The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    M17xR2 Fan problem?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by SemiGamer, Mar 19, 2012.

  1. SemiGamer

    SemiGamer Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    94
    Messages:
    1,387
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Alright so lately my games have been FPS dropping every 3 minutes for about 15sec, so I figured somethings up with heat, after running HWinfo, its obvious that it is heat related, max hit 101degrees in 10minutes...
    So I took it apart and cleaned the fans (Weren't really dirty at all) and didn't help, so I took a closer look at the HWinfo reading and saw this:
    [​IMG]
    Now heres where the mindfudge comes into play,
    The fans definitely feel and sound like they're going faster than that ( I doubt I'd be able to feel slight air coming from the bottom if it was only going 23RPM like it says it is currently lol). So maybe false reading, not sure.
    I went into CCC and manual set the fans to 100%, still didnt change it.
    on HWmonitor I set the fans manually to 4500RPM, still didnt change it..
    So I'm wondering if its false reading and something else is causing the heat, or if the fan settings are messed up?

    Anyone have any tips or info with this? Specs of the system are in my sig. Thanks.

    NOTE: the "Alienware M17x-R2 EC" reading is cut off at the top, but the GPU1 and GPU2 RPM's are in the screenshot. Is that the actual fan speed?
    If so, Any other tips on the heat? (Already running a cooler under it)
     
    SemiGamer, Mar 19, 2012
    #1
  2. aznpos531

    aznpos531 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    457
    Messages:
    636
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    The fan readings you've highlighted are values read by the GPU itself and are intended for desktop cards where the GPU controls the fans. As the mobile GPU does not have a such a function and the fans on the laptop are controlled by the EC, those values are incorrect. You should be going by the fan speeds under COMPAL EC or Alienware M17x-R2 EC. You can also right click the false values and click on disable monitoring to avoid confusion.
     
    aznpos531, Mar 19, 2012
    #2
  3. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

    Reputations:
    7,383
    Messages:
    8,222
    Likes Received:
    182
    Trophy Points:
    231
    You probably need to repaste the GPU heatsinks. Also what you need to do is clean the heatsink fins. That is where your high temps are coming from probably. When dirt gets in there, air won't flow properly, even if the fans are blowing and with dust covering the heatsink fins, they are unable to properly dissipate heat causing a rise in temps. Use compressed air on the fins and your temps should drop.

    HWInfo always has incorrect fan feedback.
     
    DR650SE, Mar 19, 2012
    #3
  4. SemiGamer

    SemiGamer Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    94
    Messages:
    1,387
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Bingo.
    Cleaned the heatsink fins, after 2 hours of gaming neither card went over 65c. Thanks!
     
    SemiGamer, Mar 19, 2012
    #4
  5. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

    Reputations:
    7,383
    Messages:
    8,222
    Likes Received:
    182
    Trophy Points:
    231
    :D no problem ;)
     
    DR650SE, Mar 19, 2012
    #5