod just isnt for everyone? Maybe it is just good for the 5870's / 260's? the 280's and 4870's seem to be different. Just my 2 cents.

 

Very true. The metal band on the gpu of the 4870s and GTX 280m's makes the retention clip mod unnecessary.

 

there's some to be gained from replacing the pads with paste, maybe not as much however.

 

I agree, that can benefit but there is not the issue of pads being too thick like the 5870s. You may see a comparable boost simply from using higher quality pads too

So far I think mfractal is the only person who has actually done these mods on 4870s

 

I also agree better thermal paste and pads would be a +. Didn't Mr. Fractal have negative/negligible results with this mod?

 

although they should be the same as the 280s, I'll be trying this on the 285s. I might try using pads though, since that thick pad is worrying.

 

The thick pad is just on a power circuitry element (MOSFET), they normally receive little to no cooling on MXM cards so I would not fret over it

 

So I should use less too? I didn't spread the gpu cores but I did open the 2nd one to get a picture. I did spread it on the ram chips though, maybe I used a little too much there too. I also noticed now that it's a big gap on the memory, so when I used little dots on each ram chip it doesn't touch the heatsink. So no contact there!!! The temperatures go really high really fast, so must be it. Here is a picture when I just took off the heatsink: http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/5240/img0009onp.jpg

 

You should probably undo that and just put the pads back in place. Like I said this mod is not for everyone and it should not be done on the 280's/4870's the problem with the 5870's is they used the 4870's HS on it so this mod helped them. You also have the Metal band we where talking about. Ash should note that on the front page.

 

i gained very substantial improvements with the mod on 4870s actually..
here's a before and after screenshot, notice the delta in gpu memory max temps.

 

What exactly did you do? Replace pads and repaste gpu die?

 

Hmmmm I could have sworn i remember reading it didnt improve much, but I see now. you did the entire mod? or some of it?

 

Cooling mod makes a huge difference. I added copper tape to mine in addition to the retention mod and the GPU's never heat up no matter how hard I push them. I can do over 900 core and 1200 memory without it getting hot.

 

where did you add copper tape?

 

He has some pictures in his for sale thread

 

That plus the retention mod

 

So wrapping the copper heat pipes in copper tape how did that help temp wise?

@Mr.Fractal you used 1.0 MM gap pads right?

 

Yes,thats correct

 

It helped by about 2C. Ever little bit counts.

 

Joker and Fractal you two have inspired me I am going to do this mod this weekend.

 

I think I still have the actual zoom-zoom-zoom song somwhere from my protege ricer days joker.