My motherboard blew up!

So i was in the middle of a pretty intense battle in Divinity Original Sin 2 when i notice white smoke all of a sudden. I realize its coming from my 17r1 and then boom it shuts off. The crazy thing is prior to that it shut off. I just figured it was my power being screwy but i noticed my psu would light up but as soon as i plugged it into my laptop it would shut off. Same for a back up psu. The laptop wouldnt turn on after the shut off so i unplugged it and then the battery and waited a few seconds and it turned back on like always.

The second time it shut off my motherboard had actually caught on fire. Luckily it was near an exhuast fan and it killed the fire quick. No damage to my mxm card cpu memory or ssd and hdds. But my motherboard bit the dust. Cant say im too mad at it. But out of 3 r1s this is the first time this has happened. Ive never had the slightest motherboard issue. I did just update to the latest windows 10 update but i think its just a coincidence as the intial shut off was prior to the update. Has anyone else ever run into anything like this?

 

This is the first case I've seen about this.
I hardly doubt that updating it to Windows 10 will make this a cause-effect issue.

Sorry about the motherboard. =/
Let me know if you need help looking for a replacement.

 

I believe you can send it for someone to replace that inductor for you and test the motherboard. It shouldn't cost that much but you need to understand why it happened.

 

Yeah it was more an obervation. There's no way it's related. How exactly would you help me source a replacement? If you can i may be interested.

 

Very hard to replace that component. The bottom of IC IS soldered on to the mother
board and Very hard to replace I have one that has been replaced at home. Just ensure that you replace power Jack connector as well as motherboard because when my mine went up with same problem it shorted the connections in my power Jack,

 

I already bought a new board although i dont have an older mxm card and my screen is a 120hz and i only have a 1070. I may have to buy an old 700 series or something. As to the reason for it i dont know but id cause it was a motherboard component failure. All of my parts and psu have been running on this laptop for over 6 months. Maybe it's likely hardware related but i dont know how to test that.

 

I appreciate the heads up. I have a spare one ill throw on right now before i get the new board tomorrow.

 

@goodstone When I said replace I meant ofc desolder and solder a new one. That's why I said he should send it to a professional and not do it himself because whoever is gonna fix it will also test it.

@EepoSaurus even if you buy a new one still the cost to fix this one and keep it as a spare is justifiable if you ask me especially for someone like you interested in keeping the machine for a long time.

 

Did you notice any power/temp spikes GPU/CPU & the temperatures across the motherboard like PCH. I'm assuming from your sig it is the MSI GTX 1070 was it any TDP modified with Coolane's TDP tweaker ? I don't think the AW17 R1 motherboard can handle over 150W+ of MXM power consumption, 100W is ideal for the MXM 3.0b but 980M takes it over 140W+ (Personally I think this is where we should stop on this machine, as the PCH stays extactly beneath the GPU the heat radiates overtime and hard to cool underside not to mention the Haswell 2013 era 780M/980M chassis, well the more pipe GPU HS could help as you are already using them but..) alone and with 1070 MSI unlocked it will make it too much, unless the motherboard is robust the machine like the 870DM/7xxZM series which has limits off over 180-200W+ for the MXM slot.

You mentioned Windows 10 update, better to check the changelog too for any mentions on the power or GPU related, also the power modes on Win10 they are erratic, unless the full performance mode is on the OS makes the components get only reduced power.

 

If You check motherboard schematics it's clear that those 4 transistors are just after DC IN jack and that all this amps from power brick has to go through them. After them main power rail called B+ is divided into separated power rails eg. for MXM or Vcc etc. It looks like it was just to much for those mosfets. Probably would be good idea to put some heatsinks on them if someone want to run high power card.

 

Oh nice observation! @EepoSaurus are you running a 330W setup ?

 

I believe he was using the m18x R2 330 Watts power brick.

 

So that explains it! @EepoSaurus take care when you get the new mobo that the jack-in port doesn't heat up or that general area. I was using a 90-Angle degree connector before and that area used to heat up like hell for me and as soon as I stopped this area is as cold as ice now no matter how much I push the machine. Pay close attention to this.

 

It is a zotac 1070 and is an exact fit for the 17r1. It has a custom bios on it of 135w but its normal wattage is about 100w. It rarely goes above that. Ive gotten used to gaming with OST on so i monitor temps regularly and prior to the blow out it did not spike in temps. My card was at 76c and my cpu was at 72c. I do not use an L shaped adapter and the laptop was run in this exact configuration for 6 months. I personally think it was just component failure as i have run more power hungry configurations for longer on other r1s and never had an issue. Total power draw from the outlet at full load is 230watts and i am using a 330w psu. My new mb is in the laptop and i replaced the plug and the laptop is running like always. Just did 4 hours of play on dos2 and overwatch. These laptops are well made and can handle alot of wattage but i think i just got unlucky. If i am in the same situation again then i think there may be something more to it.

 

+rep, much appreciated for this Info, reports, thoughts and the constructive diagnosis of the situation & glad to know about the machine doing great now

So this L Shaped adapter, I've never came across such PSU adapter for the R1, Using M18x 330W brick here too. Rock solid

Could you share the schematics please, I think it would help a lot of Ranger users here.. thanks.

 

Schematics is easy to find. Just type LA-9331P schematics and at least in few places is free to download .

 

This is not the first time an Alienware from that generation to suffer such a failure and I've come across this a few times with the M18x of the same generation, I believe that the problem is preventable with a simple cooling mod. With the next board try in some way or another heatsink the mosfets or use thermal pads to help cool them and maybe that will be enough, with the m18x failures it burned the mxm card on the left side but other than that the machine would still run using the card on the right.

 

This is a common fault with these motherboards. I had the exact component go when my 980 shorted my motherboard. Was also using 330w psu. Looking at the state of your board the chances of replacing IC is slim at best. These boards are multi layer and has proberly damage the integrity of the motherboard. R1 mobos can be purchased on Ali express cheap £130 (160usd). I would go down this route rather repair.

 

Wow didn't know it was common! But basically everyone who had this was pushing the mobo beyond 240W?

@nforce4max my understanding is actually the 18 inchers are designed for 330W

 

I blew the same chip with the Alienware 18 w/ 980M SLI running at higher voltage (1.062V), these boards are not robust at all.

 

For AepiSaurus or other
Could I please plan to change the mother card? if you do not mind
I do not know how to do private messages
thank you

 

Im sorry i dont understand your question. Are you asking how you change the motherboard?

 

hellos,
yes that's it, I want to disassemble the motherboard
forgiveness for translation, google translat ....
thank you

 

Well its a long process. But its not hard and once you get used to it you can strip a 17r1 in 10 to 15 minutes or so. Take your time and remove all the bolts labeled P from the underside. After you got all of them remove the heatsinks and fans as well as the antenna cables and seperate the palm rest and keyboard from the frame. There are two ribbon cables best accessed from the bottom before you remove the palm rest as well. The rest is pretty evident. Dont be scared to pop the palm rest off after you are sure you removed all the bolts. It is stuck pretty well but it will come loose.

 

So this happens due to pushing the system board beyond it's 240W limit or...?

I'm currently using my AW17 R1 as well but it's stock config. I do use my 330w ac adapter now and then , but the ac adapter alone shouldn't cause this?

 

I think it was just a faulty component. Havent had trouble since the replacement

 

Just curious, how much would you say your pulling from your system?

 

240 watts max. Average is 210 watts.

 

Thank you ,
obviously, it was very easy to disassemble, however, the motherboard is a VAS00 LA-9331P / CN-01W46-129
do I have to return identically? or another could be put in its place like this one CN-05RW0M Intel LA-9331P
my cpu is an I7-4710mq
thank you for your comeback

 

Any ranger board should work. They really are not different. They are custom made for one purpose and as such there is no variance. It may come down to components used or manufacture dates that designate board models. All around its a very reliable platform

 

Thank you for your help

 

Please share the modded VBIOS of the Zotac, I only have the MSI VBIOS with 100W limit

 

i wonder if other alienware models need heatsinks and or better VRMs/regulators to handle the 330watts